Regulation of dihydrofolate reductase synthesis in an overproducing 3T6 cell line during transition from resting to growing state.

We have isolated a methotrexate (MTX)-resistant clone of mouse 3T6 cells, designated M50L3, which grows normally in the presence or absence of 50 muM MTX and produces a level of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR; 5,6,7,8-tetrahydrofolate:NADP(+) oxidoreductase, EC 1.5.1.3) that is increased about 300-fold compared to the parental 3T6 cells. The cells retain the ability to rest in the G(0) state when maintained in medium containing 0.5% calf serum and can be stimulated to reenter the cell cycle by increasing the serum concentration to 10%. The rate of accumulation of DHFR in resting M50L3 cells is about 1/25th of that in exponentially growing cells. When resting cells are stimulated to reenter the cell cycle, the rate of accumulation of DHFR starts to increase at about 8 hr and reaches a maximum (25-fold increase) at about 16 hr after stimulation. Pulse-labeling experiments show that the increase in DHFR accumulation is due to an increased rate of synthesis. This increase occurs at about the same time the cells enter S phase. However, inhibitors of DNA synthesis have no effect on the increase in DHFR accumulation after serum stimulation, indicating that there is no tight coupling of the two events. Actinomycin D inhibits the subsequent increase in DHFR accumulation if added 8 hr after stimulation but has no effect if added 16 hr after stimulation. This is consistent with the idea that the increase in DHFR gene expression depends on transcription of the gene and that DHFR mRNA synthesis begins at about the time the cell initiates DNA replication. DHFR gene expression appears to be regulated in the same manner in the overproducing cells as we found in the parental 3T6 cells [Johnson, L. F., Fuhrman, C. L. & Wiedemann, L. M. (1978) J. Cell. Phys. 97, 397-406]. Therefore, the alterations that are responsible for DHFR overproduction (presumably DHFR gene amplification) do not interfere with the ability of the cell to regulate the rate of synthesis of the enzyme after serum stimulation.