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(Received for publication, March 14,
1995; and in revised form, September 22, 1995) From the
We studied the effect of ionizing radiation on the activation of
the AP-1 transcription factors and the regulation of basic fibroblast
growth factor (bFGF) gene expression in drug-sensitive human
breast carcinoma (MCF-7) cells and its drug-resistant variant
(MCF-7/ADR) cells. Northern blot and gel mobility shift assays showed
that 135 cGy of ionizing radiation induced c-jun and c-fos gene expression, AP-1 binding activity, as well as bFGF gene expression in MCF-7/ADR cells. In MCF-7 cells, however, we
observed little/no induction of bFGF gene expression and AP-1
binding activity after the stress. Nevertheless, MCF-7 cells
transfected with plasmids containing c-jun gene contain high
levels of bFGF protein. H-7 (60 µg/ml), a potent protein kinase C
(PKC) inhibitor, inhibited the stress-induced AP-1 binding activity and bFGF gene expression in MCF-7/ADR cells. Corroborating this
observation, overexpression of PKC
It has been known for many years that alteration of the micro-
or macroenvironment of a cell can trigger the highly complex cellular
stress management system. Recent studies have shown that, in addition
to the well known stress proteins, environmental stresses such as
ischemia/hypoxia (Plate et al., 1993; Millauer et
al., 1994), tumor promoters (Winkles et al., 1992), and
radiation (Witte et al., 1989; Haimovitz-Friedman et
al., 1991) are all stimuli for triggering the synthesis of
angiogenic factor(s). The observation of the induction of these
angiogenic proteins under these circumstances could have significant
implications on the process of tumorogenesis. Upon these stresses,
tumor cells may induce neovascularization by synthesizing and releasing
diffusible tumor-derived angiogenic factors such as vascular
endothelial growth factor and bFGF A fundamental question which remains
unanswered is how the stresses stimulate the synthesis of these
angiogenic factors. DNA sequencing studies suggest that angiogenic
factor-related genes such as bFGF contain AP-1 cis-acting regulatory elements (TPA response element: TRE)
(Kim et al., 1989a, 1989b; Shibata et al., 1991). In vitro DNA binding and in vivo footprinting
experiments demonstrated that these regulatory elements are recognized
by AP-1 transcription factors (Jun and Fos family proteins) (Angel et al., 1988; Deng and Karin, 1993). The activity of AP-1
transcription factor is regulated by the induction of jun and fos gene transcription and post-translational modification of
their products (Binetruy et al., 1991; Boyle et al.,
1991). Several researchers have reported that c-jun and
c-fos genes are expressed in response to a wide range of
stresses including heat shock exposure (Andrews et al., 1987;
Bukh et al., 1990), UV irradiation (Angel et al.,
1985; Hollander and Fornace, 1989; Stein et al., 1992),
ionizing radiation exposure (Sherman et al., 1990; Hallahan et al., 1991a), and treatment with chemical agents (Andrews et al., 1987; Hollander and Fornace, 1989; Shibanuma et
al., 1990) in mammalian cells. Moreover, these stresses also
increase AP-1 binding activity (Piette et al., 1988; Hallahan et al., 1993). Thus, we hypothesized that the stress-induced
activation of AP-1 transcription factors is responsible for the
expression of the bFGF gene as a result of exposure to ionizing
radiation. In this study, we also investigated differences between
drug-resistant and -sensitive human breast carcinoma MCF-7 cells in
response to ionizing radiation. We observed that the radiation-induced
expression of jun and fos genes, AP-1 binding
activity, as well as bFGF gene expression occurred more
prominently in drug-resistant MCF-7/ADR cells compared to
drug-sensitive MCF-7 cells. Nonetheless, there was no significant
differences in the cytotoxic effects of ionizing radiation between
these two cell lines.
Figure 1:
Accumulation of c-jun mRNA
after x-irradiation in MCF-7 or MCF-7/ADR cells. Cells were irradiated
with 135 cGy and incubated at 37 °C for the intervals (0.25, 0.5,
1.25, 3, 6, and 8 h) indicated at the bottom of each lane. Cells were
harvested and RNA was isolated. An equal amount of RNA (30 µg) was
loaded onto each lane of an agarose-formaldehyde gel for separation.
After separation, RNA was blotted onto a nitrocellulose membrane,
hybridized with
Figure 2:
Northern blots of c-jun and
c-fos mRNA after x-irradiation in MCF-7 or MCF-7/ADR cells (panel A) and quantitative analysis of c-jun mRNA (panel B). Cells were irradiated with 75 cGy and incubated at
37 °C for the intervals (0.25, 0.5, 1.25, 3, 6, and 8 h) indicated
at the bottom of each lane. Northern blot analysis was performed as
described in Fig. 1. C, RNA from untreated control
cells. GAPDH, GAPDH probe hybridized to the same blot to
verify RNA uniformity.
