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P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is an energy dependent drug pump responsible for multidrug resistance (MDR) in human cancers. While it is irrefutable that P-gp can efflux xenobiotics out of cells, the biological function of P-gp in multicellular organisms has yet to be firmly established. The question of what, if anything, P-gp does when not effluxing drugs has been raised by recent reports indicating that P-gp may regulate apoptosis, chloride channel activity, cholesterol metabolism and immune cell function. There is now a lively debate regarding the possible role of P-gp in regulating cell differentiation, proliferation and survival.

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is often characterized by the expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp), a 170-kd ATP-dependent drug efflux protein. As well as effluxing xenotoxins, functional P-gp can confer resistance to caspase-dependent apoptosis induced by a range of different stimuli, including Fas ligand, tumor necrosis factor, UV irradiation, and serum starvation. However, P-gp-positive cells remain sensitive to caspase-independent death induced by cytotoxic T-cell granule proteins, perforin, and granzyme B. It is, therefore, possible that agents that induce cell death in a caspase-independent manner might circumvent P-gp-mediated MDR. We demonstrated here that hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA) induced equivalent caspase-independent cell death in both P-gp-positive and -negative cell lines at concentrations of 10 mmol/L and above. The HMBA-induced death pathway was marked by release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria and reduction of Bcl-2 protein levels. In addition, we show that functional P-gp specifically inhibits the activation of particular caspases, such as caspases-8 and -3, whereas others, such as caspase-9, remain unaffected. These studies greatly enhance our understanding of the molecular cell death events that can be regulated by functional P-gp and highlight the potential clinical use of drugs that function via a caspase-independent pathway for the treatment of MDR tumors.

Multidrug resistance mediated by the drug-efflux protein P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is one mechanism that tumor cells use to escape death induced by chemotherapeutic drugs. Although it is irrefutable that P-gp can efflux xenobiotics out of cells, biological regulatory functions for P-gp in multicellular organisms have yet to be established firmly. Recent observations have challenged the notion that P-gp has evolved merely to efflux xenotoxins out of healthy cells and raised the possibility that P-gp and related transporter molecules might play a fundamental role in regulating cell differentiation, proliferation and survival.

We have evaluated the NK cell antitumor activity in lymphotoxin (LT)-deficient mice. Both NK cell-mediated tumor rejection and protection from experimental metastases were significantly compromised in LT-alpha-deficient mice. Analysis of LT-alpha-deficient mice revealed that the absolute number of alphabetaTCR- NK1.1+ NK cells was reduced in bone marrow and thymus, but with overall proportional decreases in other hemopoietic organs. In addition, the antitumor potential of alphabetaTCR- NK1.1+ cells, as determined by their lytic capacity and perforin expression, was reduced 1.5- to 3-fold in LT-alpha-deficient mice, as compared with wild-type mice. Combined defects in NK cell development and effector function contribute to compromised NK cell antitumor function in LT-alpha-deficient mice.

A major problem with treating patients with cancer by traditional chemotherapeutic regimes is that their tumors often develop a multidrug resistant (MDR) phenotype and subsequently become insensitive to a range of different chemotoxic drugs. One cause of MDR is overexpression of the drug-effluxing protein, P-glycoprotein. It is now apparent that P-glycoprotein may also possess a more generic antiapoptotic function that protects P-glycoprotein-expressing cancer cells and normal cells from cell death. Herein we show that cells induced to express P-glycoprotein either by drug selection or by retroviral gene transduction with MDR1 cDNA are resistant to cell death induced by a wide range of death stimuli, such as FasL, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), and ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, that activate the caspase apoptotic cascade.However, P-glycoprotein-expressing cells were not resistant to caspase-independent cell death mediated by pore-forming proteins and granzyme B.MDR P-glycoprotein-expressing cells were made sensitive to caspase-dependent apoptosis by the addition of anti-P-glycoprotein antibodies or verapamil, a pharmacological inhibitor of P-glycoprotein function. Clonogenic assays showed that P-glycoprotein confers long-term resistance to caspase-dependent apoptotic stimuli but not to caspase-independent cell death stimuli. This study has confirmed a potential novel physiological function for P-glycoprotein and it now remains to dissect the molecular mechanisms involved in the inhibition of capsase-dependent cell death by P-glycoprotein.

