Normal fibroblasts responding to anoxia exhibit features of the malignant phenotype.

Cancer has two fundamental features: neoplasia, representing the aberrant expression of a normal cell proliferation response, and malignancy, an ability to penetrate normal tissue boundaries. Although the role of oncogenes in neoplastic transformation is becoming clearer, malignancy remains far less well understood. Normal rat fibroblasts exhibit a staged response to anoxia which, if expressed in an uncontrolled fashion, may contribute vital aspects to the malignant phenotype. The response begins with induction of retrotransposon-like VL30 element transcription, progresses through induction of several intracellular proteins, and is followed by secretion of three major proteins including the protease cathepsin L. The induced VL30 element RNA encodes a 61-kDa secretory protein of unknown function. The response of fibroblasts to anoxia is evidently not a survival response. Instead, the response represents a close match to the role of fibroblasts during the early stages of wound healing where they are active under near-anoxic conditions. Malignant cancer cells are known to exhibit several of the characteristics we find induced in fibroblasts by anoxia. Conversion to the malignant phenotype may represent coordinate loss of control of this normal cellular response.

Expression of type IV collagenase and procollagen genes and its correlation with the tumorigenic, invasive, and metastatic abilities of oncogene-transformed human bronchial epithelial cells.

In a series of immortalized human bronchial epithelial cell lines continuing various oncogenes, the transcriptional levels of the type IV collagenase and the type IV procollagen genes were compared with the properties of invasiveness in vitro and tumorigenicity and metastatic ability in athymic nude mice. v-Ha-ras greatly enhanced invasion and metastasis, whereas v-Ki-ras, c-myc, and c-raf had lesser effects on these malignant phenotypes. In addition, cell lines derived from tumors obtained by injecting the original immortalized human bronchial epithelial cell lines into nude mice exhibited enhanced invasive and metastatic abilities and increased level of type IV collagenase mRNA when compared with the original immortalized human bronchial epithelial cell lines. Invasiveness and metastatic capacity correlated positively with expression of the type IV collagenase gene and negatively with the expression of the type IV procollagen gene, suggesting that these phenotypes are associated both with decreased production and increased dissolution of extracellular matrix.

Production of urokinase-type plasminogen activator by normal and transformed rat thyroid cells in culture.

We studied the relationship between differentiation, transformation, and uPA production in a system of rat thyroid cells in vitro. The fully differentiated FRTL5 cells did not produce detectable amounts of uPA, even after stimulation with phorbol esters, potent inducers of uPA expression. All the other cell lines (i.e., FRT, cells which have lost the characteristics of the differentiated thyroid cells; 1-5 G and FRA, transformed cells derived from rat thyroid tumors) produced uPA, the 1-5 G line being the highest producer. Also the FRTL line became positive for uPA production after viral transformation (clone KM4). The lack of uPA expression in FRTL5 cells was not due to the presence of inhibitors and these cells did not produce an inactive molecule, as shown by immunoprecipitation with anti-uPA antibody. However, in FRTL5 cells Northern analysis showed the presence of a small amount of uPA-specific mRNA that increased appreciably after phorbol ester stimulation. In conclusion, in our system uPA expression was a property of undifferentiated and transformed cells; in fully differentiated cells uPA expression was switched off by a still unclear mechanism.

S-phase induction and transformation of quiescent NIH 3T3 cells by microinjection of phospholipase C.

