3T3T Cells Research Articles

Increased tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor, the insulin receptor substrate-1 and a 73 kDa protein associated with insulin-induced mitogenesis in SV40-transformed 3T3T cells.

Insulin selectively induces mitogenesis in quiescent SV40 large T antigen-transformed murine 3T3T (CSV3-1) cells but not in quiescent nontransformed 3T3T cells. This mitogenic effect induced by insulin in CSV3-1 cells requires an induction of AP-1 activity associated with c-Jun and JunB. To further investigate the mechanisms that are involved in insulin-induced mitogenesis in CSV3-1 cells, the current experiments were performed. The results show that following insulin stimulation, the insulin receptor beta-subunit and the insulin receptor substrate-1 undergo a much more significant tyrosine phosphorylation in CSV3-1 cells than in 3T3T cells. Insulin also induces tyrosine phosphorylation of a 73 kDa protein that is coprecipitated with the tyrosine-phosphorylated insulin receptor in CSV3-1 cells but not in 3T3T cells. The increased tyrosine phosphorylation in response to insulin stimulation in CSV3-1 cells does not appear to be due to an increase in the level of expression of the insulin receptor and does not appear to result from a significant change in tyrosine phosphatase activity compared to nontransformed cells. The results also show that the insulin effect in CSV3-1 cells is not mediated by insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor because insulin at the concentrations that induce mitogenesis does not increase the tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor and the expression level of the receptor is not significantly changed in CSV3-1 cells compared to nontransformed cells. These data together indicate that the selective mitogenic effect of insulin on CSV3-1 cells involves increased tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor, the insulin receptor substrate-1 and the 73 kDa protein, although the underlying mechanisms need to be further elucidated.

The proliferation potential protein-related (P2P-R) gene with domains encoding heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein association and Rb1 binding shows repressed expression during terminal differentiation.

Terminal differentiation is associated with repression in the expression of the proliferation potential proteins (P2P) subset of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) proteins. We report here the cloning and characterization of a 5173-bp P2P-related (P2P-R) cDNA that contains a 4214-bp open reading frame. Probes to this cDNA detect a single 8-kb mRNA in multiple murine tissues and in proliferating 3T3T cells, but not in terminally differentiated 3T3T adipocytes. Evidence that this cDNA can encode peptides with domains for hnRNP association was established by showing that such peptides are recognized by two monoclonal antibodies known to detect core hnRNP proteins, and by showing that the C130 monoclonal antibody, produced against a cDNA-derived fusion protein, also selectively detects native P2P hnRNP proteins. In addition, P2P-R cDNA-derived fusion proteins bind single-stranded nucleic acids, and a P2P-R cDNA-derived antisense oligonucleotide selectively represses P2P expression. Because terminal differentiation is associated with modulation in Rb1 function, we assayed if products of this cDNA might interact with Rb1. Evidence that the P2P-R cDNA encodes a protein domain that binds Rb1 was established using a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein to selectively precipitate Rb1 from cellular extracts. Data also show that this binding is reduced by competition with the adenovirus E1a protein, indicating that binding occurs through the "pocket" domain of Rb1. These results establish that the P2P-R cDNA encodes protein domains involved in both hnRNP association and Rb1 binding and complement recent reports that localize Rb1 to sites of RNA processing in the nucleus.

Serum deprivation induces SV40 early promoter activity

Proliferation and the expression of proliferation-associated genes are modulated by changing the serum concentration in the media of cultured cells. To determine if activity of the SV40 early promoter is modulated by serum, we examined the expression of SV40 early promoter driven marker genes in murine BALB/c 3T3T cells following serum deprivation or serum stimulation. SV40-promoter-regulated beta-galactosidase and chloramphenicol acetyl transferase genes were studied following either transient or stable transfection. The results show that serum deprivation of growing cells induces SV40 promoter activity while serum stimulation of quiescent G0 cells suppresses it. Kinetic analyses show a significant induction of the SV40 promoter activity during the first 2 days of serum deprivation which is maintained at a high level for 15 days. The induction of reporter gene expression by serum deprivation was selective for the SV40 early promoter because such an effect was not observed using the Rous sarcoma viral promoter. Nuclear run-off assays further show that the transcription controlled by the SV40 early promoter is approximately twofold greater in cells rendered quiescent by serum deprivation for 72 h than in growing cells cultured in medium containing serum. These results suggest that one reason SV40 T transformed cells commonly fail to undergo quiescence following serum deprivation is that the SV40 promoter is induced.

