2-amino-isobutyric acid and 3-O-methyl-D-glucose transport in 3T3, SV 40-transformed 3T3 and revertant cell lines

Energy metabolism of non-transformed and benzypyrene-transformed 3T3 cells: a microcalorimetric study

Non-transformed and benzpyrene-transformed 3T3 cells attached to microcarriers were studied with microcalorimetry. The transformed cells manifested a higher rate of heat production and a larger anaerobic contribution to the total catabolism than did the non-transformed cells. Moreover, the transformed cells were characterized by a highly pH-dependent metabolism with a drop in thermal power occurring 0.3 pH units lower than the corresponding drop for the non-transformed cell line. We believe this shift in pH to be due to the higher intracellular pH maintained by the transformed cells. In addition, the study describes the correlation between rate of heat production per cell and the degree of confluency for each cell line, respectively.

Etoposide inhibition of methylaminoisobutyric acid transport and its recovery in K562 cells

Sodium-dependent amino acid transport of methylaminoisobutyric acid (MeAIB) in a human myelogenous leukemic cell line K562 was inhibited by 30 nM etoposide (VP-16). Cell growth in suspension was almost completely suppressed by 30 nM VP-16 after 72 h. Colony formation by K562 cells markedly decreased after 24 h in a culture medium containing 30 nM VP-16, whereas MeAIB transport was inhibited after 72 h. K562 cell proliferation was restored in drug-free medium after recovery from 72-h culture with 30 nM VP-16. Colony formation and MeAIB transport were restored to pretreatment levels after 1-2 weeks. Thus, two conclusions may be drawn. (1) MeAIB transport may be correlated with cellular growth and (2) the effects of VP-16 on MeAIB transport were partially reversible.

CSF-1 stimulates glucose uptake in murine bone marrow-derived macrophages

3H-2-deoxyglucose was used as an isotopic tracer for the measurement of glucose uptake into quiescent murine bone marrow derived macrophages. A purified colony stimulating factor (CSF-1) was shown to stimulate 3H-2-deoxyglucose uptake in a dose-dependent manner. This stimulation was rapid, with a maximal effect seen at 20-30 minutes after growth factor addition. Both the inhibition by cytochalasin B and also the relative degree of competition by high concentrations of a series of glucose analogues suggest that the basal and CSF-1 stimulated 2-deoxyglucose uptake occur via a carrier facilitated D-glucose transport system. The data indicate that a purified growth factor can increase the glucose uptake in macrophages, a finding which could be relevant to the survival and/or the proliferative response of this and other haemopoietic cell types.

Analysis of hexose transport in untransformed and sarcoma virus-transformed mouse 3T3 cells by photoaffinity binding of cytochalasin B

The effect of simian virus 40 transformation on the hexose transport system in mouse embryo fibroblast Swiss 3T3 cells was examined. The concentration of hexose transporters was estimated by measuring D-glucose-inhibitable cytochalasin B binding. The binding of cytochalasin B to the plasma membranes of simian virus 40-transformed mouse 3T3 cells (SV3T3 cells) was significantly greater than that of 3T3 cells. On the other hand, cytochalasin B binding to the microsomal membranes of SV3T3 cells was decreased, and the total amount of binding to plasma and microsomal membranes was not significantly changed in both cell lines. The electrophoretic analysis demonstrated that both hexose-transporter components of Mr 46 000 and Mr 58 000 affinity labeled were responsible for an increase in the hexose transport by viral transformation. These results suggested that the higher hexose-transport activity of transformed cells is caused by a redistribution of transporter from intracellular membranes to plasma membranes.

Insulin-like growth factor I/somatomedin C action on 2-deoxyglucose and alpha-amino isobutyrate uptake in chick embryo fibroblasts

Maximum 125I-IGF-I/Sm-C total binding to chick embryo fibroblasts was 3% at +37 degrees C and decreased to less than 1% in presence of 2.8 X 10(-9) M unlabelled IGF-I/Sm-C. Insulin did not compete with IGF-I/Sm-C for the binding to cells. Biological action of IGF-I/Sm-C was evaluated on 2-deoxyglucose and alpha-aminoisobutyrate uptake. Results are compared with those obtained with insulin. Maximal peptide effects on the two transport processes were obtained at a 0.65 X 10(-7) M concentration and for a 120 minute association time, whereas cells were markedly less sensitive to insulin and time response curves were different. These results suggest that insulin action on nutrient uptake in chick embryo fibroblasts is not mediated by the binding of the hormone to IGF-I/Sm-C receptors.

