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

The use of a reversible transcription inhibitor, DRB, to investigate the involvement of specific proteins in the ocular circadian system of Aplysia

Previously, the effects of 2-h treatments with the reversible transcription inhibitor 5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribobenzimidazole (DRB) on the phase of the circadian rhythm in the eye of Aplysia californica were studied. Here we report a study of the effects of DRB on protein synthesis and a more detailed investigation of the effects of DRB on the phase of the circadian rhythm. Treatments of DRB for 30 min reduced the rate of transcription to about 30% of control values, and this inhibition reversed completely within 2 h after the end of the treatment. A phase-response curve was obtained for 30-min treatments of DRB. Shorter (30 min) treatments with DRB produced phase shifts comparable to those produced by treatments with DRB for 2 h. The phase-response curve obtained using 30-min treatments of DRB was similar to one obtained using 2-h treatments with respect to the phase at which DRB exerts its maximum effect on the rhythm (around circadian time [CT] 6). However, some aspects of the two phase-response curves were different. The effect of DRB on the phase of the rhythm appeared rapidly after removal of DRB treatments given during CT 22-6, but the effects of DRB on the phase of the rhythm appeared more slowly (approximately 10 h) after the treatments given during CT 6-12. Because the effects of DRB on the phase of the overt rhythm appear to be rapid at a particular phase, it is very likely that DRB affects the phase of the rhythm by altering the synthesis of proteins during or shortly after the treatment. Thus we searched for proteins whose synthesis was altered by DRB. Incorporation of labeled amino acids into 2 proteins was found to be altered during the DRB treatment, whereas 15 proteins were affected after the DRB treatment. Among the proteins affected during or shortly after the DRB treatment were four previously identified proteins affected by other treatments that can shift the phase of the eye circadian rhythm. These four proteins are worthy of further study as possible candidates for components of the circadian oscillator.

Cell spreading and the regulation of ornithine decarboxylase

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cell spreading on the induction of ornithine decarboxylase and the rate of putrescine uptake in anchorage-dependent and anchorage-independent cells. Plating non-transformed IEC-6 epithelial cells at high versus low cell density restricted cell spreading from 900 microns 2 to approximately 140 microns 2, blunted the transient induction of ornithine decarboxylase activity from 202 to 32 pmol 14CO2/mg protein per hour and reduced the rate of [14C] putrescine uptake from 46 to 23 pmol/10(5) cells per hour. The mean spreading area of the cell population was controlled by coating tissue culture dishes with the nonadhesive polymer, polyHEMA. Ornithine decarboxylase activity and putrescine uptake correlated with cell spreading with minimal spreading (263 microns 2) corresponding to an 83% decrease in ornithine decarboxylase activity and 51% decrease in the rate of putrescine uptake. Adding the RGD peptide, Gly-Arg-Gly-Glu-Ser-Pro to the medium of sparsely plated cells resulted in rapid reductions in cell spreading concomitant with dose-dependent decreases in ornithine decarboxylase activity and putrescine uptake. Finally, minimizing cell spreading by depriving cells of substratum contact completely abolished serum-induced increases in ornithine decarboxylase and reduced the rate of putrescine uptake by 47%. In contrast to IEC-6 cells, ornithine decarboxylase of neoplastic HTC-116 cells was constitutively expressed with basal and stimulated activity (193 and 982 pmol 14CO2/mg protein per hour, respectively) completely independent of cell adhesion. Putrescine uptake, however, was abolished in the absence of cell adhesion. These data suggest that the induction of ornithine decarboxylase activity and the rate of putrescine uptake correlate with spreading of anchorage-dependent IEC-6 cells and that ornithine decarboxylase activity but not putrescine uptake, appears to be independent of spreading of neoplastic HTC-116 cells.

U2-snRNP B" protein gene is an early growth-inducible gene

In this work we isolated mouse U2-snRNP-specific b" clones and analysed the expression of the mouse U2-snRNP-specific b" and U1-snRNP-specific 70K genes in NIH-3T3 fibroblasts. Stimulation of growth-arrested NIH-3T3 cells with serum was found to evoke a rapid increase in the amount of cytoplasmic b" and 70K mRNAs. These increases in mRNA did not require de novo protein synthesis. Moreover, the inhibition of protein synthesis by cycloheximide caused a superinduction in the amounts of the U1-snRNP-specific 70K transcripts. We also found that c-Ha-rasVal12 oncogene-transformed NIH-3T3 cells have higher levels of the b" and 70K mRNAs than the normal 3T3 cells. These data imply that the b" and 70K are early growth response genes, and their enhanced expression might be of significance in the processing of pre-mRNAs into mature mRNAs.

