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By utilizing the enzyme collagenase, it was possible to obtain intact normal mammary parenchymal and mammary cancer cells. The isolated cells were incubated for 2 hr with either 0·2 μCi( 1·04 μg)progesterone- 4 - 14 C or 0·2 μCi( 1·4 ng) 17 β-estradiol- 6,7 - 3 H. The results demonstrated that both progesterone and estradiol are preferentially incorporated into hormone responsive cancer cells to a greater extent than that of normal mammary parenchymal cells.

A procedure for the continuous flow incubation of isolated adrenal cells is described. In this way the advantages of continuous flow incubations of adrenal tissue are combined with those of isolated adrenal cells. Suspensions of isolated adrenal cells were prepared by a modification of the collagenase method. A sigmoid dose-response curve was obtained when these cells were incubated with ACTH in batch incubations. Under these conditions (in the presence of 1 mU ACTH/ml) the corticosterone production rate remained constant during at least 240 min. This production rate was linearly related to the number of cells. Pre-incubation of the cells during 3 h resulted in an increased response to ACTH. In continuous flow incubations without ACTH the corticosterone production was negligible. With 100 μU ACTH/ml corticosterone production increased sharply after a short lag period. A maximum was reached after 60–75 min followed by a slow decrease. Cells pre-incubated in the continuous flow apparatus had a slightly diminished ACTH response without loss of affinity to ACTH. The continuous flow incubation of isolated adrenal cells offers new possibilities for the dynamic study of steroid biosynthesis in vitro. The method may also be valuable to study processes in a wide variety of other tissues.

Collagenase activity was measured by direct assay in skins from 12 patients afflicted with systemic sclerosis. In seven of those cases where extensive involvement of the forearm and trunk skin existed, collagenase activity of the involved skin was minimal or absent. Moreover, in the same patient, regions of marked skin involvement (e.g., forearm) showed no collagenase activity, when clinically uninvolved areas (thigh) exhibited normal or nearly normal levels of enzyme activity. In other patients where clinical symptoms were systemic and not associated significantly with the skin, collagenase activity approximated normal levels. Measurements of collagenase activity and tensile strength in another condition (basal cell carcinoma) that includes changes in mechanical properties of skin that any be regarded as the opposite end of the spectrum from those of sclerodermatous skin support a general correlation between collagenase activity and tensile strength. These studies indicate that the major defect responsible for the hidebound skin lesions of scleroderma may be decreased collagenase activity.

Tumor invasion requires the breakdown of the main structural protein, collagen. A series of fourteen epidermoid carcinomas of the larynx and oral cavity produced a collagen dissolving enzyme in vitro as demonstrated by the breakdown of 14C-labeled collagen. Oral cavity tumors showed greater activity than laryngeal carcinomas while both sites were more active than uninvolved mucosa from the same patients. Tumor associated collagenase activity, in common with previously described collagenases, can only be demonstrated in vitro and requires protein synthesis. Maximum tumor collagenase occurred at 24 hours in vitro and then declined as compared with the maximum collagenase at 72 hours in vitro produced by oral cavity mucosa. The 14 patients in our series were ranked in order of the collagenase activity of their tumors. At 18 months after the diagnosis, four of the six patients with the most active tumors were dead of cancer and one patient was alive with persistent cancer. High collagenase activity may be a factor in the clinical aggressiveness of epidermoid carcinomas of the head and neck.

Lymphocytes were eluted from the synovial tissue of 19 patients with classical rheumatoid arthritis. The tissue was minced and dissociated by treatment with crude collagenase and DNase. The cell suspension obtained was filtered and incubated in plastic culture flasks overnight at 37 degrees C. The cells that did not adhere to the plastic surface were harvested and the lymphocytes further purified by the Ficoll-Isopaque gradient centrifugation technique. The lymphocyte yield varied from 0.64 to 32 times 10(6) cells. Differential counts showed on the average 85% lymphocytes, 12% mocrophage-like cells, and variable proportions of polymorphonuclear granulocytes, unclassified cells, and dead cells. An average of 77% of the cells were viable as assessed by the trypan blue exclusion test. This cell suspension was investigated for lymphocyte populations. T lymphocytes were predominant in all experiments (mean, 73.6%). The mean percentage of B lymphocytes was 9.7%, whereas the proportion of Fc-receptor-bearing lymphocytes was on the average 6.0%.

