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J R Lepock

Publications and source records attributed to J R Lepock.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Role of extracellular calcium in the hyperthermic killing of CHL V79 cells.

Two major questions are addressed by this study: Can an influx of calcium ion sensitize CHL V79 cells to hyperthermia, and, if so, does this occur during heating and does it play a crucial role in cell death? V79 cells are sensitized to hyperthermia by the calcium ionophore A23187 which also induces an influx of calcium at both 37 and 43 degrees C. Sensitization is at least partially dependent on the presence of extracellular calcium. In the absence of A23187, survival is independent of calcium concentration (from 0 to 25 mM) during heating, which differs from the behavior of hepatocytes which are sensitized to hyperthermia by 15 mM CaCl2. Calcium influx, as assayed by uptake of 45Ca measured after washing in LaCl3, is detectable in 3 mM CaCl2 only after 30 min at 45 degrees C, an exposure which reduces reproductive survival to less than 0.1%. Calcium uptake reaches 6 nmol/10(6) cells after 180 min at 45 degrees C. This is not due to a general loss of membrane permeability since there is no trypan blue staining during this time. In 15 mM CaCl2, influx occurs earlier (15 min) but still succeeds the loss of reproductive survival which is less than 1% at this time. Uptake is much higher in 15 mM CaCl2, reaching 10 nmol/10(6) cells by 30 min and 25 nmol/10(6) cells at 180 min, but the temporal pattern of uptake does not correlate with loss of reproductive survival. Thus, although A23187 sensitizes V79 cells to hyperthermia, probably by increased influx of calcium ion, and increased influx occurs during exposure to 45 degrees C, influx is not a crucial early event in the killing of V79 cells. This does not eliminate the possibility of intracellular calcium redistribution during hyperthermia.

Animals↗

The role of cholesterol in the activity of reconstituted Ca-ATPase vesicles containing unsaturated phosphatidylethanolamine.

The effect of cholesterol on the activity of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca-ATPase, reconstituted in proteoliposomes containing soybean phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), egg phosphatidylcholine (PC), and cholesterol, was examined. The protein incorporation efficiency increased with PE content but appeared to be independent of cholesterol content. At low cholesterol, PE stimulated calcium uptake. The coupling efficiency of the proteoliposomes increased with an increase in cholesterol content at each PC/(PC + PE) ratio and was more pronounced for those proteoliposomes containing high PE. Dynamic fluorescence measurements of the incorporated lipophilic probe, diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene, revealed a decrease in the motion and an increase in the order of the phospholipid fatty acyl chains in proteoliposomes with high cholesterol content. A complementary observation was made using electron spin resonance of the spin label, 2,2-dimethyl-5-dodecyl-5-methyloxazolidine N-oxide. Freeze-fracture electron microscopy studies on proteoliposomes containing 0.20 molar ratio of PC/(PC + PE) and cholesterol revealed predominantly vesicular structures with occasional bilayer defects at high cholesterol content. It is postulated that the cholesterol-induced enhancement of the Ca-transport function of the Ca-ATPase is related to the hydration-related bilayer-destabilizing characteristic of the cholesterol molecule as revealed by 31P NMR.

Animals↗

Sensitization of rat hepatocytes to hyperthermia by calcium.

The viability of isolated rat hepatocytes, as assayed by trypan blue exclusion, decreases in a dose-dependent fashion during exposure to hyperthermia (D0 [43 degrees C] = 105 +/- 10 min, D0 [45 degrees C] = 24 +/- 4 min). Hyperthermic sensitivity varies as a function of extracellular Ca2+ concentration in a biphasic manner; optimum survival occurs at 1-5 mM Ca2+, with sensitization in the absence of Ca+ and increasing sensitization at Ca2+ concentrations greater than 10 mM. Ca influx does not correlate well with loss of viability for hepatocytes in 4 mM extracellular Ca2+; influx does not occur until viability decreases to less than 1%. Under sensitizing conditions, Ca2+ influx proceeds loss of viability. Influx begins within 15 min at 45 degrees C in 15 mM Ca2+, and the ionophore A23187 is a potent hyperthermic sensitizer in the presence of extracellular Ca2+. Thus, Ca2+ influx, whether caused by high extracellular Ca2+ or A23187, increases cellular damage caused by supraoptimal temperatures, although some Ca2+ is necessary for maximum resistance, probably because of stabilization of Ca2+ binding proteins against thermal denaturation or possibly to Ca2+-induced decrease in lipid fluidity.

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Effects of butylated hydroxytoluene on membrane lipid fluidity and freeze-thaw survival in mammalian cells.

Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) increases the fluidity of membrane lipids in the hydrocarbon but not the polar regions, as measured by electron spin resonance spin label probes. BHT also sensitizes nucleated mammalian cells to freeze-thaw damage as measured by colony formation survival assays. Furthermore, the membranes of BHT-exposed cells are more susceptible to physical stress, as reflected by the BHT-induced sensitization to hypotonic stress. Since others have shown that BHT induces hexagonal phase lipids in lipid bilayers, this phenomenon may also influence the above survival results.

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Differential effects of senescence on the molecular organization of membranes in ripening tomato fruit.

Changes in the molecular organization of membranes in pericarp cells of ripening tomato fruit were examined by fluorescence depolarization after labeling with fluorescent lipid-soluble probes. The fluorescent labels were partitioned into isolated protoplasts and purified plastids from fruit at various stages of senescence. Values for steady-state anisotropy (r(ss)) of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH)-labeled protoplasts rose progressively during the early stages of ripening over a time frame that overlapped the climacteric rise in ethylene production. This can be interpreted as reflecting a decrease in the lipid fluidity of primarily plasma membrane. By contrast, there was no significant change during ripening in r(ss) for plastid membranes labeled with DPH, 1-[4-trimethylamino)phenyl]-6-phenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (TMA-DPH), and cis- or trans-parinaric acid. Nor was there any change during ripening in the limiting fluorescence anisotropy (r(oo)) and order parameter (S) for plastids labeled with DPH or TMA-DPH, parameters that are corrected for any differences in lifetime. Some degree of lifetime heterogeneity, possibly reflecting structurally distinct domains, was discerned in both young and senescent plastids that had been labeled with DPH or TMA-DPH, but this also did not change as ripening progressed. Thus membranes of the pericarp cells sustain different fates as the tomato fruit ripens, implying that there are distinguishable mechanisms of membrane deterioration in senescing tissues.

Journal Article↗

Structural analyses of various Cu2+, Zn2+-superoxide dismutases by differential scanning calorimetry and Raman spectroscopy.

The thermal denaturation profile of the Cu2+, Zn2+ metalloenzyme, bovine superoxide dismutase, consists of two primary components, the major component denatures irreversibly at Tm = 104 degrees C with a total enthalpy (delta Hcal) of 7.30 cal/g. Reduction of Cu(II) to Cu(I) with potassium ferrocyanide lowers Tm to 96 degrees C and delta Hcal to 6.96 cal/g. The apo-form of bovine superoxide dismutase (both Cu and Zn removed) denatures at 60 degrees C with an enthalpy only one-half that of the holo-form. The reduced thermal stability, which indicates a greater ability to change conformation, may explain the previously observed much greater membrane binding of the apo-enzyme. Reconstitution with Zn2+, Cu2+, or Zn2+ and Cu2+ raises Tm to 80, 89, or 102 degrees C, respectively, with corresponding increases in the enthalpy. Thus, the metal ions considerably stabilize the enzyme and must somewhat affect conformation. The effect of Cu2+ alone is greater than that of Zn2+, although both are needed for full stability. Raman spectroscopy indicates little difference in secondary structure between the apo- and holo-forms, implying that the increased stability due to metal binding is not caused by an extreme structural reorganization. The value of Tm of canine and yeast superoxide dismutase is also lowered by reduction of Cu(II). The reduced form of the yeast enzyme denatures irreversibly, as do all forms of the bovine and canine enzymes, but the oxidized form is unique in that it denatures reversibly. Thus, the copper ion must be oxidized for renaturation and appears to act as a nucleation site.

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Differential polarized phase fluorometric studies of the perturbation of phospholipid packing by BHT.

Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) partitions effectively into lipids and modifies cellular function and behavior in numerous ways, particularly at low temperatures. In this study, the modification by BHT of the lifetime and dynamic rotational characteristics of diphenylhexatriene (DPH) in dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) liposomes was investigated by phase fluorometry. BHT broadens the gel to liquid crystalline transition of DPPC by decreasing the lower end of the transition (T1), leaving the upper end (Th) unaffected. The lifetime of DPH in DPPC does not vary linearly with temperature but declines sharply above the main transition. The average lifetime of DPH is decreased to a greater extent below, compared to above, Th by BHT. This may be due to increased water penetration into the bilayer interior. Non-monoexponential decay also occurs below Th, probably due to a heterogeneous distribution of BHT, which would result in highly perturbed regions of greater than average BHT content. The motional parameter of DPH most affected by BHT is the order parameter (S) which decreased to a considerable extent below Th but is not affected above Th. In contrast, the rotational diffusion coefficient (R) of DPH is increased slightly above Th by BHT.

Butylated Hydroxytoluene↗

Factors influencing survival of mammalian cells exposed to hypothermia. II. Effects of various hypertonic media.

