P53 Tumor Suppressor Gene Product Research Articles

TP53 R72P Polymorphism and Susceptibility to Human Papillomavirus Infection Among Women With Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Morocco: A Case-control Study.

BackgroundHuman papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted agent worldwide. HPV is the main causative agent for cervical cancer. The HPV oncoprotein E6 binds to the tumor suppressor gene product p53, promoting its degradation; the Arg allele of TP53 R72P polymorphism binds more ardently with HPV E6 than the Pro variant. Here, we investigated whether TP53 R72P gene variant, rs104252, was associated with susceptibility to HPV infection in women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).MethodsWe analyzed 200 HPV-positive and 68 uninfected women with HIV. Genomic DNA was isolated from cervical swab. The TP53 R72P polymorphism was genotyped by PCR-RFLP. Unconditional logistic regression was used to assess the association between polymorphism and the clinical, lifestyle, and behavioral data.ResultsThe genotype and allele frequencies of rs104252 variant did not differ between women without or with HPV infection (P > 0.05). Moreover, the p53 polymorphism was not associated with cervical cytology. In contrast, when we analyzed according to behavior factors, the P72P genotype was more frequent among HPV-positive smoker women. However, no significant relationship was found between alcohol, contraceptive use, and number of partners with TP53 R72P genotype distributions among HPV-positive cases (P > 0.05).ConclusionsThe R72 variant of p53 R72P is not associated with HPV infection and progression of lesions. There was no association between this variant and behavior factors in HPV-positive cases. The P72P genotype may be more frequent among HPV-positive smoker women.

Impact of the Ki-67 labeling index and p53 expression status on disease-free survival in pT1 urothelial carcinoma of the bladder.

BackgroundThe identification of protein biomarkers to guide treatment decisions regarding adjuvant therapies for high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) has been of increasing interest. Evidence of the impact of tumor suppressor gene product p53 and cell proliferation marker Ki-67 on oncologic outcomes in bladder cancer patients at highest risk of recurrence and progression is partially contradictory. We sought to mirror contemporary expression patterns of p53 and Ki-67 in a select cohort of patients with pT1 bladder cancer.MethodsPatients from four Northern German institutions with a primary diagnosis of pT1 bladder cancer between 2009 and 2016 and complete data regarding p53 or Ki-67 expression status were included for final analyses. Baseline patient characteristics (age, gender, age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index) and tumor characteristics [diagnostic sequence, tumor focality, concomitant carcinoma in situ, 1973 World Health Organization (WHO) grading, lymphovascular invasion, adjuvant instillation therapy] were abstracted by retrospective chart review. Immunohistochemistry for detection of p53 and Ki-67 expression was performed according to standardized protocols. Microscopic analyses were performed by central pathologic review. First, we compared patients with positive vs. negative p53 expression and Ki-67 labeling index [>40% vs. ≤40%; cutoffs based on best discriminative ability in univariable Cox regression analysis with disease-free survival (DFS) as endpoint] with regard to baseline and tumor characteristics. Second, we evaluated the effect of biomarker positivity on DFS by plotting univariable Kaplan-Meier curves and performing uni- and multivariable Cox regression analyses.ResultsOf 102 patients with complete information on p53 status, 44 (43.1%) were p53 positive, and they more often harbored concomitant carcinoma in situ (50.0% vs. 27.6%; P=0.032) and 1973 WHO grade 3 (97.7% vs. 69.0%; P=0.001) compared to their p53 negative counterparts. Of 79 patients with complete information on Ki-67 expression status, 30 (38.0%) had a labeling index >40%. Mean Ki-67 labeling index was higher in WHO grade 3 vs. grade 2 tumors (45.8 vs. 29.7; P=0.004). At a median follow-up of 51.0 months, 31/91 patients with complete follow-up information (34.1%) suffered from disease recurrence or progression. In univariable Kaplan-Meier analyses, no difference regarding DFS was found in p53 positive vs. negative (P=0.8) or Ki-67 labeling index >40% vs. ≤40% (P=0.078) patients. In multivariable analyses, Ki-67 labeling index >40% remained an independent predictor of DFS [hazard ratio (HR), 2.66; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02–6.95; P=0.046], after adjusting for p53 expression and lymphovascular invasion. However, p53 status was not associated with our endpoint (P=0.8).ConclusionsWhile we found an association of a Ki-67 labeling index >40% and shorter DFS in pT1 bladder cancer patients, this did not hold true for p53 positivity. Future research is needed to identify additional microscopic and molecular risk factors and biomarker panels to improve risk stratification and guide adjuvant therapies in those patients.

