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Nature 378, 303–306 (1995) IN the legend to Fig. 4 of this Letter, the designations for rf2 and rf3 were confused: bold hatching represents rf2 and light hatching rf3.

We have examined the effect of polyoma virus infection of primary mouse embryo cells on the tyrosyl kinase activity associated with the cellular src gene product, pp60c-src. The results of our studies demonstrate that infection of mouse cells with wild-type polyoma virus or viral mutants capable of transforming rodent cells in culture and inducing tumors in animals results in the stimulation of pp60c-src tyrosyl kinase activity. The level of pp60c-src kinase stimulation in infected cells was found to be proportional to both the oncogenic potential of the virus strain used for infection and the characteristic phenotype of rodent cells transformed by the various strains of polyoma virus. Stimulation of pp60c-src kinase activity was not observed in mouse cells infected with transformation-defective strains of polyoma virus. In examining the kinetics of pp60c-src kinase stimulation in mouse cells at various times following wild-type polyoma virus infection, we found that the level of pp60c-src kinase activity correlated directly with the synthesis of polyoma virus-encoded tumor antigens. By comparing wild-type polyoma virus with other viral mutants in these experiments, we conclude that the stimulation of pp60c-src kinase activity in mouse cells following polyoma virus infection is associated with the synthesis of middle tumor antigen.

We have compared the level of phosphotyrosyl phosphatase activity in lysates from normal human colon mucosal cells and human colon carcinoma cells and analyzed the effect of incubating these cells with sodium orthovanadate, an inhibitor of phosphotyrosyl phosphatase activity, on the relative abundance of acid-stable phosphotyrosine and on in vitro protein kinase activity of pp60c-src. Additionally, we compared the effect of lysing these cells in buffer containing only nonionic detergents with RIPA buffer, which contains both sodium dodecyl sulfate and deoxycholate, on the in vitro kinase activity of pp60c-src. Our results show that the level of detectable phosphotyrosyl phosphatase activity in lysates derived from normal colon cells and colon carcinoma cells is very similar. Additionally, the abundance of acid-stable phosphotyrosine in these cells cultured in the absence or presence of vanadate is not significantly different. However, incubation of these cells with vanadate significantly stimulates the activity of pp60c-src derived from the normal colon cells in immune-complex kinase assays, while having no detectable effect on the activity of pp60c-src from the colon tumor cells. The in vitro protein kinase activity of pp60c-src derived from RIPA buffer lysates of colon carcinoma cells was found to be elevated five- to sevenfold when compared with pp60c-src from these same cells lysed in buffer containing only Nonidet-P 40 as a detergent. The type of lysis buffer did not effect the activity of pp60c-src from normal colon mucosal cells. These results provide additional evidence that the activity of pp60c-src may be regulated differently in colon carcinoma and normal colon mucosal cells.

We have found that lysis of mouse embryo cells infected with the polyomavirus host range transformation-defective (hr-t) mutant NG59 under gentle conditions that avoid ionic detergents results in detectable NG59-encoded middle tumor antigen (MTAg) associated with pp60c-src. This MTAg-pp60c-src complex could be immunoprecipitated from NG59-infected cell lysates by either sera from animals bearing polyomavirus-induced tumors or by monoclonal antibodies directed against MTAg. Immune complex kinase assays revealed that, whereas the pp60c-src associated with NG59 MTAg possessed tyrosyl kinase activity, the NG59 MTAg in this complex was not phosphorylated in these in vitro reactions. These results demonstrate that the point insertion mutation found in this transformation-deficient strain of polyomavirus encodes MTAg molecules capable of associating with pp60c-src and defines a limited region within MTAg which appears to be critical for stable MTAg-pp60c-src interactions.

A method was developed which enabled the efficient recovery of polyoma uncoating intermediates from the nuclei of infected cells at early times after infection (15 min to 12 h). Cells were infected with radiolabeled virus and lysed with the detergent Nonidet P-40. The nuclei were then collected and sonicated, and the products were analyzed on sucrose gradients. The uncoating intermediate sedimented at 190S and was a viral DNA-protein complex closely associated with a structure of host origin. The host material associated with the 190S uncoating intermediate was determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and visualized by electron microscopy. The amount of 190S uncoating intermediate found in the nucleus increased with time after infection. The viral DNA was predominantly for I. All of the viral proteins were present in the 190S uncoating intermediate in amounts similar to those found in viral DNA-protein complex cores.

Proto-oncogenes encode products that comprise a select group of cellular regulatory proteins whose mutation or aberrant expression can result in oncogenic transformation. With the exception of certain growth factors and their receptors, the definition of normal functions for most proto-oncogene products has been elusive. The discovery that a member of the src-family of tyrosine protein kinases (p56lck) is associated with both the CD4 and CD8 T-lymphocyte surface glycoproteins provides the first clue to understanding the potential physiological functions of this family of proto-oncogenes.

