Determination of Glutathione and ATP in Ganglia and Individual Neurons of Aplysia californica

The levels of two gamma-glutamyl cycle substrates, glutathione and ATP, were determined in single identified nerve cell bodies from the CNS of Aplysia californica. The glutathione content of single cells averaged 30 +/- 4.9 mumol/g protein. Glutathione levels were similar in identified cholinergic, serotonergic, and histaminergic cells, as well as in neurons whose transmitters are not yet identified. The abdominal rostral white cells, which are enriched in glycine, a component amino acid of glutathione, did not possess distinctively higher glutathione concentrations. The ATP content of single Aplysia nerve cell bodies averaged 15.0 +/- 1.5 mumol/g protein. Despite the vast chemical, anatomical, and functional heterogeneity between Aplysia central neurons, no cells were found that contained unusually high or low ATP levels.     

Flow cytometric identification of Paclitaxel-accumulating subpopulations

An immunofluorescence procedure was developed for paclitaxel quantification at the single cell level via flow cytometry in Taxus cuspidata suspension cultures. Intracellular staining was validated via fluorescence microscopy. Paclitaxel content of isolated cells and protoplasts was compared to total paclitaxel levels measured via HPLC. Paclitaxel accumulation was significantly increased by elicitation with methyl jasmonate (100 microM) on day 7 post-transfer as compared to unelicited cultures. Maximum accumulation was observed by day 12 post-transfer in both total paclitaxel (approximately 0.25 mg/L) and the percentage of paclitaxel-accumulating cells (approximately 95%). A similar trend was observed with isolated protoplasts, although protoplasts accumulated only ca. 40-75% of the paclitaxel present in single cells. In unelicited cell cultures, a small subpopulation (ca. 3-5%) of single cells was shown to accumulate paclitaxel. Although nearly all cells were observed to accumulate paclitaxel in methyl jasmonate-elicited cell cultures, a high degree of cell-to-cell variation was observed in paclitaxel content. The identified subpopulations represent targets for cell sorting, which may be applied to develop higher-accumulating cell lines. The quantification of single cell paclitaxel content is useful for characterizing production variability in cell cultures and can be utilized to develop rational strategies to increase paclitaxel production.     

Identification of high affinity receptors for vasoactive intestinal peptide on human lymphocytes of B cell lineage

Specific, high affinity receptors for vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) have been identified on a human pre-B cell line, Nalm 6, and on a human plasma cell line, Dakiki. The single class of high affinity sites exhibited a KD of 12.6 +/- 2.9 nM for VIP in Nalm 6 cells and 9.1 +/- 2.7 nM in Dakiki plasma cells. The homologous peptides, peptide histidine methionine (PHM), growth hormone releasing factor (GHRF), and secretin were all less effective than VIP in competitively inhibiting binding of 125I-VIP to Nalm 6 and Dakiki plasma membranes. The putative receptor was characterized as a 47-kDa protein using covalent cross-linking techniques and VIP stimulated adenylate cyclase in pre-B cells. Human lymphocytes of B cell lineage thus appear to express functional VIP receptors homologous to the receptor identified in T lymphoblasts, brain, pituitary, and intestine.     

Histochemical demonstration of myosin Ca2+-ATPase accumulation in primary cultures of skeletal and heart muscle cells

Summary A modified histochemical technique is described for the improved detection of myosin Ca²⁺-ATPase activity in single muscle cells in culture. The method was used to demonstrate the increase in myosin Ca²⁺-ATPase activity in differentiating chick skeletal muscle cells. Functional muscle cells were also positively identified in the heterogeneous cell population of primary hamster heart cell cultures. An age-dependent increase in the number of cells with high levels of myosin ATPase activity in mitotically arrested heart cell cultures was shown. Maturation of individual muscle cells could thus be evaluated.     

Purification from conditioned medium and chemical identification of a factor that inhibits somatic embryogenesis in carrot

Somatic embryogenesis is strongly inhibited in cultures of carrot (Daucus carota L.) cells when the cell density is high. The inhibition is caused by factors that are released by cells into the medium of such cultures. In this study, we purified and identified one of the inhibitory factors found in the medium of high-cell-density cultures of carrot cells. The inhibitory factor with the strongest apparent activity was purified by fractionation with ethylacetate, chromatography on an octadecylsilyl (ODS) silica gel-column and HPLC. The inhibitory factor had a single peak of absorbance at 280 nm and was identified as 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol by mass spectrometry and 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopy. Authentic 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol strongly inhibited the formation of somatic embryos at a concentration equal to that in high-cell-density cultures. These results suggest that 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol is a major factor that accumulates in high-cell-density cultures of carrot cells and inhibits somatic embryogenesis.     

