Downregulation of KAI1 mRNA in localised prostate cancer and its bony metastases does not correlate with p53 overexpression.

Recent data have proposed that transcription of the KAI1 metastasis suppressor gene is directly mediated by p53 and that loss of KAI1 expression in advanced prostate cancer is simply due to loss of p53 function after mutation. To investigate this possibility, we have examined KAI1 mRNA (by in situ hybridisation) and p53 protein expression (by immunohistochemistry) as an indicator of wildtype or mutant p53, in a series of 77 paraffin-embedded prostate tissue samples, including post-mortem normal prostates (2), benign prostatic hyperplasia (10), localised cancer (grades 4-6, 25; grades 7-9, 21) and prostate-derived bony metastases (19). Overall, we confirmed that expression of KAI1 mRNA decreased from normal tissue, through localised cancer to bony metastases (P=0.055, tending to significance), while levels of p53 staining significantly increased with cancer progression (P=0.046). These were consistent with the possibility that loss of p53 function might be responsible for loss of KAI1 mRNA. However, by close examination of KAI1 and p53 in adjacent tissue sections, we found no correlation between decreased levels of KAI1 mRNA and overexpression of p53 protein (P=0.497). In addition, high levels of KAI1 mRNA could be identified in samples irrespective of p53 staining. Our data suggest that mutation of p53 is independent of the loss of KAI1 mRNA, and do not support a role for p53 in regulating the expression of KAI1.

Expression of nerve growth factor mRNA and its translation products in the anagen hair follicle.

The cellular localization of NGF mRNA and its translation products have been identified in ovine hair follicles. NGF mRNA was detected in the proliferating cells of the follicle bulb and differentiating cells of the suprabulbar region, but was absent from the outer root sheath. Western analysis revealed the presence of a 73 kDa NGF prohormone in extracts of ovine flank skin, but the mature 13 kDa NGF was absent. Immunohistochemical analysis with antibodies specific to mouse NGF and a pro-NGF specific domain localized the NGF prohormone to outer root sheath cells in the upper bulb region of the follicle, adjacent to the zone of keratinization. Antibody binding was also associated with the luminal epithelium of the apocrine sweat gland and the pilary canal of the follicle at its junction with the epidermis. These observations, together with the reported presence of high- and low-affinity NGF receptors in the follicle, implicate the NGF prohormone-responsive neuronal system in the regulation of hair growth.

Methylation of a CpG island within the promoter region of the KAI1 metastasis suppressor gene is not responsible for down-regulation of KAI1 expression in invasive cancers or cancer cell lines.

The molecular basis for downregulation of the KAI1 metastasis suppressor gene in invasive and metastatic human cancers is unknown. We have used bisulphite methylation analysis of DNA from paraffin-embedded invasive bladder tumour samples and from bladder cancer cell lines to determine if hypermethylation of a CpG island within the KAI1 promoter is responsible for this effect. Representative invasive tumour cell lines were also exposed to 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine. We found no evidence for hypermethylation of the CpG island and suggest that mechanisms other than promoter hypermethylation are responsible for reduced KAI1 expression in invasive bladder tumours and tumour cell lines.

Cultivation of epithelia from the secretory coil of the ovine apocrine gland: evidence of secretory cell function and ductal morphogenesis in vitro.

The secretory coil of the ovine apocrine gland is composed predominantly of two cell types, secretory cells lining the lumen and myoepithelial cells adjacent to the basement membrane. The glands synthesize a number of hormones and growth factors, but analysis of the functions of these molecules may be hampered by the mixing of apocrine and sebaceous secretions in the pilary canal. The purpose of this study was to isolate the glands and devise simple culture procedures to facilitate investigations of secretory cell function. The most successful approach involved microdissection of the secretory coils individually from skin biopsies and culture in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium. After 1-2 wk in medium, cell outgrowths were seen from explants. These consisted predominantly of populations of epithelial cells, many containing granules. Smaller granules were usually concentrated around the cell nuclei and accumulated lipophilic dyes. Large granules were unreactive. Western analysis showed that cells in culture synthesized nerve growth factor-like peptides, a feature consistent with one of the functions of the gland in vivo. When isolated secretor, coils were explanted to culture dishes coated with matrigel, highly compact, multilayered masses of cells grew out. Subsequently, tubular structures formed. The observations suggest that some differentiated functions of gland cells were retained in vitro and that the procedures described provide a system for the study, of apocrine secretions in isolation from those of other skin glands.

