Novel source of 1,2-diacylglycerol elevated in cells transformed by Ha-ras oncogene

Genes involved in the transduction of signals required for normal cell proliferation commonly appear to be subverted in the neoplastic process. One such group is the highly conserved family of ras genes, which have been detected as transforming genes in a wide variety of naturally occurring tumours. By analogy with other known G proteins, the p21 proteins encoded by ras genes may act as regulatory proteins in the transduction of signals that lead to DNA synthesis. A major pathway involved in the DNA synthesis induced by growth factors is mediated by phosphatidylinositol turnover: cleavage of phosphoinositides by phospholipase C produces 1,2-diacylglycerol, and inositol phosphates. The former acts as an essential cofactor for protein kinase C (ref. 4), and inositol-(1,4,5)-triphosphate mobilizes Ca2+ from non-mitochondrial intracellular stores. We demonstrate a reproducible increase in 1,2-diacylglycerol, in the absence of a detectable increase in inositol phosphates, in transformed cells containing Ha-ras oncogenes and with different membrane targeting signals for the ras p21 protein. These findings suggest that a source other than phosphoinositides exists for the generation of 1,2-diacylglycerol and that the Ha-ras oncogene specifically activates this novel pathway for 1,2-diacylglycerol production.     

AIDS virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes in lung disorders

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is implicated in the development of AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). HIV infection leads to the generation of HIV-specific thymus-derived (T) lymphocytes in humans and apes. We describe an experimental system permitting the quantitative and systematic analysis of HIV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). Functional, HIV-specific CTL are obtained by broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL) from the lungs of seropositive patients with lymphocytic alveolitis. These alveolar CTL: (1) recognize and kill HIV-infected alveolar macrophages in vitro under autologous, but not heterologous, conditions; (2) correspond to standard CTL as they express the CD3 and CD8 surface markers, but not the CD4 marker; and (3) are restricted by class I HLA transplantation antigens in their cytotoxic activities. We propose the hypothesis that interactions between HIV-specific CTL and infected macrophages induce major inflammatory reactions in seropositive patients.     

Ligand binding to the beta-adrenergic receptor involves its rhodopsin-like core

Recently the genes for several hormone receptors that interact with guanine nucleotide binding proteins (G proteins) have been cloned, including the hamster beta 2-adrenergic receptor (beta 2AR), a human beta AR, the turkey erythrocyte beta AR and the porcine muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (MAR). All these receptors share some amino-acid homology with rhodopsin, particularly in 7 hydrophobic stretches of residues that are believed to represent transmembrane helices. To determine whether differences in ligand specificity result from the divergence in the sequences of the hydrophilic regions of these receptors, we have expressed in mammalian cells genes for the wild-type hamster and human beta AR proteins, and a series of deletion mutant genes of the hamster beta 2AR. The pharmacology of the expressed receptors indicates that most of the hydrophilic residues are not directly involved in the binding of agonists or antagonists to the receptor. In addition, we have identified a mutant receptor that has high agonist affinity but does not couple to adenylate cyclase.     

Expression and function of CD4 in a murine T-cell hybridoma

The CD4 (T4) antigen was originally described as a phenotypic marker specific for helper T cells, and has recently been shown to be the receptor for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Functional studies using monoclonal antibodies directed at CD4 and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules led to the suggestion that CD4 binds to the MHC class II molecules expressed on stimulator cells, enhancing T-cell responsiveness by increasing the avidity of T cell-stimulator cell interaction and/or by transmitting a positive intracellular signal. But recent evidence that antibodies to CD4 inhibit T-cell responsiveness in the absence of any putative ligand for CD4 has been interpreted as suggesting that antibody-mediated inhibition may involve the transmission of a negative signal via the CD4 molecule instead. We have infected a murine T-cell hybridoma that produces interleukin 2 (IL-2) in response to human class II HLA-DR antigens with a retroviral vector containing CD4 cDNA. The resulting CD4-expressing hybridoma cell lines produce 6- to 20-fold more IL-2 in response to HLA-DR antigens than control cell lines. Furthermore, when antigen levels are suboptimal, the response of the cell lines is entirely CD4-dependent. The data presented here clearly demonstrate that CD4 can enhance T-cell responsiveness and may be crucial in the response to suboptimal levels of antigen.     