Antisera were prepared by immunizing a rabbit with procollagen synthesized and secreted by cells from chick embryo tendons. Specific antibodies were then purified from the antisera by using an immunoadsorbent which contained the isolated NHz-terminal extensions of procollagen. The purified antibodies were shown to react specifically with intact procollagen as well as with procollagen in which the interchain disulfide bonds were ruptured by reduction under non-denaturing conditions. The antibodies also reacted with the pro-a1 chain but not the pro-a2 chain isolated from the procollagen. There was no reaction after the intrachain bonds in the pro-a chains of the procollagen were reduced under denaturing conditions and alkylated. In the course of characterizing the antibodies it was shown that the NH2-terminal extensions on the two pro-a1 chains and the one pro-a2 chain of type I procollagen are non-identical. Also, it was shown that the serum of chick embryos contains an antigen which reacts with the specific antibodies to procollagen. Collagen is synthesized by connective tissue cells in a precursor form called procollagen which is larger than the collagen molecule because of peptide extensions on the NH2-terminal end of each of the three a chains (for recent review, see [l]). The amino-acid composition of the extensions differs from that of collagen and it includes cysteine and tryptophan, aminoacids which are not found in collagen itself. A large fraction of the procollagen synthesized and secreted by cells from chick embryo tendons has been shown to consist of pro-a chains linked by interchain disulfide bonds [2]. Interchain disulfide bonds have also been demonstrated in procollagens from cultured fibroblasts [3,4], membranous bone [5,6], and lens cells from chick embryos [7]. Antibodies against the NH2-terminals extensions of procollagen have recently been prepared by using procollagen from three different sources for immunization. Purified antibodies to the NH2-terminal extension of procollagen which was extracted from the skin of cattle with the disease called dermatosparaxis were shqwn to react both with the native procollagen from the skin of the diseased cattle and with the isolated polypeptide chains from this form of procollagen [S]. Enzymes. Collagenase or clostridiopeptidase A (EC

Previous work has demonstrated that whole rabbit or human serum and the human α2-macroglobulin (Hα2-m) inhibit corneal collagenases. In the present study, the ability of rabbit and human serum to cause rabbit corneal collagenase, mol. wt 45 000, to elute in high molecular weight fractions from sieving columns is taken as presumptive evidence for the formation of collagenase-serum protein complexes. The recovery of increased collagenase activity by thiocyanate treatment of serum effluent fractions containing the human α2-macroglobulin indicates that it is the α2-m in human serum that complexes rabbit corneal collagenase. This conclusion is supported by the demonstration that purified Hα2-m transports the rabbit corneal collagenase through a molecular sieve. Moreover, the chromatography of day one culture media from ulcerating rabbit corneas has demonstrated the presence of a significant amount of the total collagenase activity in the high molecular weight (850 000 – 1 000 000) fractions in which rabbit α-macroglobulin (Rα1-m) was also demonstrated. These observations support the hypothesis that the α-macroglobulins play an important role in the regulation of corneal collagenase activity. Crossed-gel immunoelectrophoretic methods have shown that rabbit and human corneal collagenase preparations perturb the patterns of their respective α-macroglobulins. The perturbed patterns are taken as evidence for the formation of collagenase-α-macroglobulin complexes. The application of crossed-gel methods to the tears of human ulcer patients shows the utility of such methods for examining the status of α2-m in tears.

Peritoneal exudate macrophages, when exposed to bacterial lipopolysaccharide in culture, were found to produce collagenase (EC 3.4.24.3). This enzyme was not detected in extracts of the macrophages or in media from nonstimulated macrophage cultures. Lipidcontaining fractions of the lipopolysaccharide, including a glycolipid from the rough mutant of Salmonella minnesota (R595) and lipid A, were potent stimulators of collagenase production. The lipid-free polysaccharide fraction had no effect. Cycloheximide prevented the production of collagenase by endotoxin-treated macrophages, suggesting that it was newly synthesized.

A method is described for obtaining populations of viable Sertoli cells from rat testes. Minced whole testes from rats of 15 to 29 days of age are sequentially treated with collagenase and pancreatin. The resulting suspension of cells is sedimented through a sucrose density gradient. Preparations are produced consisting of from 60% to 82% Sertoli cells, an enrichment of 2 to 5 times the proportion of Sertoli cells in whole testes of these ages. The preparations are free of interstitial cells, are essentially free of peritubular cells and contain reduced numbers of germinal cells; the main contaminating cell types are spermatogonia and spermatocytes. The Sertoli cells are considered to be 95% viable by their ability to exclude trypan blue and by subsequent culturing in vitro. The entire procedure requires 3 h. Maintenance of the Sertoli-enriched fraction in modified Eagle's minimal essential medium temporarily at 41 C allows preparations of Sertoli cell monolayer cultures consisting of 95%–98% Sertoli cell...

