Protein synthesis and secretion in a myogenic cell line

Myogenesis in a clonal myoblast cell line is accompanied by an increase in the specific activities of creatine phosphokinase and myokinase and in the rates of synthesis and accumulation of myosin heavy chain. Exponentially dividing myoblasts synthesize myosin heavy chain at a rate of about 1% of their rate of total protein synthesis; this rate increases 7-fold during the differentiation process. Both myoblasts and myotubes secrete a minimum of 12-soluble proteins. Although there is a quantitative change in the rates of appearance of five of these proteins during myogenesis, no qualitative changes in the profile of the secreted proteins are detected. Three of the secreted proteins share several properties of soluble collagen molecules. Basal laminae and polymerized collagen fibrils are associated with myotubes, but not with exponentially dividing myoblasts.     

Lactate release from isolated rat adipocytes: influence of cell size, glucose concentration, insulin and epinephrine

Release of lactate was studied during in vitro incubations with isolated fat cells. Lactate release increased (approximately 3-fold) with increasing medium glucose concentration (from 3 to 12 mM) in both large and small fat cells. Large fat cells from older, fatter rats, however, released 3-4 times more lactate per cell than small fat cells from young rats when incubated with 3, 6 or 12 mM glucose. Insulin and epinephrine produced a marked stimulation of lactate release in small fat cells, but these hormones had no effect in large fat cells. Lactate accounted for only 10-15% of the glucose metabolized by small fat cells under all incubation conditions but was nearly 40% of glucose utilized by large fat cells at glucose concentrations greater than 6 mM. In conclusion, lactate is a major metabolite of glucose in adipocytes, particularly in the large fat cells. Adipose tissue may therefore be a major site of lactate production, particularly in states of altered glucose metabolism (i.e., hyperglycemia) and obesity.     

GREG cells, a dysferlin-deficient myogenic mouse cell line

The dysferlinopathies (e.g. LGMD2b, Myoshi myopathy) are progressive, adult-onset muscle wasting syndromes caused by mutations in the gene coding for dysferlin. Dysferlin is a large (~200kDa) membrane-anchored protein, required for maintenance of plasmalemmal integrity in muscle fibers. To facilitate analysis of dysferlin function in muscle cells, we have established a dysferlin-deficient myogenic cell line (GREG cells) from the A/J mouse, a genetic model for dysferlinopathy. GREG cells have no detectable dysferlin expression, but proliferate normally in growth medium and fuse into functional myotubes in differentiation medium. GREG myotubes exhibit deficiencies in plasma membrane repair, as measured by laser wounding in the presence of FM1-43 dye. Under the wounding conditions used, the majority (~66%) of GREG myotubes lack membrane repair capacity, while no membrane repair deficiency was observed in dysferlin-normal C2C12 myotubes, assayed under the same conditions. We discuss the possibility that the observed heterogeneity in membrane resealing represents genetic compensation for dysferlin deficiency.     

Overexpression of glucose transporter modulates insulin biosynthesis in insulin producing cell line

Glucose transporter (GT) has been suggested to be involved in the insulin biosynthesis. However, the functional relationship between GT and insulin biosynthesis is not well understood. In this report, we have generated rat pancreatic B cell lines (RINr) that stably overexpress a cDNA encoding the brain type GT. These cell lines showed 3- to 4-fold increase in insulin mRNA and protein. These results suggest that GT might have some relationship to the insulin biosynthesis in the pancreatic B cells.     

Effects of epinephrine, glucagon and insulin on glucose metabolism of planaria

Epinephrine and insulin increased glucose uptake in Planaria, but epinephrine did so to a much grater extent. Glucagon proved to be without effect. The experiments support earlier results according to which in unicellular and invertebrate organisms membrane patterns can be found, which are similar to those of higher organisms and behave like receptors.     

