The effect of the functional ionic group of the viologen derivative on visible-light driven CO2 reduction to formic acid with the system consisting of water-soluble zinc porphyrin and formate dehydrogenase.

The effect of the functional ionic group of 4,4'-bipyridinium salt derivatives (4,4'-BPs) as the electron carrier on the visible-light driven conversion of CO2 to formic acid with the system consisting of water-soluble zinc tetraphenylporphyrin tetrasulfonate (ZnTPPS) and formate dehydrogenase (FDH) in the presence of triethanolamine (TEOA) as an electron donor was investigated. 1,1'-Diaminoethyl- (DAV), 1-aminoethyl-1'-methyl- (AMV), 1-carboxymethyl-1'-methyl- (CMV) and 1,1'-dicarboxymethyl-4,4'-bipyridinium salt (DCV) were prepared as the 4,4'-BPs with the functional ionic group. Irradiation of a CO2 saturated buffer solution containing TEOA, ZnTPPS, 4,4'-BP and FDH with visible light irradiation resulted in the production of formic acid. By using 4,4'-BPs with the cationic aminoethyl-group, DAV or AMV as an electron carrier, the effective visible-light driven formic acid production based on the CO2 reduction was observed compared to the 4,4'-BPs with the anionic carboxymethyl-group, CMV or DCV. The formic acid production rate with DAV was approximately 3.2 times higher than that of the system with DCV.

Identification of the motility-related protein (MRP-1), recognized by monoclonal antibody M31-15, which inhibits cell motility.

A murine monoclonal antibody (M31-15) was identified using the penetration-inhibiting assay of a human lung adenocarcinoma cell line (MAC10) and remarkably inhibited the phagokinetic tract motility of various cancer cell lines. The antigen, motility-related protein (MRP-1), recognized by M31-15, was 25- and 28-kD proteins, and M31-15 was used to isolate a cDNA clone from a human breast carcinoma cDNA library. Sequence analysis revealed that MRP-1 had strong similarity with a B cell surface antigen (CD37), a melanoma-associated antigen (ME491), the target of an antiproliferative antibody (TAPA-1), a human tumor-associated antigen (CO-029), and the Sm23 antigen of the trematode parasite Schistosoma mansoni.

Suppression of cell motility and metastasis by transfection with human motility-related protein (MRP-1/CD9) DNA.

Previously we showed that motility-related protein (MRP-1) is an antigen recognized by monoclonal antibody (mAb) M31-15 inhibiting cell motility and that the sequence of MRP-1 coincides with that of CD9. In the present study, plasmid was constructed in which human MRP-1/CD9 cDNA is expressed under the control of the Abelson murine leukemia virus promoter sequence. The expression plasmid for MRP-1/CD9 was introduced into Chinese hamster ovary cells, human lung adenocarcinoma cell line MAC10 (MRP-1 positive), and human myeloma cell line ARH77 (MRP-1 negative). All of the MRP-1/CD9 (over)expressing clones obtained from these transfected cells showed suppressed cell motility (penetration and phagokinetic track assays) depending on the degree of expression of MRP-1/CD9. Overexpression of MRP-1/CD9 by MAC10 cells resulted in the suppression of cell motility (maximally 73%) associated with considerable inhibition of the cell growth (maximally 48%). However, the inhibition of the growth of MAC10 cells by mAb M31-15 was < 17% at an antibody concentration of 1-5 micrograms/ml, which inhibits cell motility by > 90%. These results suggest that MRP-1/CD9 directly regulates cell motility and may also affect cell growth. Effects on metastasis by the expression of MRP-1 CD9 were investigated with mouse melanoma BL6 cells-BALB/c nu/nu mouse system. Metastatic potential of all transformants expressing MRP-1/CD9 was lower than that of parent BL6 cells.

Angiogenesis inhibitor TNP-470 (AGM-1470) potently inhibits the tumor growth of hormone-independent human breast and prostate carcinoma cell lines.