We have evaluated the level of pp60c-src protein kinase activity in a variety of human tumor tissues and human tumor cell lines, and have estimated the abundance of the c-src protein in several of these tissues and cell lines. All cell lines derived from tumors of neuroectodermal origin that express a neural phenotype were found to possess c-src molecules with high levels of tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity. In contrast, cell lines derived from tumors of neuroectodermal origin that do not express neural characteristics, such as glioblastomas and melanomas, were found to have pp60c-src molecules with low levels of protein kinase activity. A similar pattern was observed when we analyzed the activity of c-src molecules extracted directly from corresponding tumor tissues. Analysis of human tumor cell lines derived from tissues other than those of neuroectodermal origin revealed that pp60c-src protein kinase activity was low in most cases. Exceptions to this observation were all rhabdomyosarcoma, osteogenic sarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, and colon carcinoma lines tested. Comparison of pp60c-src kinase activity in normal skeletal muscle and rhabdomyosarcoma tissue and in normal breast tissue and breast adenocarcinoma tissue revealed that pp60c-src kinase activity was specifically elevated in the tumor tissues in both cases. However, the amount of pp60c-src protein in both normal and tumor tissues was found to be similar. These observations suggest that increases in the specific activity of the pp60c-src phosphotransferase in some rhabdomyosarcomas and breast carcinomas may be a characteristic acquired during the malignant transformation of the cells that is retained in cell lines established from these tumors.

We have observed increased phosphorylation of tyrosine residues on the polyoma virus middle tumor antigen (MTAg) in in vitro kinase assays of the immune complexes immunoprecipitated from lysates of polyoma virus-infected mouse embryo cells to which increasing amounts of uninfected mouse embryo cell lysate had been added. The components from uninfected mouse cells responsible for increased MTAg phosphorylation were localized by subcellular fractionation to the plasma membrane and found to be sensitive to protease digestion, N-ethylmaleimide, and 5'-p-fluorosulfonylbenzoyladenosine inactivation. The majority of the membrane-associated activity responsible for the increased MTAg phosphorylation in these assays could be cleared from lysates of uninfected mouse cell lysates by centrifugation after reaction with Sepharose-bound monoclonal antibodies which recognize pp60c-src. These results suggest that MTAg can associate with cellular tyrosyl kinases in vitro and be phosphorylated by these enzymes in immune-complex kinase assays. The identity of at least one of these cellular tryosyl kinases which can associate with MTAg in vitro is likely to be pp60c-src.

Rabbit antisera raised against human FYN-specific peptides were used to evaluate the expression of the fyn gene product in normal and murine polyomavirus middle tumor antigen (MTAg)-transformed rat cells. The antisera were capable of detecting p60fyn in both normal and MTAg-transformed cells. Two different antisera directed against unique p60fyn sequences were found to detect p60fyn-MTAg complexes in cell lysates from the MTAg-transformed cells. The MTAg molecules immunoprecipitated by FYN antisera were phosphorylated on tyrosine during immune-complex kinase reactions at sites similar to those found on MTAg in complexes with pp60c-src. Whereas the abundance of p60fyn was estimated to be less in the MTAg-transformed cells than in their normal counterparts, the specific activities of p60fyn molecules in the normal and transformed cells were similar.

Accumulating data suggest that the target cells for selection events leading to establishment of the mature T cell repertoire are the functionally immature double-positive (CD4+/CD8+) thymocytes, and that the CD4 and CD8 antigens expressed on these cells play important roles in these processes. In an attempt to define the biochemical pathways implicated in these events, we have studied the effects of engagement of accessory molecules on tyrosine protein phosphorylation. The results of our experiments demonstrate that engagement of CD4 and CD8 expressed on double-positive thymocytes is coupled with a rapid tyrosine protein phosphorylation signal. Further analyses have revealed that these two surface molecules are physically associated with the internal membrane tyrosine protein kinase p56lck in immature thymocytes, and that the catalytic function of lck expressed in double-positive thymocytes is significantly enhanced upon engagement of CD4. These data provide evidence that tyrosine-specific protein phosphorylation pathways coupled to the CD4 and CD8 T cell surface antigens are functional in immature thymocytes, and therefore, formally prove that signaling functions of CD4 and CD8 molecules are operative in immature thymocytes.

We examined the binding of polyomavirus large (L-T)-, middle (M-T)-, and small-tumor antigens to DNA cellulose. At pH 6.0, the majority of L-T bound to calf thymus DNA cellulose, while little or no small tumor antigen was retained under these conditions. Unexpectedly, a small but reproducible proportion of M-T bound to both native and denatured DNA cellulose. M-T encoded by polyomavirus mutant dl 8, which expressed shortened L-T and M-T, bound to DNA, indicating that the deleted sequences are not required for DNA binding. Also, M-T from transformed BMT-1 rat cells, which synthesize exclusively this polyomavirus tumor antigen, bound to DNA, indicating that its binding is not due to association with other polyomavirus-encoded proteins. Using the DNA fragment immunoassay, we found that, under conditions in which L-T bound specifically to DNA fragments containing viral regulatory sequences, no viral DNA fragments were bound by M-T. The existence of distinct subpopulations of M-T that differ in their DNA-binding properties was indicated by rebinding experiments in which M-T that had bound to DNA cellulose rebound very efficiently, while that which had not been originally retained by DNA cellulose rebound poorly. Furthermore, the M-T-pp60 c-src complex did not bind to DNA cellulose. These data suggest that polyomavirus M-T is heterogeneous, consisting of populations of molecules that differ in their interactions with DNA cellulose.

