Automated assay optimization with integrated statistics and smart robotics.

The transition from manual to robotic high throughput screening (HTS) in the last few years has made it feasible to screen hundreds of thousands of chemical entities against a biological target in less than a month. This rate of HTS has increased the visibility of bottlenecks, one of which is assay optimization. In many organizations, experimental methods are generated by therapeutic teams associated with specific targets and passed on to the HTS group. The resulting assays frequently need to be further optimized to withstand the rigors and time frames inherent in robotic handling. Issues such as protein aggregation, ligand instability, and cellular viability are common variables in the optimization process. The availability of robotics capable of performing rapid random access tasks has made it possible to design optimization experiments that would be either very difficult or impossible for a person to carry out. Our approach to reducing the assay optimization bottleneck has been to unify the highly specific fields of statistics, biochemistry, and robotics. The product of these endeavors is a process we have named automated assay optimization (AAO). This has enabled us to determine final optimized assay conditions, which are often a composite of variables that we would not have arrived at by examining each variable independently. We have applied this approach to both radioligand binding and enzymatic assays and have realized benefits in both time and performance that we would not have predicted a priori. The fully developed AAO process encompasses the ability to download information to a robot and have liquid handling methods automatically created. This evolution in smart robotics has proven to be an invaluable tool for maintaining high-quality data in the context of increasing HTS demands.

Characterization and partial purification of human epithelial transforming growth factor.

A polypeptide growth factor has been partially purified from medium conditioned by the human adrenocortical carcinoma cell line SW13. This factor, designated h-TGFe, stimulates anchorage-independent growth of the SW13 cells. Similar activity was observed in human milk, and in conditioned media from seven of 14 epithelial cell lines. The SW13-derived activity is stable to low pH and 8M urea but labile to dithiothreitol and 2% sodium dodecyl sulfate. Human TGFe does not bind to heparin and fails to stimulate growth of endothelial cells in monolayer culture. The apparent molecular weight of h-TGFe is 59k by size exclusion chromatography in the presence of 8M urea and the activity binds strongly to cation exchangers. The activity elutes at 15-30% acetonitrile from a C18 reverse-phase column and has been partially purified by using a four-step chromatographic procedure. TGFe appears to be a novel growth factor produced by many epithelial cells and tissues.

Stimulation of anchorage independent proliferation of human adrenocortical carcinoma cells by inhibition of cholesterol biosynthesis.

Proliferation of SW13 human adrenocortical carcinoma cells under anchorage independent conditions was stimulated in a dose-dependent manner by treatment with the cholesterol biosynthesis inhibitor mevinolin. Induction of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity was observed in mevinolin treated cultures. The growth stimulatory effect of mevinolin, but not that of epithelial transforming growth factor, a polypeptide growth factor for SW13 cells, was reversed by exogenous mevalonic acid. However, neither dolichol nor low density lipoprotein supplementation affected the response of SW13 cells to mevinolin. The results suggest that mevalonic acid metabolites may participate in the regulation of anchorage independent growth of SW13 cells.

Isolation and properties of cell lines from the metastasising rat mammary tumour SMT-2A.

A new cell line Rat mammary (Rama) 900 was isolated from the ascitic version of the SMT-2A metastasising rat mammary tumour by stepwise adaptation of the tumour cells to tissue culture. The cells grew mainly as loosely-adherent aggregates, and were dependent during the first 18 passages in vitro on a feeder layer of mesothelial-like cells (Rama 950) obtained from the same tumour. Subcutaneous injection of Rama 900 cells in fat pads of syngeneic Wistar Furth rats yielded anaplastic primary tumours and extensive, gross metastases including those in lungs, lymph nodes, liver and bones, similar to the parental transplantable tumour. The extent of metastatic spread from subcutaneous fat pads was increased by passage 17 in vitro for the Rama 900 cells. A similar extent of metastatic spread was achieved at earlier times by injecting the original cells with the non-tumorigenic Rama 950 cells in vivo. Subcutaneous injection of Rama 900 into thymectomised rats or MF1 nu/nu mice yielded fewer tumours, most of which regressed. No metastases occurred in the thymectomised rats and fewer metastases, mainly in lungs but not in lymph nodes, livers or bones, were seen in the nude mice. The ascitic tumours formed by intraperitoneal injection of nude mice contained both anaplastic rat cells similar to Rama 900 and mouse mesothelial-like cells similar to Rama 950. Although these anaplastic ascites cells failed to yield any tumours in syngeneic or thymectomised rats, they still produced tumours and metastases, including those in lymph nodes, in nude mice.

Automation of data acquisition and processing in assays for anchorage-independent growth: application to the purification of epithelial transforming growth factor.

We have developed a method for automated data collection from anchorage-independent growth assays by direct interfacing of an Omnicon image analysis system with a VAX mainframe computer network. By use of this interface, data generated with the Omnicon can be acquired and manipulated by the VAX, providing several advantages including high throughput, elimination of operator error, flexibility and speed, and capacity of mainframe data processing. We have applied these techniques to aid in the purification of a novel growth factor for human epithelial cells. Both column elution profiles and dose-response data were processed to graphic formats, and ED50 values for the individual purification steps were obtained by Hill transformation of the dose-response curves. The assay for anchorage-independent growth is widely used for purification of growth factors and testing of chemotherapeutic agents against human tumor cells. The present technique should be useful in facilitating these labor-intensive studies.

