Putative liver progenitor cells: conditions for long-term survival in culture.

Oval cells proliferate extensively in the livers of animals exposed to oncogenic insults, are bipotent and are believed to be related to the so far unidentified liver stem cell. In normal liver, cells antigenically related to oval cells and expressing liver and epithelial markers are considered to be liver progenitor cells. We isolated, by fluorescence-activated cell sorting or magnetic bead sorting, cells expressing the oval cell antigens OC.2 or OC.3 from the liver of normal newborn or day 12 embryonal age rats. Magnetic bead sorting of positive cells was as efficient as fluorescence-activated cell sorting. A two-chamber culture system was devised in which cells were plated onto transwell filters coated with type IV collagen and cultured in a serum-free Ham's F12 medium supplemented with free fatty acids and bovine serum albumin. Under these conditions, cells remained viable for up to 6 weeks and their antigenic phenotype was unchanged throughout. Approximately 30% of sorted cells expressed epithelial and/or liver-specific markers. Growth factors mitogenic for epithelial cells and hepatocytes did not elicit cell proliferation. These results provide an important background for further studies designed to determine the biological significance of OC.2+ and OC.3+ cells in normal liver, to test the liver stem cell hypothesis and to develop protocols for the expansion in vitro of normal liver progenitors.

Crystal structure of a human TATA box-binding protein/TATA element complex.

The TATA box-binding protein (TBP) is required by all three eukaryotic RNA polymerases for correct initiation of transcription of ribosomal, messenger, small nuclear, and transfer RNAs. The cocrystal structure of the C-terminal/core region of human TBP complexed with the TATA element of the adenovirus major late promoter has been determined at 1.9 angstroms resolution. Structural and functional analyses of the protein-DNA complex are presented, with a detailed comparison to our 1.9-angstroms resolution structure of Arabidopsis thaliana TBP2 bound to the same TATA box.

Crystal structure of a TFIIB-TBP-TATA-element ternary complex.

The crystal structure of the transcription factor IIB (TFIIB)/TATA box-binding protein (TBP)/TATA-element ternary complex is described at 2.7 A resolution. Core TFIIB resembles cyclin A, and recognizes the preformed TBP-DNA complex through protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions. The amino-terminal domain of core TFIIB forms the downstream surface of the ternary complex, where it could fix the transcription start site. The remaining surfaces of TBP and the TFIIB can interact with TBP-associated factors, other class II initiation factors, and transcriptional activators and coactivators.

Flow cytometry and monoclonal antibodies identify normal liver cell populations antigenically related to oval cells.

Oval cells, a non-parenchymal cell population induced to rapidly proliferate in animals treated with carcinogens, are thought to be related to the hypothesized liver stem cells. In normal liver there are poorly defined cells antigenically related to oval cells. These oval cell antigen positive (OCAP) cells present in normal animals are thought to include hepatocyte and bile duct cell precursors. To isolate them, we modified the existing protocols designed for oval cells and used it on normal neonatal rat livers. Using flow cytometry, the percentage of normal liver OCAP-cells varied with the monoclonal antibody (MoAb) to the different oval cell membrane markers used: 12% (MoAb 18.2), 23% (MoAb 270.38), 27% (MoAb 18.11), 31% (MoAb 18.13), and 37% (MoAb 374.3). Macrophages consisted 10% of the cells (MoAb MCA 275); hepatocytes were essentially absent ( < 1%, MoAb 236.4). Our results demonstrate that is possible to obtain significant numbers of normal cells antigenically related to oval cells and that using different MoAbs, different cell populations can be sorted for use in experimental studies testing liver progenitor cell hypothesis.

Co-crystal structure of the HNF-3/fork head DNA-recognition motif resembles histone H5.

The three-dimensional structure of an HNF-3/fork head DNA-recognition motif complexed with DNA has been determined by X-ray crystallography at 2.5 A resolution. This alpha/beta protein binds B-DNA as a monomer, through interactions with the DNA backbone and through both direct and water-mediated major and minor groove base contacts, inducing a 13 degrees bend. The transcription factor fold is very similar to the structure of histone H5. In its amino-terminal half, three alpha-helices adopt a compact structure that presents the third helix to the major groove. The remainder of the protein includes a twisted, antiparallel beta-structure and random coil that interacts with the minor groove.

H-2 hemizygous mutants from a heterozygous cell line: role of mitotic recombination.

Variants that no longer express an entire H-2 haplotype were readily isolated, by immunoselection with antisera directed against the haplotype, from an H-2b/H-2d heterozygous Friend leukemia cell line carrying a Robertsonian translocation of the chromosomes bearing the H-2 genetic region. These variants can be denoted as being of the phenotype H-2b- H-2d+ or H-2b+ H-2d-. Some of the H-2b- H-2d+ variants: (1) lack the restriction enzyme fragments characteristic of the missing H-2b haplotype, as assessed by Southern blot analysis; (2) express more cell surface H-2d antigens than wild-type cells, as assessed by flow microfluorimetry; and (3) appear to have become homozygous for the more active H-2d-linked allele at the Glyoxalase I locus. These variants thus seem to have lost genetic material corresponding to the H-2b haplotype and may have gained genetic material corresponding to the H-2d haplotype. These results are consistent with the possibility that these variants were generated by mitotic recombination.

Anti-H-2 hybridoma antibodies as immunoselective agents. I. Isolation of forward and reverse mutations for reactivity with a monoclonal antibody.

Using immunoselection with an H-2Kk-specific monoclonal antibody following mutagenesis on an (H-2k/H-2d) F1 cell line we have obtained variants that do not react with the selecting monoclonal antibody but continue to react with other monoclonal antibodies directed against the same gene product. The mutants fall into two classes based on their serological profile. This phenotype is suggestive of a structural mutation in the selected gene. If the genetic change involved is a point mutation (as opposed to a deletion), one should be able to obtain revertants. Using the fluorescence-activated cell sorter, we have been able to obtain from one of the monoclonal-antibody-nonreactive mutants cells that do bind the selecting antibody. In order to prove that the presumptive revertant is not a contaminant wild-type cell that inadvertently got mixed into the resistance mutant, we first introduced an outside marker, resistance to the purine analogue 2-amino-6-mercaptopurine (6-thioguanine), into the monoclonal-antibody-resistant mutant. The revertants obtained using the cell sorter continue to express the nonselective phenotype of resistance to 6-thioguanine, showing that they are not wild-type cells. In addition, their serological characteristics are different from those of either the wild-type cells or the hybridoma-resistant mutants from which they were derived. Based on the serological analyses, it would seem that we have isolated at least three variant forms of the H-2Kk gene product.

H-2 antigen variants in a cultured heterozygous mouse leukemia cell line. VI. Rate of emergence of the hemizygous variants and evidence that the variants preexist the selection.

The rates of emergence of H-2b- and H-2d- variants from an H-2b+/ H-2d+ heterozygous mouse leukemia cell line were determined by fluctuation analyses. The results show that the wild type cells throw off the H-2b- variants at about 10(-5) per cell per generation and the H-2d- variants at 10(-6) per cell per generation. The reason for this tenfold difference in the rates for the two symmetrical variants is not clear. The fluctuation analyses also indicate that the variants exist in the wild type population prior to exposure to the selective agents.