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J F Mushinski

Publications and source records attributed to J F Mushinski.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Mechanism of apoptosis suppression by phorbol ester in IL-6-starved murine plasmacytomas: role of PKC modulation and cell cycle.

We show here that the mode of cell death in IL-6-starved T1165 and T1198 plasmacytoma cell lines is apoptosis, and that it can be suppressed by phorbol ester (PMA) treatment in a protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated process that involves alpha and/or delta isozymes. PMA-induced PKC activation, but not the depletion that follows it, participates in the suppression of apoptosis. Extended PKC activation is necessary but not sufficient for the apoptosis suppression. In addition, the cells must be in a "competent" state, which appears not to be determined by PKC. We observed two points of "competence" during the time between withdrawal of IL-6 and the start of massive cell death: one, immediately after withdrawal, and another, just before onset of apoptosis, at the time corresponding to maximal accumulation of cells in a G0/G1 block imposed by IL-6 withdrawal. Treatment with PMA and other PKC activators resulted in a shift of the cell population to S phase, lifting the G0/G1 block. We propose a model in which cells are rescued in a certain stage of the G1 phase of cell cycle. Death suppression occurs when a transient PMA-induced PKC activation occurs when a significant number of cells are in this part of G1, allowing them to pass the restriction point safely without initiating the cell death program.

Alkaloids↗

Overexpression of v-abl uniquely cooperates with c-myc dysregulation in induction of plasma cell tumors, bypassing the need for T-lymphocytic help and overcoming T-lymphocytic interference.

We have investigated the effects of T lymphocytes on induction of mouse plasma cell tumors. We show that ABL-MYC, a plasmacytomagenic retrovirus that constitutively expresses v-abl and c-myc, is able to induce plasmacytomas in 100% of athymic BALB/c mice, with or without intraperitoneal pristane pretreatment. Other induction regimens are ineffective under these conditions, indicating that the combination of v-abl and c-myc oncogenes is uniquely able to transform plasma cells in mice that are deficient in T lymphocytes. Furthermore, in the absence of pristane, ABL-MYC-infected athymic congenics developed plasmacytomas in half the time required for euthymic BALB/c mice, suggesting that T lymphocytes can have a negative effect and can retard, but not totally inhibit, the outgrowth of plasmacytomas. This phenomenon could not be appreciated in other regimens of plasmacytoma induction, because only ABL-MYC is sufficient to induce plasmacytomas in athymic mice or in euthymic mice in the absence of pristane pretreatment.

Animals↗

Protein kinase C-zeta reverts v-raf transformation of NIH-3T3 cells.

We have identified protein kinase C-zeta (PKC-zeta) as a novel suppressor of neoplastic transformation caused by the v-raf oncogene. PKC-zeta overexpression drastically retards proliferation, abolishes anchorage-independent growth, and reverts the morphological transformation of v-raf-transformed NIH-3T3 cells. The molecular basis for this effect appears to be a specific induction of junB and egr-1 expression, triggered synergistically by PKC-zeta via a Raf/Mek/MAPK-independent mechanism and v-raf. junB-promoter/CAT assays revealed that PKC-zeta directly targets the junB promoter. The induction of junB and egr-1 is linked to the v-raf transformation-suppressing effect of PKC-zeta as constitutive expression of junB and egr-1 but not of c-jun also abolishes anchorage-independent growth of v-raf-transformed NIH-3T3 cells. Moreover, junB overexpression leads to a retardation of proliferation in these cells. PKC-zeta interferes with the serum inducibility of an AP-1 reporter plasmid in v-raf-transformed NIH-3T3 cells, indicating that PKC-zeta antagonizes transformation and proliferation by down-modulating AP-1 function via induction of junB. In summary, our data suggest that PKC-zeta counteracts v-raf transformation by modulating the expression of the transcription factors junB and egr-1.

3T3 Cells↗

Cloning and characterisation of genes (pkc1 and pkcA) encoding protein kinase C homologues from Trichoderma reesei and Aspergillus niger.