The angiogenesis inhibitor O-(chloroacetyl-carbamoyl)fumagillol (TNP-470) showed antitumor activity in three human cancer xenograft systems. TNP-470 potently inhibited the tumor growth of hormone-independent prostate cancer PC-3 cells and breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells dose dependently at weekly s.c. doses of 50-200 mg/kg with maximum inhibition of 96 and 88% (tumor growth, 4 and 12% of that in the respective control). In experiments of combination therapy with chemotherapeutic agents, the combination of TNP-470 (100 mg/kg) and cisplatin (5 mg/kg) showed an additive antitumor effect (from treated versus control, 38 and 22% to 5%) against PC-3 carcinoma. 5-Fluorouracil and Adriamycin alone did not significantly inhibit MDA-MB-231 tumor growth (treated versus control, 131 and 64%, respectively). TNP-470 also inhibited tumor growth of WiDr colon cancer; although the inhibition was less marked (treated versus control, 39%) than that observed with the hormone-independent cancers used in this study. In an in vitro study, all the cell lines tested were considerably insensitive to TNP-470 in monolayer cultures (50% inhibitory concentration, approximately 5 micrograms/ml), whereas TNP-470 inhibited the anchorage-independent growth of PC-3 and MDA-MB-231 cells (50% inhibitory concentration, 0.05 and 470 ng/ml, respectively). The inhibitory activity of TNP-470 against anchorage-independent growth correlated well with the in vivo antitumor activity among the cell lines tested. Thus, this inhibitory action may partly contribute to the potent antitumor activity of the angiogenesis inhibitor TNP-470, at least in the case of PC-3 and MDA-MB-231. These results suggest that hormone-independent prostate and breast cancers may be appropriate target diseases for TNP-470 clinical trials.

Inhibition of tumor growth and metastasis of rodent tumors by the angiogenesis inhibitor O-(chloroacetyl-carbamoyl)fumagillol (TNP-470; AGM-1470).

The effect of the potent angiogenesis inhibitor O-(chloroacetyl-carbamoyl)fumagillol (TNP-470), a semisynthetic analogue of fumagillin, on tumor growth and metastasis was studied using rodent tumors. Injection of TNP-470 s.c. inhibited tumor growth in a dose-dependent manner, and the tumor sizes of B16BL6 melanoma, M5076 reticulum cell sarcoma, Lewis lung carcinoma, and Walker 256 carcinoma were maximally reduced to 16, 10, 17, and 4% of that in the respective control. The activity of TNP-470 upon i.v. injection was slightly weaker than that following s.c. injection. This tendency was observed for all the tumors tested. Injection i.v. (infusion) of TNP-470 increased the life span of Walker 256 carcinoma-bearing rats by 183% over the control, while bolus i.v. injection increased the life span by only 47%. TNP-470 reduced the number of pulmonary metastatic foci of i.v. inoculated B16BL6 melanoma in a dose-dependent manner, and the number of metastatic foci was reduced to 10% of that in the control by treatment with TNP-470 at 60 mg/kg, 3 times/week. The mean survival time of B16BL6 tumor-bearing mice treated with TNP-470 using this regimen was extended by 56% over that of control mice. TNP-470 at 10 mg/kg every day also reduced the number of metastatic foci of M5076 sarcoma in the liver after resection of the tumor from the primary site. Adriamycin at the same dose only slightly reduced the number of metastatic foci, even though TNP-470 and Adriamycin showed roughly equal inhibitory activity against M5076 sarcoma growth. TNP-470 extended the mean survival time of M5076 tumor-bearing mice by more than 100% over that of control mice at 30 mg/kg every 3 days, while Adriamycin extended mean survival times by maximally 20% at 10 mg/kg. These results show that the angiogenesis inhibitor TNP-470 has strong inhibitory activities against in vivo growth and metastasis of a wide variety of tumors.

Purification and characterization of recombinant human IgE Fc epsilon fragment produced in mouse L cells.

A human IgE Fc epsilon fragment was isolated from the supernatant of the culture fluid of a recombinant mouse L cell line, L-IS11IgE-9. The purification procedure consisted of salting out from the supernatant with ammonium sulfate, immunoaffinity chromatography on a monoclonal antibody (E235I63)-Affi Gel 10 column, and gel filtration chromatography on a Sephacryl S-200 column. The final preparation represented a 5825-fold purification from the original culture fluid with a 25% recovery and about 3.1 mg of Fc epsilon fragment was obtained from 201 of culture fluid. The sp. act. of the purified preparation measured by the use of commercial human IgE determination kits was 0.93 x 10(6) units/mg protein. The purified preparation was homogeneous as judged by the end group analyses. The amino acid composition of the preparation coincided with that deduced from DNA sequence. The mol. wt of our preparation was about 110,000 under non-reducing conditions and 55,000 under reducing conditions on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These results showed that our preparation was a dimeric form having high reactivity against anti-human IgE antibodies.

