Regulation of rat ovarian cell growth and steroid secretion

A cultured rat ovarian cell line (31 A-F(2)) was used to study the effect of growth factors (epidermal growth factor [EGF] and fibroblast growth factor [FGF]), a survival factor (ovarian growth factor [OGF]), a hormone (insulin), and an iron-binding protein (transferring) on cell proliferation and steroid production under defined culture conditions. EGF and insulin were shown to be mitogenic (half-maximal response at 0.12 nM and 0.11 muM, respectively) for 31A-F(2) cells incubated in serum-free medium. EGF induced up to three doublings in the cell population, whereas insulin induced an average of one cell population doubling. FGF, OGF, and transferrin were found not to have any prominent effect on cell division when incubated individually with 31A-F(2) cells in serum-free medium. However, a combination of EGF, OGF, insulin, and transferrin stimulated cell division to the same approximate extent as cells incubated in the presence of 5 percent fetal calf serum. EGF or insulin did not significantly affect total cell cholesterol levels (relative to cells incubated in serum-free medium) when incubated individually with 31A-F(2) cells. However, cell cholesterol levels were increased by the addition of OGF (250 percent), FGF (370 percent), or a combination of insulin and EGF (320 percent). Progesterone secretion from 31A-F(2) cells was enhanced by EGF (25 percent), FGF (80 percent), and insulin (115 percent). However, the addition of a mitogenic mixture of EGF, OGF, insulin, and transferrin suppressed progesterone secretion 150 percent) below that of control cultures. These studies have permitted us to determine that EGF and insulin are mitogenic factors that are required for the growth of 31A-F(2) cells and that OGF and transferrin are positive cofactors that enhance growth. Also, additional data suggest that cholesterol and progesterone production in 31A-F(2) cells can be regulated by peptide growth factors and the hormone insulin.     

Evidence for contractile protein translocation in macrophage spreading, phagocytosis, and phagolysosome formation

Macrophage pseudopodia that surround objects during phagocytosis contain a meshwork of actin filaments and exclude organelles. Between these pseudopodia at the base of developing phagosomes, the organelle exclusion ceases, and lysosomes enter the cell periphery to fuse with the phagosomes. Macrophages also extend hyaline pseudopodia on the surface of nylon wool fibers and secrete lysosomal enzymes into the extracellular medium instead of into phagosomes. To analyze biochemically these concurrent alterations in cytoplasmic architecture, we allowed rabbit lung macrophages to spread on nylon wool fibers and then subjected the adherent cells to shear. This procedure caused the selective release of β-glucoronidase into the extracellular medium and yielded two fractions, cell bodies and isolated pseudopod blebs resembling podosomes, which are plasma-lemma-bounded sacs of cortical cytoplasm. Cytoplasmic extracts of the cell bodies eluted from nylon fibers contained two-thirds less actin-binding protein and myosin, and approximately 20 percent less actin and two-thirds of the other two proteins were accounted for in podosomes. The alterations in protein composition correlated with assays of myosin-associated EDTA-activated adenosine triphosphatase activity, and with a diminution in the capacity of extracts of nylon wool fiber-treated cell bodies to gel, a property dependent on the interaction between actin-binding protein and F-actin. However, the capacity of the remaining actin in cell bodies to polymerize did not change. We propose that actin-binding protein and myosin are concentrated in the cell cortex and particularly in pseudopodia where prominent gelation and syneresis of actin occur. Actin in the regions from which actin-binding protein and myosin are displaced disaggregates without depolymerizing, permitting lysosomes to gain access to the plasmalemma. Translocation of contractile proteins could therefore account for the concomitant differences in organelle exclusion that characterize phagocytosis.     

Induction of Acetylcholine Esterase Activity in a Mouse Neuroblastoma

TISSUE culture lines of mouse neuroblastoma C1300 contain acetylcholine esterase¹, the specific activity of which depends on the conditions of growth, for the inhibition of cell division leads to an increase in esterase activity^2,3. Although this suggests that the cessation of division is directly responsible for increased enzyme synthesis, it may also be that the increase of specific activity is the result of (1) neurite formation by differentiating neuroblast cells or (2) events accompanying ageing and cell death. This article describes experiments designed to distinguish between these hypotheses and to examine the regulation of esterases in other tissue culture lines.     