Ornithine decarboxylase: an indicator for growth of NIH 3T3 fibroblasts and their c-Ha-ras transformants

Growth rates of different clones, all derived from NIH 3T3 mouse fibroblasts, were determined. Four different types of cells were studied: (1) Normal NIH 3T3 fibroblasts; (2) a fast-growing NIH 3T3 clone obtained by repeated passages; (3) transformed clones (obtained by transfecting NIH 3T3 with the oncogene c-Ha-ras); (4) a slow-growing revertant obtained by repeated passages of the transformed line. Growth rates were determined by the following markers of proliferation: thymidine incorporation, protein accumulation and cell number. In parallel experiments growth rates were determined by a new approach based on measuring ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity. Transformed cells, which were characterized by phase-contrast microscopy and by electron microscopy grew rapidly and showed high ODC activity. Similarly, a high-passage NIH 3T3 variant, which grew rapidly, also possessed high ODC activity. On the other hand, high-passage of a transformed clone revealed phenotypic changes confirmed by electron microscopy. These cells exhibited reduced growth rates and their ODC activities were similar to those of the normal NIH 3T3 cells. A confident correlation was found among each of the three conventional parameters of growth and between them and ODC activity. However, in all the cases studied ODC activity appeared early in the cell cycle before the expression of the other markers of proliferation. It has been suggested that ODC is a reliable early marker of cell proliferation and might also serve as an important tool for determining the arrest of growth.

Regulation of ornithine decarboxylase during cell growth. Changes in the stability and translatability of the mRNA, and in the turnover of the protein

When Ehrlich ascites tumor cells were stimulated to grow, their ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity increased 20- to 30-fold. The increase in ODC mRNA content was one order of magnitude less during the corresponding period. Likewise, the subsequent changes in ODC activity failed to show proportionality to those of the ODC mRNA content. The changes in ODC activity were not attributable to changes in ODC turnover, even though the half-life of the enzyme decreased from 56 min during the period of increasing, to 36 min during the period of decreasing ODC activity. There was no evidence of an activation-inactivation-cycle for the enzyme. In view of these findings it appears that ODC mRNA alterations are amplified mainly at the translational level. The biphasic change in ODC mRNA content was partly attributable to a change in turnover of the message, as determined after inhibition of transcription with actinomycin D. Thus, the ODC mRNA half-life was estimated to decrease from 8.7 h during the period of increasing ODC activity to 4.0 h during the period of decreasing ODC activity. Despite the inhibition of transcription by actinomycin D, there was a marked superinduction of ODC activity. Our data demonstrate that the regulation of ODC expression is a complex phenomenon, involving controls at many levels.

DNA methylation is not involved in the structural alterations of ornithine decarboxylase or total chromatin of c-Ha-rasVal 12 oncogene-transformed NIH-3T3 fibroblasts

The ornithine decarboxylase (odc) gene is an early response gene, whose increased expression and relaxed chromatin structure is closely coupled to neoplastic growth. In various tumour cells, the odc gene displays hypomethylation at the sequences CCGG. Hypomethylation of genes is believed to correlate with chromatin decondensation and gene expression. Since a given pattern of DNA methylation may not be preserved in neoplastic cells, we studied the methylation status of odc gene at the CCGG sequences in c-Ha-rasVal 12 oncogene-transformed NIH-3T3 fibroblasts during the growth cycle and relative to their normal counterparts. We found that the methylation state of the odc gene and its promoter and mid-coding and 3' regions remain unaltered during the cell cycle. We also found that in ras oncogene-transformed cells, which display a more decondensed nucleosomal organization of chromatin than the normal cells, the CCGG sequences in bulk DNA and at the odc gene were methylated to the same extent as in the nontransformed cells. These data suggest that DNA hypomethylation at the CCGG sequences is not a prerequisite for chromatin decondensation and cell transformation by the c-Ha-rasVal 12 oncogene.

