Differential localization of 5- and 15-lipoxygenases to the nuclear envelope in RAW macrophages.

Leukotriene formation is initiated in myeloid cells by an increase in intracellular calcium and translocation of 5-lipoxygenase from the cytoplasm to the nuclear envelope where it can utilize arachidonic acid. Monocyte- macrophages and eosinophils also express 15-lipoxygenase, which converts arachidonic acid to 15(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid. Enhanced green fluorescent 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) and 15-lipoxygenase (15-LO) fusion proteins were expressed in the cytoplasm of RAW 264.7 macrophages. Only 5-lipoxygenase translocated to the nuclear envelope after cell stimulation, suggesting that differential subcellular compartmentalization can regulate the generation of leukotrienes versus 15(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid in cells that possess both lipoxygenases. A series of truncation mutants of 5-LO were created to identify putative targeting domains; none of these mutants localized to the nuclear envelope. The lack of targeting of 15-LO was then exploited to search for specific targeting motifs in 5-LO, by creating 5-LO/15-LO chimeric molecules. The only chimera that could sustain nuclear envelope translocation was one which involved replacement of the N-terminal 237 amino acids with the corresponding segment of 15-LO. Significantly, no discrete targeting domain could be identified in 5-LO, suggesting that sequences throughout the molecule are required for nuclear envelope localization.     

Chitin-glucan complex in cell walls of the Peltigera aphthosa lichen

Cell walls and chitin-glucan complexes isolated from uneven-aged components of the thallus of the Peltigera aphthosa lichen were studied. The mass fraction of the cell wall and chitin-glucan complexes increased with age, but the content of nitrogen in these structures decreased with age. The basal area of the thallus was characterized by the largest mass fraction of the chitin-glucan complex from the dry mass of the thallus; the apical area, by the largest mass fraction of chitin in the complex. It was demonstrated that in P. aphthosa, the degree of deacetylation of chitin in the complex (depending on the age) was 33 and 54% in the apical and basal areas, respectively. The suggested method of functional analysis of chitin-glucan complexes for the presence of free amino groups in them can be used for studying other lichenified fungi.     

Functional and pathological roles of the 12- and 15-lipoxygenases

The 12/15-lipoxygenase enzymes react with fatty acids producing active lipid metabolites that are involved in a number of significant disease states. The latter include type 1 and type 2 diabetes (and associated complications), cardiovascular disease, hypertension, renal disease, and the neurological conditions Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. A number of elegant studies over the last thirty years have contributed to unraveling the role that lipoxygenases play in chronic inflammation. The development of animal models with targeted gene deletions has led to a better understanding of the role that lipoxygenases play in various conditions. Selective inhibitors of the different lipoxygenase isoforms are an active area of investigation, and will be both an important research tool and a promising therapeutic target for treating a wide spectrum of human diseases.     

Interactions between cyanobacterium and fungus during 15N2-incorporation and metabolism in the lichen Peltigera canina

On following N₂-incorporation and subsequent metabolism in the lichen Peltigera canina using ¹⁵N as tracer, it was found, over a 30 min period, that greatest initial labelling was into NH ₄ ⁺ followed by glutamate and the amide-N of glutamine. Labelling of the amino-N of glutamine, aspartate and alanine increased slowly. Pulse-chase experiments using ¹⁵N confirmed this pattern. On inhibiting the GS-GOGAT pathway using l-methionine-dl-sulphoximine and azaserine, ¹⁵N enrichment of glutamate, alanine and aspartate continued although labelling of glutamine was undetectable. From this and enzymic data, NH ₄ ⁺ assimilation in the P. canina thallus appears to proceed via GS-GOGAT in the cyanobacterium and via GDH in the fungus; aminotransferases were present in both partners. The cyanobacterium assimilated 44% of the ¹⁵N₂ fixed; the remainder was liberated almost exclusively as NH ₄ ⁺ and then assimilated by fungal GDH.Abbreviations ADH alanine dehydrogenase - APT aspartate-pyruvate aminotransferase - AOA aminooxyacetate - GDH glutamate dehydrogenase - GOT glutamate-oxaloacetate aminotransferase - GOGAT glutamate synthase - GPT glutamate-pyruvate aminotransferase - GS glutamine synthetase - HEPES 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazine ethanesulphonic acid - MSX l-methionine-dl-sulphoximine     

