Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Journal of Virology, April 2005, p. 4246-4256, Vol. 79, No. 7
0022-538X/05/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/JVI.79.7.4246-4256.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Queensland Institute of Medical Research and the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland,1 Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia,3 Department of Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Rockville, Maryland2
Received 10 September 2004/ Accepted 26 October 2004
|
|
|---|
|
|
|---|
A dramatic phenotype resulting from stable PAI-2 expression in HeLa cells was recovery of Rb and loss of E7 protein levels in these human papillomavirus type 18 (HPV-18)-transformed cells (15). High-risk HPVs such as HPV-18 are often associated with cervical cancer (16), and cells from such cancers usually constitutively express the HPV oncoproteins E6 and E7 from HPV-derived DNA integrated into the host cell genome (36). E6 targets p53 and c-Myc, and E7 targets Rb and c-Jun for accelerated degradation, with the loss of these host proteins intimately associated with loss of cell cycle control and tumor development (9, 36). The PAI-2-associated loss of E7 expression suggested that PAI-2 expression somehow leads to suppression of oncogene transcription from the integrated HPV-18 DNA.
Transcription of HPV-18 E6-E7 mRNA is regulated by the HPV upstream regulatory region (URR) and is influenced by several cellular transcription factors (7, 39). There are a number of sites within this URR that (i) bind transcription factors known to interact with Rb (37) and (ii) are involved in the regulation of URR-dependent transcription. According to the URR numbering system described by Bednarek et al. (2, 7), such sites include Oct 1 (URR 7721-7735), AP-1 (URR 7791- 7798) (7), SP1 (URR 34-40) (7, 44), YY1 (URR 7846-13) (3), CDP (URR 7866-18) (39), and the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site (URR 7709-7719) originally referred to as the "switch region" (4, 5). This latter region contains a consensus CCAAT enhancer-binding protein ß (C/EBPß) site, which in HeLa cells is bound by a heterodimer comprising C/EBPß and YY1 (4, 5). Both these transcription factors are individually able to bind Rb (11, 40). The C/EBPß-YY1 binding site lies within the enhancer region (2, 7) of the HPV-18 URR, and in HeLa cells C/EBPß-YY1 binding to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site causes a two- to threefold enhancement in transcription (4, 5). Although mutating the YY1 site (URR 7846-13) in the HPV-18 URR showed no effect on HPV-18 URR transcriptional activity in Rb-negative HeLa cells (44), YY1 binding to Rb is usually associated with changes in transcriptional activity (40). SP1 is also known to bind Rb (37), and naturally occurring mutations in this site (URR 34-40) enhanced transcription three- to fourfold in HeLa cells (44).
Here we provide insight into the mechanism by which PAI-2 expression results in the loss of HPV-18 oncoprotein activity in HeLa cells. Parental HeLa cells, like most HPV-transformed cells, express little or no Rb. However, Rb expression is restored in HeLa cells stably expressing PAI-2 (15). The PAI-2-mediated recovery of Rb expression resulted in transcriptional silencing of the integrated HPV-18 URR and a subsequent recovery of multiple E6- and E7-targeted host proteins. Repression of the integrated URR was due to an Rb-dependent recruitment to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site of liver-enriched transcriptional inhibitory protein (LIP). C/EBPß mRNA encodes full-length C/EBPß (also known as LAP) and the smaller dominant-negative isoform LIP by virtue of an in-frame internal AUG translation initiation site (17). LIP can also be generated by proteolytic cleavage of C/EBPß (54). LIP lacks a transactivation domain, also binds the C/EBPß consensus site, and is associated with transcriptional repression (30, 32, 58). The C/EBPß/LIP ratio, which often regulates C/EBPß-dependent transcription of cellular genes (26, 52, 55), was not altered in the PAI-2-expressing cells. Regulation of the integrated HPV URR by Rb and LIP as a consequence of PAI-2 expression represents a novel cellular mechanism of HPV oncogene repression and suggests potential PAI-2-based therapeutic and/or diagnostic applications for HPV-transformed lesions.
