Biomedical subjects

L Hlatky

Publications and source records attributed to L Hlatky.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1991

Reaction kinetics for the development of radiation-induced chromosome aberrations.

The formation of chromosome aberrations from DNA double-strand breaks (dsb) following ionizing irradiation of cells is analysed using a stochastic, continuous-time Markov chain formalism. A restitution/complete exchange model is proposed which incorporates kinetic competition between dsb restitution and chromosome exchange; it applies primarily to those dsb whose broken ends are held in close proximity by proteins. Some additional pathways for damage evolution are also considered. The calculations are compared in detail to the experiments on dicentric yield and variance in human lymphocytes following acute low-LET irradiation summarized by Lloyd and Edwards (1983) and Lloyd et al. (1987). It was found that dicentric formation by pairwise dsb interactions can lead to a dicentric yield/dose curve with a significant linear component even if one-track action is neglected. In other words a dicentric formation rate quadratic in the dsb number does not automatically imply a dicentric yield quadratic in the dose. However, the data indicate that at least in some experiments there could have been a significant one-track contribution to the dicentric yield in addition to the intertrack contributions analysed in the present paper. From the data the order of magnitude of the dsb interaction rate constant is estimated to be at most approximately 3 x 10(-3) exchanges per dsb pair per hour. It was found that for the reaction pathways considered, a initial Poisson distribution of dsb leads to an underdispersed distribution of dicentrics; the amount of underdispersion is strongly model-dependent and the variance data are consistent with the restitution/complete exchange model. Finally, a general mathematical theorem on Markov models is presented. It implies that assays performed after repair and exchange are completed cannot determine absolute repair or exchange rates, only their ratio (which may depend on lesion number).

Chromosome Aberrations↗

PubMed1990

Incorporating dose-rate effects in Markov radiation cell survival models.

Markov models for the survival of cells subjected to ionizing radiation take stochastic fluctuations into account more systematically than do non-Markov counterparts. Albright's Markov RMR (repair-misrepair) model (Radiat. Res. 118, 1-20, 1989) and Curtis's Markov LPL (lethal-potentially lethal) model [in Quantitative Mathematical Models in Radiation Biology (J. Kiefer, Ed.), pp. 127-146. Springer, New York, 1989], which assume acute irradiation, are here generalized to finite dose rates. Instead of treating irradiation as an instantaneous event we introduce an irradiation period T and analyze processes during the interval T as well as afterward. Albright's RMR transition matrix is used throughout for computing the time development of repair and misrepair. During irradiation an additional matrix is added to describe the evolving radiation damage. Albright's and Curtis's Markov models are recovered as limiting cases by taking T----0 with total dose fixed; the opposite limit, of low dose rates, is also analyzed. Deviations from Poisson behavior in the statistical distributions of lesions are calculated. Other continuous-time Markov chain models ("compartmental models") are discussed briefly, for example, models which incorporate cell proliferation and saturable repair models. It is found that for low dose rates the Markov RMR and LPL models give lower survivals compared to the original non-Markov versions. For acute irradiation and high doses, the Markov models predict higher survivals. In general, theoretical extrapolations which neglect some random fluctuations have a systematic bias toward overoptimism when damage to irradiated tumors is compared with damage to surrounding tissues.

Cell Survival↗

PubMed1989

Detection of an intrinsic marker in hypoxic cells.

An autoradiographic method is presented for detecting, within a cell population, those cells which have been subjected to chronic hypoxia. No radioisotope is administered; rather the photographic emulsion is chemically reduced by intrinsic constituents of the cells. Hypoxic regions in the sandwich system, a multicellular in vitro tumor model, were detected in this manner. These regions were then compared with hypoxic sandwich regions as demonstrated by [3H]misonidazole labeling. Auxiliary studies, including studies on hypoxic monolayers, were consistent with the sandwich results. In all cases, the intracellular distribution of the chemographic grains was found to be cytosolic. Often the grains were clustered near the nucleus, perhaps in the region of the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi. We conclude that cells in a state of hypoxia and nutrient deprivation similar to that found in solid tumors retain a detectably altered biology for a significant period after reoxygenation. Therefore systematic methods of detecting previous hypoxia in histological tumor sections are feasible.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

3H-misonidazole labeling and viability of hypoxic cells in the sandwich system, an in vitro tumor analogue.

3H-misonidazole was used as a marker of hypoxic cells in an in vitro tumor analogue, the sandwich system. MISO binding was assessed in situ, using autoradiography. Binding profiles indicate that there are regions of radiobiological hypoxia surrounding the necrotic center in sandwiches of the V79 cell line and in sandwiches of the 9L cell line. Grains per cell were counted and detailed statistics on the variation of intrinsic binding among cells in the same microenvironment are presented. There is a systematic decrease in the standard deviation of grains per cell as one examines populations of cells further and further from the nutrient and oxygen source. Kinetic studies show that the growth fraction of the cell population also decreases with distance from the nutrient source. These findings taken together suggest that MISO binding is proportional to cell size and cells in the inner noncycling portion of the sandwich are more nearly uniform in size. Sandwich cells which exhibit heavy MISO binding, and are presumably radiobiologically hypoxic, were shown to be still viable if restored to good nutrient and oxygen conditions.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Comparison of 3H-misonidazole binding between CHO and 9L cells using the sandwich system.

