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Biomedical subjects

A J Levine

Publications and source records attributed to A J Levine.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of oncoprotein Hdm2 is required for Hdm2-mediated degradation of p53.

The Hdm2 oncoprotein inhibits p53 functions by two means: (i) it blocks p53's transactivation activity and (ii) it targets p53 for degradation in a proteasome-dependent manner. Recent data indicate that Hdm2 shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm and that the regulation of p53 levels by Hdm2 requires its nuclear export activity. Two different models are consistent with these observations. In the first, Hdm2 binds to p53 in the nucleus and shuttles p53 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, and then it targets p53 to the cytoplasmic proteasome. Alternatively, Hdm2 and p53 could be exported separately from the nucleus and then associate in the cytoplasm, where Hdm2 promotes the degradation of p53. To distinguish between these two models, several Hdm2 mutants were employed. Hdm2NLS lacks the ability to enter the nucleus, whereas Hdm2NES is deficient in nuclear export. Hdm2NLS, Hdm2NES, or the combination of both mutants were unable to promote p53 degradation in the cotransfected 2KO cells (which were null for both the p53 and mdm2 genes), although wild-type Hdm2 efficiently reduced p53 levels under the same conditions. This observation is not a result of the differences in expression levels or stability between Hdm2 and these mutants. Moreover, coexpression of these mutants had no effect on wild-type Hdm-2-induced p53 destabilization. Thus, Hdm2 must shuttle p53 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm to target it for degradation in the cytoplasm.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1999

Mutant p53 gain of function: differential effects of different p53 mutants on resistance of cultured cells to chemotherapy.

Many tumors overexpress mutant forms of p53. A growing number of studies suggest that the nature of a p53 mutation in a cell can impact upon cellular properties, clinical responses to therapy and prognosis of a tumor. To explore the cellular basis of these observations, experiments were designed to compare the properties of cells with and without p53 mutations within the same cell population. To that end, various tumor-derived human p53 mutants were introduced into p53-null H1299 lung adenocarcinoma cells. Clonogenic survival assays revealed that cells overexpressing the p53His175 mutant, but not the p53His273 mutant, recover preferentially from etoposide treatment. Moreover, p53His175 as well as p53His179 reduced substantially the rate of etoposide-induced apoptosis, whereas p53His273 and p53Trp248 had a much milder protective effect. In contrast, p53His175 and p53His273 exerted very similar effects on the cellular response to cisplatin; both conferred increased resistance to low concentrations of the drug (2.5 microg/ml), but did not protect at all against high concentrations (10 microg/ml). Hence particular p53 mutants may confer upon tumor cells a selective survival advantage during chemotherapy. These findings define a new type of mutant p53 selective gain of function, which may compromise the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1999

Functions of the MDM2 oncoprotein.

The p53 protein is activated in response to physiological stress resulting in either a G1 arrest of cells or apoptosis. As such, p53 must be tightly regulated, and the MDM2 oncoprotein plays a central role in that regulatory process. The transcription of the Mdm2 oncogene is induced by the p53 protein after DNA damage, and the MDM2 protein then binds to p53 and blocks its activities as a tumour suppressor and promotes its degradation. These two proteins thus form an autoregulatory feedback loop in which p53 positively regulates MDM2 levels and MDM2 negatively regulates p53 levels and activity. Immediately after ultraviolet (UV) irradiation MDM2 messenger RNA and protein levels fall in a p53-independent fashion, resulting in increased p53 levels. The p53 protein is then activated as a transcription factor by posttranslational modification permitting p53 to initiate its cell-cycle arrest or apoptotic (programmed cell death) functions. At later times, after the repair of DNA, MDM2 levels increase in a p53-dependent fashion. This induction of MDM2 results in the inhibition of p53 transcriptional activity and the degradation of p53 protein. MDM2-p53 complexes in the nucleus are transported to the cytoplasm via signals present in the MDM2 protein, where p53 is degraded in the proteasome. Thus MDM2 acts as a nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttle for the p53 protein. There are many levels at which this process is regulated, and as such there are many places for chemotherapeutic interventions. The amino-terminal domain of the MDM2 protein is all that is required to bind the p53 protein. The MDM2 protein has additional domains and therefore may have additional functions. Any of these MDM2 domains may contribute to MDM2's activities as an oncogene independent of its inhibition of the tumour suppressor functions of p53. Thus MDM2 itself could be a target for cancer therapeutic intervention.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1999

