Galectin 1 (GAL1) is a beta-galactoside-binding lectin involved in cell cycle progression. GAL1 overexpression is associated with neoplastic transformation and loss of differentiation. The gene encoding for human GAL1 resides on chromosome 22(q12; q13), and its expression is developmentally regulated. Although devoid of signal peptide GAL1 can be externalized from cells by a mechanism independent of the normal secretory process. We report here on a study of the effects of erythroid differentiation of the human leukemia cell line K562 on GAL1 protein expression. In undifferentiated K562 cells, GAL1 was expressed into the cytosol. However, the amount of GAL1 was surprisingly weaker in K562 cells than in other leukemia cell lines such as TF-1 or KG1a. Treatment of K562 cells with erythropoietin (EPO) or with aphidicolin (APH), an inhibitor for DNA polymerase alpha, induced an erythroid phenotype and led to the externalization of cytosolic GAL1 which was then bound to ligands on cell surface in a galactoside-inhibitable fashion. Our results demonstrate that acquisition of an erythroid phenotype is associated with an externalization of GAL1. The autocrine binding of GAL1 to cell surface ligands of non adherent cells such as K562 suggest that GAL1 is implicated rather in signal transduction than in cell-cell or cell-matrix interaction. Moreover, the reciprocal translocation involving chromosomes 9 and 22 t(9;22) present in K562 cells might explain the weak expression of GAL1 in K562 leukemia cells.

In rats infected with the parasite Schistosoma mansoni, the concentration of C-reactive protein in the serum increases after the lung stage of infection and is at its highest at the time of terminal worm rejection. The peak of platelet-mediated cytotoxicity induced by infected serum that has been heated (and is free of immunoglobulin E) as well as the time course for the development of platelet cytotoxic activity in infected rats was found to be correlated with the concentration of C-reactive protein. Rat and human platelets treated with homologous serum obtained during an acute phase of inflammation or with purified C-reactive protein were able to kill the immature forms of the worm in vitro. Platelets treated with C-reactive protein were furthermore capable of conferring significant protection against schistosomiasis in transfer experiments. Collectively these data indicate that a system that includes C-reactive protein and platelets participates in the natural resistance of the rat to schistosomal infection.

Investigation of the effect of C‐reactive protein (CRP), an acute‐phase reactant, on the functional capacities of human neutrophils was carried out as the basis for elucidating the biological function of C‐reactive protein. An initial stimulation at low concentrations, followed by inhibition of superoxide production, and secretion of vitamin‐B12‐binding protein in the presence of two stimulants, phorbol myristate acetate and concanavalin A, and of neutrophil chemotaxis with increasing concentration of CRP was observed. Correlation between modulation of cell function, at least at relatively high CRP concentrations (> 50 μg/ml) and an increase in the intracellular level of cAMP is suggested. CRP was also found to enhance neutrophil phagocytosis of particles not containing phosphorylcholine, the native CRP ligand. The proposed role of CRP in neutrophil function is one of regulation and as a negative feedback for potential cytotoxic neutrophil functions.

Hypermethylation is an important mechanism for repression of tumor gene suppressor in cancer. The drug 5'-azacytidine (AZC) has been used as demethylating agent to induce the expression of previously silencing genes. In the present work, we attempted to determine, using proteomics, the changes in protein expression profiles following a treatment of an Epstein Barr virus (EBV)-negative Burkitt lymphoma (BL) cell line DG 75. The effects of the treatment in terms of cell viability and growth were first examined. The following observations were made: AZC treatment led to (i) a decrease in cell growth with an arrest of the cell at G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle, (ii) the expression of p16, a tumor-suppressor gene whose expression was dependent on its promoter demethylation. Proteomic study evidenced that AZC treatment affected protein expression in two different ways. Twenty-one polypeptides were down-expressed, while 14 showed an increased expression. Some of the upregulated proteins appeared related to the energy metabolism, to organization of cytoskeletal structures, and to cell viability and protein synthesis. We also established a reference map for proteins in DG 75 cell line, comprising 74 different polypeptides corresponding to 67 proteins. This map will be accessible via Internet as a resource for proteome analyses of B-cells. Taken together, the results presented here highlight new insights into lymphoma cell gene regulations following a treatment of lymphoma cells with AZC and illustrate a use of proteomics to evidence the direct and indirect effects of a drug and the pathways it possibly regulates.