Caffeine and human DNA metabolism: the magic and the mystery

The ability of caffeine to reverse cell cycle checkpoint function and enhance genotoxicity after DNA damage was examined in telomerase-expressing human fibroblasts. Caffeine reversed the ATM-dependent S and G2 checkpoint responses to DNA damage induced by ionizing radiation (IR), as well as the ATR- and Chk1-dependent S checkpoint response to ultraviolet radiation (UVC). Remarkably, under conditions in which IR-induced G2 delay was reversed by caffeine, IR-induced G1 arrest was not. Incubation in caffeine did not increase the percentage of cells entering the S phase 6-8h after irradiation; ATM-dependent phosphorylation of p53 and transactivation of p21(Cip1/Waf1) post-IR were resistant to caffeine. Caffeine alone induced a concentration- and time-dependent inhibition of DNA synthesis. It inhibited the entry of human fibroblasts into S phase by 70-80% regardless of the presence or absence of wildtype ATM or p53. Caffeine also enhanced the inhibition of cell proliferation induced by UVC in XP variant fibroblasts. This effect was reversed by expression of DNA polymerase eta, indicating that translesion synthesis of UVC-induced pyrimidine dimers by DNA pol eta protects human fibroblasts against UVC genotoxic effects even when other DNA repair functions are compromised by caffeine.     

Three-color versus four-color multiparameter cell cycle analyses of primary acute myeloid leukemia samples

Checkpoint alterations that impact cell cycle and apoptosis responses to therapeutic treatments may produce drug resistance in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). To study these, we have developed flow cytometry assays of checkpoint function that also allow quantitation of key molecular regulators of apoptosis and cell cycle. We have used three-color (3C) assays, with FITC-labeled anti-BCL-2 and PE-labeled anti-proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) antibodies, and the DNA dye 7-aminoactinomycin, to characterize primary leukemia cells identified in DNA x side light scatter (SSC) histograms. We showed that 3C assays are accurate and reproducible in analyses of leukemia cell lines and of primary AML and normal bone marrow samples (Banker et al.: Blood 89: 243-255, 1997; Banker et al.: Leukemia Res 22: 221-239, 1998; Banker et al.: Clin Cancer Res 4: 3051-3062, 1998). To further confirm the validity of our SSC leukemia cell gating and to address whether immunophenotypic AML subsets might have different biologic properties, we have now designed four-color (4C) flow assays to characterize checkpoint status in leukemic blasts specifically identified by surface immunostaining. In modeling this assay strategy, PE/Cy5-labeled anti-CD34 antibody was used to detect blasts, with FITC-labeled anti-BCL-2, PE-labeled anti-PCNA antibodies, and Hoechst 33342 (H33342) DNA dye. Four-color CD34-gated data was concordant with 3C, SSC-gated data for leukemia cell lines and for most primary AML samples with high and intermediate blast counts. BCL-2 and PCNA immunopositivity and sub-G1 apoptosis determinations were different in the CD34-gated versus SSC-gated blasts in particular samples with smaller CD34(+) subsets, suggesting that leukemia samples can contain blast subsets with different biologic properties. On the other hand, PCNA-gated cell-cycle distributions in untreated cells and G1 versus S phase cell-cycle arrests after cytosine arabinoside treatments were completely concordant in 4C and 3C assays. We conclude that both 3C and 4C assays can be used to characterize protein expression and cell-cycle drug response patterns in leukemia blasts, but that 4C assays may additionally allow discrimination of these properties in immunophenotypic leukemia subsets.     

