KINETIC ANALYSIS OF CELL SIZE AND DNA CONTENT DISTRIBUTIONS DURING TUMOR CELL PROLIFERATION: EHRLICH ASCITES TUMOR STUDY

In order to study the growth dynamics of proliferating and non-proliferating cells utilizing discrete-time state equations, the cell cycle was divided into a finite number of age compartments. In analysing tumor growth, the kinetic parameters associated with a retardation in the growth rate of tumors were characterized by computer simulation in which the simulated results of the growth curve, the growth fraction, and the mean generation time were adjusted to fit the experimental data. The cell age distribution during the period of growth was obtained and by a linear transformation of the state transition matrices, was employed to specify the cell size and DNA content distributions. In an application of the model, the time-course behavior of cell cycle parameters of Ehrlich ascites tumor is illustrated, and the parameters important for the transition of cells in the proliferating compartment to the non-proliferating compartment are discussed, particularly in relation to the G₁-G₀ and G₂-G₀ transitions of non-cycling cells as revealed by the variation of cell size distribution.     

Calculation of Steel's cell loss factor and of the parameters of cellular kinetics for a population with an exponential growth of the cell number and cell death at G0 phase with a probability equal to 1

The method of calculation of three cell kinetics parameters (the Steel's cell loss factor phi, the proliferative pool Pc, and the mean number m of the proliferating cells after mitotic division of one cell) was shown to be the same for the exponential growth state of cell number with cell death at the G0-phase, and for the exponential growth state with cell death occurring immediately after mitosis. The value of the mean number delta of non-proliferating cells that appeared after mitotic division of one cell is different for these two models of the exponential growth state with the equal values of the other three parameters (phi, Pc, and m). A method is proposed for calculating the parameter delta on the data of the percentage of labeled cells obtained in the experiments with continuous cultivation of cells in the nutrient medium containing 3H-thymidine. The kinetics of cell line HL-60 (the experimental data of Foa et al., 1982) can be described at the first approximation, by a model of the exponential growth state with the cell death at the G0-phase, with Pc = 0.80, phi = 0.24, m = 1.61, delta = 0.39, and the life time of the non-proliferating cells tQ = 24 hours.     

Mathematical description and analysis of cell cycle kinetics and the application to Ehrlich ascites tumor

The linear and nonlinear aspects of the dynamics of the cell cycle kinetics of cell populations are studied. The dynamics are represented by difference equations. The characteristics of cell population systems are analyzed by applying the model to Ehrlich ascites tumor. The model applied for the simulations of the growth of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells incorporates processes of cell division, cell death, transition of cells to resting states and clearance of dead cells. Comparison of the results obtained with the model and the experimental data suggests that the duration of the mean generation time of the proliferating EAT cells increases with aging of the tumor. An attempt is made to relate the prolongation of cell mean generation time with processes of cell death and dead cell clearance. Studying the transition of cells to the resting states, it becomes apparent that in fact transition of proliferating cells to the resting states occurs somewhere close to the end of the cell cycle and with a rate that varies with the age of the tumor. Time course behavior of the cell age, cell size, and cell DNA distribution with aging of the tumor are obtained. Variations in average size and average DNA contents are determined.     

The migration of cells in multicell tumor spheroids

A mathematical model is proposed to explain the observed internalization of microspheres and 3H-thymidine labelled cells in steady-state multicellular spheroids. The model uses the conventional ideas of nutrient diffusion and consumption by the cells. In addition, a very simple model of the progress of the cells through the cell cycle is considered. Cells are divided into two classes, those proliferating (being in G1, S, G2 or M phases) and those that are quiescent (being in G0). Furthermore, the two categories are presumed to have different chemotactic responses to the nutrient gradient. The model accounts for the spatial and temporal variations in the cell categories together with mitosis, conversion between categories and cell death. Numerical solutions demonstrate that the model predicts the behavior similar to existing models but has some novel effects. It allows for spheroids to approach a steady-state size in a non-monotonic manner, it predicts self-sorting of the cell classes to produce a thin layer of rapidly proliferating cells near the outer surface and significant numbers of cells within the spheroid stalled in a proliferating state. The model predicts that overall tumor growth is not only determined by proliferation rates but also by the ability of cells to convert readily between the classes. Moreover, the steady-state structure of the spheroid indicates that if the outer layers are removed then the tumor grows quickly by recruiting cells stalled in a proliferating state. Questions are raised about the chemotactic response of cells in differing phases and to the dependency of cell cycle rates to nutrient levels.     

