Detection of human T-lymphotropic virus-like particles in cultures of peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with mycosis fungoides.

Because of seronegativity and absence of a leukemic phase in most patients with mycosis fungoides, a role for the human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) in this disease has remained tenuous. Virus particles are not seen in fresh isolates of skin or blood lymphocytes and the malignant cells (Sézary cells) have been difficult to culture. The availability of growth factors and biomolecular techniques have prompted a renewed attempt to find evidence of virus infection in these patients. We report here the successful culture of blood lymphocytes of 17 patients with mycosis fungoides and 1 patient with the Sézary syndrome. The cells of 2 additional patients failed to grow after 4-6 weeks in vitro. Ultrastructural analysis of the cultures showed an abundance of HTLV-like particles in the specimens of 18 of the 20 patients. Preliminary immunohistochemical studies carried out with various antisera directed against HTLV-I and the polymerase chain reaction utilizing a probe for a conserved region of the pol gene of HTLV-I were positive on only a portion of the specimens. Although definitive characterization of this organism awaits further analysis, it seems likely that circulating lymphocytes of all patients with mycosis fungoides harbor a virus that morphologically resembles HTLV-I.

Invasive squamous cell carcinoma in a patient with epidermodysplasia verruciformis.

A patient with epidermodysplasia verruciformis died of intracranial invasion by squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). A biopsy of clinically normal skin had revealed perineural invasion by malignant keratinocytes. Because SCCs arising in patients with epidermodysplasia verruciformis may be biologically aggressive, it is best to excise them with careful control of the surgical tissue margins.

Differential post-translational modification of human type I keratins synthesized in a rabbit reticulocyte cell-free system.

The translation products synthesized in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate system, from total cellular mRNA from the human epithelial cell-line ME-180, have been examined. Keratin proteins are prominent among these translation products, and they precisely coelectrophorese in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels with keratins purified from the cells. Type-I, acidic, keratins which are acetylated in vivo, are also acetylated by the reticulocyte lysate. Examination by two-dimensional electrophoresis, of two acidic keratins known to be phosphorylated in vivo reveals that only one of these proteins is phosphorylated in the lysate system. Phosphorylation of this protein occurs after release of the completed polypeptide chain from the ribosome. The protein phosphorylated by the lysate is known to be the only ME-180 phosphokeratin modulated by cyclic AMP, reflecting in vitro the differential modification of ME-180 keratins in vivo.

DNA mediated gene transfer using simian virus 40 or polyoma virus morphological transformation as selective markers.

The stable uptake of a bacterial plasmid by mouse or rat cells has been detected following the respective co-transfection of these cells with plasmid in the presence of either Simian virus 40 (SV40) or Polyoma virus DNAs. About 60-70 percent of the resulting SV40-transformed mouse cell clones and about 40 percent of the Polyoma transformed rat cell clones contained plasmid DNA sequences.

Loss of integrated viral DNA sequences in polyomatransformed cells is associated with an active viral A function.

Rat cells transformed by polyoma virus contain, in addition to integrated viral DNA, a small number of nonintegrated viral DNA molecules. The free viral DNA originates from the integrated form through a spontaneous induction of viral DNA replication in a minority of the cell population. Its presence is under the control of the viral A locus. To determine whether the induction of free viral DNA replication was accompanied by a loss of integrated viral DNA molecules in a phenomenon similar to the "curing" of lysogenic bacteria, we selected for revertants arising in the transformed rat populations and determined whether these cells had lost integrated viral genomes. We further investigated whether the viral A function was necessary for "curing" by determining the frequency of cured cells in populations of rat cells transformed by the ts-a mutant of polyoma virus following propagation at the permissive or nonpermissive temperature. A large proportion of the revertants isolated were negative or weakly positive when assayed by immunofluorescence for polyoma T antigen and were unable to produce infectious virus upon fusion with permissive mouse cells. The T antigen-negative, virus rescue-negative clones can be retransformed by superinfection and appear to have lost a considerable proportion of integrated viral DNA sequences. Restriction enzyme analysis of the integrated viral DNA sequences shows that the parental transformed lines contain tandem repeats of integrated viral molecules, and that this tandem arrangement is generally lost in the cured derivatives. While cells transformed by wild-type virus undergo "curing" with about the same frequency at 33 degrees or 39 degrees C, cells transformed by the ts-a mutant contain a much higher frequency of cured cells after propagation at 33 degrees than at 39 degrees C. Our results indicate that in polyoma-transformed rat cells, loss of integrated viral DNA can occur at a rather high rate, producing (at least in some cases) cells which have reverted partially or completely to a normal phenotype. Loss of integrated viral DNA is never total and appears to involve an excision event. The polyoma A function (large T antigen) is necessary for such excision to occur. In the absence of a functional A gene product, the association of the viral DNA with the host DNA appears to be very stable.