Cdc7-Dbf4 and the human S checkpoint response to UVC

The S checkpoint response to ultraviolet radiation (UVC) that inhibits replicon initiation is dependent on the ATR and Chk1 kinases. Downstream effectors of this response, however, are not well characterized. Data reported here eliminated Cdc25A degradation and inhibition of Cdk2-cyclin E as intrinsic components of the UVC-induced pathway of inhibition of replicon initiation in human cells. A sublethal dose of UVC (1 J/m(2)), which selectively inhibits replicon initiation by 50%, failed to reduce the amount of Cdc25A protein or decrease Cdk2-cyclin E kinase activity. Cdc25A degradation was observed after irradiation with cytotoxic fluences of UVC, suggesting that severe inhibition of DNA chain elongation and activation of the replication checkpoint might be responsible for the UVC-induced degradation of Cdc25A. Another proposed effector of the S checkpoint is the Cdc7-Dbf4 complex. Dbf4 interacted weakly with Chk1 in vivo but was recognized as a substrate for Chk1-dependent phosphorylation in vitro. FLAG-Dbf4 formed complexes with endogenous Cdc7, and this interaction was stable in UVC-irradiated HeLa cells. Overexpression of FLAG- or Myc-tagged Dbf4 abrogated the S checkpoint response to UVC but not ionizing radiation. These findings implicate a Dbf4-dependent kinase as a possible target of the ATR- and Chk1-dependent S checkpoint response to UVC.     

Changes in motility, gene expression and actin dynamics: Cdk6-induced cytoskeletal changes associated with differentiation in mouse astrocytes

Cyclin dependent kinase (cdk) 4 and cdk6 have historically been understood to be D-cyclin kinases that phosphorylate pRb in the nucleus to regulate G1 phase of the cell cycle. In conflict with this understood redundancy are several studies that have demonstrated a novel role for cdk6 in differentiation. Cdk6 expression must be reduced to allow proper osteoblast and osteoclast differentiation, enforced cdk6 expression blocked differentiation of mouse embryo fibroblasts, and cdk6 expression in primary astrocytes favored the expression of progenitor cell markers (Ericson et al. [2003] Mol Cancer Res 1:654-664; Matushansky et al. [2003] Oncogene 22:4143-4149; Ogasawara et al. [2004a] J Bone Miner Res 19:1128-1136; Ogasawara et al. [2004b] Mol Cell Biol 24:6560-6568). Experiments shown here investigate novel cytoplasmic and nuclear functions of cdk6. These data demonstrate that cdk6 expression in mouse astrocytes results in changes in patterns of gene expression, changes in the actin cytoskeleton including loss of stress fibers, and enhanced motility. These changes in cdk6-infected cells are associated with the process of cellular differentiation.     

Effect of tropomyosin on the interactions of actin with actin-binding proteins isolated from pig platelets

Several non-muscle tropomyosins have been reported to lack the ability to polymerize in a head-to-tail manner [Dabrowska, R. et al. (1983) J. Muscle Res. Cell Motil. 1, 83-92; C?té, G.P. (1983) Mol. Cell. Biochem. 57, 127-146]. Unlike rabbit skeletal muscle tropomyosin, these proteins could therefore not protect the F-actin microfilaments neither from disassembly or from cross-linking by the other actin-associating factors. However, we have provided evidence that, in vitro, pig platelet tropomyosin, although shorter in molecular length, exhibits the same properties as the muscle protein: it self-associates and forms a 1:6 complex with platelet filamentous actin under physiological conditions [Prulière et al. (1984) J. Muscle Res. Cell Motil. 6, 126]. In this paper, we examine the effects of several other actin-binding proteins on the microfilaments saturated with this non-muscle tropomyosin. Since contractile proteins often vary with the cell type and may require different conditions for their interactions, we have developed a procedure which allows the parallel purification of actin-binding protein (ABP), vinculin, alpha-actinin, gelsolin as well as actin and tropomyosin from the same batch of cells. Thus, using an homogeneous system, we show by viscometry, sedimentation and densitometry, and by electron microscopy, that pig platelet tropomyosin can protect the structure of the microfilaments from the action of the modulating factors to the same extent as rabbit skeletal muscle alpha-tropomyosin. Our data suggest that interaction of ABP, vinculin or alpha-actinin can occur only with the ends of the filaments when F-actin is saturated with tropomyosin, while cross-linking takes place by interactions with sites localized along the entire length of F-actin in the absence of tropomyosin. Moreover, the presence of tropomyosin on F-actin leads to the total inhibition of gelsolin severing activity, although it did not prevent the binding of gelsolin to the F-actin--tropomyosin complex. This suggests that pig platelet as well as skeletal muscle tropomyosins have the ability to increase the strength of the interaction between actin monomers within the filament. This also suggests that the binding sites of gelsolin along the filaments are not localized in the groove of the F-actin helix.     

