衰老或肿瘤: 端粒酶和p53的相互作用

端粒酶和p53两者在肿瘤和衰老的发生发展过程中都起着关键的作用。在人类大多数的肿瘤中都发现了这一现象: p53基因发生突变和端粒酶的重新激活。端粒酶和p53基因的治疗逐渐成为肿瘤治疗的重要手段之一。文章论述了端粒酶或p53基因敲除的不同组合的小鼠模型(mTR-/-p53+/+; mTR-/-P53-/-)的衰老与肿瘤表型, 对端粒功能异常可抑制或促进肿瘤发生的辩证作用作一综述, 以期理解p53与端粒酶在衰老与肿瘤发生中的辩证相互作用, 寻求一种治疗肿瘤的新思路。     

端粒酶RNA和端粒酶活性在人生殖道癌细胞株中的表达

本文采用反转录套式PCR(nested RT-PCR)和PCR端粒重复扩增(TRAP)方法分别检测了5种人生殖道癌细胞株端粒酶RNA(hTR)基因及端粒酶活性的表达。结果表明,宫颈癌HeLa和SiHa细胞株,绒毛膜癌JAR和BeWo细胞株及卵巢癌OCCI细胞株hTR及端粒酶活性均呈强阳性。但正常卵巢、宫颈和胎盘组织hTR和端粒酶呈阴性或弱阳性。提示反转录套式PCR和端粒重复扩增法可以简便而有效地检测端粒酶RNA及端粒酶活性。端粒酶的激活与肿瘤细胞增殖密切相关,并可能成为一项具有临床价值的肿瘤标志物。     

端粒酶抑制剂

端粒酶被激活被认为是发生恶性肿瘤的主要因素,其激活及表达程度与肿瘤的发生和转移密切相关,因此端粒酶是肿瘤靶向治疗的理想靶点。研究和开发端粒酶抑制剂将为肿瘤治疗揭开新的篇章。端粒酶全酶复合物有很多可以做抑制剂的靶点,包括hTR(端粒酶RNA成分)、hTERT(端粒酶逆转录催化亚单位)、引物锚定位点、全酶的组装和那些招募端粒酶到端粒的因子。     

Pinx1表达与端粒酶活性及肿瘤的关系

Pinx1作为端粒酶抑制剂,也是最近发现的一种新型肿瘤抑制因子.通过对内源性端粒酶抑制基因Pinx1与端粒酶、端粒相关蛋白在肿瘤中的表达以及Pinx1在肿瘤演进过程中的作用及临床意义进行一系列的研究,发现肿瘤中Pinx1表达下降与端粒酶活性增高密切相关,且端粒酶活性增高的程度与肿瘤的预后相关.现对近年来Pinx1基因的最新研究进展,特别是该基因表达与端粒酶活性在肿瘤发生、发展中的作用,作一综述和分析.     

端粒酶是干扰素抗肿瘤的新靶点

端粒酶(telomerase)是一种具有逆转录活性的核糖核蛋白酶.端粒酶的异常活化是细胞永生化和肿瘤形成的关键步骤. 端粒酶活性与细胞周期及细胞凋亡调控密切相关;端粒酶由端粒酶逆转录酶、端粒酶RNA、端粒酶相关蛋白质组成,端粒酶逆转录酶是端粒酶活性的决定性组分.干扰素(interferon)是一种具有抗病毒、抗增殖、抗肿瘤和免疫调节等功能的细胞因子;近年研究表明,干扰素通过相关信号转导途径而调节端粒酶活性,诱导细胞凋亡,为肿瘤的生物治疗提供了新思路;但干扰素与端粒酶活性相关的抗肿瘤机制研究尚不充分. 本文综述干扰素通过调节端粒酶逆转录酶转录因子的表达和相互作用而抑制端粒酶活性、调节细胞周期并诱导细胞凋亡等抗肿瘤作用机制.     

