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Covalent binding of reactive estrogen metabolites to microtubular protein as a possible mechanism of aneuploidy induction and neoplastic cell transformation.

Neoplastic cell transformation induced by estrogens and some other carcinogens such as benzene appears to involve the induction of mitotic aneuploidy rather than DNA damage and point mutations. As metabolic activation may also play an important role in the mechanism of carcinogenesis of these nongenotoxic compounds, we have studied the interaction of reactive quinone metabolites of various estrogens and of benzene with the major microtubular protein, tubulin, in a cell-free system. Covalent binding of the radioactively labeled metabolites to the alpha- and beta-subunit of tubulin was found to depend on the structure of the metabolite. When the adducted tubulins were tested in vitro for their ability to polymerize to microtubules, inhibition of microtubule assembly was observed in every case, although to varying extents. It is proposed that the formation of covalent tubulin adducts may impair the formation of mitotic spindles and thus contribute to chromosomal nondisjunction and aneuploidy induction.

Aneuploidy↗

RhoB is required to mediate apoptosis in neoplastically transformed cells after DNA damage.

The effect of neoplastic transformation on the response to genotoxic stress is of significant clinical interest. In this study, we offer genetic evidence that the apoptotic response of neoplastically transformed cells to DNA damage requires RhoB, a member of the Rho family of actin cytoskeletal regulators. Targeted deletion of the rhoB gene did not affect cell cycle arrest in either normal or transformed cells after exposure to doxorubicin or gamma irradiation, but rendered transformed cells resistant to apoptosis. This effect was specific insofar as rhoB deletion did not affect apoptotic susceptibility to agents that do not damage DNA. However, rhoB deletion also affected apoptotic susceptibility to Taxol, an agent that disrupts microtubule dynamics. We have demonstrated that RhoB alteration mediates the proapoptotic and antineoplastic effects of farnesyltransferase inhibitors, and we show here that RhoB alteration is also crucial for farnesyltransferase inhibitors to sensitize neoplastic cells to DNA damage-induced cell death. We found RhoB to be an important determinant of long-term survival in vitro and tumor response in vivo after gamma irradiation. Our findings identify a pivotal role for RhoB in the apoptotic response of neoplastic cells to DNA damage at a novel regulatory point that may involve the actin cytoskeleton.

Alkyl and Aryl Transferases↗

Effect of cigarette tar upon tissue culture cells. Neoplastic transformation of hamster lung cells by tobacco tar in tissue culture.

Hamster lung fibroblastic cells were transformed into malignant cells in vitro by exposure to crude cigarette tar for 3 hours. Primary injuries of cells were observed between 2 and 48 hours after the treatment. Tar-treated cells showed nuclear pyknosis, cell necrosis, and enlarged, vacuolated cytoplasm. In one case giant cells were found at about 48 hours after treatment. Transformation occurred over 100 days after the treatment. The characteristics of transformed cells were random orientation of cells, with piling-up and criss-crossing, and continuous growth in vitro for over 300 days. Plating efficiency with treated cells was different from untreated cells. The transformed cells, cultured for 100 to 160 days, produced tumours when transplanted in cheek pouch of hamsters. The five of nine animals inoculated with 100 μg./ml. of tar treated cells (HT-100 strains) over 160 days in vitro died from tumours and others were killed for histological examinations and one of five animals transplanted with the cells of HT-10 strains within 121 days after the tar treatment. Histologically, the tumours were pleomorphic fibrosarcomas. Low doses (1 × 10(5) or less) of control cells failed to produce tumours after 270 days in culture. Contrarily, higher doses of 10(7) of control cells produced tumours when injected into the animals after 270 days in culture.

Animals↗

Neoplastic cell transformation by heavy ions.

We have studied the induction of morphological transformation by heavy ions. Golden hamster embryo cells were irradiated with 95 MeV 14N ions (530 keV/microns), 22 MeV 4He ions (36 keV/microns), and 22 MeV 4He ions with a 100-microns Al absorber (77 keV/microns) which were generated by a cyclotron at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research in Japan. Colonies were considered to contain neoplastically transformed cells when the cells were densely stacked and made a crisscross pattern. It was shown that the induction of transformation was much more effective with 14N and 4He ions than with gamma or X rays. The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) relative to 60Co gamma rays was 3.3 for 14N ions, 2.4 for 4He ions, and 3.3 for 4He ions with a 100-microns Al absorber. The relationship between RBE and linear energy transfer was qualitatively similar for both cell death and transformation.

