Maternally Expressed Gene 3 (MEG3) encodes a lncRNA which is suggested to function as a tumor suppressor. Previous studies suggested that MEG3 functioned through activation of p53, however, the functional properties of MEG3 remain obscure and their relevance to human diseases is under continuous investigation. Here, we try to illuminate the relationship of MEG3 and p53, and the consequence in hepatoma cells. We find that transfection of expression construct of MEG3 enhances stability and transcriptional activity of p53. Deletion analysis of MEG3 confirms that full length and intact structure of MEG3 are critical for it to activate p53-mediated transactivation. Interestingly, our results demonstrate for the first time that MEG3 can interact with p53 DNA binding domain and various p53 target genes are deregulated after overexpression of MEG3 in hepatoma cells. Furthermore, results of qRT-PCR have shown that MEG3 RNA is lost or reduced in the majority of HCC samples compared with adjacent non-tumorous samples. Ectopic expression of MEG3 in hepatoma cells significantly inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis. In conclusion, our data demonstrates that MEG3 functions as a tumor suppressor in hepatoma cells through interacting with p53 protein to activate p53-mediated transcriptional activity and influence the expression of partial p53 target genes.

Chemotherapy induces apoptosis and tumor regression primarily through activation of p53-mediated transcription. Neuroblastoma is a p53 wild type malignancy at diagnosis and repression of p53 signaling plays an important role in its pathogenesis. Recently developed small molecule inhibitors of the MDM2-p53 interaction are able to overcome this repression and potently activate p53 dependent apoptosis in malignancies with intact p53 downstream signaling. We used the small molecule MDM2 inhibitor, Nutlin-3a, to determine the p53 drug response signature in neuroblastoma cells. In addition to p53 mediated apoptotic signatures, GSEA and pathway analysis identified a set of p53-repressed genes that were reciprocally over-expressed in neuroblastoma patients with the worst overall outcome in multiple clinical cohorts. Multifactorial regression analysis identified a subset of four genes (CHAF1A, RRM2, MCM3, and MCM6) whose expression together strongly predicted overall and event-free survival (p<0.0001). The expression of these four genes was then validated by quantitative PCR in a large independent clinical cohort. Our findings further support the concept that oncogene-driven transcriptional networks opposing p53 activation are essential for the aggressive behavior and poor response to therapy of high-risk neuroblastoma.

A comprehensive search for DNA methylated genes identified candidate tumor suppressor genes that have been proven to be involved in the apoptotic process of the p53 pathway. In this study, we investigated p53 mutation in relation to such epigenetic alteration in primary gastric cancer.

Transposable elements, as major components of most eukaryotic organisms' genomes, define their structural organization and plasticity. They supply host genomes with functional elements, for example, binding sites of the pleiotropic master transcription factor p53 were identified in LINE1, Alu and LTR repeats in the human genome. Similarly, in this report we reveal the role of zebrafish (Danio rerio) EnSpmN6_DR non-autonomous DNA transposon in shaping the repertoire of the p53 target genes. The multiple copies of EnSpmN6_DR and their embedded p53 responsive elements drive in several instances p53-dependent transcriptional modulation of the adjacent gene, whose human orthologs were frequently previously annotated as p53 targets. These transposons define predominantly a set of target genes whose human orthologs contribute to neuronal morphogenesis, axonogenesis, synaptic transmission and the regulation of programmed cell death. Consistent with these biological functions the orthologs of the EnSpmN6_DR-colonized loci are enriched for genes expressed in the amygdala, the hippocampus and the brain cortex. Our data pinpoint a remarkable example of convergent evolution: the exaptation of lineage-specific transposons to shape p53-regulated neuronal morphogenesis-related pathways in both a hominid and a teleost fish.

The p53 tumour suppressor protein is a transcription factor that prevents oncogenic progression by activating the expression of apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest genes in stressed cells. The stability of p53 is tightly regulated by ubiquitin-dependent degradation, driven mainly by its negative regulators ubiquitin ligase MDM2.

