HBx triggers either cellular senescence or cell proliferation depending on cellular phenotype.

Replicative senescence is a hallmark of chronic liver diseases including chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, whereas HBV-encoded oncoproteins HBx and preS2 have been found to overcome senescence. HBx possesses a C-terminal truncation mainly in hepatocellular carcinomas but also in noncancerous liver tissues. Here, by cell counting, BrdU incorporation, MTT proliferation assay, cell cycle analysis, SA-ßgal staining and Western blotting in primary and malignant cells, we investigated the effect of HBx C-terminal mutants on cellular senescence. HBx C-terminal mutants were found to trigger cellular senescence in primary MRC5 cells, and malignant liver cells Huh7, and SK-Hep1. In contrast, these mutants promoted the proliferation of HepG2 malignant liver cells. The pro-senescent effect of HBx relied on an increased p16(INK4a) and p21(Waf1/Cip1) expression, and a decreased phosphorylation of Rb. Together, these results suggest that the two main variants of HBx present in HBV-infected liver possess opposite effects on cellular senescence that depend on the phenotype of infected cells.

TRF2 inhibition promotes anchorage-independent growth of telomerase-positive human fibroblasts.

Although telomere instability is observed in human tumors and is associated with the development of cancers in mice, it has yet to be established that it can contribute to the malignant transformation of human cells. We show here that in checkpoint-compromised telomerase-positive human fibroblasts an episode of TRF2 inhibition promotes heritable changes that increase the ability to grow in soft agar, but not tumor growth in nude mice. This transforming activity is associated to a burst of telomere instability but is independent of an altered control of telomere length. Moreover, it cannot be recapitulated by an increase in chromosome breaks induced by an exposure to gamma-radiations. Since it can be revealed in the context of telomerase-proficient human cells, telomere dysfunction might contribute to cancer progression even at late stages of the oncogenesis process, after the telomerase reactivation step.

Identification of high affinity Tbf1p-binding sites within the budding yeast genome.

The yeast TBF1 gene is essential for mitotic growth and encodes a protein that binds the human telomere repeats in vitro, although its cellular function is unknown. The sequence of the DNA-binding domain of Tbf1p is more closely related to that of the human telomeric proteins TRF1 and TRF2 than to any yeast protein sequence, yet the functional homologue of TRF1 and TRF2 is thought to be Rap1p. In this study we show that the Tbf1p DNA-binding domain can target the Gal4 transactivation domain to a (TTAGGG)(n) sequence inserted in the yeast genome, supporting the model that Tbf1p binds this sub-telomeric repeat motif in vivo. Immunofluorescence of Tbf1p shows a spotty pattern throughout the interphase nucleus and along synapsed chromosomes in meiosis, suggesting that Tbf1p binds internal chromosomal sites in addition to sub-telomeric regions. PCR-assisted binding site selection was used to define a consensus for high affinity Tbf1p-binding sites. Compilation of 50 selected oligonucleotides identified the consensus TAGGGTTGG. Five potential Tbf1p-binding sites resulting from a search of the total yeast genome were tested directly in gel shift assays and shown to bind Tbf1p efficiently in vitro, thus confirming this as a valid consensus for Tbf1p recognition.

Cohabitation of insulators and silencing elements in yeast subtelomeric regions.

In budding yeast, the telomeric DNA is flanked by a combination of two subtelomeric repetitive sequences, the X and Y' elements. We have investigated the influence of these sequences on telomeric silencing. The telomere-proximal portion of either X or Y' dampened silencing when located between the telomere and the reporter gene. These elements were named STARs, for subtelomeric anti-silencing regions. STARs can also counteract silencer-driven repression at the mating-type HML locus. When two STARs bracket a reporter gene, its expression is no longer influenced by surrounding silencing elements, although these are still active on a second reporter gene. In addition, an intervening STAR uncouples the silencing of neighboring genes. STARs thus display the hallmarks of insulators. Protection from silencing is recapitulated by multimerized oligonucleotides representing Tbf1p- and Reb1p-binding sites, as found in STARs. In contrast, sequences located more centromere proximal in X and Y' elements reinforce silencing. They can promote silencing downstream of an insulated expressed domain. Overall, our results suggest that the silencing emanating from telomeres can be propagated in a discontinuous manner via a series of subtelomeric relay elements.

Telomeric localization of TRF2, a novel human telobox protein.