Analysis of the reduced growth factor dependency of simian virus 40-transformed 3T3 cells

We have measured in a defined serum-free medium the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and insulin requirements of normal Swiss 3T3 cells, simian virus 40-transformed 3T3 cells, and partial revertants of simian virus 40-transformed 3T3 cells. Swiss 3T3 cells displayed strong requirements for both PDGF and insulin. Both of these requirements were significantly diminished in simian virus 40-transformed 3T3 cells. Analysis of the PDGF and insulin requirements of the revertants indicated that the loss of either of these two growth factor requirements was not necessarily linked to the other; rather, the growth factor requirements were specifically associated with other parameters of transformation. The reacquisition of a PDGF requirement cosegregated with reversion to density-dependent growth inhibition, whereas reacquisition of a normal insulin requirement cosegregated with reversion to a normal growth dependence on calf serum. Anchorage dependence was dissociable from both growth factor requirements. The relationship between the PDGF requirement and density-dependent growth inhibition was further analyzed in normal 3T3 cells by measuring the PDGF requirement at different cell densities. At high cell densities, the requirement for PDGF became significantly greater. We suggest that at least in part the ability of transformed cells to grow to high saturation densities results from their loss of a requirement for PDGF.

Analysis of the reduced growth factor dependency of simian virus 40-transformed 3T3 cells

We have measured in a defined serum-free medium the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and insulin requirements of normal Swiss 3T3 cells, simian virus 40-transformed 3T3 cells, and partial revertants of simian virus 40-transformed 3T3 cells. Swiss 3T3 cells displayed strong requirements for both PDGF and insulin. Both of these requirements were significantly diminished in simian virus 40-transformed 3T3 cells. Analysis of the PDGF and insulin requirements of the revertants indicated that the loss of either of these two growth factor requirements was not necessarily linked to the other; rather, the growth factor requirements were specifically associated with other parameters of transformation. The reacquisition of a PDGF requirement cosegregated with reversion to density-dependent growth inhibition, whereas reacquisition of a normal insulin requirement cosegregated with reversion to a normal growth dependence on calf serum. Anchorage dependence was dissociable from both growth factor requirements. The relationship between the PDGF requirement and density-dependent growth inhibition was further analyzed in normal 3T3 cells by measuring the PDGF requirement at different cell densities. At high cell densities, the requirement for PDGF became significantly greater. We suggest that at least in part the ability of transformed cells to grow to high saturation densities results from their loss of a requirement for PDGF.

Reduced insulin endocytosis in serum-transformed fibroblasts demonstrated by flow cytometry

Neoplastic transformation often results in the loss of growth control and concomitant changes in cell surface properties. The changes in endocytosis of a variety of probes after serum or anchorage transformation were measured for mouse fibroblasts by flow cytofluorometry. No major differences in dextran (fluid phase) or histone (nonspecific-adsorptive) endocytosis were observed among four cell lines with different growth properties. However, decreased receptor-mediated internalization of alpha 2-macroglobulin was observed for cell lines transformed to either serum or anchorage independence. Furthermore, increased wheat germ agglutinin and decreased insulin endocytosis were observed, but only in serum transformants. The changes specific to serum transformants were not accounted for by changes in binding of wheat germ agglutinin or insulin. The possible implications of these observations regarding serum transformation and the insulin requirement for growth in serum-free medium are discussed.

