Genetic Variation in MDM2 and p14 ARF and Susceptibility to Salivary Gland Carcinoma

Background

The p14^ARF/MDM2/p53 pathway plays an important role in modulation of DNA damage and oxidative stress responses. The aim of this study was to determine whether genetic variants in MDM2 and p14^ARF are associated with risk of salivary gland carcinoma (SGC).

Methods

Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in MDM2 and p14^ARF (MDM2-rs2279744, MDM2-rs937283, p14^ARF-rs3731217, and p14^ARF-rs3088440) were genotyped in 156 patients with SGC and 511 cancer-free controls. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Results

MDM2-rs2279744 was significantly associated with a moderately increased risk of SGC (OR, 1.5, 95% CI, 1.1–2.2). There was a trend toward significantly increased SGC risk with increasing number of risk genotypes of the four polymorphisms (P _trend = 0.004). Individuals carrying 3–4 risk genotypes in MDM2 and p14^ARF were at increased SGC risk (OR, 2.0, 95% CI, 1.1–2.7) compared with individuals carrying 0–2 risk genotypes. Moreover, the combined effect of risk genotypes of MDM2 and p14^ARF was more pronounced among young subjects (≤45 years), female subjects, subjects with race/ethnicity other than non-Hispanic white, ever-smokers, and ever-drinkers.

Conclusion

Our results support the involvement of SNPs of MDM2 and p14^ARF, either alone or more likely in combination, in susceptibility to SGC. Larger studies are needed to validate our findings.     

ARF——一种新的抑癌因子的研究进展

INK4a/ARF基因位于人染色体9p21,是人类肿瘤中最常见的基因失活位点之一.INK4a/ARF基因有两套各自独立的启动子,通过可变阅读框,能够编码两种蛋白质：p16^INK4a和p14^ARF（ARF在鼠细胞中为p19^ARF）.p16作为CDK4/6的抑制因子,能够阻断pRb磷酸化,将细胞周期阻断在G1期;而ARF可结合原癌蛋白MDM2,稳定p53,将细胞周期阻断在G1期和G2/M转换期,或诱导细胞凋亡.因此ARF蛋白和p16一样也是一种肿瘤抑制因子.     

PRMT1 promotes the tumor suppressor function of p14ARF and is indicative for pancreatic cancer prognosis

The p14^ARF protein is a well‐known regulator of p53‐dependent and p53‐independent tumor‐suppressive activities. In unstressed cells, p14^ARF is predominantly sequestered in the nucleoli, bound to its nucleolar interaction partner NPM. Upon genotoxic stress, p14^ARF undergoes an immediate redistribution to the nucleo‐ and cytoplasm, where it promotes activation of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Here, we identify p14^ARF as a novel interaction partner and substrate of PRMT1 (protein arginine methyltransferase 1). PRMT1 methylates several arginine residues in the C‐terminal nuclear/nucleolar localization sequence (NLS/NoLS) of p14^ARF. In the absence of cellular stress, these arginines are crucial for nucleolar localization of p14^ARF. Genotoxic stress causes augmented interaction between PRMT1 and p14^ARF, accompanied by arginine methylation of p14^ARF. PRMT1‐dependent NLS/NoLS methylation promotes the release of p14^ARF from NPM and nucleolar sequestration, subsequently leading to p53‐independent apoptosis. This PRMT1‐p14^ARF cooperation is cancer‐relevant and indicative for PDAC (pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma) prognosis and chemotherapy response of pancreatic tumor cells. Our data reveal that PRMT1‐mediated arginine methylation is an important trigger for p14^ARF’s stress‐induced tumor‐suppressive function.     

Curcumin induces Apaf-1-dependent,p21-mediated caspase activation and apoptosis

Previous studies have demonstrated that curcumin induces mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. However, understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying curcumin-induced cell death remains limited. In this study, we demonstrate that curcumin treatment of cancer cells caused dose- and time-dependent caspase 3 activation, which is required for apoptosis as confirmed using the pan-caspase inhibitor, z-VAD. Knockdown experiments and knockout cells excluded a role for caspase 8 in curcumin-induced caspase 3 activation. In contrast, Apaf-1 deficiency or silencing inhibited the activity of caspase 3, pointing to a requisite role of Apaf-1 in curcumin-induced apoptotic cell death. Curcumin treatment led to Apaf-1 upregulation, both at the protein and mRNA levels. Cytochrome c release from mitochondria to the cytosol in curcumin-treated cells was associated with upregulation of pro-apoptotic proteins, such as Bax, Bak, Bid and Bim. Cross-linking experiments demonstrated Bax oligomerization during curcumin-induced apoptosis, suggesting that induced expression of Bax, Bid and Bim causes Bax channel formation on the mitochondrial membrane. The release of cytochrome c was unaltered in p53-deficient cells, whereas absence of p21 blocked cytochrome c release, caspase activation and apoptosis. Importantly, p21 deficiency resulted in reduced expression of Apaf-1 during curcumin treatment, indicating a requirement for p21 in Apaf-1-dependent caspase activation and apoptosis. Together, our findings identify Apaf-1, Bax and p21 as novel potential targets for curcumin or curcumin-based anticancer agents.Key words: curcumin, mitochondria, cytochrome c, Apaf-1, caspase, p21     

