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At least 865 records · Page 48Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

Expression of retinoblastoma protein and P16 proteins in classic Hodgkin lymphoma: relationship with expression of p53 and presence of Epstein-Barr virus in the regulation of cell growth and death.

Deregulation of several genes involved in cell cycle control has been reported in classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL). This study aimed to investigate the expression of tumor suppressor proteins (P16(INK4A), retinoblastoma protein, and p53) in cHL in relation to the proliferation and apoptosis of Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg (H/RS) cells, correlating with the status of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). A total of 66 cHL cases and 10 nonneoplastic reactive lymphoid tissues were retrieved from the archives. Immunohistochemistry technique was used for the detection of protein expression. Presence of EBV infection was detected by EBV early RNA in situ hybridization. p16(INK4A) gene deletion status was assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridization technique. Expression of P16(INK4A) was observed in 49.2% of the cases, whereas positive retinoblastoma protein and p53 expressions in the H/RS cells were detected in 89.1% and 81.5% of the cases, respectively. Epstein-Barr virus positivity was detected in 53.0% of the cases. Proliferation marker, Ki-67 expression, was observed in 86.7% of the cases. There was no significant correlation between the expression of the various tumor suppressor proteins and Ki-67. Retinoblastoma protein and p53 were also not associated with the presence of EBV. An inverse relationship was observed between the expression of P16(INK4A) and the presence of EBV. There were no significant homozygous or hemizygous deletions of the p16(INK4A) gene. However, an aberrant copy number of chromosome 9 with the loss of one or more p16(INK4A) loci was detected in all cases assessable by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Loss of function of one or more tumor suppressor proteins may be involved in defective cell regulation of H/RS cells. Epstein-Barr virus may have a role in inhibiting P16(INK4A) expression, thus resulting in a perturbed p16(INK4A)-Rb cell cycle checkpoint.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Minichromosome maintenance proteins are direct targets of the ATM and ATR checkpoint kinases.

The minichromosome maintenance (MCM) 2-7 helicase complex functions to initiate and elongate replication forks. Cell cycle checkpoint signaling pathways regulate DNA replication to maintain genomic stability. We describe four lines of evidence that ATM/ATR-dependent (ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated/ATM- and Rad3-related) checkpoint pathways are directly linked to three members of the MCM complex. First, ATM phosphorylates MCM3 on S535 in response to ionizing radiation. Second, ATR phosphorylates MCM2 on S108 in response to multiple forms of DNA damage and stalling of replication forks. Third, ATR-interacting protein (ATRIP)-ATR interacts with MCM7. Fourth, reducing the amount of MCM7 in cells disrupts checkpoint signaling and causes an intra-S-phase checkpoint defect. Thus, the MCM complex is a platform for multiple DNA damage-dependent regulatory signals that control DNA replication.

Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins↗
PubMed2005

Artemis links ATM to double strand break rejoining.

Ataxia telangiectasia mutated protein (ATM) is a damage response kinase that initiates a signal transduction response to the presence of DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) regulating cell cycle checkpoint arrest and apoptosis. Indirect evidence has argued that A-T cells also harbour a repair defect since unrepaired DSBs can be observed in non-replicating A-T cells after ionising radiation (IR). The basis underlying such a repair defect has remained unexplained, however. Artemis, a nuclease, whose activity is modified by phosphorylation in vitro, was recently identified as a novel ATM substrate. Artemis and ATM function in a common pathway required for the processing of a subset of double stranded DNA ends induced by IR prior to rejoining by non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ). This subset of DSBs are those normally rejoined with slow kinetics. Additional components of the ATM signal transduction pathway, Nbs1, Mre11, H2AX and 53BP1, are also required for this component of DSB repair. This process substantially contributes to survival post irradiation. Our findings add a new dimension to the ATM signal transduction response demonstrating ATM-dependent regulation of an end-processing mechanism that functions during the cell cycle delay effected by ATM.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

MDC1/NFBD1: a key regulator of the DNA damage response in higher eukaryotes.

