scholarly journals A comparative study of the effect of aflatoxin B1 and actinomycin D on HeLa cells

1969 ◽  
Vol 114 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. H. Harley ◽  
K. R. Rees ◽  
A. Cohen

1. The cytotoxic effects of aflatoxin B1 on HeLa cells were examined and effects of short exposures of the cells to the toxin were found to be reversible. 2. Aflatoxin B1 inhibited the synthesis of both ribosomal and heterodisperse RNA. It is proposed that the toxin's mechanism of action on ribosomal RNA synthesis is related to its inhibitory effect on the maturation of the 45s-ribosomal-RNA precursor. 3. Protein synthesis is inhibited to a greater extent by aflatoxin B1 than by actinomycin D. In contrast with actinomycin D, aflatoxin B1 was shown to disaggregate polyribosomes directly.

1971 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 746-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanley G. Sawicki ◽  
Gabriel C. Godman

Actinomycin D (AMD) at concentrations that inhibit cellular RNA synthesis by 85% or more causes an acute phase of lethal cell degeneration in HeLa cultures beginning as early as 3 hr after drug exposure, resulting in the nearly complete loss of viable cells by 12 hr. The loss of cells during this acute phase of lethality is closely dose dependent. Vero, WI38, or L cells are not susceptible to this early acute cyto-intoxication by AMD, and may begin to die only after 1–2 days. Differential susceptibility to acute cyto-intoxication by AMD, or other inhibitors of RNA synthesis (daunomycin or nogalamycin), among different types of cultured cells is analogous to that observed in vivo in certain tissues and tumors, and cannot be accounted for by differences in the effect of AMD on RNA, DNA, or protein syntheses, or by the over-all loss of preformed RNA. Actinomycin D in a dose that inhibits RNA synthesis causes an equivalent loss of the prelabeled RNA in all the cell types studied. Inhibition of protein synthesis with streptovitacin A or of DNA synthesis with hydroxyurea does not cause acute lethal injury in HeLa cells as does inhibition of RNA synthesis. Furthermore, since Vero or L cells divide at about the same rate as HeLa cells, no correlation can be drawn between the rate of cell proliferation and susceptibility to the cytotoxicity of AMD. Susceptibile cells are most vulnerable to intoxication by AMD in the G1-S interphase or early S phase. Inhibition of protein synthesis (which protects cells against damage by other agents affecting DNA) does not protect against AMD-induced injury. Although HeLa cells bind more AMD at a given dose than Vero or L cells, the latter cell types, given higher doses, can be made to bind proportionally more AMD without succumbing to acute cyto-intoxication. It is suggested that the differential susceptibility of these cell types to acute poisoning by AMD may reflect differences among various cells in the function or stability of certain RNA species not directly involved in translation whose presence is vital to cells. In HeLa cells, these critical species of RNA are presumed to have a short half-life.


2006 ◽  
Vol 290 (1) ◽  
pp. C143-C151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Osawa ◽  
H. T. Lee ◽  
C. A. Hirshman ◽  
D. Xu ◽  
C. W. Emala

LPS is known to modulate macrophage responses during sepsis, including cytokine release, phagocytosis, and proliferation. Although agents that elevate cAMP reverse LPS-induced macrophage functions, whether LPS itself modulates cAMP and whether LPS-induced decreases in proliferation are modulated via a cAMP-dependent pathway are not known. Murine macrophages (RAW264.7 cells) were treated with LPS in the presence or absence of inhibitors of prostaglandin signaling, protein kinases, CaM, Giproteins, and NF-κB translocation or transcription/translation. LPS effects on CaMKII phosphorylation and the expression of relevant adenylyl cyclase (AC) isoforms were measured. LPS caused a significant dose (5–10,000 ng/ml)- and time (1–8 h)-dependent increase in forskolin-stimulated AC activity that was abrogated by pretreatment with SN50 (an NF-κB inhibitor), actinomycin D, or cycloheximide, indicating that the effect is mediated via NF-κB-dependent transcription and new protein synthesis. Furthermore, LPS decreased the phosphorylation state of CaMKII, and pretreatment with a CaM antagonist attenuated the LPS-induced sensitization of AC. LPS, cAMP, or PKA activation each independently decreased macrophage proliferation. However, inhibition of NF-κB had no effect on LPS-induced decreased proliferation, indicating that LPS-induced decreased macrophage proliferation can proceed via PKA-independent signaling pathways. Taken together, these findings indicate that LPS induces sensitization of AC activity by augmenting the stimulatory effect of CaM and attenuating the inhibitory effect of CaMKII on isoforms of AC that are CaMK sensitive.


