Inhibition of telomerase activity and human telomerase reverse transcriptase gene expression by histone deacetylase inhibitor in human brain cancer cells

The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of histone deacetylase inhibitor, trichostatin A (TSA) on the cell growth, apoptosis, genomic DNA damage and the expression of telomerase and associated factors in human normal and brain cancer cells. Here, human normal un-transformed fibroblasts (MRC-5), human normal hTERT-immortalised fibroblasts (hTERT-BJ1) and human brain cancer cell lines (glioblastoma cell line, A-172 and medulloblastoma cell line, ONS-76) were treated with 0.5–3.0 μM TSA for 24 h. Exposure to TSA resulted in apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in the brain cancer cells. Glioblastoma cell line (A-172) displayed higher sensitivity to TSA-induced cell killing effect and apoptosis than the medulloblastoma cell line (ONS-76). The brain cancer cell lines and hTERT-BJ1 cell line displayed significant inhibition in telomerase activity and hTERT mRNA level after 2 μM TSA treatment. Elevated expressions of p53 and p21 with a decrease in cyclin-D level supported the observation on cell cycle arrest following TSA treatment. Upregulation of Bax and cytochrome c correlated with the apoptotic events in TSA-treated cells. This study suggests that telomerase and hTERT might be the primary targets of TSA which may have the potential to be used as a telomerase inhibitor in cancer therapy.     

Role of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations in epithelial ovarian cancer in Indian population: a pilot study

Ovarian cancer is a silent killer as most patients have non-specific symptoms and usually present in advanced stage of the disease. It occurs due to certain genetic alterations and mutations namely founder mutations, 187delAG and 5385insC in BRCA1 and 6174delT in BRCA2 which are associated with specific family histories. These highly penetrant susceptibility genes responsible for approximately half of families containing 2 or more ovarian cancer cases account for less than 40% of the familial excess malignancy risk. The remaining risk may be due to single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) which are single base change in a DNA sequence with usual alternatives of two possible nucleotides at a given position. Preliminary study involving 30 women with histologically proven epithelial ovarian cancer was conducted and their detailed genetic analysis was carried out. Regions of founder mutations on BRCA1 and BRCA2 were amplified and sequenced using primers designed based on 200 bp upstream and downstream regions of the mutation sites. Five sequence variants in BRCA1 were identified of which three novel sequence variants were found in 23 patients while in BRCA2, one novel sequence variant was found. The three founder mutations 187delAG, 5385insC in BRCA1 and 6174delT in BRCA2 were not seen in any of the subjects.     

First recurrent large genomic rearrangement in the BRCA1 gene found in Poland

Mutation in the BRCA1 gene increases the risk of the person developing breast and/or ovarian cancer. The prevalence and spectrum of large genomic rearrangements (LGRs) varies considerably among different tested populations. In our previous study we described three LGRs in BRCA1 (exons 13–19, exon 17 and exon 22) in Polish families at high risk of breast and ovarian cancer. In this study we analyzed a group of 550 unselected women with ovarian cancer for the three previously identified LGRs. We used a rapid, single-step and closed-tube method: high-resolution melting analysis (HRMA). In this group of unrelated patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer we found three cases with the same deletions of exon 22. This is the first recurrent large deletion in BRCA1 found in Poland. We conclude that screening for the exon 22 deletion in BRCA1 should be included in the Polish BRCA1 genetic testing panel and possibly extended into other Slavic populations.     

两歧双歧杆菌胞外多糖对胃癌细胞及端粒酶逆转录酶的影响

[目的]研究从双歧杆菌属两歧双歧杆菌(Bifidobacterium bifidum)提取的细胞表面成分胞外多糖(Exopolysaccharide, B. EPS)对人胃癌细胞BGC-823的生长抑制作用及对端粒酶限速因子hTERT活性的影响.[方法]将3种不同浓度B.EPS体外作用于胃癌细胞BGC-823,MTT法检测细胞生长抑制率并辅以形态学观察;异硫氰酸盐(FITC)联合PI染色,通过流式细胞术检测肿瘤细胞初期调亡情况;肿瘤细胞端粒酶限速因子hTERT mRNA经RT-PCR检测B.EPS对端粒酶活性抑制作用;通过荧光分光光度计显示B.EPS对胃癌细胞作用后胞内Ca2+含量变化.[结果]经过检测发现,B.EPS对人胃癌细胞BGC823的生长显著抑制(P<0.05)呈剂量时间反应关系;细胞中hTERT mRNA在B.EPS的作用下表达降低(P<0.05),有一定剂量效应关系;随着B.EPS对肿瘤细胞的抑制,细胞内Ca2+含量显著增加(P<0.05).[结论] B.EPS诱导人胃癌细胞BGC-823调亡的机制可能与改变肿瘤细胞端粒酶限速因子hTERT mRNA表达量和细胞内钙离子浓度有关.     

