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Query: UMLS:C0038187 (starvation)
 24,951 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The effect of nutrient deprivation on RNA and protein synthesis in cultured Aedes albopictus mosquito cells was investigated by replacing the culture medium with phosphate-buffered saline. After a 2 h starvation treatment, incorporation of radiolabeled precursor into total RNA was inhibited by 50%, and after 4 h, incorporation of amino acids into protein was inhibited by 50%. To investigate directly the effects of starvation on rRNA synthesis, ribosomal subunits were prepared from treated cells by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. After 4 h in saline, incorporation of [3H]uridine into ribosomal subunits had declined to baseline levels. Even after 8 h starvation, however, the effect was reversed by refeeding with complete medium, in which cells resumed rRNA synthesis and ribosomal subunit assembly. During 8 h starvation, total amounts of rRNA detected by northern blot remained stable. Ribosomal protein mRNA abundance was measured on northern blots, using probes corresponding to L8 and L31 ribosomal protein genes. The content of these ribosomal protein mRNAs was unchanged during starvation, or during treatment with actinomycin D. These results suggest that ribosomal protein mRNAs belong to a long-lived mRNA population, and suggest that post-transcriptional regulation of ribosomal protein synthesis is an important regulatory mechanism in growing mosquito cells.
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PMID:Effect of nutrient deprivation on ribosomal RNA and ribosomal protein mRNA in cultured mosquito cells. 946 89

To understand the regulation and expression of pyrimidine biosynthesis in plants, we have examined the effect of the metabolic inhibitor 5-fluoroorotic acid (FOA) on uridine-5'-monophosphate synthase (UMPSase) expression in cell cultures of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia. UMPSase is the rate-limiting step of pyrimidine biosynthesis in plants. Addition of FOA causes an up-regulation of UMPSase enzyme activity in cell cultures after a lag phase of several days. Western-blot analysis demonstrated that the up-regulation in enzyme activity was caused by increased expression of the UMPSase protein. Northern-blot analysis demonstrated a higher level of UMPSase mRNA in the FOA-induced tissues than in control tissues. Run-on transcriptional assays showed that the UMPSase gene was transcriptionally activated after FOA treatment. The mechanism of toxicity of FOA is through thymine starvation. We found that addition of thymine abrogated the FOA-mediated up-regulation of UMPSase. In addition, methotrexate and aminopterin, which affect thymine levels by inhibiting dihydrofolate reductase, also up-regulate UMPSase in N. plumbaginifolia cells.
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PMID:Uridine 5'-Monophosphate Synthase Is Transcriptionally Regulated by Pyrimidine Levels in Nicotiana plumbaginifolia 949 Jul 73

Extracellular ATP, when added as a single dose at concentrations higher than 0.1 mM to the culture medium, was growth inhibitory or even cytotoxic for human epidermoid carcinoma cells (A431). Adenosine at the same concentrations was much less potent. The molecular mechanism underlying the inhibitory effect of extracellular ATP has been investigated. The cytostatic as well as the cytotoxic effects of ATP could be prevented by supplying uridine as a pyrimidine source and, alternatively, by simultaneous addition of dipyridamole, which inhibits the uptake of adenosine. The data suggest that the long-term production and continuous uptake of adenosine, which is enzymatically generated from the ATP in the medium, led to an intracellular nucleotide imbalance with pyrimidine starvation. This triggered suicidal processes ending up in apoptosis of the cells. The tumor cells have been adapted to extracellular ATP with the aim to obtain cells which are more resistant to ATP. Therefore, growing cells were periodically treated with extracellular ATP. These cells were characterized by an enlargement of cell size, a decreased proliferation rate, and a reduced but not abolished sensitivity to cytostatic and cytotoxic ATP doses. The calcium response of adapted cells was shortened. The nucleotide hydrolyzing ectoenzyme activities (ecto-ATPase, ecto-ADPase, ecto-AMPase, ecto-Ap4Aase) were simultaneously upregulated. All phenotypic alterations of the adapted cells disappeared after cultivation for several generations in the absence of extracellular ATP. Considering ATP as a potential chemotherapeutic agent the adaptive phenomena of treated cells might be important.
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PMID:Nucleotide metabolizing ectoenzymes are upregulated in A431 cells periodically treated with cytostatic ATP leading to partial resistance without preventing apoptosis. 973 53

