Correlation of genetic instability and apoptosis in the presence of oncogenic Ki-Ras.

The product of the ras proto-oncogene has been implicated as an essential signal transducer, involved in a variety of biological or pathological activities, including apoptosis. The aim of this investigation was to further explore the mechanisms of apoptosis triggered by Ras. Stable expression of constitutively-activated (v)-Ki-Ras in Balb/c-3T3 mouse fibroblasts resulted in a loss of G1 arrest in response to treatments which induced cell cycle arrest in the parental Balb/c-3T3 cells, accompanied by decreased expression of the p53 tumor suppressor protein and the GADD45 gene, the product of which is involved in DNA repair, and deregulated expression of the MDM-2 gene, the product of which can regulate p53 expression. Ki-Ras expression also increased the frequency of PALA-selectable CAD gene amplification, and paradoxically the susceptibility to PALA-induced apoptosis. After persistent serum-starvation, cells expressing the activated ras gene lost clonogenic potential, indicating impaired capability for genetic repair in the cells. Taken together, these data suggest that activated Ki-ras may confer genetic instabilty upon cells, possibly through interference with tumor suppressors, such as p53. While this instability may facilitate adaptation to environmental stresses, this instability in the genome also renders cells containing activated ras genes intrinsically more susceptible to programmed cell death, possibly by accumulation of undesirable or lethal genetic events during the process of tumor development.

Hypoxia increases thrombospondin-1 transcript and protein in cultured endothelial cells.

The exposure of endothelial cells to hypoxic environments regulates the expression of a number of genes with products that are vasoactive or mitogenic for vascular tissue, including platelet-derived growth factor, endothelin-1, and endothelial nitric oxide synthase. Hypoxia is also known to alter the adhesive properties of endothelium toward a variety of blood cell types. Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is a glycoprotein with major roles in cellular adhesion and vascular smooth muscle proliferation and migration. We report here that hypoxia induces TSP-1 gene and protein expression. Oxygen tensions of < or =30 torr resulted in TSP-1 transcript induction initially apparent at 1 to 6 hours, with maximal induction (6.5-fold+/-1.2-fold) within 24 to 48 hours in both human and bovine endothelial cells. TSP-1 protein levels remain elevated after 72 hours of continuous hypoxic exposure. The induction of TSP-1 steady-state transcript levels is caused in large part, if not entirely, by post-transcriptional stabilization of the TSP-1 mRNA. The TSP-1 induction by hypoxia is a graded and reversible physiologic response and can be mimicked by the use of cobalt chloride or the inhibition of nitric oxide production, suggesting both the involvement of a heme-containing oxygen sensor and a role for the endogenous production of nitric oxide in TSP-1 regulation. The effects of hypoxia both on the stabilization of the TSP-1 transcript and the stimulation of TSP-1 protein production are completely inhibited by arginine butyrate.

Differential regulation of discrete apoptotic pathways by Ras.

The products of the ras genes are known to regulate cell proliferation and differentiation; recently, they have been found to play a role in apoptosis. The expression of oncogenic p21(ras) in a number of cell types, including Jurkat (a human T lymphoblastoid cell line) and murine fibroblasts, makes the cells susceptible to apoptosis following suppression of protein kinase C (PKC) activity (PKC/Ras-mediated apoptosis). Engagement of Fas antigen, a potent effector of apoptosis, activates cellular p21(ras), which may be required for completion of the cell death program. To further investigate the role of p21(ras) in the regulation of apoptosis, the cellular mechanisms employed in these two apoptotic processes in which Ras activity is involved (PKC/Ras-related and Fas-triggered apoptosis), was explored. Increasing p21(ras) activity by expressing v-ras or by treatment with an antisense oligonucleotide to the GTPase-activating protein was found to accelerate the Fas-mediated apoptotic process in Jurkat and mouse LF cells. PKC/Ras-related apoptosis was associated with, and required, cell cycle progression, accompanied by the expression of the G1/S cyclins. In contrast, Fas engagement, although inducing a vigorous and PKC-independent activation of endogenous p21(ras), did not alter cell cycle progression, nor did it require such progression for apoptosis. Both the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide and cyclin E antisense oligonucleotides partially abolished PKC/Ras-mediated apoptosis but had only a moderate effect on Fas-induced apoptosis. In contrast, the CED-3/interleukin-1beta-converting enzyme (ICE) protease inhibitor Z-VADfmk efficiently suppressed Fas-induced apoptosis and only marginally inhibited PKC/Ras-mediated apoptosis. Induction of both pathways resulted in activation of the Jun NH2-terminal kinase/JUN signaling system. These results suggest that different cell death programs, such as PKC/Ras-mediated and Fas-mediated apoptosis, may be interconnected via p21(ras) and perhaps Jun NH2-terminal kinase/JUN. In response to various death stimuli, p21(ras) may act as a common intermediate regulator in the transduction of apoptotic signals.

