Faculty Bibliography

A cascade of events is triggered upon the addition of growth factor to quiescent mammalian cells, which ultimately restarts proliferation by inducing the transition from G0/G1 to S-phase. We have studied cyclin D1, a putative G1 cyclin, in normal diploid human fibroblasts. Cyclin D1 accumulated and reached a maximum level before S-phase upon the addition of serum to quiescent cells. The protein was localized to the nucleus, and it disappeared from the nucleus as cells proceeded into S-phase. Microinjection of anti-cyclin D1 antibodies or antisense plasmid prevented cells from entering S-phase, and the kinetics of inhibition showed that cyclin D1 is required at a point in the cell cycle earlier than cyclin A. These results demonstrate that cyclin D1 is a critical target of proliferative signals in G1.

We investigated the temporal regulation of cyclin A- and B1-dependent kinases in human lymphoma cells treated with nitrogen mustard (HN2) and pentoxifylline, to determine whether the activity of these complexes correlated with cell cycle arrest induced by DNA damage. Cells were synchronized in G1/S, treated with HN2, and then postincubated with pentoxifylline. HN2-induced a protracted delay in G2 phase. This delay correlated with suppression of cyclin B1- and cdc2-kinase activities, and stabilization of hyperphosphorylated-cdc2 in the presence of similar cyclin B1 levels to those found in mitosis. HN2 had no discernible effect on the S phase activity of cyclin A- or cdk2-immune complexes. Entry of control cells into mitosis correlated with destruction of cyclin A, disappearance of cyclin A-bound cdk2 and decreased cdk2 kinase activity. G2 delay induced by HN2 was associated with stabilization of cyclin A, increased abundance of cyclin A-bound cdk2, and increased cdk2 activity. Cyclin A was also associated with cdc2, which, contrary to complexes containing cdk2, were only activated upon entry into mitosis. Pentoxifylline abrogated cell cycle arrest induced by aphidicolin and HN2 in human lymphoma cells. Pentoxifylline also reverted the activity of cyclin A- and B1-kinases in HN2-treated cells to approximately that observed in controls. Our findings suggest that delayed entry into mitosis following DNA damage correlates with suppression of cyclin B1/cdc2 and cyclin A/cdc2 complexes, while maintaining cyclin A/cdc2 complexes in an active state. Furthermore, we found that pentoxifylline disrupts the signal transduction pathway that regulates these complexes when damaged DNA is present, resulting in abrogation of cell cycle arrest.

We have investigated the effects of deregulated expression of the human c-MYC protooncogene on cyclin gene expression and on the transcription factor E2F. We found that constitutive expression of MYC or activation of conditional MycER chimeras led to higher levels of cyclin A and cyclin E mRNA. Activation of cyclin A expression by MYC led to a growth factor-independent association of cyclin A and cdk2 with the transcription factor E2F and correlated with an increase in E2F transcriptional activity. In contrast, expression of the G1 phase cyclin D1 was strongly reduced in MYC-transformed cells. In synchronized cells, repression of cyclin D1 by MYC occurred very early in the G1 phase of the cell cycle.

In mammalian cells inhibition of the cdc2 function results in arrest in the G2-phase of the cell cycle. Several cdc2-related gene products have been identified recently and it has been hypothesized that they control earlier cell cycle events. Here we have studied the relationship between activation of one of these cdc2 homologs, the cdk2 protein kinase, and the progression through the cell cycle in cultured human fibroblasts. We found that cdk2 was activated and specifically localized to the nucleus during S phase and G2. Microinjection of affinity-purified anti-cdk2 antibodies but not of affinity-purified anti-cdc2 antibodies, during G1, inhibited entry into S phase. The specificity of these effects was demonstrated by the fact that a plasmid-driven cdk2 overexpression counteracted the inhibition. These results demonstrate that the cdk2 protein kinase is involved in the activation of DNA synthesis

