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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 280, Issue 6, 4825-4833, February 11, 2005
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via Sp1 by Wild Type p53 Is Involved in Inhibition of Multidrug Resistance 1 P-Glycoprotein Phosphorylation*


From the Department of Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030
Received for publication, July 2, 2004 , and in revised form, November 17, 2004.
| ABSTRACT |
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protein expression is inhibited by WT p53 partly due to reduced PKC
mRNA expression in STS cells, but p53 does not affect PKC
mRNA stability. Deletion and mutation analysis of the PKC
promoter fused to the luciferase reporter gene identified a Sp1 binding site (-244/-234) in the PKC
promoter that is required for p53-mediated inhibition of PKC
promoter activity. More importantly, PKC
phosphorylates and activates MDR1 P-glycoprotein, whereas inhibition of PKC
by p53 leads to decreased MDR1 phosphorylation in STS cells, which sensitizes STS cells to chemotherapeutic agents. These data indicate that WT p53 may resensitize STS to chemotherapeutic agents by reducing MDR1 phosphorylation via transcriptional repression of PKC
expression. Thus, molecular-based therapies targeting mutant p53 and PKC
may be an effective new strategy to improve chemotherapeutic efficacy in STS. | INTRODUCTION |
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,
I,
II,
), novel PKCs (
,
,
,
), and atypical PKCs (
,
,
) (1). PKCµ is an additional PKC family member that was discovered recently and is known as protein kinase D (2). A distantly related PKC family includes three isoforms of the PKC-related kinases, known as PKN1, PKN2, and PKN3 (3). Although PKC family members share primary sequence similarities, the subfamily members have different enzymatic activation profiles. Specifically, conventional PKC isoforms are activated by 1,2-diacylglycerol and phosphatidylserine (PS) in a calcium-dependent manner, novel PKC members are activated only by 1,2-diacylglycerol and PS, and atypical PKC members are activated by PS alone as a co-factor (4). In resting cells, PKC predominantly resides in the cytosol in an inactive state and, upon stimulation, translocates as an active kinase to discrete subcellular locations, such as the plasma membrane, membranous vesicles, cytoskeleton, mitochondria, and nucleus (5).
PKC functions have been the subject of intense study for many years after identification of PKC as the intracellular receptor for tumor-promoting phorbol esters such as tissue-type plasminogen activator. Studies have shown that PKC activity is elevated in some human tumors when compared with that in adjacent normal tissues (6) and that elevated PKC activity is associated with increased metastatic or invasive potential in some human carcinoma cells (7). More recent studies indicated that PKC
plays an important role in promotion of tumor invasion, migration, enhanced vascular endothelial growth factor secretion, and development of the multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotype (811). Because overexpression of PKCs has been found in many disorders, these kinases have become major targets for therapeutic intervention in a wide range of diseases, including cancers (12), and sensitization of tumors to radiotherapy and chemotherapy has been achieved with PKC inhibitors (13, 14). Although many studies have focused on dysregulation of PKC functions, it is still unclear how expression of PKCs is regulated.
Mutation of the tumor suppressor gene p53 is commonly found in a wide variety of human tumors and is one of the most common genetic alterations in soft tissue sarcoma (STS), occurring in 3060% of these tumors (15). Interestingly, p53 missense mutations occur more frequently than non-sense mutations (16). Cancer cells harboring missense mutant (mut) p53 appear to have a gain of function with enhanced oncogenic properties and tumorigenic potential when compared with cells that merely lose p53 function through point mutations (16, 17). Also, our previous study showed that loss of WT p53 function enhances metastasis of STS (18). Wild type (WT) p53 functions as a transcription factor and, by binding to specific DNA sequences, exerts its tumor suppressor activity by stimulating transcription of growth-inhibitory genes while preventing expression of proliferation-promoting genes (19). In contrast, mut p53 activates genes repressed by WT p53. Recent reports support this model by showing that transcription of the MDR1 gene and the proliferating-cell nuclear antigen is activated by mut p53 but repressed by WT p53 (20, 21).