Protein degradation in 3T3 cells and tumorigenic transformed 3T3 cells

To study the relation of overall rates of protein degradation in the control of cell growth, we determined if transformation of fibroblasts to tumorigenicity affected their rates of degradation of short- and long-lived proteins. Rates of protein degradation were measured in nontumorigenic mouse Balb/c 3T3 fibroblasts, and in tumorigenic 3T3 cells transformed by different agents. Growing 3T3 cells, and cells transformed with Moloney sarcoma virus (MA-3T3) or Rous sarcoma virus (RS-3T3), degraded short- and long-lived proteins at similar rates. Simian virus 40 (SV-3T3)- and benzo(a)pyrene (BP-3T3)-transformed cells had slightly lower rates of degradation of both short- and long-lived proteins. Reducing the serum concentration in the culture medium from 10% to 0.5%, immediately caused about a twofold increase in the rate of degradation of long-lived proteins in 3T3 cells. Transformed lines increased their rates of degradation of long-lived proteins only by different amounts upon serum deprivation, but none of them to the same extent as did 3T3. Greater differences in the degradation rates of proteins were seen among the transformed cells than between 3T3 cells and some transformed cells. Thus, there was no consistent change in any rate of protein degradation in 3T3 cells due to transformation to tumorigenicity.

D-glucose transport by membrane vesicles from quiescent, serum-stimulated, and SV40-transformed mouse 3T3 cells

Mixed membrane vesicle preparations from mouse embryo fibroblasts (Swiss 3T3) exhibited a facilitated diffusion transport system for D-glucose that showed many of the characteristics of the D-glucose transport system of whole cells: stereospecificity, counterflow, Michaelis-Menten kinetics with an apparent Km similar to that of whole cells, and sensitivity to inhibition by cytochalasin B. Comparison of the stereospecific D-glucose transport activities of membrane vesicles from quiescent, serum-stimulated, and SV40 virus-transformed 3T3 cells showed no significant differences in rates of D-glucose uptake or efflux. This is in contrast to whole cells; quiescent 3T3 cells transported 6-deoxy-D-glucose at a significantly lower rate than serum-stimulated or SV40-transformed cells. These results indicate that D-glucose transport in quiescent vs. actively growing cells is regulated by cellular factors that are not retained in membrane vesicle preparations.

Glucose transport and metabolism in cultured human skin fibroblasts

Human skin fibroblast cultures, seeded at 10(5) cells/5 cm plate and allowed to grow to confluence at approx. 10(6) cells/5 cm plate, utilized a glycolytic mode of metabolism where the ratio of glucose utilized to lactate produced wa 0.62 +/- 0.05 (Zielke, R.H., Ozand, P.T., Tyldon, J.I., Sevdalian, D.A. and Cornblath, M. (1976) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 73, 4110-4114) (mean +/- S.E.). When the glucose in the medium was exhausted, the lactate produced during the highly glycolytic phase was then reutilized. In monolayer cultures that had been washed with phosphate-buffered saline, rates of glucose utilization were measured at 0.25 and 2 mM glucose by monitoring the appearance of 3H2O from [5-3H]glucose. Rate of utilization for each concentration of glucose decreased markedly as the cultures became more confluent. This decrease also correlated with a reduced ability to transport glucose as measured by 2-deoxy-[3H]glucose uptake in washed monolayer cultures. In washed confluent culture of fibroblasts, glucose utilization was markedly decreased by the presence of pyruvate and lactate but not by glutamine. The respiratory inhibitors, rotenone and antimycin, did not increase the rate of glucose utilization except when added in combination with pyruvate. We conclude that cultured skin fibroblasts possess a highly glycolytic mode of metabolism but that this mode can become more oxidative in the presence of sufficient quantities of pyruvate and lactate.

Nonlytic simian virus 40-specific 100K phosphoprotein is associated with anchorage-independent growth in simian virus 40-transformed and revertant mouse cell lines

Normal fibroblasts display two distinct growth controls which can be assayed as requirements for serum or for anchorage. Interaction of mouse 3T3 fibroblasts with simian virus 40 (SV40) thus generates four classes of transformed cells. We have examined viral gene expression in these four classes of cell lines. Immunoprecipitation of [35S]methionine-labeled cell extracts with an antiserum obtained from tumor-bearing hamsters detected the SV40 large T and small t proteins (94,000 molecular weight [94K], 17K) and the nonviral host 54K protein in all cell lines tested. A tumor antigen with an apparent molecular weight of 100,000 was also found in some, but not all, lines. Similar "super T" molecules have been found by others in many rodent transformed lines. We carried out an analysis of the relation of phenotype to relative amounts of these proteins in cell lines of the four classes, using the Spearman rank correlation test. The amount of the 100K T antigen relative to the 94K T antigen or to total viral protein was well correlated with the ability to form colonies in semisolid medium. No significant correlation was found between quantities of labeled 94K T antigen, 54K host antigen, or 17K t antigen and either serum or anchorage independence. Mouse cells transformed with the small t SV40 deletion mutant 884 synthesized a 100K T antigen, suggesting that small t is not required for the production of this protein. The 100K T antigen migrated more slowly than lytic T. Since mixtures of extracts from cells expressing and lacking the 100K T antigen yielded the expected amount of this protein, it is unlikely that the 100K T derives from the 94K protein by a posttranslational modification.