We have examined the in vitro phosphorylation of cellular src protein (pp60c-src) molecules associated with the polyoma virus middle-sized tumor antigen in polyoma virus-transformed cells. These pp60c-src molecules possessed an enhanced tyrosyl kinase activity, migrated aberrantly on NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gels, and contained a novel site of tyrosine phosphorylation within the amino-terminal region of the molecule. The pp60c-src molecules not associated with the middle-sized tumor antigen were phosphorylated exclusively on a tyrosine residue within the carboxyl-terminal domain of pp60c-src. A similar modified form of the middle-sized tumor antigen-associated pp60c-src protein was detected in lysates from polyoma virus-transformed cells labeled in vivo with [32P]orthophosphate in the presence of sodium orthovanadate, an inhibitor of phosphotyrosyl phosphatases.

We have examined the effect of DNA tumor virus transformation of primary hamster embryo cells on the tyrosyl kinase activity of pp60c-src. Our present study demonstrates that some clones of hamster embryo cells transformed by simian virus 40, adenovirus type 2, adenovirus type 12, or bovine papillomavirus 1 can possess elevated pp60c-src kinase activity when compared with normal hamster embryo cells. However, other clones of hamster embryo cells transformed by these same viruses were found to have normal levels of pp60c-src kinase activity. In those clones of transformed cells where pp60c-src kinase activity was elevated, the increased levels of kinase activity were the result of an apparent increase in the specific activity of the pp60c-src phosphotransferase rather than an increase in the amount of the src gene product. Additionally, pp60c-src was not found to be physically associated with tumor antigens known to be encoded by these viruses. These results indicate that elevated levels of pp60c-src kinase activity can be found in hamster embryo cells transformed by several different DNA tumor viruses and suggest that the molecular mechanism by which pp60c-src kinase activity is elevated may differ from that previously observed in polyomavirus-transformed cells. These results also imply that elevation of pp60c-src kinase activity is not required for the transformation of hamster cells by these viruses.

T-cell accessory molecules, particularly CD4 and CD8, seem to be involved in the control of T-cell activation by antigen. Precisely how such molecules operate is not fully understood, but evidence to date suggests a dual role, as receptors binding ligands on stimulator cells and by direct or indirect involvement in intracellular signalling events. In mouse, truncated 'tailless' CD8 molecules occur naturally (CD8 alpha' polypeptides) and although they are expressed on the surface of thymocytes, they are not expressed on the surface of mature T cells. In this study, we show that truncated CD8 molecules are impaired in their ability to interact with the protein tyrosine kinase, p56lck, and have decreased ability to restore immune responsiveness in vitro. Our data support a dual function for CD8 molecules correlated with expression of external domains and cytoplasmic domains, respectively. Both functions appear to be critical for a competent immune system in vivo.

The C-SRC, C-YES, and FYN genes encode three closely related tyrosine protein kinases that are expressed in human neural tissues. A unique form of the C-SRC gene has been demonstrated to be expressed in avian and murine brain tissues as the result of alternative splicing between the third and fourth exons. This neuronal-specific splicing event adds to the C-SRC mRNA an 18 base pair exon capable of encoding the same six amino acids in both avian and murine neural tissues. The C-YES and FYN genes share with C-SRC similar exon-intron boundaries and a high degree of amino acid sequence homology in the 3/4 exon coding region. However, potential alternative splicing of the C-YES and FYN genes in this region has not been previously investigated. In this study we have compared the expression of C-SRC, C-YES, and FYN RNAs in human lung, liver, brain, and placenta tissues and prepared cDNA clones spanning exons 3 and 4 for each of these genes from the different tissues. Sequence analysis of these cDNA clones revealed that the splicing patterns for the FYN and C-YES genes were the same among the various tissues, whereas C-SRC cDNAs isolated from brain contained 18 additional bases with the capacity to code for the same six amino acids present in the neural-specific forms of avian and murine pp60c-src.

The middle T antigen (MT Ag) encoded by polyoma virus has an associated protein kinase activity which transfers a phosphoryl group from ATP or GTP to a tyrosine residue on MT Ag in immunoprecipitates formed between polyoma virus-infected or transformed cell extracts and serum from animals bearing polyoma-induced tumors. Incubation of such immunoprecipitates or polyoma-transformed cell extracts prior to immunoprecipitation with the sulfhydryl reagent, N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), resulted in a significant inhibition of MT Ag-associated kinase activity. Inactivation of this enzyme activity by NEM was found to be dependent upon the incubation pH, time of incubation, and NEM concentration. ATP, GTP, and ADP in the presence of Mg2+ were found to decrease the rate of NEM-mediated inactivation of MT Ag-associated kinase activity, while CTP and UTP did not detectably alter the rate of enzyme inhibition by NEM. These results suggest that the MT Ag-associated kinase possesses at least one NEM-sensitive sulfhydryl group essential for phosphotransferase activity which may be present at or near the enzyme catalytic site.

