Regulation of c-jun expression during induction of monocytic differentiation by okadaic acid

The present work has examined the effects of okadaic acid, an inhibitor of type 1 and 2A protein phosphatases, on the regulation of c-jun expression during monocytic differentiation of U-937 leukemia cells. The results demonstrate that okadaic acid treatment is associated with induction of a differentiated monocyte phenotype characterized by: (a) growth arrest; (b) increases in Mac-1 cell surface antigen expression; (c) down-regulation of c-myc transcripts; and (d) induction of tumor necrosis factor gene expression. This induction of monocytic differentiation was associated with transient increases in c-jun mRNA levels, which were maximal at 6 h. Similar effects were obtained for the c-fos gene. Run-on analysis demonstrated detectable levels of c-jun transcription in U-937 cells and that this rate is increased approximately 40-fold following okadaic acid exposure. c-jun mRNA levels were superinduced in cells treated with both okadaic acid and cycloheximide, whereas inhibition of protein synthesis had little, if any, effect on okadaic acid-induced c-jun transcription. The half-life of c-jun mRNA was similar (45-50 min) in both untreated and okadaic acid-induced cells. In contrast, treatment with both okadaic acid and cycloheximide was associated with stabilization (t 1/2 = 90 min) of c-jun transcripts. Taken together, these findings indicate that the induction of c-jun transcription by okadaic acid is controlled primarily by a transcriptional mechanism. Since previous studies have demonstrated that the c-jun gene is autoinduced by Jun/AP-1, we also studied transcription of c-jun promoter (positions -132/+170)-reporter gene constructs with and without a mutated AP-1 element.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Oxidative metabolism in muscle mitochondria from patients with chronic alcoholism

We investigated the effect of long-term ethanol intake on the function of skeletal muscle mitochondria from 30 human alcoholics. Mitochondrial studies included (1) oxidative phosphorylation, (2) the activity of the individual complexes of the respiratory chain, and (3) the cytochrome content. State 3 and state 4 oxidation rates with glutamate-malate, succinate, tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine-ascorbate, and acetylcarnitine-malate, the activity of the individual complexes of the respiratory chain, and the concentration of mitochondrial cytochromes were comparable in control subjects and alcoholic patients, and also in myopathic and nonmyopathic alcoholic patients. These results demonstrate that alcoholic myopathy is not associated with a deficiency in mitochondrial energy supply.

Ethanol and signal transduction in the liver

The liver is a major target for both short- and long-term actions of ethanol. The mechanisms that mediate the response of cells and tissues to chronic intake of ethanol are unknown, but it is likely that both adaptive and deleterious responses are triggered by short-term interactions of the cell with ethanol. Cellular signaling processes are candidates to mediate the connection between short- and long-term actions of ethanol. Receptor-coupled signal transduction systems in the plasma membrane of many different cell types are affected by ethanol. In the liver, the signaling processes associated with phospholipases C and D are particularly responsive to ethanol. In this review, we investigate the direct and indirect short-term effects of ethanol on the signal transduction systems in liver and discuss the possible implications for the responses of the liver to chronic ethanol exposure.

Apolipoprotein B genetic polymorphisms in several human hepatoma derived liver cell lines

The genetic polymorphism of apoB EcoRI and XbaI restriction sites and the 3' VNTR hypervariable region was examined in nine human hepatoma derived liver cell lines and related to the cells' ability to secrete lipids and apoB. EcoRI and XbaI genotypes appeared to be unrelated to triglyceride, cholesterol and apoB accumulating in the medium. The VNTR consisted of alleles with 47 to 67 repeats; however, these repeats were not associated with elevated concentrations of lipid or apoB. Data suggest that in the hepatoma cell lines, apoB polymorphisms in EcoRI, XbaI and the VNTR hypervariable region are not sufficient in themselves to account for triglyceride, cholesterol and apoB in the medium. It is possible that intracellular apoB synthesis and/or degradation as well as postsecretory apoB binding and uptake are responsible for the variability of apoB and lipid accumulation in the culture medium.