Calcium-dependent immediate-early gene induction in lymphocytes is negatively regulated by p21Ha-ras.

The induction of immediate-early (IE) response genes, such as egr-1, c-fos, and c-jun, occurs rapidly after the activation of T lymphocytes. The process of activation involves calcium mobilization, activation of protein kinase C (PKC), and phosphorylation of tyrosine kinases. p21(ras), a guanine nucleotide binding factor, mediates T-cell signal transduction through PKC-dependent and PKC-independent pathways. The involvement of p21(ras) in the regulation of calcium-dependent signals has been suggested through analysis of its role in the activation of NF-AT. We have investigated the inductions of the IE genes in response to calcium signals in Jurkat cells (in the presence of activated p21(ras)) and their correlated consequences. The expression of activated p21(ras) negatively regulated the induction of IE genes by calcium ionophore. This inhibition of calcium-activated IE gene induction was reversed by treatment with cyclosporin A, suggesting the involvement of calcineurin in this regulation. A later result of inhibition of this activation pathway by p21(ras) was down-regulation of the activity of the transcription factor AP-1 and subsequent coordinate reductions in IL-2 gene expression and protein production. These results suggest that p2l(ras) is an essential mediator in generating not only positive but also negative modulatory mechanisms controlling the competence of T cells in response to inductive stimulations.

A role for activated p21 ras in inhibition/regulation of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) type-beta receptor activation.

Ligand-stimulated Platelet-Derived Growth Factor (PDGF) type-beta receptor autophosphorylation, and tyrosine phosphorylation of receptor-associated signalling proteins, is blocked in cells expressing activated Ras genes. A factor present in membrane fractions of v-ras-expressing fibroblasts (Kbalb cells) dominantly inhibits the autophosphorylation of the PDGF type-beta receptor. Purification of this factor, via ion exchange, reveals that the inhibitor can be physically separated from the PDGF type-beta receptor, with reconstitution of PDGF type-beta receptor kinase activity in response to ligand binding. The inhibitor exhibited specificity for the PDGF type-beta receptor, and consistently co-purified with activated p21 ras, with Syp/PTP-2, and with Grb2. Neutralization of the p21 ras protein from the Kbalb cell membranes by p21 ras-specific monoclonal antibodies, however, completely removed the inhibition of PDGF type-beta receptor, rendering the PDGF type-beta receptor molecule capable of autophosphorylation in response to ligand. These results indicate that activated p21 ras either interacts directly with the PDGF type-beta receptor to inhibit autokinase activity, or complexes with different molecules such as Syp and/or Grb2 at the cell membrane to act on another effector which then inhibits PDGF type-beta receptor function.

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) induction of egr-1 is independent of PDGF receptor autophosphorylation on tyrosine.

