Rous-sarcoma-virus-transformed fibroblasts having low levels of plasminogen activator.

Several clones of transformed chick embryo fibroblasts infected with wild-type B77-C or Prague-C strain of Rous sarcoma virus have been isolated from soft agar suspension. These clones were screened for plasminogen activator activity by overlaying monolayer cultures with medium containing agar, casein, and chicken plasminogen. Twenty-three percent of all of the isolated clones showed little caseinolytic activity, 42% had intermediate activity, and 35% had high activity. Although the clones with low plasminogen activator activity had no more than twice the activity shown by uninfected fibroblasts, they did not differ significantly from clones possessing high levels of plasminogen activator in their morphology, 2-deoxyglucose transport, or efficiency of colony formation in soft-agar.     

Detection and partial characterization of a chymostatin-sensitive endopeptidase in transformed fibroblasts.

A chymostatin-sensitive step in the release of plasminogen activator from transformed fibroblasts has been described recently. By using synthetic peptidyl substrates, we have detected and characterized a chymostatin-sensitive peptidase activity in chicken embryo fibroblasts transformed by Rous sarcoma virus. The activity represents a neutral endopeptidase that exhibits phenylalanine specificity and is inhibited by diisopropyl fluorophosphate. A detailed inhibitor profile of the enzyme activity shows that it is distinct from other chymotrypsin-like phenylalanine-preferring peptidases. The endopeptidase activity in transformed fibroblasts is increased over that of parallel cultures of normal fibroblasts. The mechanism of enzyme inhibition by chymostatin is indicated by these studies, and the possible role of the enzyme in modulating plasminogen activator secretion is discussed.     

Levels of translatable mRNAs for cell surface protein, collagen precursors, and two membrane proteins are altered in Rous sarcoma virus-transformed chick embryo fibroblasts.

Transformation of chick embryo fibroblasts by Rous sarcoma virus results in decreased amounts of a major cell surface protein and of collagen. To determine the mechanism accounting for the decreased production of these proteins, we have measured the relative amounts of functional mRNAs for these and other transformation-sensitive proteins. Total cellular RNAs extracted from normal cells and from cells transformed by the Schmidt-Ruppin strain of Rous sarcoma virus were translated in a cell-free system derived from wheat germ. Analysis of the in vitro translation products of RNAs from normal and transformed chick embryo fibroblasts shows a 5-fold reduction in the translatable mRNA for cell surface protein and a 10-fold reduction in translatable mRNA for two collagen precursors. In addition, increases in functional mRNA are observed for myosin and for two membrane polypeptides with molecular weights of 95,000 and 78,000; the latter two proteins increase on transformation, but the increases are in large part secondary to the depletion of glucose from the medium of transformed cells. Our data suggest that some of the major cellular changes induced by oncogenic viruses are due to changes in the activity of specific cellular genes.     

Calcium-dependent regulatory protein of cyclic nucleotide metabolism in normal and transformed chicken embryo fibroblasts.

The concentration of a calcium-binding protein modulator of 3':5'-cyclic-nucleotide phosphodiesterase (EC 3.1.4.17; 3':5'-cyclic-nucleotide 5'-nucleotidohydrolase) activity is increased in chicken embryo fibroblasts upon transformation by Rous sarcoma virus. This modulator protein from fibroblasts, which has roughly the same molecular size, charge, and functional properties as that isolated from chicken brain, comprises approximately 1.32% of the soluble protein in homogenates of fibroblasts infected and transformed by Rous sarcoma virus. In comparison, the modulator comprises approximately 0.30% of the soluble protein in homogenates of normal fibroblasts from confluent cultures and 0.36% of the soluble protein in homogenates of fibroblasts infected with a transformation-defective mutant of Rous sarcoma virus. Modulator levels in normal fibroblasts at subconfluent cell densities are 0.42-0.76% of the homogenate soluble protein, i.e., between that found in confluent normal fibroblasts and in fibroblasts transformed by Rous sarcoma virus. These observations suggest that the levels of the modulator protein are elevated under conditions in which chicken embryo fibroblasts are undergoing rapid growth and have decreased adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate levels.     