Figure 3:
Detection of AP-1 binding activity in
nuclear extracts from x-irradiated MCF-7 or MCF-7/ADR cells. Cells were
irradiated with 135 cGy and incubated at 37 °C for the intervals
indicated at the top of each lane (0.25-3 h). The gel
mobility-shift assay was performed with a
To confirm the presence of c-Jun,
which binds to the TRE in the bFGF promoter, anti-c-Jun antibody was
used to precipitate AP-1 complexes from nuclear extracts.
Protein-antibody complexes were removed by centrifugation. The AP-1
binding activity of nuclear extracts from x-irradiated cells was
decreased by adding anti-c-Jun antibody followed by a secondary
antibody (Fig. 4). These results confirmed that c-Jun protein is
involved in the observed AP-1 binding activity.
Figure 4:
Immunospecific inactivation of the AP-1
binding activity in nuclear extracts of MCF-7/ADR cells by anti-c-Jun
antibody. Nuclear extracts (5 µg) from control (odd
numbers) and x-irradiated (135 cGy) cells (even numbers)
were reacted with 0.5 µg of polyclonal antibody developed against
c-Jun (lanes 5, 6, 9, and 10) and
precipitated with 2.5 µg of goat anti-rabbit 2nd antibody (lanes 9 and 10). Nuclear extracts were used in the
assay without 4 °C incubation (lanes 1 and 2),
with 4 °C overnight incubation (lanes 3-10), or with
the addition of 2nd antibody only (lanes 7 and 8).
Gel mobility-shift assay was performed as described in Fig. 3. Closed arrow indicates AP-1 binding activity. Open arrow indicates free
Figure 5:
Northern blot analysis of bFGF mRNA from
x-irradiated MCF-7 and MCF-7/ADR cells. Cells were irradiated with 135
cGy and incubated at 37 °C for the intervals (0.25, 0.5, 1.25, 3,
6, and 8 h) indicated at the bottom of each lane. Northern blot
analysis was performed as described in Fig. 1. Arrows indicate the location and the size of bFGF mRNAs (kb) on the right side of the panel. C, RNA from untreated
control cells. GAPDH, the housekeeping gene, GAPDH mRNA. See
legend of Fig. 1for further
details.
Figure 6:
Western blots with an anti-c-Jun or
anti-bFGF antibody. MCF-7 cells were transfected with pRSV-c-Jun or
pCMV-c-Jun containing c-jun cDNA gene. Transient transfectants
were lysed with sample buffer. Equal amounts of protein (30 µg)
from cell lysates were separated by SDS-PAGE, transferred onto a
nitrocellulose membrane, and processed for immunoblotting with c-Jun
polyclonal antibody or bFGF monoclonal antibody. C, protein
from nontransfected control MCF-7 or MCF-7/ADR cells. Molecular weights
(
Figure 7:
The level of PKC protein (A) and
PKC activity (B) in MCF-7 or MCF-7/ADR cells. Panel
A, Western blot with an anti-PKC
Figure 8:
Effect of H-7 on the expression of
c-jun gene in MCF-7/ADR cells. No DRUG, cells were
irradiated with 135 cGy and incubated at 37 °C for the intervals
(0.25, 0.5, 1.25, 3, 6, and 8 h) indicated at the bottom of each lane. H-7, cells were treated with 60 µg/ml H-7 for 1 h before,
during, and after x-irradiation. Northern blot analysis was performed
as described in Fig. 1. C, RNA from untreated control
cells. GAPDH, internal standard GAPDH mRNA. See legend of Fig. 1for further details.
Figure 9:
Effect of H-7 or HA1004 on the
radiation-induced AP-1 binding activity in MCF-7/ADR cells. A,
untreated control cells. B, cells were irradiated with 135 cGy
and nucleoproteins were extracted immediately after irradiation. C, cells were irradiated and nucleoproteins were extracted 0.5
h after irradiation. D, cells were treated with 60 µg/ml
H-7 for 1 h before, during, and after irradiation. Nucleoproteins were
extracted 0.5 h after irradiation. E, cells were treated with
60 µg/ml HA1004 for 1 h before, during, and after irradiation.
Nucleoproteins were extracted 0.5 h after irradiation. The gel
mobility-shift assay was performed as described in Fig. 3. Closed arrow indicates AP-1 binding
activity.
