NUMB controls p53 tumour suppressor activity

NUMB is a cell fate determinant, which, by asymmetrically partitioning at mitosis, controls cell fate choices by antagonising the activity of the plasma membrane receptor of the NOTCH family. NUMB is also an endocytic protein, and the NOTCH-NUMB counteraction has been linked to this function. There might be, however, additional functions of NUMB, as witnessed by its proposed role as a tumour suppressor in breast cancer. Here we describe a previously unknown function for human NUMB as a regulator of tumour protein p53 (also known as TP53). NUMB enters in a tricomplex with p53 and the E3 ubiquitin ligase HDM2 (also known as MDM2), thereby preventing ubiquitination and degradation of p53. This results in increased p53 protein levels and activity, and in regulation of p53-dependent phenotypes. In breast cancers there is frequent loss of NUMB expression. We show that, in primary breast tumour cells, this event causes decreased p53 levels and increased chemoresistance. In breast cancers, loss of NUMB expression causes increased activity of the receptor NOTCH. Thus, in these cancers, a single event-loss of NUMB expression-determines activation of an oncogene (NOTCH) and attenuation of the p53 tumour suppressor pathway. Biologically, this results in an aggressive tumour phenotype, as witnessed by findings that NUMB-defective breast tumours display poor prognosis. Our results uncover a previously unknown tumour suppressor circuitry.     

IKKalpha controls formation of the epidermis independently of NF-kappaB

The IKKalpha and IKKbeta catalytic subunits of IkappaB kinase (IKK) share 51% amino-acid identity and similar biochemical activities: they both phosphorylate IkappaB proteins at serines that trigger their degradation. IKKalpha and IKKbeta differ, however, in their physiological functions. IKKbeta and the IKKgamma/NEMO regulatory subunit are required for activating NF-kappaB by pro-inflammatory stimuli and preventing apoptosis induced by tumour necrosis factor-alpha (refs 5,6,7,8,9,10,11). IKKalpha is dispensable for these functions, but is essential for developing the epidermis and its derivatives. The mammalian epidermis is composed of the basal, spinous, granular and cornified layers. Only basal keratinocytes can proliferate and give rise to differentiated derivatives, which on full maturation undergo enucleation to generate the cornified layer. Curiously, keratinocyte-specific inhibition of NF-kappaB, as in Ikkalpha-/- mice, results in epidermal thickening but does not block terminal differentiation. It has been proposed that the epidermal defect in Ikkalpha-/- mice may be due to the failed activation of NF-kappaB. Here we show that the unique function of IKKalpha in control of keratinocyte differentiation is not exerted through its IkappaB kinase activity or through NF-kappaB. Instead, IKKalpha controls production of a soluble factor that induces keratinocyte differentiation.     

p53振子的形成机制及microRNA对p53目标基因表达的精细调控

肿瘤抑制因子p53调控着大量的基因,在肿瘤抑制中起着关键作用.实验结果表明,当DNA受损后,p53的表达呈现周期性振荡.已有的一些p53振子的理论模型,其振子产生机制通常依赖于p53和Mdm2之间相互作用的时滞因素.考虑基因表达的转录和翻译过程,运用动力学方程建模的方法,给出一种新模型,并利用Hopf分叉理论,给出p53振子产生的条件.数值模拟结果表明,与已有的时滞模型相比,该模型对参数具有更好的鲁棒性,较好地解释了p53振子的产生机制.最近的许多实验表明,p53调控着miR-34家族中大量microRNA的表达,这些microRNA又在后转录水平上对p53的下游目标基因起着调控作用.在这一模型基础上,研究microRNA加入p53调控网络后所起的调控作用,数值模拟结果初步表明,microRNA对p53下游目标基因表达起到了精细调控作用.     

p53抗体与恶性肿瘤

p53基因是人类肿瘤中突变频率最高的抑癌基因,几乎发生于所有的恶性肿瘤.突变基因编码的p53蛋白释放入血,可诱发机体自身免疫应答,产生p53自身抗体.在肿瘤病人和高危人群中检测血清p53抗体可以反映早期p53基因突变,作为一种新的肿瘤生物学指标,p53抗体有望在恶性肿瘤的早期诊断、治疗、预后、监测、复发等方面发挥重要作用.     