端粒生物学与肿瘤治疗

端粒的生物学功能主要是保护染色体末端,避免核酸酶对染色体末端的降解,防止染色体之间发生融合和重排。大多数人类肿瘤细胞通常通过端粒酶活性的重新激活来延长端粒,从而稳定染色体端粒DNA的长度。端粒酶是由端粒酶逆转录酶和端粒酶RNA模板组成的具有特殊逆转录活性的核糖核蛋白复合物。抑制端粒酶阳性细胞中的端粒酶活性会导致细胞凋亡或衰老。目前有多种以端粒和端粒酶为靶点来进行肿瘤治疗的策略。     

以hTR模板区为靶点的抗肿瘤药物设计策略

端粒酶几乎在所有的人类癌细胞中均异常表达,它的持久活性对肿瘤的增殖是必需的。因此,抑制端粒酶活性代表了一种新的癌症治疗机制。端粒酶全酶复合物有多处可以做为抑制剂的靶点,包括hTR、hTERT、引物锚定位点等。本文对以端粒酶RNA模板区为靶点的抗肿瘤药物设计策略进行了综述,包括对该区域进行点突变、使用反义寡核苷酸封闭模板区、改变端粒酶RNA空间构象等,并探讨了目前抑制端粒酶活性研究中存在的一些问题。     

端粒位置效应与人类衰老

端粒随细胞分裂进行性缩短不但防止了人类肿瘤的发展,而且与人类的衰老密切相关。另外,端粒中存在一种特殊的现象：端粒位置效应,它首先在酵母中发现,表现为靠近端粒序列附近的基因表达因端粒的位置效应而沉默。在人类细胞中也存在端粒位置效应,并且有多种因子参与此效应,它可能对细胞生长停止、肿瘤以及衰老发生时等许多随端粒缩短密切相关基因的程序性表达产生重要作用。     

端粒、端粒酶与肿瘤的相关研究进展

端粒是真核细胞染色体末端的DNA序列,在维持染色体的稳定中起着重要的作用。快速生长的细胞通过端粒酶来合成端 粒重复序列以弥补其损耗。在人类恶性肿瘤细胞中,85%以上能检测到端粒酶的活性,使其成为一个几乎普遍的癌标志物,而在大 多数正常体细胞中,端粒酶是阴性的。端粒酶与肿瘤之间的最新研究已经在肿瘤生物学领域开辟了新的途径,可能会彻底改变抗 癌疗法。在这篇文章中,我们将会总结端粒和端粒酶在癌细胞中的作用。随着科技的发展,端粒和端粒酶拥有巨大的潜力,必将能 够为肿瘤的治疗带来更多的方法。     

敲除端粒酶TERC基因的人Calu3细胞模型的构建及功能验证

该文基于一种可诱导的DD-Cas9系统构建敲除端粒酶TERC基因的人Calu3细胞模型,并对其功能进行验证。将靶向TERC序列的sgRNA克隆至载体pLenti-DD-Cas9-Flag上,慢病毒包装后感染Calu3细胞,对筛选获得的单克隆细胞添加小分子化合物甲氧苄啶(trimethoprim,TMP)药物诱导Cas9蛋白表达,实现对端粒酶RNA组分的敲除。单克隆细胞培养后鉴定其端粒酶活性、端粒长度的变化,并进行细胞衰老染色的实验。结果显示成功构建了pLenti-DD-Cas9-Flag-sgTERC重组质粒,并利用DD-Cas9高效、便捷的特点完成了对TERC基因的可诱导性编辑。测序结果表明,单克隆细胞中TERC序列部分敲除;TRAP实验显示端粒酶活性均有下调;提取细胞基因组用qPCR的方法进行端粒长度检测,结果显示其端粒长度明显缩短;同时,与野生型细胞相比较,TERC序列敲除的细胞出现明显衰老。总之,TERC基因的缺失导致细胞出现端粒酶活性下降、端粒长度缩短及衰老的现象,可诱导敲除端粒酶TERC基因的人Calu3细胞模型为后续对细胞衰老相关研究奠定了基础。     

稳定表达外源性p16基因肺癌A549细胞株的建立及鉴定

为构建稳定表达外源性抑癌基因p16的肺癌A549细胞株,用脂质体介导的基因转染方法,借助真核质粒表达载体（pcDNA3)。将抑癌基因p16转移入此基因缺失的人肺癌细胞株A549细胞中,经G418筛选,获得稳定表达的细胞克隆,用逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）及免疫组织化学鉴定p16基因的表达,同时对克隆细胞分泌蛋白进行活性检测。结果显示转染p16基因的A549细胞中可以检测到p16mRNA及蛋白的表达,说明建立的p16真核表达载体能在肺肿瘤细胞中分泌表达蛋白,表达P16抑癌蛋白的A549细胞株的建立有助于研究抑癌基因p16在肺癌发生中的作用。     

Frequent aberrant methylation of p16INK4a in primary rat lung tumors.