|
|
|---|
Western blots. Western analysis used antibodies specific for PAI-2 (polyclonal antibody from American Diagnostica, Greenwich, Conn.); Rb (G3-245); p53 (DO-1) (BD PharMingen, Heidelberg, Germany); Waf1/p21 (187); c-Jun (H-79); c-Myc (9E10); HPV-18 E7 (N-19); glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH; V-18); and actin (C-11), YY1 (H-10), and C/EBPß (H-7, which recognizes the C terminus) (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, Calif.). Horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibodies (Silenus, Melbourne, Australia) were detected using an ECL chemiluminescent detection system (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Little Chalfont, United Kingdom). Total cell, nuclear, and cytoplasmic extracts were generated as described previously (15). Protein concentrations were determined with the BCA-200 protein assay kit (Pierce, Rockford, Ill.), 20 µg was separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-10% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), and proteins were transferred to Hybond-C nitrocellulose membranes (Amersham). For E7 detection 50 µg of cell protein was separated on 4 to 20% gradient gels (Gradipore, North Ryde, Australia) run at 150 V for 1 h.
Quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR. cDNA was prepared from 106 cells as described previously (15). PCR analysis used the following nucleotide primers for HPV-18 E7 (Genset, La Jolla, Calif.): 5'-GCTGAACCACAACGTCACAC-3' and 5'-GGTCGTCTGCTGGAGCTTTCT-3'. The amplification reaction mixture of 20 µl contained 0.1 µg of randomly primed cDNA, 0.5 µM (each) primer pair, 2x Platinum Quantitation PCR Supermix-UDG (Gibco BRL), and 10x SYBR Green (Molecular Probes, Eugene, Oreg.). The cycling conditions were one cycle of 96°C for 2 min, followed by 35 cycles of 96°C for 15 s, 56°C for 15 s, and 72°C for 15 s. Real-time PCR was performed using a Rotogene PCR machine (Corbett Research, Mortlake, Australia). PCR products were visualized using SYBR Green dye and analyzed by Rotogene real-time analysis software (Corbett Research). Quantitation was based on a standard curve established using dilutions of parental cell line GAPDH cDNA.
HPV-URR LUC assays. Cells (7 x 105) were transfected with 0.25 µg of the indicated HPV-URR reporter plasmids and 0.25 µg of a pCMV ß-galactosidase reporter plasmid as a transfection control (Promega, Madison, Wis.) with 3 µl of GeneJammer transfection reagent according to the manufacturer's instructions (Stratagene, La Jolla, Calif.). The parent HPV-URR luciferase (LUC) reporter plasmid and the same reporter plasmid with a mutation within the URR 34 to 40 SP1 site (SP1 mutant) or a mutation within the URR 7846 to 13 YY1 site (YY1 mutant) were generated previously (44). The C/EBPß-YY1 binding site mutant was generated by disruption of the C/EBPß site within the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site (URR 7704-7713; TTTTACTTAA to TTCCGCGGAA) as described previously (5), with the GeneTailor site-directed mutagenesis system (Invitrogen Life Technologies). At 72 h posttransfection cell lysates were analyzed using the LUC assay system (Promega), the Turner Designs TD-20/20 luminometer (Sunnyvale, Calif.), and the ß-galactosidase enzyme assay system with reporter lysis buffer (Promega).
EMSA experiments. Protein-DNA complexes were analyzed using the LightShift chemiluminescent electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) kit (Pierce). Briefly, 20 or 200 fmol of biotinylated double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) probe (Proligo, Australia Pty Ltd.) was added to 20-µl reaction mixtures containing 10 mM Tris, 50 mM KCl, 1 mM dithiothreitol (DTT), 2.5% glycerol, 5 mM MgCl2, 50 ng of poly(dI-dC)/µl, and 5 µg of nuclear extract. For antibody preincubation reactions, 2 µl of 200-µg/ml anti-C/EBPß antibody (H-7; Santa Cruz), anti-YY1 antibody (H-10; Santa Cruz), anti-Rb antibody (G3-245; BD PharMingen), or anti-PAI-2 antibody (American Diagnostica) was added to cell lysate containing the above reaction mixture for 1 h prior to addition of EMSA probes. After 30 min at room temperature complexes were resolved on 6% Tris-borate-EDTA-polyacrylamide gels at 90 V in 0.5% Tris-borate-EDTA buffer: 100 mM Tris HCl, 100 mM borate, and 2 mM EDTA, pH 8.3. Proteins were then transferred to Hybond N+ (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech), and biotinylated DNA was detected by chemiluminescence per the manufacturer's instructions. The C/EBPß-YY1 binding site biotinylated dsDNA oligonucleotides were as follows: forward, 5'-AGTTTGTTTTTACTTAAGCTA-3', and reverse, 5'-TAGCTTAAGTAAAAACAAACT-3' (URR 7701-7721). Mutant C/EBPß-YY1 binding site oligonucleotides containing a mutation in the C/EBPß binding site were as follows: forward, 5'-AGTTTGTTTCCGCGGAAGCTA-3' and reverse 5'-TACTTCCGCGGAAACAAACT-3' (5).
