On p21 tracking property in cancer cell unravelled bio-digitally in silico. Are apoptosis principles universal?

Upon severe DNA damage, p21 acts in a dual mode; on the one hand, it inhibits the cyclin-CDK complex for arresting the G2/M transition and on the other hand, it indirectly becomes an apoptotic factor by activating--in sequence--the retinoblastoma protein, E2F1 and APAF1 expressions. But, in a cancer cells proliferation, the mechanisms of, and participants in, the apoptosis failure remain unclear. Since the p21/p53/Mdm2 proteins network normally involves a digital response in a cancer cell, through an original design of a cell signalling-protein simulator, we demonstrate, in silico, that apoptosis phase instability is fully reciprocated by p21 mRNA irregular dynamics which operates according to a "tracking memory" principle. We show p21mRNA paradoxically ceases to act in concert with specific target genes and becomes an underlying accomplice of cancer proliferation. Here, we also identify the mechanisms for allowing the cancer cell to re-enter inside a steady stable apoptosis phase.     

On p21 Tracking Property in Cancer Cell Unravelled Bio-Digitally <i>in silico</i>. Are Apoptosis Principles Universal?

Upon severe DNA damage, p21 acts in a dual mode; on the one hand, it inhibits the cyclin-CDK complex for arresting the G2/M transition and on the other hand, it indirectly becomes an apoptotic factor by activating - in sequence - the retinoblastoma protein, E2F1 and APAF1 expressions. But, in a cancer cells proliferation, the mechanisms of, and participants in, the apoptosis failure remain unclear. Since the p21/p53/Mdm2 proteins network normally involves a digital response in a cancer cell, through an original design of a cell signalling-protein simulator, we demonstrate,in silico, that apoptosis phase instability is fully reciprocated by p21mRNA irregular dynamics which operates according to a "tracking memory" principle. We show p21mRNA paradoxically ceases to act in concert with specific target genes and becomes an underlying accomplice of cancer proliferation. Here, we also identify the mechanisms for allowing the cancer cell to re-enter inside a steady stable apoptosis phase.     

HBXIP,a binding protein of HBx,regulates maintenance of the G2/M phase checkpoint induced by DNA damage and enhances sensitivity to doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity

To maintain the integrity of the genome, cells need to detect and repair DNA damage before they complete cell division. Hepatitis B x-interacting protein (HBXIP), a binding protein of HBx (Hepatitis B virus × protein), is aberrantly overexpressed in human cancer cells and show to promote cell proliferation and inhibit apoptosis. The present study is designed to investigate the role of HBXIP on the DNA damage response. Our results show that HBXIP acts as an important regulator of G2/M checkpoint in response to DNA damage. HBXIP knockdown increases phospho-histone H2AX expression and foci formation after treatment with ionizing radiation (IR). HBXIP regulates the ATM-Chk2 pathway following DNA damage. Depletion of HBXIP abrogates IR-induced G2/M cell cycle checkpoints, accompanying decrease the expression of phospho-Cdc25C, phospho-Cdc2 (Tyr15) and p27. We also show that downregulation of HBXIP expression sensitizes cancer cells to chemotherapy, as evidenced by an increase in apoptosis and cleavage of caspase-3 and caspase-9. Our data suggest that HBXIP can function as a mediator protein for DNA damage response signals to activate the G2/M checkpoint to maintain genome integrity and prevent cell death.     

The nuclear death domain protein p84N5 activates a G2/M cell cycle checkpoint prior to the onset of apoptosis

In contrast to extracellular signals, the mechanisms utilized to transduce nuclear apoptotic signals are not well understood. Characterizing these mechanisms is important for predicting how tumors will respond to genotoxic radiation or chemotherapy. The retinoblastoma (Rb) tumor suppressor protein can regulate apoptosis triggered by DNA damage through an unknown mechanism. The nuclear death domain-containing protein p84N5 can induce apoptosis that is inhibited by association with Rb. The pattern of caspase and NF-kappaB activation during p84N5-induced apoptosis is similar to p53-independent cellular responses to DNA damage. One hallmark of this response is the activation of a G(2)/M cell cycle checkpoint. In this report, we characterize the effects of p84N5 on the cell cycle. Expression of p84N5 induces changes in cell cycle distribution and kinetics that are consistent with the activation of a G(2)/M cell cycle checkpoint. Like the radiation-induced checkpoint, caffeine blocks p84N5-induced G(2)/M arrest but not subsequent apoptotic cell death. The p84N5-induced checkpoint is functional in ataxia telangiectasia-mutated kinase-deficient cells. We conclude that p84N5 induces an ataxia telangiectasia-mutated kinase (ATM)-independent, caffeine-sensitive G(2)/M cell cycle arrest prior to the onset of apoptosis. This conclusion is consistent with the hypotheses that p84N5 functions in an Rb-regulated cellular response that is similar to that triggered by DNA damage.     

