In vivo administration of low-dose human interleukin-2 induces lymphokine-activated killer cells for enhanced cytolysis in vitro

We have examined the effect of the intradermal administration of IL-2 on the generation of natural killer (NK) cell and lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cell activity. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) obtained from borderline lepromatous (BL) and lepromatous leprosy (LL) patients and normal volunteers prior to and after IL-2 injection were stimulated in vitro with IL-2 and their cytolytic activities compared against 51Cr labeled target K562 cells, Daudi cells, and monocytes. Before IL-2 administration, PBMC obtained from BL/LL patients and normal volunteers possessed similar levels of NK cell activity indicating that the NK cell activity of the BL/LL patients was intact. LAK cell activity was induced with IL-2 in vitro in both BL/LL patients and in normal volunteers. The level of LAK cell activity in BL/LL patients was, however, suboptimal. A single intradermal dose of 25 micrograms IL-2 had no effect on the phenotype of circulating mononuclear cells in either patients or normal volunteers. However, 6-12 days after IL-2 injection and subsequent restimulation of the PBMC with IL-2 in vitro, cytolytic activity of LAK cells obtained from the BL/LL patients was enhanced while cells from normal volunteers expressed the same high levels of activity as observed before IL-2 injection.     

含镉量子点的毒性研究进展

含镉量子点是典型的量子点,近年来受到广泛研究。含镉量子点的潜在毒性是其在生物成像及生物医药方面应用和发展的关键制约因素,因此,对其毒性作用的研究具有重要意义。目前对含镉量子点的体外毒性研究主要集中在人肝癌细胞(HepG2)、神经分泌细胞(PC12)等细胞实验及斑马鱼胚胎体外培养实验。体内毒性研究包括小鼠等动物实验。这些研究证实,量子点对HepG2等细胞系和小鼠、贻贝等动物均具细胞毒性。研究者们普遍认为,量子点是通过释放其组成中的重金属,诱导生物体产生活性氧自由基,进而引发细胞凋亡或自噬,但对量子点的具体毒性作用机制并不完全清楚。该文对含镉量子点的体内和体外毒性研究工作进展进行了综述,包括含镉量子点对肝肾细胞、神经细胞、血液细胞及免疫细胞等体外毒性研究工作,对陆生及水生动物等的体内毒性研究工作,旨在更好、更全面地评估含镉量子点的毒性,为今后对量子点的毒性作用机制研究提供方向,促进含镉量子点在生物医学方面的发展和应用。     

Tumor-associated antigenic differences between the primary and the descendant metastatic tumor cell populations

The existence of antigenic differences between cell populations in the local growth of the 3LL tumor (L-3LL) and its lung metastases (M-3LL) was studied. Normal C57BL/6 spleen cells sensitized in vitro for 5 days against L-3LL monolayers lysed preferentially L-3LL targets but not M-3LL tumor cell targets. Conversely, anti-M-3LL-sensitized lymphocytes killed M-3LL targets more efficiently than they killed L-3LL targets. Furthermore, spleen cells from mice bearing subcutaneous L-3LL tumors were significantly more cytotoxic to L-3LL targets than to M-3LL targets and vice versa. M-3LL cells were found also to be more resistant in vitro and in vivo to natural killer cells than were L-3LL tumor cells. M-3LL cells were more resistant than L-3LL cells to hybrid resistant mechanisms when they were inoculated into F₁ (C3Heb X C57BL/6) or F₁ (BALB/c X C57BL/6) mice. Anti-M-3LL lymphocytes generated both in vitro and in vivo, but not anti-L-3LL lymphocytes, admixed with L-3LL or M-3LL tumor cells and inoculated into footpads of syngeneic recipients suppressed the development of lung metastases. These results suggest that metastatic cells are indeed phenotypic variants of the local growing tumor cell populations. Presumably, these variants are selected for their capacity to home to and grow in the lungs, and for their resistance to specific immune effects initially evoked against the local tumor and to nonspecific natural killer cells. These data may prove to be of importance with respect to any rational approach to the problem of immunotherapy.     

CLASPs attach microtubule plus ends to the cell cortex through a complex with LL5beta

CLASPs are mammalian microtubule-stabilizing proteins that can mediate the interaction between distal microtubule ends and the cell cortex. Using mass spectrometry-based assays, we have identified two CLASP partners, LL5beta and ELKS. LL5beta and ELKS form a complex that colocalizes with CLASPs at the cortex of HeLa cells as well as at the leading edge of motile fibroblasts. LL5beta is required for cortical CLASP accumulation and microtubule stabilization in HeLa cells, while ELKS plays an accessory role in these processes. LL5beta is a phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-triphosphate (PIP3) binding protein, and its recruitment to the cell cortex is influenced by PI3 kinase activity but does not require intact microtubules. Cortical clusters of LL5beta and ELKS do not overlap with focal adhesions but often form in their vicinity and can affect their size. We propose that LL5beta and ELKS can form a PIP3-regulated cortical platform to which CLASPs attach distal microtubule ends.     

