Murine cell surface immunoglobulin: two forms of delta-heavy chain.

The heavy chain of isolated murine cell surface IgD is present in two forms, separable by electrophoresis on SDS-polyacrylamide gradient gels. Both forms of delta-heavy chain are present on the surface of intact spleen cells and have apparent m.w. of approximately 70,000 (delta1) and 68,000 (delta2). Treatment of surface IgD with neuraminidase before isolation results in a single IgD heavy chain band on SDS gels having an apparent m.w. of 65,000, indicating that delta 1 and delta 2 differ in sialic acid content. Delta 2 is removed from the cell surface by papain more readily than delta 1, suggesting a possible functional significance for the two forms.     

Expression of a P-glycoprotein gene is inducible in a multidrug-resistant human leukemia cell line

A human T lymphoblastoid CCRF-CEM cell line exhibiting cross resistance to a variety of drugs was selected with increasing doses of actinomycin D. A subline, designated CCRF ACTD400+, was permanently cultured in the presence of 400 ng/ml Actinomycin D for several months. Using a fragment of the human mdr1 cDNA we found high expression of a 5 kb mRNA species which was not detectable in the sensitive parental CCRF-CEM cell line. The extent of the mdr-mRNA expression in resistant cells, however, depended on the presence or absence of actinomycin D in the culture medium: when the inhibitor was omitted, the expression decreased to about 60% after one month. In reverse, the steady state level of the P-glycoprotein mRNA increased about 2.5-fold within 72 h after the original dose of the drug was added again. In further experiments we recorded the actinomycin D or adriamycin dose response curves of the variously treated sublines by evaluation of [3H]uridine or [3H]thymidine incorporation, respectively, into acid insoluble material. Consistently, the drug sensitivity of the respective macromolecular synthesis was found to decrease with increasing mdr-mRNA levels.     

Reversible switching of immunoglobulin hypermutation machinery in a chicken B cell line

A chicken B lymphoma line, DT40, hypermutates immunoglobulin (Ig) genes spontaneously during culture. Thus, cultured DT 40 cells constitute a useful Ig library for screening antibodies (Abs) in vitro. To fix desirable Ig mutants by stopping hypermutation or to resume mutation for further improvement of Ab affinity, activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), a key enzyme responsible for the Ig mutation machinery, must be switched on or off. To this end, we generated a DT40 line whose one AID allele was disrupted, and the other allele was replaced by the loxP-flanked AID construct. In this engineered cell line designated as DT40-SW, AID expression could be switched reversibly by tamoxifen-regulated Cre recombinase. Devices were also introduced to discriminate between the "AID-ON" and the "AID-OFF" cells by GFP expression and puromycin resistance, respectively. Starting from a single DT40-SW cell, Ig gene repertoire was efficiently diversified during culture only when AID expression was on.     

Feline leukemia virus subgroup B uses the same cell surface receptor as gibbon ape leukemia virus.

Pseudotypes of gibbon ape leukemia virus/simian sarcoma-associated virus (GALV/SSAV) and feline leukemia virus subgroup B (FeLV-B) have been constructed by rescuing a Moloney murine leukemia virus vector genome with wild-type GALV/SSAV or FeLV-B. The resulting recombinant viruses utilized core and envelope proteins from the wild-type virus and conferred resistance to growth in L-histidinol upon infected cells by virtue of the HisD gene encoded by the vector genome. They displayed the host range specificity of the rescuing viruses and could be neutralized by virus-specific antisera. Receptor cross-interference was observed when the GALV/SSAV or FeLV-B pseudotypes were used to superinfect cells productively infected with either GALV/SSAV or FeLV-B. Although murine cells are resistant to FeLV-B infection, murine cells expressing the human gene for the GALV/SSAV receptor became susceptible to FeLV-B infection. Therefore GALV/SSAV and FeLV-B utilize the same cell surface receptor.     

Titration of murine leukemia viruses with rat cell line RFL.

Normal rat embryo cell (RFL) from syncytia after infection with murine leukemia virus. The assay for counting the number of syncytium foci produced in RFL cells is a sensitive method for a direct infectivity assay of murine leukemia virus.     

Selective cell surface expression of thymus leukemia antigen during S phase of the cell cycle.

The expression of the thymus leukemia antigen (TL) was studied on a murine leukemia cell line (ASL-1W) grown in vitro and separated into cell cycle phases by velocity sedimentation or growing synchronously in culture. The expression of TL was determined qualitatively by direct cytotoxicity and quantitatively by a modified inhibition of cytotoxicity assay. TL expression was found to vary with DNA synthesis. The hypothesis that expression is coordinately regulated with DNA synthesis, and the relationship of this to the restricted expression of TL on rapidly dividing cells is disucssed.     

Clonal relationship of the lymphoblastic cell line P388 to the macrophage cell line P388D1 as evidenced by immunoglobulin gene rearrangements and expression of cell surface antigens

A lymphocytic tumor of early B cell lineage, P388, and a mature macrophage tumor, P388D1, appear to have been derived from a common precursor based on identical immunoglobulin gene rearrangements and shared cell surface antigens. These cell lines may have resulted from differential maturation of a transformed cell that is an immediate cellular precursor to both the B cell and myeloid lineages. This supports earlier findings that suggest a close relationship between early B cell and myeloid differentiation pathways.     

