Selective killing of smooth muscle cells in culture by the ricin A-chain conjugated with monoclonal antibodies to a cell surface antigen via a dextran bridge

Summary Monoclonal antibodies to a surface antigen of the modulated smooth muscle cells originally isolated from the rat aorta media were conjugated with ricin A-chain via an oxidized dextran bridge. The interaction of cultured cells with the conjugates obtained and with control substances was monitored following incorporation of¹⁴C-leucine radioactivity. It was found that¹⁴C-leucine incorporation was suppressed by 80–90% at a conjugate concentration of 10^–6–10^–7 M. Antigen-negative cells (line IAR; rat hepatocytes) were insensitive to the conjugate at any concentration used. Control use of purified ricin A-chain, native or oxidized dextran, specific and nonspecific IgG did not affect normal¹⁴C-leucine incorporation. The data obtained may be useful for designing targeted drug transport systems and for selective screening of modulated smooth cells in vascular pathology models in vivo.     

Interaction of volkensin with HeLa cells: binding,uptake, intracellular localization,degradation and exocytosis

Among two-chain ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs), volkensin is the most toxic to cells and animals, and is retrogradely axonally transported in the rat central nervous system, being an effective suicide transport agent. Here we studied the binding, endocytosis, intracellular routeing, degradation and exocytosis of this RIP. The interaction of volkensin with HeLa cells was compared to that of nigrin b, as an example of a type 2 RIP with low toxicity, and of ricin, as a reference toxin. Nigrin b and volkensin bound to cells with comparable affinity (approx. 10^-10 M) and had a similar number of binding sites (2 × 105/cell), two-log lower than that reported for ricin. The cellular uptake of volkensin was lower than that reported for nigrin b and ricin. Confocal microscopy showed the rapid localization of volkensin in the Golgi stacks with a perinuclear localization similar to that of ricin, while nigrin b was distributed between cytoplasmic dots and the Golgi compartment. Consistently, brefeldin A, which disrupts the Golgi apparatus, protected cells from the inhibition of protein synthesis by volkensin or ricin, whereas it was ineffective in the case of nigrin b. Of the cell-released RIPs, 57% of volkensin and only 5% of ricin were active, whilst exocytosed nigrin b was totally inactive. Despite the low binding to, and uptake by, cells, the high cytotoxicity of volkensin may depend on (i) routeing to the Golgi apparatus, (ii) the low level of degradation, (iii) rapid recycling and (iv) the high percentage of active toxin remaining after exocytosis.Received 21 April 2004; received after revision 26 May 2004; accepted 9 June 2004     

小鼠皮肤移植特异耐受性的获得

通过２个不同品系小鼠间进行皮肤移植，研究免疫系统产生特异耐受的机制。要获得对异体抗原的特异性耐受的机制。要获得对异体抗原的特异性耐受，必要包括对中淋巴器官中免疫效应细胞的特样伤，并同时诱导中枢免疫器官将其作为“自我”物质进行识别，导致系列克隆流产。     

四种植物25S rRNA sarcin/ricin结构域甲基化核苷的分析

应用不同浓度的dNTP逆转录反应，分析丁苦瓜、丝瓜、蓖麻和水稻的25SrRNA sarcin/ricin区域中的甲基化核苷，发现了这4种植物25SrRNA的第3023、2966和2962位的腺嘌呤、胸腺嘧啶和腺嘌呤是2’-0-甲基化核苷；在丝瓜和苦瓜25SrRNA的第2992、2990位的胞嘧啶和鸟嘿吟是葫芦科植物所特有的两个2’-0—甲基化核苷；第2994位点的尿嘧啶是苦瓜、丝瓜、蓖麻和水稻的一个碱基甲基化核苷；而且，植物25SrRNA第3023位甲基化腺嘌呤核苷刚好位于sarcin/ricin结构域的茎环上，与核糖体失活蛋白切割位点相距仅5个核苷酸，而在哺乳动物和酵母的rRNA相同位点上没有甲基化修饰的存在，根据这一结果推测，RIPS来源植物核糖体RNA的自我保护可能与这一位点的修饰有关。     

导入蓖麻毒蛋白的供体淋巴细胞在小鼠皮肤移植中产生的特异免疫耐受

以小鼠为研究对象进行皮肤移植,受体为BALB/C鼠,供体为C₅₇BL/6鼠。用氯化钙介导蓖麻毒蛋白(ricin)进入供体鼠的脾细胞制成毒细胞,适时地注入受体体内。带有蓖麻毒蛋白供体脾细胞,一方面可提供特异移植抗原(主要组织相容性抗原)使特异的T,B淋巴细胞识;另一方面,它被识别裂解后,释放蓖麻毒蛋白,又可杀伤与其识别的T,B淋巴细胞,使受体对供体移植物产生耐受。实验共设两组,在皮肤移植前后分别用包埋蓖麻毒蛋白的供体脾细胞处理,两组移植皮片存活时间均比相应对照组有显著延长(t＞t_0.01)。混合淋巴细胞培养实验和淋巴细胞转化实验证明了实验组对供体细胞的免疫应答及免疫细胞的分化能力均受到抑制。对这一新设想进行了初步的研究。