Anomalous patterns in cultured cell monolayers

Gridlike patterns of differing cell density were observed in evenly seeded cell monolayers. Such patterns were obtained in five of six cell lines tested, suggesting widespread occurrence. The mechanism appears to involve small, transient temperature changes related to incubator tray structure. The very short time course of appearance of the patterns implicates attachment rather than growth as the critically affected factor. Impaired adhesion or directed sedimentation resulting from thermally induced microcurrents in the medium are the two most likely mechanisms.

Effect of glucose uptake on growth rate of mouse 3T3 cells

The objective of this investigation was to determine whether the rate of glucose uptake by mouse 3T3 cells was a primary determinant of growth rate. The experimental approach was to control the rate of glucose uptake into intracellular pools by supplying this sugar at varying concentration in minimal Eagle's medium with dialyzed serum in the absence and presence of 6-deoxy-D-glucose, a metabolically inert homomorphic analog of D-glucose that competitively inhibits the uptake of D-glucose. Total hexose (D-glucose and 6-deoxy-D-glucose) concentration was maintained at the physiological concentration of 5.5 mM, in order to maintain saturation and maximum activity of the D-glucose transport system; thus the flux of D-glucose into the cell was controlled by adjusting its concentration relative to its competing nonmetabolizable analog. It was found that even when the concentration of D-glucose was reduced to 0.7 mM, one eighth of the "normal" level of 5.5 mM, and 6-deoxy-D-glucose was present in sevenfold excess (4.8 mM), conditions under which glucose uptake was reduced to 20% of that shown by cells in the presence of 5.5 mM D-glucose, and intracellular pools of glucose and phosphorylated sugars derived from glucose were reduced to approximately 14% of normal, there was not a significant decrease in growth rate. These data support the view that the rate of glucose uptake is not a primary determinant of growth rate under the usual conditions of cell culture.

6-deoxy-D-glucose and D-xylose: analogs for the study of D-glucose transport by mouse 3T3 cells

6-Deoxy-D-glucose and D-xylose, structural homomorphs of D-glucose that lack a 6-hydroxyl group or a 6-hydroxymethyl group, respectively, are transported efficiently by mouse 3T3 cells, with good affinity and high specificity for the D-glucose transport system. Since these analogs lack the 6-hydroxyl group, which is the site of phosphorylation of glucose by hexokinase, they are taken up and are recoverable from cells in an unchanged state. Thus, 6-deoxy-D-glucose and D-xylose offer advantages as transport substrates over 2-deoxy-D-glucose, which is phosphorylated by intercellular hexokinases, and 3-O-methyl-D-glucose, which shows a lower specificity for the D-glucose transport system.

Transport of 6-deoxy-D-glucose and D-xylose by untransformed and SV40-transformed 3T3 cells

Transport rates of the nonphosphorylated D-glucose analogs 6-deoxy-D-glucose and D-xylose were measured in quiescent and serum-stimulated cultures of mouse 3T3 cells, in SV40-transformed 3T3 cells (SV101), and in a density revertant cell line derived from SV101 (FI-SV101). Initial rates of both entry and exit of 6-deoxy-D-glucose and D-xylose were more than threefold higher in serum-stimulated 3T3 and in SV101 cells than they were in quiescent 3T3 cells, but transport rates were not higher in the transformed cells (SV101) than they were in serum-stimulated 3T3. Confluent cultures of FI-SV101 showed lower rates of transport than serum-stimulated FI-SV101, but not as low as quiescent 3T3 cells enter the quiescent G0 state, but emphasize that SV40-transformed 3T3 cells do not show higher activity of the D-glucose carrier than do actively growing 3T3 cells. Thus, enhanced glucose transport appears not to be a specific consequence of transformation, but a reflection of the active growth state of the cell.