cis-Diamminedichloroplatinum(II) induces c-jun expression in human myeloid leukemia cells: potential involvement of a protein kinase C-dependent signaling pathway

cis-Diamminedichloroplatinum(II) (CDDP) is a chemotherapeutic agent known to inhibit DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis. The cytotoxicity of this drug is thought to result from the formation of DNA intrastrand cross-links. The present work demonstrates that treatment of human myeloid leukemia cells (HL-60, U-937, and KG-1) with CDDP is associated with increased expression of the c-jun gene and that this effect is related to activation by a transcriptional mechanism. The results also demonstrate that treatment with CDDP is associated with increases in protein kinase C (PKC) activity. Furthermore, the finding that pretreatment with H7, an inhibitor of PKC, abrogates the effect of CDDP on c-jun expression suggested the involvement of PKC in this process. Down-regulation of PKC by prolonged pretreatment with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate was also associated with inhibition of CDDP-induced c-jun expression. The results further demonstrate that there is a temporal relationship between the CDDP-induced increase in c-jun expression and the occurrence of internucleosomal DNA cleavage characteristic of programmed cell death. These findings suggest that c-jun may be involved in the cellular response to DNA-damaging agents, such as CDDP, and that this effect may be mediated by a PKC-dependent pathway.

Oxidative red blood cell membrane injury in the pathophysiology of severe mouse beta-thalassemia

In severe human beta-thalassemia, the pathophysiology relates to accumulation of excess alpha-globin chains at the membrane. One hypothesis is that membrane-associated alpha-globin by virtue of it's iron or hemichromes produces oxidation of adjacent membrane proteins. The availability of a mouse model of severe beta-thalassemia, as well as a transgenic (thalassemic-sickle) mouse that expresses 12% of human beta s-chain, has allowed us to study the effect of graded accumulation of alpha-chains at the red blood cell (RBC) membrane on the clinical status of the animal and on the material properties of its RBCs. Proteins from control, beta-thalassemic, and transgenic mouse RBC membranes were analyzed for evidence of oxidation, as measured by thiol-disulfide exchange chromatography, which detects intramolecular sulfhydryl oxidation. Ratios of oxidized globin to protein 7 were calculated and increased amounts were seen in thalassemic mice as compared with control mice and transgenic mice. Furthermore, there were increased amounts of thiol-free protein 4.1 in the thalassemic mice, compared with very small amounts in the control mice and intermediate amounts in the transgenic mice. Membrane mechanical stability as assessed by ektacytometry showed that the thalassemic mouse RBCs were markedly unstable. Transgenic mouse RBCs showed intermediate levels of membrane instability compared with the controls. We propose that this oxidized globin, in conjunction with oxidized protein 4.1, accounts (at least in part) for membrane instability. A 12% increase in beta s-globin chain synthesis (by decreasing excess globin available) confers considerable protection against both oxidative damage and the consequent membrane instability.

Camptothecin and its derivatives induce expression of the c-jun protooncogene in human myeloid leukemia cells

We have recently demonstrated that certain camptothecin derivatives are effective agents in the treatment of human tumor xenografts in nude mice. While camptothecin and its derivatives are recognized as inhibitors of topoisomerase I, little is known about the effects of these agents on specific gene expression, particularly genes involved in growth control. The c-jun early response gene codes for a leucine zipper transcription factor. The present studies demonstrate that 20(S)-camptothecin, 9-amino-20(S)-camptothecin, and 9-nitro-20(S)-camptothecin inhibit the growth of human U-937 myeloid leukemia cells and induce expression of the c-jun gene. c-jun transcripts were increased at 3 h and reached a maximum at 6 h of drug exposure. We also demonstrate that the induction of c-jun gene expression by these agents occurs at the transcriptional level. H7, a nonselective inhibitor of protein kinase C, completely blocked c-jun expression in 20(S)-camptothecin-treated cells, while another protein kinase inhibitor, HA1004, had no detectable effect. Similar findings were obtained for other leucine zipper encoding genes, including jun-B. These results suggest that 20(S)-camptothecin, 9-amino-20(S)-camptothecin, and 9-nitro-20(S)-camptothecin activate a cellular response involving the induction of early response genes. Finally, we demonstrate that induction of c-jun expression occurs in association with internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, a characteristic of programmed cell death.

