Cell cycle-dependent conjugation of endogenous BRCA1 protein with SUMO-2/3.

BACKGROUND: BRCA1, the main breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene, has a key role in maintenance of genome stability, cell cycle and transcription regulation. Interestingly, some of the numerous proteins which interact with BRCA1 protein undergo conjugation with small ubiquitin-like modifiers (SUMO). This post-translational modification is related to transcription, DNA repair, nuclear transport, signal transduction, and to cell cycle stress response. METHODS AND RESULTS: Protein sequence analysis suggests that sumoylation target sites belong to the RING finger and BRCT domains (BRCA1 C-terminus), two crucial regions for BRCA1 function. Moreover putative SUMO interacting motifs are present in the sequence of many proteins of BRCA1 network. Using immunoprecipitations and western blotting, we show the conjugation of endogenous nuclear BRCA1 protein with SUMO-2/3. BRCA1 conjugation with SUMO-2/3 is linked to the cell cycle in a cell line dependent manner since no cell cycle dependence of sumoylation is observed in MCF7 breast cancer cells. In contrast, BRCA1 conjugation with SUMO-2/3 is linked to the oxidative stress independently to the cell line, in DU145, MCF7 and 293 T cells. CONCLUSION AND GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: Our data reveal a new BRCA1 regulation pathway implying sumoylation in response to cell cycle progression and oxidative stress, providing a possible mechanism for the involvement of BRCA1 gene in tumorigenesis.

Quantitative two-dimensional HRMAS 1H-NMR spectroscopy-based metabolite profiling of human cancer cell lines and response to chemotherapy.

NMR spectroscopy-based metabolomics still needs development in quantification procedures. A method was designed for quantitative two-dimensional high resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS) proton-NMR spectroscopy-based metabolite profiling of intact cells. It uses referencing of metabolite-related NMR signals to protein-related NMR signals and yields straightforward and automatable metabolite profiling. The method enables exploitation of only two-dimensionally visible metabolites and combination of one- and two-dimensional spectra, thus providing an appreciable number of screened metabolites. With this procedure, 32 intracellular metabolites were attributed and quantified in human normal fibroblasts and tumor cells. The phenotype of several tumor cell lines (MCF7, PC3, 143B, and HepG2) was characterized by high levels of glutathione in cell lines with the higher proliferation rate, high levels of creatine, low levels of free amino acids, increased levels of phospholipid derivatives (mostly phosphocholine), and lower lactate content in cell lines with the higher proliferation rate. Other metabolites such as fatty acids differed widely among tumor cell lines. The response of tumor cell lines to chemotherapy also was evaluated by differential metabolite profiling, bringing insights into drug cytotoxicity and tumor cell adaptive mechanisms. The method may prove widely applicable to tumor cell phenotyping.

Increased BRCA1 protein in mammary tumours of rats fed marine omega-3 fatty acids.

Any factor affecting BRCA gene regulation may be of interest in the prevention of breast tumourigenesis. We studied the influence of dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a major omega-3 fatty acid present in marine products, on rat autochthonous mammary tumourigenesis. DHA-supplementation significantly reduced the incidence of tumours (30%, P=0.007) and led to a 60% increase (P=0.02) in BRCA1 protein level. Since DHA influences the product of a major tumour suppressor gene, this finding may contribute to the observation that high-fish consumption reduces the risk of breast cancer.

Design, synthesis, and biological activity of pyridopyrimidine scaffolds as novel PI3K/mTOR dual inhibitors.

The design, synthesis, and screening of dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitors that gave nanomolar enzymatic and cellular activities on both targets with an acceptable kinase selectivity profile are described. A docking study was performed to understand the binding mode of the compounds and to explain the differences in biological activity. In addition, cellular effects of the best dual inhibitors were determined on six cancer cell lines and compared to those on a healthy diploid cell line for cellular cytotoxicity. Two compounds are highly potent on cancer cells in the submicromolar range without any toxicity on healthy cells. A more detailed analysis of the cellular effect of these PI3K/mTOR dual inhibitors demonstrated that they induce G1-phase cell cycle arrest in breast cancer cells and trigger apoptosis. These compounds show an interesting kinase profile as dual PI3K/mTOR tool compounds or as a chemical series for further optimization to progress into in vivo experiments.

Differential effects of n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids on BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene expression in breast cell lines.

Current evidence strongly supports a role for the breast tumour suppressor genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, in both normal development and carcinogenesis. In vitro observations reported that BRCA1 and BRCA2 are expressed in a cell cycle-dependent manner. Interestingly, differences in the actions of n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids have been observed: while the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids have been described to reduce pathological cell growth, the n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids have been found to induce tumour proliferation. Here, we examined the expression of BRCA1 and BRCA2 in breast cell lines after treatment with polyunsaturated fatty acids. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction determinations conclusively demonstrated increases in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mRNA expressions in MCF7 and MDA-MB 231 tumour cell lines after treatment with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid), but no variation was noticed with the n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid (arachidonic acid). On the other hand, no variation of the expression of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mRNA was detected in MCF10a normal breast cell line treated by polyunsaturated fatty acids. The level of BRCA1 and BRCA2 proteins quantified by affinity chromatography remained unchanged in tumour (MCF7, MDA-MB 231) and normal (MCF10a) breast cell lines. We suggest the presence of a possible transcriptional or post-transcriptional regulation of BRCA1 and BRCA2 after n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid treatment in breast tumour cells.