Expression of p57 in mouse and human testes

The expression of cyclin-dependent kinases inhibitors, p57kip2, was investigated during the postnatal development of mouse testis, and in adult human testis. Expression of p57kip2 mRNA was higher in immature than pubertal or adult mouse testes. In postnatal day 7 (PND7) testes, moderate p57kip2 immunoreactivity was found in spermatogonia, but signal was heterogeneous among the spermatogonia. In PND14 testes onward, strong immunoreactivity of p57kip2 was found in the nuclei of early spermatocytes but not in the late pachytene stage onward. In PND28 and PND50 testes, p57kip2 immunoreactivity was varying among the seminiferous tubules. There was no visible signal in late pachytene stage onward. In Leydig cells, heterogeneous immunoreactivity of p57kip2 was found in immature testis and the signal intensity was higher in adult testis than immature ones. In Sertoli cells, weak or negligible immunoreactivity of p57kip2 was found. In human seminiferous tubule, strong immunoreactivity of p57kip2 was found in the nucleus of early spermatocytes, but not in the late pachytene spermatocytes onward and Sertoli cells. These results suggest the possible role of p57kip2 in the regulation of early spermatogonial proliferation, meiotic progression of early spermatocytes and differentiation of Leydig cells in testis.     

p27kip1 overexpression promotes paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in pRb-defective SaOs-2 cells

p27kip1 is a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor, which controls several cellular processes in strict collaboration with pRb. We evaluated the role of p27kip1 in paclitaxel-induced apoptosis in the pRb-defective SaOs-2 cells. Following 48 h of exposure of SaOs-2 cells to 100 nM paclitaxel, we observed an increase in p27kip1 expression caused by the decrease of the ubiquitin-proteasome activity. Such increase was not observed in SaOs-2 cells treated with the caspase inhibitors Z-VAD-FMK, suggesting that p27kip1 enhancement at 48 h is strictly related to apoptosis. Finally, we demonstrated that SaOs-2 cells transiently overexpressing the p27kip1 protein are more susceptible to paclitaxel-induced apoptosis than SaOs-2 cells transiently transfected with the empty vector. Indeed, after 48 h of paclitaxel treatment, 41.8% of SaOs-2 cells transiently transfected with a pcDNA3-p27kip1 construct were Annexin V-positive compared to 30.6% of SaOs-2 cells transfected with the empty vector (P < 0.05). In conclusion, we demonstrated that transfection of the pRb-defective SaOs-2 cells with the p27kip1 gene via plasmid increases their susceptibility to paclitaxel-induced apoptosis. The promoting effect of p27kip1 overexpression on apoptosis makes p27kip1 and proteasomal inhibitors interesting tools for therapy in patients with pRb-defective cancers.     

p53-mediated transcriptional regulation and activation of the actin cytoskeleton regulatory RhoC to LIMK2 signaling pathway promotes cell survival

The central arbiter of cell fate in response to DNA damage is p53, which regulates the expression of genes involved in cell cycle arrest, survival and apoptosis. Although many responses initiated by DNA damage have been characterized, the role of actin cytoskeleton regulators is largely unknown. We now show that RhoC and LIM kinase 2 (LIMK2) are direct p53 target genes induced by genotoxic agents. Although RhoC and LIMK2 have well-established roles in actin cytoskeleton regulation, our results indicate that activation of LIMK2 also has a pro-survival function following DNA damage. LIMK inhibition by siRNA-mediated knockdown or selective pharmacological blockade sensitized cells to radio- or chemotherapy, such that treatments that were sub-lethal when administered singly resulted in cell death when combined with LIMK inhibition. Our findings suggest that combining LIMK inhibitors with genotoxic therapies could be more efficacious than single-agent administration, and highlight a novel connection between actin cytoskeleton regulators and DNA damage-induced cell survival mechanisms.     

Acetylcholine induces mesenchymal stem cell migration via Ca2+ /PKC/ERK1/2 signal pathway

Acetylcholine (ACh) plays an important role in neural and non-neural function, but its role in mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) migration remains to be determined. In the present study, we have found that ACh induces MSC migration via muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs). Among several mAChRs, MSCs express mAChR subtype 1 (m1AChR). ACh induces MSC migration via interaction with mAChR1. MEK1/2 inhibitor PD98059 blocks ERK1/2 phosphorylation while partially inhibiting the ACh-induced MSC migration. InsP3Rs inhibitor 2-APB that inhibits MAPK/ERK phosphorylation completely blocks ACh-mediated MSC migration. Interestingly, intracellular Ca(2+) ATPase-specific inhibitor thapsigargin also completely blocks ACh-induced MSC migration through the depletion of intracellular Ca(2+) storage. PKCα or PKCβ inhibitor or their siRNAs only partially inhibit ACh-induced MSC migration, but PKC-ζ siRNA completely inhibits ACh-induced MSC migration via blocking ERK1/2 phosphorylation. These results indicate that ACh induces MSC migration via Ca(2+), PKC, and ERK1/2 signal pathways.     

