Dna Synthesis and Cell Generation Pattern of Chronic Lymphatic Leukaemia Lymphocytes Stimulated By Phytohaemagglutinin

A detailed analysis of the cell recruitment and of the cell generation pattern of normal lymphocytes and chronic lymphatic leukaemia (CLL) lymphocytes, simulated by phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), was performed by the bromodi-oxyuridine (BUdR) Hoechst technique. It was found that in normal cultures the majority of cells divide two or three times, producing an early peak of DNA synthesis, while only a few cells grow exponentially and pass through many rounds of replication. On the contrary, the majority of CLL responsive cells grow exponentially, producing a delayed peak of DNA synthesis, while cells which divide only two or three times are scarce or absent. No difference in the minimal cell cycle length of the normal and the CLL exponentially growing population was found. In addition, a cell population recruited into cycle for the first time 5–6 days following PHA stimulation was observed in normal cultures but not in CLL cultures.     

STUDIES ON LYMPHOCYTES

Some of the time parameters of the cell cycle in bovine thoracic duct lymphocytes have been estimated by analysing labeled mitoses curves, and by double labeling. The two methods gave similar estimates of T_s. Thus, T_s measured directly from labeled mitoses curves varied from 4 to 6 hr, while the estimates from double labeling were 4.8 and 4.5 hr. T _G measured directly from labeled mitoses curves was 5 hr, and estimates of T_G from the values of T_s ranged from 6.3 to 7.7 hr. The present data confirm the short generative cycle of large thoracic duct lymphocytes. Extracorporeal irradiation of the lymph (ECIL) had no detectable effect on the cell cycle or the fractional production rate of the lymphocytes. However, the calculated absolute production was reduced following ECIL, due to a decrease in the absolute number of cells present. The grain count over mitoses after ECIL was approximately one-half that found before ECIL.     

CYTOKINETICS OF RAT TRACHEAL EPITHELIUM STIMULATED BY MECHANICAL TRAUMA

Mild abrasion of rat tracheal epithelium results in irreversible damage to the superficial cells and stimulates the viable basal cells to participate in a nearly synchronous wave of DNA synthesis and mitosis. For the growth population as a whole, DNA synthesis started at 14 hr after injury and persisted for 16 hr. The duration of S in individual cells was determined autoradiographically by identifying the time at which a second pulse of DNA precursor (¹⁴C-TdR) was no longer incorporated by cells labelled with ³H-TdR at the onset of S. S was found to be 8–9 hr long. It was also determined that cells entering S at later times synthesized DNA for the same 8–9 hr period. T_G2 was calculated to be 21/2–31/2 hr by subtraction of T_s and 1/2T_M from the period from onset of DNA synthesis to metaphase. By making a second denuding lesion adjacent to the first injury, the cells were stimulated through at least another period of S. At the peak of the second wave of DNA synthesis (50 hr after injury) ¹⁴C-TdR was present in the same cells which had incorporated ³H-TdR administered at the mid-point of the preceding synthetic phase. The 28-hr interval between these two peaks of synthesis is the measure of cell cycle duration for these regenerating tracheal epithelial cells.     

The differentiation of T-lymphocytes. III. The behaviour of subpopulations of mouse thymus cells in short-term cell culture.

Seven human cultured lymphoblastoid cell lines (CLL) were divided into two major groups based on studies of their cell cycle characteristics and surface Ig. CLL I (lines CL, MW, HH and TM) had generation times ranging from 25–40 hr, S phase times of 10–12 hr, G₂ + M times of 6–8 hr, and demonstrated sharp differences between the percentage of SIg(+) cells in different phases of the cell cycle. Line TM was particularly discordant with the highest percentage of SIg(+) cells in G₂ + M. CLL II (lines PS, JR and HT) demonstrated generation times ranging from 18–21 hr, S phase times of 7–10 hr and G₂ + M phase times of 2 hr. In this second group, two of the three CLLs had no differences between cells taken from different points of the cell cycle. DNA synthesis and cell density could not be correlated with either of the above major parameters, i.e. cell cycle times or SIg expression. The results suggest that human CLLs fall into subgroups in which specific patterns of cellular and immune functions may predominate.     