Polyamines as biomarkers of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

Polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) play critical roles in cell growth and transformation. Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), key enzyme in polyamine biosynthesis, is considered a putative protooncogene crucial to the regulation of cell growth and transformation. Cancer patients have elevated levels of polyamines in their physiological fluids compared to normal counterparts. alpha-Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), a specific suicide inhibitor of ODC, exhibits antitumor and antimetastasis activities, and displays effectiveness in many carcinogen-induced animal chemoprevention models. Therefore, we are using DFMO in a chemoprevention trial for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade III (CIN III), and evaluating patients for changes in polyamine metabolism as an intermediate marker of DFMO effect. A preliminary study showed that several milligrams of abnormal cervical biopsy tissue contained detectable levels of ODC activity and polyamines. Additionally, the presence of cadaverine suggested bacterial contamination of these tissues. For this reason, normal and abnormal biopsies collected during colposcopy were rinsed prior to frozen storage. In most patients, abnormal tissue showed greater ODC activities and lower spermidine/spermine ratios than normal tissues. Patients are now being treated with de-escalating doses of DFMO (1-0.06 g/m2/day) for one month. To study the effect of DFMO in patients with CIN III, we are collecting blood and cervical tissue specimens to measure the following parameters: plasma DFMO, ornithine and arginine levels; plasma N1-acetylspermidine levels; erythrocyte (blood polyamine carrier) free polyamine levels; cervical tissue free polyamine levels; cervical tissue N1-acetylspermidine levels; and cervical tissue ODC activities. N1-acetylspermidine will be examined as this compound is known to exist primarily in tumor tissues, not in normal tissues. We therefore established a high-performance liquid chromatography method for N1-acetylspermidine. We expect to find that polyamines are effective markers in analyzing DFMO effects in this chemoprevention trial, thus functioning as pharmacodynamic parameters as well as biomarkers for transformation.

Cell transformation by c-Ha-rasVal12 oncogene is accompanied by a decrease in histone H1 zero and an increase in nucleosomal repeat length

The activated c-Ha-rasVal12 oncogene is often involved in the genesis of human malignancies. We show here that in c-Ha-rasVal12 oncogene-transformed mouse NIH 3T3 fibroblasts the copy number and expression level of the mutant ras oncogene correlates with the degree of chromatin decondensation, as assessed by micrococcal nuclease (MNase) and DNase I digestion. MNase and DNase I analyses further revealed that the nucleosomal repeat lengths were different in the normal and ras oncogene-transformed cells, 162.3 bp and 178.1 bp, respectively. These chromatin changes were accompanied by alterations in the content of histone H1 zero. Furthermore, using DNase I as a probe, we discovered that serum stimulation of normal and transformed cells, synchronized by serum starvation, induces rapid reversible changes in the structure of bulk chromatin that may be linked to transcriptional activation. Our data thus indicate that cell transformation by ras is associated with specific changes in chromatin structure that make it more vulnerable, and prone to additional mutations characteristic of cancer development in vivo.

Asparagine markedly induces the expression of ornithine decarboxylase gene in transformed mammalian cells but not in their untransformed counterparts

We have previously shown that asparagine alone induces a 10-15-fold increase in ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) mRNA level in DF-40 mouse neuroblastoma cells. The induction is due to an accumulation of ODC mRNA through a post-transcriptional stabilization mechanism (Chen, Z.P. and Chen, K.Y. (1992) J. Biol. Chem., 267, 6946-6951). In the present study we showed that asparagine induced ODC gene expression in v-Ha-ras-transformed 3T3 (ras-3T3) cells but not in 3T3 cells. Other growth related genes including c-src, c-ras, and c-fos were not affected by asparagine in ras-3T3 cells. Southern blot analysis indicated that the pronounced asparagine effect was not due to ODC gene amplification in ras-3T3 cells. The effect of asparagine on the induction of ODC mRNA could account for the significant increases in the ODC activity in ras-3T3 cells. We also examined the effect of asparagine on ODC gene expression in human KD cells and their transformed counterparts. Our findings strongly suggest that the induction of ODC mRNA by asparagine may represent a component of an altered growth regulatory program associated most prominently with cell transformation.

Possible role of the transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF-1) in the regulation of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) gene expression during IFN gamma macrophage activation

In this report we discuss the role of interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF-1) in the regulation of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) transcription during IFN gamma human macrophage activation. We show that a binding sequence for the transcription factor IRF-1 is contained in the first intron of the human ODC gene (from nt +2711 to nt +2722) and we demonstrate that the level of expression of IRF-1 increases in human macrophages and in the human promonocytic cell line, U937, previously differentiated in monocytes/macrophages by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), after 2 h of IFN gamma stimulation. We also show that the hamster tk-ts13 cell line, stably transfected with the IRF-1 cDNA, over-expresses ODC. In addition, a specific complex was detected, by gel-shift assay after incubating a 20 bp double-stranded oligomer containing the binding sequence for IRF-1 with nuclear proteins extracted from human macrophages and from (PMA-differentiated) U937 cells stimulated with IFN gamma for 2 h.

