A complex containing p34cdc2 and cyclin B phosphorylates the nuclear lamin and disassembles nuclei of clam oocytes in vitro

Cell-free extracts prepared from activated clam oocytes contain factors which induce phosphorylation of the single 67-kD lamin (L67), disassemble clam oocyte nuclei, and cause chromosome condensation in vitro (Dessev, G., R. Palazzo, L. Rebhun, and R. Goldman. 1989. Dev. Biol. 131:469-504). To identify these factors, we have fractionated the oocyte extracts. The nuclear lamina disassembly (NLD) activity, together with a protein kinase activity specific for L67, appear as a single peak throughout a number of purification steps. This peak also contains p34cdc2, cyclin B, and histone H1-kinase activity, which are components of the M-phase promoting factor (MPF). The NLD/L67-kinase activity is depleted by exposure of this purified material to Sepharose conjugated to p13suc1, and is restored upon addition of a p34cdc2/p62 complex from HeLa cells. The latter complex phosphorylates L67 and induces NLD in the absence of other clam oocyte proteins. Our results suggest that a single protein kinase activity (p34cdc2-H1 kinase, identical with MPF) phosphorylates the lamin and is involved in the meiotic breakdown of the nuclear envelope in clam oocytes.

Effect of repeated occupational exposure to lead, cessation of exposure, and chelation on levels of lead in bone

A sensitive K-X-ray fluorescence (K-XRF) instrument was used to measure lead levels in the tibia and patella on a series of twelve subjects who had relatively well-documented histories of lead exposure and blood lead levels. For some subjects, K-XRF measurements were taken at multiple points in time, and before and after chelation with EDTA (ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid). Results confirm that K-XRF measured bone lead levels correspond to cumulative blood lead indices and not to current blood lead levels. Moreover, the data suggest that bone lead levels; (1) correspond to urinary lead following the EDTA mobilization test unless previous chelation has occurred; (2) rise initially after lead exposure ceases and blood lead levels decrease, probably from redistribution from soft tissue, and then fall; and (3) do not decrease with a 3- to 5-day course of therapeutic EDTA chelation. K-XRF levels in the patella were noted to decrease more rapidly than levels in the tibia after cessation of lead exposure, a finding that probably reflects the greater turnover of lead in trabecular bone than in cortical bone.

Heterodimerization of the erbB-1 and erbB-2 receptors in human breast carcinoma cells: a mechanism for receptor transregulation

The erbB-1 and erbB-2 protooncogenes encode homologous membrane receptors that respectively bind epidermal growth factor (EGF) and a still incompletely characterized ligand. Binding of EGF to its receptor is known to increase tyrosine phosphorylation of the erbB-2/neu receptor in tumor cells. To investigate the mechanism of this transregulatory pathway, we analyzed the interactions between the two receptors in SKBR-3 human breast carcinoma cells. Chemical cross-linking of 125I-labeled EGF revealed that the radiolabeled EGF receptor coimmunoprecipitates with the erbB-2/neu receptor. In addition a cross-linked species of 360-kdalton molecular mass is also coimmunoprecipitated. The formation of the latter species is absolutely dependent on the presence of EGF receptor and thus appears to represent a heterodimer of the erbB-1 and erbB-2 receptors. In vitro kinase reaction assays revealed that receptor heterodimerization is induced by EGF binding and leads to a dramatic increase in the self-phosphorylation capacity of the dimerized receptors. Moreover, analysis of living SKBR-3 cells suggested that most of the EGF-induced transregulation of the erbB-2/neu receptor is due to receptor heterodimerization. In conclusion, heterodimers of erbB-1 and erbB-2 receptors may provide a mechanism for dual transductory functions of growth factors of breast tumor cells.

The association of glycosomal enzymes and microtubules: a physiological phenomenon or an experimental artifact?

