![]()
|
|
||||||||
J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 278, Issue 23, 20475-20479, June 6, 2003
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||


¶
||
From the
The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins and ¶The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21231
Received for publication, December 23, 2002 , and in revised form, March 19, 2003.
| ABSTRACT |
|---|
|
|
|---|
| INTRODUCTION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Although the relative importance of individual residues to p53 activation remains under active study, phosphorylation of serine 20 appears to be essential for p53 stabilization (8, 9). Upstream serine/threonine kinases that perform this phosphorylation are believed to be essential components of the signaling pathway that leads to the post-transcriptional activation of p53. Among the cellular kinases that can phosphorylate p53 at serine 20 is the product of the CHK2 gene (6, 10), which is mutated in a subset of kindreds with the Li-Fraumeni-like syndrome (LFLS) (11, 12). LFLS overlaps clinically with Li-Fraumeni syndrome (LFS), a cancer-prone disease caused by inherited mutations in the TP53 gene. The DNA damage-dependent activation of Chk2 kinase, in turn, has been found to require the kinase activity of ATM (13, 14, 15), encoded by the gene that is defective in patients with another inherited cancer syndrome called ataxia telangiectasia (16). Taken together, the cancer-prone phenotypes of kindreds with mutations in the ATM, CHK2, or TP53 genes and the biochemical data have given rise to the idea that these genes function along a linear pathway in mammalian cells (17). In support of this model, IR-dependent activation of Chk2 kinase and up-regulation of p53 are both defective in fibroblasts derived from ataxia telangiectasia patients and in murine ATM/ cells (16). Moreover, it has been reported that IR fails to activate p53-dependent transcription in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) deficient in Chk2 (18). However, re-examination of these MEFs (19) and independently derived MEFs (20) has led to somewhat different conclusions. A recent study of the relationship between the homologs of CHK2 and TP53 in Drosophila, DmCHK2, and DmP53, respectively, has shown that DmChk2 activity is required for Dmp53-mediated apoptosis (21). Evolutionary conservation of the regulation of p53 function by Chk2 would support the idea that Chk2 is required for p53 responses in human cells.
Although the model of a linear ATM-Chk2-p53 pathway is attractive, recent studies of CHK2 and TP53 mutations in human cancers prompted us to evaluate this model in human cells. In particular, the most frequent CHK2 variant described in LFLS kindreds, the 1110delC mutation, is also found in
1% of the total population and thus must be a very low penetrance allele (22). By contrast, germline TP53 mutations are invariably high penetrance alleles that result in the severe cancer predisposition phenotype typical of LFS. In addition, the linear pathway model predicts an epistatic relationship between CHK2 and TP53, i.e. mutation of both genes in a single tumor should be extremely rare, as rare as concurrent alterations in APC and CTNNB1 (
-catenin) (23), RB1 and CDKN2A (p16) (24), MDM2 and TP53 (25), or KRAS (c-Ki-ras) and BRAF genes (26). However, the coexistence of mutations in CHK2 and TP53 has been documented in multiple human cancers (27, 28), including a well characterized colorectal cancer cell line (HCT-15; also called DLD-1) (11, 29).
Alternatively, if CHK2 is not required for, but only partially contributes to, p53 stabilization, the coincidence of mutations in TP53 and CHK2 might not be unexpected. The finding of a partial requirement of Chk2 in a non-linear p53 stabilization pathway would make it difficult to understand how CHK2 mutation alone might cause the marked phenotype of LFLS. To evaluate the contribution of human Chk2 kinase to p53 responses in an unambiguous manner, we chose to examine human colorectal cancer cells in which CHK2 had been disrupted through gene targeting, as described below.
| EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Targeted Deletion of the Human CHK2 LocusThe targeting constructs pCHK2ex6a and pCHK2ex6b.1 were made by PCR, using bacterial artificial chromosome clone RP11444G7 (Research Genetics) as the template. Homology regions were cloned into a bipartite gene-targeting system that has an additional recombination site designed into the neomycin resistance gene (30). Transfection, selection, and PCR screening were performed as described (30) using Chk243 (denoted as a in Fig. 1B) and NEOreverse primers. Following isolation of heterozygous targeted clones the neomycin-resistance gene was excised by infection with an adenovirus expressing cre recombinase. A second round of gene targeting was then performed, yielding three independently isolated clones in which both alleles of CHK2 had been disrupted. All clones gave identical results in the experiments reported here. Details of the vector design and sequences of all PCR primers are available from the authors upon request.