Cell engineering and genetic approaches to development of human embryonic stem cell models for genetic disorders

We introduced a novel approach for the establishment of genetically modified hESC lines, and have shown that mutant hESC may be derived from affected embryos after preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) screening for a particular single gene disorder. Here we describe the procedure of embryo and cell manipulation, their diagnostic layout, and the analysis of the efficiency of embryo development and hESC establishment, as well as the developments for hESC derivation in animal-product-free conditions. Our study shows that a high efficiency of hESC derivation (50%) is especially crucial when working with rare and unique resources such as genetically screened embryos necessary for the derivation of hESC lines that represent specific genetic diseases.     

Establishment of Immortalized Human Erythroid Progenitor Cell Lines Able to Produce Enucleated Red Blood Cells

Transfusion of red blood cells (RBCs) is a standard and indispensable therapy in current clinical practice. In vitro production of RBCs offers a potential means to overcome a shortage of transfusable RBCs in some clinical situations and also to provide a source of cells free from possible infection or contamination by microorganisms. Thus, in vitro production of RBCs may become a standard procedure in the future. We previously reported the successful establishment of immortalized mouse erythroid progenitor cell lines that were able to produce mature RBCs very efficiently. Here, we have developed a reliable protocol for establishing immortalized human erythroid progenitor cell lines that are able to produce enucleated RBCs. These immortalized cell lines produce functional hemoglobin and express erythroid-specific markers, and these markers are upregulated following induction of differentiation in vitro. Most importantly, these immortalized cell lines all produce enucleated RBCs after induction of differentiation in vitro, although the efficiency of producing enucleated RBCs remains to be improved further. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the feasibility of using immortalized human erythroid progenitor cell lines as an ex vivo source for production of enucleated RBCs.     

The infrared spectrum of human glioma cells is related to their in vitro and in vivo behavior

The present research investigates whether infrared spectra can be related to the biological characteristics of glioma cell lines. We used nine human glioma cell lines for which a series of in vitro and in vivo biological features had already been established [Glia 36 (2001) 375] and were able to show that their characteristic infrared spectra reflect their in vitro migration (i.e., motility and invasiveness) properties and their in vivo aggressiveness. More particularly, the infrared data evidenced correlations at the level of the lipid/protein ratio. These relationships were found to be tissue-dependent when controlled on seven pancreatic carcinoma cell lines. We also showed that oligodendroglial and astrocytic tumor cells, whose identification remains difficult, can easily be identified by their infrared spectra in the lipid acyl chain region as well as in the nucleic acid region. We concluded that infrared spectroscopy could usefully complement information provided by more conventional diagnostic and prognostic (e.g., morphological and molecular) approaches.     

Prevention of mycoplasma contamination in leukemia-lymphoma cell lines.

The contamination of cell lines with mycoplasmas is certainly one of the major problems occurring in cultured cells. Analyzing more than 460 human leukemia-lymphoma (LL) cell lines, we found that 28% of the cultures were mycoplasma-positive. Mycoplasmas can produce extensive changes, growth arrest and cell death in the infected cultures. While mycoplasma-infected cell lines can be truly cleansed from the contaminants, all the efforts would be in vain when the cells return to a mycoplasma-infested environment or are handled with unsuitable culture practices. Hence, the main focus of mycoplasma control should be on preventing cell culture contamination. Mycoplasmas can be introduced through several routes including culture reagents and laboratory personnel. Cross-contamination from infected cell cultures within one laboratory continues to be the major source for the spread of mycoplasma. Specific technical protocols and cell culturing guidelines may be followed in order to minimize the risk of mycoplasma contamination of cell lines. This "good culture practice" is of utmost importance as faulty cell culture techniques appear to be also the main reason for the high incidence of cross-contaminated LL cell lines which according to our experience using DNA fingerprinting of some 500 LL cell lines is about 15%.     

Epithelial cells activate plasmacytoid dendritic cells improving their anti-HIV activity

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) play a major role in anti-viral immunity by virtue of their ability to produce high amounts of type I interferons (IFNs) and a variety of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in response to viral infections. Since recent studies have established that pDCs accumulate at the site of virus entry in the mucosa, here we analyzed whether epithelial cells were able to modulate the function of pDCs. We found that the epithelial cell lines HT-29 and Caco-2, as well as a primary culture of human renal tubular epithelial cells (HRTEC), induced the phenotypic maturation of pDCs stimulating the production of inflammatory cytokines. By contrast, epithelial cells did not induce any change in the phenotype of conventional or myeloid DCs (cDCs) while significantly stimulated the production of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10. Activation of pDCs by epithelial cells was prevented by Bafilomycin A1, an inhibitor of endosomal acidification as well as by the addition of RNase to the culture medium, suggesting the participation of endosomal TLRs. Interestingly, the cross-talk between both cell populations was shown to be associated to an increased expression of TLR7 and TLR9 by pDCs and the production of LL37 by epithelial cells, an antimicrobial peptide able to bind and transport extracellular nucleic acids into the endosomal compartments. Interestingly, epithelium-activated pDCs impaired the establishment of a productive HIV infection in two susceptible target cells through the stimulation of the production of type I IFNs, highlighting the anti-viral efficiency of this novel activation pathway.     

