Nuclear accumulation of p21Cip1 at the onset of mitosis: a role at the G2/M-phase transition

Cell cycle arrest in G1 in response to ionizing radiation or senescence is believed to be provoked by inactivation of G1 cyclin-cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) by the Cdk inhibitor p21(Cip1/Waf1/Sdi1). We provide evidence that in addition to exerting negative control of the G1/S phase transition, p21 may play a role at the onset of mitosis. In nontransformed fibroblasts, p21 transiently reaccumulates in the nucleus near the G2/M-phase boundary, concomitant with cyclin B1 nuclear translocation, and associates with a fraction of cyclin A-Cdk and cyclin B1-Cdk complexes. Premitotic nuclear accumulation of cyclin B1 is not detectable in cells with low p21 levels, such as fibroblasts expressing the viral human papillomavirus type 16 E6 oncoprotein, which functionally inactivates p53, or in tumor-derived cells. Moreover, synchronized E6-expressing fibroblasts show accelerated entry into mitosis compared to wild-type cells and exhibit higher cyclin A- and cyclin B1-associated kinase activities. Finally, primary embryonic fibroblasts derived from p21-/- mice have significantly reduced numbers of premitotic cells with nuclear cyclin B1. These data suggest that p21 promotes a transient pause late in G2 that may contribute to the implementation of late cell cycle checkpoint controls.     

p21(Waf1/Cip1) inhibition of cyclin E/Cdk2 activity prevents endoreduplication after mitotic spindle disruption

During a normal cell cycle, entry into S phase is dependent on completion of mitosis and subsequent activation of cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) in G1. These events are monitored by checkpoint pathways. Recent studies and data presented herein show that after treatment with microtubule inhibitors (MTIs), cells deficient in the Cdk inhibitor p21(Waf1/Cip1) enter S phase with a >/=4N DNA content, a process known as endoreduplication, which results in polyploidy. To determine how p21 prevents MTI-induced endoreduplication, the G1/S and G2/M checkpoint pathways were examined in two isogenic cell systems: HCT116 p21(+/+) and p21(-/-) cells and H1299 cells containing an inducible p21 expression vector (HIp21). Both HCT116 p21(-/-) cells and noninduced HIp21 cells endoreduplicated after MTI treatment. Analysis of G1-phase Cdk activities demonstrated that the induction of p21 inhibited endoreduplication through direct cyclin E/Cdk2 regulation. The kinetics of p21 inhibition of cyclin E/Cdk2 activity and binding to proliferating-cell nuclear antigen in HCT116 p21(+/+) cells paralleled the onset of endoreduplication in HCT116 p21(-/-) cells. In contrast, loss of p21 did not lead to deregulated cyclin D1-dependent kinase activities, nor did p21 directly regulate cyclin B1/Cdc2 activity. Furthermore, we show that MTI-induced endoreduplication in p53-deficient HIp21 cells was due to levels of p21 protein below a threshold required for negative regulation of cyclin E/Cdk2, since ectopic expression of p21 restored cyclin E/Cdk2 regulation and prevented endoreduplication. Based on these findings, we propose that p21 plays an integral role in the checkpoint pathways that restrain normal cells from entering S phase after aberrant mitotic exit due to defects in microtubule dynamics.     

Effects of p21(Cip1/Waf1) at both the G1/S and the G2/M cell cycle transitions: pRb is a critical determinant in blocking DNA replication and in preventing endoreduplication

It has been proposed that the functions of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p21(Cip1/Waf1) and p27Kip1 are limited to cell cycle control at the G1/S-phase transition and in the maintenance of cellular quiescence. To test the validity of this hypothesis, p21 was expressed in a diverse panel of cell lines, thus isolating the effects of p21 activity from the pleiotropic effects of upstream signaling pathways that normally induce p21 expression. The data show that at physiological levels of accumulation, p21, in addition to its role in negatively regulating the G1/S transition, contributes to regulation of the G2/M transition. Both G1- and G2-arrested cells were observed in all cell types, with different preponderances. Preponderant G1 arrest in response to p21 expression correlated with the presence of functional pRb. G2 arrest was more prominent in pRb-negative cells. The arrest distribution did not correlate with the p53 status, and proliferating-cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) binding activity of p21 did not appear to be involved, since p27, which lacks a PCNA binding domain, produced similar arrest distributions [corrected], DNA endoreduplication occurred in pRb-negative but not in pRb-positive cells, suggesting that functional pRb is necessary to prevent DNA replication in p21 G2-arrested cells. These results suggest that the primary target of the Cip/Kip family of inhibitors leading to efficient G1 arrest as well as to blockade of DNA replication from either G1 or G2 phase is the pRb regulatory system. Finally, the tendency of Rb-negative cells to undergo endoreduplication cycles when p21 is expressed may have negative implications in the therapy of Rb-negative cancers with genotoxic agents that activate the p53/p21 pathway.     

