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J S Felix

Publications and source records attributed to J S Felix.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1985

Aggregation-deficient embryonal carcinoma cells: defects in peanut agglutinin (PNA) receptors.

The components involved in cell adhesion were studied using the H6 line of embryonal carcinoma cells. H6 cells are especially suitable for studies on cell interactions, since genetic mutants can be selected, and various processes of cell adhesion can be controlled by regulating the calcium concentration in the medium. Three aggregation-defective variants of H6 were isolated, all of which showed reduced binding of the lectin, peanut agglutinin (PNA). Quantitation of PNA receptors on the cell surface by immunoprecipitation of iodinated surface proteins indicated that these receptors were reduced on the variants by one-half to one-quarter. The separation of immunoprecipitated PNA receptors on sodium-dodecyl-sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) demonstrated that one type of receptor, with an apparent molecular weight of 94 kilodaltons, was reduced. Parental and variant cells bind similar quantities of concanavalin A and soybean agglutinin, suggesting that there is no generalized effect on major glycoproteins. Thus, the defect in aggregation and the defect in the 94-kilodalton protein may be correlated, and this glycoprotein may have a role in the mediation of H6 cell-cell adhesion.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Derivation of a nondifferentiating clone from multipotential PSA1 embryonal carcinoma cells.

The ability of PSA1 embryonal carcinoma cells to differentiate when grown as clones on a monolayer of feeder cells was assessed using morphological criteria. The first appearance of a differentiated phenotype within a clone occurred at different times for individual clones after 10 days of culture, this being apparently unrelated to clone size or cell density. Those clones which showed no morphological evidence of differentiation after several weeks (about 5% of the clones observed) were selected and recloned with the aim of finding variant lines which were stably deficient in their differentiating ability. Undifferentiated clones - identified and selected after about 3 weeks of growth - were of three different types after recloning: those similar to control cultures of PSA1, those having delayed and reduced differentiation frequency, and those having variable frequencies of differentiation in replicate reclonings. The isolation of a variant with a more complete differentiation deficiency was accomplished by selecting ten nondifferentiating clones growing isolated in individual culture wells after 5 weeks of culture. One of these, T2H9, proved to be a stable, differentiation-deficient variant subline with less than 3% of its clones showing any morphological evidence of differentiation in five repeated reclonings. It was also determined that the frequency of undifferentiated clones in embryonal carcinoma cultures increased from 0.3% to 54% after 11 months of in vitro aging, i.e., approximately 200 cell doublings. The isolation of clonal embryonal carcinoma cell derivatives which are stable, heritable differentiation variants provides resources for somatic-cell genetic analysis of stem-cell pluripotency.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Junction formation in aggregated embryonal carcinoma cells.

Under the action of supplemental calcium, H6 mouse embryonal carcinoma cell aggregates undergo compaction, a morphological phenomenon similar to mouse embryonic compaction. Formation of various types of cell junctions, especially gap junctions, is associated with compaction of the embryo and we sought to analyze the pattern of junction formation during aggregation and compaction of H6 cells. At 24 hr of aggregation, gap junctions were abundant in both uncompacted and compacted aggregates but quantitative analysis of freeze fracture replicas of these junctions showed a 20-fold increase in the size of the largest gap junctions in compacted aggregates. Such a difference in size could even be detected at 12 hr of aggregation. Tight junctions were not normally formed in 12 hr aggregates but initial stages of tight junction formation could be noticed in 12 hr compacted aggregates. More definitive tight junctions and desmosomes were evident only after 48 hr of aggregation. Thus we have observed that both uncompacted and compacted aggregates can form gap junctions at similar frequencies, suggesting that cell flattening, which contributes to the compacted morphology, is not a requisite for gap junctions. Likewise, generation of the compacted morphology seems to be independent of gap junction formation. This supports the idea that compaction in embryonal carcinoma cells results from calcium-induced cell flattening, probably through the mobilization of cytoskeletal elements. Calcium-dependent features of H6 cell aggregation and compaction enables the independent analysis of separate steps in compaction.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Calcium-induced compaction and its inhibition in embryonal carcinoma cell aggregates.

H6 embryonal carcinoma cells form aggregates of cells in culture medium which contains 2 mM calcium. These aggregates are described as uncompacted, indicating that the individual cells of the aggregate are spherical and are in limited contact with each other. In contrast, compaction of the aggregate, induced by increasing the calcium concentration, results in a tight mass of cells flattened against one another and connected by intercellular junctions. At least 85-97% of the aggregates undergo compaction in 7 mM calcium and are subsequently decompacted if removed to 2 mM calcium. Since calcium ionophore A23187 does not induce compaction, extracellular rather than intracellular calcium seems to be the limiting factor. We have demonstrated that this calcium-induced morphogenetic change is sensitive to inhibition by agents which also prevent the calcium-dependent compaction of the 8-cell mouse embryo. The cytoskeletal-binding drugs tetracaine HCl, colcemid, vinblastine, colchicine, and cytochalasin B each inhibit compaction of H6 aggregates. Interference at surface molecule sites by exposure to the lectins wheat germ agglutinin or concanavalin A or by interruption of glycosylation with exposure to tunicamycin, or by reaction with anti-H6 Fab or anti-F9, also prevent compaction. Since the mouse embryo and embryonal carcinoma cells share certain processes which are involved in initiating and maintaining compaction, these processes and their subsequent roles in differentiation may be examined using embryonal carcinoma cell aggregates.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Rescue of terminally differentiating teratocarcinoma cells by fusion to undifferentiated parental cells.