More recently, global phosphorylation and function of p53 were shown be inversely related to PKC activation (22). Furthermore, we found that STS cells expressing mut p53 demonstrated MDR phenotype, whereas restoration of WT p53 to these cells sensitized them to chemotherapy (23). Because PKC
is known to phosphorylate and activate the MDR-1 protein (11), we investigated whether WT p53 may revert to MDR phenotype through inhibition of PKC
.
| EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
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Western Blot AnalysisWestern blotting was carried out as described previously (27). Briefly, cells were rinsed with phosphate-buffered saline before lysis with radioimmune precipitation assay buffer (20 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 137 mM NaCl, 2 mM EDTA, 0.1% SDS, 0.5% sodium deoxycholate, 1% Nonidet P-40, 10% glycerol, 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, 0.02% leupeptin). Lysis was ensured with further sonication, and aliquots were obtained for protein determination. Two hundred micrograms of protein were mixed with SDS sample buffer and separated by 10% SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis before transfer onto nitrocellulose membranes. The membranes were then blocked with 5% nonfat dry milk in phosphate-buffered saline containing Tween 20 and blotted with the appropriate anti-PKC
antibody (Upstate Biotechnology), anti-phospho-PKC
antibody (Cell Signaling), or anti-P-glycoprotein (P-gp) antibody C219 (Centocor). The signal was detected by enhanced chemiluminescence.
Northern Blot AnalysisNorthern blotting was carried out as described previously (24). Briefly, total RNA was extracted by using RNAzol B reagent (Biotecx Laboratories) and separated on a 1% agarose gel. Separated RNA was transferred to a Hybond-N nylon membrane (Amersham Biosciences) in an aqueous hybridization solution as described previously (24). The hybridization probes included PKC
cDNA or glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) cDNA fragments radiolabeled with a random-primed labeling kit (Invitrogen) and purified with the QIAquick nucleotide removal kit (Qiagen). Blots were washed at high stringency (0.5x saline sodium citrate (SSC), 0.1% SDS at 68 °C) and exposed to Kodak BioMax film (Eastman Kodak Co.) at -70 °C. Densitometric quantitation was performed with an AlphaImager 2000 (AlphaInnotech).
Transient TransfectionTransfection was carried out with the FuGENE 6 transfection reagent (Roche Diagnostics) according to the manufacturer's instructions. After the addition of transfection mixtures, cells were incubated for another 4 h before they were cultured at different temperatures of either 32 or 38 °C for 48 h.
Nuclear Runoff AssaysNuclear runoff assays were performed as described previously (10) with modification. Briefly, matched pairs of SKLMS-1 and SKAla-2 cells were cultured at 32 or 38 °C for 72 h. Nuclei were collected in lysis buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl, pH 7.4, 10 mM NaCl, 3 mM MgCl2, 0.35% sucrose, 0.5% Nonidet P-40) and centrifuged at 500 x g for 3 min. Nuclei were then suspended in a reaction buffer (5 mM Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, 2.5 mM MgCl2, 150 mM KCl, 0.5 mM rATP/rCTP/rGTP, 0.7 µM rUTP, 2.5 mM dithiothreitol, 5 units of RNasin) in the presence of 100 µCi of [32P]UTP and incubated at 30 °C for 23 min. Total RNA was extracted with the addition of 40 µg of a glycogen carrier and 0.8 ml of TRIzol reagent. Radiolabeled RNA pellets were collected using phenol/chloroform extraction and isopropyl alcohol precipitation before dissolution in 10 mM
-mercaptoethanol. Slot blots used for RNA hybridization were prepared with PKC
(2.55.0 µg/slot), GAPDH (1 µg/slot), and vector control (1 µg/slot). cDNAs were denatured with 100 mM NaOH at 100 °C for 10 min, neutralized with ammonium acetate to a final concentration of 1 M and directly blotted onto nylon membranes (ICN). Membranes were subsequently washed twice with 2x SSC, baked at 80 °C for 15 min, and prehybridized for 6 h at 65 °C in hybridization buffer (50 mM PIPES, pH 6.5, 50 mM sodium phosphate, pH 7.0, 20 mM NaCl, 5% SDS, 2.5 mM EDTA, 50 µg/ml denatured salmon sperm DNA). Hybridization was performed with equal amounts of labeled nuclear RNA (1 x 106 cpm/ml) in hybridization buffer for 20 h at 65 °C. Blots were then washed once at room temperature for 20 min and twice at 55 °C for 20 min each in 1% SDS, 1x SSC. Blots were then exposed to Kodak MR film. PKC
mRNA signal was normalized by GAPDH signal.