The effects of trypsin, chymotrypsin, papain, pronase, cartilage protease and hyaluronidase on the staining of fresh epiphyseal cartilage in 0.01% toluidine blue at pH 4 was studied. Treatment with these enzymes resulted in a loss of the β- and γ-metachromatic granules in the cells, and an intensification of the staining in the matrix of the lower hypertrophic zone. Treatment with collagenase also resulted in a loss of the β- and γ-metachromatic granules, but did not appreciably intensify the staining of the matrix. Carboxypeptidase A, ribonuclease and bovine serum albumin, globulins, and globin had little or no effect.

Rabbit synovial fibroblasts in monolayer culture secrete a specific collagenase and a neutral endopeptidase into their serum-free culture medium. The rate of secretion of these two enzymes is increased after the ingestion and storage of latex particles within the vacuolar system of the cells. The increased rates of secretion of the neutral enzymes are stable for over 2 wk in the absence of a further phagocytic bout. In constrast there is little change in the extracellular levels of two lysosomal hydrolases, cathepsin D and ß-glucuronidase. The increase in the secretory rates for the two neutral enzymes is related to the number of latex particles ingested by the cells, and increases of up to 12-fold over the nonphagocytosing cultures were observed. A variety of other materials including mycostatin particles and dextran sulfate also induced increases in the secretion of collagenase. These results are discussed in relation to the turnover of connective tissue matrix macromolecules.

Normal mouse spleen cells were fractionated in dishes coated with thin layers of DNP-gelatin or NIP-gelatin, which were insoluble at 4 degrees C. Highly viable cells were recovered from the dishes by melting the gel at 37 degrees C. NIP3- gelatin layers bound approximately 0.1% and DNP4-gelatin layers 0.5% of normal spleen cells. Increasing numbers of low affinity cells were bound with increasing DNP density of the adsorbent. The binding to insoluble DNP-gelatin was hapten-specific since it was inhibited by DNP-lysine, soluble DNP-gelatin or DNP-BSA but not by soluble gelatin or bovine serum albumin (BSA). It was also inhibited by a polyvalent rabbit antimouse Ig. DNP-gelatin was detected on the surface of cells recovered from DNP-gelatin-coated dishes by 125-I-labeled anti-DNP Ig. The cell surface bound DNP-gelatin could be removed by treatment with collagenase. Collagenase treatment did not detectably affect cell viability or surface receptors. More than 90% of DNP-gelatin binding cells were labeled with a polyvalent 125-I-labeled antimouse Ig before or after collagenase treatment under conditions known to label B lymphocytes. Furthermore, the specific antigen-binding capacity of the purified cell populations could be demonstrated after treatment with collagenase. Purified DNP4-gelatin binding cells contained more than 100 times as many DNP-RFC than unfractionated cells. The enrichment of NIP-RFC in the cell population recovered from NIP3 gelatin-coated dishes was more than 200-fold.

Achromobacter iophagus produced collagenase (EC 3.4.24.3) when cultured aerobically in buffer containing 5% peptone. The bacterium is non-pathogenic and tests on rabbits indicated that the culture medium was atoxic. The collagenase, which hydrolyzed insoluble and soluble native collagen, was purified by (NH4)2 SO4 precipitation, starch block electrophoresis, and gel filtration. It was shown to be serologically distinct from Clostridium histolyticum collagenase and to have molecular weight and sedimentation coefficient values of approx. 112 000 and 5.3 S, respectively.

By treatment of chorioallantoic membranes from embryonated eggs with collagenase and hyaluronidase before the conventional application of trypsin cells could be grown in culture which supported growth of a large variety of myxoviruses, herpesviruses, avian reoviruses and the infectious bronchitis virus of chickens. The cultures could be used for sensitive plaque assays and neutralization tests.

It is apparent that significant progress has been made in our understanding of the biosynthesis, modifications, and maturation of collagen and elastin. We now recognize and partially understand special reactions involved in hydroxylations within the cell and complex cross-linking processes occurring outside the cell. Recent experiments (191) have shown that in human diploid fibroblast cultures of limited doubling potential (191) the hydroxylation of collagen prolyl residues appears to be "age" or passage-level dependent. With increasing passage level of these cultures, both the ascorbate requirements and the extent of collagen hydroxylation decrease. "Young" cell cultures have a strong requirement for complete hydroxylation and without ascorbate there is only about 50% of the normal level. "Middle-aged" cultures show higher hydroxylation without and full hydroxylation with ascorbate, whereas "old" (or cultures close to "senescence") are incapable of full hydroxylation with or without ascorbic acid. Although the overall system may show some deterioration with increasing passage levels, it appears that with increasing passage levels other components in the cell replace the ascorbate dependence of the hydroxylase system to a greater exten. In some ways, aging WI-38 cultures begin to resemble some transformed cells in their biochemical reactions, although they continue to remain diploid and eventually lose the ability to replicate. It is not yet known whether old animals can produce collagen, which may now be underhydroxylated, perhaps contributing to certain senescent changes. Careful examination of the hydroxylation index of collagen produced in organoid cultures of tissue biopsies as a function of donor age might be informative, particularly if one looks at the quality of collagen by employing collagenase and other proteolytic digests with collagen (191). One could comare the levels of frequent and characteristic peptide triplet sequences such as Gly-Pro-Hyp to Gly-Pro-Pro, Gly-Ala-Hyp to Gly-Ala-Pro, or Gly-Pro-Hyl to Gly-Pro-Lys and others for evaluation of hydroxylation throughout the entire molecule or at selected sequences.