Surface ruffles as markers for studies of cell transformation by Rous sarcoma virus.

Confluent chick embryo fibroblasts infected with the Ts68 mutant of Rous sarcoma virus were examined by scanning electron microscopy at the permissive (36 degrees) and nonpermissive (41 degrees) temperatures for transformation. Infected cells shifted from 41 degrees to 36 degrees undergo a change in shape from elongated to rounded. This process is preceded by the appearance of surface ruffles on the cell. These surface ruffles are not observed on cells maintained at 41 degrees, appear as early as 0.5 hr after a shift to 36 degrees, and are common on cells maintained at 36 degrees. By 3.5 hr after the shift from 41 degrees to 36 degrees, cultures appear fully transformed by the criteria of cell roundedness and the presence of surface ruffles. This surface alteration of cells is the earliest event of those so far reported during the transformation process and is not dependent upon protein synthesis and extracellular plasminogen during the period of temperature shift.     

The major cell surface glycoprotein of chick embryo fibroblasts is an agglutinin.

A major cell surface protein, CSP, of chick embryo fibroblasts has been shown to constitute up to 3% of total cell protein, and to be decreased after viral transformation. Its role in normal cell behavior is not known. We have isolated CSP from chick embryo fibroblasts by extraction with 1 M urea and find that these preparations of CSP agglutinate formalinized sheep erythrocytes at protein concentrations of under 2 mug/ml. In extracts of chick embryo cells, the quantity of such hemagglutinating activity parallels that of CSP determined by electrophoresis, and both are substantially decreased in chick cells transformed by the Bryan hightiter strain of Rous sarcoma virus. Both CSP and hemagglutinating activity are progressively adsorbed onto erythrocytes and can be released by 1 M urea. An antiserum to purified CSP specifically blocks the agglutination. The agglutinating activity is destroyed by boiling or treatment with proteases. The agglutination reaction is inhibited by the chelating agents EDTA and EGTA [ethyleneglycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)N,N'-tetraacetic acid]. Agglutination is also inhibited to a lesser degres by amino sugars and other amines, increased osmolarity, and urea. Other monosaccharides, hyaluronidase, DNase, and RNase have little or not effect on the agglutination reaction. This demonstration that CSP has an agglutinating activity that is sensitive to proteases and that requires divalent cations suggests that this molecule may play a role in cell adhesion.     

Plasma membrane alteration associated with malignant transformation in culture.

The intramembrane organization of the plasma membranes of nonmalignant cells in culture has been compared by freeze-fracturing with that of virally-transformed malignant cells. No dramatic differences are present in the distribution of intramembrane particles in the plasma membranes of these cells when the cells are examined without fixation or with mild fixation (glutaraldehyde treatment) prior to freezing. However, a redistribution of intramembrane particles into aggregates occurs in the membranes of nontransformed cells after treatment with glycerol. The aggregation of particles is extensive in normal chick embryo fibroblasts, and less extensive in mouse 3T3 cells. The glycerol-induced particle redistribution is not inhibited at 4 degrees, but it is inhibited by pretreatment with 2.5% glutaraldehyde. A significant number of the cells remain viable after the glycerol treatment, and the process is reversible. Particle aggregation does not appear to be related to either growth rate or cell density. Transformed Rous sarcoma virus/chick embryo fibroblasts and simian virus 40/3T3 cells have few particle aggregates after glycerol treatment. The plasma membranes of chick embryo fibroblasts transformed with a mutant of Rous sarcoma virus (TS-68) that is temperature sensitive for transformation, have few particle aggregates when grown at the permissive temperature (37 degrees). Extremely prominent particle aggregates are present in the plasma membranes of cells grown at the nonpermissive temperature (41 degrees). These observations indicate that there is an alteration in the plasma membrane associated with viral transformation which is related to a glycerol-sensitive mechanism that controls the distribution of intramembrane particles.     

