Cytokinin activation of Arabidopsis cell division through a D-type cyclin. (1/165)

Cytokinins are plant hormones that regulate plant cell division. The D-type cyclin CycD3 was found to be elevated in a mutant of Arabidopsis with a high level of cytokinin and to be rapidly induced by cytokinin application in both cell cultures and whole plants. Constitutive expression of CycD3 in transgenic plants allowed induction and maintenance of cell division in the absence of exogenous cytokinin. Results suggest that cytokinin activates Arabidopsis cell division through induction of CycD3 at the G1-S cell cycle phase transition.  (+info)

HLA class I-mediated induction of cell proliferation involves cyclin E-mediated inactivation of Rb function and induction of E2F activity. (2/165)

Chronic rejection of transplanted organs is manifested as atherosclerosis of the blood vessels of the allograft. HLA class I Ags have been implicated to play a major role in this process, since signaling via HLA class I molecules can induce the proliferation of aortic endothelial as well as smooth muscle cells. In this study, we show that HLA class I-mediated induction of cell proliferation correlates with inactivation of the Rb protein in the T cell line Jurkat as well as human aortic endothelial cells. HLA class I-mediated inactivation of Rb can be inhibited specifically by neutralizing Abs to basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), suggesting a role for FGF receptors in the signaling process. Signaling through HLA class I molecules induced cyclin E-associated kinase activity within 4 h in quiescent endothelial cells, and appeared to mediate the inactivation of Rb. A cdk2 inhibitor, Olomoucine, as well as a dominant-negative cdk2 construct prevented HLA class I-mediated inactivation of Rb; in contrast, dominant-negative cdk4 and cdk6 constructs had no effect. Furthermore, there was no increase in cyclin D-associated kinase activity upon HLA class I ligation, suggesting that cyclin E-dependent kinase activity mediates Rb inactivation, leading to E2F activation and cell proliferation.  (+info)

Auxin induction of cell cycle regulated activity of tobacco telomerase. (3/165)

Telomerase activity was measured at each phase of the cell cycle in synchronized tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) BY-2 cells in suspension culture with the use of the telomeric repeat amplification protocol assay. The activity was low or undetectable at most phases of the cell cycle but showed a marked increase at early S phase. The induction of telomerase activity was not affected by the S phase blockers aphidicolin (which inhibits DNA polymerase alpha) or hydroxyurea (which inhibits ribonucleotide reductase), but it was prevented by olomoucine, an inhibitor of Cdc2/Cdk2 kinases that blocks G(1)-S cell cycle transition. These results suggest that the induction of telomerase activity is not directly coupled to DNA replication by conventional DNA polymerases, but rather is triggered by the entry of cells into S phase. Various analogs of the plant hormone auxin, including indole-3-acetic acid, alpha-naphthaleneacetic acid, and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, potentiated the increase in telomerase activity at early S phase; the growth-inactive analog 2,3-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, however, had no such effect. Potentiation by indole-3-acetic acid of the induction of telomerase activity was dose dependent. Together, these data indicate that telomerase activity in tobacco cells is regulated in a cell cycle-dependent manner, and that the increase in activity at S phase is specifically inducible by auxin.  (+info)

Inhibitory phosphorylation of PP1alpha catalytic subunit during the G(1)/S transition. (4/165)

We have shown earlier that, in cells expressing the retinoblastoma protein (pRB), a protein phosphatase (PP) 1alpha mutant (T320A) resistant to inhibitory phosphorylation by cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks) causes G(1) arrest. In this study, we examined the cell cycle-dependent phosphorylation of PP1alpha in vivo using three different antibodies. PP1alpha was phosphorylated at Thr-320 during M-phase and again in late G(1)- through early S-phase. Inhibition of Cdk2 led to a small increase in PP1 activity and also prevented PP1alpha phosphorylation. In vitro, PP1alpha was a substrate for Cdk2 but not Cdk4. In pRB-deficient cells, phosphorylation of PP1alpha occurred in M-phase but not at G(1)/S. G(1)/S phosphorylation was at least partially restored after reintroduction of pRB into these cells. Consistent with this result, PP1alpha phosphorylated at Thr-320 co-precipitated with pRB during G(1)/S but was found in extracts immunodepleted of pRB in M-phase. In conjunction with earlier studies, these results indicate that PP1alpha may control pRB function throughout the cell cycle. In addition, our new results suggest that different subpopulations of PP1alpha regulate the G(1)/S and G(2)/M transitions and that PP1alpha complexed to pRB requires inhibitory phosphorylation by G(1)-specific Cdks in order to prevent untimely reactivation of pRB and permit transition from G(1)- to S-phase and/or complete S-phase.  (+info)

Naturally induced secretions of the potato cyst nematode co-stimulate the proliferation of both tobacco leaf protoplasts and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. (5/165)

Naturally induced secretions from infective juveniles of the potato cyst nematode Globodera rostochiensis co-stimulate the proliferation of tobacco leaf protoplasts in the presence of the synthetic phytohormones alpha-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP). With the use of a protoplast-based bioassay, a low-molecular-weight peptide(s) (< 3 kDa) was shown to be responsible for the observed effect. This mitogenic oligopeptide(s) is functionally dissimilar to auxin and cytokinin and, in addition, it does not change the sensitivity of the protoplasts toward these phytohormones. In combination with the mitogen phytohemagglutinin (PHA), cyst nematode secretions also co-stimulated mitogenesis in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The stimulation of plant cells isolated from nontarget tissue--these nematodes normally invade the roots of potato plants--suggests the activation of a general signal transduction mechanism(s) by an oligopeptide(s) secreted by the nematode. Whether a similar oligopeptide-induced mechanism underlies human PBMC activation remains to be investigated. Reactivation of the cell cycle is a crucial event in feeding cell formation by cyst nematodes. The secretion of a mitogenic low-molecular-weight peptide(s) by infective juveniles of the potato cyst nematode could contribute to the redifferentiation of plant cells into such a feeding cell.  (+info)

