The duration of cell cycle phases studied using 5-bromodeoxycytidine

The quantitative method is suggested to estimate cell cycle phase durations and dispersions of progress through the phases for population of cells. The method is based on the analysis of frequency of cells with different staining of sister chromatids by means of 5-bromodeoxycytidine. The process of cell population progress is described by the Gauss probability integral. The durations of the cell cycle phases are determined for cell culture of Chinese hamster.     

Analysis of the effect of the loop-tail gene in mouse embryos]

Mitotic index and parameters of the cell cycle were determined in the brain and spinal cord of 10 days old Lp/Lp and +/+ mouse embryos. The mitotic index and duration of the cell cycle periods proved to be the same for embryos of both the genotypes. The generation time of the brain and spinal cord cells both in the mutant and normal embryos is 9 hrs, durations of S- and G2-periods 6 and 1, resp., and the total duration of G1- and M-periods 2. The gene Lp does not interact with the gene Sp in double heterozygotes. The gene Lp does not manifest itself in the cells of differentiating central nervous system and the failure of the neural tube closure is not due to the changes in the proliferative activity of its cells and is a secondary gene effect.     

Characteristics of the cell cycle of matrix cells in the mouse embryo during histogenesis of telencephalon

The cell cycle of matrix cells in the telencephalon of the mouse embryo at different stages at day 10, 13, and 17 of gestation was investigated by means of ³H-thymidine autoradiography.The cell cycle time of matrix cells in the day 10 group was found to be 7.0 h, and lengthened linearly with embryonic age. The cell cycle times of day 13 and 17 groups were 15.5 and 26.0 h, respectively.The duration of G1 and S phases also lengthened linearly with embryonic age. The durations of G1 phase were 0.1, 6.8, and 13.8 h, for day 10, 13, and 17 groups, respectively, and those of S phase were 5.1, 6.9, and 10.4 h, for day 10, 13, and 17 groups, respectively. On the other hand, the durations of both G2 and M phases remained unchanged and these were 1.0 and 0.8 h, respectively, throughout the embryonic stages.It was a characteristic of the alteration of the cell cycle of the telencephalon during mouse embryonic life that not only G1 but also S phases lengthened linearly with embryonic age and both G2 and M phases remained constant.     

The cell cycle of glial cells grown in vitro: an immunocytochemical method of analysis.

Studies of cell cycles have traditionally employed [3H]- and [14C]-thymidine to label the DNA of proliferating cells and autoradiography to reveal the thymidine label. The development of antibodies to the thymidine analogue 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) has allowed the development of an immunocytochemical method analogous to the thymidine autoradiographic technique. In direct comparisons, we found that the immunocytochemical method consistently detected a larger number of proliferating cells. This suggests that it may be a more sensitive index of proliferation than thymidine autoradiography in some systems. We used the BrdU method to analyze the cycle of astroglia cultured from neonatal mouse cerebral cortex. Cells were exposed to BrdU for 1 hr to label a discrete subpopulation of proliferating cells. At 2-36 hr after the pulse, a combination of anti-BrdU immunocytochemistry and counterstaining with propidium iodide was used to identify proliferating cells. The length of the cell cycle was determined by charting the percent of BrdU-labeled mitotic cells vs time after the pulse. We found the average length of the cell cycle of astrocytes grown in vitro to be 20.5 hr. The combined G2 + M phases were 2-3 hr. These values are virtually identical with those found for glial cells in vivo, suggesting that the culture environment does not interfere with the normal control of cell cycle length.     

An easy-to-use simulation program demonstrates variations in bacterial cell cycle parameters depending on medium and temperature

Many studies are performed on chromosome replication and segregation in Escherichia coli and other bacteria capable of complex replication with C phases spanning several generations. For such investigations an understanding of the replication patterns, including copy numbers of origins and replication forks, is crucial for correct interpretation of the results.Flow cytometry is an important tool for generation of experimental DNA distributions of cell populations. Here, a Visual Basic based simulation program was written for the computation of theoretical DNA distributions for different choices of cell cycle parameters (C and D phase durations, doubling time etc). These cell cycle parameters can be iterated until the best fit between the experimental and theoretical DNA histograms is obtained. The Excel file containing the simulation software is attached as supporting information.Cultures of Escherichia coli were grown at twelve different media and temperature conditions, with following measurements by flow cytometry and simulation of the DNA distributions. A good fit was found for each growth condition by use of our simulation program. The resulting cell cycle parameters displayed clear inter-media differences in replication patterns, but indicated a high degree of temperature independence for each medium. The exception was the poorest medium (acetate), where the cells grew with overlapping replication cycles at 42 °C, but without at the lower temperatures.We have developed an easy-to-use tool for determination of bacteria's cell cycle parameters, and consequently the cells' chromosome configurations. The procedure only requires DNA distribution measurements by flow cytometry. Use of this simulation program for E. coli cultures shows that even cells growing quite slowly can have overlapping replication cycles. It is therefore always important not only to assume cells' replication patterns, but to actually determine the cell cycle parameters when changing growth conditions.     

Kinetics of the nuclear division cycle of Aspergillus nidulans.

We have analyzed the cell cycle kinetics of Aspergillus nidulans by using the DNA synthesis inhibitor hydroxyurea (HU) and a temperature-sensitive cell cycle mutant nimT that blocks in G2. HU rapidly inhibits DNA synthesis (S), and as a consequence progression beyond S to mitosis (M) is blocked. Upon removal of HU the inhibition is rapidly reversible. Conidia (asexual spores) of nimT were germinated at restrictive temperature to synchronize germlings in G2 and then downshifted to permissive temperature in the presence of HU. This procedure synchronizes the germlings at the beginning of S in the second cell cycle after spore germination. We have measured the total duration of S, G2, and M as the time required for these cells to recover from the HU block and undergo the next nuclear division. The duration of S was defined by the time course of sensitivity to reintroduction of HU during recovery from the initial HU block. The cell cycle time was measured as the nuclear doubling time, and the duration of mitosis was determined from the mitotic index. The duration of G1 was calculated by subtracting the combined durations of S, G2, and M from the nuclear doubling time, and the length of G2 was calculated by subtracting S and M from the aggregate length of S, G2, and M. We have also determined the duration of the phases of the cell cycle during the first cycle after spore germination. In these experiments spores were germinated directly in HU without first being blocked in G2. Because the durations of G1, S, G2, and M for the first cell cycle after spore germination were identical with those previously determined for spores presynchronized at the beginning of S in the second cell cycle, we conclude that dormant conidia of A. nidulans are arrested at, or before, the start of S.     

Effects of light and nitrogen limitation on the cell cycle of the dinoflagellate Amphidinium carteri

Cell cycle phase durations of cultures of Amphidinium carteriin light- or nitrogen-limited balanced growth were determinedusing flow cytometry. For both types of growth rate limitation,the increases in generation time caused by increasing degreesof limitation were due solely to expansion of the G₁ phase ofthe cell cycle. The durations of the S and G₂ + M phases wereindependent of growth rate. Furthermore, when cells were deprivedcompletely of light and nitrogen, they arrested in the G₁ phaseof the cell cycle. The results indicate that light- and nitrogen-dependentprocesses are heavily concentrated in the early part of thecell cycle, while DNA replication and cell division, once initiated,are independent of light or nitrogen supply.     

Rearrangements of Microtubules Involved in Establishing Cell Division Planes Start Immediately after DNA Synthesis and Are Completed just before Mitosis

This work concerns an aspect of spatial regulation of cell division, the development of the preprophase band (PPB) of microtubules. The PPB is significant in plant development because its position in the dividing cell indicates where the new cell wall will be inserted[mdash]an important site for control of histogenesis. We have categorized and determined the durations of stages in the development of PPBs, and have established their timing relative to the S-, G2-, and mitotic phases of the cell cycle. Roots of wheat seedlings were supplied with bromodeoxyuridine in continuous and pulse-chase treatments. Cells that were in the S-phase were identified and changes in their microtubule arrays were monitored by double immunolabeling. PPB initiation was detectable as early as the end of the S-phase as a narrowing of the preceding interphase array of microtubules. Development continued throughout G2 to a mature, narrow PPB, which existed only briefly and then eroded during the transition to the prophase mitotic spindle. The microtubule rearrangements of PPB development showed that preparation of the future site and plane of division in higher plant cells begins just after DNA replication and is completed just before mitosis.     

