Biomedical subjects

B Azzarone

Publications and source records attributed to B Azzarone.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

PubMed1991

The role of fibroblasts in organization and degradation of a fibrin clot.

Older clots become less sensitive to fibrin degradation than newly formed ones. A possible role for fibroblasts in this defective thrombus lysis was studied. A system has been developed in which different clones of fibroblasts were incorporated into a floating whole blood clot. The effect of the incorporated fibroblasts on clot lysis has been analyzed in relation to their basic characteristics: clot retraction, production of plasminogen activators (PAs) and their inhibitors (PAIs), and secretion of collagen. In neoplastic fibroblast-enriched clots, secretion of PA was associated with spontaneous lysis of a whole blood clot. Normal fibroblasts, secreting levels of PA and PAI similar to those of the cancer cells, did not induce spontaneous lysis of the clot. Moreover, these cells protected whole blood clot from thrombolysis by added PA. Our data show that the resistance to fibrin clot degradation induced by normal fibroblasts was mainly mediated by collagen secretion and deposition rather than PAI secretion or retraction of the clot. We suggest a key role for normal fibroblasts in the acquisition of resistance to proteolytic fibrin degradation of whole blood clots through the secretion of collagen.

Collagen↗

PubMed1990

Correlation between contractility and proliferation in human fibroblasts.

The contractile power of human fibroblasts was checked through their life span in vitro, using a plasma clot retraction test. It was found to decline with a pattern analogous to that of the different phases identifiable by the study of the kinetics of proliferation of these cells. The capacity to retract a plasma clot was higher in cells harvested during active growth than in cells harvested in resting phase. The decreased ability to retract during aging becomes apparent when cells are harvested in resting phase. Decreased retractile activity was also observed in postnatal cells as compared with embryonic cells. The results support a correlation between the initiation of DNA synthesis and the turnover of cytoskeletal elements. The data fit our previous results showing that the early proliferative disturbance during cellular senescence consists of a decline in the probability of initiating the division cycle linked to impaired cell attachment and spreading.

Cell Division↗

PubMed1990

Autocrine growth of leukemic cells.

Autocrine growth is a process whereby a cell both secretes and responds to a growth factor. This paper describes the stepwise malignant progression of leukemic cells which has been demonstrated in many experimental models of autocrine leukemic growth. In contrast, autocrine growth has not been proven as a major physiopathological mechanism for the growth of leukemic cells in vivo in human myeloid and lymphocytic leukemias. Growth-factor independency of human leukemic cell lines may be due to clonal selection.

Cell Division↗

PubMed1989

Acquisition of tumorigenic potential in the human myoepithelial HBL100 cell line is associated with decreased expression of HLA class I, class II and integrin beta 3 and increased expression of c-myc.

The human breast cell line HBL100 acquires the capacity to invade normal tissues and to replace them by proliferation in vitro only at high passage levels (HPL). These cells therefore are a useful model for studying tumor progression in vitro. We have analyzed the expression of cell-surface markers supposed to be involved in the control of the neoplastic process. Quantitative flow cytometry has revealed that: (1) spontaneous expression of HLA class-I antigens strongly decreases in HPL HBL100 cells vs. LPL cells, which parallels amplification and over-expression of c-myc oncogene; (2) HLA DR antigens can be induced by IFN-gamma in LPL but not in HPL HBL100 cells; (3) HBL100 cells secrete a soluble protein factor which specifically inhibits HLA DR induction by IFN-gamma even in heterologous cell systems; (4) 50% of LPL HBL100 cells express integrin beta 3, whereas HPL HBL100 cells lose this antigen; (5) this cell line is myoepithelial in origin, since 100% of HBL100 cells exhibit the CD10 antigen. Our data stress a role of HLA antigens, of some integrins and of c-myc in the acquisition of malignant potential by myoepithelial mammary cells of the HBL100 line.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗

PubMed1989

N-ras dependent revertant phenotype in human HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells is associated with loss of proliferation within normal tissues and expression of an adult membrane antigenic phenotype.