Expression of high activity of ornithine decarboxylase and occurrence of unusual chromophobic cells in anterior pituitary gland of a novel growth-retarded strain of mice, grm/grm

Extremely high activity of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) was detected in the pituitary gland of growth-retarded mice, grm/grm at 2 months after birth. The elevated enzyme activity gradually decreased to the control level in 14 months after birth. In the pituitary gland of the growth-retarded mice, unusual chromophobic cells were also present from the early stages after birth. The chromophobic cells showed conspicuous proliferations and resulted in a distinct hyperplasia of the tissue after 4 months after birth. These findings suggest that ODC is correlated to the progressive transformation of pituitary cells into the chromophobic cells.

Mechanistic considerations in chemopreventive drug development

This overview of the potential mechanisms of chemopreventive activity will provide the conceptual groundwork for chemopreventive drug discovery, leading to structure-activity and mechanistic studies that identify and evaluate new agents. Possible mechanisms of chemopreventive activity with examples of promising agents include carcinogen blocking activities such as inhibition of carcinogen uptake (calcium), inhibition of formation or activation of carcinogen (arylalkyl isothiocyanates, DHEA, NSAIDs, polyphenols), deactivation or detoxification of carcinogen (oltipraz, other GSH-enhancing agents), preventing carcinogen binding to DNA (oltipraz, polyphenols), and enhancing the level or fidelity of DNA repair (NAC, protease inhibitors). Chemopreventive antioxidant activities include scavenging reactive electrophiles (GSH-enhancing agents), scavenging oxygen radicals (polyphenols, vitamin E), and inhibiting arachidonic acid metabolism (glycyrrhetinic acid, NAC, NSAIDs, polyphenols, tamoxifen). Antiproliferation/antiprogression activities include modulation of signal transduction (glycyrrhetinic acid, NSAIDs, polyphenols, retinoids, tamoxifen), modulation of hormonal and growth factor activity (NSAIDs, retinoids, tamoxifen), inhibition of aberrant oncogene activity (genistein, NSAIDs, monoterpenes), inhibition of polyamine metabolism (DFMO, retinoids, tamoxifen), induction of terminal differentiation (calcium, retinoids, vitamin D3), restoration of immune response (NSAIDs, selenium, vitamin E), enhancing intercellular communication (carotenoids, retinoids), restoration of tumor suppressor function, induction of programmed cell death (apoptosis) (butyric acid, genistein, retinoids, tamoxifen), correction of DNA methylation imbalances (folic acid), inhibition of angiogenesis (genistein, retinoids, tamoxifen), inhibition of basement membrane degradation (protease inhibitors), and activation of antimetastasis genes. A systematic drug development program for chemopreventive agents is only possible with continuing research into mechanisms of action and thoughtful application of the mechanisms to new drug design and discovery. One approach is to construct pharmacological activity profiles for promising agents. These profiles are compared among the promising agents and with untested compounds to identify similarities. Classical structure-activity studies are used to find optimal agents (high efficacy with low toxicity) based on good lead agents. Studies evaluating tissue-specific and pharmacokinetic parameters are very important. A final approach is design of mechanism-based assays and identification of mechanism-based intermediate biomarkers for evaluation of chemopreventive efficacy.

Ornithine decarboxylase activity is critical for cell transformation

The enzyme ornithine decarboxylase is the key regulator of the synthesis of polyamines which are essential for cell proliferation. Expression of this enzyme is transiently increased upon stimulation by growth factors, but becomes constitutively activated during cell transformation induced by carcinogens, viruses or oncogenes. To test whether ornithine decarboxylase could be a common mediator of transformation and oncogenic itself, we transfected NIH3T3 cells with expression vectors carrying the complementary DNA encoding human ornithine decarboxylase in sense and antisense orientations. The increased expression of the enzyme (50-100-times endogenous levels) induced not only cell transformation, but also anchorage-independent growth in soft agar and increased tyrosine phosphorylation of a protein of M(r) 130K. Expression of ornithine decarboxylase antisense RNA was associated with an epithelioid morphology and reduced cell proliferation. Moreover, blocking the endogenous enzyme using specific inhibitor or synthesizing antisense RNA prevented transformation of rat fibroblasts by temperature-sensitive v-src oncogene. Our results imply that the gene encoding ornithine decarboxylase is a proto-oncogene central for regulation of cell growth and transformation.

