scholarly journals Inducing controlled cell cycle arrest and re-entry during asexual proliferation ofPlasmodium falciparummalaria parasites

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riëtte van Biljon ◽  
Jandeli Niemand ◽  
Roelof van Wyk ◽  
Katherine Clark ◽  
Bianca Verlinden ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe life cycle of the malaria parasitePlasmodium falciparumis tightly regulated, oscillating between stages of intense proliferation and quiescence. Cyclic 48-hour asexual replication ofPlasmodiumis markedly different from cell division in higher eukaryotes, and mechanistically poorly understood. Here, we report tight synchronisation of malaria parasites during the early phases of the cell cycle by exposure to DL-α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), which results in the depletion of polyamines. This induces an inescapable cell cycle arrest in G1(~15 hours post-invasion) by blocking G1/S transition. Cell cycle-arrested parasites enter a quiescent G0-like state but, upon addition of exogenous polyamines, re-initiate their cell cycle in a coordinated fashion. This ability to halt malaria parasites at a specific point in their cell cycle, and to subsequently trigger re-entry into the cell cycle, provides a valuable framework to investigate cell cycle regulation in these parasites. We therefore used gene expression analyses to show that re-entry into the cell cycle involves expression of Ca2+-sensitive (cdpk4andpk2)and mitotic kinases (nimaandark2),with deregulation of the pre-replicative complex associated with expression ofpk2. Changes in gene expression could be driven through transcription factors MYB1 and two ApiAP2 family members. This new approach to parasite synchronisation therefore expands our currently limited toolkit to investigate cell cycle regulation in malaria parasites.

2015 ◽  
Vol 470 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling-Ling Zhao ◽  
Feng Jin ◽  
Xiang Ye ◽  
Lin Zhu ◽  
Jin-Shu Yang ◽  
...  

We established an expression profile of miRNA for cell cycle arrest in Artemia and found that miR-100 and miR-34 promote and prevent cell cycle progression respectively. The regulatory mechanisms of these two miRNAs provide insights into cell cycle regulation.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuki Sato ◽  
Yoshihiko Umesono ◽  
Yoshihito Kuroki ◽  
Kiyokazu Agata ◽  
Chikara Hashimoto

The coincidence of cell cycle arrest and differentiation has been described in a wide variety of stem cells and organisms for decades, but the causal relationship is still unclear due to the complicated regulation of the cell cycle. Here, we used the planarian Dugesia japonica since it possesses a quite simple cell cycle regulation in which cdh1 is the only factor that arrests the cell cycle. When cdh1 was functionally inhibited, the planarians could not maintain their tissue homeostasis and could not regenerate their missing body parts. While the ablation of cdh1 caused pronounced propagation of the stem cells, the progenitor and differentiated cells were decreased. Further analysis indicated that the stem cells without cdh1 expression did not undergo differentiation even though they received ERK signaling activation as an induction signal. These results suggested that stem cells could not acquire differentiation competence without cell cycle arrest. Thus, we propose that cell cycle regulation determines the differentiation competence and that cell cycle exit to G0 enables stem cells to undergo differentiation.


1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 1438-1446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronit Sarid ◽  
Jeffrey S. Wiezorek ◽  
Patrick S. Moore ◽  
Yuan Chang

ABSTRACT Retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (pRB) inhibition by tumor virus oncoproteins has been attributed to the need for these viruses to promote lytic viral nucleic acid synthesis by unscheduled entry into the S phase of the cell cycle. Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV or HHV8) encodes a functional cyclin (vCYC) which is expressed during latency and can direct phosphorylation of pRB. We mapped the two major latent transcripts encoding vCYC, latent transcript 1 (LT1) and LT2, by cDNA sequencing, 5′ rapid amplification of cDNA ends, and primer extension analyses. Both LT1 and LT2 transcripts are spliced, originate from the same start site, and encode ORF K13 (vFLIP) as well as ORF72 (vCYC). The latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA, ORF73) is encoded by LT1 but spliced from LT2. While differential expression of the two transcripts was not found, the promoter controlling LT1/LT2 transcription is regulated in a cell cycle-dependent manner. Activities of both KSHV LT1/LT2 and huCYC D1 luciferase promoter reporters transfected into NIH 3T3 cells increase 11- and 4-fold, respectively, after release from cell cycle arrest by serum starvation. Further, vCYC and huCYC D2 mRNA levels are low in naturally infected BCBL-1 cells arrested in late G1 with l-mimosine but increase in parallel during a 24-h period after release from cell cycle arrest. Cell cycle regulation of KSHV vCYC expression mimics cellular D cyclin regulation and may maintain infected cell cycling. This is consistent with an alternative hypothesis that tumor viruses have developed specific responses to innate cellular defenses against latent virus infection that include pRB-induced cell cycle arrest.


