Characteristics of proline transport into R3230AC mammary tumor cells

Cytological and biochemical effects of a mixture of 20 pollutants on isolated rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) hepatocytes

Isolated hepatocytes of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were exposed to different concentrations (1x, 10x, 50x) of a complex mixture of 20 environmentally relevant contaminants (PAHs, PCBs, pesticides) typical of the chemical burden of surface waters and sediments of small rivers in southwest Germany to investigate sublethal cytological and biochemical alterations. Results document that all concentrations clearly induced biochemical and morphological changes. The activities of enzymes such as lactate dehydrogenase and catalase as well as the rate of lipid peroxidation were significantly increased, whereas acid phosphatase activity decreased. Cytopathological effects included deformation of cellular shape, deformation and dilation of the nuclear envelope, increase in heterochromatin, nuclear inclusions, heterogeneity of mitochondria, vesiculation of RER cisternae, as well as increases in myelinated bodies, lysosomes, and peroxisomes. If compared with cytological alterations induced in isolated rainbow trout hepatocytes after exposure to sediment extracts from rivers of corresponding contamination, cytological effects of exposure to the complex chemical mixture displayed numerous similarities.

Functional modulation of multidrug resistance-related P-glycoprotein by Ca(2+)-calmodulin

Studies with inside-out plasma membrane vesicles from multidrug-resistant (MDR 3) murine erythroleukemia (MEL/VCR-6) cells have provided evidence for down-modulation of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) function by Ca(2+)-calmodulin (CLM). These studies showed that CLM in the presence or absence of Ca2+ had no effect on binding of [3H]vinblastine (VBL) by P-gp in inside-out plasma membrane vesicles. However, profound inhibition of ATP-dependent [3H]VBL efflux by these vesicles was demonstrated by the addition of subnanomolar concentrations of CLM (IC50 = 0.15 +/- 0.02 nM). The addition of 1 microM Ca2+ reduced the inhibition of [3H]VBL efflux by CLM, shifting the concentration required for inhibition to the nM range (IC50 = 2.55 +/- 0.35 nM). The inhibition of as 0.01 mM Ca2+, and no inhibition occurred with concentrations greater than 0.2 mM Ca2+. Binding of CLM, itself, to P-gp was demonstrated in two ways. The P-gp content of detergent-solubilized plasma membrane from MEL/VCR-6 cells could be appreciably depleted by treating this material with CLM-Sepharose beads as shown by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and Western blotting with anti-P-gp antibody (C219) before and after CLM-Sepharose treatment. Also, depletion of P-gp from solution by CLM was less in the presence of 1 mM Ca2+. Blotting of P-gp after SDS-PAGE of plasma membrane from MEL/VCR-6 cells was also obtained using 125I-CLM as a probe. These results strongly suggest that the MDR 3 homolog of P-gp is a CLM-binding protein and that direct interaction of Ca(2+)-CLM with P-gp, while not affecting its binding of [3H]VBL, down-modulates the translocation of this agent in the presence of ATP.

Morphological changes on nerves and histopathological effects on liver and kidney of rats by pentachlorophenol (PCP)

1. The chronic toxicity of pentachlorophenol (PCP) was studied in rats after 90-120 days of oral administration ad libitum of 0.3-3 mM PCP aqueous solutions. 2. Morphological studies of their sciatic nerves were performed by optical and electron microscopy. 3. They showed degenerative changes in about 10% of the A and B type of nerve fibers. 4. The myelin sheath was discontinued by complete separation in several concentric rings while some other parts of the nerve exhibited a variable loss of neurotubules, neurofilaments and other axoplasmic components. 5. However, the C type of nerve fibers, the blood vessels and the perineurium did not show any morphologic alteration. 6. It was also found that in the liver PCP caused hemodynamic vein changes and injury in the hepatocytes such as cellular swelling and vacuolar degeneration. 7. The damage in the kidney occurred primarily in the glomeruli and secondarily in the proximal tubules causing turbid tumefaction and the formation of casts in the tubular lumen.