Oligonucleotides, designed on the basis of conserved flanking amino acid sequence segments within the catalytic domain of eukaryotic protein kinase C (PKC) proteins, were used as primers for polymerase chain reactions to amplify a 427-bp chromosomal DNA fragment from the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei. This fragment was then used to isolate genes encoding PKC homologues of T. reesei and Aspergillus niger (pkc1 and pkcA, respectively). The genes contain six (T. reesei) and eight (A. niger) introns, which exhibit notable conservation in position with those found in the corresponding Schizosaccharomyces pombe pkc1+ and Drosophila melanogaster dPKC53Ebr genes. A single 4.2-kb transcript was detected in Northern analyses. The deduced PKC1 (T.reesei, 126 kDa) and PKCA (A. niger, 122 kDa) amino acid sequences reveal domains homologous to the C1 and C3/C4 domains of PKC-related proteins, but lack typical Ca(2+)-binding (C2) domains. Both contain a large, extended N-terminus, which shares a high degree of similarity with the corresponding regions of Saccharomyces cerevisiae PKC1 and S. pombe pkc1+ and pkc2+ proteins, but which is not present in PKCs of Dictyostelium or higher eukaryotes. This extended region can be divided into three subdomains; the N-terminal one contains a hydrophobic helix-turn-helix motif, whereas the C-terminal one contains potential targets for proteolytic processing. A polyclonal antiserum raised against the pseudosubstrate-binding domain of PKC1 recognizes in T. reesei a 115-120 kDa protein in Western blots. Expression of pkc1 cDNA in insect cells directs the synthesis of a PKC1 protein of similar size. The T. reesei PKC1 protein was partially purified and some of its properties examined: it is stimulated about twofold by phospholipids or phorbol esters but is not stimulated by Ca2+. We conclude that these PKC proteins from filamentous fungi represent the Ca(2+)-insensitive fungal homologues of the nPKC family.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Destabilization of Raf-1 by geldanamycin leads to disruption of the Raf-1-MEK-mitogen-activated protein kinase signalling pathway.

The serine/threonine kinase Raf-1 functions downstream of Rats in a signal transduction cascade which transmits mitogenic stimuli from the plasma membrane to the nucleus. Raf-1 integrates signals coming from extracellular factors and, in turn, activates its substrate, MEK kinase. MEK activates mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), which phosphorylates other kinases as well as transcription factors. Raf-1 exists in a complex with HSP90 and other proteins. The benzoquinone ansamycin geldanamycin (GA) binds to HSP90 and disrupts the Raf-1-HSP90 multimolecular complex, leading to destabilization of Raf-1. In this study, we examined whether Raf-1 destabilization is sufficient to block the Raf-1-MEK-MAPK signalling pathway and whether GA specifically inactivates the Raf-1 component of this pathway. Using the model system of NIH 3T3 cells stimulated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), we show that GA does not affect the ability of protein kinase C alpha to be activated by phorbol esters, but it does block activation of MEK and MAPK. Further, GA does not decrease the activity of constitutively active MEK in transiently transfected cells. Finally, disruption of the Raf-1-MEK-MAPK signalling pathway by GA prevents both the PMA-induced proliferative response and PMA-induced activation of a MAPK-sensitive nuclear transcription factor. Thus, we demonstrate that interaction between HSP90 and Raf-1 is a sine qua non for Raf stability and function as a signal transducer and that the effects observed cannot be attributed to a general impairment of protein kinase function.

3T3 Cells↗

Identification of the primary growth response gene, ST2/T1, as a gene whose expression is differentially regulated by different protein kinase C isozymes.

