scholarly journals Cytolethal distending toxin: creating a gap in the cell cycle

2005 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Heywood ◽  
Brian Henderson ◽  
Sean P Nair

Cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) is a novel bacterial toxin that is produced by a variety of pathogenic bacteria. The mechanism of cytotoxicity of CDT is unique in that it enters into eukaryotic cells and breaks double-stranded DNA. This initiates the cell's own DNA damage-response mechanisms, resulting in the arrest of the cell cycle at the G2/M boundary. Affected cells enlarge until they finally undergo programmed cell death. This review encompasses recent work on CDT and focuses on the molecular mechanisms used by this toxin to block cell-cycle progression, the benefit to the bacterium of possession of this toxin and the clinical relevance of intoxication.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen-Hua Dong ◽  
Tao Jiang ◽  
Hang Yin ◽  
Hu Song ◽  
Yi Zhang ◽  
...  

AbstractColorectal cancer is the second common cause of death worldwide. Lamin B2 (LMNB2) is involved in chromatin remodeling and the rupture and reorganization of nuclear membrane during mitosis, which is necessary for eukaryotic cell proliferation. However, the role of LMNB2 in colorectal cancer (CRC) is poorly understood. This study explored the biological functions of LMNB2 in the progression of colorectal cancer and explored the possible molecular mechanisms. We found that LMNB2 was significantly upregulated in primary colorectal cancer tissues and cell lines, compared with paired non-cancerous tissues and normal colorectal epithelium. The high expression of LMNB2 in colorectal cancer tissues is significantly related to the clinicopathological characteristics of the patients and the shorter overall and disease-free cumulative survival. Functional analysis, including CCK8 cell proliferation test, EdU proliferation test, colony formation analysis, nude mouse xenograft, cell cycle, and apoptosis analysis showed that LMNB2 significantly promotes cell proliferation by promoting cell cycle progression in vivo and in vitro. In addition, gene set enrichment analysis, luciferase report analysis, and CHIP analysis showed that LMNB2 promotes cell proliferation by regulating the p21 promoter, whereas LMNB2 has no effect on cell apoptosis. In summary, these findings not only indicate that LMNB2 promotes the proliferation of colorectal cancer by regulating p21-mediated cell cycle progression, but also suggest the potential value of LMNB2 as a clinical prognostic marker and molecular therapy target.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shixuan Liu ◽  
Miriam B. Ginzberg ◽  
Nish Patel ◽  
Marc Hild ◽  
Bosco Leung ◽  
...  

AbstractAnimal cells within a tissue typically display a striking regularity in their size. To date, the molecular mechanisms that control this uniformity are still unknown. We have previously shown that size uniformity in animal cells is promoted, in part, by size-dependent regulation of G1 length. To identify the molecular mechanisms underlying this process, we performed a large-scale small molecule screen and found that the p38 MAPK pathway is involved in coordinating cell size and cell cycle progression. Small cells display higher p38 activity and spend more time in G1 than larger cells. Inhibition of p38 MAPK leads to loss of the compensatory G1 length extension in small cells, resulting in faster proliferation, smaller cell size and increased size heterogeneity. We propose a model wherein the p38 pathway responds to changes in cell size and regulates G1 exit accordingly, to increase cell size uniformity.One-sentence summaryThe p38 MAP kinase pathway coordinates cell growth and cell cycle progression by lengthening G1 in small cells, allowing them more time to grow before their next division.


Stroke ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Umadevi V Wesley ◽  
Daniel Tremmel ◽  
Robert Dempsey

Introduction: The molecular mechanisms of cerebral ischemia damage and protection are not completely understood, but a number of reports implicate the contribution of lipid metabolism and cell-cycle regulating proteins in stroke out come. We have previously shown that tricyclodecan-9-yl-xanthogenate (D609) resulted in increased ceramide levels after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) in spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). We hypothesized that D609 induced cell cycle arrest probably by inhibiting sphingomyelin synthase (SMS). In this study, we examined the direct effects of SMS on cell cycle progression and proliferation of neuroblast cells. Methods: Ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and reperfusion. Expression levels were measured by western blot analysis, RT-PCR, and Immunofluorescence staining. SMS1 and 2 expressions were silenced by stable transfection with SMS1/2-targeted shRNA. Cell cycle analysis was performed using Flow cytometry. Data were analyzed using MODFIT cell cycle analysis program. Cell proliferation rate was measured by MTT assay. Results: We have identified that the expression of SMS1is significantly up-regulated in the ischemic hemisphere following MCAO. Neuro-2a cells transfected with SMS specific ShRNA acquired more neuronal like phenotype and exhibited decreased proliferation rate. Also, silencing of both SMS1 and 2 induced cell-cycle arrest as shown by significantly increased percentage of cells in G0/G1 and decreased proportion of cells in S-phase as compared to control cells. This was accompanied by up-regulation of cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) inhibitors p21 and decreased levels of phophorylated AKT levels. Furthermore, loss of SMS inhibited the migratory potential of Neuro 2a cells. Summary: Up-regulation of SMS under ischemic/reperfusion conditions suggests that this enzyme potentially contributes to cell cycle regulation and may contribute to maintaining neuronal cell population. Further studies may open up a new direction for identifying the molecular mechanisms of cell cycle regulation and protection following ischemic stroke


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 2449-2456
Author(s):  
ALEXANDRA KANELLOU ◽  
NICKOLAOS NIKIFOROS GIAKOUMAKIS ◽  
ANDREAS PANAGOPOULOS ◽  
SPYRIDON CHAMPERIS TSANIRAS ◽  
ZOI LYGEROU

