Inhibition of histamine synthesis by glycyrrhetinic acid in mast cells cocultured with Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts.

The effect of glycyrrhetinic acid (18-O-beta-glycyrrhetinic acid, GA) on histamine metabolism was investigated in cultured mast cells (CMCs) cocultured with Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts. GA strongly inhibited histamine synthesis in the cocultured CMCs. Since 50 microM GA inhibited about 80% of histidine decarboxylase (HDC) activity, the inhibitory activity of GA for histamine synthesis was considered to be derived from the inhibition of HDC activity. The number of berberine-sulfate-positive cells also decreased in the presence of GA, which indicated that maturation of CMCs was inhibited by GA. Furthermore, we examined the effect of GA on the mRNA expression of novel protein kinase C delta (nPKC delta), a major isoform of CMCs, by northern blot analysis. The expression of nPKC delta mRNA in the presence of GA was significantly lower than in the absence of GA. These results suggest the possibility that the inhibition of histamine synthesis by GA is regulated by nPKC delta.

Age-dependent amelioration of hypoplastic anemia in Ws/Ws rats with a small deletion at the kinase domain of c-kit.

The white-spotting (Ws) locus of rats represents a 12-base deletion of the c-kit receptor tyrosine kinase. Homozygous Ws/Ws rats are deficient in melanocytes, mast cells, and erythrocytes. Although mice possessing two mutant alleles at the c-kit (W) locus, such as mice of W/Wv genotype, show severe anemia even in adult age, the anemia of Ws/Ws rats remarkably ameliorated with age. We investigated the mechanism of the age-dependent amelioration. Bone marrow cells of Ws/Ws rats did not form macroscopic colonies in the spleen of irradiated rats, and the concentration of burst-forming unit-erythroid in the marrow of Ws/Ws rats was comparable with that of +/+ rats. Therefore, the increase in morphologically identifiable erythroid precursors in the marrow of Ws/Ws rats was attributed to the increased concentration of colony-forming unit-erythroid (CFU-E). Furthermore, the increase in CFU-E appeared to result from the increased concentration of erythropoietin (EPO). Because injections of relatively low doses of EPO cured the slight anemia that remained in adult Ws/Ws rats, CFU-E and/or its immediate precursors of Ws/Ws rats appeared to be more sensitive to EPO than those of W/Wv mice, in which a huge dose of EPO was necessary to cure the anemia.

Deficient differentiation of mast cells in the skin of mi/mi mice. Usefulness of in situ hybridization for evaluation of mast cell phenotype.

The staining property of skin mast cells changed from Alcian blue+/berberine sulfate- to Alcian blue+/berberine sulfate+ in the skin of normal (+/+) and Wv/Wv mice. In contrast, this change did not occur in the skin of mi/mi mice. Heparin content and histamine content per a mi/mi skin mast cell were estimated to be 34% and 18% those of a +/+ skin mast cell, respectively. The low heparin content of mi/mi skin mast cells seemed to be consistent with the Alcian blue+/berberine sulfate- staining property. Expression of genes encoding mast cell-specific proteolytic enzymes was examined by Northern blotting and in situ hybridization. Messenger RNA of mast cell carboxypeptidase A was expressed most of all by +/+, Wv/Wv, and mi/mi skin mast cells, but mRNA of mouse mast cell protease (MMCP)-6 was expressed by approximately a half of +/+ and Wv/Wv skin mast cells and by only 3% of mi/mi skin mast cells. A significant amount of MMCP-2 mRNA was not expressed in the skin of all +/+, Wv/Wv and mi/mi mice. This shows the presence of at least three phenotypes in skin mast cells of mice: berberine sulfate+/MMCP-6+, berberine sulfate+/MMCP-6-, and berberine sulfate-/MMCP-6-. The in situ hybridization of mRNA of mast cell-specific proteolytic enzymes seemed to be useful to describe abnormalities of mast cell differentiation in the skin of mi/mi mice.

Supernormal histamine release and normal cytotoxic activity of beige (Chédiak-Higashi syndrome) rat mast cells with giant granules.