The role of NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase in mitomycin C- and porfiromycin-resistant HCT 116 human colon-cancer cells

A mitomycin C (MMC)- and porfiromycin (PFM)-resistant subline of the HCT 116 human colon-cancer cell line was isolated after repeated exposure of HCT 116 cells to increasing concentrations of MMC under aerobic conditions. The MMC-resistant subline (designated HCT 116-R30A) was 5 times more resistant than the parent cells to MMC and PFM under aerobic conditions. Both the MMC-resistant cells and the parent HCT 116 cells accumulated similar amounts of PFM by passive diffusion, but levels of macromolecule-bound PFM were about 50% lower in the resistant cell line, implying a decrease in PFM reductive activation in the resistant cells. The finding that microsomes from either sensitive or resistant cells showed an equal ability to reduce MMC and PFM indicated that the activity of NADPH cytochrome P-450 reductase (EC 1.6.2.4) was not changed in the resistant subline. Soluble extracts of HCT 116 cells reduced MMC and PFM more effectively at pH 6.1, and NADH and NADPH were utilized equally well as electron donors under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. These data suggest that quinone reductase (EC 1.6.99.2; DT-diaphorase) in soluble extracts is responsible for the reduction of MMC. Quinone reductase activities in soluble extracts of HCT 116-R30A cells for the reduction of dichlorophenol indophenol (DCPIP) and menadione-cytochrome c at optimal pHs were decreased by 95% as compared with those obtained in parent cells. However, the MMC-reducing activity of HCT 116-R30A soluble extracts was only 50% lower than that of the parent cell extracts. The kinetic constants (Km, Vmax) found for quinone reductase in the two cell lines with respect to the substrates DCPIP and menadione differed. Two species of mRNA for quinone reductase (2.7 and 1.2 kb) were detected in both cell lines, and there was no detectable difference between parent and resistant cells in the steady-state level of either of these mRNA species. Furthermore, incubation with the quinone reductase inhibitor dicoumarol rendered HCT 116 cells more resistant to MMC. Alteration of the quinone reductase activity in HCT 116-R30A cells appears to be the mechanism responsible for their resistance to MMC and PFM.

Mechanisms and regulation of ion transport in adult mammalian alveolar type II pneumocytes

The adult alveolar epithelium consists of type I and type II (ATII) pneumocytes that form a tight barrier, which severely restricts the entry of lipid-insoluble molecules from the interstitial to the alveolar space. Current in vivo and in vitro evidence indicates that the alveolar epithelium is also an absorptive epithelium, capable of transporting Na+ from the alveolar lumen, which is bathed by a small amount of epithelial lining fluid, to the interstitial space. The in situ localization of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase activity in ATII cells and the fact that these cells are involved in a number of crucial functions, such as surfactant secretion and alveolar remodeling after injury, led investigators to examine their transport characteristics. Radioactive flux studies, in both freshly isolated and cultured cells, and bioelectric measurements in ATII cells grown on porous supports indicate that they transport Na+ according to the Koefoed-Johnsen and Ussing model of epithelial transport. Na+ enters the apical membrane, because of the favorable electrochemical gradient, through Na+ cotransporters, a Na(+)-H+ antiport, and cation channels and is pumped across the basolateral membrane by a ouabain-sensitive Na(+)-K+ pump. Na+ transport is enhanced by substances that increase intracellular adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate. In addition to Na+ transporters, ATII cells contain several transporters that regulate their intracellular pH, including a H(+)-ATPase, which may explain the low pH of the epithelial lining fluid. The absorptive properties of ATII cells may play an important role in regulating the degree of alveolar fluid in health and disease.