Animals↗

Surface structure of fetal rat brain cells during neoplastic transformation in cell culture.

The surface microstructure of fetal rat brain cells undergoing neoplastic transformation in long-term cell culture after a single transplacental pulse of 75 microgram N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea/g body weight to the fetal (18th day of gestation) BD IX rat was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. After about 3 weeks of culture, N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea-pretreated fetal rat brain cells showed focal proliferation of neural cells on an underlayer of flat, epithelioid cells. The neural cells exhibited varying forms of numerous dorsal ruffles and an increased number of other surface microprojections. Between the 40th and the 100th day, nodules of bipolar and multipolar neural cells were observed with a complex surface microstructure including many blebs and ruffles and an increased number of microvilli. After 100-210 days, more rapidly proliferating, morphologically altered cells formed "piled-up" foci, which resulted in a homogeneous population of cells with numerous long microvilli, large ruffles, and blebs over the whole surface. The cells retained the same altered surface structure until tumorigenicity after reimplantation into the syngeneic host was first observed (approximately 273 days). Surface alterations characteristic of the neoplastic cells were thus observable more than 100 days before the cells became tumorigenic.

Animals↗

Transmission electron microscopy of fetal rat brain cells during neoplastic transformation in cell culture.

Fetal rat brain cells were investigated by transmission electron microscopy during neoplastic transformation in long-term cell culture. Before transfer of the cells to culture, BD IX rat fetuses were treated with a single transplacental pulse of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (75 micrograms/g body wt) on the 18th day of gestation. During the early stages (3--4 mo), both glia-like and neuron-like cells were present in the culture, and after 2 months they formed complex aggregates ("nodules"). In contrast, corresponding secondary control cultures consisted of flat, epithelioid neural cells without neuron or astrocyte differentiation. After 3 months, cells with neuron morphology gradually disappeared. Some of the remaining cells contained many autophagosomes. After 5 months, rapid proliferation of rather homogeneous, glia-like populations was accompanied by reduction of microfilament bundles and microtubules, as well as atypical nuclei. Ability to form tumors upon sc implantation into syngeneic hosts was not observed until about 3 months later.

Animals↗

Expression of lethal mutations is suppressed in neoplastically transformed cells and after treatment of normal cells with carcinogens.

Recent evidence from our laboratory suggests that the fraction of cells with lethal mutations is lost from the population by apoptosis. The relationship of this process to genetic instability and carcinogenesis is unclear. To examine this, tumorigenic cell populations derived from spontaneously occurring, neoplastically transformed C3H 1OT1/2 foci and from radiation-induced foci were compared with wild-type C3H 10T1/2 cell populations to determine the frequency of induction of lethal mutations postirradiation. Lethal mutations did not occur in the progeny of cells from type 3 foci derived from cultures of spontaneously occurring or radiation-induced neoplastically transformed cells but were very frequent in the progeny of irradiated wild-type cells. Normal human cells (HPV-immortalized human keratinocytes and primary human normal uroepithelium) were then treated with carcinogens or transfected with the Ha-ras oncogene to see if these carcinogenic events affected the yield of lethal mutations postirradiation. In each case, cells which were exposed to a carcinogenic agent had reduced numbers of lethal mutations, elevated levels of stable p53 and Bcl-2 proteins and reduced evidence of apoptosis. It is suggested that lethal mutations may represent an active safety mechanism which may deal with radiation-induced genomic instability and which is disabled early in carcinogenesis.

Animals↗

Mechanisms of human cell neoplastic transformation: relationship of specific abnormal clone formation to prolonged lifespan in X-irradiated human diploid fibroblasts.

A total of 9 control and 46 X-irradiated human fibroblast cultures were followed throughout their lifespan in vitro; G-banded karyotypes were examined at regular intervals. The lifespan (mean population doublings) of irradiated cultures was slightly but significantly prolonged over that of controls. None of the cultures developed any changes in cell morphology characteristic of neoplastic transformation. A number of abnormal clones containing marker chromosomes emerged in the irradiated cultures. Most of these senesced early, but 2 clones were associated with a considerably increased lifespan. One of these had a deletion in the short arm of chromosome I (p22, p32), and the other had 2 specific translocations involving chromosome 22, t(1;22)(q25,q12) and t(6;22)(p22,q11). We hypothesize that the emergence of an abnormal clone with translocations in the vicinity of critical oncogenes may be associated with prolongation of lifespan and the induction of immortalization in human diploid cells, an event independent of the acquisition of other characteristics of the transformed phenotype.