Nonlytic simian virus 40-specific 100K phosphoprotein is associated with anchorage-independent growth in simian virus 40-transformed and revertant mouse cell lines

Normal fibroblasts display two distinct growth controls which can be assayed as requirements for serum or for anchorage. Interaction of mouse 3T3 fibroblasts with simian virus 40 (SV40) thus generates four classes of transformed cells. We have examined viral gene expression in these four classes of cell lines. Immunoprecipitation of [35S]methionine-labeled cell extracts with an antiserum obtained from tumor-bearing hamsters detected the SV40 large T and small t proteins (94,000 molecular weight [94K], 17K) and the nonviral host 54K protein in all cell lines tested. A tumor antigen with an apparent molecular weight of 100,000 was also found in some, but not all, lines. Similar "super T" molecules have been found by others in many rodent transformed lines. We carried out an analysis of the relation of phenotype to relative amounts of these proteins in cell lines of the four classes, using the Spearman rank correlation test. The amount of the 100K T antigen relative to the 94K T antigen or to total viral protein was well correlated with the ability to form colonies in semisolid medium. No significant correlation was found between quantities of labeled 94K T antigen, 54K host antigen, or 17K t antigen and either serum or anchorage independence. Mouse cells transformed with the small t SV40 deletion mutant 884 synthesized a 100K T antigen, suggesting that small t is not required for the production of this protein. The 100K T antigen migrated more slowly than lytic T. Since mixtures of extracts from cells expressing and lacking the 100K T antigen yielded the expected amount of this protein, it is unlikely that the 100K T derives from the 94K protein by a posttranslational modification.

Hexose sugar transport activity in a mouse fibroblast cell line temperature sensitive for expression of the transformed phenotype

A temperature-sensitive mouse fibroblast cell line was used to examine the relationship between hexose sugar uptake rates and the control of cell growth. The cell line (ts-H6-15) is a derivative of SV-3T3 cells, exhibiting a transformed phenotype at 32 degrees C and a normal phenotype at 39 degrees C. For cells actively growing at either temperature, a marked decrease in the rate of 3-O-methyl-D-glucose (3-O-MeG) transport is observed as cell population density increases. At cell population densities tested, 3-O-MeG transport rates (at a common assay temperature) were greater in H6-15 cells grown at 32 degrees C than at 39 degrees C, with the enhancement being maximal at the lowest cell densities. The effect of low serum-arrest on H6-15 cells revealed that cells growing at 39 degrees C arrest in G1, while cells at 32 degrees C stop more randomly throughout their cycle. Under conditions of low serum-arrest the rate of 3-O-MeG transport remained as high as in actively growing cells at both 32 degrees C and 39 degrees C. However, 2-deoxyglucose uptake rates were growth state-dependent at 39 degrees C, indicating perhaps metabolic as well as membrane-level control of sugar accumulation. These results further demonstrate that rates of hexose sugar transport by themselves are not always absolutely correlated with rates of cell proliferation and, thus, may be reliable predictors of cell growth potential.

Growth inhibitory protein(s) in the 3T3 cell plasma membrane. Partial purification and dissociation of growth inhibitory events from inhibition of amino acid transport

It has been reported previously that a plasma membrane-enriched fraction from 3T3 cells arrests the growth of sparse 3T3 cells early in the G1 phase of growth (Whittenberger et al., '78, '79). Addition of membranes to sparse 3T3 cells also results in a decrease of the rate of transport of alpha-aminoisobutyric acid (Lieberman et al., '79). We have partially purified the growth-inhibitory proteins from plasma membrane of 3T3 cells. These growth-inhibitory proteins behave as intrinsic membrane proteins and do not require membrane lipids for activity. The partially purified proteins arrest cell growth without affecting the rate of alpha-aminoisobutyric transport; thus, inhibition of both transport and cell growth are not obligatorily coupled events.