Determination of PKC
mRNA Half-LifeSKLMS-1 and SKAla-2 cells were grown at 32 °C and 38 °C, respectively, for 72 h. Total RNA was isolated at various times (0, 12, and 24 h) after the addition of the transcription inhibitor actinomycin D (5 µg/ml). Twenty micrograms of total RNA was analyzed by Northern blotting. The PKC
signal was normalized according to the basal level. The half-life of the mRNA was determined with the use of regression curves (28).
P-gp Phosphorylation in SKLMS-1 and Temperature-sensitive mut p53 CellsP-gp phosphorylation in [32P]Pi-labeled SKLMS-1 and SKAla cells was determined as described previously (29). Briefly, near-confluent cell monolayers grown in 75-cm2 flasks were labeled with [32P]Pi after the cells were washed with phosphate-free buffered saline and phosphate-free medium. Six milliliters of phosphate-free medium containing 10 mM HEPES, pH 7.3, and 0.6 mCi of [32P]Pi was added to cell monolayers for 3 h at 37 °C or 32 °C as indicated. The labeled cells were washed 3 times on ice with 2 ml of ice-cold phosphate-buffered saline, scraped from the plates in lysis buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl, 140 mM NaCl, 0.1% Triton X-100, 0.5% sodium deoxycholate, 0.1% SDS, 5 mM NaF, 1 mM sodium vanadate, 2 mM EDTA, 10 µg/ml leupepstatin, 10 µg/ml pepstatin A, 200 µg/ml aprotinin, 0.5 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride; 1 ml/plate), and lysed on ice for 20 min. Lysates were centrifuged at 13,800 x g for 15 min, and the supernatants were collected.
Immunoprecipitation of P-gp was carried out according to a described previously method (29). Briefly, 5 µg of the anti-P-gp antibody C219 (Centocor) was added to 200 µl of the supernatants described above and incubated overnight in a sample rotator. Fifty microliters of protein A-Sepharose 4B (Amersham Biosciences) was added to the supernatants and incubated in the sample rotator for 30 min. The beads were collected by centrifugation for 1 min and washed once in 1 ml of NaCl and 1% Nonidet P-40 and twice in an extraction buffer containing 1 M urea. The immune complexes were dissociated from the beads by incubation in 100 µl of sample buffer for 15 min at 30 °C. Samples were then electrophoresed on 6% acrylamide gels, and autoradiography was performed.
PKC
Promoter Deletion and Mutation ConstructsHuman PKC
promoters (-1571/+77 and -227/+77) were generously provided by Dr. Robert Glazer (Georgetown University). All other constructs were made by amplifying the PKC
promoter with the reverse primer 5'-GGAGAGTCGGGCTGGTGCTG-3' and the forward primers 5'-GAAAGCCTGATAATCAACATCG-3' (-979/+75), 5'-AGCGGAAGAAGAGGAGGAGA-3' (-422/+75), 5'-GAGTGGGGACCCGCCACT-3' (-331/+75), 5'-GCATCCCCACTCGGGCAG-3' (-297/+75), or 5'-CGCCGCCGCCGCCGCCGCCG-3' (-260/+75). PKC
promoter with Sp1 binding site mutation (-243/-239) construct was made by site-directed mutagenesis with the QuikChange site-directed mutagenesis kit (Stratagene). The following oligonucleotide 5'-CCGCCGCCGCCGCCGCCGTTTTTTCCCCTTGCCC-3' was used to mutate the -244/-234 Sp1 site from GCCGCCTCCCC to GTTTTTTCCCC. The site-specific mutation was confirmed by DNA sequencing. The PKC
promoter deletion and mutation constructs were cloned into a TA cloning vector, and their orientation was checked using restriction enzyme digestion and sequencing. The PKC
promoter deletion constructs in the TA vector were digested with KpnI/XhoI and subcloned into pGL3-basic vector containing the firefly luciferase gene (Promega).