Characterization of an animal model of metastatic colon carcinoma.

Although numerous animal tumor models have been used to study colon carcinoma, few display metastatic properties. We have characterized an animal tumor model that has 3 properties essential for the study of metastasis of colon carcinoma cells: epithelial cell origin; a reproducible pattern of metastatic behavior and the ability to be propagated both in vitro and in vivo to facilitate identification of biochemical correlates of metastasis. The K12/TR cell line was derived from a transplantable colon carcinoma induced by dimethylhydrazine in the BD-1X rat strain. Transmission electron microscopy of K12/TR cells demonstrated junctional complexes, desmosomes and surface microvilli characteristic of gastrointestinal epithelial cells. The epithelial cell origin of K12/TR was confirmed by demonstrating the presence of keratin, a marker of epithelial cells, but not vimentin, a constituent of mesenchymal cells. Secretion of CEA and Ca19-9 antigens by K12/TR cells in vitro was below the sensitivity of the assays (1 ng/ml and 6 U/ml respectively). K12/TR cells produced tumors following s.c. injection into syngeneic BD-1X rats, allogeneic RNU/rnuDF rats and xenogeneic CRL:nu/nuBR mice. Macroscopic lung metastases were observed in animals from all 3 groups. Distal lymph node metastases were more frequent in BD-1X rats than in nude rats or mice. The histological appearances of all tumors and metastases were similar, showing a moderate to poorly differentiated glandular carcinoma. Intrasplenic injections of K12/TR cells in nude mice resulted in liver colonization. Preferential growth of tumor cells at sites of trauma was also observed. The results show that the K12/TR system can be used as a model to study metastasis of colon carcinoma cells and may find utility in the testing of chemotherapeutic agents against metastatic lesions.

Dedifferentiation of rat mammary myoepithelial-like cell lines after passage in vivo or cloning in vitro.

Myoepithelial-like cell lines from normal mammary glands of neonatal Ludwig Wistar rats, rat mammary (Rama) 401 and Rama 704E, were injected into fat pads of syngeneic animals or were single-cell cloned in vitro. Rama 401 produced tumors that were predominantly composed of elongated cells, while the subclones of both cell lines yielded multilayered structures of elongated cells when grown on floating 0.3% collagen gels in vitro. Immunocytochemical analysis of histologic sections for markers of myoepithelial cells revealed that anti-actin-myosin and human keratin sera failed to stain the Rama 401 tumor cells or subclones of both cell lines on collagen gels, but both were stained with antilaminin serum. Immunofluorescent analysis of cultures of Rama 401 tumors showed that the resulting elongated cells failed to stain with antikeratin serum, but abundant staining was observed with antilaminin and antivimentin sera, as in the tumors. Ultrastructural analysis of the Rama 401 tumor cells identified intermediate junctions and extracellular basement membrane-like material in the vicinity of plasma membrane-associated pinocytotic vesicles, but neither true desmosomes nor myofilamental bundles were observed. Thus growth of rat mammary myoepithelial-like cells as tumors in syngeneic animals or as subclones in vitro can lead to selective loss of myofilaments and prekeratin-containing intermediate filaments. Similar relatively undifferentiated elongated cells may be responsible for some of the cellular heterogeneity observed in certain carcinogen-induced rat mammary tumors.

Lack of production of myoepithelial variants by cloned epithelial cell lines derived from the TMT-081 metastasizing rat mammary tumor.

A series of cell lines was isolated from the metastasizing rat mammary tumor cell strain TMT-081. MS by single-cell cloning. Feeder cells were required for development of single tumor cells into clonal colonies. The rate, pattern, and incidence of metastases following injection of cells into the mammary fat pads of syngeneic rats were relatively similar for the various cell lines, with dissemination to the lungs and axillary and paraaortic lymph nodes. When a representative cell line termed Rama 800 was subcloned, one subline was nontumorigenic, and another gave a lower incidence of lung metastases, but the remainder had similar in vivo properties to the parental Rama 800 cells. The metastatic properties of Rama 800 cells were not affected by passage in vitro through 60 cell generations. No production of myoepithelial-like variants from Rama 800 cells was observed at the ultrastructural level. Antisera to keratin, actin, laminin, and fibronectin, which normally stain myoepithelial cells and basement membrane, failed to stain Rama 800 cells, either in cultures or in tumor sections. Heterogeneous staining of Rama 800 tumor cells with antiserum to epithelial cell-specific milk fat globule membrane antigens was seen in tumor sections but not in culture. Abundant microvilli and membrane blebs were observed on the surface of cultured Rama 800 cells, but no lumen formation, desmosomes, or tonofilaments were seen, either in vivo or in vitro. The results suggest that the metastatic epithelial-derived cell lines lack the ability to express features of myoepithelial cells, in contrast to cell lines isolated previously from nonmetastasizing rat mammary tumors.