Aortic regurgitation in rheumatoid arthritis necessitating aortic valve replacement.

Four cases of patients with aortic incompetence secondary to rheumatoid arthritis are presented. All survived aortic surgery (two having bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement and two a homograft aortic root replacement). A review of the pathophysiology and pathology of this rare cause of aortic regurgitation is presented. A rationale for the choice of aortic valve prosthesis is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Analysis of the degradation function of Mdm2.

Degradation of the p53 tumor suppressor protein has been shown to be regulated by Mdm2. In this study, we identify regions of Mdm2 that are not required for p53 binding but are essential for degradation. Mdm2 mutants lacking these regions function in a dominant negative fashion, stabilizing endogenous p53 in cells by interfering with the degradative function of the endogenous Mdm2. p53 protein stabilized in this way does not strongly enhance the expression of p21(Waf1/Cip1), the product of a p53-responsive gene, supporting the model in which binding of Mdm2 to the NH2-terminal domain of p53 inhibits interaction with other components of the basal transcriptional machinery. Interestingly, COOH-terminal truncations of Mdm2 that retain p53 binding but fail to mediate its degradation are also stabilized themselves. Because Mdm2, like p53, is normally an unstable protein that is degraded through the proteasome, this result suggests a direct link between the regulation of Mdm2 and p53 stability.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

WISP genes are members of the connective tissue growth factor family that are up-regulated in wnt-1-transformed cells and aberrantly expressed in human colon tumors.

Wnt family members are critical to many developmental processes, and components of the Wnt signaling pathway have been linked to tumorigenesis in familial and sporadic colon carcinomas. Here we report the identification of two genes, WISP-1 and WISP-2, that are up-regulated in the mouse mammary epithelial cell line C57MG transformed by Wnt-1, but not by Wnt-4. Together with a third related gene, WISP-3, these proteins define a subfamily of the connective tissue growth factor family. Two distinct systems demonstrated WISP induction to be associated with the expression of Wnt-1. These included (i) C57MG cells infected with a Wnt-1 retroviral vector or expressing Wnt-1 under the control of a tetracyline repressible promoter, and (ii) Wnt-1 transgenic mice. The WISP-1 gene was localized to human chromosome 8q24.1-8q24.3. WISP-1 genomic DNA was amplified in colon cancer cell lines and in human colon tumors and its RNA overexpressed (2- to >30-fold) in 84% of the tumors examined compared with patient-matched normal mucosa. WISP-3 mapped to chromosome 6q22-6q23 and also was overexpressed (4- to >40-fold) in 63% of the colon tumors analyzed. In contrast, WISP-2 mapped to human chromosome 20q12-20q13 and its DNA was amplified, but RNA expression was reduced (2- to >30-fold) in 79% of the tumors. These results suggest that the WISP genes may be downstream of Wnt-1 signaling and that aberrant levels of WISP expression in colon cancer may play a role in colon tumorigenesis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Metal and RNA binding properties of the hdm2 RING finger domain.