The beige rat is an animal model of the Chédiak-Higashi syndrome. Since mast cells can be easily purified from the peritoneal cavity of rats, we investigated the function of beige rat mast cells with giant granules by using quantitative methods. Beige and normal rat mast cells were sensitized with anti-dinitrophenol (DNP) IgE antibodies and stimulated by DNP conjugated with human serum albumin. The proportion of histamine released to total histamine was significantly greater in beige rat mast cells than in normal rat mast cells. Since the supernormal histamine release of beige rat mast cells was observed after treatment with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate, calcium ionophore A23187, substance P or compound 48/80, it appeared to be attributable to the enlargement in granules in beige rat mast cells. Spontaneous cytotoxic activity of mast cells was assayed by incubating purified mast cells with 51Cr-labelled WEHI-164 cells. Both beige and normal rat mast cells showed significant cytotoxic activity, but no significant difference was detectable between beige and normal rat mast cells. Even after IgE-mediated stimulation, no significant difference in cytotoxic activity was detectable between beige and normal rat mast cells either. Giant granules of beige rat mast cells did not appear to influence the cytotoxic activity of mast cells.

The neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium: a selective cytostatic agent in small-cell lung cancer cell lines with neuroendocrine properties.

BACKGROUND: Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a common malignancy that is usually fatal, since it metastasizes and recurs even after aggressive chemotherapy. While the cellular origin of this cancer is not well established, the cells of certain tumors exhibit neuroendocrine markers, including L-dopa decarboxylase. PURPOSE: We designed in vitro and in vivo studies to investigate whether the neuroendocrine features in classic SCLC cell lines were sufficient to make them sensitive to 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP+), a known neurotoxin that destroys nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. METHODS: Both classic SCLC cell lines (NCI-H345, NCI-H510, NCI-H187, and NCI-H146) and variant SCLC cell lines (NCI-H417, NCI-H82, NCI-H446, and NCI-H524) were exposed to MPP+ (0-512 microM) for 3 days. Inhibition of DNA synthesis was determined by [3H]thymidine incorporation assays. In a related experiment, MPP+ was removed from the classic cell line culture, and the incorporation of [3H]thymidine was determined. In the in vivo study, male athymic nude mice received subcutaneous injections of 0.5 mL tumor cells with matrigel for 10 days to enhance tumor growth, followed by MPP+ at doses of 100-400 micrograms/d given intraperitoneally for 2 days. RESULTS: All four classic SCLC cell lines showed great sensitivity to MPP+, with detachment from laminin substrates and inhibition of DNA synthesis. MPP+ interfered with [3H]thymidine incorporation and, thus, with DNA synthesis in classic SCLC cell lines at low doses (median +/- SD, 12 +/- 4 microM), whereas much higher doses (median, > 512 microM) were required to inhibit [3H]thymidine incorporation in the variant lines. Treated cells excluded trypan blue dye, showing that inhibition of DNA synthesis was not due to cytotoxicity, and the cells incorporated [3H]thymidine when MPP+ was removed from the culture medium, demonstrating that the inhibition was reversible. MPP+ inhibited the growth of the classic NCI-H187 and variant NCI-H417 cell lines implanted in nude mice. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that MPP+ differentially interferes with DNA synthesis in SCLC cell lines in vitro; the selective inhibitory effect on classic cell lines suggests that the neuroendocrine properties expressed by classic SCLC cells may be responsible for the differential effect. IMPLICATIONS: MPP+ exerts a cytostatic effect on these cell lines, and the differential sensitivity observed in vitro is maintained in vivo, suggesting that MPP+ or other pyridinium compounds may be of therapeutic value in SCLC.

BALB/3T3 fibroblast-conditioned medium attracts cultured mast cells derived from W/W but not from mi/mi mutant mice, both of which are deficient in mast cells.