DGKζ ablation engenders upregulation of p53 level in the spleen upon whole-body ionizing radiation.

The tumor suppressor gene product p53, which coordinates the cellular response to various stresses, is subject to tight regulation by a complex network of signal transduction. The DGK family metabolizes lipidic second messenger diacylglycerol to produce phosphatidic acid. Our earlier studies showed that one isozyme, DGKζ, is involved in the regulatory mechanism of p53. In a cellular model of doxorubicin-induced DNA damage, overexpression of wild-type DGKζ suppresses p53 protein induction and reduces apoptosis, whereas knockdown of DGKζ upregulates p53 protein level and promotes apoptosis. Further examination reveals that DGKζ facilitates p53 degradation via ubiquitin-proteasome system in the cytoplasm. However, it remains undetermined whether the regulatory mechanism of DGKζ on p53 function found in cell-based experiments is also functional at the animal level. This study was conducted to elucidate this point using an experiment with DGKζ-KO mice under DNA damage induced by whole-body ionizing radiation. Our results reveal that p53 protein is induced robustly in the spleen of DGKζ-KO mice upon exposure to ionizing radiation, thereby promoting apoptosis in this organ. Taken together, the results demonstrate that DGKζ plays a sentinel role in p53 expression at the cellular and organismal levels after DNA damaging stress conditions.

Autophagy may occur at an early stage of cholangiocarcinogenesis via biliary intraepithelial neoplasia.

Similar to the pancreatic carcinoma sequence model, cholangiocarcinoma reportedly follows a stepwise carcinogenesis process via the precursor lesion biliary intraepithelial neoplasia (BilIN). Given that autophagy plays an important role in the occurrence and development of carcinomas, we examined the involvement of autophagy in multistep cholangiocarcinogenesis. Thirty-six patients with hepatolithiasis associated with BilIN and/or cholangiocarcinoma, 7 with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, 8 with intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct (IPNB), and 6 with control livers were surveyed. Their lesions were categorized as follows: invasive carcinoma (n = 16), IPNB (n = 8), BIlN-3 (n = 16), BilIN-1/2 (n = 40), nonneoplastic large bile duct (n = 55), and peribiliary gland (n = 55). We examined the immunohistochemical expression of autophagy-related proteins, microtubule-associated proteins light chain 3β (LC3), beclin-1, and p62/sequestosome-1 (p62), as well as tumor suppressor gene product p53. The extent of expression was semiquantitatively assessed. The status of KRAS mutations at codons 12 and 13 was examined in selected cases of BilIN-1/2. The expression of LC3 (cytoplasmic), beclin-1 (cytoplasmic), and p62 (cytoplasmic and nuclear) was significantly higher in BilIN-1/2, BilIN-3, IPNB, and invasive carcinoma than in large bile duct and peribiliary gland (P < .01). KRAS mutation was detected in 6 (40%) of 15 BilIN-1/2 lesions, and there was no correlation between the status of KRAS mutation and the expression of autophagy-related proteins. In conclusion, this study is the first to disclose that the expression of autophagy-related proteins, LC3, beclin-1, and p62, was increased at an early stage of multistep cholangiocarcinogenesis in hepatolithiasis. Autophagy, probably deregulated autophagy, may be related to the occurrence and development of cholangiocarcinoma.