Morphological identification of live gonadotropin,growth-hormone,and prolactin cells in goldfish (Carassius auratus) pituitary-cell cultures

To better understand neuroendocrine regulation and the intracellular mechanisms mediating pituitary-hormone release, it is necessary to study the physiology of identified single cells. We have developed a system to identify gonadotropin, growth-hormone, and prolactin cells in primary cultures of goldfish pituitary cells. Using Nomarski differential interference-contrast microscopy, the unique morphologies of discrete subpopulations of cells were characterized. To aid in the initial characterization of different pituitary-cell types, a discontinuous Percoll density-gradient cell-separation technique was developed. This method provided fractions enriched with functional gonadotropin, growth-hormone, and prolactin cells. The morphology of each cell type was initially characterized in enriched fractions of immunofluorescently labelled cells using differential interference-contrast microscopy. The cell type-specific morphologies were then confirmed in live pituitary-cell cultures. Gonadotropin, growth-hormone, and prolactin cells were correctly identified in live pituitary-cell cultures. Gonadotropin, growth-hormone, and prolactin cells were correctly identified in live mixed cultures in 92, 94, and 100% of the trials, respectively. The ability to directly identify cells in primary cultures allows the physiological study of identified single cells with minimal pretreatment.     

Molecular cloning and characterization of a nuclear androgen receptor activated by 11-ketotestosterone

Although 11-ketotestosterone is a potent androgen and induces male secondary sex characteristics in many teleosts, androgen receptors with high binding affinity for 11-ketotestosterone or preferential activation by 11-ketotestosterone have not been identified. So, the mechanism by which 11-ketotestosterone exhibits such high potency remains unclear. Recently we cloned the cDNA of an 11-ketotestosterone regulated protein, spiggin, from three-spined stickleback renal tissue. As spiggin is the only identified gene product regulated by 11-ketotestosterone, the stickleback kidney is ideal for determination of the mechanism of 11-ketotestosterone gene regulation. A single androgen receptor gene with two splicing variants, belonging to the androgen receptor-β subfamily was cloned from stickleback kidney. A high affinity, saturable, single class of androgen specific binding sites, with the characteristics of an androgen receptor, was identified in renal cytosolic and nuclear fractions. Measurement of ligand binding moieties in the cytosolic and nuclear fractions as well as to the recombinant receptor revealed lower affinity for 11-ketotestosterone than for dihydrotestosterone. Treatment with different androgens did not up-regulate androgen receptor mRNA level or increase receptor abundance, suggesting that auto-regulation is not involved in differential ligand activation. However, comparison of the trans-activation potential of the stickleback androgen receptor with the human androgen receptor, in both human HepG2 cells and zebrafish ZFL cells, revealed preferential activation by 11-ketotestosterone of the stickleback receptor, but not of the human receptor. These findings demonstrate the presence of a receptor preferentially activated by 11-ketotestosterone in the three-spined stickleback, so far the only one known in any animal.     

高效构建卵清白蛋白scFv噬菌体文库及其筛选

目的:建立一种高效噬菌体文库构建方法,获得抗鸡卵清蛋白(ovalbumin,OVA)的单链抗体(scFv)噬菌体展示文库,筛选鉴定获得OVA单链抗体。方法:用OVA蛋白免疫Balb/C小鼠,选取血清抗体效价高的小鼠提取脾脏RNA,利用RT-PCR方法扩增获得小鼠重链和小鼠轻链基因。通过无缝连接酶一步将小鼠重链基因、轻链基因和linker DNA连接起来,插入噬菌体表达载体中,构建OVA scFv噬菌体展示文库。测定文库容量,对文库进行富集筛选,ELISA鉴定阳性克隆,测序后构建真核表达载体,转入Expi-CHO悬浮细胞进行真核表达,利用Western blot进行鉴定。结果:成功获得库容量为1. 2×10~7cfu的OVA scFv噬菌体展示文库,并从中筛选出8个阳性克隆,选取效价最高的2号克隆,在Expi-CHO悬浮细胞中表达获得可溶性抗体。结论:建立了一种高效构建scFv噬菌体文库的方法,筛选获得高结合活性的OVA单链抗体,并成功进行了真核表达,为OVA ELISA检测试剂盒的研制奠定了基础。     

