A critical role of redox state in determining HL-60 cell granulocytic differentiation and apoptosis via involvement of PKC and NF-kappaB.

The modifications of intracellular redox balance leads to important cellular changes in many cell types. Here, a causal relationship among redox state, granulocytic differentiation induced by all-trans retinoic acid (RA) or dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP) and apoptosis have been studied in the human acute promyelocytic leukaemia HL-60 cells. The modulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species levels by D: , L: -buthionine-(S, R) sulfoximide (BSO), and N: -acetyl-L: -cysteine (NAC) caused inducer- and time-dependent or stage-specific effects on HL-60 cell growth inhibition, differentiation and subsequent apoptosis. The presence of BSO during the commitment stage suppressed RA-but not dbcAMP-mediated differentiation, while NAC inhibited both. BSO alone and in combination with RA or dbcAMP-induced apoptosis, which was prevented by NAC in dbcAMP-but not in RA-treated cells. Using protein kinase C inhibitor, calphostin C, cross-talk effects between the intracellular redox state and PKC signalling was identified by demonstrating inducer-dependent changes in cell differentiation or apoptosis, which were associated with the changes in DNA-NF-kappaB binding activity. These observations suggest a critical role of redox state in determining HL-60 cell behaviour and provide new insights into the complex effects of redox perturbations on the intracellular signalling network via the involvement of PKC and NF-kappaB.

Novel human testis-specific histone H2B encoded by the interrupted gene on the X chromosome.

Testis-specific histones are synthesized and accumulated at specific stages of mammalian spermatogenesis. Their proposed functions range from facilitation of the replacement of somatic histones by protamines to epigenetic control of gene transcription. Several testis histone variants were characterized in mouse and rat; however, few are known in humans. Here we report the identification and characterization of a novel human histone 2B gene (TH2B-175) located at Xq22.2, which encodes a highly divergent H2B variant. The TH2B-175 gene contains two introns and is transcribed exclusively in testis, where the spliced polyadenylated mRNA was detected. Genomic PCR, Southern blot analysis, and BLAST-based searches indicate that TH2B-175 evolved in the primate lineage or has been lost in rodents. In transfected Chinese hamster cells, GFP-tagged TH2B-175 targeted to large fluorescent bodies that partially colocalize with the interstitial telomeric blocks. Therefore, TH2B-175 may have telomere-associated functions and participate in the telomere-binding complex in the human sperm [1].

[Surgical approach to lung tuberculosis]. / Plauciu tuberkuliozes chirurginio gydymo principai.

The article describes treatment results of 1228 patients operated on because of different forms of pulmonary tuberculosis. According to spreading of tuberculosis and developed complications in spite of the medicamental treatment the patients were divided in to two clinical groups. The first group included 417 patients with direct indications for surgery. The second group included 811 patients with complications of pulmonary tuberculosis (with spontaneous pneumothorax - 237, spontaneous pyopneumothorax - 170, tuberculous pleural empyema - 271, pulmonary hemorrhage - 105, with pulmonary reoperations - 28). The results of radical and paliative operations were as follows: 1176 (95.8%) patients recovered, and 52 patients (4.2%) died. CONCLUSION. When therapical treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis is ineffective, especially in drug resistant cases, the surgical treatment is indicated.

Identification of apoptotic tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins after etoposide or retinoic acid treatment.

A main shortcoming of using HL-60 cells as a model of granulocyte-macrophage differentiation is that some cells in the differentiating population undergo apoptosis. To address this issue, we have identified which tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins are involved in apoptosis and differentiation, respectively. HL-60 cells were induced specifically to undergo apoptosis with 68 microM etoposide, and to undergo granulocytic differentiation with 1 microM retinoic acid (RA). The corresponding two-dimensional electrophoretic maps of tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins from treated cells were compared. In the 8 h etoposide-treated HL-60 cell population, 83% of the cells were apoptotic. In the 120 h RA-treated cells, 50% of the cells were apoptotic. Eighteen cytosolic and nuclear tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins were found in both the 8 h etoposide- and the 120 h RA-treated cells, but not in the proliferating HL-60 cell population. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry analyses suggested that some of the proteins may be involved in signal transduction pathways (NFkappaB, GTP-binding protein, protein disulfide isomerase, Cyclophilin A), others in cell transcriptional and translational control (hnRNP H, hnRNP L, Hsp60, Hp1, Hcc-1, 26S proteasome beta-subunit, ATP synthase beta-chain), and a third group in cell cytoskeleton organization and receptor cycling (profilin, caveolin-1). An understanding of signal transduction in apoptosis initiation by screening for tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins associated with apoptosis may provide new targets for the treatment of leukemia.

Alterations in protein expression in HL-60 cells during etoposide-induced apoptosis modulated by the caspase inhibitor ZVAD.fmk.

