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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 281, Issue 9, 5734-5740, March 3, 2006
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Regulates Ser46 Phosphorylation of p53 Tumor Suppressor in the Apoptotic Response to DNA Damage*
From the Department of Molecular Genetics, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo 113-8510, Japan
Received for publication, November 9, 2005 , and in revised form, December 15, 2005.
| ABSTRACT |
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(PKC
), is involved in phosphorylation of p53 on Ser46. PKC
-mediated phosphorylation is required for the interaction of PKC
with p53. The results also demonstrate that p53DINP1 associates with PKC
upon exposure to genotoxic agents. Consistent with these results, PKC
potentiates p53-dependent apoptosis by Ser46 phosphorylation in response to genotoxic stress. These findings indicate that PKC
regulates p53 to induce apoptotic cell death in the cellular response to DNA damage. | INTRODUCTION |
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isoform of protein kinase C (PKC)2 is activated in response to DNA damage. Notably, PKC
is cleaved to a 40-kDa catalytically active fragment by caspase-3 in cells treated with DNA-damaging agents (1, 2). The finding that overexpression of the PKC
catalytic fragment (PKC
CF) induces chromatin condensation and DNA fragmentation supports a role for PKC
cleavage in the induction of apoptotic cell death (3). Interaction of PKC
CF with the nuclear DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs) inhibits the function of DNA-PKcs to form complexes with DNA and to phosphorylate its downstream target, p53 (4). In addition, cells deficient in DNA-PK are resistant to apoptosis induced by PKC
CF overexpression (4). Other studies have shown that PKC
interacts with the c-Abl tyrosine kinase upon exposure to genotoxic stress (5). c-Abl is a pro-apoptotic tyrosine kinase that targets to the nucleus following genotoxic stress (6-8). Importantly, c-Abl-mediated phosphorylation activates PKC
and induces translocation of PKC
to the nucleus (5). In concert with these findings, tyrosine phosphorylation of PKC
is necessary for its nuclear translocation and subsequent caspase-dependent cleavage in the apoptotic response to DNA damage (9). A recent study demonstrated that nuclear-targeted PKC
interacts with and phosphorylates a pro-apoptotic molecule, Rad9 (10). PKC
regulates the interaction of Rad9 with Bcl-2 and the hRad9-mediated apoptotic response to DNA damage (10). Furthermore, previous studies showed that cells derived from PKC
-null transgenic mice were defective in mitochondria-dependent apoptosis (11). These findings collectively support a pivotal role for PKC
in the induction of apoptosis in response to DNA damage.
The p53 tumor suppressor functions in the cellular response to stress by inducing cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, senescence, differentiation, or apoptosis (12). Genotoxic stress is associated with stabilization of p53 and induction of p53-mediated transcription. Selective transactivation of p53 target genes dictates cell cycle arrest and DNA repair, or induction of apoptosis (13-15). However, the mechanism by which p53 determines the choice of cell fate is largely unknown. Available evidence suggests that promoter selectivity of p53 is regulated by its phosphorylation. For instance, Ser15 and Ser20 phosphorylation influences binding of p53 to promoters for cell cycle arrest and DNA repair genes. Further phosphorylation of Ser46 following severe DNA damage increases the affinity of p53 for promoters of pro-apoptotic genes, such as p53AIP1 (16). In this regard, Ser46 kinase(s) could function in p53-dependent apoptosis.
The present study demonstrates that PKC
associates with p53. This association is required for PKC
-mediated phosphorylation of p53 on Ser46 upon exposure to genotoxic stress. Furthermore, PKC
promotes p53-dependent apoptosis in response to DNA damage.
| EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
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PlasmidsPKC
expression plasmids were described previously (17, 18). p53 cDNA was amplified by PCR from human fetal brain cDNA library, then cloned into the pcDNA3-FLAG vector. The N-terminal region of p53 (amino acids 1-92) was cloned into the pGEX4T-1 vector (Amersham Biosciences). Various mutations were introduced by site-directed mutagenesis and were confirmed by sequencing.
Cell TransfectionsCell transfections were performed as described (19). The total DNA concentration was kept constant by including an empty vector.