Thermally induced disulfide bond exchanges in human IgE.

The thermally induced changes in human IgE was investigated using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. When the IgE (1 mg/ml) was heated at 56 degrees C for several hours in the absence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, it gave aggregated forms that could be reduced completely to heavy and light chains with dithiothreitol. On the other hand, in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (0.1%), the IgE was changed by heating to five components with small mol. wts dependent on temperature and pH. This phenomenon was observed also in mouse monoclonal IgG1, but the degree of change was considerably lower than that of human IgE. The five components obtained from the heat-treated IgE (LHHL) were identified as LHHL, HL, H, LL and L. These results show that the thermally induced changes in human IgE are dependent on the exchange of its intra- and inter-disulfide bonds.

Purification and characterization of IgE produced by human myeloma cell line, U266.

Human IgE was isolated for the first time from the supernatant of the culture fluid of a human myeloma cell line, U266. The purification procedure consisted of salting out from the supernatant with ammonium sulfate, affinity chromatography on a lysine-Sepharose 4B column, ion exchange chromatography on a DEAE-Sephacel column, gel filtration and recycling chromatography on a Sephacryl S-300 column and removal of bovine proteins on an anti-bovine serum rabbit IgG-Sepharose 4B column. One hundred and twenty eight milligrams of IgE was recovered from 461 of culture fluid. The purification was extremely simplified by the introduction of immunoaffinity chromatography using the monoclonal antibody prepared by immunizing a mouse with an IgE preparation obtained by the above method: about 3.3 mg was recovered from 960 ml of culture fluid. The purified preparation was homogeneous as judged by the double-immunodiffusion test and end group analysis. The amino acid and carbohydrate compositions of the preparation coincided with those reported on other preparations obtained from the sera of myeloma patients. Our preparation, however, showed two bands with apparent mol. wts of 240,000 and 230,000 on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. When it was reduced with dithiothreitol and analyzed by electrophoresis, it gave two heavy chains and one light chain with apparent mol. wts of 80,000 and 76,000, and 28,000, respectively. On the other hand, the IgE molecule that was synthesized and secreted into the medium in the presence of tunicamycin (0.5 microgram/ml) gave only one heavy chain and one light chain with apparent mol. wts of 62,000 and 28,000, respectively. These results demonstrated that the two IgE molecular species contained in our preparation differed from each other in the carbohydrate moiety in their heavy chains.

Expression of hepatitis B virus surface antigen P31 gene in Escherichia coli.

A hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) P31-coding DNA was constructed from a DNA fragment of the plasmid pHBr330 containing the entire hepatitis B virus (HBV) adr DNA and a chemically synthesized adaptor. The P31 gene was inserted into an expression vector, pTRP771, having an Escherichia coli tryptophan operon (trp) promoter to give a recombinant plasmid pTRP P31-R. The distance between the Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence and the initiation codon of P31 gene was adjusted to 9 bp. The expression level of HBsAg by E. coli 294[pTRP P31-R] was significantly elevated, in contrast to that of HBsAg by E. coli 294[pTRP SS-6]. Western blotting analysis has shown that E. coli[pTRP P31-R] synthesizes a specific polypeptide P31 of about 31 kDal, which reacts with anti-HBsAg antibody. The binding studies with polyalbumins from various species have also suggested that HBsAg P31 specifically binds to polymerized human serum albumin.

Purification and characterization of a recombinant human IgE Fc epsilon fragment lacking the C4 domain.

Complementary DNA of human IgE Fc epsilon fragment (residues 226-480) lacking the C epsilon 4 domain was expressed in Escherichia coli and the product was purified by immunoaffinity chromatography on a monoclonal antibody (E12 0.02)-Affi-Gel 10 column. About 1.8 mg of an apparent dimer and 5.9 mg of a monomer were obtained from 65 g E. coli cells with 9.3% recovery. The purified products were found to lack more than half of the COOH-terminal portion of the C epsilon 3 domain. The apparent dimer showed high immunological specific activity (3.6 x 10(6) U/mg protein) comparable to that of natural human IgE when measured by commercial human IgE determination kits.

