Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Murine double minute (Mdm2) is a highly modified and multi-faceted protein that is overexpressed in numerous human malignancies. It engages in many cellular activities and is essential for development since deletion of mdm2 is lethal in early stages of embryonic development. The most studied function of Mdm2 is as a negative regulator of the tumor suppressor protein p53. Mdm2 achieves this regulation by binding to p53 and inhibiting p53 transcriptional activity. Mdm2 also functions as an E3 ubiquitin ligase that signals p53 for destruction by the proteasome. Interestingly recent evidence has shown that Mdm2 can also function as an E3 neddylating enzyme that can conjugate the ubiquitin-like molecule, nedd8, to p53. This modification results in inhibition of p53 activity, while maintaining p53 protein levels. While the signaling events that regulate Mdm2 E3 ubiquitin ligase activity have been extensively studied, what activates the neddylating activity of Mdm2 has remained elusive. My investigations have centered on understanding whether tyrosine kinase signaling could activate the neddylating activity of Mdm2. I have shown that c-Src, a non-receptor protein tyrosine kinase that is involved in a variety of cellular processes, phosphorylates Mdm2 on tyrosines 281 and 302. This phosphorylation event increases the half-life and neddylating activity of Mdm2 resulting in a neddylation dependent reduction of p53 transcriptional activity. Mdm2 also has many p53-independent cellular functions that are beginning to be linked to its role as an oncogene. There is an emerging role for Mdm2 in tumor metastasis. Metastasis is a process involving tumor cells migrating from a primary site to a distal site and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer patients. To date, the involvement of Mdm2 in breast cancer metastasis has only been correlative, with no in vivo model to definitively define a role for Mdm2. Here I have shown in vivo that Mdm2 enhances breast to lung metastasis through the up regulation of multiple angiogenic factors, including HIF-1 alpha and VEGF. Taken together my data provide novel insights into important p53-dependent and independent functions of Mdm2 that represent potential new avenues for therapeutic intervention.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Cervical cancer is caused by the persistent infection of human papilloma virus (HPV) in the cervix epithelium. Although effective preventative care is available, the widespread nature of infection and the variety of HPV strains unprotected by HPV vaccines necessitate a better understanding of the disease for development of new therapies. A major tumor suppressing mechanism is the inhibition of cell division by tissue structure; however, the underlining molecular circuitry for this regulation remains unclear. Recently, the Yap transcriptional co-activator has emerged as a key growth promoter that mediates contact growth arrest and limits organ size. Thus, we aimed to uncover upstream signals that connect tissue organization to Yap regulation in the inhibition of cervical cancer. Two events that disrupt tissue structure were examined including the loss of the tumor suppressor LKB1 and the expression of the viral oncogene HPV16-E6. We identified that Yap mediates cell growth regulation downstream of both LKB1 and E6. Restoration of LKB1 expression in HeLa cervical cancer cells, which lack this tumor suppressor, or shRNA knockdown of LKB1 in NTERT immortalized normal human dermal keratinocytes, demonstrated that LKB1 promotes Yap phosphorylation, nuclear exclusion, and proteasomal degradation. The ability of phosphorylation-defective Yap mutants to rescue LKB1 phenotypes, such as reduced cell proliferation and cell size, suggest that Yap inhibition contributes to LKB1 tumor suppressor function(s). Interestingly, LKB1’s suppression of Yap activity required neither the canonical Yap kinases, Lats1/2, nor metabolic downstream targets of LKB1, AMPK and mTORC1. Instead, the scaffolding protein NF2 was required for LKB1 to induce a specific actin cytoskeleton structure that associates with Yap suppression. Meanwhile, HPV16-E6 promoted Yap activation in all stages of keratinocyte differentiation. E6 activated the Rap1 small GTPase, which in turn promoted Yap activity. Since Rap1 does not mediate differentiation inhibition caused by E6, E6 may play a role in promoting cell growth through Rap1-Yap activation rather than preventing growth arrest through the disruption of differentiation. Altogether, the LKB1-NF2-Yap and E6-Rap1-Yap pathways represent two examples of a novel phenomenon, whereby the structure of a cell directly influences its gene expression and proliferation.