An ATR- and Chk1-dependent S checkpoint inhibits replicon initiation following UVC-induced DNA damage

Inhibition of replicon initiation is a stereotypic DNA damage response mediated through S checkpoint mechanisms not yet fully understood. Studies were undertaken to elucidate the function of checkpoint proteins in the inhibition of replicon initiation following irradiation with 254 nm UV light (UVC) of diploid human fibroblasts immortalized by the ectopic expression of telomerase. Velocity sedimentation analysis of nascent DNA molecules revealed a 50% inhibition of replicon initiation when normal human fibroblasts were treated with a low dose of UVC (1 J/m(2)). Ataxia telangiectasia (AT), Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS), and AT-like disorder fibroblasts, which lack an S checkpoint response when exposed to ionizing radiation, responded normally when exposed to UVC and inhibited replicon initiation. Pretreatment of normal and AT fibroblasts with caffeine or UCN-01, inhibitors of ATR (AT mutated and Rad3 related) and Chk1, respectively, abolished the S checkpoint response to UVC. Moreover, overexpression of kinase-inactive ATR in U2OS cells severely attenuated UVC-induced Chk1 phosphorylation and reversed the UVC-induced inhibition of replicon initiation, as did overexpression of kinase-inactive Chk1. Taken together, these data suggest that the UVC-induced S checkpoint response of inhibition of replicon initiation is mediated by ATR signaling through Chk-1 and is independent of ATM, Nbs1, and Mre11.     

Regulation of cellular and SV40 virus origins of replication by Chk1-dependent intrinsic and UVC radiation-induced checkpoints

DNA replication is inhibited by DNA damage through cis effects on replication fork progression and trans effects associated with checkpoints. In this study, we employed a combined pulse labeling and neutral-neutral two-dimensional gel-based approach to compare the effects of a DNA damaging agent frequently employed to invoke checkpoints, UVC radiation, on the replication of cellular and simian virus 40 (SV40) chromosomes in intact cells. UVC radiation induced similar inhibitory effects on the initiation and elongation phases of cellular and SV40 DNA replication. The initiation-inhibitory effects occurred independently of p53 and were abrogated by the ATM and ATR kinase inhibitor caffeine, or the Chk1 kinase inhibitor UCN-01. Inhibition of cellular origins was also abrogated by the expression of a dominant-negative Chk1 mutant. These results indicate that UVC induces a Chk1- and ATR or ATM-dependent checkpoint that targets both cellular and SV40 viral replication origins. Loss of Chk1 and ATR or ATM function also stimulated initiation of cellular and viral DNA replication in the absence of UVC radiation, revealing the existence of a novel intrinsic checkpoint that targets both cellular and SV40 viral origins of replication in the absence of DNA damage or stalled DNA replication forks. This checkpoint inhibits the replication in early S phase cells of a region of the repetitive rDNA locus that replicates in late S phase. The ability to detect these checkpoints using the well characterized SV40 model system should facilitate analysis of the molecular basis for these effects.     

Sentinels of DNA integrity in stem cells: Safeguarding future generations of cells

Integrated into the somatic cell cycle are multi-faceted mechanisms to protect genomic fidelity from genotoxic threats occurring during cell division or cellular quiescence. How embryonic stem cells respond to an array of attacks on genomic integrity has been uncertain, particularly in light of embryonic-like rapid cell cycle phases versus adult cells and the lack of an effective G1/S checkpoint. Whether a DNA damage response is activated similarly to somatic cells or apoptotic pathways used to purge damaged cells are important questions, since the longevity of embryonic stem cells provides opportunities for accumulated mutations and a source for carcinogenic cells. In this issue, Chuyikin et al. investigate the timing and sensitivity of the DNA damage response pathway to double strand breaks (DSBs) in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs), validating its responsiveness and providing a comprehensive view of key signaling events.

