Cell Cycle Transcription Research Articles

ACTH-independent macronodular adrenal hyperplasia

Adrenocorticotropic hormone- (ACTH-)independent macronodular adrenal hyperplasia (AIMAH) is an infrequent cause of Cushing's syndrome (CS). AIMAH presents as incidental radiological finding or with subclinical or overt CS, occasionally with secretion of mineralocorticoids or sex steroids. The pathophysiology of this entity is heterogeneous. The aberrant adrenal expression and function of one or several G-protein-coupled receptors can lead to cell proliferation and abnormal regulation of steroidogenesis. In several familial cases of AIMAH, specific aberrant hormone receptors are functional in the adrenal of affected members. Additional somatic genetic events related to cell cycle regulation, adhesion and transcription factors occur in addition in the various nodules over time. Other mechanisms, such as Gsp or ACTH receptor mutations and paracrine adrenal hormonal secretion, have been rarely identified in other cases of AIMAH. The identification of aberrant receptors can offer a specific pharmacological approach to prevent progression and control abnormal steroidogenesis; alternatively, unilateral or bilateral adrenalectomy becomes the treatment of choice.

Degradation of p21 CDKN1A after DNA damage is independent of type of lesion, and is not required for DNA repair

The inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases p21 CDKN1A plays a fundamental role in several pathways involved in the DNA damage response, like checkpoint-mediated cell cycle arrest, transcription, apoptosis, and DNA repair. Although p21 protein level is regulated by proteasomal degradation, the relationship of this process with DNA repair pathways is not yet clear. In addition, the role of protein/protein interaction in regulating turnover of p21 protein, is controversial. Here, we show that in human fibroblasts treated with agents inducing lesions repaired through nucleotide excision repair (NER), or base excision repair (BER), p21 degradation was triggered more by the extent, than by the type of DNA damage, or consequent DNA repair pathway. In fact, lowering the amount of DNA damage resulted in an increased stability of p21 protein. Overexpression of p21 was found to obscure degradation, both for p21 wt and a p21 mutant unable to bind PCNA (p21 PCNA−). However, when expressed to lower levels, turnover of p21 protein after DNA damage was greatly influenced by interaction with PCNA, since p21 PCNA− was more efficiently degraded than wild-type protein. Interestingly, a p21 mutant protein unable to localize in the nucleus because of mutations in the NLS region, was not degraded after DNA damage, thus indicating that nuclear localization is necessary for p21 turnover. Removal of p21 was not required for NER activity, since inhibition of p21 degradation by caffeine did not affect the UV-induced recruitment of repair proteins, such as PCNA and DNA polymerase δ, nor significantly influence DNA repair synthesis, as determined by autoradiography. These results indicate that degradation of p21 is not dependent on a particular DNA repair pathway, and is not required for efficient DNA repair.

Accumulation of Pax2 Transactivation Domain Interaction Protein (PTIP) at Sites of DNA Breaks via RNF8-dependent Pathway Is Required for Cell Survival after DNA Damage

Genomic stability in eukaryotic cells is maintained by the coordination of multiple cellular events including cell cycle checkpoint, DNA repair, transcription, and apoptosis after DNA damage. Pax2 transactivation domain interaction protein (PTIP), a protein that contains six BRCT domains, has been implicated in DNA damage response. In this study we showed that recruitment of PTIP to damaged chromatin depends on DNA damage signaling proteins gammaH2AX.MDC1.RNF8, which in turn facilitates sustained localization of PA1 (PTIP-associated protein 1) to sites of DNA break. Similar to PTIP, depletion of PA1 increases cellular sensitivity to ionizing radiation. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the N-terminal PA1 binding domain and the C-terminal focus-localization domain of PTIP are critical for PTIP function in DNA damage repair. Interestingly, although PTIP and PA1 associate with MLL (mixed lineage leukemia) complexes and participate in transcriptional regulation, this function of PTIP.PA1 in DNA damage response is likely to be independent of the MLL complexes. Taken together, we propose that a subset of PTIP.PA1 complex is recruited to DNA damage sites via the RNF8-dependent pathway and is required for cell survival in response to DNA damage.