|
Irradiation and Drug TreatmentCells were grown as subconfluent monolayers in T-25 flasks and exposed to a 137Cs source that delivered a measured dose of 0.8 Gy/min. Where indicated, nocodazole was added to the cell culture medium at a final concentration of 0.2 µg/ml immediately following irradiation. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) was used at a final concentration of 50 µg/ml.
Immunoblotting and Northern BlottingIn preparation for immunoblotting, cells were harvested and lysed in HB2 buffer as described (30). Protein extracts were resolved via SDS-PAGE and transferred to polyvinylidene difluoride membranes. Antibodies specific for Chk2 and Chk1 were obtained from Santa Cruz Biotechnology. Phosphoepitope-specific antibodies were obtained from Cell Signaling Technology. Electrophoresis and hybridization of total RNA was performed as described (31).
Cell Cycle AnalysisCells were collected by incubation in trypsin/EDTA, pelleted by centrifugation, and fixed in a solution containing 3.7% formaldehyde, 0.5% Nonidet P-40, and 10 µg/ml Hoechst 33258 in phosphate-buffered saline. 10,000 cells were analyzed per sample on a flow cytometer (BD Biosciences). Mitotic indices were determined by visual scoring of at least 300 nuclei.
| RESULTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
abrogates one or both of these checkpoints (35), confirming the integrity of the DNA damage response pathway and its dependence on p53 in the parent HCT116 cells. Examination of the CHK2 genomic locus revealed a total of 15 exons, including a previously unreported exon that lies upstream of the first coding exon. The targeting constructs were designed so that 160 bp of genomic sequence within the encoded kinase homology domain was deleted upon homologous recombination (Fig. 1A). Because a number of CHK2-related pseudogenes containing significant homology to exons 1215 have been identified (36), we intentionally restricted our targeting strategy to the proximal exons (Fig. 1B). Even if the resulting allele were expressed, it would encode a truncated protein that would be predicted to be catalytically inactive. Two sequential rounds of targeting were carried out as described under "Experimental Procedures." Successful targeting of both CHK2 alleles was initially assessed by PCR and confirmed in multiple independent clones by genomic Southern blotting (Fig. 1C). In these clones, no Chk2 protein, either full-length or truncated, was detected using three different antibodies directed against the amino terminus of Chk2, including one that recognizes phosphorylation of threonine 68 and thus would be expected to detect the presence of a truncated phosphoprotein if it had been present (Fig. 2A).
|
Following exposure to DNA damaging agents such as IR, parental HCT116 cells undergo growth arrest in the G1 and G2 phases of the cell cycle (33), as is typical of many cell types that harbor wild type p53. Within one hour after IR treatment, activated upstream kinases phosphorylate p53 and Chk2 in a fashion similar to that of other cell types that have been described (Fig. 2, A and B). This phosphorylation is accompanied by a sustained and dramatic accumulation of p53 protein over a period of several hours (Fig. 2B). Pretreatment of cells with caffeine prevents both serine 20 phosphorylation and p53 stabilization in response to IR (37), supporting the hypothesis that these events are functionally linked. Notably, in CHK2/ cells, p53 accumulated to high levels with time (Fig. 2B). In addition, this accumulation of p53 was accompanied by robust phosphorylation of p53 on serine 20 (Fig. 2C). The kinetics and amplitude of these responses were essentially identical in CHK2/ cells and their isogenic wild type controls.
Robust induction of p53 was evident within3hof exposure to 12 Gy of IR (Fig. 2B). We took advantage of this observation to determine whether CHK2/ cells could up-regulate p53 levels in response to lower doses of IR. Throughout the broad range of doses, p53 was consistently induced to a similar extent, regardless of CHK2 status (Fig. 2D).