The protein MDC1/NFBD1 contains a forkhead-associated (FHA) domain and two BRCA1 carboxyl-terminal (BRCT) domains. It interacts with several proteins involved in DNA damage repair and checkpoint signalling, and is phosphorylated in response to DNA damage and during mitosis. Upon treatment of cultured human cells with DNA damaging agents, MDC1/NFBD1 translocates to sites of DNA lesions, where it collaborates with other proteins and with phosphorylated histone H2AX to mediate the accumulation of checkpoint and repair factors into nuclear foci. Down-regulation of MDC1/NFBD1 expression levels by small interfering RNA (siRNA) renders cells hyper-sensitive to DNA damaging agents and leads to defects in cell cycle checkpoint activation and apoptosis. Thus, MDC1/NFBD1 appears to be a key regulator of the DNA damage response in mammalian cells.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed1998

Checking on the cell cycle.

Cell cycle checkpoint controls play a major role in preventing the development of cancer [see Sherr, 1994, for a more detailed discussion]. Major checkpoints occur at the G1 to S phase transition and at the G2 to M phase transitions. Cancer is a genetic disease that arises from defects in growth-promoting oncogenes and growth-suppressing tumor suppressor genes. The p53 tumor suppressor protein plays a role in both the G1/S phase and G2/M phase checkpoints. The mechanism for this activity at the G1/S phase checkpoint is well understood, but its mechanism of action at the G2/M phase checkpoint remains to be elucidated. The p53 protein is thought to prevent chromosomal replication specifically during the cell cycle if DNA damage is present. In addition, p53 can induce a type of programmed cell death, or apoptosis, under certain circumstances. The general goal of p53 appears to be the prevention of cell propagation if mutations are present. The p53 protein acts as a transcription factor by binding to certain specific genes and regulating their expression. One of these, WAF1 or Cip1, is activated by p53 and is an essential downstream mediator of p53-dependent G1/S phase checkpoint control. The function of p53 can be suppressed by another gene, MDM2, which is overexpressed in certain tumorigenic mouse cells and binds to p53 protein, thus inhibiting its transcriptional activation function. Other cellular proteins have been found to bind to p53, but the significance of the associations is not completely understood in all cases. The large number of human cancers in which the p53 gene is altered makes this gene a good candidate for cancer screening approaches.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Principles of tumor suppression.

Molecular genetic studies of familial cancer syndromes identified and defined the recessive nature of tumor suppressor genes and resolved the paradox of why tumors arising in such families exhibited an autosomally dominant pattern of inheritance. Subsequent characterization of tumor suppressor proteins revealed their widespread involvement in sporadic cancers and pinpointed key mechanisms that protect animals against tumor development. We now recognize that tumor suppressor genes regulate diverse cellular activities, including cell cycle checkpoint responses, detection and repair of DNA damage, protein ubiquitination and degradation, mitogenic signaling, cell specification, differentiation and migration, and tumor angiogenesis. Their study has become a centerpiece of contemporary cancer research.

ADP-Ribosylation Factors↗
PubMed1997

The p53-regulated cyclin G gene promotes cell growth: p53 downstream effectors cyclin G and Gadd45 exert different effects on cisplatin chemosensitivity.

Among the p53-regulated genes that have been identified thus far, cyclin G is a relatively recent one. We conducted a series of experiments aimed at elucidating cyclin G function. Ectopic overexpression of cyclin G in human RKO colon carcinoma cells accelerated cell growth. Transfection of normal human fibroblasts with the cyclin G expression vector promoted clonal expansion. Cyclin G immune complexes isolated from the transfected cells exhibited appreciable levels of cyclin-dependent kinase activity, as evidenced using histone H1 as a substrate. The retinoblastoma protein, pRb, was detectable in cyclin G immune complexes, raising the possibility that Rb may be one mediator of cyclin G action. Cyclin G-overexpressing cells were more sensitive to cisplatin cytotoxicity than the parent cells, probably because cyclin G overexpression overrides cell cycle checkpoint(s). Overexpression of another p53-regulated gene, GADD45, by contrast, protected cells from cisplatin killing. These findings suggest that different downstream effectors of the p53 pathway may exert different effects on cellular survival after treatment with cancer chemotherapy drugs such as cisplatin.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed2003

Caffeine and human DNA metabolism: the magic and the mystery.

