Reduced inducibility of SOCS3 by interferon gamma associates with higher resistance of human breast cancer lines as compared to normal mammary epithelial cells.

The resistance to interferons (IFNs) limits their anticancer therapeutic efficacy. Here we studied the antiproliferative effect of interferon gamma in relation to SOCS3 expression in a panel of breast cancer cell lines and normal mammary epithelial cells. Compared to normal cells most breast cancer lines (7/8) were highly resistant to IFN-gamma. Using Northern blot and real time RT-PCR we investigated transcription of SOCS3 genes. All normal epithelial cells (4/4) showed SOCS3 induction (2-14 fold) while most breast cancer lines did not or weakly activated SOCS3 after the interferon gamma treatment. Among the cancer lines, the MDA-MB-468 cells showed increased sensitivity to IFN-gamma and relatively high level of SOCS3 induction (2-3 fold). Together, there was a good correlation

Hypomethylation of CNG targets induced with dihydroxypropyladenine is rapidly reversed in the course of mitotic cell division in tobacco.

We followed the mitotic transmission of an experimentally induced hypomethylated state of several tobacco repetitive sequences in callus culture and plants. The initial hypomethylation was induced by a hypomethylation drug, dihydroxypropyladenine (DHPA), the competitive inhibitor of cellular S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase, which is known to preferentially inhibit methylation at CNG and non-symmetrical motifs while having a negligible effect on methylation at CG motifs. The deprivation of this drug resulted in an almost immediate remethylation of cytosines at CNG motifs ( MspI and EcoRII sites) leading us to conclude that, the hypomethylation effect of dihydroxypropyladenine is rather transient and differs from that of 5-azacytidine which often induces heritable changes in methylation patterns. The results suggest that de novo methylation of CNG motifs is a rapid and meiotically independent process on DNA sequences with pre-existing CG methylation.

Interferon-alpha treatment may negatively influence disease progression in melanoma patients by hyperactivation of STAT3 protein.

Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) is an important drug used in anti-melanoma therapy. However, metastases eventually reappear in almost 60% of melanoma patients, who have received adjuvant cytokine therapy suggesting that IFN-alpha can paradoxically promote disease progression in some cases, at least. In this study, we have investigated the possibility that a growth-promoting STAT3 protein might be activated by interferon-alpha in melanoma cells. We examined 24 primary cultures established from node metastases of melanoma patients who were monitored in a 5-year clinical follow-up. The patients differed in the course of disease and survival end-points. Using Western blot analyses, we show that interferon-alpha stimulated STAT3 phosphorylation at tyrosine (Y705) residue in 17% of cases. These over-reactive cell populations originated from patients who had the shortest disease-free intervals. A significant correlation was obtained between the length of survival end-points and a lack of STAT3 activation by IFN-alpha. No STAT3 induction was observed in normal melanocytes. The STAT1 activation at tyrosine (Y701) occurred at a similar frequency as that of STAT3 (17%) albeit in different patients, no clear correlation with the clinical status could be made. The interferon-alpha/beta receptors (IRFARs) were expressed irrespective to the signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs) inducibility suggesting that signalling defects occur downstream from IRFAR. We propose that in some cases the application of IFN-alpha could increase the probability of disease progression via overactive STAT3. The tests for STAT3 inducibility prior to cytokine immunotherapy in the clinic are therefore warranted.

Development of IFN-gamma resistance is associated with attenuation of SOCS genes induction and constitutive expression of SOCS 3 in melanoma cells.

The resistance to interferons (IFNs) limits their anticancer therapeutic efficacy. Here we studied the evolution of an IFN-resistant state in vitro using melanoma cell lines. We found that the cells became less sensitive to antiproliferative effect of IFN-gamma after prolonged cultivation enabling us to isolate sensitive and resistant subclones of the parental line. We investigated transcription of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 1-6 and suppressor of cytokine signalling (SOCS) 1-3 genes, and phosphorylation of STAT 1 protein. The resistant subline (termed WM 1158R) differed from the sensitive subline (WM 1158S) by a constitutive expression of SOCS 3, lack or weak SOCS 1-3 activation following IFN-gamma, and short duration of cytokine activatory signal. Similar correlations were observed in additional melanoma lines differing in IFN sensitivities. At the protein level, IFN-gamma induced strong and prolonged STAT 1 activation at serine 727 (S727) in WM 1158R while in WM 1158S cells phosphorylation of this amino acid was much less pronounced. On the other hand, phosphorylation of tyrosine 701 (Y701) was stimulated regardless of the sensitivity phenotype. In conclusion, constitutive expression of SOCS 3 is correlated with attenuation of its induction following IFN treatment. These results suggest that progression of melanoma cells from IFN sensitivity to IFN insensitivity associates with changes in SOCS expression.

