Cadmium-resistant Cells Research Articles

Characterization of metal binding peptides from cadmium resistant plant cells.

The majority of the cellular cadmium (less than 80%) in cadmium resistant Datura innoxia cells is bound to a small, metal induced peptide which is not metallothionein. This peptide consists of glutamate, cysteine and glycine in a ratio between 2:2:1 and 3:3:1 and has an apparent molecular weight of 776, under denaturing conditions. It is heat stable and complexes with cadmium to produce multimeric forms which are separable by gel filtration. Chemical analyses suggest that some amino acids are not joined by classical peptide linkages. This indicates that the synthesis of the peptide may not be directed by mRNA and that induction of its synthesis may not involve increased transcription from a putative gene corresponding directly to this peptide. A smaller proportion (greater than 15%) of the cellular cadmium is bound to a larger compound which is also heat stable and binds copper more readily than cadmium in vivo. This larger compound has an amino acid composition similar, in some respects, to metallothioneins.

Accumulation of non-protein metal-binding polypeptides (gamma-glutamyl-cysteinyl)n-glycine in selected cadmium-resistant tomato cells.

Tomato cell suspensions have been selected for sustained growth on normally lethal concentrations of CdCl2. In cadmium-resistant (CdR) cells, Cd2+ is found complexed with non-protein, cysteine-rich polypeptides which accumulate in high amounts when cells are grown in the presence of Cd2+. Sequence and linkage analysis of these peptides by triple quadrupole mass spectrometry establishes structures of (gamma-Glu-Cys)3-Gly and (gamma-Glu-Cys)4-Gly. Necessity of these peptides for the CdR phenotype is demonstrated by inhibition of their accumulation by buthionine sulfoximine, a specific inhibitor of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase. Treatment of CdR cells with a concentration of buthionine sulfoximine below that inhibiting growth in the absence of Cd2+ renders CdR cells sensitive to Cd2+ ion.

5-Azacytidine-induced conversion to cadmium resistance correlates with early S phase replication of inactive metallothionein genes in synchronized CHO cells

Previous studies have shown both hypermethylation and late replication of DNA sequences to be associated with gene inactivity. To determine whether there is a causal relationship between patterns of DNA methylation and replication timing during S phase, we have examined the timing of replication of the inactive, hypermethylated metallothionein (MT) I and II genes in synchronized, cadmium-sensitive (Cds) CHO cells. The time of S-phase replication of the MT genes was ascertained by determining the period of S phase wherein cadmium-resistant (Cdr) cells could be induced with highest frequency by pulse treatment of synchronized Cds cells with the hypomethylating drug 5-azacytidine (5-aza-CR), and by analyzing Southern blots of density fractionated DNAs isolated from synchronized cells pulse-labeled with BrdU during different intervals after release from hydroxyurea blockade. Southern filter hybridization analyses demonstrated replication of both MTI and II gene sequences within the first half of S phase. Consistent with this result, phenotypic conversion of Cds to Cdr was maximal immediately after hydroxyurea release and decreased abruptly within three hours. The replication of inactive hypermethylated MT genes in early S phase argues that transcriptional inactivity and gene-specific hypermethylation are not sufficient conditions for late DNA replication.

Metallothioneins and resistance to cadmium poisoning in drosophila cells

Toxicity of cadmium on Drosophila cell lines has been studied. Maximal tolerance for cadmium chloride is 10 microM. Metallothioneins are induced in Drosophila cells following cadmium addition. A stable cadmium resistant cell line (Cd R200) has been selected starting from the haploid D clone. The Cd R200 cells are diploid and display metallothionein levels 22 times higher than cells of the original line fully induced with cadmium. The 200 microM CdCl2 tolerance upper limit in Cd R200 line is overcome if L-cysteine is supplemented to the medium. It is thus possible, in the presence of 5 mM L-cysteine, to select cells able to resist 800 microM CdCl2. These cells produce 4 times more metallothioneins than Cd R200 cells.

Protein mapping of two metallothionein-rich cell strains and their parent lines, using high-resolution two-dimensional electrophoresis

A high-resolution two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-D) technique was used to characterize one human and one murine cadmium-resistant substrain and their parental wild-type lines. The substrains are cultured on 100 μ m cadmium and contain high levels of the cysteine-rich protein metallothionein (MT). All four cell lines were labeled with [ 35S]methionine during growth. A remarkable consistency was found in the protein maps of the resistant strains compared to those obtained from their corresponding wild-type lines. Thus, in the maps from the human substrain only two spots were detected which were not found in the parent cells. In the murine substrain, two spots were more abundant and two diminished compared to the parent cells. No distinct spots corresponding to authentic MT were detected in any of the autoradiographs from the cadmium-resistant cells. The reason for this was found to be failure of the protein to focus in the first dimension. Purified [ 35S]cystine-labeled MT appeared as a diffuse labeling over the entire gel, and subsequently as wide horizontal bands in the second dimension. These bands were also clearly visible in the protein maps when MT-rich cells had been labeled with [ 35S]cysteine. This study shows that the standardized 2-D gel system used in many laboratories cannot be used to screen cell populations for MT.