The ability of caffeine to reverse cell cycle checkpoint function and enhance genotoxicity after DNA damage was examined in telomerase-expressing human fibroblasts. Caffeine reversed the ATM-dependent S and G2 checkpoint responses to DNA damage induced by ionizing radiation (IR), as well as the ATR- and Chk1-dependent S checkpoint response to ultraviolet radiation (UVC). Remarkably, under conditions in which IR-induced G2 delay was reversed by caffeine, IR-induced G1 arrest was not. Incubation in caffeine did not increase the percentage of cells entering the S phase 6-8h after irradiation; ATM-dependent phosphorylation of p53 and transactivation of p21(Cip1/Waf1) post-IR were resistant to caffeine. Caffeine alone induced a concentration- and time-dependent inhibition of DNA synthesis. It inhibited the entry of human fibroblasts into S phase by 70-80% regardless of the presence or absence of wildtype ATM or p53. Caffeine also enhanced the inhibition of cell proliferation induced by UVC in XP variant fibroblasts. This effect was reversed by expression of DNA polymerase eta, indicating that translesion synthesis of UVC-induced pyrimidine dimers by DNA pol eta protects human fibroblasts against UVC genotoxic effects even when other DNA repair functions are compromised by caffeine.

Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins↗
PubMed1998

Regulation of telomere length by checkpoint genes in Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

We have studied telomere length in Schizosaccharomyces pombe strains carrying mutations affecting cell cycle checkpoints, DNA repair, and regulation of the Cdc2 protein kinase. Telomere shortening was found in rad1, rad3, rad17, and rad26 mutants. Telomere lengths in previously characterized rad1 mutants paralleled the replication checkpoint proficiency of those mutants. In contrast, rad9, chk1, hus1, and cds1 mutants had intact telomeres. No difference in telomere length was seen in mutants affected in the regulation of Cdc2, whereas some of the DNA repair mutants examined had slightly longer telomeres than did the wild type. Overexpression of the rad1(+) gene caused telomeres to elongate slightly. The kinetics of telomere shortening was monitored by following telomere length after disruption of the rad1(+) gene; the rate was approximately 1 nucleotide per generation. Wild-type telomere length could be restored by reintroduction of the wild-type rad1(+) gene. Expression of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae RCK1 protein kinase gene, which suppresses the radiation and hydroxyurea sensitivity of Sz. pombe checkpoint mutants, was able to attenuate telomere shortening in rad1 mutant cells and to increase telomere length in a wild-type background. The functional effects of telomere shortening in rad1 mutants were assayed by measuring loss of a linear and a circular minichromosome. A minor increase in loss rate was seen with the linear minichromosome, and an even smaller difference compared with wild-type was detected with the circular plasmid.

CDC2 Protein Kinase↗
PubMed2001

Dynamic disruptions in nuclear envelope architecture and integrity induced by HIV-1 Vpr.

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) Vpr expression halts the proliferation of human cells at or near the G2 cell-cycle checkpoint. The transition from G2 to mitosis is normally controlled by changes in the state of phosphorylation and subcellular compartmentalization of key cell-cycle regulatory proteins. In studies of the intracellular trafficking of these regulators, we unexpectedly found that wild-type Vpr, but not Vpr mutants impaired for G2 arrest, induced transient, localized herniations in the nuclear envelope (NE). These herniations were associated with defects in the nuclear lamina. Intermittently, these herniations ruptured, resulting in the mixing of nuclear and cytoplasmic components. These Vpr-induced NE changes probably contribute to the observed cell-cycle arrest.

Active Transport, Cell Nucleus↗
PubMed2003

Reduced apoptotic response to camptothecin in CHO cells deficient in XRCC3.