Chronic ethanol ingestion modifies liver microsomal phosphatidylserine inducing resistance to hydrolysis by exogenous phospholipase A2

Chronic ethanol ingestion leads to the acquisition of a tolerance to membrane lipid disordering, a lowered partition coefficient to hydrophobic compounds and a resistance to the hydrolysis of the phospholipids by exogenous phospholipase A2. Anionic phospholipids have been implicated as being responsible for the resistance to lipid disordering and a number of modifications to these phospholipids are known to occur as a result of chronic ethanol-ingestion. In this study the basis of the resistance to phospholipase A2 in hepatic microsomes was investigated. It was found that chronic ethanol-induced modifications to each of the major phospholipid classes was responsible to some extent for the resistance to phospholipase A2, however, PS was particularly potent considering it is a compositionally minor constituent. The effect was interpreted as a reduced ability to activate the phospholipase A2 since PS acts as an essential activator of phospholipase A2 (along with PI). Fatty acid analysis revealed that the chronic ethanol-treatment resulted in a elevated level of docosahexaenoate with a parallel reduction in arachidonate in phosphatidylserine. Lipid packing and organization is important in the regulating the level of exogenous phospholipase A2 activity but the activity was not found to correlate with lipid order of different phosphatidylserine species. It is concluded that subtle differences in the molecular species arrangement or disposition around the enzyme may be responsible for the altered phospholipase A2 interaction with the membrane induced by chronic ethanol-treatment. One implication of this study is that other anionic phospholipid dependent membrane proteins, of which there are many known examples, may also be modified as a result of chronic ethanol-ingestion.

Activation of the c-jun protooncogene in human myeloid leukemia cells treated with etoposide

The epipodophyllotoxin etoposide is an inhibitor of topoisomerase II. The effects of this agent on gene expression, particularly the transcriptional induction of genes implicated in growth control, are unknown. The present results demonstrate that etoposide induces expression of the c-jun protooncogene in HL-60 myeloid leukemia cells. This induction of c-jun expression was maximal at 3 hr and was transient. Similar findings were obtained in the human U-937 myeloid leukemia cell line. Nuclear run-on assays demonstrated that the induction of c-jun expression by etoposide is regulated at the transcriptional level. The results further demonstrate that etoposide-induced c-jun expression occurs in association with the appearance of c-fos transcripts. Moreover, the c-jun gene is induced by etoposide during periods of oligonucleosomal DNA cleavage, which is characteristic of programmed cell death. These findings suggest that transcriptional induction of c-jun expression represents a signaling pathway activated in the cellular response to etoposide-induced DNA damage.

Maintenance of structural and functional characteristics of skeletal-muscle mitochondria and sarcoplasmic-reticular membranes after chronic ethanol treatment

