SV-IV, a major protein secreted from rat seminal vesicle epithelium, promotes lymphocyte cytotoxic activity against the lymphoblastoid Raji cell line in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

The treatment of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) with micromolar concentrations of SV-IV, a major protein secreted from the rat seminal vesicle epithelium, promotes in this cell population a marked cytotoxic activity against the Raji lymphoblastoid cell line. This activity is apparently due to cell-to-cell contact interactions. The expression of HLA DR on Raji cells has a modulatory effect on the SV-IV-induced cytotoxic activity. The experimental evidence strongly suggests that the cytotoxic effector cells are functionally activated NK cells.

ras oncogene-induced transformation of a rat seminal vesicle epithelial cell line produces a marked increase of adenylate cyclase and protein kinase C activities.

Cells transformed by Kirsten murine sarcoma virus (Ki-MSV) have basal adenylate cyclase activity (AC) higher than control cells and comparable level of forskolin-stimulated AC activity. Moreover, a higher protein kinase C (PKC) activity was found to be present in the transformed cells. The molecular mechanism underlying the increase of AC activity was investigated. Our findings strongly suggest that this biochemical event is due to a marked decrease of the alpha i negative control of the enzyme, even though the alpha i of transformed cells appears to possess fully functional domains interacting with both the effector enzyme and the agonist-activated receptor.