Efp targets 14-3-3 sigma for proteolysis and promotes breast tumour growth

Oestrogen exerts its influence on target organs through activating oestrogen receptors (ERs) and regulating downstream genes by means of their oestrogen-responsive elements. Efp, a target gene product of ER alpha, is a member of the RING-finger B-box coiled-coil (RBCC) motif family. Efp is predominantly expressed in various female organs as well as in breast cancers, and is thought to be essential for oestrogen-dependent cell proliferation and organ development Efp-disrupted mice display underdeveloped uteri and reduced oestrogen responsiveness. Here we show that Efp is a RING-finger-dependent ubiquitin ligase (E3) that targets proteolysis of 14-3-3 sigma, a negative cell cycle regulator that causes G2 arrest. We demonstrate that tumour growth of breast cancer MCF7 cells implanted in female athymic mice is reduced by treatment with antisense Efp oligonucleotide. Efp-overexpressing MCF7 cells in ovariectomized athymic mice generate tumours in the absence of oestrogen. Loss of Efp function in mouse embryonic fibroblasts results in an accumulation of 14-3-3 sigma, which is responsible for reduced cell growth. These data provide an insight into the cell-cycle machinery and tumorigenesis of breast cancer by identifying 14-3-3 sigma as a target for proteolysis by Efp, leading to cell proliferation.     

Amplified DNA with limited homology to myc cellular oncogene is shared by human neuroblastoma cell lines and a neuroblastoma tumour

Amplified cellular genes in mammalian cells frequently manifest themselves as double minute chromosomes (DMs) and homogeneously staining regions of chromosomes (HSRs). With few exceptions both karyotypic abnormalities appear to be confined to tumour cells. All vertebrates possess a set of cellular genes homologous to the transforming genes of RNA tumour viruses, and there is circumstantial evidence that these cellular oncogenes are involved in tumorigenesis. We have recently shown that DMs and HSRs in cells of the mouse adrenocortical tumour Y1 and an HSR in the human colon carcinoma COLO320 contain amplified copies of the cellular oncogenes c-Ki-ras and c-myc, respectively. Both DMs and HSRs are found with remarkable frequency in cells of human neuroblastomas. We show here that a DNA domain detectable by partial homology to the myc oncogene is amplified up to 140-fold in cell lines derived from different human neuroblastomas and in a neuroblastoma tumour, but not in other tumour cells showing cytological evidence for gene amplification. By in situ hybridization we found that HSRs are the chromosomal sites of the amplified DNA. The frequency with which this amplification appears in cells from neuroblastomas and its apparent specificity raise the possibility that one or more of the genes contained within the amplified domain contribute to tumorigenesis.     

RAB5A在乳腺癌中的表达及转移相关性分析

目的 探讨RAB5A在乳腺癌转移中的作用与机制,以期为乳腺癌的基因治疗及研究提供新的靶点。方法 检测不同分化程度的乳腺癌组织标本中RAB5A蛋白的表达情况;应用FAM标记的RAB5A反义寡核苷酸,体外转染高转移度的乳腺癌细胞,观察肿瘤细胞的转移相关指标的变化。结果 乳腺癌组织中大多呈现不同程度RAB5A的表达,差异有显著性意义（P<0.05）,在浸润导管癌中RAB5A的表达程度与其他组织类分型差异有显著性意义（P<0.05）,肿瘤组织不同分化程度染色显示乳腺癌分化程度越低（P<0.05）,在细胞基底膜侵袭和运动实验中RAB5A反义核酸封闭后穿膜细胞数均明显减少。结论 RAB5A是一个可能与乳腺癌发生、转移相关的基因,并且还可能与它们的分化程度有关。RAB5A在人乳腺癌细胞的侵袭及转移特性的形成中具有重要的作用,RAB5A的反义分子能够有效地阻断该基因表达的翻译过程。     