The in vitro effect of alloxan exposure on the permeability of collagenase isolated rat pancreatic islets to sucrose, D-mannitol, and L-glucose has been investigated. Determination of changes in cell volume with a non-wash double label isotope procedure indicates that alloxan treatment exerts no measurable effect on permeability to sucrose, D-mannitol, or L-glucose as compared to nonalloxan-treated islets. In addition, neither prior exposurenor the concomitant presence of alloxan alters the rate of D-glucose or 3–0-methyl-D-glucose transport into rat pancreatic islets. It is concluded that the in vitro effect of alloxan on abolishing glucose-induced insulin release in isolated rat pancreatic islets does not appear to be the result of permeability changes to small organic molecules or alteration in the transport ofD-glucose into the beta-cell. (Endocrinology 97: 68, 1975)

Thioglycollate-stimulated mouse macrophages release a specific collagenase into their medium during in vitro culture. The macrophage collagenase has been characterized as a typical metal proteinase which catalyzes the cleavage of the native collagen molecule into three and one-quarter fragments. The extracellular accumulation and low activity in cell lysates suggest that collagenase is a secretion product of the stimulated macrophage. Prolonged secretion of the enzyme at a constant rate for more than 7 days in culture and its inhibition by cycloheximide provide evidence for biosynthesis in vitro. In contrast, secretion of collagenase is barely detectable from unstimulated macrophages which can, however, be stimulated to secret the enzyme by ingestion and intralysosomal storage of latex particles or dextran sulfate. Macrophages laden with latex, an undigestable particle, continue to release collagenase for at least 20 days. Several established mouse cell lines have also been examined for their capacity to secrete collagenase. Collagenase is one of a class of inducible neutral proteinases by which the activated macrophage can modify its extracellular environment.

Matrix vesicles are extracellular, membrane-bounded particles which are abundant in the matrix of calcifying cartilage and which are morphologically related to the deposition of mineral in this tissue. The matrix vesicles and cells of the epiphyses of the long bones of fetal calves were liberated by digestion with collagenase and separated by differential centrifugation. Vesicle preparations were found to be lipid-rich and to contain significantly more sphingomyelin and phosphatidyl serine than cellular fractions. The ratio, moles cholesterol to moles total phospholipid, was higher in vesicles than in cells, a finding which is consistent with vesicles having their origins in the plasma membranes of the chondrocytes.

INTRODUCTION The recent successful growth of human and nonhuman endothelial cells in tissue culture in several laboratories 1-6 has opened the way for a study of factors that may influence the rate of replication of these cells. One laboratory has reported that the presence of platelets in the nutrient medium enhances the growth of endothelial cells. 1 We have confirmed this report and have extended these observations to include the effects of certain platelet components on endothelial cell replication. The importance of these studies lies in the fact that platelets and certain of their components might influence the rate at which endothelial cells grow in vivo as well as in vitro. METHODS Growth of Human Endothelial Cells in Tissue Culture. Techniques for recovery of endothelial cells from human umbilical cord vein by use of collagenase have been reported. 2 Isolated endothelial cells were washed once in modified (Ca++ and Mg++ free Tyrode's solution (MT'S)) and twice in medium 199 containing 20% fetal calf serum. Isolated cells were 83 to 96% viable by the erythrosin B dye exclusion test. Cells were isolated from umbilical cord vein under strict sterile conditions. Cell cultures were carried out in polystyrene culture flasks (Falcon Plastics, Los Angeles, Cal.) with a growth area of 25 cm. 2 Culture flasks were seeded with approximately 500,000 cells per flask with the cells at a final:concentration of 500 per mm3.