Deubiquitination of p53 by HAUSP is an important pathway for p53 stabilization

The p53 tumour suppressor is a short-lived protein that is maintained at low levels in normal cells by Mdm2-mediated ubiquitination and subsequent proteolysis. Stabilization of p53 is crucial for its tumour suppressor function. However, the precise mechanism by which ubiquitinated p53 levels are regulated in vivo is not completely understood. By mass spectrometry of affinity-purified p53-associated factors, we have identified herpesvirus-associated ubiquitin-specific protease (HAUSP) as a novel p53-interacting protein. HAUSP strongly stabilizes p53 even in the presence of excess Mdm2, and also induces p53-dependent cell growth repression and apoptosis. Significantly, HAUSP has an intrinsic enzymatic activity that specifically deubiquitinates p53 both in vitro and in vivo. In contrast, expression of a catalytically inactive point mutant of HAUSP in cells increases the levels of p53 ubiquitination and destabilizes p53. These findings reveal an important mechanism by which p53 can be stabilized by direct deubiquitination and also imply that HAUSP might function as a tumour suppressor in vivo through the stabilization of p53.     

胃癌中p53基因失活及其蛋白产物的免疫组化分析

应用ＰＣＲ－ＳＳＣＰ银染，Ｓｏｕｔｈｅｒｎ杂我及免疫组化等方法同步研究２５例胃癌标本的ｐ５３基因突变，杂合性丢失及蛋白持表达，在２２例胃癌中同时获得有关ｐ５３基因突变和杂合性丢失的检测结果，被检出ｐ５３基因突变的５例胃癌中，２例伴有杂合性丢失，３例仅有ｐ５３基因突变。     

携带p53和p21基因腺病毒转移载体的构建

构建携带p53和p21基因的重组腺病毒转移载体以研究p53和p21联合基因治疗效果.将p53cDNA克隆到转移载体pCMV5GFP替代gfp,得到pCMVp53,使其受到CMV启动子的调控;同时将p21基因克隆到pCMVp53,得到重组腺病毒转移载体pCMVp53/p21.得到携带p53和p21基因的重组腺病毒转移载体.     

Inactivation of the p53 pathway in retinoblastoma

Most human tumours have genetic mutations in their Rb and p53 pathways, but retinoblastoma is thought to be an exception. Studies suggest that retinoblastomas, which initiate with mutations in the gene retinoblastoma 1 (RB1), bypass the p53 pathway because they arise from intrinsically death-resistant cells during retinal development. In contrast to this prevailing theory, here we show that the tumour surveillance pathway mediated by Arf, MDM2, MDMX and p53 is activated after loss of RB1 during retinogenesis. RB1-deficient retinoblasts undergo p53-mediated apoptosis and exit the cell cycle. Subsequently, amplification of the MDMX gene and increased expression of MDMX protein are strongly selected for during tumour progression as a mechanism to suppress the p53 response in RB1-deficient retinal cells. Our data provide evidence that the p53 pathway is inactivated in retinoblastoma and that this cancer does not originate from intrinsically death-resistant cells as previously thought. In addition, they support the idea that MDMX is a specific chemotherapeutic target for treating retinoblastoma.     

