Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P16104 (H2AX)
 3,930 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

In addition to being a structural component of chromatin, histone H2AX also has an important role in preserving genetic integrity. The histone H2AFX gene maps to the chromosome region 11q23.2 approximately 11q23.3 that is deleted in most human cancers. Mouse model studies also have clearly shown its involvement in tumorigenesis in a dosage-dependent manner. Therefore, in this study, DNA from 65 paired sporadic breast cancer tissues was systematically screened for gene mutations and changes in gene copy numbers. Although whole H2AFX gene scans showed an absence of mutation in the studied samples, the H2AFX gene copy number was altered in 37% of tumor samples. Furthermore, a twofold reduction in gene copy number in the MCF7 cell line strongly suggests the involvement of H2AFX alteration in breast carcinogenesis. Analysis of clinicopathologic association revealed a convincing correlation with positive estrogen/progesterone receptor status. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a change in H2AFX gene copy number in human cancer.
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PMID:Copy number alterations of the H2AFX gene in sporadic breast cancer patients. 1820 37

In earlier work, we showed that low dietary folate induced intestinal tumors in BALB/c mice. In this study, our goal was to examine the effect of the same diets on a strain that is more resistant to tumorigenesis (C57Bl/6). We also questioned whether supplementation of the folate-deficient diet (FD) with betaine, an alternate methyl donor, would influence tumor formation. C57Bl/6 mice were fed the same diets [control diet (CD) with 2 mg folate/kg diet and FD with 0.3 mg folate/kg diet] as those in our previous study for 1 y, but they did not develop tumors. We also fed BALB/c mice the FD or FD supplemented with betaine for 1 y, but there was no change in tumor incidence. To determine the relative contributions of DNA damage and altered methylation patterns, we measured intestinal dUTP:dTTP ratios, phosphorylated histone H2AX (p-H2AX) staining, and global DNA methylation in both strains. Only BALB/c mice showed changes due to diet in dUTP:dTTP (from 2.19 +/- 0.20 in CD to 2.77 +/- 0.18 in FD; P = 0.05) and in p-H2AX staining (from 14.10 +/- 3.59% in CD to 22.40 +/- 2.65% in FD; P = 0.054). In BALB/c mice only, FD tended to have less (P = 0.06) global DNA methylation than CD. Although the FD increased plasma homocysteine and the betaine-supplemented FD lowered plasma homocysteine, the latter diet did not reduce tumor incidence. We conclude that plasma homocysteine is not likely to be associated with tumorigenesis in our model. However, DNA damage plays a critical role in initiating tumorigenesis when dietary folate is low and methylation changes may also be contributory.
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PMID:Strain differences in mice highlight the role of DNA damage in neoplasia induced by low dietary folate. 1835 16

Five members of the RecQ subfamily of DEx-H-containing DNA helicases have been identified in both human and mouse, and mutations in BLM, WRN, and RECQ4 are associated with human diseases of premature aging, cancer, and chromosomal instability. Although a genetic disease has not been linked to RECQ1 mutations, RECQ1 helicase is the most highly expressed of the human RecQ helicases, suggesting an important role in cellular DNA metabolism. Recent advances have elucidated a unique role of RECQ1 to suppress genomic instability. Embryonic fibroblasts from RECQ1-deficient mice displayed aneuploidy, chromosomal instability, and increased load of DNA damage.(1) Acute depletion of human RECQ1 renders cells sensitive to DNA damage and results in spontaneous gamma-H2AX foci and elevated sister chromatid exchanges, indicating aberrant repair of DNA breaks.(2) Consistent with a role in DNA repair, RECQ1 relocalizes to irradiation-induced nuclear foci and associates with chromatin.(2) RECQ1 catalytic activities(3) and interactions with DNA repair proteins(2,4,5) are likely to be important for its molecular functions in genome homeostasis. Collectively, these studies provide the first evidence for an important role of RECQ1 to confer chromosomal stability that is unique from that of other RecQ helicases and suggest its potential involvement in tumorigenesis.
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PMID:Unique and important consequences of RECQ1 deficiency in mammalian cells. 1841 32

Mdm2, a regulator of the tumor suppressor p53, is frequently overexpressed in human malignancies. Mdm2 also has unresolved, p53-independent functions that contribute to tumorigenesis. Here, we show that increased Mdm2 expression induced chromosome/chromatid breaks and delayed DNA double-strand break repair in cells lacking p53 but not in cells with a mutant form of Nbs1, a component of the Mre11/Rad50/Nbs1 DNA repair complex. A 31-amino-acid region of Mdm2 was necessary for binding to Nbs1. Mutation of conserved amino acids in the Nbs1 binding domain of Mdm2 inhibited Mdm2-Nbs1 association and prevented Mdm2 from delaying phosphorylation of H2AX and ATM-S/TQ sites, repair of DNA breaks, and resolution of DNA damage foci. Similarly, the mutation of eight amino acids in the Mdm2 binding domain of Nbs1 inhibited Mdm2-Nbs1 interaction and blocked the ability of Mdm2 to delay DNA break repair. Both Nbs1 and ATM, but not the ubiquitin ligase activity of Mdm2, were necessary to inhibit DNA break repair. Only Mdm2 with an intact Nbs1 binding domain was able to increase the frequency of chromosome/chromatid breaks and the transformation efficiency of cells lacking p53. Therefore, the interaction of Mdm2 with Nbs1 inhibited DNA break repair, leading to chromosome instability and subsequent transformation that was independent of p53.
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PMID:Mdm2 promotes genetic instability and transformation independent of p53. 1854 70

