Reduction of daily-use parabens and phthalates reverses accumulation of cancer-associated phenotypes within disease-free breast tissue of study subjects.

Estrogenic overstimulation is carcinogenic to the human breast. Personal care products (PCPs) commonly contain xenoestrogens (XE), such as parabens and phthalates. Here, we identified the adverse effects of persistent exposure to such PCPs directly within human estrogen responsive breast tissue of subjects enrolled in a regimen of reduced XE use (REDUXE). Pre- and post-intervention fine needle aspirates (FNAs) of the breast were collected from healthy volunteers who discontinued the use of paraben and phthalate containing PCPs over a 28 d period. Based on high-dimensional gene expression data of matched FNA pairs of study subjects, we demonstrate a striking reversal of cancer-associated phenotypes, including the PI3K-AKT/mTOR pathway, autophagy, and apoptotic signaling networks within breast cells of REDUXE compliant subjects. These, and other altered phenotypes were detected together with a significant reduction in urinary parabens and phthalate metabolites. Moreover, in vitro treatment of paired FNAs with 17ß-estradiol (E2), displayed a 'normalizing' impact of REDUXE on gene expression within known E2-modulated pathways, and on functional endpoints, including estrogen receptor alpha: beta ratio, and S-phase fraction of the cell cycle. In a paradigm shifting approach facilitated by community-based participatory research, REDUXE reveals unfavorable consequences from exposure to XEs from daily-use PCPs. Our findings illustrate the potential for REDUXE to suppress pro-carcinogenic phenotypes at the cellular level towards the goal of breast cancer prevention.

p53 Stability and activity is regulated by Mdm2-mediated induction of alternative p53 translation products.

Activation of the p53 tumour suppressor protein can lead to cell-cycle arrest or apoptosis. p53 function is controlled by the mdm2 oncogene product, which targets p53 for proteasomal degradation. In this report we demonstrate that Mdm2 induces translation of the p53 mRNA from two alternative initiation sites, giving full-length p53 and another protein with a relative molecular mass (M(r)) of approximately 47K; we designate this protein as p53/47. This translation induction requires Mdm2 to interact directly with the nascent p53 polypeptide. The alternatively translated p53/47 does not contain the Mdm2-binding site and it lacks the most amino-terminal transcriptional-activation domain of p53. Increased expression of p53/47 stabilizes p53 in the presence of Mdm2, and alters the expression levels of p53-induced gene products. These results show how the interaction of Mdm2 with p53 leads to a change in the ratio of full-length p53 to p53/47 by inducing translation of both p53 proteins and the subsequent selective degradation of full-length p53. Thus, Mdm2 controls the expression levels of p53 through a dual mechanism that involves induction of synthesis and targeting for degradation.

Excess Mcm2-7 license dormant origins of replication that can be used under conditions of replicative stress.

In late mitosis and early G1, replication origins are licensed for subsequent use by loading complexes of the minichromosome maintenance proteins 2-7 (Mcm2-7). The number of Mcm2-7 complexes loaded onto DNA greatly exceeds the number of replication origins used during S phase, but the function of the excess Mcm2-7 is unknown. Using Xenopus laevis egg extracts, we show that these excess Mcm2-7 complexes license additional dormant origins that do not fire during unperturbed S phases because of suppression by a caffeine-sensitive checkpoint pathway. Use of these additional origins can allow complete genome replication in the presence of replication inhibitors. These results suggest that metazoan replication origins are actually comprised of several candidate origins, most of which normally remain dormant unless cells experience replicative stress. Consistent with this model, using Caenorhabditis elegans, we show that partial RNAi-based knockdown of MCMs that has no observable effect under normal conditions causes lethality upon treatment with low, otherwise nontoxic, levels of the replication inhibitor hydroxyurea.

Aspirin blocks proliferation in colon cells by inducing a G1 arrest and apoptosis through activation of the checkpoint kinase ATM.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common gastrointestinal malignancy. Most of the clinical data on CRC prevention have come from the use of aspirin. Besides inhibition of cyclooxygenases, aspirin has a diversity of molecular effects that counteract colon carcinogenesis. Aspirin restrains cell proliferation by inducing a G1 arrest in colorectal cells. To determine which cell cycle checkpoint pathways are involved in this response, colorectal cell lines wild-type or defective for p53 and p21Waf1/Cip1 were treated with aspirin or the anti-proliferative drug sulindac sulfide, then assayed for proliferative activity, for cell cycle progression and apoptosis, for the activation and phosphorylation of checkpoint components and for the transcriptional up-regulation of p21Waf1/Cip1 and Bax. Aspirin and sulindac sulfide induced a G1 arrest within 48 h. While all cell lines responded in a comparable way to sulindac sulfide, the aspirin-induced G1 arrest was dependent on p21Waf1/Cip1--as cells lacking the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor failed to show this arrest--and on ataxia-telangiectasia-mutated kinase (ATM)--as the inhibitor caffeine abrogated the checkpoint. Moreover, aspirin induced cell death mainly in cells expressing p53. Aspirin induced the phosphorylation of p53 at residue Ser15 within 8 h in a caffeine-dependent manner, and also caused the activation of checkpoint kinase 2 and the cleavage of caspase 7. Our results suggest that aspirin induces a G1 arrest and apoptosis by activating p53 and p21Waf1/Cip1 in an ATM-dependent way. By activating these checkpoint pathways, aspirin may restrain uncontrolled proliferation of colorectal cells, enhance their response to stresses such as DNA damage and promote entry of abnormal cells into apoptosis.