T细胞蛋白p80调控c-Myc表达的机理

为了解p80在正常T细胞以及T细胞癌变过程中的作用,在缺失p80的T淋巴瘤细胞中重新表达p80,其结果显示:原癌基因c-Myc的表达受到显著抑制,且细胞周期在G1期出现了停滞.定量PCR的结果表明:p80对c-Myc表达的抑制是转录水平的抑制.双荧光素酶报告基因试验表明:p80对c-Myc的抑制作用定位于c-Myc启动子上相对于转录起始位点的-1042bp～-630bp区域.运用TFSEARCH软件对这一区域的分析发现存在多个c-Myb结合位点.在稳定表达p80的T淋巴癌细胞中敲低c-Myb,表明p80对c-Myc的转录抑制是通过c-Myb来实现的.免疫共沉淀实验表明p80和c-Myb在细胞中存在相互作用.进一步的研究显示p80对c-Myc的转录抑制依赖于组蛋白去乙酰化酶的活性.研究结果表明p80有可能通过与c-Myb的相互作用将组蛋白去乙酰化酶募集至c-Myc启动子区域,并通过组蛋白的去乙酰化抑制c-Myc的表达.     

肿瘤抑制基因P53综述

本文从Ｐ５３研究的历史，Ｐ５３的基本分子生物学，Ｐ５３与细胞周期调控，Ｐ５３与肿瘤发生以臁Ｐ５３参与转泉调控来实现其生物学功能等诸方面概述Ｐ５３研究的进展。     

人野生型p53基因的克隆及原核表达

利用RT PCR方法由人外周静脉血淋巴细胞中获得人p53 cDNA片段, 并将其克隆入原核表达载体pQE40中, 构建重组质粒pQE40-p53; 转化于E.coli M15宿主菌, 经IPTG诱导, 表达了N端融合6His的p53融合蛋白. 利用6His与Ni²⁺高亲合力结合的性质, 经镍柱纯化、 透析袋分级透析复性、 Western Blot鉴定, 结果表明获得了纯化的6His-p53融合蛋白.
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p53基因调控网络研究进展

肿瘤抑制基因p53表达的p53蛋白是一个通用转录因子,与其上、下游功能相关基因组成了一个复杂的基因调控网络,在这个基因网络中p53基因起着关键作用;DNA损伤、缺氧、原癌基因的激活等均能刺激p53基因表达;p53表达升高后,可通过p53-MDM2反馈环路与泛素系统等对p53表达水平进行精确调节;p53通过调控多种下游/靶基因表达完成多种生物学功能,主要包括阻滞细胞周期、促进细胞凋亡、维持基因组稳定性等;认识p53基因调控网络的功能有助于理解p53及其下游/靶基因间的具体作用机制。     

Association of p53 codon 72 polymorphism with liver metastases of colorectal cancers positive for p53 overexpression

Objective： To evaluate the association between p53 codon 72 polymorphism （R72P） and the risk ofcolorectal liver metastases. Methods： The p53 R72P genotype was identified by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism （PCR-RFLP） method in 78 consecutive colorectal cancer patients with liver metastases and 214 age- and sex-matched cases with nonmetastatic colorectal cancer. Results： The R allele of the p53 R72P polymorphism was more frequently found in metastatic cases than in nonmetastatic cases （P=0.075）. Carriers of the 72R allele had a 2.25-fold （95% CI （confidence interval）=1.05-4.83） increased risk of liver metastases. On the stratification analysis, 72R-carrying genotype conferred a 3.46-fold （95% CI=1.02-11.72） and a 1.05-fold （95% CI=0.36-3.08） increased risk of liver metastases for p53 overexpression-positive and negative colorectal cancers, respectively. Conclusion： These results demonstrate for the first time that the 72R allele of the p53 polymorphism has an increased risk for liver metastases in colorectal cancers positive for p53 overexpression.     

携带p53基因重组腺病毒载体的构建

将pCMVp53重组转移载体经BamHI和NheI酶切,得到p53基因cDNA,然后将cDNA片段克隆到转移载体pCMV5GFP,使其受CMV5启动子的调控,获得pCMV5p53重组转移载体.用该线状重组转移载体与腺病毒右臂DNA经磷酸钙共转染293细胞获得重组腺病毒,经酶联免疫吸附法(ELISA)测定p53蛋白含量,证明外源p53基因在含重组腺病毒的293细胞中得到表达.