A new clonal CBA mouse teratocarcinoma cell line called H6 grows rapidly without calcium in suspension culture. When attached to a gelatin-coated surface in the presence of calcium, differentiation to large flat cells, which secrete plasminogen activator, occurs after exposure to retinoic acid. Differentiation is terminal after about six cell divisions. H6 variants resistant to 6-thioguanine, 5-bromodeoxyuridine, ouabain, chloramphenicol, retinoic acid, or combinations thereof, have been isolated. Cell hybridizations were made between undifferentiated stem cells and the differentiated derivatives of H6. These experiments indicate that the undifferentiated cells can "rescue" cells in the initial stages of differentiation and that the signs of differentiation are soon lost in such hybrids. Hybridization without "rescue" may also occur, as suggested by small abortive colonies of large cells.

Cell Differentiation↗
PubMed1980

Human epithelial cells cultured from urine: growth properties and keratin staining.

Epithelial cells can be cultured from the urine of newborn infants, providing a simple, noninvasive biopsy method. We established such cultures by standard techniques from 44% of uncontaminated specimens obtained from newborn infants up to 1 week of age. There was an average of three colonies per milliliter of urine. Many cultures accomplished 15 to 25 population doublings in as many as five subcultures and yielded total potential culture sizes of 10(4) to 6 x 10(8) cells. Plating efficiency was high at each passage. The cultures displayed two morphologically distinct epithelial cell types. Immunofluorescent staining of keratin fibers in most of these cells further identified them as epithelial.

Blood↗
PubMed1980

Plaque formation and purification of BK virus in cultured human urinary cells.

Primary human urinary cells support growth and plaque formation by papovavirus BK, permitting plaque purification of the virus. After plaquing, the virus forms uniform plaques and its DNA has a homogeneous restriction enzyme fragment profile. Support of BK replication as well as morphological and cultural characteristics suggest an epithelial origin for the cells.

BK Virus↗
PubMed1979

Amniotic fluid cell culture II. Evaluation of a red blood cell lysis procedure for culture of cells from blood-contaminated amniotic fluid.

Second trimester amniotic fluid samples obtained transabdominally for genetic analysis not infrequently are contaminated with blood. There has been disagreement as to whether blood contamination interferes with the efficiency of culture of amniotic fluid cells for genetic diagnosis. A procedure using ammonium chloride to lyse contaminating red blood cells has been recommended to increase culture success. In this report we document that cultures derived from blood-contaminated amniotic fluids form fewer cell colonies than cultures from clear amniotic fluids. We also show that a recommended procedure using ammonium chloride to lyse red blood cells is ineffectual in improving the efficiency of cell culture, and may be detrimental to successful culturing of cells from bloody amniotic fluids. A hypothesis concerning the mechanism of interference with culture of amniotic fluid cells by contaminating blood is presented and a means of preventing this complication is suggested.

Ammonium Chloride↗
PubMed1969

Lesch-Nyhan mutation: prenatal detection with amniotic fluid cells.

Cells cultured from the amniotic fluid of a 22-week fetus in a heterozygote for the X-linked Lesch-Nyhan mutation, which results in neurological and developmental disorders, lacked sex chromatin and were unable to incorporate hypoxanthine. The diagnosis of a mutant male was confirmed upon birth of enzyme-deficient, hyperuricemic twin boys whose amniotic membrane cells failed to incorporate hypoxanthine.

Amniotic Fluid↗
PubMed1969

Purine requirement of cells cultured from humans affected with Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency).

Humans with the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome have an X-chromosomal mutant gene that causes severe neurological and developmental abnormalities. The patients are deficient in hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase, which converts hypoxanthine to inosinic acid, a major precursor of adenine and guanine nucleotides. Paradoxically, the enzyme defect causes hypernormal de novo synthesis of inosinic acid, which manifests itself as excesses of hypoxanthine, xanthine, and uric acid. The first step in the de novo pathway is thought to be rate-limiting, due to feedback repression by adenine and guanine nucleotides. The derepressed rate of purine production in mutants and their failure to thrive could result from reduction in the amounts of nucleotides derived from inosinic acid to levels that are inadequate for normal feedback control and for nucleic acid synthesis needed in growth. Studies with cultured cells, reported here, support the interpretation that mutants are, in effect, nucleotide-deficient. Skin fibroblasts from patients fail to proliferate in media that do not contain supplementary adenine or folic acid, a participant in two stages of purine biosynthesis. The folic acid requirement of mutant cells is at least 50-fold greater than that of normal cells, which can synthesize all the nucleotides needed for growth without exogenous adenine. Both folic acid and adenine supplements are thought to provide mutant cells with the means of making more inosinic acid available for conversion to adenine and guanine nucleotides. It is not clear why the availability of inosinate or its conversion to other nucleotides is impaired. Therapy with adenine or folic acid begun at the time of birth may avert development of the disease in mutant males.The relevant gene is X-linked and shows clonal, single-allele-expression: phenotypically normal and phenotypically mutant clones have been derived from females heterozygous for the mutant gene. The phenotypically mutant heterozygous clones have the same requirement for adenine or folic acid as cells from hemizygous mutant males, an indication that the normal allele is repressed in these clones. The adenine-folic acid requirement of mutant cells provides a method of direct, clonal selection for rare, phenotypically normal cells in mutant populations, which is applicable to the single-active-X problem and other in vitro genetic studies.

Adenine↗