PRAM-1 is a novel adaptor protein regulated by retinoic acid (RA) and promyelocytic leukemia (PML)-RA receptor alpha in acute promyelocytic leukemia cells

The t(15;17) translocation, found in 95% of acute promyelocytic leukemia, encodes a promyelocytic leukemia (PML)-retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARalpha) fusion protein. Complete remission of acute promyelocytic leukemia can be obtained by treating patients with all-trans retinoic acid, and PML-RARalpha plays a major role in mediating retinoic acid effects in leukemia cells. A main model proposed for acute promyelocytic leukemia is that PML-RARalpha exerts its oncogenic effects by repressing the expression of retinoic acid-inducible genes critical to myeloid differentiation. By applying subtraction cloning to acute promyelocytic leukemia cells, we identified a retinoic acid-induced gene, PRAM-1 (PML-RARalpha target gene encoding an Adaptor Molecule-1), which encodes a novel adaptor protein sharing structural homologies with the SLAP-130/fyb adaptor. PRAM-1 is expressed and regulated during normal human myelopoiesis. In U937 myeloid precursor cells, PRAM-1 expression is inhibited by expression of PML-RARalpha in the absence of ligand and de novo superinduced by retinoic acid. PRAM-1 associates with other adaptors, SLP-76 and SKAP-55HOM, in myeloid cell lines and with protein tyrosine kinase lyn. By providing the first evidence that PML-RARalpha dysregulates expression of an adaptor protein, our data open new insights into signaling events that are disrupted during transformation by PML-RARalpha and induced by retinoic acid during de novo differentiation of acute promyelocytic leukemia cells.     

ASB-2 inhibits growth and promotes commitment in myeloid leukemia cells.

In acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells harboring the promyelocytic leukemia retinoic acid receptor alpha (PML-RARalpha) chimeric protein, retinoic acid (RA)-induced differentiation is triggered through a PML-RARalpha signaling resulting in activation of critical target genes. Induced differentiation of APL cells is always preceded by withdrawal from the cell cycle and commitment events leading to terminal differentiation. Here we have identified the human ankyrin repeat-containing protein with a suppressor of cytokine signaling box-2 (ASB-2) cDNA, as a novel RA-induced gene in APL cells. PML-RARalpha strongly enhanced RA-induced ASB-2 mRNA expression. In myeloid leukemia cells, ASB-2 expression induced growth inhibition and chromatin condensation recapitulating early events critical to RA-induced differentiation of APL cells.     

The Src-Family Kinase Inhibitor PP2 Rescues Inducible Differentiation Events in Emergent Retinoic Acid-Resistant Myeloblastic Leukemia Cells

Retinoic acid is an embryonic morphogen and dietary factor that demonstrates chemotherapeutic efficacy in inducing maturation in leukemia cells. Using HL60 model human myeloid leukemia cells, where all-trans retinoic acid (RA) induces granulocytic differentiation, we developed two emergent RA-resistant HL60 cell lines which are characterized by loss of RA-inducible G1/G0 arrest, CD11b expression, inducible oxidative metabolism and p47^phox expression. However, RA-treated RA-resistant HL60 continue to exhibit sustained MEK/ERK activation, and one of the two sequentially emergent resistant lines retains RA-inducible CD38 expression. Other signaling events that define the wild-type (WT) response are compromised, including c-Raf phosphorylation and increased expression of c-Cbl, Vav1, and the Src-family kinases (SFKs) Lyn and Fgr. As shown previously in WT HL60 cells, we found that the SFK inhibitor PP2 significantly increases G1/G0 cell cycle arrest, CD38 and CD11b expression, c-Raf phosphorylation and expression of the aforementioned regulators in RA-resistant HL60. The resistant cells were potentially incapable of developing inducible oxidative metabolism. These results motivate the concept that RA resistance can occur in steps, wherein growth arrest and other differentiation events may be recovered in both emergent lines. Investigating the mechanistic anomalies in resistant cell lines is of therapeutic significance and helps to mechanistically understand the response to retinoic acid’s biological effects in WT HL60 cells.     