Proliferation of murine mast cells is induced by both T-cell-derived and fibroblast-derived growth factors. Because the most potent T-cell-derived mast cell growth factor, interleukin-3, promotes the migration of mast cells, we investigated whether fibroblast-derived growth factors had the chemoattractive activity as well. Conditioned medium (CM) of BALB/3T3 fibroblasts induced the migration of cultured mast cells (CMC) derived from normal (+/+) mice. BALB/3T3-CM contained the mast cell growth factor (MGF)/stem cell factor (SCF)/kit ligand (KL), which is the ligand for the receptor encoded by the W (c-kit) gene. CMC derived from the spleen of W/W mice lack the extracellular domain of the W (c-kit) receptor, and W/W CMC did not proliferate in response to BALB/3T3-CM. However, W/W CMC did migrate normally toward BALB/3T3-CM and, moreover, the antibody to the extracellular domain of the W (c-kit) receptor did not inhibit the chemoattractive activity of +/+ CMC toward BALB/3T3-CM. These results indicated that MGF/SCF/KL itself did not represent the major chemoattractive activity. On the other hand, BALB/3T3-CM induced neither proliferation nor migration of CMC derived from mi/mi mice. Both W/W and mi/mi mice are deficient in mast cells, but the present results suggest that the mechanism of the abnormality is different between W/W and mi/mi mice.

Low c-kit expression of cultured mast cells of mi/mi genotype may be involved in their defective responses to fibroblasts that express the ligand for c-kit.

Mutant mice of mi/mi genotype are osteopetrotic and deficient in tissue mast cells due to a defect in osteoclasts and mast cells. In an effort to further understand the mechanisms behind why mi/mi mouse-derived cultured mast cells (mi/mi-CMC) responded to interleukin-3 (IL-3), but not to the proliferative stimuli presented by fibroblasts, mi/mi-CMC and congenic normal (+/+) mouse-derived CMC (+/+-CMC), both of which expressed the phenotypic characteristics of immature mast cells, were cocultured with Swiss albino/3T3 fibroblasts in a medium containing IL-3. In the in vitro CMC/fibroblast coculture, mi/mi-CMC did not acquire the phenotypes of connective tissue-type mast cells (CTMC), while +/+-CMC did. In addition, attachment of mi/mi-CMC to the fibroblasts was found to be significantly lower than that of +/+-CMC. Because the interaction of c-kit product with its ligand (stem cell factor [SCF]) is known to play an important role not only in proliferation and differentiation of mast cells but also in attachment of CMC to fibroblasts, the expression and function of c-kit were investigated in mi/mi-CMC and +/+-CMC. Recombinant rat SCF (rrSCF164) induced a dose-dependent proliferation of +/+-CMC. Also, rrSCF164 induced +/+-CMC to acquire the phenotypes of CTMC in the medium containing IL-3. By contrast, rrSCF164 did not stimulate the proliferation of mi/mi-CMC nor induce a phenotypic change of the cells from immature mast cells to mature, CTMC-like mast cells. Immunoblotting with antiphosphotyrosine antibody showed that rrSCF164 induced considerable tyrosine phosphorylation of 145- to 165-Kd protein, the product of c-kit, in +/+-CMC, whereas tyrosine phosphorylation of the protein was barely detectable in mi/mi-CMC. Northern blot and flow cytometry analyses showed that mi/mi-CMC expressed much less c-kit at both protein and message levels than +/+-CMC. Further, mi/mi-CMC were found to differ from +/+-CMC in the expression of mouse mast cell protease-6 (MMCP-6) and MMCP-2 messenger RNA transcripts. These results suggest that the gene product of the mi locus may be important in regulating the expression of gene products such as c-kit, and that mast cell deficiency of mi/mi mice appears to be due, at least in part, to impaired signaling through the c-kit receptor because of the low c-kit expression.

Nerve growth factor induces development of connective tissue-type mast cells in vitro from murine bone marrow cells.