DNA DSBs are potently mutagenic lesions incurring chromosome breaks, potential rearrangements, mutation and loss of information.¹ The cellular response is immediate, sensitive and persistent, occurring within 30 seconds of damage upon detection of as little as 8 DSBs per cell. The response can be fully active in 15 minutes and persist for hours. Repair is preferred and may elicit checkpoint delays to cell cycle progression, with extreme genotoxic conditions initiating apoptotic pathways. The majority of DSB proteins are activated by PI-3 like kinases, with the primary mammalian response to DSBs occurring via the ATM kinase that is able to respond directly to DSBs. Phosphorylated downstream targets include the uncommon histone, H2AX. This histone provides a cytological platform at DSB sites for the recruitment of DSB mediator and effector proteins such as MDC1 and NBS1. To this scaffold further DSB proteins are recruited, amplifying the signal. NBS1 is part of the MRN complex that includes MRE11 and Rad50 and mediates nuclear localization of the complex to the DNA for stabilizing chromatin ends. The nucleolytic processing of DNA ends by MRE11 resection triggers a second pathway modulated by ATR, that responds to RPA coated ssDNA. Chuyikin et al., used antibodies to phosphorylated ATM and H2AX (pATM, pH2AX) as sensitive temporal markers of DNA repair foci that form at DSBs and followed these events through the cell cycle.

In fast proliferating undifferentiated cells an increase in single strand DNA breaks (SSBs) is typically observed, attributed to ongoing DNA replication, and not generally considered mutagenic. Chuyikin et al. used sensitive comet assays along with pH2AX and pATM antibodies to confirm the presence of SSBs in mESCs and a low background of pH2AX positive/pATM absent poised foci. Upon γ-irradiation to induce DSBs, dramatic detection of DNA repair foci including both pH2AX and pATM occurs. FACs analysis indicated no cell cycle arrest at G1/S from γ-irradiation, although a slight delay at G2/M. Chuyikin et al. did find that mESCs have an active spindle assembly checkpoint allowing cells to be blocked at G2/M with nocodazole and then released synchronously through the cell cycle. The key to their detection of this checkpoint was a six hour treatment with drug, versus longer timepoints. Indeed Reider and Maiato² have shown that in mammalian cells, spindle assembly checkpoint duration is variable and need not be satisfied to be overridden by adaptation, slippage or leakage, quite unlike the tight cell cycle arrest observed in fungi. Therefore longer treatments with nocodazole to arrest mESCs at this stage would be expected to simply be ineffective and promote further polyploidy by attenuating the mitotic mechanism. The authors detailed analysis of induction of DNA repair foci in all cell cycle stages revealed that all stages generate foci, including metaphase chromosomes in mitosis, although foci were most prominent in G1, G2 phases. Thus the primary response by the ATM pathway in these cells is not limited by cell cycle phase.

The maintenance of genomic fidelity in ESCs may require more enhanced DNA repair³ as well as alternative mechanisms to DNA repair, such as increased apoptosis. Chuyikin et al. observed increased caspase activity triggered after γ-irradiation of mESCs, but found no significant increase in cell death. They also found that protein levels of p53, a downstream target of the ATM kinase that is important for the G1/S checkpoint as well as p53-dependent apoptosis, were comparable to fibroblast cells, however p53 lacked activating phosphorylation. Both of these observations help to explain an ineffective G1/S checkpoint and the need for p53-independent apoptosis.

Additional alternate mechanisms for maintaining genomic integrity ESCs have been reported and contribute. This includes a 100X reduction in mutations versus somatic cells and resistance to oxidative stress. Asymmetry mechanisms,⁴ that are a commonly used means of cellular signaling and polarity from yeast to man may also apply, as in the Cairns immortal strand hypothesis. In 1975 Cairns proposed that stem cells might minimize mutations to their genomes from DNA replication by asymmetric segregation of their DNA. Retention of parental strands in the stem cell and segregation of potential mutation carrying DNAs into non-stem cell or differentiating daughters could reduce the mutation potential.4 Such asymmetric sister chromatid strand segregation is still controversial despite having been observed during mitosis in several stem cell populations. Continued elegant studies, such at that by Chuyikin et al, that define which pathways are present and examine the crosstalk in pathways used to detect, signal, repair and protect genomic integrity will continue to provide exciting new systemic views into stem cells. Our therapeutic use of stem cells in the future including understanding of cellular differentiation and cancer depends on it.

