Protein kinase C delta (PKCδ) affects proliferation of insulin-secreting cells by promoting nuclear extrusion of the cell cycle inhibitor p21Cip1/WAF1

Background

High fat diet-induced hyperglycemia and palmitate-stimulated apoptosis was prevented by specific inhibition of protein kinase C delta (PKCδ) in β-cells. To understand the role of PKCδ in more detail the impact of changes in PKCδ activity on proliferation and survival of insulin-secreting cells was analyzed under stress-free conditions.

Methodology and Principal Findings

Using genetic and pharmacological approaches, the effect of reduced and increased PKCδ activity on proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle regulation of insulin secreting cells was examined. Proteins were analyzed by Western blotting and by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Increased expression of wild type PKCδ (PKCδWT) significantly stimulated proliferation of INS-1E cells with concomitant reduced expression and cytosolic retraction of the cell cycle inhibitor p21^Cip1/WAF1. This nuclear extrusion was mediated by PKCδ-dependent phosphorylation of p21^Cip1/WAF1 at Ser146. In kinase dead PKCδ (PKCδKN) overexpressing cells and after inhibition of endogenous PKCδ activity by rottlerin or RNA interference phosphorylation of p21^Cip1/WAF1 was reduced, which favored its nuclear accumulation and apoptotic cell death of INS-1E cells. Human and mouse islet cells express p21^Cip1/WAF1 with strong nuclear accumulation, while in islet cells of PKCδWT transgenic mice the inhibitor resides cytosolic.

Conclusions and Significance

These observations disclose PKCδ as negative regulator of p21^Cip1/WAF1, which facilitates proliferation of insulin secreting cells under stress-free conditions and suggest that additional stress-induced changes push PKCδ into its known pro-apoptotic role.     

细胞周期相关蛋白cyclin D1、p53和p21WAF1/Cip1在食管鳞癌中的表达改变及其病理学意义

食管鳞状细胞癌(Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, ESCC)是我国常见的恶性肿瘤之一, 虽然临床诊治手段正逐步改进, 但中晚期患者5年生存率仍然很低。目前认为细胞周期调控异常与肿瘤发生发展关系密切, 然而相关周期调节蛋白在食管癌患者中的表达改变、临床意义及其应用价值还没有明确结论。文章应用组织微阵列联合免疫组织化学技术(TMA-IHC), 对148例食管鳞癌组织标本中细胞G₁/S期调控蛋白cyclin D1、p53和p21^WAF1/Cip1的表达进行检测, 分析其与临床病理参数之间的相关性。结果显示, cyclin D1与p53蛋白在食管癌细胞中表达升高, p53表达阳性率与区域淋巴结转移显著相关(P = 0.001)。p21^WAF1/Cip1蛋白在肿瘤组织中表达降低, 且p21WAF1/Cip1表达阴性患者的术后生存时间显著短于表达阳性的患者(P = 0.001)。多因素生存分析显示p21WAF1/Cip1是一个独立的预后因素(相对危险度为0.418, P<0.001)。微阵列比较基因组杂交(array-CGH)检测进一步表明45.4%的食管癌患者存在cyclin D1基因扩增。以上结果提示食管鳞癌中存在细胞周期G1/S期调控异常, p21^WAF1/Cip1蛋白可能是一个有应用价值的预后因子。     

P21(Cip1/WAF1) expression in the mouse testis before and after X irradiation

During spermatogenesis, the radiosensitivity of testicular cells changes considerably. To investigate the molecular mechanism underlying these radiosensitivity differences, p21^(Cip1/WAF1) expression was studied before and after irradiation in the adult mouse testis. P21^(Cip1/WAF1) is a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CDI) and has a role in the G1/S checkpoint and differentiation. P21^(Cip1/WAF1) expression was observed in the normal testis, using Western blotting analysis. After a dose of 4 Gy, but not after 0.3 Gy, an increase in p21^(Cip1/WAF1) expression could be determined in whole testis lysates. To investigate which germ cells are involved in p21^(Cip1/WAF1) protein expression, immunohistochemical analysis was performed on irradiated testis. In the normal testis a weak staining for p21^(Cip1/WAF1) was found in pachytene spermatocytes in epithelial stage V up to step 5 spermatids. A dose of 4 Gy of X-irradiation resulted in a transient increase of p21^(Cip1/WAF1) staining in these cells with a maximum at 6 hr post irradiation, despite the fact that the irradiation did not induce an increase in the number of apoptotic spermatocytes. When a dose of 0.3 Gy was given, no increase in p21^(Cip1/WAF1) staining was observed. Using the TUNEL technique, a 10-fold increase in apoptotic spermatogonia was found after a dose of 4 Gy. However, no staining for p21^(Cip1/WAF1) was observed in spermatogonia, suggesting that these cells do not undergo a p21^(Cip1/WAF1)-induced G1 arrest prior to DNA repair or apoptosis. These data imply that p21^(Cip1/WAF1) is a factor which could be important during the meiotic prophase in spermatocytes and repair mechanisms in these cells, but not in spermatogonial cell cycle delay or apoptosis induction. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 47:240–247, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Protein phosphatase 2Cγ regulates the level of p21 by Akt signaling