Reporter Gene AssaysReporter gene assays were performed as described previously (15). Briefly, SKLMS-1 cells were seeded at a density of 2 x 105 cells/well in 6-well plates and incubated in complete medium overnight at 37 °C. Cells were subsequently treated with Ad-p53 or Ad-LacZ and further incubated for 48 h. Using FuGENE 6, cells were then cotransfected with 1 µg of pGL3-basic containing the various PKC
deletion constructs and 0.5 µg of the internal control pSV40-
-galactosidase. Twenty-four hours later, SKLMS-1 were harvested, and luciferase activity was determined and normalized to
-galactosidase activity (15).
Nuclear Extract Preparation and Electrophoretic Mobility Shift AssayThe nuclear extracts from SKLMS-1 cells were prepared according to the method of Andrews and Faller (30). DNA binding assays for Sp1 were performed with 15 µg of nuclear extracts as described by Shie et al. (31). 32P-Labeled double-strand wild type Sp1 oligonucleotides (5'-CCGCCGCCGCCGCCGCCGCCGCCTCCCCTTGCCC-3') containing the Sp1 binding site in the human PKC
promoter and mutant Sp1 oligonucleotides (5'-CCGCCGCCGCCGCCGCCGTTTTTTCCCCTTGCCC-3') were used as probes. The competition was performed with a 100-fold excess of unlabeled wild type or mutant Sp1 oligonucleotides. Supershift experiments were performed with anti-Sp1 antibody (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, CA). The reactions were analyzed on 4% polyacrylamide gels containing 0.25x Tris borate/EDTA buffer (20 mM Tris, 20 mM boric acid, 0.5 mM EDTA, pH 8.0).
| RESULTS |
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ExpressionTo investigate the effects of p53 on PKC
in STS, we first analyzed PKC
expression in STS cells with different p53 functional status by Western blot analysis. PKC
was highly expressed in SKLMS-1 cells, which contain mut p53, and at very low levels in U2-OS cells, which contain WT p53 (Fig. 1A). Similarly, high PKC
expression was found in HT1080 cells, which are deficient in p53, and Saos-2 cells, which are p53 null.
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expression, we used the SKAla cells, which are SKLMS-1 cells that express the Ala-143 temperature-sensitive mut p53 (26). The Ala-143 point mutation allows for production of WT p53 at 32 °C but mut p53 at 38 °C. Western blot analysis of PKC
in these SKAla cells showed that PKC
expression was higher when p53 was in the mutant conformation at 38 °C than when it was in the WT conformation at 32 °C (Fig. 1B), whereas the parental sarcoma cells SKLMS-1 and vector control cells SKNeo showed no significant changes in PKC
expression when they were shifted between 32 and 38 °C culture conditions. Therefore, the difference in PKC
expression between 32 and 38 °C in these SKAla cell lines was induced specifically by the change in functional p53 status, not by the temperature variation itself. We used the p21expression level as a marker for functional WT p53.
To further determine the effect of WT p53 on PKC
expression in a p53 null background, we also transfected the Saos-2 cell line with the Ala-143 temperature-sensitive p53 mutant expression vector and observed the effect of WT and mut p53 on PKC
expression. Six hours after transfection, the transfected cells were shifted to 32 or 38 °C and cultured for an additional 36 h, then PKC
expression was analyzed by Western blotting. PKC
expression was inhibited when the transfected Saos-2 cells were cultured at 32 °C with WT p53 function that induced p21 expression (Fig. 1C). In contrast, PKC
level remained high when the transfected Saos-2 cells were cultured at 38 °C with mut p53 function, and the induction of p21 expression was negligible. These results clearly indicated that WT p53 inhibits PKC
expression.
