Biochemical assays of hemoglobin in normal human erythroid clones

Intracellular protein and nucleic acid measured in eight cell types using deep-ultraviolet mass mapping

We present measurements by deep-ultraviolet mass mapping of nucleic acid (NA) and protein for five commonly cultured and three primary cell types. The dry mass distribution at submicron resolution was determined on a single-cell basis for 250-500 cells from each of these types. Since the method carries a direct reference to a spectrophotometric standard (molar extinction coefficient), we are able to calibrate the absolute weight distributions both on a cell-to-cell basis within each type and across types. We also provide a calibration in absolute mass units for fluorescence-based measurements (flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy). As might be expected the cultured cell lines show a high concentration of nucleic acids in the nuclear compartment, much larger than the genomic 2C number even in the G1 stage. The whole-cell nucleic-acid/protein ratio was found to be a characteristic of cell lines that persists independent of cell cycle and, as a result, this ratio has some value for phenotyping. Primary chicken red blood cells (cRBC), often used as a cytometry standard, were determined to have a nuclear-isolated nucleic acid content much closer to the genomic number than the cultured cell lines (cRBC: 3.00 pg total NA, 2.30 pg DNA, and 0.70 pg RNA). The individual blastomeres (n = 54) from mouse embryos at eight-cell stage were measured and found to vary by more than a factor or two in total protein and nucleic acid content (0.8-2.3 ng total protein, 70-150 pg total NA). The ratio of nucleic acid to protein was more nearly constant for each blastomere from a particular embryo and this ratio was found to be an identifying characteristic that varies from embryo to embryo obtained from a single flushing of a mouse.

A colorimetric high-throughput β-hematin inhibition screening assay for use in the search for antimalarial compounds

Antimalarial drugs such as chloroquine are believed to act by inhibiting hemozoin formation in the food vacuole of the malaria parasite. We have developed a new assay for measuring and detecting inhibition of synthetic hemozoin (beta-hematin) formation. Aqueous pyridine (5% v/v, pH 7.5) forms a low-spin complex with hematin but not with beta-hematin. Its absorbance obeys Beer's law, making it useful for quantitating hematin concentration in hematin/beta-hematin mixtures, allowing compounds to be investigated for inhibition of beta-hematin formation. The assay is rapid (60 min incubation) and requires no centrifugation. The beta-hematin inhibition data show good agreement with alternative assay methods reported by four laboratories. The assay was adapted for high-throughput colorimetric screening, allowing visual identification of beta-hematin inhibitors. In this mode, the assay successfully detected all 18 beta-hematin inhibitors in a set of 47 compounds tested, with no false positive results. The quantitative in vitro antimalarial activities of a set of 13 aminoquinolines and quinoline methanols were found to correlate significantly with beta-hematin inhibition values determined using the assay.

Acetylcholinesterase in the human erythron. III. Regulation of differentiation

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is present in both primitive and mature erythroid cells, but a role for the enzyme in human hematopoiesis has not been defined. This prospect represented the primary objective of the following study. In clonal culture of normal human bone marrow cells, a "wave" of AChE activity was demonstrated, rising from undetectable levels to a peak (of 1.48 femto-moles per min per cell) at 10 days in the course of progressive erythroid clonogenesis. At concentrations of enzyme inhibitor that clearly reduced AChE activity in a dose-dependent fashion, there was no overall effect on erythropoiesis in vitro, but the clones were generally smaller and significantly more often multi-focal than in control cultures. Furthermore, in the presence of AChE inhibitors, a concentration-dependent increase in the myeloid-erythroid ratios of the culture harvests was observed. Likewise, a clear reduction in hemoglobination was revealed, in cells of 10 day cultures, from a mean hemoglobin concentration of 35.0 pg per cell in controls to 20.1 pg per cell in the presence of the maximal concentration of the inhibitor (10(-6) M eserine). These data point to a role for AChE in the regulation of differentiation in the human erythron.