Hsa-miR-125b在人胃癌耐药细胞株中的表达及其靶基因的功能分析

研究表明, Hsa-miR-125b在人胃癌耐氟尿嘧啶细胞株BGC823/Fu中表达下降。为进一步探讨hsa-miR-125b在获得性耐药中所起的作用, 文章应用miRbase、靶基因预测软件、Gene Ontology数据库及KEGG数据库对hsa-miR-125b的序列特征、进化保守性、靶基因及功能以及靶基因所参与的信号通路等进行了深入的生物信息学分析。结果显示：has-miR-125b在多个物种之间具有高度序列保守性; 通过软件预测获得hsa-miR- 125b 靶基因79个, 其分子功能包括转录调节、蛋白质结合和肽酶类活性等(P<0.001), 其所参与的生物学过程主要有细胞周期、细胞增殖、细胞凋亡的正性或负性调控以及细胞因子刺激反应性、药物反应性、DNA损伤反应性等(P<0.001), 调控包括MAPK、Wnt、p53等多条信号转导通路(P<0.01)。上述结果表明hsa-miR-125b可能参与调控多个生物学过程和信号转导通路, 而其中细胞增殖、细胞凋亡、细胞周期等生物学过程以及MAPK、Wnt、p53等信号通路已被证实与肿瘤耐药的发生有关。因此, hsa-miR-125b可能通过调控上述环节中的靶基因来影响肿瘤细胞对药物的敏感性, 从而为hsa-miR-125b在肿瘤耐药中的作用机制提供新的研究线索。     

Aciculatin Induces p53-Dependent Apoptosis via MDM2 Depletion in Human Cancer Cells In Vitro and In Vivo

Aciculatin, a natural compound extracted from the medicinal herb Chrysopogon aciculatus, shows potent anti-cancer potency. This study is the first to prove that aciculatin induces cell death in human cancer cells and HCT116 mouse xenografts due to G1 arrest and subsequent apoptosis. The primary reason for cell cycle arrest and cell death was p53 accumulation followed by increased p21 level, dephosphorylation of Rb protein, PUMA expression, and induction of apoptotic signals such as cleavage of caspase-9, caspase-3, and PARP. We demonstrated that p53 allele-null (-/-) (p53-KO) HCT116 cells were more resistant to aciculatin than cells with wild-type p53 (+/+). The same result was achieved by knocking down p53 with siRNA in p53 wild-type cells, indicating that p53 plays a crucial role in aciculatin-induced apoptosis. Although DNA damage is the most common event leading to p53 activation, we found only weak evidence of DNA damage after aciculatin treatment. Interestingly, the aciculatin-induced downregulation of MDM2, an important negative regulator of p53, contributed to p53 accumulation. The anti-cancer activity and importance of p53 after aciculatin treatment were also confirmed in the HCT116 xenograft models. Collectively, these results indicate that aciculatin treatment induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis via inhibition of MDM2 expression, thereby inducing p53 accumulation without significant DNA damage and genome toxicity.     

Gamma-irradiation and doxorubicin treatment of normal human cells cause cell cycle arrest via different pathways

Ionizing radiation and doxorubicin both produce oxidative damage and double-strand breaks in DNA. Double-strand breaks and oxidative damage are highly toxic and cause cell cycle arrest, provoking DNA repair and apoptosis in cancer cell lines. To investigate the response of normal human cells to agents causing oxidative damage, we monitored alterations in gene expression in F65 normal human fibroblasts. Treatment with g-irradiation and doxorubicin altered the expression of 23 and 68 known genes, respectively, with no genes in common. Both agents altered the expression of genes involved in cell cycle arrest, and arrested the treated cells in G2/M phase 12 h after treatment. 24 h after g-irradiation, the percentage of G1 cells increased, whereas after doxorubicin treatment the percentage of G2/M cells remained constant for 24 h. Our results suggest that F65 cells respond differently to g-irradiation- and doxorubicin-induced DNA damage, probably using entirely different biochemical pathways.     

DNA damage in human B cells can induce apoptosis, proceeding from G1/S when p53 is transactivation competent and G2/M when it is transactivation defective.

Cisplatin treatment of Epstein-Barr virus-immortalized human B lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) results in p53-mediated apoptosis which occurs largely in a population of cells at the G1/S boundary of the cell cycle. Cell cycle progression appears to be required for this apoptosis because arresting cells earlier in G1 inhibited apoptosis despite the accumulation of p53. Overexpression of wild-type p53 also induces apoptosis in an LCL. Therefore six mutant genes derived from Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) cells were assayed for their ability to induce apoptosis when similarly overexpressed. The same genes were analysed in transient transfection assays for their ability to transactivate appropriate reporter plasmids. A correlation between the ability of p53 to transactivate and induce apoptosis was revealed. The only mutant capable of transactivation also induced apoptosis. Further analysis of the BL lines in which p53 had been characterized showed that whereas some lines were essentially resistant to cisplatin, three were rapidly induced to undergo apoptosis. All three have a single p53 allele encoding a mutant which is incapable of transactivation or (for two tested) mediating apoptosis when expressed in an LCL. Cell cycle analysis revealed that this apparently p53-independent apoptosis did not follow G1 arrest but in fact occurred largely in cells distributed in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle. These data suggest the existence of a second checkpoint in the G2 or M phase which, in the absence of a functional p53, is the primary point of entry into the apoptosis programme following DNA damage.     

Gene copy number and cell cycle arrest

The cell cycle is an orderly sequence of events which ultimately lead to the division of a single cell into two daughter cells. In the case of DNA damage by radiation or chemicals, the damage checkpoints in the G1 and G2 phases of the cell cycle are activated. This results in an arrest of the cell cycle so that the DNA damage can be repaired. Once this is done, the cell continues with its usual cycle of activity. We study a mathematical model of the DNA damage checkpoint in the G2 phase which arrests the transition from the G2 to the M (mitotic) phase of the cell cycle. The tumor suppressor protein p53 plays a key role in activating the pathways leading to cell cycle arrest in mammalian systems. If the DNA damage is severe, the p53 proteins activate other pathways which bring about apoptosis, i.e., programmed cell death. Loss of the p53 gene results in the proliferation of cells containing damaged DNA, i.e., in the growth of tumors which may ultimately become cancerous. There is some recent experimental evidence which suggests that the mutation of a single copy of the p53 gene (in the normal cell each gene has two identical copies) is sufficient to trigger the formation of tumors. We study the effect of reducing the gene copy number of the p53 and two other genes on cell cycle arrest and obtain results consistent with experimental observations.