STUDIES ON THE REGULATION OF LYMPHOCYTE PRODUCTION IN THE MURINE THYMUS AND SOME EFFECTS OF A CRUDE THYMUS EXTRACT

Cell proliferation in the murine thymus was studied in vivo under normal conditions and from 0 to 24 hr after a single injection of a water-soluble extract from mouse thymus, mouse spleen, and mouse skin. The thymus extract reduced during the first 24 hr the mitotic activity 40%; the spleen extract had a weaker inhibitory effect. The skin extract had no such effect. The thymus extract and spleen extract inhibited the flux of cells into the S phase 0–8 hr after the injection of the extract. Initial labelling index was also reduced in this period. Eight hours after injection of the thymus or spleen extracts the inhibited cells initiated DNA synthesis. The rate of progression of blast cells through the cell cycle was normal 24 hr after the injection of the extracts. It was deduced from the analysis that the thymus extract inhibits processes triggering Go/Gi cells into DNA synthesis, the inhibition of G₂ efflux being of minor importance. Finally a model for the regulation of proliferating thymic blast cells and the emigration of small lymphocytes from the thymus is proposed.     

The effect of lead on the cell cycle in the root meristem ofAllium cepa L.

Summary Allium cepa (L.) adventitious roots were treated with lead (2.5 mg of Pb²⁺ [from Pb(NO₃)₂] per dm³) for 30–72 h. The cell cycle was studied by pulse labeling with [³H]thymidine. Mitotic activity kinetics, occurrence of disturbed mitoses (c-mitoses), and level of DNA synthesis were examined. It was found that lead prolonged the cell cycle and that cells in two phases of the cycle, G₂ and S, differed in their sensitivity to lead. Cells in G₂ were more sensitive; lead lengthened their cycle by 216% and disturbed the course of cell division by causing c-mitoses. Cells in S phase were less sensitive. Their cell cycle was longer by 55%. They went through their G₂ phase without major disturbances, mitosis in these cells was normal. During treatment ofA. cepa with lead, its destructive effects on cells were exerted only during the first few hours (around 6 h) of incubation. That is when the inhibition of mitotic activity, numerous disturbances of cell division, a decline in the number of cells synthesizing DNA, and a lower level of DNA synthesis were observed. As the incubation continued, the above processes were found to return to normal. In the discussion, data are presented supporting the hypothesis that during the initial period of exposure ofA. cepa to lead, this metal enters both the root apoplast and symplast, exerting a destructive effect on cells, while later, lead penetrates only into the root apoplast, and in this way remains harmless to cells.     

THE LYMPHOCYTES OF CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA: THEIR PROLIFERATION AND CELL CYCLE KINETICS

Lymphocytes obtained from CLL patients exhibited a delayed and reduced response to PHA when cultured in diffusion chambers. DNA synthesis (8–10 hr) and general time (15–19 hr) of the late-developing CLL blasts were consistent with normal values ( T _s: 8–10 hr; T _c: 14–17 hr). However, the G₂ period of CLL blasts seemed more variable, and their mitotic index during the response at 5–6 days was 30–50% of the values determined for normal blasts during their peak response at 2–3 days.     

Phorbol ester induces tyrosine phosphorylation in normal and abnormal human B lymphocytes

Tumor-promoting phorbol esters have been found to bind and activate phospholipid/Ca2+-dependent or C-kinase, and several of their effects, including proliferative responses in lymphocytes, have been assumed to be related to activity of this enzyme. However, phorbol esters have also recently been found to stimulate tyrosine phosphorylation in certain other cell types, and we therefore studied tyrosine kinase activity in normal and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) peripheral blood B lymphocytes stimulated with phorbol ester. High levels of tyrosine labeling were observed in unstimulated cells with major endogenous substrates of 75K, 66K, 43K, and 28K in Triton-soluble material, and of 56K to 61K in Triton-insoluble material; this profile was essentially similar in normal and CLL B cells. Treatment with phorbol ester for time periods varying from 20 min to 48 hr led to qualitative increases in tyrosine labeling of these phosphoproteins, as measured both in vitro and in intact cells "in vivo." Although the relative abundance of tyrosine phosphorylation as a percentage of total labeling was variable due to concomitant enhancement of serine and threonine phosphorylation, exogenous peptide substrate assays confirmed the increased tyrosine kinase activity quantitatively. Enhanced tyrosine phosphorylation was succeeded or accompanied in both normal and abnormal B cells by cellular activation, as judged by increased [3H]thymidine uptake, and terminal differentiation of CLL cells. These findings provide further evidence implicating tyrosine kinases in B lymphocyte activation.     