Cell Survival↗

In vitro growth inhibition of neoplastically transformed cells by non-transformed cells: requirement for gap junctional intercellular communication.

We examined whether the inhibition of neoplastically transformed cell growth by co-cultured non-transformed cells involved gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC). The growth of poorly communicating (approximately 25-35% dye-coupled cells), Ha-ras and neu oncogene-transformed WB-F344 rat liver epithelial cells was inhibited by co-culture with highly communicating (90-95% dye-coupling), non-transformed WB-F344 cells. Inhibition was dependent upon heterologous cell-cell contact and required that the non-transformed cells were GJIC competent. GJIC-deficient mutant WB-F344 cells did not suppress transformed cell growth. Restoration of mutant cell GJIC by transfection with rat connexin43 cDNA restored growth-inhibiting activity. These results clearly demonstrate a role for GJIC in the inhibition of transformed cell growth by non-transformed cells.

Animals↗

Mechanisms of human cell neoplastic transformation: X-ray-induced abnormal clone formation in long-term cultures of human diploid fibroblasts.

Early passage cultures of a strain of normal human diploid fibroblasts were exposed to various doses of X-rays. The cells were serially passaged and followed throughout their life span in vitro. G-banded metaphase chromosome preparations were examined at each subculture to determine the presence of abnormal clones, i.e., groups of cells bearing identical chromosomal rearrangements. It was found that X-irradiation induced random chromosomal rearrangements which persisted throughout the life span of the cells. No abnormal clones were observed among the progeny of four nonirradiated cultures, nor in seven of nine cultures exposed to single radiation doses. On the other hand, multiple abnormal clones emerged among the progeny of cells in all five cultures exposed to multiple sequential radiation doses (three doses of 400 or 600 rads each). Evidence of clonal expansion and attenuation and of clonal succession during serial passaging occurred in these populations. In several cases, these clones expanded to include most of the cell population before the cultures became senescent. These findings are discussed in terms of their possible role in the transformation of human diploid cells by radiation.

Cell Transformation, Neoplastic↗

Relationship of carcinogen-induced sister chromatid exchange and neoplastic cell transformation.

Sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and morphological transformation induced by five chemical carcinogens, N-acetoxy-2-fluorenyl-acetamide (AcAAF), N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG), methyl methanesulfonate (MMS), benzo[a]-pyrene (BP), and cisplatinum(II) diamine dichloride (PT) as well as by X-irradiation were quantified in parallel experiments with cultures of Syrian hamster embryo cells (HEC). Incubation of HEC with 5-bromodeoxyuridine (10(-5)M) for two rounds of replication (24 h) required for SCE visualization neither caused morphological transformation nor altered the transformation frequency induced by carcinogen alone. All chemical carcinogens, but not X-irradiation, produced a dose-dependent increase in SCE and transformation frequency, demonstrating the sensitivity of both assays to carcinogens. The ratios of induced SCE relative to transformation frequency, however, varied with the carcinogen. BP, MMNG, and AcAAF were similarly efficient in inducing SCE compared to transformation but were considerably less effective than MMS and PT. X-irradiation at doses of 200, 300, and 500 R did not cause transformation and induced a low frequency of SCE. On a molar basis, MMS and PT were the most effective in SCE induction relative to transformation, MNNG and AcAAF were less effective, and BP was the least effective carcinogen. The positive linear correlation between chemical carcinogen-induced SCE and transformation suggests a relationship between the two cellular responses.

Acetoxyacetylaminofluorene↗

Utility of immunohistochemical techniques in identifying various differentiation stages of T and B cell lineage and the related neoplastic transformed cells.

The lymphoid tissue provides the most productive conditions to the application of immunohistochemical techniques. This tissue is composed of many B and T phenotypically different cell populations ranging from stem cells to completely differentiated lymphocytes which can be identified by using monoclonal antibodies. These techniques also are of great help in classifying the malignant lymphocyte counterparts and, thus, in defining diagnostic and prognostic characters of different lymphomas/leukaemias.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