5′-nucleotidase activity in permanent human lymphoid cell lines Implication for cell proliferation and aging in vitro

5′-Nucleotidase of 11 human lymphoid cell lines was measured. These cell ines were homogeneous B, T and Null cells, had an unlimited lifespan in vitro, and were subcultivated from leukemic cells of patients with Burkitt lymphoma, the blastic phase of chronic myelocytic leukemia, or acute lymphoblastic leukemia. 5′-Nucleotidase activities in normal human lymphocytes and in human fibroblasts (VA-13 and IMR-90) could be determined at a cellular protein concentration as low as 0.025 and 0.007 mg/ml, respectively. In all the eleven lymphoid cell lines, including 8 B-cell lines (RPMI 8422, B46M, RPMI 1788, DAUDI, HRIK, B411-4, B85 and DND-3-9A), 2 T-cell lines (MOLT 3 and RPMI 8402) and 1 Null cell line (NALM-1) 5′-nucleotidase was undetectable with the protein concentration range from 0.033 to 8.543 mg/ml. Previously 5′-nucleotidase activity was found to increase 10-, 6- and 20-fold in normal human embryonic lung (WI-38 and IMR-90 cells) and chick embryo fibroblasts, respectively, from a young rapidly proliferative to a senescent non-proliferative stage (Sun, A.S., Aggarwal, B.B. and Packer, L. (1975) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 170, 1 and Sun, A.S., Alvarez, L.J. Reinach, P.S. and Rubin, E. (1979) Lab. Invest. 41, 1). These data demonstrate that the large increase in 5′-nucleotidase activity occurs concomitantly with the in vitro senescence of these normal cell lines. The present study suggests that this large increase in 5′-nucleotidase activity during cell aging is absent in these permanently lymphoid cell lines. The undetectable 5′-nucleotidase activity may be a biochemical characteristic of these homogeneous B, T and Null cells originating from the aforesaid leukemias. The implications of these results for cell proliferation and aging are discussed.     

Reciprocal regulation of 12- and 15-lipoxygenases by UV-irradiation in human keratinocytes

The 12/15-lipoxygenase (12/15-LOX) pathways of arachidonate metabolism have been implicated in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Since UV photo-therapy is a commonly used technique for inhibiting cell proliferation and inflammation in skin diseases, we hypothesized that UV-irradiation may affect 12/15-LOX expression which might regulate cell proliferation. In this study, we showed that UV-irradiation suppressed 12-LOX expression, whereas up-regulated 15-LOX expression. Treatment with the 15-LOX metabolites sufficiently suppressed insulin-like growth factor II-induced 12-LOX expression and blocked cell cycle progression. On the basis of our findings, we think that the 15-LOX metabolites may inhibit epidermal hyperplasia in psoriasis by regulating 12-LOX expression.     

Isolation and characterization of a cyanobacterium-binding protein and its cell wall receptor in the lichen Peltigera canina

Peltigera canina, a cyanolichen containing Nostoc as cyanobiont, produces and secretes arginase to a medium containing arginine. Secreted arginase acts as a lectin by binding to the surface of Nostoc cells through a specific receptor which develops urease activity. The enzyme urease has been located in the cell wall of recently isolated cyanobionts. Cytochemical detection of urease is achieved by producing a black, electron-dense precipitate of cobalt sulfide proceeding from CO₂ evolved from urea hydrolysis in the presence of cobalt chloride. This urease has been pre-purified by affinity chromatography on a bead of active agarose to which arginase was attached. Urease was eluted from the beads by 50 mM α-D-galactose. The experimentally probed fact that a fungal lectin developing subsidiary arginase activity acts as a recognition factor of compatible algal cells in chlorolichens can now been expanded to cyanolichens.Key words: arginase, lectin, Peltigera canina, recognition, urease     

