Chemogenomics analysis of drug targets for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia.

The main challenges in treating acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) are currently early mortality, relapse, refractory disease after induction therapy, and drug resistance to ATRA and ATO. In this study, a computational chemogenomics approach was used to identify new molecular targets and drugs for APL treatment. The transcriptional profiles induced by APL were compared with those induced by genetic or chemical perturbations. The genes that can reverse the transcriptional profiles induced by APL when perturbed were considered to be potential therapeutic targets for APL. Drugs targeting these genes or proteins are predicted to be able to treat APL if they can reverse the APL-induced transcriptional profiles. To improve the target identification accuracy of the above correlation method, we plotted the functional protein association networks of the predicted targets by STRING. The results determined PML, RARA, SPI1, HDAC3, CEBPA, NPM1, ABL1, BCR, PTEN, FOS, PDGFRB, FGFR1, NUP98, AFF1, and MEIS1 to be top candidates. Interestingly, the functions of PML, RARA, HDAC3, CEBPA, NPM1, ABL, and BCR in APL have been previously reported in the literature. This is the first chemogenomics analysis predicting potential APL drug targets, and the findings could be used to guide the design of new drugs targeting refractory and recurrent APL.

UV Differentially Induces Oxidative Stress, DNA Damage and Apoptosis in BCR-ABL1-Positive Cells Sensitive and Resistant to Imatinib.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells express the active BCR-ABL1 protein, which has been targeted by imatinib in CML therapy, but resistance to this drug is an emerging problem. BCR-ABL1 induces endogenous oxidative stress promoting genomic instability and imatinib resistance. In the present work, we investigated the extent of oxidative stress, DNA damage, apoptosis and expression of apoptosis-related genes in BCR-ABL1 cells sensitive and resistant to imatinib. The resistance resulted either from the Y253H mutation in the BCR-ABL1 gene or incubation in increasing concentrations of imatinib (AR). UV irradiation at a dose rate of 0.12 J/(m2 · s) induced more DNA damage detected by the T4 pyrimidine dimers glycosylase and hOGG1, recognizing oxidative modifications to DNA bases in imatinib-resistant than -sensitive cells. The resistant cells displayed also higher susceptibility to UV-induced apoptosis. These cells had lower native mitochondrial membrane potential than imatinib-sensitive cells, but UV-irradiation reversed that relationship. We observed a significant lowering of the expression of the succinate dehydrogenase (SDHB) gene, encoding a component of the complex II of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, which is involved in apoptosis sensing. Although detailed mechanism of imatinib resistance in AR cells in unknown, we detected the presence of the Y253H mutation in a fraction of these cells. In conclusion, imatinib-resistant cells may display a different extent of genome instability than their imatinib-sensitive counterparts, which may follow their different reactions to both endogenous and exogenous DNA-damaging factors, including DNA repair and apoptosis.

Attenuating homologous recombination stimulates an AID-induced antileukemic effect.

Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is critical in normal B cells to initiate somatic hypermutation and immunoglobulin class switch recombination. Accumulating evidence suggests that AID is also prooncogenic, inducing cancer-promoting mutations or chromosome rearrangements. In this context, we find that AID is expressed in >40% of primary human chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cases, consistent with other reports. Using a combination of human B lymphoid leukemia cells and mouse models, we now show that AID expression can be harnessed for antileukemic effect, after inhibition of the RAD51 homologous recombination (HR) factor with 4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2-2'-disulfonic acid (DIDS). As a proof of principle, we show that DIDS treatment inhibits repair of AID-initiated DNA breaks, induces apoptosis, and promotes cytotoxicity preferentially in AID-expressing human CLL. This reveals a novel antineoplastic role of AID that can be triggered by inhibition of HR, suggesting a potential new paradigm to treat AID-expressing tumors. Given the growing list of tumor types with aberrant AID expression, this novel therapeutic approach has potential to impact a significant patient population.

Gene expression profiling in MOLT-4 cells during gamma-radiation-induced apoptosis.