Suppression of tumor cell susceptibility to monocyte-induced cell death by growth-inhibitory signals generated during monocyte/tumor cell interaction

In a recently established serum-free in vitro system it has been demonstrated that the susceptibility of various human tumor cells to the induction of cell death by elutriated human monocytes is critically dependent on tumor cell density and growth state. In the present work it is shown by flow cytofluorometric analysis of bromodeoxyuridine incorporation rates and of expression of the proliferation-associated nuclear antigen Ki-67, that tumor cells forced out of the cell cycle into the quiescent state (G0), which can be accomplished by treatment with supernatant from monocyte/tumor cell interaction cultures, are no longer susceptible to the induction of cell death by monocytes. This suggests that processes essential for the lytic pathway cannot take place in quiescent cells. It is furthermore demonstrated that tumor cells are driven into G0 during interaction with monocytes and that the rate of transit from G1 to G0 increases with increasing monocyte dosage. This explains our earlier finding that maximum rates of tumor cell death are induced at rather low monocyte:tumor cell ratios of around 1:2 and that lysis is suppressed at higher monocyte dosages (van der Bosch et al.:Exp Cell Res 187:185-192, 1990). The potential significance of these findings for the supposed function of mononuclear phagocytes in tumor defense lies in the notion that tumor cells driven into G0 might escape this control and that signals involved in monocyte/tumor cell-interaction contribute to the accumulation of tumor cells in G0.     

Matrix simulation of duodenal crypt cell kinetics. II. Cell kinetics following hydroxyurea.

The perturbed cellular kinetics of the duodenal crypt following a single injection of hydroxyurea (HU) have been simulated using matrix algebra. Following the direct effects of HU (S-phase cytotoxicity and a G1/S block) the crypt cell kinetics undergo several alterations. Previously documented alterations include: (1) a temporary partial synchronization of the surviving cells, (2) a shortening of the cell-cycle transit time, and (3) recruitment of normally non-proliferating cells into active proliferation. These conclusions have been extended by constructing several different complex but theoretically possible recovery models and the validity of each of these models has been evaluated by simulating the following biological data: the number of cells in the S and M-phase of the cell cycle, total viable cells per crypt, and the per cent labeled mitosis and the number of labeled cells following 3H-TdR injections at 9 and 21 hr after HU treatment. The model which showed visually the best overall agreement with all sets of the data was chosen as "most probable' and leads to the following interpretations. Immediately after the end of the HU block (i.e. 5 hr after HU injection) the modal cell-cycle transit time is reduced to 8 hr. By 17 hr after HU, the modal transit time is increased to 10 hr. Repopulation of the proliferating compartment, i.e. restoration of the proliferating compartment back to the control value, occurs between 12 and 17 hr after HU injection and probably consists of both recycling of the proliferating cells (i.e. they do not progress up into the non-proliferating compartment) and recruitment of the non-proliferating cells into active proliferation. Also, the rate at which the non-proliferating cells move onto the villi is reduced temporarily. The overall recovery process results in a crypt which temporarily is larger than control and produces villi cells at a rate which is faster than the control. The time when the crypt size and villus cell production rate return to normal cannot be established using the available data.     

DNA topoisomerase I and II activities during cell proliferation and the cell cycle in cultured mouse embryo fibroblast (C3H 10T1/2) cells