The effect of long-term ethanol intake on the structural and functional characteristics of rat skeletal-muscle mitochondria and sarcoplasmic reticulum was investigated. Functionally, skeletal-muscle mitochondria were characterized by a high respiratory control index and ADP/O ratio and a high State-3 respiration rate with different substrates. These parameters were not significantly different in preparations from control and ethanol-fed rats, except for a small increase in the rate of oxidation of alpha-oxoglutarate/malate in the latter. In submitochondrial particles from the two groups of animals there was no significant difference in cytochrome content, ATPase activity or the activity of respiratory-chain complexes. Mitochondrial membranes from untreated and ethanol-fed rats showed no difference in the baseline e.s.r. order parameter, and both preparations were equally sensitive to disordering by ethanol in vitro. Similarly, sarcoplasmic-reticulum preparations were not significantly affected by long-term ethanol feeding with respect to Ca2(+)-ATPase activity or in baseline order parameter and susceptibility to membrane disordering by ethanol in vitro. These membranes were also equally sensitive to degradation by exogenous phospholipase A2. Ethanol feeding did not alter the class composition of mitochondrial or sarcoplasmic-reticulum membrane phospholipids, nor the acyl composition of individual phospholipid classes. Specifically, the changes in acyl composition that characteristically occur in liver microsomal phosphatidylinositol and liver mitochondrial cardiolipin were not observed in the corresponding phospholipids from skeletal-muscle membranes. In experiments where membrane preparations from liver and skeletal muscle from the same ethanol-fed animals were compared, the liver membranes developed membrane tolerance, with the muscle membranes retaining normal sensitivity to disordering effects by ethanol. It is concluded that: (a) different tissues from the same animals differ in their susceptibility to ethanol; (b) the tissue-specific lack of development of membrane tolerance correlates with a lack of chemical changes in the phospholipids and with a retention of normal function of mitochondria and sarcoplasmic reticulum; (c) effects of chronic ethanol intake on muscle function are not due to a defect in the mitochondrial energy supply.

The effect of chronic ethanol consumption on the fatty acid composition of phosphatidylinositol in rat liver microsomes as determined by gas chromatography and 1H-NMR

Cell membranes and vesicles composed of extracted phospholipids isolated from rats chronically-fed ethanol develop a resistance to disordering by ethanol in vitro (membrane tolerance) and a decreased partitioning of ethanol into the membranes. The anionic lipid phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) is the only microsomal phospholipid from the ethanol-fed rats that confers tolerance to vesicles of microsomal phospholipids from control rats in a paradigm where phospholipid classes are sequentially swapped. To investigate the molecular basis of this adaptation, the fatty acid content of microsomal PtdIns extracted from the livers of rats chronically fed ethanol for 5 weeks and their calorically-matched controls was analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) and 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Chronic ethanol consumption caused an 8.4% decrease in arachidonic acid [20:4(n - 6)], a 20.0% increase in oleic acid [18: 1(n - 9)] and a 47.1% increase in the quantitatively minor fatty acid [20:3(n - 6)]. 1H-NMR was used to quantitatively assay compositional changes in the delta 5 olefinic moiety of the acyl chains in PtdIns, an approach that should be broadly applicable to other lipid systems. After chronic ethanol feeding PtdIns had decreased delta 5 unsaturates (-7.9% NMR, -8.2% GLC) and a corresponding increase in delta 5 saturates (+5.4% NMR, +5.3% GLC). In the other phospholipids, chronic ethanol feeding caused alterations in the fatty acid compositions specific for each phospholipid. PtdIns was the only microsomal phospholipid that exhibited a significant decrease in both the polyunsaturate pool and the ratio of the total olefinic content to the saturated fatty acid content. The major adaptive response in rat liver microsomal PtdIns to chronic ethanol administration involves a decrease in arachidonic acid [20:4 (n - 6)], which is partly compensated for by increases in oleic acid [18:1(n - 9)] and eicosatrienoic acid [20:3 (n - 6)], resulting in a depressed unsaturation and polyunsaturation index. The decreased unsaturation at the delta 5 position may have special functional relevance, due to the proximity of this position to the membrane surface, where ethanol is believed to reside. Whether these acyl changes are merely coincident with, or causative of, membrane tolerance requires further elucidation.