A murine monoclonal antibody, termed HeFi-1, was produced after immunization with the L428 Hodgkin's disease tissue culture cell line. HeFi-1 selectively stained only the Reed-Sternberg or Hodgkin's cells in 18 of 18 cases of Hodgkin's disease, including the nodular sclerosis, mixed cellularity, and lymphocyte-depleted histologic subtypes. HeFi-1 did not stain any cells in normal lung, brain, salivary gland, thyroid, gall bladder, pancreas, liver, testis, breast, endometrium, or kidney. Rare large cells at the edge of the lymphoid follicles were stained in normal tonsil, colon, and hyperplastic thymus. There was no staining of any cells in 14 cases of B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; however, the malignant cells in three of 11 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which appeared to express T cell markers were also stained with HeFi-1. Tissue culture cell lines including the T cell acute lymphocytic leukemia lines MOLT4 and CEM, the histiocytic cell line U-937, and the amniotic cell line WISH were not stained. Seven Epstein Barr virus (EBV)-positive lymphoblastoid cell lines were stained with HeFi-1, but there was no staining of three EBV+ African Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines or three EBV- American Burkitt's cell lines. HeFi-1 did not block the ability of the L428 cells to stimulate a mixed lymphocyte reaction or function as accessory cells for mitogen-induced human T cell proliferative responses. Modulation of the HeFi-1 cell surface antigen on the L428 cells was not observed. HeFi-1 specifically immunoprecipitated a cell surface protein of approximately 120,000 daltons from both the L428 and EBV+ lymphoblastoid cell lines. HeFi-1 monoclonal antibody should prove useful not only in the diagnosis, staging, and potential therapy of Hodgkin's disease, but also for determining the cell of origin of the Reed-Sternberg cell.

Lipoteichoic acid (LTA) isolated from Staphylococcus aureus was found to exert a synergistic effect with calf serum to enhance DNA synthesis and growth of mouse embryo fibroblasts. LTA alone had no effect on DNA synthesis or cell multiplication. Mild base hydrolysis of LTA, which separates the molecule into its hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties, completely destroyed its biological activity in this regard. Results are presented which suggest that LTA may enhance serum-induced DNA synthesis through interaction with cell surface components. The data indicate that LTA may prove to be a useful tool with which to probe cell membrane parameters involved in the regulation of cell proliferation.

Normal human melanocytes, unlike malignant melanoma cells, required at least three growth-promoting agents, i.e., phorbol ester for protein kinase C activation and the growth factors basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and insulin, for growth in chemically defined W489 medium. Cell growth was further stimulated by addition of agents that increase intracellular levels of cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cAMP) to the medium. Among these agents, the pituitary hormones α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) and follicle-stimulating hormone were the most potent, whereas bacterial toxins, including cholera, tetanus, and pertussis toxin and their subunits either were less mitogenic or gave variable results depending on the culture tested. Medium containing phorbol ester PMA, growth factors bFGF and insulin (or insulin-like growth factor-I), and synthetic α-MSH supported melanocyte growth for more than 5 months with doubling times between 5 and 8 days. Two copper-binding proteins, ceruloplasmin and tyrosinase, were mitogenic when added to medium and ceruloplasmic induced a long bi- to tripolar-shape of cells. Addition of 1 mM dibutyryl cAMP to the medium led to the formation of dendrites in all cells, with an average of 28 extensions per cell. Although cell growth was inhibited by dibutyryl cAMP, cells were not terminally differentiated and continued to proliferate. Dendritic melanocytes showed a 2.2-fold increase in activity of the tyrosine kinase pp60c − src. The induction of dendritic processes in melanocytes by dibutyryl cAMP or sodium butyrate was reversible and appears to reflect the expression of the mature melanocytic phenotype in situ.

An Epstein-Barr virus-encoded protein, LMP2, blocks the effects of surface immunoglobulin (slg) cross-linking on calcium mobilization and on lytic reactivation of EBV in latently infected and growth-transformed primary human B lymphocytes. In wild-type EBV-transformed cells, LMP2 is constitutively tyrosine phosphorylated and is associated with Lyn and Syk protein-tyrosine kinases (PTKs). Baseline Lyn PTK activity is substantially reduced, and slg cross-linking fails to activate Lyn, Syk, Pl3-K, PLC gamma 2, Vav, Shc, and MAPK. Syk, Pl3-K, PLC gamma 2, and Vav are constitutively tyrosine phosphorylated, and their tyrosine phosphorylation does not change following slg cross-linking. In contrast, cross-linking slg on cells transformed by LMP2 null mutant EBV recombinants triggers the same protein tyrosine kinase cascade as in noninfected B lymphocytes. These data are consistent with a model in which LMP2 is a constitutive dominant negative modulator of slg receptor signaling through its effects on Lyn, Syk, or regulators of these kinases.