The p16INK4a (p16) tumor suppressor gene is frequently inactivated by homozygous deletion or methylation of the 5' CpG island in cell lines derived from human non-small-cell lung cancers. However, the frequency of dysfunction in primary tumors appears to be significantly lower than that in cell lines. This discordance could result from the occurrence or selection of p16 dysfunction during cell culture. Alternatively, techniques commonly used to examine tumors for genetic and epigenetic alterations may not be sensitive enough to detect all dysfunctions within the heterogeneous cell population present in primary tumors. If p16 inactivation plays a central role in development of non-small-cell lung cancer, then the frequency of gene inactivation in primary tumors should parallel that observed in cell lines. The present investigation addressed this issue in primary rat lung tumors and corresponding derived cell lines. A further goal was to determine whether the aberrant p16 gene methylation seen in human tumors is a conserved event in this animal model. The rat p16 gene was cloned and sequenced, and the predicted amino acid sequence of its product found to be 62% homologous to the amino acid sequence of the human analog. Homozygous deletion accounted for loss of p16 expression in 8 of 20 cell lines, while methylation of the CpG island extending throughout exon 1 was observed in 9 of 20 cell lines. 2-Deoxy-5-azacytidine treatment of cell lines with aberrant methylation restored gene expression. The methylated phenotype seen in cell lines showed an absolute correlation with detection of methylation in primary tumors. Aberrant methylation was also detected in four of eight primary tumors in which the derived cell line contained a deletion in p16. These results substantiate the primary tumor as the origin for dysfunction of the p16 gene and implicate CpG island methylation as the major mechanism for inactivating this gene in the rat lung tumors examined. Furthermore, rat lung cancer appears to be an excellent model in which to investigate the mechanisms of de novo gene methylation and the role of p16 dysfunction in the progression of neoplasia.     

重组p16腺病毒的构建及其对人白血病细胞的抑制作用

为了探讨腺病毒载体用于基因治疗的可行性及野生型 p1 6基因的抗肿瘤特性 ,构建了复制缺陷型重组 p1 6腺病毒 .首先将 p1 6全长 c DNA插入穿梭质粒 p Ad CMV产生重组质粒 p Ad-CMV- p1 6,然后通过脂质体介导与 p JM1 7共转染 2 93细胞 ,经同源重组产生 E1区缺失的重组腺病毒空斑 .用纯化后的腺病毒感染人白血病细胞株 HL- 60后 ,PCR及 Western blot分析显示在感染细胞中有外源性 p1 6 c DNA存在和 p1 6蛋白表达 ;被感染的 HL- 60细胞的生长受到明显抑制 ,而未感染细胞及对照腺病毒感染的细胞没有受到抑制 .结果表明 ,腺病毒作为一种新型基因转移载体 ,可有效地介导肿瘤抑制基因 p1 6的表达 ,在肿瘤基因治疗方面具有很大的应用前景 .     

Induction of apoptosis in p16INK4A mutant cell lines by adenovirus-mediated overexpression of p16INK4A protein

The tumor suppressor gene p16INK4A is a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CDKI) and an important cell cycle regulator. We have previously constructed a recombinant adenovirus which expresses p16 (Adp16) and shown that infection in a variety of human tumor cell lines with this recombinant virus results in high levels of p16INK4A protein expression resulting in cell cycle arrest and loss of cyclin-cdk activity. Furthermore, adenoviral-mediated overexpression of wild-type p16INK4A is more toxic in cancer cells which express mutant forms of p16INK4A compared to cancer cell lines containing endogenous wild-type p16. TUNEL assay and DAPI staining following infection of MDA-MB 231 breast cancer cells with Adp16 indicate that p16INK4A-mediated cytotoxicity was associated with apoptosis. This is supported by studies demonstrating a decrease in cpp32 and cyclinB1 protein levels and induction of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage following infection of MDA-MB-231 cells with Adp16. These results suggest that gene therapy using Adp16 may be a promising treatment option for human cancers containing alterations in p16 expression.     