Streptavidin pull-down of C/EBPß-YY1-binding-site-bound proteins with biotinylated dsDNA probes. Nuclear cell lysates from 6 x 106 HeLa, S1a, Weri, and Weri Rb cells were isolated as described previously (15). Protein-DNA complexes were generated in 100-µl reaction mixtures consisting of 150 µg of nuclear cell extracts in 10 mM Tris-50 mM KCl-1 mM DTT-2.5% glycerol-5 mM MgCl2-50 ng of poly(dI-dC)/µl, to which 100 µM biotinylated or unlabeled dsDNA C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe or mutated C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe (described above) (Proligo, La Jolla, Calif.) was added. The reaction mixture was incubated at room temperature for 1 h, after which 30 µl of streptavidin immobilized on agarose beads (Sigma-Aldrich, Sydney, Australia) was added to the reaction mixture and incubated for a further 2 h at 4°C with rotation. The streptavidin-agarose beads were pelleted, and the supernatant was discarded. The pelleted streptavidin-agarose beads were washed once with 10 mM Tris-50 mM KCl-1 mM DTT-2.5% glycerol-5 mM MgCl2-0.1% NP-40, and DNA-protein complexes were run on an SDS-12% polyacrylamide gel. Proteins were transferred to a Hybond C membrane (Amersham), and bound proteins were detected by Western blotting with the antibodies described above.
siRNA inhibition of Rb transcription. S1a cells were grown to 50% confluence, and 200 mM double-stranded small inhibitory RNA (siRNA) (Proligo) was transfected by using the Oligofectamine transfection reagent according to the manufacturer's instructions (Invitrogen). The sequences of the Rb siRNA were previously described in reference 15. Nuclear cell lysates were analyzed 72 h posttransfection by streptavidin pull-down assays and Western blot assays with antibodies specific for Rb, C/EBPß, YY1, and PAI-2 as described above.
|
|
|---|
![]() View larger version (40K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 1. PAI-2 expression in HeLa cells resulted in the recovery of multiple E6- and E7-targeted proteins and loss of E7 expression. (A) Western blot analysis of whole-cell lysates from the parental HeLa cell line (HeLa), HeLa lines stably expressing antisense PAI-2 (A2/7), and HeLa cell lines stably expressing PAI-2 (S1a and S1b). Resolved proteins were probed using antibodies specific for PAI-2, Rb, p53, Waf1/p21, c-Jun, c-Myc, and GAPDH. (B) The C-D interhelical region and RSL of PAI-2 are required for repression of E7 expression and restoration of Rb and p53. Shown are results of Western blot analysis of lysates from parental HeLa cells, S1a cells, HeLa cell lines stably expressing the PAI-2 C-D interhelical mutant (C-D PAI-2a and C-D PAI-2b), and HeLa cells stably expressing the RSL mutant of PAI-2 (PAI-2 Ala380a and PAI-2 Ala380b). Resolved proteins were probed using antibodies specific for PAI-2, the E7 protein from HPV-18 (E7), Rb, p53, and actin (as a protein loading control). (C) Quantitative real-time reverse transcription-PCR expression analysis of E7 mRNA levels. E7 cDNA from HeLa, A2/7, S1a, and S1b cells was quantified by PCR based on a standard curve established using dilutions of GAPDH cDNA prepared from the parental HeLa cell line. Data from three experiments are expressed as the mean fold change ± the standard deviation (SD) compared with parental HeLa cells. *, expression levels were undetectable.
|
These data confirmed and extended work from a previous study (15) and suggested that PAI-2 binding to and proteolytic protection of Rb (via the C-D interhelical and RSL regions, respectively) somehow lead to suppression of HPV oncoprotein transcription. The subsequent loss of oncoprotein expression then leads to the recovery of multiple E6- and E7-targeted proteins.