p53 Inhibits PKC
mRNA ExpressionTo determine whether p53 inhibited PKC
expression at the mRNA level, we performed Northern blot analysis of PKC
mRNA level using a PKC
-specific probe (American Type Culture Collection) in the SKLMS-1, SKNeo, and SKAla cell lines cultured at 32 or 38 °C. In SKAla-1, SKAla-2, and SKAla-3 cells, PKC
mRNA (
9.3 kilobases) was low at 32 °C with the WT p53 conformation but high at 38 °C with the mut p53 conformation. No comparative changes were found in either parental SKLMS-1 or vector control SKNeo cells (Fig. 2A). A similar result was found in Saos-2 cells transfected with Ala-143 and incubated at 32 versus 38 °C (Fig. 2B). In addition, SKAla-2 expressing the temperature-sensitive mut p53 showed a time-dependent inhibition of PKC
mRNA expression when shifted from 38 to 32 °C and vice versa (Fig. 2C). Therefore, p53 inhibits PKC
expression at the mRNA level.
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mRNA Expression through Transcriptional Repression Not Affecting PKC
mRNA StabilityInhibition of PKC
mRNA by p53 may result from either transcriptional repression or reduced mRNA stability. To investigate the mechanism by which p53 inhibits PKC
mRNA expression, we examined the rate of transcription of PKC
by nuclear runoff assays. Although there was not a significant difference in PKC
transcription between 38 and 32 °C in parental SKLMS-1 cells, we reproducibly detected an approximate 30% reduction in expression of PKC
transcript at 32 °C (WT p53) compared with that at 38 °C (mut p53) in SKAla-2 cells (Fig. 3A). Therefore, reduced transcription may at least partly account for the decrease in PKC
mRNA level by p53.
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mRNA stability in SKLMS-1 and SKAla cells. New RNA synthesis was blocked by treating cells with actinomycin D (5 µg/ml). Total RNA was extracted at different time points after treatment. Northern blot analysis using the PKC
-specific probe showed that there was not a significant difference in the measured half-life of PKC
mRNA from both SKLMS-1 and SKAla-2 cells cultured at 32 and 38 °C (Fig. 3B). Thus, the inhibited RNA expression level at 32 °C compared with that at 38 °C in SKAla-2 cells was not due to a decreased mRNA stability.
WT p53 Inhibits PKC
Promoter Activity via Sp1 Binding SiteTo further understand the mechanisms by which WT p53 inhibits PKC
transcription, we fused the 1.6-kilobase PKC
promoter to the firefly luciferase reporter gene (Fig. 4A) to determine the effect of WT p53 on PKC
promoter activity. We preinfected SKLMS-1 cells with various doses of adenoviruses expressing WT p53 (Ad-p53) or expressing the LacZ gene (Ad-LacZ) for 48 h and subsequently transiently transfected the cells with the PKC
promoter-luciferase report construct (-1571/+77); we assayed reporter gene expression 48 h later. Compared with Ad-LacZ-infected cells, Ad-p53-infected cells showed markedly inhibited PKC
promoter activity at different cell:virus particle ratios in a viral particle concentration-dependent manner (Fig. 4B).
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transcription, we generated a series of PKC
promoter deletion constructs that were composed of various lengths of 5'-promoter sequences fused to the luciferase gene (Fig. 4A). We transiently transfected the PKC
promoter-luciferase constructs and pGL3-basic vector (vector control) into SKLMS-1 cells preinfected with the Ad-p53 or Ad-LacZ (1000 virus particles/cell). The promoter activities of the various deletion constructs were not inhibited by Ad-LacZ, but they were markedly inhibited by Ad-p53 (Fig. 4C). However, the inhibitory effect of WT p53 was abolished when PKC
promoter was deleted down to -227, which also had dramatically reduced basal promoter activities. The data indicated that the -260/+77 construct is sufficient to confer WT p53-induced inhibition and that this 34-bp promoter region upstream to the transcription start site, from -260 to -227, may contain the p53-responsive element. As expected, the promoterless luciferase pGL3-basic vector showed no promoter activity and could not be repressed by WT p53 (data not shown).