Abnormality of insulin binding and receptor phosphorylation in an insulin-resistant melanoma cell line

The insulin receptor possesses an insulin-stimulated tyrosine-kinase activity; however, the significance of receptor phosphorylation in terms of the binding and signaling function of the receptor is unclear. To help clarify this problem, we have studied insulin binding and receptor phosphorylation in a Cloudman S91 melanoma cell line and two of its variants: the wild type (1A) in which insulin inhibits cell growth, an insulin-resistant variant (111) in which insulin neither stimulates or inhibits growth, and a variant (46) in which insulin stimulates cell growth. 125I-insulin binding to intact cells was similar for the wild-type 1A and insulin-stimulated variant 46. The insulin-resistant variant 111, in contrast, showed approximately 30% decrease in insulin binding. This was due to a decrease of receptor affinity with no major difference in receptor number. When the melanoma cells were solubilized in 1% Triton X-100 and the insulin receptor was partially purified by chromatography on wheat germ agglutinin-agarose, a similar pattern of binding was observed. Phosphorylation was studied by incubation of the partially purified receptor with insulin and [gamma-32P]ATP, and the receptor was identified by immunoprecipitation and NaDodSO4 PAGE. Insulin stimulated phosphorylation of the 95,000-mol- wt beta-subunit of the receptor in all three cells types with similar kinetics. The amount of 32P incorporated into the beta-subunit in the insulin-resistant cell line 111 was approximately 50% of that observed with the two other cell lines. This difference was reflected throughout the entire dose-response curve (10(-9) M to 10(-6) M). Qualitatively similar results were obtained when phosphorylation was studied in the intact cell. Peptide mapping of the beta-subunit using tryptic digestion and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography column separation indicated three sites of phosphorylation in receptor from the wild type and variant 46, but only two major sites of phosphorylation of variant 111. These data suggest that the insulin- resistant variant melanoma 111 possesses a specific defect in the insulin receptor which alters both its binding and autophosphorylation properties, and also suggests a possible role of receptor phosphorylation in both the binding and the signaling function of the insulin receptor.     

Effects of chronic nicotine administration on insulin, glucose, epinephrine, and norepinephrine

There is an inverse relationship between nicotine administration and body weight. Previous research indicates that this relationship results partially from effects of nicotine on energy intake. The present research includes two animal studies designed to investigate the effects of chronic nicotine administration on biochemical responses that affect energy utilization. The results indicate that chronic nicotine administration is accompanied by significant decreases in circulating insulin levels. Nicotine increases levels of catecholamines, but this effect is short-lived. The effects of nicotine on insulin are consistent with the conclusion that nicotine administration increases energy utilization.     

Reduced DNA repair during differentiation of a myogenic cell line

Repair synthesis induced by 4-nitroquinoline-1-oxide (4NQO) in L6 myoblasts before and after cellular fusion was measured by [3H] thymidine incorporation into unreplicated DNA. The level of repair synthesis was reuced after the cells had fused into myotubes. The terminal addition of radioactive nucleotides into DNA strands occurred only to a minor extent, and the dilution of [3H] thymidine by intracellular nucleotide pools was shown not to be responsible for the observed difference in repair synthesis, Both the initial rate and the overall incorporation of [3H] thymidine were found to be 50% lower in the myotubes. 4NQO treatment of myoblasts and myotubes induced modifications in the DNA which were observed as single-strand breaks during alkaline sucrose sedimentation. After the myoblasts were allowed a post-treatment incubation, most of the single-strand breaks were not longer apparent. In contrast, a post-treatment incubation of myotubes did not change the extent of single-strand breakage seen. Both myoblasts and myotubes were equally effective in repairing single- strand breaks induced by X radiation. It would appear that when myoblasts fuse, a repair enzyme activity is lost, probably an endonuclease that recognizes one of the 4 NQO modifications of DNA. The result observed is a partial loss of repair synthetic ability and a complete loss of ability to remove the modification that appears as a single-strand break in alkali.     