IR-mediated activation of p53 results in transcriptional activation of downstream target genes. The most well known of these p53 targets is the p21 cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, which participates in the G1 and G2 arrest phenotypes associated with wild type p53 function (34). We found that p21 was induced to equivalent levels in wild type and Chk2-deficient cells (Fig. 2B), indicating that p53 was not only stabilized by IR but also functioned as a transcriptional activator.
One of the most important results of p53 deficiency is the failure to implement cell cycle checkpoints. Following IR treatment, we observed a clear diminution of cells in S phase in both CHK2+/+ and CHK2/ cells. Cells arrested into stable populations with either 2N or 4N DNA content, regardless of genotype. These results indicated that the G1/S checkpoint was intact despite the lack of Chk2 protein (Fig. 3A).
|
We performed several experiments to evaluate the ability of CHK2/ cells to initiate and maintain a G2 arrest following IR. First, we measured the ability of irradiated cells to block entry into mitosis immediately following IR treatment. Initiation of this pre-mitotic block is thought to be mediated by phosphorylation of the Cdc25C phosphatase on serine 216, which sequesters Cdc25C in the cytoplasm and prevents activation of mitotic cyclin B/Cdc2 kinase in irradiated cells (38). In vitro, Cdc25C can be phosphorylated on this site by either Chk2 or Chk1 kinases (14, 39). Within 1 h of IR exposure, both CHK2+/+ and CHK2/ cells had phosphorylated Cdc25C on serine 216 (Fig. 2A) and blocked entry into mitosis (Fig. 3B), demonstrating that the ability to initiate G2 arrest is independent of CHK2 status.
To assess the long-term maintenance of this G2 arrest, we incubated IR-treated cells in the presence of nocodazole. We previously showed that p53-deficient cells fail to maintain the G2 checkpoint after IR treatment and eventually progress into mitosis (34). In contrast, however, very few Chk2-deficient cells entered mitosis, similar to wild type cells (Fig. 3C). We conclude that the maintenance of the G2 cell cycle checkpoint was unaffected by targeting CHK2, even though this checkpoint was markedly altered in HCT116 cells in which the TP53 gene had been analogously targeted (34).
The activation of p53 under certain conditions results in apoptosis rather than growth arrest (40). In HCT116 cells, the apoptotic response is strongly elicited by the chemotherapeutic agent 5-FU (41), the mainstay of colorectal cancer chemotherapy. This apoptotic response is absolutely dependent on functional p53 (41) and its downstream transcriptional target, ferredoxin reductase (FDXR) (31). In both CHK2+/+ and CHK2/ cells, 5-FU exposure triggered the phosphorylation of serine 20 and a dramatic accumulation of p53 protein (Fig. 4B). The end result was strong up-regulation of FDXR transcripts and high levels of apoptotic cell death (Fig. 4A) in both wild type and Chk2-deficient cells.
|
Finally, we wished to determine whether these results were applicable to other colorectal cancer cell lines. Though generation of other knock-out lines would not have been feasible in a reasonable time frame, some information could be gained through the examination of DLD-1 cells. This human colorectal cell line contains one CHK2 allele with an inactivating point mutation (R145W), whereas the other allele is transcriptionally silenced, rendering the cells Chk2 deficient (11, 29). Serine 20 phosphorylation of the endogenous mutant p53 protein in this line was easily detectable after IR exposure (Fig. 2E). Moreover, we introduced a Chk2 expression vector into the line and established subclones of DLD-1 that produced high levels of Chk2, comparable with that observed in HCT116 cells. The phosphorylation of p53 serine 20 was not increased in these subclones (Fig. 2E), arguing that Chk2 is not the physiologically limiting kinase responsible for phosphorylation at this site.
| DISCUSSION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
It has recently been suggested that Chk2 activation may require a functional mismatch repair system (42). However, independent assessments performed in multiple laboratories (10, 29, 32, 43) have demonstrated that Chk2 is robustly activated in human cancer cells that have been exposed to DNA damage, irrespective of mismatch repair status. Furthermore, mismatch repair-deficient cancer cell lines clearly respond to DNA damage exposure with a sustained G2 checkpoint arrest that requires both p53 and its downstream target, the p21 CDK inhibitor (34). Taken together, these data indicate that mismatch repair-deficient cells are competent for the biochemical activation of both Chk2 kinase and the transcriptional upregulation of p53-regulated target genes.