Glucocorticoids stimulate ornithine decarboxylase gene expression in pancreatic AR42J cells

The effects of dexamethasone on ornithine decarboxylase gene expression were examined in rat pancreatic AR42J cells. Dexamethasone increased ornithine decarboxylase activity and messenger RNA (mRNA) concentrations in a time-dependent manner, with a maximal effect at 12 hours (207% +/- 63% and 327% +/- 34% of control, respectively; n = 5). Ornithine decarboxylase mRNA levels returned to control values at 48 hours, whereas ornithine decarboxylase activity was decreased to 41% +/- 8% of control (n = 3). Dexamethasone induction of ornithine decarboxylase mRNA was dose dependent, with half-maximal effects at 10(-8) mol/L (210% +/- 20% of control; n = 4) and maximal effects at 10(-7) mol/L (327% +/- 26% of control; n = 4). The glucocorticoid antagonist RU 38486 blocked the dexamethasone effects in a dose-dependent manner, with maximal effects occurring at 10(-7) mol/L (120% +/- 18% of control; n = 3). When protein synthesis was blocked by addition of cycloheximide, ornithine decarboxylase mRNA levels remained unchanged in response to glucocorticoids, indicating a primary effect of dexamethasone. Furthermore, cycloheximide by itself had no significant effect on ornithine decarboxylase mRNA levels. Inhibition of transcription with actinomycin D showed a half-life for ornithine decarboxylase mRNA of approximately 240 minutes. Ornithine decarboxylase mRNA stability was not affected by dexamethasone pretreatment for 12 hours. Therefore, these data suggest that dexamethasone regulates ODC gene expression via glucocorticoid receptor-mediated gene transcription. Furthermore, translational mechanisms seem to be involved in glucocorticoid-regulated ornithine decarboxylase induction.

Elevation of glucose transporter, c-myc, and transin RNA levels by Ha-rasT24 is independent of its effect on the cell cycle

Elevation of the steady-state mRNA levels of glucose transporter and c-myc are among the earliest changes in gene expression observed after Ha-rasT24 stimulation of Rat-1 fibroblasts to enter the cell cycle. Since the expression of these genes may be the result of either increased cell proliferation or a specific response to rasT24, we evaluated the expression of glucose transporter and c-myc and their induction during the cell cycle in both parental Rat-1 cells and cell lines bearing a metallothionein rasT24 fusion gene (MTrasT24). We showed that, although levels of glucose transporter and c-myc mRNAs in Rat-1 cells underwent a transient increase within hours of the addition of serum, epidermal growth factor, or 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate to quiescent (G0) cells, the levels of glucose transporter and c-myc mRNA otherwise remained constant throughout the normal cell cycle. In cells carrying MTrasT24 (MR5 cells), induction of rasT24 expression by ZnSO4 led to a rapid induction of glucose transporter and c-myc mRNA expression in both quiescent (density-arrested) and G1/S-synchronized (aphidicolin-blocked) cells. These increases exceeded the constitutive levels expressed in rapidly proliferating Rat-1 cells, indicating that the ras oncogene has an effect on these genes that is independent of growth status. In addition, the transin gene, which is not expressed in proliferating Rat-1 cells in the continuous presence of serum growth factors, was also induced after increased expression of the mutant ras gene. These results suggest that the induction of glucose transporter, c-myc, and transin is the direct result of rasT24-mediated alterations in cellular gene expression and is distinct from normal cell-cycle events.

Effect of ATP depletion and phenanthroline on the spermidine-mediated decay of ornithine decarboxylase in erythroleukemia cells

Addition of spermidine to Friend erythroleukemia cells caused a rapid decay of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity and the accumulation of a ODC-antizyme complex. The induction of antizyme only partially accounted for the decrease of ODC activity by a direct inhibition of the enzyme. However, the antizyme induction was accompanied by a marked reduction of the half-life of ODC. Shift of the cells to an ATP-depleting medium prevented the spermidine-elicited decay of ODC activity as well as the accumulation of ODC-antizyme complex. However, ODC appeared to be stabilized even when ATP depletion was performed 40 min after spermidine addition, in the presence of high levels of antizyme. Similar results were obtained by treating the cells with phenanthroline, a heavy metal chelator and protease inhibitor. These findings indicate that ATP and some metalloprotease(s) may be involved in the degradation pathway of ODC, even in the presence of high levels of polyamines.