Transgene expression in the QM myogenic cell line

We have isolated an avian muscle cell line (QM) which has the essential features of established mammalian muscle cell lines. The experiments reported here were undertaken to determine the suitability of QM cells for the introduction and analysis of cloned transgenes. The promoter of the cardiac troponin T (cTNT) gene has been previously shown to contain sequence elements which govern muscle-specific expression of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene in transiently transfected primary cell cultures. We show here that QM cells stably harboring cTNT promoter-CAT fusion genes up-regulate CAT expression in concert with myogenic differentiation, and that as few as 110 upstream nucleotides are sufficient for such differentiation-dependent regulation. In addition, both transient and stable transfection experiments demonstrate that differentiated QM cells possess trans-acting factors necessary for the expression of the skeletal alpha-actin promoter, despite the absence of mRNA or protein product from the endogenous sarcomeric actin genes in these cells. Finally, to follow the developmental potential of QM cells in vivo, we created a clone, QM2ADH, which constitutively expresses the histochemical marker transgene encoding Drosophila alcohol dehydrogenase. When surgically inserted into the limb buds of developing chick embryos, QM2ADH cells are incorporated into endogenous developing muscles, indicating that QM cells are capable of recognizing and responding to host cues governing muscle morphogenesis. Thus, QM cells are versatile as recipients of transgenes for the in vitro and in vivo analysis of molecular events in muscle development.     

Isolation and characterization of an avian myogenic cell line

Myogenic cell lines have proven extremely valuable for studying myogenesis in vitro. Although a number of mammalian muscle cell lines have been isolated, attempts to produce cell lines from other classes of animals have met with only limited success. We report here the isolation and characterization of seven avian myogenic cell lines (QM1-4 and QM6-8), derived from the quail fibrosarcoma cell line QT6. A differentiation incompetent QM cell derivative was also isolated (QM5DI). The major features of QM cell differentiation in vitro closely resemble those of their mammalian counterparts. Mononucleated QM cells replicate in medium containing high concentrations of serum components. Upon switching to medium containing low serum components, cells withdraw from the cell cycle and fuse to form elongated multinucleated myotubes. Cultures typically obtain fusion indices of 43-49%. Northern blot and immunoblot analyses demonstrate that each differentiated QM cell line expresses a wide variety of genes encoding muscle specific proteins: desmin, cardiac troponin T, skeletal troponin T, cardiac troponin C, skeletal troponin I, alpha-tropomyosin, muscle creatine kinase, myosin light chain 2, and a ventricular isoform of myosin heavy chain. While all QM lines analyzed to date express at least some myosin light chain 2, only one line, QM7, expresses this gene at high levels. Surprisingly, none of the QM lines reported here express any known form of alpha-actin. The absence of sarcomeric actin expression may explain the absence of myofibrils in QM myotubes. These novel features of muscle gene expression in QM cells may prove useful for studying the role of specific muscle proteins during myogenesis. More importantly, however, the isolation of QM cell lines indicates that it may be feasible to isolate other avian myogenic cell lines with general utility for the study of muscle development.     

Commitment,fusion and biochemical differentiation of a myogenic cell line in the absence of DNA synthesis

L₆E₉ rat myoblasts derived from the L₆ cell line can be induced to differentiate to a very high percentage by manipulating the culture conditions. Under standard differentiating conditions, L₆E₉ cells divide an average of 2.5 times before differentiating and >99% of them incorporate ³H-TdR before fusing. By inhibiting DNA replication by a variety of means, data have been obtained which demonstrate that this DNa synthesis is not required to switch from growth to differentiation. After every cell division, L₆E₉ cells have the option either to fuse or to proliferate without intervening DNA synthesis.Cell cloning and DNA labeling experiments show a direct correlation between the time of culture in differentiating medium and a progressive loss of proliferative capacity of mononucleated L₆E₉ cells, demonstrating that these cells become irreversibly committed to differentiation and withdraw from the cell cycle prior to and not as a consequence of cell fusion. The commitment step occurs during the G1 phase prior to fusion. This G1 phase has a latent period during which no irreversible step toward differentiation occurs and the cells remain ambivalent toward growth or differentiation. Under proper conditions, this period is followed by an irreversible commitment toward differentiation and a loss of proliferative capacity. The kinetics of this commitment step strongly suggest that L₆E₉ cells become irreversibly committed in a stochastic manner. Once the cells have become committed, with or without DNA synthesis, they will fuse to form myotubes and biochemically differentiate in a deterministic fashion.The data presented are consistent with a stochastic model of differentiation for L₆E₉ cells and demonstrate that the switch from a proliferating to a differentiating genetic program can occur in the absence of DNA synthesis.     