The hdm2 oncoprotein contains a C-terminal domain that binds RNA and has been suggested to bind zinc(II) in an unusual RING finger domain in which Thr 455 was postulated as a ligand. We have reported experiments to test whether this C-terminal cysteine-rich motif is indeed a RING finger domain. We also tested the affinity of the hdm2 C-terminal peptide for metal binding, metal linkage to the folding of the C-terminal peptide, and the peptide's affinity for RNA. Truncation mutants demonstrate that amino acids 425-491 are necessary and sufficient for RNA binding. However, divalent metal ions do not seem to affect the specific RNA recognition. Metal binding studies suggest that hdm2 indeed binds to two molecules of zinc in an intertwined motif similar to the BRCA1 RING finger peptide. However, there is no similarity in overall tertiary structure, nor is there direct sequence homology with other RING fingers. Fluorescence energy transfer studies give a dissociation constant of (0.22 +/- 0.03) microM for cobalt(II) binding to site 1, while K2 for cobalt(II) binding was estimated to be 15 +/- 5 microM from ultraviolet absorbance. Studies of two mutant peptides confirm the assignment of binding residues in hdm2 and suggest that the coordination of Thr 455 previously proposed by sequence alignments is incorrect. Structural studies of hdm2 in the presence and absence of metal indicate only a small amount of secondary structure by circular dichroic spectroscopy. Metal binding did not seem to nucleate folding as in the case of two other RING finger proteins. However, distance measurement from fluorescence energy transfer indicated that the Tyr 489 residue was only approximately 14 A away from the first metal center, suggesting that the hdm2 protein exists in a compact form, at least in the presence of metal ion. In summary, hdm2 binds metal and RNA, but the RNA binding does not seem to occur in a zinc-dependent manner.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Prevention of mammalian DNA reduplication, following the release from the mitotic spindle checkpoint, requires p53 protein, but not p53-mediated transcriptional activity.

The tumor suppressor p53 has been identified as a component of a mitotic spindle checkpoint. When exposed to a spindle-disrupting drug such as nocodazole, fibroblasts derived from mice having wild-type p53 are blocked with a 4N content of DNA. Conversely, fibroblasts from p53-deficient mice become polyploid. To learn if transcriptional activation of downstream genes by p53 plays a role in this putative checkpoint, three cell lines were exposed to nocodazole. In one line, p53 protein is not expressed, while the other two cell lines over-express p53. In one of these two lines, the N-terminal transactivation domain is wild-type and in the second, this region contains a mutation that eliminates the ability of the protein to act as a transcription factor. Incubation with nocodazole of cells containing wild-type p53 results in accumulation of both 2N and 4N populations of cells. Under the same conditions, cells containing a transactivation-deficient mutant of p53 accumulate a 4N population of cells, but not a 2N population of cells. Cells entirely deficient in p53 protein become hyperdiploid, and display 8N to 16N DNA content. In all three cell lines, nocodazole elicited an initial increase in mitotic cells, but within 24 h the mitotic index returned to baseline. Expression patterns of cyclins B and D indicated that following entry into mitosis, the cells returned to a G1 state but with 4N DNA content. Subsequent re-duplication of DNA beyond 4N is prevented in cells containing either wild-type or transcriptionally inactive p53 protein. In cells entirely lacking p53 protein, DNA is re-duplicated (without an intervening mitosis) and the cells become hyperdiploid. These experiments indicate that p53 does not participate in the transient mitotic arrest that follows spindle disruption, but is essential to prevent subsequent reduplication of DNA and the resulting hyperdiploid state. This function is intact in a mutant that is transcriptionally inactive.

Amino Acid Substitution↗
PubMed1998

The sequence alteration associated with a mutational hotspot in p53 protects cells from lysis by cytotoxic T lymphocytes specific for a flanking peptide epitope.