The effect of nerve growth factor (NGF) on proliferation/differentiation of mast cells was investigated in vitro. Although NGF alone neither supported colony formation of bone marrow-derived cultured mast cells (BMCMC) nor induced development of mast cell colonies from nonadherent bone marrow cells (NBMC), addition of NGF to the suboptimal dose of interleukin 3 (IL-3) significantly increased the numbers of mast cell colonies produced by BMCMC or NBMC in methylcellulose. When stimulated by IL-3 alone, cells in mast cell colonies were not stained by berberine sulfate, a fluorescent dye. In contrast, mast cells developing in methylcellulose cultures obtaining both IL-3 and NGF were stained by berberine sulfate. The fluorescence was abolished by the treatment of heparinase but not of chondroitinase ABC, suggesting that mast cells stimulated by IL-3 and NGF produced and stored heparin proteoglycan. The histamine content of BMCMC maintained by IL-3 was also increased by addition of NGF. Since BMCMC showed mucosal mast cell-like phenotype, NGF appeared to induce the phenotypic change to connective tissue-type mast cells (CTMC). In the culture containing BMCMC, 3T3 fibroblasts, and IL-3, the phenotypic change of BMCMC to CTMC was observed as well. Since NGF was detected in this coculture and since addition of anti-NGF monoclonal antibody suppressed the phenotypic change, NGF produced by fibroblasts appeared to induce the phenotypic change. Neither BMCMC alone nor IL-3 alone increased the concentration of NGF. Therefore, there is a possibility that BMCMC stimulated by IL-3 may induce the production and/or release of NGF by fibroblasts.

Effects of culture matrix on differentiation of murine mast cells.

The effects of culture matrix (agar, collagen, and methylcellulose) on differentiation of mast cells were investigated. Because berberine sulfate-positive colonies in agar were composed of macrophages but not of mast cells, the naphthol AS-D chloroacetate esterase reaction was used to identify mast-cell colonies. When bone marrow cells of WBB6F1 mice were cultured with conditioned media containing interleukin 3 (IL-3), numbers of mast-cell colonies were greater in collagen cultures than in agar and methylcellulose cultures. Electron microscopic examination revealed that mast cells developing in collagen and agar cultures were more mature than those developing in methylcellulose cultures. However, when bone marrow-derived cultured mast cells or purified peritoneal mast cells were plated, the efficiency of colony formation and size of colonies were comparable among agar, collagen, and methylcellulose cultures. Therefore, all three matrices tested had similar effects on the proliferation of mast cells. Collagen appeared to be suitable for differentiation of bone-marrow precursors and their maturation. Agar appeared to be suitable only for maturation.

[Clinical significance of manganese superoxide dismutase in ovarian carcinoma].

A monoclonal antibody to manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) was measured in patients with epithelial ovarian carcinomas. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay has been developed to detect serum Mn-SOD. With this assay, only 0.9% of the 207 healthy females tested had more than 130 ng per milliliter of serum Mn-SOD. In contrast, 37 of 62 patients (59.7%) with epithelial ovarian carcinomas showed high levels of Mn-SOD. The serum Mn-SOD increased according to the clinical stage and declined to reflect the effects of therapy. Compared with CA-125, Mn-SOD showed a less frequent false positive rate (10%) in benign gynecological diseases. The determination of Mn-SOD levels proved to be a clinically useful marker for monitoring the response to treatment and to early detection of the recurrence of epithelial ovarian carcinomas.

Effects of synthetic peptides and protease inhibitors on the interaction of a human ovarian cancer cell line (NIH:OVCAR-3) with a reconstituted basement membrane (Matrigel).

We have investigated the adhesive properties and invasiveness of cells of the human ovarian carcinoma line, NIH:OVCAR-3, in vitro. OVCAR-3 cells exhibited a similar rate of adhesion to all substrates tested including laminin, fibronectin, and collagens I and IV. The synthetic peptide YIGSR-NH2, which corresponds to an attachment site in laminin, inhibited the adhesion of the cells to laminin, but not to fibronectin. In contrast, a GRGDS-NH2 peptide blocked adhesion to fibronectin but not to laminin. OVCAR-3 cells invaded and formed branched colonies on Matrigel. Colony formation was retarded by both YIGSR-NH2 and GRGDS-NH2 peptides. Serine protease inhibitors and human recombinant TIMP, the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteases, inhibited ovarian tumor cell invasion while a synthetic collagenase IV inhibitor (SC-44463) had no effect. These studies suggest that metalloproteases other than collagenase IV may be important for the invasive activity of ovarian cancer cells. It is possible that synthetic peptides with antiadhesive cellular activity and certain antiproteases could be used to control the progressive colonization and invasion of peritoneal surfaces by malignant ovarian cancer cells.

