Mitochondrial DNA synthesis in overmatured eggs of the starfish

DNA synthesis was studied during the overmaturational stage of starfish eggs. Some DNA synthesis took place in the overmature eggs of the starfish. The DNA synthesis was resistant to aphidicolin. Judging from its circularity and small molecular size, the DNA synthesized is of mitochondrial origin.     

Synchronous exocytosis in Paramecium cells. II. Intramembranous changes analysed by freeze-fracturing

Since Paramecium tetraurelia cells were found to discharge synchronously most of their secretory organelles ('trichocysts') when exposed to 10(-6) M aminoethyldextran (AED) [17], this was now used for a freeze-fracture and -etching analysis of intramembranous changes during exocytosis performance, in conjunction with a rapid freezing method. In controls the potential exocytosis sites of the cell membrane revealed a 'rosette' of approximately 8 membrane-intercalated particles (MIPs) within a 300 nm large double 'ring' of MIPs (see [18]). During exocytosis we found the following changes: (a) Membrane fusion starts as a focal event, the smallest recognizable openings measuring 20-30 nm in diameter. (b) The exocytotic opening always forms in the center of the rosette. (c) Rosette MIPs may stay very close to the exocytotic opening, or they may partly be dispersed as the exocytotic opening is formed. (d) No diaphragm is formed during exocytotic membrane fusion. (e) The exocytotic opening is increasing to a size where it fills the total fusogenic zone contained within a ring, but not any further. (f) Rosette MIPs become further dispersed through the rings. (g) Resealing involves the transformation of rings into a collapsed form ('parenthesis'). (h) A resealed exocytosis site contains no conspicuous MIP aggregates, such as rosettes or 'annulus' structures from the trichocyst membrane, indicating a clear separation of both components.     

Synchronous exocytosis in Paramecium cells. I. A novel approach

From a total number of approximately 1100-1300 secretory organelles ("trichocysts") in a Paramecium tetraurelia cell, approximately 90% are docked to the cell membrane. Approximately 90% of this subpopulation can be discharged from the cells within seconds, when exposed to the novel trigger agent aminoethyldextran (AED) at a concentration of 10(-6) M. No deleterious side effects were recognized with this trigger agent even over long time periods. By application of AED close to cells with the use of a micropipette we found that triggering of trichocyst release by AED involves a local, non-propagated effect and that all regions of the cell body are equally reactive. It requires exogenous Ca2+. It is independent of ciliary Ca2+ channels, since deciliated cells or ciliary mutations with "Ca2+-tight" cilia respond to AED with normal exocytosis performance. The massive and rapid occurrence of trichocyst release in response to AED allowed for a freeze-fracture analysis of intramembraneous changes (see Olbricht et al., Exp cell res 151 (1984) 14 [23]) which also shows the involvement of exocytosis) as well as for a long-term study of the re-attachment of trichocysts (see Haacke & Plattner, Exp cell res 151 (1984) 21 [10]) under synchronous conditions.     

Visualization of reactive oxygen species formation by phagocytizing macrophages

Activated peritoneal macrophages exhibiting phagocytosing capacity produced an electron-dense precipitate of formazan in contact sites of macrophage plasmalemma and phagocytosed yeast cells. No production of formazan occurred, when non-opsonized latex particles were ingested by macrophages. Formazan precipitation could be prevented by anaerobiosis but not by addition of cyanide.     

Isolation of the outer acrosomal membrane from bull sperm

A procedure is described for subcellular fractionation of bull sperm which allows the isolation of outer acrosomal membrane without the use of detergent. After washing to remove seminal plasma contaminants, the acrosomal membrane is removed by homogenization and separated on a two-step sucrose gradient. The isolated membranes have been characterized by light and electron microscopy and enzyme analysis. While the acrosomal enzymes hyaluronidase and acrosin are bound to the isolated membranes, they represent only a small percentage of the total activity and therefore do not provide reliable marker enzymes for this fraction.Subcellular fractionation of sperm also yields information on the solubility of acrosomal enzymes. Two types of acrosomal enzymes have been identified on the basis of their distribution in gradient fractions. Both α-fucosidase and β-N-acetyl glucosaminidase are concentrated in the soluble fraction of the gradient. In contrast, over 70% of the acrosin and hyaluronidase activity remains associated with the sperm pellet. These differences in solubility of these enzymes may reflect differences in their function in fertilization.     