IFI 16 is an interferon-inducible nucleoprotein expressed by human monocytes. IFI 16 and a related mouse protein, p202, control cellular proliferation by binding and modulating the functions of cell cycle regulatory factors including p53 and the retinoblastoma gene product, pRb. In this study, we examined IFI 16 expression in myeloid precursor cells cultured in vitro in colony-forming assays using granulocyte (G-) and granulocyte-macrophage (GM-) colony-stimulating factor (CSF). IFI 16 was expressed in 100% of CD34+ cells isolated from human bone marrow. When the CD34+ cells were induced to differentiate, two sub-populations of cells were identified by two-color cytofluorography: the CD14+ (monocytoid) cells all expressed IFI 16, whereas the CD14- (polymorphonuclear precursor) cells did not. The strongest expression of IFI 16 was in the cells staining brightest for CD14, whereas depletion of CD14+ monocytoid cells from mixed monocytic/granulocytic cultures largely abolished IFI 16-stained cells. Furthermore, in eight independent colony-forming assays, the number of IFI 16+ cells correlated closely with the numbers of monocyte precursors identified morphologically (R2 = 0.99), but was unrelated to the numbers of myelocytes, promyelocytes, and metamyelocytes; nor was IFI 16 expressed by erythroid or eosinophil precursors. We conclude that IFI 16 is expressed in CD34+ and monocytoid daughter cells, but is rapidly and markedly down-regulated at the corresponding stages of polymorphonuclear and erythroid development. This differential expression of IFI 16 in myeloid precursor subpopulations and its perceived molecular properties are consistent with a possible role in regulating myelopoiesis.

We recently demonstrated that IFI 16, a human member of a family of interferon-inducible nuclear proteins, can function as a potent repressor of transcription. All members of this family are found in the nucleus and contain 1 or 2 copies of a conserved 200 amino acid repeat domain. IFI 16 migrates on SDS-PAGE as three distinct protein species (IFI 16A, 16B, 16C) clustered at 85-95 kDa, and we therefore set out to determine the molecular mechanisms underpinning the production of these different isoforms. In the present report, we have used thermal cycling amplification of reverse-transcribed mRNA (RT-PCR) and Southern blotting of genomic DNA to show that the three protein isoforms result from translation of three separate mRNA species produced by differential mRNA splicing. This differential splicing gives rise to variability in the central ("hinge") domain of the molecule which separates the two 200 amino acid repeats. The longest mRNA (approximately 2.7 kb) encodes an open reading frame of 2355 bp and generates the IFI 16A isoform of 785 amino acids. It contains sequences from 11 exons, including a newly identified exon (7a) which appears to have arisen by tandem duplication of exon 7. The second isoform (IFI 16B, corresponding to the form reported previously) is the most abundantly expressed, and results from deletion of exon 7a (168 bp) to encode a protein of 729 amino acids. The smallest mRNA encodes the IFI 16C isoform (2019 bp), has deleted both exon 7 and exon 7a, and shortens the protein by a further 56 amino acids. Culture of IFI 16-expressing cells with tunicamycin and incubation of cellular lysates with endoglycosidase H suggested that neither IFI 16A nor IFI 16B is glycosylated; however, some IFI 16C molecules showed a minor degree of complex carbohydrate addition. Furthermore, immunoprecipitation and Western blotting indicated that all three IFI 16 isoforms are phosphorylated on serine and threonine residues, but not on tyrosine. Thus, the three IFI 16 protein isoforms arise due to alternative RNA splicing and not due to differential glycosylation or phosphorylation. Finally, IFI 16 isoforms can homo- and heterodimerize, and we have mapped the dimerization domain to the amino terminus which contains an imperfect leucine zipper domain.