P53 Arg72Pro Polymorphism, HPV Status and Initiation, Progression, and Development of Cervical Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Cervical cancer develops through progression from normal cervical epithelium through squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) to invasive cancer. Cervical cancer is associated with oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV). The HPV E6 oncoprotein binds to the tumor suppressor gene product p53, promoting its degradation; the Arg allele of p53 Arg72Pro polymorphism binds more ardently with HPV E6 than the Pro variant. Here we evaluate the role of p53 Arg72Pro polymorphism and HPV status on the initiation, progression, and development of cervical cancer. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted. Events of interest were the initiation of neoplasia (SIL vs. normal), progression to invasive cancer (cervical cancer vs. SIL), and risk of invasive cancer (cervical cancer vs. normal) by HPV status. OR were extracted from individual studies and pooled using generic inverse variance and random effects modeling. Forty-nine studies were included. In individuals showing HPV positivity, there was a significantly higher odds of progression from SIL to cervical cancer with the p53 Arg allele [OR 1.37; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 1.15-1.62; P < 0.001]. This association was not seen in HPV-negative individuals. p53 Arg72Pro was not associated with the risk of cervical cancer or initiation of SIL in either HPV-positive or HPV-negative patient subsets. The Arg variant of p53 Arg72Pro is associated with progression of SIL to cervical cancer only in the presence of HPV positivity. There were no associations of this variant with overall risk or initiation of cancer in either HPV-positive or HPV-negative patients. Clin Cancer Res; 18(23); 6407-15.

Abstract C36: Hypoxia or glutathione depletion increase apoptotic response to PRIMA-1 in p53-mutated and nonmutated human breast cancer cells.

Abstract Background: Hypoxia, dysfunction of the p53 tumor suppressor gene product, and intracellular glutathione levels are important in modulating resistance of solid tumors to chemotherapy. PRIMA-1 (bis(hydroxymethyl-3-quinuclidinone) and its structural analog PRIMA-1met are used to reactivate mutant p53 and induce tumor cell apoptosis. However, PRIMA-1met as a single agent was reportedly ineffective in lowering clonogenic survival of (mut p53) DU145 prostate cancer cells, under hypoxia. Purpose: Here, we investigated whether the toxicity of PRIMA-1 (p53 reactivation and induction of massive apoptosis) is influenced by hypoxia in matched human breast cancer cells with unequal p53 genotype, and by agents that decrease glutathione levels in matched wt p53 human breast cancer cells with different Mn-SOD expression. Methodology: Cell survival was assessed by cytofluorometric and clonogenic analysis, estimating apoptosis-associated PARP cleavage by Western blot. Results: Mutant p53 breast cancer cells were susceptible to PRIMA-1 under normoxia and this response increased under hypoxia. Matched wt p53 breast carcinoma cells were resistant to comparable PRIMA-1 concentrations in normoxia but became sensitive to it under hypoxia. In contrast, hypoxia did not enhance cytotoxicity of nutlin-3a, known to increase wt p53 signaling by inhibit MDM2 binding to p53. Normoxic resistance to PRIMA-1 in wt p53 breast cancer cells was also antagonized by glutathione depletion or Mn-SOD over-expression. Conclusions: Hypoxia, a common feature of the microenvironment of solid tumors is believed to promote cancer progression and poor clinical outcome. This report is the first to show that hypoxia enhances PRIMA-1 toxicity against human breast cancer cells with mutated or non-mutated TP53 status. We propose that PRIMA-1 may help to counteract hypoxia-acquired resistance to cancer therapy. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2011 Nov 12-16; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2011;10(11 Suppl):Abstract nr C36.