T-antigen expression in proliferating and non-proliferating simian virus 40-transformed mouse cells.

Previous studies with simian virus 40-transformed mouse 3T3 cells which are temperature sensitive for the expression of the transformed phenotype (ts SV3T3 cells) have shown that T-antigen expression and viral DNA transcription are under cell cycle control. Using these ts SV3T3 cells, we studied the expression of the viral genome under proliferating and non-proliferating conditions, in the presence and absence of inhibitors of macromolecular synthesis and of the tumor promoter phorbol myristate acetate. ts SV3TE cells which are growth arrested at 39 degrees C by low serum concentration or saturation density accumulated in G1 and did not express T-antigen. When these cells were induced to proliferate, at either 32 or 39 degrees C, T-antigen synthesis preceded the entry of the cells into the S-phase and was not coupled to DNA replication. G1-arrested ts SV3T3 cells were induced to synthesize T-antigen by phorbol myristate acetate treatment, but T-antigen alone was not sufficient to induce cellular DNA synthesis. Isoleucine deprivation arrested growth of ts SV3T3 cells, but these cells, as well as normal 3T3, did not accumulate in G1 and continued to express T-antigen. The temperature-sensitive expression of the transformed phenotype in the ts SV3T3 cells does not appear to be due to a lack of transcription of specific regions of the integrated simian virus 40 genome at 39 degrees C.

Regulation of viral functions in simian virus 40-transformed cells.

To define the relationship between simian virus 40 (SV40)-specific T-antigen and cell growth and to look for regulatory mechanisms that might control T-antigen synthesis in transformed cells, we studied the expression of T-antigen and the viral transcription in SV40-transformed cells that were exponentially growing or arrested in the G1-phase of the cell cycle. We took advantage of the behavior of two lines of SV40-transformed mouse 3T3 cells (ts SV3T3), which, although transformed by wild-type SV40, are temperature sensitive for the expression of the transformed phenotype. At 32 degrees C, ts SV3T3 cells behave like standard transformants, whereas at 39 degrees C, they become arrested in G1 after reaching saturatio n density or under serum starvation. At 32 degrees C or growing at 39 degrees C, ts SV3T3 were 100% T-antigen positive and contained virus-specific mRNA. However, after G1 arrest at 39 degrees C, most of the cells became T-antigen negative. This seems to be caused by a lack of transcription of the integrated viral DNA, since these cells contain no appreciable amounts of SV40-specific RNA. Induction of proliferation in resting, T-antigen-negative ts SV3T3 cultures results in the reappearance of T-antigen a few hours before the cells enter DNA synthesis. These results suggest that transcription of the viral genome and T-antigen expression in SV40-transformed cells is subjected to a cell cycle control.

State of the viral DNA in rat cells transformed by polyma virus. II. Identification of the cells containing nonintegrated viral DNA and the effect of viral mutations.

F2408 rat cells transformed by polyoma virus contained integrated and nonintegrated viral DNA. The presence of nonintegrated viral DNA is under control of the A early viral function. Polyoma ts-a-transformed rat cells lose the free viral DNA when growth at the nonpermissive temperature (40 degrees C), but they reexpress it 1 to 3 days after they are shifted back to the permissive temperature. In contrast, rat cells transformed by a late viral mutant, ts-8, contain free viral DNA at both permissive and nonpermissive temperatures. Treatment of the transformed rat cells with mitomycin C produces a large increase in the quantity of free viral DNA and some production of infectious virus. Experiments of in situ hybridization, with 3H-labeled polyoma complementary RNA as a probe, show that only a minority (approximately 0.1%) of the transformed cells contain nonintegrated viral DNA at any given time. These results suggest that the presence of free viral DNA in polyoma-transformed rat cells is caused by a spontaneous induction of viral DNA replication, occurring with low but constant probability in the transformed cell population, and that the free viral DNA molecules originate from the integrated ones, probably through a phenomenon of excision and limited replication.

Regulation of viral transciption and tumor antigen expression in cells transformed by simian virus 40.

