scholarly journals Locomotion and proliferation of glioblastoma cells in vitro: statistical evaluation of videomicroscopic observations

2000 ◽  
Vol 92 (3) ◽  
pp. 428-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Balás Hegedüs ◽  
András Czirók ◽  
Ilona Fazekas ◽  
Tamás Bábel ◽  
Emília Madarász ◽  
...  

Object. The motility and doubling of human glioblastoma cells were investigated by means of statistical evaluation of large sets of data obtained using computer-aided videomicroscopy.Methods. Data were obtained on cells in four established glioblastoma cell lines and also on primary tumor cells cultured from fresh surgical samples. Growth rates and cell cycle times were measured in individual microscopic fields. The averages of cell cycle time and the duplication time for the recorded cell populations were 26.2 ± 5.6 hours and 38 ± 4 hours, respectively. With these parameters, no significant differences among the cell lines were revealed. Also, there was no correlation in the cell cycle time of a parent cell and its progeny in any of the cultures.Statistical analysis of cell locomotion revealed an exponential distribution of cell velocities and strong fluctuations in individual cell velocities across time. The average velocity values ranged from 4.2 to 27.9 µm/hour. In spite of the uniform histopathological classification of the four tumors, each cell line produced by these tumors displayed distinct velocity distribution profiles and characteristic average velocity values. A comparison of recently established primary cultures with cell lines that had propagated multiple times indicated that cells derived from different tumors sustain their characteristic locomotor activity after several passages.Conclusions. It can be inferred from the data that statistical evaluation of physical parameters of cell locomotion can provide additional tools for tumor diagnosis.

1986 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 659-663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshihiko Yoshii ◽  
Yutaka Maki ◽  
Koji Tsuboi ◽  
Yuji Tomono ◽  
Kunio Nakagawa ◽  
...  

✓ Twenty-five patients with tumors of the central nervous system received bromodeoxyuridine (BUdR), 200 mg/sq m, by intravenous infusion every 8 hours for 3 days before surgery. Excised tumor specimens were fixed in chilled 70% ethanol, embedded in paraffin, and cut into 6-µm sections. Each section was reacted with monoclonal antibodies against BUdR and stained with immunoperoxidase to identify nuclei that had incorporated BUdR. The growth fraction of each tumor was estimated by calculating the ratio of BUdR-positive nuclei to the total number of tumor cells in three to six microscopic fields in viable areas of the tumor. In seven cases, the tumor doubling time was measured from the serial computerized tomography scans and an attempt was made to estimate the cell cycle time. The growth fractions ranged from 9.1% to 46.5% in malignant gliomas, 2.0% to 6.7% in low-grade gliomas, 11.2% to 43.2% in metastatic brain tumors, 0.8% to 1.9% in pituitary adenomas, 3.9% to 4.6% in acoustic neurinomas, and 6.2% to 8.2% in meningiomas and cerebellar hemangioblastomas. The estimated cell cycle time was 5 to 12 days in most malignant gliomas and brain metastases; however, the actual cell cycle time should be substantially shorter because cell loss was not considered in the calculation. Although the growth fraction appeared to correlate with the biological malignancy of each tumor, the tumor doubling time did not reflect growth potential. It is possible that unpredictable cell loss plays an important role in tumor growth at certain sizes. Therefore, the cell cycle times calculated in this study are considerably overestimated and should be interpreted with caution.


1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 426-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertrand Pertuiset ◽  
Dolores Dougherty ◽  
Carlos Cromeyer ◽  
Takao Hoshino ◽  
Mitchel Berger ◽  
...  

✓ The proliferation kinetics were studied in early-passage cultures of cells from 13 human malignant brain tumors and two specimens of normal brain under conditions similar to those used in clonogenic cell-survival studies. Autoradiography was performed in all but four cases to estimate the fraction of cells actively replicating deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the approximate cell cycle time, and the effect of low-dose tritiated thymidine on cell proliferation. The mean tumor cell doubling time (TD) was 53 hours for five glioblastomas, 46 hours for two ependymomas, and 83 hours for two medulloblastomas. A gliosarcoma grew fastest (TD = 22 hours) in culture and a pilocytic astrocytoma grew slowest (TD = 144 hours). The approximate cell cycle time ranged from 1 to 2.5 days for all tumors tested. This suggests that chemotherapeutic agents that predominantly kill proliferating cells should be administered in vitro for at least 2 to 2.5 days to achieve maximum cell kill. The approximate growth fraction ranged from 0.65 to 0.96 for all tumors except for the two medulloblastomas and the pilocytic astrocytoma, which had growth fractions of 0.34 and 0.35, respectively. Most laboratories investigating the chemosensitivity of primary or early-passage human tumor cells require that 40% to 70% of cells be killed to consider a drug active in vitro. The results of this study suggest that the cell-cycle-specific agents cannot achieve a high enough cell kill to be considered active for some tumors that grow slowly in culture. An estimate of the in vitro growth rate is necessary to reliably interpret cell-survival results with such agents. Tritiated thymidine appeared to slow cell proliferation in some of the cultures, presumably as a result of radiation-induced DNA damage caused by tritium that had been incorporated into DNA. The degree to which cell growth was slowed in individual tumors correlated with the patient's clinical response to radiation therapy and postoperative survival time.