Our genetic analysis indicates that Chk2 is not required for p53 responses in human cells. One might initially interpret our results as suggesting that another kinase substitutes for Chk2 and activates p53 in human cells, but not in mouse or insect cells (18, 21), that lack Chk2. However, it has recently been discovered that Chk2 kinase purified from IR-treated human cells phosphorylates p53 very poorly in vitro (44). Taken together, these genetic and biochemical data support an alternative explanation, namely that Chk2 does not participate significantly in the p53 responses of human cells. One exciting implication of this interpretation is that another, as yet unknown, kinase functions to communicate the DNA damage signal to p53 in human cells. Chk1 would appear to be an obvious candidate for such a kinase, because it can phosphorylate serine 20 of p53 in vitro (10). However, Ahn et al. (44) have found that down-regulation of either or both Chk1 or Chk2 by RNA interference does not prevent human breast and colorectal cells from inducing p53 in response to DNA damage. Thus, the identity of the authentic, physiologically relevant kinase upstream of p53 in human cells remains an important open question.
Finally, our results readily explain why some tumors arise with alterations of both Chk2 and p53, as our data show that mutations of these genes do not lead to similar defects. And our data raise an intriguing question: if an essential function of Chk2 does not involve p53 or the checkpoints studied here, what is the role of this highly conserved gene in human cells, and why is it mutated in cancers and cancer-prone individuals? The lines we have generated should be instrumental for answering such questions in the future.
| FOOTNOTES |
|---|
Supported by a fellowship from the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation. Present address: Molecular Biology Program, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021. ![]()
|| A scholar of the V Foundation. To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel.: 410-502-7941; Fax: 410-502-7234; E-mail: bunzfre{at}mail.jhmi.edu.
1 The abbreviations used are: IR, ionizing radiation; LFLS, Li-Fraumeni-like syndrome; LFS, Li-Fraumeni syndrome; 5-FU, 5-fluorouracil; FDXR, ferredoxin reductase. ![]()
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
|---|
| REFERENCES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
J. Jin, X. L. Ang, X. Ye, M. Livingstone, and J. W. Harper Differential Roles for Checkpoint Kinases in DNA Damage-dependent Degradation of the Cdc25A Protein Phosphatase J. Biol. Chem., July 11, 2008; 283(28): 19322 - 19328. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
N. Pabla, S. Huang, Q.-S. Mi, R. Daniel, and Z. Dong ATR-Chk2 Signaling in p53 Activation and DNA Damage Response during Cisplatin-induced Apoptosis J. Biol. Chem., March 7, 2008; 283(10): 6572 - 6583. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
P. Brennan, J. McKay, L. Moore, D. Zaridze, A. Mukeria, N. Szeszenia-Dabrowska, J. Lissowska, P. Rudnai, E. Fabianova, D. Mates, et al. Uncommon CHEK2 mis-sense variant and reduced risk of tobacco-related cancers: case control study Hum. Mol. Genet., August 1, 2007; 16(15): 1794 - 1801. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. L. Craig, J. A. Chrystal, J. A. Fraser, N. Sphyris, Y. Lin, B. J. Harrison, M. T. Scott, I. Dornreiter, and T. R. Hupp The MDM2 Ubiquitination Signal in the DNA-Binding Domain of p53 Forms a Docking Site for Calcium Calmodulin Kinase Superfamily Members Mol. Cell. Biol., May 1, 2007; 27(9): 3542 - 3555. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
I. Dauth, J. Kruger, and T. G. Hofmann Homeodomain-Interacting Protein Kinase 2 Is the Ionizing Radiation-Activated p53 Serine 46 Kinase and Is Regulated by ATM Cancer Res., March 1, 2007; 67(5): 2274 - 2279. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
