c-Jun N-terminal kinase/c-Jun inhibits fibroblast proliferation by negatively regulating the levels of stathmin/oncoprotein 18

2010 ◽  
Vol 430 (2) ◽  
pp. 345-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Y. C. Yeap ◽  
Ivan H. W. Ng ◽  
Bahareh Badrian ◽  
Tuong-Vi Nguyen ◽  
Yan Y. Yip ◽  
...  

The JNKs (c-Jun N-terminal kinases) are stress-activated serine/threonine kinases that can regulate both cell death and cell proliferation. We have developed a cell system to control JNK re-expression at physiological levels in JNK1/2-null MEFs (murine embryonic fibroblasts). JNK re-expression restored basal and stress-activated phosphorylation of the c-Jun transcription factor and attenuated cellular proliferation with increased cells in G1/S-phase of the cell cycle. To explore JNK actions to regulate cell proliferation, we evaluated a role for the cytosolic protein, STMN (stathmin)/Op18 (oncoprotein 18). STMN, up-regulated in a range of cancer types, plays a crucial role in the control of cell division through its regulation of microtubule dynamics of the mitotic spindle. In JNK1/2-null or c-Jun-null MEFs or cells treated with c-Jun siRNA (small interfering RNA), STMN levels were significantly increased. Furthermore, a requirement for JNK/cJun signalling was demonstrated by expression of wild-type c-Jun, but not a phosphorylation-defective c-Jun mutant, being sufficient to down-regulate STMN. Critically, shRNA (small hairpin RNA)-directed STMN down-regulation in JNK1/2-null MEFs attenuated proliferation. Thus JNK/c-Jun regulation of STMN levels provides a novel pathway in regulation of cell proliferation with important implications for understanding the actions of JNK as a physiological regulator of the cell cycle and tumour suppressor protein.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinhua Qu ◽  
Liumei Zhu ◽  
Linlin Song ◽  
Shaohua Liu

Abstract Background: Cervical cancer (CC) is a highly malignant tumor. Evolving researches on CC have unveiled a concept that circRNA exerts important roles in CC progression. In this study, we mainly explored the role of a novel circRNA, circ_0084927, and its regulatory network in the development of CC.Methods: qRT-PCR was applied to evaluate the expression of circ_0084927, miR-1179 and CDK2 mRNA in CC tissues and cells. Dual-luciferase reporting experiments and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay were conducted to validate the target relationship of miR-1179 with circ_0084927 and CDK2 mRNA. CCK-8 and BrdU assay was used to evaluate CC cell proliferation. The adhesion and apoptosis phenotypes of CC cells were measured by cell-matrix adhesion and caspase 3 activation assay. Flow cytometry was employed to detect CC cell cycle.Results: Our results indicated that circ_0084927 was up-regulated in CC tissues and cells, and circ_0084927 silence inhibited CC cell proliferation and adhesion, while facilitating apoptosis as well as triggering cell cycle arrest. On the other hand, miR-1179 down-regulation appeared in CC tissues. Additionally, circ_0084927 abolished miR-1179’s inhibitory effects on cell proliferation and adhesion. Our study showed that CDK2 was up-regulated in CC tissues and played a cancer-promoting role. Furthermore, miR-1179 directly targeted CDK2, thereby inhibiting CDK2’s promotion on the malignant phenotypes of CC cells. circ_0084927 revoked the inhibitory effect of miR-1179 on CDK2 by sponging miR-1179.Conclusion: Circ_0084927 promoted cervical carcinogenesis by sequestering miR-1179 that directly targeted CDK2. Our results shed light on the circ_0084927/miR-1179/CDK2 regulatory network that strengthened CC aggressiveness, providing novel candidate targets for CC treatment.


Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (8) ◽  
pp. 1581-1590 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Chen ◽  
N. Segil

Strict control of cellular proliferation is required to shape the complex structures of the developing embryo. The organ of Corti, the auditory neuroepithelium of the inner ear in mammals, consists of two types of terminally differentiated mechanosensory hair cells and at least four types of supporting cells arrayed precisely along the length of the spiral cochlea. In mice, the progenitors of greater than 80% of both hair cells and supporting cells undergo their terminal division between embryonic day 13 (E13) and E14. As in humans, these cells persist in a non-proliferative state throughout the adult life of the animal. Here we report that the correct timing of cell cycle withdrawal in the developing organ of Corti requires p27(Kip1), a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor that functions as an inhibitor of cell cycle progression. p27(Kip1) expression is induced in the primordial organ of Corti between E12 and E14, correlating with the cessation of cell division of the progenitors of the hair cells and supporting cells. In wild-type animals, p27(Kip1) expression is downregulated during subsequent hair cell differentiation, but it persists at high levels in differentiated supporting cells of the mature organ of Corti. In mice with a targeted deletion of the p27(Kip1) gene, proliferation of the sensory cell progenitors continues after E14, leading to the appearance of supernumerary hair cells and supporting cells. In the absence of p27(Kip1), mitotically active cells are still observed in the organ of Corti of postnatal day 6 animals, suggesting that the persistence of p27(Kip1) expression in mature supporting cells may contribute to the maintenance of quiescence in this tissue and, possibly, to its inability to regenerate. Homozygous mutant mice are severely hearing impaired. Thus, p27(Kip1) provides a link between developmental control of cell proliferation and the morphological development of the inner ear.