Production of skeletal muscle elements by cell lines derived from neoplastic rat mammary epithelial stem cells.

Single-cell-cloned cell lines intermediate in morphology between the cuboidal epithelial and fully elongated myoepithelial-like cells have been isolated from the single-cell-cloned epithelial stem cell lines Rama 25 and Rama 37 originally obtained from dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced mammary tumors from Sprague-Dawley and Wistar-Furth rats, respectively. These are designated Rama 25-l1, Rama 25-l2, Rama 25-l4 (Sprague-Dawley) and Rama 50-55, Rama 59, and Rama 60 (Wistar-Furth), respectively. When growing as tumors in nude mice or syngeneic Wistar-Furth rats, respectively, many of the newly cloned cell lines give rise to spindle and giant, multinucleated cells which stain immunocytochemically with antisera to myoglobin and myosin and contain longitudinal fibrils, some of which contain phosphotungstic acid-hematoxylin-staining cross-striations. Ultrastructural analysis demonstrates the presence of A-, l-, and H-bands and Z-discs and the hexagonal arrangement of thick and thin filaments characteristic of skeletal muscle. Similar results are obtained with selected cloned cell lines growing on floating collagen gels in vitro. Thus, a developmentally committed mammary epithelial cell can give rise, under suitable conditions, to a well-differentiated mesenchymal lineage, that of skeletal muscle. It is suggested that such cells may be responsible for the generation of the well-differentiated mesenchymal elements seen in the mixed (epithelial and myoepithelial) tumors of glandular origin.

Loss of myoepithelial cell characteristics in metastasizing rat mammary tumors relative to their nonmetastasizing counterparts.

A series of WF rat mammary tumors comprising one transplantable nonmetastasizing line (MT-W9), two predominantly lymphatic (SMT-2A and SMT-077) and one lymphatic and hematogenous (MT-450) metastasizing transplantable lines, and 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced nonmetastasizing primary tumors was examined for the presence of epithelial and myoepithelial cell characteristics with the use of immunocytochemical techniques. Tumor cells staining for myosin were only occasionally observed in a basal orientation in glandular structures in sections of DMBA-induced and MT-W9 tumors; anti-laminin serum stained the peripheries of the glandular structures in the DMBA-induced and MT-W9 tumors but failed to stain the SMT-2A and SMT-077 tumor cells. In the nonmetastasizing tumors immunologically detectable keratin occurred mainly in the outer cellular layer of glandlike structures, whereas milk fat globule membrane immunoreactivity occurred primarily in the luminal cells. Both these types of immunoreactivity were observed in MT-450 tumor cells, but the pattern of keratin staining was random. No such immunoreactivity occurred in SMT-2A or SMT-077 tumors. No tumor cell-associated staining for fibronectin was seen in any of the tumors examined, although host stromal components stained intensely. The nonmetastasizing tumors contained cuboidal epithelial cells with lumen formation, surface microvilli, and intercellular junctional complexes, together with a relatively undifferentiated elongated cell component. Other elongated cells showed hemidesmosomes, pinocytotic vesicles, tonofilaments, and small bundles of cytoplasmic filaments, suggesting gradations toward a myoepithelial phenotype. The MT-450 tumors were ultrastructurally similar to the nonmetastasizing tumors, but no features of myoepithelial cells were seen, although some cuboidal epithelial cells exhibited prominent tonofilaments. The SMT-2A and SMT-077 tumors consisted of nests of cuboidal-like cells with highly pleomorphic nuclei and much intercellular collagen. The results indicate a progressive loss of cellular differentiation characteristics, particularly those of the myoepithelial cell with increasing malignancy in this system.

Phenotypic instability of rat mammary tumor epithelial cells.

The spontaneous production of elongated derivatives by cuboidal rat mammary epithelial cells was examined with the use of a series of single-cell clones grown in tissue culture. Four representative cell lines derived from a 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene-induced mammary tumor in an inbred WF rat were examined for morphologic stability, chromosome number, presence of immunoreactive fibronectin, laminin, prekeratin, and milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) antigens, ultrastructural characteristics, and tumorigenicity in syngeneic hosts. Conversion of cuboidal to elongated cells occurred by way of apparent morphologic intermediates, examples of which were isolated and cloned. Levels of immunoreactive fibronectin and laminin were greater in the elongated than the cuboidal clones, whereas the converse was true of prekeratin. MFGM antigens were present to a variable extent in all 4 clones. When grown on 0.3% collagen gels, cells of Rama 37 CL-A3 and Rama 37CS-A2 cuboidal clones exhibited surface microvilli and desmosomes. A minority of elongated cells contained microfilamental structures and pinocytotic vesicles similar to those seen in myoepithelial cells; the remainder lacked distinguishing ultrastructural features. After injection into syngeneic recipients, Rama 37 CL-A3 cuboidal line gave rise to glandular tumors consisting of cuboidal cells arranged in acinar structures, Rama 37 E5 elongated line induced spindle cell tumors, and Rama 37 CS-A2 and Rama 37 E8 lines induced tumors containing nests of mixed spindle and cuboidal cells. The majority of these tumors failed to metastasize.