核干细胞因子在食管癌组织中的表达及意义

目的:探讨核干细胞因子在食管癌组织中的表达及其与临床病理特征的关系.方法:采用免疫组织化学法检测50例食管癌组织及癌旁组织中核干细胞因子蛋白表达,并分析核干细胞因子与临床病理特征的相关性,随机收集30例食管癌患者的癌组织及癌旁组织,采用荧光定量PCR方法方法检测核干细胞因子mRNA表达情况;结果:免疫组化分析表明,核干细胞因子蛋白在食管癌中阳性表达率为92.0％(46/50).癌旁组织中核干细胞因子表达阳性率为16.0％(8/50),差异有显著性(P＜0.05);核干细胞因子阳性表达率与患者的年龄、性别、肿瘤大小及淋巴结转移无关,与肿瘤的分化程度有关(P＜0.05);荧光定量PCR结果显示,食管癌组织中核干细胞因子mRNA表达水平明显高于癌旁正常对照组织.结论:核干细胞因子在食管癌的发生、发展中起着重要作用,可以作为反映食管癌生物学行为的有效指标.     

Nucleostemin基因在卵巢上皮性肿瘤的表达及与病理分型的关系

目的：研究核干细胞因子Nucleostemin（NS）基因在卵巢上皮性肿瘤中的表达,探讨其与肿瘤病理分型的关系。方法：采用RT-PCR及Western blot检测36例卵巢癌组织手术标本,32例卵巢良性上皮肿瘤组织手术标本,12例正常卵巢组织标本中Nu-cleostemin基因及相应蛋白的表达,采用分组对照的方法对比3组样本中NS基因及蛋白的表达情况,并进行相对定量研究。采用统计学方法检测NS基因的表达是否与临床病理分级及血清CA125存在关联。结果：①卵巢癌组织中NS的阳性表达率显著高于良性肿瘤组织及正常卵巢组织;②卵巢癌组织中,淋巴结转移组NS的表达水平高于未转移组;③临床分期Ⅲ期组的表达水平高于ⅠB期组;④中、低分化组的表达水平高于高分化组。结论：卵巢癌组织中存在NS基因的高表达,其表达量与组织类型无关,而与临床TNM分期及组织分级正相关。     

Ubiquitin- and MDM2 E3 ligase-independent proteasomal turnover of nucleostemin in response to GTP depletion

Nucleostemin (NS) is a nucleolar GTP-binding protein essential for ribosomal biogenesis, proliferation, and animal embryogenesis. It remains largely unclear how this protein is regulated. While working on its role in suppression of MDM2 and activation of p53, we observed that NS protein (but not mRNA) levels decreased drastically in response to GTP depletion. When trying to further elucidate the molecular mechanism(s) underlying this unusual phenomenon, we found that NS was degraded independently of ubiquitin and MDM2 upon GTP depletion. First, depletion of GTP by treating cells with mycophenolic acid decreased the level of NS without apparently affecting the levels of other nucleolar proteins. Second, mutant NS defective in GTP binding and exported to the nucleoplasm was much less stable than wild-type NS. Although NS was ubiquitinated in cells, its polyubiquitination was independent of Lys-48 or Lys-63 in the ubiquitin molecule. Inactivation of E1 in E1 temperature-sensitive mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells failed to prevent the proteasomal degradation of NS. The proteasomal turnover of NS was also MDM2-independent, as its half-life in p53/MDM2 double knock-out MEF cells was the same as that in wild-type MEF cells. Moreover, NS ubiquitination was MDM2-independent. Mycophenolic acid or doxorubicin induced NS degradation in various human cancerous cells regardless of the status of MDM2. Hence, these results indicate that NS undergoes a ubiquitin- and MDM2-independent proteasomal degradation when intracellular GTP levels are markedly reduced and also suggest that ubiquitination of NS may be involved in regulation of its function rather than stability.     

Nucleostemin: A latecomer with new tricks

Nucleostemin was first identified in neural stem cells and has become a focus of research in cell cycle control, tumorigenesis and cellular senescence. As the biology of nucleostemin begins to be unveiled in multiple species, an ensuing task is to resolve the apparent differences between the functions of mammalian and invertebrate nucleostemin and its homologues, an issue of pressing interest given the role of nucleostemin in stem cell self-renewal and tissue regeneration. A genome-wide search reveals that nucleostemin and its closest homologue, GNL3L, only emerge as separate genes in vertebrates and possess conserved protein sequences as evolution proceeded to the Mammalia. The invertebrate orthologue of nucleostemin and GNL3L resembles GNL3L more than it does nucleostemin in function, raising the idea that nucleostemin acquires new properties while GNL3L inherits an evolutionarily fixed role, and that the birth of nucleostemin may signify the appearance of new functional features in the vertebrate lineage.     

Nucleostemin基因在非小细胞肺癌组织中的表达及意义

目的探讨Nucleostemin(NS,核干细胞因子)基因在非小细胞肺癌(non-small cell lung cancer,NSCLC)组织中的表达及临床意义。方法利用RT-PCR法检测13对NSCLC组织和癌旁正常组织中NS mRNA的表达;采用免疫组织化学SP法检测73例NSCLC组织和13例癌旁正常组织中NS蛋白的表达,并分析与NSCLC患者临床病理特征的关系。结果 NSCLC组织中NS mRNA相对表达强度(0.848±0.305)显著高于癌旁正常组织(0.153±0.020)(t=8.712,P0.01)。NS蛋白在NSCLC中的表达率为58.9%(43/73)显著高于癌旁正常组织中的表达率0%(0/13)(χ2=15.315,P0.01)。NS蛋白的表达率与NSCLC的组织类型及分化程度相关,腺癌组织的表达率为76.5%(26/34)明显高于鳞癌组织的表达率43.6%(17/39)(χ2=8.113,P0.01);低分化组织的表达率81.5%(22/27)明显高于高、中分化组织的表达率45.7%(21/46)(χ2=9.023,P0.01),而与患者性别、年龄、肿瘤大小、TNM分期及淋巴结转移无关(P0.05)。结论 NS基因mRNA及蛋白在NSCLC组织中高表达,对肿瘤细胞的恶性增殖起了重要作用,是一个新的有应用价值的肿瘤分子标志物。     

Reactive oxygen species regulate nucleostemin oligomerization and protein degradation

Nucleostemin (NS) is a nucleolar-nucleoplasmic shuttle protein that regulates cell proliferation, binds p53 and Mdm2, and is highly expressed in tumor cells. We have identified NS as a target of oxidative regulation in transformed hematopoietic cells. NS oligomerization occurs in HL-60 leukemic cells and Raji B lymphoblasts that express high levels of c-Myc and have high intrinsic levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS); reducing agents dissociate NS into monomers and dimers. Exposure of U2OS osteosarcoma cells with low levels of intrinsic ROS to hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) induces thiol-reversible disulfide bond-mediated oligomerization of NS. Increased exposure to H(2)O(2) impairs NS degradation, immobilizes the protein within the nucleolus, and results in detergent-insoluble NS. The regulation of NS by ROS was validated in a murine lymphoma tumor model in which c-Myc is overexpressed and in CD34+ cells from patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia in blast crisis. In both instances, increased ROS levels were associated with markedly increased expression of NS protein and thiol-reversible oligomerization. Site-directed mutagenesis of critical cysteine-containing regions of nucleostemin altered both its intracellular localization and its stability. MG132, a potent proteasome inhibitor and activator of ROS, markedly decreased degradation and increased nucleolar retention of NS mutants, whereas N-acetyl-L-cysteine largely prevented the effects of MG132. These results indicate that NS is a highly redox-sensitive protein. Increased intracellular ROS levels, such as those that result from oncogenic transformation in hematopoietic malignancies, regulate the ability of NS to oligomerize, prevent its degradation, and may alter its ability to regulate cell proliferation.     

Nucleostemin和PUMA在骨肉瘤细胞的表达及意义

目的研究Nucleostemin(NS)和p53上调凋亡调控因子(P53 up-regulated modulator of apoptosis,PUMA)在骨肉瘤中的表达。探讨其表达与骨肉瘤的病理分型,临床外科分期的关系。方法收集30例骨肉瘤患者手术标本,采用免疫组织化学SABC法检测这组标本中NS和PUMA的表达,应用图像分析系统测量其阳性表达的平均光密度值。结果 1.NS蛋白定位于细胞核,NS在骨肉瘤组表达高于骨软骨瘤组(P<0.05),在骨肉瘤组随Ennking分期的递增而增加(P<0.05),NS的表达与骨肉瘤的病理分型无关(P>0.05)。2.PUMA定位于细胞质,在骨肉瘤组表达明显低于骨软骨瘤组(P<0.05),其表达与骨肉瘤Ennking分期和病理分型无关(P>0.05)。结论 NS和PUMA在骨肉瘤发生和发展过程中起着重要的作用。     

Nucleostemin和HDAC1在卵巢肿瘤中的表达及意义

目的:研究核干细胞因子(Nucleostemin, NS)和组蛋白去乙酰化酶1(HDAC1)在卵巢肿瘤及正常卵巢组织中的表达,并分析其表达与临床指标的关系及两者间的表达相关性。方法:选择2010年至2017年我院卵巢石蜡标本60例,其中卵巢肿瘤50例,正常卵巢组织10例。应用免疫组化法检测NS与HDAC1的表达,并分析它们与年龄、肿瘤分期等临床指标的相关性。结果:在30例卵巢恶性肿瘤、10例卵巢交界性肿瘤、10例卵巢良性肿瘤组织中,NS表达的阳性率分别为93.3%、40%、20%,HDAC1的阳性率分别为90%、60%、20%。在正常卵巢组织中未见NS及HDAC1表达。在卵巢恶性肿瘤组中,NS和HDAC1的阳性表达率显著高于其他三组(P0.05),两者表达呈正相关(r=0.56, P0.05),且均与分化程度呈负相关(r=-0.76, P0.001; r=-0.53, P0.01),而与患者年龄、术前血清CA125水平、临床分期和病理类型无关。结论:NS和HDAC1倾向于卵巢恶性肿瘤中表达,且与卵巢恶性肿瘤的分化程度负相关。     

Nucleostemin is indispensable for the maintenance and genetic stability of hematopoietic stem cells

Nucleostemin is a nucleolar protein known to play a variety of roles in cell-cycle progression, apoptosis inhibition, and DNA damage protection in embryonic stem cells and tissue stem cells. However, the role of nucleostemin in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) is yet to be determined. Here, we identified an indispensable role of nucleostemin in mouse HSCs. Depletion of nucleostemin using short hairpin RNA strikingly impaired the self-renewal activity of HSCs both in vitro and in vivo. Consistently, nucleostemin depletion triggered apoptosis rather than cell-cycle arrest in HSCs. Furthermore, DNA damage accumulated during cultivation upon depletion of nucleostemin. The impaired self-renewal activity of HSCs induced by nucleostemin depletion was partially rescued by p53 deficiency but not by p16^Ink4a or p19^Arf deficiency. Taken together, our study demonstrates that nucleostemin protects HSCs from DNA damage accumulation and is required for the maintenance of HSCs.