In vivo identification of Tetrahymena actin probed by DMSO induction of nuclear bundles

We report the first successful identification of actin, an ubiquitous contractile protein, in Tetrahymena pyriformis (strain W). We employed dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as a probe to induce the formation of actin bundles in the cell nucleus [1, 2] through disruption of cytoplasmic microfilament organization [3, 4]. The cells were incubated for 30 min at 22 °C in the inorganic medium of Prescott & James [5] containing 10% DMSO, and observed under a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Microfilarment bundles were formed in interphase macronuclei, and these microfilaments, approx. 6 nm in diameter, could be decorated by rabbit skeletal muscle heavy meromyosin (HMM) in the glycerinated model. In many cases, the bundles formed closely parallel to natively existing bundles of microtubules. Interestingly, these microtubules had prominent striation with 15–16 nm periodicity. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was designed to show the low actin content of Tetrahymena cells in comparison with that of Dictyostelium. Actin was suggested to comprise less than 1.7% of the total protein in Tetrahymena, whereas as much as 6% was actin in Dictyostelium cells. In assessing the physiological significance of the bundle formation, we further performed HMM and myosin subfragment-1 (S1)-binding studies to clarify the organization process and the polarity of the DMSO-induced nuclear actin filaments by using the tannic acid staining technique [6]. Randomly oriented short filaments appeared in the nucleus treated with 10% DMSO for 10 min. These filaments became elongated and associated with each other to form loose bundles in the following 10 min. With 30-min treatment, the filaments were organized and large bundles with single axes developed. With these well-developed bundles, the Student's t-test was performed on 172 pairs of neighboring filaments and the probability (p) of the deviation from random polarity was 0.08, suggesting that the filaments were organized in an anti-parallel manner. The results show that the DMSO induction of nuclear actin is a powerful tool to demonstrate the existence of cellular actin in vivo and to study the mechanism of microfilament organization in relation to cell physiological activities.     

Hl histones from mammalian testes : Hlt is associated with spermatogenesis in humans

Hlt is a testis-specific Hl histone variant associated with meiosis and post-meiotic stages of male germ cell development. We have now made tentative identification of Hlt in humans by a variety of criteria including electrophoretic and extractive properties. While Hlt was readily identified in extracts from normal testes, it was not detectable in extracts from aspermatogenic testes or from placenta. Identification of Hlt in humans confirms the widespread association of this unusual Hl variant with spermatogenesis among mammals ranging from rodents to primates.     

Synchronous exocytosis in Paramecium cells. III. Rearrangement of membranes and membrane-associated structural elements after exocytosis performance

Aminoethyldextran (AED) was used to trigger the synchronous release of trichocysts from Paramecium tetraurelia cells (see [8]) by a mechanism involving exocytotic membrane fusion and resealing (see [5]). Ultrastructural changes were analyzed by quantitative evaluation of ultrathin sections. In resting cells the percentage of potential trichocyst-docking sites which are actually occupied by a trichocyst was 58%; 36% of potential docking sites contained ghosts and 6% a "plug" of electron-dense material. We derived from our data that paramecia would discharge permanently and spontaneously trichocysts (without AED) at a rate of 2-3 per min (which we then also verified by counting the spontaneous release rate) and that this value is equivalent to the docking rate. For the synchronous expulsion of trichocysts in response to AED we had determined that the degree of synchrony is more than a hundred times better than in most other systems (see [8]). We have determined the half-lives (HL) for different events involved in exocytosis and re-docking as follows: approximately 3 sec for trichocyst discharge, approximately 3 sec for the formation of ghosts, 8 min for the clearing of ghosts from the cell surface, 4 min for the formation of "plugs". Trichocysts are docked with a HL of 40 min and "plugs" (considered as receptor-type structures for trichocyst docking) disappear with a concomitant HL of 50 min. Evidently the clearing of ghosts allows for re-formation of "plugs" but the respective HL values signal that "plugs" may also be formed anew. The relatively slow decline of the percentage of "plugs" (after their azimuth 15 min after AED triggering) may also indicate the synthesis of new docking sites. After a period of over approximately 3 h following AED triggering, the original situation is roughly re-established and maintained over the whole period of population growth analyzed.     

