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 28,634 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Perturbation of lipid metabolism, especially of cholesterol homeostasis, can be catastrophic to mammalian brain, as it has the highest level of cholesterol in the body. This notion is best illustrated by the severe progressive neurodegeneration in Niemann-Pick Type C (NPC) disease, one of the lysosomal storage diseases, caused by mutations in the NPC1 or NPC2 gene. In this study, we found that growth cone collapse induced by genetic or pharmacological disruption of cholesterol egress from late endosomes/lysosomes was directly related to a decrease in axonal and growth cone levels of the phosphorylated form of the tumor suppressor factor p53. Cholesterol perturbation-induced growth cone collapse and decrease in phosphorylated p53 were reduced by inhibition of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and murine double minute (Mdm2) E3 ligase. Growth cone collapse induced by genetic (npc1-/-) or pharmacological modification of cholesterol metabolism was Rho kinase (ROCK)-dependent and associated with increased RhoA protein synthesis; both processes were significantly reduced by P38 MAPK or Mdm2 inhibition. Finally, in vivo ROCK inhibition significantly increased phosphorylated p53 levels and neurofilaments in axons, and axonal bundle size in npc1-/- mice. These results indicate that NPC-related and cholesterol perturbation-induced axonal pathology is associated with an abnormal signaling pathway consisting in p38 MAPK activation leading to Mdm2-mediated p53 degradation, followed by ROCK activation. These results also suggest new targets for pharmacological treatment of NPC disease and other diseases associated with disruption of cholesterol metabolism.
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PMID:Cholesterol Perturbation in Mice Results in p53 Degradation and Axonal Pathology through p38 MAPK and Mdm2 Activation. 2038 95

In this paper, cell cycle in higher eukaryotes and their molecular networks signals both in G1/S and G2/M transitions are replicated in silico. Biochemical kinetics, converted into a set of differential equations, and system control theory are employed to design multi-nested digital layers to simulate protein-to-protein activation and inhibition for cell cycle dynamics in the presence of damaged genomes. Sequencing and controlling the digital process of four micro-scale species networks (p53/Mdm2/DNA damage, p21mRNA/cyclin-CDK complex, CDK/CDC25/weel/SKP2/APC/CKI and apoptosis target genes system) not only allows the comprehension of the mechanisms of these molecule interactions but paves the way for unraveling the participants and their by-products, until now quite unclear, which have the task of carrying out (or not) cell death. Whatever the running simulations (e.g., different species signals, mutant cells and different DNA damage levels), the results of the proposed cell digital multi-layers give reason to believe in the existence of a universal apoptotic mechanism. As a consequence, we identified and selected cell check points, sizers, timers and specific target genes dynamic both for influencing mitotic process and avoiding cancer proliferation as much as for leading the cancer cell(s) to collapse into a steady stable apoptosis phase.
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PMID:Cancer cell(s) cycle sequencing reveals universal mechanisms of apoptosis. 2114 76

Dyskeratosis congenita (DC) is a bone marrow failure disorder characterized by shortened telomeres, defective stem cell maintenance, and highly heterogeneous phenotypes affecting predominantly tissues that require high rates of turnover. Here we present a mutant zebrafish line with decreased expression of nop10, one of the known H/ACA RNP complex genes with mutations linked to DC. We demonstrate that this nop10 loss results in 18S rRNA processing defects and collapse of the small ribosomal subunit, coupled to stabilization of the p53 tumor suppressor protein through small ribosomal proteins binding to Mdm2. These mutants also display a hematopoietic stem cell deficiency that is reversible on loss of p53 function. However, we detect no changes in telomere length in nop10 mutants. Our data support a model of DC whereupon in early development mutations involved in the H/ACA complex contribute to bone marrow failure through p53 deregulation and loss of initial stem cell numbers while their role in telomere maintenance does not contribute to DC until later in life.
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PMID:A zebrafish model of dyskeratosis congenita reveals hematopoietic stem cell formation failure resulting from ribosomal protein-mediated p53 stabilization. 2192 Oct 46

Genomic instability drives tumorigenesis, but how it is initiated in sporadic neoplasias is unknown. In early preneoplasias, alterations at chromosome fragile sites arise due to DNA replication stress. A frequent, perhaps earliest, genetic alteration in preneoplasias is deletion within the fragile FRA3B/FHIT locus, leading to loss of Fhit protein expression. Because common chromosome fragile sites are exquisitely sensitive to replication stress, it has been proposed that their clonal alterations in cancer cells are due to stress sensitivity rather than to a selective advantage imparted by loss of expression of fragile gene products. Here, we show in normal, transformed, and cancer-derived cell lines that Fhit-depletion causes replication stress-induced DNA double-strand breaks. Using DNA combing, we observed a defect in replication fork progression in Fhit-deficient cells that stemmed primarily from fork stalling and collapse. The likely mechanism for the role of Fhit in replication fork progression is through regulation of Thymidine kinase 1 expression and thymidine triphosphate pool levels; notably, restoration of nucleotide balance rescued DNA replication defects and suppressed DNA breakage in Fhit-deficient cells. Depletion of Fhit did not activate the DNA damage response nor cause cell cycle arrest, allowing continued cell proliferation and ongoing chromosomal instability. This finding was in accord with in vivo studies, as Fhit knockout mouse tissue showed no evidence of cell cycle arrest or senescence yet exhibited numerous somatic DNA copy number aberrations at replication stress-sensitive loci. Furthermore, cells established from Fhit knockout tissue showed rapid immortalization and selection of DNA deletions and amplifications, including amplification of the Mdm2 gene, suggesting that Fhit loss-induced genome instability facilitates transformation. We propose that loss of Fhit expression in precancerous lesions is the first step in the initiation of genomic instability, linking alterations at common fragile sites to the origin of genome instability.
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PMID:Initiation of genome instability and preneoplastic processes through loss of Fhit expression. 2320 36

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are exposed to various insults such as genotoxic stress, inflammation, and infection, which have a direct effect. These insults deplete, cause a functional decline in, and promote HSC aging and transformation. However, the impact of hematopoietic insults on niche cells remains largely unknown. We have reported previously that p53 is activated in blood vessels by various stresses, including hypoxia, inflammation, and aging, and contributes to tissue dysfunction and metabolic abnormalities. We hypothesized that hematopoietic insults also affect the bone marrow (BM) vascular niche. Here, we demonstrate that p53 becomes activated in BM endothelial cells upon hematopoietic stresses such as irradiation and chemotherapeutic treatments. The conditional activation of p53 in VE-cadherin+ vascular niche cells by deleting Mdm2 induces the expression of p53 target genes specifically in vascular endothelial cells, resulting in the dilation and collapse of vascular endothelial cells and reductions in perivascular mesenchymal stromal cell numbers. Consequently, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) fail to maintain dormancy, mobilize to the periphery, and are depleted significantly. Our results indicate that various hematopoietic insults affect HSCs, not only directly, but also indirectly by altering vascular integrity, which is critical for perivascular niche formation and maintenance of HSCs.
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PMID:Hematopoietic insults damage bone marrow niche by activating p53 in vascular endothelial cells. 2970 19