PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Teissie

Publications and source records attributed to J Teissie.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Mechanisms of cell membrane electropermeabilization: a minireview of our present (lack of ?) knowledge.

Cell electropulsation is routinely used in cell Biology for protein, RNA or DNA transfer. Its clinical applications are under development for targeted drug delivery and gene therapy. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms supporting the induction of permeabilizing defects in the membrane assemblies remain poorly understood. This minireview describes the present state of the investigations concerning the different steps in the reversible electropermeabilization process. The different hypotheses, which were proposed to give a molecular description of the membrane events, are critically discussed. Other possibilities are then given. The need for more basic research on the associated loss of cohesion of the membrane appears as a conclusion.

Animals↗

Antitumor activity of 2',3'-dideoxycytidine nucleotide analog against tumors up-regulating DNA polymerase beta.

DNA polymerase beta (Pol beta), an error-prone DNA-synthesizing enzyme tightly down-regulated in healthy somatic cells, has been shown to be overexpressed in many human tumors. In this study, we show that treatment with the 2',3'-dideoxycytidine (ddC) nucleoside analog inhibited in vitro and in vivo the proliferation of Pol beta-transfected B16 melanoma cells, which up-regulate Pol beta compared with control isogenic cells. The administration of ddC also increased specifically the survival of mice bearing Pol beta-overexpressing B16 melanoma. When the phosphorylated form of ddC was electrotransfered into Pol beta-transfected melanoma, the cell growth inhibition was strengthened, strongly suggesting that the cytotoxic effect results from incorporation of the chain terminator into DNA. Using in vitro single- and double-stranded DNA synthesis assays, we demonstrated that excess Pol beta perturbs the replicative machinery, favors ddC-TP incorporation into DNA, and consequently promotes chain termination. Therefore, the use of chain terminator anticancer agents could be suitable for the treatment of tumors with a high level of Pol beta.

Animals↗

Chinese hamster ovary cells sensitivity to localized electrical stresses.

Application of an external electric field on a cell suspension induces an alteration in the membrane structure giving free access to the cell cytoplasm. Under mild pulsation conditions, permeabilization is a reversible process which weakly affects cell viability while drastic electrical conditions lead to cell death. The field pulse must be considered as a complex stress applied on the cell assembly. This study is a systematic investigation of the stress effects of field strength, pulse duration and number of pulses, at given joule energy. The loss in cell viability is not related to the energy delivered to the system. At a given joule energy, a strong field during a short cumulated pulse duration affects more viability than using a weak field associated with a long cumulated pulsation. At a given field strength and for a given cumulated pulse duration an accumulation of short pulses is also observed to be very damaging for cells. A control by the delay between the pulses suggests a memory effect. The field effect appears also to be vectorial in line with the known asymmetry of the membrane organization. These results suggest that processes at a cellular level are involved, either an activation of cell death or damage in cellular functions.

Animals↗

N-linked oligosaccharides can protect target cells from the lysis mediated by NK cells but not by cytotoxic T lymphocytes: role of NKG2-A.

We have previously shown that glycophorin A (GPA), inserted by electropulsation into the membrane of K562 cells, protected them from natural killer (NK) cell-mediated cytotoxicity and the unique N-linked oligosaccharide of GPA was essential for resistance to occur. The present study demonstrates that the protection level conferred by GPA is similar to the resistance induced by HLA-Cw3 expressed by transfected K562 cells. A monoclonal antibody against NKG2-A, an NK inhibitory receptor interacting with HLA class I antigens and belonging to the C-type lectin receptor, was able to restore the ability of NK cells to lyse K562 cells expressing HLA-Cw3 at the cell membrane but not electroinserted-GPA, suggesting that the N-linked oligosaccharide of GPA cannot be a ligand for NKG2-A. GPA was then electroinserted into the membrane of two lymphoblastoid B-cell lines: one was sensitive to NK cell-mediated lysis, the other was susceptible to cytotoxic CD8+ T-lymphocyte (CTL)-mediated cytotoxicity. The electroinserted GPA protected the target cells from NK-mediated cytotoxicity, whereas it did not modify the cell susceptibility to lysis by CTL. Endoglycosidase F treatment abolished the resistance towards NK cell-mediated lysis, suggesting that N-linked glycans could inhibit mechanisms used by NK cells to exert their cytotoxic function in agreement with our previous results.

Carbohydrate Conformation↗

In vivo electrically mediated protein and gene transfer in murine melanoma.

We show that efficient permeabilization of murine melanoma can be obtained in vivo by applying electric pulses. More than 80% of the cell population is affected as shown by the penetration of propidium iodide. A protein, beta-galactosidase, can be transferred and expressed into the cells by incorporating either the protein or a plasmid carrying the reporter gene with respective efficiencies of 20% and 4%. This is obtained by a direct injection of either the protein or the plasmid in the tumor, followed by the application of electric pulses with surface electrodes in contact with the skin. This approach is simple and safe to use, reproducible, and specific; moreover, it is potentially applicable to a wide variety of tissues, cell types, and animals.