Phosphorylation of non-histone proteins associated with mitosis in HeLa cells

Our previous studies indicated that certain non-histone proteins (NHP) extractable with 0.2 M NaCl from mitotic HeLa cells induce germinal vesicle breakdown and chromosome condensation in Xenopus laevis oocytes. Since the maturation-promoting activity of the mitotic proteins is stabilized by phosphatase inhibitors, we decided to examine whether phosphorylation of NHP plays a role in the condensation of chromosomes during mitosis. HeLa cells, synchronized in S phase, were labeled with ³²P at the end of S phase, and the cells subsequently collected while they were in G2, mitosis, or G1. Cytoplasmic, nuclear, or chromosomal proteins were extracted and separated by gel electrophoresis. The labeled protein bands were detected by radioautography. The results indicated an 8–10-fold increase in the phosphorylation of NHP from mid-G2 to mitosis, followed by a similar-size decrease as the cells divided and entered G1. The NHP phosphorylation rate increased progressively during G2 traverse and reached a peak in mitosis. Radioautography of the separated NHP revealed eight prominent, extensively phosphorylated protein bands with molecular masses ranging from 27.5 to 100 kD. These NHP were rapidly dephosphorylated during M-G1 transition. Phosphorylation—dephosphorylation of NHP appeared to be a dynamic process, with the equilibrium shifting to phosphorylation during G2-M and dephosphorylation during M-G1 transitions. These results suggest that besides histone H1 phosphorylation, phosphorylation of this subset of NHP may also play a part in mitosis.     

Protease activity associated with loss of adhesiveness in mouse teratocarcinoma

Actin-binding proteins were assayed in various tissues using an 125I-actin overlay procedure. Four major G actin-binding proteins of 90000, 65000, 58000 and 40000 Mr have been identified. The 90K protein is present in all tissues and binds labelled actin in a calcium-sensitive manner with binding increasing 3-4-fold in the presence of Ca2+. The distribution of the 58K and 65K protein which are not Ca2+-sensitive was more variable. These proteins were present in different ratios in different tissues. 125I-actin binding to all four actin-binding proteins is specific and can be displaced by preincubation of the gels with unlabelled actin. The interaction of actin with these proteins does not appear to involve ionic forces, since binding is not diminished by varying the salt concentration. Skeletal muscle glycolytic enzymes, the lens crystallins and the histones also bind 125I-actin. This binding cannot be displaced by preincubation with unlabelled actin and is presumably non-specific. The calcium sensitivity of two highly purified actin-binding proteins, the 90K human platelet protein and villin was compared using 125I-actin. The platelet 90K protein binds actin at less than 10(-7) M free calcium, but detectable binding to villin does not occur below 10(-6) M free calcium. The ubiquity of these actin-binding proteins is clear and we conclude that the calcium-sensitive 90K actin-binding protein in all of these tissues is the same as the platelet protein.     