A Systems Approach Reveals Regulatory Circuitry for Arabidopsis Trichome Initiation by the GL3 and GL1 Selectors

Position-dependent cell fate determination and pattern formation are unique aspects of the development of plant structures. The establishment of single-celled leaf hairs (trichomes) from pluripotent epidermal (protodermal) cells in Arabidopsis provides a powerful system to determine the gene regulatory networks involved in cell fate determination. To obtain a holistic view of the regulatory events associated with the differentiation of Arabidopsis epidermal cells into trichomes, we combined expression and genome-wide location analyses (ChIP-chip) on the trichome developmental selectors GLABRA3 (GL3) and GLABRA1 (GL1), encoding basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) and MYB transcription factors, respectively. Meta-analysis was used to integrate genome-wide expression results contrasting wild type and gl3 or gl1 mutants with changes in gene expression over time using inducible versions of GL3 and GL1. This resulted in the identification of a minimal set of genes associated with the differentiation of epidermal cells into trichomes. ChIP-chip experiments, complemented by the targeted examination of factors known to participate in trichome initiation or patterning, identified about 20 novel GL3/GL1 direct targets. In addition to genes involved in the control of gene expression, such as the transcription factors SCL8 and MYC1, we identified SIM (SIAMESE), encoding a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, and RBR1 (RETINOBLASTOMA RELATED1), corresponding to a negative regulator of the cell cycle transcription factor E2F, as GL3/GL1 immediate targets, directly implicating these trichome regulators in the control of the endocycle. The expression of many of the identified GL3/GL1 direct targets was specific to very early stages of trichome initiation, suggesting that they participate in some of the earliest known processes associated with protodermal cell differentiation. By combining this knowledge with the analysis of genes associated with trichome formation, our results reveal the architecture of the top tiers of the hierarchical structure of the regulatory network involved in epidermal cell differentiation and trichome formation.

A Systematic Screen for Transcriptional Regulators of the Yeast Cell Cycle

Transcription factors play a key role in the regulation of cell cycle progression, yet many of the specific regulatory interactions that control cell cycle transcription are still unknown. To systematically identify new yeast cell cycle transcription factors, we used a quantitative flow cytometry assay to screen 268 transcription factor deletion strains for defects in cell cycle progression. Our results reveal that 20% of nonessential transcription factors have an impact on cell cycle progression, including several recently identified cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) targets, which have not previously been linked to cell cycle transcription. This expanded catalog of cell-cycle-associated transcription factors will be a valuable resource for decoding the transcriptional regulatory interactions that govern progression through the cell cycle. We conducted follow-up studies on Sfg1, a transcription factor with no previously known role in cell cycle progression. Deletion of Sfg1 retards cells in G(1), and overexpression of Sfg1 delays cells in the G(2)/M phase. We find that Sfg1 represses early G(1), Swi5/Ace2-regulated genes involved in mother-daughter cell separation. We also show that Sfg1, a known in vitro cyclin-dependent kinase target, is phosphorylated in vivo on conserved Cdk phosphorylation sites and that phosphorylation of Sfg1 is necessary for its role in promoting cell cycle progression. Overall, our work increases the number of transcription factors associated with cell cycle progression, strongly indicates that there are many more unexplored connections between the Cdk-cyclin oscillator and cell cycle transcription, and suggests a new mechanism for the regulation of cell separation during the M/G(1) phase transition.