Purpose To investigate whether clinically relevant levels of epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG, a component of green tea) or vitamin C (ascorbic acid) could antagonize bortezomib antitumor activity in CWR22 human prostate xenograft tumors. Methods The pharmacokinetics (PK) of EGCG and ascorbic acid were determined in immunocompromised mice and compared with concentrations measured in human PK studies of dietary supplements. Antitumor activity of bortezomib in combination with EGCG or ascorbic acid was determined using several dosing regimens to evaluate different target plasma concentrations of EGCG and ascorbic acid. Results Bortezomib dosed twice-weekly at 0.8 mg/kg IV demonstrated tumor growth inhibition (TGI) of 53.9–58.9%. However, when combined with EGCG such that the plasma concentrations of EGCG were >200 μM at the time of bortezomib dosing, all antitumor activity was abrogated (TGI = −17.7%). A lower concentration of EGCG (11–16 μM), which is severalfold higher than measured clinically in humans taking EGCG supplements (0.6–3 μM), was not antagonistic to bortezomib (TGI 63.5%). Pharmacodynamic studies of proteasome inhibition reflected these findings. Ascorbic acid (40 and 500 mg/kg PO daily) was evaluated under a similar study design and did not antagonize bortezomib antitumor activity (TGI 57.2 and 72.2%). Conclusions No antagonism of bortezomib is seen in preclinical in vivo experiments, where EGCG or ascorbic acid plasma concentrations are commensurate with dietary or supplemental intake. The data suggest that patients receiving bortezomib treatment do not need to avoid normal dietary consumption of green tea, vitamin C-containing foods, or EGCG or vitamin C dietary supplements. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00280-011-1591-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Staphylococcal membrance proteins are potent initiators of delayed hypersensitivity following multiple subcutaneous injections of viable organisms. When the membranes are separated by exclusion chromatography they separate into three distinct fractions, one of which was responsible for the elicitation of footpad (FP) reactivity in sensitized mice. The active immunogen was characterized as a glycoprotein having a molecular weight of approximately 15,600 Daltons, with the peptide and carbohydrate moieties linked by covalent bonding. In vitro spleen cell stimulation and macrophage migration inhibition studies revealed that the active FP fraction was also the immunogen involved in these responses. The immunogenic fraction also had mitogenic properties as evidenced by the stimulation of non-sensitized spleen cells. These data characterize a glycoprotein present in Staphylococcus aureus cell membrane which is both immunogenic and mitogenic and is the principal immunogen responsible for the early delayed hypersensitivity response.

We have found in different human cells of lymphoid and non-lymphoid origin that the 56 kilodalton (kDa) lck protein is rapidly converted to a product migrating at approximately 60 kDa (designated p60lck) in response to the phorbol ester 4 alpha-phorbol 12 beta-myristate (PMA) as well as the diacylglycerol analogue 1,2-dioctanoyl-sn-glycerol (diC8). This conversion is associated with an increase in serine phosphorylation within the amino-terminal 18 kDa portion of the lck protein. The serine phosphorylation modification and diminished electrophoretic mobility of the lck protein appear to be completely reversible within 60 min following treatment with diC8. The changes in p56lck phosphorylation and gel mobility in response to activators of protein kinase C are also associated with a small but reproducible decrease in the ability of the lck protein to be phosphorylated in immune complex kinase assays. While these alterations of the lck gene product may play an important role in antigen-mediated activation of T-lymphocytes, we demonstrated that they can also be induced independently of T-cell activation suggesting that they are not necessarily implicative of this process.

Accumulating data suggest that the CD4 T-cell surface antigen transduces an independent intracellular signal during antigen-mediated T-cell activation. CD4 is physically associated with the internal membrane tyrosine protein kinase p56lck and can mediate, after antibody-mediated cross-linking, the rapid enzymatic activation of Lck, implying that CD4 signalling may involve changes in tyrosine protein phosphorylation. In this report, we describe that cross-linking of CD4 results in a series of rapid changes in intracellular tyrosine protein phosphorylation. The most prominent CD4-induced tyrosine phosphorylation change involved p56lck, which became extensively phosphorylated on the carboxy-terminal tyrosine residue 505 and, to a lesser extent, lymphocytes can transduce an intracellular signal resulting in tyrosine protein phosphorylation and strongly suggest that this property of CD4 is mediated through p56lck.

The structural proteins of polyoma virions and capsids were analyzed by isoelectric focusing and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Polyoma virion VP1 was found to be composed of six distinct species which had pI's between pH 6.75 and 5.75. Polyoma capsid VP1 was found to contain four species with pI's between pH 6.60 and 5.75. The different forms of virion and capsid VP1 appeared to be generated by modifications (phosphorylation and acetylation) of the initial translation product. The most basic of the virion VP1 species (pI, pH 6.75) was absent in capsids and was found to be exclusively associated with the viral nucleoprotein complex. Three of the virion VP1 species and three of the capsid VP1 species were found in capsomere preparations enriched for hexon subunits. Two VP1 species were specifically immune precipitated from virions with hemagglutination-inhibiting antibodies. These two VP1 species were common to both virions and capsids. Polyoma virions, but not capsids, possessed a single VP1 species which was immune precipitated with neutralizing antibodies. Both virion and capsid VP2 were found to have pI's of approximately pH 5.50. Virion VP3 had a pI of approximately pH 7.00, whereas capsid VP3 had a pI of approximately pH 6.50.

