Mutant p53 (mtp53) promotes chemotherapy resistance through multiple mechanisms, including disabling proapoptotic proteins and regulating gene expression. Comparison of genome wide analysis of mtp53 binding revealed that the ETS-binding site motif (EBS) is prevalent within predicted mtp53-binding sites. We demonstrate that mtp53 regulates gene expression through EBS in promoters and that ETS2 mediates the interaction with this motif. Importantly, we identified TDP2, a 59-tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterase involved in the repair of DNA damage caused by etoposide, as a transcriptional target of mtp53. We demonstrate that suppression of TDP2 sensitizes mtp53-expressing cells to etoposide and that mtp53 and TDP2 are frequently overexpressed in human lung cancer; thus, our analysis identifies a potentially ''druggable'' component of mtp53's gain-of-function activity.[Keywords: TDP2; cancer; p53] Supplemental material is available for this article. One of the definitive characteristics of the mutant p53 (mtp53) protein is that it can alter the cellular phenotype, resulting in the acquisition of gain-of-function activities such as abnormal cell growth, suppression of apoptosis, chemotherapy resistance, increased angiogenesis, and metastasis ( For example, mtp53 can interact with its family members, p63 and p73, and disable their ability to induce apoptosis (Di Como et al. 1999;Marin et al. 2000;Strano et al. 2000Strano et al. , 2002Gaiddon et al. 2001;Bergamaschi et al. 2003;Irwin et al. 2003;Lang et al. 2004). mtp53 can also interact with other transcription factors (such as NF-Y, E2F1, VDR, and p63) and thereby can be recruited to target genes that have consensus binding sites for these transcription factors (Di Agostino et al. 2006;Adorno et al. 2009;Fontemaggi et al. 2009;Stambolsky et al. 2010). Notably, some of these interactions help explain how the mtp53 protein can deregulate gene expression and promote abnormal cell growth, angiogenesis, and metastasis (Di Agostino et al. 2006;Adorno et al. 2009;Fontemaggi et al. 2009;Muller et al. 2009Muller et al. , 2011. However, thus far, none of these transcription factors have been shown to play a fundamental role in regulating the expression of genes that can confer chemotherapy resistance by modulating the response to DNA damage. The main goal of this study was to identify a transcriptional regulatory mechanism through which mtp53 can promote chemotherapy resistance. Results Identification of mtp53 target genesTo identify transcriptional targets of mtp53, we employed two different approaches: chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-on-chip and ChIP combined with deep sequencing (ChIP-seq). The ChIP-on-chip was performed with Nimblegen arrays that have oligonucleotide probes for all of the promoters in the human genome (Nimblegen Promoter Arrays). The ChIP-seq analysis was performed using the Illumina platform. We conducted these analyses in the Li-Fraumeni cell line MDAH087, which expresses only the R248W mtp53 protein (Bischoff et al. 1990). The ChIP-on-chip analysis identif...

Most p53 mutations in human cancers are missense mutations resulting in a full-length mutant p53 protein. Besides losing tumor suppressor activity, some hotspot p53 mutants gain oncogenic functions. This effect is mediated in part, through gene expression changes due to inhibition of p63 and p73 by mutant p53 at their target gene promoters. Here, we report that the tumor suppressor microRNA let-7i is downregulated by mutant p53 in multiple cell lines expressing endogenous mutant p53. In breast cancer patients, significantly decreased let-7i levels were associated with missense mutations in p53. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and promoter luciferase assays established let-7i as a transcriptional target of mutant p53 through p63. Introduction of let-7i to mutant p53 cells significantly inhibited migration, invasion and metastasis by repressing a network of oncogenes including E2F5, LIN28B, MYC and NRAS. Our findings demonstrate that repression of let-7i expression by mutant p53 has a key role in enhancing migration, invasion and metastasis.