miR-1207-5p and miR-1266 suppress gastric cancer growth and invasion by targeting telomerase reverse transcriptase

hTERT is the catalytic subunit of the telomerase complex. Elevated expression of hTERT is associated with the expansion and metastasis of gastric tumor. In this study, we aimed to identify novel tumor suppressor miRNAs that restrain hTERT expression. We began our screen for hTERT-targeting miRNAs with a miRNA microarray. miRNA candidates were further filtered by bioinformatic analysis, general expression pattern in different cell lines, gain-of-function effects on hTERT protein and the potential of these effects to suppress hTERT 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR) luciferase activity. The clinical relevance of two miRNAs (miR-1207-5p and miR-1266) was evaluated by real-time RT-PCR. The effects of these miRNAs on cell growth, cell cycle and invasion of gastric cancer cells were measured with CCK-8, flow cytometry and transwell assays. Finally, the ability of these miRNAs to suppress the transplanted tumors was also investigated. Fourteen miRNAs were identified using a combination of bioinformatics and miRNA microarray analysis. Of these fourteen miRNAs, nine were expressed at significantly lower levels in hTERT-positive cell lines compared with hTERT-negative cell lines and five could downregulate hTERT protein expression. Only miR-1207-5p and miR-1266 interacted with the 3′ UTR of hTERT and the expression levels of these two miRNAs were significantly decreased in gastric cancer tissues. These two miRNAs also inhibited gastric tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. Altogether, miR-1207-5p and miR-1266 were determined to be hTERT suppressors in gastric cancer, and the delivery of these two miRNAs represents a novel therapeutic strategy for gastric cancer treatment.     

Implication of the exon region in the regulation of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase gene promoter

The expression of the catalytic subunit (hTERT) represents the limiting factor for telomerase activity. In transfection studies, high level of activity of hTERT promoter is found, whereas low copy numbers of hTERT mRNA are detected in vivo. To explain this discrepancy, a series of vectors containing the hTERT promoter and gene were transiently transfected into HeLa cells. Four important regions were identified. First, the core promoter has bidirectional activity. Second, the distal upstream region (-1821 to -811bp) involved in the splicing of the first intron and could be a key of splicing specificity. Third, the intermediate promoter region (-800 to -300bp) could play an important role in silencing the reverse promoter activity. Fourth, the structural gene (up to +1077) strongly reduced hTERT promoter activity. These results provide the first evidence that the first two exons play a major role in the down-regulation of the hTERT promoter in telomerase-positive cells.     

BRCA1-IRIS regulates cyclin D1 expression in breast cancer cells

The regulator of cell cycle progression, cyclin D1, is up-regulated in breast cancer cells; its expression is, in part, dependent on ERalpha signaling. However, many ERalpha-negative tumors and tumor cell lines (e.g., SKBR3) also show over-expression of cyclin D1. This suggests that, in addition to ERalpha signaling, cyclin D1 expression is under the control of other signaling pathways; these pathways may even be over-expressed in the ERalpha-negative cells. We previously noticed that both ERalpha-positive and -negative cell lines over-express BRCA1-IRIS mRNA and protein. Furthermore, the level of over-expression of BRCA1-IRIS in ERalpha-negative cell lines even exceeded its over-expression level in ERalpha-positive cell lines. In this study, we show that: (1) BRCA1-IRIS forms complex with two of the nuclear receptor co-activators, namely, SRC1 and SRC3 (AIB1) in an ERalpha-independent manner. (2) BRCA1-IRIS alone, or in connection with co-activators, is recruited to the cyclin D1 promoter through its binding to c-Jun/AP1 complex; this binding activates the cyclin D1 expression. (3) Over-expression of BRCA1-IRIS in breast cells over-activates JNK/c-Jun; this leads to the induction of cyclin D1 expression and cellular proliferation. (4) BRCA1-IRIS activation of JNK/c-Jun/AP1 appears to account for this, because in cells that were depleted from BRCA1-IRIS, JNK remained inactive. However, depletion of SRC1 or SRC3 instead reduced c-Jun expression. Our data suggest that this novel signaling pathway links BRCA1-IRIS to cellular proliferation through c-Jun/AP1 nuclear pathway; finally, this culminates in the increased expression of the cyclin D1 gene.