p14ARF对人黑色素瘤细胞增殖的影响及其作用机理的初探

ARF(alternative reading frame)作为INK4a/ARF的β转录产物,能够稳定p53, 诱导细胞周期阻断或凋亡.利用高表达p14^ARF的人黑色素瘤细胞模型,探讨了ARF抑制细胞增殖的分子作用机理.研究发现p14^ARF高表达能将细胞周期阻断在G1和G2期, p53, p21^cip1和p27^kip1蛋白水平明显增强, 而p-ERK1/2,CyclinD1和CyclinE蛋白水平下降, 明显抑制细胞生长. 提示p14^ARF能通过ERK(extracellular signal-regulated kinase)信号通路相互协调作用抑制A375细胞增殖.     

Mutations in human ARF exon 2 disrupt its nucleolar localization and impair its ability to block nuclear export of MDM2 and p53.

The mammalian ARF-INK4a locus uniquely encodes two cell cycle inhibitors by using separate promoters and alternative reading frames. p16INK4a maintains the retinoblastoma protein in its growth suppressive state while ARF stabilizes p53. We report that human ARF protein predominantly localizes to the nucleolus via a sequence within the exon 2-encoded C-terminal domain and is induced to leave the nucleolus by MDM2. ARF forms nuclear bodies with MDM2 and p53 and blocks p53 and MDM2 nuclear export. Tumor-associated mutations in ARF exon 2 disrupt ARF's nucleolus localization and reduce ARF's ability to block p53 nuclear export and to stabilize p53. Our results suggest an ARF-regulated MDM2-dependent p53 stabilization and link the human tumor-associated mutations in ARF with a functional alteration.     

E2F and Ras Synergize in Transcriptionally Activating p14ARF Expression

The INK4a/ARF locus, which is frequently inactivated in human tumors, encodes two distinct tumor suppressive proteins, ARF and p16^INK4a. ARF stabilizes and activates p53 by negating the effects of mdm2 on p53. Furthermore, its function is not restricted to the p53 pathway and it also inhibits cell proliferation in cells lacking p53. Expression of ARF is up-regulated in response to a number of oncogenic stimuli including E2F1. We show here that while oncogenic Ras does not significantly affect p14^ARF expression in normal human cells it activates p14^ARF in cells containing deregulated E2F. Moreover, oncogenic Ras and E2F1 synergize in activating p14^ARF expression. Activation of p14^ARF promoter by E2F1 persists in the absence of the consensus E2F-binding sites in this promoter, indicating that this activation also occurs through non- canonical binding sites. The activation by oncogenic Ras requires both E2F and Sp-1 activity, demonstrating the complex regulation of p14^ARF in response to oncogenic stimuli.     

Curcumin Induces Apoptosis in Human Melanoma Cells through a Fas Receptor/Caspase-8 Pathway Independent of p53

In this study, we investigated the molecular pathways targeted by curcumin during apoptosis of human melanoma cell lines. We found that curcumin caused cell death in eight melanoma cell lines, four with wild-type and four with mutant p53. We demonstrate that curcumin-induced apoptosis is both dose- and time-dependent. We found that curcumin did not induce p53, suggesting that curcumin activates other apoptosis pathways. Our data show that curcumin activates caspases-3 and -8 but not caspase-9, supporting the rationale that apoptosis occurs via a membrane-mediated mechanism. Both a caspase-8 and broad-based caspase inhibitor, but not a caspase-9 specific inhibitor, suppressed curcumin-induced cell death. To further support our hypothesis that curcumin induces activation of a death receptor pathway, we show that curcumin induces Fas receptor aggregation in a FasL-independent manner and that low-temperature incubation, previously shown to inhibit receptor aggregation, prevented curcumin-induced cell death. Moreover, we demonstrate that expression of dominant negative FADD significantly inhibited curcumin-induced cell death. In addition, our results indicate that curcumin also blocks the NF-kappaB cell survival pathway and suppresses the apoptotic inhibitor, XIAP. Since melanoma cells with mutant p53 are strongly resistant to conventional chemotherapy, curcumin may overcome the chemoresistance of these cells and provide potential new avenues for treatment.     