ReferencesRiches LC, et al. Mutagenesis 2008; In press.Rieder CL, et al. Dev Cell 2004; 7:637-51.Maynard S, et al. Stem Cells 2008; In press. Doxsey S, et al. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol 2005; 21:411-34.Cairns J. Genetics 2006; 174:1069-72.Chuykin I, et al. Cell Cycle 2008; 7:In this issue.     

Iron dynamics in the ruminant

We have compared the plasma clearance rate of radioactive iron in cows both as ferric chloride and as iron specifically bound to transferrin. We have also repeated the transfusion experiment of Dern et al. (Dern, R.J., Monti, A. and Glynn, M.F. (1963) J. Lab. Clin. Med. 61, 280–291) using goats. The results show that neither non-specifically bound iron (Bates, G.W. and Schlabach, M.R. (1973) J. Biol. Chem. 248, 3228–3232) nor the iron bound to the two different sites in transferrin (Awai, M., Chipman, B and Brown, E.B. (1975) J. Lab. Clin. Med. 85, 769–784) can be identified as distinguishable iron pools by this technique.     

Abrogation of the S phase DNA damage checkpoint results in S phase progression or premature mitosis depending on the concentration of 7-hydroxystaurosporine and the kinetics of Cdc25C activation

DNA damage causes cell cycle arrest in G(1), S, or G(2) to prevent replication on damaged DNA or to prevent aberrant mitosis. The G(1) arrest requires the p53 tumor suppressor, yet the topoisomerase I inhibitor SN38 induces p53 after the G(1) checkpoint such that the cells only arrest in S or G(2). Hence, SN38 facilitates comparison of p53 wild-type and mutant cells with regard to the efficacy of drugs such as 7-hydroxystaurosporine (UCN-01) that abrogate S and G(2) arrest. UCN-01 abrogated S and G(2) arrest in the p53 mutant breast tumor cell line MDA-MB-231 but not in the p53 wild-type breast line, MCF10a. This resistance to UCN-01 in the p53 wild-type cells correlated with suppression of cyclins A and B. In the p53 mutant cells, low concentrations of UCN-01 caused S phase cells to progress to G(2) before undergoing mitosis and death, whereas high concentrations caused rapid premature mitosis and death of S phase cells. UCN-01 inhibits Chk1/2, which should activate the mitosis-inducing phosphatase Cdc25C, yet this phosphatase remained inactive during S phase progression induced by low concentrations of UCN-01, probably because Cdc25C is also inhibited by the constitutive kinase, C-TAK1. High concentrations of UCN-01 caused rapid activation of Cdc25C, which is attributed to inhibition of C-TAK1, as well as Chk1/2. Hence, UCN-01 has multiple effects depending on concentration and cell phenotype that must be considered when investigating mechanisms of checkpoint regulation.     

Cloning and characterization of Chinese hamster homologue of yeast DBF4 (ChDBF4)

The Dbf4 protein is the regulatory subunit of Cdc7 serine/threonine kinase, which is essential for entry into S phase. We report here the cloning and initial characterization of the Chinese hamster homologue of yeast DBF4. The deduced ChDbf4 protein contains 676 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 75.8 kDa, and shares extensive identity overall with those of human (68%) and mouse (73%). The ChDBF4 mRNA level was barely detectable in the cells arrested in the quiescent stage (G(0)) by isoleucine starvation. When cells in G(0) were released into the cell cycle, the ChDBF4 mRNA level did not significantly change until the cells reached the G(1)/S boundary, when the level rapidly increased and reached approximately 70% of the maximum level that was observed in mid to late S phase. Interestingly, gamma-irradiation rapidly and transiently downregulated the level of ChDBF4 mRNA in asynchronous cell populations. Since Dbf4-Cdc7 kinase is involved in the regulation of replication initiation, which can be transiently downregulated by irradiation (Larner et al., 1994. Mol. Cell. Biol. 14, 1901, our data raise the possibility that the downregulation of DBF4 (and, thus, the Cdc7 kinase activity) by irradiation may play a role in the cell-cycle checkpoint that functions at the G(1)/S transition and in S phase (Lee et al., 1997. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94, 526).     