Induction of AP-1 activity associated with c-Jun and JunB is required for mitogenesis induced by insulin and vanadate in SV40-transformed 3T3T cells.

Insulin and vanadate function as complete mitogens for SV40-transformed murine 3T3T (CSV3-1) cells but not for nontransformed 3T3T cells. Mitogenesis induced by insulin and vanadate in CSV3-1 cells is associated with the induction of the expression of protooncogenes c-jun and junB, two major AP-1 transcription factor components. We now report that both insulin and vanadate induce a significant increase in AP-1 DNA binding activity in CSV3-1 cells but not in 3T3T cells. Gel supershift assays and Western blot analysis using specific antibodies demonstrate that the increased AP-1 binding activity induced by insulin and vanadate in CSV3-1 cells is primarily contributed by an increase in the expression of c-Jun and JunB protein levels. Furthermore, treatment of CSV3-1 cells with antisense oligodeoxyribonucleotides to c-jun or to junB blocks insulin- and vanadate-induced mitogenesis whereas antisense junD oligomers have no inhibitory effects. These results therefore demonstrate that the induction of AP-1 binding activity associated with c-Jun and JunB is required for insulin- and vandate-induced mitogenesis in SV40-transformed murine 3T3T cells. Additional data presented in this paper show that JunD/AP-1 binding activity, which is thought to play a negative role in regulating cell proliferation, is also slightly induced following insulin and vanadate stimulation in CSV3-1 cells. Nevertheless, the ratio of proliferation promoting c-Jun/AP-1 and JunB/AP-1 binding activities to proliferation inhibiting JunD/AP-1 binding activity is significantly increased following insulin and vanadate stimulation. These results therefore support the concept that modulation of the balance of positive Jun/AP-1 and negative Jun/AP-1 activities is important in regulating cell proliferation.

Unique and selective mitogenic effects of vanadate on SV40-transformed cells.

Vanadate and insulin both function as unique complete mitogens for SV40-transformed 3T3T cells, designated CSV3-1, but not for nontransformed 3T3T cells. The mitogenic effects induced by vanadate and insulin in CSV3-1 cells are mediated by different signaling mechanisms. For example, vanadate does not stimulate the tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor beta-subunit nor the 170 kDa insulin receptor substrate-1. Instead, vanadate induces a marked increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of 55 and 64 kDa proteins that is not observed in insulin-stimulated CSV3-1 cells. Perhaps most interestingly, vandate-induced mitogenesis is associated with the selective induction of c-jun and junB expression without significantly inducing c-fos or c-myc. Furthermore, treatment of CSV3-1 cells with genistein abolishes the effects of vanadate on protein tyrosine phosphorylation and c-jun induction. These and related data suggest that modulation of protein tyrosine phosphorylation and c-jun and junB expression may serve the critical roles in mediating vandate-induced mitogenesis in SV40-transformed cells.

Influence of DNA repair capacity and cell differentiation on UV-induced gene expression.

Terminally differentiated (TD) 3T3-T cells have a reduced capacity to repair ultraviolet (UV)-induced DNA damage, as compared with the repair capabilities of growth-arrested and cycling (stem) 3T3-T cells. In this study UV-induced expression of the immediate early response genes c-fos and c-jun and the secondary response gene type IV collagenase in TD, growth-arrested and stem 3T3-T cells was investigated by northern blot analysis. At each UV dose (0-10 J/m2) there was an increase in c-fos and, to a lesser extent, c-jun expression 0.5 h after irradiation in each 3T3-T phenotype as compared with unirradiated controls. Maximum induction of c-fos was reached at 0.5-1 J/m2 in TD and growth-arrested cells, which was 10-fold greater than in stem cells. The induction of c-jun in TD and growth-arrested cells reached maximums at 0.5 J/m2; at this dose each was greater than in stem cells. The increases in c-fos and c-jun expression were transient in each phenotype reaching maximums from 0.5 to 1 h after irradiation. The expression of type IV collagenase was increased in the non-cycling phenotypes at 2-8 h after irradiation. However, collagenase expression was not detected in unirradiated or irradiated stem cells. These results suggest that growth arrest, not differentiation or DNA repair capacity, is the primary influence on gene induction after UV irradiation.

