High content screening (HCS) has emerged an important tool for drug discovery because it combines rich readouts of cellular responses in a single experiment. Inclusion of cell cycle analysis into HCS is essential to identify clinically suitable anticancer drugs that disrupt the aberrant mitotic activity of cells. One challenge for integration of cell cycle analysis into HCS is that cells must be chemically synchronized to specific phases, adding experimental complexity to high content screens. To address this issue, we have developed a rules-based method that utilizes mitotic phosphoprotein monoclonal 2 (MPM-2) marker and works consistently in different experimental conditions and in asynchronous populations. Further, the performance of the rules-based method is comparable to established machine learning approaches for classifying cell cycle data, indicating the robustness of the features we use in the framework. As such, we suggest the use of MPM-2 analysis and its associated expressive features for integration into HCS approaches.

We have purified and characterized the 50 kd activator protein 2 (AP-2), another enhancer-binding protein interacting with the human metallothionein IIA (hMT-IIA) gene control region. Purified AP-2 activates transcription in vitro from a hybrid promoter containing hMT-IIA upstream sequences. AP-2 also recognizes control elements of the human growth hormone, c-myc, and H-2Kb genes, and the SV40 and bovine papilloma virus enhancers. Multiple synthetic copies of the hMT-IIA high-affinity AP-2 binding site can act as efficient, cell-type-specific enhancer elements; their activity increases after treatment of cells with phorbol ester or cAMP-elevating agents. In contrast, a synthetic enhancer recognized by factor AP-1 is activated only by phorbol ester. AP-2 appears to mediate transcriptional activation in response to two different signal-transduction pathways, one involving the phorbol-ester- and diacylglycerol-activated protein kinase C, the other involving cAMP-dependent protein kinase A.

Examination of collections of 16S rRNA sequences revealed sequence domains that were unique to (and invariant within) the three primary lines of cellular descent: the archaebacteria, the eubacteria, and the eucaryotes. Oligodeoxynucleotides complementary to these conserved sequence domains were synthesized and used as hybridization probes. Each of the radiolabeled probes specifically hybridized to nylon membrane-bound 16S rRNA from the targeted kingdom. A probe complementary to a universally conserved sequence in 16S rRNAs was used as a positive control, while its complement provided a negative control for nonspecific binding. The abilities of the probes to bind specifically to whole, fixed cells representing a broad array of phylogenetic diversity were tested in whole-cell dot blot assays. Again, all of the probes specifically bound the targeted groups. By microautoradiography, the method was extended to permit phylogenetic identification of single cells microscopically.

Secretion of [3H]phosphatidylcholine ([3H]PC) from isolated rat pulmonary type II epithelial cells was inhibited by the surfactant-associated protein of Mr = 35,000 (SAP-35) purified from canine lung surfactant. SAP-35 inhibited [3H]PC secretion in a dose-dependent manner and significantly inhibited basal, phorbol ester, beta-adrenergic, and P2-purinergic agonist-induced [3H]PC secretion. SAP-35 significantly inhibited [3H]PC secretion from 1 to 3 h after treatment. The IC50 for inhibition of [3H]PC secretion by canine SAP-35 was 1-5 X 10(-6) g/ml and was similar for inhibition of both basal and secretagogue-stimulated release. Heat denaturation of SAP-35, addition of monoclonal anti-SAP-35 antibody, reduction and alkylation of SAP-35, or association of SAP-35 with phospholipid vesicles reversed the inhibitory effect on secretagogue-induced secretion. Inhibitory effects of SAP-35 were observed 3 h after cells were washed with buffer that did not contain SAP-35. Although SAP-35 enhanced reassociation of surfactant phospholipid with isolated type II cells, its inhibitory effect on secretion of [3H]PC did not result from stimulation of reuptake of secreted [3H]PC by type II cells. The inhibition of phospholipid secretion by SAP-35 was also not due to inhibition of PC or disaturated PC synthesis by SAP-35. SAP-35, the major phospholipid-associated protein in pulmonary surfactant, is a potent inhibitor of surfactant secretion from type II cells in vitro and may play an important role in homeostasis of surfactant in the alveolar space.

Some endothelial cells share functional and phenotypic properties with cells of monocyte/macrophage lineage. The authors have performed frozen-section immunologic stains and plastic section enzyme histochemical stains on various human tissues to examine endothelial cell phenotypic properties in situ. They found that endothelial cells express heterogeneous phenotypes that correlate with vessel type. Several endothelial cell subsets were identified. These included arterioles, capillaries, and venules (HLA-ABC+, HLA-DR+, Factor VIII RA+, monocyte-, alkaline phosphatase+, ATPase+); high endothelial venules of lymphoid tissues and hepatic sinusoidal lining cells (HLA-ABC+, HLA-DR+, Factor VIII RA+, monocyte+); lymphatics and glomerular capillaries (HLA-ABC+, HLA-DR+/-, Factor VIII RA-, monocyte-, 5'nucleotidase+); splenic sinusoidal lining cells (HLA-ABC+, Leu-2+, HLA-DR+, Factor VIII RAweak+, monocyte-, alpha naphthyl acetate esterase+); umbilical cord vessels (Factor VIII RA+, HLA-ABCweak+, HLA-DR-, monocyte-). The expression of monocyte-related antigens by some endothelial cells appears to be acquired in extranodal inflammatory infiltrates and is probably modulated by lymphokines.