In order to characterize protein structures that control proton uptake, forms of cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) containing a carboxyl or a thiol group in line with the initial, internal waters of the D pathway for proton transfer have been assayed in the presence and absence of subunit III. Subunit III provides approximately half of the protein surrounding the entry region of the D pathway. The mutant N139D-D132N contains a carboxyl group 6Å within the D pathway and lacks the normal, surface-exposed proton acceptor, Asp-132. With subunit III, the steady-state activity of this mutant is slow but once subunit III is removed its activity is the same as wild-type CcO lacking subunit III (∼1800 H + s -1 ). Thus, a carboxyl group ∼25% within the pathway enhances proton uptake even though the carboxyl has no direct contact with bulk solvent. Protons from solvent apparently move to internal Asp-139 through a short file of waters, normally blocked by subunit III. Cysteine-139 also supports rapid steady-state proton uptake, demonstrating that an anion other than a carboxyl can attract and transfer protons into the D pathway. When both Asp-132 and Asp/Cys-139 are present, the removal of subunit III increases CcO activity to rates greater than that of normal CcO due to simultaneous proton uptake by two initial acceptors. The results show how the environment of the initial proton acceptor for the D pathway in these CcO forms dictates the pH range of CcO activity, with implications for the function of Asp-132, the normal proton acceptor.The aa 3 -type cytochrome c oxidase complex (CcO) is the final member of the electron transfer chain of oxidative phosphorylation in the inner membrane of mitochondria and in the cytoplasmic membrane of many bacteria. In order to generate a voltage gradient across these membranes, CcO transfers electrons from its outer (positive) surface and protons from its inner (negative) surface to a buried heme-Cu active site where the charges combine as O 2 is reduced to water (1-3). As a proton pump, CcO also uses the energy of O 2 reduction to transfer protons completely through the protein, across the membrane (3-6). The foursubunit aa 3 -type CcO of the bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides is one of the popular, mutable models of the catalytic core of mitochondrial CcO (7,8).Cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) takes up the protons necessary for catalysis via two long pathways, the D and K paths, leading from the inner surface of the complex to the buried active site (Fig. 1) (2,4,9,10). Protons are introduced into the D pathway by Asp-132 of subunit I (R. sphaeroides numbering) and transferred 26Å to Glu-286, near the active site, through a series of hydrogen-bonded water molecules (11)(12)(13)(14). From Glu-286, protons branch to O 2 reduction intermediates in the active site or to the site of proton pumping (15-17). The K pathway begins far from the entry region of the D pathway, at Glu-101 of subunit II (18). The K pathway transfers protons primarily via protein side chains to the cross-linked Tyr-288/His...

Subunit III of the three-subunit catalytic core of cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) contains no metal centers, but it does bind two lipids, within a deep cleft, in binding sites conserved from bacteria to humans. Subunit III binds to subunit I, where it prevents the spontaneous suicide inactivation of CcO by decreasing the probability of side reactions at the heme-Cu O2 reduction site in subunit I. Subunit III prevents suicide inactivation by (1) maintaining adequate rates of proton delivery to the heme-Cu active site and (2) stabilizing the structure of the active site during turnover [Mills and Hosler (2005) Biochemistry 44, 4656]. Here, we first show that mutating several individual residues of the conserved lipid binding sites in subunit III disturbs the subunit I-III interface. Then, two lipid binding site mutants were constructed with an affinity tag on subunit III such that the mutant CcOs could be isolated with 100% subunit III. R226A eliminates an ion pair to the phosphate of the outermost lipid of the cleft, while W59A-F86A disrupts interactions with the fatty acid tails of both lipids. Once these mutant CcOs are placed into soybean phospholipid vesicles, where extensive exchange of bacterial for soybean lipids takes place, it is shown that altering the lipid binding sites mimics a major loss of subunit III, even though subunit III is completely retained, in that suicide inactivation becomes much more probable. The rate of proton delivery to the active site remains rapid, ruling out slow proton uptake as the primary reason for increased suicide inactivation upon alteration of the lipid binding sites. We conclude that altering the lipid binding sites of subunit III may promote side reactions leading to suicide inactivation by allowing greater movement to occur in and around the O2 reduction site of subunit I during the catalytic cycle.