Relationship of adhesiveness of cells in culture with specific enzyme activity.

l-Glutamine is required by mouse teratoma cells and other mouse ascites tumor cells in the synthesis of complex carbohydrates involved in intercellular adhesion. Since l-glutamine is synthesized by the enzyme glutamine synthetase (GS) (EC 6.3.1.2), these studies were undertaken to determine if a relationship exists between cellular adhesiveness and GS specific activity. Two types of experiment were performed to examine this relationship. Actinomycin D enhanced both teratoma cell GS specific activity and cellular adhesiveness over controls in batch cultures at confluency. Also, the relationship between cell adhesiveness and GS specific activity during the cell cycle was studied using cell populations synchronized with thymidine plus Colcemid. In these synchronized cultures, cellular adhesiveness displayed an oscillatory pattern with peaks of GS specific activity occurring just prior to peaks of adhesiveness. The levels of GS specific activity and intercellular adhesiveness were enhanced by the addition of hydrocortisone, a steroid known to induce GS specific activity in mouse teratoma cells. These results demonstrate a correlation between GS specific activity and cellular adhesiveness. Based upon previous work which implicates l-glutamine in intercellular adhesion, it is not unreasonable to speculate that GS specific activity and cellular adhesiveness may be causally related.     

Morphology and microfilament organization in human blood lymphocytes : Effects of substratum and mitogen exposure

During culture in serum-containing medium normal human blood lymphocytes, depleted of phagocytic and adherent cells, do not attach to adhesive surfaces. Concanavalin A (ConA) or phytohemagglutinin (PHA) in appropriate concentrations mediate adhesion of these lymphocytes to tissue culture plastic or glass. This process consists of two phases.

1. 1. The mitogen-mediated contact with a surface induces an almost instantaneous alteration of cell shape and a simultaneous redistribution of actin in the majority of the cells.

2. 2. The initial morphological changes are accompanied by an accumulation of actin-containing material in prominent peripheral cytoplasmic outgrowths formed by the spread cells. The contact-induced spreading and rearrangement of actin are inhibited by cytochalasin B (CB) but not by colchicine or vinblastine. The distribution of detectable actin in spread lymphocytes is similar to the distribution of footprints of actin after detachment of spread cells suggesting that actin is involved in the attachment of lymphocytes to substratum. In contrast to lymphocytes on glass or tissue culture plastic which show morphological changes and redistribution of actin cells cultured with ConA on non-adhesive surfaces of bacterial plastic or poly-2-hydroxy-methacrylate do not exhibit any morphological alterations and no rearrangement of actin.

The present approach enables visualization of cytoskeletal structures in lymphocytes to an extent which is not possible using conventional methods with the cells in suspension. The results indicate that contact is a regulator of lymphocyte shape and that actin-containing structures mediate and maintain contact-induced changes of lymphocyte morphology.     

Proteolysis in isolated autophagic vacuoles from rat liver : Effect of pH and of proteolytic inhibitors

Autophagic vacuoles (AV) were purified from livers of rats which were pretreated with vinblastine (VBL) to increase the occurrence of AV. To measure proteolysis in the isolated AV rats were labelled with [¹⁴C]leucine 2 or 16 h before sacrifice. The integrity of the AV was studied by measuring the leakage of hydrolytic enzymes during incubation at various pHs. VBL causes an increase in the degradation rate of liver homogenate and isolated AV. This increase was moderate if proteolysis was measured at neutral pH, whereas adjustment to acidic pH enhanced the rate of autodegradation in the AV several-fold. This indicates that the VBL-induced AV have acquired hydrolytic enzymes either by fusion with lysosomes or possibly by the sequestering endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes forming the limiting membranes of the AV. The internal pH is not optimal for degradation in vitro of sequestered proteins, indicating insufficient acidification of the isolated AV. Lysosomotropic inhibitors, like chloroquine and propylamine, but not asparagine, impede proteolysis in isolated AV, but not more than 40%.     