Survival of Chinese hamster lung (V79) cells, exposed as a function of time to hypothermia in tissue culture, in isosmotic and various hypertonic media was measured using a colony assay. The mechanism of hypothermic cell killing is different above and below 7 degrees C in this cell line. Addition of NaCl or mannitol to increase the tonicity to 400 mOsm greatly decreased the survival at 10 degrees C while addition of KCl had no significant effect. When these experiments were repeated at 5 degrees C, addition of either NaCl, KCl, or mannitol was detrimental to long-term cell survival. Furthermore, addition of mannitol to the medium did not improve survival when cells were stored at 7 degrees C. Addition of KCl at 5 or 10 degrees C or NaCl at 5 degrees C only affected the cells' ability to accumulate sublethal damage, while addition of mannitol at 5 or 10 degrees C affected both of the above and the cold sensitivity of the cells. Addition of NaCl at 10 degrees C only affected the latter. These experiments suggest that prevention of cell swelling by these conditions, while possibly necessary during clinical hypothermic organ storage, is detrimental to single cell survival at these temperatures.

Animals↗

Improved yield of plasma membrane from mammalian cells through modifications of the two-phase polymer isolation procedure.

Modifications to the two-phase polymer gradient procedure for isolating plasma membrane from mammalian cells have resulted in greatly increased yields of purified plasma membrane. First, the cells were not treated with a membrane stabilizer (ZnCl2) prior to homogenization. This reduced the severity of homogenization required for disruption and allowed a greater proportion of the surface membrane to form large, flattened sheets that are more easily purified than the smaller fragments formed during more severe homogenization. Second, three crude fractions obtained from the homogenate (600g, 2000g, and 12,000g pellets), rather than a single, low-speed pellet (600g) containing only large sheets of membrane, were subjected to gradient centrifugation to obtain plasma membrane. This modification allowed purification of small as well as large fragments of plasmalemma and greatly increased the yield of purified membrane. Mg+2-dependent, Na+-K+-stimulated ATPase, a marker enzyme for plasma membrane, was enriched in the purified fraction by congruent to 17-fold relative to homogenate on a specific activity basis, and the yield of isolated plasma membrane averaged 70%, and was occasionally as high as 90%.

Animals↗

Factors influencing survival and growth of mammalian cells exposed to hypothermia. I. Effects of temperature and membrane lipid perturbers.

The Arrhenius plot of the rate of V79 Chinese hamster cell inactivation due to hypothermia has a "break" around 7-10 degrees C with optimum storage temperature for unprotected cells being about 10 degrees C. Addition of the membrane lipid perturber, butylated hydroxytoluene, improves survival of cells when compared to controls at temperatures below this break but not above. Arrhenius plots of growth rates of the cells show breaks at 30 and 40 degrees C. Measurements of membrane fluidity by electron spin resonance or membrane polarization anisotropy by fluorescence spectrophotometry techniques as a function of temperature in these cells also reveal "breaks" centered around 8 and 30 degrees C. Hence, the changes in the rate of cell inactivation and growth as a function of temperature may be related to membrane lipid phase changes.

Animals↗

Rotational diffusion of TEMPONE in the cytoplasm of Chinese hamster lung cells.

The correlation time for rotational diffusion (tau R) of 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidone-N-oxide (TEMPONE) in Chinese hamster lung (V79) cells has been measured. For these cells in an isosmotic solution at 20 degrees C, tau R = 4.18 X 10(-11) s, approximately 3.6 times greater than tau R = 1.17 X 10(-11) s in water. The relationship between tau R and viscosity was investigated in a number of glycerol-water (0-50%) and sucrose-water (20-40%) solutions and a constant Stokes-Einstein volume of 44 A3 was found for TEMPONE in solutions of less than 20% glycerol and sucrose. This gives an average shear viscosity (for rotation of a small molecule) of 0.038 poise for the cytoplasm. When nonsecular terms were used in the calculation of tau R, the activation energies for rotation of TEMPONE in the above solutions correlated well with the activation energies for shear viscosity. The viscosity increases as the cell is shrunk in hypertonic solutions. It also increases with decreasing temperature with an activation energy of 3.7 kcal/mol, about the same as the activation energy for the viscosity of pure water. The rotational correlation times were carefully calculated considering inhomogeneous line broadening, non-Lorentzian line shapes, the need for accurate tensor values and nonsecular terms.

Animals↗

Thermotropic lipid and protein transitions in chinese hamster lung cell membranes: relationship to hyperthermic cell killing.