Induction of SV40 Early Transcription by Type I Interferon

Interferons (IFN) have cancer suppressor activities for many transformed cells; however, IFN does not suppress transformation by SV40 large T antigen. The studies described in this paper therefore evaluated the effect of IFN on SV40-promoted gene expression in 3T3T cells. The results show that SV40-promoted gene expression can be induced 200% or three-fold by Type I IFN treatment regardless of whether β-galactosidase or chloramphenical acetyltransferase (CAT) is used as the reporter gene. This IFN effect is dosage-dependent, requires 24-48 h of exposure for maximum induction of CAT activity, and is probably not due to a post-transcriptional effect of IFN on CAT because IFN has no effect on CAT expression driven by thymidine kinase promoter. The induction of SV40 early transcription by IFN does, however, require that the integration of plasmid within the cell's genome. Additional data specifically show that the SV40 promoter is required for IFN's effect because IFN will not induce CAT if the SV40 enhancer is inserted upstream of thymidine kinase promoter to control expression of CAT gene.

Decreased Repair of Radiation-Induced DNA Double-Strand Breaks with Cellular Differentiation

Although the majority of mammalian cells in situ are terminally differentiated, most DNA repair studies have used proliferating cells. In an attempt to understand better the relationship between differentiation and DNA repair, we have used the murine 3T3-T proadipocyte cell line. In this model system, proliferating (stem) cells undergo growth arrest (GD cells) and subsequently terminally differentiate into adipocytes when exposed to media containing platelet-depleted human plasma. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis was used to evaluate the induction and repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) after ionizing radiation. The levels of radiation-induced DSBs in GD and terminally differentiated cells were similar, but in both cases greater than those found in stem cells at each radiation dose tested (0 to 40 Gy); these differences appear to be due to growth arrest in G1 phase. DNA DSBs were repaired with biphasic kinetics for each cell type. For terminally differentiated cells 25% of DNA DSBs remained unrejoined compared with < 10% for GD and stem cells after a repair time of 4 h. These data indicate that terminal differentiation of 3T3-T cells is associated with a reduction in the repair of ionizing radiation-induced DNA DSBs.

Loss of intragenomic DNA repair heterogeneity with cellular differentiation.

The influence of terminal differentiation on UV-induced DNA damage and its repair in transcriptionally active and inactive genomic sequences was investigated using the murine 3T3-T proadipocyte cell culture system. Actively cycling 3T3-T cells terminally differentiate into adipocytes after exposure to media containing platelet-depleted human plasma. Suitable DNA fragments were analyzed from four genes: beta-actin, adenosine deaminase, dihydrofolate reductase, and lipoprotein lipase. As a result of 3T3-T cell differentiation, lipoprotein lipase and beta-actin expression was modified, whereas adenosine deaminase and dihydrofolate reductase expression was not affected. A DNA fragment representing the transcriptionally inactive locus 70-38 was also evaluated. UV-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, detected as UV-specific endonuclease-sensitive sites, in each fragment increased linearly as a function of UV dose (0-20 J/m2) independently of gene expression or differentiation. Sequence-specific repair of dimers was measured in stem and terminally differentiated 3T3-T cells after UV irradiation (10 J/m2). For undifferentiated stem cells, the rate and extent of dimer repair was higher in the actively transcribed adenosine deaminase and dihydrofolate reductase genes than in the inactive lipoprotein lipase or 70-38 fragments, the greater difference being observed in the first 8 h post-UV irradiation. In contrast, similar dimer repair rates were found for each DNA fragment in terminally differentiated 3T3-T cells. These data suggest that cellular differentiation is accompanied by a loss of heterogeneity in intragenomic DNA repair.