We have studied the expression of simian virus 40 (SV40) specific tumor antigen (T-antigen) and viral RNA in SV40-transformed mouse 3T3 cells that are temperature-sensitive for the expression of the transformed phenotype (ts SV3T3). Although transformed by wild-type SV40, ts SV3T3 cells at 32 degrees behave like standard transformants, while at 39 degrees they became arrested in G1 after reaching saturation density or under conditions of serum starvation. ts SV3T3 cells at 32 degrees or exponentially growing at 39 degrees are uniformly T-antigen positive. However, after G1 arrest at 39 degrees the majority of the cells becomes T-antigen negative. Induction of proliferation in the resting cultures results in the reappearance of T-antigen in most of the cells, concomitant with the induction of DNA synthesis. The reason for the disappearance of T-antigen from ts SV3T3 cells arrested in G1 seems to reside in a transcriptional control operating on the integrated viral DNA, since these cells contain no appreciable amounts of SV40 specific RNA. Viral RNA can be easily detected in cells growint at 32 degrees or at 39 degrees. The results suggest that transcription of the viral genome in SV40-transformed cells is cell-cycle-dependent.

State of the viral DNA in rat cells transformed by polyoma virus. I. Virus rescue and the presence of nonintergrated viral DNA molecules.

The interaction of polyoma virus with a continuous line of rat cells was studied. Infection of these cells with polyoma did not cause virus multiplication but induced transformation. Transformed cells did not produce infectious virus, but in all clones tested virus was rescuable upon fusion with permissive mouse cells. Transformed rat cells contained, in addition to integrated viral genomes, 20 to 50 copies of nonintegrated viral DNA equivalents per cell (average). "Free" viral DNA molecules were also found in cells transformed by the ts-a and ts-8 polyoma mutants and kept at 33 C. This was not due to a virus carrier state, since the number of nonintegrated viral DNA molecules was found to be unchanged when cells were grown in the presence of antipolyoma serum. Recloning of the transformed cell lines produced subclones, which also contained free viral DNA. Most of these molecules were supercoiled and were found in the muclei of the transformed cells. The nonintegrated viral DNA is infectious. Its specifici infectivity is, however, about 100-fold lower than that of polyoma DNA extracted from productively infected cells, suggesting that these molecules contain a large proportion of defectives.

Preparation of radioiodinated simian virus 40 DNA for use in DNA - DNA reassociation kinetics experiments.

A method is described for the preparation of 125I-labelled SV40 DNA. Using this method, SV40 DNA can be routinely labelled to 15 - 10(6) dpm per mug; much higher specific activities are easily obtained by minor modifications of the method. Once incorporated, the radioactive label dissociates from DNA exceedingly slowly at 4 degrees C or at 68 degrees C. Iodinated SV40 DNA is shown to be useful in the quantitation of viral nucleic acid sequences in SV40-transformed 3T3 cells by DNA - DNA reassociation kinetics.

Nucleic acid hybridization analysis of an integrated plasmid in Staphylococcus aureus.

A series of studies were performed on a Staphylococcus aureus strain thought to contain a pencillinase plasmid integrated into the host chromosome. Reassociation kinetics analysis of whole-cell deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in the presence of pure radioactive plasmid DNA revealed that plasmid-specific sequences were present at about 1 copy per chromosome equivalent as compared to 3.6 copies for the same plasmid in its autonomous state. Consistent with this observation was the finding that penicillinase activity was lower for the former strain than for the latter. It was shown further that the plasmid-specific sequences cosedimented on neutral sucrose gradients with fragments of whole-cell DNA many times larger than the plasmid. These two findings were taken as strongly confirmatory of the integrated state. Analysis of whole-cell ribonucleic acid for the presence of plasmid-specific messengers revealed that these were present in approximately the amounts expected on the basis of the DNA study.

Simian virus 40 integration sites in the genome of virus-transformed mouse cells.

To gain information on the specificity of simian virus 40 (SV40) integration in the genome of transformed cells, mouse 3T3 cells were transformed by a temperature-sensitive (ts) SV40 mutant, using high multiplicity of infection (MOI). Transformed cells were superinfected with wild-type (wt) virus at high MOI. Clones were isolated and fused with permissive BSC-1 cells to promote virus rescue. All rescued viruses were of the ts type only. When the high-MOI transformants were infected with 3H-labeled wt SV40, the amount of radioactivity associated with their nuclear fraction was found to be similar to that of 3T3 cells. 3T3 cells were then transformed by ts SV40 at low MOI and superinfected by wt virus at high MOI. Upon fusion with BSC-1 cells, most clones produced both ts and wt virus. These results suggest that the number of stable SV40 integration sites in the 3T3 genome is limited, since they can be saturated by transformation at high MOI. When the MOI is low, the sites are not saturated and a subsequent infection can lead to integration.