2005 ◽  
Vol 25 (24) ◽  
pp. 10940-10952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zana P. Desgranges ◽  
Jinwoo Ahn ◽  
Maria B. Lazebnik ◽  
Todd Ashworth ◽  
Caleb Lee ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The multifunctional transcription factor TFII-I is tyrosine phosphorylated in response to extracellular growth signals and transcriptionally activates growth-promoting genes. However, whether activation of TFII-I also directly affects the cell cycle profile is unknown. Here we show that under normal growth conditions, TFII-I is recruited to the cyclin D1 promoter and transcriptionally activates this gene. Most strikingly, upon cell cycle arrest resulting from genotoxic stress and p53 activation, TFII-I is ubiquitinated and targeted for proteasomal degradation in a p53- and ATM (ataxia telangiectasia mutated)-dependent manner. Consistent with a direct role of TFII-I in cell cycle regulation and cellular proliferation, stable and ectopic expression of wild-type TFII-I increases cyclin D1 levels, resulting in accelerated entry to and exit from S phase, and overcomes p53-mediated cell cycle arrest, despite radiation. We further show that the transcriptional regulation of cyclin D1 and cell cycle control by TFII-I are dependent on its tyrosine phosphorylation at positions 248 and 611, sites required for its growth signal-mediated transcriptional activity. Taken together, our data define TFII-I as a growth signal-dependent transcriptional activator that is critical for cell cycle control and proliferation and further reveal that genotoxic stress-induced degradation of TFII-I results in cell cycle arrest.


Stroke ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Umadevi V Wesley ◽  
Daniel Tremmel ◽  
Robert Dempsey

Introduction: The molecular mechanisms of cerebral ischemia damage and protection are not completely understood, but a number of reports implicate the contribution of lipid metabolism and cell-cycle regulating proteins in stroke out come. We have previously shown that tricyclodecan-9-yl-xanthogenate (D609) resulted in increased ceramide levels after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) in spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). We hypothesized that D609 induced cell cycle arrest probably by inhibiting sphingomyelin synthase (SMS). In this study, we examined the direct effects of SMS on cell cycle progression and proliferation of neuroblast cells. Methods: Ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and reperfusion. Expression levels were measured by western blot analysis, RT-PCR, and Immunofluorescence staining. SMS1 and 2 expressions were silenced by stable transfection with SMS1/2-targeted shRNA. Cell cycle analysis was performed using Flow cytometry. Data were analyzed using MODFIT cell cycle analysis program. Cell proliferation rate was measured by MTT assay. Results: We have identified that the expression of SMS1is significantly up-regulated in the ischemic hemisphere following MCAO. Neuro-2a cells transfected with SMS specific ShRNA acquired more neuronal like phenotype and exhibited decreased proliferation rate. Also, silencing of both SMS1 and 2 induced cell-cycle arrest as shown by significantly increased percentage of cells in G0/G1 and decreased proportion of cells in S-phase as compared to control cells. This was accompanied by up-regulation of cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) inhibitors p21 and decreased levels of phophorylated AKT levels. Furthermore, loss of SMS inhibited the migratory potential of Neuro 2a cells. Summary: Up-regulation of SMS under ischemic/reperfusion conditions suggests that this enzyme potentially contributes to cell cycle regulation and may contribute to maintaining neuronal cell population. Further studies may open up a new direction for identifying the molecular mechanisms of cell cycle regulation and protection following ischemic stroke


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 4790-4790
Author(s):  
Paola Neri ◽  
Teresa Calimeri ◽  
Mariateresa Di Martino ◽  
Marco Rossi ◽  
Orietta Eramo ◽  
...  

Abstract Valproic acid (VPA) is a well-tolerated anticonvulsant drug that has been recently recognized as powerful histone deacetylase (HDCA) inhibitor. VPA induces hyperacetylation of histone H3 and H4 and inhibits both class I and II HDCACs. Recently it has been shown that VPA exerts in vitro and in vivo anti-tumor activity against solid cancers and its in vitro anti-Multiple Myeloma (MM) activity has been previously reported. However, the molecular mechanisms are still unclear. Here we have investigated molecular changes induced by VPA as well as its in vivo activity in murine models of MM. We first studied the in vitro activity of VPA against IL-6 independent as well as IL-6 dependent MM cells. A time- and dose-dependent decrease in proliferation and survival of MM cell lines was observed (IC50 in the range of 1–3 mM). Gene expression profile following treatment with VPA at 2 and 5 mM showed down-regulation of genes involved in cell cycle regulation, DNA replication and transcription as well as up-regulation of genes implicated in apoptosis and chemokine pathways. The signaling pathway analysis performed by Ingenuity Systems Software identified the cell growth, cell cycle, cell death as well as DNA replication and repair as the most important networks modulated by VPA treatment. We next evaluated the in vivo activity of VPA using two xenograft models of human MM. A cohort of SCID mice bearing subcutaneous MM1s or OPM1 were treated i.p. daily with VPA (200 mg/kg, and 300 mg/kg, n=5 mice, respectively), or vehicle alone (n=5 mice) for 16 consecutive days. Tumors were measured every 2 days, and survival was calculated using the Kaplan Mayer method. Following VPA treatment, we found a significant (p=0.006) inhibition of tumor growth in mice bearing subcutaneous MM-1s cells treated with VPA at 200 mg/kg compared to control group, which translated into a significant (p= 0.002) survival advantage in the VPA treated animals. Similar results were obtained in animals bearing subcutaneous OPM1 cells. Flow cytometry analysis performed on retrieved tumor tissues from animals showed reduction of G2-M and S phase in tumor specimens following VPA treatment, versus untreated tumors, strongly suggesting in vivo effects of VPA on cell cycle regulation. Taken together, our data demonstrate the in vitro and in vivo anti-tumor activity of VPA, delineate potential molecular targets triggered by this agent and provide a preclinical rationale for its clinical evaluation, both as a single agent or in combination, to improve patient outcome in MM.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document