Morphometric procedures have been used to study the characteristics of cells in the alveolar region of the lungs of rats, dogs, baboons, and humans. Compared with the other species, human lungs were found to contain greater numbers of macrophages and to have larger alveolar type II, endothelial, and interstitial cells. The thickness of the interstitium and the pulmonary capillary endothelium were also significantly greater in the human lungs. These differences in human lung anatomy may be due to increased exposure to airborne pollutants and to tobacco smoke. Despite the above differences and the fact that there are large variations in size and functional characteristics of the lungs of these mammals, an overall striking similarity in characteristics of individual lung cells was found. The distribution of cells in alveolar tissue was remarkably constant between species as was the average volume and surface area of most cell types. Computer-aided three-dimensional reconstruction techniques were used to determine the spatial relationship of organelles in individual alveolar type II cells from rats. A three-dimensional reconstruction of cells permits quantification of number, size, surface area, and volume of subcellular organelles and correlations of their three-dimensional spatial relationships.

The turtle bladder contains transport systems for active sodium absorption, electrogenic proton secretion, and bicarbonate secretion (coupled to chloride absorption) that are functionally separate and occur in specialized epithelial cells. Maneuvers that alter the intracellular acid-base state, such as changes in PCO2, cause marked changes in the apical membrane area of alpha-type carbonic anhydrase (CA) cells by addition or retrieval of membrane vesicles but have no effect on the granular cells that transport sodium. The apical cell membrane of alpha-CA cells contains characteristic rod-shaped intramembrane particles (RSP) by freeze fracture and is coated on its cytoplasmic side with studs. A subpopulation of CA cells (beta-type), which is characterized by apical microvilli, fails to exhibit an apical response to CO2 stimulation and does not reveal RSPs or studs at its apical membranes; instead, these elements can be demonstrated at the basolateral membrane. The reversal in the polarity of these elements as well as physiological evidence suggest that beta-type cells are responsible for bicarbonate secretion. Structure-function studies of CO2 stimulation of H+ secretion by alpha-CA cells indicate that the secretion rate (JH) correlates with apical membrane area and numbers of RSPs. The view that RSPs represent arrays of transmembrane channels and that studs represent catalytic units of H+ pumps is supported by quantitative considerations but remains to be proven. Urinary acidification is regulated not only by changes in the number of H+ pumps but also by the intrinsic properties of the H+ pump itself. For a given pump population, JH is closely controlled by the delta microH across the active transport pathway.

Cell death is a common yet puzzling feature of the development of many populations of neurons in the CNS. In the invertebrate phyla, such death is often preprogrammed; by contrast, in vertebrates, the best studied examples of histogenetic cell death are influenced by interactions among the neurons and their target. One attempt to explain this seemingly wasteful scheme of development has led to the hypothesis that this target-related cell death allows 2 populations of cells, which develop in isolation, to come into numerical and functional balance and hence to provide an epigenetic "buffer" mechanism to accommodate developmental variations. In the current study we have examined the extent to which the cell death observed in the cerebellar granule cell population serves to numerically match these neurons with their primary postsynaptic target, the Purkinje cell. Staggerer chimeras were made by aggregating 8-cell staggerer embryos with embryos of wild-type genotype. The cerebella of the resulting animals developed with widely varying numbers of normal (wild-type) Purkinje cell targets. Although staggerer Purkinje cells were present in the chimeric brains, these cells are intrinsically deficient in their normal developmental program (in the mutant, because of this deficiency, 100% of the granule cells die). Both granule cells and Purkinje cells were counted in chimeras and several wild-type mice. The results reveal that the number of granule cells present in these brains has a linear relationship with the number of Purkinje cells, and that the line connecting the points intersects the Y-axis close to the origin. These observations suggest that numerical matching is an important function of target-related cell death in the granule cell population.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The extracellular matrix of the lamina cribrosa may be important in the changes in the optic nerve head associated with glaucoma. To investigate the cell biology of this tissue, human lamina cribrosa was explanted in tissue culture and two cell types grown from this tissue were characterized. The most common cell type obtained was a large, flat, polygonal cell which was negative for glial fibrillar acidic protein (GFAP) and could be serially subcultured. This cell type synthesized collagens type III and type IV, fibronectin and elastin. Much less commonly grown was a cell type with conspicuous long processes and which was positive for GFAP. This presumed astrocyte synthesized collagen type IV and fibronectin. Fibroblastic cells were not obtained from this tissue but were easily grown from sclera. The cells that we have cultured from the human lamina cribrosa may produce the extracellular matrix present in the cribriform plates of this tissue and be important in the glaucomatous process.

Restoration of the alveolar epithelium after injury is thought to be dependent on the proliferation of alveolar type II cells. To understand the factors that may be involved in promoting type II cell proliferation in vivo, we determined the effect of potential mitogens and culture substrata on DNA synthesis in rat alveolar type II cells in primary culture. Type II cells cultured in basal medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) exhibited essentially no DNA synthesis. Factors that stimulated 3H-thymidine incorporation included cholera toxin, epidermal growth factor, and rat serum. The greatest degree of stimulation was achieved by plating type II cells on an extracellular matrix prepared from bovine corneal endothelial cells and then by culturing the pneumocytes in medium containing rat serum, cholera toxin, insulin, and epidermal growth factor. Under conditions of stimulation of 3H-thymidine incorporation there was an increased DNA content per culture dish but no increase in cell number. The ability of various culture conditions to promote DNA synthesis in type II cells was verified by autoradiography. Type II cells were identified by the presence of cytoplasmic inclusions, which were visualized by tannic acid staining before autoradiography. These results demonstrate the importance of soluble factors and culture substratum in stimulating DNA synthesis in rat alveolar type II cells in primary culture.