SPECIFIC INHIBITION OF CELL PROLIFERATION IN THE MOUSE INTESTINE BY AN AQUEOUS EXTRACT OF RABBIT SMALL INTESTINE

An aqueous extract was prepared from the mucosa of rabbit small intestine by homogenization and centrifugation at 105,000 g. After precipitation with ammonium sulfate, the 0–50 fraction (F₁) and the supernatant (F₂) were collected, dialysed against a phosphate buffer and tested on rats in vitro and mice in vivo. The F₁ fraction was found to inhibit thymidine incorporation into rat intestinal DNA in vitro, but this effect was not found to be tissue specific (liver, kidney). Two hours after a single injection of F₁ (10 mg protein content), the uptake of tritiated thymidine was decreased in jejunal and colonic DNA in mice. This effect was maximal between 2 and 4 hr and totally reversible after 7 hr; this effect was found in neither the kidney nor the testis. A slowing of cellular migration was also noticed in the jejunum and the colon. Conversely, the F₂ fraction did not inhibit the synthesis of jejunal and colonic DNA either in vitro or in vivo. Our results suggest that the F₁ fraction of the aqueous extract of rabbit small intestine contains one or more substances which may act either on intestinal DNA synthesis or on the G₁–S transition of the cellular cycle in the mouse intestine. This reversible and specific intestinal action appears to inhibit cell proliferation and presents several of the characteristics defining a chalone.     

The in vitro response of thymic lymphocytes of the pig to phytohemagglutinin

The response of thymic lymphocytes of the pig to phytohemagglutinin was studied with H³ thymidine in cultures, from 0–72 hours. At the beginning of the culture period 6–18% of lymphocytes were in DNA synthesis. during the first 24 hours a sharp decrease in the number of DNA synthesizing cells was observed in both pha and control cultures, although pha cultures consistently showed small but significantly greater numbers of DNA synthesizing cells. this was followed by a definite peak in DNA synthesis and mitotic response of a minority of the cells in pha cultures between 48–54 hours, whereas in control cultures activity ceased. in addition, a small proportion of the progeny of initially DNA synthesizing medium sized lymphocytes was apparently stimulated by pha and found in mitosis by 48 hours. It was concluded that the thymus contains a fraction of lymphocytes, not in the mitotic cycle, which are capable of being transformed by pha to mitotic activity. the data also suggests some stimulation of cells already in the mitotic cycle.     

DNA synthesis in developing two-cell mouse embryos

Mated CF1 (Carworth) female mice were sacrificed at 2 hr intervals between 29 and 43 hr after human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) administration. One- and two-cell eggs were incubated in [³H]thymidine for 1 hr. Labeled two-cell embryos were first observed at 31 hr and reached a maximum number at 35 hr. The S period is approximately 6 hr in duration. Although both blastomeres were labeled in most cases, embryos with only one labeled blastomere were more numerous at later times. In vitro labeling was corroborated by injecting [³H]thymidine directly into the isthmic portion of the oviduct. Embryos usually complete the second cleavage division 18–20 hr after onset of DNA synthesis. The cell cycle at the two-cell stage is thus characterized by a G₁ of close to 1 hr, a 6 hr S, and a G₂ of about 12 hr.Embryos developing in vitro frequently fail to progress beyond the two-cell stage. The block is not due to absence of DNA synthesis since these embryos were found to incorporate [³H]thymidine.     

Age-related alterations in cell division and cell cycle kinetics in control and trimethyltin-treated lymphocytes of human individuals

Trimethyltin chloride induced age-related suppression of cell division and cell cycle kinetics in human peripheral blood lymphocytes cultured in RPMI 1640 culture medium supplemented with human AB serum, phytohemagglutinin and bromodeoxyuridine. A high frequency of M₁ (first metaphase) cells was seen in cultures treated with a high dose (C ₁ = 1.0 g per culture) and in lymphocytes from donors in the age range 40–70 years. The delay in cell division and cell cycle kinetics may indicate a longer duration in DNA synthesis induced by trimethyltin chloride in aged lymphocytes.     

Early replicating DNA in heterochromatin ofPlagiochila ovalifolia (Liverworts)

The timing of DNA replication of heterochromatin in malePlagiochila ovalifolia was investigated by the use of³H-thymidine autoradiography. The estimated duration of the mitotic cycle was as follows: S period, 19 hr: G₂+prophase, 10 hr; G₁+meta-, ana-, telophase, 5 hr; total mitotic cycle, 34 hr. The first appearance of silver grains over the chromosomes was observed at 8 hr after the beginning of pulse labelling at which time the silver grains were only over the euchromatic regions, not over the heterochromatic regions. This labelling pattern was also observed at 10 to 15 hr. The heterochromatic regions having more grains than the euchromatic regions were observed at 20 to 25 hr. These results show that the DNA of the heterochromatin of this species is replicated earlier than the euchromatin.     

