Aberrant methylation of SPARC in human lung cancers.

SPARC (secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine) is an extracellular Ca2+-binding matricellular glycoprotein associated with the regulation of cell adhesion and growth. We investigated loss of expression of SPARC gene and promoter methylation in lung cancers and correlated the data with clinicopathological features. We observed loss of SPARC expression in 12 of 20 (60%) lung cancer cell lines. Treatment of expression-negative cell lines with a demethylating agent restored expression in all cases. Methylation frequencies of SPARC gene were 55% in 20 lung cancer cell lines. Primary tumours had methylation at a rate of 69% (119 of 173), while nonmalignant lung tissues (n=60) had very low rates (3%). In lung adenocarcinomas, SPARC methylation correlated with a negative prognosis (P=0.0021; relative risk 4.65, 95% confidence interval 1.75-12.35, multivariate Cox's proportional-hazard model). Immunostaining revealed protein expression in bronchial epithelium (weak intensity) and in juxtatumoral stromal tissues (strong intensity) accompanied by frequent loss in cancer cells that correlated with the presence of methylation (P<0.001). Our findings are of biological interest and potentially of clinical importance in human lung cancers.

Aberrant methylation of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene promoter 1A in breast and lung carcinomas.

The adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene is a tumor suppressor gene associated with both familial and sporadic cancer. Despite high rates of allelic loss in lung and breast cancers, point mutations of the APC gene are infrequent in these cancer types. Aberrant methylation of the APC promoter 1A occurs in some colorectal and gastric malignancies, and we investigated whether the same mechanism occurs in lung and breast cancers. The methylation status of the APC gene promoter 1A was analyzed in 77 breast, 50 small cell (SCLC), and 106 non-small cell (NSCLC) lung cancer tumors and cell lines and in 68 nonmalignant tissues by methylation-specific PCR. Expression of the APC promoter 1A transcript was examined in a subset of cell lines by reverse transcription-PCR, and loss of heterozygosity at the gene locus was analyzed by the use of 12 microsatellite and polymorphic markers. Statistical tests were two-sided. Promoter 1A was methylated in 34 of 77 breast cancer tumors and cell lines (44%), in 56 of 106 NSCLC tumors and cell lines (53%), in 13 of 50 SCLC cell lines (26%), and in 3 of 68 nonmalignant samples (4%). Most cell lines tested contained the unmethylated or methylated form exclusively. In 27 cell lines tested, there was complete concordance between promoter methylation and silencing of its transcript. Demethylation with 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine treatment restored transcript 1A expression in all eight methylated cell lines tested. Loss of heterozygosity at the APC locus was observed in 85% of SCLCs, 83% of NSCLCs, and 63% of breast cancer cell lines. The frequency of methylation in breast cancers increased with tumor stage and size. In summary, aberrant methylation of the 1A promoter of the APC gene and loss of its specific transcript is frequently present in breast and NSCLC cancers and cell lines and, to a lesser extent, in SCLC cell lines. Our findings may be of biological and clinical importance.

Loss of expression and aberrant methylation of the CDH13 (H-cadherin) gene in breast and lung carcinomas.

Expression of some members of the cadherin family is reduced in several human tumors, and CDH13 (H-cadherin), located on chromosome 16q24.2-3, may function as a tumor suppressor gene. In human tumors, loss of expression of many tumor suppressor genes occurs by aberrant promoter region methylation. We examined the methylation status of the CDH13 promoter in breast and lung cancers and correlated it with mRNA expression using methylation-specific PCR and reverse transcription-PCR. Methylation was frequent in primary breast tumors (18 of 55, 33%) and cell lines (7 of 20, 35%). In lung cancers, methylation was present more frequently in non-small cell lung cancer tumors (18 of 42, 43%) and cell lines (15 of 30, 50%) than in small cell lung cancer cell lines (6 of 30, 20%; P = 0.03). Only the methylated or unmethylated forms of the gene were present in most (73 of 80, 91%) tumor cell lines. CDH13 expression was present in 24 of 30 (80%) of nonmethylated tumor lines. All 18 methylated lines tested lacked expression irrespective of whether the unmethylated form was present, confirming biallelic inactivation in methylated lines. Gene expression was restored in all five methylated cell lines tested after treatment with the demethylating agent 5'-aza-2-deoxycytidine. Our results demonstrate frequent aberrant methylation of CDH13 in breast and lung cancers accompanied by loss of gene expression, although expression may occasionally be lost by other mechanisms.

