Cell lineage,cell-cell interaction,and segment formation in the ectoderm of a glossiphoniid leech embryo

Cell division patterns and cell-cell interactions in the germinal bands of the glossiphoniid leech Helobdella triserialis were studied with the aid of a cell lineage tracer dye. Each germinal band of the Helobdella embryo consists of five columns, or bandlets, of primary blast cells, designated as the mesodermal m bandlet and ectodermal n, o, p, and q bandlets. Primary blast cells of each ectodermal bandlet appear to undergo stereotyped, lineage-specific cell divisions. The metameric segmentation pattern of the leech thus appears to arise through a series of segmentally iterated, stereotyped cell divisions of serially homologous primary blast cell clones. Cell-cell interactions were studied by means of cell ablations. With one exception, blast cells underwent their stereotyped divisions without regard to the presence or absence of their normal neighbors. In the one exceptional case, o blast cells underwent divisions normally characteristic of p blast cells when their normal neighboring p bandlet was deleted. However, both o and p blast cells underwent their normal stereotyped divisions when their neighboring m, n, and q bandlets were deleted. It is proposed that the differential choice of pathway by the o and p blast cells depends upon their relative position with respect to each other and to a polarity cue external to the germinal band.     

Synthesis of tritiated 4,4′-diisothiocyano-2,2′-stilbene disulfonic acid ([3H]DIDS) and its covalent reaction with sites related to anion transport in human red blood cells

Summary The potent and specific inhibitor of anion permeability, 4,4-diisothicyanostilbene-2,2-disulfonic acid (DIDS) was synthesized in tritiated form ([³H]DIDS) from tritiated 5-nitrotoluene-o-sulfonic acid. Its reactions with and effects on red blood cells were compared with those of a reduced form ([³H]H₂DIDS), previously used as a tracer for DIDS. The rate of covalent reaction of [³H]DIDS was substantially faster than that of [³H]H₂DIDS at all temperatures tested. With both agents, the rate of reaction was increased in alkaline media, although the response occurred at a lower pH with [³H]DIDS. On the other hand, the relationship of irreversible membrane binding to the degree of inhibition of sulfate fluxes was linear and virtually the same for both agents, with 100% inhibition associated with the binding of approximately 1.2×10⁶ molecules per cell. About 90% of the binding for each probe was to a particular membrane protein, known as band 3, equivalent to about 1 mole of agent per mole of protein.     

Quinone and quinone methide as transient intermediates involved in the side chain hydroxylation of N-acyldopamine derivatives by soluble enzymes from Manduca sexta cuticle.

Proteins solubilized from the pharate cuticle of Manduca sexta were fractionated by ammonium sulfate precipitation and activated by the endogenous enzymes. The activated fraction readily converted exogenously supplied N-acetyldopamine (NADA) to N-acetylnorepinephrine (NANE). Either heat treatment (70 degrees C for 10 min) or addition of phenylthiourea (2.5 microM) caused total inhibition of the side chain hydroxylation. If chemically prepared NADA quinone was supplied instead of NADA to the enzyme solution containing phenylthiourea, it was converted to NANE. Presence of a quinone trap such as N-acetylcysteine in the NADA-cuticular enzyme reaction not only prevented the accumulation of NADA quinone, but also abolished NANE production. In such reaction mixtures, the formation of a new compound characterized as NADA-quinone-N-acetylcysteine adduct could be readily witnessed. These studies indicate that NADA quinone is an intermediate during the side chain hydroxylation of NADA by Manduca cuticular enzyme(s). Since such a conversion calls for the isomerization of NADA quinone to NADA quinone methide and subsequent hydration of NADA quinone methide, attempts were also made to trap the latter compound by performing the enzymatic reaction in methanol. These attempts resulted in the isolation of beta-methoxy NADA (NADA quinone methide methanol adduct) as an additional product. Similarly, when the N-beta-alanyldopamine (NBAD)-Manduca enzyme reaction was carried out in the presence of L-kynurenine, two diastereoisomers of NBAD quinone methide-kynurenine adduct (= papiliochrome IIa and IIb) could be isolated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