3H-misonidazole binding of 9L cells was compared with that of CHO cells using an in vitro tumor analog, the sandwich system. In sandwiches there is a gradient of microenvironments, with cells adjacent to the necrotic center subjected to low concentrations of oxygen and glucose and to high concentrations of metabolites. Mixed sandwiches, having 9L and CHO cells interspersed, were used along with sandwiches of each individual cell line. MISO binding was assessed in situ, using autoradiography. Grains per cell were counted and detailed statistics were obtained on the variation in MISO binding among cells located in the same microenvironment. In all cases binding in the regions near the necrotic center was more than 50 times the binding found at the sandwich edge and found in control monolayers, indicating radiobiological hypoxia near the necrotic center. 9L cells began to significantly increase binding of MISO metabolites at a somewhat higher oxygen concentration than did CHO cells. At all oxygen tensions, average per cell binding of the 9L cells was 3 times or more that of the CHO cells, a factor greater than can be explained by the ratio of cell volumes alone. Statistical analyses of the variation in binding among cells in a given microenvironment give some evidence that in the mixed CHO/9L sandwiches there are interactions between the cells of the two different lines which affect the growth patterns of the cells. No preferred binding of misonidazole in the nucleus or cytoplasm was noted within the cells.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

Reducing the hypoxic fraction of a tumour model by growth in low glucose.

The question of whether growth under low glucose conditions leads to a reduced amount of cell hypoxia was investigated using an in vitro tumour analogue, the sandwich system. In this multicellular system, the interplay between diffusion and consumption of oxygen and nutrients results in spatial gradients of these environmental factors. Gradients in the environment lead to biological heterogeneity within the cell population. A necrotic centre, surrounded by a viable cell border, subsequently develops. Cells adjacent to the necrotic centre in sandwiches are hypoxic and are in an environment somewhat analogous to that of cells adjacent to necrotic regions in solid tumours. Using sandwiches of the 9L and V79 cell lines, the effects of growth under low glucose conditions on the degree of hypoxia in regions adjacent to the necrotic centre were investigated. Per-cell binding of 3H-misonidazole, assessed by autoradiography, was used as an indicator of oxygen deprivation. It was found that the extent of the hypoxic region and the severity of hypoxia were considerably reduced by growing sandwiches in a glucose concentration of 0.6 mM rather than 6.5 mM. This reduction was found in conjunction with a smaller viable border; it occurred despite the fact that the average per-cell oxygen consumption is higher in the low glucose sandwiches. The data are qualitatively consistent with a joint oxygen-glucose deprivation model for cell necrosis.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Joint oxygen-glucose deprivation as the cause of necrosis in a tumor analog.

The sandwich system was recently developed as an in vitro tumor analog. Like spheroids, sandwiches are organized, multicellular systems in which the interplay between diffusion and consumption leads to the formation of spatial gradients; a necrotic center and a viable cell border subsequently develop. Using sandwiches of the 9L and V79 cell lines, the effects of oxygen and glucose deprivation on the onset and formation of necrosis were investigated. The data indicate that in sandwiches necrosis is a result of a shortage of both substances. Complementary cell monolayer experiments to determine a number of consumption parameters were performed. On the basis of the data, we propose a joint oxygen-glucose deprivation model for V79 cell necrosis. It is assumed a cell dies when oxygen deprivation in conjunction with glucose deprivation lowers the cell's ATP production rate below a critical value. Interactions of the concentrations and consumptions of oxygen and glucose are analyzed theoretically; concentration profiles are obtained by numerically solving coupled non-linear integral equations arising from the diffusion equation. The predicted viable border widths are in good agreement with the observed values.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Differences in the X-ray sensitivity of cells in different regions of the sandwich, a diffusion-limited system for cell growth.

The sandwich system was recently developed as a tumor analog; like spheroids, sandwiches are diffusion-limited multicellular systems which exhibit a necrotic center and a viable cell border. Using sandwiches of the 9L cell line, we compared the X-ray sensitivity of cells in the inner half of the viable border, adjacent to the necrotic center, with that of cells in the outer half of the viable border, adjacent ot the medium. No cells were hypoxic at the time of irradiation. The cells in the inner half of the viable border exhibited an increased radioresistance over cells in the outer half. The effect was dose multiplying with a multiplying factor of 1.5. Besides the sandwich studies, the X-ray sensitivity of 9L plateau monolayer cultures (induced by starvation) was compared to exponentially growing monolayer cultures. The plateau cultures exhibited an increased radioresistance over the exponentially growing cultures. The effect was also dose multiplying with a multiplying factor of 1.5.

Animals↗

PubMed1985

Two-dimensional diffusion limited system for cell growth.

A new cell system, designed to supplement multicellular spheroids as tumour analogues, was analysed theoretically and experimentally. This 'sandwich' system is a single layer of cells, subject to self-created gradients of nutrients and metabolic products. Due to these gradients the sandwich system develops a border of viable cells and an inner region of necrotic cells corresponding to the viable rim and the necrotic center of a spheroid. However, sandwiches differ from spheroids in several ways. All the cells in the sandwich can be microscopically viewed during the entire experiment. In sandwiches there is no three-dimensional cell to cell contact. Also, the gradients are less steep in our sandwich system, so the width of the viable region in a sandwich is about 10 times as large as the width of the viable rim in a spheroid. Indeed, in sandwiches the experimenter has some control over the steepness of the gradients and thus can vary the width of this viable border. We used DNA labelling studies and flow cytometry along with visual observation to analyse the system. Our experiments show that the observed cell necrosis, similar to that found in spheroids, is due to diffusion limitations. The results are consistent with the idea that oxygen deprivation stops cell cycling and, when extreme and prolonged, leads to necrosis. The possibility that substances other than oxygen are involved is not excluded by the data. The data also suggests that in the final, near-equilibrium state the average overall oxygen consumption rate for the viable sandwich population may be about one-quarter of that for an exponentially growing population of the same cell line.

Animals↗