Porfiromycin disposition in oxygen-modulated P388 cells

The cytotoxicity, metabolism, and DNA alkylation of porfiromycin (PFM) under aerobic and hypoxic conditions were evaluated in P388 murine leukemia cells. Clonogenic assays showed that the IC50 value for a 1-h exposure to PFM was 4 microM for aerobic cells and 0.5 microM for hypoxic cells. After a 1-h exposure to concentrations of 1, 5, and 10 microM [14C]-PFM, the accumulation of total radioactivity in hypoxic cells was 10 to 20 times that in aerobic cells. The disposition of radioactivity in cells that had been treated for 1 h with 5 microM PFM under aerobic or hypoxic conditions showed that (a) under either condition, internal free-PFM concentration equalled the external drug concentration; (b) DNA-, RNA-, and protein-bound radioactivity were at least 10 times greater in hypoxic cells than in aerobic cells; and (c) known metabolites and unidentified radioactive products were also generated in greater amounts in hypoxic cells than in aerobic cells. Thus, the increased amounts of radioactivity accumulated by hypoxic P388 cells after exposure to [14C]-PFM resulted from the accumulation of nonexchangeable protein and nucleic-acid adducts and metabolites rather than free PFM. Determinations of DNA adducts formed in P388 cells revealed five possible adducts: (1) N2-(2'-deoxyguanosyl)-7-methylaminomitosene, (2) a second monofunctional PFM-guanine adduct, (3) a PFM cross-linked dinucleotide, (4) possibly a nucleoprotein-related adduct, and (5) an unknown. We conclude that the enhancement of PFM-induced cytotoxicity by hypoxia appears to be primarily due to increased alkylation of macromolecules.

The effects of pentachlorophenol (PCP) at the toad neuromuscular junction

1. Effects of PCP at the frog neuromuscular junction were studied in vitro in sciatic nerve sartorius muscle of the toad Pleurodema-thaul. 2. Within the concentration 0.003-0.1 mM, PCP caused a dose-time-dependent block of evoked transmitter release acompanied by an increase in the rate of spontaneous quantal release. 3. PCP induced an increase in miniature endplate potential (MEPP) frequency and it was not antagonized in a Ca2(+)-free medium, indicating that it does not depend upon Ca2+ influx from the external medium, but may act by releasing Ca2+ from intraterminal stores. 4. The present data, together with previous results concerning PCP at eighth sympathetic ganglia indicate that 3,4-diaminopyridine (3,4-DAP) counteracts the effects of PCP on synaptic transmission. This result suggests that PCP interfering Ca2+ influx occurs during depolarization of motor nerve terminals.

Markedly altered membrane transport and intracellular binding of vincristine in multidrug-resistant Chinese hamster cells selected for resistance to vinca alkaloids

Studies of a multidrug-resistant variant (DC-3F/VCRd-5L) of Chinese hamster lung cells selected for resistance to vinca alkaloids revealed marked alterations in transport and intracellular binding of [3H]vincristine compared to parental DC-3F cells. Influx of [3H]vincristine in DC-3F cells appears to be an equilibrating, but mediated, process. Although saturation kinetics for [3H]vincristine influx were not demonstrated, an extremely high temperature-dependence (Q10 27-37 degrees C = 5-6) and trans-inhibition of influx following preloading of cells with nonradioactive vincristine argue in favor of a carrier-mediated process. Efflux of [3H]vincristine from parental cells conformed to first-order kinetics (t1/2 37 degrees = 3.6 +/- 0.4) and exhibited a lower temperature-dependence (Q10 27-37 degrees C = 3-3.5) than influx. In variant vs. parental cells, influx of [3H]vincristine was reduced 24-fold and efflux was increased two-fold, accounting for the large (approximately 48-fold) reduction in steady-state level of exchangeable drug accumulating in variant cells. Otherwise, transport of [3H]vincristine in these cells showed characteristics similar to parental DC-3F cells. Also, the rate and amount of intracellular binding of [3H]vincristine in variant cells was almost 40-fold lower than in parental cells. These alterations in influx and efflux of [3H]vincristine and its intracellular binding appear to account, at least to a major extent, for the high level of resistance (2,750-fold) of this variant to vinca alkaloids. In contrast, cross-resistance of this variant to daunomycin (178-fold) could be explained only minimally by a transport alteration. Only a two-fold increase in efflux of [3H]daunomycin was demonstrated in variant vs. parental cells along with some decrease in intracellular binding. Influx of [3H]daunomycin was unaltered. In view of these results, we conclude that these two agents most likely do not share the same route for entry in these cells but might share the same efflux route.