Effect of cadmium and colcemide on the mitoses of a human epithelial cell line with high content of cytoplasmic metallothionein.

Cultures of cell strains with and without metallothionein were exposed to CdCl2 in doses ranging from 10 mu mol/l to 200 mu mol/l . Cell growth parameters were monitored by flow cytometric DNA-measurements, cell counts and counting of mitoses during the first two days after exposure. CdCl2 inhibited cell growth in a dose dependent way. The cadmium resistant cells were inhibited with concentrations above 100 mu mol/l, the concentration which the metallothionein-containing cells had previously been adjusted to. Microscopy of the cell cultures showed a dose dependent accumulation of cells in the mitotic prophase, whereas the other phases of the cell cycle were unaffected as measured by flow cytometry. When exposed to colcemide, however, the two cell strains showed identical responsiveness.

Selection, Isolation, and Characterization of Cadmium-Resistant Datura innoxia Suspension Cultures

Datura innoxia cells from suspension cultures were selected for their ability to grow and divide rapidly in normally lethal concentrations of cadmium. Cells resistant to 12.5, 25, 50, 100, 160, 200, and 250 micromolar cadmium chloride were isolated and utilized to initiate cell suspension cultures resistant to this toxic metal ion. Variant cell lines retained their ability to grow in cadmium after being grown in its absence for more than 400 generations. Resistance to cadmium was correlated with the synthesis of low molecular weight, cysteine-rich, cadium-binding proteins. Synthesis of these proteins was induced rapidly in cadmium-resistant cells in response to a challenge of cadmium. Induction was detectable within one hour after exposure of the cells to the metal ion. Accumulation of protein bound cadmium reached a maximum eight to twelve hours following exposure. Metal-binding proteins were not detectable in the cadmium sensitive D. innoxia cells from which resistant cells were derived.

Induction of metallothionein-I mRNA in cultured cells by heavy metals and iodoacetate: evidence for gratuitous inducers.

A mouse hepatocyte cell line selected for growth in 80 microM CdSO4 (Cdr80 cells) was used to test the role of metallothioneins in heavy metal detoxification. The cadmium-resistant (Cdr80) cells have double minute chromosomes carrying amplified copies of the metallothionein-I gene and accumulate ca. 20-fold more metallothionein-I mRNA than unselected cadmium-sensitive (Cds) cells after optimal Cd stimulation. As a consequence, the amount of Cd which inhibits DNA synthesis by 50% is ca. 7.5-fold higher in Cdr80 cells than in Cds cells. Cds and Cdr80 cells were compared in terms of their resistance to other heavy metals. The results indicate that although Zn, Cu, Hg, Ag, Co, Ni, and Bi induce metallothionein-I mRNA accumulation in both Cdr80 and Cds cells, the Cdr80 cells show increased resistance to only a subset of these metals (Zn, Cu, Hg, and Bi). This suggests that not all metals which induce metallothionein mRNA are detoxified by metallothionein and argues against autoregulation of metallothionein genes. Metallothionein-I mRNA is also induced by iodoacetate, suggesting that the regulatory molecule has sensitive sulfhydryl groups.

Effects of cadmium on glutathione metabolism in cadmium sensitive and cadmium resistant Chinese hamster cell lines

Three cadmium resistant sublines, Cd r20F4, Cd r30F9, and Cd r200T1, resistant to 26, 40, and 145 μm CdCl 2, respectively, have been derived from the cadmium sensitive Chinese hamster cell line CHO (resistant to 0.2 μ M CdCl 2). The resistance appears to be largely a function of the increased ability of the variant cells to induce the synthesis of metallothioneins (MTs) in response to cadmium, as the incorporation of [ 35S]cysteine into MTs ranges from an undetectable level to nearly 60% of the total cysteine incorporation into proteins in the CHO and Cd r200T1 cell lines, respectively. Treatment of the cadmium resistant sublines and the parent line with maximal subtoxic levels of CdCl 2 produced increases in the concentration of glutathione and glutathione S-transferase activity. In the parent, cadmium-sensitive CHO cell, the glutathione concentration began to increase after 9 h of exposure to 0.22 μ M CdCl 2 to over 250% of control level by 12 h. In 1 cadmium resistant line (Cd r20F4) the increase, again at 9 h, was preceded by a decreass, possibly due to depletion of the cysteine pools by the cadmium-induced MT synthesis. The second cadmium-resistant cell line (Cd r30F9) displayed no decrease, and the most cadmium-resistant line (Cd r200T1) showed the decrease and a recovery, but no significant increase by 12 h. In all cell lines there was a small but significant increase in glutathione S-transferase activity by 9 or 12 h. These responses may be specific for the thiol-reactive metal, cadmium, or may represent more general responses to cellular toxicity.

