Fate Of P53 Research Articles

Incidence and Expression of Circulating Cell Free p53-Related Genes in Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients.

The circulating RNA levels are predictive markers in several diseases. We determined the levels of circulating p53-related genes in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), indicating major heart muscle damage. Plasma RNA was extracted from the patients (n=45) upon their arrival to the hospital (STEMI 0h) and at four hours post-catheterization (STEMI 4h) as well as from controls (n=34). Of 18 circulating p53-related genes, nine genes were detectable. A significantly lower incidence of circulating p21 (p ＜ 0.0001), Notch1 (p=0.042) and BTG2 (p ＜ 0.0001) was observed in the STEMI 0h samples in comparison to the STEMI 4h and control samples. Lower expression levels (2.1-fold) of circulating BNIP3L (p=0.011), p21 (3.4-fold, p=0.005) and BTG2 (6.3-fold, p=0.0001) were observed in the STEMI 0h samples in comparison to the STEMI 4h samples, with a 7.4-fold lower BTG2 expression (p ＜ 0.001) and 2.6-fold lower p21 expression (p=0.034) compared to the control samples. Moreover, the BNIP3L expression (borderline significance, p=0.0655) predicted the level of peak troponin, a marker of myocardial infarction. In addition, the BNIP3L levels on admission (p=0.0025), at post-catheterization (p=0.020) and the change between the groups (p=0.0079) were inversely associated with troponin. The BNIP3L (p=0.0139) and p21 levels (p=0.0447) were also associated with a longer time to catheterization. Our results suggest that circulating downstream targets of p53 are inhibited during severe AMI and subsequently re-expressed after catheterization, uncovering possible novel death-or-survival decisions regarding the fate of p53 in the heart and the potential use of its target genes as prognostic biomarkers for oxygenation normalization.

Transient Dephosphorylation of p53 Serine 376 as an Early Response to Ionizing Radiation

In a previous paper we reported that the cytoplasmic sequestered p53 in cells of the SK-N-SH neuroblastoma cell line could be induced to translocate to the nucleus by exposure to ionizing radiation. We have extended these studies to determine the fate of p53 in HCT116 colorectal carcinoma cells where constitutive p53 protein resides in the nucleus. A continuous increase in the nuclear p53 protein was observed in irradiated cells beginning 1 h after irradiation that persisted for 8 h. Surprisingly, immunofluorescence microscopy revealed a transient, rapid and sensitive increase in a radiation-induced nuclear dephosphorylated p53 using antibody PAb421, which detects p53 when serine 376 is dephosphorylated. The PAb421 epitope was detectable after exposure to radiation doses as low as 0.5 cGy and was 10 to 20 times more sensitive compared to detection of p53 protein levels. The results are consistent with a radiation-induced, sensitive and rapid dephosphorylation of p53 at serine 376. The rapid increase in the nuclear PAb421 epitope was blocked by the protein serine phosphatase inhibitor calyculin A but was not blocked by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide, suggesting that serine 376 was dephosphorylated by protein serine phosphatase 1 or 2A acting on pre-existing p53 protein. The data suggest that dephosphorylation of serine 376 on constitutive nuclear p53 is a sensitive and early signaling event in the response of cells to DNA damage induced by ionizing radiation.

Fateful Dose of Mdm2

The p53 tumor suppressor pathway is frequently inactivated in human cancer. In response to stress, the cellular levels of p53 protein rise, which can lead either to cell growth arrest or apoptosis. In normal cells, p53 levels are kept low through rapid protein turnover. This process is tightly regulated by the E3 ubiquitin ligase Mdm2, but experiments aimed at dissecting the mechanistic details have yielded conflicting results. Li et al. now show that the fate of p53 is determined by the level of Mdm2 activity in the cell. Low levels of Mdm2 promote monoubiquitination and nuclear export of p53, whereas high levels of Mdm2 promote its polyubiquitination and degradation in the nucleus. M. Li, C. L. Brooks, F. Wu-Baer, D. Chen, R. Baer, W. Gu, Mono- versus polyubiquitination: Differential control of p53 fate by Mdm2. Science 302 , 1972-1975 (2003). [Abstract] [Full Text]

Disruption of LT-antigen/p53 complex by heat treatment correlates with inhibition of DNA synthesis during transforming infection with SV40