Interaction between anions and the reduced folate/methotrexate transport system in L1210 cell plasma membrane vesicles: directional symmetry and anion specificity for differential mobility of loaded and unloaded carrier

The effect of various anions on the mediated influx and efflux of [3H]methotrexate by L1210 cell plasma membrane vesicles in a HEPES buffer system was studied. Our results show that flux is stimulated to the same extent in either direction when SO4, Pi, or folate compounds (1,L5-CHO-folate-H4, methotrexate), but not Cl- was present in the opposite compartment. This implies the property of directional symmetry, a condition in which differential mobility of loaded and unloaded carriers occurs in both directions. We also observed a similarity in the specificity of the interaction between various anions and carrier in each orientation of the membrane, in the order, Cl- much less than Pi approximately equal to SO2-4 much less than methotrexate less than 1,L5-CHO-folate-H4. Also, the absolute differential in mobility of loaded and unloaded carrier (assumed from the extent of transstimulation obtained) varied substantially among the anions examined. No stimulation was obtained with Cl-, and stimulation was twofold with Pi, SO2-4 and methotrexate and fourfold with 1,L5-CHO-folate-H4. Transstimulation of flux from either external or internal compartment only occurred when a positive gradient of total anions was maintained in the opposite compartment. Also, no stimulation occurred when the same equivalence of two different anions are present in opposing compartments. The concentration of anions required to transstimulate [3H]methotrexate influx was increased four- to 10-fold when vesicles were equilibrated in 145 mM NaCl.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effects of metabolic deprivation on methotrexate transport in L1210 leukemia cells: further evidence for separate influx and efflux systems with different energetic requirements

Measurements of methotrexate transport in L1210 cells in the presence and absence of D-glucose reveal that both influx and efflux are depressed in the absence of D-glucose, whereas the steady-state accumulation of drug is enhanced. The reason for the increase in steady state is that the relative decline in efflux is greater than the decline in influx. Analysis of the concentration dependence of steady-state methotrexate accumulation in D-glucose-deprived cells indicates a linear relationship consistent with a one-carrier active transport model. Similar data in nondeprived cells is highly nonlinear and strongly supports the postulate that under physiological conditions influx and efflux of methotrexate are mediated by separate carrier systems. These results indicate that the efflux system, preferentially transporting methotrexate under normal conditions, cannot operate in the absence of D-glucose, whereas the influx system is only partially inhibited under conditions of glucose deprivation.

Relationships between carrier-mediated transport of folate compounds by L1210 leukemia cells: evidence for multiplicity of entry routes with different kinetic properties expressed in plasma membrane vesicles

Various independent kinetic criteria for indicating multiplicity of carrier-mediated entry of folate compounds into L1210 cell plasma membrane vesicles are studied. We find a marked inconsistency between values for influx Km and Ki in reciprocal experiments measuring competition between various folate compounds as well as inconsistent effects of transloading shown for 5-formyltetrahydrofolate influx, but not folic acid influx. These results argue strongly against a one-carrier model for transport of folate compounds. The most straightforward interpretation of our data is that two distinct transport systems mediate entry of folate compounds in L1210 plasma membrane vesicles. If a two-carrier model is correct, then our data indicate that one of the carriers has low capacity and high affinity for folate coenzymes and methotrexate. This system is apparently negligible as a transport route for folic acid. Transtimulation of initial influx by substrates of the low capacity system is obtained following transloading with coenzymes but not by transloading with folic acid. Our data indicate that the second folate transport system postulated by the two-carrier model has a low affinity for all the folate compounds studied. Nevertheless, the putative second system is significant, especially for folic acid transport, because it has a much higher capacity than the first transport system. In contrast to the first system, transloading with any of the folate compounds studied had no effect on initial influx mediated by the second folate transport system. The two systems are also differentially inhibited by pCMBS, DIDS and SITS and the influx Vmax for the high-affinity/low-capacity system was altered in a vesicle preparation derived from a methotrexate resistant L1210 cell line.