Subpellicular microtubules isolated from Trypanosoma brucei parasites were fractionated on a phosphocellulose column, and the trypanosomal p52 microtubule-associated protein was eluted along with two other proteins of 41 and 36 kDa. These proteins were found to be the glycosomal enzymes aldolase (41 kDa) and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH, 36 kDa) by enzyme activity, antibody cross-reaction, and N-terminal sequencing. These enzymes were coprecipitated with tubulin in the presence of taxol, and aldolase had the capacity to polymerize tubulin and crosslink microtubules. Immunolocalization of anti-aldolase and anti-GAPDH antibodies did not show an interaction between these enzymes and the subpellicular microtubules. The question whether the copurification of aldolase and the subpellicular microtubules could reflect a physiological phenomenon or may be an experimental artifact is discussed.

Dependence on Ca2+ of lipoprotein lipase stability

Macrophages continuously secrete lipoprotein lipase (LPL) into the culture medium. When LPL was collected from thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophages (Tg-Mø) or J774.1 cells over a 4 h period in Ca2+ and Mg2(+)-free Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (d-DMEM) the activity in the collection medium was reduced by 40-62% and 23%, respectively, as compared to that expressed in full medium (DMEM). Ca2+ supplementation during the collection period in d-DMEM augmented LPL activity in the medium; about 1 mM Ca2+ was required for attainment of activity comparable to that expressed in DMEM. Addition of Ca2+ during the assay did not enhance LPL activity collected into d-DMEM. Addition of EGTA to the assay mixture reduced LPL activity by 34-60% and when present in the collection medium, EGTA led to a reduction in enzyme activity greater than 90%. A 4 h incubation of Tg-Mø in 3 mM EGTA led to an almost complete loss of intracellular Ca2+ (measured by efflux of 45Ca2+ from preloaded cells), yet there was no change in the overall synthesis and secretion of proteins and in the phagocytic capability of the cells. LPL activity in the enzyme collection medium after its removal from cell monolayers was stable at least up to 4 h at 0 degrees C and at 23 degrees C. Activity was progressively lost with increased temperatures: up to 40% loss at 37 degrees C in 4 h. Addition of EGTA to the above medium led to an enhanced rate of irreversible enzyme inactivation: 76-86% loss of activity in 4 h at 37 degrees C. No inactivation was observed at 0 degrees C and at 23 degrees C in the presence of EGTA. The results indicate a critical role for Ca2+ in enzyme stabilization.

Effect of Calcium on the Stability of the Vitelline Envelope of Surf Clam Oocytes

Fertilization and parthenogenic activation of oocytes of the surf clam, Spisula solidissima, require the presence of calcium in the extracellular medium. Here we report that the depletion of calcium causes a dramatic increase in the stability of the vitelline envelopes (VE). On the basis of this effect, we have developed a method of isolating intact VE and have studied their morphology, composition, and properties. Experiments using 45Ca2+ have revealed that isolated VE bind calcium in a weak, but specific way. These findings suggest that the function of calcium may be to maintain the oocyte surface in a fertilization-competent state, while the reactions subsequent to the initial activation event, and leading to nuclear envelope breakdown (NEBD), may not require calcium. In support of this hypothesis, we have demonstrated that hypertonic conditions induce the oocytes to undergo NEBD in the absence of extracellular calcium.

The oocyte lamin persists as a single major component of the nuclear lamina during embryonic development of the surf clam

Nuclei and nuclear lamina-enriched fractions, isolated from 1 to 5-day-old embryos of the surf clam, Spisula solidissima, contain only one major lamin protein, which appears to be identical to the oocyte lamin (L67), as judged by 2D IEF/SDS PAGE, reactivity with a polyclonal antibody directed against L67 and 125I tryptic peptide mapping. The same protein is also present in liver, muscle, nerve and testis from adult animals. No proteins--recognized by several poly- and monoclonal antibodies, specific for somatic lamins from different vertebrate species or the oocyte lamin LIII of Xenopus- have been detected in nuclei or NL-enriched preparations, isolated from embryos or adult tissues. Synthesis of L67 is detectable in embryos 2h after fertilization; it reaches a maximum in 6h-old embryos and gradually declines thereafter. These results argue that the composition of the NL bears no obvious relationship to the structural and functional changes that take place during the embryonic development of this invertebrate.

