Induced senescence in HeLa cervical carcinoma cells containing elevated telomerase activity and extended telomeres.

Proliferation of normal somatic human cells in culture is limited by replicative senescence, a growth-arrested state that appears to be triggered by the erosion of telomeres. Tumor cells such as HeLa cervical carcinoma cells, which contain short telomeres, can be induced to undergo senescence by various manipulations including oncogene withdrawal. Repression of the human papillomavirus (HPV) type 18 E6/E7 genes in HeLa cells by the bovine papillomavirus E2 transcriptional regulatory protein results in reactivation of the dormant p53 and p105(Rb) tumor suppressor pathways in these cells, repression of telomerase, and profound growth arrest. Strikingly, the growth-arrested cells rapidly and synchronously acquired numerous characteristics of primary cells undergoing replicative senescence. To explore the role of telomerase and telomere length in induced senescence, we expressed an exogenous hTERT gene, which encodes the catalytic subunit of telomerase, to generate stable HeLa cell clones with elevated telomerase activity and extended telomeres. Expression of the E2 protein in these cells repressed HPV E6/E7 expression, activated tumor suppressor pathways, and induced senescence as assessed by growth arrest, morphological changes, senescence-associated beta-galactosidase expression, and increased autofluorescence. Cells carrying the hTERT gene and control cells displayed identical responses to E2 expression. Therefore, HeLa cell senescence induced by HPV repression is not triggered by short telomeres or low levels of telomerase activity.

Repression of human papillomavirus oncogenes in HeLa cervical carcinoma cells causes the orderly reactivation of dormant tumor suppressor pathways.

Most cervical carcinomas express high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) E6 and E7 proteins, which neutralize cellular tumor suppressor function. To determine the consequences of removing the E6 and E7 proteins from cervical cancer cells, we infected HeLa cells, a cervical carcinoma cell line that contains HPV18 DNA, with a recombinant virus that expresses the bovine papillomavirus E2 protein. Expression of the E2 protein resulted in rapid repression of HPV E6 and E7 expression, followed approximately 12 h later by profound inhibition of cellular DNA synthesis. Shortly after E6/E7 repression, there was dramatic posttranscriptional induction of p53. Two p53-responsive genes, mdm2 and p21, were induced with slightly slower kinetics than p53 and appeared to be functional, as assessed by inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinase activity and p53 destabilization. There was also dramatic posttranscriptional induction of p105(Rb) and p107 after E6/E7 repression, followed shortly thereafter by induction of p130. By 24 h after infection, only hypophosphorylated p105(Rb) was detectable and transcription of several Rb/E2F-regulated genes was dramatically repressed. Constitutive expression of the HPV16 E6/E7 genes alleviated E2-induced growth inhibition and impaired activation of the Rb pathway and repression of E2F-responsive genes. This dynamic response strongly suggests that the p53 and Rb tumor suppressor pathways are intact in HeLa cells and that repression of HPV E6 and E7 mobilizes these pathways in an orderly fashion to deliver growth inhibitory signals to the cells. Strikingly, the major alterations in the cell cycle machinery underlying cervical carcinogenesis can be reversed by repression of the endogenous HPV oncogenes.

Rapid induction of senescence in human cervical carcinoma cells.

Expression of the bovine papillomavirus E2 regulatory protein in human cervical carcinoma cell lines repressed expression of the resident human papillomavirus E6 and E7 oncogenes and within a few days caused essentially all of the cells to synchronously display numerous phenotypic markers characteristic of cells undergoing replicative senescence. This process was accompanied by marked but in some cases transient alterations in the expression of cell cycle regulatory proteins and by decreased telomerase activity. We propose that the human papillomavirus E6 and E7 proteins actively prevent senescence from occurring in cervical carcinoma cells, and that once viral oncogene expression is extinguished, the senescence program is rapidly executed. Activation of endogenous senescence pathways in cancer cells may represent an alternative approach to treat human cancers.