Eukaryotic cells respond to DNA damage by activation of DNA repair, cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. Several reports suggest that such responses may be coordinated by communication between damage repair proteins and proteins signalling other cellular responses. The Rad51-guided homologous recombination (HR) repair plays an important role in recognition and repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) and cells deficient in this repair pathway become hypersensitive to agents that induce DSBs. In the work reported here we investigated the possible role of the Rad51-like HR proteins XRCC2, XRCC3 and Rad51C in apoptosis following the induction of DSBs by camptothecin. We show that a hamster cell line (irs1SF) deficient in the HR repair gene XRCC3 exhibits altered death and cell-cycle checkpoint responses following treatment with growth inhibitory concentrations of camptothecin. In contrast, hamster cells defective in XRCC2 (irs1) or Rad51C (irs3) treated with equally toxic doses of this agent exhibit a rapid induction of apoptosis similar to that seen in the parental cell line or mutant cells corrected for the HR defect. These results suggest that XRCC3 activity may be necessary for efficient entry into apoptosis in response to DSBs.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

A MAP kinase-dependent spindle assembly checkpoint in Xenopus egg extracts.

Like early Xenopus embryos, extracts made from Xenopus eggs lack the cell cycle checkpoint that keeps anaphase from occurring before spindle assembly is complete. At very high densities of sperm nuclei, however, microtubule depolymerization arrests the extracts in mitosis. The arrested extracts have high levels of maturation-promoting factor activity, fail to degrade cyclin B, and contain activated ERK2/mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase. The addition of the purified MAP kinase-specific phosphatase MKP-1 demonstrates that MAP kinase activity is required for both the establishment and maintenance of the mitotic arrest induced by spindle depolymerization. Increased calcium concentrations, which release unfertilized frog eggs from their natural arrest in metaphase of meiosis II, have no effect on the mitotic arrest.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

DNA damage-induced apoptosis.

Unicellular organisms respond to the presence of DNA lesions by activating cell cycle checkpoint and repair mechanisms, while multicellular animals have acquired the further option of eliminating damaged cells by triggering apoptosis. Defects in DNA damage-induced apoptosis contribute to tumorigenesis and to the resistance of cancer cells to a variety of therapeutic agents. The intranuclear mechanisms that signal apoptosis after DNA damage overlap with those that initiate cell cycle arrest and DNA repair, and the early events in these pathways are highly conserved. In addition, multiple independent routes have recently been traced by which nuclear DNA damage can be signalled to the mitochondria, tipping the balance in favour of cell death rather than repair and survival. Here, we review current knowledge of nuclear DNA damage signalling, giving particular attention to interactions between these nuclear events and apoptotic processes in other intracellular compartments.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed2005

Caffeine inhibits human immunodeficiency virus type 1 transduction of nondividing cells.

Caffeine is an efficient inhibitor of DNA repair and DNA damage-activated checkpoints. We have shown recently that caffeine inhibits retroviral transduction of dividing cells, most likely by blocking postintegration repair. This effect may be mediated at least in part by a cellular target of caffeine, the ataxia telangiectasia-mutated and Rad3-related (ATR) kinase. In this study, we present evidence that caffeine also inhibits efficient transduction of nondividing cells. We observed reduced transduction in caffeine-treated growth-arrested cells as well as caffeine-treated terminally differentiated human neurons and macrophages. Furthermore, this deficiency was observed with a human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) vector lacking Vpr, indicating that the effect is independent of the presence of this viral protein in the infecting virion. Finally, we show that HIV-1 transduction of nocodazole-arrested cells is reduced in cells that express an ATR dominant-negative protein (kinase-dead ATR [ATRkd]) and that the residual transduction of ATRkd-expressing cells is relatively resistant to caffeine. Taken together, these data suggest that the effect(s) of caffeine on HIV-1 transduction is mediated at least partly by the inhibition of the ATR pathway but is not dependent on the caffeine-mediated inhibition of cell cycle checkpoints.

Caffeine↗
PubMed2003

Phenotypic analysis of separation-of-function alleles of MEI-41, Drosophila ATM/ATR.