Zinc intake during pregnancy increases the proliferation at ventricular zone of the newborn brain

Neurogenesis involves cell proliferation, cell cycle arrest, differentiation, migration and the natural developmental death of the neural precursors. These processes are highly co-ordinated and governed by cell-cycle genes and neural transcription factors. Zn plays a crucial role as a functional and structural component of enzymes and transcription factors and components of the intracellular signaling pathway associated with the regulation of cell proliferation. The influence of additional Zn intake during pregnancy on the neuronal proliferation at ventricular zone of the developing fetus has been studied. Pups delivered by the group of mice provided with drinking water with 4.0 mM Zn supplement throughout pregnancy contained an increased number of proliferating neurons in the ventricular zone at P0 compared to those delivered by the mice provided with drinking water without any Zn supplement. This finding provides direct evidence to support the notion that maternal Zn levels influence the development of the nervous system of the offspring.

A PGC-1α-O-GlcNAc Transferase Complex Regulates FoxO Transcription Factor Activity in Response to Glucose

Metabolic and stress response gene regulation is crucial for the survival of an organism to a changing environment. Three key molecules that sense nutrients and broadly affect gene expression are the FoxO transcription factors, the transcriptional co-activator PGC-1alpha, and the dynamic post-translational modification, O-linked beta-N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc). Here we identify novel post-translational modifications of PGC-1alpha, including O-GlcNAc, and describe a novel mechanism for how PGC-1alpha co-activates transcription by FoxOs. In liver, in cultured cells, and in vitro with recombinant proteins, PGC-1alpha binds to O-GlcNAc transferase and targets the enzyme to FoxOs, resulting in their increased GlcNAcylation and increased transcriptional activity. Furthermore, glucose-enhanced activation of FoxO1 occurs via this PGC-1alpha-O-GlcNAc transferase-mediated GlcNAcylation. Therefore, one mechanism by which PGC-1alpha can serve as a co-activator of transcription is by targeting the O-GlcNAc transferase to increase GlcNAcylation of specific transcription factors important to nutrient/stress sensing and energy metabolism.

An ensemble learning approach to reverse-engineering transcriptional regulatory networks from time-series gene expression data

BackgroundOne of the most challenging tasks in the post-genomic era is to reconstruct the transcriptional regulatory networks. The goal is to reveal, for each gene that responds to a certain biological event, which transcription factors affect its expression, and how a set of transcription factors coordinate to accomplish temporal and spatial specific regulations.ResultsHere we propose a supervised machine learning approach to address these questions. We focus our study on the gene transcriptional regulation of the cell cycle in the budding yeast, thanks to the large amount of data available and relatively well-understood biology, although the main ideas of our method can be applied to other data as well. Our method starts with building an ensemble of decision trees for each microarray data to capture the association between the expression levels of yeast genes and the binding of transcription factors to gene promoter regions, as determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation microarray (ChIP-chip) experiment. Cross-validation experiments show that the method is more accurate and reliable than the naive decision tree algorithm and several other ensemble learning methods. From the decision tree ensembles, we extract logical rules that explain how a set of transcription factors act in concert to regulate the expression of their targets. We further compute a profile for each rule to show its regulation strengths at different time points. We also propose a spline interpolation method to integrate the rule profiles learned from several time series expression data sets that measure the same biological process. We then combine these rule profiles to build a transcriptional regulatory network for the yeast cell cycle. Compared to the results in the literature, our method correctly identifies all major known yeast cell cycle transcription factors, and assigns them into appropriate cell cycle phases. Our method also identifies many interesting synergetic relationships among these transcription factors, most of which are well known, while many of the rest can also be supported by other evidences.ConclusionThe high accuracy of our method indicates that our method is valid and robust. As more gene expression and transcription factor binding data become available, we believe that our method is useful for reconstructing large-scale transcriptional regulatory networks in other species as well.