PAI-2 expression is associated with repression of HPV-18 URR transcriptional activity via the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site. To determine whether PAI-2 expression was associated with transcriptional repression of the E6-E7 promoter region (HPV-18 URR), a LUC reporter assay was employed in which LUC expression was controlled by the HPV-18 URR (44) (Fig. 2A). Parental HeLa cells, HeLa cells stably expressing antisense PAI-2 (A2/7), wild-type PAI-2 (S1a and S1b), the PAI-2 C-D interhelical mutant (C-D PAI-2), or the PAI-2 RSL mutant (PAI-2 Ala380) was transiently transfected with the wild-type HPV-18 URR LUC reporter construct. While the control HeLa cell lines (parental HeLa and A2/7) and the PAI-2 mutant cell lines (C-D PAI-2a and PAI-2 Ala380a) all showed similar levels of URR LUC reporter gene activity, PAI-2-expressing S1a and S1b cells showed only minimal transcriptional activity from this wild-type URR (Fig. 2B, wild-type URR). These data demonstrated that PAI-2 expression leads to silencing of transcription from the HPV URR, an observation consistent with the reported loss of the cotranscribed E6-E7 mRNA (15), loss of E7 protein expression (Fig. 1B), and recovery of E6- and E7-targeted proteins (Fig. 1A) in PAI-2-expressing HeLa cells.
![]() View larger version (17K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 2. PAI-2 expression repressed HPV-18 URR transcriptional activity via the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site in HeLa cells. (A) The LUC HPV-18 URR reporter construct. The HPV-18 URR promoter region is fused to a LUC reporter gene. The arrangement of the transcription factor sites that were mutated is indicated. (B) The indicated cell lines (abbreviated as in Fig. 1) were transiently transfected with the LUC reporter gene containing the wild-type HPV-18 URR promoter (wild-type URR), the same promoter with a mutation within the URR 34 to 40 SP1 site (SP1 mutant), a mutation within the URR 7846-13 YY1 site (YY1 mutant), or a mutation in the URR 7709-7719 C/EBPß-YY1 binding site (C/EBPß-YY1 mutant). Transcriptional activity was measured as LUC activity, which was normalized to a constant ß-galactosidase activity as a transfection control. For the wild-type URR experiments the ß-galactosidase activity was as follows: HeLa, 3.6 ± 0.4 (standard deviation [SD]); A2/7, 3.2 ± 0.01; S1a, 2 ± 0.07; S1b, 2.2 ± 0.07; C-D PAI-2a, 3.05 ± 0.2; and PAI-2Ala380a, 2.9 ± 0.2 mU. For the experiments with the mutated URR plasmids the ß-galactosidase activities were similar (data not shown). Data represent the means of at least three independent experiments performed in duplicate. Results of Student's t test analysis of normalized LUC activity comparing S1a and S1b cells with HeLa and A2/7 controls, which gave P values of <0.05, are indicated (*).
|
The dominant-repressive C/EBPß isoform LIP binds the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site in PAI-2-expressing HeLa cells. To analyze the transcription factors bound to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site, an assay was developed whereby nuclear lysates were incubated with biotinylated C/EBPß-YY1 binding site dsDNA probes. After incubation with nuclear lysates, the probes and any transcription factors bound to the probe were pulled down with streptavidin beads and analyzed by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting. As expected in HeLa cells (5), both C/EBPß and YY1 were found bound to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe (Fig. 3A, lane 2). Minimal binding to unlabeled probe or to labeled mutated probe was observed (Fig. 3A, lanes 1 and 3), illustrating the specificity of this assay. Importantly, neither C/EBPß nor YY1 was found bound to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe in PAI-2-expressing S1a cells (Fig. 3A, lane 5). Instead, a low-molecular-mass anti-C/EBPß-reactive band was found bound to this probe in the S1a cells (Fig. 3A, lane 5). Although present in S1a lysates (Fig. 3B, lane 2), neither Rb nor PAI-2 was found bound to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe (Fig. 3A, lane 5). Minimal binding to unlabeled probe or to labeled mutated probe was again observed (Fig. 3A, lanes 4 and 6). The low-molecular-mass band on SDS gels (17 to 20 kDa) (51), the antibody reactivity (H-7 is specific for the C terminus of C/EBPß and therefore also reacts with LIP), and the binding to a known C/EBPß site (5) identified the C/EBPß-YY1-binding-site-binding factor in S1a cells as the dominant-negative C/EBPß isoform LIP. The replacement of C/EBPß-YY1 with LIP on this site in S1a cells was not associated with a change in the expression levels of these transcription factors in S1a cells compared with parental HeLa cells (Fig. 3B, lanes 1 and 2).