The new IL-1 family member IL-1F8 stimulates production of inflammatory mediators by synovial fibroblasts and articular chondrocytes

Six novel members of the IL-1 family of cytokines were recently identified, primarily through the use of DNA database searches for IL-1 homologues, and were named IL-1F5 to IL-1F10. In the present study, we investigated the effect of IL-1F8 on primary human joint cells, and examined the expression of the new IL-1 family members in human and mouse joints. Human synovial fibroblasts (hSFs) and human articular chondrocytes (hACs) expressed the IL-1F8 receptor (IL-1Rrp2) and produced pro-inflammatory mediators in response to recombinant IL-1F8. IL-1F8 mRNA expression was increased in hSFs upon stimulation with proinflammatory cytokines, whereas in hACs IL-1F8 mRNA expression was constitutive. However, IL-1F8 protein was undetectable in hSF and hAC culture supernatants. Furthermore, although IL-1beta protein levels were increased in inflamed human and mouse joint tissue, IL-1F8 protein levels were not. IL-1F8 levels in synovial fluids were similar to or lower than those in matched serum samples, suggesting that the joint itself is not a major source of IL-1F8. Serum levels of IL-1F8 were similar in healthy donors, and patients with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and septic shock, and did not correlate with inflammatory status. Interestingly however, we observed high IL-1F8 levels in several serum samples in all groups. In conclusion, IL-1F8 exerts proinflammatory effects in primary human joint cells. Joint and serum IL-1F8 protein levels did not correlate with inflammation, but they were high in some human serum samples tested, including samples from patients with rheumatoid arthritis. It remains to be determined whether circulating IL-1F8 can contribute to joint inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis.     

Higher‐order assemblies of oligomeric cargo receptor complexes form the membrane scaffold of the Cvt vesicle

Selective autophagy is the mechanism by which large cargos are specifically sequestered for degradation. The structural details of cargo and receptor assembly giving rise to autophagic vesicles remain to be elucidated. We utilize the yeast cytoplasm‐to‐vacuole targeting (Cvt) pathway, a prototype of selective autophagy, together with a multi‐scale analysis approach to study the molecular structure of Cvt vesicles. We report the oligomeric nature of the major Cvt cargo Ape1 with a combined 2.8 Å X‐ray and negative stain EM structure, as well as the secondary cargo Ams1 with a 6.3 Å cryo‐EM structure. We show that the major dodecameric cargo prApe1 exhibits a tendency to form higher‐order chain structures that are broken upon interaction with the receptor Atg19 in vitro. The stoichiometry of these cargo–receptor complexes is key to maintaining the size of the Cvt aggregate in vivo. Using correlative light and electron microscopy, we further visualize key stages of Cvt vesicle biogenesis. Our findings suggest that Atg19 interaction limits Ape1 aggregate size while serving as a vehicle for vacuolar delivery of tetrameric Ams1.     

Lack of geographic variation in anonymous nuclear polymorphisms in the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica

Comparing geographic variation of noncoding nuclear DNA polymorphisms, which presumably are neutral to natural selection, with geographic variation of allozymes is potentially a good way to detect the effects of selection on allozyme polymorphisms. A previous study of four anonymous nuclear markers in the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica, found dramatic differences in allele frequency between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. In contrast, 14 allozyme polymorphisms were fairly uniform in frequency between the two areas. This led to the conclusion that all of the allozyme polymorphisms were kept uniform in frequency by balancing selection. To test the robustness of this pattern, six additional anonymous nuclear DNA polymorphisms were surveyed in oysters from Panacea, Fla, and Charleston, S.C. on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, respectively. Unlike the previously studied DNA markers, the six DNA polymorphisms examined here show geographic variation that is not significantly greater than that of allozymes. The reason for the discrepancy between the two sets of DNA polymorphisms is unclear.