Individual protein kinase C isozymes have been shown to play different roles in mediating proliferation, differentiation and transformation, but it is not known to what extent these effects involve induction of expression of particular genes. To explore the differential gene expression that might be induced by activation of different PKC isozymes, we stably transfected NIH 3T3 cells with expression vectors that encode the isozymes PKC-alpha, -beta II, -gamma, -delta, -epsilon, -sigma and -eta. Using differential display-reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction we isolated a small cDNA that encodes a portion of the primary response gene, ST2 (also referred to as T1 or DER4), and we confirmed by RNA blot studies that ST2/T1 expression is differentially regulated by PKC isozymes. ST2/T1 mRNA is undetectable in the unstimulated parental NIH 3T3 cells that express only the alpha isozyme of PKC, but it can be induced by phorbol ester treatment. Clones that overexpress PKC-alpha, -delta or -epsilon similarly do not express ST2/T1 until they are stimulated with phorbol esters, which induces expression of ST2/T1 with kinetics similar to wild-type NIH 3T3 but to different extents. In contrast, ST2/T1 mRNA is already present in unstimulated cells that overexpress PKC-beta II, -gamma, -sigma and -eta, but phorbol ester greatly enhances ST2/T1 expression in these cells. These results suggest a differential role for PKC isozymes in mediating the ST2/T1 expression that is induced by growth stimuli.

3T3 Cells↗

Immunocytochemical localization of eight protein kinase C isozymes overexpressed in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. Isoform-specific association with microfilaments, Golgi, endoplasmic reticulum, and nuclear and cell membranes.

We have used immunocytochemical analyses to characterize the subcellular distribution of protein kinase C (PKC)-alpha, -beta I, -beta II, -gamma, -delta, -epsilon, -zeta, and -eta in NIH 3T3 fibroblasts that overexpress these different PKC isozymes. Immunofluorescence studies and Western blotting with antibodies specific for individual isoforms revealed that before activation the majority of the PKCs are not membrane-bound and are diffusely distributed throughout the cytoplasm. In addition, a fraction of PKC-delta and -eta appears membrane-bound and concentrated in the Golgi apparatus. Activation of each isozyme's kinase activity (with the exception of PKC-zeta) by treatment of these cells with the phorbol ester 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate results in isozyme-specific alterations of cell morphology, as well as in a rapid, selective redistribution of the different PKC isozymes to distinct subcellular structures. Within minutes after 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate treatment, PKC-alpha and -epsilon concentrate at cell margins. In addition, PKC-alpha accumulates in the endoplasmic reticulum, PKC-beta II associates with actin-rich microfilaments of the cytoskeleton, PKC-gamma accumulates in Golgi organelles, and PKC-epsilon associates with nuclear membranes. Our results demonstrate that each activated PKC isozyme specifically associates with a particular cellular structure, presumably containing the substrate for that isozyme. These findings support the hypothesis that PKC substrate specificity in vivo is mediated, at least in part, by the restricted subcellular locale for each PKC isozyme and its target protein.

3T3 Cells↗

Overexpressed protein kinase C-delta and -epsilon subtypes in NIH 3T3 cells exhibit differential subcellular localization and differential regulation of sodium-dependent phosphate uptake.

To examine the biological properties of protein kinase C (PKC)-delta and -epsilon NIH 3T3 cells were stably transfected with metallothionein-based expression vectors that overexpressed these isoforms. In addition to their inducibility by Zn2+, the protein levels of these two PKC subtypes, but not that of endogenous PKC-alpha, increased with increasing cell density. An unexpected role for Mg2+ in the subcellular localization of PKC-delta was found. This isoenzyme was predominantly membrane-associated when cell fractionation was carried out in the absence of Mg2+ but cytosolic when the fractionation was performed in the presence of 10 mM Mg2+. In contrast, the predominant localization of cytosolic PKC-alpha and of membrane-associated PKC-epsilon was not influenced by Mg2+. In vivo and in vitro studies of [3H]phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate binding in the overexpressing cell lines confirmed the cytosolic localization of PKC-alpha, the membrane-associated state of PKC-epsilon, and the presence of PKC-delta at both locations. Readdition of serum for 5 min to serum-starved, quiescent cell lines initiated the redistribution of PKC-alpha to the particulate fraction, while the location of PKC-delta and PKC-epsilon was not affected. Zn(2+)-induced overexpression of PKC-delta- and PKC-epsilon-stimulated sodium-dependent phosphate uptake. Overexpression of PKC-delta caused an increase in the Vmax of Na+/P(i) uptake, while overexpression of PKC-epsilon resulted in a decrease in Km for orthophosphate. A further stimulation of Na+/P(i) uptake in the overexpressing cells could be achieved by phorbol ester activation of endogenous PKC-alpha. These results suggest that each of the three PKC isotypes contribute to the regulation of sodium-dependent phosphate uptake, but through distinct mechanisms.