Animals↗

Fast kinetic studies of plasmid DNA transfer in intact yeast cells mediated by electropulsation.

Intact yeast cell Electrotransformation process was investigated. It is a two step process. The plasmid must be pre-mixed and present in contact with the cells during the pulse. During the millisecond field pulse, plasmid DNA is associated to the envelope. It therefore crosses the membrane by a process which lasts several seconds as shown by its sensitivity to a post pulse addition of DNase. Electrotransformation is not supported by an electrophoretic transfer due to the external field nor by a free diffusion across the electropermeabilized envelope. DNA is first bound during the field pulse and then is transferred by a still unknown active process due to cell metabolism.

Biological Transport↗

Insertion of glycophorin A, a transmembraneous protein, in lipid bilayers can be mediated by electropermeabilization.

Transmembraneous back-insertion of a solubilized membrane protein, glycophorin A, has been obtained in 1,2 dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (Pam2GroPCho) cell-size-like liposomes by submitting the lipid/protein mixture to calibrated electric field pulses. Field conditions which are prone to trigger glycophorin insertion are similar to those which mediate lipid layer electropermeabilization. The efflux of calcein, trapped in the liposomes during their preparation, was observed only when field strength is higher than 1.3 kV/cm. Electroinsertion was detected only above the same critical field intensity. Calcein efflux as well as glycophorin insertion were increased by increasing field intensity, pulse duration and/or number of pulses. Experimental evidence of protein insertion was provided by physico-chemical as well as biochemical methods. Direct observation of the pulsed vesicles under the microscope revealed the insertion by means of immunofluorescence and fluorescence. Electroinsertion of fluorescent glycophorin A revealed that the inner bilayers were also labeled. The gel-to-liquid phase transition temperature of Pam2GroPCho decreased after insertion but its cooperativity was not affected. A narrow 31P-NMR peak was observed after electroinsertion showing that the polar headgroups of phospholipids had been altered. Analysis of trypsin-digested peptides revealed that the two trans-orientations of the protein across the external lipid layer were present after electroinsertion. Localized perturbation of the polar headgroup region of phospholipids, which supports the transient permeabilization of lipid layers, allows spontaneous transinsertion of glycophorin across the lipid bilayers.

Electromagnetic Fields↗

Introduction of specific carbohydrates into Eucalyptus gunnii cells increases their freezing tolerance.

The comparison of soluble sugar content in various cell lines of Eucalyptus gunnii exhibiting different freezing resistances revealed that the most resistant cell line contained the highest soluble sugar content. It was possible to increase the freezing resistance of the sensitive cell line by progressive exposure to low temperatures (acclimation). During the early stage of cold acclimation, an increase of soluble sugar concentration was observed in the cells confirming the correlation between freezing resistance and soluble carbohydrate content in this species. In addition, feeding experiments on the sensitive cell line were performed to introduce specific sugars into the cells. Both electropulsation and long-term incubation in the presence of fructose and raffinose led to an increase in the tolerance of the cells during a freezing programme. Using radioactive fructose, the uptake of the sugar into cells and protoplasts was checked. In the light of these results, hypotheses are presented concerning the possible role of intracellular sugars in cryoprotection.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Long-lived macropinocytosis takes place in electropermeabilized mammalian cells.

Electropermeabilization is a technique which allows free access of molecules to cytosol. In the present study, we report on results dealing with the penetration of macromolecules. Under electric conditions that allow maintenance of cell viability at a high level, i.e., at low electric field intensity but long time duration (ms time range), all the pulsed cells become permeable to macromolecules. By loading beta-galactosidase the electro-transferred activity in the cells is maintained over 24 hours. Transfer mediated during the pulse occurs by free diffusion into the cytoplasm, while post pulse transfer takes place by a different pathway. When added a few minutes after application of the electric field, the enzyme enters the cell via a macropinocytosis-like process. This is a new long-term effect of the electric field pulse on the membrane.

Animals↗

Influence of glucose and other substrates on electric field and polyethylene glycol-mediated transformation of intact yeast cells.

A prepulse incubation with 2% glucose (mannose, fructose) strongly inhibited electrotransformation of intact yeast cells. This inhibitory effect was not due to alterations of cell viability or to cell membrane electropermeabilization, and was not affected by the solution buffer properties of preincubation and pulsing media. The electrotransformation efficiency was not modified by non-metabolized substances, such as sorbitol or alose. The glucose inhibition of electrotransformation was fast, occurring after only a 3-5-min preincubation. The postpulse incubation with substrate also decreased transformation efficiency, but was pH-dependent. We observed a similar, strong inhibitory effect of glucose when cells were transformed chemically. A pH dependence of yeast electrotransformation was established.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Electropermeabilization mediates a stable insertion of glycophorin A with Chinese hamster ovary cell membranes.