Effects of phenformin on the proliferation of human tumor cell lines

Phenformin is a biguanide that has been largely used in the past for its anti-diabetic activity. A large body of evidence suggests additional effects of phenformin including antitumoral activity in different animal models in vivo. Thus, the present study has been conducted in order to elucidate possible mechanisms involved in the antitumoral effects of phenformin. In various tumoral cell lines (SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma and LNCaP prostate adenocarcinoma cells), increasing concentrations of phenformin (50-500 microM) induced a concentration-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation. This effect was not dependent on the ability of the drug to reduce glucose levels and was accompanied by induction of apoptotic cell death as measured by cytofluorometric analysis. In addition, a short-time incubation of SH-SY5Y cells with phenformin induced enhanced and transient expression of the cell cycle inhibitor p21 suggesting that phenformin causes inhibition of cell cycle progression prior to induction of apoptosis. These results demonstrate an activity at the cellular level of phenformin that supports its antitumoral effect observed in vivo.     

5-Aza-CdR对胶质瘤细胞生长及LRRC4基因异常甲基化的影响

LRRC4是一个新发现的胶质瘤抑瘤基因,它在多种胶质瘤细胞系和胶质瘤组织表达缺失或下调,前期研究结果表明胶质瘤细胞和组织中LRRC4的编码区未发生突变、缺失或重排．为了获得LRRC4作为胶质瘤抑瘤基因的进一步证据,采用去甲基化制剂5-Aza-CdR处理LRRC4表达缺失的SF126和SF767胶质瘤细胞,MSP和RT-PCR检测表明,LRRC4的启动子在表达缺失的SF126和SF767细胞存在完全的甲基化,而5-Aza-CdR能逆转LRRC4启动子的甲基化状态,恢复LRRC4的表达．MTT法测定显示,5-Aza-CdR使SF126和SF767胶质瘤细胞增殖受到明显抑制,并呈时间和剂量的依赖性．同时流式细胞仪检测显示,5-Aza-CdR使SF126和SF767胶质瘤细胞周期阻滞于G0/G1期．因此,5-Aza-CdR能抑制胶质瘤细胞SF126和SF767增殖并干扰其细胞周期,LRRC4启动子异常甲基化是其在胶质瘤细胞中表达缺失的重要机制,5-Aza-CdR能逆转LRRC4基因的甲基化,恢复LRRC4的表达,为LRRC4作为胶质瘤去甲基化治疗的靶标提供了科学依据．     

Effects of cell fusion and deoxynucleosides on sister-chromatid exchanges in B-lymphoblastoid cell lines from 5 Bloom syndrome patients

The effect of cell fusion and deoxynucleosides (deoxyadenosine, dA; deoxyguanosine, dG; deoxycytidine, dC; thymidine, T) on sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) in Bloom syndrome (BS) was studied in two types of BrdU (bromodeoxyuridine)-sensitive and BrdU-resistant B-lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) with respect to cellular proliferation in BrdU-labeled culture conditions. Cell fusion between BrdU-sensitive and BrdU-resistant BS B-LCLs did not exhibit complementation, although when any of the BS B-LCLs (retaining high SCE character) labeled with BrdU were fused with non-labeled normal cells, the hybrid cells had a normal level of SCE at the first mitosis after fusion. Deoxycytidine addition showed no effect on SCEs in normal cells but decreased SCEs in BS cells from the baseline level of 70 SCEs/cell to about 60 SCE/cell. Purine deoxyribonucleosides (dG and dA) caused a significant concentration-dependent increase in SCE frequency both in normal and BS cells. Although T caused a 2-fold increase in normal SCEs, it highly decreased BS SCE from 70 SCEs/cell to 35 SCEs/cell. FrdU did not greatly affect BS SCE in the presence of BrdU and T. These observations indicate strongly that BS cells may have a low thymidine pool compared with normal cells, which could account for a more efficient BrdU substitution in the DNA thus potentiating the template effect on SCE.     