The release of amino acids from their vacuolar store was studied in situ, i.e. in cells with selectively permeabilized plasma membrane and functionally intact vacuoles. As we previously described [Roos et al., J. Biol. Chem. 272 (1997) 15849-15855], this transport process is regulated by extravacuolar adenylates at their physiological concentrations. We now show, using our test object Penicillium cyclopium, that not only purine but also pyrimidine nucleotides are involved in the control of efflux of vacuolar phenylalanine. At 0.1 mM adenosine or guanosine phosphates inhibit, whereas cytidine or uridine phosphates stimulate the rate of efflux. At 1 mM the same nucleotides have no measurable impact on efflux but abolish the effects of other nucleotides present at 0.1 mM. This argues for at least two interacting binding sites with different nucleotide affinities. The minimum structural requirement for any of the observed effects is a non-cyclic ribonucleoside monophosphate. In intact cells, cytosolic concentrations of ATP (representing purine nucleotides) and CTP (representing pyrimidine nucleotides) are 1-2 mM and 0.05-0.2 mM, respectively. ATP is therefore assumed to dominate transport control and allow optimum efflux (and uptake) rates. Short-time starvation of carbon and nitrogen adjusts CTP and ATP at levels that cause declining efflux rates. During prolonged starvation both nucleotides fall below their transport-controlling concentrations and thus allow increasing rates of efflux from the still maintained vacuolar pool. Hence, efflux control under nutrient limitation includes an interplay of purine and pyrimidine nucleotides which precisely regulates the release of vacuolar amino acids and enables flexible adjustment to either amino acid saving or cell survival.
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PMID:Selective regulatory effects of purine and pyrimidine nucleotides on vacuolar transport of amino acids. 1099 56

Extracellular ATP suppressed the growth of HL-60 leukemia cells and induced their differentiation as revealed by N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine-induced beta-glucuronidase release. ATP degraded to ADP, AMP, and adenosine, and the effect of ATP on cell growth was mimicked by these metabolites added to the cultures. The stable analog alpha,beta-methylene ATP, however, had only a weak inhibitory effect on cell growth. Adenine nucleotide-induced growth suppression was reversed by uridine, suggesting the involvement of intracellular pyrimidine starvation secondary to adenosine accumulation. Consistent with this, ATP induced intracellular starvation of pyrimidine nucleotides, and this effect was also prevented by pretreatment of cells with uridine. The order of effectiveness of ATP-induced differentiation of HL-60 cells, unlike that for growth suppression, was ATP > ADP > AMP, and adenosine had no effect. Furthermore, uridine had no effect and the stable analog, alpha,beta-methylene ATP also induced HL-60 cell differentiation, suggesting that differentiation was due to ATP per se. We tested the hypothesis that ATP-induced differentiation arises from activation of adenylyl cyclase by the novel P2Y(11) receptor using the cell-permeable inhibitor of protein kinase A, Rp-CPT-cAMPS (8-(4-chlorophenylthio)adenosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphorothioate, Rp isomer). Rp-CPT-cAMPS (1-100 microM) prevented ATP-induced differentiation of HL-60 cells as assessed by fMLP-induced beta-glucuronidase release. However, Rp-CPT-cAMPS did not prevent ATP-induced growth suppression. Taken together, the data indicate that extracellular ATP suppresses HL-60 growth and induces their differentiation by distinct mechanisms. Growth suppression arises from adenosine generation and consequent pyrimidine starvation. Differentiation arises, at least in part, from a distinct mechanism involving the activation of cell surface P2 receptors coupled to cAMP generation and activation of protein kinase A.
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PMID:Extracellular ATP-dependent suppression of proliferation and induction of differentiation of human HL-60 leukemia cells by distinct mechanisms. 1107 40

Histo- and cytochemical techniques were used to study the DNA replication and fragmentation patterns in bacteroids formed by Mesorhizobium huakuii subsp. rengei in nodules of Astragalus sinicus. DNA replication was detected by the incorporation of 5-bromo deoxy-uridine. Signals denoting DNA synthesis were observed in plant nuclei within the nodule meristem and in bacteroids near the meristem. The TUNEL (TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling) assay was used to measure DNA fragmentation. In nutrient-depleted 1-mpi (month(s) post inoculation) nodule sections, some bacteroids were in vacuoles, and DNA fragmentation signals were observed only in such bacteroids. In contrast, 1-mpi nodule sections without nutrient depletion showed neither bacteroid localization in vacuoles nor DNA fragmentation signals. The bacteroid translocation into vacuoles upon nutrient starvation might results from autophagy of the plant. In 2-mpi nodule sections, bacteroids with DNA fragmentation signals appeared within the cytoplasm of some nodule cells in the senescence zone.
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PMID:DNA synthesis and fragmentation in bacteroids during Astragalus sinicus root nodule development. 1133 Jun 61