PP2A通过Akt/Skp2通路调控p27~(Kip1)的表达并抑制肺癌细胞的致瘤能力

蛋白磷酸酶2A(PP2A)是由36 k Da的催化亚基C(PP2Ac)和65 k Da的结构亚基A(PP2Aα/β)一起组成PP2A的核心酶,并且和各种不同的调节亚基B形成具有不同功能的PP2A全酶复合体。在细胞中PP2A发挥着重要作用,特别是在抑制肿瘤的形成当中,编码PP2Aα/β基因的突变将导致肿瘤的形成和其他疾病。当非小细胞肺癌细胞H1299中过表达PP2A-Aα时,细胞生长被抑制,细胞周期停留在G0/G1期,致瘤能力也同时被抑制。进一步研究证明当PP2A-Aα过表达时,Akt被去磷酸化失活使Skp2的表达下调,从而导致细胞周期抑制因子p27kip1的表达上调。肿瘤细胞软琼脂克隆形成实验的结果表明过表达PP2A-Aα之后H1299细胞的锚定非依赖性生长能力明显的降低,形成的克隆细胞团也较小,这些结果和裸鼠成瘤实验的结果是一致的。     

胶质瘤组织中PTEN、p57／Kip2蛋白的表达及临床意义研究

探讨PTEN、p57／Kip2在脑胶质瘤中的表达情况和临床意义。选取54例胶质瘤手术切除标本,采用sP法进行免疫组织化学染色。PTEN、p57／Kip2阳性表达率分别为48．1％（26／54）和44．4％（24／54）,两者在高度恶性组（Ⅲ～Ⅳ级）的表达强度明显低于低度恶性组（Ⅰ—Ⅱ级）,且随着胶质瘤的恶性程度不同表现出明显的统计学差异（P〈0．05）。PTEN与p57／Kip2的低表达可能参与肿瘤的生长分化和进展,可能提示预后不良。     

Wogonin induces cross-regulation between autophagy and apoptosis via a variety of Akt pathway in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells

Autophagy as well as apoptosis is an emerging target for cancer therapy. Wogonin, a flavonoid compound derived from the traditional Chinese medicine of Huang‐Qin, has anticancer activity in many cancer cells including human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, the involvement of autophagy in the wogonin‐induced apoptosis of NPC cells was still uninvestigated. In this study, we found wogonin‐induced autophagy had interference on the process of apoptosis. Wogonin‐induced autophagy formation evidenced by LC3 I/II cleavage, acridine orange (AO)‐stained vacuoles and the autophagosome/autolysosome images of TEM analysis. Activation of autophagy with rapamycin resulted in increased wogonin‐mediated autophagy via inhibition of mTOR/P70S6K pathway. The functional relevance of autophagy in the antitumor activity was investigated by annexin V‐positive stained cells and PARP cleavage. Induction of autophagy by rapamycin ameliorated the wogonin‐mediated apoptosis, whereas inhibition of autophagy by 3‐methyladenine (3‐MA) or bafilomycin A1 increased the apoptotic effect. Interestingly, this study also found, in addition the mTOR/P70S6K pathway, wogonin also inhibited Raf/ERK pathway, a variety of Akt pathways. Inactivation of PI₃K/Akt by their inhibitors significantly induced apoptosis and markedly sensitized the NPC cells to wogonin‐induced apoptosis. This anticancer effect of Akt was further confirmed by SH6, a specific inhibitor of Akt. Importantly, inactivation of its downstream molecule ERK by PD98059, a MEK inhibitor, also induced apoptosis. This study indicated wogonin‐induced both autophagy and apoptosis through a variety of Akt pathways and suggested modulation of autophagy might provide profoundly the potential therapeutic effect. J. Cell. Biochem. 113: 3476–3485, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