2004 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyung-Ho Park ◽  
Jaeho Lee ◽  
Chul-Gyu Yoo ◽  
Young Whan Kim ◽  
Sung Koo Han ◽  
...  

Object. Malignant glioma could be an ideal candidate for local gene therapy because its invasion is local and it has little metastatic potential. A low expression level and high degradation activity of p27 are known to constitute an independent poor prognostic factor in patients with malignant glioma. In this study, the authors investigated the roles of wild-type p27 and mutant p27 on the treatment of malignant glioma. Methods. The authors used two adenoviruses: one expressed wild-type p27 (ad-p27wt) and the other, containing a mutation at the major metabolic site, expressed mutant p27 (ad-p27mt). The antitumor effects of the two adenoviruses were compared with respect to cell growth arrest, cell cycle alteration, apoptosis induction, and in vitro tumorigenicity in three glioblastoma mutiforme (GBM) cell lines and in a primary GBM cell line. Transduction with ad-p27wt or ad-p27mt induced the production of p27 and the dephosphorylation of pRB. The protein level of mutant p27 was significantly higher than that of wild-type p27. The ad-p27wt induced cell cycle arrest at the G1—S transition point, whereas the ad-p27mt induced arrest at the G2—M point. Both ad-p27wt and ad-p27mt induced a growth-inhibiting effect, apoptosis, and suppression of in vitro tumorigenicity; however, ad-p27mt displayed a stronger antitumor effect than ad-p27wt in brain tumor cell lines. Conclusions. Gene therapy involving p27, especially mutant p27, has the potential to become a novel and powerful therapy for malignant glioma.


2002 ◽  
Vol 97 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie de Boüard ◽  
Christo Christov ◽  
Jean-Sébastien Guillamo ◽  
Lina Kassar-Duchossoy ◽  
Stéphane Palfi ◽  
...  

Object. The reliable assessment of the invasiveness of gliomas in vitro has proved elusive, because most invasion assays inadequately model in vivo invasion in its complexity. Recently, organotypical brain cultures were successfully used in short-term invasion studies on glioma cell lines. In this paper the authors report that the invasiveness of human glioma biopsy specimens directly implanted into rodent brain slices by using the intraslice implantation system (ISIS) can be quantified with precision. The model was first validated by the demonstration that, in long-term studies, established glioma cells survive in the ISIS and follow pathways of invasion similar to those in vivo. Methods. Brain slices (400 µm thick) from newborn mice were maintained on millicell membranes for 15 days. Cells from two human and one rodent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cell lines injected into the ISIS were detected by immunohistochemistry or after transfection with green fluorescent protein—containing vectors. Preferential migration along blood vessels was identified using confocal and fluorescent microscopy. Freshly isolated (≤ 24 hours after removal) 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate—prelabeled human glioma biopsy specimens were successfully implanted in 19 (83%) of 23 cases, including 12 GBMs and seven lower grade gliomas (LGGs). Morphometric quantification of distance and density of tumor cell invasion showed that the GBMs were two to four times more invasive than the LGGs. Heterogeneity of invasion was also observed among GBMs and LGGs. Directly implanted glioma fragments were more invasive than spheroids derived from the same biopsy specimen. Conclusions. The ISIS combines a high success rate, technical simplicity, and detailed quantitative measurements and may, therefore, be used to study the invasiveness of biopsy specimens of gliomas of different grades.