E2F-Rb complexes assemble and inhibit cdc25A transcription in cervical carcinoma cells following repression of human papillomavirus oncogene expression.

Expression of the bovine papillomavirus E2 protein in cervical carcinoma cells represses expression of integrated human papillomavirus (HPV) E6/E7 oncogenes, followed by repression of the cdc25A gene and other cellular genes required for cell cycle progression, resulting in dramatic growth arrest. To explore the mechanism of repression of cell cycle genes in cervical carcinoma cells following E6/E7 repression, we analyzed regulation of the cdc25A promoter, which contains two consensus E2F binding sites and a consensus E2 binding site. The wild-type E2 protein inhibited expression of a luciferase gene linked to the cdc25A promoter in HT-3 cervical carcinoma cells. Mutation of the distal E2F binding site in the cdc25A promoter abolished E2-induced repression, whereas mutation of the proximal E2F site or the E2 site had no effect. None of these mutations affected the activity of the promoter in the absence of E2 expression. Expression of the E2 protein also led to posttranscriptional increase in the level of E2F4, p105(Rb), and p130 and induced the formation of nuclear E2F4-p130 and E2F4-p105(Rb) complexes. This resulted in marked rearrangement of the protein complexes that formed at the distal E2F site in the cdc25A promoter, including the replacement of free E2F complexes with E2F4-p105(Rb) complexes. These experiments indicated that repression of E2F-responsive promoters following HPV E6/E7 repression was mediated by activation of the Rb tumor suppressor pathway and the assembly of repressing E2F4-Rb DNA binding complexes. Importantly, these experiments revealed that HPV-induced alterations in E2F transcription complexes that occur during cervical carcinogenesis are reversed by repression of HPV E6/E7 expression.

Bovine papillomavirus E2 protein activates a complex growth-inhibitory program in p53-negative HT-3 cervical carcinoma cells that includes repression of cyclin A and cdc25A phosphatase genes and accumulation of hypophosphorylated retinoblastoma protein.

The bovine papillomavirus E2 protein can inhibit the proliferation of HT-3 cells, a p53-negative cervical carcinoma cell line containing integrated human papillomavirus type 30 DNA. Here, we analyzed HT-3 cells to explore the mechanism of p53-independent E2-mediated growth inhibition. Expression of the E2 protein repressed expression of the endogenous human papillomavirus type 30 E6/E7 genes. This was accompanied by hypophosphorylation and increased accumulation of p105Rb and repression of E2F1 expression. The E2 protein also caused reduced cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) 2 activity, but this did not appear to be due to increased expression of cdk inhibitors. Rather, expression of cyclin A, which regulates cdk2 activity, and the cdc25A and cdc25B phosphatases, which are thought to activate cdk2, was significantly reduced at both the RNA and protein levels in response to E2 expression. The E2 protein reduced expression of cdc25A and cdc25B in both HT-3 and HeLa cells, but not in cells that were not growth-inhibited by the E2 protein. E2 point mutants unable to inhibit cell growth did not repress cdc25A and cdc25B expression, nor did the cell cycle inhibitors hydroxyurea and mimosine. Based on these results and the known properties of cell cycle components, we propose a model to account for E2-induced growth inhibition of cervical carcinoma cell lines.

Transactivation-competent bovine papillomavirus E2 protein is specifically required for efficient repression of human papillomavirus oncogene expression and for acute growth inhibition of cervical carcinoma cell lines.