Fbxw7/Cdc4 is a p53-dependent, haploinsufficient tumour suppressor gene

The FBXW7/hCDC4 gene encodes a ubiquitin ligase implicated in the control of chromosome stability. Here we identify the mouse Fbxw7 gene as a p53-dependent tumour suppressor gene by using a mammalian genetic screen for p53-dependent genes involved in tumorigenesis. Radiation-induced lymphomas from p53+/- mice, but not those from p53-/- mice, show frequent loss of heterozygosity and a 10% mutation rate of the Fbxw7 gene. Fbxw7+/- mice have greater susceptibility to radiation-induced tumorigenesis, but most tumours retain and express the wild-type allele, indicating that Fbxw7 is a haploinsufficient tumour suppressor gene. Loss of Fbxw7 alters the spectrum of tumours that develop in p53 deficient mice to include a range of tumours in epithelial tissues such as the lung, liver and ovary. Mouse embryo fibroblasts from Fbxw7-deficient mice, or wild-type mouse cells expressing Fbxw7 small interfering RNA, have higher levels of Aurora-A kinase, c-Jun and Notch4, but not of cyclin E. We propose that p53-dependent loss of Fbxw7 leads to genetic instability by mechanisms that might involve the activation of Aurora-A, providing a rationale for the early occurrence of these mutations in human cancers.     

The Syk tyrosine kinase suppresses malignant growth of human breast cancer cells

Syk is a protein tyrosine kinase that is widely expressed in haematopoietic cells. It is involved in coupling activated immunoreceptors to downstream signalling events that mediate diverse cellular responses including proliferation, differentiation and phagocytosis. Syk expression has been reported in cell lines of epithelial origin, but its function in these cells remains unknown. Here we show that Syk is commonly expressed in normal human breast tissue, benign breast lesions and low-tumorigenic breast cancer cell lines. Syk messenger RNA and protein, however, are low or undetectable in invasive breast carcinoma tissue and cell lines. Transfection of wild-type Syk into a Syk-negative breast cancer cell line markedly inhibited its tumour growth and metastasis formation in athymic mice. Conversely, overexpression of a kinase-deficient Syk in a Syk-positive breast cancer cell line significantly increased its tumour incidence and growth. Suppression of tumour growth by the reintroduction of Syk appeared to be the result of aberrant mitosis and cytokinesis. We propose that Syk is a potent modulator of epithelial cell growth and a potential tumour suppressor in human breast carcinomas.     

Hiwi基因在耐药MCF-7/ADM乳腺癌细胞株中的表达

目的探讨Hiwi基因在耐阿霉素人乳腺癌MCF-7/ADM细胞和非耐药MCF-7细胞的表达.方法应用实时定量PCR与Western blot技术进行Hiwi基因在耐阿霉素人乳腺癌MCF-7/ADM细胞和非耐药MCF-7细胞株表达水平检测.结果 Hiwi基因在耐阿霉素人乳腺癌MCF-7/ADM细胞中的表达明显高于正常乳腺细胞(P0.01)及非耐药MCF-7细胞(P0.05).结论 Hiwi基因在耐阿霉素人乳腺癌MCF-7/ADM细胞株的高表达为耐药乳腺癌细胞的靶向治疗指出新的研究方向,对乳腺癌治疗预后评估具有临床指导性.     

DBC1 is a negative regulator of SIRT1

The NAD-dependent protein deacetylase Sir2 (silent information regulator 2) regulates lifespan in several organisms. SIRT1, the mammalian orthologue of yeast Sir2, participates in various cellular functions and possibly tumorigenesis. Whereas the cellular functions of SIRT1 have been extensively investigated, less is known about the regulation of SIRT1 activity. Here we show that Deleted in Breast Cancer-1 (DBC1), initially cloned from a region (8p21) homozygously deleted in breast cancers, forms a stable complex with SIRT1. DBC1 directly interacts with SIRT1 and inhibits SIRT1 activity in vitro and in vivo. Downregulation of DBC1 expression potentiates SIRT1-dependent inhibition of apoptosis induced by genotoxic stress. Our results shed new light on the regulation of SIRT1 and have important implications in understanding the molecular mechanism of ageing and cancer.     

Defects in mismatch repair promote telomerase-independent proliferation

Mismatch repair has a central role in maintaining genomic stability by repairing DNA replication errors and inhibiting recombination between non-identical (homeologous) sequences. Defects in mismatch repair have been linked to certain human cancers, including hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) and sporadic tumours. A crucial requirement for tumour cell proliferation is the maintenance of telomere length, and most tumours achieve this by reactivating telomerase. In both yeast and human cells, however, telomerase-independent telomere maintenance can occur as a result of recombination-dependent exchanges between often imperfectly matched telomeric sequences. Here we show that loss of mismatch-repair function promotes cellular proliferation in the absence of telomerase. Defects in mismatch repair, including mutations that correspond to the same amino-acid changes recovered from HNPCC tumours, enhance telomerase-independent survival in both Saccharomyces cerevisiae and a related budding yeast with a degree of telomere sequence homology that is similar to human telomeres. These results indicate that enhanced telomeric recombination in human cells with mismatch-repair defects may contribute to cell immortalization and hence tumorigenesis.     