Lack of correlation between tumorigenicity and level of plasminogen activator in fibroblasts transformed by Rous sarcoma virus

We have previously isolated, from agar suspension culture, clones of chicken embryo fibroblasts transformed by B77 and Prague strains of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) that varied in the expression of plasminogen activator activity [Wolf, B. A. & Goldberg, A. (1976) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 73, 3613-3617]. All of the clones exhibited an altered cellular morphology, an increased rate of sugar transport, and a high efficiency of colony formation in agar suspension regardless of the level of plasminogen activator. Because B77 and Prague strains of RSV replicate as well as cause sarcomas in chickens, the tumorigenicity of the transformed cells could not be evaluated with clones of these cells. In order to determine the oncogenicity of clones with various levels of plasminogen activator, it was necessary to isolate cells transformed by the replication-defective Bryan strain of RSV, which release noninfectious virus. All of the agar suspension clones of transformed cells, derived by infection of chicken embryo cells with replication-defective Bryan RSV, fell within the continuum observed for B77- and Prague-transformed clones with respect to altered morphology, increased rate of sugar transport, efficiency of colony formation in agar suspension, and variations in plasminogen activator activity. All of the clones, regardless of the level of plasminogen activator, produced tumors when as few as 5 x 10(2) cells were injected into the wing web of 1-day-old chicks. The latency period for tumor formation after injection of cells was similar regardless of the level of plasminogen activator of the injected cell. Primary explants of tumors resulting from inoculation of clones having low, intermediate, or high activator activity displayed a spectrum of activator activity.     

Temperature-sensitive changes in surface modulating assemblies of fibroblasts transformed by mutants of Rous sarcoma virus.

The hypothesis that surface modulating assemblies containing microfilaments and microtubules and altered after cellular transformation was tested on cells infected with temperature-sensitive mutants of avian sarcoma virus. Untransformed cells (mouse 3T3 and chick fibroblasts), cells transformed by simian virus 40 (SV 3T3), and chick fibroblasts infected with Schmidt-Ruppin strain of Rous sarcoma virus (SR-RSV-A-infected cells) were first compared for differences in microfilament and microtubule patterns after treatment with fluorescein-labeled antibodies to actin and tubulin. Transformed cells showed disappearance of ordered stress microfilaments and thickened or diffuse alterations of microtubular arrays. At restrictive temperatures (41 degrees), chick fibroblasts infected with a temperature-sensitive mutant (ts 68) of Rous sarcoma virus showed normal patterns of stress fialments and radial microtubular arrays originating in 1 or 2 centrioles. At permissive temperatures (37 degrees), these patterns were disordered and resembled those of SR-RSV-A-infected cells. After a shift from 41 degrees to 37 degrees, the changes in microtubules were observed in the majority of cells within 1 hr. These changes were reversible and did not result from the inability of tubulin to polymerize. In ts 68-infected cells at permissive temperatures, concanavalin A induced much less surface modulation (inhibition of receptor mobility) than at restrictive temperatures. These results suggest that cellular transformation alters both the structure and function of surface modulating assemblies and prompt the hypothesis that products of viral transforming genes may affect these assemblies with a consequent loss of growth control.     

Transformation by Rous sarcoma virus: effects of src gene expression on the synthesis and phosphorylation of cellular polypeptides.