Reconstituted basement membrane (matrigel) and laminin can enhance the tumorigenicity and the drug resistance of small cell lung cancer cell lines.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a fatal malignancy due to its propensity to metastasize widely and to reoccur after chemotherapy in a drug-resistant form. While most SCLC cell lines are anchorage independent for growth, laminin induced the attachment of five of six SCLC cell lines tested (NCI-N417, NCI-H345, NCI-H146, NCI-H187, NCI-H510, and NCI-H209). NCI-N417 SCLC cells adopted a flattened morphology on laminin, and a classic SCLC cell line (NCI-H345) demonstrated a neuron-like appearance while the other SCLC cell lines except NCI-H187 cells, attached but did not spread. Adhesion to laminin was associated with increased resistance to several cytotoxic drugs. Matrigel, an extract of basement membrane proteins, greatly accelerated tumor growth when coinjected with SCLC cells in athymic mice. A synthetic peptide from the B1 chain of laminin, cyclic-YIGSR (Tyr-Ile-Gly-Ser-Arg), inhibited laminin-induced SCLC cell adhesion and migration in vitro and reduced the size of the tumors they formed when coinjected with matrigel and YIGSR. These results suggest that the interaction of SCLC cells with laminin and possibly with other basement membrane proteins can enhance their tumorigenicity and drug resistance.

A case-control study of uterine endometrial cancer in Japanese and Finn.

The difference between the endometrial cancer incidence in Japanese and Finnish women (lower and higher incidence, respectively), was evaluated on the basis of data from cases of endometrial cancer, cervical cancer and benign gynecological disease in both countries. The comparison took into account the various personal and clinical characteristics of these cases. In endometrial cancer, Japanese and Finnish women had similar characteristics except for the age at first delivery, the age at last delivery and obesity. However, obesity in postmenopausal women in the two countries was similar. Common factors in the two countries included few pregnancies and deliveries, nullipara and single women. In cervical cancer, no difference between the characteristics of Japanese and Finnish women was found except that Japanese women had a higher frequency of pregnancy. In benign diseases, characteristics were similar to those of endometrial cancer in Finnish women, but this was not the case in Japanese women. These facts may indicate the number of Finnish women with endometrial cancer risk factors is greater than the number of Japanese women with these risk factors. This was thought to account for the difference in the incidence of endometrial cancer.

Mechanism of mast cell deficiency in mutant mice of mi/mi genotype: an analysis by co-culture of mast cells and fibroblasts.

Mutant mice of mi/mi genotype are osteopetrotic and are deficient in mast cells. The osteopetrosis of mi/mi mice can be cured by bone marrow transplantation from congenic normal (+/+) mice, and therefore, the cause of the osteopetrosis is attributed to a defect of osteoclasts. Since both osteoclasts and mast cells are the progeny of multipotential hematopoietic stem cells, we examined whether mast cells were defective in mi/mi mice. In spite of the deficiency of mast cells in tissues of mi/mi mice, mast cells did develop when spleen cells of mi/mi mice were cultured with pokeweed mitogen-stimulated spleen cell conditioned medium (PWM-SCM). The proliferative response of cultured mast cells (CMC) derived from mi/mi mice to PWM-SCM was comparable with that of CMC from +/+ mice. In contrast, when CMC were co-cultured with the NIH/3T3 fibroblast cell line in culture medium lacking PWM-SCM, only +/+ CMC entered into the S phase of the cell cycle and were maintained; mi/mi CMC gradually disappeared. Moreover, fibroblasts derived from the skin of mi/mi mice normally supported the proliferation of +/+ CMC. Thus, the mast cell deficiency of mi/mi mice appears to be due to the inability of mi/mi mast cells to respond to the proliferative stimulus presented by fibroblasts.

Identification of an amino acid sequence from the laminin A chain that stimulates metastasis and collagenase IV production.