This study aims to identify the temporal changes in gene expression in MOLT-4, a leukemia cell line, in response to radiation and to present a comprehensive description of the pathways and processes that most significantly relate to the cellular biological responses. A global gene expression profile of 24,500 genes was performed on MOLT-4 tumor cells following exposure to 5 Gy of ionizing radiation ((60)Co) using a bead chip array (Illumina). Signaling pathways and processes significantly altered following irradiation were explored using MetaCore. Cellular viability [3-(4,5 dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide], activation of cell cycle checkpoints [fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS)], and induction of apoptosis (FACS, caspase assays) were evaluated to correlate these biological responses to the gene expression changes. Totally, 698 different genes displayed a significantly altered expression following radiation, and out of these transcripts, all but one showed increased expression. One hour following irradiation, the expression was changed only for a few genes. Striking changes appeared at later time-points. From 3 to 24 h post-irradiation, a significant fraction of the genes with altered expression were found to be involved in cell cycle checkpoints and their regulation (CDKN1A), DNA repair (GADD45A, DDB2, XPC), apoptosis induction (DR5, FasR, Apo-2L, Bax), and T-cell activation/proliferation (CD70, OX40L). Irradiated MOLT-4 cells were arrested at the G2-checkpoint, followed by a decrease in cell viability, most pronounced 48 h after exposure. The cell death was executed by induced apoptosis and was visualized by an increase in subG1 cells and an increased activation of initiator (caspase-8 and caspase-9) and execution (caspase-3) caspases. Activation of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis correlated well in time with the changes in gene expression of those genes important for these biological processes. Activation of the apoptotic signaling pathways in MOLT-4 cells following irradiation includes components from the intrinsic as well as the extrinsic apoptotic pathways. This study indicates that the altered gene expression pattern induced by irradiation is important for the sequential steps observed in MOLT-4 cells during apoptosis induction.

Identification of up-regulated and down-regulated cis-natural antisense transcripts in the human B lymphoblastic cell line IM-9 after X-ray irradiation.

Ionizing radiation (IR) causes DNA injury and induces multiple signal mechanisms, including the regulation of DNA repair, the cell cycle and gene expression through the activation of p53-related pathways. Cis-natural antisense transcripts (cis-NATs), which are transcribed from the DNA strand opposite to that for mRNA of the gene, are recognized as important regulators of gene expression in eukaryotic cells, but the effects on cis-NAT expression by IR are unknown to date. Therefore, we investigated the effects of X-ray irradiation on cis-NAT expression together with mRNA expression using a human B lymphoblast cell line (IM-9), a custom-microarray and strand-specific RT-qPCR. Eighteen, 33 and 106 mRNAs were demonstrated to be differentially expressed in IM-9 cells after 1, 2 and 4 Gy irradiation, respectively, as compared to 0 Gy by microarray analysis (fold change, FC >2.0). On the other hand, 10, 22 and 43 NATs were demonstrated to be differentially expressed in IM-9 cells after 1, 2 and 4 Gy irradiation, respectively, as compared to 0 Gy by microarray analysis (FC >2.0). Among these mRNAs/NATs, the IR dose-dependent up-regulation of mRNAs and cis-NATs of MDM2 and CDKN1A were confirmed by strand-specific RT-qPCR. Additionally, the cis-NATs of MDM2 were indicated to be localized in the cytoplasm, while cis-NATs of CDKN1A were located in the nucleus and cytoplasm. In conclusion, the radiation-responsive cis-NATs in conjunction with mRNAs were identified for the first time in the present study. It is possible that these cis-NATs regulate the gene expression in a post-transcriptional fashion. The IR dose-dependent up- and down-regulation of these mRNAs/cis-NATs may be a marker for ionizing radiation.

Properties of bcr-abl-transformed mouse 12B1 cells secreting interleukin-2 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor: I. Derivation, genetic stability, oncogenicity and immunogenicity.