To investigate how the activated N-ras oncogene contributes to the tumorigenic potential of malignant human fibrosarcoma HT1080 cells we analysed the behavior of the parental cell line and of two flat revertants (1c and 10a) in an organ culture assay for invasion. In this assay the two revertants retain the ability of HT1080 cells to migrate within the chick cardiac muscle but lose the capacity to proliferate and to replace the normal tissue. Moreover the reversion of tumorigenic potential is associated with an evolution from an oncofoetal membrane antigenic pattern towards expression of a normal adult phenotype. Both the 4F2 antigen, which is implicated in the control of HT1080 cell proliferation, and heterodimers of the two chains (alpha and beta) of the IL2 receptor (IL2-R) are expressed in embryonic and HT1080 cells, but not in normal adult fibroblasts or in the revertant cell lines. For the first time in a non-lymphoid environment, we have detected a complex between the two IL2-R chains, together with a new species of mRNA (2.8 kB) from the IL2-R alpha gene. The behavior of these membrane markers strengthens the hypothesis that HT1080 cells may represent a block in the differentiation pathway of fibroblastic cells.

Antigens, Surface↗

PubMed1988

Integration and loss of a single v-Ki-ras gene affects tumorigenic potential of human osteosarcoma cells.

The human osteosarcoma cell line Te85 clone F-5 is not tumorigenic in vivo. Its transformation with Kirsten murine sarcoma virus (KiMSV) (KHOS) confers full malignant properties and stable non-tumorigenic revertants of this KHOS cell line have been obtained. Here we show that integration and expression of a single copy of the KiMSV proviral DNA, which is totally lost in the HOS 240S revertant, is responsible for the acquisition of tumorigenicity. Cytogenetic analysis and the absence of a residual LTR copy in the revertant cellular genome suggest that the loss of KiMSV provirus is caused either by chromosomal segregation or by recombination not involving the LTR. In addition analysis of the expression of ras proteins revealed no changes in the pattern of c-ras products and the expression of v-ras only in the KHOS cells. All these data suggest that Te85 and HOS 240S cell lines could represent a human alternative recipient system to rodent cells in studies with oncogenes.

Cell Line↗

PubMed1988

Human fibroblasts from cancer patients: lifespan and transformed phenotype in vitro and role of mesenchyme in vivo.

Human fibroblasts cultured in vitro can exhibit a different potential number of population doublings. In normal donors, the average number of population doublings is inversely related to the donor's age. An increased growth potential was detected in skin fibroblasts from breast cancer patients, independently of the donor's age. These cells responded in an abnormal way to 3 biological parameters: (1) colony formation in semisolid medium; (2) colony formation on monolayers of normal human epithelial cells; and (3) increase of saturation densities in overcrowded culture conditions. A third of these cultures, as well as skin fibroblasts from other cancer patients, at the plateau phase of growth exhibited a significant percentage of cells still synthesizing DNA. Exposure to overcrowding, limited in time, caused the selection of a cell subset which displayed new biological, biochemical and functional properties commonly found in transformed cells. The abnormal in vitro behavior of skin fibroblasts from breast cancer patients does not seem to be associated with the expression of oncofetal membrane markers (4F2, IL2 receptor) while the fibroblasts from patients with the adenomatosis of the colon and rectum (ACR) syndrome expressed the 4F2 antigen. This is the first time that the IL2 receptor is found on non-hematopoietic cells. Fibroblastic cells with abnormal characteristics, which may also present a decreased efficiency in organizing a primitive fibrin matrix, could represent in vivo an anarchistic milieu, favoring disturbed epithelial-stromal interactions and the emergence of the less structured tumor stromatic tissue.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1987

Modulation of expression of class II histocompatibility antigens by secretion of a cellular inhibitor in K562 leukemic cells.

In this report we show that it is possible to induce the expression of HLA-DR antigens on K562 cells, previously reported to be unresponsive to interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). However, only low cell concentrations and a high dose of IFN-gamma allowed the induction of HLA-DR antigens. Furthermore, the recombinant glycosylated IFN-gamma is 100-fold more efficient than the unglycosylated form. This induction of HLA-DR antigens on K562 was not related to a stage of differentiation or to the presence of cells subsets specifically sensitive to IFN-gamma, since repeated sorting of K562 HLA-DR-positive and negative cells did not lead to the selection of a cell subset with a different potential of induction for HLA-DR. The difficulty in obtaining induction is due to the production of a soluble endogenous inhibitor of proteic nature, whose action is not restricted to the K562 cell line since it operates also on both epithelial and fibroblastic cells. Treatment of normal human epithelial and fibroblastic cells with conditioned medium from K562 cultures caused a marked decrease in the expression of HLA class II antigens (DR and DP) induced by IFN-gamma (10,000 U/ml), but had no effect on cell growth; however, it also affected expression of HLA class I antigens. This inhibition is not mediated by prostaglandin or an IFN-alpha or IFN-beta-dependent mechanism. Production of this inhibitor by pluripotent human leukemic cells could cause an unbalance in the complex control exerted by the immunological system during hematopoietic differentiation or leukemic progression.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

PubMed1987

Further characterization of the defects of skin fibroblasts from cancer patients.