Two inositol phospholipid-specific phospholipase C (PLC) isozymes (PLC-I and -II) have been purified from bovine brain. When PLC-I or PLC-II was microinjected (100-700 micrograms/ml) into quiescent NIH 3T3 cells, a time- and dose-dependent induction of DNA synthesis occurred, as demonstrated by [3H]thymidine incorporation into nuclear DNA. In addition, approximately to 8 hr after PLC injection, NIH 3T3 fibroblasts appeared spindle-shaped, refractile, and highly vacuolated, displaying a morphology similar to transformed cells. The morphologic transformation was apparent for 26-30 hr after which the injected cells reverted back to a normal phenotype. Microinjected PLC at a high concentration (1 mg/ml) was cytotoxic, dissolving the cytoplasmic membrane and leaving behind cellular ghosts. PLC is a key regulatory enzyme involved in cellular membrane signal transduction. Introduction of exogenous PLC into NIH 3T3 cells by microinjection induced a growth and oncogenic potential, as demonstrated by the ability of microinjected PLC (approximately 10,000 molecules per cell) to override the cellular G0 block, inducing DNA synthesis and morphologic transformation of growth-arrested fibroblast cells.

Malignant transformation of host cells by a human small cell lung cancer xenografted into nude mice.

Malignant transformation of mouse host cells by a human small cell lung cancer (SCLC) was demonstrated by short-term in vitro cultivation of the tumor cells from a xenograft at two different transplant generations. Isoenzyme (LDH) and chromosome analysis showed that out of the 3 cell lines established from this tumor, 1 retained a human karyotype similar to that of the xenograft and 2 were murine transformed cell lines. These murine cell lines produced fibro-sarcoma-like tumors when injected into nude mice. Because of the early in vitro emergence of murine transformed cell populations, it is likely that the transformation process had occurred in vivo. Since in our experience the induction of transformation of host murine cells, also observed directly in vivo, is more frequent with SCLC than other histotypes (lung and colorectal adenocarcinoma), it is suggested that the known production of growth factor by these tumors may contribute to this transformation.

A case of acute monocytic leukemia with lysozyme-positive leukemic monocytes and normal serum lysozyme levels.

We report a case of acute monocytic leukemia with normal serum lysozyme but with immunoperoxidase positivity for lysozyme in the leukemic blasts. The diagnosis of acute monocytic leukemia was made on the basis of cellular morphology, immunocytochemistry and cytochemistry. Discrepancy between serum lysozyme and intracytoplasmic lysozyme has not previously been reported in the literature. Levels of serum lysozyme may be misleading in cases of acute monocytic leukemia (FAB classification M5).

Deletion of an N-terminal regulatory domain of the c-abl tyrosine kinase activates its oncogenic potential.

The requirements for the oncogenic conversion of the c-abl proto-oncogene have been determined by the expression of N-terminal deleted forms and viral gag-fused forms of the c-abl proteins from a selectable retroviral vector. To activate the transforming potential of c-abl, it is necessary that (i) specific N-terminal amino acids are deleted to release the kinase from negative regulation in vivo; (ii) an N-terminal myristylation site is part of the activated kinase; (iii) the fatty-acylated, activated kinase is overproduced. The N-terminal amino acids found to be necessary for the cellular inhibition of c-abl tyrosine phosphorylation are part of a homologous region present in many non-receptor tyrosine kinases, the v-crk oncogene and phospholipase C-II. Overproduction of a deregulated and myristylated c-abl tyrosine kinase induces the transformation of NIH 3T3 cells.

Protein kinase C activities and bindings of a phorbol ester tumor promoter in 41 cell lines.

The activities of protein kinase C (PKC) and the bindings to phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) of 41 cell lines were measured. The activities of PKC varied from 0.2 to 37 mU/10(6) cells in different cell lines, and in general were high in normal or untransformed cells and low in malignant, or transformed cells. The PDBu binding also varied considerably in different cell lines, and was again higher in normal or untransformed cells. In some cell lines, the binding was much higher at 4 degrees C than at 37 degrees C, suggesting rapid down-regulation of the binding. A correlation between PKC activity and PDBu binding was found only within certain cell types, i.e., epithelial cell lines derived from human tumors.

Effect of genistein on topoisomerase activity and on the growth of [Val 12]Ha-ras-transformed NIH 3T3 cells.

