The rapid destabilization of p53 mRNA in immortal chicken embryo fibroblast cells

Unaffected Li-Fraumeni Syndrome Carrier Parent Demonstrates Allele-Specific mRNA Stabilization of Wild-Type TP53 Compared to Affected Offspring

Li-Fraumeni Syndrome (LFS) is an autosomal dominant disorder where an oncogenic TP53 germline mutation is inherited by offspring of a carrier parent. p53 is a key tumor suppressor regulating cell cycle arrest in response to DNA damage. Unexpectedly, some mutant TP53 carriers remain unaffected, while their children develop cancer early in life. To begin unravelling this paradox, the response of dermal fibroblasts (dFb) isolated from a child with LFS was compared to those from her unaffected father after UV exposure. Phospho-Chk1[S345], a key activator of cell cycle arrest, was increased by UV induction in the LFS patient compared to their unaffected parent dFb. This result, along with previous findings of reduced CDKN1A/p21 UV induction in affected dFb, suggest that cell cycle dysregulation may contribute to cancer onset in the affected LFS subject but not the unaffected parent. Mutant p53 protein and its promoter binding affinity were also higher in dFb from the LFS patient compared to their unaffected parent. These results were as predicted based on decreased mutant TP53 allele-specific mRNA expression previously found in unaffected dFb. Investigation of the potential mechanism regulating this TP53 allele-specific expression found that, while epigenetic promoter methylation was not detectable, TP53 wild-type mRNA was specifically stabilized in the unaffected dFb. Hence, the allele-specific stabilization of wild-type TP53 mRNA may allow an unaffected parent to counteract genotoxic stress by means more characteristic of homozygous wild-type TP53 individuals than their affected offspring, providing protection from the oncogenesis associated with LFS.

p53 regulates its own expression by an intrinsic exoribonuclease activity through AU-rich elements

The onco-suppressor p53 protein plays also an important role in the control of various aspects of health and disease. p53 levels are low in normal cells and elevated under stress conditions. While low levels of p53 promote tumor formation, overactive p53 leads to premature aging and cell death. RNA degradation is a critical level of regulation contributing to the control of gene expression. p53, as an RNA-binding protein, exerts 3' → 5' exoribonuclease activity, mediating degradation of adenylate/uridylate-rich elements (ARE)-containing ssRNAs. The 3'-UTR of p53-mRNA, which is a target of p53 itself, harbors cis-acting AREs. Our results suggest that p53 controls its own expression through murine double-minute 2 (mdm2)-independent "RNA decay" function in cytoplasm. We demonstrate that p53 expresses an exoribonuclease activity through the binding to ARE sequences of p53-mRNA via translation-independent and translation-dependent polysome-associated pathways. Antagonistic interplay was detected between p53 levels and execution of its exoribonuclease function mirrored in low p53 levels in normal cells, due to the efficient exoribonuclease activity, and in the accumulation of p53 in cells exposed to p53-activating drugs in accordance with the reduced exoribonuclease activity. Apparently, p53, via control of its own mRNA stability and/or translation in cytoplasm, might act as a negative regulator of p53-mRNA levels. The observed connection between exoribonuclease activity and p53 abundance highlights the importance of this function affecting p53 expression, imperative for multiple functions, with implications for the steady-state levels of protein and for the p53 stress response. The modulation in expression of exoribonuclease activity would be translated into the alterations in p53 level. KEY MESSAGES: p53 controls its own expression through mdm2-independent "RNA decay" function in cytoplasm. p53 expresses an exoribonuclease activity through the binding to ARE sequences of p53-mRNA. Antagonistic interplay exists between stress-induced p53 and execution of its exoribonuclease function.