抑癌基因P16在肺癌中的研究进展

抑癌基因P16与细胞周期调控密切相关,其主要作用是参与细胞周期过程,它通过细胞周期与其它癌基因及肿瘤抑制基因相互作用成为正常细胞增殖的调控因子。P16基因主要通过基因缺失、点突变及甲基化而失活,已证实该基因的失活与多种肿瘤的形成与转移密切相关。通过各种分子生物学技术检测出它在肿瘤中的表达,将有助于判断肿瘤的恶性程度、浸润深度及预后,为制定合理的治疗方案提供依据。P16是已知的抑癌基因中唯一通过直接抑制细胞周期而抑制细胞生长的基因,在肿瘤治疗方面有很大的应用前景。P16基因突变在人类恶性肿瘤中普遍存在,因此,有关p16基因的研究已经成为当前分子生物学和分子遗传学研究的重要课题。本文就p16基因的分子生物学特性及它与肺癌的关系作一综述。     

p16(MTS-1/CDKN2/INK4a) in cancer progression

Since its discovery as an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6, the tumor suppressor p16 has continued to gain widespread importance in cancer. The high frequency of deletions of p16 in tumor cell lines first suggested an important role for p16 in carcinogenesis. This initial genetic evidence was subsequently strengthened by numerous studies documenting p16 inactivation in kindreds with familial melanoma. Moreover, a high frequency of p16 gene alterations was found in primary tumors, while recent studies have identified p16 promoter methylation as a major mechanism of tumor-suppressor-gene silencing. Additional insight into p16's role in cancer has come from the genetic analysis of precancerous lesions and various tissue culture models. It is now believed that loss of p16 is an early and often critical event in tumor progression. Consequently, p16 is a major tumor-suppressor gene whose frequent loss occurs early in many human cancers.     

Expression of p16(INK4A) induces dominant suppression of glioblastoma growth in situ through necrosis and cell cycle arrest

Tumor suppressor genes may represent an important new therapeutic modality in the treatment of human glioblastoma (GBM). p16(INK4A) is a tumor suppressor gene with mutation and/or deletion found in many human tumors, including glioblastomas, melanoma, and leukemias. RT-2 rat GBM cell line was used to investigate if the p16 gene induces dominant suppression of glioblastoma growth. Close to 100% of tumor cells were infected by high titer pCL retrovirus encoding the full-length human p16 cDNA at 5 m.o.i. Infected cells showed a 98% reduction in colony forming assay and a 60% reduction in growth curves in vitro compared to vector control. Exogenous overexpression of p16 induced hypophosphorylation of Rb protein by Western blot analysis. Intracranial injection of p16-infected tumor cells into syngeneic rats resulted in a 95% reduction in tumor volume compared to the controls. Intratumoral injection of p16 retrovirus resulted in tumor necrosis and prominent human p16 transgene expressions. Proliferation marker PCNA was not detected in these human p16-expressed RT-2 tumor cells, suggesting the cells were unable to enter into S phase after p16 expression. In addition, direct repeat intracranial injections of p16 retrovirus prolonged animal survival 3.2-fold compared to the controls (48.4 +/- 13.4 vs 15.0 +/- 2.1 days, p < 0.001). Two out of ten rats were found with dormant tumors at day 60 after p16 retrovirus injection. These results showed that p16 is effective in inhibiting GBM growth in situ. The mechanisms of tumor growth reduction and necrosis in vivo might be due to G1 arrest triggered by p16 expression.     

Retroviral transfer of the p16INK4a cDNA inhibits C6 glioma formation in Wistar rats

BACKGROUND: The p16INK4A gene product halts cell proliferation by preventing phosphorylation of the Rb protein. The p16INK4a gene is often deleted in human glioblastoma multiforme, contributing to unchecked Rb phosphorylation and rapid cell division. We show here that transduction of the human p16INK4a cDNA using the pCL retroviral system is an efficient means of stopping the proliferation of the rat-derrived glioma cell line, C6, both in tissue culture and in an animal model. C6 cells were transduced with pCL retrovirus encoding the p16INK4a, p53, or Rb genes. These cells were analyzed by a colony formation assay. Expression of p16INK4a was confirmed by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. The altered morphology of the p16-expressing cells was further characterized by the senescence-associated beta-galactosidase assay. C6 cells infected ex vivo were implanted by stereotaxic injection in order to assess tumor formation. RESULTS: The p16INK4a gene arrested C6 cells more efficiently than either p53 or Rb. Continued studies with the p16INK4a gene revealed that a large portion of infected cells expressed the p16INK4a protein and the morphology of these cells was altered. The enlarged, flat, and bi-polar shape indicated a senescence-like state, confirmed by the senescence-associated beta-galactosidase assay. The animal model revealed that cells infected with the pCLp16 virus did not form tumors. CONCLUSION: Our results show that retrovirus mediated transfer of p16INK4a halts glioma formation in a rat model. These results corroborate the idea that retrovirus-mediated transfer of the p16INK4a gene may be an effective means to arrest human glioma and glioblastoma.