![]() View larger version (54K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 3. Binding of LIP to C/EBPß-YY1 binding site in PAI-2-expressing HeLa cells. (A) Biotin-labeled C/EBPß-YY1 binding site dsDNA probe (C/EBPß-YY1), unlabeled C/EBPß-YY1 binding site dsDNA probe (Unlabeled), or labeled mutant C/EBPß-YY1 binding site dsDNA probe (C/EBPß-YY1 mut) was incubated with nuclear lysates from HeLa cells (lanes 1 to 3), S1a cells (lanes 4 to 6), S1a cells treated with Rb siRNA (lanes 7 to 9), and S1a cells treated with control scrambled siRNA (lanes 10 to 12). Streptavidin-agarose beads were used to capture and pull down the probe and probe-bound transcription factors, which were then analyzed by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting with antibodies specific for YY1, C/EBPß/LIP, Rb, and PAI-2. Molecular mass markers are indicated. (B) The nuclear lysates used in panel A were analyzed by Western blotting with the same antibodies with equal amounts of protein added to each lane. Molecular masses corresponding to panel A are indicated by small dashes.
|
Loss of C/EBPß-YY1 (complex I) binding to the HPV-18 C/EBPß-YY1 binding site in S1a cells. Formation of the C/EBPß-YY1 dimer and subsequent recruitment of this complex to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site in HeLa cells are well described elsewhere (5, 6). To confirm that PAI-2 expression alters the transcription complexes bound to the HPV-18 C/EBPß-YY1 binding site, nuclear extracts from HeLa cells and PAI-2-expressing HeLa cells (S1a) were analyzed by EMSA for protein-DNA complexes (Fig. 4A). As expected, incubation of the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe with nuclear extracts of HeLa cells showed a slow-migrating doublet. The top band was previously identified as the C/EBPß-YY1 dimer, also known as complex I (4-6) (Fig. 4A, lane 5, arrow). Importantly, EMSA analysis of nuclear extracts from S1a cells showed that C/EBPß-YY1 was not bound to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site in these cells (Fig. 4A, lane 7), consistent with the results shown in Fig. 3A (lane 5). As expected, a mutated C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe (containing the same mutations as the probe used in Fig. 3) failed to bind this complex in both cell lines (Fig. 4A, lanes 6 and 8).
![]() View larger version (56K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 4. EMSA of complexes binding to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site in HeLa and PAI-2-expressing HeLa cells. (A) Loss of C/EBPß-YY1 binding to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site in PAI-2-expressing HeLa cells. A biotin-labeled C/EBPß-YY1 binding site dsDNA probe (C/EBPß-YY1, lanes 5 and 7) or a mutated C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe (C/EBPß-YY1 mut, lanes 6 and 8) was used in EMSA experiments with nuclear lysates from either HeLa or S1a cells. Lanes 3 and 4 represent HeLa cell lysates incubated with labeled C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe and the mutated probe plus a 100-fold excess of the same unlabeled probe. Lanes 1 and 2 represent the same labeled probes in the absence of cell lysate. Complex I representing C/EBPß-YY1 is indicated by an arrow. Free probe indicates unbound probe. (B) Formation of a novel complex bound to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site in HeLa cells expressing PAI-2. EMSA experiments were performed as described for panel A except that 10 times more biotin-labeled C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe (C/EBPß-YY1) or mutant probe (C/EBPß-YY1 mut) was used. Nuclear lysates from HeLa cells were incubated with C/EBPß-YY1 probe (lane 3). S1a cell lysates (lanes 4 to 9) were incubated with either mutant C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe (C/EBPß-YY1 mut, lane 4), C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe with no antibody (C/EBPß-YY1, lane 5), or labeled C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe or mutant probe plus a 100-times excess of cold probe (lanes 10 and 11). Lanes 1 and 2 represent the same labeled probes in the absence of cell lysate. S1a lysates were also incubated with anti-C/EBPß antibody (lane 6), anti-YY1 antibody (lane 7), anti-Rb antibody (lane 8), or anti-PAI-2 antibody (lane 9) prior to addition of labeled C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe. The new complex is indicated by an arrow and is present in lanes 5, 7, 8, and 9.
