Establishment of normal diploid and malignant heteroploid cell lines from non-treated and benzo(a)pyrene treated hamster embryo cell cultures

Summary Two normal diploid control cell lines and a heteroploid malignant transformed cell line from B(a) P treated hamster embryo cell cultures were established. The 14-month-old B(a)P transformed cell line grew 8-times faster than the 20-month-old control cell line. The control cell line showed normal diploid chromosome complement in 93% cells and heteroploidy in 7% cells while B(a)P treated line showed 83% heteroploid cells and only 17% diploid cells. This is the first report on the establishment of diploid hamster cell cultures grown for extended period. Acknowledgments. This work was supported by the French Ministry of Quality of Life, by the Institut National de la Santé et Recherche Médicale, by the S.E.I.T.A. and by Contract No. 12-14-7001-297 of the Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Administered by the Athens, Georgia Area, Richard B. Russell Agricultural Research Center, Athens, Georgia 30604, USA. We thank Mr.B. R. Sharma, Mr.E. J. Radin, Dr.R. Hakim and Dr.Ved Brat for their help during this work.     

Establishment of normal diploid and malignant heteroploid cell lines from non-treated and benzo(a)pyrene treated hamster embryo cell cultures.

Two normal diploid control cell lines and a heteroploid malignant transformed cell line from B(a)P treated hamster embryo cell cultures were established. The 14-month-old B(a)P transformed cell line grew 8-times faster than the 20-month-old control cell line. The control cell line showed normal diploid chromosome complement in 93% cells and heteroploidy in 7% cells while B(a)P treated line showed 83% heteroploid cells and only 17% diploid cells. This is the first report on the establishment of diploid hamster cell cultures grown for extended period.     

Wnt1 and BMP2: two factors recruiting multipotent neural crest progenitors isolated from adult bone marrow

Recent studies have shown that neural crest-derived progenitor cells can be found in diverse mammalian tissues including tissues that were not previously shown to contain neural crest derivatives, such as bone marrow. The identification of those "new" neural crest-derived progenitor cells opens new strategies for developing autologous cell replacement therapies in regenerative medicine. However, their potential use is still a challenge as only few neural crest-derived progenitor cells were found in those new accessible locations. In this study, we developed a protocol, based on wnt1 and BMP2 effects, to enrich neural crest-derived cells from adult bone marrow. Those two factors are known to maintain and stimulate the proliferation of embryonic neural crest stem cells, however, their effects have never been characterized on neural crest cells isolated from adult tissues. Using multiple strategies from microarray to 2D-DIGE proteomic analyses, we characterized those recruited neural crest-derived cells, defining their identity and their differentiating abilities.     

2-Amino-6-[(1'R,2'S)-1',2'-dihydroxypropyl]-3-methyl-pterin-4-one,a biologically active metabolite from the anthozoanAstroides calycularis Pallas

Summary 2-Amino-6-[(1'R,2'S)-1',2'-dihydroxypropyl]-3-methyl-pterin-4-one (1) has been isolated from the marine anthozoanAstroides calycularis; its structure was illustrated by spectral analyses including 2D-NMR and by partial synthesis.1 appears to possess cell-growth inhibiting activity.29 December 1986Work supported by C.N.R. (Progetto Finalizzato Chimica Fine e Secondaria) and by Ministero Pubblica Istruzione Italy. — Acknowledgments. Mass spectral data were provided by Servizio di Spettrometria di massa del C.N.R. e dell'Università di Napoli. The assistance of the staff is gratefully appreciated. Finally we would like to thank Prof. C. Pietropaolo for supplying chick embryo fibroblasts.     

Cholinergic properties of 1-methyl and 2-methylpentyltrimethylammonium salts

Résumé Étude des propriétés cholinergiques des iodures du méthyl-1 et du méthyl-2-pentyltriméthylammonium. Dans leur comportement agonistique, ces sels offrent des variations parallèles à celles de dérivés méthyles de l'acétylcholine. Le cation pentyltriméthylammonium est donc capable de s'associer aux récepteurs cholinergiques tels que l'acétylcholine.

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This investigation was supported by Grant No. MA-3359 to M.H. from the Medical Research Council of Canada.     

Correlation between K1 and K2 in the fractional clearance of bromosulphthalein in cattle and sheep suffering from different hepatotoxic diseases

Zusammenfassung Ein direkter Zusammenhang zwischen der crsten Phase (K₁) und der zweiten Phase (K₂) der fraktionellen Senkung des Bromsulphthaleinspiegels hat sich an von hepatoxischcn Krankheiten befallenen Kühen und Schafen erwiesen. Es ist anzunehmen, dass die K₂-Werte empfindlichere Nachweise der Lebertätigkeit in diesen Tieren aufweisen als die K₁-Werte.     