PP2Cγ is a splicing factor that dephosphorylates specific substrates required for the formation of the spliceosome. In a previous study, we reported that the degradation of p21^Cip1/WAF1was affected by PP2Cγ, causing an accumulation of cells in S phase. Here, we demonstrate that the PP2Cγ-induced degradation of p21^Cip1/WAF1 is mediated by Akt signaling. In cells expressing PP2Cγ, Akt1 protein was phosphorylated. When PP2Cγ expression was knocked down, the phosphorylation of Akt1 was reduced and the level of p21^Cip1/WAF1 protein was increased. Interestingly, the stability of p21^Cip1/WAF1 was highly maintained in Akt1-depleted cells despite the ectopic expression of PP2Cγ. Taken together, these results suggest that PP2Cγ is a novel regulator of p21^Cip1/WAF1 protein stability via the Akt signaling pathway.     

Fucoxanthin induces cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase in human colon carcinoma cells through up-regulation of p21WAF1/Cip1

Fucoxanthin, a natural carotenoid, has been reported to have antitumorigenic activity in mouse colon, skin and duodenum models. The present study was designed to evaluate the molecular mechanisms of fucoxanthin against colon cancer using the human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines. Fucoxanthin reduced the viability of WiDr cells in a dose-dependent manner accompanied by the induction of cell cycle arrest during the G0/G1 phase at 25 microM and apoptosis at 50 microM. Fucoxanthin at 25 microM inhibited the phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma protein (pRb) at Ser780 and Ser807/811 24 h after treatment without changes in the protein levels of the D-types of cyclin and cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) 4, whose complexes are responsible for the phosphorylation of pRb at these sites. A cdk inhibitory protein, p21WAF1/Cip1 increased 24 h after the treatment with 25 microM of fucoxanthin, but not p27Kip1. In addition, the mRNA of p21WAF1/Cip1 also increased in a dose-dependent manner. According to the experiments using the isogenic human colon adenocarcinoma cell lines, fucoxanthin failed to induce G0/G1 arrest in the p21-deficient HCT116 cells, but not in HCT116 wild-type cells. All of these findings showed that fucoxanthin inhibited proliferation of colon cancer cells. The inhibitory mechanism is due to the cell cycle arrest during the G0/G1 phase mediated through the up-regulation of p21WAF1/Cip1, which may be related to the antitumorigenic activity.     

Lithium increases expression of p21WAF/Cip1 and survivin in human glioblastoma cells

Lithium is the most widely prescribed mood stabilizer, but the precise molecular mechanisms underlying its therapeutic function are not yet fully elucidated. Recent preclinical and clinical evidence indicates its neuroprotective and neurotrophic effects. As a tight coupling of function and metabolism in the central nervous system between glial cells and neurons has recently been detected, lithium's effect on glial cells may participate also in the total beneficial effects of this drug. The aim of the present study was to analyze molecular mechanisms induced in human glioblastoma A1235 cells by the treatment with lithium, especially its influence on the expression of apoptosis-related genes. Lower levels of lithium (0.5 mmol/L and 2 mmol/L) did not cause any cytotoxicity or changes in the cell cycle phase distribution following 72 h incubation. However, a higher dose (20 mmol/L) was cytostatic for glioblastoma cells, and caused accumulation of cells in G₂/M phase of the cell cycle. The treatment with lithium did not alter the levels of Bcl-2 or procaspase-3 and did not cleave PARP, but increased the levels of p21^WAF/Cip1 and survivin. Thus, increased expression of p21^WAF/Cip1 (a protein with antiapoptotic function), and survivin (a protein that supports the growth of cells by suppression of apoptosis and promotion of cell proliferation) may be the early events in the long-term cell response to lithium that are involved in the beneficial effects of this drug.