Antitubulin activities of ansamitocins and maytansinoids.

Antitubulin activities of ansamitocins, maytansine and four maytansinoids which are structurally related to ansamitocins were studied using three reaction systems; inhibition of polymerization of bovine brain tubulin, depolymerization of the once polymerized tubulin, and immunofluorescent staining of cytoplasmic microtubules in A31 cells. Ansamitocin P-3, ansamitocin P-4, maytansine, D-maytansine, maytanacine and maytansinol 3-propionate inhibited the polymerization of tubulin and depolymerized the once polymerized tubulin. The concentrations of these compounds causing 50 per cent inhibition of polymerization and 50 per cent depolymerization were around 3.4 and 3.8 x 10(-6) M, respectively. Maytansinol also inhibited polymerization of tubulin and depolymerized the once polymerized tubulin. However, maytansinol was about four times less effective in polymerization inhibition and ten times less effective in depolymerization than other compounds. Except for maytansinol and D-maytansine, these compounds caused a disappearance of fibers of cytoplasmic microtubules in A31 cells at a concentration of 1-6 x10(-8) M. The concentration of D-maytansine causing the disappearance of the fibers was about 50 times higher than that of maytansine. Maytansinol did not cause the disappearance of the fibers even at such a high concentration as 4.6 x 10(-6) M. These results suggest that the ester moiety at the C-3 position of ansamitocins, maytansine and maytansinoids plays an important role in increasing their permeation into living cells.

Establishment of hybridomas secreting monoclonal antibodies against C epsilon 2 and C epsilon 4 domains of human IgE.

Three kinds of hybridomas secreting monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against the epsilon chain of human IgE were constructed by somatic cell hybridization between mouse myeloma P3U1 cells and spleen cells from BALB/c mice immunized with human IgE purified from the culture supernatant of U-266 cells. These MAbs were used effectively for the purification and determination of human IgE. The recognition site in the IgE molecule of each antibody was examined by using various epsilon chain fragment peptides produced in Escherichia coli. From these experiments, it was suggested that one recognized C epsilon 2 and the second C epsilon 4. The third did not recognize the C epsilon 1-C epsilon 4 domains of the recombinant epsilon chain from E. coli, although it bound to the epsilon chain of natural human IgE.

Apoptosis of proliferative cortical tubular epithelia in chronic progressive nephrosis of rats.

To investigate the role of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of rat chronic progressive nephrosis (CPN), the kidney of male F344/DuCrj rats, 19, 59, and 111 weeks of age, was examined histologically. In situ analysis for DNA fragmentation and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was performed simultaneously by TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) and immunohistochemistry, respectively. CPN was seen in all the kidneys of 59-week-old (n=6) and 111-week-old rats (n=16), correlating significantly (p<0.01) with age. There were apoptotic bodies (ABs) in the single-layered epithelia of dilated tubules (SLD) and the multilayered epithelia (ML) of the cortical tubules. There were no ABs in any of the kidneys of the 19-week-old (n=5) or 59-week-old rats (n=6). Proliferative activity might have been enhanced in the single-layered and flattened epithelia, SLD, and ML of the cortical tubules in the kidneys of the 59-week-old rats (n=6) compared with that in 111-week-old rats (n=8). The correlations between the TUNEL-positive ratio and number of PCNA-positive cells, and age and the CPN grade were significant (p<0.01) exclusively in the ML. Thus, the results suggest that apoptosis occurs in the proliferative ML of rat CPN, and the pathological significance might be the removal of abnormal or excess cells.

Apoptosis and cell proliferation in rat hepatocytes induced by barbiturates.

To examine the effect on cell population in hepatocytes of phenobarbital (PB) and other barbiturates, PB, allobarbital (ALB), barbital sodium (BS) and barbituric acid (BA) were given orally to male rats for 7 consecutive days. Although there was no apparent change in non-promoting BA, hepatomegaly was induced by PB, BS and ALB, which are promoters of hepatocarcinogenesis. In PB- and BS-treated livers, hepatomegaly was attributable to hepatocyte proliferation and enzyme induction. In ALB-treated liver, it was attributable to enzyme induction. The level of cell proliferation was reduced to less than the control values following withdrawal of PB, ALB and BS. It seemed that the degree of suppression of cell proliferation following withdrawal of these compounds correlated to the degree of cell proliferation (PB>BS>ALB) during treatment. In PB-treated liver, apoptosis was induced during treatment, serving to eliminate the excess of hepatocytes. This suggests that short-term administration of PB neither induced suppression of apoptosis nor disturbed homeostasis of hepatocyte populations.