1974 ◽  
Vol 142 (3) ◽  
pp. 483-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry Lesser ◽  
Nicholas Bruchovsky

The regenerating rat prostate was used as an experimental model to determine the effects of 5α-dihydrotestosterone on certain parameters of cell proliferation, including the duration of the phases of the cell cycle and the size of the cellular growth fraction. Rats castrated 7 days previously were treated with daily subcutaneous injections of 5α-dihydrotestosterone for 14 days; 48h after the beginning of therapy, cells in the process of DNA synthesis were labelled with a single injection of radioactive thymidine and the progress of these cells through the division cycle was observed. Cell-cycle analysis was performed by fractionating prostatic nuclei according to their position in the cell cycle by using the technique of velocity sedimentation under unit gravity. The results indicate that during regeneration the cell population undergoes 1.8 doublings with a doubling time of 40h, and that the process involves almost four rounds of cell division with a cell-generation time of 20h. The growth fraction at any time is about 0.5, and about half the daughter cells produced do not re-enter the proliferative cycle. All cells present at the start of regeneration eventually undergo at least one division during the course of regeneration, although any given cell can divide from one to four times.


Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Noberini ◽  
Camilla Restellini ◽  
Evelyn Oliva Savoia ◽  
Francesco Raimondi ◽  
Lavinia Ghiani ◽  
...  

Aberrations in histone post-translational modifications (PTMs), as well as in the histone modifying enzymes (HMEs) that catalyze their deposition and removal, have been reported in many tumors and many epigenetic inhibitors are currently under investigation for cancer treatment. Therefore, profiling epigenetic features in cancer could have important implications for the discovery of both biomarkers for patient stratification and novel epigenetic targets. In this study, we employed mass spectrometry-based approaches to comprehensively profile histone H3 PTMs in a panel of normal and tumoral tissues for different cancer types, identifying various changes, some of which appear to be a consequence of the increased proliferation rate of tumors, while others are cell-cycle independent. Histone PTM changes found in tumors partially correlate with alterations of the gene expression profiles of HMEs obtained from publicly available data and are generally lost in culture conditions. Through this analysis, we identified tumor- and subtype-specific histone PTM changes, but also widespread changes in the levels of histone H3 K9me3 and K14ac marks. In particular, H3K14ac showed a cell-cycle independent decrease in all the seven tumor/tumor subtype models tested and could represent a novel epigenetic hallmark of cancer.


Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 2328
Author(s):  
Ji Hye Jeong ◽  
Jae-Ha Ryu

Pancreatic cancer has a high mortality rate due to poor rates of early diagnosis. One tumor suppressor gene in particular, p53, is frequently mutated in pancreatic cancer, and mutations in p53 can inactivate normal wild type p53 activity and increase expression of transcription factor forkhead box M1 (FoxM1). Overexpression of FoxM1 accelerates cellular proliferation and cancer progression. Therefore, inhibition of FoxM1 represents a therapeutic strategy for treating pancreatic cancer. Broussoflavonol B (BF-B), isolated from the stem bark of Broussonetia kazinoki Siebold has previously been shown to inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells. This study aimed to investigate whether BF-B exhibits anti-pancreatic cancer activity and if so, identify the underlying mechanism. BF-B reduced cell proliferation, induced cell cycle arrest, and inhibited cell migration and invasion of human pancreatic cancer PANC-1 cells (p53 mutated). Interestingly, BF-B down-regulated FoxM1 expression at both the mRNA and protein level. It also suppressed the expression of FoxM1 downstream target genes, such as cyclin D1, cyclin B1, and survivin. Cell cycle analysis showed that BF-B induced the arrest of G0/G1 phase. BF-B reduced the phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase ½ (ERK½) and expression of ERK½ downstream effector c-Myc, which regulates cell proliferation. Furthermore, BF-B inhibited cell migration and invasion, which are downstream functional properties of FoxM1. These results suggested that BF-B could repress pancreatic cancer cell proliferation by inactivation of the ERK/c-Myc/FoxM1 signaling pathway. Broussoflavonol B from Broussonetia kazinoki Siebold may represent a novel chemo-therapeutic agent for pancreatic cancer.


Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 104 (11) ◽  
pp. 2571-2571
Author(s):  
Zhi Hong Lu ◽  
Jason T. Books ◽  
Timothy James Ley

Abstract Mammalian proteins containing “cold-shock” domains belong to the most evolutionarily conserved family of nucleic acid-binding proteins known in bacteria, plants, and animals. One of these proteins, YB-1, has been implicated in basic cellular functions such as cell proliferation and responses to environmental stresses. In mammalian cells, YB-1 has been shown to shuttle between the nuclear and cytoplasmic compartments. Within the nucleus, YB-1 interacts with several DNA-and pre-mRNA-binding proteins, and has been implicated in nuclear activities, including transcriptional regulation, chromatin remodeling, and pre-mRNA splicing. YB-1 is also abundant in the cytoplasm, where it binds nonspecifically to mRNA, and may act as a general regulator of mRNA stability, cytoplasmic localization, and translation. Thus, YB-1 has been proposed to function as a multifunctional regulator for the control of gene expression in both the nucleus and cytoplasm. YB-1 overexpression has been frequently detected in a variety of human cancers, often associated with unfavorable clinical outcomes. However, it remains unclear whether YB-1 overexpression contributes directly to the malignant phenotype, or whether it is simply a non-causal “marker” associated with rapid cell growth (and poor prognostic outcomes). To further assess the role of this protein in health and disease, we created mice deficient for YB-1. Complete loss of function of this gene results in fully-penetrant late embryonic and perinatal lethality. Morphological and histological analyses revealed that YB-1−/− embryos displayed major developmental and functional defects, including neurological abnormalities, hemorrhage, and respiratory failure, which probably contributed to lethality. Growth retardation occurred in all late-stage embryos, and was the result of hypoplasia in multiple organ systems. Consistent with these in vivo results, fibroblasts isolated from YB-1−/− embryos (MEFs) grew slowly and entered senescence prematurely in vitro; these defects were rescued by ectopic expression of a GFP-tagged human YB-1 cDNA. This data suggests that YB-1 plays an important cell-autonomous role in cell proliferation and prevention of premature senescence. We further showed that loss of YB-1 in early passage MEFs resulted a delay in G0/G1 to S-phase progression, and a defect in a transcriptional mechanism that normally represses the expression of the G1-specific CDK inhibitor gene p16Ink4a, and the p53 target genes p21Cip1 and Mdm2. However, YB-1 does not cause “global” changes in the transcriptome, the proteome, or protein synthesis efficiency. As predicted, p16Ink4a and p21Cip1 double knockdown by siRNA treatment led to an increase in the rate of cell proliferation, and an extension of proliferative capacity during late passages in YB-1−/− cells. Furthermore, YB-1 deficiency reduced the ability of MEFs to proliferate normally in response to c-Myc overexpression. In conclusion, our data has revealed that YB-1 is required for normal mouse development and survival, and that it plays an important role in supporting rapid cellular proliferation both in vivo and in vitro. Our data further suggests that YB-1 is a cell cycle progression regulator that is important for preventing the early onset of senescence in cultured MEF cells. This data raises the possibility that disregulated expression of YB-1 may contribute to malignant phenotypes by supporting rapid cell cycle progression, and by protecting cells from cytotoxic stresses.


2001 ◽  
Vol 359 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth J. FOX ◽  
Stephanie C. WRIGHT

The Myc/Max/Mad transcription factor network plays a central role in the control of cellular proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. In order to elucidate the biological function of Mad3, we have analysed the precise temporal patterns of Mad3 mRNA expression during the cell cycle and differentiation in cultured cells. We show that Mad3 is induced at the G1/S transition in proliferating cells; expression persists throughout S-phase, and then declines as cells pass through G2 and mitosis. The expression pattern of Mad3 is coincident with that of Cdc2 throughout the cell cycle. In contrast, the expression of Mad3 during differentiation of cultured mouse erythroleukemia cells shows two transient peaks of induction. The first of these occurs at the onset of differentiation, and does not correlate with the S-phase of the cell cycle, whereas the second is coincident with the S-phase burst that precedes the terminal stages of differentiation. Our results therefore suggest that Mad3 serves a cell-cycle-related function in both proliferating and differentiating cells, and that it may also have a distinct role at various stages of differentiation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. e201800086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Yunger ◽  
Pinhas Kafri ◽  
Liat Rosenfeld ◽  
Eliraz Greenberg ◽  
Noa Kinor ◽  
...  