Inhibition by cocaine of excitation-contraction coupling in isolated cardiomyocytes

The effects of cocaine on the Ca2+ fluxes responsible for excitation-contraction coupling were studied in isolated ventricular rat heart cells loaded with the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator fura-2. Ca2+ transients in response to electrical field stimulation were followed using a fluorescence ratio method in which excitation light was alternated with 5-ms resolution. The cardiomyocytes maintained a basal cytosolic Ca2+ concentration of approximately 70 nM, which increased to a peak of 450 nM in response to each electrical stimulus. The addition of cocaine (10 microM) to cells stimulated at 0.4 Hz decreased the magnitude of the electrically induced Ca2+ transients by 30 +/- 4% within 5 s. This inhibitory effect of cocaine was dose dependent, with a 50% reduction in the Ca2+ transient occurring at 40 microM cocaine. The effects of cocaine were not associated with any permanent cell damage and could be reversed by washing the cells free of the drug. Cytosolic Ca2+ increases in response to K(+)-induced depolarization of the cardiomyocytes were much less sensitive to cocaine than the electrically induced Ca2+ transients. In this respect the effects of cocaine were similar to the actions of lidocaine and tetrodotoxin but distinct from the effects of nitrendipine and verapamil. Cocaine had no effect on the caffeine-releasable Ca2+ pool in cardiomyocytes. These data demonstrate that cocaine directly inhibits the Ca2(+)-dependent steps of excitation-contraction coupling in heart muscle cells. Sarcolemmal Na+ channels represent a possible locus for this action of cocaine.

Linkage analysis of low-density lipoprotein subclass phenotypes and the apolipoprotein B gene

A common heritable phenotype has recently been identified which is characterized by a relative abundance of small, dense low-density lipoproteins (LDL), and mild elevations of plasma triglycerides and reductions in plasma high-density lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol. This phenotype, designated LDL subclass phenotype B, has been associated with up to a three-fold increase in coronary disease risk. Complex segregation analysis in two large family studies has demonstrated that LDL subclass phenotype B is influenced by an allele at a single genetic locus with a population frequency of 0.25-0.3, and autosomal dominant inheritance, but with full penetrance only in males age 20 and over and in postmenopausal women. Since apolipoprotein B (apoB) is the principal protein component of LDL, linkage analysis was used to investigate possible linkage between the phenotype B phenotype and the apoB gene, using a variable number of tandem repeats site located 0.5 kb from the 3' end of the apoB gene. In 6 informative families including only family members in the penetrant classes, a total LOD score of -7.49 was found at a recombination fraction of 0.001. Thus, under the assumptions of the single gene model, it is unlikely that the apoB locus controls LDL subclass phenotype B.

Phospholipase C activation by ethanol in rat hepatocytes is unaffected by chronic ethanol feeding

The activation of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C by ethanol was compared in hepatocytes isolated from ethanol-fed rats and from pair-fed control animals. Ethanol (100-300 mM) caused a dose-dependent transient increase in cytosolic free Ca2+ levels in indo-1-loaded hepatocytes from both groups of animals. The rate of Ca2+ increase was similar in hepatocytes from control and ethanol-fed rats, but the decay of the Ca2+ increase was somewhat slower in the latter preparation. The ethanol-induced Ca2+ increase caused activation of glycogen phosphorylase, with 50% response at 50 mM-ethanol and a maximal response at 150-200 mM-ethanol, not significantly different in hepatocytes from control and ethanol-fed animals. Ins(1,4,5)P3 formation in response to ethanol (300 mM) or vasopressin (2 nM or 40 nM) was also similar in the two preparations. It is concluded that long-term ethanol feeding does not lead to an adaptive response with respect to the ethanol-induced phospholipase C activation in rat hepatocytes. The ability of ethanol in vitro to decrease membrane molecular order in liver plasma membranes from ethanol-fed and control rats was measured by e.s.r. Membranes from ethanol-fed animals had a significantly lower baseline order parameter compared with control preparations (0.313 and 0.327 respectively), indicative of decreased membrane molecular order. Addition of 100 mM-ethanol significantly decreased the order parameter in control preparations by 2.1%, but had no effect on the order parameter of plasma membranes from ethanol-fed rats, indicating that the plasma membranes had developed tolerance to ethanol, similar to other membranes in the liver. Thus the membrane structural changes associated with this membrane tolerance do not modify the ethanol-induced activation of phospholipase C. The transient activation of phospholipase C by ethanol in hepatocytes may play a role in maintaining an adaptive phenotype in rat liver.