Control of lipoprotein lipase secretion by macrophages: effect of macrophage differentiation agents

The effect of macrophage differentiation agents on lipoprotein lipase (LPL) secretion by macrophages at different stages of differentiation/maturation was investigated. Phorbol myristate acetate (TPA) had an augmenting effect on LPL secretion by in vitro-derived bone marrow macrophages (BMMs), thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophages (TgM phi), and resistant macrophages. Augmentation was time dependent and reached approximately two-fold and approximately threefold increase over control cells within 16 and 96 hr, respectively. TPA did not affect LPL secretion from J774.1 cells treated with the agent for 16-72 hr. L-cell conditioned medium (L-CM), a source of macrophage colony-stimulating activity, augmented LPL secretion by BMMs and Tg-M phi, and when added together with TPA had an additive augmenting effect on LPL secretion in these cells. Retinoic acid (RA) exerted a time-dependent suppressive effect on LPL secretion by BMMs (46% within 16 hr and 83% within 6 d), had a relatively small effect on secretion from J774.1 cells (approximately 20% in 72 hr) and had no effect on LPL secretion by Tg-M phi. Dexamethasone suppressed LPL secretion by BMMs, Tg-M phi, and J774.1 cells. Optimal suppression of LPL secretion by BMMs required more than 24 hr. Thus, TPA and L-CM, agents that exert a mitogenic effect on BMMs and Tg-M phi, augmented the secretion of LPL in these cell types, and RA and dexamethasone, agents which induce differentiation patterns in myeloid cells, suppressed LPL secretion.

Development of a Veterans Administration occurrence screening program

In October 1988, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) established an occurrence screening program in its large, heterogeneous health care system. The program--comprising four stages: initial screening and clinical, peer, and service chief reviews--was designed to be sufficiently uniform for the collection of comparable data throughout the VA system, yet allow for local autonomy at 172 different facilities. Highly objective screening criteria were chosen so that identification of cases for review could be performed by automated procedures.

Control of lipoprotein lipase secretion in mouse macrophages

The regulation of secretion of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) was studied in in vitro-derived mouse bone marrow macrophages (BMM), peritoneal exudate and resident macrophages and in the macrophage-like tumor cell line J774.1. BMM in cultures initiated with low concentrations of bone marrow cells (LC-BMC cultures) secrete more LPL per cell than BMM in cultures initiated with high concentrations of bone marrow cells (HC-BMC cultures). The suppressed state of LPL secretion in HC-BMC cultures could be alleviated by the addition of a colony-stimulating factor source (L-cell-conditioned medium; L-CM) onto the culture medium or exchanging the medium of HC-BMC cultures with medium from LC-BMC cultures for short periods (4 h). Addition of L-CM increased LPL secretion also in LC-BMC cultures. Addition of L-CM to fresh culture medium had little or no effect, suggesting that, in addition to requirement for L-CM, optimal expression depended also on factors released by the growing cells, probably providing optimal growth conditions. L-CM enhanced LPL secretion by thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophages and had no effect on LPL secretion by resident peritoneal macrophages. Secretion of LPL from adherent J774.1 cells showed a biphasic effect. Secretion increased with cell density up to the point when growth inhibition was observed. In dense cultures in which cell proliferation was almost arrested, LPL secretion was remarkably suppressed (80-90%). Change of medium of dense cultures to fresh medium or medium conditioned by sparse cultures (for the last 4 h of culture) led to enhancement of LPL secretion to levels similar to those optimally expressed by sparse cultures. L-CM did not enhance LPL secretion from J774.1 cells. Dense cultures of both BMM and J774.1 cells did not contain a stable inhibitor of LPL secretion and medium from sparse cultures did not contain an inducer of LPL secretion. The data suggest that proliferating macrophages secrete large amounts of LPL, whereas in nonproliferating, quiescent cells, this activity is much reduced. L-CM enhances LPL secretion in quiescent BMM and peritoneal exudate cells to levels expressed by proliferating cells. Since this effect is already expressed after a 4 h incubation period, it is not dependent on cell cycling but could be one of the early responses to this macrophage mitogen. In J774.1 cells, a change of medium is a sufficient signal for enhancement of LPL secretion in quiescent cells.