Antisera to the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel-derived polyoma virion polypeptides were used in immunoprecipitation experiments with ethylene glycol-bis-N,N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA)-dissociated polyoma virions and capsids to determine the specificity of the antipolyoma polypeptide sera. Additionally, a technique for applying 125I-labeled immunoglobulins to SDS-polyacrylamide gels was used to explore the antigenic specificities of the antisera. The results demonstrated that antisera directed against the SDS-gel-derived VP1, VP2, and VP3 did not react with native polyoma proteins, but would react with the appropriate antigens on denatured polyoma proteins. Antisera against the histone region of such gels reacted with native and denatured polyoma VP1. Separation of neutralizing antibodies from hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) antibodies to polyoma in antisera directed against the histone region of polyacrylamide gels was done by using a polyoma capsid affinity column. The antibodies eluted from this column which did not react with capsids possessed only neutralizing activity, whereas antibodies which bound to capsids possessed only HAI activity. These isolated immunoglobulin G fractions were then used in immunoprecipitation experiments to demonstrate that the antigenic determinants responsible for the HAI activity of the serum were contained on a 16,000-dalton polypeptide, whereas those antigenic determinants responsible for neutralizing activity were contained on a 14,000-dalton polypeptide. Both of these polypeptides present in the histone region of the SDS-gels appeared to be derived from the major virion protein VP1.

We have evaluated the level of pp60c-src protein kinase activity in a variety of human tumor tissues and human tumor cell lines, and have estimated the abundance of the c-src protein in several of these tissues and cell lines. All cell lines derived from tumors of neuroectodermal origin that express a neural phenotype were found to possess c-src molecules with high levels of tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity. In contrast, cell lines derived from tumors of neuroectodermal origin that do not express neural characteristics, such as glioblastomas and melanomas, were found to have pp60c-src molecules with low levels of protein kinase activity. A similar pattern was observed when we analyzed the activity of c-src molecules extracted directly from corresponding tumor tissues. Analysis of human tumor cell lines derived from tissues other than those of neuroectodermal origin revealed that pp60c-src protein kinase activity was low in most cases. Exceptions to this observation were all rhabdomyosarcoma, osteogenic sarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, and colon carcinoma lines tested. Comparison of pp60c-src kinase activity in normal skeletal muscle and rhabdomyosarcoma tissue and in normal breast tissue and breast adenocarcinoma tissue revealed that pp60c-src kinase activity was specifically elevated in the tumor tissues in both cases. However, the amount of pp60c-src protein in both normal and tumor tissues was found to be similar. These observations suggest that increases in the specific activity of the pp60c-src phosphotransferase in some rhabdomyosarcomas and breast carcinomas may be a characteristic acquired during the malignant transformation of the cells that is retained in cell lines established from these tumors.

A study was done to examine the effects of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) on purified Newcastle disease virus (NDV). Treatment of the virus with 50 microgram of BHT/ml caused 92% inactivation of the virion infectivity. Virion adsorption to chicken-embryonated cells was inhibited 32% and synthesis of intracellular hemagglutinin was inhibited 29%. Electron microscopy of the BHT-treated virions revealed virion envelope damage. Chicken-embryonated cells treated with 25 microgram of BHT/ml before NDV infection demonstrated 65% inhibition of NDV progeny production.

Multiplication-stimulating activity (MSA) for chicken embryo fibroblasts was purified from serum-free medium conditioned by the growth of a rat liver cell line. A comparison between calf serum and purified MSA was made regarding the regulation of the fibroblast cell cycle. Addition of serum or MSA to stationary, quiescent cells stimulates them to enter the DNA synthetic phase after a characteristic lag period. Exposure to serum for shorter periods of time will irreverisbly commit cells to continue through the cell cycle and initiate DNA replication in the absence of serum. In contrast, the withdrawal of purified MSA from the medium results in an abrupt halt in the progression of cells towards S phase. The results of labeled thymidine incorporation and autoradiographic experiments clearly indicate that the point at which cells become irreversibly committed to enter the DNA synthetic period is at or near the G1-S boundary. The abrupt decay of the stimulation upon withdrawal of purified MSA provides a unique opportunity to investigate the biochemistry of this discrete phase of the cell cycle.

The tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity of pp60c-src molecules obtained from RIPA buffer lysates of human colon tumor-derived cell lines is elevated over that found in lysates from normal human colon mucosa cells. The elevation of pp60c-src kinase activity in the lysates of the cultured colon tumor cells does not appear to be the result of pp60c-src overexpression suggesting that the specific activity of the pp60c-src phosphotransferase may be enhanced. Cell-free translation of c-src mRNA from colon tumor cells and normal colon mucosa cells yielded pp60c-src molecules with similar levels of in vitro protein kinase activity suggesting that pp60c-src kinase activity in these cells may be regulated differently at a post-translational level. Analysis of pp60c-src molecules from normal colon and colon carcinoma cells revealed that they possessed indistinguishable sites and quantities of phosphorylated serine and tyrosine residues and were not detectably complexed with other cellular proteins. The activation of pp60c-src kinase activity in the colon tumor cells is associated with an apparent increase in the turnover rate of tyrosine-phosphates within the carboxyl terminal portion of the pp60c-src molecules from these tumor derived cell lines.