CREB represses p53-dependent transactivation of MDM2 through the complex formation with p53 and contributes to p53-mediated apoptosis in response to glucose deprivation

Recently, we have described that CREB (cAMP-responsive element-binding protein) has the ability to transactivate tumor suppressor p53 gene in response to glucose deprivation. In this study, we have found that CREB forms a complex with p53 and represses p53-mediated transactivation of MDM2 but not of p21^WAF1. Immunoprecipitation analysis revealed that CREB interacts with p53 in response to glucose deprivation. Forced expression of CREB significantly attenuated the up-regulation of the endogenous MDM2 in response to p53. By contrast, the mutant form of CREB lacking DNA-binding domain (CREBΔ) had an undetectable effect on the expression level of the endogenous MDM2. During the glucose deprivation-mediated apoptosis, there existed an inverse relationship between the expression levels of MDM2 and p53/CREB. Additionally, p53/CREB complex was dissociated from MDM2 promoter in response to glucose deprivation. Collectively, our present results suggest that CREB preferentially down-regulates MDM2 and thereby contributing to p53-mediated apoptosis in response to glucose deprivation.     

Contribution of two independent MDM2-binding domains in p14(ARF) to p53 stabilization

The MDM2 protein targets the p53 tumor suppressor for ubiquitin-dependent degradation [1], and can function both as an E3 ubiquitin ligase [2] and as a regulator of the subcellular localization of p53 [3]. Oncogene activation stabilizes p53 through expression of the ARF protein (p14(ARF) in humans, p19(ARF) in the mouse) [4], and loss of ARF allows tumor development without loss of wild-type p53 [5] [6]. ARF binds directly to MDM2, and prevents MDM2 from targeting p53 for degradation [6] [7] [8] [9] by inhibiting the E3 ligase activity of MDM2 [2] and preventing nuclear export of MDM2 and p53 [10] [11]. Interaction between ARF and MDM2 results in the localization of both proteins to the nucleolus [12] [13] [14] through nucleolar localization signals (NoLS) in ARF and MDM2 [11] [12] [13] [14]. Here, we report a new NoLS within the highly conserved amino-terminal 22 amino acids of p14(ARF), a region that we found could interact with MDM2, relocalize MDM2 to the nucleolus and inhibit the ability of MDM2 to degrade p53. In contrast, the carboxy-terminal fragment of p14(ARF), which contains the previously described NoLS [11], did not drive nucleolar localization of MDM2, although this region could bind MDM2 and weakly inhibit its ability to degrade p53. Our results support the importance of nucleolar sequestration for the efficient inactivation of MDM2. The inhibition of MDM2 by a small peptide from the amino terminus of p14(ARF) might be exploited to restore p53 function in tumors.     

Curcumin induces Apaf-1-dependent,p21-mediated caspase activation and apoptosis

Previous studies have demonstrated that curcumin induces mitochondria-mediated apoptosis. However, understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying curcumin-induced cell death remains limited. In this study, we demonstrate that curcumin treatment of cancer cells caused dose- and time-dependent caspase-3 activation, which is required for apoptosis as confirmed using the pan caspase inhibitor, z-VAD. Knockdown experiments and knockout cells excluded a role of caspase-8 in curcumin-induced caspase-3 activation. In contrast, Apaf-1 deficiency or silencing inhibited the activity of caspase-3, pointing to a requisite role of Apaf-1 in curcumin-induced apoptotic cell death. Curcumin treatment led to Apaf-1 upregulation both at the protein and mRNA levels. Cytochrome c release from mitochondria to the cytosol in curcumin-treated cells was associated with upregulation of proapoptotic proteins such as Bax, Bak, Bid, and Bim. Crosslinking experiments demonstrated Bax oligomerization during curcumin-induced apoptosis, suggesting that induced expression of Bax, Bid, and Bim causes Bax-channel formation on the mitochondrial membrane. The release of cytochrome c was unaltered in p53-deficient cells, whereas absence of p21 blocked cytochrome c release, caspase activation, and apoptosis. Importantly, p21-deficiency resulted in reduced expression of Apaf-1 during curcumin treatment, indicating a requirement of p21 in Apaf-1 dependent caspase activation and apoptosis. Together, our findings demonstrate that Apaf-1, Bax, and p21 as novel potential targets for curcumin or curcumin-based anticancer agents.     

Curcumin induces apoptosis in human breast cancer cells through p53-dependent Bax induction

The aim of this study was to determine the mechanisms of curcumin-induced human breast cancer cell apoptosis. From quantitative image analysis data showing an increase in the percentage of cells with a sub-G0/G1 DNA content, we demonstrated curcumin-induced apoptosis in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7, in which expression of wild-type p53 could be induced. Apoptosis was accompanied by an increase in p53 level as well as its DNA-binding activity followed by Bax expression at the protein level. Further experiments using p53-null MDAH041 cell as well as low and high p53-expressing TR9-7 cell, in which p53 expression is under tight control of tetracycline, established that curcumin induced apoptosis in tumor cells via a p53-dependent pathway in which Bax is the downstream effector of p53. This property of curcumin suggests that this molecule could have a possible therapeutic potential in breast cancer patients.