Genistein inhibited topoisomerase II and I; it increased the enzyme-DNA complex in L1210 cells at 1 micrograms/ml, and interfered with pBR322 DNA relaxation by the enzymes. To test the role of topoisomerase in the transformation by oncogenes, the effect of genistein on the transformation of NIH 3T3 cells by transfection with [Val 12]Ha-ras was compared with that of N-alpha-tosyl-L-lysyl-chloromethyl ketone (TLCK), since genistein inhibits tyrosine kinase as well as TLCK. Genistein reduced the number of foci of the transformed cells, and suppressed selectively the growth of ras-transformed NIH 3T3 cells but not normal NIH 3T3 cells. In contrast, TLCK did not affect the transformation. It inhibited the growth of the normal cells but not the transformed cells.

Myeloperoxidase gene expression in blast cells with a lymphoid phenotype in cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

By using a cDNA clone of the myeloperoxidase (MPO) gene, we have studied, by Northern blot analysis, the level of MPO mRNA in eight cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The blast cell populations studied were characterized by morphologic, cytochemical, immunochemical, and molecular criteria. With all the methods used the populations were found to be highly homogeneous and showed a typical lymphoid phenotype. In particular, the Ig heavy-chain gene rearrangement was largely prevalent, and the germ line configuration was almost absent. However, in three of eight cases, high levels of MPO mRNA were detected. The remarkable homogeneity of the cell populations examined suggests that the MPO mRNA observed was present in cellular elements certainly identified as lymphoid. The absence of contamination by myeloid cells was confirmed by the results of Western blot analysis of the proteins of the cell population studied: no MPO protein was detectable. The levels of mRNA observed were high enough to be comparable to those observed in a promyelocytic cell population.

Expression of the cytosolic and particulate forms of transglutaminase during chemically induced rat liver carcinogenesis.

Transglutaminase (EC 2.3.2.13) activity in chemically induced rat hepatocellular carcinomas was reduced by some 65% when compared to normal rat livers. The majority of the remaining activity (approx. 85%) was found in the particulate fraction. The use of non-ionic detergent to extract the transglutaminase activity present in both normal and tumour tissue followed by its separation on a Mono-Q column revealed two distinct peaks of activity. These peaks of activity were equivalent to those previously identified as a membrane-bound transglutaminase and the more characteristic cytosolic or tissue transglutaminase. The ratio of the activity of the cytosolic enzyme to that of the membrane-bound enzyme in normal liver was calculated as 5:1. In hepatocellular carcinomas, this ratio was reduced to 0.4:1. No significant change in the activity of the membrane-bound enzyme was detectable in tumour tissue. Comparison of the cytosolic enzyme found in hepatocellular carcinomas with that found in normal liver indicated no change in its molecular weight, Km,app for putrescine incorporation into N,N'-dimethylcasein and sensitivity to activation by Ca2+. These observations suggest that the reduction in transglutaminase activity observed in the hepatocellular carcinoma is due to a selective reduction in the expression of the cytosolic transglutaminase.

Protein kinase C and its substrates in tumor promoter-sensitive and -resistant cells.

Calcium- and phospholipid-dependent protein kinase C activity and substrates were characterized in cell lysates of preneoplastic JB6 cells, a model system of genetic variants for sensitivity to tumor promoter-induced neoplastic transformation. Protein kinase C activity was similar for sensitive and resistant variants, as measured by calcium- and phospholipid-dependent phosphorylation of an exogenous substrate (histone HIII). Of 13 endogenous protein kinase C substrates, identified by labeling proteins with [gamma-32P] ATP, at least two (80 and 23 kDa) are potential candidates for mediating events on the pathway for promotion of transformation. 32P incorporation into the 80-kDa protein kinase C substrate was stimulated by tetradecanoylphorbol acetate and correlated with phenotype: the highest incorporation was found in promotion-insensitive cells, an intermediate level in promotion-sensitive cells and the lowest in the transformed cells. The phosphorylation of an 80-kDa protein, found by labeling intact cells in monolayer growth with [32P]orthophosphate, was also stimulated by tetradecanoylphorbol acetate and correlated inversely with phenotype. The 80 kDa protein kinase C substrate from cell lysates and the 80-kDa phosphoprotein from intact cells appear to be identical, as indicated by peptide mapping with protease V8 from Staphylococcus aureus. This finding suggests that the 80-kDa substrate is relevant to promoter-induced signal transduction in the intact cell. The 23-kDa protein kinase C substrate exhibited a band shift in sodium dodecyl sulfate gels in response to another transformation promoter in JB6 cells, the calcium analog, lanthanum (Smith, B. M., Gindhart, T. D., and Colburn, N. H. (1986) Carcinogenesis 7, 1949-1956). In summary, there are no unique substrates that distinguish the variants. Quantitative differences in certain substrates or their phosphorylation may, however, account for the difference in promotion sensitivity among the variants.