Studies on human fertility genes have identified numerous risk/protective alleles involved in the occurrence of reproductive system diseases causing infertility or subfertility. Investigations we carried out in populations at natural fertility seem to suggest that the clinical relevance that some fertility genes are now acquiring depends on their interaction with contemporary reproductive behaviors (birth control, delayed childbearing, and spacing birth order, among others). In recent years, a new physiological role in human fertility regulation has emerged for the tumor- suppressor p53 gene (P53), and the P53 Arg72Pro polymorphism has been associated with recurrent implantation failure in humans. To lend support to our previous observations, we examined the impact of Arg72Pro polymorphism on fertility in two samples of Italian women not selected for impaired fertility but collected from populations with different (premodern and modern) reproductive behaviors. Among the women at near-natural fertility (n = 98), the P53 genotypes were not associated with different reproductive efficiency, whereas among those with modern reproductive behaviors (n = 68), the P53 genotypes were associated with different mean numbers of children [Pro/Pro = 0.75

Transcription regulation emerged to be one of the key mechanisms in regulating autophagy. Inhibitors of H3K9 methylation activates the expression of LC3B, as well as other autophagy-related genes, and promotes autophagy process. However, the detailed mechanisms of autophagy regulated by nuclear factors remain elusive. In this study, we performed a drug screen of SMYD2-/- cells and discovered that SMYD2 deficiency enhanced the cell death induced by BIX01294, an inhibitor of histone H3K9 methylation. BIX-01294 induces accumulation of LC3 II and autophagy-related cell death, but not caspase-dependent apoptosis. We profiled the global gene expression pattern after treatment with BIX-01294, in comparison with rapamycin. BIX-01294 selectively activates the downstream genes of p53 signaling, such as p21 and DOR, but not PUMA, a typical p53 target gene inducing apoptosis. BIX-01294 also induces other autophagy-related genes, such as ATG4A and ATG9A. SMYD2 is a methyltransferase for p53 and regulates its transcription activity. Its deficiency enhances the BIX-01294-induced autophagy-related cell death through transcriptionally promoting the expression of p53 target genes. Taken together, our data suggest BIX-01294 induces autophagy-related cell death and selectively activates p53 target genes, which is repressed by SMYD2 methyltransferase.

Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 1 (AKT1), mouse double minute 2 (MDM2) and p53 play important roles in the development of cancer. We examined whether the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the PTEN, AKT1, MDM2 and p53 genes were related to the risk and severity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in the Chinese population. Seven SNPs [p53 rs1042522, PTEN rs11202592, AKT1 SNP1-5 (rs3803300, rs1130214, rs3730358, rs1130233 and rs2494732)] were genotyped in 593 NPC cases and 480 controls by PCR direct sequencing or PCR-RFLP analysis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). None of the polymorphisms alone was associated with the risk or severity of NPC. However, haplotype analyses indicated that a two-SNP core haplotype (SNP4-5, AA) in AKT1 was associated with a significantly increased susceptibility to NPC risk (adjusted OR  =  3.87, 95% CI  =  1.96-7.65; P<0.001). Furthermore, there was a significantly increased risk of NPC associated with the combined risk genotypes (i.e., p53 rs1042522 Arg/Pro + Pro/Pro, MDM2 rs2279244 G/T + G/G, PTEN rs11202592 C/C, AKT1 rs1130233 A/A). Compared with the low-risk group (0-2 combined risk genotypes), the high-risk group (3-4 combined risk genotypes) was associated with a significantly increased susceptibility to NPC risk (adjusted OR  =  1.67, 95% CI  =  1.12-2.50; P = 0.012). Our results suggest that genetic variants in the PTEN, AKT1, MDM2 and p53 tumor suppressor-oncoprotein network may play roles in mediating the susceptibility to NPC in Chinese populations.

Stress-inducible transcription factors play a pivotal role in cellular adaptation to environment to maintain homeostasis and integrity of the genome. Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) is induced by a variety of stress and inflammatory conditions and is over-expressed in many kinds of cancer cells. However, molecular mechanisms underlying pleiotropic functions of ATF3 have remained elusive. Here we employed systems analysis to identify genome-wide targets of ATF3 that is either induced by an alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) or over-expressed in a prostate tumour cell line LNCaP. We show that stress-induced and cancer-associated ATF3 is recruited to 5,984 and 1,423 targets, respectively, in the human genome, 89% of which are common. Notably, ATF3 targets are highly enriched for not only ATF/CRE motifs but also binding sites of several other stress-inducible transcription factors indicating an extensive network of stress response factors in transcriptional regulation of target genes. Further analysis of effects of ATF3 knockdown on these targets revealed that stress-induced ATF3 regulates genes in metabolic pathways, cell cycle, apoptosis, cell adhesion, and signalling including insulin, p53, Wnt, and VEGF pathways. Cancer-associated ATF3 is involved in regulation of distinct sets of genes in processes such as calcium signalling, Wnt, p53 and diabetes pathways. Notably, stress-induced ATF3 binds to 40% of p53 targets and activates pro-apoptotic genes such as TNFRSF10B/DR5 and BBC3/PUMA. Cancer-associated ATF3, by contrast, represses these pro-apoptotic genes in addition to CDKN1A/p21. Taken together, our data reveal an extensive network of stress-inducible transcription factors and demonstrate that ATF3 has opposing, cell context-dependent effects on p53 target genes in DNA damage response and cancer development.