We review studies of subunit III-depleted cytochrome c oxidase (CcO III (−)) that elucidate the structural basis of steady-state proton uptake from solvent into an internal proton transfer pathway. The removal of subunit III from R. sphaeroides CcO makes proton uptake into the D pathway a rate-determining step, such that measurements of the pH dependence of steady-state O2 consumption can be used to compare the rate and functional pKa of proton uptake by D pathways containing different initial proton acceptors. The removal of subunit III also promotes spontaneous suicide inactivation by CcO, greatly shortening its catalytic lifespan. Because the probability of suicide inactivation is controlled by the rate at which the D pathway delivers protons to the active site, measurements of catalytic lifespan provide a second method to compare the relative efficacy of proton uptake by engineered CcO III (−) forms. These simple experimental systems have been used to explore general questions of proton uptake by proteins, such as the functional value of an initial proton acceptor, whether an initial acceptor must be surface-exposed, which side chains will function as initial proton acceptors and whether multiple acceptors can speed proton uptake.

Quercetin and phenylpropanoids are well known chemoprotective compounds identified in many plants. This study was aimed at determining their effects on activation of Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) antioxidant response element (Nrf2-ARE) signalling pathway and expression of its important downstream effector phase II detoxification enzyme glutathione-S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) in BJ foreskin fibroblasts and skin HaCaT keratinocytes. Cell lines and their corresponding Nrf2-ARE luciferase reporter cells were treated by ginger phenylpropanoids and quercetin for 10 h and the level of Nrf2 activity was subsequently determined. Both, ginger phenylpropanoids and quercetin, significantly increased the level of Nrf2 activity. Subsequent western blot analyses of proteins showed the increased expression level of glutathione-S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) in BJ cells but not in HaCaT cells. Such phenomenon of unresponsive downstream target expression in HaCaT cells was consistent with previous studies showing a constitutive expression of their GSTP1. Thus, while both ginger phenylpropanoids and quercetin have the property of increasing the level of Nrf2 both in HaCaT and in BJ cells, their effects on its downstream signalling were mediated only in BJ cells.

Eligibility to anti-HER2 therapy for breast tumors strictly depends on demonstrating HER2 overexpression (by immunohistochemistry) or HER2 gene amplification by in situ hybridization (ISH), usually defined by the ratio of HER2 gene to chromosome 17 centromere (CEP17) copies. However, the CEP17 copy number increase (CNI) has been proven responsible for misleading HER2 FISH results and recent small cohort studies suggest that chromosome 17 polysomy is actually very rare. Here we investigated by FISH the frequency of true chromosome 17 polysomy in a consecutive cohort of 5,477 invasive breast cancer patients. We evaluated and selected the LSI 17p11.2 probe for chromosome 17 enumeration on a training cohort of 67 breast cancer samples (CEP17 ≥ 2.5). LSI 17p11.2 was used in the 297/5,477 patients from the validation cohort displaying CEP17 CNI (CEP17 ≥ 3.0). Using HER2/17p11.2 scoring criteria, 37.3%/1.5% patients initially classified as equivocal/non-amplified were reclassified as amplified. For a more accurate assessment of chromosome 17 and ploidy in the samples, we tested six markers located on chromosome 17 and centromeric regions of chromosome 8 (CEP8) and 11 (CEP11) in 67 patients with CEP17 and LSI 17p11.2 CNI. True polysomy (hyperdiploidy) according to these markers was found in 0.48% of cases (24/5,020). CEP8 and CEP11 CNI (≥3.0) was more frequent in the hyperdiploid than CEP17 non-polysomic group (55.6% vs. 6.1% and 25% vs. 2.3%, respectively). Our results suggest that chromosome 17 polysomy is a rare event found in <1% breast cancer cases and that polysomy of other chromosomes frequently occurs with chromosome 17 polysomy.

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