IFN-alpha in vivo enhances tumor necrosis factor receptor levels on hairy cells

Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is a preplasma B cell neoplasia that is characterized by monocytopenia and responds to IFN-alpha therapy. We investigated the expression of receptors for TNF-alpha, a monocyte-derived cytokine, on the surface of hairy cells from seven HCL patients before and after treating them with IFN-alpha. Iodinated TNF-alpha binding experiments showed the presence of high affinity TNF-alpha receptors in six patients, but no specific binding was detected in the seventh. Scatchard's analysis revealed the presence of a single class of receptors, with 130 to 1200 sites/cell (mean 420) and Kd values of 0.37 to 0.89 nM. The TNF-alpha-R complex was identified by cross-linking as a single band of 94 kDa. Treatment of the patients with 3 x 10(6) U of IFN-alpha 2a markedly increased the number of TNF-alpha-R at 24 or 48 h, without changing the Kd. In the patient who lacked receptor expression on his tumor cells, high affinity TNF-alpha-R were detected at 48 h after IFN injection. These results suggest that in hairy cells, IFN-alpha can interact in vivo with TNF-alpha, through the modulation of TNF-R.     

Evidence for diversity in transcriptional profiles of single hematopoietic stem cells

Hematopoietic stem cells replenish all the cells of the blood throughout the lifetime of an animal. Although thousands of stem cells reside in the bone marrow, only a few contribute to blood production at any given time. Nothing is known about the differences between individual stem cells that dictate their particular state of activation readiness. To examine such differences between individual stem cells, we determined the global gene expression profile of 12 single stem cells using microarrays. We showed that at least half of the genetic expression variability between 12 single cells profiled was due to biological variation in 44% of the genes analyzed. We also identified specific genes with high biological variance that are candidates for influencing the state of readiness of individual hematopoietic stem cells, and confirmed the variability of a subset of these genes using single-cell real-time PCR. Because apparent variation of some genes is likely due to technical factors, we estimated the degree of biological versus technical variation for each gene using identical RNA samples containing an RNA amount equivalent to that of single cells. This enabled us to identify a large cohort of genes with low technical variability whose expression can be reliably measured on the arrays at the single-cell level. These data have established that gene expression of individual stem cells varies widely, despite extremely high phenotypic homogeneity. Some of this variation is in key regulators of stem cell activity, which could account for the differential responses of particular stem cells to exogenous stimuli. The capacity to accurately interrogate individual cells for global gene expression will facilitate a systems approach to biological processes at a single-cell level.     

High spontaneous mutation frequency in shuttle vector sequences recovered from mammalian cellular DNA.

The recombinant shuttle vector pSV2gpt was introduced into V79 Chinese hamster cells, and stable transformants expressing the Escherichia coli gpt gene were selected. Two transformants carrying tandem duplications of the plasmid at a single site were identified and fused to simian COS-1 cells. Plasmid DNA recovered from the heterokaryons was used to transform a Gpt- derivative of E. coli HB101, and the relative frequency of plasmids carrying a mutation in the gpt gene was determined. The high frequency of Gpt- plasmids (ca. 1%) was similar to that observed when plasmid was recovered from COS-1 cells which had been transfected with pSV2gpt. Most of the mutant plasmids had rearrangements in the region containing the gpt gene.     

The cellular composition of hemopoietic spleen colonies

The cellular composition of individual hemopoietic spleen colonies has been studied using techniques which tested primarily for cell function rather than cell morphology. Erythroblastic cells were recognized by their capacity to incorporate radioiron, granulocytic cells by their content of peroxidase-positive material, and hemopoietic stem cells by their ability to form spleen colonies in irradiated hosts. It was found that, 14 days after the initiation of spleen colonies, the distribution of these cell types among individual colonies was very heterogeneous, but that most colonies contained detectable numbers of erythroblasts, granulocytes and colony-forming cells. An appreciable proportion of the cells in the colonies could not be identified as any of these three cell types. No strong correlations between numbers of erythroblasts, granulocytes and colony-forming cells in individual colonies were observed, though there was a tendency for colonies containing a high proportion of erythroblasts to contain a low proportion of granulocytes, and for colonies containing a high proportion of granulocytes to contain a higher proportion of colony-forming cells. An analysis of colonies which contained cells bearing radiation-induced chromosomal markers indicated that 83–98% of the dividing cells within 14-day spleen colonies were derived from single precursors.     