Demographic study of a wild house sparrow population by DNA fingerprinting

Over the past twenty years, several techniques from biochemical and molecular genetics, such as enzyme electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing, have been widely and successfully applied to the study of population differentiation and evolution. However, they have been less applicable to demographic problems such as assigning parentage to individuals within a population. This stems from a general weakness of data derived from enzyme loci: allele frequencies at polymorphic loci are sufficiently skewed that the majority of individuals are of one or two genotypes. Many enzyme systems can only be examined post mortem, so that the loci are of little use if the animals are to be studied in the wild. The search for new and more sensitive techniques for detecting genetic variation has continued, and recently a major discovery has come from molecular biology. Jeffreys et al. have reported the detection of a type of hypervariable 'minisatellite' DNA that is extraordinarily polymorphic in human populations. We have applied their technique to several bird species and particularly to a population of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) near Nottingham. We report here that one of the human minisatellite clones is a suitable probe for sparrow DNA and that it reveals variation as extensive as that found in man. These results suggest that analysis of minisatellite DNA will be a powerful tool in the study of demographic population genetics.     

Stimulation of specific GTP binding and hydrolysis activities in lymphocyte membrane by interleukin-2

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a polypeptide growth factor which stimulates the proliferation and differentiation of T lymphocytes. The receptor for IL-2 is expressed on activated T lymphocytes, cloned IL-2 dependent cells and several other cell types. Analysis of the primary structure and of immune-precipitated receptor suggests that this molecule has no intrinsic signal transduction function, unlike other growth factors. IL-2 interaction with a high affinity receptor has been shown, however, to activate the calcium/phospholipid-dependent protein kinase C (PK-C) presumably via phosphoinositide hydrolysis. Members of a family of closely related guanine nucleotide binding proteins (G proteins) regulate a diverse group of metabolic events. Two of them, Gs and Gi, stimulate and inhibit adenylate cyclase activity respectively, and other G proteins are involved in diverse signal transduction system. Another member, Go, has no known function and activation of phospholipase C has been attributed to the action of an unidentified G protein, Gp. Since it has been observed that IL-2 inhibits the catalytic activity of adenylate cyclase and that agents such as PGE2 which stimulate adenylate cyclase activity inhibit the lymphoproliferative response to IL-2, association of GTP binding proteins with IL-2 signal transduction was investigated. In this report we describe for the first time the participation of a GTP binding protein in the action of a polypeptide growth factor, interleukin-2.     

Genomic imprinting determines methylation of parental alleles in transgenic mice

Mouse embryogenesis relies on the presence of both the maternal and the paternal genome for development to term. It has been proposed that specific modifications are imprinted onto the chromosomes during gametogenesis; these modifications are stably propagated, and their expression results in distinct and complementary contributions of the two parental genomes to the development of the embryo and the extraembryonic membranes. Genetic data further suggest that a substantial proportion of the genome could be subject to chromosomal imprinting, the molecular nature of which is unknown. We used random DNA insertions in transgenic mice to probe the genome for modified regions. The DNA methylation patterns of transgenic alleles were compared after transmission from mother or father in seven mouse strains carrying autosomal insertions of the same transgenic marker. One of these loci showed a clear difference in DNA methylation specific for its parental origin, with the paternally inherited copy being relatively undermethylated. This difference was observed in embryos on day 10 of gestation, but not in their extraembryonic membranes. Moreover, the methylation pattern was faithfully reversed upon each germline transmission to the opposite sex. Our findings provide evidence for heritable molecular differences between maternally and paternally derived alleles on mouse chromosomes.