Figure 10:
Effect of H-7 on bFGF gene
expression. NO DRUG, cells were irradiated with 135 cGy and
incubated at 37 °C for the intervals (0.25, 0.5, 1.25, 3, 6, and 8
h) indicated at the bottom of each lane. H-7, cells were
treated with 60 µg/ml H-7 for 1 h before, during, and after
irradiation. Incubation intervals after irradiation were shown at the
bottom of each lane. Northern blot analysis (panel A) and
quantitative analysis of 7-kb mRNA (panel B) were performed as
described in Fig. 1. Arrows indicate the location and
size of bFGF mRNAs (7, 3.7, 1.4 kb) on the left side of the
panel. C, RNA from untreated control cells. GAPDH,
GAPDH probe was used to confirm the amount and integrity of RNAs loaded
in each lane. See legend of Fig. 1for further
details.
Figure 11:
Expression of bFGF gene in MCF-7
cells which were transfected with the plasmid containing the bovine PKC
The effect of H-7 on
c-jun gene expression, AP-1 binding activity, and bFGF gene expression was investigated in MCF-7/ADR cells (Fig. 8Fig. 9Fig. 10). H-7 (60 µg/ml) markedly
suppressed the levels of c-jun, whereas the drug did not
affect the GAPDH mRNA level (H-7 in Fig. 8). Data from
gel mobility-shift assay demonstrated that treatment with H-7 (60
µg/ml) significantly suppressed the radiation-induced AP-1 binding
activity (lane D in Fig. 9). In contrast, HA1004 (60
µg/ml), an H-7 analogue that is a potent inhibitor of cAMP and
cGMP-dependent protein kinases and a weak inhibitor of PKC, did not
suppress the radiation-induced increase in the AP-1 binding activity (lane E in Fig. 9). Northern blot and quantitative
analysis in Fig. 10demonstrated a 2-fold or more reduction of
the 7 kb bFGF mRNA level in the presence of 60 µg/ml H-7.
To confirm the role of PKC
Figure 12:
Effect of H-7 on the radiation
dose-survival curves of MCF-7 and MCF-7/ADR cells. Panel A,
x-ray survival curves for untreated MCF-7 and MCF-7/ADR cells. Panel B, MCF-7 cells were treated with H-7 (60 µg/ml) for
1 h before and during irradiation. Panel C, MCF-7/ADR cells
were treated with H-7 (60 µg/ml) for 1 h before and during
irradiation. NO DRUG, untreated control cells. Point,
mean of four separate experiments; Error bars, one standard
deviation of the data for each point.
Our data from Fig. 1Fig. 2Fig. 3demonstrated that ionizing
radiation activated the expression of jun and fos genes and increased AP-1 binding activity in human breast cancer
cells, particularly multidrug-resistant MCF-7/ADR cells. Our
observations are consistent with results obtained in human epithelial
cells (Hallahan et al., 1991a) and human sarcoma cell line
RIT-3 (Hallahan et al., 1993). Several researchers have also
reported that UV radiation or H Stress-induced AP-1 binding activity is due to the
posttranslational modification of both newly synthesized and
preexisting Jun and Fos proteins (Boyle et al., 1991; Smeal et al., 1991). c-Jun contains three domains: a DNA binding
domain, a transcription activation domain, and a regulatory domain. In
the unstimulated state, c-Jun is constitutively phosphorylated by
glycogen synthase kinase-3 or casein kinase II at serines (Ser-243 and
Ser-249) and threonines (Thr-231 and Thr-239) close to its C-terminal
DNA binding domain. Phosphorylation in this region markedly reduces the
DNA binding and transcription ability of c-Jun (Boyle et al.,
1991). Dephosphorylation in this region occurs upon stresses such as
phorbol ester tumor promoter TPA treatment (Boyle et al.,
1991) and UV irradiation (Devary et al., 1992) and results in
enhanced AP-1 binding activity. Boyle et al.(1991) reported
that TPA-activated PKC is responsible for site-specific
dephosphorylation of c-Jun. It has been known that PKC can be activated
by stress such as heat shock (Wooten, 1991) and ionizing radiation
(Hallahan et al., 1991b). Our data (Fig. 7) and Lee et al.(1992) showed that MCF-7/ADR cells contain markedly
elevated amounts of PKC Several
researchers have suggested that PKC mediates stress-induced bFGF gene expression. Tumor promoters such as phorbol 12-myristate
13-acetate, mezerein, and phorbol 12,13-didecanoate activate PKC. These
promoters induce the accumulation of bFGF mRNA and its protein
in human dermal fibroblasts (Winkles et al., 1992). The
enhancement of bFGF gene expression by these tumor promoters
is reduced by treatment with H-7. These results are consistent with our
observations, which demonstrate the reduction of x-ray-induced bFGF gene expression by H-7 (Fig. 10). Although the dose of H-7
(60 µg/ml) we use is relatively specific for PKC, we cannot rule
out H-7 as a general kinase inhibitor. Nonetheless, these results and
data from Fig. 11strongly indicate that the x-ray-induced bFGF gene expression is likely mediated through activation of
PKC. Data from Fig. 3, Fig. 5, Fig. 9, and Fig. 10also show a good correlation between the AP-1 binding
activity and an increase in bFGF gene expression. Moreover, Fig. 6shows that bFGF level was elevated in cells which were
transfected with plasmids containing human c-jun cDNA. Taken
together, our data have indicated that the enhancement of bFGF gene
expression is related to an increase in PKC and AP-1 binding activity
after ionizing radiation exposure. We believe that many critical
questions still remain to be answered to understand the mechanisms of
regulation of bFGF gene expression after x-irradiation.
