Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of Cell Biology logoLink to The Journal of Cell Biology
. 1966 Feb 1;28(2):263–275. doi: 10.1083/jcb.28.2.263

THE SYNTHESIS OF DNA, RNA, AND NUCLEAR PROTEIN IN NORMAL AND TUMOR STRAIN CELLS

IV. HeLa Tumor Strain Cells

John Seed 1
PMCID: PMC2106925  PMID: 5914693

Abstract

Interferometric and photometric measurements have been made on HeLa cells, a strain of cells originally derived from a human carcinoma. From a study of the relations between successive physical measurements on individual cells, it was confirmed that, whereas the net syntheses of nuclear RNA and nuclear protein are closely associated during interphase, they are dissociated from DNA replication to a significant extent. These results on nuclear metabolism agree with others previously reported in cell strains derived from tumors; they contrast with results from freshly prepared normal cells, where the net syntheses of DNA, nuclear RNA, and protein are closely associated during interphase. Cytoplasmic measurements on HeLa cells showed that much of the net synthesis of cytoplasmic RNA is associated with DNA replication as in normal cells, and they failed to detect transfer from the nucleus of a stable RNA component synthesized independently from DNA replication. In auxiliary experiments, an inhibition of the onset of DNA synthesis was produced by a dose of X-rays; under these conditions it was shown that the major part of the accumulation of nuclear protein was independent of DNA replication and that the accumulation of nuclear RNA was equivalent to or slightly less than that of nuclear protein. About half the accumulation of cytoplasmic RNA was inhibited when DNA synthesis was blocked.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (813.1 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. CASPERSSON T., KLEIN E., RINGERTZ N. R. Cytochemical studies on some effects of x-radiation on three ascites tumors. Cancer Res. 1958 Aug;18(7):857–862. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. CHAMBERLIN M., BERG P. Deoxyribo ucleic acid-directed synthesis of ribonucleic acid by an enzyme from Escherichia coli. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1962 Jan 15;48:81–94. doi: 10.1073/pnas.48.1.81. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. EAGLE H., PIEZ K. A., FLEISCHMAN R., OYAMA V. I. Protein turnover in mammaliar cell cultures. J Biol Chem. 1959 Mar;234(3):592–597. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. FEINENDEGEN L. E., BOND V. P., HUGHES W. L. RNA mediation in DNA synthesis in HeLa cells studied with tritium labeled cytidine and thymidine. Exp Cell Res. 1961 Dec;25:627–647. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(61)90194-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. FEINENDEGEN L. E., BOND V. P., SHREEVE W. W., PAINTER R. B. RNA and DNA metabolism in human tissue culture cells studied with tritiated cytidine. Exp Cell Res. 1960 Apr;19:443–459. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(60)90054-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. GOLDSTEIN L., MICOU J. On the primary site of nuclear RNA synthesis. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1959 Oct;6:301–304. doi: 10.1083/jcb.6.2.301. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] [Retracted]
  7. GROS F., HIATT H., GILBERT W., KURLAND C. G., RISEBROUGH R. W., WATSON J. D. Unstable ribonucleic acid revealed by pulse labelling of Escherichia coli. Nature. 1961 May 13;190:581–585. doi: 10.1038/190581a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. HALL B. D., SPIEGELMAN S. Sequence complementarity of T2-DNA and T2-specific RNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1961 Feb 15;47:137–163. doi: 10.1073/pnas.47.2.137. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. HARRIS H., WATTS J. W. The relationship between nuclear and cytoplasmic ribonucleic acid. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1962 May 15;156:109–121. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1962.0031. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. HAYASHI M., SPIEGELMAN S. The selective synthesis of informational RNA in bacteria. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1961 Oct 15;47:1564–1580. doi: 10.1073/pnas.47.10.1564. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. KILLANDER D., RIBBING C., RINGERTZ N. R., RICHARDS B. M. The effect of x-radiation on nuclear synthesis of protein and DNA. Exp Cell Res. 1962 Jun;27:63–69. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(62)90043-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. KILLANDER D., RICHARDS B. M., RINGERTZ N. R. The effect of x-radiation on nuclear nucleotide content as studied by ultraviolet-microspectro-photometry on tumour cells. Exp Cell Res. 1962 Aug;27:321–325. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(62)90235-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. LESLIE I. Biochemistry of heredity: a general hypothesis. Nature. 1961 Jan 28;189:260–268. doi: 10.1038/189260a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. LIN H. J., CHARGAFF E. METAPHASE CHROMOSOMES AS A SOURCE OF DNA. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1964 Dec 16;91:691–694. doi: 10.1016/0926-6550(64)90032-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. PAINTER R. B., ROBERTSON J. S. Effect of irradiation and theory of role of mitotic delay on the time course of labeling of HeLa S3 cells with tritiated thymidine. Radiat Res. 1959 Aug;11:206–217. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. PERRY R. P. On the nucleolar and nuclear dependence of cytoplasmic RNA synthesis in HeLa cells. Exp Cell Res. 1960 Jun;20:216–220. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(60)90240-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. RAUEN H. M., KERSTEN H., KERSTEN W. [On the mode of action of actinomycins]. Hoppe Seylers Z Physiol Chem. 1960 Dec 2;321:139–147. doi: 10.1515/bchm2.1960.321.1.139. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. REICH E., FRANKLIN R. M., SHATKIN A. J., TATUMEL Action of actinomycin D on animal cells and viruses. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1962 Jul 15;48:1238–1245. doi: 10.1073/pnas.48.7.1238. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Roberts W. K. Studies on RNA synthesis in Ehrlich ascites cells extraction and properties of labeled RNA. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1965 Nov 8;108(3):474–488. doi: 10.1016/0005-2787(65)90039-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. SEED J. Synthesis of ribonucleic acid, deoxyribonucleic acid and nuclear protein in normal and tumour strain cells. Nature. 1963 Apr 13;198:147–153. doi: 10.1038/198147a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. SHATKIN A. J. Actinomycin inhibition of ribonucleic acid synthesis and poliovirus infection of HeLa cells. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1962 Aug 20;61:310–313. doi: 10.1016/0926-6550(62)90095-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Seed J. The synthesis of DNA, RNA, and nuclear protein in normal and tumor strain cells. 3. Mouse ascites tumor cells. J Cell Biol. 1966 Feb;28(2):257–261. doi: 10.1083/jcb.28.2.257. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Seed J. The synthesis of DNA, RNA, and nuclear protein in normal and tumor strain cells. II. Fresh embryo mouse cells. J Cell Biol. 1966 Feb;28(2):249–256. doi: 10.1083/jcb.28.2.249. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. VOLKIN E., ASTRACHAN L., COUNTRYMAN J. L. Metabolism of RNA phosphorus in Escherichia coli infected with bacteriophage T7. Virology. 1958 Oct;6(2):545–555. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(58)90101-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. VOLKIN E., ASTRACHAN L. Phosphorus incorporation in Escherichia coli ribo-nucleic acid after infection with bacteriophage T2. Virology. 1956 Apr;2(2):149–161. doi: 10.1016/0042-6822(56)90016-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. WOODS P. S., TAYLOR J. H. Studies of ribonucleic acid metabolism with tritium-labeled cytidine. Lab Invest. 1959 Jan-Feb;8(1):309–318. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Ycas M., Vincent W. S. A RIBONUCLEIC ACID FRACTION FROM YEAST RELATED IN COMPOSITION TO DESOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1960 Jun;46(6):804–811. doi: 10.1073/pnas.46.6.804. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. ZALOKAR M. Sites of protein and ribonucleic acid synthesis in the cell. Exp Cell Res. 1960 Apr;19:559–576. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(60)90064-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Cell Biology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES