Assessing Kinetics from Fixed Cells Reveals Activation of the Mitotic Entry Network at the S/G2 Transition

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UNC50 Prompts G1/S Transition and Proliferation in HCC by Regulation of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Trafficking

Background

UNC50 has long been recognized as a Golgi apparatus protein in yeast, and is involved in nicotinic receptor trafficking in Caenorhabditis elegans, but little is known about UNC50 gene function in human biology despite it being conserved from yeast to high eukaryotes.

Objectives

We investigated the relation between UNC50 and human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the potential mechanisms underlying HCC development.

Methods

UNC50 mRNA expression patterns in 12 HCC and adjacent non-cancerous tissues determined using northern blotting were confirmed by real-time PCR in another 44 paired tissues. Microarray experiments were used to screen for global effects of UNC50 knockdown in the Hep3B cell line, and were confirmed by real-time PCR, western blotting, flow cytometry, and tetrazolium assay in both UNC50 overexpression and knockdown Hep3B cells.

Results

UNC50 expression levels were upregulated in HCC tissues in comparison with the adjacent non-cancerous tissues. UNC50 knockdown reduced mRNA levels of the downstream targets of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway: cyclin D1 (CCND1), EGF, matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP7), aldose reductase-like 1 (AKR1B10), cell surface–associated mucin 1 (MUC1), and gastrin (GAST). Moreover, UNC50 influenced EGF, inducing cell cycle entry by affecting cell surface EGFR amounts.

Conclusions

UNC50 may plays some roles in HCC progression by affecting the EGFR pathway.     

Notch1 Signaling Regulates the Proliferation and Self-Renewal of Human Dental Follicle Cells by Modulating the G1/S Phase Transition and Telomerase Activity

Multipotent human dental follicle cells (HDFCs) have been intensively studied in periodontal regeneration research, yet the role of Notch1 in HDFCs has not been fully understood. The aim of the current study is to explore the role of Notch1 signaling in HDFCs self-renewal and proliferation. HDFCs were obtained from the extracted wisdom teeth from adolescent patients. Regulation of Notch1 signaling in the HDFCs was achieved by overexpressing the exogenous intracellular domain of Notch1 (ICN1) or silencing Notch1 by shRNA. The regulatory effects of Notch1 on HDFC proliferation, cell cycle distribution and the expression of cell cycle regulators were investigated through various molecular technologies, including plasmid construction, retrovirus preparation and infection, qRT-PCR, western blot, RBP-Jk luciferase reporter and cell proliferation assay. Our data clearly show that constitutively activation of Notch1 stimulates the HDFCs proliferation while inhibition of the Notch1 suppresses their proliferation in vitro. In addition, the HDFCs proliferation is associated with the increased expression of cell cycle regulators, e.g. cyclin D1, cyclin D2, cyclin D3, cyclin E1, CDK2, CDK4, CDK6, and SKP2 and the decreased expression of p27 ^kip1. Moreover, our data show that the G1/S phase transition (indicating proliferation) and telomerase activity (indicating self-renewal) can be enhanced by overexpression of ICN1 but halted by inhibition of Notch1. Together, the current study provides evidence for the first time that Notch1 signaling regulates the proliferation and self-renewal capacity of HDFCs through modulation of the G1/S phase transition and the telomerase activity.     

Nucleolar GTP-binding Protein-1 (NGP-1) Promotes G1 to S Phase Transition by Activating Cyclin-dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21Cip1/Waf1

Nucleolar GTP-binding protein (NGP-1) is overexpressed in various cancers and proliferating cells, but the functional significance remains unknown. In this study, we show that NGP-1 promotes G₁ to S phase transition of cells by enhancing CDK inhibitor p21^Cip-1/Waf1 expression through p53. In addition, our results suggest that activation of the cyclin D1-CDK4 complex by NGP-1 via maintaining the stoichiometry between cyclin D1-CDK4 complex and p21 resulted in hyperphosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein at serine 780 (p-RB^Ser-780) followed by the up-regulation of E2F1 target genes required to promote G₁ to S phase transition. Furthermore, our data suggest that ribosomal protein RPL23A interacts with NGP-1 and abolishes NGP-1-induced p53 activity by enhancing Mdm2-mediated p53 polyubiquitination. Finally, reduction of p-RB^Ser-780 levels and E2F1 target gene expression upon ectopic expression of RPL23a resulted in arrest at the G₁ phase of the cell cycle. Collectively, this investigation provides evidence that NGP-1 promotes cell cycle progression through the activation of the p53/p21^Cip-1/Waf1 pathway.     

Regulation of Cdc25C Activity During the Meiotic G2/M Transition

The Cdc25C phosphatase is a key activator of Cdc2/cyclin B that controls M-phase entry in eukaryotic cells. Here we discuss the regulation of Cdc25C by phosphorylation during the meiotic maturation of Xenopus oocytes. In G2 arrested oocytes, Cdc25C is phosphorylated on Ser287 and associated with 14-3-3 proteins. Entry of the oocytes into M-phase of meiosis is triggered by progesterone, which activates a signaling pathway leading to the dephosphorylation of Ser287, probably mediated by the PP1 phosphatase. The activation of Cdc25C during oocyte maturation correlates also with its phosphorylation on multiple sites. These phosphorylations involve several signaling pathways, including Polo kinases and MAP kinases, and might require also the inhibition of the PP2A phosphatase. Finally, Cdc25C is further phosphorylated by its substrate Cdc2/cyclin B, as part of an auto-amplification loop that ensures the high Cdc2/cyclin B activity level required to drive the oocyte through the meiotic cell cycle.     

Regulation of late G1/S phase transition and APC Cdh1 by reactive oxygen species

Proliferating cells have a higher metabolic rate than quiescent cells. To investigate the role of metabolism in cell cycle progression, we examined cell size, mitochondrial mass, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in highly synchronized cell populations progressing from early G1 to S phase. We found that ROS steadily increased, compared to cell size and mitochondrial mass, through the cell cycle. Since ROS has been shown to influence cell proliferation and transformation, we hypothesized that ROS could contribute to cell cycle progression. Antioxidant treatment of cells induced a late-G1-phase cell cycle arrest characterized by continued cellular growth, active cyclin D-Cdk4/6 and active cyclin E-Cdk2 kinases, and inactive hyperphosphorylated pRb. However, antioxidant-treated cells failed to accumulate cyclin A protein, a requisite step for initiation of DNA synthesis. Further examination revealed that cyclin A continued to be ubiquitinated by the anaphase promoting complex (APC) and to be degraded by the proteasome. This antioxidant arrest could be rescued by overexpression of Emi1, an APC inhibitor. These observations reveal an intrinsic late-G1-phase checkpoint, after transition across the growth factor-dependent G1 restriction point, that links increased steady-state levels of endogenous ROS and cell cycle progression through continued activity of APC in association with Cdh1.     

Quantitative Live Cell Imaging Reveals a Gradual Shift between DNA Repair Mechanisms and a Maximal Use of HR in Mid S Phase

DNA double-strand breaks are repaired by two main?pathways: nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR). The choice between these pathways depends on cell-cycle phase; however the continuous effect of cell cycle on the balance between them is still unclear. We used live cell imaging and fluorescent reporters for 53BP1, Rad52, and cell cycle to quantify the relative contribution of NHEJ and HR at different points of the cell cycle in single cells. We found that NHEJ is the dominant repair pathway in G1 and G2 even when both repair pathways are functional. The shift from NHEJ to HR is gradual, with the highest proportion of breaks repaired by HR in mid S, where the amount of DNA replication is highest. Higher proportions of HR also strongly correlate with slower rates of repair. Our study shows that the choice of repair mechanism is continuously adjusted throughout the cell cycle and suggests that the extent of active replication, rather than the presence of a sister chromatid influences the balance between the two repair pathways in human cells.     

Redundant Degrons Ensure the Rapid Destruction of Sic1 at the G1/S Transition of the Budding Yeast Cell Cycle

Abstract coming soon.     

Insights into the G1/S transition in plants

The G1/S transition generally represents the principal point of commitment to cell division. Many of the components of the cell cycle core machinery regulating the G1/S transition in plants have been recently identified. Although plant regulators of the G1/S transition display structural and biochemical homologies with their animal counterparts, their functions in integrating environmental stimuli and the developmental program within cell cycle progression are often plant-specific. In this review, recent progress in understanding the role of plant G1/S transition regulators is presented. Emerging evidence concerning the mechanisms of G1/S control in response to factors triggering the cell cycle and the integration of these mechanisms with plant development is also discussed.     

P19 H-Ras Induces G1/S Phase Delay Maintaining Cells in a Reversible Quiescence State

Background

Three functional c-ras genes, known as c-H-ras, c-K-ras, and c-N-ras, have been largely studied in mammalian cells with important insights into normal and tumorigenic cellular signal transduction events. Two K-Ras mRNAs are obtained from the same pre-mRNA by alternative splicing. H-Ras pre-mRNA can also be alternatively spliced in the IDX and 4A terminal exons, yielding the p19 and p21 proteins, respectively. However, despite the Ras gene family''s established role in tumorigenic cellular signal transduction events, little is known about p19 function. Previous results showed that p19 did not interact with two known p21 effectors, Raf1 and Rin1, but was shown to interact with RACK1, a scaffolding protein that promotes multi-protein complexes in different signaling pathways (Cancer Res 2003, 63 p5178). This observation suggests that p19 and p21 play differential and complementary roles in the cell.

Principal Findings

We found that p19 regulates telomerase activity through its interaction with p73α/β proteins. We also found that p19 overexpression induces G1/S phase delay; an observation that correlates with hypophosphorylation of both Akt and p70SK6. Similarly, we also observed that FOXO1 is upregulated when p19 is overexpressed. The three observations of (1) hypophosphorylation of Akt, (2) G1/S phase delay and (3) upregulation of FOXO1 lead us to conclude that p19 induces G1/S phase delay, thereby maintaining cells in a reversible quiescence state and preventing entry into apoptosis. We then assessed the effect of p19 RNAi on HeLa cell growth and found that p19 RNAi increases cell growth, thereby having the opposite effect of arrest of the G1/S phase or producing a cellular quiescence state.

Significance

Interestingly, p19 induces FOXO1 that in combination with the G1/S phase delay and hypophosphorylation of both Akt and p70SK6 leads to maintenance of a reversible cellular quiescence state, thereby preventing entry into apoptosis.