Mouse cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) reactive with a H-2Db-presented 9-mer peptide of the human papillomavirus type 16 protein E7(49-57) (RAHYNIVTF) were generated from the spleen cells of wild-type C57BL/6 (B6) or B6 perforin-deficient (B6.P0) mice. CD8(+) B6 CTL displayed peptide-specific perforin- and Fas-mediated lysis of E7-transfected mouse RMA lymphoma cells (RMA-E7), while CD8(+) CTL from B6.P0 mice lysed RMA-E7 cells via Fas ligand (FasL) exclusively. Rapid and efficient lysis of syngeneic bystander B6 blasts or RMA cells by either B6 or B6.P0 Ag-activated CTL was mediated by a FasL-Fas mechanism. Fas-resistant bystanders were not lysed, nor were allogeneic Fas-sensitive C3H/HeJ (H-2(k)) or BALB/c (H-2(d)) bystander blasts. Interestingly, however, phorbol myristate acetate-ionomycin preactivation of B6.P0 effectors enabled lysis of allogeneic H-2(k) and H-2(d) bystanders even in the absence of antigenic stimulation. Lysis of syngeneic bystander cells was always FasL-Fas dependent and required effector-bystander contact and, in particular, an interaction between CTL LFA-1 and bystander ICAM-1. Thus, in the context of major histocompatibility complex class I molecule-peptide ligation of the T-cell receptors of CD8(+) CTL, neighboring bystander cells that are syngeneic and Fas sensitive and express the adhesion molecule ICAM-1 are potential targets of CTL attack.

Multidrug resistance mediated by the drug efflux protein, P-glycoprotein (P-gp), is one mechanism that tumor cells use to escape death induced by chemotherapeutic agents. However, the mechanism by which P-gp confers resistance to a large variety of structurally diverse molecules has remained elusive. In this study, classical multidrug resistant human CEM and K562 tumor cell lines expressing high levels of P-gp were less sensitive to multiple forms of caspase-dependent cell death, including that mediated by cytotoxic drugs and ligation of Fas. The DNA fragmentation and membrane damage inflicted by these stimuli were defined as caspase dependent by various soluble peptide fluoromethylketone caspase inhibitors. Inhibition of P-gp function by the anti-P-gp mAb MRK-16 or verapamil could reverse resistance to these forms of cell death. Inhibition of P-gp function also enhanced drug or Fas-mediated activation of caspase-3 in drug-resistant CEM cells. By contrast, caspase-independent cell death events in the same cells, including those mediated by pore-forming proteins or intact NK cells, were not affected by P-gp expression. These observations suggest that, in addition to effluxing drugs, P-gp may play a specific role in regulating some caspase-dependent apoptotic pathways.

Chromosome 6-mediated suppression of tumorigenicity in malignant melanoma cell lines provides a model system to identify genes associated with the reversion of the tumorigenic phenotype. Using subtractive cDNA selection, we recently identified a series of novel genes which are differentially expressed in association with chromosome 6-mediated suppression. We now report the molecular characterization of a novel gene termed AIM2 for (Absent In Melanoma), which represents a 1485 bp cDNA. An open reading frame of 1032 base pairs, corresponding to 344 amino acid residues, is predicted. The predicted protein shares a conserved sequence domain of approximately 200 amino acids with known interferon-inducible genes of both human and mouse. We demonstrate that the AIM2 gene encodes a transcript of approximately 2 kb which is expressed in spleen, small intestine, and peripheral blood leukocytes. In addition, we have localized AIM2 to the long arm of human chromosome 1 (band q22) in a highly conserved region which also contains the known interferon-inducible genes IFI16 and MNDA. We have also demonstrated that, like IFI16 and MNDA, AIM2 is induced in HL60 cells by interferon gamma. Our findings support the existence of a family of genes in this region similar to the well-characterized mouse Ifi200 gene family.