Disassembly of the nuclear envelope of spisula oocytes in a cell-free system

Nuclei isolated from oocytes of the surf clam Spisula solidissima are disassembled when exposed to extracts from maturing oocytes. In the course of this process the nuclear lamina undergoes a marked reduction in size and the nuclear membrane appears to be fragmented into vesicles. These events are accompanied by extensive phosphorylation of the oocyte 67-kDa lamin and its solubilization. The changes observed are similar to those which occur in vivo in activated Spisula oocytes. Nuclear envelope breakdown in vitro requires ATP and Mg2+, but not Ca2+. It is not affected by protease inhibitors and is inhibited by alkaline phosphatase.

Isolation of a subpellicular microtubule protein from Trypanosoma brucei that mediates crosslinking of microtubules

The cell body of Trypanosomatidae is enclosed in densely packed, crosslinked, subpellicular microtubules closely underlying the plasma membrane. We isolated the subpellicular microtubules from bloodstream Trypanosoma brucei parasites by use of a zwitterion detergent. These cold stable structures were solubilized by a high ionic strength salt solution, and the soluble proteins that contained tubulin along with several other proteins were further fractionated by Mono S cation exchange column chromatography. Two distinct peaks were eluted containing one protein each, which had an apparent molecular weight of 52 kDa and 53 kDa. (Mr was determined by SDS-gel electrophoresis). Only the 52 kDa protein showed specific tubulin binding properties, which were demonstrated by exposure of nitrocellulose-bound trypanosome proteins to brain tubulin. When this protein was added to brain tubulin in the presence of taxol and GTP, microtubule bundles were formed with regular crosslinks between the parallel closely packed microtubules. The crosslinks were about 7.2 nm apart (center to center). Under the same conditions, but with the 53 kDA protein or without trypanosome derived proteins, brain tubulin polymerized to single microtubules. It is thus suggested that the unique structural organization of the subpellicular microtubules is dictated by specific parasite proteins and is not an inherent property of the polymerizing tubulin. The in vitro reconstituted microtubule bundles are strikingly similar to the subpellicular microtubule network of the parasite.

Meiotic breakdown of nuclear envelope in oocytes of Spisula solidissima involves phosphorylation and release of nuclear lamin

During meiotic nuclear envelope breakdown (NEBD) in maturing oocytes of the surf clam, Spisula solidissima, the 67-kDa lamin is extensively phosphorylated, concurrently with its solubilization. This is accompanied by a reduction of the nuclear diameter. Quercetin, a protein kinase inhibitor, does not affect lamin phosphorylation and release, nor NEBD per se, but specifically inhibits the early phosphorylation of a set of proteins, on which NEBD seems to depend. Our results suggest that meiotic NEBD in Spisula oocytes may be controlled by a mechanism which involves lamin phosphorylation, similar to that which is thought to operate in mitosis.

Protein kinase activity associated with the nuclear lamina

A nuclear lamina-enriched fraction from Ehrlich ascites tumor cells contains a tightly bound protein kinase activity, which phosphorylates in vitro the nuclear lamins, a 52-kilodalton protein, and several unknown minor components. The enzyme(s) is thermolabile, independent of Ca2+ and cAMP, and inhibited by quercetin. After treatment with 4 M urea it remains bound to the nuclear lamina in an active state, but it is irreversibly inactivated in 6 M urea. The lamin proteins are phosphorylated on serine residues. Their two-dimensional phosphopeptide maps show multiple phosphorylation sites and a considerable similarity to the phosphopeptide maps of lamins labeled in vivo. Photoaffinity labeling experiments revealed several polypeptide fractions in the nuclear lamina fraction that are candidates for the protein kinase(s).