PAP Modulations in Daudi Cells and Molt-3 Cells Treated with Etoposide are Mutually Associated with Morphological Evidence of Apoptosis

Daudi (B-cell line) and Molt-3 (T-cell line) cells provide a model for the study of apoptosis, the induction of which is often accompanied by concominant modulations of proteins involved in mRNA maturation. One of these proteins is poly(A) polymerase (PAP), which is responsible for mRNA cleavage and polyadenylation. A number of recent reports also suggest involvement of mRNA maturation and stability in the induction of specific pathways of cell apoptosis. In this study we identified PAP activity levels and isoform modulations in two different cell lines (Daudi and Molt-3) and related them to DNA fragmentation (a hallmark of apoptosis) and cell cycle phase specificity in terms of the temporal sequence of events and the time that elapsed between administration of the apoptosis inducer (the widely used anticancer drug etoposide) and the observed effects. Treatment of both cell lines with 20 μg/mL etoposide induced apoptosis after four hours in Molt-3 cells and only after 24 hours in Daudi cells, as revealed by two independent methods. In Daudi cells the PAP activity levels and isoforms were downregulated prior to ΔΨm reduction, DNA fragmentation and the morphological changes of the nucleus, whereas in Molt-3 cells no PAP activity and isoform modulations were observed prior to the early hallmarks of apoptosis.

PRDM1 overexpression induce G0/G1 arrest in DF-1 cell line

PRDM1 (PR domain containing 1) is a transcriptional repressor that affects the expression of numerous genes involved in cell proliferation, differentiation and metabolism. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying PRDM1-regulated gene expression in the DF-1 cell line remain to be elucidated. In this study, we explored the role of PRDM1 in cell proliferation and cell cycle by forced expression of PRDM1 in DF-1 cells. Our results showed an absence of endogenous PRDM1 in this cell line, while exogenous PRDM1 was specifically localized to the nucleus. Ectopic expression of PRDM1 inhibited DF-1 cell proliferation and altered clonal morphology. Furthermore, PRDM1 overexpression caused an increase in the G0/G1 phase population. The levels of p53 mRNA and the p53-regulated p21(WAF1) and MDM2 genes were significantly increased in DF-1 cells transfected with the PRDM1 expression vector. Examination of the Rb pathway further revealed that Rb, E2F-1 and p15(INK4b) alternate reading frame (ARF) mRNA were also significantly increased after transient transfection. Interestingly, the mRNA expression levels of multiple chicken cyclin genes were also increased. These results show that PRDM1 overexpression induced G0/G1 arrest in DF-1 cells through multiple parallel mechanisms, including the p53 and Rb pathways.

The p53 tumor suppressor: a master regulator of diverse cellular processes and therapeutic target in cancer

The tumor suppressor p53 has been implicated in a growing number of biological processes, including cell cycle arrest, senescence, apoptosis, autophagy, metabolism, and aging. Activation of p53 in response to oncogenic stress eliminates nascent tumor cells by apoptosis or senescence. p53 is regulated at the protein level by posttranslational modifications such as phosphorylation and acetylation. A p53 antisense gene, Wrap53, enhances p53 mRNA levels via the 5'UTR. Lack of Wrap53 transcripts that overlap with p53 abrogates the p53 DNA damage response. Around half of all human tumors carry p53 mutation that disrupt p53 specific DNA binding, and transcriptional transactivation of target genes. Reactivation of mutant p53 is a promising strategy for novel cancer therapy. The small molecule PRIMA-1 restores wild type conformation and DNA binding to mutant p53, induces mutant p53-dependent apoptosis, and inhibits tumor growth in vivo. The PRIMA-1 analog APR-246 is currently tested in a phase I clinical trial. Improved understanding of the p53 pathway should lead to better diagnosis and treatment of cancer in the future.