Influence of DNA repair deficiencies on the UV sensitivity of yeast cells in different cell cycle stages

Synchronously dividing haploid yeast cells were UV-irradiated in various stages of the cell cycle after release from alpha-factor arrest. In confirmation of earlier results (Chanet et al., 1973), in wild-type strains G1/S phase cells were found to be the most sensitive and late S/G2 cells the most resistant. Stationary-phase (G0) cells were significantly more UV resistant than G1 cells. Strains defective in nucleotide excision repair lost enhanced resistance in the G2 phase and were most UV-sensitive in the G0 state. Reduced G2 resistance was also observed in rad6 mutants but not in rad9 mutants. After UV-irradiation in G1 phase rad9 mutant cells showed a reduced G1/S phase arrest.     

The Pds1 anaphase inhibitor and Mec1 kinase define distinct checkpoints coupling S phase with mitosis in budding yeast

In most eukaryotic cells, DNA replication is confined to S phase of the cell cycle [1]. During this interval, S-phase checkpoint controls restrain mitosis until replication is complete [2]. In budding yeast, the anaphase inhibitor Pds1p has been associated with the checkpoint arrest of mitosis when DNA is damaged or when mitotic spindles have formed aberrantly [3] [4], but not when DNA replication is blocked with hydroxyurea (HU). Previous studies have implicated the protein kinase Mec1p in S-phase checkpoint control [5]. Unlike mec1 mutants, pds1 mutants efficiently inhibit anaphase when replication is blocked. This does not, however, exclude an essential S-phase checkpoint function of Pds1 beyond the early S-phase arrest point of a HU block. Here, we show that Pds1p is an essential component of a previously unsuspected checkpoint control system that couples the completion of S phase with mitosis. Further, the S-phase checkpoint comprises at least two distinct pathways. A Mec1p-dependent pathway operates early in S phase, but a Pds1p-dependent pathway becomes essential part way through S phase.     

Effective intra‐S checkpoint responses to UVC in primary human melanocytes and melanoma cell lines

The objective of this study was to assess potential functional attenuation or inactivation of the intra‐S checkpoint during melanoma development. Proliferating cultures of skin melanocytes, fibroblasts, and melanoma cell lines were exposed to increasing fluences of UVC and intra‐S checkpoint responses were quantified. Melanocytes displayed stereotypic intra‐S checkpoint responses to UVC qualitatively and quantitatively equivalent to those previously demonstrated in skin fibroblasts. In comparison with fibroblasts, primary melanocytes displayed reduced UVC‐induced inhibition of DNA strand growth and enhanced degradation of p21Waf1 after UVC, suggestive of enhanced bypass of UVC‐induced DNA photoproducts. All nine melanoma cell lines examined, including those with activating mutations in BRAF or NRAS oncogenes, also displayed proficiency in activation of the intra‐S checkpoint in response to UVC irradiation. The results indicate that bypass of oncogene‐induced senescence during melanoma development was not associated with inactivation of the intra‐S checkpoint response to UVC‐induced DNA replication stress.     

Modified nucleotides in T1 RNase oligonucleotides of 18S ribosomal RNA of the Novikoff hepatoma.

The primary structure of 18S rRNA of the Novikoff hepatoma cells was investigated. Regardless of whether the primary sequence of 18S rRNA is finally determined by RNA sequencing methods or DNA sequencing methods, it is important to identify numbers and types of the modified nucleotides and accordingly the present study was designed to localize the modified regions in T1 RNase derived oligonucleotide. Modified nucleotides found in 66 different oligonucleotide sequences included 2 m62A, 1 m6A, 1 m7G, 1m1cap3psi, 7 Cm, 13 Am, 9 Gm, 11 Um, and 38 psi residues. A number of these modified nucleotides are now placed in defined sequences of T1 RNase oligonucleotides which are now being searched for in larger fragments derived from partial T1 RNase digests of 18S rRNA. Improved homochromatography fingerprinting (Choi et al. (1976) Cancer Res. 36, 4301) of T1 RNase derived oligonucleotides provided a distinctive pattern for 18S rRNA of Novikoff hepatoma ascites cells. The 116 spots obtained by homochromatography contain 176 oligonucleotide sequences.     

