Elsevier

Journal of Neuroimmunology

Volume 113, Issue 1, 1 February 2001, Pages 153-162
Journal of Neuroimmunology

Presynaptic neuronal antigens expressed by a small cell lung carcinoma cell line

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-5728(00)00431-8Get rights and content

Abstract

Small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC) is a tumour of neuroendocrine origin often found in association with autoimmune paraneoplastic neurological disorders. We established a SCLC cell line from a woman with Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) who developed antibodies to both the P/Q-type voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCC) and the muscle acetycholine receptor (AChR). We used a range of techniques to establish which neuronal antigens were expressed in her tumour cell line. The results show that many proteins involved in exocytosis are present in the SCLC cells, and that depolarisation-dependent release of [3H]-serotonin is linked to calcium influx through P/Q-type VGCCs. In addition, some of the subunits encoding the AChR and both agrin and ARIA, molecules released from the motor nerve during development, were expressed. These results suggest that many potential antigenic targets are present in SCLC, and indicate a surprising ‘motor nerve terminal’-like characteristic of this line.

Introduction

Small cell lung carcinomas (SCLC) are aggressive tumours, which show a strong association with cigarette smoking and represent approximately 25% of all lung carcinomas. The tumours proliferate rapidly, metastase early and although they may respond, at least initially, to chemotherapy the patient’s long-term survival is usually less than 10%. SCLCs are often associated with autoimmune neurological disorders such as the Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS), subacute sensory neuronopathy (SSN) or various forms of paraneoplastic encephalitis (PE) (Lang and Vincent, 1996). Sixty percent of LEMS patients have a SCLC, and greater than 90% of all LEMS patients have antibodies directed against P/Q-type VGCCs (Motomura et al., 1997). In patients with SSN or PE, the antibodies are often directed against a group of neuronal nuclear proteins called ‘Hu’, but patients with cerebellar ataxia and SCLC can have antibodies to VGCCs, Hu or both antigens (Mason et al., 1997).

SCLC cells exhibit a number of neurosecretory properties, including the expression of neurone-specific enolase and l-dopa decarboxylase, and the presence of autocrine factors such as bombesin and gastric-releasing factor. It has been suggested that cell proliferation is controlled by autocrine loops involving peptide secretion (Cuttitta et al., 1985, Carney, 1992) in a calcium-dependent manner (Sorenson et al., 1981). Cultured SCLC cells have been shown to express voltage-dependent calcium, potassium and sodium channels and to generate action potentials (McCann et al., 1981; Pancazio et al., 1992; Viglione et al., 1993, Blandino et al., 1995), and VGCCs have been identified both biochemically and electrophysiologically in a number of SCLC tumours and cell lines (De Aizpurua et al., 1988, Johansson et al., 1989, Oguru-Okano et al., 1992, Codignolo et al., 1993, Johnston et al., 1994; Sher et al., 1990). Depolarisation-induced calcium entry through VGCCs is coupled to neurotransmitter release in the neuroendocrine and nervous systems via multimolecular protein complexes comprising a combination of synaptic vesicle and plasma membrane proteins (Catterall, 1999). It is not known, however, whether the secretory machinery in SCLCs is subserved by the L- or N-type VGCC utilised in neuroendocrine systems, or by the P-/Q-type VGCCs that control release of neurotransmitter at the peripheral neuromuscular junction. In addition, recently a SCLC line has been shown to express both the muscle and the neuronal AChR (Sciamanna et al., 1997). Antibodies against neuronal AChR have been reported in patients with a number of different neurological disorders some of whom had an underlying SCLC (Vernino et al., 1998). Taken as a whole, these observations indicate that SCLC may express a wide range of neuronal antigens.

We derived a SCLC cell line (MB) from the tumour of a patient with LEMS and have shown the effect of LEMS IgG on this line (Johnston et al., 1994). Subsequently, this patient also developed antibodies to acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) suggesting that, surprisingly, they too might be expressed in her SCLC line. Here we have used molecular and functional studies to demonstrate the presence of many of the proteins involved in the excitation–secretion pathway in the nervous system and some of those expressed at the neuromuscular junction during development. The presence of a range of different neuronal/exocytotic antigens in these cells suggests that VGCCs and Hu antigens are probably not the only target antigens for paraneoplastic syndromes associated with SCLC. The presence of agrin and ARIA, as well as proteins involved in neurosecretory pathway, suggest that these cells display, surprisingly, a ‘motor nerve terminal’-like characteristic.

Section snippets

Cell cultures

MB cells were derived as previously described (Johnston et al., 1994), and were grown continuously as semi-adherent clusters in DMEM/F12 supplemented with 15 mM HEPES, 2% foetal calf serum (FCS), 2 mM l-glutamine, 50 units/ml penicillin, 50 units/ml streptomycin (all Gibco BRL) and Sato’s N1 components (Bottenstein and Sato, 1979) at 37°C. Fresh medium was added on day 5–6 and cultures were passaged every 10–12 days with trypsin/EDTA (Gibco/BRL). TE671 were grown in DMEM supplemented with 5%

Clinical details

M.B. was a moderate smoker who developed the clinical features of the Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) at the age of 44 years. The diagnosis was confirmed by electromyography, revealing a reduced compound muscle action potential amplitude in the abductor digiti minimi (1.2 mV; normal values >8 mV). The amplitude increased by >100% following maximal voluntary activation. She was subsequently shown to be positive for anti-VGCC antibodies (Fig. 1). Initial computerised tomographic chest

Discussion

We have studied a SCLC cell line derived from a patient with LEMS who had a high titre of anti P-/Q-type VGCC antibodies. The cells expressed all of the components of the neurosecretory apparatus that were tested and transcripts for the subunits α1A, α2δ and the β subunits, which are thought to combine to encode a P-/Q-type VGCC. Expression of VGCCs of the P/Q-subtype was confirmed by radioligand binding, and specific antagonist inhibition of K+-induced 45Ca2+ flux. Moreover, it was this VGCC,

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the MRC, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Jules Thorn Trust and the Myasthenia Gravis Association.

M.B. was a Rhodes Scholar. F.B. was a recipient of a post-doctoral fellowship from the “Deutsche Forschunggsgemeinschaft” (Bl 452/1-1). The authors are very grateful to Professor John Newsom-Davis for providing the patients’ clinical information and to Ms. Eve Goodyer for the serum samples.

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