Simultaneous immunohistochemical detection of IUdR and BrdU infused intravenously to cancer patients

Cell cycle kinetics of solid tumors in the past have been restricted to an in vitro labeling index (LI) measurement. Two thymidine analogues, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and iododeoxyuridine (IUdR), can be used to label S-phase cells in vivo because they can be detected in situ by use of monoclonal antibodies (MAb) against BrdU (Br-3) or IUdR (3D9). Patients with a variety of solid tumors (lymphoma, brain, colon cancers) received sequential intravenous IUdR and BrdU. Tumor tissue removed at the end of infusion was embedded in plastic and treated with MAb Br-3 and 3D9 sequentially, using a modification of a previously described method. Clearly single and double labeled cells were visible, which enabled us to determine the duration of S-phase (Ts) and the total cell cycle time (Tc), in addition to the LI in these tumors. Detailed control experiments using tissue culture cell lines as well as bone marrow cells from leukemic patients are described, including the comparison of this double label technique with our previously described BrdU-tritiated thymidine technique. We conclude that the two methods are comparable and that the IUdR/BrdU method permits rapid and reliable cell cycle measurements in solid tumors.     

Method for kinetic analysis of drug-induced cell cycle perturbations.

A method is described for quantitative study of the flux of cells through the cell cycle phases in in vitro systems perturbed by chemicals, such as chemotherapeutic agents. The method utilizes cell count and the flow cytometric technique of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd) labeling, according to an optimized strategy. Cells are exposed to BrdUrd during the last minutes of drug treatment and fixed for analysis at 0, 1/3Ts, 2/3Ts, Ts, and Tc + TG1 recovery times, where Ts, TG1, Tc are the mean durations of phases S and G1 and of the whole cycle of control cells. As an example of application of the proposed procedure, a kinetic study of the effect of 1-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (CNU) on the L1210 cell cycle is described. Simple data analysis, requiring only a pocket calculator, showed that cells in phases G1 and G2M at the end of a 1 h treatment with 1 microgram/ml CNU were fully able to leave these phases but were destined to remain blocked in the following G2M phase (G1 for a minority of them). We also found that cells initially in S phase were slightly delayed in completing their S phase and that 50% of them remained temporarily blocked in the subsequent G2M phase, irrespective of their position in the S phase.     

Estimating the proportion of proliferating cells in a population.

In a population of cells that proportion which is actively engaged in the proliferative cycle is often estimated from the ratio of the observed labelling index to an expected labelling index, calculated, on the basis of all cells being in cycle, from the cell cycle phase durations and the age distribution. Ignoring the variability in cell cycle times may lead to large overestimates or underestimates in the expected labelling index. A method is given of obtaining a more accurate estimate of this variable, and hence of the proliferative proportion.     

双标记RC对KHT肉瘤的细胞周期分析(英文)

本文利用测定G_1期和中S期细胞内放射性变化的方法(RC)测出小鼠KHT肉瘤的细胞周期时相的时间及其变异系数(CV)。腹腔注射~3H-UdR后,8小时再注射~(125)I-UdR,按2小时间隔取肿瘤制成单个细胞悬液,DNA特异性染料色霉素A_3染色,根据细胞DNA含量用FACS荧光激活细胞分类器分离出纯的G_1期和中S期细胞,分别测定细胞中~(125)I和~3H的放射性,用多室数学模型根据每个细胞内~(125)I和~3H的放射性变化,计算出TG_1为6.7小时,Ts为9.0小时,TG2M为3小时,生长指数为1。     

Static Cytofluorometry and Fluorescence Morphology of Mitochondria and DNA in Proliferating Fibroblasts

The shape, distribution, and content of mitochondria in individual cells were examined during the cell cycle phases (G₀/G₁, S, G₂ mitosis) in living human fibroblasts by static cytofluorometry and fluorescence microscopy. The morphocytochemical evaluations were performed in cell cultures submitted to double supravital fluorochrome staining with Hoechst 33342 and DiOC₆ to label DNA and mitochondria, respectively. The staining modalities were based on the stability of mitochondrial labeling. The G₁ to early S phases were characterized by the presence of filamentous mitochondria, except during the early postmitotic period. During late S, G₂, and mitotic phases, mitochondrial mass reached its highest value and mitochondria became short and numerous. During the last stage of mitosis, mitochondria were distributed among daughter cells through a cytoplasmic bridge.     

THE LABELLED MITOSES CURVE AND THE ESTIMATION OF THE PARAMETERS OF THE CELL CYCLE

A method is described for fitting a 'fraction labelled mitoses'curve to a set of data points and for estimating the values of the best fitting parameters of the cell cycle. Estimates of the SE of the parameters are obtained. The method depends on the fact that when gamma distributions are used to describe the durations of the phases of the cell cycle, the Laplace transform of a FLM curve can be described by simple analytic functions enabling a least squares fit to be made to a set of Laplace transforms of the experimental data. The method is easy to program and quick to execute.     