Curcumin stimulates proliferation, stemness acting signals and migration of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes

In the present study, the potential of curcumin to stimulate proliferation, stemness acting signals and migration of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and the associated molecular mechanisms were investigated. Low concentrations of curcumin stimulated cell proliferation, whereas high concentrations were cytotoxic to 3T3-L1 cells. In particular, application of 0.02 µM of curcumin for 24 h resulted in significantly increased cell proliferation and was determined to be the optimal treatment for this study. In a colony-forming cell assay, cells treated with 0.02 µM of curcumin showed an approximately 1.5-fold increase in colony formation. Curcumin treatment up-regulated the proliferation-related marker proteins coupled with increased cell growth, telomerase activity and overexpression of stemness acting signals, which was associated with activation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway. In addition, curcumin significantly inactivated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinases (SARK/JNK), coupled with inhibition of p53 and p21 tumor suppressor gene products. In addition, curcumin significantly increased cell migration through activation of migration-associated transcription factors. Therefore, these results clearly show that activation of cell proliferation by curcumin is associated with improved stem cell potency in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes.

Proapoptotic Agents in Lung Cancer

The session was introduced by Dr. Roy Herbst who defined apoptosis as a physiological process of programmed cell suicide, which eliminates cells that are no longer needed or have become irreparably damaged. Apoptosis is important in embryonic and perinatal development. In the adult-tissue homeostasis, apoptosis helps to replace ineffective or potentially damaging cells. It is distinct from other types of death such as necrosis and autophagy. Apoptosis is defined by specific morphologic and biochemical criteria and mediated by specialized proteases—caspases. Two key apoptosis signaling pathways are involved: the extrinsic pathway engages binding of a proapoptotic ligand to its “death” receptor (DR) and the activation of the caspase cascade. The ligand-independent intrinsic pathway is triggered by the tumor suppressor gene product P53 that acts through the release of proapoptotic proteins that activate caspase enzymes from the mitochondria. Apoptosis is dysregulated in cancer. Some cancer cells acquire genetic changes (e.g., p53, BclII, and inhibitors of apoptosis [IAP]) that circumvent apoptosis, permitting continued, unchecked proliferation. Strategies to reactivate apoptosis selectively in tumor cells have exciting potential for cancer therapy. Current efforts are focused on proapoptotic receptor agonists and on antagonists of apoptosis suppressors (e.g., inhibitors of apoptosis/IAP, survivin, and Bcl-2). SUMMARY

Jmjd2c histone demethylase enhances the expression of Mdm2 oncogene

Jmjd2c is a candidate oncogene that encodes histone lysine demethylase. In this study, we discovered that over-expression of Jmjd2c increased the expression of Mdm2 oncogene dependent on its demethylase activity, which led to the reduction of p53 tumor suppressor gene product in the cells. A chromatin immunoprecipitation assay showed that Jmjd2c was recruited to the P2 promoter region of Mdm2 gene resulting in demethylation of histone H3 lysine 9, as typically found in actively transcribed genes. Furthermore, siRNA-mediated knockdown of Jmjd2c caused the reduction of Mdm2 expression in the cells. These results indicate that Mdm2 oncogene is a downstream target of Jmjd2c and may play an important role in Jmjd2c-mediated oncogenesis.

Expression of p53-Regulated Genes in Cultured Mammalian Cells After Exposure to A Space Environment

The space environment contains two major biologically significant influences; space radiation and microgravity. The tumor suppressor gene product p53 is generally thought to contribute to the genetic stability of cells with DNA damage through the activity of p53 initiated signal transduction pathways. We propose to investigate the expression of p53-regulated genes in cultured mammalian cells after exposure to a space environment. We expect that the data from this proposal will be useful for designing physiological protection against the serious effects of space radiation during long-term stays in space.

