COLOCALIZATION OF AUTOIMMUNE ANTIBODIES SPECIFIC FOR DOUBLE-STRANDED DNA WITH PROCORTICOTROPHIN-RELEASING HORMONE WITHIN THE NUCLEUS OF STABLY TRANSFECTED CHO-K1 CELLS

Human autoantibodies and corticotrophin-re leasing hormone (CRH)-speci fic antibodies have been used in a double-labelling immunofluorescence technique to demonstrate that immunoreactive CRH structures are co-lo calised with immunostaining produced by double stranded DNA-specific h uman autoantibodies within the nucleus of cultured ovarian cells of Ch inese hamsters (CHO-K1). This co-localisation was confirmed using conf ocal microscopy. A metabolic labelling technique was used to investiga te the role of the cytoskeleton in mediating nuclear translocation of proCRH within stably transfected CHO-K1 cells and showed that microtub ule and actin disrupting agents had no effect upon the nuclear translo cation of proCRH. These results, there fore, suggest that nuclear tran slocation of proCRH is not affected by drugs which disrupt the cytoske leton and, consequently, modify the diameter of the nuclear pores.