Collagenase perfusion of the liver followed by pronase treatment of the cell suspension thus obtained gave a quantitative recovery of viable nonparenchymal liver cells (NPC). From these NPC, Kupffer (K) cells can be purified by attachment to tissue culture dishes. Tail vein injection of carbon 1-2 h before liver perfusion permitted stepwise calculation as well as visualization of carbon-containing K cells. When these K cells have been put into tissue culture medium with serum and incubated overnight, they exhibit typical macrophage characteristics. Phase-contrast and transmission electron microscopy showed typical macrophage morphology and scanning electron microscopy revealed well-spread cells with cytoplasmic projections and ruffled membranes. Endocytosis studies using radioactive colloidal gold and inert latex particles also indicated that these cells are highly active in pinocytosis and phagocytosis. Further characterization of K cells is the identification of Fc receptor on their membranes. Studies on lysosomal enzymes showed that purified K cells possess higher specific activities in beta-glucuronidase, acid DNase, and cathepsin D than in purified parenchymal cells.

Guinea pig skin collagenase, isolated from culture medium of whole skin, was separated into two enzymatically active fractions. These two fractions have been purified extensively. Peak II fraction has been purified to homogeneity as examined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Their molecular weights are approximately 130 000 (peak I) and 40 000 (peak II). Both guinea pig skin collagenase fractions are capabe of degrading the native collagen fibrils and are inhibited by serum, cysteine and EDTA. They appear to be glycoproteins. Guinea pig skin (peak II) and human skin collagenase were compared. They are both glycoproteins and have similar molecular size ( M r = 40 000). Immunodiffusion assay showed that no cross-reactivity was seen between the enzymes, indicating species specificity among collagenases.

Hepatocytes that are similar to the perfused liver in glucagon sensitivity can be obtained in a high, reproducible yield by modifications of the well-known enzymatic technique for the preparation of isolated liver cells. The major modifications are: (a) a simple, economic, and temperature-controlled apparatus for the recirculating perfusion of the isolated rat liver; (b) the use of substrate-fortified calcium-free Krebs-Henseleit bicarbonate buffer; and (c) high perfusion rates, which lead to the isolation of hepatocytes with normal ultrastructure and metabolic activities. From 4 × 10 8 to 5 × 10 8 cells can be routinely isolated from an 8- to 10-g liver independent of the collagenase preparations applied. The rat liver cells are viable (90–95%) by various criteria including electron microscopy and exclusion of 0.2% trypan blue. When studying various incubation techniques, it was observed that the use of gelatin in the medium is preferred as compared to albumin Fraction V or fatty acid-free albumin which tended to inhibit gluconeogenic rates from various substrates in calcium-free medium. Addition of calcium chloride to the incubation medium strikingly improved gluconeogenesis from lactate. Various procedures for calculating the number of cells corresponding to 1 g wet liver tissue are discussed in detail.

Sequencing of chymotrypsin, trypsin, collagenase- and hydroxylamine-derived peptides, using the automated Edman degradation procedure, yielded the complete amino acid sequence of alpha2-CB4 from calf skin collagen (321 residues). Together with the data from earlier work, an uninterrupted sequence in the helical region of the alpha2-chain from residues 1-393 is now known. Glycine is found in every third position of the peptide. Hydroxylation of proline and lysine occurs only in the Y-position of the triplet Gly-X-Y and is not complete in every position. Some residues, such as glutamic acid, leucine, phenylalanine and arginine, are distributed non-randomly between the X and Y-positions and this non-random distribution is different in the alpha1 and alpha2-chains. Comparison of the N-terminal 393 residues from the helical region of the alpha1 and alpha2-chains revealed a nearly identical distribution of charged polar residues arginine, lysine, glutamic and aspartic acids. The distribution of the triplet Gly-Pro-Hyp is simialr in both chains. The remaining residues in the alpha2-chain exhibit a high degree of substitutions when compared with those in the alpha1-chain. Approximately one in every two residues in both the X and Y-positions are substituted.

The position of 3-hydroxyproline was investigated in the triplet sequences of peptides released by collagenase digestion of a collagen preparation from kidney cortex. Composition of the collagen preparation indicated that it was largely or wholly of basement membrane origin. 3-Hydroxyproline was detected in only one sequence, the tripeptide, glycyl-3-hydroxyprolyl-4-hydroxyproline, which accounted for a major fraction of the total 3-hydroxyproline obtained in the peptides released by collagenase. Preliminary data, based on sequencing the peptide mixture released by collagenase treatment, suggested that, in contrast, 4-hydroxyproline occurs predominantly if not exclusively in the Y position of Gly-X-Y triplet sequences in the collagen preparation studied.