The highly oncogenic bcr-abl-transformed mouse (Balb/c) 12B1 cells were transfected with plasmids carrying genes for either mouse interleukin-2 (IL­2) or the mouse granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM­CSF) and the gene for blasticidine resistance. From the transduced cells several clones widely differing in the production of either cytokine were isolated. For further experiments, clones with the highest secretion of the cytokines were selected. When administered subcutaneously to mice, the IL-2-secreting cell line was approximately hundred times less pathogenic than the parental cells. A portion of animals developed small, spontaneously regressing tumours and most of them became resistant to challenge with the parental cells. Cell populations from either solid tumours or from organs infiltrated by the tumour cells predominantly consisted of cells which did not produce IL-2 and had lost resistance to blasticidine. This indicated that the IL-2 secreting cells were genetically unstable in the course of their propagation in vivo. On the other hand, the GM­CSF­secreting cells were more pathogenic than the parental cells, induced extensive organ damage and remained genetically stable in the course of their growth in vivo. The pathogenicity of different GM­CSF secreting clones directly depended on the magnitude of production of this cytokine. When used in the form of inactivated vaccines, the GM-CSF-secreting cells were more immunogenic than the IL-2-secreting cells. In comparative experiments, similar results were obtained with GM­CSF- and IL-2-secreting cells derived from B210 cells, another bcr-abl transformed cell line.

A subset of chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients display reduced levels of PARP1 expression coupled with a defective irradiation-induced apoptosis.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a heterogeneous disease characterized by defects in the DNA damage response and apoptosis. Among the factors involved in these pathways, we focused on the enzyme poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) and on its substrate Che-1 by evaluating their basal expression and functional changes upon irradiation (IR). Microarray experiments were performed on 98 untreated CLL cases. Next, freshly isolated primary cells from 21 untreated patients were analyzed for in vitro response to irradiation through Western blot, PARP activity assay, Annexin-V analysis, and PARP1 basal expression by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Microarray analysis showed that PARP1 and CHE1 were constitutively expressed in CLL and had a high degree of correlation with each other and with TP53. PARP1 and TP53 downmodulation was associated with worse clinical outcomes, especially in TP53-mutated cases. Next, CLL samples from 21 untreated patients were classified as responders and nonresponders based on IR-induced PARP1 cleavage. Notably, while responder samples were characterized by Che-1 and p53 induction at 8 hours and reduction at 24 hours post-IR, nonresponders included both samples with p53 dysfunctions and cases with a normal IR-induced Che-1 and/or p53 response. Finally, we observed that PARP1 was downregulated in nonresponder vs responder samples and that its basal expression was positively correlated with PARP1 cleavage after IR. In conclusion, we showed that reduced expression of PARP1 is associated with an impairment of CLL responsiveness to cell death.

A proteomical study on the radiosensitized target molecules of fuzheng zengxiao formula in pulmonary adenocarcinoma nude mice model.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the radiosensitized target of Fuzheng Zengxiao Formula. METHODS: The pulmonary adenocarcinoma (PAa) nude mice of tumor transplantation model were prepared and divided into four groups: Group I (blank control group, n = 10), Group II (simple radiotherapy group, n = 10), Group III (radiotherapy plus Fuzheng Zengxiao Formula, n = 10) and Group IV (radiotherapy plus metronidazole, n = 10). Radiation of X-rays was given to the tumors in Group I, II and III when they were averagely about 1 centimetre in diameter. 23 hours later, the tumors were taken, the total proteins were extracted, and the protein contents were determined. The proteins were isolated with two dimensional gel electrophoresis, and the differentially expressed proteins were analyzed with mass spectrometry and identified by protein database. RESULTS: Six significant proteins, including apolipoprotein E, ceratin75, S100A9, cyclophilin A, S100A10 and hemoglobin, were determined. Compared with Group I, apolipoprotein E and ceratin75 highly expressed in the Group II; compared with Group II, S100A9, cyclophilin A and hemoglobin had high expression in the Group III; compared with Group II, S100A9, cyclophilin A, S100A10 and hemoglobin had high expression in the Group IV; compared with Group IV, S100A9 and S100A10 had low expression and hemoglobin had high expression in Group III. CONCLUSION: The radiosensitization of Fuzheng Zengxiao Formula is related with the improvement of hypoxia state; and possibly S100A9 and cyclophilin A are the target proteins of Fuzheng Zengxiao Formula in radiosensitization.

Cytogenetic and genetic pathways in therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia.

Therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia (t-MDS/t-AML) are late complications of cytotoxic therapy used in the treatment of malignant diseases. The most common subtype of t-AML ( approximately 75% of cases) develops after exposure to alkylating agents, and is characterized by loss or deletion of chromosome 5 and/or 7 [-5/del(5q), -7/del(7q)], and a poor outcome (median survival 8 months). In the University of Chicago's series of 386 patients with t-MDS/t-AML, 79 (20%) patients had abnormalities of chromosome 5, 95 (25%) patients had abnormalities of chromosome 7, and 85 (22%) patients had abnormalities of both chromosomes 5 and 7. t-MDS/t-AML with a -5/del(5q) is associated with a complex karyotype, characterized by trisomy 8, as well as loss of 12p, 13q, 16q22, 17p (TP53 locus), chromosome 18, and 20q. In addition, this subtype of t-AML is characterized by a unique expression profile (higher expression of genes) involved in cell cycle control (CCNA2, CCNE2, CDC2), checkpoints (BUB1), or growth (MYC), loss of expression of IRF8, and overexpression of FHL2. Haploinsufficiency of the RPS14, EGR1, APC, NPM1, and CTNNA1 genes on 5q has been implicated in the pathogenesis of MDS/AML. In previous studies, we determined that Egr1 acts by haploinsufficiency and cooperates with mutations induced by alkylating agents to induce myeloid leukemias in the mouse. To identify mutations that cooperate with Egr1 haploinsufficiency, we used retroviral insertional mutagenesis. To date, we have identified two common integration sites involving genes encoding transcription factors that play a critical role in hematopoiesis (Evi1 and Gfi1b loci). Of note is that the EVI1 transcription factor gene is deregulated in human AMLs, particularly those with -7, and abnormalities of 3q. Identifying the genetic pathways leading to t-AML will provide new insights into the underlying biology of this disease, and may facilitate the identification of new therapeutic targets.

Comparison of murine gene expression profiles between spontaneous and radiation-induced myelogenous leukemias: stochastic and probabilistic expression variances in the former vs radiation-specific expression commonalities in the latter.

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate the common characteristics of murine radiation-induced myelogenous leukemias, global gene-chip expression profiles were compared with age-matched steady-state bone marrow tissue profiles and spontaneous myelogenous leukemia profiles. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six each of C3H/He mice-derived radiation-induced and spontaneously developed myelogenous leukemias were analyzed. Bone marrow cells from five each of 2- and 21-month-old mice were used to subtract nonleukemic information in the analysis. mRNAs from individual mice were analyzed separately using 45,101 gene chips followed by computational biological analysis. RESULTS: First, principal component analysis (PCA) was performed to discriminate the gene expression profiles of individual mice with radiation-induced myelogenous leukemia from those of bone marrow cells from 2- or 21-month-old mice. Discriminant union genes for individual leukemias were then selected, which finally yielded 242 genes, among which six are radiation-related genes including Hus-1, Edf1a2, andVegf-c; 16 are apoptosis/cell-death-related genes, 13 are cell-cycle/cell-growth-related genes, and 50 are suppressor/promoter genes. PCA of these 242 genes consistently enabled the discrimination of the radiation-induced leukemias from the spontaneous leukemias. Second, the other components of the same PCA provided four different eigenvector clusters in an unsupervised manner representing four histopathological findings, with which the differential diagnosis in molecular taxonomy was significant as determined by analysis of variance of the global gene expression profiles. CONCLUSION: Discriminant union genes in radiation-induced myelogenous leukemias against spontaneous myelogenous leukemias and age-matched nonleukemic bone marrow profilings generated by unsupervised computational analysis essentially represent probabilistic biomarkers for radiation-induced myelogenous leukemias, which may contribute to developing a model for risk of secondary carcinogenesis in patients treated by whole-body irradiation.

A novel role for acinus and MCM2 as host-specific signaling enhancers of DNA-damage-induced apoptosis in association with viral protein gp70.