To further identify the p53-responsive element for the PKC
inhibition in this 34-bp PKC
promoter region, we mutated the only known transcription factor binding site in this region, the Sp1 site (-244/-234, GCCGCCTCCCC) (32), as shown in Fig. 4D, and evaluated the transcriptional activity of this mutated construct. The -260 mut PKC
promoter with Sp1 site mutation retained basal promoter activity as the wild type -260 construct. However, the -260 mut with Sp1 site mutation was not inhibited by p53 as significantly as was the wild type -260 reporter gene (17 versus 62%) (Fig. 4E). To directly test Sp1 binding to the Sp1 site in this region, we also performed electrophoretic mobility shift assay using the 32P-labeled oligonucleotides of the 34-bp PKC
promoter region. Although no specific Sp1 binding was detected using the mutant Sp1 probe (Fig. 4F, lane 1), a specifically shifted band can be detected in SKLMS-1 nuclear extracts using wild type Sp1 containing oligonucleotides (Fig. 4F, lane 2), which was supershifted by anti-Sp1 antibody (Fig. 4F, lane 3). The specific binding of Sp1 could be abolished by unlabeled wild type oligonucleotides (Fig. 4F, lane 4). These data indicated that WT p53 repression of the PKC
promoter activity is mediated through the Sp1 binding site located in the -244/-234 region of the PKC
promoter (Fig. 4D).
PKC
Inhibition-induced Decrease in Phosphorylation of MDR1 P-glycoproteinPrevious reports showed that PKC
is selectively overexpressed in human STS, and PKC
catalyzes MDR1 P-glycoprotein phosphorylation and activation, which contributes to the MDR phenotype (29). To investigate the biological significance of p53-mediated PKC
transcriptional repression, we examined the effect of PKC
inhibition by p53 on phosphorylation of MDR1 P-glycoprotein and expression. We found a lower level of phosphorylation of MDR1 P-glycoprotein in SKAla-1, SKAla-2, and SKAla-3 cells when they were cultured at 32 °C as compared with that at 38 °C (32/38 °C ratio was 76.5, 38.5, and 48.7%, respectively). There was a slight decrease in total P-glycoprotein level when cells were cultured at 32 °C (32/38 °C ratio was 92, 81.9, and 86%, respectively) that was consistent with our previous report that wild type p53 can inhibit MDR1 expression (23) (Fig. 5A). No significant difference was detected when SKLMS-1 cells and vector control SKNeo cells were shifted between 32 and 38 °C (Fig. 5A). The MDR-1 phosphorylation status correlated well with the p53-modulated PKC
expression shown in Fig. 1A. These data suggested that inhibition of PKC
by wild type p53 plays an important role in reducing the phosphorylation of P-glycoprotein.
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by wild type p53 but not other downstream effects of the wild type p53, we treated the SKAla-1 and SKAla-2 cells growing at 38 °C with PKC
inhibitor Gö6976 (Calbiochem) (33) to inhibit PKC
kinase activity. After 24 h of treatment, the phosphorylation of MDR1 P-glycoprotein was dramatically inhibited, which is associated with lower PKC
kinase activity, as indicated by decreased PKC
phosphorylation, whereas there was no significant change in total PKC
and total P-glycoprotein (Fig. 5B). The results clearly showed that inhibition of PKC
itself is sufficient to decrease phosphorylation of P-glycoprotein. Taken together, our data demonstrated that wild type p53 inhibits PKC
expression, which subsequently leads to decreased MDR1 P-glycoprotein phosphorylation and, thus, increased chemosensitivity; loss of p53 function results in increased P-glycoprotein phosphorylation because of the increased PKC
level, which contributes to chemo-resistance. | DISCUSSION |
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(36) and the other showing that fibroblast growth factor-2 up-regulates PKC
mRNA 1.63.0-fold and PKC
mRNA 1.7-fold (37). To the best of our knowledge our study has provided a novel link between WT p53 tumor suppressor and the inhibition of PKC
, a critical signaling component involved in multiple aspects of oncogenesis.