The papillomavirus E2 proteins can function as sequence-specific transactivators or transrepressors of transcription and as cofactors in viral DNA replication. We previously demonstrated that acute expression of the bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV1) E2 protein in HeLa and HT-3 cervical carcinoma cell lines greatly reduced cellular proliferation by imposing a specific G1/S phase growth arrest. In this report, we analyzed the effects of a panel of point mutations in the BPV1 E2 protein to identify the functional requirements for acute growth inhibition. Disruption of E2-specific transactivation by mutations within either the transactivation domain or the DNA binding domain severely impaired E2-mediated growth inhibition in HeLa and HT-3 cells, even though these mutants retain various other E2 activities. This result indicates that functional transactivation activity is required for acute E2-mediated growth inhibition. HeLa cells, which contain a wild-type p53 gene, and HT-3 cells, which contain a transactivation-defective p53 gene, exhibited similar responses to the E2 mutants, suggesting that identical functions of the E2 protein were required for growth arrest regardless of p53 status. Replacement of the E2 transactivation domain with that of the herpes simplex virus VP16 generated a chimeric transactivator that efficiently stimulated expression of an E2-responsive reporter plasmid yet was completely defective for growth inhibition, suggesting that an E2-specific transactivation function is required for growth arrest. Surprisingly, the transactivation-defective E2 mutants were also markedly defective in their ability to repress transcription of the native human papillomavirus type 18 (HPV18) E6/E7 oncogenes in HeLa cells and of the HPV18 promoter present in a transfected reporter plasmid. These mutants were also defective in their ability to increase p53 levels. Therefore, efficient repression of the HPV18 promoter in HeLa cells is not merely a consequence of the binding of an E2 protein to appropriately situated binding sites in the promoter.

Context effects on N6-adenosine methylation sites in prolactin mRNA.

The methylation of internal adenosine residues in mRNA only occurs within GAC or AAC sequences. Although both of these sequence motifs are utilized, a general preference has been noted for the extended sequence RGACU. Not all RGACU sequences in an mRNA are methylated and the mechanisms that govern the selection of methylation sites in mRNA remain unclear. To address this problem we have examined the methylation of transcripts containing sequences of a natural mRNA, namely, bovine prolactin mRNA. In this mRNA, a specific AGACU sequence in the 3' untranslated region is the predominant site of methylation both in vivo and in vitro. The degree to which N6-adenosine methyltransferase recognizes the sequence context of the consensus methylation site was explored by mutational analysis of the nucleotides adjacent to the core sequence as well as the extended regions in which the core element was found. Our results indicate that efficient methylation depends on the extended five nucleotide consensus sequence but is strongly influenced by the context in which the consensus sequence occurs within the overall mRNA molecule. Furthermore, consensus methylation sites present in an RNA duplex are not recognized by the methyltransferase.

The 3'-flanking sequence of the bovine growth hormone gene contains novel elements required for efficient and accurate polyadenylation.

In addition to the conserved AAUAAA hexanucleotide, GU- and U-rich sequences in the 3'-flanking region are thought to be critical for efficient polyadenylation. The 3'-flanking sequence requirements for efficient and accurate polyadenylation of the bovine growth hormone (bGH) gene were determined by quantitative S1 nuclease analysis of transcripts derived from various bGH 3' deletions and block mutations transiently transfected into COS-1 cells. Though the bGH 3'-flanking sequence contains a portion of the putative GU efficiency element, we find that mutation of this element leads to a marginal decrease in efficiency similar to that from mutation of other sequences that do not contain recognizable GU- or U-rich motifs. The data are consistent with a diffuse efficiency element in the bGH polyadenylation signal rather than a discrete element as is thought to exist in other mammalian signals. We have also determined that a region from 18 to 27 nucleotides downstream of the cleavage site contains sequences required for correctly positioning the cleavage site.

Cloning and nucleotide sequencing of the bovine growth hormone gene.

A gene coding for bovine growth hormone was isolated from a bovine genomic library. The nucleotide sequence of the coding regions of the gene was found to be identical with that of a nearly full-length growth hormone cDNA clone. The gene sequence is approximately 1800 bp in length and contains four intervening sequences. The second intervening sequence of 227 nucleotides does not contain a repetitive element similar to that observed in the rat growth hormone gene. A comparison of the 5' and 3' flanking and untranslated regions of the bovine, human and rat growth hormone genes revealed many areas of highly conserved sequence. Especially noteworthy was the observation that all three genes had a 38 nucleotide homologous sequence within their 5' flanking regions located about 100 bp upstream from their transcription initiation sites.