The interaction of viral proteins with host-cellular proteins elicits the activation of numerous cellular signal transduction pathways possibly leading to the viral pathogenesis. We previously demonstrated that infection with Friend leukemia virus (FLV) radiosensitizes murine hematopoietic cells via a p53-dependent apoptotic pathway in C3H hosts. Here, we show that the transduction of the env-gene (gp70) of Friend murine leukemia virus (F-MuLV) sensitized C3H-derived myeloid leukemia cells to DNA-damage (ionizing radiation as well as doxorubicin)-induced apoptosis through the activation of DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) and P53. Knockdown of DNA-PK by siRNA inhibited the radiosensitization induced by gp70. In association with gp70 and DNA-PK, the acinus and MCM2 proteins were host-specifically overexpressed in C3H-derived cells. Taken together, these data suggested that gp70 enhances cellular DNA-damage-induced signaling in association with host-specific cellular proteins including acinus and MCM2 resulting in the activation of DNA-PK to phosphorylate P53. This in vitro study clearly indicates that the enhancement of DNA-damage-induced apoptosis by gp70 is not caused by the bone marrow environment of the host but is introduced by modified signaling in hematopoietic cells. The mechanisms involved in the ability of a viral protein to regulate cellular gene expression could provide invaluable insight into the manipulation of cellular pro-apoptotic signaling and the development of novel therapeutic strategies.

Upregulation of c-myc gene accompanied by PU.1 deficiency in radiation-induced acute myeloid leukemia in mice.

OBJECTIVE: High-dose radiation exposure induces acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in C3H mice, most of which have a frequent hemizygous deletion around the D2Mit15 marker on chromosome 2. This region includes PU.1, a critical candidate gene for initiation of leukemogenesis. To identify novel cooperative genes with PU.1, relevant to radiation-induced leukemogenesis, we analyzed the copy number alterations of tumor-related gene loci by array CGH, and their expressions in primary and transplanted AMLs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For the induction of AMLs, C3H/He Nrs mice were exposed to 3 Gy of x-rays or gamma-rays. The genomic alterations of 35 primary AMLs and 34 transplanted AMLs obtained from the recipient mice transplanted the primary AMLs were analyzed by array CGH. According to the genomic alterations and mutations of the 235th arginine of PU.1 allele, we classified the radiogenic AMLs into three types such as Chr2(del) PU.1(del/R235-) AML, Chr2(del) PU.1(del/R235+) AML and Chr2(intact) PU.1(R235+/R235+) AML, to compare the expression levels of 8 tumor-related genes quantitatively by real-time polymerase chain reaction and cell-surface antigen expression. Results. In addition to well-known loss of PU.1 with hemizygous deletion of chromosome 2, novel genomic alterations such as partial gain of chromosome 6 were recurrently detected in AMLs. In this study, we found similarity between cell-surface antigen expressions of bone marrows and those of spleens in AML mice and significantly higher expressions of c-myc and PU.1 expression, especially in the PU.1-deficient (Chr2(del) PU.1(del/R235-)) AML and Chr2(del) PU.1(del/R235+) compared to Chr2(intact) PU.1(R235+/R235+) AMLs. CONCLUSION: The new finding on upregulation of c-myc and PU.1 in both and hemizygous PU.1-deficient AMLs and different genomic alterations detected by array CGH suggests that the molecular mechanism for development of radiation-induced AML should be different among three types of AML.

Effect of ionizing radiation on cellular procoagulability and co-ordinated gene alterations.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Ionizing radiation (IR) is associated with thrombotic vascular occlusion predicting a poor clinical outcome. Our study examined whether IR induced tissue factor (TF) expression and procoagulability. We further investigated coordinated gene alterations associated with TF upregulation in the myelomonocytic leukemia THP-1 cells. DESIGN AND METHODS: TF expression was determined by quantitative Reverse Transcriptase (TaqMan) PCR, TF ELISA and TF activity by a two stage chromogenic assay in the time course of days 1, 3, 7, 10, and 17 post IR. To detect IR-induced alterations in gene expression, Affymetrix HG U133 Plus 2.0 microarrays were used. RESULTS IR induced a significant increase in TF/GAPDH mRNA ratios and cellular TF protein on days 3 and 7 post IR (20 Gy [p>or=0.01] and 40 Gy [p or=0.001] vs. control respectively), suggesting IR immediately alters the cellular thrombogenicity. TF upregulation post IR was confirmed in PBMNCs. Gene expression profiling showed IR increased the expression of inflammatory and apoptosis-related pathways known to be involved in the regulation of TF expression. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: TF upregulation together with inflammation and apoptosis may increase the thrombogenicity of tissues. The demonstrated upregulation of TF might play a pivotal role in radiation associated thrombosis.

Peroxiredoxin genes are not induced in myeloid leukemia cells exposed to ionizing radiation.

Peroxiredoxins (Prx) comprise an extended family of small antioxidant proteins which conserve a thioredoxin-dependent catalytic function that can contribute to cell protection from reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS generation is one of the deleterious intracellular effects of ionizing radiation, but the role of Prx during radiation treatment has not been extensively explored. Present experiments measure effects of ionizing radiation on expression of human Prx types I (PAGA), II (NKEF-B) and IV (AOE372) in human myeloid leukemia cells (K562). Prx gene transcription was analyzed by amplifying with RT-PCR cDNAs complementary to each Prx-specific coding sequence and by identifying the derived products with Southern blotting procedure. Transcripts of GAPDH were used as the endogenous standard for semi-quantitative comparisons. No consistent increase in Prx gene expression was detected at time intervals up to 72 h after gamma radiation doses that caused cell cycle arrest and nuclear damage (maximum 20 Gy). Immunoblots also were consistent with a prolonged expression or stability of the Prx I/II proteins. Similarly, a cytotoxic concentration of the oxidant hemin, which stimulates rapid hemoglobinization of K562 cells, caused no induction of Prx gene expression. Our results indicate a high Prx stability in human radio-resistant leukemia cells.

Expression of a human endogenous retrovirus, HERV-K, in the blood cells of leukemia patients.

Human endogenous retroviral sequences (HERVs) are believed to be possible pathogenic agents in carcinogenesis. HERV-K is the most biologically active form, since members of this family have intact open reading frames for the gag, pol or env genes. Antibody response against HERV-K peptides has been reported in leukemia patients, suggesting a possible overexpression of this sequence in leukemic cells. Using real-time quantitative RT-PCR (TaqMan), we found that in six of the eight leukemia samples we collected, transcriptional activity of HERV-K10-like gag gene was 5- to 10-fold higher than in normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) or mononuclear cells from cord blood. The overexpression was marked enough to be detected by Northern blot. In addition, there was no significant variation of HERV-K expression in normal PBMCs after exposure to different factors (PHA, gamma irradiation, 5-azacytidine) that potentially modulate HERV expression. This suggests that HERV-K relative overexpression in leukemia samples might be specifically associated with tumor development. The origin of these transcriptional variations is therefore worth being investigated further.

Regulation of the catalase gene promoter by Sp1, CCAAT-recognizing factors, and a WT1/Egr-related factor in hydrogen peroxide-resistant HP100 cells.

Reactive oxygen species play a critical role in the onset of apoptosis induced by various extracellular stimuli, including ionizing radiation. Therefore active regulation of reactive oxygen species-metabolizing enzymes may be one response to an apoptotic stimulus. In this regard, HP100 cells, H(2)O(2)-resistant variants derived from human leukemia HL60 cells, display an interesting phenotype in which the activity of catalase is constitutively high, whereas its mRNA is reduced after X-ray irradiation. In the present study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. By combining analyses from nuclear run-on, reporter gene transient transfection, genomic footprinting, site-directed mutagenesis, electrophoretic mobility shift analysis, and Western blotting experiments, we found that constitutively elevated catalase expression is strongly regulated at the transcriptional level by both Sp1 and CCAAT-recognizing factors and that much higher levels of nuclear Sp1 and NF-Y are present in HP100 nuclei as compared with HL60 nuclei. In addition, we demonstrated an X-ray-inducible association of a WT1/Egr-related factor with an overlapping Sp1/Egr-1 recognition sequence located within the core promoter of the catalase gene. This association may lead to inactivation of the promoter by disturbing or competing with the transactivating ability of Sp1.

Expression of cancer-related genes in human cells exposed to 60 Hz magnetic fields.

