Mary S. Parshley

Synthesis of crosslinked elastin by an endothelial cell culture

Summary Synthesis of crosslinked elastin by a major lung cell has not previously been reported. Elastin production by an established clone of rat lung endothelial cells was detected by two separate, highly sensitive methods. The first procedure involved isolation and identification of the labelled, elastin-specific crosslinking amino acids desmosine and isodesmosine by thin layer electrophoresis and radioautography. The second procedure involved detection of elastin by immunofluorescence, using anti-rat lung elastin peptide serum.

Antigenicity of papillary serous cystadenocarcinoma tissue culture cells

Abstract The antibodies produced by immunization of rabbits with sonicated tissue culture cells of an established strain of human papillary serous cystadenocarcinoma of the ovary were investigated by Ouchterlony double gel diffusion, immunoelectrophoresis, and cytotoxicity studies. Cross-reactivity with normal tissues was eliminated by adsorption of the antisera on normal ovary homogenates. The resulting serum reacted only with the original tissue culture cells and ovarian tumor tissue of the same type; it did not show precipitin lines with any of the normal tissues or other tumors tested. These findings indicate the presence of a specific antigen in the papillary serous cystadenocarcinoma cells.

Characteristics of a clone of endothelial cells derived from a line of normal adult rat lung cells.

SummaryA strain of endothelial cells derived from a single cell cloned from a line of normal adult rat lung parenchyma has been maintained in tissue culture for more than 3 years. These cells have been identified as endothelial cells based on the combination of their growth characteristics, cell morphology as observed with both light and electron microscopy, and their physiological properties. They have continued to produce granules, which stain specifically for glycosaminoglycans with Alcian blue, for over 2 1/2 years. During the same period of time, glycosaminoglycans were identified biochemically in both cells and medium. They have maintained the ability to degrade bradykinin over this period as well.

Inhibition of Growth of Malignant Cells in vitro by a Component of Normal Adult Connective Tissue

NUMEROUS reports during the past 30 years support the thesis that biologically active factors present in normal adult tissue, growth-stimulating and growth-inhibiting substances, form a complex which regulates the growth of normal adult tissue. Upset of this balance may result in the unrestrained growth of cancer1–7. We have described the extraction by mild tryptic digestion of constituents of normal adult connective tissue (aorta, tendon, and skeletal muscle) which were growth-stimulating or growth-inhibitory to normal fibroblasts in tissue culture8. The effect on growth in vitro varied according to the conditions of extraction. Inhibitory extracts and crude precipitates from them further inhibited the growth in primary tissue culture of a series of human tumours from 75 to 100 per cent (refs. 9, 10).

Detection of factor VIII related antigens in long term cultures of rat endothelial cells

Rat endothelial cells in culture can be distinguished from fibroblasts and epithelial cells by their reaction with antisera against human factor VIII (AHF) associated proteins.

Elastin synthesis by endothelial cells

Elastin is a prominent component of the connective tissue structures of blood vessels and lungs, but also exists in cartilage, skin, and ligaments. However, the cells which synthesize elastin during fetal life, during turnover of elastin in adult life, and during elastin repair after injury remain unknown. The cell types known to synthesize elastin have, until recently, been limited solely to arterial wall smooth muscle. The ‘gap’ between the ubiquity of elastin and the obscurity of its cellular progenitors is perhaps no where more apparent than in the lung. In this organ, elastin is abundant in the parenchyma, in the pleura, and within the walls of airways and blood vessels; yet evidence for the synthesis of this connective tissue component by any of the 40 lung cell types has, in the past, been lacking. The potential significance of elastin abnormalities in the pathogenesis of certain lung disorders has emphasized the need to identify those lung cell types capable of elastogenesis.