Infection of chicken embryo fibroblasts by Rous sarcoma virus induces a variety of alterations in cellular growth and morphology. We have used two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to examine the effects of viral transformation on the pattern of synthesis and phosphorylation of cellular polypeptides. Infection by Rous sarcoma virus does not appear to induce the de novo synthesis, or the complete suppression, of any of the [35S]methionine-labeled cellular polypeptides that can be resolved with this technique; however, there are quantitative changes in a minor fraction (approximately 4%) of the [35S]methionine-labeled polypeptides. When cells labeled with [32P]orthophosphate were examined, a phosphorylated polypeptide, Mr 36,000, was detected in transformed cells; this polypeptide appears within 20 min when cells infected by a temperature-sensitive mutant of Rous sarcoma virus are shifted from the nonpermissive to the permissive temperature. Phosphorylation of the 36,000 Mr polypeptide thus represents an early event in the process of transformation, and it is possible that this polypeptide is a target for the kinase activity associated with pp60src.     

A structural change of the plasma membrane induced by oncogenic viruses: quantitative studies with the freeze-fracture technique.

In BHK21 hamster cells a significant increase in density of intramembranous particles occurs in freeze-fractured plasma membranes after transformation by hamster sarcoma and polyoma viruses. A similar change has been observed in chick embryo cells infected and transformed by a mutant of Rous sarcoma virus thermosensitive for transformation, at both permissive and nonpermissive temperatures. There is also an increase in particle density in chick cells infected with the Rous-associated avian leukosis virus type 1. The newly appeared particles may represent the insertion of new proteins in hydrophobic regions of plasma membrane, in response to the action of oncogenic viruses.     

Microinjection analysis of envelope-glycoprotein messenger activities of avian leukosis viral RNAs.

Virion RNA from the avian leukosis virus Rous-associated virus 2 (RAV-2) and poly(A)-containing RNAs from RAV-2-infected chick embryo fibroblasts were microinjected into fibroblasts transformed by the Bryan high-titer strain of Rous sarcoma virus (RSV), which is deficient in viral envelope glycoprotein. Production of infectious RSV following these injections depended upon the viral envelope-messenger activity of the injected RNA. This system constituted a sensitive and rigorous assay system for viral envelope-messenger RNA. It was found that 21S mRNA from RAV-2-infected cells expressed the highest activity, while 35S mRNA expressed comparatively little. In addition, RAV-2-virion RNA expressed little messenger activity. The rate of formation of infectious RSV following 21S mRNA injections reached a peak near 9 hr, which was followed by a rapid decline. Evidence has been obtained that a small fraction of both 35S virion RNA and 35S mRNA from virus-infected cells was encapsulated into virus particles following their injection into virus-producing cells.     

Changes in microfilament organization and surface topogrophy upon transformation of chick embryo fibroblasts with Rous sarcoma virus.

A series of morphological changes occurred when chick embryo fibroblasts infected with the NY68 mutant of Rous sarcoma virus were shifted from nonpermissive temperature (41degrees) to permissive temperature (37 degrees). We observed three distinct stages in cell morphology and surface topography that were correlated with a reduction in the organization and assembly of actin-containing microfilament bundles. Our observations suggest that control of microfilament organization and surface topography are responsive to the presence of a functioning transforming gene (src) product of Rous sarcoma virus.     

Rous sarcoma virus activates embryonic globin genes in chicken fibroblasts.

Complementary DNA (cDNA) specific for chick globin mRNA sequences fails to hybridize to total RNA extracted from chicken fibroblasts. After infection by Rous sarcoma virus, RNA complementary to globin cDNA is detectable in 100-500 copies per cell. Infection of fibroblasts with the transformation defective (td) deletion mutant of Rous sarcoma virus leads to normal virus production, but not to host cell transformation or accumulation of RNA sequences complementary to globin cDNA. Our evidence shows that the globin genes activated by Rous sarcoma virus are those specified by embryonic chick red cells; adult-specific globin sequences were not detected.     

Talin is phosphorylated on tyrosine in chicken embryo fibroblasts transformed by Rous sarcoma virus.

We have examined the extent of tyrosine phosphorylation of talin, a component of the cytoskeleton localized in the focal adhesions and, therefore, a potential substrate of p60v-src, the transforming protein of Rous sarcoma virus. p60v-src is a tyrosine kinase that induces high levels of phosphotyrosine and the disorganization of the cytoskeleton in transformed cells. With a polyclonal antibody utilized in a previous study [Maher, P. A., Pasquale, E. B., Wang, J. Y. J. & Singer, S. J. (1985) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82, 6576-6580] for the detection of tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins, we have detected phosphotyrosine residues in talin molecules immunoprecipitated from Rous sarcoma virus-transformed, but not normal, chicken embryo fibroblasts. Phospho amino acid analysis of talin from the infected cells confirmed the presence of phosphotyrosine, in addition to phosphoserine and phosphothreonine. The extent of tyrosine modification in talin was compared to that in vinculin, the other focal adhesion component previously found to contain enhanced levels of phosphotyrosine in various retrovirus-transformed cells. A considerably (3 times) larger fraction of the talin than of the vinculin molecules was found to be phosphorylated on tyrosine. The phosphorylation of talin on tyrosine may be crucial for the expression of the abnormal morphology characteristic of cells transformed by Rous sarcoma virus.     

Stimulation of sugar uptake and glycolysis in chicken embryo fibroblasts by the major glycoprotein from avian myeloblastosis virus.

Addition of purified major glycoprotein from avian myeloblastosis virus to growing or quiescent chicken embryo fibroblasts rapidly stimulates the rate of hexose transport and increases the lactic acid production. These stimulatory effects are dependent on the time of exposure and the dose of viral glycoprotein. In contrast, the glycoprotein only marginally affects hexose transport in chicken cells transformed by Rous sarcoma virus. Some effects of the glycoprotein on serum-starved quiescent cells were similar to those observed upon re-addition of serum; however, the viral glycoprotein did not stimulate DNA synthesis. Quiescent cells stimulated by saturating levels of serum showed little further stimulation of hexose uptake upon exposure to viral glycoprotein for 3 hr. This behavior suggests that the glycoprotein may be acting on a system that is also a target for serum action.     

Culture of human cells obtained with DNA from chick Rous sarcoma.

An infectious process was reproduced in the culture of chick embryo cells by means of DNA isolated from Rous chick sarcoma tissue (Carr-Zilber strain). This DNA preparation displays biological activity also in the culture of human embryo diploid cells (HEDC) which is manifested in: 1. discontinuous synthesis of avian oncovirus group-specific antigen; 2. enhancement of proliferative activity and morphological transformation of human cells; 3. continuous presence of virus-specific sequences as revealed by DNA/RNA hybridization. Producing complete oncornavirus by means of DNA isolated from Rous chick sarcoma in HEDC was unsuccessful. DNA preparation from gs negative chick embryo cells shows no infectious activity in HEDC culture.     

Binding and internalization of thrombin by normal and transformed chick cells.

Thrombin stimulates cell proliferation in cultures of normal chick embryo fibroblasts but not in cells transformed with Rous sarcoma virus. Analysis of medium conditioned by Rous-sarcoma-virus-transformed cultures demonstrates that these cells do not secrete molecules that can inhibit or inactivate thrombin. The interaction of thrombin with these cells was investigated with enzymatically active 125I-thrombin. The amount of cell-associated 125I-thrombin was found to be three times greater with normal cells than with transformed cells. In both types of cell, greater than 50% of the total cell-associated 125I-thrombin was found as a component that was not dissociated from the cells by trypsin treatment, an observation suggesting that a significant portion was not on the cell surface. The amount of the trypsin-insensitive fraction increases with time up to 12 hr, whereas the trypsin-sensitive fraction is saturated after 1-4 hr. Autoradiography of thin sections of 125I-thrombin-treated cells observed by electron microscopy reveals that after 10 hr incubation greater than 70% of the label is localized in the cytoplasm of both normal and transformed cells. Autoradiograms of sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide slab gels demonstrate that 40% of the intracellular label is the size of native thrombin with the remainder in two large fragments of 22,000 and 19,500 daltons.