Jifang Hao

Adenovirus-mediated wild-type p53 transfer radiosensitizes H1299 cells to subclinical-dose carbon-ion irradiation through the restoration of p53 function.

To determine whether adenovirus-mediated wild-type p53 transfer after radiotherapy could radiosensitize non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells to subclinical-dose carbon-ion beam (C-beam), H1299 cells were exposed to a C-beam or gamma-ray and then infected with 5 MOI of AdCMV-p53 or GFP (C-beam or gamma-ray with p53 or GFP). Cell cycle was detected by flow cytometric analysis. The apoptosis was examined by a fluorescent microscope with DAPI staining. DNA fragmentation was monitored by the TUNEL assay. P53 mRNA was detected by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The expression of p53, MDM(2), and p21 was monitored by Western blot. Survival fractions were determined by colony-forming assay. The percentages of G(1)-phase cells in C-beam with p53 increased by 8.2%-16.0%, 5.2%-7.0%, and 5.8%-18.9%, respectively, compared with C-beam only, gamma-ray with p53, or p53 only. The accumulation of G(2)-phase cells in C-beam with p53 increased by 5.7%-8.9% and 8.8%-14.8%, compared with those in gamma-ray with p53 or p53 only, respectively. The percentage of apoptosis for C-beam with p53 increased by 7.4%-19.1%, 5.8%-11.7%, and 5.2 %-19.2%, respectively, compared with C-beam only, gamma-ray with p53, or p53 only. The level of p53 mRNA in C-beam with p53 was significantly higher than that in p53 only. The expression level of p53 and p21 in C-beam with p53 was significantly higher than that in both C-beam with GFP and p53 only. The survival fractions for C-beam with p53 were significantly less than those for the other groups (p < 0.05). The data suggested that AdCMV-p53 transfer could more efficiently radiosensitize H1299 cells to subclinical-dose C-beam irradiation through the restoration of p53 function.

Potentiality of phosphorylation of BRCA1 at Ser 1524 to activate p21 in response to X-ray irradiation

The breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 encodes a nuclear phosphoprotein, which functions as a tumor suppressor gene. Many studies suggested that multiple functions of BRCA1 may contribute to its tumor suppressor activity, including roles in cell cycle checkpoints, apoptosis and transcription. It is postulated that phosphorylation of BRCA1 is an important means by which its cellular functions are regulated. In this study, we employed phospho-Ser-specific antibody recognizing Ser-1524 to study BRCA1 phosphorylation under conditions of DNA damage and the effects of phosphorylation on BRCA1 functions. The results showed that 10 Gy X-ray treatment significantly induced phosphorylation of Ser-1524 but not total BRCA1 protein levels. The expression both of p53 and p21 increased after irradiation, but ionizing radiation (IR) -induced activation of p21 was prior to that of p53. The percentages of G0/G1 phase remarkably increased after IR. In addition, no detectable levels of 89 kDa fragment of PARP, a marker of apoptotic cells, were observed. Data implied that IR-induced phosphorylation of BRCA1 at Ser-1524 might activatep21 protein, by which BRCA1 regulated cell cycle, but play no role in apoptosis.