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Autografts using untreated or in vitro manipulated bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cells represent promising approaches to the treatment of malignant diseases. In this work,the collagen gel culture technique was compared with agar and methylcellulose for its capacity to permit the growth of human granulomonocytic (day 14 CFU-GM; collagen vs agar or MTC) or erythroblastic (day 7 CFU-E and day 14 BFU-E; collagen versus methylcellulose) colonies in autologous transplantation products. Our results show that the collagen culture system always gave as many or more colonies than the other techniques. It also allowed harvesting of gels onto glass slides and subsequent May-Grünwald-Giemsa,cytochemical or immunocytochemical staining. We suggest that the collagen assay represents an interesting alternative to the widely used agar or methylcellulose systems for the culture of hematopoietic progenitors because of the equal or higher number of colonies detected,the easy phenotypical identification of colonies in stained gels,and the ability to store high-quality documentation. This technique is particularly attractive for use in the quality control of autologous bone marrow transplantation procedures. View Publication

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Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is found in mammalian cells cultured under reduced O2 tension and is necessary for transcriptional activation mediated by the erythropoietin gene enhancer in hypoxic cells. We show that both HIF-1 subunits are basic-helix-loop-helix proteins containing a PAS domain,defined by its presence in the Drosophila Per and Sim proteins and in the mammalian ARNT and AHR proteins. HIF-1 alpha is most closely related to Sim. HIF-1 beta is a series of ARNT gene products,which can thus heterodimerize with either HIF-1 alpha or AHR. HIF-1 alpha and HIF-1 beta (ARNT) RNA and protein levels were induced in cells exposed to 1% O2 and decayed rapidly upon return of the cells to 20% O2,consistent with the role of HIF-1 as a mediator of transcriptional responses to hypoxia. View Publication

The requirement of complex sphingolipid biosynthesis for growth of neurons was examined in developing rat cerebellar Purkinje neurons using a dissociated culture system. Purkinje cells developed well-differentiated dendrites and axons after 2 weeks in a serum-free nutrient condition. Addition of 2 microM fumonisin B1,a fungal inhibitor of mammalian ceramide synthase,inhibited incorporation of [3H]galactose/glucosamine and [14C]-serine into complex sphingolipids of cultured cerebellar neurons. Under this condition,the expression of Purkinje cell-enriched sphingolipids,including GD1 alpha,9-O-acetylated LD1 and GD3,and sphingomyelin,was significantly decreased. After 2 weeks' exposure to fumonisin B1,dose-dependent measurable decreases in the survival and visually discernible differences in the morphology were seen in fumonisin-treated Purkinje cells. The Purkinje cell dendrites exhibited two types of anomalies; one population of cells developed elongated but less-branched dendrites after a slight time lag,but their branches began to degenerate. In some cells,formation of elongated dendrite trees was severely impaired. However,treatment with fumonisin B1 also led to the formation of spinelike protrusions on the dendrites of Purkinje cells as in control cultures. In contrast to the alterations observed in Purkinje cells,morphology of other cell types including granule neurons appeared to be almost normal after treatment with fumonisin B1. These observations indicated strongly that membrane sphingolipids participate in growth and maintenance of dendrites and in the survival of cerebellar Purkinje cells. Indeed,these effects of fumonisin B1 were reversed,but not completely,by the addition of 6-[[N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)-amino dcaproyl]sphingosine (C6-NBD-ceramide),a synthetic derivative of ceramide. Thus,we conclude that deprivation of membrane sphingolipids in a culture environment is responsible for aberrant growth of Purkinje cells. View Publication

Treatment of cells with a variety of growth factors triggers a phosphorylation cascade that leads to activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs,also called extracellular signal-regulated kinases,or ERKs). We have identified a synthetic inhibitor of the MAPK pathway. PD 098059 [2-(2'-amino-3'-methoxyphenyl)-oxanaphthalen-4-one] selectively inhibited the MAPK-activating enzyme,MAPK/ERK kinase (MEK),without significant inhibitory activity of MAPK itself. Inhibition of MEK by PD 098059 prevented activation of MAPK and subsequent phosphorylation of MAPK substrates both in vitro and in intact cells. Moreover,PD 098059 inhibited stimulation of cell growth and reversed the phenotype of ras-transformed BALB 3T3 mouse fibroblasts and rat kidney cells. These results indicate that the MAPK pathway is essential for growth and maintenance of the ras-transformed phenotype. Further,PD 098059 is an invaluable tool that will help elucidate the role of the MAPK cascade in a variety of biological settings. View Publication