Two-compartment behavior during transport of folate compounds in L1210 cell plasma membrane vesicles

The transport of [3H] 1,L 5-formyltetrahydrofolate, [3H] folic acid, and [3H]methotrexate by L1210 cell plasma membrane vesicles exhibited multicompartmental behavior. Two separate vesicular compartments (parallel relationship) of approximately equal volume were revealed during measurements of influx and efflux. Flux in one compartment was rapid, saturable, highly temperature-sensitive, and inhibited by pCMBS. Flux in the other compartment exhibited all of the characteristics of passive diffusion. These results imply that our plasma membrane vesicle preparations consist of a mixture of two functional species. Transport of folate into one of these species occurs by passive diffusion alone, whereas transport into the other kind of vesicle occurs by both passive diffusion and carrier-facilitated transport.

Effects of trypsin on binding of insulin and concanavalin A and on glucose and proline transport in the R3230AC mammary adenocarcinoma

Effects of trypsin treatment on insulin and concanavalin A binding to, and glucose and proline transport in, dissociated R3230AC mammary adenocarcinoma cells were examined. Reduction of binding of 125I-labelled insulin was dependent on the amount of trypsin used, the temperature and the time of the incubation period. Under conditions that reduced insulin binding by greater than 75%, transport of glucose and proline was reduced by less than 15%. Scatchard analysis of insulin binding after trypsin treatment yielded slopes similar to those from cells not exposed to trypsin, assuming either two classes of receptors or an average affinity, Ke. Dissociation of bound insulin from untreated or trypsin-treated cells was enhanced by addition of excess unlabelled ligand. Insulin added in vitro, which decreased glucose transport in untreated cells, produced a decrease in glucose transport in cells treated with trypsin for 5 min (insulin binding was decreased 35%), but not in cells treated for 45 min (insulin binding was decreased 90%). Binding of the plant lectin concanavalin A was also reduced by trypsin treatment, but to a lesser extent and with a different time-course than for insulin. Scatchard analysis of the binding of concanavalin A in untreated and trypsin-treated cells yielded comparable values for Kd. The insulinomimetic actions of concanavalin A on glucose transport were abolished after brief exposure to trypsin. Pre-treatment of cells with concanavalin A reduced insulin binding and partially protected insulin receptors from trypsin digestion, but the inability to remove all of the concanavalin A precluded its use as a method to protect insulin receptors. Thus, in this rat mammary tumor, the number, but not the affinity or functional activity, of insulin receptors can be reduced by trypsin treatment without significant effects on glucose or A system amino acid transport.

Reduction of proline transport in R3230AC mammary carcinomas by estrogens in vitro

The effects of estrogens on proline and leucine transport into enzymatically dissociated cells from the R3230AC mammary adenocarcinoma were studied. Estradiol-17beta demonstrated a time- and dose-dependent reduction of proline transport; at 10-6M, transport of proline was decreased by 50 percent. Kinetic analysis of these effects indicate that estradiol displayed characteristics of a non-competitive inhibitor, with a Ki of 1.79 microM. Other estrogens, and the anti-estrogen tamoxifen, gave somewhat higher estimated Ki values and could be ranked as inhibitors as follows estradiol 17beta greater than diethylstilbestrol greater than tamoxifen greater than estriol congruent to estrone greater than estradiol-17alpha. No effects of these estrogens on leucine transport were observed, indicating their selectiveness for the A system. The synthetic glucocorticoid, dexamethasone, was comparable to diethylstilbestrol as an inhibitors of proline transport, but dexamethasone also decreased transport of leucine, Testosterone and progesterone were approximately comparable to estrone in their actions. It is proposed that these actions of estrogens represent one potential mechanism whereby pharmacological levels exert therapeutic benefit in the treatment of advanced breast cancer.

