Raquel Valdés

Macrophages require different nucleoside transport systems for proliferation and activation

To evalúate the mechanisms involved in macrophage proliferation and activation, we studied the regulation of the nucleoside transport systems. In murine bone marrow‐derived macrophages, the nucleo‐sides required for DNA and RNA synthesis are recruited from the extracellular medium. M‐CSF induced macrophage proliferation and DNA and RNA synthesis, whereas interferon γ (IFN‐γ) led to activation, blocked proliferation, and induced only RNA synthesis. Macrophages express at least the concentrative systems N1 and N2 (CNT2 and CNT1 genes, respectively) and the equilibrative systems es and ei (ENT1 and ENT2 genes, respectively). Incubation with M‐CSF only up‐regulated the equilibrative system es. Inhibition of this transport system blocked M‐CSF‐dependent proliferation. Treatment with IFN‐γ only induced the concentrative N1 and N2 systems. IFN‐γ also down‐regulated the increased expression of the es equilibrative system induced by M‐CSF. Thus, macrophage proliferation and activation require selective regulation of nucleoside transporters and may respond to specific requirements for DNA and RNA synthesis. This report also shows that the nucleo‐side transporters are critical for macrophage proliferation and activation.

Complex regulation of nucleoside transporter expression in epithelial and immune system cells

Nucleoside transporters have a variety of functions in the cell, such as the provision of substrates for nucleic acid synthesis and the modulation of purine receptors by determining agonist availability. They also transport a wide range of nucleoside-derived antiviral and anticancer drugs. Most mammalian cells coexpress several nucleoside transporter isoforms at the plasma membrane, which are differentially regulated. This paper reviews studies on nucleoside transporter regulation, which has been extensively characterized in the laboratory in several model systems: the hepatocyte, an epithelial cell type, and immune system cells, in particular B cells, which are non-polarized and highly specialized. The hepatocyte co-expresses at least two Na+-dependent nucleoside transporters, CNT1 and CNT2, which are up-regulated during cell proliferation but may undergo selective loss in certain experimental models of hepatocarcinomas. This feature is consistent with evidence that CNT expression also depends on the differentiation status of the hepatocyte. Moreover, substrate availability also modulates CNT expression in epithelial cells, as reported for hepatocytes and jejunum epithelia from rats fed nucleotide-deprived diets. In human B cell lines, CNT and ENT transporters are co-expressed but differentially regulated after B cell activation triggered by cytokines or phorbol esters, as described for murine bone marrow macrophages induced either to activate or to proliferate. The complex regulation of the expression and activity of nucleoside transporters hints at their relevance in cell physiology.

Cell-cycle-dependent regulation of CNT1, a concentrative nucleoside transporter involved in the uptake of cell-cycle-dependent nucleoside-derived anticancer drugs

Most nucleoside-derived anticancer drugs are taken up by the high-affinity Na-dependent nucleoside transporter CNT1. Since such drugs are to some extent cell-cycle-dependent in their cytotoxic action, we examined the relationship between CNT1 expression and cell-cycle progression in the rat hepatoma cell line FAO. Cell cultures were synchronized either at late G1 or early S stages by combining mimosin treatment with either previous synchronization or not by serum starvation. Cell-cycle progression was then assessed by measuring [methyl-3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA and monitoring cyclin E and A protein levels. In these conditions, CNT1 protein amounts increase at the G1-S transition. When cells were synchronized using hydroxyurea (HU), which directly interacts with nucleotide metabolism by inhibiting ribonucleotide reductase, CNT1 protein amounts increased in synchronized cells and remained high during cell-cycle progression. These data indicate that CNT1 adapts to cell-cycle progression and responds to nucleos(t)ide metabolism status, a feature that might contribute to the cytotoxic action of cell-cycle-dependent anticancer drugs.

TGF-β transcriptionally activates the gene encoding the high-affinity adenosine transporter CNT2 in rat liver parenchymal cells

Abstract.The nucleoside transporter CNT2 is the highest-affinity adenosine transporter identified so far. Recent evidence suggests that CNT2 has functions other than salvage (i.e. modulation of purinergic responses). Here we identified TGF-β1 as a potent inducer of CNT2 protein expression in liver parenchymal cells. By contrast, CNT1, which is a target of multifunctional cytokines involved in liver cell proliferation, does not respond to TGF-β1 treatment. Cloning of a murine CNT2 gene sequence with promoter-like activity enabled us to demonstrate that this cytokine exerts this effect by transcriptionally activating the CNT2-encoding gene in a JNK-dependent manner. The evidence that CNT2 is not a target of multifunctional cytokines involved in hepatocyte proliferation, but instead, of a cytokine that plays major roles in differentiation and apoptosis, further supports the view that the main physiological role of this transporter protein is not nucleoside salvage.