Coordinated Regulation of Cell Cycle Transcripts by p53-Inducible microRNAs, miR-192 and miR-215

Cell cycle arrest in response to DNA damage is an important antitumorigenic mechanism. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) were recently shown to play key regulatory roles in cell cycle progression. For example, miR-34a is induced in response to p53 activation and mediates G(1) arrest by down-regulating multiple cell cycle-related transcripts. Here we show that genotoxic stress promotes the p53-dependent up-regulation of the homologous miRNAs miR-192 and miR-215. Like miR-34a, activation of miR-192/215 induces cell cycle arrest, suggesting that multiple miRNA families operate in the p53 network. Furthermore, we define a downstream gene expression signature for miR-192/215 expression, which includes a number of transcripts that regulate G(1) and G(2) checkpoints. Of these transcripts, 18 transcripts are direct targets of miR-192/215, and the observed cell cycle arrest likely results from a cooperative effect among the modulations of these genes by the miRNAs. Our results showing a role for miR-192/215 in cell proliferation combined with recent observations that these miRNAs are underexpressed in primary cancers support the idea that miR-192 and miR-215 function as tumor suppressors.

Systematic identification of yeast cell cycle transcription factors using multiple data sources

BackgroundEukaryotic cell cycle is a complex process and is precisely regulated at many levels. Many genes specific to the cell cycle are regulated transcriptionally and are expressed just before they are needed. To understand the cell cycle process, it is important to identify the cell cycle transcription factors (TFs) that regulate the expression of cell cycle-regulated genes.ResultsWe developed a method to identify cell cycle TFs in yeast by integrating current ChIP-chip, mutant, transcription factor binding site (TFBS), and cell cycle gene expression data. We identified 17 cell cycle TFs, 12 of which are known cell cycle TFs, while the remaining five (Ash1, Rlm1, Ste12, Stp1, Tec1) are putative novel cell cycle TFs. For each cell cycle TF, we assigned specific cell cycle phases in which the TF functions and identified the time lag for the TF to exert regulatory effects on its target genes. We also identified 178 novel cell cycle-regulated genes, among which 59 have unknown functions, but they may now be annotated as cell cycle-regulated genes. Most of our predictions are supported by previous experimental or computational studies. Furthermore, a high confidence TF-gene regulatory matrix is derived as a byproduct of our method. Each TF-gene regulatory relationship in this matrix is supported by at least three data sources: gene expression, TFBS, and ChIP-chip or/and mutant data. We show that our method performs better than four existing methods for identifying yeast cell cycle TFs. Finally, an application of our method to different cell cycle gene expression datasets suggests that our method is robust.ConclusionOur method is effective for identifying yeast cell cycle TFs and cell cycle-regulated genes. Many of our predictions are validated by the literature. Our study shows that integrating multiple data sources is a powerful approach to studying complex biological systems.

Identification of genes, including the gene encoding p27Kip1, regulated by serine 276 phosphorylation of the p65 subunit of NF-κB

Phosphorylation of the p65 subunit of NF-κB is required for its transcriptional activity. Recent reports show that phosphorylation of p65 at serine 276 regulates only a subset of genes, such as those encoding IL-6, IL-8, Gro-β, and ICAM-1. In order to identify additional genes regulated by serine 276 phosphorylation, HepG2 hepatoma cells were infected with adenoviruses encoding either wild-type p65 or the S276A mutant of p65, followed by DNA microarray analysis. The results show that mutation of serine 276 affected the expression of several genes that encode proteins involved in cell cycle regulation, signal transduction, transcription, and metabolism. Notably, expression of S276A increased the mRNA and protein level of p27, a cell cycle inhibitory protein, which led to an increased association of p27 with cdk2, and inhibition of cdk2 activity. Furthermore, while wild-type NF-κB is known to increase cell proliferation in a number of different cancer cell lines, our data shows that S276A inhibited cell proliferation. Evidence is mounting that NF-κB plays a pivotal role in oncogenesis. Therapeutic agents that regulate the phosphorylation of serine 276 and p27 gene expression, therefore, may be useful as anti-cancer agents in the future.