ING1 and ING2: multifaceted tumor suppressor genes

Inhibitor of Growth 1 (ING1) was identified and characterized as a “candidate” tumor suppressor gene in 1996. Subsequently, four more genes, also characterized as “candidate” tumor suppressor genes, were identified by homology search: ING2, ING3, ING4, and ING5. The ING proteins are characterized by a high homology in their C-terminal domain, which contains a Nuclear Localization Sequence and a Plant HomeoDomain (PHD), which has a high affinity to Histone 3 tri-methylated on lysine 4 (H3K4Me3). The ING proteins have been involved in the control of cell growth, senescence, apoptosis, chromatin remodeling, and DNA repair. Within the ING family, ING1 and ING2 form a subgroup since they are evolutionarily and functionally close. In yeast, only one gene, Pho23, is related to ING1 and ING2 and possesses also a PHD. Recently, the ING1 and ING2 tumor suppressor status has been fully established since several studies have described the loss of ING1 and ING2 protein expression in human tumors and both ING1 and ING2 knockout mice were reported to have spontaneously developed tumors, B cell lymphomas, and soft tissue sarcomas, respectively. In this review, we will describe for the first time what is known about the ING1 and ING2 genes, proteins, their regulations in both human and mice, and their status in human tumors. Furthermore, we explore the current knowledge about identified functions involving ING1 and ING2 in tumor suppression pathways especially in the control of cell cycle and in genome stability.     

Signalling roles of mammalian phospholipase D1 and D2

Phospholipase D (PLD) catalyses the hydrolysis of phosphatidylcholine to generate the lipid second messenger, phosphatidate (PA) and choline. PLD activity in mammalian cells is low and is transiently stimulated upon activation by G-protein-coupled and receptor tyrosine kinase cell surface receptors. Two mammalian PLD enzymes (PLD1 and PLD2) have been cloned and their intracellular regulators identified as ARF and Rho proteins, protein kinase Cα as well as the lipid, phosphatidylinositol [4, 5] bisphosphate (PIP₂). I discuss the regulation of these enzymes by cell surface receptors, their cellular localisation and the potential function of PA as a second messenger. Evidence is presented for a role of PA in regulating the lipid kinase activity of PIP 5-kinase, an enzyme that synthesises PIP₂. A signalling role of phospholipase D via PA and indirectly via PIP₂ in regulating membrane traffic and actin dynamics is indicated by the available data. Received 25 April 2001; received after revision 15 June 2001; accepted 15 June 2001     

Rare electrophoretic variants of the proteins adenylate kinase 1, phosphoglucomutase 1 and 2, and transferrin (AK1, PGM1, PGM2, Tf) in two populations of French Guiana]

Two small populations of inner French Guiana were investigated for red cell enzymes and serum proteins. Rare variants were found in four systems (AK1, PGM1, PGM2, Tf). Similarities between some of these variants and those found in other Amerindian populations indicate that these genetic markers may be valuable in studies of Amerindians. A mutation rate has been estimated from the results.     

COX-2与CYPlBl在人乳腺癌中的表达及意义

目的探讨人乳腺癌组织中COX-2和CYPlBl的表达规律及与临床病理特征的关系,对认识其在乳腺癌发生发展中的作用奠定初步病理学基础。方法应用免疫组织化学方法检测42例乳腺癌组织中COX-2和CYPlBl的表达情况,结合临床病理指标进行研究分析。结果在乳腺癌中COX-2和CYPIBl表达阳性率分别为78．6％和73．8％。COX-2的阳性表达与乳腺癌淋巴结转移、组织学分级显著相关（P〈0．05）;CYPlBI的阳性表达与组织学分级、ER表达显著相关（P〈0．05）。乳腺癌COX-2与CYPlBI表达呈正相关（r=0．481,P〈0．01）。结论人乳腺癌组织存在COX-2与CYPlBl的共同阳性表达,COX-2可能促进CYPlBl表达,共同作用参与乳腺癌的发生发展。     

The PDZ2 domain of zonula occludens-1 and -2 is a phosphoinositide binding domain

Zonula occludens proteins (ZO) are postsynaptic density protein-95 discs large-zonula occludens (PDZ) domain-containing proteins that play a fundamental role in the assembly of tight junctions and establishment of cell polarity. Here, we show that the second PDZ domain of ZO-1 and ZO-2 binds phosphoinositides (PtdInsP) and we identified critical residues involved in the interaction. Furthermore, peptide and PtdInsP binding of ZO PDZ2 domains are mutually exclusive. Although lipid binding does not seem to be required for plasma membrane localisation of ZO-1, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIns(4,5)P ₂) binding to the PDZ2 domain of ZO-2 regulates ZO-2 recruitment to nuclear speckles. Knockdown of ZO-2 expression disrupts speckle morphology, indicating that ZO-2 might play an active role in formation and stabilisation of these subnuclear structures. This study shows for the first time that ZO isoforms bind PtdInsPs and offers an alternative regulatory mechanism for the formation and stabilisation of protein complexes in the nucleus.