The duration of DNA synthetic (S) period in Zea mays: A genetic control

Summary The nuclear cycle among several diverse genetic stocks of Zea mays root meristem cells was compared and it was found that there were no significant differences among the nuclear cycle durations and its component phases. The durations of various periods of their mitotic cycles were studied by autoradiography of cells pulse-labelled with tritiated thymidine (3H-TdR). The total nuclear cycle was 10 to 11.5 hours and mitosis was 0.81 to 1.34 hours at 25°C. The S period is the longest interval (50% of the total time) of the nuclear cycle; of the rest of the cycle, G₂ is longer than G₁ or mitosis among all stocks. The constancy of the nuclear cycle among several stocks was adduced as evidence for strict genetic control of the cycle. Furthermore, it is demonstrated the DNA synthesis period is not dependent upon the amount of DNA present.This study is based on a portion of the dissertation presented by the senior author to the Graduate School, The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada, in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Ph. D. degree     

Cell cycle synchrony in the developing chicken lens epithelium.

Synchronous oscillations of DNA synthesis and histone 2B mRNA expression occur during normal development of 13- to 16-day-old embryonic chicken lens epithelium. At least four cycles were observed with peak values of DNA synthesis and histone 2B mRNA 5 to 10 times greater than baseline values. Fourier analysis of DNA synthesis identified a statistically significant oscillatory period of 18 hr, the approximate length of the cell cycle at this age. Minor components of 7-9 and 12 hr were also identified in the data sets. Lenses labeled with 3H-thymidine and analyzed by autoradiography at 13.8 days of embryogenesis revealed more than twice the number of labeled nuclei at this time than in lenses labeled 9 hr later; histone 2B mRNA followed this same pattern. These findings demonstrate that a significant population of cells is synchronized with respect to the cell cycle in the developing lens epithelium in ovo. The temporal pattern of mitosis may be the basis of the fiber cell architecture and consequent lens transparency.     

Ribonuclease deficiency in lymphocytes of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)

Ribonuclease (RNase) activity in the lymphocytes of 20 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients and 10 normal subjects was studied. It was found that in the lymphocytes of the control subjects the RNase activity could be detected in the pH range 4.5 to 8.6, inclusive. The RNase activity versus pH profile of normal lymphocytes consists of an acid RNase peak at pH 6.5 and alkaline RNase peak at pH 7.8. When treated with pCMB an inhibitor-bound RNase activity was revealed. The peak of this activity lay between pH 6.7 to 7.0. Liberating the inhibitor-bound RNase activity changed the RNase activity-pH profile, yielding one peak curve with a maximum at pH 7.0. RNase activity in CLL lymphocytes was remarkably lower than that in normal lymphocytes. The acid RNase in 80% of the CLL patients was lower by a factor of ten. Likewise, a many fold decrease in alkaline RNase activity (in some cases down to the zero level) was observed in CLL lymphocytes. However, in 70% of CLL patients, a level of the inhibitor-bound RNase activity was similar to that found in normal lymphocytes. In 20% of the studied CLL patients, a remarkable decrease in both free alkaline and inhibitor-bound RNase activity was observed. When poly-C was used as a substrate for determining RNase activity, a decrease to approximately 15% in CLL lymphocytes was observed, when poly-U was used instead of poly-C, a decrease to 65% was found only as compared with normal lymphocytes. This may suggest that CLL lymphocytes are deficient in a poly-C specific RNase which displays its activity within a neutral and alkaline pH range.     

Cellular functions are required for the synthesis and integration of avian sarcoma virus-specific DNA.

We have used two experimental strategies to test the role of cellular functions in the synthesis and integration of virus-specific DNA in cells infected by avian sarcoma virus.First, quail embryo fibroblasts, placed in stationary phase (G₀) by prolonged serum starvation, did not support the efficient synthesis of viral DNA during the first 24–48 hr after infection. Synthesis of viral DNA was impaired according to at least two parameters: the amount of DNA was diminished, particularly the amount of the plus-strand DNA (identical in polarity to the viral genome); and the length of both minus and plus strands was reduced in the stationary cells. In parallel cultures fed with fresh serum, over two thirds of the cells were able to reenter the cell cycle within 24 hr, and viral DNA of normal size was synthesized.Second, density labeling of viral and cellular DNA with BUdR was used to determine whether cellular DNA synthesis was required for integration of viral DNA. In both quail embryo fibroblasts released from G₀ by serum replacement and randomly growing duck embryo fibroblasts, viral DNA was integrated only into cellular DNA replicated during the infection.Our results indicate that serum-starved cells lack a factor (or factors) required for the efficient and complete synthesis of ASV-specific DNA. We have not been able to establish whether such factor(s) are present in growing cells only during S phase. Integration of viral DNA appears to require cellular DNA synthesis; this may be due to a requirement for a factor (or factors) present in adequate concentration only during S phase or to a requirement for the structural changes in cellular DNA that accompany replication.     