We have used C3H 10T1/2 cells to examine the regulation of topoisomerase activities during cell proliferation and the cell cycle. The specific activity of topoisomerase I was about 4-fold greater in proliferating (log phase) cells than in non-proliferating (confluent) cells. In synchronized cells, the bulk of the increased activity occurred during or just prior to S phase, depending upon the method of synchronization. A smaller increase in activity also occurred during G1 phase. The increase in activity during S phase was not altered by a hydroxyurea block at the G1/S phase boundary indicating that it is not directly coupled to DNA synthesis and is not the result of topoisomerase I gene dosage. The increase was inhibited by blocking cells at mid-G1 phase using isoleucine deprivation. Thus, the increase in activity during S phase is dependent on events occurring during mid- to late G1 phase. In contrast to the changes in topoisomerase I levels, the specific activity of topoisomerase II showed no detectable difference in proliferating vs non-proliferating cells. In addition, no detectable difference in topoisomerase II specific activity was seen in G1, S and M phases of the cell cycle. The differences in the activity profiles of the topoisomerases I and II during the cell cycle suggest that the two activities are regulated independently and may be required for different functions.     

Heterogeneity in tumor cell energetic metabolome at different cell cycle phases of human colon cancer cell lines

In this present study, the efficacy of metabolomics as a tool for tumor cell energetics for in vitro cell cultures was demonstrated with full competence for the first time by elucidating the anabolic and energy-yielding segments of glycolysis and glutaminolysis, which constitute a part of energy metabolism in tumor cells. By synchronizing colon cancer cells SW480 and SW620 in culture, the metabolome specific to cell cycle phases was analyzed using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. At the G₁/S transition of the cell cycle (i.e. transition from cell growth to duplication of genetic material), the majority of the energy production was realized by glycolysis through a high channeling of glucose carbons towards lactate. During the late S phase, the majority of energy was produced by glutaminolysis through a high channeling of glutamine carbons towards lactate, while the glucose carbons were channeled towards bio-synthetic pathways. These results indicate that the metabolism of proliferating cells is heterogeneous throughout the cell cycle and can be better interpreted on the basis of different cell cycle phases. These findings could be exploited for the development of a tool for tumor diagnosis as well as for targeting tumors.     

Bcl-xL/Bcl-2 coordinately regulates apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and cell cycle entry

Bcl-x(L) and Bcl-2 inhibit both apoptosis and proliferation. In investigating the relationship between these two functions of Bcl-x(L) and Bcl-2, an analysis of 24 Bcl-x(L) and Bcl-2 mutant alleles, including substitutions at residue Y28 previously reported to selectively abolish the cell cycle activity, showed that cell cycle delay and anti-apoptosis co-segregated in all cases. In determining whether Bcl-2 and Bcl-x(L) act in G(0) or G(1), forward scatter and pyronin Y fluorescence measurements indicated that Bcl-2 and Bcl-x(L) cells arrested more effectively in G(0) than controls, and were delayed in G(0)-G(1) transition. The cell cycle effects of Bcl-2 and Bcl-x(L) were reversed by Bad, a molecule that counters the survival function of Bcl-2 and Bcl-x(L). When control and Bcl-x(L) cells of equivalent size and pyronin Y fluorescence were compared, the kinetics of cell cycle entry were similar, demonstrating that the ability of Bcl-x(L) and Bcl-2 cells to enhance G(0) arrest contributes significantly to cell cycle delay. Our data suggest that cell cycle effects and increased survival both result from intrinsic functions of Bcl-2 and Bcl-x(L).     

Mitogenic and antimitogenic effects of cholera toxin-mediated cyclic AMP levels in 3T3 cells

The effect of time-controlled exposures to cholera toxin (CT) on intracellular levels of cyclic AMP (cAMP) and on the proliferative response of serum-stimulated 3T3 cells was investigated. Continuous exposure to CT caused up to 8-fold raises in cAMP content and inhibited DNA replication by delaying G1-S transition and by reducing the fraction of cells committed to DNA replication. In contrast, short exposures to CT during G0-G1 transition increased the fraction of cells responding to serum stimulation and potentiated the serum-induced morphological changes in the cell monolayer. A short exposure during late G1 phase, however, inhibited the onset of DNA synthesis but had little effect on ongoing DNA replication. The results indicate that cAMP has diverse and opposite effects on two defined restriction points in cell cycle control. Cyclic AMP was positively involved in the acquisition of the state of competence by quiescent cells (G0-G1 transition) but antagonistic on the onset of DNA replication (G1-S transition) in committed cells. The observations reconcile a number of controversial conclusions regarding the role of cAMP in cell cycle control.     