Regulation of tumor suppressor p53 at the RNA level

p53 is a key tumor suppressor that triggers cell cycle arrest, senescence, or apoptosis in response to cellular stress. Frequent p53 mutation in human tumors allows survival, sustained growth, and tumor progression. p53 is expressed at low levels under normal conditions, due to rapid protein turnover. Stress signaling induces p53 protein stabilization through phosphorylation and other post-translational modifications. However, recent studies have demonstrated critical regulation of p53 at the mRNA level, mediated via both the 5'UTR and the 3'UTR and affecting both the stability and the translation efficiency of the p53 mRNA. Both proteins and microRNAs have been implicated in such regulation. The p53 target gene Wig-1 encodes a zinc finger protein that binds to double-stranded RNA and enhances p53 mRNA stability by binding to the 3'UTR in a positive feedback loop. Here, we shall summarize current knowledge about regulation of the p53 mRNA and discuss possible implications for cancer therapy.

Massively regulated genes: the example of TP53

Intensive study of the TP53 gene over the last three decades has revealed a highly complex network of factors that regulate its performance. The gene has several promoters, alternative splicing occurs and there are alternative translation initiation sites. Up to 10 p53 isoforms have been identified. At the post-translational level, p53 activity depends on its quantity in the cell and on qualitative changes in its structure, intracellular localization, DNA-binding activity and interactions with other proteins. Both accumulation and activation are regulated by an intricate pattern of post-translational modifications, including phosphorylation, acetylation, ubiquitination, sumoylation, neddylation, methylation and glycosylation. The Mdm2 protein, a negative regulator of p53, is the most important determinant of p53 abundance and subcellular localization. Enzymes that post-translationally modify p53 by phosphorylation, methylation and acetylation fine-tune p53 binding to recognition sequences in DNA and p53 interactions with transcription cofactors at promoters of target genes, thereby exerting a discriminatory role in p53 function. This multitude of parameters determining expression, modification, accumulation and localization of p53 proteins may explain how a single gene can display an extensive repertoire of activities. Presumably this is needed, because the p53 protein can have such profound consequences for a cell.

The p53 target Wig-1 regulates p53 mRNA stability through an AU-rich element

The p53 target gene Wig-1 encodes a double-stranded-RNA-binding zinc finger protein. We show here that Wig-1 binds to p53 mRNA and stabilizes it through an AU-rich element (ARE) in the 3' UTR of the p53 mRNA. This effect is mirrored by enhanced p53 protein levels in both unstressed cells and cells exposed to p53-activating stress agents. Thus, the p53 target Wig-1 is a previously undescribed ARE-regulating protein that acts as a positive feedback regulator of p53, with implications both for the steady-state levels of p53 and for the p53 stress response. Our data reveal a previously undescribed link between the tumor suppressor p53 and posttranscriptional gene regulation via AREs in mRNA.

Stochastic modeling and simulation of the p53-MDM2/MDMX loop

The p53 gene is crucial for effective tumor suppression in humans as supported by its universal inactivation in cancer cells either through mutations affecting the p53 locus directly or through aberration of its normal regulation. The p53 tumor repressor is regulated through a negative feedback loop involving its transcriptional target MDM2. MDMX is also an essential negative regulator of p53. Several computational models have been proposed to simulate the dynamics of the p53-MDM2 loop, but they do not include MDMX, only account for some basic interactions between p53 and MDM2 and cannot capture the intrinsic noise in the loop. In this article, we present a comprehensive model for the p53-MDM2/MDMX loop that accounts for most known interactions among p53, MDM2 and MDMX. Our model is characterized by a set of molecular reactions, which enables us to employ stochastic simulation to investigate the dynamics of the loop. In agreement with experiments, our results show that p53 and MDM2 undergo oscillations after DNA damage in the presence of noise, and the variation in oscillation amplitudes is much higher than that in oscillation periods. Our simulations predict that intrinsic noise contributes to 60%-70% of the total variation in oscillation amplitudes and periods. The protein levels of p53, MDM2, and MDMX after treatment with Nutlin in our simulations are also consistent with experimental results. Our simulation results further predict that p53 levels increase dramatically after MDM2 is knocked out, but increase with a much less amount after MDMX is knocked out. This may partially explain why MDM2-null and MDMX-null mouse embryos die in different developmental stages. Our stochastic model and simulation provide insights into the variability of the behavior of the p53 pathway and can be used to predict the dynamics of the pathway after certain interventions.