The development of delayed hypersensitivity (DH) to Staphylococcus aureus in Swiss mice was evaluated by the footpad (FP) assay. In order to determine which component of the bacteria was responsible for the in vivo immune reactivity, purified Staphylococcal cell wall, cell membrane, protein A, lipoteichoic acid, teichoic acid, as well as lipid-free membrane proteins were isolated. The immune responses of mice receiving one to eight S. aureus injections indicated that the first DH peak, following three injections, was primarily dependent upon protein antigens associated with the bacterial membrane. Increased bacterial injections gave rise to a second DH peak following seven injections which was dependent upon multiple bacterial components including cell wall, protein A, and membrane proteins.

The relative abundance of pp60c-src molecules associated with polyomavirus (Py) middle tumor antigen (MTAg) and the relative abundance of MTAg associated with pp60c-src in a variety of Py-transformed rat cells was determined by quantitative immunoblot analyses which detect pp60c-src or Py MTAg. The results demonstrate that approximately 5 to 10% of the total immunoprecipitable pp60c-src molecules in Py-transformed rat cells are stably associated with MTAg and have elevated protein kinase activities. In these same cells, it was found that approximately 10 to 15% of the detectable MTAg molecules are stably associated with pp60c-src. Other results presented in this report demonstrate that approximately 50 to 75% of the total MTAg-associated cellular tyrosine kinase activity potentially represents the enzymatic activity of pp60c-src, while the remaining 25 to 50% represents the activity of other cellular tyrosine kinases. Our results also show that most pp60c-src molecules associated with Py MTAg do not possess electrophoretic mobilities that are altered from those of pp60c-src molecules not associated with MTAg or pp60c-src molecules obtained from normal rodent cells.

Polyomavirus middle tumor antigen (mT) was expressed in a line of mouse NIH 3T3 cells under control of the dexamethasone-regulatable mouse mammary tumor virus promotor. Contrary to rat F111 cells which were rendered anchorage independent by mT expression alone (L. Raptis, H. Lamfrom, and T.L. Benjamin, Mol. Cell. Biol. 5:2476-2487, 1985), mT-producing NIH 3T3 cells were unable to grow in agar even after full mT induction. The mT:pp60c-src-associated phosphatidylinositol kinase was activated in these cells to a degree similar to that in fully transformed cells expressing the small and large T antigens, in addition to mT. We therefore propose that the stimulation of this phosphatidylinositol kinase, although apparently necessary, is not sufficient for transformation of NIH 3T3 cells by polyomavirus.

The CD4 T-cell surface antigen is an integral membrane glycoprotein of relative molecular mass 55,000 which binds class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules expressed on antigen presenting cells (APCs). It is thought to stabilize physical interactions between T cells and APCs (for a review, see ref. 1). Evidence is accumulating that suggests that CD4 can transduce an independent signal during T-cell activation. It has recently been shown that CD4 expressed on human and murine T cells is physically associated with the Src-related tyrosine protein kinase p56lck (refs 7, 8). These results indicate that CD4 can function as a signal transducer and suggest that tyrosine phosphorylation events may be important in CD4-mediated signalling. Here, we present evidence that cross-linking of the CD4 receptor induces a rapid increase in the tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity of p56lck and is associated with the rapid phosphorylation of one of the subunits (zeta) of the T-cell receptor complex on tyrosine residues. These data provide direct evidence for a specific CD4 signal transduction pathway that is mediated through p56lck and suggest that some of the tyrosine phosphorylation events detected during antigen-mediated T-cell activation may result from signalling through this surface molecule.

Normal human melanocytes, unlike malignant melanoma cells, required at least three growth-promoting agents, i.e., phorbol ester for protein kinase C activation and the growth factors basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and insulin, for growth in chemically defined W489 medium. Cell growth was further stimulated by addition of agents that increase intracellular levels of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) to the medium. Among these agents, the pituitary hormones alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) and follicle-stimulating hormone were the most potent, whereas bacterial toxins, including cholera, tetanus, and pertussis toxin and their subunits either were less mitogenic or gave variable results depending on the culture tested. Medium containing phorbol ester PMA, growth factors bFGF and insulin (or insulin-like growth factor-I), and synthetic alpha-MSH supported melanocyte growth for more than 5 months with doubling times between 5 and 8 days. Two copper-binding proteins, ceruloplasmin and tyrosinase, were mitogenic when added to medium and ceruloplasmic induced a long bi- to tripolar-shape of cells. Addition of 1 mM dibutyryl cAMP to the medium led to the formation of dendrites in all cells, with an average of 28 extensions per cell. Although cell growth was inhibited by dibutyryl cAMP, cells were not terminally differentiated and continued to proliferate. Dendritic melanocytes showed a 2.2-fold increase in activity of the tyrosine kinase pp60c-src. The induction of dendritic processes in melanocytes by dibutyryl cAMP or sodium butyrate was reversible and appears to reflect the expression of the mature melanocytic phenotype in situ.