However, our proposed model will provide important information to
understand how environmental stresses induce bFGF gene
expression and subsequently lead to tumor angiogenesis. This model will
also provide a framework to study the critical steps in tumor
development and metastasis.
Volume 270,
Number 48,
Issue of December 1, 1995 pp. 28790-28796
©1995 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.
induced bFGF gene
expression in MCF-7 cells. Taken together, these results suggest that
stress-induced bFGF gene expression is mediated through the
activation of PKC and AP-1 transcription factors. Differences in the
levels of PKC activity and AP-1 binding factors may be responsible for
differential expression of bFGF among breast cancer cell lines.
Although there are large differences in response to ionizing radiation
between MCF-7 and MCF-7/ADR cell lines, we observed no significant
differences in radiocytotoxicity between them.
(Shing et al.,
1985; Klagsbrun et al., 1986; Plate et al., 1993;
Soutter et al., 1993).
Cell Culture
Human breast carcinoma (MCF-7) and
its multidrug-resistant subline (MCF-7/ADR) cells (S. H. Kim, Henry
Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI) were cultured in McCoy's 5a medium
with 10% iron-supplemented bovine calf serum (HyClone Laboratories,
Logan, UT) and 26 mM sodium bicarbonate for monolayer cell
culture. Two or 3 days prior to the experiment, cells were plated into
35-mm Petri dishes, T-150 flasks, or T-75 flasks. The Petri
dishes/flasks containing cells were kept in a 37 °C humidified
incubator with a mixture of 95% air and 5% CO
.Radiation Exposure
Cells were irradiated at room
temperature with a GE Maximar 250-III orthovoltage x-ray unit (General
Electric, Chicago, IL) at a dose rate of 1.17 Gy/min. The tube voltage
is 250 kVp, current was 15 mA, and added filtration was 0.25 mm Cu.Northern Blot Analysis
Relative levels of
c-jun, c-fos, and bFGF mRNA were determined
using the Northern blot technique. Total cellular RNA was extracted by
the LiCl-urea method of Tushinski et al.(1977). For RNA
analysis, 30 µg of total RNA was electrophoresed in a 1%
agarose-formaldehyde gel (Lehrach et al., 1977). The RNA was
blotted from the gels onto nitrocellulose membrane, and baked at 80
°C for 2 h in a vacuum oven. Membranes were prehybridized at 42
°C in 50% formamide, 1 Denhardt's solution, 25 mM KPO
(pH 7.4), 5 SSC (1
SSC =
150 mM NaCl, 15 mM
Na
C
H
O
), 50 µg/ml
denatured and fragmented salmon sperm DNA. Hybridizations were
conducted at 42 °C in prehybridization solution containing 10%
dextran sulfate and radiolabeled appropriate cDNA probes (Oncogene
Science, Uniondale, NY) at a concentration of 4 10
cpm/ml. After hybridization, blots were washed and placed into a
stainless steel cassette with intensifying screen and then
autoradiographed. The films were scanned with a computerized laser
scanning densitometer (model 300A; Molecular Dynamics, Sunnyvale, CA).