The mechanisms of ornithine decarboxylase deregulation in c-Ha-ras oncogene-transformed NIH 3T3 cells.

NIH 3T3 cells transformed with the human c-Ha-rasVal-12 oncogene showed markedly enhanced activity of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the key enzyme of polyamine biosynthesis, as compared with their nontransformed counterparts. While in normal and in c-Ha-ras proto-oncogene-transfected cells stimulation with serum caused a transient induction of ODC, in cells transfected with the mutant c-Ha-ras oncogene the activity of ODC persisted at high levels for greatly extended periods of time. The amounts of immunoreactive ODC protein roughly paralleled the changes in the enzyme activity. The augmentation of ODC content by transformation could be largely, but not solely, accounted for by an enhanced accumulation of ODC mRNA. Nuclear run-off transcription assays demonstrated that in transformed cells the rate of transcription of the ODC gene was increased but to a much lower extent than the increase in the level of ODC mRNA. The turnover of ODC mRNA, as measured after actinomycin D treatment, was negligible in transformed cells for up to 8 h, whereas in normal cells the messenger content was initially decreased, by 40% within 4 h, and then remained constant. In normal cells, however, actinomycin D depressed the expression of ODC by more than 80%, while in transformed cells the activity of ODC was slightly superinduced, corresponding to the changes of ODC mRNA. These findings suggest that labile proteins may be involved in the regulation of both the stability and translatability of the ODC mRNA. Transformation led also to about 3-fold stabilization of ODC as determined by an exposure of the cells to cycloheximide. The results thus suggest ODC deregulation at multiple levels in the ras-oncogene-transformed cells.

Increment of DNA topoisomerases in chemically and virally transformed cells.

The activities of topoisomerases I and II were assayed in subcellular extracts obtained from nontumorigenic BALB/c 3T3 A31 and normal rat kidney (NRK) cell lines and from the same cells transformed by benzo[a]pyrene (BP-A31), Moloney (M-MSV-A31) and Kirsten (K-A31) sarcoma viruses, and simian virus 40 (SV-NRK). The enzymatic activity of topoisomerase I was monitored by the relaxation of negatively supercoiled pBR322 DNA and by the formation of covalent complexes between 32P-labeled DNA and topoisomerase I. Topoisomerase II activity was determined by decatenation of kinetoplast DNA (k-DNA). It was found that nuclear and cytoplasmic type I topoisomerase specific activities were higher in every transformed cell line than in the normal counterparts. These differences cannot be attributed to an inhibitory factor present in A31 cells. When chromatin was treated at increasing ionic strengths, the 0.4 M NaCl extract showed the highest topoisomerase I specific activity. Moreover, in this fraction the transformed cells exhibited the most significant increment in the enzymatic activity as compared with nontransformed cultures. Spontaneously transformed A31 cells showed topoisomerase I activity similar to that of extracts of cells transformed by benzo[a]pyrene. Topoisomerase II specific activity was also increased in SV-NRK cells, as judged by the assay for decatenation of k-DNA to yield minicircle DNA.

Early superoxide dismutase-sensitive event promotes neoplastic transformation in mouse epidermal JB6 cells.