Imaging of transcription by quantitative fluorescence-based techniques allows the examination of gene expression kinetics in single cells. Using a cell system for the in vivo visualization of mammalian mRNA transcriptional kinetics at single-gene resolution during the cell cycle, we previously demonstrated a reduction in transcription levels after replication. This phenomenon has been described as a homeostasis mechanism that buffers mRNA transcription levels with respect to the cell cycle stage and the number of transcribing alleles. Here, we examined how transcriptional buffering enforced during S phase affects two different promoters, the cytomegalovirus promoter versus the cyclin D1 promoter, that drive the same gene body. We found that global modulation of histone modifications could completely revert the transcription down-regulation imposed during replication. Furthermore, measuring these levels of transcriptional activity in fixed and living cells showed that the transcriptional potential of the genes was significantly higher than actual transcription levels, suggesting that promoters might normally be limited from reaching their full transcriptional potential.


2001 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 386-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kanthan ◽  
A. Saxena ◽  
S. C. Kanthan

Abstract Background.—Goblet cell carcinoids of the appendix are rare neoplasms with uncertain biological behavior. Objective.—The aims of our study were to evaluate the immunophenotype of this neoplasm with cell cycle/cell proliferation markers and to understand their histogenesis with ultrastructural analysis using conventional carcinoids as a frame of reference. Methods.—Clinical data and archival pathologic material of all goblet cell carcinoids of the appendix recorded by the Saskatchewan Cancer Registry between 1970 and 1998 were reviewed and evaluated by light microscopy, histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and electron microscopy. Results.—Seven cases of goblet cell carcinoids were identified among 110 cases of conventional carcinoids of the appendix. Histopathology revealed widespread infiltration of the periappendiceal fat in all cases, with extensive perineural invasion. The cells stained strongly positive for mucicarmine, periodic acid–Schiff, periodic acid–Schiff diastase, Alcian blue, cytokeratin, and carcinoembryonic antigen. Most cases were positive for synaptophysin. Increased expression of cell proliferation markers and cell cycle markers was observed. Expression of p53 was strong in one case. Electron microscopy demonstrated the presence of mucinous vacuoles of varying sizes and occasional membrane-bound neuroendocrine granules. Conclusions.—Goblet cell carcinoids of the appendix arise from a pluripotent cell with divergent neuroendocrine and mucinous differentiation. These neoplasms are widely invasive; they demonstrate a high cellular proliferation rate and dysregulation of the cell cycle with up-regulation of cyclin D1 and p21, and down-regulation of p16. Complete removal of the tumor is recommended because of the unpredictable biological behavior of this tumor, which includes delayed local recurrences and lung metastases.


2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (15) ◽  
pp. 5165-5173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judit Garriga ◽  
Sabyasachi Bhattacharya ◽  
Joaquim Calbó ◽  
Renée M. Marshall ◽  
May Truongcao ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT CDK9 is a CDC2-related kinase and the catalytic subunit of the positive-transcription elongation factor b and the Tat-activating kinase. It has recently been reported that CDK9 is a short-lived protein whose levels are regulated during the cell cycle by the SCFSKP2 ubiquitin ligase complex (R. E. Kiernan et al., Mol. Cell. Biol. 21:7956-7970, 2001). The results presented here are in contrast to those observations. CDK9 protein levels remained unchanged in human cells entering and progressing through the cell cycle from G0, despite dramatic changes in SKP2 expression. CDK9 levels also remained unchanged in cells exiting from mitosis and progressing through the next cell cycle. Similarly, the levels of CDK9 protein did not change as cells exited the cell cycle and differentiated along various lineages. In keeping with these observations, the kinase activity associated with CDK9 was found to not be regulated during the cell cycle. We have also found that endogenous CDK9 is a very stable protein with a half-life (t 1/2) of 4 to 7 h, depending on the cell type. In contrast, when CDK9 is overexpressed, it is not stabilized and is rapidly degraded, with a t 1/2 of less than 1 h, depending on the level of expression. Treatment of cells with proteasome inhibitors blocked the degradation of short-lived proteins, such as p27, but did not affect the expression of endogenous CDK9. Ectopic overexpression of SKP2 led to reduction of p27 protein levels but had no effect on the expression of endogenous CDK9. Finally, downregulation of endogenous SKP2 gene expression by interfering RNA had no effect on CDK9 protein levels, whereas p27 protein levels increased dramatically. Therefore, the SCFSKP2 ubiquitin ligase does not regulate CDK9 expression in a cell cycle-dependent manner.


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