Total saponins from Rubus parvifolius L. inhibits cell proliferation,migration and invasion of malignant melanoma in vitro and in vivo

Background: Total saponins from Rubus parvifolius L. (TSRP) are the main bioactive fractions responsible for the anti-tumor activities. The work was aimed to evaluate the anti-tumor effect of TSRP in malignant melanoma (MM) in vitro and in vivo.Methods and results: Anti-melanoma cell proliferation, invasion and migration effect of TSRP were detected in human MM A375 cells under the indicated time and dosages. In vivo anti-tumor effect of TSRP was measured in A375 xenograft immunodeficient nude mice. Sixty A375 xenografts were randomly divided into five groups: Vehicle, cyclophosphamide (CTX, 20 mg/kg), TSRP (25 mg/kg), TSRP (50 mg/kg) and TSRP (100 mg/kg) groups for 14 days’ treatment. In addition, the melanoma metastasis in lung in vivo of TSRP was detected in A375 tail vein injection mice, and the histopathalogical analysis of the lung metastasis was detected by Hematoxylin–Eosin (H&E) staining. TSRP significantly inhibited the cell proliferation, invasion and migration of A375 in vitro at the indicated time and dosages. TSRP treatment effectively blocked the tumor growth in immunodeficient nude mice. In addition, TSRP also significantly inhibited the lung metastasis of melanoma.Conclusion: The present study indicated that the TSRP has a remarkable anti-MM effect, which mainly through the inhibition of the cell invasion, migration and tumor metastasis.     

Effects of Lactobacillus strains on cancer cell proliferation and oxidative stress in vitro

AIMS: The objective of this study was to assess in vitro, whether heat-killed (HK) lactic acid bacteria cells and fractionations of HK cells could suppress the viability of human cancer cells and inhibit the cytotoxicity associated with oxidative stress. METHODS AND RESULTS: Among the strains, the HK cells of Lactobacillus acidophilus 606 and Lactobacillus casei ATCC 393 exhibited the most profound inhibitory activity in all of the tested cell lines. HK cells of L. acidophilus 606 were determined to be less toxic to healthy human embryo fibroblasts (hEF cells) than were HK cells of L. casei ATCC 393. The soluble polysaccharides from L. acidophilus 606 evidenced the most effective anticancer activity, but inhibited hEF cell growth by only 20%. The soluble polysaccharides from L. acidophilus 606 were partly observed to induce apoptosis in the HT-29 cells by DNA fragmentation and propidium iodine staining. Both the HK cells of L. acidophilus 606 and the soluble polysaccharide components of this strain also exhibited potent antioxidative activity. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the soluble polysaccharide fraction from L. acidophilus 606 may constitute a novel anticancer agent, which manifests a high degree of selectivity for human cancer cells and antioxidative agent in the food industry. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: These soluble polysaccharide components from Lactobacillus may be applied to various foods, and used as adjuncts for cancer therapy and prevention.     

Effects of reduced calcium on proliferation and cell viability in tumorigenic and nontumorigenic rat tracheal epithelial cell lines

We have compared the in vitro growth and viability of tumorigenic and nontumorigenic rat tracheal epithelial cell lines over a range of calcium concentrations from 0.003 to 0.85 mM. A greater dependence on calcium for proliferation was seen in the nontumorigenic line as compared to the tumorigenic line at both the colony formation level and in mass cultures. In the latter culture condition, a marked differential effect on cell survival was also demonstrated. These differences in calcium dependence were seen in media containing fetal bovine serum or low concentrations of newborn calf serum and in a serum-free medium developed for these cells. The effect was also independent of the method used for calcium removal i.e., either by chelex treatment or the inclusion of EGTA. Therefore, loss of calcium dependence may be associated with tumorigenicity in rat tracheal epithelial cells offering a selectable marker for neoplastic cells in carcinogen-exposed preneoplastic cell populations.