CpG methylation is maintained in human cancer cells lacking DNMT1

Hypermethylation is associated with the silencing of tumour susceptibility genes in several forms of cancer; however, the mechanisms responsible for this aberrant methylation are poorly understood. The prototypic DNA methyltransferase, DNMT1, has been widely assumed to be responsible for most of the methylation of the human genome, including the abnormal methylation found in cancers. To test this hypothesis, we disrupted the DNMT1 gene through homologous recombination in human colorectal carcinoma cells. Here we show that cells lacking DNMT1 exhibited markedly decreased cellular DNA methyltransferase activity, but there was only a 20% decrease in overall genomic methylation. Although juxtacentromeric satellites became significantly demethylated, most of the loci that we analysed, including the tumour suppressor gene p16INK4a, remained fully methylated and silenced. These results indicate that DNMT1 has an unsuspected degree of regional specificity in human cells and that methylating activities other than DNMT1 can maintain the methylation of most of the genome.     

MEK5$\alpha $ 和 MEK5$\beta $ 调控 ${\bf Beclin}$ 1 启动子

Beclin 1是哺乳动物自噬相关基因, 调控自噬起始和自噬体成熟. 在肌肉分化过程中, Beclin 1 基因表达上调, 自噬增加; 此外 MEK5-ERK5 信号活化并调控成肌细胞分化. 因此, 在肌肉分化过程中, MEK5-ERK5 信号通路可能调控 Beclin 1 基因表达. 目的是阐明 MEK5 对成肌细胞 Beclin 1 基因启动子活性的调控. 将不同长度 Beclin 1 启动子片段克隆至荧光素酶报告基因载体pGL3-Basic并转染成肌细胞C2C12. 双荧光素酶报告基因检测实验结果显示, 含 Beclin 1 基因起始密码子上游 586 碱基对 DNA 片段的载体(p-354)具有强荧光素酶活性. MEK5$\alpha $显著增加 p-354 荧光素酶活性, 并有剂量依赖性; 而 MEK5$\beta $ 显著降低 p-354 荧光素酶活性. MEK5$\beta $能够拮抗 MEK5$\alpha $对 p-354 荧光素酶活性的调控. 与 MEK5 对 Beclin 1 基因启动子调控结果一致, MEK5$\alpha $CA 上调细胞Beclin 1 mRNA 表达, MEK5$\beta $DD 下调 Beclin 1 mRNA 表达, 并且 MEK5$\beta $DD 抑制 MEK5$\alpha $CA 对 Beclin 1 mRNA 表达的促进作用. 此外, 转录因子 CREB 家族成员 CREB3, CREBP 和 CREBL1 能够显著上调 p-354 荧光素酶活性. CREB3 呈剂量依赖性显著上调 p-354 荧光素酶活性, 并与 MEK5$\alpha $ 具有协同效应. MEK5$\alpha $ 和 MEK5$\beta $ 对 Beclin 1 启动子具有不同调控作用, CREB 可能是其下游效应因子.     

MYC inactivation uncovers pluripotent differentiation and tumour dormancy in hepatocellular cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma is generally refractory to clinical treatment. Here, we report that inactivation of the MYC oncogene is sufficient to induce sustained regression of invasive liver cancers. MYC inactivation resulted en masse in tumour cells differentiating into hepatocytes and biliary cells forming bile duct structures, and this was associated with rapid loss of expression of the tumour marker alpha-fetoprotein, the increase in expression of liver cell markers cytokeratin 8 and carcinoembryonic antigen, and in some cells the liver stem cell marker cytokeratin 19. Using in vivo bioluminescence imaging we found that many of these tumour cells remained dormant as long as MYC remain inactivated; however, MYC reactivation immediately restored their neoplastic features. Using array comparative genomic hybridization we confirmed that these dormant liver cells and the restored tumour retained the identical molecular signature and hence were clonally derived from the tumour cells. Our results show how oncogene inactivation may reverse tumorigenesis in the most clinically difficult cancers. Oncogene inactivation uncovers the pluripotent capacity of tumours to differentiate into normal cellular lineages and tissue structures, while retaining their latent potential to become cancerous, and hence existing in a state of tumour dormancy.     