Activation of the DNA-binding ability of latent p53 protein by protein kinase C is abolished by protein kinase CK2.

p53 is one of the most important regulators of cell proliferation and differentiation and of programmed cell death, triggering growth arrest and/or apoptosis in response to different cellular stress signals. The sequence-specific DNA-binding function of p53 protein can be activated by several different stimuli that modulate the C-terminal domain of this protein. The predominant mechanism of activation of p53 sequence-specific DNA binding is phosphorylation at specific sites. For example, phosphorylation of p53 by PKC (protein kinase C) occurs in undamaged cells, resulting in masking of the epitope recognized by monoclonal antibody PAb421, and presumably promotes steady-state levels of p53 activity in cycling cells. In contrast, phosphorylation by cdk2 (cyclin-dependent kinase 2)/cyclin A and by the protein kinase CK2 are both enhanced in DNA-damaged cells. We determined whether one mechanism to account for this mutually exclusive phosphorylation may be that each phosphorylation event prevents modification by the other kinase. We used non-radioactive electrophoretic mobility shift assays to show that C-terminal phosphorylation of p53 protein by cdk2/cyclin A on Ser315 or by PKC on Ser378 can efficiently stimulate p53 binding to DNA in vitro, as well as binding of the monoclonal antibody Bp53-10, which recognizes residues 371-380 in the C-terminus of p53. Phosphorylation of p53 by CK2 on Ser392 induces its DNA-binding activity to a much lower extent than phosphorylation by cdk2/cyclin A or PKC. In addition, phosphorylation by CK2 strongly inhibits PKC-induced activation of p53 DNA binding, while the activation of p53 by cdk2/cyclin A is not affected by CK2. The presence of CK2-mediated phosphorylation promotes PKC binding to its docking site within the p53 oligomerization domain, but decreases phosphorylation by PKC, suggesting that competition between CK2 and PKC does not rely on the inhibition of PKC-p53 complex formation. These results indicate the crucial role of p53 C-terminal phosphorylation in the regulation of its DNA-binding activity, but also suggest that antagonistic relationships exist between different stress signalling pathways.

The development of a CDK2-docking site peptide that inhibits p53 and sensitizes cells to death.

Cyclin-dependent protein kinases play important roles in cell cycle progression and are attractive targets for the design of anti-proliferative drugs. Two distinct synthetic CDK1/2 inhibitors, Roscovitine and NU2058, are pharmacologically distinct in their ability to modify p53-dependent transcription and perturb cell cycle progression. Although such active-site CDK1/2 inhibitors comprise the most standard type of enzyme inhibitor, many protein kinases are proving to harbour high affinity docking sites that may provide a potentially novel interface for the design of kinase-inhibitors. We examined whether CDK2 has a docking site for its oligomeric substrate p53, whether small-peptide leads can be developed that inhibit CDK2 function, and whether such peptide-inhibitors are pharmacologically distinct from Roscovitine or NU2058. A docking site for CDK2 was identified in the tetramerization domain of p53 at a site that is distinct from the phospho-acceptor site. Peptides derived from the tetramerization domain of p53 block CDK2 phosphorylation and identification of critical CDK2 contacts in the tetramerization domain of p53 suggest that kinase docking does not require tetramerization of the substrate. Transient transfection assays were developed to show that the GFP-CDK2 docking site fusion protein (GFP-CIP) attenuates p53 activity in vivo and suppresses p21WAF1 induction which is similar to NU2058 but distinct from Roscovitine. A stable cell line with an inducible GFP-CIP gene attenuates p53 activity and induces significant cell death in a drug-resistant melanoma cell line, sensitizes cells to death induced by Doxorubicin, and suppresses cell growth in a colony formation assay. These data indicate that CDK2, in addition to cyclin A, can have a high affinity docking site for a substrate and highlights the possibility that CDK2 docking sites may represent effective targets for inhibitor design.

