Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UNIPROT:P51532 (transcriptional activator)
 6,546 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Ceramide acts as a mediator of programmed cell death in various cell types, but its molecular mechanisms linked to the cell cycle are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the expression of the p21 gene and its relationship to apoptosis induced by ceramide. In SK-HEP-1 cells, the addition of C6-ceramide resulted in a dose- and time-dependent growth suppression and DNA fragmentation characteristics of apoptosis. p21 protein was induced during that process, while the protein level of p53, known as a transcriptional activator of p21, was not elevated under the same condition. This apoptotic cell death with p21 induction was also observed in the Hep 3B cells lacking functional p53 after exposure to C6-ceramide. These findings suggest that ceramide-induced apoptosis is associated with the upregulation of p21 mRNA and protein in a p53-independent pathway.
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PMID:Induction of p21 during ceramide-mediated apoptosis in human hepatocarcinoma cells. 971 64

Ceramide is known to induce pRb (retinoblastoma gene product) dephosphorylation through the activation of ceramide-activated protein phosphatase (CAPP) during G1 arrest, but other molecular mechanisms linked to regulation of pRb dephosphorylation during ceramide-induced G1 arrest are poorly understood. In this paper, we investigated whether p21, a cdk (cyclin-dependent kinase) inhibitor, is involved in the induction of pRb dephosphorylation during ceramide-induced G1 arrest. In SK-Hep-1 cells, the addition of ceramide resulted in pRb dephosphorylation and G1 arrest. The activity of cdk2 was inhibited in response to ceramide during this process. p21 protein and mRNA were remarkably induced, while the protein level of p53, known as a transcriptional activator of p21, was not elevated at the same condition. p21 induction was also observed in the Hep3B cells lacking a functional p53 after exposure to ceramide. Although p21 is induced in ceramide-treated Hep3B cells, Hep3B cells do not induce G1 arrest, because Hep3B cells are deficient in a functional pRb protein. To confirm that pRb is a critical target for the induction of G1 arrest by inhibiting cdk2 activity through p53-independent p21, pRb-expressing vector was transfected into Hep3B cells. After treatment with ceramide, pRb-expressing cells (pRb+/+), but not pRb-/- cells, were arrested in G1 phase. In pRb+/+ cells, ceramide-mediated G1 arrest was accompanied by the accumulation of hypophosphorylated pRb and p21 associated with cdk2. Together, these results suggest that p21, induced through p53-independent pathway, participates in the induction of pRb dephosphorylation by inhibiting cdk2 activity during ceramide-mediated G1 arrest in hepatocarcinoma cells.
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PMID:Induction of p53-independent p21 during ceramide-induced G1 arrest in human hepatocarcinoma cells. 1087 74