Absence of an Immediate G1/S Checkpoint in Primary MEFs Following γ-irradiation Identifies a Novel Checkpoint Switch

DNA double-strand breaks caused by ionizing radiation have been shown to induce G1/S,intra-S-phase, and G2/M cell-cycle checkpoints. However, analysis of the immediate inductionof G1/S checkpoint at a cellular level has been hampered by the inability to distinguish cells thatwere already replicating DNA at the time of damage from cells that entered S phase followingthe DNA damage. We have developed a novel strategy for assessing the initiation of the G1/Scheckpoint following γ-irradiation within asynchronous, low passage, primary mouse embryonicfibroblast cultures (MEFs) using a staggered CldU/IdU double-labelling protocol. Contrary tothe current model of the G1/S checkpoint, we found that 65% of late-G1 primary MEFs stillproceed into S phase after a γ-irradiation dose of 5 Gy. The delayed p53-dependent G1/Scheckpoint is intact in these cells, and a G2/M checkpoint that over 90% effective was inducedwithin 1 h and maintained through 6 h post-irradiation. Furthermore, these cells also exhibitedan intra-S-phase replication slow-down, as there is a decrease in the S/G2 transition frequency ofprimary MEFs following ?-irradiation. The absence of an immediate G1/S checkpoint inprimary MEFs suggests that in late G1 these cells may predominantly respond to DNA damageat the level of individual replication origins, rather than by inducing a complete shut-down of Sphaseentry.     

HL60 cells halted in G1 or S phase differentiate normally

Differentiating agents regulate the proliferation and myeloid maturation of HL60 cells by mechanisms that are at least partly independent (Drayson et al., (2001), Exp. Cell Res. 266, 126-134). We have investigated whether halting HL60 cells in G1 or S phase influences their commitment to or maturation along the neutrophil and monocyte pathways. Early G1 and S phase cells were isolated separately by elutriation. Quinidine was used to block the cell cycle progression of G1 cells and aphidicolin to greatly retard the progression of S phase cells. Neutrophilic (in response to all-trans-retinoic acid) or monocytic (to 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3)) differentiation were assessed by induction of CD11b, M-CSF receptor and CD14 expression, acquisition of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor responsiveness, capacities to phagocytose yeast and reduce nitroblue tetrazolium, and down-regulation of CD30 and transferrin receptor expression. The cell-cycle-blocked cells differentiated at normal rates, mostly without incorporating bromodeoxyuridine. These observations establish: (a) that neither transit through the cell cycle nor a cell's position in the cell cycle substantially influences execution of the neutrophilic and monocytic differentiation programs by HL60 cells; and (b) that individual HL60 cells are genuinely bipotent.     

RACK1 regulates G1/S progression by suppressing Src kinase activity

Cancer genes exert their greatest influence on the cell cycle by targeting regulators of a critical checkpoint in late G(1). Once cells pass this checkpoint, they are fated to replicate DNA and divide. Cancer cells subvert controls at work at this restriction point and remain in cycle. Previously, we showed that RACK1 inhibits the oncogenic Src tyrosine kinase and NIH 3T3 cell growth. RACK1 inhibits cell growth, in part, by prolonging G(0)/G(1). Here we show that RACK1 overexpression induces a partial G(1) arrest by suppressing Src activity at the G(1) checkpoint. RACK1 works through Src to inhibit Vav2, Rho GTPases, Stat3, and Myc. Consequently, cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 2 (CDK4 and CDK2, respectively) are suppressed, CDK inhibitor p27 and retinoblastoma protein are activated, E2F1 is sequestered, and G(1)/S progression is delayed. Conversely, downregulation of RACK1 by short interference RNA activates Src-mediated signaling, induces Myc and cyclin D1, and accelerates G(1)/S progression. RACK1 suppresses Src- but not mitogen-activated protein kinase-dependent platelet-derived growth factor signaling. We also show that Stat3 is required for Rac1 induction of Myc. Our results reveal a novel mechanism of cell cycle control in late G(1) that works via an endogenous inhibitor of the Src kinase.