A Xenopus Dbf4 homolog is required for Cdc7 chromatin binding and DNA replication.

BACKGROUND: Early in the cell cycle a pre-replicative complex (pre-RC) is assembled at each replication origin. This process involves the sequential assembly of the Origin Recognition Complex (ORC), Cdc6, Cdt1 and the MiniChromosome Maintenance (Mcm2-7) proteins onto chromatin to license the origin for use in the subsequent S phase. Licensed origins must then be activated by S phase-inducing cyclin-dependent kinases (S-CDKs) and the Dbf4/Cdc7 kinase. RESULTS: We have cloned a Xenopus homologue of Dbf4 (XDbf4), the sequence of which confirms the results of Furukhori et al. We have analysed the role of XDbf4 in DNA replication using cell-free extracts of Xenopus eggs. Our results indicate that XDbf4 is the regulatory subunit of XCdc7 required for DNA replication. We show that XDbf4 binds to chromatin during interphase, but unlike XCdc7, its chromatin association is independent of pre-RC formation, occurring in the absence of licensing, XCdc6 and XORC. Moreover, we show that the binding of XCdc7 to chromatin is dependent on the presence of XDbf4, whilst under certain circumstances XDbf4 can bind to chromatin in the absence of XCdc7. We provide evidence that the chromatin binding of XDbf4 that occurs in the absence of licensing depends on checkpoint activation. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified XDbf4 as a functional activator of XCdc7, and show that it is required to recruit XCdc7 to chromatin. Our results also suggest that XCdc7 and XDbf4 are differentially regulated, potentially responding to different cell cycle signals.

5-ASA affects cell cycle progression in colorectal cells by reversibly activating a replication checkpoint.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Individuals with inflammatory bowel disease are at risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC). Epidemiologic, animal, and laboratory studies suggest that 5-amino-salicylic acid (5-ASA) protects from the development of CRC by altering cell cycle progression and by inducing apoptosis. Our previous results indicate that 5-ASA improves replication fidelity in colorectal cells, an effect that is active in reducing mutations. In this study, we hypothesized that 5-ASA restrains cell cycle progression by activating checkpoint pathways in colorectal cell lines, which would prevent tumor development and improve genomic stability. METHODS: CRC cells with different genetic backgrounds such as HT29, HCT116, HCT116(p53-/-), HCT116+chr3, and LoVo were treated with 5-ASA for 2-96 hours. Cell cycle progression, phosphorylation, and DNA binding of cell cycle checkpoint proteins were analyzed. RESULTS: We found that 5-ASA at concentrations between 10 and 40 mmol/L affects cell cycle progression by inducing cells to accumulate in the S phase. This effect was independent of the hMLH1, hMSH2, and p53 status because it was observed to a similar extent in all cell lines under investigation. Moreover, wash-out experiments demonstrated reversibility within 48 hours. Although p53 did not have a causative role, p53 Ser15 was strongly phosphorylated. Proteins involved in the ATM-and-Rad3-related kinase (ATR)-dependent S-phase checkpoint response (Chk1 and Rad17) were also phosphorylated but not ataxia telengectasia mutated kinase. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrate that 5-ASA causes cells to reversibly accumulate in S phase and activate an ATR-dependent checkpoint. The activation of replication checkpoint may slow down DNA replication and improve DNA replication fidelity, which increases the maintenance of genomic stability and counteracts carcinogenesis.

Characterization of a novel ATR-dependent, Chk1-independent, intra-S-phase checkpoint that suppresses initiation of replication in Xenopus.

In most eukaryotes, replication origins fire asynchronously throughout S-phase according to a precise timing programme. When replication fork progression is inhibited, an intra-S-phase checkpoint is activated that blocks further origin firing and stabilizes existing replication forks to prevent them undergoing irreversible collapse. We show that chromatin incubated in Xenopus egg extracts displays a replication-timing programme in which firing of new replication origins during S phase depends on the continued activity of S-phase-inducing cyclin-dependent kinases. We also show that low concentrations of the DNA-polymerase inhibitor aphidicolin, which only slightly slows replication-fork progression, strongly suppress further initiation events. This intra-S-phase checkpoint can be overcome by caffeine, an inhibitor of the ATM/ATR checkpoint kinases, or by neutralizing antibodies to ATR. However, depletion or inhibition of Chk1 did not abolish the checkpoint. We could detect no significant effect on fork stability when this intra-S-phase checkpoint was inhibited. Interestingly, although caffeine could prevent the checkpoint from being activated, it could not rescue replication if added after the timing programme would normally have been executed. This suggests that special mechanisms might be necessary to reverse the effects of the intra-S-phase checkpoint once it has acted on particular origins.