The tumor suppressor p53 plays a crucial role in cellular growth control inducing a plethora of different response pathways. The molecular mechanisms that discriminate between the distinct p53-responses have remained largely elusive. Here, we have analyzed the p53-regulated pathways induced by Actinomycin D and Etoposide treatment resulting in more growth arrested versus apoptotic cells respectively. We found that the genome-wide p53 DNA-binding patterns are almost identical upon both treatments notwithstanding transcriptional differences that we observed in global transcriptome analysis. To assess the role of post-translational modifications in target gene choice and activation we investigated the genome-wide level of phosphorylation of Serine 46 of p53 bound to DNA (p53-pS46) and of Serine 15 (p53-pS15). Interestingly, the extent of S46 phosphorylation of p53 bound to DNA is considerably higher in cells directed towards apoptosis while the degree of phosphorylation at S15 remains highly similar. Moreover, our data suggest that following different chemotherapeutical treatments, the amount of chromatin-associated p53 phosphorylated at S46 but not at pS15 is higher on certain apoptosis related target genes. Our data provide evidence that cell fate decisions are not made primarily on the level of general p53 DNA-binding and that post-translationally modified p53 can have distinct DNA-binding characteristics.

The alkaline single cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay can be combined with fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) methodology in order to investigate the localisation of specific gene domains within an individual cell. The number and position of the fluorescent signal(s) provides information about the relative damage and subsequent repair that is occurring in the targeted gene domain(s). In this study, we have optimised the comet-FISH assay to detect and compare DNA damage and repair in the p53 and hTERT gene regions of bladder cancer cell-lines RT4 and RT112, normal fibroblasts and Cockayne Syndrome (CS) fibroblasts following γ-radiation. Cells were exposed to 5Gy γ-radiation and repair followed for up to 60 minutes. At each repair time-point, the number and location of p53 and hTERT hybridisation spots was recorded in addition to standard comet measurements. In bladder cancer cell-lines and normal fibroblasts, the p53 gene region was found to be rapidly repaired relative to the hTERT gene region and the overall genome, a phenomenon that appeared to be independent of hTERT transcriptional activity. However, in the CS fibroblasts, which are defective in transcription coupled repair (TCR), this rapid repair of the p53 gene region was not observed when compared to both the hTERT gene region and the overall genome, proving the assay can detect variations in DNA repair in the same gene. In conclusion, we propose that the comet-FISH assay is a sensitive and rapid method for detecting differences in DNA damage and repair between different gene regions in individual cells in response to radiation. We suggest this increases its potential for measuring radiosensitivity in cells and may therefore have value in a clinical setting.

The intrinsically disordered N-ter domain (NTD) of p53 encompasses approximately hundred amino acids that contain a transactivation domain (1-73) and a proline-rich domain (64-92) and is responsible for transactivation function and apoptosis. It also possesses an auto-inhibitory function as its removal results in remarkable reduction in dissociation of p53 from DNA.

In vitro, cellular immortalization and transformation define a model for multistep carcinogenesis and current ongoing challenges include the identification of specific molecular events associated with steps along this oncogenic pathway. Here, using NIH3T3 cells, we identified transcriptionally related events associated with the expression of Polyomavirus Large-T antigen (PyLT), a potent viral oncogene. We propose that a subset of these alterations in gene expression may be related to the early events that contribute to carcinogenesis. The proposed tumor suppressor Necdin, known to be regulated by p53, was within a group of genes that was consistently upregulated in the presence of PyLT. While Necdin is induced following p53 activation with different genotoxic stresses, Necdin induction by PyLT did not involve p53 activation or the Rb-binding site of PyLT. Necdin depletion by shRNA conferred a proliferative advantage to NIH3T3 and PyLT-expressing NIH3T3 (NIHLT) cells. In contrast, our results demonstrate that although overexpression of Necdin induced a growth arrest in NIH3T3 and NIHLT cells, a growing population rapidly emerged from these arrested cells. This population no longer showed significant proliferation defects despite high Necdin expression. Moreover, we established that Necdin is a negative regulator of p53-mediated growth arrest induced by nutlin-3, suggesting that Necdin upregulation could contribute to the bypass of a p53-response in p53 wild type tumors. To support this, we characterized Necdin expression in low malignant potential ovarian cancer (LMP) where p53 mutations rarely occur. Elevated levels of Necdin expression were observed in LMP when compared to aggressive serous ovarian cancers. We propose that in some contexts, the constitutive expression of Necdin could contribute to cancer promotion by delaying appropriate p53 responses and potentially promote genomic instability.