Exposure of mammalian cells to hyperthermic temperatures (ca. 41-45 degrees C) appears to act as a direct or triggering effect to produce some later response such as cell death, thermotolerance, or heat-shock protein synthesis. The high activation energy of cell killing indicates that the direct effect of hyperthermia might be a thermotropic transition in some cellular component, for this particular response. Both hyperthermic survival and growth data imply that the temperature for the onset of hyperthermic cell killing is 40-41.5 degrees C for Chinese hamster lung V79 cells. Studies using the electron spin resonance label 2,2-dimethyl-5-dodecyl-5-methyloxazolidine-N-oxide and the fluorescent probe 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene show the existence of lipid transitions at approximately 7-8 and 23-36 degrees C (or a broad transition between these temperatures) in mitochondria and whole cell homogenates, that correlate well with changes in growth and hypothermic killing. No lipid transition was detected near 40-41.5 degrees C that could correlate with hyperthermic killing in either mitochondrial or plasma membranes, but measurements of intrinsic protein fluorescence and protein fluorophore to trans-paranaric acid energy transfer demonstrate the existence of an irreversible transition in protein structure or arrangement above ca. 40 degrees C in both mitochondrial and plasma membranes. This transition is due to protein rearrangement and (or) unfolding such that there is increased exposure of protein tryptophan and tyrosine residues to polar groups and to paranaric acid. The strength of the transition implies that a significant fraction of total membrane protein is involved in this transition, which may be analogous to the heat-induced denaturation of water-soluble proteins. This alteration in membrane structure above ca. 40 degrees C could cause many of the observed changes in plasma membrane and mitochondrial function, which may further be involved in cellular responses to hyperthermia.

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Characterization and radiation response of a heat-resistant variant of V79 cells.

A thermoresistant variant of the established cell line V79-S171-W1 was isolated after treatment with nitrosoguanidine and repeated heat treatments at 42.6 to 43 degrees C, and showed an enhanced ability to survive at 42.6, 43.5, and 44.5 degrees C. The rates of inactivation of the normal and heat-resistant lines differed by approximately a factor of 2 over this temperature range. This level of thermoresistance was stable for the first 80 doublings, but was lost by 120 doublings. This may have been due to a reversion to the normal V79 line since there was no continuous selection pressure and the thermoresistant variant, which was designated at HR7, had a longer average doubling time. Transient thermotolerance was induced in both the V79 and HR7 cells by a 10-min exposure to 44.5 degrees C. After 3 hr incubation at 37 degrees C, both cell lines had an identical sensitivity to further exposure to 44.5 degrees C. Thus the long-term thermoresistance of the HR7 cells may be due to a permanent induction of a low level of thermotolerance. The (ionizing) radiation survival curves and the ability to repair sublethal radiation damage were identical for the thermoresistant variant and the parent cell line.

Animals↗

Interaction of superoxide dismutase with phospholipid liposomes. An uptake, spin label and calorimetric study.

The effect of superoxide dismutases from five species upon phospholipid bilayers has been investigated. The uptake by egg phosphatidylcholine bilayers of the holo and apo forms of bovine superoxide dismutase increases with enzyme concentration and only a fraction of each is removed by treatment with trypsin. These uptake data indicate that both forms of the enzyme associate with and are embedded within lipid bilayers. From the spectrum of the spin label 2-(3-carboxypropyl)-4,4-dimethyl-2-tridecyl-3-oxazolidinyloxyl, the binding of superoxide dismutase to egg phosphatidylcholine bilayers can be shown to disorder the lipid packing. The disordering by the bovine holoenzyme is small but increases with increasing enzyme concentration and period of incubation. The disordering effects of the apoenzyme are much larger and are reversible by Cu2+, Zn2+ reconstitution of the apoenzyme. The disordering effect of the apoenzyme is further confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry. The gel to liquid crystalline phase transition of egg phosphatidylcholine is lowered 7 degrees C by 25% by weight apo-superoxide dismutase to lipid. Human, dog, swordfish and yeast superoxide dismutases also disorder, and to a greater extent than the bovine enzyme. The greatest perturbation is produced by yeast superoxide dismutase; a 20% decrease in the order parameter by 50% by weight enzyme to lipid.

Animals↗

Effect of membrane lipid perturbers on the temperature dependence of repair of sublethal and potentially lethal radiation damage.

The repair of sublethal radiation damage (SLD) in Chinese hamster (V79) cells was investigated as a function of temperature in the presence and absence of the membrane lipid perturbers, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) or adamantanone, which decrease the viscosity of the membrane lipids. Addition of 0.01 mM BHT to the cells significantly increased the amount of repair of SLD over controls from 0 to 25 degrees C but not from 30 to 37 degrees C. The amount of repair of SLD decreased as a function of temperature to about 20 degrees C and remained relatively constant thereafter till about 2.5 degrees C where it began to decrease again. The change in the amount of repair at approximately 20 degrees C coincides with a membrane lipid phase transition, as seen by spin labelling, in these cells. The repair of potentially lethal damage (PLD) was not increased by BHT at the two temperatures investigated (5 and 20 degrees C). In fact, additional PLD was expressed when cells were incubated post-irradiation at these temperatures. The results imply that at least a component of the SLD repair system is membrane associated and that the SLD and PLD repair systems are independent.

Adamantane↗