Wrap53, a natural p53 antisense transcript required for p53 induction upon DNA damage

Antisense transcription is a widespread phenomenon in the mammalian genome. It is thought to play a role in regulation of gene expression, but its exact functional significance is largely unknown. We have identified a natural antisense transcript of p53, designated Wrap53, that regulates endogenous p53 mRNA levels and further induction of p53 protein by targeting the 5' untranslated region of p53 mRNA. siRNA knockdown of Wrap53 results in significant decrease in p53 mRNA and suppression of p53 induction upon DNA damage. Conversely, overexpression of Wrap53 increases p53 mRNA and protein levels. Blocking of potential Wrap53/p53 RNA hybrids reduces p53 levels nearly as efficiently as Wrap53 knockdown, strongly suggesting that Wrap53 regulates p53 via Wrap53/p53 RNA interaction. Furthermore, induction of Wrap53 sensitizes cells for p53-dependent apoptosis. This discovery not only reveals a regulatory pathway for controlling p53, but also proposes a general mechanism for antisense-mediated gene regulation in human cells.

TIP30 induces apoptosis under oxidative stress through stabilization of p53 messenger RNA in human hepatocellular carcinoma

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cellular oxidant stress have long been associated with cancer. Here, we show that TIP30, also called CC3, regulates p53 mRNA stability and induces apoptosis by sensing of intracellular oxidative stress in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Introduction of TIP30 induced more cell death in HepG2 cells with a high level of intracellular ROS than that in normal liver cell line, HL7702, which had low level of intracellular ROS. Treatment with an antioxidant agent attenuated TIP30-induced cell death in HepG2 cells, whereas oxidant H(2)O(2) augmented TIP30-induced cell death in HL7702 cells. The conformation of TIP30 was altered with the formation of an intermolecular disulfide bridge under oxidative stress. TIP30 greatly enhanced p53 expression and its transcriptional activity under oxidative stress, which was probably through stabilization of p53 mRNA. TIP30 induced apoptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction were blocked by silencing of p53 expression. The nuclear import of mRNA-binding protein HuR was blocked upon TIP30 introduction, which might be due to the interruption of the association of HuR with importin beta2. The elevated cytoplasmic HuR bound to p53 mRNA 3'-untranslated region, resulting in prolonged half-life of p53 mRNA. Our results suggest that TIP30 is involved in cellular oxidative stress surveillance and induces apoptosis through stabilization of p53 mRNA in HCC cells.

The role of cordycepin in cancer treatment via induction or inhibition of apoptosis: implication of polyadenylation in a cell type specific manner

PURPOSE

Most anticancer drugs show their antiproliferative and cytotoxic activity via induction of apoptosis. In the present study we assessed the implication and role of cordycepin, a polyadenylation-specific inhibitor and a well-known chemotherapeutic drug, in apoptosis, induced by the anticancer drug etoposide.

METHODS

For this purpose, a variety of leukemia and lymphoma cell lines (U937, K562, HL-60, Daudi, Molt-4) were treated with the anticancer drugs etoposide and/or cordycepin and assessed for poly(A) polymerase (PAP) activity and isoforms by the highly sensitive PAP activity assay and western blotting, respectively. Induction of apoptosis was determined by endonucleosomal DNA cleavage, DAPI staining, caspase-6 activity assay and DeltaPsi m reduction, whereas cytotoxicity and cell cycle status were assessed by Trypan blue staining, MTT assay and flow cytometry.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

The results showed that PAP changes in all cell lines, in response to apoptosis induced by etoposide, in many cases even prior to hallmarks of apoptosis (endonucleosomal cleavage of DNA, DeltaPsi(m) reduction). A further elucidation to this apoptosis-polyadenylation correlation was added, by cell treatment with cordycepin, resulting in either suppression (U937, K562) or induction (HL-60) of the apoptotic process, according to the cell type. However, inhibition of polyadenylation did not influence the cell lines Daudi and Molt-4 used, where alternative apoptotic pathways are induced through cleavage of DNA into high molecular weight fragments.