3T3 Cells↗

PANG, a gene encoding a neuronal glycoprotein, is ectopically activated by intracisternal A-type particle long terminal repeats in murine plasmacytomas.

Plasmacytomagenesis provides a murine model to decipher progressive genetic events culminating in a B-cell neoplasia. Activation of the c-myc protooncogene by chromosomal translocation is considered an initiating event. Intracisternal A-type particles (IAPs) are defective retroviral-like structures present in the endoplasmic reticulum of plasmacytomas (PCTs). IAP proviral insertions have been documented to engender negative or positive effects on the expression of nearby cellular genes. We have isolated a gene, PANG (plasmacytoma-associated neuronal glycoprotein), that is ectopically transcribed in a number of PCTs due to IAP long terminal repeat (LTR) activation. A full-length PANG cDNA was isolated from an MPC-11 plasma cell tumor cDNA library and encodes a polypeptide of about 113 kDa with six immunoglobulin C2-like and four type III fibronectin-like domains. PANG bears a striking resemblance to axonal glycoproteins TAG-1 and F11 known to function in neuronal outgrowth. An extensive survey revealed a predominant 3.6-kb PANG transcript in 60% (30 of 50) of PCTs as well as unique smaller and larger species. All other normal and transformed lymphoid and nonlymphoid cell lines and normal tissues were negative for PANG expression except for the brain, wherein unique 4.0- and 6.1-kb transcripts were detected. Reverse transcriptase PCR analysis revealed IAP LTR fusion to PANG mRNAs in five PCTs and in a neuroblastoma line. The 5' end of a mouse brain PANG cDNA was identical to the MPC-11 PANG transcript except for the precise replacement of its 5' LTR sequence.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Tyrosine phosphorylation of protein kinase C-delta in response to its activation.

Retroviral vectors containing five different protein kinase C (PKC) isoenzymes (alpha, delta, epsilon, eta, zeta) were expressed in 32D hematopoietic cells and NIH-3T3 fibroblasts. In an effort to investigate signaling events regulated by PKC activation, we analyzed whether tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins would occur after 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) treatment of the various transfectants. While no detectable tyrosine-specific phosphorylation was observed after treatment of the majority of the transfectants, pronounced TPA-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of an 82-kDa protein was detected in the 32D/PKC-delta and NIH-3T3/PKC-delta lines. Interestingly, the 82-kDa substrate proved to be PKC-delta itself. Tyrosine phosphorylation of purified PKC-delta by src family or receptor tyrosine kinases in vitro enhanced PKC-delta activity, suggesting that tyrosine phosphorylation of PKC-delta may positively affect its function.

3T3 Cells↗

Induction of plasmacytomas that secrete monoclonal anti-peptide antibodies by retroviral transformation.

ABL-MYC, a retrovirus that coexpresses v-abl and c-myc, was used to infect six BALB/c mice that had been immunized twice with a KLH-conjugated peptide that consisted of the 18 carboxyterminal amino acids of protein kinase C-eta (PKC-eta). All mice developed transplantable, monoclonal plasmacytomas, and five out of six plasmacytomas secreted antigen-specific antibodies, even after transplantation. All these antibodies recognized PKC-eta on Western blots of crude cell lysates and did not cross react with other isoforms of the PKC family.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Association of elevated levels of protein kinase C-zeta mRNA and protein with murine B-lymphocytic neoplasia.