Ethanol withdrawal stimulates protein synthesis in rat pancreatic lobules

Recent studies from our laboratory (Ponnappa et al. (1988) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 966, 390-402), indicate that in the pancreas of rats fed ethanol chronically, an overnight withdrawal of ethanol stimulated the rate of protein synthesis in vivo, whereas, during continuous ethanol ingestion, the rate of protein synthesis was the same as in the control group which did not receive ethanol. However, a stimulation of protein synthesis was also observed when isolated acini were prepared from the pancreas of continuously ethanol-fed rats. In the present studies, preparations of pancreatic lobules were used to further characterize the stimulatory effect observed in the ethanol-fed group. The rate of protein synthesis was studied in vitro by determining the rate of incorporation of [3H]leucine into proteins. Similar to in vivo observations, chronic ethanol feeding did not alter the rate of protein synthesis, but an overnight withdrawal of ethanol stimulated the rate of protein synthesis by 84%. The stimulation of protein synthesis reflected a general enhancement in the rate of synthesis of most of the digestive enzymes ranging from 60 to 110%. The maximal stimulation of protein synthesis occurred within 24 h of ethanol withdrawal and the rates rapidly decreased to control levels within 3 days. During the overnight ethanol withdrawal there was also a 30-40% decrease in the activities of most of the pancreatic digestive enzymes. This observation indicates that ethanol withdrawal also initiated the secretion and/or degradation of pancreatic digestive enzymes in vivo. The observation that the enhanced rate of protein synthesis can be observed in isolated acini but not in vivo or in lobular preparations from the continuously ethanol-fed rats indicates that the pancreas contains factors which supress this stimulatory effect of ethanol intake. The stimulation of protein synthesis, brought about either by ethanol withdrawal or by collagenase digestion of the tissue, may reflect the removal of such factors.

1H NMR dipolar echo decay spectroscopy: a sensitive probe of membrane structure

The structural and motional properties of membrane lipids in various physical states and macroscopic organizations are elucidated by 1H NMR dipolar echo decay spectroscopy (DECODE). Multilamellar lipid dispersions in the gel (L beta') and liquid-crystalline (L alpha) states and a nonbilayer, hexagonal (HII) phase are readily distinguished, a dynamic profile within these phases is identified, and dipolar order parameters are obtained in the fluid phases. The method is suitable for any pulsed NMR spectrometer. DECODE provides the first depth-dependent assay of lipid order that does not rely on isotopic labeling or exogenous probe.

The role of membrane skeletal-associated alpha-globin in the pathophysiology of beta-thalassemia

The beta-thalassemic mouse provides a useful model for testing hypotheses about the pathophysiology in human beta-thalassemia. The clinical picture of these mice and their red blood cell deformability characteristics are quite similar to those observed in human beta-thalassemia intermedia. The creation of transgenic mice that express human beta-globin (beta s) has provided an opportunity to study the effect of increasing the non-alpha-globin chain production on the thalassemic phenotype. A small increase in beta-globin production produces transgenic mice that are healthier, have almost normal hemoglobin values, and whose red blood cell deformability is increased. We quantified and characterized the membrane skeletal-associated globin in normal, transgenic thal/sickle, and thalassemic mice and showed that only alpha-globin was associated with the membrane skeleton in the pathologic red blood cells, and that the degree of rigidity as measured in the rheoscope correlated directly and closely with the amount of membrane skeletal-associated globin in these abnormal red blood cells.