Many components of cell and nuclear size and mass are correlated with nuclear DNA content in plants, as also are the durations and rates of such developmental processes as mitosis and meiosis. It is suggested that the multiple effects of the mass of nuclear DNA which affect all cells and apply throughout the life of the plant can together determine the minimum generation time for each species. The durations of mitosis and of meiosis are both positively correlated with nuclear DNA content and, therefore, species with a short minimum generation time might be expected to have a shorter mean cell cycle time and mean meiotic duration, and a lower mean nuclear DNA content, than species with a long mean minimum generation time. In tests of this hypothesis, using data collated from the literature, it is shown that the mean cell cycle time and the mean meiotic duration in annual species is significantly shorter than in perennial species. Furthermore, the mean nuclear DNA content of annual species is significantly lower than for perennial species both in dicotyledons and monocotyledons. Ephemeral species have a significantly lower mean nuclear DNA content than annual species. Among perennial monocotyledons the mean nuclear DNA content of species which can complete a life cycle within one year (facultative perennials) is significantly lower than the mean nuclear DNA content of those which cannot (obligate perennials). However, the mean nuclear DNA content of facultative perennials does not differ significantly from the mean for annual species. It is suggested that the effects of nuclear DNA content on the duration of developmental processes are most obvious during its determinant stages, and that the largest effects of nuclear DNA mass are expressed at times when development is slowest, for instance, during meiosis or at low temperature. It has been suggested that DNA influences development in two ways, directly through its informational content, and indirectly by the physical-mechanical effects of its mass. The term 'nucleotype' is used to describe those conditions of the nucleus which effect the phenotype independently of the informational content of the DNA. It is suggested that cell cycle time, meiotic duration, and minimum generation time are determined by the nucleotype. In addition, it may be that satellite DNA is significant in its nucleotypic effects on developmental processes.


Author(s):  
Priyankar Maji ◽  
Ranodeep Chatterjee ◽  
Biswa P. Choudhury ◽  
Urmi Chatterji ◽  
Jhuma Ganguly

Objective: This study was designed to analyze the combinatorial chemotherapeutic effect of temozolomide (TMZ), the most common drug in glioblastoma treatment and a purified carbohydrate (Fr-II) from the edible mushroom Pleurotus florida, on human glioblastoma cell lines.Methods: Fr-II was purified by size-exclusion chromatography and characterised by different mass spectroscopy analysis. Human glioblastoma cells were treated with TMZ, Fr-II, and combination of TMZ and Fr-II. Cell cytotoxicity was measured by MTT assay, cell cycle phase distribution was determined by cell cycle analysis and followed by the relative p53 protein expression was analyzed by western blot analysis.Results: Chemical analysis of Fr-II confirmed the glycosidically linked two units of glucose with terminally attached mannitol with mass of 506 Da. Fr-II treatment exhibited cytotoxicity in both the cell lines in a dose-dependent manner with most effective dose at 200µg/ml. When Fr-II (200µg/ml) was combined with a dose range of TMZ it showed a more cellular cytotoxicity compared to the cytotoxicity of TMZ alone with most oppressive combinatorial dose at 400µM (TMZ)+200µg/ml (Fr-II). In compliance, with the above results, both cell lines showed a 10% increase in no. of cells (p<0.05) in G2/M phase indicating an arrest of cell cycle and increased p53 protein expression (p<0.05) at the combinatorial dose than TMZ alone at 400µM, but Fr-II alone didn’t show any cell cycle arrest nor did it show increased p53 expression.Conclusion: Therefore it confirms that Fr-II synergizes with TMZ to significantly intensify its anti-proliferative properties, thereby emerging as an effective element for combinatorial treatment of glioblastoma.


2005 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd M. Savarese ◽  
Taichang Jang ◽  
Hoi Pang Low ◽  
Rebecca Salmonsen ◽  
N. Scott Litofsky ◽  
...  