TGF-beta mediated G1 arrest in a human melanoma cell line lacking p15INK4B: evidence for cooperation between p21Cip1/WAF1 and p27Kip1

We have studied TGF-beta mediated G1 arrest in WM35, an early stage human melanoma cell line. These cells have lost p15INK4B expression through loss of one chromosome 9 and rearrangement of the other. In asynchronously growing WM35, TGF-beta caused reductions in cyclin D1, cyclin A and cdk4 proteins and their associated kinase activities and an increase in both p21Cip1/WAF1 and p27Kip1. These findings were confirmed in cells released from quiescence in the presence of TGF-beta, in which TGF-beta inhibited or delayed the reduction in the cdk inhibitors that normally occurs in late G1. In contrast to observations in other cell types, there was an increased association of both p21Cip1/WAF1 and p27Kip1 with cyclin D1/cdk4 and with cyclin E/cdk2 during TGF-beta mediated arrest of asynchronously growing cells. Upregulation of p21Cip1/WAF1 preceded that of p27Kip1. Furthermore, p21Cip1/WAF1 and p27Kip1 were not present in the same cdk complexes but bound distinct populations of target cdk molecules. Both p21Cip1/WAF1 and p27Kip1 immunoprecipitates from asynchronously growing cells contained active kinase complexes. These KIP-associated kinase activities were reduced in TGF-beta arrested cells. It has been proposed that in TGF-beta arrested epithelial cells, up-regulation of p15INK4B and of p15INK4B binding to cdk4 serves to destabilize the association of p27Kip1 with cyclin D1/cdk4, promoting p27Kip1 binding and inhibition of cyclin E/cdk2. Our findings demonstrate that this is not a universal mechanism of G1 arrest by TGF-beta. In TGF-beta arrested WM35, which lack p15INK4B, the increased p21Cip1/WAF1 may serve a similar function to that of p15INK4B: initiating kinase inhibition and providing an additional mechanism to supplement the effect of p27Kip1 on G1 cyclin/cdks.     

Simultaneous assessment of the hemodynamic, cardiomechanical, and electrophysiological effects of terfenadine on the in vivo canine model

The G2 block is a major response of cells to DNA damage and seem to be induced independently of p53 status. It is thought that the G2 block has a protective function and allows cells to repair their DNA. The molecular events involved in the formation of the G2 block therefore are of great interest. We have used pentoxifylline, a potent G2 delay abrogator, to study the expression of an essential component of the mitosis promoting complex (MPF), cyclin B1. Cyclin B1/G2 ratios are used to show that irradiation induces a decrease in cyclin B1 expression and that pentoxifylline restores cyclin B1 expression to control level. This confirms that suppression of cyclin B1 plays a role in the formation of the G2 cell cycle delay, and that elevating cyclin B1 expression is part of the mechanism of action of pentoxifylline on G2 blocked cells.     

Distinct p53-mediated G1/S checkpoint responses in two NIH3T3 subclone cells following treatment with DNA-damaging agents