Apoptotic signaling by c-MYC

c-MYC has a pivotal function in growth control, differentiation and apoptosis, and its abnormal expression is associated with many tumors. Overexpression of c-MYC sensitizes cells to apoptosis by a variety of stimuli. The decision of a cell to undergo apoptosis and how this apoptotic response is regulated by c-MYC depends on the specific cell type and the physiological status of the cell. Multiple cooperating molecular pathways of cell survival and apoptosis determine whether a cell lives or dies, and understanding how c-MYC interfaces with these pathways to influence the survival of cells is important to understand normal and abnormal development, tumor initiation and progression, and response of tumors to different treatment regimens. This article will provide an overview of the function of the tumor suppressor gene product p53 in the c-MYC-mediated apoptotic response and how c-MYC amplifies the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway and triggers and/or amplifies the death receptor pathways. Finally, a model for how deregulated c-MYC prematurely triggers the normal apoptotic response associated with terminal myeloid differentiation while also blocking the differentiation program is presented.

Inactivation of miR-34a by aberrant CpG methylation in multiple types of cancer

Recently, we and others identified the microRNA miR-34a as a target of the tumor suppressor gene product p53. Ectopic miR-34a induces a G1 cell cycle arrest, senescence and apoptosis. Here we report that miR-34a expression is silenced in several types of cancer due to aberrant CpG methylation of its promoter. 19 out of 24 (79.1%) primary prostate carcinomas displayed CpG methylation of the miR-34a promoter and concomitant loss of miR-34a expression. CpG methylation of the miR-34a promoter was also detected in breast (6/24; 25%), lung (7/24; 29.1%), colon (3/23; 13%), kidney (3/14; 21.4%), bladder (1/5; 20%) and pancreatic (3/19; 15.7%) carcinoma lines, as well as in melanoma cell lines (19/44; 43.2%) and primary melanoma (20/32; 62.5%). Silencing of miR-34a was dominant over its transactivation by p53/DNA damage. Re-expression of miR-34a in prostate and pancreas carcinoma cell lines induced senescence and cell cycle arrest at least in part by targeting CDK6. These results show that miR-34a represents a tumor suppressor gene which is inactivated by CpG methylation and subsequent transcriptional silencing in a broad range of tumors.

Regulation of Bax activation and apoptotic response to UV irradiation by p53 transcription-dependent and -independent pathways

The Trp53 tumor suppressor gene product (p53) functions in the nucleus to regulate proapoptotic genes, whereas cytoplasmic p53 directly activates proapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins to permeabilize mitochondria and initiate apoptosis. Here, we demonstrate that both p53 transcription-dependent and -independent pathways contribute to UV-induced apoptosis. First we show that Pifithrin-α, a small molecule inhibitor of p53 transcriptional activity, delays Bax translocation and cell death by UV irradiation. Then using CHX (cycloheximide) to prevent new protein expression in response to p53, we also find that Bax translocation and cell death by UV irradiation are delayed. Furthermore we find that overexpression of Bcl-x L, an inhibitor of cytoplasmic p53 after UV irradiation, prevents cell death. Finally, we observe that Pifithrin-α and CHX effectively inhibit PUMA expression by UV irradiation. Taken together, these data indicate that the nuclear p53 promotes PUMA expression, which then displaces cytoplasmic p53 from Bcl-x L, allowing p53 to induce mitochondrial permeabilization, thereby triggering apoptosis.

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

Tumor risk assessment by means of immunocytochemical detection of early pre-malignant changes in buccal smears