The adenovirus E1A, SV40 large T and papillomavirus E7 proteins immortalize primary cells by virtue of their ability to bind the retinoblastoma gene product (pRB) and other cellular proteins, including cyclin A and the prRB-related protein, p107. It has been demonstrated that these viral oncogene products will prevent the inhibition of positive growth regulators by pRB, one of them being the E2F transcription factor. Here we show that the interactions of pRB and cyclin A with E2F are present also in normal keratinocytes and in primary human fibroblasts. In human keratinocytes immortalized by human papillomavirus 16 (HPV-16), expressing high levels of HPV-16 E7 protein, complexes between E2F and pRB are disrupted. In this cell line, as well as in HeLa cells which express HPV-18 E7, complexes containing E2F and cyclin A are maintained, indicating that this interaction is not sensitive to the viral oncoprotein and that cyclin A can associate with E2F independently of pRB. In vitro binding experiments suggest that the E7 gene product is able to preferentially abolish the interaction of pRB with E2F, leaving the cyclin A complexes intact. Our findings suggest that E7-dependent immortalization of human cells is associated with modifications of E2F multiprotein complexes.

Cyclins play a fundamental role in regulating cell cycle events in all eukaryotic cells. The human cyclin A gene was identified as the site of integration of hepatitis B virus in a hepatocarcinoma cell line; in addition, cyclin A is associated with the E2F transcription factor in a complex which is dissociated by the E1A oncogene product. Such findings suggest that cyclin A is a target for oncogenic signals. We have now found that DNA synthesis and entry into mitosis are inhibited in human cells microinjected with anti-cyclin A antibodies at distinct times. Cyclin A binds both cdk2 and cdc2, giving two distinct cyclin A kinase activities, one appearing in S phase, the other in G2. These results suggest that cyclin A defines novel control points of the human cell cycle.

The transcription factor E2F controls the expression of several proliferation-related genes and is a target of the adenovirus E1A oncogene. In human cells, both cyclin A and the cdk2 protein kinase were found in complexes with E2F. Although the total amounts of cdk2 were constant in the cell cycle, binding to E2F was detected only when cells entered S phase, a time when the cdk2 kinase is activated. These data suggest that the interaction between cdk2 and E2F requires an active kinase that has cyclin A as a targeting component

Activation of the cdc2 kinase in the cell cycle occurs upon binding to a regulatory subunit called cyclin. Cyclin A associates with both Cdc2 and its homologue Cdk2. The two complexes appear in S phase but cyclin A/Cdk2 is activated earlier than cyclin A/Cdc2. Several regions in Cdc2 are involved in binding cyclins A and B. Phosphorylation of cyclin/Cdk complexes ensures that the kinase activity peaks at a specific time in the cell cycle. Phosphorylation of Thr161 in Cdc2 is required for strong cyclin binding and kinase activity in vitro; its dephosphorylation is necessary for cells to exit mitosis. We have identified a novel 'Activating factor' that stimulates binding between cyclin and Cdc2 by inducing phosphorylation of Cdc2 on Thr161. We propose that Thr161 is targeted by an additional cell cycle regulatory pathway.

One of the most fundamental questions in biology is how a cell is able to regulate its division cycle. Initially it was thought that in mammalian cells control over entry into the cell cycle is exerted at a restriction point in G1; once past this point the cell would be free to undergo all the steps needed until the following division. Hence, for many years research on tumorigenesis focused on the mitogenic activation of quiescent cells by growth factors, peptide hormones and oncogene products (for reviews see [1, 2]). These studies investigated the initial steps required to induce a quiescent, nondividing cell to proliferate, and led to the identification of many growth factor receptors, of both the tyrosine kinase family and the G-protein coupled family. Receptors bearing protein tyrosine phosphatase or serine kinase catalytic domains were also identified via this route (for reviews see [3, 4, 5]). However more recent studies on the cooperation between different growth factors for mitogenesis have shown that multiple requirements exist for a cell to proceed through the entire division cycle. Indeed studies in several different organisms, pioneered by investigators working with Ascomycetes [6, 7, 8], have now clearly shown that the eukaryotic cell cycle proceeds through multiple check-points. Furthermore, it now appears that many of the regulatory elements and even pathways have been conserved throughout evolution. In this review we discuss the possible involvement of one of the transducing molecules, cyclin A, in abnormal cell proliferation.