L. Carlessi, G. Buscemi, G. Larson, Z. Hong, J. Z. Wu, and D. Delia Biochemical and cellular characterization of VRX0466617, a novel and selective inhibitor for the checkpoint kinase Chk2 Mol. Cancer Ther., March 1, 2007; 6(3): 935 - 944. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. C. Ghosh, T. Dohi, C. M. Raskett, T. F. Kowalik, and D. C. Altieri Activated Checkpoint Kinase 2 Provides a Survival Signal for Tumor Cells Cancer Res., December 15, 2006; 66(24): 11576 - 11579. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
G. Buscemi, L. Carlessi, L. Zannini, S. Lisanti, E. Fontanella, S. Canevari, and D. Delia DNA Damage-Induced Cell Cycle Regulation and Function of Novel Chk2 Phosphoresidues Mol. Cell. Biol., November 1, 2006; 26(21): 7832 - 7845. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
R. A. Freiberg, E. M. Hammond, M. J. Dorie, S. M. Welford, and A. J. Giaccia DNA Damage during Reoxygenation Elicits a Chk2-Dependent Checkpoint Response. Mol. Cell. Biol., March 1, 2006; 26(5): 1598 - 1609. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
L. M. Karnitz, K. S. Flatten, J. M. Wagner, D. Loegering, J. S. Hackbarth, S. J. H. Arlander, B. T. Vroman, M. B. Thomas, Y.-U. Baek, K. M. Hopkins, et al. Gemcitabine-Induced Activation of Checkpoint Signaling Pathways That Affect Tumor Cell Survival Mol. Pharmacol., December 1, 2005; 68(6): 1636 - 1644. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
H. Niida, S. Tsuge, Y. Katsuno, A. Konishi, N. Takeda, and M. Nakanishi Depletion of Chk1 Leads to Premature Activation of Cdc2-cyclin B and Mitotic Catastrophe J. Biol. Chem., November 25, 2005; 280(47): 39246 - 39252. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
O. Topaloglu, P. J. Hurley, O. Yildirim, C. I. Civin, and F. Bunz Improved methods for the generation of human gene knockout and knockin cell lines Nucleic Acids Res., October 7, 2005; 33(18): e158 - e158. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
D. I. Beardsley, W.-J. Kim, and K. D. Brown N-Methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine Activates Cell-Cycle Arrest through Distinct Mechanisms Activated in a Dose-Dependent Manner Mol. Pharmacol., October 1, 2005; 68(4): 1049 - 1060. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
K. Flatten, N. T. Dai, B. T. Vroman, D. Loegering, C. Erlichman, L. M. Karnitz, and S. H. Kaufmann The Role of Checkpoint Kinase 1 in Sensitivity to Topoisomerase I Poisons J. Biol. Chem., April 8, 2005; 280(14): 14349 - 14355. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Y.-H. Ou, P.-H. Chung, T.-P. Sun, and S.-Y. Shieh p53 C-Terminal Phosphorylation by CHK1 and CHK2 Participates in the Regulation of DNA-Damage-induced C-Terminal Acetylation Mol. Biol. Cell, April 1, 2005; 16(4): 1684 - 1695. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. W. Adamson, D. I. Beardsley, W.-J. Kim, Y. Gao, R. Baskaran, and K. D. Brown Methylator-induced, Mismatch Repair-dependent G2 Arrest Is Activated through Chk1 and Chk2 Mol. Biol. Cell, March 1, 2005; 16(3): 1513 - 1526. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. Urist, T. Tanaka, M. V. Poyurovsky, and C. Prives p73 induction after DNA damage is regulated by checkpoint kinases Chk1 and Chk2 Genes & Dev., December 15, 2004; 18(24): 3041 - 3054. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. Wang, T. Wiltshire, Y. Wang, C. Mikell, J. Burks, C. Cunningham, E. S. Van Laar, S. J. Waters, E. Reed, and W. Wang ATM-dependent CHK2 Activation Induced by Anticancer Agent, Irofulven J. Biol. Chem., September 17, 2004; 279(38): 39584 - 39592. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. N. Tse and G. K. Schwartz Potentiation of Cytotoxicity of Topoisomerase I Poison by Concurrent and Sequential Treatment with the Checkpoint Inhibitor UCN-01 Involves Disparate Mechanisms Resulting in Either p53-Independent Clonogenic Suppression or p53-Dependent Mitotic Catastrophe Cancer Res., September 15, 2004; 64(18): 6635 - 6644. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
|
|