Evidence has been obtained that implicates the generation of reactive oxygen species as an early and critical event in the promotion of neoplastic transformation in mouse JB6 cells. The time courses for specific inhibition by CuZn-superoxide dismutase (CuZn-SOD) of the 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced promotion of neoplastic transformation in JB6 cells and for changes in antioxidant enzyme activities associated with TPA-exposure were examined. The antipromoting effect of CuZn-SOD was found to be critically dependent on the time of addition of CuZn-SOD relative to the start of a 14-day exposure of cells to TPA. Treatment of JB6 P+ Clone 22 and Clone 41 cells with CuZn-SOD for 18 h before, simultaneously with or up to 1 h after exposure to TPA, all inhibited promotion of transformation maximally. Delay of addition of CuZn-SOD by 2 h or more after the start of TPA treatment resulted in a marked decrease in the promotion inhibitory effect. CuZn-SOD added 24 or 48 h after TPA had no effect on promotion of transformation. Exposure of JB6 cells to 0.2- (superoxide anion radical) generated exogenously by the aerobic xanthine oxidase reaction resulted in promotion of neoplastic transformation that was prevented by concurrent addition of CuZn-SOD. Taken together these studies provide evidence that increased superoxide anion generation within the first 2 h following TPA exposure is an essential event in promotion of transformation in JB6 cells. Upon TPA exposure, JB6 Clone 41 cells exhibited time-specific activity changes in the cellular SOD, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase. SOD and GSH-Px activities were reduced to 54% and 26% respectively of basal levels within 2 h of TPA treatment. GSH-Px activity recovered to basal levels within 4 h and CuZn-SOD within 48 h. Catalase activity was maximally reduced to 50% of basal within 1 h after TPA treatment and rebounded to greater than basal levels within 4 h. It is postulated that a c-kinase-dependent event induces rapid elevation of superoxide anion following TPA exposure and that this leads to reduced activity of antioxidant enzymes. Since antipromotion by exogenous CuZn-SOD is effective only during the first 2 h following TPA exposure, this suggests that the promotion-relevant 0.2- elevation is transient.

Recombinants within the tyrosine kinase region of v-abl and v-src identify a v-abl segment that confers lymphoid specificity.

The v-abl and v-src oncogenes encode protein-tyrosine kinases that possess different biological properties in spite of their high degree of amino acid conservation. To correlate functional differences with structural domains of the two oncogenes, we recombined v-abl and v-src just downstream of the lysines in their ATP-binding sites, within the kinase domain. The biological activity of the chimeric genes was studied and compared with that of v-src and v-abl. The v-src/v-abl recombinant shared with v-src and v-abl the ability to transform fibroblasts. In addition, like v-abl, it transformed lymphoid cells and relieved a hematopoietic cell line of its interleukin 3 requirement. In contrast, the reciprocal construct, v-abl/v-src, was transformation defective. Lack of biological activity correlated with formation of a stable complex between the chimeric protein and two cellular proteins and with low kinase activity. We conclude that the specificity within the kinase domain determines the particular biological behavior of protein-tyrosine kinase oncogenes.

Phospholipid-sensitive, Ca2+-dependent protein kinase activity in rat embryo fibroblasts transformed by herpes simplex virus type 2.

Increased cytosolic phospholipid-sensitive, Ca2+-dependent protein kinase C (PK-C) activity is correlated with the highly tumorigenic potential of rat embryo fibroblasts transformed by herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). Treatment of the cells with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) caused a decrease in the cytosolic PK-C with a concomitant increase in PK-C recovered in the membrane fraction. Translocation of the PK-C was dependent upon length of exposure to the phorbol diester. PK-C activity in the cytosolic fraction could be stimulated by TPA without the addition of phosphatidylserine and diacylglycerol. It is tempting to speculate that HSV-2 induction of cellular PK-C activity may be important in phosphorylation of proteins needed for promotion of HSV-2-induced carcinogenesis.