RNA polymerase-specific nucleosome disruption by transcription in vivo.

The nucleosomal chromatin structure within genes is disrupted upon transcription by RNA polymerase II. To determine whether this disruption is caused by transcription per se as opposed to the RNA polymerase source, we engineered the yeast chromosomal HSP82 gene to be exclusively transcribed by bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase in vivo. Interestingly, we found that a fraction of the T7-generated transcripts were 3' end processed and polyadenylated at or near the 3' ends of the hsp82 and the immediately downstream CIN2 genes. Surprisingly, the nucleosomal structure of the T7-transcribed hsp82 gene remained intact, in marked contrast to the disrupted structure generated by much weaker, basal level transcription of the wild type gene by RNA polymerase II under non-heat shock conditions. Therefore, disruption of chromatin structure by transcription is dependent on the RNA polymerase source. We propose that the observed RNA polymerase dependence for transcription-induced nucleosome disruption may be related either to the differential recruitment of chromatin remodeling complexes, the rates of histone octamer translocation and nucleosome reformation during polymerase traversal, and/or the degree of transient torsional stress generated by the elongating polymerase.

Isolation and characterization of SUG2. A novel ATPase family component of the yeast 26 S proteasome.

Using a genetic strategy designed to find proteins involved in the function of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcriptional activator GAL4, we isolated mutants in two genes which rescue a class of gal4 activation domain mutants. One of these genes, SUG1, encodes a member of a large family of putative ATPases, the Conserved ATPase containing Domain (CAD) proteins (also known as AAA proteins) that are involved in a wide variety of cellular functions. Subsequently, SUG1 was identified as a subunit of the 26 S proteasome. We have now cloned the gene defined by the second complementation group. SUG2 encodes an essential 49-kDa protein that is also a member of the CAD family and is 43% identical to SUG1. The mutation in sug2-1, like that in sug1-1, is found in the CAD near the highly conserved ATPase motif. We present biochemical and genetic evidence that SUG2 is associated in vivo with SUG1 and is a novel CAD protein subunit of the 26 S proteasome. With its highly conserved mammalian homologs, human p42 and ground squirrel CADp44, SUG2 defines a new class of proteasomal CAD proteins.

A member of the phylogenetically conserved CAD family of transcriptional regulators is dramatically up-regulated during the programmed cell death of skeletal muscle in the tobacco hawkmoth Manduca sexta.

The intersegmental muscles (ISMs) of the tobacco hawkmoth Manduca sexta participate in the emergence behavior of the adult moth at the end of metamorphosis and then die during the subsequent 30-hr period. The trigger for this death is a decline in the circulating titer of the insect molting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone (20-HE). Previous work has demonstrated that the ability of the ISMs to die is dependent on new gene expression. Using a differential hybridization cloning strategy, a cDNA library made from the ISMs committed to die was screened, and four up-regulated clones were isolated. One clone, 18-56, was selected for this study. Northern and Western analysis demonstrated that while clone 18-56 was expressed in all tissues examined and during every stage of ISM development, there was a dramatic increase in expression at both mRNA and protein levels when the ISMs became committed to die. If ISM death was delayed by an injection of 20-HE on the day proceeding adult emergence, 18-56 expression remained at basal levels. Immunocytochemistry demonstrated that 18-56 protein was located predominantly in nuclei prior to the commitment of the ISMs to die and then accumulated to high levels in cytoplasm at the time of cell death. DNA sequence analysis revealed that 18-56 protein shares 74% identity with yeast SUG1 and 92% with human Trip1, both of which are members of the conserved CAD (Conserved ATPase-containing Domain) family of putative transcriptional regulators. To verify that these genes shared functional as well as sequence homology, Manduca clone 18-56 was transformed into a yeast mutant for SUG1 function. Manduca 18-56 was able to both complement the lethal SUG1 phenotype and to suppress the transcriptional activity of a SUG1 mutation in yeast. Taken together, these data support the hypothesis that members of the phylogenetically conserved CAD family participate in important basal and developmental processes.