Influence of proliferative rates and A system substrate availability on proline transport in primary cell cultures of the R3230AC mammary tumor

Regulation of A system amino acid transport was studied in primary cultures of the R3230AC mammary adenocarcinoma. Higher rates of carrier-mediated Na+-dependent proline transport, vc, was decreased and was attributed to a two-fold decrease in Vmax and a two-fold increase in Km. When compared to cells grown in standard media (Eagle's minimal essential medium, MEM), cells grown in media supplemented with A system substrates (alanine, serine, glycine, and proline) demonstrated adaptive decreases in proline transport; the decrease was due to two-fold reduction in Vmax, with no change in Km for proline. Even in the presence of preferred substrates for the A system, a density-dependent decrease in proline transport was manifested. Both fast- and slow-growing cultures maintained in MEM exhibited rapid increases in proline transport when switched to buffers devoid of amino acids; two-fold increases in Vmax were seen within 4 hr, but Km was unchanged. This starvation-induced adaptation was completely prevented by inclusion in the buffer of 10 mM proline, 0.1 mM alpha-(methylamino)-isobutyric acid (MetAIB) or 10 mM serine, whereas inclusion of the poorer A system substrate, phenylalanine (10 mM), had no effect. The effects of MetAIB to prevent starvation-induced increases in proline transport were dose-related, rapid, and reversible. Amino acid starvation-induced increases in proline transport were partially blocked by cycloheximide or actinomycin D. Data were obtained demonstrating a temporal relationship between increasing intracellular [proline] and decreasing vc for proline uptake. In addition, efflux of proline from preloaded cells preceded the increase in initial rates of proline entry. Taken together, we concluded that: 1) A system transport in primary cultures of this mammary adenocarcinoma is regulated by cell density as well as by availability of A system substrates, but these two types of regulation are kinetically distinct; and 2) starvation-induced enhancement of proline transport appears to be due to release from transinhibition, but may also involve a derepression-repression type of mechanism.

alpha-aminoisobutyrate transport into cells from R3230AC mammary adenocarcinoma. Evidence for sodium ion-dependent and -independent carrier-mediated entry and effects of diabetes

In the presence of Na+, alpha-aminoisobutyrate was transported by saturable and non-saturable processes into R3230AC mammary tumour cells isolated by enzymic treatment. Eadie-Hofstee analysis for the saturable process gave a curvilinear plot, suggesting that transport occurred by more than one carrier. In the absence of Na+, alpha-aminoisobutyrate was also transported by both saturable and non-saturable processes. This Na+-independent saturable process gave a linear plot according to Eadie-Hofstee analysis: V, 708 +/- 105 pmol/min per 5 X 10(6) cells; Km, 0.36 +/- 0.33 mM (mean +/- S.E.M.). Subtracting alpha-aminoisobutyrate entry in the absence of Na+ from total alpha-aminoisobutyrate uptake (in the presence of Na+) showed the presence of another saturable process (Na+-dependent), accounting for 75% of total alpha-aminoisobutyrate uptake. This component gave a linear Eadie-Hofstee plot: V, 2086 +/- 213; Km, 1.75 +/- 0.16 alpha-(Methylamino)isobutyrate, a substrate specifically taken up by the A system, inhibited 80% of alpha-aminoisobutyrate entry. The presence of both alhpa-(methylamino)isobutyrate and phenylalanine inhibited alpha-aminoisobutyrate entry completely. 2-Aminobicyclo[2.2.1]heptane-2-carboxylate, an analogue specifically taken up by the Na+-independent system, inhibited completely the Na+-independent entry of alpha-aminoisobutyrate. In the presence of Na+, the distribution ratio, which is defined as the amino acid concentration in the intracellular space divided by that in the incubation medium for alpha-aminoisobutyrate, at 90 min was 19, and in the absence of Na+ at 60 min was 5. These concentrative processes were sensitive to the metabolic inhibitor pentachlorophenol. The Na+-dependent, but not the Na+-independent, alpha-aminoisobutyrate uptake was increased in cells from diabetic rats. This was primarily due to an increase in the V for the Na+-dependent component (164%) with no effect on the Km. We conclude, therefore, that alpha-aminoisobutyrate entry into cells from this mammary tumour is mediated by two transport systems, one Na+-dependent and another Na+-independent. Furthermore, the Na+-dependent component of alpha-aminoisobutyrate is sensitive to alterations of insulin in vivo.