Summary
1-Methylguanine and 7-methylguanine, both metabolic products of tRNA degradation, are known to induce transformation of Chinese hamster fibroblasts in culture. The effects of these compounds on the cell membrane have been studied by the method of Concanavalin A-mediated hemadsorption. 1-Methylguanine or 7-methylguanine induced a 50% increase of Con A-mediated hemadsorption within 20 hours of exposure of the cells to the agent at a concentration of 10-5 M. This alteration was reversed within 13 days when the cells were grown in the control medium. Prolonged treatment with 1-methylguanine or 7-methylguanine resulted in changes which were only slowly reversed during growth of the cells in the control medium. The effect of the methylated purines on the cell membrane could be completely inhibited by simultaneous addition of dibutyryl-cAMP at a concentration of 10-5 M. The possible mechanism of cell membrane alteration by methylated purines and its relevance to transformation in vitro are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Borek E, Kerr SJ (1972) Atypical transfer RNA's and their origin in neoplastic cells. Adv Cancer Res 15:163–190
Borek E, Baliga BS, Gehrke CW, Kuo CW, Belman S, Troll W, Waalkes TP (1977) High turnover rate of transfer RNA in tumor tissue. Cancer Res 37:3363–3366
Burger MM (1973) Surface properties in transformed cells detected by lectins. Fed Proc 32:91–101
Craddock VM, Mattocks AR, Magee PN (1968) The fate of 7(14C)-Methylguanine after administration to the rat. Biochem J 109:75–78
Dent PB, Hillcoat BL (1972) Interaction of phytohemagglutinin and Concanavalin A with transplantable mouse lymphomas of differing malignant potential. J Natl Cancer Inst 49:373–377
Furmanski P, Phillips PG, Lubin M (1972) Cell surface interaction with Concanavalin A: Determination by microhemadsorption. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 140:216–219
Inbar M, Ben-Bassat H, Sachs L (1972) Membrane changes associated with malignancy. Nature New Biol 236:3–5
Lehman LM, Defendi V (1970) Changes in deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis regulation in Chinese hamster cells infected with Simian virus 40. J Virol 6:738–749
Nicolson GL (1974) The interaction of lectins with animal cell surfaces. Int Rev Cytol 39:90–190
Penhoet E, Olsen C, Carlson S, Lacorbiere M, Nicolson GL (1974) Quantitative interaction of Ricinus communis agglutinin and Concanavalin A with influenza and vesicular stomatitis viruses and virus-infected normal and polyoma-transformed cells. Biochemistry 13:3561–3566
Puck TT (1977) Cyclic AMP, the microtubule-microfilament system, and cancer. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 74:4491–4495
Puck TT (1979) Studies on cell transformation. Somatic Cell Genet 5:973–990
Snyder JA, McIntosh JR (1976) Biochemistry and physiology of microtubules. Annu Rev Biochem 45:699–716
Storrie B, Puck TT, Wenger L (1978) The role of butyrate in the reverse transformation reaction in mammalian cells. J Cell Physiol 94:69–76
Tihon C, Green M (1973) Cyclic AMP-amplified replication of RNA tumor virus-like particles in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Nature New Biol 244:227–231
Trewyn RW, Kerr SJ, Lehman JM (1979) Karyotype and tumorigenicity of 1-methylguanine-transformed Chinese hamster cells. J Natl Cancer Inst 62:623–627
Wallach DF (1975) Membrane molecular biology. Elsevier, Amsterdam, p 442
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hanski, C., Kerr, S.J. 1-Methylguanine and 7-methylguanine increase cell agglutinability. Cell Tissue Res. 241, 203–206 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00214642
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00214642