Increasing incidence of carcinomas in the upper aero-digestive tract, both in Germany and in other European countries requires development of new preventive strategies. The cure rate at advanced tumor stages remains poor in spite of a variety of available therapeutic methods. In the present study the quantitative assessment of a pre-malignant mucosa lesion within a field cancerization was performed by means of immunocytochemical methods. This may allow individuals with an increased risk of developing malignant disease to be identified. Cytosmears taken from healthy buccal mucosa of tumor patients (n=50) and from healthy probands (n=100) with different tobacco and alcohol consumption levels were examined with regard to identifying increased expression of the proliferation markers (PCNA, MIB1), of the tumor suppressor gene product p53 as well as the oncogene product cyclin D1. There was a significant difference in expression of investigated proliferation markers between tumor patients and healthy probands (p<0.0001). When comparing the rate of positively marked cell nuclei to cigarette pack years the marker cyclin D1 and MIB1 show an increased rate in the groups with high tobacco consumption as compared to the group with a low exposure (p>0.05). It could be possible to use the marker MIB1 and cyclin D1 to screen risk groups, since the relative morbidity risk (odds ratio) increases (by 45-62 times) if the threshold value of 4 positively marked cell nuclei is exceeded.

Clinicopathological significance of the fragile histidine triad transcription protein expression in laryngeal carcinogenesis

The fragile histidine triad (FHIT), frequently lost in many cancers, was identified as a candidate tumor suppressor gene at chromosome 3p locus 14.2. Loss of the FHIT protein because of the alteration or loss of heterozygosity by genetic deletion occurs in a variety of epithelial tumors including head and neck cancer. However, the biological function of the FHIT protein is still unknown and its role in intrinsic cellular proliferation remains particularly controversial in preinvasive lesions and invasive tumors of the head and neck. To clarify the role of the FHIT protein in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and to examine whether the expression of FHIT could be a prognostic parameter for laryngeal carcinogenesis, we investigated the relationship between the expression of the FHIT protein, other tumor suppressor gene products (p53 and p16), the cellular proliferation marker (Ki-67) and the survival time of patients with LSCC. In our study, there were significant differences (p<0.05) in the expression of FHIT between low grade dysplasia and LSCC. Additionally, survival time analysis showed a significant correlation between the reduction of FHIT expression and the length of disease-free survival (p<0.05) in patients with T1-T2 N0 laryngeal carcinoma. However, we did not confirm a relationship between the expression of FHIT, the other tumor suppressor gene products (p53 and p16) or the cellular proliferation marker (Ki-67). In conclusion, we provided evidence that the reduction of FHIT levels may be a useful prognostic indicator for the clinical outcome of laryngeal SCC. Our findings indicated that FHIT utilizes a pathway independent of p53 and is involved in abnormal cell proliferation via the breakdown of G0-G1 arrest in the larynx and apoptosis during multistep carcinogenesis of the larynx.

Myocardial Regulation of p300 and p53 by Doxorubicin Involves Ubiquitin Pathways

Doxorubicin (Dox) depletes p300 from cardiac myocytes and induces apoptosis of these cells. p300 protein possesses ubiquitin ligase activity for the p53 tumor suppressor gene product, catalyzes p53 polyubiqutination, and facilitates p53 degradation in an ubiquitin-dependent manner. The present study investigated the ubiquitin-dependent regulation of p53 by Dox and p300 in cardiac myocytes. Primary cardiac myocytes from neonatal rats were exposed to a proteasome inhibitor, MG132, in culture. MG132 increased both p300 and p53 protein levels in these cells, suggesting that ubiquitin-dependent degradation is involved in the homeostasis of these proteins. Notably, treatment of cardiac myocytes with Dox decreased the protein levels of p300 but markedly increased those of p53. By immunoprecipitation-Western blotting, it was shown that treatment with Dox decreased poly-ubiquitinated p53 but increased that of p300 in cardiac myocytes. Finally, the overexpression of p300 in cardiomyocytes suppressed the Dox-mediated increase in the p53 level in addition to inhibiting Dox-induced apoptosis. Dox reciprocally regulates p300 and p53 through ubiquitin-dependent pathways and that p300, by its ubiquitin ligase activity, is partially involved in the ubiquitin-dependent degradation of p53 in cardiac myocytes.