Quantitative measurement was performed with this instrument.Preparation of Nuclear Proteins
Cells in T-150
culture flasks were rinsed twice with cold phosphate-buffered saline
(PBS) and scraped into 10 ml of PBS. Cells were collected by
centrifugation at 250 g for 5 min. The pellet was
resuspended in buffer A (10 mM HEPES, pH 8.0, 0.5 M
sucrose, 50 mM NaCl, 1 mM EDTA, 0.5 mM spermidine, 0.15 mM spermine, 1 mM
phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, 7 mM
-mercaptoethanol, and
0.5% Triton X-100) and incubated on ice for 10 min. The nuclei were
collected by centrifugation for 10 min at 1000 g. The
nuclear pellet was rinsed twice with 5 ml buffer A and resuspended in
0.5 ml of buffer B containing 100 mM NaCl (10 mM HEPES, pH 8.0, 25% glycerol, 1 mM EDTA, 0.5 mM spermidine, 0.15 mM spermine, 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, and 7 mM
-mercaptoethanol). After 15 min of gentle agitation on ice,
the nuclei were centrifuged at 200 g for 10 min and
resuspended in 0.6 ml of buffer B containing 0.5 M NaCl. After
30 min of incubation on ice with occasional gentle agitation, the
nuclei were pelleted at 2000
g for 10 min and
supernatant was brought to 45% saturation with
(NH
)
SO
. The precipitated proteins
were collected by centrifugation in a microcentrifuge at 14,000 rpm for
30 min, and finally the pellet was resuspended in 100 µl buffer B
containing 100 mM NaCl. The protein content of the resulted
nuclear extract was determined by Bradford assay (Bradford, 1976).Gel Mobility-shift Assay
A double-stranded
oligonucleotide, the TRE-like sequence (GAG TTT AAA CTT TTA AAA GTT GAG
TCA CGG CTG GTT G) of the human bFGF gene (Shibata et
al., 1991), was used in the binding reaction. The binding assay
contained 2-5 µg of nuclear extract, 1 µg of
poly(dI-dC)poly(dI-dC), and 0.5 ng of
P-labeled
double-stranded oligonucleotide in 10 mM HEPES, pH 8.0, 15%
glycerol, 2 mM EDTA, 0.5 mM spermidine, 20 mM NaCl, 4 mM MgCl
, 2 mM dithiothreitol. The assay mixture was incubated at room
temperature for 15 min in a final volume of 25 µl. After the
incubation, 5 µl of 6 dye solution (0.1% bromphenol blue,
30% glycerol) was added to the reactions and the samples were
immediately loaded and electrophoresed on a nondenaturing 4.5%
polyacrylamide gel for 2.5 h at 140 V in 0.5
TBE (1
TBE: 89 mM Tris, 89 mM boric acid, and 2.5
mM EDTA). After electrophoresis, gels were dried in a slab gel
dryer for 1.5 h at 80 °C and autoradiographed on Fuji RX x-ray
film.
Immunoprecipitation of AP-1 Binding
Factor
Involvement of c-Jun in AP-1 binding activity was
determined by immunoprecipitation technique. Affinity purified
polyclonal antibody (0.5 µg) against c-Jun protein (Oncogene
Science) was added to 5 µg of nuclear extract and incubated at room
temperature for 1 h. After the incubation, 2.5 µg of
affinity-purified goat anti-rabbit IgG was added to the samples and
incubated overnight at 4 °C. Protein-antibody complexes were
removed by centrifugation in a microcentrifuge at top speed for 10 min,
and the supernatant was used in gel mobility shift assays.Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (PAGE)
Samples
were mixed with 2 Laemmli lysis buffer (1
buffer: 2.4 M glycerol, 0.14 M Tris, pH 6.8, 0.21 M sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), 0.3 mM bromphenol blue),
and boiled for 5-15 min. Protein content was measured with BCA
protein assay reagent (Pierce). The samples were diluted with 1
lysis buffer containing 1.28 M
-mercaptoethanol and an
equal amount of protein (30 µg) was applied to a one-dimensional
PAGE. Electrophoresis was carried out on 10-18% linear gradient
SDS-polyacrylamide gels (Walker 1984).Western Blot
Proteins that were separated by
SDS-PAGE were transferred onto a nitrocellulose membrane by
electroblotting. The transfer was performed at a current of 0.12 A and
30 V for overnight. The membrane was incubated in blocking solution (3%
BSA) for 1 h at 25 °C, washed, and then incubated with the v-Jun
polyclonal antibody (Oncogene Science, 1:130 dilution), the bFGF
monoclonal antibody (Santa Cruz Biotech, Santa Cruz, CA, 1:50
dilution), or the protein kinase C (PKC)
polyclonal antibody
(Life Technologies, Inc., 1:500 dilution). After incubation with the
primary antibody, the membrane was washed, and incubated with alkaline
phosphatase-conjugated rabbit anti-mouse IgG or goat anti-rabbit IgG in
the diluting solution (1:2,000) for 1-2 h. The membrane was then
stained using nitro blue tetrazolium and 5`-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl
phosphate.Drug
Treatment
1-(5-Isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H-7), N-(2-guanidinoethyl)-5-isoquinolinesulfonamide (HA1004), and
12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) were obtained from
Sigma. Drug treatment was accomplished by aspirating the medium and
replacing it with medium containing the drug. The drug treatment was
terminated by aspiration and rinsing with Hanks' balanced salt
solution.Measurement of PKC Activity
Amersham's PKC
enzyme assay system was used to determine PKC activity. Cells were
mixed with extraction buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.5, 5 mM EDTA, 10 mM EGTA, 0.3% w/v
-mercaptoethanol, 50
µg/ml phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, 1 µg/ml leupeptin),
sonicated, and then centrifuged. Supernatants were saved and mixed with
glycerol for storage. Protein content was determined by the Bradford
method(1976). The reaction buffer (calcium buffer, lipid, peptide
buffer, and dithiothreitol buffer) was added to the sample
(50-100 µg of protein). The reaction was started by adding
[-
P]ATP and continued for 15 min at 25
°C. The reaction was terminated by adding the stop reagent.