白花蛇舌草豆甾醇对肝癌细胞的体内外抑制作用及对其增殖周期、凋亡的影响

目的:研究白花蛇舌草豆甾醇(stigmasterol from Hedyotis diffusa willd.,SHD)对人肝癌细胞SMMC-7721、BEL-7402的体外抑制作用,对肝癌H22的体内抑制作用及对其增殖周期、凋亡的影响。方法:MTT法评价SHD对人肝癌细胞SMMC-7721、BEL-7402的抑制率变化规律。昆明雄性小鼠60只,随机取10只为正常对照组,余接种H22瘤株,随机分为模型对照组、5-FU阳性对照组(30mg/kg)和高中低剂量SHD给药组(剂量分别为15、30、60mg/kg),腹腔给药10 d后,比较各组瘤重抑制率、H22细胞周期分布、凋亡率。结果:SHD对SMMC-7721、BEL-7402细胞具有体外抑制作用;SHD显著抑制H22肿瘤,增加G0-G1期细胞比例,降低G2/M期细胞比例,促进肿瘤细胞凋亡。结论:SHD在体外、体内均具有抑制肝癌细胞的作用,此作用与阻滞肿瘤细胞增殖周期,促进肿瘤细胞凋亡有关。     

The importance of G0 in the site of action of interferon in the cell cycle

It has been suggested that the ‘metabolic event’ controlling the transition of quiescent cells into the proliferating phase is a possible target for the growth inhibitory action of interferon [1]. Direct evidence of this mechanism of action has been hindered by the lack of techniques for the quantification of quiescent cells in a tumor population. The present report applies a recently available technique [2] to investigate more closely the site of interferon action in the G1 part of the cell cycle, and to emphasize that a G0 population is a necessary but not sufficient determinant of a cell line's response to growth inhibition by interferon.     

Expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)/cyclin during the cell cycle

The expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), also called cyclin, was quantified in the cell lines SP2/0 and MOLT-4 and in mouse splenocytes induced to proliferate in vitro with mitogens. Autoantibody from a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus was used to label PCNA in cell suspensions after the cells had been fixed and permeabilized. In the same cells DNA was stained by propidium iodide. The cells were then analysed by flow cytometry for PCNA and DNA content. The PCNA profiles in proliferating spleen cells and the cell lines were similar. Most G0-G1 cells did not express significant amount of PCNA. A dramatic increase in PCNA immunofluorescence was observed in late G1 cells, and further increases were observed in S-phase cells. G2-M cells showed a reduced level of PCNA immunofluorescence relative to S-phase cells but were still elevated relative to G0-G1 cells. Proliferating cells arrested at the G1-S boundary by exposure to cytosine arabinoside showed an increased PCNA immunofluorescence as compared to unstimulated cells.     

Cell size, cell cycle and transition probability in mouse fibroblasts

This paper describes the relationship between cell size and cell division in two situations. In the first, quiescent cells were sorted on the basis of cell size using a fluorescence-activated cell sorter and returned to culture. The results of this type of experiment are compatible with the idea that once cells have completed a size-dependent lag, the rate of entry of cells into S phase is controlled by a rate-limiting random event (or transition).The second kind of experiment follows the kinetics of complete cell cycles in rapidly proliferating cells whose mothers had been sorted on the basis of cell size. The cells born of small mother cells have longer cycle times than cells derived from large mothers. The difference in the cycle time of these two classes was due to differences in the B phase of the cell cycle [containing S, G2, M and part of G1 (G1B)], transition probability being the same in both size classes. Our results show that S, G2 and M are unaffected by size, thus confining the effect of size to G1B. It seems probable that the variability of B phase in cloned cell populations is partly due to variations of cell size at division, and correlations between the cycle times of sister cells result because sibling cells are more similar in size than unrelated cells. The major factor controlling cell division in mouse fibroblasts is shown, however, to be the transition probability; size has a more minor role.     