Induction of a beta-1,3-D-glucan receptor in P388D1 cells treated with retinoic acid or 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3

Retinoic acid (RA) and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) induce the capability to phagocytose heat-killed yeast (Y) (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) in P388D1 cells. Y phagocytosis is specifically inhibited (100%) by particulate and soluble beta-1,3-D-glucan. Other polysaccharides, such as agarose, dextran and dextran sulphate, are not inhibitory. The inhibitory capacity of mannan was totally abrogated by treatment with beta-glucanase, suggesting that its activity is derived from a residual beta-glucan structure. Partial hydrolysis of glucan particles with formic acid yielded soluble glucan that was fractionated according to size. Glucan1, glucan2 and glucan3 had an average chain length of 34, 23.5 and 15.5 glucose units, respectively. Fifty percent inhibition of Y phagocytosis by RA-P388D1 cells was attained at less than 0.02 microgram/ml (approximately 2 nM) glucan1 and at 1.1 micrograms/ml glucan3. A further decrease in chain length (less than or equal to 12.6) resulted in oligomers of marginal inhibitory activity. Preincubation of RA- and 1,25(OH)2D3-P388D1 cells with glucan1 for 30 seconds to 5 min, at 4 degrees or 37 degrees, followed by washes with buffer, sufficed to bring about 85-95% inhibition of Y phagocytosis. Recovery of the phagocytic capability was time dependent and required protein synthesis, suggesting a glucan1-induced removal of membrane receptors. The results suggest that recognition and ingestion of Y by RA- or 1,25(OH)2D3-treated P388D1 cells depends almost exclusively on a beta-glucan-specific receptor.

Characteristics of the beta-glucan receptor of murine macrophages

Phagocytosis of heat-killed yeast (HK-yeast), zymosan, and glucan particles by thioglycollate-elicited mouse peritoneal macrophages (Tg-macrophages) was inhibited by soluble glucan polymers/oligomers. The inhibitory capacity of soluble glucans decreased steeply with the decrease in the degree of polymerization (DPn); i.e., the concentration at which 50% inhibition of phagocytosis was attained was 0.23 microgram/ml for glucan 1 (DPn 24.8), 0.8 microgram/ml for glucan 2 (DPn 21.9), and greater than 40 micrograms/ml for glucan 3 (DPn 13.8). The glucan polymers were obtained by partial hydrolysis of glucan particles with formic acid (90%, 95 degrees C, 20 min) and fractionation according to solubility in ethanol water mixtures. A short preincubation (5 min, 4 or 37 degrees C) of Tg-macrophages with glucan 1 led to a subsequent inhibition of HK-yeast phagocytosis. Recovery of the phagocytic function was slow (27% in 3 h; 68% in 5 h) and required protein synthesis. beta-Glucan receptor expression was also suppressed by dexamethasone treatment. Mannan exerted at high concentrations (5 mg/ml) a partial inhibitory activity which was totally abrogated by beta-glucanase treatment. Treatment of macrophages with glucan together with mannan did not enhance the inhibitory capacity of glucan beyond the component abrogated by enzyme treatment. Contribution of local opsonization of HK-yeast to the phagocytic response (involvement of complement receptors) was indirectly negated; (a) glucan 1 which inhibits HK-yeast phagocytosis by up to 95% is not an activator of complement and therefore could not compete for the opsonizing proteins; (b) cycloheximide treatment in itself inhibited only partially HK-yeast phagocytosis whereas it inhibited the reexpression of the glucan receptors; (c) glucan 1 did not affect the phagocytosis of serum opsonized HK-yeast. Thus under the experimental conditions described, phagocytosis of HK-yeast by murine macrophages is mediated by and large by the beta-glucan receptors, while the mannose receptors and complement receptors do not contribute to the process.