N3T3 and P-3T3 cells, originally isolated from a NIH3T3 cell clone on the basis of their negative and positive transformation by v-Abl, v-Src and Bcr-Abl, were previously found to show distinct cyclin activity changes following 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) treatment, which is anti-mitogenic for N-3T3 cells and mitogenic for P-3T3 cells. We have found in this study that, while the G1/S arrest and cell death induced by serum starvation and TPA treatment in N-3T3 cells did not involve p53-mediated checkpoint or apoptosis, N-3T3 and P-3T3 cells evidently responded differently in these aspects of cell cycle regulation to DNA-damaging agents, methylmethane sulfonate (MMS) and gamma-radiation. In N-3T3 cells, DNA damages elicit cell growth arrest at G1/S transition with concomitant accumulation of p53 and p53-inducible Waf1/Cip1 proteins and also signs of apoptosis such as DNA ladder patterns and apoptotic (subgenomic) peak in flow cytograph. Conversely, P-3T3 cells treated with the DNA-damaging agents showed no cell cycle interruption nor accumulation of p53 or Waf1/Cip1. However, both P-3T3 and N-3T3 cells showed the same p53 protein half-life of 40 min or less, the same wild-type p53 DNA sequence and the same co-immunoprecipitable cellular proteins in complexes with p53, suggesting that an alteration in a signal transduction pathway upstream of p53 might account for the evasion of p53-mediated G1 checkpoint in P-3T3 cells.     

Automated molecular genetic DNA analysis for detecting B-cell non-Hodgkin''s lymphoma in cytologic specimens

The effect of a calpain-selective cell permeant inhibitor, benzyloxycarbonyl Leu-Leu-Tyr diazomethylketone (ZLLY-CHN2), on the serum-stimulated growth of WI-38 human fibroblasts has been investigated. Only cell permeant protease inhibitors with activity against calpains prevented progression into S-phase. Protein blotting experiments indicated that p53 immunoreactivity increased in late G1 cells treated with ZLLY-CHN2. The content of p21Waf1/Cip1 CDK inhibitor also increased, providing a mechanism for the observed failure to enter S-phase. Further studies indicated that p53 could be degraded by a ZLLY-CHN2-sensitive protease immediately prior to S-phase, but that proteolysis did not occur after this critical time point. Chelation of extracellular Ca2+ by addition of EGTA inhibited the p53 degradation. Consistent with proteolysis of p53 in late G1 phase, mu-calpain immunoreactivity transiently accumulated in cell nuclei at this time. ZLLY-CHN2 did not appear to increase p53 mRNA in WI-38 cells. Purified mu-calpain required only 1 to 3 microM Ca2+ to proteolyze p53 in WI-38 cell lysates. These results indicate that ZLLY-CHN2 inhibits progression of WI-38 cells into S-phase by inactivating a calpain-like protease that is responsible for proteolysis of constitutively expressed p53 in late G1.     

Butyrate-induced differentiation of Caco-2 cells is associated with apoptosis and early induction of p21Waf1/Cip1 and p27Kip1

BACKGROUND: Intestinal mucosal turnover is a process of proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis; the mechanisms remain largely undefined. The purpose of our study was to (1) assess the relationship between apoptosis and enterocyte differentiation and (2) determine whether the cell-cycle inhibitors, p21Waf1/Cip1 and p27Kip1, or the apoptosis inhibitors, Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL, may be involved. METHODS: Gut-derived Caco-2 cells were treated with sodium butyrate. Apoptosis was assessed by Hoechst stain, DNA laddering, and annexin V assay; differentiation was determined by alkaline phosphatase and sucrase activity. RNA and protein were analyzed for expression of p21Waf1/Cip1, p27Kip1, and members of the Bcl-2 family. RESULTS: Treatment of Caco-2 cells with sodium butyrate resulted in the concomitant induction of both differentiation (increased alkaline phosphatase and sucrase activity) and apoptosis. Increased levels of p21Waf1/Cip1 and p27Kip1 mRNA and protein were detected at 24 hours, occurring before apoptosis or differentiation; decreased mRNA levels of Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL were noted at 24 hours. CONCLUSIONS: Differentiation and apoptosis occurred simultaneously in Caco-2 cells, suggesting that apoptosis may be linked to enterocyte differentiation. The induction of p21Waf1/Cip1 and p27Kip1 and the down-regulation of Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL further suggest a link between the cell-cycle mechanisms regulating enterocyte differentiation and apoptosis.     