Autophosphorylation of the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor on tyrosine, which is dependent upon and occurs immediately after ligand binding, has been linked to the activation of second messenger pathways thought to be necessary for the induction of gene expression, DNA synthesis, and mitogenesis. We have investigated PDGF signal transduction in Balb/c3T3 and NIH-3T3 cells at the level of immediate-early gene induction under three conditions in which PDGF receptor autophosphorylation in response to PDGF binding is blocked: cells transformed by v-rasKi, cells transformed by v-mos, and cells treated with genistein, a specific inhibitor of tyrosine kinases. PDGF induction of immediate-early genes c-myc, c-fos, and JE is blocked in these systems. Induction of another immediate-early gene, egr-1, occurs normally despite the absence of measurable tyrosine kinase activity. The same results were obtained when cells were stimulated with PDGF-AA or PDGF-BB. It is not yet clear if this receptor tyrosine kinase-independent signal utilizes known PDGF second messengers, but these results demonstrate a new arm of the PDGF signal transduction pathway which operates in the absence of, and independently from, autophosphorylation of the receptor on tyrosine.

v-mos suppresses platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) type-beta receptor autophosphorylation and inhibits PDGF-BB-mediated signal transduction.

The function of mos protein in somatic cells, the mechanisms underlying its ability to transform cells, and its relationship to growth factor autonomy and growth factor-mediated signal transduction are not well defined. This report demonstrates that the expression of transforming mos (v-mos) can block the stimulation of growth-related gene expression mediated by the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-BB). This blockade by v-mos of PDGF-BB signal transduction occurs very early in the signalling pathway, at the level of PDGF type-beta receptor autophosphorylation. Although the expression of PDGF type-beta receptor, as detected by Western blot with anti-PDGF type-beta receptor antibody,was not diminished in v-mos transformed BALB/c-3T3 murine fibroblasts, the autophosphorylation of PDGF-beta receptor in response to ligand (recombinant PDGF-BB homodimer) stimulation was profoundly suppressed. This same phenomenon of v-mos-mediated PDGF type-beta receptor autophosphorylation inhibition was also demonstrated in NIH-3T3 fibroblasts. A v-mos mutant gene, which was incapable of binding ATP and was kinase-defective, did not block ligand-mediated receptor autophosphorylation. Factor(s) present in v-mos expressing fibroblasts, and found in the membrane fractions of these cells, dominantly inhibit the autophosphorylation of the PDGF type-beta receptor obtained from normal fibroblasts. This trans-acting factor does not appear to be a protein-tyrosine phosphatase. These findings suggest a role for mos, or a similar serine/threonine kinase, as a control mechanism in one of the earliest steps of the PDGF signal transduction pathway, and may provide a model for the functional interaction of mos with growth factor receptors.

Discrimination of a colony stimulating factor subclass by a specific receptor on a macrophage cell line.

Utilizing the high affinity interactions between pure 125I-L cell colony stimulating factor and its receptor(s) on the murine macrophage cell line J774, a murine radioreceptor assay (RRA) has been developed. The murine RRA selectively detects a colony stimulating factor (CSF) subclass (CSF-1) previously defined by murine radioimmunoassay (RIA) (E.R. Stanley, Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., USA, 76:2969-2973 ('79)). CSF-1 stimulates macrophage production exclusively, and the occurrence of the CSF-1 receptor(s) appears to be restricted to cells of the mononuclear phagocytic system (L.J. Guilbert and E.R. Stanley, J. Cell Biol. 85:153-160 ('80)). The murine CSF-1 RRA failed to detect a variety of other CSF subclasses, growth factors, and hormones. In contrast to data obtained with the murine CSF-1 RIA, human CSF-1 (e.g., human urinary CSF) is detected by the mouse CSF-1 RRA almost as sensitively as murine CSF-1. In addition, there was an absolute correlation between CSF-1 levels determined by murine CSF-1 RRA and those determined by a human CSF-1 RIA for a variety of human CSF-1 sources. The murine CSF-1 RRA is a sensitive (sensitivity 5 units or 1.0 femtomole of CSF-1 protein), rapid, and highly specific assay for CSF-1 in both murine and human sources.