A peptidase cleaving a synthetic substrate for collagenase, 4-phenylazobenzyloxycarbonyl-L-Pro-L-Leu-Gly-L-Pro-D-Arg (designated as PZ-peptide) has been purified extensively (about 5200-fold) from a soluble extract of monkey kidney with a view of carrying out studies on its possible physiological role. The purified PZ-peptidase appeared essentially free of collagenase, nonspecific protease and di- and tri-peptidase activities. The properties of the purified PZ-peptidase resemble very much the granuloma enzyme. It is optimally active around pH 7.0. Its apparent Km value for PZ-peptide is 0.72 mM and V is 10.1 mumol/mg protein/min. It is reversibly inhibited by p-hydroxymercuribenzoate and HgCl2, whereas iodoactetamide does not affect the enzyme activity. N-Ethylmaleimide inhibited the enzyme partially (50%). Heavy metals like Cu-2+, Cd-2+, Ag+, Pb-2+, Ni-2+, and Zn-2+ completely inhibited the enzyme activity, while the inhibition by Co-2+ was only partial. Fe-2+ did not exert any effect on the activity. The enzyme activity was completely inhibited by EDTA and was restored almost to the original value by metal ions like Mn-2+, Mg-2+, Ca-2+ and Ba-2+. The approximate molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 56 000.

The maximum at 220 nm in the circular dichroism spectrum of native collagen solution changed to a negative value after heat denaturation or collagenase hydrolysis. The enzyme induced rate of CD change at 220 nm was shown to be first order in collagen concentration. The specific rate constant k is actually a combined rate constant kfast and kslow in which the ratio kf/ks is 4.1. The initial rates were linear with respect to enzyme concentration, and the Km was found to be 5.5 × 10−7M. The rate of ultraviolet hyperchromicity at 220 nm on collagen hydrolysis was determined. The kfast was the same as that obtained by CD. The kf/ks ratio was 4.6. Both methods may be readily used to assay for collagenase activity.

Viable suspended hepatocytes were prepared from surgical biopsy specimens of pig and human liver by digestion with collagenase. Initial perfusion of the tissue through cannulated blood vessels with 0.5 mM EGTA followed by 0.2% collagenase gave the best results. 20−870 × 106 cells of which 60–95 % excluded trypan blue were obtained from 5–30 g pig liver pieces, while results with human liver specimens were usually less satisfactory. In some experiments, however, viable cells, as judged by vital stain exclusion and ability to synthesize lipids were obtained in sufficient yield. In the pig hepatocytes glycerolipid synthesis from [3H] glycerol and oxidation and esterification of [14C] oleic acid had the same characteristics as those observed earlier in rat hepatocytes.

The current management of decubitus ulcers, factors in wound healing and the role of enzymes in treatment are discussed. The therapeutic benefits of collagenase (Santyl) ointment in 21 patients are described, supplemented by serial color photographs. Statistical evidence is provided for the conclusion that collagenase ointment is an excellent adjunct to therapy.

Intestinal epithelial cells were prepared from fasted rats by dispersion with collagenase (EC 3.4.24.3). The structural and metabolic integrity of the cells was verified by electron microscopy, a high percentage of Trypan Blue exclusion, a low degree of release of lactate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.27) in the medium, and by the retention of sensitivity to agents known to modify metabolic and transport activity in everted sacs of intestinal mucosa. The isolated intestinal epithelial cells were used to study glycerolipid biosynthesis from glucose, glycerol, 2-monoacylglycerol, and free fatty acids. The cells actively incorporated the labeled precursors into glycerolipids without specific cofactor requirements. Addition of fatty acids stimulated the incorporation of both glucose and glycerol into triacylglycerols and glycerophospholipids, the greatest effect being observed with palmitate. The stimulation of monoacylglycerol acylation appeared to depend on both the nature of the monoacylglycerol and fatty acid supplied. Stereospecific analyses of the diacylglycerols formed from 2-monoacylglycerols and free fatty acids showed that 1,2-diacyl-sn-glycerols (62–70%) were the major and that 2,3-diacyl-sn-glycerols (30–38%) the minor intermediates in triacylglycerol biosynthesis. The data indicate that isolated intestinal epithelial cells exhibit a total capacity of glycerolipid synthesis and a stereochemical course of reaction which is comparable to that observed for triacylglycerol formation in everted sacs of intestinal mucosa, but much less specific than that seen in microsomal preparations of intestinal mucosa.

The collagen from the cuticle of Ascaris lumbricoides was digested by Clostridium histolyticum collagenase [EC 3.4.24.3] in the presence and absence of CaCl2. About 1.2 mumoles of amino groups per mg collagen was liberated when the digestion was performed in the presence of 5 mM CaCl2, whereas about 0.5 mumole of amino groups per mg collagen was liberated by digestion in the absence of CaCl2. In contrast, CaCl2 influenced the extent of hydrolysis of rat tail tendon collagen only slightly. The results suggest that CaCl2 is necessary for the hydrolysis of certain regions in the molecule of Ascaris collagen and that such structures may not be present in mammalian collagens.