Cell cycle-independent regulation of p21Waf1/Cip1 and retinoblastoma protein during okadaic acid-induced apoptosis is coupled with induction of Bax protein in human breast carcinoma cells

Okadaic acid (OA) is a serine/threonine protein phosphatase inhibitor and has been shown to induce apoptosis in a number of different tumor cell lines, including human breast carcinoma (HBC) cells. The molecular basis of OA-induced apoptosis remains to be investigated. Here, we demonstrate that the OA concentration that inhibits only protein phosphatase 1 and 2A was sufficient to induce apoptosis in HBC cells. In MCF-7 cells, the OA-induced apoptosis was coupled with the overexpression of endogenous p53, p21Waf1/Cip1, and Bax proteins, whereas the Rb protein levels were decreased. OA also induced apoptosis and concomitantly enhanced the p21Waf1/Cip1 and Bex levels in human papilloma virus protein E6-transfected variants of MCF-7 cells, in which p53 function had been disrupted. OA, by contrast, had no effect on the levels or the subcellular localization of Gadd45 and Bcl2 proteins in either wild-type of E6-transfected MCF-7 cells. Bcl-xL, Bcl-xS, and Bak levels were also unchanged after OA treatment in both cell types. OA-induced apoptosis and its effect on the expression of the above molecular markers occurred in the absence of any detectable changes in the cell cycle phase distribution. On the basis of our findings, we conclude the following: (a) OA-induced apoptosis in HBC cells occurs independently of cell cycle arrest; (b) the wild-type p53 function is not an absolute prerequisite for OA-induced cell death; and (c) OA-induced apoptosis is associated with up-regulation of endogenous p21Waf1/Cip1 and Bax protein levels.     

p27Kip1: a key mediator of retinoic acid induced growth arrest in the SMS-KCNR human neuroblastoma cell line

Retinoic acid (RA) treatment of SMS-KCNR neuroblastoma (NB) cells leads to G1 growth arrest and neuronal differentiation. To investigate the molecular mechanisms by which RA alters cell growth, we analysed the expression and activity of components of the cell cycle machinery after culture in RA. Within 2 days of RA treatment and prior to the arrest of NB cells in the G1 phase of the cell cycle, there is a complete downregulation of G1 cyclin/Cdk activities. Protein levels for the G1 cyclin/Cdks were essentially unchanged during this time although there was a decrease in the steady-state levels of p67N-Myc and hyperphosphorylated Rb proteins. The Cdk inhibitors, p21Cip1 and p27Kip1 were constitutively expressed in KCNR while p15INK4B and p16INK4A were not detected. RA induced an increase in the expression of p27Kip1 but not p21Cip1. Furthermore, coincident with the decrease in kinase activity there was an increase in G1 cyclin/Cdk bound p27Kip1. These results indicate that changes in the level of p27Kip1 and its binding to G1 cyclin/Cdks may play a key role in RA induced growth arrest of NB cells.     

A recombinant adenovirus expressing p27Kip1 induces cell cycle arrest and loss of cyclin-Cdk activity in human breast cancer cells

In order to elucidate the biochemical mechanisms by which the universal cyclin kinase inhibitor p27Kip1 regulates cell cycle progression in human breast cancer cells, a recombinant adenovirus expressing human p27 was constructed (Adp27). Upon infection of human breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 with Adp27, a high level of p27 expression was observed, and this resulted in a marked decrease in the proportion of cells in S-phase. In multiple cell lines, comparison of the cytotoxicity of Adp27 with another adenovirus vector expressing the related universal cyclin kinase inhibitor WAF1/Cip1 (AdWAF1), showed Adp27 to be markedly more (up to 56-fold) toxic than AdWAF1. DNA histograms showed Adp27 to cause a G1/S arrest at lower viral doses than AdWAF1. Analysis of cyclin dependent kinase activity following Adp27 infections showed decreased Cdk2 and cyclin B1-Cdc2 activity at lower viral doses when compared with AdWAF1. Adp27 is therefore potentially useful for studies of growth regulation and for gene therapy when growth inhibition is desired.     

High levels of constitutive WAF1/Cip1 protein are associated with chemoresistance in acute myelogenous leukemia