Specific Inhibition of Cell Proliferation In the Mouse Intestine By an Aqueous Extract of Rabbit Colon

Aqueous extracts from rabbit colon, kidney, testis and small intestinal mucosa were prepared by homogenization and centrifugation at 105,000 g. After precipitation with ammonium sulphate. the 0–50 fraction (F₁) and the supernatant (F₂) were collected, dialysed against a phosphate buffer and tested on mice in vivo. 1 hr after a single injection of F₁ (15 mg content) from colon, the uptake of tritiated thymidine was decreased in jejunal and colonic DNA in mice. This effect, maximal after 3 hr and totally reversible after 7 hr, was found in neither the kidney nor the testis. the F₁ fractions of non-digestive organs (kidney, testis) were also found to exert a significant inhibition on thymidine incorporation into intestinal DNA in vivo. F₁ fractions of intestinal contents, prepared under the same conditions, exerted no significant effects on DNA synthesis in mouse intestine. Conversely, the colon F₂ fraction did not inhibit the synthesis of jejunal and colonic DNA in vivo. A slowing of cellular migration was also noticed in the jejunum and colon of mice injected with colon or small intestine F₁, as ascertained radioautographically by determining the position of the leading edge of the labelled cells in jejunal or colonic F₁-injected mice. Our results suggest that the F₁ fraction of the aqueous extract of rabbit colon contains one or more substances, which may act either on intestinal DNA synthesis or on the G₁-S transition of the cellular cycle in the mouse intestine. This reversible and tissue-specific intestinal action appears to inhibit cell proliferation and presents several of the characteristics defining a chalone, as does the action of small intestinal F₁ previously reported (Sassier & Bergeron, 1977). However, because of a relative lack of origin specificity of this effect, the physiological significance of our data remains to be ascertained.     

DNA REPLICATION PATTERNS AND CHROMOSOMAL PROTEIN SYNTHESIS IN OPOSSUM LYMPHOCYTES IN VITRO

DNA replication patterns were determined in the autosomes and sex chromosomes of phytohemagglutinin-stimulated lymphocytes from the opossum (Didelphis virginiana) by employing thymidine-³H labeling and high-resolution radioautography. Opossum chromosomes are desirable experimental material due to their large size, low number (2n = 22), and morphologically distinct sex chromosomes. The autosomes in both sexes began DNA synthesis synchronously and terminated replication asynchronously. One female X chromosome synthesized DNA throughout most of the S phase. Its homologue, however, began replication approximately 3.5 hr later. The two X's terminated DNA synthesis synchronously, slightly later than the autosomes. This form of late replication, in which one X chromosome begins DNA synthesis later than its homologue but completes replication at the same time as its homologue, is apparently unique in the opossum. The male X synthesized DNA throughout S while the Y chromosome exhibited late-replicating characteristics. The two sex chromosomes completed synthesis synchronously, slightly later than the autosomes. Grain counts were performed on all chromosomes to analyze trends in labeling intensity at hourly intervals of S. By analyzing the percent of labeled mitotic figures on radioautographs at various intervals after introduction of arginine-³H, chromosomal protein synthesis was found not to be restricted to any portion of interphase but to increase throughout S and into G₂.     

DURATION OF THE NUCLEAR CYC LE IN TRADESCANTIA PALUDOSA ROOT TIPS AS MEASURED WITH H3-THYMIDINE

Wimber , Donald E. (Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, N. Y.) Duration of the nuclear cycle in Tradescantia paludosa root tips as measured with H³-thymidine. Amer. Jour. Bot. 47(10): 828–834. Illus. 1960.—The duration of the nuclear cycle and its various subdivisions were measured in Tradescantia root tips by autoradiographic techniques. H³-thymidine was used as a nuclear label and was supplied to the roots for 0.5 hr. After labeling, the roots were allowed to grow in the absence of label for periods up to 38 hr. By determining the percentage of divisions labeled at the various times of fixation, a reconstruction of the nuclear cycle could be made. The average cycle was determined as 20 hr. in duration, DNA synthesis 10.8 hr., presynthetic interphase 4 hr., postsynthetic interphase 2.7 hr., prophase 1.6 hr., metaphase 0.3 hr. and anaphase-telophase 0.6 hr. Approximate standard deviations for the duration of some of the subdivisions were calculated.