Tumor cells attach, degrade, and migrate through basement membranes as they metastasize. Laminin, a major glycoprotein of basement membranes, promotes the metastatic activity of tumor cells by stimulating the attachment and migration of the cells and their secretion of collagenase IV. We have identified a synthetic peptide of 19 amino acids (Cys-Ser-Arg-Ala-Arg-Lys-Gln-Ala-Ala-Ser-Ile-Lys-Val-Ala-Val-Ser-Ala-Asp -Arg) from the sequence of the A chain of laminin that increases experimental metastases of the lungs by murine melanoma cells. The peptide is active when injected either intravenously or intraperitoneally. The peptide increased collagenase IV activity, a key enzyme in the breakdown of basement membranes, to the same extent as laminin. This peptide represents an active site on laminin for promotion of the metastatic phenotype and generates a probe for studying the regulation of malignant activities.

Congenital absence of the portal vein.

A 14-year-old girl presented at the hospital after discovering an abdominal tumor. CT scan and ultrasonography indicated a hepatic tumor and also revealed the absence of the portal vein. The patient was admitted to excise the hepatic tumor. It was found that the venous blood from the small intestines flowed into the left renal vein and then emptied directly into the inferior vena cava. A tumor extending from the right lobe through the middle portion of the liver was excised. The postoperative course was satisfactory and marked regeneration of the residual hepatic tissue was observed. Also the blood level of ammonia in the superior mesenteric vein was low, approximately 120 micrograms/dl, compared to the normal value of 350 micrograms/dl in the portal vein. This low blood level may indicate the presence of some homeostatic control mechanism.

[Fundamental studies on the introduction of chemotherapy of uterine cervical carcinoma--tissue level of 5-FU after oral administration].

In Japan, oral 5-FU has been popularly used as an adjuvant chemotherapy to surgical operation mainly gastrointestinal carcinomas. This drug is generally administered consecutively at a low dose over a long term, because of its distribution at high levels in the upper gastrointestinal organs after oral administration. The authors have attempted to introduce the oral administration of 5-FU as an adjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of uterine cervical carcinoma, and the results of a preliminary trial are reported in this paper; that is, the 5-FU level in target organs was measured after oral administration of 5-FU in 44 cases of uterine cervical carcinoma. Judging from the 5-FU level in organs removed about 2 hours after preoperative administration of 5-FU at 300 mg, the distribution of the drug to bilateral lymph nodes and the uterine cervix was good, and when calculated on the basis of the trace as 0, the average tissue level was 0.0432 microgram/g in the left lymph node, 0.0104 microgram/g in the right lymph node and 0.0190 microgram/g in the uterine cervix. From the above, it was concluded that, in the application of oral 5-FU as an adjuvant chemotherapy to treatment of uterine cervical carcinoma, a different manner application procedure should be established from that used to treat gastrointestinal carcinoma; that is, 5-FU should be administered intermittently at a moderate dose.

[Multiple primary cancer and radiation-induced cancer of the uterine].

This report is concerned with multiple primary cancers developing in invasive uterine cancer. Second primary tumors were recorded 27 women with a total of 30 non-uterine cancer (exception of radiation-induced cancer). 17 patients of radiation-induced neoplasm were observed (Rectal cancer 4, soft part sarcoma 4, cancer of urinary bladder 3, bone tumor 3, uterine cancer 2 and cancer of Vulva 1). One case is 4 lesions (corpus, sigma, thymoma and stomach), 2 cases are 3 lesions (uterine cervix, stomach and maxillary sinus: uterine cervix, thyroidal gland and radiation-induced soft part sarcoma). Only 5 of these 17 patients were known irradiated dose (50 Gy approximately 55 Gy), however others unknown. The mean latent periods of 17 cases of radiation induced neoplasms are 19.4 years. 16 patients of late second cancers of the cervix appearing from 11 to 36 years (average 19.5 years) after initial radiotherapy were recorded.

[Late local recurrence of cervical cancer after initial treatment].

Late local recurrence of cervical cancer more than 10 years after successful initial treatment is very rare. We now present 17 patients with late local recurrence. Only one patient had undergone primary surgery alone; the other 16 patients had received various types of radiotherapy. All 17 patients received radiotherapy as the second treatment. Local control was achieved in 9 patients, 4 of these survived for more than 5 years after the second treatment. Longterm follow-up for more than 10 years is important for the early detection of late local recurrence.