|
Rb expression is sufficient for repression of transcription from the HPV-18 URR. To further explore the role of Rb in repression of the HPV-18 URR, the HPV-18 URR LUC reporter constructs used in Fig. 2 were tested in the Rb-negative Weri and Y79 retinoblastoma cell lines and the same cell lines stably expressing Rb (Weri Rb and Y79 Rb) (59). As Weri and Y79 cells do not express any HPV oncoproteins or PAI-2 (data not shown), the role of Rb in HPV-18 URR repression could be analyzed in the absence of any influences from E6, E7, or PAI-2. Wild-type HPV-18 URR transcriptional activity from the reporter construct (Fig. 5A) could be readily detected in the Rb-negative Weri and Y79 cell lines (Fig. 5B, wild-type URR). In contrast, transcriptional activity was repressed in Weri Rb and Y79 Rb lines (Fig. 5B, wild-type URR). Thus, Rb expression alone appeared sufficient for repression of HPV-18 transcription.
![]() View larger version (16K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 5. Rb expression in Weri and Y79 retinoblastoma lines repressed HPV-18 URR transcriptional activity via the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site. (A) The LUC HPV-18 URR reporter construct, as described for Fig. 2A. (B) Parental Rb-null Weri cells (Weri), Weri cells stably expressing Rb (Weri Rb), parental Rb-null Y79 cells (Y79), and Y79 cells stably expressing Rb (Y79 Rb) were transiently transfected with the LUC reporter gene containing the wild-type HPV-18 URR promoter (wild-type URR), the same promoter with a mutation within the SP1 site (SP1 mutant), a mutation within the YY1 site (YY1 mutant), or a mutation in the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site (C/EBPß-YY1 mutant). Transcriptional activity was measured as described for Fig. 2. For the wild-type URR experiments the ß-galactosidase activity was as follows: Weri, 1.4 ± 0.2 (standard deviation [SD]); Weri Rb, 1.3 ± 0.2; Y79, 0.8 ± 0.07; Y79 Rb, 0.9 ± 0.4 mU. For the experiments with the mutated URR plasmids the ß-galactosidase activities were similar (data not shown). Data represent the means of at least three independent experiments performed in duplicate. Results of Student's t test analysis of LUC activity comparing Weri with Weri Rb cells giving P values of <0.05 are indicated (*). Differences in the LUC values for the different cell lines transfected with the C/EBPß-YY1 mutant were not significant.
|
LIP is bound to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site in Weri Rb cells. In a series of experiments that parallel those shown in Fig. 3, we sought to determine whether the transcriptional repression of the HPV-18 URR seen in Weri Rb cells (Fig. 5B) was also associated with the binding of LIP to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site, as was observed in S1a cells (Fig. 3A, lane 5). Rb expression in the Weri Rb cells is illustrated in Fig. 3B, lane 2. In contrast to HeLa cells (Fig. 3A, lane 2), no C/EBPß or YY1 was pulled down from nuclear lysates of parental Weri cells by the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe (Fig. 6A, lane 2). In fact no C/EBPß could be detected in nuclear lysates of Weri or Weri Rb cells (Fig. 6B), suggesting that these cells may not express sufficient C/EBPß to be able to form detectable levels of complex I. As was observed for HeLa and S1a cells (Fig. 3B), the level of LIP and YY1 expression was not significantly different in the Weri and Weri Rb lines (Fig. 6B). The C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe failed to pull down LIP in the Rb-negative Weri cells (Fig. 6A, lane 2), as was the case for the Rb-negative parental HeLa cells. However, LIP was found bound to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe in Weri Rb cells (Fig. 6A, lane 5), as was the case for the Rb-expressing S1a cells. Thus, Rb expression in both S1a and Weri Rb cells was associated with LIP binding to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site.