We have previously shown that skin fibroblasts from breast cancer patients display abnormal growth properties when compared with cells from patients with benign breast lesions. In the present study, we shown that it is possible to define, within the patients previously analysed, a subgroup whose fibroblasts exhibit a significant fraction of cells still synthesizing DNA when growth curves reach a plateau. The phenomenon can also be detected in skin fibroblasts from patients with other types of cancer. In two instances detection of this defect preceded the discovery of the disease. The high percentage of labelled interphases when cell counts reach a plateau is not due to an increased duration of S phase, relative to total cell cycle duration. The data suggest that these cells are delayed in the G2 phase. This assay buttresses our previous results, which suggested that at least in some instances cancer is a systemic disease; it could be used for the screening of patients at high risk of cancer. Research on the patients' somatic cells could shed more light on the process leading to neoplasia, rather than the study of the tumour cells that have already gone through several steps of the evolution to malignancy.

Breast Neoplasms↗

PubMed1986

Evolution in the structure and distribution of 4F2-antigen from the oncofetal to the adult phenotype of human fibroblasts.

The monoclonal antibody (MAb) 4F2 defines an oncofetal antigen in human fibroblastic cells. Two-dimensional electrophoretic analysis reveals that tumor cell lines from mesenchymal tissues co-express two or more heavy-chain molecular variants of the antigen whereas the light subunit (41 kDa) is not affected. Among normal cells, only embryonic and newborn fibroblasts (from donors up to 20 days after birth) clearly co-express two distinct molecular forms of the heavy chain with MW of 85 and 75 kDa, respectively. Cells derived from 3-month-old donors express detectable amounts of the 85 kDA but only faint traces of the 75 kDa subunit, while fibroblastic cells derived from donors older than 3 months seem to express only the 85 kDa subunit. Immunofluorescence analysis performed on adherent living cells shows that, in the first months after birth, there is a gradual evolution from the oncofetal to the adult phenotype also in the cell distribution of the 4F2. This evolution is reflected by a progressive disappearance of the 4F2 antigen from the cell membrane becoming, in adult normal cells, inaccessible to anti-4F2 MAb. The existence of different molecular forms and different membrane positions of the 4F2 antigen could facilitate surveillance of morphological and structural changes in the evolution of human fibroblastic cells during the developmental process and neoplastic transformation.

Adult↗

PubMed1986

Cytoskeletal remodeling of rat aortic smooth muscle cells in vitro: relationships to culture conditions and analogies to in vivo situations.

Cytoskeletal features of arterial smooth muscle cells (SMC) vary characteristically during development and during atheromatous plaque formation (Gabbiani et al., 1984; Kocher et al., 1985). We have analyzed the cytoskeletal features of rat aortic SMC placed in culture in the presence of 10% foetal calf serum (thus containing growth factors probably playing a role in SMC development and atheroma formation), as compared to SMC freshly isolated from the rat aortic media. Under these conditions, SMC show a typical cytoskeletal remodeling characterized by: 1) increased content of vimentin per cell, increased number of cells containing only vimentin, and decreased number of vimentin plus desmin containing cells; 2) decreased contents of actin, tropomyosin and myosin; 3) a switch in the pattern of actin isoforms with the appearance of a beta-type predominance. Some of these changes (e.g. increase of vimentin and decrease of alpha-type actin) are seen already in cells entering for the first time in S-phase after plating. Pulse-chase experiments with 3H-thymidine (3H-TdR) indicate that vimentin containing SMC possess a higher replicative activity than vimentin plus desmin containing SMC, thus explaining the selection of vimentin containing cells during culture. Our results indicate that during culture SMC develop features similar to those observed in normal foetal SMC or in SMC present in atheromatous plaques; this model may be useful for the understanding of mechanisms leading to SMC differentiation and to atheroma formation.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

Modulation of fibroblast-induced clot retraction by calcium channel blocking drugs and the monoclonal antibody ALB6.