The Unfolded Protein Response Is Induced by the Cell Wall Integrity Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase Signaling Cascade and Is Required for Cell Wall Integrity inSaccharomyces cerevisiae

The yeast cell wall is an extracellular structure that is dependent on secretory and membrane proteins for its construction. We investigated the role of protein quality control mechanisms in cell wall integrity and found that the unfolded protein response (UPR) and, to a lesser extent, endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated degradation (ERAD) pathways are required for proper cell wall construction. Null mutation of IRE1, double mutation of ERAD components (hrd1Delta and ubc7Delta) and ire1Delta, or expression of misfolded proteins show phenotypes similar to mutation of cell wall proteins, including hypersensitivity to cell wall-targeted molecules, alterations to cell wall protein layer, decreased cell wall thickness by electron microscopy, and increased cellular aggregation. Consistent with its important role in cell wall integrity, UPR is activated by signaling through the cell wall integrity mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathway during cell wall stress and unstressed vegetative growth. Both cell wall stress and basal UPR activity is mediated by Swi6p, a regulator of cell cycle and cell wall stress gene transcription, in a manner that is independent of its known coregulatory molecules. We propose that the cellular responses to ER and cell wall stress are coordinated to buffer the cell against these two related cellular stresses.

In vivo anti‐myeloma activity and modulation of gene expression profile induced by valproic acid, a histone deacetylase inhibitor

Valproic acid (VPA) is a well-tolerated anticonvulsant that exerts anti-tumour activity as a histone deacetylase inhibitor. This study investigated the in vitro and in vivo activity of VPA against multiple myeloma (MM) cells. In vitro exposure of interleukin-6-dependent or -independent MM cells to VPA inhibited cell proliferation in a time- and dose-dependent manner and induced apoptosis. In a cohort of severe combined immunodeficiency mice bearing human MM xenografts, VPA induced tumour growth inhibition and survival advantage in treated animals versus controls. Flow cytometric analysis performed on MM cells from excised tumours showed increase of G(0)-G(1) and a decreased G(2)/M- and S-phase following VPA treatment, indicating in vivo effects of VPA on cell cycle regulation. Gene expression profiling of MM cells exposed to VPA showed downregulation of genes involved in cell cycle progression, DNA replication and transcription, as well as upregulation of genes implicated in apoptosis and chemokine pathways. Pathfinder analysis of gene array data identified cell growth, cell cycle, cell death, as well as DNA replication and repair as the most important signalling networks modulated by VPA. Taken together, our data provide the preclinical rationale for VPA clinical evaluation as a single agent or in combination, to improve patient outcome in MM.

Genome-Wide Transcriptional Responses to Acrolein

The lipid peroxidation product and environmental pollutant acrolein participates in many diseases. Because of its formation during tobacco combustion, its role in various smoking-related respiratory conditions including lung cancer has received increasing attention. As a reactive electrophile, acrolein seems likely to disrupt many biochemical pathways, but these are poorly characterized on a genome-wide basis. This study used microarrays to study short-term transcriptional responses of A549 human lung cells to acrolein, with cells exposed to 100 microM acrolein for 1, 2, or 4 h prior to RNA extraction and transcription profiling. Major pathways dysregulated by acrolein included those involved in apoptosis, cell cycle control, transcription, cell signaling, and protein biosynthesis. Although HMOX1 is a widely used marker of transcriptional responses to acrolein, this gene was the sole upregulated member of the Nrf2-driven family of antioxidant response genes. Transcript levels of several members of the metallothionein class of cytoprotective metal-chelating proteins decreased strongly in response to acrolein. Other novel findings included strong and persistent upregulation of several members of the early growth response (EGR) class of zinc finger transcription factors. Real-time PCR and Western blotting confirmed strong upregulation of a key member of this family (EGR-2), the DNA damage response gene GADD45beta, the heat shock response participant Hsp70, and also HMOX1. Consistent with changes in Nur77 mRNA levels during the microarray study, Western blotting confirmed strong Nur77 induction at the protein level, raising the possibility that this death-inducing protein contributes to the loss of cell viability during acrolein exposure. Collectively, the transcriptional response to acrolein is complex and dynamic, with future work needed to determine whether acrolein-responsive genes identified in this study contribute to cell and tissue injury in the smoke-exposed lung.