The WAF1/Cip1 gene product is an important regulator at the G1 checkpoint in the cell cycle. WAF1/Cip1 expression can be activated through p53-dependent and p53-independent pathways. The WAF1/Cip1 protein binds to cyclin-dependent kinase complexes and inhibits the kinase activity that is required for cell cycle progression. In this preliminary study, we analyzed with Western blot assays the steady-state levels of the WAF1/Cip1 protein in the leukemia cells of 100 untreated acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) patients. Normal bone marrow cells from six donors were used as a control. The results of these analyses showed that the levels of the WAF1/Cip1 protein were very low in normal marrow cells and in the leukemia cells of 83 AML patients. High levels of WAF1/Cip1 were detected in 17 patients; these patients with high WAF1/Cip1 levels were significantly less likely to achieve complete remission (41% versus 69%, P = 0.03) and were four times as likely to be resistant to therapy (47% versus 12%, P = 0.003) as patients with very low levels of WAF1/Cip1. Median survival was 38 weeks for patients having very low expression levels versus 11 weeks for patients having high expression levels (P = 0.04). The WAF1/Cip1 level was an independent predictor for response but not survival in a stepwise multivariate regression analysis. Southern blotting analyses did not detect deletion of the WAF1/Cip1 gene in the 12 negative WAF1/Cip1 AML samples tested. Also, the level of WAF1/Cip1 protein expression was not correlated with overexpression of cyclin D1, cyclin E, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, cyclin-dependent kinase 4, or p53 in the leukemia cells. However, the levels of cyclin D1, cyclin E, and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 were elevated in most of the AML samples compared with that in normal marrow. We hypothesize that high-level constitutively expressed WAF1/Cip1 in tumor cells may result in an indolent state that is refractory to chemotherapy drugs. We conclude that the WAF1/Cip1 expression level may be an important prognostic factor for response to therapy and survival in AML patients.     

p21WAF1/CIP1/SDI1 is elevated through a p53-independent pathway by mimosine

Tumor suppressor p53 is a nuclear protein that is induced by DNA damage and is involved in G1 and G2 phase control of the cell cycle. p21WAF1/CIP1/SDI1 (p21), a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, is a downstream target and effector of p53 to induce G1 arrest. Mimosine is a potent reversible late G1 phase blocker of the cell cycle. In this study, we showed that mimosine can increase both p21 mRNA and protein levels, indirectly inhibit cyclin E-associated kinase activity without affecting the cyclin E protein level, block human breast cancer cells (21PT) in the late G1 phase of the cell cycle, and induce a p53-independent p21 pathway in these cells. These results support the possibility of restoring a G1 checkpoint by use of mimosine. They also suggest that the mechanism of the effect of mimosine is complex and may have more than one target in the cell.     

Requirements for p53 and the ATM gene product in the regulation of G1/S and S phase checkpoints

We investigated the requirements for protein p53 and the ATM gene product in radiation-induced inhibition of DNA synthesis and regulation of the cyclin E/ and cyclin A/cyclin dependent kinases (Cdks). Wild type (WT) mouse lung fibroblasts (MLFs), p53(-/-) knock-out MLFs, normal human skin fibroblasts (HSF-55), and human AT skin fibroblasts (GM02052) were used in the investigations. The absence of p53 had no significant effect on the inhibition or recovery of DNA synthesis throughout the S phase, as determined from BrdU labeling and flow cytometry, or the rapid inhibition of cyclin A/Cdks. Gamma radiation (8 Gy) inhibited DNA synthesis and progression into G2 during the first 3 h after irradiation, and the recovery of these processes occurred at similar rates in both WT and p53(-/-) MLFs. The cyclin A/Cdks were inhibited 55-70% at 1 h after irradiation in both cell types, but p21WAF1/Cip1 levels or p21 interaction with Cdk2 did not increase in the irradiated p53(-/-) MLFs. Although p53(-/-) MLFs do not exhibit prolonged arrest at a G1 checkpoint, radiation did induce a rapid 20% reduction and small super-recovery of cyclin E/Cdk2 within 1-2 h after irradiation. Similar inhibition and recovery of cyclin E/Cdk2 previously had been associated with regulation of transient G1 delay and the inhibition of initiation at an apparent G1/S checkpoint in Chinese hamster cells. In contrast, loss of the ATM gene product abrogated transient cyclin E/Cdk2 inhibition, most inhibition of DNA synthesis and all, but a 10-15% inhibition, of the cyclin A/Cdks. The results indicate that neither p53 nor p21 is required for transient inhibition of cyclin E/Cdk2 associated with the G1/S checkpoint or for inhibition of DNA synthesis at 'checkpoints' within the S phase. Conversely, the ATM gene product appears to be essential for regulation of the G1/S checkpoint and for inhibition of DNA replication associated with the inhibition of cyclin A/Cdk2. Differential aspects of DNA synthesis inhibition among cell types are presented and discussed in the context of S phase checkpoints.