c-jun Gene Transfection
Exponentially growing
cells were plated 2 days before experiments at a concentration of 4
10
cells/60-mm culture dish. Cells were transfected
with an expression vector (10 µg) containing the c-jun gene (pRSV-c-Jun or pCMV-c-Jun) from Dr. Robert Tjian's
laboratory (Baichwal and Tjian, 1990) by calcium phosphate transfection
technique and incubated for 12 h at 37 °C. After transfection,
cells were rinsed with PBS, incubated for 36 h, and then harvested.MCF-7 Cells Overexpressing PKC
MCF-7 cells
transfected with PKC![]()
were generously provided by Dr. D. Kirk Ways
(Ways et al., 1995). Briefly, MCF-7 cells were cotransfected
with the neomycin resistance pMAM-neo plasmid and either the
pSV
M(2)6 vector without the insert (MCF-7-vector) or
containing a full-length cDNA encoding PKC
(MCF-7-PKC
) by
calcium phosphate precipitation. After transfection, cells were
selected with 750 µg/ml G418 for 6 weeks.Survival Determination
Cell survival was assayed
by the colony-forming ability of individual cells to obtain
quantitative dose survival curves. Each experiment was repeated four
times and plating efficiency was in the range of 59-77%.
Radiation-induced c-jun and c-fos Gene
Expression
Northern blots in Fig. 1A and 2A show the level of c-jun and c-fos mRNA after
x-ray exposure in adriamycin-sensitive (MCF-7) and -resistant
(MCF-7/ADR) cells. Note that differences in RNA loading were examined
by rehybridizing the nitrocellulose membranes with the house keeping
gene, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) probe. The level
of c-jun and c-fos mRNA increased rapidly and reached
a maximal value within 0.25-0.5 h after irradiation with 135 cGy (Fig. 1) or 75 cGy (Fig. 2) in MCF-7/ADR cells. Data from
densitometer analysis (Fig. 1B and 2B) show
that MCF-7/ADR cells contained a 2-6-fold elevated level of
c-jun mRNA 0.5 h after irradiation. Similar results were
observed in MCF-7 cells. However, the level of both mRNAs in MCF-7 was
lower than that detected in MCF-7/ADR cells ( Fig. 1and Fig. 2).
P-labeled probes for c-jun and
GAPDH mRNA, and autoradiographed (panel A). The
autoradiography of c-jun mRNA was analyzed with a densitometer (panel B). C, RNA from untreated control cells. GAPDH, GAPDH probe was used to verify the equivalent amounts
and integrity of RNAs loaded in each lane. Autoradiograms were all from
the same blot, which was stripped and rehybridized with different
probes.
Radiation-induced AP-1 Binding Activity
Gel
mobility-shift assays in Fig. 3show that AP-1 binding activity
to a TPA responsive element (TRE; AP-1 binding site) sequence of the
bFGF promoter was enhanced by radiation or TPA. We also observed that
the level of radiation-induced AP-1 binding activity in MCF-7/ADR cells
was much higher than that of MCF-7 cells. The AP-1 binding activity was
shown to be highly specific to TRE in competition assays when the
addition of 200 molar excess of unlabeled AP-1 abolished the
radioactive signal from P-labeled AP-1 transcription
factors and TRE complex (AP-1 in Fig. 3). The specificity of
AP-1 binding activity was also shown by failure to bind to unlabeled
nonspecific oligonucleotides, e.g. SP1 consensus binding
sequence (SP-1 in Fig. 3).