Cytosine methylation of plastid genome in higher plants. Fact or artefact?

DNA methylation of chloroplast genome has been studied in a large variety of angiosperm species using restriction enzyme analysis of three genomic loci (totally encompassing about 10% of chloroplast genome) and bisulfite genomic sequencing of tobacco ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (large subunit) gene (rbcL). Except for CCWGG (W=A or T) sites that were partially refractory to the cleavage with methylation sensitive EcoRII in all loci, no cytosine methylation was found at the CCGG (MspI/HpaII) and several other restriction sites tested. However, EcoRII was unable to completely digest an unmethylated CCWGG site in the cloned rbcL gene on plasmid. Further a bisulfite genomic sequencing performed on EcoRII-restricted DNA failed to show any 5-methylcytosine either within or outside inspected EcoRII sites along the 3' end of rbcL coding region. In conclusion our results do not support evidence for methylated cytosine residues in plant chloroplast genomes and we suggest that results obtained with EcoRII should be interpreted with great care especially when small differences in methylation levels are analysed.

Evaluation of the impact of S-adenosylhomocysteine metabolic pools on cytosine methylation of the tobacco genome.

We explored the possibility that the cytosine DNA methylation might be regulated by S-adenosyl-L-methionine (AdoMet) and S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine (AdoHcy) pools in plant cells. In order to change the AdoHcy/AdoMet ratio (methylation index), (S)-9-(2,3-dihydroxypropyl)adenine was employed, a selective reversible inhibitor of cellular S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine hydrolase. Micromolar concentrations of the inhibitor increased dramatically (more than 1000-fold) intracellular AdoHcy levels (and concominantly the AdoHcy/AdoMet ratio) in tobacco TBY-2 cells. No toxic effect of the drug was observed and the cells displayed only marginal inhibition of growth at high AdoHcy levels. At near equal intracellular concentrations of AdoHcy and AdoMet, a significant reduction of cytosine methylation in transcribed (5SrDNA) and non-transcribed (HRS60, NTRS) sequences was observed. Interestingly, the CpCpG and CpApG trinucleotide targets appeared to be most sensitive to changes in the methylation index. Methylation of cytosine residues at CpG sites was not affected even at AdoHcy/AdoMet ratio of > 10. These results support the possible regulation of DNA methylation via AdoHcy/AdoMet metabolic pathways in plant cells.

Chromosomal territory segmentation in apoptotic cells.

The nuclear architecture of selected chromosomes in apoptotic nuclei of human leukemic cells K-562 and HL-60 was investigated. Etoposide and prolonged confluence were used for the induction of apoptosis. DAPI as well as TUNEL labeling of apoptotic nuclear bodies was combined with visualization of chromosomal territories by the FISH technique. Simultaneous vital staining by annexin V, propidium iodide, and Hoechst 33342 was applied to distinguish apoptotic, necrotic, and intact cell fraction of tested populations. Our FISH analyses revealed that the three-dimensional (3D) structure of apoptotic nuclei as well as the 3D structure of apoptotic bodies is preserved in formaldehyde-fixed cells. High-molecular-weight DNA fragmentation was determined in apoptotic K-562 cells in contrast to oligonucleosomal cleavage observed in apoptotic HL-60 cells. In K-562 populations, chromosomal territories were located separately either in one apoptotic body or underwent disassembly into chromosomal segments dispersed into single and/or several apoptotic bodies. The apoptotic disorganization of chromosomal territories was irregular, leading mainly to chromosomal segments of different sizes and, consequently, chromosomal disassembly was not observed at specific sites. In comparison with the control, an increased number of centromeric FISH signals were observed in prolonged confluence-treated K-562 cells induced to apoptosis. This finding can be explained either as a consequence of apoptosis or by polyploidization. Sequential staining of the same apoptotic nuclei by the FISH and TUNEL techniques revealed that chromosomal territory segmentation precedes the formation of nuclear apoptotic bodies.