Since extracellular ATP can exhibit cytotoxic activity in vivo and in vitro, its application has been proposed as an alternative anticancer therapy. In this study we investigated the mechanisms of ATP-induced cytotoxicity in a human leukemic cell line (U-937). ATP added as a single dose exceeding 50 microM was cytostatic or even cytotoxic for U-937 cells. Interestingly, growth inhibition by ATP (50-3500 microM) showed a biphasic dose response. Up to 800 microM, ATP was cytotoxic in a dose-dependent manner (EC(50) 90 microM). In a range between 800 and 2500 microM, cell count was markedly higher despite the higher ATP concentrations. The cytotoxic effect of ATP could be antagonized by addition of uridine as a pyrimidine source and, alternatively, by addition of the nucleoside transmembrane inhibitor dipyridamole. The apoptosis-inducing adenosine A(3) receptor was not involved in measurable quantities, since (1) adenosine did not lead to an elevation of intracellular calcium levels, and (2) an unselective A(1-3) antagonist (ULS-II-80) could not abrogate the cytotoxic effect. Experiments monitoring extracellular nucleotide metabolism confirmed the assumption that the long-term production and continuous uptake of adenosine, which is extracellularly generated by degradation of ATP, led to an intracellular nucleotide imbalance with pyrimidine starvation. The biphasic dose response to higher ATP concentrations could be explained by the rapid degradation of lower ATP concentrations (300 microM) to adenosine by serum-derived enzymes, whereas higher concentrations (900 microM) only produced small amounts of adenosine due to forward inhibition of AMP hydrolysis by prolonged high ADP levels. FACS analysis revealed that at lower adenosine concentrations (300 microM) a reversible G(1) phase arrest of the cell cycle was induced, whereas higher concentrations (1000 microM) triggered apoptosis. Considering ATP as a potential cytostatic drug, our data have important implications concerning metabolic interactions of administered nucleotides.
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PMID:Biphasic cytotoxic mechanism of extracellular ATP on U-937 human histiocytic leukemia cells: involvement of adenosine generation. 1133 90

A77 1726 (LEF) is the active metabolite of leflunomide, a recently approved immunosuppressive agent. We examined the ability of LEF to induce differentiation of a human erythroleukemia (K562) cell line and show that LEF induces a dose- and time-dependent differentiation of these cells as characterized by growth inhibition, hemoglobin production, and erythroid membrane protein glycophorin A expression. This effect was dependent on depletion of the intracellular pyrimidine ribonucleotides (UTP and CTP), and preceded by a specific S-phase arrest of the cell cycle. Supplementation of the cultures with exogenous uridine restored intracellular UTP and CTP to normal levels and prevented the LEF-induced cell cycle block and differentiation of K562 cells. Interestingly, addition of cytidine alone blocked the LEF-induced differentiation of K562 cells but only restored the CTP pool. By contrast, neither deoxycytidine nor thymidine prevented the effects of LEF on these cells. Similarly, pyrimidine starvation of a cell line lacking the de novo pyrimidine pathway (G9c) resulted in an S-phase arrest that was reversed by the addition of cytidine. Thus these studies demonstrate an important role for CTP in regulating cell cycle progression and show that LEF is an effective inducer of tumor cell differentiation through depletion of this ribonucleotide.
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PMID:A77 1726 induces differentiation of human myeloid leukemia K562 cells by depletion of intracellular CTP pools. 1218 22

The mechanism of down-regulation of L-type Ca(2+) channel (L-VOC) was investigated in rat aortic smooth muscle cells in primary culture. On culture days 3-5, the cells actively incorporated the 5-bromo-2'-deoxy-uridine (BrdU), and did not respond to K(+) depolarization nor express alpha(1C) subunit of L-VOC. At confluence on day 8, BrdU incorporation decreased, and the cells up-regulated alpha(1C) subunit mRNA, expressed alpha(1C) subunit protein at cell periphery, and responded to K(+) depolarization. Treating the proliferating cells on day 3 with serum-free media or 10 microM PD98059, a MAP kinase kinase inhibitor, for 2 days induced the expression of alpha(1C) subunit protein and the responsiveness to K(+) depolarization. However, the serum starvation, but not PD98059, decreased the BrdU incorporation and increased the alpha(1C) subunit mRNA. It is concluded that the expression of L-VOC is substantially suppressed in the proliferating cells due to two mechanisms; a MAP kinase-mediated post-transcriptional down-regulation and the transcriptional down-regulation by additional mitogenic signals.
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PMID:Mechanism of down-regulation of L-type Ca(2+) channel in the proliferating smooth muscle cells of rat aorta. 1224 76

The physiological hallmark of heat-shock response in yeast is a rapid, enormous increase in the concentration of trehalose. Normally found in growing yeast cells and other organisms only as traces, trehalose becomes a crucial protector of proteins and membranes against a variety of stresses, including heat, cold, starvation, desiccation, osmotic or oxidative stress, and exposure to toxicants. Trehalose is produced from glucose 6-phosphate and uridine diphosphate glucose in a two-step process, and recycled to glucose by trehalases. Even though the trehalose cycle consists of only a few metabolites and enzymatic steps, its regulatory structure and operation are surprisingly complex. The article begins with a review of experimental observations on the regulation of the trehalose cycle in yeast and proposes a canonical model for its analysis. The first part of this analysis demonstrates the benefits of the various regulatory features by means of controlled comparisons with models of otherwise equivalent pathways lacking these features. The second part elucidates the significance of the expression pattern of the trehalose cycle genes in response to heat shock. Interestingly, the genes contributing to trehalose formation are up-regulated to very different degrees, and even the trehalose degrading trehalases show drastically increased activity during heat-shock response. Again using the method of controlled comparisons, the model provides rationale for the observed pattern of gene expression and reveals benefits of the counterintuitive trehalase up-regulation.
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PMID:Biochemical and genomic regulation of the trehalose cycle in yeast: review of observations and canonical model analysis. 1278 17


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