P-labeled AP-1
oligonucleotide and nuclear extracts (5 µg) prepared from
irradiated cells. Competition assays were performed by adding a
200-fold molar excess of an unlabeled AP-1 or an unlabeled SP1
oligonucleotide. C, nuclear extracts from untreated control
cells. TPA, nuclear extracts from cells treated with 1
µg/ml TPA for 1 h. Closed arrow indicates AP-1 binding
activity. Open arrow indicates free
P-labeled
oligonucleotide fragment (FREE).
P-labeled oligonucleotide fragment (FREE).
Radiation-induced bFGF Gene Expression
Data
presented in Fig. 5show that x-radiation induces bFGF mRNA.
Although the bFGF gene is known to be a single copy and is located on
human chromosome 4 (Mergia et al., 1986), primer extension
analysis indicates that one start site is used to transcribe three
sizes of bFGF mRNA (1.4, 3.7, and 7 kb) (Shibata et al.,
1991). Our data from Northern blot assays confirmed the presence of
three sizes of bFGF mRNA. Radiation elevated the level of bFGF mRNA in
MCF-7/ADR cells. However, bFGF gene expression was not detected in
MCF-7 cells. This variance may be due to the differences in the level
of AP-1 transcription factor, and PKC
. This hypothesis was tested
as described below.
Involvement of c-Jun in the Regulation of bFGF Gene
Expression
Data from transfection experiments demonstrated that
MCF-7 cells that were transfected with the plasmids pRSV-c-Jun or
pCMV-c-Jun containing the human c-jun gene contained an
elevated level of bFGF protein (Fig. 6). These results were
consistent with observations in MCF-7/ADR cells, which contain
relatively high levels of c-Jun and bFGF proteins (ADR in Fig. 6). Note that multiple sizes of bFGF protein originate from
the use of the AUG codon as well as novel CUG translation initiation
codons (Florkiewicz and Sommer, 1989). Consistent results were also
obtained from MCF-7/ADR cells transfected with the pCMV-c-Jun
DNA vector, which contains a DNA binding domain
defective c-Jun mutant gene (data not shown). The elevated level of
mutant c-Jun protein resulted in the reduction of the AP-1 binding
activity and bFGF protein level (data not shown).
10
) are shown on the right.
Involvement of PKC
The Western blot in Fig. 7A demonstrated that the amount of PKC
in the Regulation of bFGF Gene
Expression
in MCF-7/ADR cells was
6.5-fold higher than that in MCF-7 cells as determined by densitometer. Fig. 7B also showed a 5-7-fold elevation in the
level of PKC activity in MCF-7/ADR cells compared to that of MCF-7
cells. The possible involvement of PKC in the regulation of bFGF gene
expression was studied by employing H-7, a potent PKC inhibitor (Fig. 8Fig. 9Fig. 10) or treatment with PKC
antisense oligonucleotides (Fig. 11).
polyclonal antibody. Lysates
from equal amounts of protein (30 µg) were separated by SDS-PAGE,
transferred onto a nitrocellulose membrane and processed for
immunoblotting with PKC
antibody. Molecular weight (
10
) is shown on the right. Panel B, PKC
activity was measured by using an Amersham PKC assay kit. Data from two
separate experiments are plotted.
cDNA. Panel A, Western blot analysis was
performed as described in Fig. 7. MCF-7, parental MCF-7
cells; MCF-7-vector, MCF-7 cells were transfected with
pSV
M(2)6 vector without the insert of PKC
gene; MCF-7-PKC
, MCF-7 cells were transfected with
pSV
M(2)6 vector containing PKC
encoding cDNA; MCF-7/ADR, multidrug-resistant MCF-7/ADR cells. Molecular
weight (10) is shown on the right. Panel B, Northern blot analysis of mRNA from x-irradiated
MCF-7-vector and MCF-7-PKC
cells. Cells were irradiated with 135
cGy and then incubated for various times (0.25-8 h) indicated at
the bottom of each lane. Northern blot analysis was performed as
described in Fig. 1. The apparent reduction of the bFGF mRNA level in MCF-7-PKC
3 h after irradiation was the result
of underloading of the sample. Arrows indicate the location
and the size of bFGF mRNAs (kb) or rRNA on the right or left side of the panel, respectively. C, RNA
from unirradiated control cells. GAPDH, internal standard
GAPDH mRNA.