Natural chromosomal ends are stabilized by proteins that bind duplex telomeric DNA repeats. In human cells, the TTAGGG Repeat Factor 1 (TRF1) was identified by two independent studies, one screening for factors that bind duplex telomeric DNA and the other screening for proteins containing a particular Myb motif called the telobox, which is required for telomeric repeat recognition (Fig. 1a; refs 3-5). A second human open reading frame, orf2, contains a telobox sequence and encodes a polypeptide that specifically recognizes mammalian telomeric repeat DNA in vitro. We show that two proteins of 65 and 69 kD, expressed in HeLa cells, contain the orf2 telobox sequence. These proteins are collectively termed TRF2. Affinity-purified antibodies specific for anti-TRF2 label the telomeres of intact human chromosomes, strengthening the correlation between occurrence of telobox and telomere-repeat recognition in vivo.

Sensitivity to the parvovirus minute virus of mice as a probe for azatyrosine-mediated phenotypic reversion of spontaneously transformed cells.

It has been shown that cells transformed by known oncogenes could be reverted to an untransformed phenotype by the antibiotic Azatyrosine (AzTyr). In order to evaluate the reverting effect of AzTyr on five spontaneously transformed FR3T3C cell clones, we performed three assays: soft agar clonability, tumorigenicity in nude mice and susceptibility to killing by the parvovirus minute virus of mice (MVMp). In contrast to untransformed cells, transformed or tumorigenic cells are permissive for the lytic replication of MVMp and are killed. Our results demonstrate that although the cell populations that emerged after AzTyr treatment of FR3T3C clones had different phenotypes (two were untransformed and two had an altered transformed phenotype), they all behaved like untransformed cells, as judged from their resistance to MVMp infection. Our results demonstrate that susceptibility to MVMp is a valuable way to monitor the reversion.

The telobox, a Myb-related telomeric DNA binding motif found in proteins from yeast, plants and human.

The yeast TTAGGG binding factor 1 (Tbf1) was identified and cloned through its ability to interact with vertebrate telomeric repeats in vitro. We show here that a sequence of 60 amino acids located in its C-terminus is critical for DNA binding. This sequence exhibits homologies with Myb repeats and is conserved among five proteins from plants, two of which are known to bind telomeric-related sequences, and two proteins from human, including the telomeric repeat binding factor (TRF) and the predicted C-terminal polypeptide, called orf2, from a yet unknown protein. We demonstrate that the 111 C-terminal residues of TRF and the 64 orf2 residues are able to bind the human telomeric repeats specifically. We propose to call the particular Myb-related motif found in these proteins the 'telobox'. Antibodies directed against the Tbf1 telobox detect two proteins in nuclear and mitotic chromosome extracts from human cell lines. Moreover, both proteins bind specifically to telomeric repeats in vitro. TRF is likely to correspond to one of them. Based on their high affinity for the telomeric repeat, we predict that TRF and orf2 play an important role at human telomeres.

Continuous production of minute virus of mice by an untransformed variant of Fisher rat fibroblast (FR3T3).

Many tumour cells are killed by the lytic replication of the autonomous parvoviruses H-1 and minute virus of mice (MVMp), whereas most untransformed cells (although they take up these viruses efficiently) are resistant, i.e. they do not produce infectious virus and are not lysed. Therefore, cells able to continuously produce large quantities of infectious virus have not yet been described. We have isolated such cells from the resistant cell line FR3T3 (Fisher rat fibroblast). These cells (called FR3T3C) produce infectious MVMp virions without being detectably lysed. Furthermore, a persistently infected population (R100FR3T3C) was generated by repetitive infection of FR3T3C cells with MVMp. Indeed, R100FR3T3C cells were successfully cultivated for two years and continuously produced infectious virus. Seventeen clones of R100FR3T3C cells isolated by limiting dilution produced infectious virions, indicating that in the R100FR3T3C cell population, virus production was not limited to a few cells. These cell lines may be useful for the production of MVMp and for the generation of a cell line for the packaging of recombinant viral genomes.

Induced expression of the conditionally cytotoxic herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene by means of a parvoviral regulatory circuit.

As a step toward the achievement of targeted expression of toxic genes, we have established a model system using the selective trans-activation of the late promoter P38 of Minute Virus of Mice (MVMp) by the parvoviral nonstructural protein NS-1. The conditionally toxic herpes simplex virus type 1 thymidine kinase (tk) gene (HSV1-tk) was cloned under the control of the P38 promoter and transfected into NIH-3T3 TK- cells. Treatment of the stably transfected cells with acyclovir (ACV) followed by infection with MVMp reduced cell survival by 3.5- to 5-fold compared to the toxic effects of ACV or MVMp alone. These results indicate that it should be possible to combine the genuine cytopathic action of parvoviruses with a specific activation of toxic genes driven by parvoviral promoters, to achieve the targeted destruction of parvovirus-expressing (in particular tumor) cells.