Environmental diseases of the digestive system

Environmental factors are important mediators of many diseases of the digestive system, defined as the alimentary tract and the accessory organs of digestion, the liver and pancreas. In this review, we principally focus on the action of chemical agents which are classified as (1) naturally occurring compounds, (2) occupational hazards, (3) therapeutic drugs, and (4) constituents of substances of abuse. In addition, the putative role of dietary habits in the pathogenesis of malignant diseases of the digestive system is discussed.

Patient-initiated mobile mammography: analysis of the patients and the problems

Patient initiation of mammographic screening is one method of increasing compliance with screening mammography guidelines. A low-cost screening project using a mobile van was developed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Analysis of the first 2,099 patients revealed that the participants were generally white (92%), more likely to have had a previous mammogram than the norm (33% in this study vs 19% in a 1986 Gallup survey), and relatively high-risk (30% having a breast cancer risk factor). The cancer detection rate was 6.2 per 1,000 women screened, with a biopsy rate of 1.3% and a positive predictive value of 48%. More than half the cancers detected were in situ lesions or invasive carcinomas smaller than 1 cm. Our results suggest that low-cost mobile mammographic screening can operate at appropriate levels of sensitivity and specificity and is well accepted by participants. Such projects require considerable preliminary planning, significant financial and time commitment by the physicians involved, and meticulous follow-up. A mammography management software system was developed to facilitate tracking of patients for routine and diagnostic follow-up studies and rapid communication of results. Although most follow-up studies and biopsies were done in the community, resistance in the medical community was significant and is perhaps the greatest impediment to such screening endeavors.

Rats withdrawn from ethanol rapidly re-acquire membrane tolerance after resumption of ethanol feeding

The time course for the re-acquisition of membrane tolerance to the disordering effects of ethanol in vitro has been determined for liver microsomes obtained from chronically ethanol-fed rats that were withdrawn from ethanol for 2-4 days (during which tolerance is lost) followed by resumption of ethanol feeding. Naive rats require 28-35 days of chronic ethanol feeding to develop membrane tolerance. Microsomal membranes regain partial sensitivity to ethanol disordering after 2-3 days of withdrawal and regain the complete sensitivity observed in membranes from untreated control rats after 4 days of withdrawal. The period of ethanol re-feeding required for the re-acquisition of membrane tolerance was dependent on the withdrawal period, with tolerance appearing sooner if the withdrawal period was shorter. The time course for the re-development of tolerance in previously tolerant animals was considerably faster (4-14 days) than in naive rats being administered the ethanol diet for the first time (35 days). Microsomes from rats that were withdrawn for 2 days (which retained partial tolerance) and then re-fed the ethanolic-diet required only 4 days to re-acquire membrane tolerance. Microsomes from rats withdrawn 3 days required 8 days and those withdrawn 4 days required 15 days for full tolerance to re-develop. The same time-course for the re-acquisition of membrane tolerance was observed in either intact microsomes or in liposomes prepared from extracted microsomal total phospholipids. Phosphatidylinositol (PI) has previously been reported to be responsible for conferring membrane tolerance to liver microsomes in ethanol-fed rats (Taraschi, T.F., Ellingson, J.S., Wu, A., Zimmerman, R. and Rubin, E. (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83, 9398-9402). The time course for re-acquisition of membrane tolerance by liver microsomes following ethanol withdrawal and resumption of ethanol feeding correlated with the ability of PI to confer tolerance.

Cutaneous angiosarcoma of the breast 7 years after lumpectomy and radiation therapy

A case of angiosarcoma of the skin of the breast is described in a woman 7 years after a primary breast carcinoma was treated by means of lumpectomy and irradiation. On mammograms, the angiosarcoma showed redevelopment of skin thickening and increase in breast density. Clinically, the skin showed patchy discoloration. Although there is an established association of angiosarcoma with lymphedema and therapeutic irradiation, there have been few other reports of this rare complication of local therapy for breast carcinoma. Recognition of the mammographic and clinical manifestations may help in the earlier diagnosis of additional cases.