Contributions of differential p53 expression in the spontaneous immortalization of a chicken embryo fibroblast cell line

Background

The present study was carried out to determine whether the p53 pathway played a role in the spontaneous immortalization of the SC-2 chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cell line that has been in continuous culture for over three years.

Results

The SC-2 cell line emerged from an extended crisis period with a considerably slower growth rate than primary CEF cells. The phenotype of the SC-2 cells changed dramatically at about passage 80, appearing smaller than at earlier passages (e.g., passage 43) and possessing a small, compact morphology. This morphological change coincided with an increase in growth rate. Passage 43 SC-2 cells expressed undetectable levels of p53 mRNA, but by passage 95, the levels were elevated compared to primary passage 6 CEF cells and similar to levels in senescent CEF cells. However, the high level of p53 mRNA detected in passage 95 SC-2 cells did not correlate to functional protein activity. The expression levels of the p53-regulated p21^WAF1 gene were significantly decreased in all SC-2 passages that were analyzed. Examination of the Rb pathway revealed that E2F-1 and p15^INK4b expression fluctuated with increasing passages, with levels higher in passage 95 SC-2 cells compared to primary passage 6 CEF cells.

Conclusion

The present study suggests that altered expression of genes involved in the p53 and Rb pathways, specifically, p53 and p21^WAF1, may have contributed to the immortalization of the SC-2 CEF cell line.

Polyadenylate polymerase modulations in human epithelioid cervix and breast cancer cell lines, treated with etoposide or cordycepin, follow cell cycle rather than apoptosis induction

Cancer results from an imbalance between cell cycle progression and apoptosis. Therefore, most anticancer drugs exert their antiproliferative and cytotoxic activity via cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis, a controlled form of cell death that is dysregulated in cancer. Many polyadenylation trans-acting factors, including polyadenylate polymerase (PAP), are increasingly found to be involved in cell cycle, apoptosis and cancer prognosis. The objective of the present study was to identify PAP modulations in the response of two epithelial cancer cell lines (HeLa and MCF-7) to apoptosis induction by the anticancer drugs etoposide and cordycepin. Cells were assessed for PAP activity and isoforms by the highly sensitive PAP activity assay and Western blotting, respectively. Induction of apoptosis was determined by endonucleosomal DNA cleavage, 4'6-diamidino-2-phenylindol (DAPI) staining and caspase-6 activity assay, whereas cytotoxicity and cell cycle status were assessed by trypan blue staining, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and flow cytometry. Our results indicate that PAP changes very early in response to either etoposide or cordycepin treatment, even prior to the hallmarks of apoptosis (chromatin condensation and cleavage), in both cell lines tested, but in a different mode. Our results suggest, for the first time, that in the epithelial cancer cell lines used, PAP modulations follow cell cycle progression rather than the course of apoptosis.

Modulation of p53 expression and its role in the conversion to a fully immortalized chicken embryo fibroblast line