![]() View larger version (52K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 6. Binding of LIP to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site in Rb-expressing retinoblastoma cells. (A) Biotin-labeled C/EBPß-YY1 binding site dsDNA probe (C/EBPß-YY1), unlabeled C/EBPß-YY1 binding site dsDNA probe (Unlabeled), or labeled mutant C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe (C/EBPß-YY1 mut) was incubated with nuclear lysates from either Weri cells (lanes 1 to 3) or Weri Rb cells (lanes 4 to 6). Streptavidin-agarose beads were used to capture and pull down probe-bound transcription factors, which were then analyzed by SDS-PAGE and Western blotting with the antibodies to the indicated proteins. Molecular mass markers are indicated as for Fig. 3. (B) Nuclear lysates used in panel A were analyzed by Western blotting with the same antibodies, with equal protein loading for each lane. Molecular masses corresponding to panel A are indicated by small dashes.
|
![]() View larger version (59K): [in a new window] |
FIG. 7. EMSA of complexes binding to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site in retinoblastoma cells. (A) A biotin-labeled C/EBPß-YY1 binding site dsDNA probe (C/EBPß-YY1) or a mutated C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe (C/EBPß-YY1 mut) was used in EMSA experiments with nuclear lysates from either Weri or Weri Rb cells. Lanes 1 and 2 show probes in the absence of cell lysates. Lanes 3 and 4 represent Weri cell lysates incubated with labeled probe and a 100-fold excess of unlabeled probe. The arrow indicates the position of complex I, which is a slow-migrating doublet in Fig. 4, lane 5, but is only a single band here (lane 5). Free probe indicates unbound probe. (B) Formation of a novel complex binding to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site in Rb-expressing retinoblastoma cell lines. EMSAs were performed as described for panel A with nuclear lysates from Weri cells (lane 3) or Rb-expressing Weri cells (Weri Rb) (lanes 4 to 8). Weri Rb nuclear lysates were also preincubated with an anti-C/EBPß antibody (lane 6) prior to addition of labeled C/EBPß-YY1 binding site probe. Weri Rb nuclear lysate incubated with a 100-fold excess of unlabeled probe is shown in lane 8. The novel complex is indicated by an arrow and is present only in lane 5.
|
|
|
|---|
We have demonstrated in two systems that recruitment of LIP to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site of the HPV-18 URR is dependent on Rb expression; suppression of Rb translation by the use of siRNA resulted in loss of LIP binding to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site in S1a cells, and expression of Rb in Weri cells resulted in LIP binding to this region. Rb expression did not cause upregulation of LIP. How Rb expression causes recruitment of LIP to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site remains to be elucidated but may simply be a consequence of Rb associating with LIP to enhance LIP's DNA binding affinity to exceed that of C/EBPß-YY1. Rb binding to C/EBPß has been shown to enhance the DNA binding affinity of C/EBPß (11, 13), and Rb interacts with C/EBPß via the C-terminal bZIP domain of C/EBPß, which is also present in LIP (13). Although promoting the DNA binding affinity of C/EBPß, Rb does not remain associated with the DNA-bound C/EBPß (11), consistent with our finding that Rb was not found associated with LIP on the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site (Fig. 3A, lane 5, and 6A, lane 5). Alternatively, Rb expression may disrupt C/EBPß-YY1 dimer formation in HeLa cells by binding C/EBPß and/or YY1 (11, 40), allowing the dominant-negative LIP to bind to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site (58). The Rb-dependent recruitment of LIP to the C/EBPß-YY1 binding site in Weri Rb cells, when Weri cells do not have detectable C/EBPß-YY1, might argue against this model. However, an unidentified, Rb-disruptable complex may be binding this site in Weri cells (Fig. 7A, lane 2, arrow).
