Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1937. / Typescript. Includes abstract and vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

As we age, our ability to cope with a variety of stresses significantly decreases. One of the features of an ageing organism is the dramatic increase in the number of cells arrested in the G1 phase, a process known as senescence. It is well established that the senescence phenotype leads to a change in the way cells respond to stress. However, the molecular mechanisms by which these cells cope and/or respond to a variety of environmental challenges remain unknown. In general, cells respond to stress by engaging a variety of mechanisms; one of them is the assembly of cytoplasmic foci known as stress granules (SGs). These entities are considered as part of the survival pathways that are activated at the beginning of any stress to protect key cellular elements which allow a quick recovery if the stress is rapidly removed. However, we do not know whether SGs formation is activated during senescence. In this study, we investigated the formation and the role of SGs in senescent cells exposed to various stresses. We demonstrated that while SGs can assemble in response to oxidative stress (OS) during all the steps leading to senescence activation, their number significantly increases at late stage of senescence. This increase correlates with a rapid decrease in the expression of the cyclin kinase inhibitor p21, one of the main players in the activation of the senescence phenotype. Although the OS-induced recruitment of p21 mRNA to SGs correlates with a significant increase in its half-life, this translocation interferes with p21 translation only at late senescence. This translation inhibition could be explained by the co-recruitment of CUGBP1, a known translation activator during senescence of p21, and p21 mRNA to SGs. Therefore, our data suggest that SGs formation and the reduction in p21 protein levels represent two main events through which senescent cells respond to stress conditions.

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The chicken hepatoma cell line, LMH, was evaluated with respect to its usefulness for studies of the regulation of heme metabolism. Levels of δ-aminolevulinate synthase mRNA arid accumulation of porphyrins were used to evaluate the heme biosynthetic pathway. Regulation of heme oxygenase-1 by known inducers was used as a measure of heme degradation. The induction of heme oxygenase-1 by sodium arsenite was characterized. AP-1 transcription factor elements and MAP kinase signal transduction pathways that modulate expression of endogenous heme oxygenase-1 and transfected heme oxygenase-1 reporter gene constructs in response to arsenite were delineated. In initial studies, the drug glutethimide was used alone or in combination with ferric nitrilotriacetate to induce δ-aminolevulinate synthase mRNA. Levels of porphyrins, intermediates in the heme biosynthetic pathway, and levels of δ-aminolevulinate synthase mRNA were increased by these treatments in a manner similar to those previously observed in the widely used model system, primary chick embryo liver cells. The iron chelator, deferoxamine, gave a characteristic shift in the glutethimide induced porphyrin accumulation in primary hepatocytes, but was found to have no, effect on LMH cells. Heme mediated repression of δ-aminolevulinate synthase mRNA levels was similar among primary hepatocytes and LMH cells. Heme oxygenase-1 was regulated by heme, metals, heat shock, and oxidative stress-inducing chemicals in LMH cells. Heat shock induction of heme oxygenase-1 mRNA levels was observed for the first time in primary chick embryo liver cells. These data supported the further use of LMH cells to elucidate mechanisms responsible for modulating heme oxygenase-1 gene expression in response to inducers. The remainder of the studies focused on the role of heme oxygenase-1 as a stress response protein. The oxidative stress inducer, sodium arsenite was used to probe the cellular mechanisms that control the expression of heme oxygenase-1. A series of promoter-reporter constructs were used to search the heme oxygenase-1 promoter for arsenite responsive elements. Several activator protein-1 (AP-1) transcription factor binding elements were identified by computer sequence analysis. Three of these sites, located at -1578, -3656, and -4597 base pairs upstream of the transcription start site, were mutated. The arsenite responsiveness of the reporter constructs containing mutated AP-1 elements was less than that of the same constructs containing wild type AP-1 elements. At least part of the arsenite-mediated induction of heme oxygenase-1 required the activity of AP-1 transcriptional elements. The MAP kinase signal transduction pathways and heme oxygenase-1 are activated by similar stimuli, including cellular stress. MAP kinases have been shown to exert control over gene expression through effects on the AP-1 family of transcription factors. The MAP kinases ERK, JNK, and p38 were activated by arsenite in LMH cells. Constitutively activated components of the ERK and p38 pathways increased expression of heme oxygenase-1 promoter-luciferase reporter constructs. Arsenite-mediated induction of heme oxygenase-1 was blocked by dominant negative ERK or p38 pathway components, and by specific inhibitors of MEK (upstream ERK kinase) or p38. In contrast, reporter gene expression was unchanged in the presence of constitutively activated JNK pathway components. Dominant negative JNK pathway components had no effect on arsenite induced heme oxygenase-1 gene activity. In summary, LMH cells were characterized as a new model system for the study of heme metabolism. This cell line was then used to delineate promoter elements and signaling pathways involved in the arsenite responsiveness of heme oxygenase-1 gene expression. Three AP-1 transcription factor binding sites in the heme oxygenase-1 promoter region were required for responsiveness to arsenite. The MAP kinases ERK and p38 were shown to play an integral role in arsenite-mediated induction of heme oxygenase-1. These studies elucidate one facet of heme oxygenase-1 regulation, and provide tools that will be useful in delineating additional regulatory mechanisms.