The P55 protein affected by v-mos expression is vimentin

Rabbit antiserum prepared against a cyclic 19-amino-acid peptide predicted from the sequence of the viral mos gene (v-mos) of Moloney murine sarcoma virus not only recognized v-mos gene products but also specifically detected a 55,000-Mr polypeptide expressed in a variety of cells that grow on solid surfaces. This normal cellular protein, previously shown to be reduced in amount in cells expressing the v-mos gene, was found to be the intermediate filament structural protein, vimentin. This conclusion was reached by comparing relative mobilities in denaturing gels, isoelectric points, immunoreactivities, location in the cell, and peptide maps.

Antibacterial agents specifically inhibiting lipopolysaccharide synthesis

The spread of antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria has sustained a continuing search for new agents with antibacterial activity against this important class of bacterial pathogen. Because the biosynthesis of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is unique to Gram-negative bacteria and required by them for growth and virulence, attempts have been made to discover or design antibacterial agents acting at this site; however, no such agents have so far been developed. We now present definitive experimental data documenting design of the first member of the class of antibacterial compounds which specifically inhibit LPS synthesis. The target enzyme is 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonate cytidylytransferase (CMP-KDO synthetase), a cytoplasmic enzyme which activates 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonate (KDO) for incorporation into LPS. A specific inhibitor of CMP-KDO synthetase, alpha-C-(1,5-anhydro-7-amino-2,7-dideoxy-D-manno-heptopyranosyl)-carboxy late was designed using results of our studies of the purified enzyme. LPS synthesis ceased and lipid A precursor accumulated, causing growth stasis and perturbation of outer membrane structure and function, following delivery of the inhibitor to the intracellular target by a peptide carrier. Antibacterial action required an intact oligopeptide permease system and specific intracellular aminopeptidase activity to release inhibitor from the peptide prodrug.

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide suppresses the expression of lipoprotein lipase in murine macrophages: a process independent of tumor necrosis factor or interleukin 1

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) modulates macrophage functions and induces the synthesis and secretion of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin 1 (IL-1) in these cells. The latter two factors but not LPS suppress lipoprotein lipase (LPL) synthesis and secretion in adipocytes. Since the regulation of LPL secretion in macrophages is rather poorly understood, we investigated the effect of the macrophage activator LPS on LPL secretion by macrophages. LPS suppressed in a dose- and time-dependent manner the heparin-induced secretion of LPL from the macrophage-like tumor cell line J774.1 and from bone marrow derived mononuclear phagocytes (BMM). Suppression of LPL secretion from J774.1 and that from BMM reached about 66 and 50%, respectively, within 8 h of exposure to 500 ng/ml LPS. LPS did not inhibit the enzymic activity of LPL when added directly to the cell free enzyme assay system. Human recombinant TNF (1000 U/ml) and murine recombinant IL-1 (100 U/ml) did not affect LPL secretion or cell proliferation in the J774.1 cell line over a period of 72 and 24 h, respectively. Thus LPS regulates macrophage secretion of LPL in a mechanism independent of the induction of autocrine production of TNF and IL-1, and possesses a disparate pattern of regulation to that expressed by adipose tissue cells.