The International Agency for Research on Cancer declared that areca nut was carcinogenic to human. Areca nut is the main component of betel quid (BQ), which is commonly consumed in Asia. Epidemiological studies have shown that BQ chewing is a predominant risk factor for oral and pharyngeal cancers. It has been known that areca nut is genotoxic to human epithelial cells. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying areca nut-associated genotoxicity are not fully understood. Here we showed that arecoline, a major alkaloid of areca nut, might contribute to oral carcinogenesis through inhibiting p53 and DNA repair. We found, on the biological aspect, that arecoline could induce gamma-H2AX phosphorylation, a sensitive DNA damage marker, in KB, HEp-2, and 293 cells, suggesting that DNA damages were elicited by arecoline. This phenomenon was supported by the observations of arecoline-induced hyperphosphorylation of ATM, Nbs1, Chk1/2, p53, and Cdc25C, as well as G2/M cell cycle arrest, indicating that a cellular DNA damage response was activated. To explore the possible mechanism accounting for arecoline-elicited DNA damages, we found that arecoline could inhibit p53 by its expression and transactivation function. As a result, the expression of p53-regulated p21(WAF1) and the p53-activated DNA repair were repressed by arecoline. Finally, we showed that p53 mRNA transcripts were frequently down-regulated in BQ-associated oral cancer, suggesting that arecoline-mediated p53 inhibition might play a role in BQ-associated tumorigenesis.
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PMID:Arecoline, a major alkaloid of areca nut, inhibits p53, represses DNA repair, and triggers DNA damage response in human epithelial cells. 1858 39

Cell cycle checkpoints and DNA repair act in concert to ensure DNA integrity during perturbation of normal replication or in response to genotoxic agents. Deficiencies in these protective mechanisms can lead to cellular transformation and ultimately tumorigenesis. Here we focused on Rev3, the catalytic subunit of the low-fidelity DNA repair polymerase zeta. Rev3 is believed to play a role in double-strand break (DSB)-induced DNA repair by homologous recombination. In line with this hypothesis, we show the accumulation of chromatin-bound Rev3 protein in late S-G2 of untreated cells and in response to clastogenic DNA damage as well as an gamma-H2AX accumulation in Rev3-depleted cells. Moreover, serine 995 of Rev3 is in vitro phosphorylated by the DSB-inducible checkpoint kinase, Chk2. Our data also disclose a significant reduction of rev3 gene expression in 74 colon carcinomas when compared to the normal adjacent tissues. This reduced expression is independent of the carcinoma stages, suggesting that the downregulation of rev3 might have occurred early during tumorigenesis.
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PMID:Novel evidences for a tumor suppressor role of Rev3, the catalytic subunit of Pol zeta. 1862 27

There is a growing appreciation of the role that epigenetic alterations can play in oncogenesis. However, given the large number of genetic anomalies present in most cancers, it has been difficult to evaluate the extent to which epigenetic changes contribute to cancer. SNF5 (INI1/SMARCB1/BAF47) is a tumor suppressor that regulates the epigenome as a core member of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex. While the SWI/SNF complex displays potent tumor suppressor activity, it is unknown whether this activity is exerted genetically via maintenance of genome integrity or epigenetically via transcriptional regulation. Here we show that Snf5-deficient primary cells do not show altered sensitivity to DNA damaging agents, defects in gamma-H2AX induction, or an abrogated DNA damage checkpoint. Further, the aggressive malignancies that arise following SNF5 loss are diploid and genomically stable. Remarkably, we demonstrate that most human SNF5-deficient cancers lack genomic amplifications/deletions and, aside from SNF5 loss, are indistinguishable from normal cells on single-nucleotide polymorphism arrays. Finally, we show that epigenetically based changes in transcription that occur following SNF5 loss correlate with the tumor phenotype. Collectively, our results provide novel insight into the mechanisms of oncogenesis by demonstrating that disruption of a chromatin remodeling complex can largely, if not completely, substitute for genomic instability in the genesis of aggressive cancer.
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PMID:Loss of the epigenetic tumor suppressor SNF5 leads to cancer without genomic instability. 1871 Sep 53