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H-REV107-1 wird in normalen Geweben ubiquitär exprimiert, während die Expression in humanen Mamma-, Ovarial-, und Lungentumoren unterdrückt ist. H-REV107-1 hemmt das Tumorwachstum in vitro und in vivo. Die Expression und Regulation des H-REV107-1 Gens wurde in verschiedenen, humanen Zelllinien untersucht. In Tumor Zelllinien wird die H-REV107-1 Expression durch IFNgamma induziert Eine Korrelation der H-REV107-1 und der IRF1 Expression nach Induktion mit IFNgamma wurde gezeigt. H-rev107-1 konnte nach konditionaler IRF1 Expression, Proteinsynthese-unabhängig, nachgewiesen werden und ist ein direktes Zielgen von IRF1. Die H-rev107-1 Expression ließ sich durch Unterdrückung des MEK/ERK Signalwegs mit dem MEK1 Inhibitor PD98059 aktivieren. Dies bedeutet, dass H-REV107-1 durch mindestens zwei verschiedene Signalwege, IFNgamma und MEK/ERK, reguliert wird. Der in vitro amplifizierte H-REV107-1 Promoter enthält keine TATA-Box, sondern ein Initiator Element sowie, in dem für eine TATA-Box definierten Abstand, eine ATF2 Bindungsstelle. Die Inkubation von transient transfizierten Zellen mit TNF alpha, cAMP und IFN gamma steigerte die Luciferase Aktivität. Mit Hilfe von Deletions- und Mutationskonstrukten wurden die regulatorischen Bereiche des Promoters bestimmt. Eine Mutation der cRel-Bindungsstelle, potentiell über NFkappaB reguliert, resultierte in einer Luciferase Aktivität von nur 9% des Wildtyp Promoters. Die Mutation der CREB/ATF2 Bindungsstelle reduzierte die Luciferase Aktivität auf 37%. Die Ko-Transfektion eines NFkappaB Suppressor reduzierte die Luciferase Aktivität um 53%. Diese Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass NFkappaB und ATF2 die H-REV107-1 Expression positiv regulieren. In einem EMSA wurde die Bindung von ATF2 an die CREB/ATF-2 Bindungsstelle gezeigt. Die Ergebnisse lassen vermuten, dass H-REV107-1 durch eine IFNgamma induzierte, möglicherweise PKR vermittelte, Signalkette von den Faktoren IRF1 und ATF2 direkt, sowie von NFkappaB indirekt, reguliert wird. / The H-REV107-1 class II tumor suppressor gene is ubiquitously expressed in normal tissues and down regulated in human breast, ovarian and lung tumors. H-REV107-1 has the capacity to suppress growth of tumor cells in vitro and in vivo. H-REV107-1 is up regulated after treatment with IFN gamma. A NIH3T3 cell line harboring an estrogen inducible IRF.1/hER fusion protein showed a protein synthesis independent up regulation of H-rev107-1 expression after induction of IRF-1. H-rev107-1 is a direct target of IRF-1. Inhibition of the MEK/ERK pathway, using the MEK1 inhibitor PD 98059, leads to a restored expression of H-rev107-1. Therefore, H-REV107-1 can be a target of the MEK/ERK-pathway. Thus, H-REV107-1 is regulated by at least two different pathways. To understand the regulatory mechanisms of the expression of the H-REV107-1 gene, the putative promoter region was analyzed in silico. The sequence was amplified and cloned. Induction of the promoter constructs with TNF alpha, cAMP and IFN gamma increased the luciferase activity. Several deletions constructs and constructs with putative transcription factor binding sites mutated were used to narrow down the important regulatory elements of the promoter. The mutations of a cRel binding site and a CREB/ATF-2 binding site decreased the luciferase activity by 91% and 63%, respectively. Co transfection of the full length promoter construct with a repressor of NFkappaB activation, reduced the luciferase activity to 47%. As a result of the investigation H-REV107-1 is directly regulated by IRF-1 and probably indirectly regulated by NFkappaB and the MEK/ERK signaling pathway. In an Electro Mobility Shift Assay (EMSA), the binding of ATF-2 to the CREB oligonucleotid was demonstrated by the use of a specific antibody. The ATF.2 binding site in the posititon –30 bp - 23 bp of the human, TATA-less H-REV107-1 promoter replaces the TATA-like element, which can be found in the H-rev107-1 promoter of rat and mouse.

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Yes / The NAD(+)-dependent deacetylase SIRT1 is involved in diverse cellular processes, and has also been linked with multiple disease states. Among these, SIRT1 expression negatively correlates with cancer survival in both laboratory and clinical studies. Active regulator of SIRT1 (AROS) was the first reported post-transcriptional regulator of SIRT1 activity, enhancing SIRT1-mediated deacetylation and downregulation of the SIRT1 target p53. However, little is known regarding the role of AROS in regulation of SIRT1 during disease. Here, we report the cellular and molecular effects of RNAi-mediated AROS suppression, comparing this with the role of SIRT1 in a panel of human cell lines of both cancerous and non-cancerous origins. Unexpectedly, AROS is found to vary in its modulation of p53 acetylation according to cell context. AROS suppresses p53 acetylation only following the application of cell damaging stress, whereas SIRT1 suppresses p53 under all conditions analysed. This supplements the original characterization of AROS but indicates that SIRT1 activity can persist following suppression of AROS. We also demonstrate that knockdown of AROS induces apoptosis in three cancer cell lines, independent of p53 activation. Importantly, AROS is not required for the viability of three non-cancer cell lines indicating a putative role for AROS in specifically promoting cancer cell survival.

