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D M Spillane

Publications and source records attributed to D M Spillane.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Chinese hamster ovary cell mutants affecting cholesterol metabolism.

The approach of somatic cell and molecular genetics for the study of intracellular regulation of cholesterol metabolism has blossomed in recent years. This review lists all the Chinese hamster ovary cell mutants involved in cholesterol metabolism. In addition, it summarizes the characteristics of mutants involved in three different processes: (1) sequential cleavage of the membrane-bound sterol regulatory element-binding proteins; (2) cholesterol esterification; and (3) intracellular cholesterol transport from the lysosome/endosome.

Animals↗

Translocation of both lysosomal LDL-derived cholesterol and plasma membrane cholesterol to the endoplasmic reticulum for esterification may require common cellular factors involved in cholesterol egress from the acidic compartments (lysosomes/endosomes).

Using a stable cell line 25-RA derived from wild-type Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells as the parental cell, this laboratory previously reported the isolation and characterization of CHO cell mutants (cholesterol-trafficking or CT) defective in transporting LDL-derived cholesterol out of the acidic compartment(s) (lysosomes/endosomes) to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) for esterification. In this report, we show that the CT mutation can be complemented by fusion with human cells; however, attempts to complement the CT defect through DNA transfection have resulted in a collection of stable cell lines designated as ST cells. Under cholesterol starvation condition, the ST cells exhibit an elevated rate of cholesterol ester biosynthesis (by 3- to 5-fold) compared to both the parental CHO cells and the CT cells. The phenotypes of the ST cells are stable. ST cells are thus new cell lines arisen from the CT cells. When the plasma membranes of the parental, CT, and ST cells are labelled with [3H]cholesterol, ST cells show rates of [3H]cholesterol esterification much higher than that observed in CT cells but lower than that observed in the parental CHO cells. This result shows that translocation of plasma membrane cholesterol to the ER for esterification is defective in the CT cells. This result also suggests that ST cells acquire increased cholesterol trafficking activity between the lysosome and the ER without mixing the plasma membrane cholesterol pool. The characteristics of CT cells and ST cells reported here suggest that translocation of both lysosomal LDL-derived cholesterol and plasma membrane cholesterol to the ER for esterification may require common cellular factors involved in cholesterol egress from the acidic compartment(s) (lysosomes/endosomes).

Animals↗

Long-term potentiation in mice lacking synapsins.

Synapsin I and synapsin II are widely expressed synaptic vesicle phosphoproteins that have been proposed to play an important role in synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity. To gain further insight into the functional significance of the phosphorylation sites on the synapsins, we have examined a number of synaptic processes thought to be mediated by protein kinases in knockout mice lacking both forms of synapsin (Rosahl et al., 1995). Long-term potentiation (LTP) at both the mossy fiber (MF)-CA3 pyramidal cell synapse and the Schaffer collateral-CA1 pyramidal cell synapse appears normal in hippocampal slices prepared from mice lacking synapsins. Moreover, the effects on synaptic transmission of forskolin at MF synapses and H-7 at synapses on CA1 cells are also normal in the mutant mice. These results indicate that the synapsins are not necessary for: (1) the induction or expression of two different forms of LTP in the hippocampus, (2) the enhancement in transmitter release elicited by activation of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) and (3) the depression of synaptic transmission caused by H-7. Although disappointing, these results are important in that they exclude the most abundant family of synaptic phosphoproteins as an essential component of long-term synaptic plasticity.

1-(5-Isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-Methylpiperazine↗

Isolation and characterization of Chinese hamster ovary cell mutants defective in intracellular low density lipoprotein-cholesterol trafficking.

This paper reports the isolation and characterization of Chinese hamster ovary cell mutants defective in low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol trafficking. The parental cell line was 25-RA, which possesses LDL receptors and various cholesterogenic enzyme activities that are partially resistant to down regulation by exogenous sterols (Chang, T. Y., and J. S. Limanek. 1980. J. Biol. Chem. 255:7787-7795). Because these cells accumulate a large amount of intracellular cholesteryl ester when grown in medium containing 10% fetal calf serum, mutagenized populations of 25-RA cells were grown in the presence of a specific inhibitor of acyl-coenzyme A: cholesterol acyltransferase (ACAT), which depleted their cholesteryl ester stores. Without this cholesterol ester storage, 99% of 25-RA cells die after 5-d growth in cholesterol starvation medium, while the mutant cells, which accumulate free cholesterol intracellularly, survived. In two mutant clones chosen for characterization, activation of cholesteryl ester synthesis by LDL was markedly reduced in the mutant cells compared with 25-RA cells. This lack of activation of cholesterol ester synthesis in the mutant cells could not be explained by defective uptake and/or processing of LDL or by a decreased amount of ACAT, as determined by in vitro enzyme activity. Mutant cells grown in the presence of LDL contain numerous cytosolic particles that stain intensely with the fluorescent compound acridine orange, suggesting that they are acidic. The particles are also stained with filipin, a cholesterol-specific fluorescent dye. Indirect immunofluorescence with a monoclonal antibody specific for a lysosomal/endosomal fraction revealed a staining pattern that colocalized with the filipin signal. The mutant phenotype was recessive. The available evidence indicates that the mutant cells can take up and process LDL normally, but the hydrolyzed cholesterol accumulates in an acidic compartment, probably the lysosomes, where it can not be transported to its normal intracellular destinations.

Animals↗