CdTe量子点对人乳腺癌细胞MCF 7/ADM的化学增敏作用及其机制研究

利用纳米材料CdTe量子点作为增敏剂, 四甲基偶氮唑蓝(MTT)法检测细胞活力的实验表明CdTe量子点增强了阿霉素对于MCF 7/ADM的毒性, 而对非耐药的MCF 7无增敏作用. 然后利用免疫印迹法和免疫荧光染色法检测发现CdTe量子点提高了MCF 7/ADM细胞的自噬水平, 且这种自噬水平的上调与化学增敏效应是相关的, 以上结果提示CdTe量子点通过诱导MCF 7/ADM细胞发生自噬, 增强耐药性细胞对DOX毒性的敏感性.     

抑癌基因p27在肿瘤细胞MCF7中的表达

抑癌基因p27是一个细胞周期依赖性激酶抑制子CKI(CDK inhibitor),对细胞周期起着负调控的作用,将p27基因克隆到表达载体pcDNA,转染到肿瘤细胞MCF7中,筛选到稳定表达株．p27基因的过量表达确实对肿瘤细胞的生长产生了抑制作用,并且引发了部分肿瘤细胞的凋亡．     

MDR1-targeted siRNA delivery with cationic dendritic conjugated polymers

A cationic dendritic polyfluorene (PFP) is examined as a siRNA delivery vector. This material was designed to facilitate the nucleic acid binding, encapsulation and efficient cellular uptake. PFP can effectively protect siRNA against nuclease degradation, which is necessary for gene carriers. PFP can be used for multidrug resistance gene-targeted siRNA delivery in doxorubicin (Dox)-resistant human breast cancer cells (MCF7) cells. As a siRNA transfection agent, PFP can efficiently achieve the reversal of drug resistance and enhance the drug sensitivity. These new features and capabilities represent a major step toward conjugated polymers that can function for therapeutic application.     

PinX1基因真核表达载体的构建及其对乳腺癌MCF-7细胞增殖的抑制作用

探讨了PinX1 基因在乳腺癌MCF-7 细胞生长和细胞周期中的作用, 初步探讨了该基因用于乳腺癌临床治疗的可行性. 采用RT-PCR 技术从293-T 细胞中扩增PinX1 基因, 将其克隆入真核表达载体pEGFP-C1 中, 再将重组质粒转染MCF-7 细胞. 通过real-time PCR 检测PinX1 基因的mRNA 表达, 用MTT 法检测转染前后细胞生长曲线的变化, 用流式细胞仪检测转染目的基因后细胞生长周期的改变. 检测结果表明, PinX1 基因已经在转染后MCF-7 细胞的细胞核内稳定表达, 乳腺癌细胞生长明显减缓(P <0.05), 增殖变慢(P <0.05), 细胞生长阻滞于G0/G1 期, 说明PinX1 基因可抑制乳腺癌MCF-7 细胞的生长和增殖.     

A naturally occurring MTA1 variant sequesters oestrogen receptor-alpha in the cytoplasm

Oestrogen receptor (ER) is a good prognostic marker for the treatment of breast cancers. Upregulation of metastatic tumour antigen 1 (MTA1) is associated with the invasiveness and metastatic potential of several human cancers and acts as a co-repressor of nuclear ER-alpha. Here we identify a naturally occurring short form of MTA1 (MTA1s) that contains a previously unknown sequence of 33 amino acids with an ER-binding motif, Leu-Arg-Ile-Leu-Leu (LRILL). MTA1s localizes in the cytoplasm, sequesters ER in the cytoplasm, and enhances non-genomic responses of ER. Deleting the LRILL motif in MTA1s abolishes its co-repressor function and its interaction with ER, and restores nuclear localization of ER. Dysregulation of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 in breast cancer cells enhances the expression of MTA1s and the cytoplasmic sequestration of ER. Expression of MTA1s in breast cancer cells prevents ligand-induced nuclear translocation of ER and stimulates malignant phenotypes. MTA1s expression is increased in human breast tumours with no or low nuclear ER. The regulation of the cellular localization of ER by MTA1s represents a mechanism for redirecting nuclear receptor signalling by nuclear exclusion.