Recent studies have reported that exposure of mammalian cells to microwave radiation may have adverse effects such as induction of cell apoptosis. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying microwave induced mammalian cell apoptosis are not fully understood. Here, we report a novel mechanism: exposure to 1800MHz microwave radiation induces p53-dependent cell apoptosis through cytochrome c-mediated caspase-3 activation pathway. We first measured intensity of microwave radiation from several electronic devices with an irradiation detector. Mouse NIH/3T3 and human U-87 MG cells were then used as receivers of 1800MHz electromagnetic radiation (EMR) at a power density of 1209 mW/m2. Following EMR exposure, cells were analyzed for viability, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, DNA damage, p53 expression, and caspase-3 activity. Our analysis revealed that EMR exposure significantly decreased viability of NIH/3T3 and U-87 MG cells, and increased caspase-3 activity. ROS burst was observed at 6 h and 48 h in NIH/3T3 cells, while at 3 h in U-87 MG cells. Hoechst 33258 staining and in situ TUNEL assay detected that EMR exposure increased DNA damage, which was significantly restrained in the presence of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC, an antioxidant). Moreover, EMR exposure increased the levels of p53 protein and p53 target gene expression, promoted cytochrome c release from mitochondrion, and increased caspase-3 activity. These events were inhibited by pretreatment with NAC, pifithrin-α (a p53 inhibitor) and caspase inhibitor. Collectively, our findings demonstrate, for the first time, that 1800MHz EMR induces apoptosis-related events such as ROS burst and more oxidative DNA damage, which in turn promote p53-dependent caspase-3 activation through release of cytochrome c from mitochondrion. These findings thus provide new insights into physiological mechanisms underlying microwave-induced cell apoptosis.

MicroRNAs are a class of naturally occurring small non-coding RNAs that target protein-coding mRNAs at the post-transcriptional level and regulate complex patterns of gene expression. Our previous studies demonstrated that in human prostate cancer the miRNA miR-125b is highly expressed, leading to a negative regulation of some tumor suppressor genes. In this study, we further extend our studies by showing that miR-125b represses the protein product of the ink4a/ARF locus, p14(ARF), in two prostate cancer cell lines, LNCaP (wild type-p53) and 22Rv1 (both wild type and mutant p53), as well as in the PC-346C prostate cancer xenograft model that lentivirally overexpressed miR-125b. Our results highlight that miR-125b modulates the p53 network by hindering the down-regulation of Mdm2, thereby affecting p53 and its target genes p21 and Puma to a degree sufficient to inhibit apoptosis. Conversely, treatment of prostate cancer cells with an inhibitor of miR-125b (anti-miR-125b) resulted in increased expression of p14(ARF), decreased level of Mdm2, and induction of apoptosis. In addition, overexpression of miR-125b in p53-deficient PC3 cells induced down-regulation of p14(ARF), which leads to increased cell proliferation through a p53-independent manner. Thus, we conclude that miR-125b acts as an oncogene which regulates p14(ARF)/Mdm2 signaling, stimulating proliferation of prostate cancer cells through a p53-dependent or p53-independent function. This reinforces our belief that miR-125b has potential as a therapeutic target for the management of patients with metastatic prostate cancer.

The tumor suppressor p53 has become one of most investigated genes. Once activated by stress, p53 leads to cellular responses such as cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.

The p53 tumour suppressor is a transcription factor that can regulate the expression of numerous genes including many encoding proteins and microRNAs (miRNAs). The predominant outcomes of a typical p53 response are the initiation of apoptotic cascades and the activation of cell cycle checkpoints. HT29-tsp53 cells express a temperature sensitive variant of p53 and in the absence of exogenous DNA damage, these cells preferentially undergo G1 phase cell cycle arrest at the permissive temperature that correlates with increased expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21WAF1. Recent evidence also suggests that a variety of miRNAs can induce G1 arrest by inhibiting the expression of proteins like CDK4 and CDK6. Here we used oligonucleotide microarrays to identify p53-regulated miRNAs that are induced in these cells undergoing G1 arrest. At the permissive temperature, the expression of several miRNAs was increased through a combination of either transcriptional or post-transcriptional regulation. In particular, miR-34a-5p, miR-143-3p and miR-145-5p were strongly induced and they reached levels comparable to that of reference miRNAs (miR-191 and miR-103). Importantly, miR-34a-5p and miR-145-5p are known to silence the Cdk4 and/or Cdk6 G1 cyclin-dependent kinases (cdks). Surprisingly, there was no p53-dependent decrease in the expression of either of these G1 cdks. To search for other potential targets of p53-regulated miRNAs, p53-downregulated mRNAs were identified through parallel microarray analysis of mRNA expression. Once again, there was no clear effect of p53 on the repression of mRNAs under these conditions despite a remarkable increase in p53-induced mRNA expression. Therefore, despite a strong p53 transcriptional response, there was no clear evidence that p53-responsive miRNA contributed to gene silencing. Taken together, the changes in cell cycle distribution in this cell line at the permissive temperature is likely attributable to transcriptional upregulation of the CDKN1A mRNA and p21WAF1 protein and not to the down regulation of CDK4 or CDK6 by p53-regulated miRNAs.