Immunoprecipitation and Immunoblot AnalysisCell lysates were prepared as described (20) and cleared by centrifugation at 12,000 x g for 15 min. Soluble proteins were incubated with anti-FLAG (Sigma-Aldrich), anti-PKC
(Santa Cruz Biotechnology (SCBT)), or anti-p53 (SCBT) antibodies for 2 h at 4°C followed by a 1-h incubation with protein A-(Amersham Biosciences) or G-(Zymed Laboratories) Sepharose beads. The immune complexes were washed three times with lysis buffer. Cell lysates or immunoprecipitates were separated by SDS-PAGE and transferred to nitrocellulose filters. The filters were then incubated with anti-FLAG, anti-Myc (Cell Signaling Technology), anti-GST (Nacalai Tesque), anti-GFP (Nacalai Tesque), anti-PKC
, anti-p53, anti-phospho-p53 (Ser15, Ser20, and Ser46) (Cell Signaling Technology), anti-p53DINP1 (Sigma-Aldrich), or anti-tubulin (Sigma-Aldrich). The antigen-antibody complexes were visualized by chemiluminescence (PerkinElmer Life Sciences).
In Vitro Binding AssaysCell lysates were incubated with purified GST, GST-PKC
regulatory domain (RD), or GST-PKC
CF (17) in lysis buffer for 2 h at 4 °C. The adsorbates were resolved by SDS-PAGE and analyzed by immunoblotting with anti-FLAG or anti-GST.
In Vitro Kinase AssaysRecombinant PKC
(Calbiochem) was incubated in kinase buffer (19) with GST, GST-p53-(1-92) wild type, or the GST-p53-(1-92) S46A mutant and ATP for 20 min at 30 °C. Samples were separated by SDS-PAGE followed by immunoblot analysis with anti-phospho-p53 (Ser46), anti-PKC
, or anti-GST.
Small Interfering RNA (siRNA) TransfectionssiRNA duplexes (siRNAs) were synthesized and purified by Invitrogen (Stealth RNAi). Transfection of siRNAs was performed using Lipofectamine 2000 (Invitrogen).
Assessment of ApoptosisApoptotic cells were detected by TUNEL assays using the DeadEnd Colorimetric TUNEL System (Promega).
| RESULTS |
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Phosphorylates p53 on Ser46To investigate whether PKC
is involved in phosphorylation of p53, MCF-7 cells were treated with the DNA-damaging agent adriamycin (ADR) in the presence or absence of the PKC
-specific inhibitor, rottlerin (21). p53 was phosphorylated on Ser15 and Ser20 in response to ADR treatment regardless of PKC
activity (Fig. 1A). By contrast, phosphorylation on Ser46 was diminished by pretreatment with rottlerin (Fig. 1B). Moreover, consistent with previous results (22), inhibition of PKC
attenuated the expression level of p53 in relatively later periods following DNA damage (Fig. 1B). Similar results were obtained with U2-OS cells (data not shown). Comparable results were also observed when cells were treated with other DNA-damaging agents, such as etoposide and cisplatin (data not shown). To extend these findings using ectopically expressed p53, 293T cells were transfected with FLAG-tagged p53. Similar to endogenous p53, exogenous p53 was phosphorylated on Ser46 following ADR treatment (Fig. 1C). In contrast, there was little if any phosphorylation of overexpressed p53 on Ser46 in rottlerin-pretreated cells (Fig. 1C). These results indicate that PKC
is involved in phosphorylation of p53 on Ser46.