Zinc effects on glutathione metabolism relationship to zinc-induced protection from alkylating agents

Several aspects of the effects of zinc on the metabolism of glutathione were examined in the Chinese hamster cell (line CHO) and in three derived sublines which differ in their resistance to the thiol reactive heavy metal cadmium. In the parental CHO cell, which does not induce the synthesis of metallothionein in response to zinc, glutathione levels remained approximately constant during the first 6 hr of zinc exposure. In the resistant cell lines, which induce the synthesis of metallothionein in response to zinc, the glutathione levels dropped transiently during zinc exposure. In all cell lines except the most cadmium resistant line, the glutathione levels after 12 hr were increased up to 3-fold relative to pretreatment levels. Similarly, the glutathione S-transferase activity measured by the conjugation of l-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene to glutathione was increased after 9–12 hr of zinc treatment in all except the most highly cadmium resistant cell line. Glutathione reductase was not affected consistently by zinc treatment; however, the level of activity of this enzyme in the most highly cadmium resistant line was two to three times greater than that observed in the other cell lines. These effects are considered in relation to the zinc-induced protection of these cells from the toxic effect of the alkylating agent melphalan.

Application of a modified 203Hg binding assay for metallothionein

A sensitive and rapid method to estimate concentrations of functional metallothionein in small biological samples, based upon the acid stability of 203Hg binding and solubility of this protein in trichloroacetic acid is described. Sephadex G-10 minicolumns supported in centrifuge tubes afforded separation and quantitation of isotope bound metallothionein from unbound metal. Elution of metallothionein bound 203Hg was achieved by short term-low speed centrifugation that segregated chelator-ligand complex into the eluate while unbound ligand remained in the gel. A well characterized standard of pure metallothionein protein was utilized to verify the specificity and sensitivity of the modified assay. Metallothionein levels were estimated by 203Hg binding in extracts of wild type and cadmium resistant Chinese hamster ovary cells treated with maximum tolerable concentrations of CdCl 2. Similar separation methods demonstrated [ 35S]-cysteine incorporation into induced metallothionein. Additionally, induction of metallothionein was observed after treatment with particulate CdS but not crystalline NiS particles. These results demonstrate that the modified assay system is easily applied to serial measurement of metallothionein levels in multiple small biological samples.

Cadmium and zinc flux in wild-type and cadmium-resistant CHO cells

Cellular flux of cadmium-109 and zinc-65 is characterized in cultured Chinese hamster ovary cells. The transport of cadmium is primarily unidirectional and, following uptake, cadmium is strongly retained. Zinc transport is bidirectional and intracellular zinc continuously leaches out into the medium. Nonradioactive cadmium or zinc enhances the efflux of(65)Zn from prelabeled cells. Transport of these metals into wild-type cells is not affected by azide, ouabain, cycloheximide, or actinomycin D. A cadmium-resistant mutant was isolated that exhibited altered sensitivities to certain inhibitors of macromolecular synthesis as well as quantitative differences in metal transport and accumulation. Although the mutant accumulates less cadmium than the wild-type cell, that which is retained is bound much more tightly. In addition, this lower rate of cadmium uptake is significantly decreased by either cycloheximide or actinomycin D. This suggests that thede novo synthesis of a protein or proteins is required for much of the net cadmium retention by the cadmium-resistant cells.

Amplification of the metallothionein-I gene in cadmium-resistant mouse cells.

Friend leukemia cells resistant to cadmium toxicity were selected. More than 70% of total cysteine incorporation in these cells was into the metal-binding protein, metallothionein. We used cDNA and genomic DNA clones containing the metallothionein-I gene to measure the concentration of its mRNA, the rate of gene transcription, and the number of genes. On a per cell basis, optimally induced, cadmium-resistant cells have a 14-fold more metallothionein-I mRNA, a 6-fold higher rate of metallothionein-I gene transcription, and 6-fold more metallothionein-I genes than do nonresistant cells. Metaphase spreads revealed that the resistant cells are nearly tetraploid and contain, on the average, three very small chromosomes that are absent from non-resistant Friend cells.

Staphylococcal penicillinase plasmids: studies on the reversion of a temperature-sensitive replication mutant to temperature stability.

SUMMARY: A culture of Staphylococcus aureus harbouring a temperature-sensitive plasmid carrying genes for resistance to penicillin and cadmium ions, loses this plasmid and the associated phenotype when grown at the restrictive temperature. However, incubation at the restrictive temperature in the presence of cadmium ions results in a small number of cadmium-resistant cells. The properties of these surviving cells have been investigated and evidence is presented in support of the hypothesis that at least some of these cadmium-resistant cells are the result of integration of the plasmid into some other replicon, possibly the chromosome.