Three distinct effects of SV40 T‐antigen gene transfection on cellular differentiation

SV40 large T-antigen-induced transformation has been reported to block differentiation, but the mechanism(s) of this effect has not been established. The results presented here show that stable transfection of the SV40 T-antigen gene, via the pSV3neo plasmid, has at least three distinct effects on 3T3T adipocyte differentiation. Cells first show a decreased ability to undergo predifferentiation growth arrest, which is a prerequisite for in vitro 3T3T adipocyte differentiation. However, if predifferentiation growth arrest is accomplished by use of stringent differentiation-inducing culture conditions, adipocyte differentiation can occur with high frequency. The pSV3neo-transfected cell clones also show other modifications of the adipocyte differentiation process, including changes in nonterminal (reversible) and terminal (irreversible) steps of adipocyte differentiation. When compared to nontransfected 3T3T cells, the cell clones containing pSV3neo require markedly reduced growth factor concentrations to restimulate proliferation of nonterminally differentiated adipocytes and the terminal step of differentiation is also blocked. These results suggest that integration of the T-antigen gene, through pSV3neo transfection, has multiple effects on the cellular mechanisms of differentiation. It does not block the differentiation process per se; rather it appears to make cells highly sensitive to proliferation signals, thereby making differentiation more difficult.

Influence of Cellular Differentiation on Repair of Ultraviolet-Induced DNA Damage in Murine Proadipocytes

The effects of cellular differentiation on the repair of DNA damage induced by uv radiation were investigated in the murine 3T3-T proadipocyte cell culture system. Upon exposure to human plasma, actively cycling 3T3-T cells (stem cells) undergo growth arrest, which is followed by terminal differentiation into lipid-laden adipocytes. In response to uv irradiation, the level of unscheduled DNA synthesis is significantly lower in adipocytes as compared to stem cells. The alkaline elution assay was used to monitor the appearance of repair-induced strand breaks in 3T3-T cells after uv irradiation. DNA strand breaks were detected in stem cells by 4 min post-uv with essentially no further increase after 8 min. When terminally differentiated adipocytes were irradiated and allowed to repair, however, more strand breaks were present at 4 min and, in marked contrast to stem cells, continued to accumulate in adipocytes for at least 16 min post-uv. Inhibition of repair-replication with hydroxyurea and cytosine arabinoside significantly increased accumulation of repair-induced strand breaks in stem cells, yet had little effect on this accumulation in adipocytes. For stem cells and adipocytes, incision activity was linear out to at least 10 Jm-2 without saturation. These data suggested that 3T3-T cell differentiation is accompanied by a defect in some postincision process of the excision-repair pathway.

Reduction in DNA repair capacity following differentiation of murine proadipocytes

It has been suggested that terminally differentiated mammalian cells have a decreased DNA repair capacity, compared with proliferating stem cells. To investigate this hypothesis, we have examined γ-ray-induced DNA strand breaks and their repair in the murine proadipocyte stem cell line 3T3-T. By exposure to human plasma, 3T3-T cells can be induced to undergo nonterminal and then terminal differentiation. DNA strand breaks were evaluated using the technique of alkaline elution. No difference was detected among stem, nonterminally differentiated, and terminally differentiated cells in the initial levels of radiation-induced DNA strand breaks. Each of the strand break dose responses increased as a linear function of γ-ray dose. The strand breaks induced by 4 Gy rejoined following biphasic kinetics for each cell type. At each time point examined after irradiation, however, the percentage of strand breaks that had not rejoined in terminally differentiated cells was three to six times greater than in stem cells. The rate of strand break rejoining in nonterminally differentiated cells was of an intermediate value between that of the stem and of the terminally differentiated cells. These results indicate that, at least for 3T3-T cells, differentiated cells have a reduced capacity for DNA repair.