Expression of mRNA for protein kinase C (PKC)-alpha, -beta, -gamma, -delta, -epsilon, -zeta, and -eta has been shown, by polymerase chain reaction-generated isozyme-specific probes, to be cell-type -and differentiation-stage-specific in mouse hemopoietic cells. Recently, we cloned a 2.2-kb mouse PKC -zeta cDNA. In this study, we used the nearly full-length cDNA PKC-zeta probe to demonstrate that expression of PKC-zeta was significantly elevated in lymphocytic neoplasms at both the mRNA and protein levels. Normal brain, kidney, and liver contain 2.4- and 4.4-kb mRNAs, whereas normal lymphoid organs (spleen, thymus, and lymph nodes) express barely detectable amounts of PKC-zeta. These vanishingly small levels of PKC-zeta mRNA did not increase when polyclonal spleen B-cell proliferation and differentiation were induced in vivo with anti-immunoglobulin D antiserum or in vitro with lipopolysaccharide. In contrast, 2.4-kb transcripts of PKC-zeta are abundant in virtually all neoplastic B-lymphocytic cell lines. Furthermore, additional transcripts of a novel size, about 7 and 8 kb, were found in several mature B-cell lymphomas and plasma cell tumors. Western blot analysis of protein extracts from normal B cells and hemopoietic tumors confirmed that these quantitative differences in PKC-zeta mRNA also exist at the protein level. That is, only trace amounts of PKC-zeta protein were detectable in pro-B cells and pre-B cells, but abundant amounts of this isoform were found in protein extracts from most B-cell lymphomas and plasma cell tumors. These findings suggest that this atypical member of the PKC multigene family participate in the multistep process of malignant transformation of lymphocytes.

Animals↗

Neutralization of bovine papillomavirus by antibodies to L1 and L2 capsid proteins.

We have generated four mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to bovine papillomavirus virions that bound type-specific, adjacent, and conformationally dependent epitopes on the L1 major capsid protein. All four MAbs were neutralizing at ratios of 1 MAb molecule per 5 to 25 L1 molecules, but only three effectively blocked binding of the virus to the cell surface. Therefore, antibodies can prevent papillomavirus infection by at least two mechanisms: inhibition of cell surface receptor binding and a subsequent step in the infectious pathway. The neutralizing epitopes of the bovine papillomavirus L2 minor capsid protein were mapped to the N-terminal half of L2 by blocking the neutralizing activity of full-length L2 antiserum with bacterially expressed peptides of L2. In addition, rabbit antiserum raised against amino acids 45 to 173 of L2 had a neutralizing titer of 1,000, confirming that at least part of the N terminus of L2 is exposed on the virion surface.

Animals↗

DNA repair defects associated with chromosomal translocation breaksite regions.

Using an assay that measures the removal of UV-induced pyrimidine dimers in specific DNA sequences, we have found that the Pvt-1, immunoglobulin H-C alpha (IgH-C alpha), and IgL-kappa loci are poorly repaired in normal B lymphoblasts from plasmacytoma-susceptible BALB/cAnPt mice. Breaksites in these genes are associated with the chromosomal translocations that are found in > 95% of BALB/cAnPt plasmacytomas. In contrast to those from BALB/cAnPt mice, B lymphoblasts from plasmacytoma-resistant DBA/2N mice rapidly repair Pvt-1, IgH-C alpha, and IgL-kappa. Further, (BALB/cAnPt x DBA/2N)F1 hybrids, which are resistant to plasmacytoma development, carry an efficient (DBA/2N-like) repair phenotype. Analysis of allele-specific repair in the IgH-C alpha locus indicates that efficient repair is controlled by dominant, trans-acting factors. In the F1 heterozygotes, these factors promote efficient repair of BALB/cAnPt IgH-C alpha gene sequences. The same sequences are poorly repaired in the BALB/cAnPt parental strain. Analysis of the strand specificity of repair indicates that both strand-selective and nonselective forms of repair determine repair efficiency at the gene level in nonimmortalized murine B lymphoblasts.

Animals↗

Expression of c-cbl proto-oncogene is modulated during differentiation but not during induction of proliferation.