Measurement of histamine in individual rat peritoneal mast cells by capillary zone electrophoresis with electrochemical detection

Capillary zone electrophoresis was employed for the analysis of histamine in single rat peritoneal mast cells using an amperometric detector with a carbon fiber microdisk bundle electrode. In this method, individual mast cells and then 0.02 mol/l NaOH as a lysing solution are injected into the front end of the separation capillary by electromigration with an aid of a inverted microscope. A cell injector was constructed. Using it, the cell suspension was static, when a voltage for injecting single cells was applied. Histamine in single rat peritoneal mast cells have been identified. Quantitation has been accomplished through the use of calibration curves. The mean amount of histamine for nine cells is 95.8 fmol, which is consistent with the literature value.     

Identification of tick periviscerokinin, the first neurohormone of Ixodidae: single cell analysis by means of MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry

The first peptidergic neurohormone from the ticks Ixodes ricinus and Boophilus microplus has been identified by using a combination of immunocytochemistry and mass spectrometric analysis of single cells. The novel peptide (Ixori-PVK, PALIPFPRV-NH2) shows a high sequence homology with members of the insect periviscerokinin/CAP2b peptides that in insects are involved in the regulation of water balance. The function of this peptide in ticks is still unknown, but these pests consume large amounts of blood in a single blood meal which is a challenge for the regulation of diuretic processes. Thus, the novel peptide may be involved in one of the key physiological processes in ticks. High energy collision-induced dissociation was successfully used to distinguish between Leu/Ile ambiguities in single cell preparations. This is the first successful de novo sequencing of a peptide from single cell preparations of arthropods.     

红花单细胞克隆的建立

KT,2,4-D 及 NAA 能提高红花(Cathamus tinctorius)细胞克隆平板培养的植板率。这三种激素对细胞生长的最佳搭配是2,4-D2.0mg/l,KT0.3mg/l,NAA 0.5mg/1。红花细胞悬浮继代培养代数不同,其植板率相差甚远,用悬浮培养第三代的细胞做材料最好,其植板率是第一代悬浮培养细胞做材料的8.5倍。红花细胞克隆的条件培养的植板率是普通平板培养的3.6倍。固-液双层培养的植板率是普通平板培养的4.7倍。对已建立的红花细胞克隆进行生长速率的比较表明,生长最漫的克隆的生长速率为3.08g/g/35天,生长最决的克隆的生长速率高达23.33g/g/35天。     

Setting up a Single Cell Clone Lines of Cathamus tinctorius

Different concentrations of 2,4-D, KT and NAA were able to influence the plating efficiency (PE) of single cells of Cathamus tinctorius. The best combination of these three hormones for the growth of single cells was 2.0, 0.3 and 0.5 mg/l, respectively. The PE was obviously different as cells came from different generations of suspension subculture and the third generation of suspension culture cells, had the best PE which 8.5 times as high as that of the first generation of suspension culture cells. Single cell growth in condition medium or in solid-liquid dual layer culture was better than in normal plate culture. The PE of single cell clones in condition culture was 3.6 times as high as in normal plate culture. The PE of single cell clones in solid-liquid dual layer culture was 4.7 times as high as in normal plate culture. Many clones from single cells were set up. Different growth rates were observed in different single-cell clones. The lowest growth rate in these clones was 3.08 g/g/35 days, the highest growth rate in these clones was 23.33 g/g/35 days.     

TCR‐β repertoire analysis of antigen‐specific single T cells using a high‐density microcavity array

The antigen specificity of cytotoxic T cells, provided by T‐cell receptors (TCRs), plays a central role in human autoimmune diseases, infection, and cancer. As the TCR repertoire is unique in individual cytotoxic T cells, a strategy to analyze its gene rearrangement at the single‐cell level is required. In this study, we applied a high‐density microcavity array enabling target cell screening of several thousands of single cells for identification of functional TCR‐β gene repertoires specific to melanoma (gp100) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigens. T cells expressing TCRs with the ability to recognize fluorescent‐labeled antigen peptide tetramers were isolated by using a micromanipulator under microscopy. Regularly arranged cells on the microcavity array eased detection and isolation of target single cells from a polyclonal T‐cell population. The isolated single cells were then directly utilized for RT‐PCR. By sequencing the amplified PCR products, antigen‐specific TCR‐β repertoires for gp100 and human cytomegalovirus antigens were successfully identified at the single‐cell level. This simple, accurate, and cost‐effective technique for single‐cell analysis has further potential as a valuable and widely applicable tool for studies on gene screening and expression analyses of various kinds of cells. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2010;106: 311–318. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.