P 7IkZP i、EF Z- 1在胃癌中的表达及其相关性研究

目的：研究p27^kip1蛋白、转录因子E2F-1在胃癌中的表达及其与胃癌病理参数乏问的关系,并探讨二者相关性。方法：应用免疫组化S-P法,对90例胃癌患者的癌组织、34例癌旁正常胃黏膜进行检测,分析p27^kip1、E2F-1蛋白表达及其与胃癌病理参数之间的关系。结果：p27^kip1在正常胃组织、胃癌组织中的阳性率分别为55．9％（19／34）、31．1％（28／90）,二者差异有统计学意义（p〈0．05）。其阳性表达率与胃癌组织的浸润深度（p〈0．05）、组织学分型（p〈0．01）、分化程度（p〈0．01）、淋巴结转移（p〈0．05）均相关;E2F-1在正常胃组织、胃癌组织中的阳性率分别为17．6％（6／34）、36．7％（33／90）,二者差异有统计学意义（p〈0．05）,其阳性表达率与胃癌的组织学分型相关。而与胃癌的浸润深度（p〉0．05）、分化程度（p〉0．05）、淋巴结转移无关（p〉0．05）。结论：p27^kip1在胃癌组织中的表达明显低于在正常组织,相反,E2F-1蛋白在胃癌组织中的表达却明显增强;p27^kip1蛋白表达与胃癌的浸润深度、组织学分型、分化程度、淋巴结转移等病理参数相关;E2F-1表达与胃癌的组织学分型相关;p27^kip1、E2F-1在胃癌中的表迭呈负相关。     

p27~(kip1)及相关分子skp2在肺癌组织中的表达及其临床意义

目的:研究细胞周期素依赖性激酶抑制蛋白27(p27kip1)和细胞S相激酶相关蛋白2(skp2)在肺癌癌组织中的表达及意义。方法:选取于我院就诊的72例肺癌患者的肺癌组织和20例癌旁正常肺组织,采用免疫组化技术检测标本中p27kip1和skp2的表达,并分析其与患者的临床病理之间的关系。结果:skp2在肺癌组织中的表达高于正常肺组织,而p27kip1在肺癌组织中的表达低于正常肺组织,差异均有统计学意义(P0.05),且两者的表达呈负相关关系,相关系数r=-0.855(P0.05),skp2的表达与肺癌组织学类型、分化程度、TNM分期、淋巴结有无转移、吸烟与否及p27kip1蛋白表达有关(P0.05)。结论:p27kip1低表达和skp2高表达可能是肺癌发生发展的重要原因,可应用于临床诊治肺癌患者和判断预后。     

人脑星形细胞瘤中p27kip1蛋白和增殖细胞核抗原PCNA表达的变化

目的：研究p27kip1蛋白和增殖细胞核抗原（proliferating cell nuclear antigen, PCNA）在星形细胞瘤中的表达与肿瘤病理分级的关系,探讨p27kip1蛋白在星形细胞瘤演变过程中的意义。方法：SP免疫组化法对64例星形细胞瘤的p27kip1蛋白和PCNA表达进行观察。结臬：随着病理级别的升高,p27kip1阳性细胞百分率降低,而PCNA则相反,两者的表达成显著负相关。结论：p27kip1表达的缺失可能与星形细胞瘤的发生发展密切相关,PCNA能较客观地反映肿瘤的恶性程度。     

c-Myc-induced circ-NOTCH1 promotes aggressive phenotypes of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by regulating the miR-34c-5p/c-Myc axis

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the subclass of head and neck cancer with the highest incidence among otolaryngology malignancies. A growing amount of evidence has proven that circular RNAs (circRNAs) play key roles in the progression of multiple cancers. It has been reported that circ-NOTCH1 is a novel circRNA and functions as an oncogene in gastric cancer, while the regulatory mechanism of circ-NOTCH1 in NPC remains unknown. In the present research, our findings revealed that circ-NOTCH1 was overexpressed in NPC tissues and cells. Circ-NOTCH1 knockdown suppressed NPC cell proliferation, invasion, and migration. Subsequently, we discovered that c-Myc can activate circ-NOTCH1 by binding to the NOTCH1 promoter. c-Myc functioned as a tumor promoter in NPC cells. Mechanistically, circ-NOTCH1 served as a competitive endogenous RNA to modulate c-Myc expression by sponging miR-34c-5p. Additionally, overexpression of c-Myc reversed the circ-NOTCH1 knockdown-mediated inhibition of NPC cellular progression. Overall, this study suggested that c-Myc-induced circ-NOTCH1 promoted malignant phenotypes of NPC cells by regulating the miR-34c-5p/c-Myc axis.     

