A patient with a short arm deletion of chromosome 18 (46,XY,18p-)

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Studies of cell deformability. IV. A possible role of calcium in cell contact phenomena

Cells grown in suspension culture were incubated with EDTA-disodium salt and shown to have more easily deformable surfaces and raised electrophoretic mobility than controls, following this treatment. The reversibility of these observations by the addition of calcium ions, and other parallel experiments, support the conclusion that, in these cells, calcium is bound to anionic sites at the cell periphery, some of which are located at the cellular electrokinetic surface. These cells should, therefore, exhibit demonstrable calcium-sensitive aggregation, if current theories on the role of calcium in the physiological situation are correct. The fact that no calcium-sensitive aggregation was observed suggests that calcium does not form "bridges" between the adjacent anionic sites on different cells, and does not act directly by its effects on the diffuse electrical double-layer in this situation. An alternative hypothesis is advanced for the role played by calcium in cell adhesion and separation processes.

Studies on cell deformability. 3. Some effects of EDTA on sarcoma 37 cells

The nonlethal procedure of incubation in EDTA solution makes the peripheral regions of ascites sarcoma 37 cells more easily deformable, as reflected in measurements of the decreased amount of negative pressure required to suck out standard hemispherical bulges from the cells into micropipettes. The facilitation of deformability was abolished after reincubation of cells in calcium-containing saline, and this mechanical parameter was partially restored to normal after reincubation in magnesium-containing saline; the mechanical effect of EDTA treatment is, therefore, thought to be due mainly to the removal of calcium from the cell periphery. As EDTA treatment produces no detectable change in cellular electrophoretic mobility, it is concluded that peripheral calcium must be bound to anionic sites deeper than about 10 A from the cellular hydrodynamic slip plane. The data are discussed with emphasis on the view that they should not be extrapolated freely to other cell types.

Studies on cell deformability. II. Effects of some proteolytic enzymes

Murine sarcoma 37 ascites cells were treated with the proteolytic enzymes, trypsin and chymotrypsin, after which cellular deformability and electrophoretic mobility were measured. It was shown that incubation with trypsin increased the ease with which the cells could be deformed without changing electrophoretic mobility, and that diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP)-trypsin was inactive, a fact which suggests that trypsin-sensitive peptide linkages help to maintain the "tension" at the cell periphery. On the other hand, chymotrypsin reduced cellular electrophoretic mobility without appreciably altering deformability. This suggests that, although chymotrypsin-sensitive bonds do not contribute to "tension," they are in some way associated with charged groups at the cell periphery.

Transformation of monocytes in tissue culture into macrophages, epithelioid cells, and multinucleated giant cells. An electron microscope study

The sequential transformation of chicken monocytes into macrophages, epithelioid cells, and multinucleated giant cells in vitro was studied by electron microscopy after fixation and embedment in situ. The following changes occur. In the nucleus, margination of chromatin, evident in monocytes, decreases in later forms. Nucleoli become more complex and nuclear pores increase in number. In cytoplasm, a progressive increase in volume of the ectoplasm and endoplasm occurs in culture. Lysosomes increase in number and size prior to phagocytosis. During phagocytosis (most active from 1 to 3 days of culture) lysosome depletion occurs. Lysosomes are present in greatest number and show maximal structural variation in the epithelioid and young giant cells. Aging giant cells lose lysosomes. All stages possess variably large quantities of rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum and free ribosomes. The Golgi apparatus, small in monocytes, increases in size and complexity. Massive accumulations of lysosomes within the Golgi apparatus of macrophages and epithelioid cells suggest that lysosomes originate there. In giant cells, multiple Golgi regions occur, often ringing the nuclei. Monocytes and macrophages have few mitochondria. Mitochondria of epithelioid cells are larger, more numerous, and may have discontinuous outer membranes. Mitochondria are most numerous in giant cells where they increase with age and become polymorphous. Cytoplasmic filaments are approximately 50 to 60 A in diameter and of indeterminate length. They occur both singly and in bundles which touch cytoplasmic vesicles and mitochondria. Few filaments occur in monocytes and macrophages. A large increase in the number of filaments occurs in epithelioid cells, where filaments (90 to 100 A) surround the cytocentrum as a distinctive annular bundle often branching into the cytoplasm. The greatest concentration of filaments occurs in aged giant cells. Pseudopodia are always present. They are short and filiform in monocytes and giant cells, and broad, with abundant micropinocytotic vesicles, in macrophages and epithelioid cells. At every stage, the cell membrane contains dense cuplike structures. These may represent the membranous residue of lysosomes which have discharged to the outside, analogous to merocrine secretion. Contiguous epithelioid cells display elaborate cytoplasmic interdigitation. In places, the plasma membranes break down and epithelioid cells fuse to form giant cells.