Tumour-suppressor genes, such as the p53 gene, produce proteins that inhibit cell division under adverse conditions, as in the case of DNA damage, radiation, hypoxia, or oxidative stress (OS). The p53 gene can arrest proliferation and trigger death by apoptosis subsequent to several factors. In astrocytes, p53 promotes cell-cycle arrest and is involved in oxidative stress-mediated astrocyte cell death. Increasingly, astrocytic p53 is proving fundamental in orchestrating neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis. In terms of ocular disease, p53 may play a role in hypoxia due to ischaemia and may be involved in the retinal response to oxidative stress (OS). We studied the influence of the p53 gene in the structural and quantitative characteristics of astrocytes in the retina. Adult mice of the C57BL/6 strain (12 months old) were distributed into two groups: 1) mice with two extra copies of p53 ("super p53"; n = 6) and 2) wild-type p53 age-matched control, as the control group (WT; n = 6). Retinas from each group were immunohistochemically processed to locate the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). GFAP+ astrocytes were manually counted and the mean area occupied for one astrocyte was quantified. Retinal-astrocyte distribution followed established patterns; however, morphological changes were seen through the retinas in relation to p53 availability. The mean GFAP+ area occupied by one astrocyte in "super p53" eyes was significantly higher (p<0.05; Student's t-test) than in the WT. In addition, astroglial density was significantly higher in the "super p53" retinas than in the WT ones, both in the whole-retina (p<0,01 Student's t-test) and in the intermediate and peripheral concentric areas of the retina (p<0.05 Student's t-test). This fact might improve the resistance of the retinal cells against OS and its downstream signalling pathways.

The JmjC domain-containing protein JMJD3/KDM6B catalyses the demethylation of H3K27me3 and H3K27me2. JMJD3 appears to be highly regulated at the transcriptional level and is upregulated in response to diverse stimuli such as differentiation inducers and stress signals. Accordingly, JMJD3 has been linked to the regulation of different biological processes such as differentiation of embryonic stem cells, inflammatory responses in macrophages, and induction of cellular senescence via regulation of the INK4A-ARF locus. Here we show here that JMJD3 interacts with the tumour suppressor protein p53. We find that the interaction is dependent on the p53 tetramerization domain. Following DNA damage, JMJD3 is transcriptionally upregulated and by performing genome-wide mapping of JMJD3, we demonstrate that it binds genes involved in basic cellular processes, as well as genes regulating cell cycle, response to stress and apoptosis. Moreover, we find that JMJD3 binding sites show significant overlap with p53 bound promoters and enhancer elements. The binding of JMJD3 to p53 target sites is increased in response to DNA damage, and we demonstrate that the recruitment of JMJD3 to these sites is dependent on p53 expression. Therefore, we propose a model in which JMJD3 is recruited to p53 responsive elements via its interaction with p53 and speculate that JMJD3 could act as a fail-safe mechanism to remove low levels of H3K27me3 and H3K27me2 to allow for efficient acetylation of H3K27.

The tumor suppressor protein p53 has been described "as the guardian of the genome" for its crucial role in regulating the transcription of numerous genes responsible for cells cycle arrest, senescence, or apoptosis in response to various stress signals. Although p53 promotes longevity by decreasing the risk of cancer through activation of apoptosis or cellular senescence, several findings suggest that an increase of its activity may have deleterious effects leading to selected aspects of the aging phenotype and neurodegenerative diseases. There is the link between p53 and oxidative stress, the latter a crucial factor that contributes to neurodegenerative processes like Alzheimer disease (AD). In the present study, using a proteomics approach, we analyzed the impact of lack of p53 on the expression of several brain mitochondrial proteins involved in different pathways, and how lack of p53 may present a target to restore neuronal impairments. Our investigation on isolated brain mitochondria from p53((-/-)) mice also provides a better understanding of the p53-mitochondria relationship and its involvement in the development of many diseases.