Suspensions of living human fibroblast induce fibrin clot retractile activity (FCR). The efficiency is dependent on the growth phase; it is maximal during active growth and reduced in post-confluent cultures. In contrast human osteosarcoma cells constantly exhibit very low FCR efficiency. Two different calcium channel-blocking drugs Diltiazem and Verapamil inhibit, depending on the concentrations employed, FCR, and spreading within the clots of the normal cells. Intermediate FCR levels are associated with intermediate degrees of spreading. A similar dose dependent inhibition is also obtained by treating the normal cells with the calmodulin inhibitor trifluoperazine (TFP). On the other hand, treatment of the normal cells with the monoclonal antibody ALB6 which is directed at the human leukocyte differentiation antigen CD9 (p24) causes a significant increase in the FCR efficiency in post-confluent normal cells, but it has no effect on the Te85 osteosarcoma cells. Moreover ALB6 IgG reverses the FCR inhibitory effect of the calcium-channel blocking drugs but not that of TFP. This means that the ALB6 IgG target on the cellular membrane is probably the same as that of the two drugs and that ALB6 IgG is active in the regulation of the calcium flux which controls fibrin clot retractile activity of normal human fibroblasts.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

Metabolic changes in fibroblast adhesion sites induced by growth factors.

The mechanisms involved in the association between membrane movements and the initiation of DNA synthesis were approached measuring the synthesis of membrane-associated substances after stimulation of resting phase cultures. The inducement of the division cycle by fresh serum, FGF and a growth factor produced during RSV infection, caused a decreased incorporation of glucosamine and SO4 into focal adhesion sites. The decreased incorporation of glucosamine occurred during the G1 period, remained at a plateau during S and increased back to initial levels when DNA synthesis declined; it was inversely related to the size of the fraction of cells that entered the division cycle.

Cell Adhesion↗

PubMed1985

Analysis of the expression of the 4F2 surface antigen in normal and neoplastic fibroblastic human cells of embryonic and adult origin.

4F2 monoclonal antibody recognizes a 120-kD glycoprotein on the surface of human spread fibroblastic cells of embryonic and neoplastic origin, but it does not bind to normal spread adult fibroblasts. Flow cytometric analysis reveals that human adult fibroblasts become 4F2-positive when they are analyzed as round-shaped cells; this means that, in normal adult cells, 4F2 antigen behaves as a cryptic molecule. Thus, the basic difference between embryonic, neoplastic and normal adult cells consists in a different organization in the architecture of the cell membrane, since in embryonic and neoplastic cells there is a continuous expression of the 4F2 antigen independently of the cell shape and cell cycle phase. Quantitative flow cytometry shows that the mean surface density (MSD) of the 4F2 antigen 1, does not vary as a function of the cell cycle; 2, is inversely related to cell size and "metabolic time". This suggests that at the plateau phase the surface organization of G1 resting cells changes as a function of the number of days spent in culture; and 3, sarcoma and SV40-transformed cells show significantly increased MSD levels of the 4F2 antigen in comparison with normal cells of similar size. Electrophoretic analysis under reducing conditions confirms the quantitative differences in the expression of the 4F2 antigen described with the cell sorter. It also reveals, in a way different from that previously found with lymphoid cells, the coexistence of two molecules (85 and 73 kD) in the heavy chain regions. The 73 kD is, however, much more strongly expressed in the fibrosarcoma than in the embryonic cells. Finally, it shows that 4F2 antigen is a very useful tool for studying the organization and the structure of the cell membrane of human fibroblasts and can provide new insights to understand better the developmental and transformation processes.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

PubMed1985

A target structure for a series of human cloned natural killer cell lines is recognized by both anti-TNKtar and 4F2 monoclonal antibodies.