A high proportion of tumors arise due to mutation of the p53 tumor suppressor protein. A p53 hotspot mutation at amino acid position 273 from R to H, flanking a peptide epitope that spans residues 264-272, renders cells resistant to killing by human histocompatibility leukocyte antigen (HLA)-A*0201-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) specific for this epitope. Acquisition of the R to H mutation at residue 273 of the human p53 protein promotes tumor growth in vivo by selective escape from recognition by p53.264-272 peptide-specific CTLs. Synthetic 27-mer p53 polypeptides covering the antigenic nonamer region 264-272 of p53 were used as proteasome substrates to investigate whether the R to H mutation at the P1' position of the COOH terminus of the epitope affects proteasome-mediated processing of the protein. Analysis of the generated products by tandem mass spectrometry and the kinetics of polypeptide processing in conjunction with CTL assays demonstrate that the R to H mutation alters proteasomal processing of the p53 protein by inhibiting proteolytic cleavage between residues 272 and 273. This prevents the release of the natural CTL epitope that spans flanking residues 264-272 as well as a putative precursor peptide. These results demonstrate that mutation of p53 not only leads to malignant transformation but may also, in some instances, affect immune surveillance and should be considered in the design of cancer vaccines.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Non-p53 p53RE binding protein, a human transcription factor functionally analogous to P53.

The transactivation activity of the p53 tumor suppressor protein is critical for regulating cell growth and apoptosis. We describe the identification of a transcription factor that is functionally similar to p53 and contains the same DNA binding and transcription activities specific for the p53 responsive DNA element (p53RE). This protein was highly purified through chromatography from HeLa cell extracts. The purified protein was able to bind specifically to the p53RE derived from a p21(waf1) promoter and to stimulate p53RE-dependent transcription but not basal transcription in vitro. Its DNA-binding activity was inhibited by the wild type but not mutant p53RE-containing DNA oligomers. Also, this p53RE-binding activity was found in human p53 null Saos-2 osteosarcoma and H1299 small cell lung carcinoma cells. Interestingly, this activity exhibited a p53RE sequence preference that was distinct from the p53 protein. The activity is neither p53 nor p73, because anti-p53 or anti-73 antibodies were unable to detect this purified protein nor were the antibodies able to alter the p53-like activity, the p53RE-protein complex. These results demonstrate that, besides p73, an additional p53-like protein exists in cells, which is named NBP for non-p53, p53RE binding protein.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1998

Ultraviolet radiation, but not gamma radiation or etoposide-induced DNA damage, results in the phosphorylation of the murine p53 protein at serine-389.

Polyclonal antibodies were produced and purified that selectively react with a p53 epitope containing the murine phosphoserine-389 or the human phosphoserine-392 residue, but not the unphosphorylated epitope. These antibodies, termed alpha-392, were employed to demonstrate that the phosphorylation of this serine-389 residue in the p53 protein occurs in vivo in response to ultraviolet radiation of cells containing the p53 protein. After ultraviolet radiation of cells in culture, p53 levels increase and concomitantly serine-389 is phosphorylated in these cells. By contrast, the serine-389 phosphorylation of the p53 protein was not detected by these antibodies in the increased levels of p53 protein made in response to gamma radiation or the treatment of cells with etoposide. These results demonstrate an ultraviolet responsive and specific phosphorylation site at serine-389 of the mouse or serine-392 of the human p53 protein. Previous studies have demonstrated that this phosphorylation of p53 activates the protein for specific DNA binding. This study demonstrates in vivo a unique phosphorylation site in the p53 protein that responds to a specific type of DNA damage.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

p53 mutations isolated in yeast based on loss of transcription factor activity: similarities and differences from p53 mutations detected in human tumors.

p53 is a transcriptional activator that plays a key role in the integration of signals inducing cell division arrest and programmed cell death. Moreover, p53 is a tumor suppressor gene, mutations of which are the most commonly detected mutations in diverse malignancies. In order to better understand the significance of p53 mutations to human cancer, we isolated mutant alleles of p53 that had lost transcription factor activity in yeast. These mutant alleles were evaluated for their precise changes, their activity against three different p53 responsive enhancers and their ability to act in a transdominant fashion to the wild type allele. While many of the mutations isolated in yeast resembled those found in human tumors, consistent with the importance of transcription factor activity for p53 in mammalian cells, the mutational spectrum obtained was dependent upon the p53 enhancer employed for the selection. Some mutations specifically inactivated p53 in yeast for a single enhancer element. Virtually all missense mutations tested had a dominant inhibitory effect on wild type p53 in yeast. Since some of these transdominant mutations are virtually unknown in human tumors we conclude that transdominance, per se, fails to predict which mutations occur frequently in cancer.