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in Ser46 phosphorylation, FLAG-p53 was co-transfected into 293T cells together with the Myc vector, Myc-PKC
CF, or the Myc-PKC
CF(K
R) mutant, which is catalytically inactive (18). Expression of catalytically active PKC
was associated with prominent phosphorylation of p53 on Ser46 (Fig. 2A, upper). Conversely, Ser46 phosphorylation was completely abrogated by expression of the dominant negative PKC
CF(K
R) mutant. Moreover, the level of p53 expression paralleled that of Ser46 phosphorylation (Fig. 2A, lower). To determine if PKC
functions in DNA damage-induced Ser46 phosphorylation, 293T cells were co-transfected with FLAG-p53 and GFP vector or GFP-PKC
CF(K
R). In GFP vector-transfected cells, Ser46 phosphorylation was induced following ADR treatment (Fig. 2B). By contrast, co-expression with the GFP-PKC
CF(K
R) mutant completely abrogated Ser46 phosphorylation upon exposure to ADR (Fig. 2B). To confirm whether PKC
is responsible for Ser46 phosphorylation in response to DNA damage, we knocked down PKC
by transfection of cells with PKC
siRNAs. Down-regulation of PKC
was associated with attenuation of Ser46 phosphorylation following genotoxic stress (Fig. 2C). To establish a direct role for PKC
in Ser46 phosphorylation, kinase-active recombinant PKC
was incubated with ATP and GST, GST-p53-(1-92) wild type or the GST-p53-(1-92) mutant in which Ser46 is substituted with Ala. The finding that purified PKC
phosphorylated GST-p53-(1-92), and not GST, indicates that PKC
is the Ser46 kinase in vitro (Fig. 2D). Notably, co-incubation of PKC
with the GST-p53-(1-92) S46A mutant abrogated reactivity with anti-pSer46 (Fig. 2D). These results collectively support the direct role for PKC
in phosphorylation of p53 on Ser46 in response to DNA damage.
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Interacts with p53To examine whether PKC
associates with p53, MOLT-4 cells, which highly express p53, were treated with ADR. Lysates were immunoprecipitated with anti-PKC
or, as a control, IgG. Immunoblot analysis of the precipitates with anti-p53 revealed that PKC
associates with p53 (Fig. 3A). Moreover, treatment with ADR was associated with increased formation of PKC
-p53 complexes (Fig. 3A). In the reciprocal experiment, immunoblot analysis of anti-p53 immunoprecipitates with anti-PKC
demonstrated a low, but substantial level of interaction between PKC
and p53 (Fig. 3B). Importantly, the finding that PKC
CF was detectable in anti-p53 immunoprecipitates from ADR-treated MOLT-4 cells indicated that the catalytic fragment of PKC
is responsible for binding to p53 (Fig. 3B, upper). Similar results were obtained with U2-OS cells (data not shown). To identify the region of PKC
that associates with p53, lysates from 293T cells transfected with FLAG-p53 were incubated with purified GST, GST-PKC
CF or GST-PKC
regulatory domain (RD). Analysis of precipitates with anti-FLAG showed the binding of p53 to PKC
CF, but not to PKC
RD (Fig. 3C). These findings indicate that the catalytic domain of PKC
is required for binding to p53.
PKC
Forms Complexes with p53DINP1 in Response to Genotoxic StressA previous study demonstrated that expression of the p53-inducible gene, p53DINP1, by DNA damage enhances Ser46 phosphorylation and leads to apoptotic cell death (23). Notably, p53DINP1 recruits an unknown kinase(s) responsible for Ser46 phosphorylation to p53 (23). These data indicate that p53DINP1 interacts with a Ser46 kinase(s) upon exposure to genotoxic stress. To examine the possibility that PKC
associates with p53DINP1, 293T cells were co-transfected with GFP-p53DINP1 and FLAG vector, FLAG-PKC
full-length (FL), FLAG-PKC
CF, or FLAG-PKC
RD. Immunoblot analysis of anti-FLAG immunoprecipitates with anti-GFP demonstrated that FLAG-PKC
FL, and not CF or RD, was associated with GFP-p53DINP1 (Fig. 4A). To extend these findings to endogenous proteins, MOLT-4 cells were left untreated or treated with ADR. Cell lysates were immunoprecipitated with anti-p53DINP1 followed by immunoblotting with anti-PKC
. The results showed the interaction of p53DINP1 with PKC
(Fig. 4B). Moreover, treatment with ADR was associated with increased formation of p53DINP1-PKC
complexes (Fig. 4B). Similar results were obtained with U2-OS cells (data not shown). Comparable results were also observed when cells were treated with etoposide (data not shown). These findings demonstrate an inducible binding of PKC
with p53DINP1 following genotoxic stress.