It was shown recently that a surface antigen termed TNKtar was likely to serve as a target molecule for three distinct human NK clones expressing the same clonotypic determinant (termed NKTa) present on a 90 KD recognition structure. In the present studies, we investigated whether TNKtar and a previously described antigen termed 4F2 were related. Parallel immunoprecipitations from membrane lysates of the same cells showed that both anti-TNKtar and 4F2 Mab precipitate a heterodimeric structure which resolves as two bands of identical m.w. (40 and 80 KD) in SDS-PAGE analysis under reducing conditions. Sequential immunoprecipitations demonstrated that the two antibodies are directed at the same molecule. However, one antibody did not block subsequent binding of the other, and vice versa, suggesting that anti-TNKtar and 4F2 Mab are directed at two distinct epitopes of the molecule. Functionally, it was found that 4F2 Mab was able, as well as anti-TNKtar, to selectively block cytotoxic function of JT9 cloned cells. Furthermore, as reported previously for anti-TNKtar, 4F2 had no effect when additional NKTa-NK clones were used as effector cells in cytotoxicity assays. Finally, cold target inhibition assays were performed by using cold target cells precoated with either anti-TNKtar or 4F2 Mab. These experiments showed that preincubation of target cells with either antibody blocked their ability to compete with their radiolabeled counterpart. Such results further strengthen the hypothesis that the activation antigen recognized by both anti-TNKtar and 4F2 Mab serves as a specific target structure for NKTa+ NK active clones. We discuss the importance of previous data concerning the 4F2 molecule in light of this functional role, which had not been identified previously.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

PubMed1984

Abnormal properties of skin fibroblasts from patients with breast cancer.

The growth properties of fibroblasts from the thoracic skin of patients with mammary cancers were compared to those of fibroblastic cultures from patients with benign lesions or having undergone surgery for non-neoplastic diseases. As expected, an inverse correlation was found between the doubling potential of fibroblasts in vitro and the donor's age for cells from patients with benign lesions; however no correlation, was found with cultures from cancer patients. Moreover, the latter group responded in an abnormal way to three biological parameters: anchorage dependence, colony formation on monolayers of normal human epithelial cells and saturation densities in overcrowded culture conditions. Skin fibroblasts from one patient with a benign lesion, whose mother had developed a breast cancer, displayed all the abnormal growth properties. Periodic controls of this patient resulted in the early detection of a carcinoma 3 years after the first operation for a benign microcystic lesion. Finally, we found that multiple subcultivations in overcrowded culture conditions cause the selection of a fibroblastic cell subset with greater growth potential which, in the cell strain tested, could invade foreign tissue in vitro.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

SV40 immortalization of adult human mesenchymal cells from neuroretina. Biological, functional and molecular characterization.

Human adult mesenchymal cells from neuroretina (human choroid cells, HC) have acquired an infinite lifespan, following phenotypic transformation with a wild-type SV40. Immortalized cells (HC/SV40) contain high numbers of free circular viral DNA, and integrated molecules in a head-to-tail array in the cellular DNA. HC/SV40 cells express both the virus-coded "T" antigens and the cell-coded p53 transformation-associated protein. The transformed phenotype was further characterized by loss of contact inhibition of cell division, inability to induce the retraction of a fibrin clot and to spread within fibrin, and the existence of an altered distribution of actin cables. For the first time we also describe a coupling of the immunofluorescence and the quantitative cytofluorometric analyses, a new transformation parameter, since we show that SV40 transformation causes reorganization of the cell membrane by inducing the unmasking of the antigen recognized by the 4F2 monoclonal antibody, which is present in a "cryptic" form in the untransformed cells. Though the HC/SV40 cells have been continuously passaged over a 3-year period, they have not yet achieved a fully malignant phenotype, since they retain serum-dependency and the presence of a well developed fibronectin pericellular network, and they are not tumorigenic in nude mice. Thus this human immortal cell line constitutes a very useful tool for studying the progression toward full malignancy and the relationships between evolution of transformation parameters and changes in the viral and cellular genome interplay.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Role of cytoskeletal elements in the retractile activity of human skin fibroblasts.

Giant axonal neuropathy skin fibroblasts, which are characterized by a selective and partial disorganization of vimentin filaments [1] exhibited, when compared with normal skin fibroblasts, less fibrin clot retractile (FCR) activity and spreading within the fibrin clot both during active growth and resting stage. Skin fibroblasts derived from patients affected with adenomatosis of the colon and rectum, which display a disorganized actin network [2], exhibited reduced FCR activity and spreading within the fibrin clot only during resting stage. FCR inhibition was also obtained by treating the cells with colcemid, cytochalasin B (CB) and dihydrocytochalasin B. The data suggest that FCR activity is under the control of different cytoskeletal structures. For the first time, a direct involvement of intermediate-sized filaments could be demonstrated in the interaction between fibroblasts and an organic substratum.

Actins↗