NGX6 gene inhibits cell proliferation and plays a negative role in EGFR pathway in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common cancer in South China but is rare in other parts of the world. A novel NPC-related gene was isolated by location candidate cloning strategy, whose expression was down-regulated in NPC. This gene was designated human NGX6 (Genbank accession AF188239) and encoded a predicted protein of 338 amino acids that harbors an EGF-like domain. The effects of NGX6 on cells from human NPC cell line HNE1 were investigated. The cells transfected with NGX6 had a markedly high expression of NGX6, leading to significant decrease in cell proliferation and the capability to form colonies in soft agar, delaying the G0-G1 cell cycle progression. Flow cytometry assay indicated that the expression of cyclin D1 significantly decreased in NGX6-transfected HNE1 cells as well as cyclin A and E. There was a delay in tumor formation and a dramatic reduction in tumor size when cells transfected with NGX6 were injected into nude mice. In another way, we found NGX6 played a negative role in EGFR Ras/Mek/MAPK pathway. We propose that NGX6, as an EGF-like domain gene, could delay cell cycle G0-G1 progression and thus inhibit cell proliferation by negatively regulating EGFR pathway in NPC cells and down-regulating the expression of cyclin D1 and E.     

Terminally differentiated postmitotic tumor cells in a rat rhabdomyosarcoma cell line

A permanent rat rhabdomyosarcoma cell line (BA-HAN-1C) has been established, the phenotype of which is characterized by the coexistence of undifferentiated mononuclear cells and differentiated multinuclear myotube-like giant cells. The failure of attempts to separate these two cell types by repeated recloning procedures indicates their close histogenetic relationship and suggests that differentiation in this tumor proceeds in a similar manner to that in normal striated muscle where postmitotic myotubes arise from mononuclear myoblasts by fusion. The morphologically undifferentiated mononuclear tumor cells were shown to be actively proliferating and to incorporate thymidine methyl-3H(3H-TdR). The myotube-like giant cells neither incorporated 3H-TdR nor underwent mitosis or exhibited any clonogenic potential. After retransplantation into syngenic rats, tumor growth was markedly retarded when the tumor cell inoculum contained a high percentage of myotube-like giant cells. These data show that proliferative activity in this rhabdomyosarcoma cell line is confined to the mononuclear tumor cell compartment, the multinuclear myotube-like giant cells having withdrawn from the cell cycle and represent terminally differentiated postmitotic cells. This cell line should provide a valuable tool for further investigation of coherent aspects of proliferation and differentiation using various differentiation inducers.     

Image cytometry of progesterone receptor expression during the cell cycle in the MCF-7 cell line

Progesterone receptors (PR) appear to be distributed in a heterogeneous way in mammary tumor cells. The study presented here was designed to examine if heterogeneity of PR expression is cell-cycle dependent. Immunofluorescence techniques were used to label PR on the MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line and image cytometry was used to analyze the PR expression during G0 (Ki-67 antigen-negative cells), G1, S, and G2/M cell-cycle phases. A second PR, BrdU, and DNA analysis was performed to study PR expression in the S-phase (BrdU-positive cells). Our results show that PR synthesis occurs preferentially during the G0-G1 transition and that PR levels are constant during the G1-G2 transition. The PR expression appears to be cell-cycle related and may therefore explain the heterogeneity of PR expression. However, the possibility that PR heterogeneity may be linked to the existence of PR-negative subclones cannot be ruled out.     

Combining Gompertzian growth and cell population dynamics

A two-compartment model of cancer cells population dynamics proposed by Gyllenberg and Webb includes transition rates between proliferating and quiescent cells as non-specified functions of the total population, N. We define the net inter-compartmental transition rate function: Phi(N). We assume that the total cell population follows the Gompertz growth model, as it is most often empirically found and derive Phi(N). The Gyllenberg-Webb transition functions are shown to be characteristically related through Phi(N). Effectively, this leads to a hybrid model for which we find the explicit analytical solutions for proliferating and quiescent cell populations, and the relations among model parameters. Several classes of solutions are examined. Our model predicts that the number of proliferating cells may increase along with the total number of cells, but the proliferating fraction appears to be a continuously decreasing function. The net transition rate of cells is shown to retain direction from the proliferating into the quiescent compartment. The death rate parameter for quiescent cell population is shown to be a factor in determining the proliferation level for a particular Gompertz growth curve.