ATM/ATR kinases act as signal transducers in eukaryotic DNA damage and replication checkpoints. Mutations in ATM/ATR homologs have pleiotropic effects that range from sterility to increased killing by genotoxins in humans, mice, and Drosophila. Here we report the generation of a null allele of mei-41, Drosophila ATM/ATR homolog, and the use of it to document a semidominant effect on a larval mitotic checkpoint and methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) sensitivity. We also tested the role of mei-41 in a recently characterized checkpoint that delays metaphase/anaphase transition after DNA damage in cellular embryos. We then compare five existing mei-41 alleles to the null with respect to known phenotypes (female sterility, cell cycle checkpoints, and MMS resistance). We find that not all phenotypes are affected equally by each allele, i.e., the functions of MEI-41 in ensuring fertility, cell cycle regulation, and resistance to genotoxins are genetically separable. We propose that MEI-41 acts not in a single rigid signal transduction pathway, but in multiple molecular contexts to carry out its many functions. Sequence analysis identified mutations, which, for most alleles, fall in the poorly characterized region outside the kinase domain; this allowed us to tentatively identify additional functional domains of MEI-41 that could be subjected to future structure-function studies of this key molecule.

Alleles↗
PubMed1995

Effects of phleomycin-induced DNA damage on the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe cell cycle.

The effect of phleomycin, a bleomycin-like antibiotic, has been investigated in the fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe. We report that in response to phleomycin-induced DNA damage, growth was inhibited and S. pombe cells arrested in the G2-phase of the cell cycle. DNA repair mutants rad9 and rad17 did not arrest and were hypersensitive to phleomycin. Cell cycle mutants that entered mitosis without monitoring the completion of DNA replication also displayed an increased sensitivity to this DNA-damaging agent. Thus, phleomycin could be used as a tool in the fission yeast S. pombe model system for the study of DNA damage and cell cycle checkpoints, or as a new selective agent.

Cell Cycle↗
PubMed1996

The product of the ATM gene is a 370-kDa nuclear phosphoprotein.

Neuronal degeneration, gonadal abnormalities, and immune deficiency are some of the major manifestations of the hereditary disease ataxia telangiectasia, which is caused by mutations in a single gene, designated ATM. Here we show that the product of the ATM gene is a 370-kDa nuclear phosphoprotein. Because ATM knockout mice recapitulate the clinical symptoms of the human disease, we have examined ATM gene expression in mice. In mouse embryos at gestation day 13.5, ATM mRNA is expressed ubiquitously, with high levels detected in the nervous system and lung. Elevated ATM mRNA levels were also found in the thymus of mouse embryos at gestation day 18.5, a time when V(D)J recombination is occurring. In adult mice, ATM protein was detected in all tissues examined and was present at elevated levels in the testis, spleen, and thymus. The ATM expression pattern and the nuclear localization of the ATM protein are consistent with the proposed function of ATM in the activation of cell cycle checkpoints, DNA repair, and genetic recombination.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Cancer and aging: the importance of telomeres in genome maintenance.

Telomeres are the specialized DNA-protein structures that cap the ends of linear chromosomes, thereby protecting them from degradation and fusion by cellular DNA repair processes. In vertebrate cells, telomeres consist of several kilobase pairs of DNA having the sequence TTAGGG, a few hundred base pairs of single-stranded DNA at the 3' end of the telomeric DNA tract, and a host of proteins that organize the telomeric double and single-stranded DNA into a protective structure. Functional telomeres are essential for maintaining the integrity and stability of genomes. When combined with loss of cell cycle checkpoint controls, telomere dysfunction can lead to genomic instability, a common cause and hallmark of cancer. Consequently, normal mammalian cells respond to dysfunctional telomeres by undergoing apoptosis (programmed cell death) or cellular senescence (permanent cell cycle arrest), two cellular tumor suppressor mechanisms. These tumor suppressor mechanisms are potent suppressors of cancer, but recent evidence suggests that they can antagonistically also contribute to aging phenotypes. Here, we review what is known about the structure and function of telomeres in mammalian cells, particularly human cells, and how telomere dysfunction may arise and contribute to cancer and aging phenotypes.

Aging↗