Yes / Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) play essential roles in the control of skin development, postnatal tissue remodelling and tumorigenesis. To explore whether some of the effects of BMP signalling are mediated by microRNAs, we performed genome-wide microRNA (miRNA) screening in primary mouse keratinocytes after BMP4 treatment. Microarray analysis revealed substantial BMP4-dependent changes in the expression of distinct miRNAs, including miR-21. Real-time PCR confirmed that BMP4 dramatically inhibits miR-21 expression in the keratinocytes. Consistently, significantly increased levels of miR-21 were observed in transgenic mice overexpressing the BMP antagonist noggin under control of the K14 promoter (K14-noggin). By in situ hybridization, miR-21 expression was observed in the epidermis and hair follicle epithelium in normal mouse skin. In K14-noggin skin, miR-21 was prominently expressed in the epidermis, as well as in the peripheral portion of trichofolliculoma-like hair follicle-derived tumours that contain proliferating and poorly differentiated cells. By transfecting keratinocytes with a miR-21 mimic, we identified the existence of two groups of the BMP target genes, which are differentially regulated by miR-21. These included selected BMP-dependent tumour-suppressor genes (Pten, Pdcd4, Timp3 and Tpm1) negatively regulated by miR-21, as well as miR-21-independent Id1, Id2, Id3 and Msx2 that predominantly mediate the effects of BMPs on cell differentiation. In primary keratinocytes and HaCaT cells, miR-21 prevented the inhibitory effects of BMP4 on cell proliferation and migration. Thus, our study establishes a novel mechanism for the regulation of BMP-induced effects in the skin and suggests miRNAs are important modulators of the effects of growth factor signalling pathways on skin development and tumorigenesis.

No / BACKGROUND: The tumor suppressors p14(ARF) (ARF) and p16(INK4A) (p16) are encoded by overlapping reading frames at the CDKN2A/INK4A locus on chromosome 9p21. In human melanoma, the accumulated evidence has suggested that the predominant tumor suppressor at 9p21 is p16, not ARF. However, recent observations from melanoma-prone families and murine melanoma models suggest a p16-independent tumor suppressor role for ARF. We analyzed a group of melanoma metastases and cell lines to investigate directly whether somatic alterations to the ARF gene support its role as a p16-independent tumor suppressor in human melanoma, assuming that two alterations (genetic and/or epigenetic) would be required to inactivate a gene. METHODS: We examined the p16/ARF locus in 60 melanoma metastases from 58 patients and in 9 human melanoma cell lines using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect deletions, methylation-specific PCR to detect promoter methylation, direct sequencing to detect mutations affecting ARF and p16, and, in a subset of 20 tumors, immunohistochemistry to determine the effect of these alterations on p16 protein expression. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: We observed two or more alterations to the ARF gene in 26/60 (43%) metastases. The p16 gene sustained two or more alterations in 13/60 (22%) metastases (P = .03). Inactivation of ARF in the presence of wild-type p16 was seen in 18/60 (30%) metastases. CONCLUSION: Genetic and epigenetic analyses of the human 9p21 locus indicate that modifications of ARF occur independently of p16 inactivation in human melanoma and suggest that ARF is more frequently inactivated than p16.

No / Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles are the mostly used engineered metal oxide nanoparticles in consumer products. This has increased the likelihood of human exposure to this engineered nanoparticle (ENPs) through different routes. At present, the majority of the studies concerning ZnO ENPs toxicity have been conducted using in vitro and in vivo systems. In this study, for the first time we assessed the effect of ZnO ENPs on the major cellular pathways in the lymphocytes of healthy individuals as well as in susceptible patients suffering from lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. Using the differential expression analysis, we observed a significant (P < 0.05) dose-dependent (10, 20 and 40 microg/ml for 6h) increase in the expression of tumour suppressor protein p53 (40, 60 and 110%); Ras p21 (30, 52 and 80%); c-Jun N-terminal kinases; JNKs) (28, 47 and 78%) in lung cancer patient samples treated with ZnO ENPs compared to healthy controls. A similar trend was also seen in COPD patient samples where a significant (P < 0.05) dose-dependent increase in the expression of tumour suppressor protein p53 (26, 45 and 84%), Ras p21 (21, 40 and 77%), JNKs (17, 32 and 69%) was observed after 6h of ZnO ENPs treatment at the aforesaid concentrations. However, the increase in the expression profile of tested protein was not significant in the asthma patients as compared to controls. Our results reiterate the concern about the safety of ZnO ENPs in consumer products and suggest the need for a complete risk assessment of any new ENPs before its use.