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induces p53 and p53DINP1 expression is regulated by p53, it is conceivable that PKC
modulates the expression level of p53DINP1 in response to DNA damage. To examine this hypothesis, MCF-7 cells were treated with ADR in the presence or absence of rottlerin. The expression level of p53DINP1 was enhanced by ADR treatment (Fig. 4C). By contrast, induction of p53DINP1 expression was attenuated by pretreatment of cells with rottlerin (Fig. 4C). Similar results were obtained with U2-OS cells (data not shown). To confirm PKC
-mediated regulation of p53DINP1, 293T cells were co-transfected with FLAG-p53 and GFP vector or GFP-PKC
CF(K
R). Immunoblot analysis with anti-p53DINP1 revealed that expression of the dominant negative PKC
mutant inhibited ADR-induced up-regulation of p53DINP1 (Fig. 2B). These findings support the mechanism by which PKC
regulates p53DINP1 expression through p53 activation.
PKC
Potentiates p53-dependent Apoptosis in Response to DNA DamagePrevious studies have shown that activation of PKC
following genotoxic stress is associated with the execution of apoptosis (3, 4, 10); however, this mechanism is largely unknown. Importantly, the present study demonstrates that PKC
phosphorylates p53 on Ser46, which is responsible for the induction of apoptosis. In this regard, PKC
could be involved in p53-dependent apoptosis following genotoxic stress. To address this issue, U2-OS cells were pretreated with rottlerin followed by the treatment with etoposide for 24 h. Treatment of cells with etoposide increased induction of apoptosis (Fig. 5A). In contrast, pretreatment with rottlerin substantially attenuated etoposide-induced apoptosis (Fig. 5A). Similar findings were obtained with MCF-7 cells (data not shown). Comparable results were also observed when cells were treated with ADR (data not shown). To extend these findings, PKC
was knocked down in U2-OS cells by transfection with PKC
siRNAs. Knocking down PKC
attenuated the induction of apoptosis elicited by etoposide treatment (Fig. 5B). These results suggest that etoposide-induced apoptosis is, at least in part, a PKC
-dependent mechanism. To further define the role for PKC
in p53-dependent apoptosis, p53-deficient HCT116 cells (HCT116/p53-1) (24) were transfected with FLAG vector, FLAG-p53 wild type (wt), or the FLAG-p53 S46A mutant, in which Ser46 was replaced with Ala. Cells were then treated with etoposide for 24 h in the presence or absence of rottlerin. TUNEL assays demonstrated that treatment of vector-expressing cells with etoposide induced apoptotic cell death (Fig. 5, C and D). Furthermore, etoposide-induced apoptosis was enhanced by ectopic expression of p53 wt, and not the p53 S46A mutant (Fig. 5, C and D). Importantly, pretreatment with rottlerin was substantially attenuated etoposide-induced apoptosis regardless of p53 expression (Fig. 5, C and D). These findings provide support for the involvement of PKC
phosphorylation of p53 on Ser46 in the apoptotic response to DNA damage.
| DISCUSSION |
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is activated in the response of cells to agents that arrest DNA replication or induce DNA lesions (1, 2). The available evidence indicates that full-length PKC
is activated as an early event within1hof exposure to genotoxic agents (5, 17). Phosphorylation of PKC
on tyrosine is a mechanism for PKC
activation by DNA-damaging agents (5, 9). In this context, activation of PKC
is induced, at least in part, by c-Abl-dependent phosphorylation (5). Previous studies have also shown that treatment of cells with DNA-damaging agents is associated with translocation of PKC
to the nucleus (10, 25). Inhibition of PKC
kinase activity attenuates nuclear targeting of PKC
. Whereas nuclear PKC
associates with DNA-PKcs and hRad9 (4, 10), the nuclear targets of PKC
are otherwise largely unknown. The present findings demonstrate that nuclear PKC
also interacts with p53. Binding of PKC
to p53 was detectable constitutively and increased in response to DNA damage. In this context, nuclear targeting of PKC
and induction of p53 expression following genotoxic stress were both associated with increases in the formation of PKC
-p53 complexes. Significantly, the present studies demonstrate that the catalytic fragment of PKC
is responsible for binding to p53. Previous studies have shown that PKC
is activated as a later event in the genotoxic stress by caspase-3-mediated cleavage (1, 2, 26). The cleaved C-terminal 40-kDa fragment contains the ATP binding and kinase domains, which is constitutively active. Interestingly, a recent study demonstrated that PKC
activates caspase-3 by its phosphorylation (27). Thus, caspase-3 could be activated by PKC
-dependent phosphorylation, then cleaved PKC
CF fragment by activated caspase-3 might potentiate interaction of PKC
with p53. In addition to the interaction, we found that PKC
was associated with induction of p53 expression in later periods following DNA damage. In concert with these results, a previous study showed that inhibition of PKC
activity attenuated basal level of p53 expression (22). By contrast, another study demonstrated that treatment of HeLa cells with rottlerin increased cisplatin-mediated p53 level (28). Obviously, further studies will be needed to clarify a mechanism by which PKC
regulates p53 expression.