Superinduction of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) by actinomycin D is due to stimulation of ODC mRNA translation

Inhibition of transcription by treatment with actinomycin D caused superinduction of the ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity in Ehrlich ascites tumor cells. Experiments with cycloheximide ruled out the possibility that this superinduction was due to stabilization of ODC. Instead the ODC activity exhibited a more rapid turnover in the presence of actinomycin D (t1/2 = 56 min). The superinduction was found to coincide with an increased rate of ODC synthesis, as determined by measuring the incorporation of [35S )methionine into immunoreactive ODC protein. The steady-state level of ODC mRNA was unchanged, indicating an effect on the translational efficiency.

Regulation by EGF is maintained in an overexpressed chimeric EGFR/neu receptor tyrosine kinase

The effects of a ligand regulated neu tyrosine kinase were examined in NIH 3T3 cells. A chimeric construct encoding the human EGF receptor extracellular domain fused to the tyrosine kinase domain of the rat neu cDNA was expressed under the transcriptional control of the Moloney murine leukemia virus LTR promoter. This resulted in higher levels of expression of the chimeric receptor than were previously obtained from the SV40 virus early promoter in the same cells. The chimeric receptor showed strict ligand-dependent tyrosine kinase and signal transducing activities for the induction of growth-regulated biochemical activities and DNA synthesis in resting cells. The ligand-activated cells became morphologically transformed and grew in agar in the presence of EGF and TGF beta as efficiently as did the ligand-independent neu oncogene-transformed cells. Our results establish similarities between the signal pathways of the EGF receptor and the neu tyrosine kinase.

Changes in rasT24 expression do not induce changes in c-jun, jun-B, or jun-D RNA levels in rat liver epithelial cells

We used a series of rat liver epithelial (RLE) cell lines that carry a zinc-regulatable metallothionein/rasT24 fusion gene (MTrasT24) to investigate the relation of ras oncogene expression to steady-state RNA levels of the jun family of genes. In these cells, steady-state RNA levels of c-jun, jun-B, and jun-D were unrelated to rasT24 RNA levels or the phenotypic changes induced by the ras oncogene. Steady-state levels of the three jun mRNAs varied among different rasT24 transformed clones, and, although some clones exhibited concomitant induction of rasT24 and jun mRNAs, other clones exhibited no such correlation. We conclude that the effects of rasT24 in transformed RLE cells do not appear to be mediated by c-jun, jun-B, or jun-D and that studies examining only a single transformed clone may give misleading results with respect to the role of various oncogenes in the transformation process.

Human ornithine decarboxylase(ODC)-encoding gene: cloning and expression in ODC-deficient CHO cells

We have cloned a full-length human ornithine decarboxylase (ODC)-encoding gene from a genomic library of human myeloma cells which overproduce ODC due to a selective gene amplification. Correct expression of the cloned gene was assessed by transfecting it into a Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell mutant devoid of ODC activity. Transfection with a 10-kb BamHI DNA fragment of the genomic clone, conferred ODC activity to the recipient cells and relieved them of dependence on exogenous polyamines for growth. A set of 40 transformants was isolated, eight of which were further characterized. The transfected ODC gene appeared to be hypomethylated at the cytosine residues in the sequence CpG. The transfectants were all responsive to serum stimulation, but showed different levels of ODC expression depending on both copy number and integration site of the transfected ODC gene. ODC serum induction in the transfectants was sensitive to cycloheximide and polyamine additions, and the half-life of the enzyme was very short, like that in normal CHO cells. These results suggest that the human ODC gene we transfected contains all the elements needed for normal control of ODC expression.

Modulation of polyamine biosynthesis and transport by oncogene transfection

The effects of oncogene expression on phenomena related to polyamine metabolism were examined in Rat-1 cells stably transfected with EJ2-ras or N-myc oncogenes. In ras-transfected cells, ornithine decarboxylase activity was about 12-times higher than in either the parent or N-myc-transfected cell lines. By contrast, polyamine uptake was markedly increased in N-myc-transfected cells, as indicated by their enhanced sensitivity to the antiproliferative and enzyme regulatory effects of the polyamine analog, N1, N12-bis(ethyl)spermine (BESm), their intracellular accumulation of BESm and by their increased sensitivity to the growth inhibitory effects of methylglyoxalbis(guanylhydrazone)--another analog which utilizes the polyamine transport mechanism. These associations between N-myc and ras expression and critical aspects of polyamine metabolism suggest a possible role for the latter in facilitating the growth promoting properties of these oncogenes.