Cdc2 and Cdk2 kinase activated by transforming growth factor-beta1 trigger apoptosis through the phosphorylation of retinoblastoma protein in FaO hepatoma cells. (6/165)

The signaling pathway leading to TGF-beta1-induced apoptosis was investigated using a TGF-beta1-sensitive hepatoma cell line, FaO. Cell cycle analysis demonstrated that the accumulation of apoptotic cells was preceded by a progressive decrease of the cell population in the G(1) phase concomitant with a slight increase of the cell population in the G(2)/M phase in response to TGF-beta1. TGF-beta1 induced a transient increase in the expression of Cdc2, cyclin A, cyclin B, and cyclin D1 at an early phase of apoptosis. During TGF-beta1-induced apoptosis, the transient increase in cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) activities coincides with a dramatic increase in the hyperphosphorylated forms of RB. Treatment with roscovitine or olomoucine, inhibitors of Cdc2 and Cdk2, blocked TGF-beta1-induced apoptosis by inhibiting RB phosphorylation. Overexpression of Bcl-2 or adenovirus E1B 19K suppressed TGF-beta1-induced apoptosis by blocking the induction of Cdc2 mRNA and the subsequent activation of Cdc2 kinase, whereas activation of Cdk2 was not affected, suggesting that Cdc2 plays a more critical role in TGF-beta1-induced apoptosis. In conclusion, we present the evidence that Cdc2 and Cdk2 kinase activity transiently induced by TGF-beta1 phosphorylates RB as a physiological target in FaO cells and that RB hyperphosphorylation may trigger abrupt cell cycle progression, leading to irreversible cell death.  (+info)

Key role of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27kip1 for embryonal carcinoma cell survival and differentiation. (7/165)

Hexamethylen-bisacetamide (HMBA) represents the prototype of a group of hybrid polar compounds, which induce differentiation in a variety of transformed cells including human embryonal carcinoma cells. Therefore, HMBA has been used in the differentiation therapy of cancer for patients with both hematological and solid malignancies. Upon HMBA treatment, the embryonal carcinoma cell line NTERA-2 clone D1 (NT2/D1) accumulates in G1 and undergoes terminal differentiation. Here we demonstrate that growth arrest and differentiation of NT2/D1 cells induced by HMBA involve increased expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27, enhanced association of p27 with cyclin E/CDK2 complexes and suppression of kinase activity associated to cyclin E/CDK2 (but not to cyclin D3/CDK4). When HMBA differentiation was induced in the presence of p27 antisense oligonucleotides, NT2/D1 cells failed to arrest growth properly and, in parallel with the reduction of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 gene expression, cells underwent massive programmed cell death. Conversely, constitutive expression of p27 into NT2/D1 cells induced a marked reduction in the growth potential of these cells and partially reproduced HMBA-induced modification of surface antigen expression (down-regulation of SSEA-3 expression and up-regulation of VINIS-53 expression). Expression of p21 induced growth arrest but not differentiation. Likewise, inhibition of CDK2 by transfection of a dominant negative CDK2 in NT2/D1 cells or treatment with the kinase inhibitor olomucine induced growth arrest but not differentiation. Therefore, we propose that p27 represents a crucial molecule in HMBA signaling that cannot be replaced by p21. Furthermore, the results obtained with CDK2 inhibitors demonstrate that the block of CDK2 activity is sufficient for growth arrest but not for cell differentiation and suggest that, at least in these cells, growth arrest and differentiation are regulated by two overlapping but different pathways.  (+info)

Potent inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 induce nuclear accumulation of wild-type p53 and nucleolar fragmentation in human untransformed and tumor-derived cells. (8/165)

The cdk2 gene has been identified as a human cdc2/CDC28-related gene that encodes a protein kinase essential for the G1/S transition in mammalian cells, but not for the G2/M transition, which requires Cdk1, another p34cdc2/CDC28 homolog. Novel potential functions of Cdk2 have been uncovered by using two potent and specific inhibitors of its kinase activity, roscovitine and olomoucine, on human wt p53-expresser untransformed and tumor-derived cells. At concentrations equal or superior to respectively 30- and 20-fold their in vitro IC50 values for cyclin B/Cdk1, cyclin A/Cdk2 and cyclin E/Cdk2, the Cdk inhibitors precipitately induce a dramatic nuclear accumulation of wt p53 and a delocalization of nucleolin from the nucleolus in all interphase cells, whatever their cell cycle status, acting in this way like the DNA-damaging drug, mitomycin C (7 microg/ml). These early events are soon followed by a nucleolar fragmentation in both normal and tumor cells in the presence of the Cdk inhibitors but not in the presence of the DNA-damaging drug. Yet, treatment with either type of compounds eventually triggers rapidly the death of the tumor cells and, much more slowly, that of the normal cells. The Cdk inhibitors, however, stimulate cell death from any stage of the cell cycle, whereas the DNA-damaging drug kills more efficaciously S phase cells. These observations provide a hint that the Cdk2 kinase might be involved in controlling the nuclear levels of the tumor suppressor wt p53 protein and in maintaining the nucleolar integrity and function, linking in this way the cell division cycle machinery to survival functions and overall cell metabolism via the control of nucleocytoplasmic transport and of ribosome production.  (+info)

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