Transforming infection of Go/G1-arrested primary mouse kidney cell cultures with simian virus 40 (SV40) induces cells to re-enter the S-phase of the cell cycle. In Go-arrested cells, no p53 is detected, whereas in cells induced to proliferate by infection, a gradual accumulation of p53 complexed to SV40 large T-antigen is observed in the nucleus. Heat treatment of actively proliferating SV40-infected cells leads to inhibition of DNA synthesis and growth arrest. To determine the fate of p53 after heat treatment, proliferating infected cells were exposed to mild heat (42.5°C) for increasing lengths of time. The results presented here show that after ninety minutes of treatment, the arrest of DNA synthesis by heat correlates with the disruption of the p53/LT-antigen complex. Longer treatments induce, in addition, a reduction in the solubility of p53, which was recovered tightly associated with the nuclear fraction. This contrasted with large T-antigen, whose solubility remained unaffected by heat treatment. Although the total amount of p53 in the nucleus remained constant, as shown by immunoblot analyses, p53 was no longer detectable after immunoprecipitation or by immunofluorescent staining techniques. These results suggest that heat treatment had either induced conformational changes in its antigenic sites, or had sequestered the sites through aggregation or binding to insoluble nuclear components.Key words: p53, heat shock, LT-antigen/p53 complex, S-phase.

Disruption of LT-antigen/p53 complex by heat treatment correlates with inhibition of DNA synthesis during transforming infection with SV40

Transforming infection of Go/G1-arrested primary mouse kidney cell cultures with simian virus 40 (SV40) induces cells to re-enter the S-phase of the cell cycle. In Go-arrested cells, no p53 is detected, whereas in cells induced to proliferate by infection, a gradual accumulation of p53 complexed to SV40 large T-antigen is observed in the nucleus. Heat treatment of actively proliferating SV40-infected cells leads to inhibition of DNA synthesis and growth arrest. To determine the fate of p53 after heat treatment, proliferating infected cells were exposed to mild heat (42.5 degrees C) for increasing lengths of time. The results presented here show that after ninety minutes of treatment, the arrest of DNA synthesis by heat correlates with the disruption of the p53/LT-antigen complex. Longer treatments induce, in addition, a reduction in the solubility of p53, which was recovered tightly associated with the nuclear fraction. This contrasted with large T-antigen, whose solubility remained unaffected by heat treatment. Although the total amount of p53 in the nucleus remained constant, as shown by immunoblot analyses, p53 was no longer detectable after immunoprecipitation or by immunofluorescent staining techniques. These results suggest that heat treatment had either induced conformational changes in its antigenic sites, or had sequestered the sites through aggregation or binding to insoluble nuclear components.

UV irradiation leads to transient changes in phosphorylation and stability of tumor suppressor protein p53

Tumor suppressor protein p53 is thought to play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of the genome. DNA damage caused by genotoxic drugs, UV or gamma-irradiation leads to accumulation of p53 and activation of its DNA binding and transcriptional activities and subsequently to cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. We investigated whether the apparent activation of p53 might be due to post-translational modification. The rat fibroblast cell lines REF52, 208F, and rat1 were irradiated with W-A and the synthesis, stability and phosphorylation state of p53 were investigated by pulse chase experiments, SDS-PAGE and two-dimensional phosphopeptide mapping. The three cell lines exhibited different sensitivities and biological responses to UV irradiation, REF52 cells responded with a growth arrest whereas 208F and rat1 cells underwent apoptosis. The fate of p53 was similar in all cases. Both the stability of p53 and its phosphorylation increased instantaneously but transiently. However, the amount of p53 that accumulated after UV treatment was much higher in 208F and rat1 than in REF52 cells. Interestingly, p53 that was synthesized early after irradiation was stable for more than 14 h whereas molecules synthesized 8 or more hours post irradiation were increasingly susceptible to degradation. Moreover, between 14 and 20 h after treatment, the rate of synthesis of p53 decreased to a level lower than in untreated cells suggesting negative feed back control. The expression of different p53-responsive genes, waf1/cip1, Gadd45, and bax was investigated by protein analyses. Surprisingly, p21(waf1) was expressed only in REF52 cells but not in the others. Furthermore, UV irradiation led only to a moderate increase of p21(waf1) expression. Expression of Gadd45 and box was detectable in both cell types but its expression did not change significantly upon UV treatment. Our results suggest i) that both cell types share a common pathway which upon UV irradiation results in enhanced stability and phosphorylation of p53 and ii) that the decision whether a cell undergoes a growth arrest or apoptosis may be determined independent of p53 by the cellular environment i.e. the expression patterns of genes that mediate the response.