The microbial product wortmannin has previously been shown to be a potent inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase. In view of the potential role of this enzyme in transduction of mitogenic signals,we determined the cytotoxic activity of wortmannin against several human tumor cell lines in vitro. The most sensitive lines included GC3 colon carcinoma,IGROV1 ovarian carcinoma,and CCRF-CEM leukemia (IC-50s ranging from 0.7-2.1 microM). The cytotoxicity of wortmannin was decreased approximately 10-fold by serum-free conditions. Wortmannin was generally less active in low passage human breast cancer cell lines that overexpress either epidermal growth factor receptor or Her2/neu. Wortmannin was also tested for in vivo antitumor activity against seven murine tumor and ten human tumor xenograft models. Activity (textgreater 60% inhibition of tumor growth) was observed in only the C3H mammary carcinoma and the human BxPC-3 pancreatic carcinoma xenograft. In vivo antitumor activity did not correlate with in vitro sensitivity to wortmannin cytotoxicity. View Publication

DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK),which is involved in DNA double-stranded break repair and V(D)J recombination,comprises a DNA-targeting component called Ku and an approximately 460 kDa catalytic subunit,DNA-PKcs. Here,we describe the cloning of the DNA-PKcs cDNA and show that DNA-PKcs falls into the phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase family. Biochemical assays,however,indicate that DNA-PK phosphorylates proteins but has no detectable activity toward lipids. Strikingly,DNA-PKcs is most similar to PI kinase family members involved in cell cycle control,DNA repair,and DNA damage responses. These include the FKBP12-rapamycin-binding proteins Tor1p,Tor2p,and FRAP,S. pombe rad3,and the product of the ataxia telangiectasia gene,mutations in which lead to genomic instability and predisposition to cancer. The relationship of these proteins to DNA-PKcs provides important clues to their mechanisms of action. View Publication

We have recently shown that conservation and differentiation of primitive human hematopoietic progenitors in in vitro long-term bone marrow cultures (LTBMC) occurs to a greater extent when hematopoietic cells are grown separated from the stromal layer than when grown in direct contact with the stroma. This finding suggests that hematopoiesis may depend mainly on soluble factors produced by the stroma. To define these soluble factors,we examine here whether a combination of defined early-acting cytokines can replace soluble stroma-derived biologic activities that induce conservation and differentiation of primitive progenitors. Normal human Lineage-/CD34+/HLA-DR- cells (DR-) were cultured either in the absence of a stromal layer (stroma-free") or in a culture system in which DR- cells were separated from the stromal layer by a microporous membrane ("stroma-noncontact"). Both culture systems were supplemented three times per week with or without cytokines. These studies show that culture of DR- cells for 5 weeks in a "stroma-free" culture supplemented with a combination of four early acting cytokines (Interleukin-3 [IL-3]� View Publication

The epithelial mucin produced by the MUC1 gene is present in the apical cell membrane of normal breast epithelial cells and is highly expressed in many breast cancers. Several studies have provided conflicting evidence regarding the relationship between MUC1 expression and survival in breast cancer patients. In this study a detailed immunohistological analysis of MUC1 expression was performed using monoclonal antibody BC2 and was related to other tumor characteristics and patient survival. Patients whose tumors showed MUC1 expression in greater than 75% of tumor cells had significantly poorer disease-free and overall survival (P textless .05). The proportion of cells showing cytoplasmic MUC1 expression was prognostically significant,but the proportion of cells that lined gland spaces showing apical membrane staining was of no prognostic significance. A high level of MUC1 expression was significantly associated with the presence of axillary node metastases and estrogen receptors but not with other tumor characteristics. View Publication

A class of pyridinyl imidazoles inhibit the MAP kinase homologue,termed here reactivating kinase (RK) [Lee et al. (1994) Nature 372,739-746]. We now show that one of these compounds (SB 203580) inhibits RK in vitro (IC50 = 0.6 microM),suppresses the activation of MAPKAP kinase-2 and prevents the phosphorylation of heat shock protein (HSP) 27 in response to interleukin-1,cellular stresses and bacterial endotoxin in vivo. These results establish that MAPKAP kinase-2 is a physiological RK substrate,and that HSP27 is phosphorylated by MAPKAP kinase-2 in vivo. The specificity of SB 203580 was indicated by its failure to inhibit 12 other protein kinases in vitro,and by its lack of effect on the activation of RK kinase and other MAP kinase cascades in vivo. We suggest that SB 203580 will be useful for identifying other physiological roles and targets of RK and MAPKAP kinase-2. View Publication

Thiazolidinedione derivatives are antidiabetic agents that increase the insulin sensitivity of target tissues in animal models of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. In vitro,thiazolidinediones promote adipocyte differentiation of preadipocyte and mesenchymal stem cell lines; however,the molecular basis for this adipogenic effect has remained unclear. Here,we report that thiazolidinediones are potent and selective activators of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma),a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily recently shown to function in adipogenesis. The most potent of these agents,BRL49653,binds to PPAR gamma with a Kd of approximately 40 nM. Treatment of pluripotent C3H10T1/2 stem cells with BRL49653 results in efficient differentiation to adipocytes. These data are the first demonstration of a high affinity PPAR ligand and provide strong evidence that PPAR gamma is a molecular target for the adipogenic effects of thiazolidinediones. Furthermore,these data raise the intriguing possibility that PPAR gamma is a target for the therapeutic actions of this class of compounds. View Publication

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