Colchicine prevents the translation of mRNA molecules transcribed immediately after proliferative activation of hepatocytes in regenerating rat liver

Colchicine Blocks Tubulin Heterodimer Recycling by Tubulin Cofactors TBCA, TBCB, and TBCE

Colchicine has been used to treat gout and, more recently, to effectively prevent autoinflammatory diseases and both primary and recurrent episodes of pericarditis. The anti-inflammatory action of colchicine seems to result from irreversible inhibition of tubulin polymerization and microtubule (MT) assembly by binding to the tubulin heterodimer, avoiding the signal transduction required to the activation of the entire NLRP3 inflammasome. Emerging results show that the MT network is a potential regulator of cardiac mechanics. Here, we investigated how colchicine impacts in tubulin folding cofactors TBCA, TBCB, and TBCE activities. We show that TBCA is abundant in mouse heart insoluble protein extracts. Also, a decrease of the TBCA/β-tubulin complex followed by an increase of free TBCA is observed in human cells treated with colchicine. The presence of free TBCA is not observed in cells treated with other anti-mitotic agents such as nocodazole or cold shock, neither after translation inhibition by cycloheximide. In vitro assays show that colchicine inhibits tubulin heterodimer dissociation by TBCE/TBCB, probably by interfering with interactions of TBCE with tubulin dimers, leading to free TBCA. Manipulation of TBCA levels, either by RNAi or overexpression results in decreased levels of tubulin heterodimers. Together, these data strongly suggest that TBCA is mainly receiving β-tubulin from the dissociation of pre-existing heterodimers instead of newly synthesized tubulins. The TBCE/TBCB+TBCA system is crucial for controlling the critical concentration of free tubulin heterodimers and MT dynamics in the cells by recycling the tubulin heterodimers. It is conceivable that colchicine affects tubulin heterodimer recycling through the TBCE/TBCB+TBCA system producing the known benefits in the treatment of pericardium inflammation.

Microtubule involvement in translational regulation of fibronectin expression by light chain 3 of microtubule-associated protein 1 in vascular smooth muscle cells

Our previous studies suggested that enhanced fibronectin mRNA translation in ductus arteriosus compared with aortic smooth muscle cells is related to increased expression of light chain 3 (LC3) of microtubule-associated protein 1, which binds an AU-rich element in the 3' untranslated region of fibronectin mRNA. We therefore hypothesized that microtubules are involved in LC3-mediated fibronectin mRNA translational regulation. In this study we show that disruption of microtubules by colchicine inhibits fibronectin mRNA translation in cultured ductus arteriosus smooth muscle cells. We proposed that the mechanism might be related to decreased docking of fibronectin mRNA on the translational machinery, ie, membrane-bound polysomes on rough endoplasmic reticulum, and confirmed this by Northern blot analysis. To investigate the mechanism further, we carried out polysome analysis using sucrose gradient centrifugation and fractionation and studied the polysomal distribution of fibronectin mRNA and LC3 protein in the sucrose gradient by using RNase protection assay and Western immunoblotting, respectively. Colchicine treatment shifts fibronectin mRNA from the fractions containing membrane-bound polysomes to the fractions carrying free polysomes and concomitantly decreases the amount of LC3 protein in the fractions containing membrane-bound polysomes. Furthermore, an EDTA-release experiment demonstrates that LC3 protein associates with the 60S ribosomal subunit. Our data support the concept that microtubules may function with LC3 to facilitate sorting of fibronectin mRNA onto rough endoplasmic reticulum and translation.

Effect of colchicine and vincristine on DNA synthesis in regenerating rat liver

The increases in the activities of hepatic thymidylate synthetase and thymidine kinase were significantly suppressed at 24 h after 70% partial hepatectomy in rats which had been administered a microtubule disrupter, colchicine or vincristine. The decrease of these enzymic activities was accompanied by a reduction of DNA content in 24 h regenerating liver. The immunoblotting assay showed that the depression of the thymidylate synthetase activity by the injection of colchicine or vincristine was due to the decrease of the enzyme protein. These results indicate that colchicine and vincristine inhibit the DNA synthesis during liver regeneration by inhibiting the induction of the key enzyme in DNA synthesis.

Calcium, cyclic AMP and protein kinase C--partners in mitogenesis

Evidence is steadily mounting that the proto-oncogenes, whose products organize and start the programs that drive normal eukaryotic cells through their chromosome replication/mitosis cycles, are transiently stimulated by sequential signals from a multi-purpose, receptor-operated mechanism (consisting of internal surges of Ca2+ and bursts of protein kinase C activity resulting from phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate breakdown and the opening of membrane Ca2+ channels induced by receptor-associated tyrosine-protein kinase activity) and bursts of cyclic AMP-dependent kinase activity. The bypassing or subversion of the receptor-operated Ca2+/phospholipid breakdown/protein kinase C signalling mechanism is probably the basis of the freeing of cell proliferation from external controls that characterizes all neoplastic transformations.

Pig-skin epidermal calmodulin: effects of antagonists of calmodulin on DNA synthesis of pig-skin epidermis

Although epidermal keratinocytes contain significant amounts of calmodulin, the exact role of calmodulin in epidermal biological activity remains to be determined. Pig-skin (epidermal) calmodulin was purified to homogeneity by DEAE/Sepharose- and phenothiazine-affinity-column chromatography. The characteristics of the purified calmodulin proved to be in good agreement with those of calmodulin obtained from other sources. Phenothiazines (trifluoperazine and chlorpromazine), mepacrine, propranolol, and colchicine inhibited the effect of the purified epidermal calmodulin on the calmodulin-deficient phosphodiesterase of bovine heart. These calmodulin antagonists all had inhibitory effects on the thymidine incorporation of pig-skin epidermal keratinocytes. These observations support the assumption that calmodulin might play an important role in epidermal keratinocyte proliferation.

The microtubular cytoskeleton and the initiation of DNA synthesis

Depending on cell type and mode of growth stimulation, an intact cytoplasmic microtubule system may either support or suppress passage through the prereplicative G1 phase (growth and maturation) and entrance into the S phase (DNA synthesis) of the cell cycle. In peripheral blood lymphocytes exposed to mitogenic lectins, colchicine and other antimicrotubular drugs inhibit blast transformation and initiation of DNA synthesis. The inhibitory effect is not due to decreased cellular binding of lectin or lack of generation of a stimulatory signal. Rather, it can be explained by an inability of the cells to pass through the G1 phase at a normal rate in the absence of cytoplasmic microtubules. The formation of new organelles and the growth in cell size that occur during this phase is markedly delayed by the drugs. For example, the Golgi complex, an organelle system that participates in membrane biogenesis and other basic cellular functions, is reduced in size and structurally disorganized. In cells with a shorter prereplicative phase, such as fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells, antimicrotubular drugs inhibit DNA synthesis in growth-arrested cultures exposed to optimal concentrations of serum, thrombin or platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). On the other hand, antimicrotubular drugs stimulate DNA replication in serum-free cultures and enhance the stimulatory effect of insulin, epidermal growth factor (EGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), and prostaglandin F2 alpha on entrance into S phase. Moreover, stabilization of cytoplasmic microtubules with taxol has been found to block microtubule disassembly and initiation of DNA synthesis by colchicine and to inhibit thrombin- and EGF-stimulated DNA synthesis under serum-free conditions. These findings suggest that partial microtubule disassembly is an inherent step in the reactions that precede DNA replication and mitosis. However, the cell biological and molecular details of these reactions and the exact role of microtubules remain enigmatic.