One question has arisen. Which cis-DNA element is responsible for the WT p53 inhibition effect on PKC
promoter activity? Because there is no conservative p53 DNA binding sequence in the PKC
promoter, other unknown cis (or trans) elements or protein factors may be responsible for the suppression of PKC
transcription by WT p53. Using a series of 5' deletion constructs of the PKC
promoter, we found that a 34-bp element (-260 to -227) contains a cis-element responsible for the repression of the PKC
promoter by WT p53. The region of the human PKC
promoter is GC-rich (88%) and contains a Sp1 binding site (-244/-234) (32). Sp1 protein is a well known transcription factor that is involved in the control of transcription of many important genes (38). Transcriptional repression of other genes by p53 was shown via p53 binding to Sp1 that prevented Sp1 binding to the target promoter region (39, 40). Also, p53 can form a heterocomplex with Sp1 and inhibit Sp1 activity in the TF-1 human erythroleukemia cell line (40). Therefore, Sp1 binding site may be responsible for inhibition of PKC
by p53. Our data showed that mutation of the Sp1 binding site (-243/-239) in the PKC
promoter resulted in the loss of p53 inhibitory effect on PKC
in SKLMS-1 cells without loss of its basal promoter activity. We conclude that p53 represses PKC
transcription through the Sp1 binding site in the promoter.
PKC
also plays an important role in the development of MDR by increasing the transcriptional activity of the MDR gene 1. Transfection of PKC
into MCF-7 breast cancer cells has been shown to induce the MDR phenotype (41). MDR phenotype is a well characterized, multifactorial process of tumor resistance to anticancer agents. One key mediator of the MDR phenotype is the MDR1 gene, which encodes the ATP-dependent drug-efflux pump, MDR1 P-glycoprotein. Overexpression of MDR1 P-glycoprotein is associated with drug resistance in several tumors, including high grade osteosarcoma (42). MDR1 P-glycoprotein was found be highly expressed in 48% of primary sarcomas and 64% of metastatic sarcomas (43). To effectively function as a drug-efflux pump, P-glycoprotein must be phosphorylated by PKC
(44), which suggests that PKC
is indirectly involved in the development of the MDR phenotype. Our current study shows that in addition to direct down-regulation of MDR1 P-glycoprotein by wild type p53 (23), another important mechanism by which WT p53 reverts the MDR phenotype and exerts its anticancer activity is that transcriptional repression of PKC
by WT p53 leads to decreased phosphorylation of MDR1 P-glycoprotein. This inhibitory effect on PKC
and subsequent decreased phosphorylation of P-glycoprotein by WT p53 is consistent with our previous reports that reintroduction of WT p53 sensitizes STS to chemotherapeutic agents and inhibits STS growth in vitro and in vivo (23, 45).
In summary, we demonstrated here that restoration of WT p53 into human leiomyosarcoma cells containing mut p53 markedly suppresses PKC
transcription through the Sp1 binding site located -244/-234 in the promoter upstream of transcription start site. Importantly, inhibition of PKC
contributes to the decreased phosphorylation of MDR1 P-glycoprotein. Our data suggest that the use of molecular-based therapies targeting mut p53 and PKC
will be a new effective strategy for reverting the MDR phenotype and controlling the progression of STS.
| FOOTNOTES |
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To whom correspondence may be addressed: Dept. of Surgical Oncology, Unit 107, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030. Tel.: 713-792-3636; Fax: 713-794-4830; E-mail: dyu{at}mdanderson.org.
To whom correspondence may be addressed: Dept. of Surgical Oncology, Unit 107, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030. Tel.: 713-792-6928; Fax: 713-563-4637; E-mail: rpollock{at}mdanderson.org.
1 The abbreviations used are: PKC, protein kinase C; GAPDH, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; MDR, multidrug resistance; P-gp, P-glycoprotein; STS, soft tissue sarcoma; mut, mutant; WT, wild type; PIPES, 1,4-piperazinediethanesulfonic acid. ![]()
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| REFERENCES |
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