CtIP, CtBP-interacting protein, is a nuclear protein that was identified as a cofactor for the transcriptional repressor CtBP. Our genetic studies in mice revealed that haploid insufficiency of CtIP leads to tumorigenesis and is associated with shortened life span. At the molecular level, CtIP is a multivalent adaptor. It interacts directly with pRB family members, the prototype tumor suppressor proteins, and contributes to G(1)/S regulation. It has also been implicated in DNA damage checkpoint control through its interaction with the breast cancer susceptibility gene product BRCA1. Recently, it was found to modulate the nuclease activity of the Mre11/Rad50/NBS1 complex. Here we report that CtIP is recruited to S-phase DNA replication foci through a novel motif functioning as replication foci targeting sequence (RFTS). This motif contains a consensus PCNA-interacting protein box that binds to PCNA both in vivo and in vitro. In support of the biological significance of this interaction, we detected arrest of the cell cycle at the S/G(2) phase transition, and suppression of cell proliferation in U2-OS cells upon the conditional expression of the wild type, but not a mutated RFTS using a tetracycline-inducible system. We found that cells expressing RFTS had excess DNA double strand breaks as demonstrated by formation of gamma-H2AX nuclear foci. Finally, G(2)/M checkpoint activation in response to the expression of the CtIP RFTS is abrogated by caffeine treatment. Our work suggests an intimate relationship between CtIP and PCNA may be important for the maintenance of genomic stability in higher eukaryotic organism.
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PMID:Expression of PCNA-binding domain of CtIP, a motif required for CtIP localization at DNA replication foci, causes DNA damage and activation of DNA damage checkpoint. 1934 88

The molecular mechanisms responsible for the evolution from the preleukemic entities of low-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) to the less favorable forms of high-risk MDS, as well as those enabling transformation to acute myeloid leukemia (AML), are still incompletely understood. Abundant evidence from solid tumors demonstrates that preneoplastic lesions activate signaling pathways of a DNA damage response (DDR), which functions as an 'anticancer barrier' hindering tumorigenesis. Testing the hypothesis that subgroups of MDS and AML differ with respect to DDR, we first assessed markers of DDR (phosphorylation of ATM, Chk-1, Chk-2 and H2AX) in cell lines representing different entities of MDS (P39, MOLM-13) and AML (MV4-11, KG-1) before and after gamma-irradiation. Although gamma-irradiation induced apoptosis and G(2)/M arrest and a concomitant increase in the phosphorylation of ATM, Chk-1 and H2AX in MDS-derived cell lines, this radiation response was attenuated in the AML-derived cell lines. It is noteworthy that KG-1, but not P39 cells exhibit signs of an endogenous activation of the DDR. Similarly, we found that the frequency of P-ATM(+) cells detectable in bone marrow (BM) biopsies increased in samples from patients with AML as compared with high-risk MDS samples and significantly correlated with the percentage of BM blasts. In contrast, the frequency of gamma-H2AX(+) cells was heterogeneous in all subgroups of AML and MDS. Whereas intermediate-1 MDS samples contained as little P-Chk-1 and P-Chk-2 as healthy controls, staining for both checkpoint kinases increased in intermediate-2 and high-risk MDS, yet declined to near-to-background levels in AML samples. Thus the activation of Chk-1 and Chk-2 behaves in accord with the paradigm established for solid tumors, whereas ATM is activated during and beyond transformation. In conclusion, we demonstrate the heterogeneity of the DDR response in MDS and AML and provide evidence for its selective suppression in AML because of the uncoupling between activated ATM and inactive checkpoint kinases.
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PMID:Suppression of the DNA damage response in acute myeloid leukemia versus myelodysplastic syndrome. 1939 52

Activation of the nuclear transcription factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) has been implicated in liver tumorigenesis. We evaluated the effects of a novel NF-kappaB inhibitor, dehydroxymethylepoxyquinomicin (DHMEQ), in two human liver cancer cell lines HA22T/VGH and HuH-6. DHMEQ treatment dose dependently decreased the DNA-binding capacity of the NF-kappaB p65 subunit, inhibited cell growth and proliferation, and increased apoptosis as shown by caspase activation, release of cytochrome c, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage, and down-regulation of survivin. DHMEQ also induced a dose-dependent activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling, and inhibition of this pathway significantly reduced cell growth. It is noteworthy that we observed that DHMEQ stimulated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in a dose-dependent manner and that pretreatment of the cells with the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) significantly reduced DHMEQ-induced ROS generation. Accordingly, NAC completely reversed the DHMEQ-induced growth inhibition, caspase activation, and cell death. DHMEQ-treated cells exhibited DNA damage, as evaluated by accumulation in nuclear foci of phospho-H2AX, which was completely reversed by NAC. Moreover, DHMEQ induced the expression of genes involved in the endoplasmic reticulum stress response (GRP78, CHOP, TRB3) and promoted the splicing of XBP1 mRNA in a dose-dependent fashion in both cell lines, which was reversed in the presence of NAC. Knockdown of TRB3 mRNA expression by small interference RNA significantly decreased DHMEQ-induced cell growth inhibition. These data suggest that DHMEQ antitumor effects are primarily mediated through ROS generation. Thereby, considering that cancer cells are under increased ER stress and oxidative stress conditions, DHMEQ may greatly improve various anticancer strategies.
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PMID:Antitumor effects of dehydroxymethylepoxyquinomicin, a novel nuclear factor-kappaB inhibitor, in human liver cancer cells are mediated through a reactive oxygen species-dependent mechanism. 1946 Oct 54


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