The proto-oncogene c-cbl is expressed as two mRNAs, ca. 10.5 and 3.1 kb, both of which appear to be functional inasmuch as both can be found on polyribosomes in tissues that express both mRNAs. The function of the 120 kDa c-cbl protein is not known, but its primary structure resembles that of a DNA-binding transcription factor with a basic region, a nuclear localization sequence, a zinc finger-like motif and a leucine zipper. To test whether expression of this protein resembles that of regulatory proteins, we studied expression of c-cbl mRNA and protein in differentiating cells and in proliferating cells, conditions in which expression of regulatory proteins commonly is modulated. Differentiation of both erythroleukemia cells and teratocarcinoma cells showed a decrease in c-cbl expression, with kinetics similar to those of transcription factors that are immediate early response genes. Unlike early response genes, however, c-cbl mRNA showed a very long half life in B lymphocytes. Further, in fibroblasts and spleen cells that were induced to proliferate, c-cbl mRNA expression did not change, and expression of c-cbl protein did not change during any stage of the cell cycle. These characteristics indicate that c-cbl does not belong to the immediate early response type of transcription factor. Yet when c-cbl is truncated, as in v-cbl, the protein does enter the nucleus and bind DNA, and it contributes to neoplastic transformation of B lymphocytes and fibroblasts. These findings indicate that the regulation of the c-cbl proto-oncogene is different from that of the proto-oncogenes identified to date and suggest that c-cbl belongs to a new class of proto-oncogenes.

3T3 Cells↗

Molecular cloning, sequencing, chromosomal localization and expression of mouse p21 (Waf1).

The recent discovery that expression of Waf1 (p21), an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases, is induced by the tumor suppressor p53 provides an important linkage between growth suppression and the cell cycle. We report here the cloning and sequencing of a mouse p21 cDNA that contains the entire coding region. Hybridization of the mouse p21 probe in Southern blot analyses confirms that p21 is a single-copy gene and that the corresponding locus, Waf1, lies proximal to H-2 on mouse chromosome 17. In northern analyses, the expression of p21 is found in most normal mouse tissues, but a surprising lack of correlation is found between mRNA levels of p21 and p53. In order to determine which regions of p21 are most evolutionarily conserved, we have compared the cDNA sequences for the entire p21 coding region in 13 different mouse strains or species and the human p21 sequence. We conclude that two regions (corresponding to human codons 21-60 and 130-164) are strongly conserved in p21 and that these regions may represent domains that are especially critical to a functional p21 protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A novel c-myc-activating reciprocal T(12;15) chromosomal translocation juxtaposes S alpha to Pvt-1 in a mouse plasmacytoma.

Oil-induced murine plasmacytomas typically carry c-myc-activating non-random reciprocal chromosomal translocations that take the form of either a T(12;15) that fuses the c-myc proto-oncogene to an immunoglobulin heavy chain switch region or a T(6;15) that juxtaposes the Pvt-1 locus, located 220 kb 3' of c-myc, to the immunoglobulin light china locus, C kappa. In this report we show that the plasmacytoma ABPC 60 harbors a novel c-myc-activating T(12;15) in which the chromosome 15 breakpoint occurs in the Pvt-1 region, resulting in the head-to-tail juxtaposition of the Pvt-1 major breakpoint cluster to the IgA switch region. Restriction mapping and nucleotide sequencing of this atypical translocation indicate that a paracentric inversion in chromosome 12 must have preceeded the translocation. This is the first example of a T(12;15) with a break 3' of the c-myc gene. The rearrangement places the 3' C alpha enhancer (3' alpha E) greater than 200 kb downstream of the c-myc promoters, however c-myc mRNA levels are similar to those observed in plasmacytomas with typical T(12;15)s that translocate 3' alpha E much closer (15-25 kb) and upstream of c-myc. The up regulation of c-myc that results from this rearrangement is thought to be brought about by the interaction of the c-myc promoters with the IgA enhancer element that has been strategically relocated into the Pvt-1 region.

Animals↗