CD46 is a cell-surface regulatory molecule that prevents lysis of autologous human cells by activated complement. It has been well characterized on leucocytes, reproductive cells and various cultured cell lines and is considered to be ubiquitously expressed. We now extend these analyses and describe CD46 in a variety of different human tissues. Strong expression was observed by immunohistology on epithelial cells lining exocrine ducts and glands, such as salivary gland and pancreas and on kidney tubules and glomerular epithelium. Quantitative tissue expression was measured by radioimmunoassay and confirmed histological observations. Thus, CD46 is highly expressed on cells in contact with extracellular fluids thought not to contain large quantities of complement but which may still be subjected to complement attack thereby necessitating the presence of complement regulators to prevent non-specific destruction of cells.

The need for organ transplantation, especially of kidneys, exceeds the availability of human donors and the possibility of xenotransplantation from suitable animals is now being addressed. The immediate barrier to success is hyperacute graft rejection, resulting from naturally occurring xenoreactive antibodies and the activation of complement. It is proposed that the intensity of the hyperacute response can be reduced by providing additional regulatory molecules to limit activation of the complement cascade, initially as transfected gene products in cultured cells as an in vitro model and eventually as a transgene in potential donor animals, such as pigs. Limiting the activity of C3b reduces the production of the C3a, C4a and C5a anaphylotoxins, thus curtailing not only the immediate C3b-mediated lytic pathway but also the later effects of a cellular inflammatory response including endothelial and platelet cell activation. To develop and assess the first part of this strategy, we have transfected several cDNA's encoding isoforms of CD46 (membrane cofactor protein). At least four different CD46 isoforms are commonly expressed in almost all human cells, and we have compared two of these and a third form to determine if they mediate different functions. After transfection, CD46-expressing CHO-K1 cells were selected with methionine sulphoximine and identified using monoclonal antibodies. Transfectants with suitable CD46 expression were assayed for primary CD46 function using a lysis assay dependent on the reaction of antibody and complement. In this in vitro model of hyperacute rejection, normal human sera containing natural xenoreactive antibodies were shown to lyse CHO cells, but only in the presence of complement.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Expression of membrane cofactor protein (CD46) on cultured human astrocytes was demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry following staining with a monoclonal antibody specific for CD46. Western transfer and immunoblotting detected a doublet of Mr 66,000 and 56,000. Analysis of astrocyte mRNA revealed the presence of multiple alternatively spliced transcripts encoding different extracellular regions or cytoplasmic tails of CD46. Astrocytes were also shown to express decay accelerating factor, but not the type 1 complement receptor. Upregulation of astrocyte CD46 occurred following cytomegalovirus infection. These results indicate that astrocytes express proteins involved in regulation of complement activation and protection against autologous complement.

Human CD46 (membrane cofactor protein) is a cell surface glycoprotein with cofactor activity for the factor I mediated cleavage of components C3b and C4b. Using a CD46 cDNA clone, three restriction enzymes give simple two allele restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) in samples of over 300 Caucasians. For Pvu II, P1 with a 16.5 kilobase (kb) fragment and P2 with 14.8 kb + 1.9 kb fragments have frequencies of .40 and .60. For Hin dIII, H1 with a 4.3 kb fragment and H2 with a 2.3 kb fragment have similar frequencies. For Bgl. II, B1 with a 10 kb fragment and B2 with 8.3 kb + 1.8 kb fragments have frequencies of 0.08 and 0.92. There is strong linkage disequilibrium between these polymorphic sites. Designating haplotypes by Hin dIII, Pvu II, Bgl II alleles, there are two common haplotypes P2, H2, B2 and P1, H1, B2, expected at frequencies of .6 and .32, one less common haplotype P1, H1, B1 expected at a frequency .08. The two major protein isoforms of CD46, as detected on peripheral blood lymphocytes by western blot, of Mr 66,000 (alpha) and 56,000 (beta) are determined by differential splicing in production of the mRNA. A strong association between protein isoform and RFLP haplotypes in 30 unrelated subjects suggests that the splicing preference site is in linkage disequilibrium with the RFLPs. The results are consistent with haplotypes P2, H2, B2 and P1, H1, B1 producing predominantly alpha; P1, H1, B2 producing predominantly beta in about 72% of cases and alpha in 28% of cases.