We have established a spontaneously immortalized chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cell line (SC-1) that has been in continuous culture for more than three years. This is only the second report of a spontaneously immortalized reverse transcriptase (RT)-negative chicken cell line. The SC-1 cells emerged from crisis (at about passage 29-31) with a slower growth rate than primary cells. Passage 50 SC-1 cells expressed similar levels of p53 mRNA, but slightly lower levels of p53 protein than passage 6 CEF cells. By passage 120, p53 mRNA levels were significantly decreased in the SC-1 cells, while protein levels were slightly increased compared to passage 6 CEF cells. However, functional analysis of p53 revealed reduced activity in later passage SC-1 cells. Other p53-related genes including p21WAF1, p27Kip1, MDM-2, and the p16INK4a alternate reading frame (ARF) sequence showed similar patterns of differential mRNA expression. Levels of p15INK4b mRNA and protein were dramatically decreased in SC-1 cells, suggesting that the Rb pathway also has been compromised. Telomerase expression was undetectable in SC-1 cells. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis showed that SC-1 and primary cells contained a similar proportion of G0/G1 phase cells, unlike the only other spontaneously immortalized chicken cell line (DF-1). The present study suggests that alterations in the p53 and Rb pathways cause fluctuations in expression levels of important cell-cycle regulatory genes during crucial transition periods as the SC-1 spontaneously immortalized chicken fibroblast cells progress toward becoming a fully committed cell line.

Deletions in the DNA-binding domain of the TP53 gene in v-src-transformed chicken cells

We have examined the chicken TP53 tumor suppressor gene in v-src-transformed chicken tumor cells by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing. Initially, we have detected frequent deletions of variable length in both DNA-binding and oligomerization domains of the TP53 in late as well as early in vitro passages of the chicken tumor cell line PR9692. This tumor cell line shows an immortal phenotype and acquires a metastatic potential that is unique in our experimental model of v-src-induced tumors in congenic chickens. Deletions in TP53 were also detected in an early passage of parallel in vivo subculture of the original v-src-induced tumor. In this case, tumor cells underwent replicative senescence later in tissue culture. Our results suggest that extensive deletions are efficient mechanisms of TP53 inactivation, occurring as early events during the immortalization of v-src-transformed chicken cells. Tumor cells with altered TP53 might, however, still be susceptible to growth control mechanisms, leading to withdrawal from the mitotic cycle in the early stage of the tumor lifeline.

RNA-binding protein HuR enhances p53 translation in response to ultraviolet light irradiation

Exposure to short-wavelength UV light (UVC) strongly induces p53 expression. In human RKO colorectal carcinoma cells, this increase was not due to elevated p53 mRNA abundance, cytoplasmic export of p53 mRNA, or UVC-triggered stabilization of the p53 protein. Instead, p53 translation was potently enhanced after UVC irradiation. The 3' UTR of p53 was found to be a target of the RNA-binding protein HuR in a UVC-dependent manner in vitro and in vivo. HuR-overexpressing RKO cells displayed elevated p53 levels, whereas cells expressing reduced HuR showed markedly diminished p53 abundance and p53 translation. Our results demonstrate a role for HuR in binding to the p53 mRNA and enhancing its translation.

Expression of the chicken homologue of the mouse double minute 2 gene

While the p53 tumor suppressor plays a crucial role in regulating cell cycle checkpoints and apoptosis by acting as either a transcriptional activator or repressor in a variety of mammalian cells, its evolutionarily conserved functions remain to be elucidated in non-mammalian species. In the present study, we determined the functional role of p53 in avian cells by analyzing the expression pattern of the chicken homologue (CDM2) of mouse double minute 2, one of the transcriptional target genes of p53. CDM2 displayed considerable conservation in the p53 binding region as well as the nuclear localization and nuclear export signals and was found to be abundantly expressed in the reproductive organs (testis and ovarian follicles) and in the immune organs (bone marrow, bursa and thymus). CDM2 expression exhibited an early serum-response pattern consistent with its mammalian counterparts and was dramatically downregulated in most of the p53-downregulated immortal chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cells analyzed. Expression of CDM2 was shown to be transcriptionally upregulated in the primary CEF cells where p53 was activated by either mitomycin C treatment or by the exogenous transfection of the chicken p53 cDNA. Together, the current studies demonstrate that the expression of MDM2 homologues may be biologically conserved in mammalian and avian cells.