Insulin and IGF-1 Mediated Inhibition of Apoptosis in CHO Cells Grown in Suspension in a Protein-free Medium

When Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were grown in suspension and deprived of serum, 40% of them became apoptotic after 72 hours, as determined by flow cytometry analysis of TUNEL-labelled cells. Cell viability, assessed by erythrocin B staining, decreased correspondingly. An increase in the total fraction of cells expressing interleukin converting enzyme (ICE; caspase 1), B-cell lymphoma 2 protein (Bcl-2,) and Bcl-2 associated x protein (Bax) was shown by antibody probing and subsequent flow cytometry. The p53 tumour suppressor gene product level remained low within the cell population. Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) inhibited cell death in a concentration-dependent manner, and at 20 ng/ml, cell viability was maintained close to 100% and no apoptotic cells were detected. Also, insulin was shown to inhibit cell death - at 1.0 microg/ml, cell viability was 95%, whereas 10% of the cells stained for apoptosis. At the highest concentrations of IGF-1 and insulin, the expression of ICE, Bcl-2 and Bax was fully suppressed, whereas the p53 product level increased, despite still being detectable in a minority of cells. Under these conditions, IGF-1 may increase p53 expression to restrain abnormal cell proliferation. It is concluded that special attention should be paid to exposure and culture conditions that induce acquired susceptibility to a toxic insult, during the development and validation of cell-based assays.

Human papillomavirus: Its identikit and controversial role in oral oncogenesis, premalignant and malignant lesions (Review)

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are a group of host-specific DNA viruses, with a remarkable epithelial cell specificity: they have been reported principally in the ano-genital tract, urethra, skin, larynx, tracheo-bronchial and oral mucosa. More than 100 different HPV types have been identified and classified as high (e.g. 16, 18, 31) or low (e.g. 11, 42, 36) -risk (HR and LR), based on their association with cervical carcinoma. The carcinogenic role of HR-HPV revolves mainly around two of its oncoproteins: HPV-E6 which promotes degradation of the p53 tumour suppressor gene product and HPV-E7 which modifies the pRb tumour suppressor gene product, inhibiting the activity of TGF-beta2. Since these viral oncoproteins are capable of transforming primary human keratinocytes from either genital or upper respiratory tract epithelia, they have been considered to play a role in disrupting cell-cycle regulatory pathways leading to a genetic progression to ano-genital cancer and, possibly, also to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Recently, the oncogene HPV-E5 has also been found to transform cells by modulating growth factor receptors. On the basis of the high, although very variable, frequency of HR-HPV in OSCC, an oral malignant potential of HPV infection has been hypothesised but not definitively confirmed. Major aims of this review are to update the understanding of HPV activities with respect to oral oncology and to comment on the HPV DNA reported frequencies in OSCC and potentially malignant oral lesions. A computer database search was performed, through the use of MEDLINE (PubMED) and Cochrane Library, for the last three decades. Search key words used were: human papillomavirus, HPV and cancer, HPV and oral lesions, HPV and oral premalignant lesions, HPV and oral cancer, HPV and HNSCC, HPV and oral mucosa. The search was of all fields, all languages and all dates available.

C-Abl acetylation by histone acetyltransferases regulates its nuclear-cytoplasmic localization.

c-Abl function is strictly dependent on its subcellular localization. Using an in vitro approach, we identify c-Abl as a new substrate for p300, CBP (CREB-binding protein) and PCAF (p300/CBP-associated factor) histone acetyltransferases. Remarkably, acetylation markedly alters its subcellular localization. Point mutagenesis indicated that Lys 730, located in the second nuclear localization signal, is the main target of p300 activity. It has previously been reported that c-Abl accumulates in the cytoplasm during myogenic differentiation. Here, we show that c-Abl protein is acetylated at early stages of myogenic differentiation. Indeed, acetylation on Lys 730 drives c-Abl accumulation in the cytoplasm and promotes differentiation. Thus, Lys 730 acetylation is a novel post-translational modification of c-Abl and a novel mechanism for modulating its subcellular localization that contributes to myogenic differentiation.