On the regulation of differentiation and function of rat macrophages by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and dexamethasone

Rat bone marrow macrophage progenitor cells develop in vitro in the presence of rat embryo fibroblast conditioned medium into colonies and clusters. 1 alpha,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) (0.12-12 nM) was found to enhance the formation of macrophage colonies and the proliferation of mononuclear phagocytes in liquid cultures of bone marrow cells (ED50 0.12-1.0 nM). Fractionation of bone marrow cells by centrifugal elutriation showed that: a) macrophage progenitors are heterogeneous in size; b) the progenitors eluted at early fractions have a lower proliferative capacity (form mainly small clusters) than those eluting at later fractions (higher counterflow velocities) which develop into macrophage colonies and c) that 1,25(OH)2D3 (at 12 nM) augments the expression of colony forming cells enriched in late eluting fractions while having a suppressive effect on expression of low proliferative potential cluster forming cells enriched in early eluting fractions. Dexamethasone was found to suppress the clonal growth of macrophage progenitor cells as well as their proliferation in liquid cultures (ED50 about 1 nM). Both dexamethasone and 1,25(OH)2D3 induced in mononuclear phagocytes of 4 d cultures an increased phagocytic capability. The data suggest a regulatory role for 1,25(OH)2D3 and glucocorticosteroids in myelopoietic processes in the rat. Furthermore, when compared with our recent findings with mouse bone marrow cells, the effects, their magnitude and concentration dependence imply genuine species differences in the responses of mice and rats to these hormones.

Modulation of transglutaminase activity in mononuclear phagocytes and macrophage-like tumor cell lines by differentiation agents

The effect of glucocorticosteroids, retinoids, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) and the tumor promoter phorbol myristate acetate (TPA) on the expression of transglutaminase activity in vitro differentiating bone marrow-derived mouse and rat mononuclear phagocytes (BMDMP) and mouse and human myeloid leukemia cell lines was assessed. Dexamethasone was found to induce an increase of about 100% in transglutaminase activity in mouse and rat BMDMP. The effect was time- and dose-dependent, and specific for steroids with glucocorticoid activity. Retinoic acid (RA) suppressed transglutaminase activity in mouse BMDMP (approximately 50%) and enhanced it in rat BMDMP (100-200%). Other retinoids were less effective. 1,25(OH)2D3 had little effect on transglutaminase expression in mouse BMDMP and suppressed it in rat BMDMP (approximately 60%). TPA exerted a suppressive effect (approximately 50%) on transglutaminase activity of both rat and mouse BMDMP. In murine (P388D1 and J774.2) and human (ML3, HL-60, KG-1, HEL, U937) myeloid leukemia cell lines, dexamethasone enhanced transglutaminase activity to a varying degree (100-1,000%), RA suppressed it in P388D1 cells (approximately 70%) and enhanced it in the other cell lines (100-1,500%), 1,25(OH)2D3 induced a rather small augmentation of enzyme expression, whereas TPA suppressed enzyme expression (70-100%). The species-specific differences previously observed by us for the effect of RA, dexamethasone and 1,25(OH)2D3 on the formation of BMDMP from mouse and rat bone marrow progenitor cells are now shown to extend also to effects on expression of transglutaminase activity. From a mechanistic point of view it is of interest that dexamethasone uniformly enhanced transglutaminase activity, whereas TPA suppressed it. RA and 1,25(OH)2D3 induced either suppression or enhancement in the various cell types, with no correlation between the direction of the effect of the two agents. The data suggest that modulation of transglutaminase activity by the four agents occurs via disparate mechanisms.

1 alpha, 25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 augments clonal growth of macrophages from rat bone marrow progenitor cells and modulates their function

1 alpha, 25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3) was shown to enhance (approximately 2 fold) the colony-stimulating factor-dependent clonal growth of macrophage colonies and clusters from rat bone marrow progenitor cells. The proliferative capacity of macrophage progenitors in liquid cultures was likewise augmented (2-3 fold). Mononuclear phagocytes (macrophages, for simplicity) developing in the presence of 1,25(OH)2D3 showed a reduced capacity of migration. 1,25(OH)2D3 administered at bone marrow culture initiation led to augmentation of the phagocytic capability of macrophages in four-day cultures and to its suppression in macrophages in seven-day cultures. The observed patterns of modulation of differentiation and function by 1,25(OH)2D3 differ from the patterns we found for mouse bone marrow cells. The results suggest that the differential response to hormones observed in different species may include responses to 1,25(OH)2D3.