Exposure to 60 Hz magnetic fields (MFs) may be a risk factor for human cancer. One mechanism through which MFs could influence neoplastic development is through alterations in the expression of cancer-related genes. Previous molecular studies of the action of MFs have measured effects on a limited number of genes. In the present studies, arrays containing cDNAs for 588 cancer-related genes were used to approach the hypothesis that the biological activity of MFs is mediated by alterations in gene expression. Cultures of normal (HME) and transformed (HBL-100) human mammary epithelial cells and human promyelocytic leukemia (HL60) cells were exposed to MFs at field strengths of 0, 0.01 or 1.0 mT for 24 h. Several genes were identified in MF-exposed cells whose expression was increased by at least twofold or decreased by 50% or more. However, no gene was found to be differentially expressed in each of three independent exposures for any cell type, and no relationship between exposure intensity and differential gene expression was found. These studies failed to identify a plausible genetic target for the action of MFs in human cells, and they provide no support for the hypothesis that MF exposure alters the expression of genes that are involved in cancer development.

Leukemia patient-derived lymphoblastoid cell lines exhibit increased induction of leukemia-associated transcripts following high-dose irradiation.

Improvement in diagnostic cytogenetic techniques has led to the recognition of an increasing number of leukemia-associated chromosomal translocations and inversions. These genetic lesions frequently are associated with the disruption of putative transcription factors and the production of hybrid transcripts that are implicated in leukemogenesis. Epidemiologic evidence suggests that some, but not all, individuals with a history of gamma-irradiation exposure are at increased risk of developing chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). CML is characterized by the Philadelphia chromosome and transcription of the resulting hybrid BCR-ABL gene. Utilizing the leukemia-associated BCR-ABL p210 transcript as a marker, we sought differences in the induction of illegitimate genetic recombination following high-dose gamma-irradiation of karyotypically normal lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) derived from individuals with and without a history of myeloid leukemias. Six LCL [4 leukemia patient derived [2 acute myeloid leukemia and 2 CML] and 2 from normal individuals were analyzed with reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for BCR-ABL under stringent conditions following exposure to 0, 50, or 100 Gy of LET gamma-irradiation delivered via a Varian linear accelerator at 4 MV. Transcripts identical to disease-associated b2a2 and b3a2 transcripts were detected both spontaneously (background illegitimate genetic recombination) and following gamma-irradiation. Background BCR-ABL positivity was demonstrable in 4 of the 6 LCL, with no significant difference in detection between leukemic- and nonleukemic-derived LCL. Overall, increasing gamma-irradiation dose resulted in an increased frequency of BCR-ABL transcript detection (0 Gy vs 50 Gy vs 100 Gy,p = 0.0023, Chi-square test). Within the leukemic- but not the nonleukemic-derived LCL there was significantly greater BCR-ABL positivity after gamma-irradiation compared to unirradiated equivalents. Furthermore, the BCR-ABL positivity of both the AML- and CML-derived LCL after gamma-irradiation was significantly greater than that of the nonleukemic-derived LCL after gamma-irradiation. We speculate that this difference in the detection of illegitimate after gamma-irradiation recombination may be due to aberrant DNA double strand break repair mechanisms in individuals predisposed to the development of myeloid leukemias.

Induction of stress genes by low doses of gamma rays.

Using cells of a human myeloid tumor cell line (ML-1), we have detected induction of several stress-responsive genes by doses of gamma rays below 50 cGy. We found a linear dose-response relationship for induction of CDKN1A (formerly known as CIP1/WAF1) and GADD45 mRNA levels over the range of 2-50 cGy, with no evidence of a threshold for induction. Although exposures to 2 and 5 cGy did not result in any detectable reduction in cloning efficiency or increased apoptosis in ML-1 cells, these exposures did produce a transient delay of cells in the phases of the cell cycle in addition to the observed up-regulation of CDKN1A and GADD45. The relative induction of genes such as CDKN1A by radiation doses that produce little toxicity indicates that surviving cells do contribute significantly to the observed stress responses. These studies should provide insight into the molecular responses to physiologically relevant doses that cannot necessarily be extrapolated from high-dose studies.