DNA topoisomerase inhibitors induce a specific signaling cascade that promotes an active apoptotic caspase-dependent cell death process. However, little is known about the initial signals elicited by these agents. In the present study, we compared apoptosis in HL-60 cells treated either with the chemotherapeutic drug etoposide (VP16) alone or combined with the broad caspase inhibitor ZVAD.fmk. Apoptosis was assessed by changes in cell morphology and agarose gel electrophoresis of extracted cell DNA. We found that ZVAD.fmk prevents VP16-induced DNA fragmentation and the appearance of an increased number of apoptotic cells in the culture. We also compared the effects of etoposide alone or together with the pan-caspase inhibitor ZVAD.fmk on proliferating cell nuclear antigen, Bcl-2, and actin expression in human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. In addition, we screened for proteins that were initially upregulated in a caspase-dependent manner. Indeed, some proteins were induced in the cytoplasm and subsequently accumulated in the nuclei after etoposide treatment. This process was slightly inhibited by the caspase inhibitor ZVAD.fmk. We suggest that these proteins are associated with the induction of specific signaling cascades that characterize the apoptotic cell death process.

Translocation of transcription regulators into the nucleus during granulocyte commitment of HL-60 cells.

Expression of transcription factors required for lineage commitment of differentiating cells (C/EBPbeta and c-Myb) and for survival of differentiated cells (STATs and NFkappaB) was examined in the HL-60 cell line. Differentiation was induced by treating the cells with retinoic acid. c-Myb expression in the nucleus restored at the precommitment stage (18 h) what concurred with the highest nuclear level of C/EBPbeta, which suggests a combinatorial interaction of these transcription factors in the granulocytic signalling pathway. Expression of STAT5a and STAT5b varied during differentiation, whereas no significant changes were seen in STAT3 levels. Increased cytosolic level of NFkappaB p65 during precommitment and commitment stages of granulocytic differentiation coincided with augmentation of the STAT5a protein level, which could be evidence of their possible cooperation during granulocytic-lineage commitment of HL-60 cells. Our results suggest that the studied transcription factors cooperatively promote signalling in the differentiating promyelocytic HL-60 cell line in response to retinoic acid.

Characterization of human alpha-dystrobrevin isoforms in HL-60 human promyelocytic leukemia cells undergoing granulocytic differentiation.

The biochemical properties and spatial localization of the protein alpha-dystrobrevin and other isoforms were investigated in cells of the human promyelocytic leukemia line HL-60 granulocytic differentiation as induced by retinoic acid (RA). Alpha-dystrobrevin was detected both in the cytosol and the nuclei of these cells, and a short isoform (gamma-dystrobrevin) was modified by tyrosine phosphorylation soon after the onset of the RA-triggered differentiation. Varying patterns of distribution of alpha-dystrobrevin and its isoforms could be discerned in HL-60 promyelocytes, RA-differentiated mature granulocytes, and human neutrophils. Moreover, the gamma-dystrobrevin isoform was found in association with actin and myosin light chain. The results provide new information about potential involvement of alpha-dystrobrevin and its splice isoforms in signal transduction in myeloid cells during induction of granulocytic differentiation and/or at the commitment stage of differentiation or phagocytic cells.

Human testis/sperm-specific histone H2B (hTSH2B). Molecular cloning and characterization.

Human sperm, unlike the sperm of other mammals, contain replacement histones with unknown biological functions. Here, we report the identification of the novel human gene coding for a testis/sperm-specific histone H2B (hTSH2B). This variant histone is 85% homologous to somatic H2B and has over 93% homology with the testis H2B of rodents. Using genomic PCR, two genetic alleles of hTSH2B were found in the human population. The hTSH2B gene is transcribed exclusively in testis, and the corresponding protein is also present in mature sperm. We expressed recombinant hTSH2B and identified this protein with a particular H2B subtype expressed in vivo. The subnuclear distribution of H2B variants in sperm was determined using biochemical fractionation and immunoblotting. The H2B variant associated with telomere-binding activity () was solubilized by Triton X-100 or micrococcal nuclease extraction, whereas hTSH2B was relatively tightly bound in nuclei. Immunofluorescence showed that hTSH2B was concentrated in spots located at the basal nuclear area of a subpopulation (20% of cells) of mature sperm. This fact may be of particular importance, because the hTSH2B "positive" and "negative" sperm cells may undergo significantly different decondensation processes following fertilization.

[The surgical treatment of lung tuberculosis]. / Plauciu tuberkuliozes chirurginis gydymas.

UNLABELLED: The article informs about the treatment results of 1036 patients operated on because of different forms of pulmonary tuberculosis. According to spreading of tuberculosis and developed complications in spite of the medicamentical treatment the patients were divided into two clinical groups. The first group included 387 patients with direct and relative indications for surgery. The second group included 649 patients with complications of pulmonary tuberculosis, and 167 new diagnosed cases were documented among them (with spontaneous pneumothorax - 180, spontaneous pyopneumothorax - 117, tuberculous pleural empyema - 225, pulmonary hemorrhage - 101, with pulmonary reoperations - 26). The results of radical and paliative operations were as follows: 991 (95.6%) patients recovered, 45 patients (4.4%) died. CONCLUSION: When the therapeutical treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis is ineffective, especially in drug-resistant cases, the surgical treatment is indicated.