人脑星形细胞瘤中p27 kip1 蛋白和增殖细胞核抗原PCNA 表达的变化

目的:研究p27kip1蛋白和增殖细胞核抗原(proliferating cell nuclear antigen,PCNA)在星形细胞瘤中的表达与肿瘤病理分级的关系,探讨p27kip1蛋白在星形细胞瘤演变过程中的意义。方法:SP免疫组化法对64例星形细胞瘤的p27kip1蛋白和PCNA表达进行观察。结果:随着病理级别的升高,p27kip1阳性细胞百分率降低,而PCNA则相反,两者的表达成显著负相关。结论:p27kip1表达的缺失可能与星形细胞瘤的发生发展密切相关,PCNA能较客观地反映肿瘤的恶性程度。     

Involvement of LIMK1/2 in actin assembly during mouse embryo development

LIMKs (LIMK1 and LIMK2) are serine/threonine protein kinases that involve in various cellular activities such as cell migration, morphogenesis and cytokinesis. However, its roles during mammalian early embryo development are still unclear. In the present study, we disrupted LIMK1/2 activity to explore the functions of LIMK1/2 during mouse early embryo development. We found that p-LIMK1/2 mainly located at the cortex of each blastomeres from 2-cell to 8-cell stage, and p-LIMK1/2 also expressed at morula and blastocyst stage in mouse embryos. Inhibition of LIMK1/2 activity by LIMKi 3 (BMS-5) at the zygote stage caused the failure of embryo early cleavage, and the disruption of LIMK1/2 activity at 8-cell stage caused the defects of embryo compaction and blastocyst formation. Fluorescence staining and intensity analysis results demonstrated that the inhibition of LIMK1/2 activity caused aberrant cortex actin expression and the decrease of phosphorylated cofilin in mouse embryos. Taken together, we identified LIMK1/2 as an important regulator for cofilin phosphorylation and actin assembly during mouse early embryo development.     

p27(kip1) upregulated by hnRNPC1/2 antagonizes CagA (a virulence factor of Helicobacter pylori)-mediated pathogenesis

Background and Aims: Infection by Helicobacter pylori is one of the major contributing factors of chronic active gastritis and peptic ulcer and is closely associated with the occurrence and progression of gastric cancer. CagA protein is a major virulence factor of H. pylori that interacts with SHP‐2, a true oncogene, to interfere with cellular signaling pathways; CagA also plays a crucial role in promoting the carcinogenesis of gastric epithelial cells. However, currently, the molecular mechanisms of gastric epithelial cells that antagonize CagA pathogenesis remain inconclusive. Methods: We showed that AGS gastric cancer cells transfected with CagA exhibited the inhibition of proliferation and increased activity of caspase 3/7 using two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis and secondary mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Results: It was found that the AGS gastric cancer cells stably expressing CagA displayed significantly increased the expression of 16 proteins, including hnRNPC1/2. Further analysis revealed that hnRNPC1/2 significantly boosted the expression of the p27^kip1 protein. Conclusion: Our data suggested that hnRNPC1/2 upregulates p27^kip1 expression and the subsequent suppression of cell proliferation and induction of apoptosis, thereby providing an important mechanism whereby gastric epithelial cells antagonize CagA‐mediated pathogenesis.     

LncRNA SOX2-OT regulates proliferation and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells through miR-146b-5p/HNRNPA2B1 pathway

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an aggressive malignancy with a high mortality on account of its frequent metastasis and poor prognosis. An extensive body of investigations has proven that long noncoding RNAs are implicated in a variety of biological processes. Although SOX2-OT has been reported to play an oncogenic role in osteosarcoma, the mechanism of SOX2-OT-driven NPC progression is still obscure. The aim of this study was to elucidate the biological function of SOX2-OT and the related possible mechanism in NPC. In our study, SOX2-OT was notably elevated in NPC samples and cells. Further, a high expression level of SOX2-OT was correlated with poor clinical outcomes of NPC. Results from loss-of-function experiments suggested that knockdown of SOX2-OT repressed cell proliferation, arrested cell cycle, facilitated cell apoptosis, and inhibited cell metastasis of NPC. To further investigate the molecular mechanism of SOX2-OT, miR-146b-5p was found to directly bind to SOX2-OT, which mediated the role of SOX2-OT in NPC tumorigenesis. In addition, HNRNPA2B1 was a target of miR-146b-5p and SOX2-OT modulated the expression of HNRNPA2B1 through competitively binding to miR-146b-5p. At last, we discovered that SOX2-OT regulated NPC progression by targeting miR-146b-5p/HNRNPA2B1 pathway, which may provide more innovative targets for the treatment of patients with NPC.