E2F-1 overexpression increases viable cell density in batch cultures of Chinese hamster ovary cells

The cell density is an inherent constraint in commercial mammalian cell cultures. Here, we describe a cell engineering strategy utilizing the overexpression of the E2F-1 cell cycle transcription factor in CHO DG44 cells that produce a monoclonal antibody in serum-free, suspension culture. Stable pools and cell lines expressing E2F-1 were isolated that attained viable cell densities 20% higher than control cell lines and continued proliferation for an additional day in batch culture. There were no significant changes in antibody production, apoptosis, and cell cycle compared to control cells, nor were the growth effects evident in fed-batch conditions. Overall, E2F-1 overexpression postponed entry into stationary phase in mammalian cells, but perhaps novel E2F-1 variants or combination cell cycle engineering strategies will be necessary to realize significant growth benefits in commercial applications.

DNA replication checkpoint promotes G 1 -S transcription by inactivating the MBF repressor Nrm1

The cell cycle transcriptional program imposes order on events of the cell-cycle and is a target for signals that regulate cell-cycle progression, including checkpoints required to maintain genome integrity. Neither the mechanism nor functional significance of checkpoint regulation of the cell-cycle transcription program are established. We show that Nrm1, an MBF-specific transcriptional repressor acting at the transition from G(1) to S phase of the cell cycle, is at the nexus between the cell cycle transcriptional program and the DNA replication checkpoint in fission yeast. Phosphorylation of Nrm1 by the Cds1 (Chk2) checkpoint protein kinase, which is activated in response to DNA replication stress, promotes its dissociation from the MBF transcription factor. This leads to the expression of genes encoding components that function in DNA replication and repair pathways important for cell survival in response to arrested DNA replication.

Biophysical Studies on the Full-Length Human Cyclin A2: Protein Stability and Folding/Unfolding Thermodynamics

Human cyclin A 2 participates in cell cycle regulation, DNA replication, and transcription. Its overexpression has been implicated in the development and progression of a variety of human cancers. However, cyclin A 2 or its truncated form is very unstable in the absence of binding partner, which makes it difficult to get a deep insight of structural basis of the interactions. Therefore, biophysical studies of the full-length human cyclin A 2 would provide important information regarding protein stability and folding/unfolding process. To the best of our knowledge, these have not been reported. In this report, we found that cyclin A 2 stability depended on pH, salt concentration, and denaturant concentration, and low concentration denaturant increased cyclin A 2 stability studied by UV melting, fluorescence spectroscopy, limited proteolysis, and circular dichroism. The therrmal unfolding/folding process could be described by Lumry-Eyring model: N <--> I --> D, followed by decreasing alpha-helix content and forming intermolecular antiparallel pleated beta-sheet structures in the aggregate. Our results are of importance for studying the interactions between cyclin A 2 and therapeutic agents, such as small molecules or peptides, because cyclin A 2 is very unstable in the absence of its biological associated kinases.

Differential gene expression in murine large cell B-cell lymphoma metastatic variants

Previous studies from this laboratory have characterized RAW117-P murine large cell B-cell lymphoma and its in vivo selected highly malignant and liver metastatic RAW117-H10 subline for their biological and biochemical properties. In this study, to understand the molecular basis of low and high metastatic behavior of these variant sublines, we have investigated the molecular phenotypes of these cells using differential display techniques and cDNA array analysis. Differential display analysis indicated a significant difference in expression of several genes between these two metastatic variant lymphoma cells. Further analyses of these cells using microarray showed an increased expression of several genes including uPAR1, CRE-BP1, Chop-10, IGF, insulin-like growth factor-IA, STAT6, Cyclin-D1, Cyclin-E, ERBB-3, Alpha NGF, Kruppel-like factor LKLF, (P)19INK4 in metastatic RAW117-H10 cells compared to parental RAW117-P cells. On the other hand, MIP1beta, CD14 antigen, Cathepsin B and MOD are expressed more in RAW117-P cells compared to RAW117-H10 cells. Differential expression of the selected genes was confirmed using semiquantitative RT-PCR techniques. The combination of plasminogen activator and its receptor and IGF-like growth factors, cell cycle regulatory molecules and transcription factors might provide an ideal environment for RAW117-H10 cells to metastasize to distant organs and colonize. Thus these results identify certain differentially expressed genes that are involved in the metastatic properties of these lymphoma cells and lay foundation for further in depth analyses to use this information to develop therapy for metastatic lymphoma.