Object. Brain tumors, including gliomas, develop several months after rats are exposed in utero to N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU). Although pathological changes cannot be detected until these animals are several weeks old, the process that eventually leads to glioma formation must begin soon after exposure given the rapid clearance of the carcinogen and the observation that transformation of brain cells isolated soon after exposure occasionally occurs. This model can therefore potentially provide useful insights about the early events that precede overt glioma formation. The authors hypothesized that future glioma cells arise from stem/progenitor cells residing in or near the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the brain. Methods. Cells obtained from the SVZ or corpus striatum in ENU-exposed and control rats were cultured in an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-containing, chemically defined medium. Usually, rat SVZ cells cultured in this manner (neurospheres) are nestin-positive, undifferentiated, and EGF-dependent and undergo cell senescence. Consistent with these prior observations, control SVZ cells undergo senescence by the 12th to 15th doubling (20 of 20 cultures). In contrast, three of 15 cultures of cells derived from the SVZs of individual ENU-treated rats continue to proliferate for more than 60 cell passages. Each of these nestin-expressing immortalized cell lines harbored a common homozygous deletion spanning the INK4a/ARF locus and was unable to differentiate into neural lineages after exposure to specific in vitro stimuli. Nevertheless, unlike the rat C6 glioma cell line, these immortalized cell lines demonstrate EGF dependence and low clonogenicity in soft agar and did not form tumors after intracranial transplantation. Conclusions. Data in this study indicated that immortalized cells may represent glioma precursors that reside in the area of the SVZ after ENU exposure that may serve as a reservoir for further genetic and epigenetic hits that could eventually result in a full glioma phenotype.


2005 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 1055-1068 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roksana Rodak ◽  
Hisashi Kubota ◽  
Hideyuki Ishihara ◽  
Hans-Pietro Eugster ◽  
Dilek Könü ◽  
...  

Object. Taurolidine, a derivative of the amino acid taurin, was recently found to display a potent antineoplastic effect both in vitro and in vivo. The authors therefore initiated studies to assess the potential antineoplastic activity of taurolidine in human glioma cell lines and in ex vivo malignant cell cultures. They also studied the mechanisms that induce cell death and the impact of taurolidine on tumor-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production. Methods. Cytotoxicity and clonogenic assays were performed using crystal violet staining. In the cytotoxicity assay 100% of glioma cell lines (eight of eight) and 74% of ex vivo glioma cultures (14 of 19) demonstrated sensitivity to taurolidine, with a mean median effective concentration (EC50) of 51 ± 28 µg/ml and 56 ± 23 µg/ml, respectively. Colony formation was inhibited by taurolidine, with a mean EC50 of 7 ± 3 µg/ml for the cell lines and a mean EC50 of 3.5 ± 1.7 µg/ml for the ex vivo glioma cultures. On observing this high activity of taurolidine in both assays, the authors decided to evaluate its cell death mechanisms. Fragmentation of DNA, externalization of phosphatidylserine, activation of poly(adenosine diphosphate—ribose) polymerase, loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential followed by a release of apoptosis-inducing factor, and typical apoptotic features were found after taurolidine treatment. Cell death was preceded by the generation of reactive O2 intermediates, which was abrogated by N-acetylcysteine but not by benzyloxycarbonyl-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethylketone. Moreover, taurolidine also induced suppression of VEGF production on the protein and messenger RNA level, as shown by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and by reverse transcription—polymerase chain reaction. Conclusions. Given all these findings, taurolidine may be a promising new agent in the treatment of malignant gliomas; it displays a combination of antineoplastic and antiangiogenic activities, inducing tumor cell apoptosis and inhibiting tumor-derived VEGF production.


1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 529-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiro Isoe ◽  
Hirofumi Naganuma ◽  
Shin Nakano ◽  
Atsushi Sasaki ◽  
Eiji Satoh ◽  
...  

Object. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism by which malignant glioma cells escape from growth inhibition mediated by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), a ubiquitous cytokine that inhibits cell proliferation by causing growth arrest in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Methods. The authors measured the response of eight malignant glioma cell lines to the growth-inhibiting activity of TGF-β in vitro and the expression of TGF-β Types I and II receptors in malignant glioma cells. The effect of TGF-β on the expression of a p27Kip1 cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor was also investigated to assess the downstream signal transmission from TGF-β receptors. All malignant glioma cell lines were insensitive to growth inhibition by TGF-β1 and TGF-β2. Analyses of TGF-β receptors by means of affinity labeling in which 125I-TGF-β1 was used showed that six glioma lines had both TGF-β Types I and II receptors on their cell surfaces, whereas two lines had very small amounts of TGF-β Type I and/or Type II receptors. Northern blot analysis showed that all tumor lines expressed variable levels of messenger RNAs for both TGF-β Types I and II receptors. Flow cytometric analyses revealed that treatment of malignant glioma cells with TGF-β1 significantly downregulated the expression of p27Kip1 protein in all malignant glioma cell lines except one. Conclusions. The authors suggest that most malignant glioma cells express TGF-β Types I and II receptors, which can transmit some signals downstream and that the loss of response to TGF-β growth inhibition may not be caused by an abnormality of the TGF-β receptors.


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