in the regulation of bFGF gene
expression, MCF-7 cells were transfected with plasmid
pSV
M(2)6 containing bovine PKC
cDNA (Fig. 11). As compared to either parental MCF-7 or MCF-7-vector
cells, PKC
was overexpressed approximately 5-fold in
MCF-7-PKC
cells as determined by densitometric analysis (Fig. 11A). Interestingly, MCF-7-PKC
cells
displayed bFGF gene expression as detected by Northern blot
analysis (lane C of MCF-7-PKC
in Fig. 11B). Elevated levels of c-Jun and c-Fos proteins
were also observed in MCF-7-PKC
cells (data not shown). Moreover,
the level of bFGF mRNA increased after irradiation with 135 cGy in
MCF-7-PKC
cells.Effect of H-7 on Radiation-induced
Cytotoxicity
Several studies have shown that bFGF protects
endothelial cells against the lethal effects of ionizing radiation
(Haimovitz-Friedman et al., 1991; Fuks et al., 1994).
The radioprotective effect of bFGF is shown to be mediated by PKC
activation and it can be abrogated by H-7 (Haimovitz-Friedman et
al., 1994). Thus, our results raised a potentially important
question. Given the large differences in the level of PKC
and the
response of AP-1 factors and bFGF to ionizing radiation between MCF-7
and MCF-7/ADR cell lines, are MCF-7/ADR cells resistant to the
cytotoxic effects of ionizing radiation? Second, can the effect be
blocked by a PKC inhibitor? Data from Fig. 12A showed
that there was no inherent differences in radiosensitivity between
MCF-7 and MCF-7/ADR cells as displayed by cell survival curves. In
addition, survival curves were still essentially superimposable for all
radiation doses in the absence/presence of H-7 in both cell lines (Fig. 12, B and C). At the present time, only
speculation can be made concerning these discrepancies. The lack of
radioprotection in MCF-7/ADR cells suggests that extracellular bFGF
rather than intracellular bFGF may have an important role in the
radioprotection.
O
treatment
stimulates the expression of both c-jun and c-fos, as
well as AP-1 binding activity in HeLa S3 cells (Devary et al.,
1991). Transcriptional activation of the c-jun gene is exerted
through the distal and proximal AP-1 binding sites (TRE) in its
promoter (Angel et al., 1988). In vitro DNA binding
and in vivo footprinting experiments demonstrated that TRE is
recognized by either c-Jun homodimers (Angel et al., 1988:
Deng and Karin, 1993) or c-Jun/activating transcription factor-2
heterodimer (van Dam et al., 1993, Herr et al.,
1994). The transcriptional activity of these binding factors is
stimulated by the phosphorylation of c-Jun (Binetruy et al.,
1991; Devary et al., 1992; Pulverer et al., 1991;
Smeal et al., 1991, 1992) and possibly activating
transcription factor-2 (Abdel-Hafiz et al., 1992). Studies
from Datta et al.(1992) suggest that x-ray-induced
transcriptional activation of the c-jun gene is mediated
through the formation of reactive oxygen intermediates and PKC is
involved in the signal pathway. Our data from Fig. 8and
Hallahan et al. (1991a) demonstrated that treatment with
isoquinolinesulfonamide derivative H-7, a potent PKC inhibitor, prior
to radiation attenuated the increase in c-jun transcripts. The
transcriptional regulation of c-fos is not identical to that
of c-jun. The induction of c-fos transcription is mediated by
two major cis-elements: the serum response element (SRE) and
the v-sis conditioned medium induction element. The SRE is
recognized and stably bound by a homodimer of serum response factor
(Treisman, 1986). The binary SRE-serum response factor complex
interacts with another factor, the ternary complex factor (TCF)
(Treisman, 1992). The TCF, which belongs to the family of E26
transformation-specific (Ets) proteins (Dalton and Treisman, 1992), is
homologous to Elk-1 (Hipskind et al., 1991). The activity of
TCF is rapidly increased in response to cell stimulation with various
agents, such as growth factors, which lead to mitogen-activated protein
kinase activation. Mitogen-activated protein kinase, also known as the
extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) can be activated by
UV and x-irradiation (Radler-Pohl et al., 1993; Stevenson et al., 1994). It appears to be responsible for the
phosphorylation of TCF (Gille et al., 1992; Marais et
al., 1993) and subsequently its transcriptional activity (Zinck et al., 1993). The activity of v--sis-inducible
factor, which binds to serum induction element is also enhanced by
phosphorylation. However, it is regulated by a different signaling
pathway: a cytoplasmic protein tyrosine kinase (Nordheim et
al., 1994).
. These observations suggest that
differences in the level of PKC
and the level of AP-1
transcription factors (c-Jun and c-Fos) may be responsible for the
differential effects of stress on various cell types.
)
©1995 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.
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