E2F1 mediates pneumococcal-induced brain damage

Understanding the signaling pathways of stress-induced cell death is important for the development of new treatment regimens for neurodegenerative diseases. In acute pneumococcal meningitis, cell death in the hippocampus is mediated in part by the serine/threonine kinase Atm and the tumor suppressor gene product p53 (Mitchell et al. in J Infect Dis 190:3039–3046, 2004) followed by caspase-3 activation (Braun et al. in Nat Med 5:298–302, 1999). p53 communicates also with the transcriptional cell cycle regulator E2F1; for instance, p53-induced cell death can be accelerated by co-transfection of E2F1 (Wu and Levine in Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 91:3602–3606, 1994). Although members of the E2F transcription factor family are primarily required for propagation of the cell cycle, E2F1 is also involved in mediating apoptotic programs both by p53dependent and p53-independent pathways (Stanelle and Putzer in Trends Mol Med 12:177–185, 2006). For instance, experimental cerebral infarcts are decreased in E2F1 knockout mice (MacManus et al. in Neuroreport 10:2711–2714, 1999). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of E2F1 in the induction of neuronal damage in pneumococcal-induced meningitis. E2F1 knockout mice were on a C57BL/6 J background and backcrossed at least ten times with the C57BL/6 J mouse strain. Following anesthesia with ketamine (35 mg/ kg) and xylazine (5 mg/kg), bacterial meningitis was induced in C57BL/6 J wild-type (n = 4) and E2F1i/i mice (Field et al. in Cell 85:549–561, 1996) (n = 4) (»20 g body weight) by lumbar injection of Streptococcus pneumoniae (10 CFU of encapsulated serotype 2 pneumococcal strain D39 in 30 l PBS) (Braun et al. in Nat Med 5:298–302, 1999). To quantify bacterial growth 20 h later, CSF was taken from the cisterna magna and cultured on blood agar plates. Mice were perfused transcardially and brains were embedded in paraYn. To detect pycnotic nuclei, sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE johann.braun@charite.de

Potentiality of phosphorylation of BRCA1 at Ser 1524 to activate p21 in response to X-ray irradiation

The breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 encodes a nuclear phosphoprotein, which functions as a tumor suppressor gene. Many studies suggested that multiple functions of BRCA1 may contribute to its tumor suppressor activity, including roles in cell cycle checkpoints, apoptosis and transcription. It is postulated that phosphorylation of BRCA1 is an important means by which its cellular functions are regulated. In this study, we employed phospho-Ser-specific antibody recognizing Ser-1524 to study BRCA1 phosphorylation under conditions of DNA damage and the effects of phosphorylation on BRCA1 functions. The results showed that 10 Gy X-ray treatment significantly induced phosphorylation of Ser-1524 but not total BRCA1 protein levels. The expression both of p53 and p21 increased after irradiation, but ionizing radiation (IR) -induced activation of p21 was prior to that of p53. The percentages of G0/G1 phase remarkably increased after IR. In addition, no detectable levels of 89 kDa fragment of PARP, a marker of apoptotic cells, were observed. Data implied that IR-induced phosphorylation of BRCA1 at Ser-1524 might activate p21 protein, by which BRCA1 regulated cell cycle, but play no role in apoptosis.