Multiplication of human diploid fibroblasts in a synthetic medium supplemented with EGF, insulin, and dexamethasone

Substantial multiplication of human diploid fibroblasts (HDF) has been obtained in medium MCDB 108 supplemented with epidermal growth factor (EGF), insulin, and dexamethasone (DEX). Growth rate is somewhat slower than in serum-supplemented medium. However, large wellformed colonies can be obtained in 14 days, and sequential monolayer subculture is possible up to a total of about ten population doublings. A basal medium that has been optimized specifically for HDF is essential for such multiplication. In addition, polylysine-coated culture surfaces, low temperature trypsinization, and careful removal or neutralization of residual trypsin are also needed. The culture system contains no deliberately-added undefined components, and is chemically defined except for possible roles of contaminants in the materials that are used for its preparation.     

Thymidine triphosphate synthesis in senescent WI38 cells : Relationship to loss of replicative capacity

The effect of in vitro age on thymidine triphosphate (TTP) synthesis was assessed in WI38 cultures according to the following measurements: (1) thymidine kinase activity of broken cell preparations; (2) in situ incorporation of [3H]thymidine into acid-soluble material; and (3) total intracellular TTP content as determined by an enzymatic assay. All three parameters were maximal in exponentially proliferating populations and minimal in quiescent monolayers; no significant differences between young and old cultures were observed despite the reduced replicative capacity of the latter. The addition of serum to density-arrested cultures induced both TTP synthesis and DNA replication after a lag of approx. 12 h; although a greater percentage of young cells initiated replication as compared with old, pool sizes expanded to a similar extent in both populations. Pool expansion did not require entry into S phase; the pool sizes of control and cytosyl arabinoside-treated cultures were comparable. These findings suggest that senescent cells retain the ability to synthesize TTP, even though they are incapable of replicating DNA. Because TTP synthesis is a cell cycle-dependent event that normally begins in late G1, senescent cells might be blocked in the latter portion of the prereplicative phase and not in G0 as are quiescent cells.     

Occurrence of two different intermediate filament proteins in the same filament in situ within a human glioma cell line : An immunoelectron microscopical study

Intermediate filament systems of an established glioma cell line have been characterized by double immunofluorescence microscopy and by immunoelectron microscopy using two antibodies, one of which recognizes glial fibrillary acid protein (GFA) but not vimentin, and the second which recognizes vimentin but not GFA. The results show that glioma cells express two immunologically distinct IF polypeptides which are found in the same 10-nm filaments. Juxtanuclear caps formed after exposure of the cells to colcemid consisted of intermediate filaments composed of both GFA and vimentin. In immunoelectron microscopy both untreated cells and cells treated with colcemid show discontinuous labelling when only a single antibody is used, but continuous labelling when both antibodies are used simultaneously.     

Cartilage-derived factor (CDF) : II. Somatomedin-like action on cultured chondrocytes

Previously, we showed that fetal bovine cartilage contains a polypeptide that stimulates the incorporation of [³⁵S]sulfate into proteoglycans synthesized by rat and rabbit costal chondrocytes in culture. In this paper, we report that the cartilage-derived factor (CDF) increases not only [³⁵S]sulfate incorporation but also [³H]thymidine incorporation into rabbit chondrocytes in monolayer culture. The dose-response curve of CDF stimulation of DNA synthesis was similar in profile to that of CDF stimulation of proteoglycan synthesis. In addition, CDF markedly enhanced [³H]uridine incorporation into rabbit chondrocytes and significantly enhanced [³H]serine incorporation into total protein. These findings indicate that fetal bovine cartilage contains a factor that shows somatomedin-like activity in monolayer cultures of rabbit chondrocytes.     

Isolation of cloned variants of a rat hepatoma cell line with altered attachment to collagen, but normal attachment to fibronectin

Cloned variants of a rat hepatoma cell line have been isolated which exhibit normal attachment and spreading behavior on fibronectin substrata, but which are defective in their ability to attach to native collagen films. These clones should be useful for identifying specific macromolecules involved in the cell-to-collagen interaction.