One of the problems of in vivo diagnosis and therapy of tumors with monoclonal antibodies is their heterogeneity with respect to antigen expression, with some cells expressing no antigen and others being weakly or strongly positive. Selected mixtures of antibodies to different antigens are therefore likely to react with more cells than single antibodies and be more effective for imaging and therapy. With this in mind, we have examined a new human colon cancer cell line (LIM1899) which has a heterogeneous expression of several cell surface molecules: by flow cytometry 38% were carcinoembryonic antigen positive; 64%, human milk fat globule positive, and 73%, CD46 positive; 87% of tumor cells bound a mixture of all three antibodies in vitro. Some blocking of the binding of anti-human milk fat globule antibody by the anti-CD46 antibody was noted. LIM1899 was established as a xenograft in nude mice and in vivo biodistribution studies performed using antibodies alone or in combination. Mixtures of antibodies clearly showed a higher percentage of injected dose of antibody in the tumor than did single antibodies: one antibody gave 10%; two together, 17 to 21%; and all three together gave 29% of the injected dose in the tumor. Tumor:blood ratios were also superior for combinations of antibodies, provided that low doses of the antibodies were used; at higher doses the effect was lost. The study demonstrates that combinations of antibodies are better than single antibodies for localization, provided that the dose used is carefully selected.

Although many antibodies are being used for imaging studies, it is not clear which in vitro properties of antibodies will best reflect their in vivo characteristics. The ability to correlate in vitro binding characteristics of monoclonal antibodies to tumor antigens with their in vivo localization characteristics, particularly with respect to tumor localization properties, is desirable for rapid selection of monoclonal antibodies with potential for clinical use. The in vitro binding characteristics of three monoclonal antibodies to the murine Ly-2.1 antigen and one to the Ly-3.1 antigen have been studied on cultured tumor cells bearing these antigens. The association and dissociation rate constants, apparent affinity, and immunoreactivity of each antibody in vitro were compared with their ability to localize the s.c. tumors from the same cell line growing in Ly-2.1-/Ly-3.1-mice. The antibody with the highest affinity and fastest association rate localized to tumor at the earliest time (16-20 h after injection) and had the highest percentage of the injected dose/g in the tumor (greater than 25%). The antibody with the lowest affinity showed significantly less localization to tumor cells, compared with the other three antibodies. The ranking of the antibodies by affinity agreed with the ranking in terms of their ability to localize to tumors, but the in vitro immunoreactivity of the antibodies, as measured by a cell binding assay, did not correlate with their tumor localization properties. Immunoscintigraphic studies did not precisely correlate with biodistribution data or in vitro binding characteristics, because tumors could be satisfactorily imaged with each antibody, although it was noted that the antibody with the highest affinity gave the best image. The results indicate that kinetic binding parameters and affinity of monoclonal antibodies may be useful in predicting their potential for tumor localization and that kinetics of association of antibodies in vitro may predict localization kinetics in vivo.

The effect of temperature on the kinetic association and dissociation binding parameters, and equilibrium constants of four monoclonal antibodies to the murine Ly-2.1 and Ly-3.1 antigens has been studied using flow cytometry. All four monoclonal antibodies were conjugated to FITC and their association to, and dissociation from, the surface of murine thymoma cells was observed at 15 sec intervals, at temperatures between 1 and 37 degrees C. The initial association rate constant and the dissociation rate constant for each antibody at each temperature were calculated from graphs of the first-order reactions and it was demonstrated that an increase in temperature caused an increase in both association rate and dissociation rate of the antibodies. Generally the increase in association rate with temperature was less than the increase in dissociation rate. Differences between antibodies to the same antigen (Ly-2.1) suggest that changes in membrane fluidity were not solely responsible for the changes in association rate. However, the equilibrium constants (Keq) did not always show a simple relationship of increasing temperature causing decreasing values for Keq. For one antibody the highest value for Keq was seen at 17 degrees C rather than at 37 degrees C and differences in Keq between individual antibodies were greater at 1 degree C than at 37 degrees C. Kinetic rate constants are usually measured at 4 degrees C or room temperature, therefore for antibodies under consideration for in vivo use, measurements at 37 degrees C are more appropriate.