Variation in the cell cycle time in the crypts of lieberkühn of the mouse

The durations of the phases of the cell cycle were measured at different levels in the jejunal crypts of male Balb/c mice. A mean cell cycle time of 12.3 h was found for the whole crypt. In cell positions 1 and 2, the cell cycle time was 16.7 h, and this time steadily decreased to a value of between 10 and 11 h for cell positions above 11. It is concluded that basally situated crypt cells in the mouse are cycling relatively slowly, and that they form the functional stem cell pool for the crypt. These cells may also compose the potential stem cell pool which repopulates the crypt after death of proliferative cells.     

Quantitative analysis of cell cycle phase durations and PC12 differentiation using fluorescent biosensors

Cell cycle analysis typically relies on fixed time-point measurements of cells in particular phases of the cell cycle. The cell cycle, however, is a dynamic process whose subtle shifts are lost by fixed time-point methods. Live-cell fluorescent biosensors and time-lapse microscopy allows the collection of temporal information about real time cell cycle progression and arrest. Using two genetically-encoded biosensors, we measured the precision of the G1, S, G2, and M cell cycle phase durations in different cell types and identified a bimodal G1 phase duration in a fibroblast cell line that is not present in the other cell types. Using a cell line model for neuronal differentiation, we demonstrated that NGF-induced neurite extension occurs independently of NGF-induced cell cycle G1 phase arrest. Thus, we have begun to use cell cycle fluorescent biosensors to examine the proliferation of cell populations at the resolution of individual cells and neuronal differentiation as a dynamic process of parallel cell cycle arrest and neurite outgrowth.     

Duration of the Mitotic Cycle in Cell Cultures of Haplopappus gracilis

The duration of the cell cycle and its component phases in cell cultures of Haplopappus gracilis was estimated by means of pulse labelling with tritiated thymidine and subsequent autoradiographic techniques. The total duration of the mitotic cycle was found to be 22.0 hours. The average durations of the following component phases were: the synthetic period (S) 6.4 hours, the postsynthetic period (G₂) 4.86 hours, prophase (P) 0.64 hours, metaphase (M) 0.40 hours, anaphase + early telophase (AT) 0.36 hours, the presynthetic period (G₁) 9.34 hours. The results indicate that G₁ and G₂ are the phases, which are most prolonged in populations of cultivated cells when compared to the same phases in root lip cells from the same species.     

Effects of monocerin on cell cycle progression in maize root meristems synchronized with aphidicolin

Summary Monocerin is a benzopyran fungal toxin with broad activity on plants, fungi and insects. Its effect upon cell cycle progression has been analyzed in maize roots. Meristematic cells were synchronized by treatment with aphidicolin. Flow cytometric DNA analysis and mitotic indices indicated durations of 1.5 h, 5 h, 2 h and 1 h for respectively G1, S, G2 and M phases of the normal cell cycle at 25°C. Treatment of these synchronized meristems with 0.5 mM monocerin during release after an aphidicolin block produced a short delay in S phase and then a more important delay (about 2.5 h) in entry into mitosis. Treatments for similar durations (3 h) during progression through the cycle revealed two periods of action of monocerin. The first appears to be mid to late S and the second one G2, before the transition point between G2 and M. Action on either one of these target periods could lead to a delay in the G2/M transition, but these two responses did not appear to be additive.Abbreviations APH Aphidicolin - CV Coefficient of variation - DAPI Diamidinophenylindole - DMSO Dimethyl sulfoxide - EDTA Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid - HPLC High pressure liquid chromatography - MI Mitotic index - SD Standard deviation - UV ultraviolet light     

Novel derivation of total cell cycle time in malignant cells using two DNA-specific labels.

Cell cycle kinetic analysis in vitro has conventionally been accomplished by labeling S-phase cells using two DNA specific labels given sequentially and separated from each other by a certain time interval. By counting the cells labeled by both versus those labeled by either one of the two labels, and using the formulas described by Wimber and Quastler, approximate values for durations of S-phase (Ts) and the total cell cycle (Tc) can be determined. More recently, instead of radio-isotope labeled thymidine, two thymidine analogues have been used to label S-phase cells in vivo in a variety of human tumors based on the same principles. In the present report, new formulas are proposed for the calculation of Ts and Tc which are simpler to apply since only one type of labeled cells (those exiting S-phase as identified by containing only the first label) need to be differentiated from the remaining population for Tc calculations.