Inhibition of calcium and glucose uptake by murine leukemia L5178Y cells treated with antiserum

Studies were performed to determine whether decreases in transport of calcium and glucose might be among the earliest changes triggered by the antigen-antibody reactions occurring on the cell surface of murine leukemia L5178Y cells after treatment with rabbit antisera. After treatment with antisera, in the absence of complement, these cells exhibited a decreased uptake of 45Ca, 2-deoxy[3H]glucose, and 3-0-methyl[3H]glucose. These changes occurred rapidly, within 2 minutes after the addition of antiserum, in contrast to the previously reported inhibitory effects of antiserum on DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis, which became demonstrable only after 4 to 8 hours. The kinetics of uptake of the radioactive substrates was biphasic, with a very rapid initial uptake followed by less rapid linear uptake. The precise mechanism of cell growth inhibition remains to be elucidated, but one of the initial effects of antiserum treatment may be a perturbation at the cell membrane such that transport of specific nutrients is decreased, resulting in the observed effects on macromolecular synthesis.

Cell density and amino acid transport in 3T3, SV3T3, and SV3T3 revertant cells

The transport of selected neutral and cationic amino acids has been studied in Balb/c 3T3, SV3T3, and SV3T3 revertant cell lines. After properly timed preincubations to control the size of internal amino acid pools, the activity of systems A, ASC, L, and Ly+ has been discriminated by measurements of amino acid uptake (initial entry rate) in the presence and absence of sodium and of transport-specific model substrates. L-Proline, 2-aminoisobutyric acid, and glycine were primarily taken up by system A; L-alanine and L-serine by system ASC; L-phenylalanine by system L; and L-lysine by system Ly+ in SV3T3 cells. L-Proline and L-serine were also preferential substrates of systems A and ASC, respectively, in 3T3 and SV3T3 revertant cells. Transport activity of the Na+-dependent systems A and ASC decreased markedly with the increase of cell density, whereas the activity of the Na+-independent systems L and Ly+ remained substantially unchanged. The density-dependent change in activity of system A occurred through a mechanism affecting transport maximum (Vmax) rather than substrate concentration for half-maximal velocity (Km). Transport activity of systems A and ASC was several-fold higher in transformed SV3T3 cells than in 3T3 parental cells at all the culture densities that could be compared. In SV3T3 revertant cells, transport activity by these systems remained substantially similar to that observed in transformed SV3T3 cells. The results presented here add cell density as a regulatory factor of the activity of systems A and ASC, and show that this control mechanism of amino acid transport is maintained in SV40 virus-transformed 3T3 cells that have lost density-dependent inhibition of growth, as well as in SV3T3 revertant cells that have resumed it.

Lack of correlation between effects of tumor promoter TPA on plasminogen activator production, phosphatidyl choline synthesis, and hexose transport in mammalian cell culture systems

We have investigated the effects of the tumor promoter 12-0-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) on plasminogen activator production, hexose transport and metabolism, and the incorporation of choline into the acid soluble pool and into phosphatidylcholine in suspension cultures of mouse L, mouse P388 leukemia, human HeLa, and Chinese hamster ovary cells, and in monolayer cultures of baby hamster kidney (BHK), mouse 3T3, mouse 3T6, and mouse P388D1 macrophage-like cells. BHK, 3T3, P388D1, and P388 cells produced plasminogen activator constitutively, but no significant production was observed in the other cell lines. Plasminogen activator production was induced or stimulated by TPA only in P388 cells (10- to 20-fold by 100 ng TPA/ml). On the other hand, phosphatidylcholine synthesis was stimulated by TPA only in HeLa cells, and hexose transport, as measured with 3-0-methyl-D-glucose, only in 3T3 and P388D1 cells, as well as in human lymphocytes. The stimulation of hexose transport occurred more rapidly than the induction of plasminogen activator production and seemed to be part of the mitogenic response of cells to TPA treatment. A stimulation of deoxyglucose uptake was similarly limited to 3T3 and P388D1 cells. A significant decarboxylation of carbon 1 of deoxyglucose occurred in P388 and P388D1 cells, but not in Novikoff cells, and any decarboxylation that occurred was not stimulated by TPA. The results indicate that the various investigated responses of cells to TPA are unrelated and occur independent of each other. The time courses of the biochemical responses also differ significantly.