In contrast to many p53 phosphorylation sites, Ser46 is phosphorylated in a later period following genotoxic stress (16). Moreover, this phosphorylation is required for expression of p53AIP1 that functions in induction of apoptosis (16). These findings thus suggest that Ser46 phosphorylation is essential for p53-dependent apoptosis in response to DNA damage. However, little is known about Ser46 kinase(s). Available lines of evidence revealed that HIPK2 phosphorylated Ser46 upon exposure to UV, but not ionizing radiation (29, 30). p38 MAPK was also reported as a Ser46 kinase; however, this phenomenon is controversial (16, 31-33). In this context, the present studies demonstrate that PKC
is a novel candidate for Ser46 kinase upon exposure to genotoxic stress. The evidence that PKC
is fully activated after cleavage by caspase-3 might be associated with a delayed phosphorylation of p53 on Ser46. Moreover, the present findings that the catalytic fragment of PKC
preferably associates with p53 further support a role for PKC
in Ser46 phosphorylation. We also show that PKC
associates with p53DINP1 following DNA damage. A previous study demonstrated that p53DINP1 recruits kinase(s) responsible for Ser46 phosphorylation to p53. In this regard, inducible association of PKC
with p53DINP1 provided a further support for the involvement of PKC
in Ser46 phosphorylation. Importantly, coimmunoprecipitation studies indicate that fragments of PKC
such as PKC
CF or RD was insufficient for binding to p53DINP1. A potential explanation is that the binding domain extends to both regions of PKC
. Another possibility is that specific tertiary structure is required for the binding. Whereas PKC
CF can interact with p53, this interaction might be independent of the recruitment by p53DINP1. However, given the recent finding that active caspase-3 translocates to the nucleus after induction of apoptosis (34), it is conceivable that PKC
is cleaved in the nucleus after recruitment of PKC
by p53DINP1 to p53.
Upon exposure to genotoxic stress, p53 functions in both cell cycle arrest and induction of apoptosis. However, the mechanism by which p53 determines these distinct outcomes is largely unknown. A previous study suggested that, for repairable DNA damage, p53 is phosphorylated on Ser15 and Ser20 and induces G1 arrest genes, such as p21. If DNA damage is severe and irreparable, Ser46 is phosphorylated, which then triggers induction of pro-apoptotic genes, such as p53AIP1 (16). Thus, Ser46 kinase(s) are activated in response to DNA damage and induce apoptosis, at least in a p53-dependent mechanism. In this context, the present results demonstrate that PKC
phosphorylates p53 on Ser46 and induces apoptosis, at least in part, in a Ser46 phosphorylation-dependent manner. Moreover, PKC
induces p53 expression in later periods following DNA damage. These findings thus support a model in which activation of PKC
by genotoxic stress induces phosphorylation of p53 on Ser46, resulting in the commitment of cell fate to apoptosis.
| FOOTNOTES |
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1 To whom correspondence should be addressed: Dept. of Molecular Genetics, Medical Research Institute, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8510, Japan. Tel.: 81-3-5803-5826; Fax: 81-3-5803-0242; E-mail: yos.mgen{at}mri.tmd.ac.jp.
2 The abbreviations used are: PKC, protein kinase C; CF, catalytic fragment; RD, regulatory domain; FL, full-length; siRNA, small interfering RNA; TUNEL, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUTP nick end-labeling; ADR, adriamycin; GFP, green fluorescent protein; GST, glutathione S-transferase; p53DINP1, p53-dependent damage-inducible nuclear protein; DAPI, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole; PKcs, protein kinase catalytic subunit; wt, wild type. ![]()
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| REFERENCES |
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