Alleles↗
PubMed1998

Nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling of the hdm2 oncoprotein regulates the levels of the p53 protein via a pathway used by the human immunodeficiency virus rev protein.

The hdm2 gene is overexpressed in a variety of human tumors. Its gene product localizes predominantly to the nucleus, where it acts as an inhibitor of the p53 tumor suppressor gene product. It is shown here that the hdm2 oncoprotein constantly shuttles between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Shuttling of hdm2 does not depend on its interaction with p53. Nuclear export of hdm2 is mediated by a signal sequence similar to the nuclear export signal of the rev protein from human immunodeficiency virus and other lentiviruses. Mutation of this signal sequence abolishes detectable nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling. When fused to a carrier protein, the hdm2 signal sequence can mediate nuclear export after intranuclear microinjection into HeLa cells. The export of hdm2 can be blocked by a competitive inhibitor of rev export, arguing that the export pathways for hdm2 and rev are either overlapping or identical. Inhibition of its export modifies the ability of hdm2 to block p53-mediated transcriptional activation, and hdm2's export function is required to accelerate the degradation of p53. Thus the rev nuclear export pathway may be used to regulate an oncogene product's activity and modulate cellular growth.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

The role of beta-catenin in cell adhesion, signal transduction, and cancer.

Beta-catenin is a multifunctional protein that is both an integral component of adherens junctions and a pivotal member of a signal transduction pathway. The cytoplasmic pool of beta-catenin, which participates in signal transduction, is highly regulated. Binding to the adenomatous polyposis coli tumor suppressor protein can stimulate the degradation of beta-catenin, whereas signaling initiated by the extracellular Wnt-1 oncoprotein or selected mutations in beta-catenin itself results in the accumulation of higher levels of beta-catenin in the cytoplasm. A variety of experiments from several model systems have converged to elucidate the mechanisms involved in this regulation as well as the downstream effectors of beta-catenin. These studies have recently been extended to demonstrate that deregulation of this pathway contributes to cancer in humans.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Nuclear export is required for degradation of endogenous p53 by MDM2 and human papillomavirus E6.

The MDM2 oncoprotein targets the p53 tumor suppressor protein for degradation when the two proteins are expressed in cells. The regulation of p53 levels by MDM2 requires the ability of MDM2 to be exported from the nucleus by utilizing its nuclear export signal (NES). The drug leptomycin B (LMB) blocks the formation of nuclear export complexes consisting of CRM1, RanGTP, and NES-containing proteins. It is predicted that LMB should inhibit nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling by MDM2 and subsequently stabilize p53. This communication demonstrates that LMB treatment of various cell lines led to an increase in the steady-state levels of the p53 protein as a result of an increase in its stability. The stabilized p53 protein localized to the nucleus and was an active transcription factor. These results indicate that the low steady-state levels of p53 in the absence of DNA damage result from p53's nuclear export for cytoplasmic degradation. LMB also led to p53 stabilization in cell lines that contain human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA and express HPV E6, a protein that targets p53 for degradation. MDM2 is not necessary for E6-dependent degradation of p53, as evidenced by the observation that E6 promoted p53 degradation in cells lacking endogenous MDM2. In addition, LMB reduced E6's ability to degrade p53 in the absence of MDM2, demonstrating that complete degradation of p53 by E6 requires nuclear export and therefore likely occurs in cytoplasmic proteasomes. These data suggest that the nuclear export of p53 to the cytoplasm for degradation is a general mechanism for regulating p53 levels.

Biological Transport↗