Gene Literature Dashboard

Light-microscopic immunocytochemistry and electron microscopy demonstrated that adenocarcinomas (AC) and squamous cell (epidermoid) carcinomas (SCCs) of human lung contained keratin proteins in the form of tonofilament bundles. However, moderately differentiated (md) SCCs contained abundant keratin, whereas poorly differentiated (pd) SCCs and all ACs contained lesser amounts. Lung tumors with the diagnosis of AC or SCC, as defined by WHO criteria, were also analyzed by immunoprecipitation techniques for the presence of keratin proteins. Regardless of the degree of tumor differentiation, SCCs contained a 44 kd keratin which was lacking in ACs. Interestingly, normal bronchial epithelium also contained the same 44 kd keratin. In addition, as SCCs became more differentiated, they exhibited even greater differences in the profile of synthesized keratins. Specifically, the relative abundance of the intermediate-sized keratins (57 and 59 kd) was increased in the md SCCs. Although keratin protein patterns appear to be a valuable adjunct in distinguishing AC from SCC, their usefulness as a diagnostic tool will require survey of a larger number of poorly differentiated tumors.

The binding of 125I-diferric transferrin to cultured skin fibroblasts and phytohemagglutinin-stimulated lymphocytes was studied in cells derived from individuals homozygous for hereditary hemochromatosis and from normal individuals. Receptors with a high affinity for diferric transferrin were present on all cells. Transferrin receptor number decreased by more than 50% when fibroblasts from both normal and hemochromatotic subjects were maintained in iron-supplemented medium. The number of transferrin receptors expressed by normal and hemochromatotic lymphocytes after mitogen stimulation in iron-supplemented media was less than 50% that of lymphocytes which were mitogen stimulated in standard medium. No change in the affinity of the receptors for diferric transferrin was seen in cells maintained in iron-supplemented medium. Competition experiments in the presence of deferoxamine suggested that the transferrin receptors of fibroblasts and mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes have a 70- to 100-fold higher affinity for diferric transferrin than for apotransferrin. No differences in the properties of transferrin receptors were found between patients with hereditary hemochromatosis and normal individuals. Although transferrin binding decreases when cells are exposed to high levels of iron in the medium, the failure to totally abolish transferrin binding to the receptor suggests that the concentration of diferric transferrin to which cells are exposed may be a major determinant of cellular iron loading in hereditary hemochromatosis.

A progesterone receptor (PR) in human uterine cervical nuclei was demonstrated by a nuclear exchange assay using a synthetic progestin, promegestone (R5020) as a radio-labeled ligand. Total exchange of previously bound progesterone with R5020 was achieved by incubation at 0 degree C for 3 h. A 0.6 M KCl solution was used to extract the nuclear PR in uterine cervical tissue, and the dextran coated charcoal (DCC) method was used to separate the free [3H] R5020 from the bound form. Scatchard plots of nuclear PR binding showed two components with dissociation constants of Kd = 2.3 X 10(-10) and 4.6 X 10(-9) M. Three histological regions of the uterine cervix was studied as to their nuclear PR contents throughout the menstrual cycle. In the follicular phase, the connective tissue (CT) had the highest PR concentration (658.9 fmole/mg DNA), followed by the columnar epithelium (CE) (253.6 fmole/mg DNA), and the squamous epithelium (SE) (184.7 fmole/mg DNA). In the luteal phase, there was no significant difference among the three regions. Comparing these phases of cycle revealed that the CT had higher PR contents in the follicular phase than in the luteal phase, but no such difference was found in the CE or SE. These three regions had the same Kd value in both phases.

The high-affinity triarylethylene anti-oestrogen H1285 [4-(NN-diethylaminoethoxy)-beta-ethyl-alpha-(p-hydroxyphenyl) -4'-methoxystilbene] was tritiated to high specific radioactivity (35 Ci/mmol). Competition experiments between [3H]H1285 and H1285 or oestradiol demonstrated that both compounds would compete with [3H]H1285 for oestrogen-specific binding sites in rat uterine cytosol. [3H]H1285 had at least 10 times the affinity for the receptor compared with oestradiol at the 50% competition level. [3H]H1285 appeared to have at least twice the association rate for the oestrogen receptor compared with [3H]oestradiol. In addition, the dissociation half-life (t1/2) of specific binding of [3H]H1285 to oestrogen receptors at 0 degrees C was about 220 h compared with a value of 60 h for [3H]oestradiol. Because of the extremely slow dissociation of [3H]H1285 from the oestrogen receptor, we were able to compare the sedimentation profiles of [3H]H1285-receptor complexes with those of [3H]oestradiol-receptor complexes in the presence of 0.4 M-KCl on 5-20% sucrose density gradients. [3H]Oestradiol-receptor complexes had a major peak at 4.4 S with a smaller peak at 5.6 S, whereas with [3H]H1285-receptor complexes the 5.6 S peak was always higher than the 4.4 S peak. There was significant variation between the dissociation behaviour at 20 degrees C of [3H]H1285-receptor complexes and [3H]oestradiol-receptor complexes pre-activated at 25 degrees C for 30 min in the presence and in the absence of 10 mM-sodium molybdate. The dissociation t1/2 of [3H]oestradiol-receptor complexes at 20 degrees C decreased from 1.5 h to 0.5 h when molybdate was present during heat treatment whereas the dissociation t1/2 for [3H]H1285-receptor complexes was 5 h for both conditions. These observations indicate that there are fundamental differences in the initial interaction of H1285 and oestradiol with the oestrogen receptor.