Development ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 515-532
Author(s):  
A. Colman

RNA synthesis can be maintained in large oocytes of Xenopus laevis during periods of in vitro culture of at least 10 days. A simple salt medium, modified Barth's solution, is found to be as effective a culture medium for these oocytes as several other complex media. The newly synthesized RNA is characterized electrophoretically and shown to consist predominantly of ribosomal RNA precursor, 28S and 18S ribosomal RNA, and 4S RNA. The distribution of this RNA within the oocyte is detected autoradiographically, where it is found to be greatly concentrated over the nucleoli. No qualitative alterations in either of these parameters are found during culture, within the limits of sensitivity of the assay procedures.


2013 ◽  
Vol 76 (12) ◽  
pp. 2037-2039 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHEN E. LUMOR ◽  
BRONWYN D. DEEN ◽  
IAN RONNINGEN ◽  
KENNETH SMITH ◽  
NEAL R. FREDRICKSON ◽  
...  

The effect of lactose at the concentration typically found in milk (134 mM) on the ability of ricin to inhibit protein synthesis in HeLa cells was studied. Ricin (0.001 to 300 μg/ml) that was either not treated or treated with 134 mM lactose was added to test tubes containing 1 ml of HeLa cells (approximately 3 × 105 cells in a low-leucine medium). After 2 h of incubation at 37°C, 0.5 μCi of l-[U-14C]-leucine was added to each tube and incubated for another 60 min. The cells were harvested by centrifugation and lysed, and cellular proteins were separated. The amount of radioactivity incorporated into the proteins was determined by liquid scintillation. The biological activity of ricin, i.e., the amount of radioactivity in a sample relative to that of the control (cells not treated with ricin), was calculated for each treatment. The inhibitory effect of 134 mM lactose on the biological activity of ricin was only significant at concentrations of ricin below 1 μg/ml. At higher ricin concentrations, the effect of 134 mM lactose decreased as the concentration of ricin increased, resulting in an increase in the inhibition of proteins synthesis. Our results also indicated that bovine milk, when used in place of 134 mM lactose, was more effective for reducing the activity of ricin at concentrations below 1 μg/ml but was ineffective against ricin concentrations greater than 1 μg/ml. These results suggest that milk may not protect against ricin intoxication at the concentration (0.89 μg/ml) equivalent to the lowest limit of its 50% lethal dose for a 20-kg child consuming 225 ml (8 oz) of milk.


1991 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emil H. Nikolov ◽  
Bistra B. Nankova ◽  
Mariana D. Dabeva

1972 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 483-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. T. DAVIES ◽  
K. A. MUNDAY ◽  
B. J. PARSONS

SUMMARY A study was made of the effects of cyclic AMP, theophylline, cycloheximide, puromycin and actinomycin D on the stimulation by angiotensin of fluid transport by sacs of rat colon mucosa. Cyclic AMP and theophylline, added together or separately, had no effect on fluid transport by colon sacs, suggesting that the stimulation of fluid transport after the application of angiotensin is not mediated through cyclic AMP. Cycloheximide and puromycin (used at concentrations which block colon protein synthesis by 50–90%) had no effect on fluid transport by control colon sacs, but completely blocked the stimulatory response of the colon to angiotensin. In contrast, actinomycin D (at a concentration which significantly inhibits RNA synthesis) did not affect fluid transport in control or angiotensin-stimulated colon sacs. The results are discussed in relation to the possibility that protein synthesis, at the stage of translation, is involved in the action of angiotensin on fluid transport by the colon.


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