Spontaneous pinealoma in a male Crj:CD (SD) IGS rat.

A pinealoma (benign) was found in a 61-week-old male Crj:CD (SD) IGS rat. The neoplasm was located between the cerebral hemispheres and the cerebellum. Histologically, the tumor cells consisted of two cell types: large, pale-staining cells and small dark-staining cells. A fibrovascular stroma divided the tumor cells into incomplete lobules or nest structures. Relatively numerous mitoses were noted in the tumor cells. Ultrastructurally, the tumor cells contained dense-cored vesicles, approximately 120 nm in diameter.

[Secondary hepatic resections in a case of sigmoid colon cancer with multiple liver metastasis (H3) after successful continuous hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy oriented by in vitro chemosensitivity test].

A 43-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for sigmoid colon cancer with multiple liver metastasis (H3). As preoperative CTAP (CT during arterial portography) examination showed 23 metastatic nodules in the whole liver, hepatic resections were not indicated. Angiographic findings showed that right and left hepatic arteries branched separately from the celiac artery. Sigmoid colon resection with D3 lymph node dissection and catheterization to the right hepatic artery via gastroduodenal artery were undertaken as a first operation. Continuous hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy with MMC, 5-FU oriented by in vitro chemosensitivity test (SDI test: Succinic Dehydrogenase Inhibition test) of primary tumor was performed 7 days after the first operation. After administration of MMC (40 mg) and 5-FU (16,500 mg), metastatic nodules in the right lobe almost disappeared except for the one tumor of S7, but the size and number of the nodules in the left lobes increased. At 10 months after the first operation, the left hepatic lobectomy and extirpation of only one tumor in the right lobe (S7) underwent. This case showed the usefulness of continuous hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy oriented by in vitro chemosensitivity test for multiple liver metastasis from colon cancer.

Suppression of cyclin D1 mRNA expression by the angiogenesis inhibitor TNP-470 (AGM-1470) in vascular endothelial cells.

The effects of TNP-470 on DNA synthesis and the expression of c-myc and cyclin D1 mRNAs were investigated in human umbilical vein endothelial (HUVE) cells synchronized by serum depletion and stimulated with bFGF and serum. DNA synthesis occurring 16 h after stimulation was inhibited when TNP-470 was present from 2 to 6 h after stimulation. C-myc mRNA expression occurring 2 h after stimulation was not inhibited by the addition of TNP-470. Cyclin D1 mRNA expression occurring 6 h after stimulation was suppressed in the presence of TNP-470 from 2 to 6 h after stimulation. On the other hand, cyclin D1 expression was not suppressed in the TNP-470-insensitive human tumor cell line WiDr. These results suggest that the inhibition of HUVE cells by TNP-470 is due to the suppression of cyclin D1 expression in mid G1 phase.

Therapeutic effect of ansamitocin targeted to tumor by a bispecific monoclonal antibody.

We have constructed a murine hybrid hybridoma that secretes a bispecific monoclonal antibody (mAb) by fusing a hybridoma secreting an anti-ansamitocins mAb with a hybridoma secreting an anti-human transferrin receptor (TfR) mAb that binds to human A431 epidermoid carcinoma cells. The bispecific mAb, reactive to both ansamitocins and TfR, was purified by a combination of hydrophobic column chromatography and hydroxyapatite high-performance liquid chromatography, and evaluated in in vivo experiments using human tumor cell-implanted nude mice. Ansamitocin P-3 targeted through one of the antigen combining sites of the bispecific mAb was potentially more effective in suppressing the growth of established A431 tumor xenografts implanted on nude mice than unconjugated ansamitocin P-3 or the immunoconjugate of ansamitocin P-3 and monospecific anti-ansamitocins antibody, and the targeted ansamitocin P-3 finally eradicated the tumor mass. The bispecific mAb also played an important role in reducing such undesirable side-effects of ansamitocin P-3 as the loss of body weight, the damage to liver functions and the decrease in the number of white blood cells.