Cancers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shang-Tse Ho ◽  
Chi-Chen Lin ◽  
Yu-Tang Tung ◽  
Jyh-Horng Wu

Yatein is an antitumor agent isolated from Calocedrus formosana Florin leaves extract. In our previous study, we found that yatein inhibited the growth of human lung adenocarcinoma A549 and CL1-5 cells by inducing intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways. To further uncover the effects and mechanisms of yatein-induced inhibition on A549 and CL1-5 cell growth, we evaluated yatein-mediated antitumor activity in vivo and the regulatory effects of yatein on cell-cycle progression and microtubule dynamics. Flow cytometry and western blotting revealed that yatein induces G2/M arrest in A549 and CL1-5 cells. Yatein also destabilized microtubules and interfered with microtubule dynamics in the two cell lines. Furthermore, we evaluated the antitumor activity of yatein in vivo using a xenograft mouse model and found that yatein treatment altered cyclin B/Cdc2 complex expression and significantly inhibited tumor growth. Taken together, our results suggested that yatein effectively inhibited the growth of A549 and CL1-5 cells possibly by disrupting cell-cycle progression and microtubule dynamics.


Open Biology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 140156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Didier J. Colin ◽  
Karolina O. Hain ◽  
Lindsey A. Allan ◽  
Paul R. Clarke

Anti-cancer drugs that disrupt mitosis inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis, although the mechanisms of these responses are poorly understood. Here, we characterize a mitotic stress response that determines cell fate in response to microtubule poisons. We show that mitotic arrest induced by these drugs produces a temporally controlled DNA damage response (DDR) characterized by the caspase-dependent formation of γH2AX foci in non-apoptotic cells. Following exit from a delayed mitosis, this initial response results in activation of DDR protein kinases, phosphorylation of the tumour suppressor p53 and a delay in subsequent cell cycle progression. We show that this response is controlled by Mcl-1, a regulator of caspase activation that becomes degraded during mitotic arrest. Chemical inhibition of Mcl-1 and the related proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-x L by a BH3 mimetic enhances the mitotic DDR, promotes p53 activation and inhibits subsequent cell cycle progression. We also show that inhibitors of DDR protein kinases as well as BH3 mimetics promote apoptosis synergistically with taxol (paclitaxel) in a variety of cancer cell lines. Our work demonstrates the role of mitotic DNA damage responses in determining cell fate in response to microtubule poisons and BH3 mimetics, providing a rationale for anti-cancer combination chemotherapies.


2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 1717-1725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianmin Xia ◽  
Aiwu Cheng ◽  
Damilola Akinmade ◽  
Anne W. Hamburger

ABSTRACT Although phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) is essential for cell cycle progression, the molecular mechanisms that regulate its diverse biological effects are poorly understood. We demonstrate here that Rb, a key regulator of cell cycle progression, associates with p55 kDa (p55α and p55γ) regulatory subunits of PI 3-kinase in vivo and in vitro. Both confocal microscopy and biochemical analysis demonstrated the presence of p55γ in the nucleus. The 24-amino-acid N-terminal end of p55γ, which is unique among PI 3-kinase regulatory subunits, was sufficient to bind Rb. Addition of serum or growth factors to quiescent cells triggered the dissociation of Rb from p55. Ectopic expression of the 24-amino-acid N-terminal end of p55γ inhibited cell cycle progression, as evidenced by induction of cell growth arrest at the G0/G1 phase, inhibition of DNA synthesis, inhibition of cyclin D and cyclin E promoter activity, and changes in the expression of cell cycle-related proteins. The inhibitory effects of the N-terminal end of p55γ on cell cycle progression depended on the presence of functional Rb. These data demonstrate for the first time an association of p55γ with Rb and show that modification of this association can lead to cell cycle arrest.


1997 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 485-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aristo Vojdani ◽  
Eli Mordechai ◽  
Nachman Brautbar

1 In this study we hypothesized that in individuals with certain genetic makeup, MTBE, benzene or their metabolites act as adducts and may induce pro grammed cell death. 2 Our study involved a group of 60 male and female subjects who were exposed to MTBE and benzene- 5 contaminated water concentrations up to 76 PPB for MTBE and 14 PPB for benzene, for a period of 5 to 8 years. For comparison, we recruited a control group consisting of 32 healthy males and females with similar age distribution and without a history of exposure to MTBE or benzene. 3 Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of both groups were tested for the percentage of apoptotic cells and cell cycle progression using flow cytometry. 4 When apoptotic lymphocytes from exposed indivi duals were compared to apoptotic lymphocytes from the control group, statistically-significant differences between each mean group were detected (26.4 ± 1.8 and 12.1 ± 1.3, respectively), indicating an increased rate of apoptosis in 80.5% of exposed individuals ( P<0.0001, Mann-Whitney U-Test). MTBE and ben- a zene-induced apoptosis is attributed to a discrete block within the cell cycle progression. Because cell cycle analysis showed that in PBL from chemically-exposed individuals, between 20-50% of cells were accumu lated at the S-G2/M boundaries. One of the signaling molecules which mediates programmed cell death is nuclear factor Kappa-B (NF-kB). NF-kB was examined as one of the many molecular mechanisms for mediating cell death by MTBE and benzene. Indeed, addition of inhibitors of NF-kB activation pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC), to the lymphocytes of the chemically-exposed group was capable of inhibiting programmed cell death by 40%. This reversal of apoptosis almost to the control level by inhibitor of NF-kB activation may indicate involvement of this signaling molecule in MTBE and benzene induction of programmed cell death.


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