Alcohol and membrane-associated signal transduction

In recent years, ethanol has been shown to interact with membrane-associated signal transduction mechanisms which rely on the reaction of phospholipases with their phospholipid substrates in the membrane. In several cell and membrane preparations, ethanol activates the polyphosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C and triggers the complete battery of intracellular signalling responses that are characteristic for hormones acting through this pathway, including the formation of inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate, the release of Ca2+ from intracellular storage sites with the consequent activation of cytosolic Ca2(+)-dependent enzymes, and the formation of diacylglycerol leading to the stimulation of protein kinase C. The activation of phospholipase C appears to be due to an interaction of ethanol with the intramembrane complex of receptor-G-protein-phospholipase C, presumably promoting the release of bound GDP and the binding of GTP to activate the G-protein which controls phospholipase C activity. In many intact cells, the phospholipase C is subject to a feedback inhibitory control by protein kinase C. In liver cells, ethanol also triggers this feedback inhibition, leading to a rapid decline in the phospholipase C activation; at the same time, ethanol also causes the desensitization of the response to vasopressin and other phospholipase C-linked agonists. At hormone concentrations in the physiological range, the heterologous desensitization by ethanol of the agonist-mediated phospholipase C activation may be a significant factor at ethanol concentrations that are readily attained in vivo. Further interaction of ethanol with the intracellular second messenger system is mediated through a hormone-sensitive phospholipase D. This enzyme uses phosphatidylcholine to generate phosphatidic acid which can be further converted to diacylglycerol. In the presence of ethanol the enzyme catalyzes the transphosphatidylation to phosphatidylethanol. It is not clear, however, under what conditions this process could affect the normal pattern of formation of second messenger molecules. After chronic ethanol intake, a tolerance can develop at the cellular level to the effects of ethanol on agonist-induced signal transduction processes. However, the mechanism by which this tolerance develops is currently a matter of conjecture. Studies on liver cells indicate that the activity of protein kinase C may play a role in the development of this type of tolerance to ethanol. A better understanding of the interaction of ethanol with these phospholipid-dependent signal transduction processes could point to mechanisms by which ethanol could interfere with physiological control mechanism in a variety of cells and tissues.

On the use of N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)phosphatidylethanolamine in the study of lipid polymorphism

The change in the fluorescence properties of dioleoyl-N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)phosphatidylethanola mine (N-NBD-PE) as an indicator of the (liquid-crystalline) bilayer-to-non-bilayer hexagonalII (HII) phase transition has been investigated. Lipid bilayer systems which are known to undergo the bilayer-to-HII phase transition on addition of Ca2+ were compared with systems which can undergo aggregation and fusion but not HII phase formation. The former included Ca2+-triggered non-bilayer transitions in cardiolipin and in phosphatidylethanolamine mixed with phosphatidylserine. The latter type of system investigated included the addition of polylysine to cardiolipin and Ca2+ to phosphatidylserine. Freeze-fracture electron microscopy was used to confirm that under the experimental conditions used, the formation of HII phase was occurring in the first type of system, but not in the second, which was stable in the bilayer state. It was found that the fluorescence intensity of N-NBD-PE (at 1 mol% of the phospholipids) increased in both types of system, irrespective of the formation of the HII phase. A dehydration at the phospholipid head group is a common feature of the formation of the HII phase, the interaction of divalent cations with phosphatidylserine and the interaction of polylysine with lipid bilayers, suggesting that this may be the feature which affects the fluorescence properties of the NBD. The finding of a fluorescence intensity increase in systems lacking HII phase involvement clearly indicates that the effect is not unique to the formation of the HII phase. Thus, while offering high sensitivity and the opportunity to follow kinetics of lipid structural changes, changes in the N-NBD-PE fluorescence properties should be interpreted with caution in the study of the bilayer-to-HII phase transition.