Three pancreatic beta-cell lines have been established from insulinomas derived from transgenic mice carrying a hybrid insulin-promoted simian virus 40 tumor antigen gene. The beta tumor cell (J3TC) lines maintain the features of differentiated beta cells for about 50 passages in culture. The cells produce both proinsulin I and II and efficiently process each into mature insulin, in a manner comparable to normal beta cells in isolated islets. Electron microscopy reveals typical beta-cell type secretory granules, in which insulin is stored. Insulin secretion is inducible up to 30-fold by glucose, although with a lower threshold for maximal stimulation than that for normal beta cells. (3TC lines can be repeatedly derived from primary beta-cell tumors that heritably arise in the transgenic mice. Thus, targeted expression of an oncogene with a cell-specific regulatory element can be used both to immortalize a rare cell type and to provide a selection for the maintenance of its differentiated phenotype.Pancreatic beta cells synthesize and secrete insulin, a hormone involved in regulation of glucose homeostasis. In rodents there are two nonallelic insulin genes (I and II), which differ in the number of introns as well as in chromosomal location. Both genes are expressed in beta cells (1). An adult murine pancreas contains about 106 beta cells, clustered in the islets of Langerhans, which are dispersed throughout the exocrine tissue. As a consequence, molecular analyses of beta-cell function has in large part depended on in vitro cultures. Cells from isolated islets do not grow well in culture, although they maintain viability for a few weeks (2). In recent years, several lines of transformed beta cells have been generated (3-6). Two of these, RIN-m SF, derived from an x-ray-induced rat insulinoma, and HIT, from hamster islets transformed by simian virus 40, have been used extensively for characterization of insulin gene expression (4,5,7,8).However, it is unclear to what extent they represent normal beta cells, given that the levels of insulin secreted are considerably lower than those of beta cells in vivo.The ability to target expression of oncogenes to particular cells in transgenic mice, by using cell-specific regulatory elements, presents a method for immortalization of rare cell types. We have reported that transgenic mice harboring insulin-simian virus 40 tumor (T) antigen (RIP-Tag) hybrid genes heritably develop beta-cell tumors (9-11). Here we describe the characterization of several beta tumor cell (J3TC) lines obtained from transgenic mouse tumors and propagated in culture for over 60 passages. These cells provide a useful tool for studies of beta-cell regulation and gene expression. METHODSCell Cultures. Pancreatic insulinomas were excised from transgenic mice and disrupted in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM). To minimize contamination by fibroblasts and other nontransformed cells, the tumors were not trypsinized. Rather, the tumor capsule was gently removed, and the tumor cells were mech...
The regulation of the growth of the pancreatic beta-cell is poorly understood. There are previous indications of a role of GH in the growth and insulin production of the pancreatic islets. In the present study we present evidence for a direct long-term effect of GH on proliferation and insulin biosynthesis of pancreatic beta-cells in monolayer culture. In culture medium RPMI 1640 supplemented with 2% normal human serum islets or dissociated islet cells from newborn rats maintained their insulin-producing capacity. When supplemented with 1-1000 ng/ml pituitary or recombinant human GH the islet cells attached, spread out, and proliferated into monolayers mainly consisting of insulin-containing cells. The number of beta-cells in S-phase was increased from 0.9-6.5% as determined by immunochemical staining of bromodeoxyuridine incorporated into insulin-positive cells. The increase in cell number was accompanied with a continuous increase in insulin release to the culture medium reaching a 10- 20-fold increase after 2-3 months with a half-maximal effect at about 10 ng/ml human GH. The biosynthesis of (pro)insulin was markedly increased with a normal rate of conversion of proinsulin to insulin. It is concluded that GH is a potent growth factor for the differentiated pancreatic beta-cell.
Human crude and recombinant interleukin 1 (IL-1) was found to dose- and time-dependently affect the biosynthesis of (pro)insulin in isolated rat islets of Langerhans. Incubation of rat islets with either 0.5 U/ml or 5 U/ml of crude IL-1 for 1 h had no detectable effect on (pro)insulin biosynthesis. After 24 hours of exposure 0.5 U/ml of crude or 0.6 ng/ml of recombinant IL-1 (beta) increased the (pro)insulin biosynthesis by 42% and 58%, respectively, whereas a 10-fold greater concentration of IL-1 decreased the (pro)insulin biosynthesis by 74% and 89%, respectively. The increase in (pro)insulin biosynthesis was accompanied by an increase in total protein biosynthesis indicating a nonspecific stimulatory action of low IL-1 concentrations. In contrast, high IL-1 concentrations caused a more selective decrease of the (pro) insulin biosynthesis when compared to the total protein biosynthesis. In addition, low IL-1 concentrations were found to increase and high concentrations to decrease the relative levels of pre-proinsulin mRNA suggesting that IL-1 may act both at a pre- and post-translational level of insulin biosynthesis.
The intestine is the primary reservoir of Candida albicans that can cause systemic infections in immunocompromised patients. In this reservoir, the fungus exists as a harmless commensal. However, antibiotic treatment can disturb the bacterial microbiota, facilitating fungal overgrowth and favoring pathogenicity. The current in vitro gut models that are used to study the pathogenesis of C. albicans investigate the state in which C. albicans behaves as a pathogen rather than as a commensal. We present a novel in vitro gut model in which the fungal pathogenicity is reduced to a minimum by increasing the biological complexity. In this model, enterocytes represent the epithelial barrier and goblet cells limit C. albicans adhesion and invasion. Significant protection against C. albicans-induced necrotic damage was achieved by the introduction of a microbiota of antagonistic lactobacilli. We demonstrated a time-, dose- and species-dependent protective effect against C. albicans-induced cytotoxicity. This required bacterial growth, which relied on the presence of host cells, but was not dependent on the competition for adhesion sites. Lactobacillus rhamnosus reduced hyphal elongation, a key virulence attribute. Furthermore, bacterial-driven shedding of hyphae from the epithelial surface, associated with apoptotic epithelial cells, was identified as a main and novel mechanism of damage protection. However, host cell apoptosis was not the driving mechanism behind shedding. Collectively, we established an in vitro gut model that can be used to experimentally dissect commensal-like interactions of C. albicans with a bacterial microbiota and the host epithelial barrier. We also discovered fungal shedding as a novel mechanism by which bacteria contribute to the protection of epithelial surfaces..
Expression of the human insulin gene was examined in transgenic mouse lines carrying the gene with various lengths of DNA sequences 5' to the transcription start site (+1). Expression of the transgene was demonstrated by 1) the presence of human C-peptide in urine, 2) the presence of specific transcripts in pancreas, but not in other tissues, 3) the specific immunofluorescence staining of pancreatic islets for human C-peptide, and 4) the synthesis and accumulation of human (pro)insulin in isolated islets. Deletions in the injected DNA fragment of sequences upstream from positions -353, -258, and -168 allowed correct initiation of the transcripts and cell specificity of expression, while quantitative expression gradually decreased. Deletion to -58 completely abolished the expression of the gene. The amount of human product that in mice harboring the longest fragment contributes up to 50% of the total insulin does not alter the normal proportion of mice insulins I and II. These results suggest that expression of the human insulin gene in vivo results from the cooperation of several cis-regulatory elements present in the various deleted fragments. With none of the deletions used, expression of the transgene was observed in cell types other than beta-islet cells.
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