Polypeptides of hepatitis B virus surface antigen produced by a hepatoma cell line.

The PLC/PRF/5 cell line derived from a human hepatoma produces hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in 22-nm particles of the same buoyant density as those found in the serum of infected patients. The HBsAg particles from this cell line were labeled with [35S]methionine and purified, and the polypeptides were compared by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with those of serum-derived particles. The two major polypeptides of serum-derived HBsAg particles (p20 and p23) were found in the same relative amounts in the particles from the cell line. The three smallest of the five minor components observed in HBsAg particles from serum were present in particles from the cell line. These polypeptides (p31, p36, and p43), as well as p20 and p23, were precipitated with anti-HBs-containing serum. The two largest polypeptides of serum particles (p49 and p66) were not detected in particles from these cells. When the PLC/PRF/5 HBsAg particles were radiolabeled with tritiated sugars, p23, and not p20, was found to contain radioactivity, indicating that the pattern of polypeptide glycosylation is similar to that of serum HBsAg. None of the other possible gene products of hepatitis B virus was detected in the PLC/PRF/5-derived HBsAg particles, in the cells, or in the cell supernatants.     

Formation of covalently closed circular DNA in Hep38.7-Tet cells,a tetracycline inducible hepatitis B virus expression cell line

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) plays a central role in chronic HBV infection. However, analysis of the molecular mechanism of cccDNA formation is difficult because of the low efficiency in tissue cultured cells. In this study, we developed a more efficient cccDNA expression cell, Hep38.7-Tet, by subcloning from a tetracycline inducible HBV expression cell, HepAD38. Higher levels of cccDNA were produced in Hep38.7-Tet cells compared to HepAD38 cells. In Hep38.7-Tet cells, the cccDNA was detectable at six days after HBV induction. HBV e antigen (HBeAg) secretion was dependent upon cccDNA production. We screened chemical compounds using Hep38.7-Tet cells and HBeAg secretion as a marker. Most of the hit compounds have already been reported as anti-HBV compounds. These data suggested that Hep38.7-Tet cells will be powerful tools for analysis of the molecular mechanism of cccDNA formation/maintenance and development of novel therapeutic agents to control HBV infection.     

Molecular cloning and functional expression of an inducible nitric oxide synthase from a murine macrophage cell line.

Macrophages activated by exposure to cytokines and/or to endotoxin produce nitric oxide (NO.), a free radical that is a mediator of the host response to infection. Activation induces the expression of nitric oxide synthase, the enzyme that catalyzes formation of NO. from L-arginine and molecular oxygen. We report the cloning of a cDNA encoding the inducible nitric oxide synthase from a murine macrophage cell line, RAW264.7, exposed to interferon-gamma and lipopolysaccharide. Oocytes injected with mRNA transcribed from this cDNA demonstrate arginine-dependent production of nitrite, a stable metabolite of NO.. Nitric production is blocked by the enzyme inhibitor, NG-monomethylarginine, and is independent of calcium/calmodulin. RAW264.7 cells demonstrate rapid accumulation of the nitric oxide synthase-encoding mRNAs upon activation. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence to the calcium/calmodulin-dependent nitric oxide synthase previously purified (Bredt, D. S., and Synder, S.H. (1990) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 87, 682-685) and cloned (Bredt, D. S., Hwang, P. M., Glatt, C. E., Lowenstein, C., Reed, R. R., and Synder, S. H. (1991) nature 351, 714-718) from rat brain identifies shared binding sites for the cofactors NADPH and flavins in the C-terminal half of both proteins and an additional conserved region near the N terminus that may recognize L-arginine and/or contribute to the active site.     

Phorbol esters specifically inhibit induction of immunoglobulin secretion in a murine B cell leukemia

We have examined the effect of tumor-promoting phorbol esters such as phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) on the murine B cell leukemia BCL-1 and its in vitro adapted derivative CW.13.20. Phorbol esters, including PMA and phorbol dibutyrate (PDBu), were potent inhibitors of BCL-1 IgM secretion induced by either LPS or lymphokines; half-maximal inhibition was obtained with 0.1 nM PMA and 0.8 nm PDBu. The inhibitory action of PDBu on BCL-1 cells was reversible for over 1 hr, but after 5 hr 70% of the inhibition was irreversible. Irreversible inhibition could be blocked by cycloheximide, suggesting a requirement for protein synthesis. The specificity of PDBu inhibition was examined by comparing the patterns of protein synthesis in PDBu-treated and control BCL-1 cells. Total incorporation of [35S]methionine into protein by BCL-1 cells cultured in the presence of PDBu was similar to that of untreated cells. Analysis of radiolabeled proteins by SDS-PAGE and autoradiography revealed no consistent changes in the pattern of protein synthesis except at those positions corresponding to the heavy and light chains of IgM. Immunoprecipitation with an affinity-purified anti-IgM indicated that PDBu inhibited the increased synthesis of heavy and light chain that follows stimulation by lymphokine but did not diminish control IgM synthesis. Induced IgM secretion from CW.13.20 cells was also inhibited by phorbol esters, indicating a direct action on B cells. Delaying the addition of phorbol ester relative to lymphokine or LPS by 24 hr significantly reduced inhibition of induced IgM secretion from both BCL-1 and CW.13.20 cells. This suggests that phorbol esters specifically interfere with the signal for induction of IgM secretion by both lymphokine and LPS.