A method for prolonged survival of primary cell lines

Summary We have established a means for prolonged survival of primary cell cultures and establishment of continuous cell lines without genetic manipulations. Primary cultures of granulosa cells degenerate rapidly in vitro by a spontaneous onset of apoptotic cell death. Earlier attempts to circumvent this limitation have included transformation with oncogenes, spontaneous immortalization of primary cultures, and chemical carcinogenesis. We have found that addition of a complex of growth-promoting compounds, carrier proteins, and factors isolated from porcine follicular fluid to standard culture medium allows, reproducibly, the establishment of continuous porcine primary granulosa cell lines with genetic stability. This same supplement allows the prolonged survival of primary cell cultures derived from adult rat ovaries. The rat ovary primary cultures consisted of mixed phenotypes, including epithelial, neuron-like, and mesenchymal cell types. Numerous cells stain positive for alkaline phosphatase in these cultures. Other primary cell lines were established from embryonic rat liver and from adult rat lungs, using the same supplement. The survival effect is reversible because cells degenerate when the supplement is removed. Therefore, the cell lines have neither acquired properties of a tumor cell line nor have they been immortalized by a virus infection. We expect that our approach will open the door to prolonged survival of other primary cell types.     

Clustered ergot alkaloids modulate cell-mediated cytotoxicity.

Dimers of agroclavine (1) and terguride (2), as well as a series of terguride oligomers, for example trimers (5, 6), tetramer (7), hexamer (8) and functionalized tergurides for further complex clustering were synthesized. Terguride oligomers were screened for their direct cellular toxicity on lymphoma cell lines in vitro and for their immunomodulating activities, represented by the natural killer (NK) cell-mediated cytotoxicity, as the most sensitive screening marker during immune responses. Dimers linked via aromatic spacer showed a high toxicity (1 microM) to lymphoma cells, which was not detected in other derivatives. In vitro and ex vivo experiments performed on mouse spleen lymphocytes in the presence of terguride oligomers demonstrated an immunosuppressive effect of dimers with aromatic spacer (4c-d) and NK cell stimulatory effect of terguride hexamer (8) and trimer with aliphatic spacer (5c). There is a considerable evidence that indolic part of molecule contributes to immunosuppressive action of terguride, which is potentiated in dimers carrying aromatic linker. This effect can be reversed by higher oligomerization of the respective alkaloids.     

Analysis of blastocyst culture of discarded embryos and its significance for establishing human embryonic stem cell lines

In recent years, applications of stem cells have already involved in all domains of life science and biomedicine. People try to establish human embryonic stem cell lines (hESCs) in order to carry out hESC‐related studies. In this study, we explored what embryos are conducive to the establishment of hESCs. The discarded embryos from in vitro fertilization–embryo transfer (IVF–ET) cycles were sequentially incubated into blastocysts, and then the inner cell mass (ICM) was isolated and incubated in the mixed feeder layer. The cell lines which underwent serial passage were identified. After a total of 1,725 discarded embryos from 754 patients were incubated, 448 blastocysts were formed with 123 high‐quality blastocysts. The blastulation rate was significantly higher in the discarded embryos with non‐pronucleus (0PN) or 1PN than in the discarded embryos with 2PN or ≥3PN. The blastulation rate of the D3 embryos with 7–9 blastomeres was higher. Among the originally incubated 389 ICMs, 22 hESCs with normal karyotype were established, and identified to be ESCs. Therefore, in establishing hESCs with discarded embryos, D₃ 0PN or 1PN embryos with 7–9 blastomeres should be first selected, because they can improve high‐quality blastulation rate which can increase the efficiency of hESC establishment. J. Cell. Biochem. 113: 3835–3842, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Metabolism of very low density lipoproteins in genetically lean or fat lines of chicken