We have observed a 20- to 40-fold increase in pp60c-src tyrosyl kinase activity in human neuroblastoma cell lines over that found in either human glioblastoma cells or human fibroblasts. The level of c-src gene transcripts and pp60c-src protein synthesis in the neuroblastoma cells was not significantly increased when compared to the levels found in glioblastoma cells. Approximately one-half of the pp60c-src molecules synthesized during a 4-hr [35S]methionine or [32P]orthophosphate labeling period in neuroblastoma cells were found to migrate more slowly on NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gels than pp60c-src molecules labeled in glioblastoma cells. Peptide and phosphoamino acid analysis of the in vivo phosphorylated c-src molecules from these two cell types revealed that pp60c-src molecules from the neuroblastoma cells possess in the amino-terminal portion of the protein at least one unique tyrosine phosphorylation site not found in pp60c-src derived from glioblastoma cells.

We have identified a strain of polyomavirus, Py(L), which is unusual in causing acute morbidity and early death after inoculation of newborn mice. We determined that these animals died of kidney failure associated with extensive, virus-mediated destruction of renal tissue. Interestingly, the Py(L) strain infects baby mouse kidney cell cultures more efficiently than do other strains.

The tyrosine-specific protein kinase activity of pp60c-src molecules obtained from human colon carcinoma tissues and tumor-derived cell lines was found to be elevated over that from normal colon tissues or cultures of normal colon mucosal cells. The elevated pp60c-src protein kinase activity in tumor tissues and in cultured colon carcinoma cells does not appear to result solely from an increase in the abundance of the c-src-encoded protein, suggesting that the specific activity of the pp60c-src tyrosine phosphotransferase is enhanced. These results raise the possibility that activation of the pp60c-src protein kinase may contribute to the genesis of human colon tumors.

The CD4 and CD8 T cell antigens are thought to transduce an independent signal during the process of T cell activation. We report our evaluation of the possible involvement of the lymphocyte-specific tyrosine kinase p56lck in these transduction pathways. Our data demonstrate that p56lck is specifically modulated with either CD4 or CD8 following antibody-mediated cross-linking of these molecules and that a large fraction of the total cellular lck protein can be coimmunoprecipitated with these surface glycoproteins. These results suggest that p56lck is functionally and physically associated with CD4/CD8 in normal murine T lymphocytes and support the concept that an independent signal is transduced by the interaction of these surface molecules with major histocompatibility complex determinants.

The lymphocyte-specific tyrosine protein kinase p56lck is abundantly expressed in L3T4+ (CD4+) and Lyt-2+ (CD8+) T-lymphocytes, where it is predominantly phosphorylated in vivo on the carboxy-terminal tyrosine residue 505 (Y-505). Upon exposure to activating signals (mitogenic lectins, antibodies to the T-cell receptor), the p56lck expressed in normal cloned murine T-cells is modified into a product which migrates at approximately 59 kilodaltons on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels and which possesses several amino-terminal serine phosphorylations. The changes in both mobility and amino-terminal phosphorylation can be reproduced by known activators of protein kinase C (4 alpha-phorbol 12 beta-myristate, dioctanoylglycerol), suggesting that this signal transduction pathway (or related pathways) mediates at least part of these events. Interestingly, agents raising intracellular calcium (such as A23187) cause the appearance of several of these amino-terminal phosphorylation changes but do not cause the pronounced shift in electrophoretic mobility. These data suggest that at least two serine kinase systems are implicated in the alterations of p56lck associated with T-cell activation and that the lck gene product plays a critical role in normal T-cell physiology.

The CD4 T-cell surface antigen and the lymphocyte-specific tyrosine-protein kinase p56lck form a stable noncovalent complex in CD4+ T-lymphocytes. In this report, we demonstrate that these two gene products can also associate when co-expressed in NIH3T3 fibroblasts, therefore implying that other lymphoid specific components are not required for the CD4-lck interaction. These results also suggest that co-expression of CD4 and p56lck in non-lymphoid cells may prove to be a useful model system for the analysis of structural and possibly functional CD4-lck interactions.

To determine the potential role of pp60c-src in polyomavirus-transformed cells, we constructed a recombinant plasmid with the mouse metallothionein-I promoter upstream of a src gene in an anti-sense orientation. We cotransfected this plasmid into middle tumor antigen-transformed FR3T3 cells with a plasmid containing the neomycin resistance gene, and G418 resistant colonies were selected. Analysis of these cells for pp60c-src expression revealed that 50 of the 200 cellular clones screened were found to have decreased levels of c-src expression when compared with the parental middle tumor antigen-transformed cells. Three independent clones which transcribed the expected 3.6-kilobase src complementary RNA and had levels of pp60c-src kinase activity comparable to that of normal FR3T3 cells were further analyzed. In the presence of Cd2+, these clones grew significantly slower in monolayer cultures than either the parental transformed cells (FR18-1) or FR18-1 cells transfected with the neomycin resistance gene alone. The morphology of these clones in the presence of Cd2+ was distinct from that of either the parental FR18-1 cells or normal FR3T3 cells. The clones expressing the complementary src RNA were found to form fewer colonies in soft agar, form fewer foci on monolayers of normal rat cells, and form tumors more slowly following injection into syngenic rats when compared with parental FR18-1 cells. The results of these studies suggest that the level of pp60c-src kinase activity affects the growth characteristics and transformation properties of polyoma virus-transformed rat cells.