The present study illustrates that at physiological levels functional Rb and LIP act together to suppress transcription in HPV-positive cells but that PAI-2 must be present in HPV-transformed cells to preserve Rb expression. The contention that Rb expression may be important for suppressing the HPV-18 URR is supported by a report from Salcedo et al. (47), who showed that overexpression of Rb in HPV-negative cells repressed transcription from an HPV-18 URR reporter construct. Interestingly, HepG2 cells also contain integrated HPV-18 DNA, but the URR is transcriptionally silenced (4, 5), and these cells express Rb (unpublished observation) and can express PAI-2 (21). Overexpression of LIP has also been shown to reduce transcription from HPV-16 reporter plasmids in HPV-18 and HPV-negative cells (51). Furthermore, we have recently determined that PAI-2 expression suppresses transcription from the HPV-16 URR (data not shown), perhaps suggesting a wider role for PAI-2 and Rb-dependent LIP recruitment in suppressing high-risk HPV oncogene transcription.
PAI-2 expression has been associated with improved prognosis in a number of different cancers (20, 31, 38, 41, 56). However, analysis of PAI-2 expression in malignancies often associated with HPV has been limited (14, 25). Nevertheless, transcriptional profiling suggests that reduced PAI-2 expression is associated with high-risk HPV (10, 46). One should also note that the PAI-2 gene is located at chromosomal locus 18q21, and this is one site that has been associated with loss of heterozygosity leading to tumor formation or progression in several studies of HPV-positive malignancies (24, 50, 60). The present study would predict that PAI-2 expression should represent an important suppressive factor in the development of high-risk HPV lesions, so long as Rb and LIP remain functional in these tissues.
The abilities of PAI-2 to protect Rb from E7-mediated degradation (Fig. 1B) and to repress transcription from the HPV-18 URR (Fig. 2B) were dependent on both the C-D interhelical region, which mediates Rb binding, and the RSL, which mediates protease inhibition. How PAI-2 inhibits Rb degradation remains unclear. However, Rb binding alone appears insufficient, since the RSL mutant, which retains Rb binding activity (15), is unable to inhibit Rb degradation (Fig. 1B, PAI-2 Ala380) and fails to inhibit HPV-18 URR transcription (Fig. 2B). The RSL regions of serpins usually act as a pseudosubstrate for target proteases, suggesting that PAI-2 may inhibit a nuclear protease. A number of proteases are known to be active in the nucleus and are known to target the pocket protein family comprising Rb, p130, and p107; these include calpain 1 (28), caspases (12), and Spase (27). We are currently exploring whether these proteases are the target of PAI-2 inhibition in vivo.
Repression of HPV-18 oncogene transcription can also be achieved in HeLa cells by expression of HPV E2, which binds and represses the URR promoter. Like PAI-2 expression, this also results in recovery of p53 and Rb but results in Rb-dependent senescence (42, 53). S1a and S1b cells do show increased G1 arrest (15) and elevated p21 expression (Fig. 1), both features associated with progression to senescence. The stably transfected S1a and S1b cell lines were selected on the basis of growth (18), and therefore any initial PAI-2-mediated senescence would have been overlooked but might be expected given the loss of E6 and E7.
Whether the PAI-2-associated repression, shown here for the integrated HPV-18 URR (Fig. 1) and for reporter plasmids encoding this URR (Fig. 2), also has a role in repressing E6-E7 transcription from full-length episomal HPV DNA remains to be investigated. How E6 and E7 oncoprotein-mediated inhibition of keratinocyte differentiation is overcome to allow later stages of the HPV viral life cycle is currently unclear (22). PAI-2 is absent in basal keratinocytes (35) but is a major product of differentiating keratinocytes (33, 43). PAI-2 probably contributes to promoting keratinocyte differentiation by elevating Rb levels (45), and this might also lead to downregulation of episomal E6 and E7 transcription. Interestingly, E2 has been shown to synergize with C/EBPß to upregulate C/EBPß-dependent gene transcription (22), and C/EBPß has recently been shown to be an important positive regulator of PAI-2 expression (B. W. Stringer et al., unpublished data).
This paper illustrates that PAI-2 expression has a potent suppressive effect on the transcription of oncogenes from integrated HPV-18 DNA that is mediated by Rb and LIP. These observations may have implications for the use of PAI-2-based reagents in diagnosis and/or treatment of HPV-associated lesions.
This work was supported by grants from the NH&MRC of Australia, University of Queensland postgraduate scholarship, and the National Institutes of Health, United States (CA098369).
|
|
|---|
regulates generation of C/EBPß isoforms through activation of specific proteolytic cleavage. Mol. Cell. Biol. 19:1695-1704.
This article has been cited by other articles:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»