4-alkyl-o-quinone/2-hydroxy-p-quinone methide isomerase from the larval hemolymph of Sarcophaga bullata. I. Purification and characterization of enzyme-catalyzed reaction

An enzyme which catalyzes the conversion of certain 4-alkyl-o-benzoquinones to 2-hydroxy-p-quinone methides has been purified to apparent homogeneity from the hemolymph of Sarcophaga bullata by employing conventional protein purification techniques. The purified enzyme migrated with an approximate molecular weight of 98,000 on gel filtration chromatography. On sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, it migrated as a single band with a molecular weight of 46,000, indicating that it is made up of two identical subunits. It exhibited a pH optimum of 6.0 and readily converted chemically synthesized as well as enzymatically generated quinones derived from N-acetyldopamine, N-beta-alanyldopamine, and 3,4-dihydroxyphenethyl alcohol to highly unstable 2-hydroxy-p-quinone methides. The quinone methides thus formed were rapidly and nonenzymatically hydrated to form side chain hydroxylated o-diphenols as the stable product. In support of this proposition, when the enzyme reaction with N-acetyldopamine quinone was conducted in the presence of 10% methanol, racemic beta-methoxy-N-acetyldopamine was recovered as an additional product. The quinones of N-acetylnorepinephrine, N-beta-alanylnorepinephrine, and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylglycol were also attacked by the isomerase, resulting in the formation of N-acetylarterenone, N-beta-alanylarterenone and 2-hydroxy-3',4'-dihydroxyacetophenone, respectively as the stable products. The isomerase converted the dihydrocaffeiyl methyl amide quinone to its quinone methide analog which rapidly tautomerized to yield caffeiyl methyl amide. The importance of quinone isomerase in insect immunity and sclerotization of insect cuticle is discussed.     

Clonal distribution of osteoprogenitor cells in cultured chick periostea: Functional relationship to bone formation

Folded explants of periosteum from embryonic chick calvaria form bone-like tissue when grown in the presence of ascorbic acid, organic phosphate, and dexamethasone. All osteoblast-like cells in these cultures arise de novo by differentiation of osteoprogenitor cells present in the periosteum. To study the spatial and functional relationships between bone formation and osteoprogenitor cells, cultures were continuously labeled with [3H]thymidine for periods of 1-5 days. Radioautographs of serial 2-microns plastic sections stained for alkaline phosphatase (AP) showed maximal labeling of 30% of fibroblastic (AP-negative) cells by 3 days while osteogenic cells (AP-positive) exhibited over 95% labeling by 5 days. No differential shifts in labeling indices, grain count histograms of fibroblastic and osteogenic cells or numbers of AP-positive cells were observed, indicating no significant recruitment of cells from the fibroblastic to the osteogenic compartment. Despite the continuous presence of [3H]thymidine, less than 35% of both osteoblasts and osteocytes were labeled at 5 days, indicating that only one-third of the osteoprogenitor cells had cycled prior to differentiation. Spatial clustering of [3H]thymidine-labeled cells was measured by computer-assisted morphometry and application of the Poisson distribution to assess contagion. Cluster size and number of labeled cells per cluster did not vary between 1-3 days, but the number of clusters increased 20-fold between Day 1 and Day 3. Clusters were predominantly AP-positive and located close to bone. Three-dimensional reconstruction from serial sections showed that clusters formed long, tubular arrays of osteogenic cells up to eight cells in length and located within 2-3 cell layers from the bone surface. Selective killing of S-phase cells with two pulse labels of high specific activity [3H]thymidine at 1 and 2 days of culture completely blocked bone formation. These data indicate that a very small population of cycling osteoprogenitor cells is essential for bone formation in vitro and give rise to relatively small numbers of clonally distributed progenitors with limited proliferative capacity. The progeny of these clusters undergo restricted migration and differentiate into osteoblasts.     