Individual promoter and intron p53-binding motifs from the rat Cyclin G1 promoter region support transcriptional activation by p53 but do not show co-operative activation.

The rat Cyclin G1 gene promoter contains one p53-binding motif upstream of the transcription start site, and a second motif downstream in the first intron. We have investigated the possibility that these motifs co-operate to permit high level promoter activation by p53. Although individual motifs supported p53-dependent, orientation-independent transcriptional activation, using reporter plasmids containing both motifs, we found no evidence for co-operative promoter activation either after co-transfection with human p53 expression plasmids, or after exposure of transfected cells to cisplatin and UV-radiation.

Synergistic transcriptional activation of the MCK promoter by p53: tetramers link separated DNA response elements by DNA looping.

The WAF1, Cyclin G and muscle creatine kinase (MCK) genes, all contain multiple copies of the consensus p53-binding element within their regulatory regions. We examined the role of these elements in transactivation of the muscle creatine kinase (MCK) gene by p53. The MCK promoter possesses distal (-3182 to -3133) and proximal (-177 to -81) p53-binding elements within which residues -3182 to -3151 (distal) and -176 to -149 (proximal) show homology to the consensus p53-binding site. Using promoter deletion studies, we find that both proximal and distal elements are required for high level, synergistic transcriptional activation in vivo. Electron microscopy indicates that p53-p53 interactions link proximal and distal p53-binding elements and cause looping out of intervening DNA, suggesting that this DNA sequence may be dispensable for synergy. This idea was confirmed by progressive deletion of the DNA between p53-binding elements. Synergism persisted with spacing reduced to only 150 bp. Tetramerization-deficient p53 mutants were defective for transcriptional activation but still capable of synergy. Our results provide evidence for a model by which high level transcriptional activation of promoters with multiple p53 response elements is achieved.

Loss of KAI1 messenger RNA expression in both high-grade and invasive human bladder cancers.

The molecular mechanisms responsible for metastasis are not fully understood. Recently, expression of the KAI1 gene on human chromosome 11p11.2 was found to be down-regulated in metastatic prostate cancer cell lines compared with normal human prostate, suggesting that KAI1 may be a metastasis suppressor gene. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is reduced expression of KAI1 in late-stage bladder cancer. Sixty-six paraffin-embedded bladder tissue sections were analyzed for KAI1 mRNA by in situ hybridization. Nineteen of these were from patients with no histological evidence of bladder cancer, and 47 were from papillary transitional cell carcinomas (TCCs); of these, 16 were highly invasive. KAI1 mRNA was highly expressed in the specimens of normal bladder (11 of 11; 100%), inflammatory bladder (5 of 8; 63%), and noninvasive papillary TCCs of grades 1 and 2 (15 of 24; 63%), compared to grade 3 papillary TCCs (1 of 7; 14%) or invasive TCCs (1 of 16; 6%). The differences in expression between local and invasive disease were statistically significant (P

Distinct distal and proximal p53-binding sites in the MCK promoter govern the transcriptional response to p53.

We have investigated the functional importance of nucleotide sequence differences between proximal (P-) and distal (D-) p53-binding elements in the MCK promoter. P- and D-elements normally co-operate to permit synergistic promoter activation by p53. Interestingly, we find that P-elements cannot co-operate with each other. In contrast, co-operation between D-binding sites results in levels of p53-induced transcription far higher than those obtained by co-operation between P- and D-elements. These studies imply that distinct D- and P-p53-binding sites in the MCK promoter may dictate the promoter response to p53.