Electropulsation allowed us to incorporate glycophorin A, an integral membrane protein, into mammalian nucleated cell membranes (Chinese hamster ovary cells). The induction of stable protein association is effective only when the field intensity is higher than its threshold value, creating membrane permeabilization to small molecules. Under controlled conditions, cell viability was only slightly altered by this treatment. Pulse number and duration controlled both the number of modified cells and incorporated molecules. The phenomena was temperature dependent. An average of 5 x 10(4) molecules/cell was bound. About 80% of cells in the pulsed population were observed to incorporate glycophorin. The protein incorporation was shown to be stable 48 h after electroassociation. Electrically bound proteins were shared between the cells after each division. As enhanced binding is detected if glycophorin is added after the pulses, it is the long-lived alteration of the membrane mediated by the pulses which supports the association.

Animals↗

Fast kinetics studies of Escherichia coli electrotransformation.

Direct gene transfer is achieved in Escherichia coli by use of square wave electric pulsing. As observed by video monitoring, the field pulse causes bacteria to orientate parallel to the field lines. Rapid kinetic turbidity changes indicate that this process happens quickly. In these circumstances, and in pulsing conditions prone to inducing transformation, only caps are affected by the field. Considerable cytoplasmic ion leakage occurs during the pulse, affecting the interfacial ionic concentration. The pulsing-buffer osmolarity has to be close to that used with protoplasts. Contact between the plasmid and the bacteria can be very short before the pulse but must be present during the pulse. The plasmid remains accessible to externally added DNases up to 5 days after the pulse, suggesting that the transfer step is slow. Electric-field-mediated transfer can be described in two steps: the anchoring process during the pulse, followed by the crossing of the membrane.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Removal of N-linked oligosaccharides of presumptive ectoderm impairs neural induction in Pleurodeles waltl.

Studies were carried out on the embryo of the amphibian Pleurodeles waltl to investigate the potential role of the N-linked oligosaccharides of the ectodermal cell membrane in the neural induction process. Glycopeptidase F (GPase F) was used to cleave N-linked oligosaccharides on presumptive ectoderm. Removal of oligosaccharide moieties from ectoderm membrane glycoconjugates completely inhibited natural neural induction in vitro. On the other hand, Swainsonine (Sw) and 1-deoxynojirimycin (dNM), specific inhibitors of enzymes involved in glycosylation, provoked strong and persistent changes in the structure of the N-linked oligosaccharides of presumptive ectoderm but did not prevent neuralisation of treated ectoderm. We conclude that N-linked carbohydrates are implicated in the phenomenon of neural induction. However, the structural integrity of N-linked carbohydrates of target tissue is not itself critical in this process. The existence of specific carbohydrates on presumptive ectoderm was still questioned as receptors of neural signal.

1-Deoxynojirimycin↗

Ionic-strength modulation of electrically induced permeabilization and associated fusion of mammalian cells.

Application of a high electric field to cells in culture has been shown to make them both permeable and fusogenic. The molecular events involved in the phenomenon are still poorly understood. In this study we investigated the effects of the ionic strength of the pulsing buffer on the electropermeabilization and electrofusion of Chinese hamster ovary cells. Increasing the ionic strength of the pulsing medium results in an increase in sieving of transient permeant structures, but decreases the fusion index. Treatment of cells with trypsin or pronase before application of the pulses abolishes the ionic modulation of both electropermeabilization and electrofusion. A similar rate of expansion of permeabilization is obtained whatever the ionic content of the pulsing buffer, and cells fuse even at high ionic strength. This observation lends support to our hypothesis that membrane proteins play a role in electrofusion.

Animals↗

31P NMR analysis of membrane phospholipid organization in viable, reversibly electropermeabilized Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were reversibly permeabilized by submitting them to short, high-intensity, square wave pulses (1.8 kV/cm, 100 microseconds). The cells remained in a permeable state without loss of viability for several hours at 4 degrees C. A new anisotropic peak with respect to control cells was observed on 31 P NMR spectroscopic analysis of the phospholipid components. This peak is only present when the cells are permeable, and normal anisotropy is recovered after resealing. Taking into account the fusogenicity of electropermeabilized cells, comparative studies were performed on 5% poly(ethylene glycol) treated cells. The 31P NMR spectra of the phospholipids displayed the same anisotropic peak as in the case of the electropermeabilized cells. In the two cases, this anisotropic peak was located downfield from the main peak associated to the phospholipids when organized in bilayers. The localization of this anisotropic peak is very different from the one of a hexagonal phase. We proposed a reorganization of the polar head group region leading to a weakening of the hydration layer to account for these observations. This was also thought to explain the electric field induced fusogenicity of these cells.

Animals↗