Metabolism of very low density lipoproteins (VLDL) has been compared in fat (FL) and lean (LL) lines of chicken. When refed after fasting, plasma triglyceride concentration reached a significantly higher plateau in FL, although their feed consumption was lower than in LL. Newly synthesized VLDL were studied using anti-lipoprotein lipase antibodies. VLDL triglyceride (TG) concentrations were increased by antibody injection and reached a higher concentration in FL plasma than in LL. Newly synthesized VLDL exhibited a similar lipid composition. Fatty acid profiles were also similar when birds ingested a very low fat diet. Comparison of in vitro affinity of lipoprotein lipase and VLDL from both genotypes did not reveal any difference in Km and Vmax. [14C]labelled VLDL from fat or lean donors were prepared and were injected into chickens from both genotypes. Fractional rate constants did not differ between lines. However, as plasma VLDL-TG pools were very different, plasma turnover was higher in FL than in LL. About 3-fold more VLDL-TG were incorporated in abdominal fat of FL than in LL. Difference in fattening between both genotypes seem to be due to both increased VLDL secretion and VLDL removal from plasma without difference in VLDL characteristics.     

Decline of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation during in vitro senescence in human diploid fibroblasts

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase activity was determined at various times during the in vitro life span of two human diploid fibroblast-like cell lines of different donor ages. The cell lines differed in their ability to transfer ADP-ribose, with cells from an embryonic donor exhibiting 2 to 3 times the activity found in cells obtained from a newborn donor. The activity in both cell lines decreased by 30-60% as the cells moved through their in vitro life spans. The decline could not be attributed to increases in glycohydrolase or the leakage of polymerase from older cell preparations. Enzyme activation with DNase I indicated that similar levels of enzyme were present in both cell lines at all in vitro ages. These results indicate that although poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation is inversely related to donor age as well as in vitro age the decrease is in response to other factors which change with increasing age.     

Involvement of somatically acquired ecotropic viruses in the immunogenicity of nude-transplanted NIH/3T3 transformed cell lines.

Immunogenic tumor variants were previously derived after transplantation in vivo into nude mice of NIH/3T3-transformed cell lines. Nude-passaged cell lines were rejected by immunocompetent H-2q NIH mice, were recognized by specific CTL clones, and expressed new retroviral Ag. The aim of the present work was to investigate whether somatically acquired proviral sequences were present in the genome of nude-passaged cells and to test directly for a causative relationship between murine leukemia virus (MuLV) expression and immunogenicity. Southern blot analysis of PstI-digested DNA indicated that in contrast to the parental NIH/3T3 transformed cell lines (pT, T12N/5a, NS-1) all the nude-passaged immunogenic variants (pT-nude, T12N/5a-nude, NS-1-nude) contained newly acquired ecotropic-related proviruses. Immediately after in vitro establishment, these tumors displayed multiple integration sites as assessed by analysis of 3' proviral-cellular junctions. Long term in vitro culture of one of the cell lines (pT-nude) resulted in a cell line (pT-nude/vitro) that was clonal or oligo-clonal with respect to viral integration. Northern blot analysis established that the new proviruses were actively transcribed in all the immunogenic variants. To assess whether the somatically acquired ecotropic proviral sequences encode for target structures recognized by specific CTL, obtained after immunization of NIH mice with pT-nude, the parental cell line pT was transfected with plasmids containing the entire AKV MuLV genome, the cloned AKV gag or env genes. Screening of transfectants for their ability to stimulate the production of TNF by anti-pT-nude effectors indicated that cells transfected with the entire ecotropic virus or with MuLV-env gene products could be recognized by an NIH anti-pT-nude CTL line and NIH anti-pT-nude Kq-restricted CTL clones as well as the immunizing target pT-nude.     

Development and partial characterization of heliothine cell lines from embryonic and differentiated tissues

The goal of this study was to generate cell lines from a variety of insect tissues that could be useful for developing in vitro assays with tissue-specific properties. In this article, we describe the establishment of new cell cultures from differentiated (primarily neural) and undifferentiated tissues (primarily embryonic) and their initial characterization. Cell lines were established from the following tissues of the budworm, Heliothis virescens, and the bollworm, Helicoverpa zea: larval ventral nerve cords (4 lines), larval midguts (1 line), adult ovaries (1 line), and embryonic tissues (11 lines). Cell lines were primarily characterized by morphological examination and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (both deoxyribonucleic acid amplification fingerprinting and inter-simple sequence repeats PCR).     

Primary culture and immortalization of human fallopian tube secretory epithelial cells

Primary human fallopian tube secretory epithelial cell (FTSEC) cultures are useful for studying normal fallopian tube epithelial biology, as well as for developing models of fallopian tube disease, such as cancer. Because of the limited ability of primary human FTSECs to proliferate in vitro, it is necessary to immortalize them in order to establish a cell line that is suitable for long-term culture and large-scale in vitro experimentation. This protocol describes the isolation of FTSECs from human fallopian tube tissue, conditions for primary FTSEC culture and techniques for establishing immortal FTSEC lines. The entire process, from primary cell isolation to establishment of an immortal cell line, may take up to 2 months. Once established, immortal FTSECs can typically be maintained for at least 30 passages.