The extensive literature on the effect of rat age on the size and number of adipocytes in adipose tissue depots relates solely to young developing rats and young adults. Therefore a study was carried out in our laboratory on the cellular characteristics of the epididymal depot of the Fisher 344 strain of rats through virtually the entire life-span. Collagenase digests of this depot prepared from rats of 9, 13, 26, 52, 104, and 130 wk of age yield a population of cells with diameters greater than 30 mum identified as adipocytes or "fat cells." A remarkably complex pattern of changes in both the size and the number of these fat cells in the epididymal depot occurred through the life-span of the rats. The epididymal depots also contain some cells with diameters around 10 mum which have a morphology similar to that of the classic adipocytes; such cells may be preadipocytes.

Using tissue culture, human skin collagenase activity and its relationship to serum collagenase inhibitors and the effect of thiocyanate was studied. The following was found: 1) Collagenase activity did not become apparent in the culture medium before 48 hours; it reached a peak on the 4th day, gradually decreased, and then became elevated again on the 7th day of culture. 2) Using the immunodiffusion technique, α2-macroglobulin was detected up to the 4th day and α1-antitrypsin until the 7th day. 3) On the 2nd day of culture, two separate peaks of collagenase activity were evident by gel filtration on a Sephadex G-200 column. One peak was eluted in the area of α1-antitrypsin, but no collagenase activity was detected in the area of α2-macroglobulin. 4) By treatment with NaSCN, the α2-macroglobulin was dissociated from the enzyme-serum collagenase inhibitor complex, and skin collagenase was partially purified as a single peak of activity. From these results, the main serum constituent of collagenase inhibitors is considered to be α2-macroglobulin rather than α1-antitrypsin.

In normal lung growth, post-pneumonectomy lung growth, and in possibly several lung disorders, there are marked alterations in the density of collagen and changes in the rate of synthesis of collagen relative to the synthesis of other lung proteins. To provide a technology to begin to understand these changes at the molecular level, polysomes were prepared from rabbit lung and translated in a heterologous cell-free system including rabbit reticulocyte 0.5 M KCl ribosomal wash fraction and liver tRNA. Collagen was shown in the cell-free product by collagenase sensitivity, hydroxylation of incorporated proline by peptidyl prolyl hydroxylase, agarose gel chromatography, and sodium dodecyl sulfate acrylamide gel electrophoresis. The cell-free system was optimized with respect to K+, Mg2+, amino acids, and ribosomal wash fraction and used under conditions where total protein synthesis and collagen synthesis are linear with respect to time and amount of polysomes. Under these conditions, collagen synthesis was directed almost entirely by polysomes derived from the endoplasmic reticulum. Polysomes isolated from late fetal lung directed collagen synthesis at twice the rate (per polysome) as those polysomes isolated from adult lung. Similar changes were seen if lung tRNA replaced liver tRNA and if lung ribosomal wash fraction replaced reticulocyte wash fraction. Although these changes in cell-free lung collagen synthesis with tissue explants, further studies will have to be carried out to determine whether, in fact, age-related alterations in control of lung collagen synthesis are truly explained by these findings.

The effect on tumor progression produced by the injection of VCN-treated tumor cells in dogs with spontaneous mammary tumors was investigated. Untreated dogs of different races and different ages with at least two palpable spontaneous mammary tumors were selected. One of the tumors was left in the animal for further clinical examination whereas the other tumor(s) was (were) excised for preparation of a single-cell suspension by mechanical disintegration and enzymatic digestion with collagenase and trypsin. (1) In the first group, each animal was infected with 2 times 10-7 similarly prepared autologous, mitomycin-treated tumor cells; in 8 out of 12 dogs of this group the tumors progressed while so far 1 dog has died of metastasis. (2) In the second group, each animal received the same number of 2 times 10-7 tumor cells, which were mitomycin- and VCN-treated: 13 out of 15 dogs had a significant regression of their tumors to less than 10% of the original volume; in 1 dog the tumor remained unchanged and in 1 dog it progressed. (3) In the third group, 8 dogs received 1 times 10-8 mitomycin- and VCN-treated tumor cells: the application of this cell dose resulted in an accelerated tumor progression in all 8 dogs, 3 of which have already died of metastasis. The significance of these findings, with respect to potentiation and abrogation of the immunological response and with regard to immunotherapy in man, is discussed.