Leukomogenic factors downregulate heparanase expression in acute myeloid leukemia cells

Heparanase is a heparan sulfate-degrading endoglycosidase expressed by mature monocytes and myeloid cells, but not by immature hematopoietic progenitors. Heparanase gene expression is upregulated during differentiation of immature myeloid cells. PML-RARalpha and PLZF-RARalpha fusion gene products associated with acute promyelocytic leukemia abrogate myeloid differentiation and heparanase expression. AML-Eto, a translocation product associated with AML FAB M2, also downregulates heparanase gene expression. The common mechanism that underlines the activity of these three fusion gene products involves the recruitment of histone deacetylase complexes to specific locations within the DNA. We found that retinoic acid that dissociates PML-RARalpha from the DNA, and which is used to treat acute promyelocytic leukemia patients, restores heparanase expression to normal levels in an acute promyelocytic leukemia cell line. The retinoic acid effects were also observed in primary acute promyelocytic leukemia cells and in a retinoic acid-treated acute promyelocytic leukemia patient. Histone deacetylase inhibitor reverses the downregulation of heparanase expression induced by the AML-Eto fusion gene product in M2 type AML. In summary, we have characterized a link between leukomogenic factors and the downregulation of heparanase in myeloid leukemic cells.     

孤生受体的相互作用对视黄酸应答元件的影响

孤生受体ＣＯＵＰ－ＴＦ和ｎｕｒ７７的功能及其作用机理仍未阐明．以ＤＮＡ瞬时转染和测定氯霉素乙酰转移酶（ＣＡＴ）活性,以及凝胶阻抑测定,分析ＣＯＵＰ－ＴＦ和ｎｕｒ７７的相互作用对视黄酸应答元件（ＲＡＲＥｓ）的影响．实验表明,ＣＯＵＰ－ＴＦ通过降低ＲＡＲＥｓ的基础活性,来增强ＲＡＲＥ对视黄酸（ＲＡ）的敏感性,而ｎｕｒ７７则拮抗ＣＯＵＰ－ＴＦ的作用．ｎｕｒ７７能够加强不同ＲＡＲＥｓ的转录活性,并且与ＲＡ的诱导无关．结果证实,ｎｕｒ７７通过与ＣＯＵＰ－ＴＦ的直接作用而对ＲＡＲＥｓ产生影响,从而抑制ＣＯＵＰ－ＴＦ与ＲＡＲＥｓ结合和ＣＯＵＰ－ＴＦ的转录活性     

A critical role of redox state in determining HL-60 cell granulocytic differentiation and apoptosis via involvement of PKC and NF-κB

The modifications of intracellular redox balance leads to important cellular changes in many cell types. Here, a causal relationship among redox state, granulocytic differentiation induced by all-trans retinoic acid (RA) or dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP) and apoptosis have been studied in the human acute promyelocytic leukaemia HL-60 cells. The modulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species levels by d, l-buthionine-(S, R) sulfoximide (BSO), and n-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) caused inducer- and time-dependent or stage-specific effects on HL-60 cell growth inhibition, differentiation and subsequent apoptosis. The presence of BSO during the commitment stage suppressed RA—but not dbcAMP-mediated differentiation, while NAC inhibited both. BSO alone and in combination with RA or dbcAMP-induced apoptosis, which was prevented by NAC in dbcAMP—but not in RA-treated cells. Using protein kinase C inhibitor, calphostin C, cross-talk effects between the intracellular redox state and PKC signalling was identified by demonstrating inducer-dependent changes in cell differentiation or apoptosis, which were associated with the changes in DNA-NF-κB binding activity. These observations suggest a critical role of redox state in determining HL-60 cell behaviour and provide new insights into the complex effects of redox perturbations on the intracellular signalling network via the involvement of PKC and NF-κB.