Synthesis of alpha subunit of human chorionic gonadotrophin by presumptive HeLa cells

Summary Several cell lines, originally thought to be derived from a human placenta at term but possibly HeLa-contaminated, have been studied. These cells secrete a protein indistinguishable immunochemically from the alpha subunit of chorionic gonadotropin but not the beta subunit of chorionic gonadotropin or placental lactogen. Complete chorionic gonadotropin was detected but amounted to less than 1% of the level of the alpha subunit. The cells also produce an alkaline phosphatase similar to placental alkaline phosphatase in immunochemical, gel-electrophoretic, and heat-denaturation properties. They induce tumor growth when inoculated into nude mice. These cells are aneuploid and have a model chromosome number of 66. The common HeLa karyologic markers, designated 1, 2, and 3, and A-type glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase are present in these cells. HeLa cells have not previously been shown to secrete theα subunit of hCG.     

Analyses of deoxycytidylate deaminase molecular forms in human-mouse and monkey-mouse somatic cell hybrids

Disc polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (disc PAGE) analyses have revealed that mouse, human, and monkey cytosol deoxycytidylate (dCMP) deaminases differ in electrophoretic mobility, so that mixtures of mouse and human, mouse and monkey, and human and monkey enzymes can be separated. To learn whether the genes for dCMP deaminase and thymidine (dT) kinase are genetically linked, disc PAGE analyses of cytosol fractions from human-mouse and monkey-mouse somatic cell hybrids were carried out. The interspecific somatic cell hybrids were derived from the fusion of cytosol dT kinase deficient mouse cells with cytosol dT kinase-positive human and monkey cells: they contained mostly mouse chromosomes and a few primate chromosomes, including the determinant for primate cytosol dT kinase. The disc PAGE analyses demonstrated that the human-mouse and monkey-mouse somatic cell hybrids contained a dCMP deaminase activity with an electrophoretic mobility characteristic of mouse dCMP deaminase. Enzymes with electrophoretic mobilities characteristic of human and monkey dCMP deaminases were not demonstrable. These findings suggest that primate cytosol dT kinase and dCMP deaminase are coded on different chromosomes, or that the formation in hybrid cells of an active primate dCMP deaminase is suppressed. Chick-mouse somatic cell hybrids containing chick but not mouse cytosol dT kinase were also analyzed. The chick-mouse hybrid cells contained cytosol dCMP deaminase activity, but it was not possible to establish whether the enzyme was of murine or avian origin because of the similarity in electrophoretic mobility between the chick and mouse enzymes. Human and mouse cells contained low levels of mitochondrial dCMP deaminase activity. In contrast to dT kinase isozymes, however, mitochondrial and cytosol dCMP deaminases were electrophoretically indistinguishable.This investigation was aided by Grant Q-163 from the Robert A. Welch Foundation and by USPHS Grants CA-06656-12 and 1-K6-AI 2352 from the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.     

Deterioration of High-Moisture Corn

Two small, leaky silos were filled with normal high-moisture corn (HMC), and two with HMC severely infested by Helminthosporium maydis. Counts of mesophilic bacteria, lactobacilli, coliforms, yeasts, and molds were made on corn samples as received and periodically thereafter during 220 days of storage. Temperature and gas levels also were monitored. Sequential changes in the populations of lactobacilli, yeasts, and molds were determined during spoilage of HMC. These population changes were compared on the basis of the variables encountered in the present study as well as with the results of previous studies conducted on normal HMC stored under adequate conditions. Heavy infestation by H. maydis had no appreciable effect on HMC preservation.     

Effects of linoleic acid on capping,lectin mediated mitogenesis,surface antigen expression,and fluorescent polarization in lymphocytes and BHK cells

The incubation of linoleic acid with cells causes profound effects on membrane associated phenomenon. Using the fluorescent probe diphenyl hexatriene (DPH) to monitor lipid changes in the microenvironment of the cell surface, we find that linoleic acid reduces the polarization values (P) in mouse lymphocytes and BHK cells. Measurements on lipids extracted from the cells grown in linoleic acid produce similar results. We also find in the mouse lymphocyte that capping of Ig is inhibited and con A stimulated mitogenesis is unaffected. In contrast to the latter effect, LPS and PHA stimulated mitogenesis is inhibited and in the rat lymph node, con A stimulated mitogenesis, greatly enhanced. We also show that linoleic acid alters the binding of antibodies to the cell surface of EL-4 lymphoma cells. These observations suggest that linoleic acid alters cellular function by interfering with protein/lipid interactions within the surface membrane.