Human leukocytes, when exposed to aggregated human gamma-globulin (AHGG) or immune complexes (isolated from RA synovial fluid) fixed to a cartilagenous surface, release neutral proteases that degrade the extracellular matrix of cartilage. The chondromucoprotein destruction by these proteases is suppressed by a variety of synovial fluids but is not susceptible to inhibition by trypsin, chymotrypsin, elastase inhibitors, or a combination of these agents. The inhibitory effect of synovial fluid can be reversed in the presence of increasing enzyme concentrations. Intact viable human polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the presence of AHGG also release a collagenase precursor that can be activated by limited proteolysis with trypsin or RA synovial fluids. Enzyme release (neutral proteases) by phagocytosing cells is inhibited by the antiinflammatory agents phenylbutazone and colchicine; these agents do not affect release of the collagenase precursor. However, the latent collagenase release is susceptible to inhibition when leukocytes are preincubated (prior to exposure to AHGG) with inhibitors of protein synthesis. Under these conditions, neutral protease release is unaffected.

An important factor in the maintenance of homeostasis between blood, lymph, and the extravascular compartment (largely loose connective tissue) in the microcirculation is the interaction of tissue with plasma. In vitro swelling and permeation studies on sections of umbilical cord in solutions of serum albumin indicated that the thermodynamic distribution coefficient is a constant and that tissue swelling occurs over the range of concentrations studied (up to 10%). The mechanism keeping tissue in a dehydrated state in vivo is discussed. Further swelling studies performed in Ringer's solution on enzyme-treated tissue samples indicated the importance of the major tissue components (acid mucopolysaccharides (AMPS) and the collagen network) in tissue swelling. The results indicate that swelling is due to the AMPS and is controlled by the elastic nature of the collagen network which when weakened by proteolytic enzymes (trypsin, chymotrypsin, and pronase) results in increased swelling. Collagenase produced extensive damage to the network. Hyaluronidase treatment prevented tissue swelling suggesting that in vivo the collagen network is in a force-free state. Moreover tissue collapses to the same final volume independent of the degree to which it was swollen prior to hyaluronidase treatment. This elastic return with hyaluronidase was seen even when the network was damaged with trypsin although the return was now to a more swollen state.

The effects of parathyroid hormone(PTH) and cyclic 32,52-AMP (cyclic AMP) on calciumtransport were studied in isolated bone cells.Bone cells were isolated by collagenase digestionof 20–21 day old fetal rat calvaria. Calciumtransport was measured with 45Ca. PTH (0.2 μg/ml)increased calcium uptake 30–40% over control valuesat 37 C. At 4 C, the effects were magnified and70–170% increases in calcium uptake were observed.The effects were present 1–10 minutes afterthe simultaneous addition of hormone and 45Ca.PTH had no effect on calcium efflux. Neitherdibutyryl cyclic AMP (10-4-10-3M) nor cyclic AMP(10-7–3 ×10-6M) had any effect on calcium uptake orefflux. Methylisobutylxanthine (0.1 mM) caused nochange in calcium uptake although increases incyclic AMP were noted. The characteristic PTHinducedincrease in cyclic AMP seen at 37 C wasnot observed at 4 C. It is postulated that PTH increases the permeabilityof bone cell membranes to calcium. At 4 Cthe membrane is relatively impermeable so the PTHeffect is magnified...

A collagenase was purified from homogenates of V2 ascites-cell carcinoma growing in rabbit muscle. (NH4)2SO4 precipitation, ion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatography, and affinity chromatography (by using the CB7 CNBr) cleavage fragment of alpha 1(I) collagen linked to agarose) gave a 268000-fold purification and a sevenfold increase in total enzyme units recovered. The specific activity, defined as mumol of collagen in solution cleaved/h per mg of enzyme at 35 degrees C, WAS 1.74.2. The collagenase had a broad pH optimum from pH7.0 to 9.5, and a mol.wt. of between 33000 and 35000. It was inhibited by dithiothreitol, L-cysteine, D-penicillamine, EDTA and 1,10-phenanthroline, and by both rabbit and human serum. 3. Removal of cations by a chelating resin (Chelex 100) produced as inactive enzyme that could be reactiviated by the addition of Ca2+ ions at concentrations as low as 1muM. Other bivalent cations were not effective. 4. The purified collagenase cleaved peptides alpha2 and alpha1-CB7 (denatured polypeptides of collagen) at 37 degrees C at one site only. [alpha1 (I)]2alpha2 and [alpha1(III)]3 collagens in solution were cleaved at the same site approximately five times more rapidly than [alpha1 (II)]3. 5. An inhibitor of the enzyme in the tumour extracts, which was dissociable from the enzyme at the (NH4) 2SO4 precipitation step of purification, had a mol. wt. of between 40000 and 50000 but was distinct from the alpha1 trypsin inhibitor. 6. Studies with zonal density-gradient centrifugation suggested that the enzyme was bound to fibrillar substrate (collagen) extracellularly, but that it was not associated with enzymes originating in cell mitochondria, microsomal preparations or lysosomes.