Stimulation of site-specific phosphorylation of acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase by insulin and epinephrine

32P-labeled acetyl-CoA carboxylase was isolated from 32P-labeled rat epididymal fat pads by avidin-Sepharose affinity chromatography after exposure to epinephrine and insulin. Epinephrine led to an inactivation of the isolated enzyme by a reduction of Vmax, while the insulin stimulation observed in crude extracts did not survive enzyme purification. Both insulin and epinephrine caused only small increases in total 32P content of the enzyme. However, mapping of tryptic 32P-phosphopeptides by high performance liquid chromatography revealed that epinephrine and insulin stimulated the phosphorylation of 32P-peptides specific for each hormone. The major 32P-peptide phosphorylated by epinephrine co-migrated with the major 32P-peptide phosphorylated in vitro by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase, while the 32P-peptide phosphorylated in response to insulin co-migrated with that phosphorylated by casein kinase-I and casein kinase-II. The effects of epinephrine on carboxylase activity and phosphorylation can thus be accounted for by the expected epinephrine-induced activation of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase. While the increase in site-specific phosphorylation caused by insulin cannot be directly linked to insulin-induced activation in crude extracts, these data suggest that casein kinase-I and/or casein kinase-II may mediate the insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase.     

Developmentally regulated lectin in embryonic chick muscle and a myogenic cell line.

Soluble extracts of embryonic chick pectoral muscle and myoblast clone L6 agglutinated trypsin treated glutaraldehyde fixed rabbit erythrocytes. Agglutination activity was blocked by thiodigalactoside, lactose and related saccharides but not by many other saccharides. Agglutination activity of chick pectoral muscle extracts increased at least one order of magnitude between 8 and 16 days of chick embryo development, as the pectoral muscle differentiated. With L6 myoblasts there was a three-fold increase in activity of the extracts as the myoblasts fused to form multinucleated myotubes.     

Differential effects of insulin, epinephrine, and glucagon on rat hepatocyte mitochondrial activity

Oxidation of [2,3-14C]succinate carbons in the mitochondrial Krebs cycle was used as a probe to investigate the effects of insulin, epinephrine, glucagon, and 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP) on isolated rat hepatocytes. Epinephrine, glucagon, and 2,4-DNP had a far greater stimulatory effect on 14CO2 formation from [2,3-14C]succinate than insulin. Unlike insulin, epinephrine and glucagon had no significant effect on the anabolic utilization of succinate carbons for protein synthesis. Our results suggest that although epinephrine, glucagon, and 2,4-DNP enhance the movement of tracer carbons through the Krebs cycle, only insulin is capable of enhancing amphibolite utilization for protein synthesis.     

Effect of sodium butyrate on gene expression in a rat myogenic cell line

Sodium butyrate, when added in millimolar concentration to a culture of myoblasts of the L6 cell line, inhibits reversibly cell proliferation and differentiation. In the present work, we have studied the effect of Na butyrate on the translational efficiency of the overall poly (A)+ RNA. The mRNA from treated cells was translated in vitro as efficiently as proliferating myoblasts mRNA, while a decrease of translation efficiency was observed with myotubes mRNA. In addition this RNA directs the synthesis of several new polypeptides. on the switch on of alpha actin and myosin heavy chains (MHC), muscle specific genes by the dot blot and Northern blot techniques using cloned probes. Na butyrate prevented the expression of MHC and allowed the switch on of alpha actin gene but at a lesser extent than in normal myotubes. In addition the drug prevented the translocation of alpha actin mRNA into the cytoplasm.