Matthew Fosbrink

Cell Cycle-dependent Phosphorylation of the RUNX2 Transcription Factor by cdc2 Regulates Endothelial Cell Proliferation

RUNX2 is a member of the runt family of DNA-binding transcription factors. RUNX2 mediates endothelial cell migration and invasion during tumor angiogenesis and is expressed in metastatic breast and prostate tumors. Our published studies showed that RUNX2 DNA-binding activity is low during growth arrest, but elevated in proliferating endothelial cells. To investigate its role in cell proliferation and cell cycle regulation, RUNX2 was depleted in human bone marrow endothelial cells using RNA interference. Specific RUNX2 depletion inhibited DNA-binding activity as measured by electrophoretic mobility shift assay resulting in inhibition of cell proliferation. Cells were synchronized at the G1/S boundary with excess thymidine or in mitosis (M phase) with nocodazole. Endogenous or ectopic RUNX2 activity was maximal at late G2 and during M phase. Inhibition of RUNX2 expression by RNA interference delayed entry into and exit out of the G2/M phases of the cell cycle. RUNX2 was coimmunoprecipitated with cyclin B1 in mitotic cells, which further supported a role for RUNX2 in cell cycle progression. Moreover, in vitro kinase assays using recombinant cdc2 kinase showed that RUNX2 was phosphorylated at Ser451. The cdc2 inhibitor roscovitine dose dependently inhibited in vivo RUNX2 DNA-binding activity during mitosis and the RUNX2 mutant S451A exhibited lower DNA-binding activity and reduced stimulation of anchorage-independent growth relative to wild type RUNX2. These results suggest for the first time that RUNX2 phosphorylation by cdc2 may facilitate cell cycle progression possibly through regulation of G2 and M phases, thus promoting endothelial cell proliferation required for tumor angiogenesis.

C5b-9-induced endothelial cell proliferation and migration are dependent on Akt inactivation of forkhead transcription factor FOXO1.

Migration and proliferation of aortic endothelial cells (AEC) are critical processes involved in angiogenesis, atherosclerosis, and postangioplasty restenosis. Activation of complement and assembly of the C5b-9 complement complex have been implicated in the pre-lesional stage of atherogenesis and progression of the atherosclerotic lesion. We have shown that C5b-9 induces proliferation and activates phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), but it is unknown whether this can lead to activation of Akt in AEC, a major downstream target of PI3K, or if C5b-9 can induce the migration of AEC, a critical step in angiogenesis. In this study, we show that C5b-9 induces AEC proliferation and migration and also activates the PI3K/Akt pathway. C5b-9 activates Akt as shown by in vitro kinase assay and phosphorylation of Ser-473. C5b-9-induced cell cycle activation was inhibited by pretreatment with LY294002 (PI3K inhibitor), SH-5 (Akt inhibitor), or transfection with Akt siRNA. These data suggests that the PI3K/Akt pathway is required for C5b-9-induced cell cycle activation. FOXO1, a member of forkhead transcription factor family, was phosphorylated at Ser-256 and inactivated after C5b-9 stimulation as shown by a decrease in DNA binding and cytoplasmic relocalization. Cytoplasmic relocalization was significantly reduced after pretreatment with LY294002, SH-5, or transfection with Akt siRNA. Silencing FOXO1 expression using siRNA stimulated AEC proliferation and regulated angiogenic factor release. Our data indicate that C5b-9 regulation of the cell cycle activation in AEC through Akt pathway is dependent on inactivation of FOXO1.

The role of C5b-9 terminal complement complex in activation of the cell cycle and transcription

Activation of the complement system plays an important role in innate and acquired immunity. Activation of complement and subsequent formation of C5b-9 channels on the surface of cellular membranes leads to cell lysis. When the number of channels assembled on the surface of nucleated cells is limited, C5b-9 doses not cause lysis, but instead can induce cell-cycle progression by activating signal transduction pathways, transcription factors, and key components of the cell-cycle machinery. Cell-cycle induction by C5b-9 is dependent on the activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and the ERK1 pathway in a Gi protein-dependent manner. Cell-cycle activation is regulated, in part, by activation of proto-oncogene c-jun and AP1 DNA binding activity. C5b-9 induces sequential activation of CDK4 and CDK2, leading to G1/S-phase transition and cellular proliferation. RGC-32 is a novel gene whose expression is induced by C5b-9. RGC-32 may play a key role in cell-cycle activation by increasing cyclin B1-CDC2 activity. C5b-9-mediated cell-cycle activation plays an important role in cellular proliferation and proctection from apoptosis.

C5b-9 terminal complex protects oligodendrocytes from apoptotic cell death by inhibiting caspase-8 processing and up-regulating FLIP

Activation of the terminal complement cascade involving C5 to C9 proteins has a beneficial role for oligodendrocytes (OLG) in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, an animal model of multiple sclerosis, by protecting them from apoptotic cell death. We have previously shown that sublytic C5b-9 complexes, through posttranslational regulation of Bad, inhibit the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis induced by serum deprivation. In the present study, we examined the possible involvement of the caspase-8 and Fas pathway in OLG apoptosis and the role of C5b-9 in this process. In a serum-free defined medium, OLG undergo apoptosis and differentiation concomitantly. Under this condition, we found that caspase-8 processing was increased in association with Bid cleavage and markedly reduced expression of cellular FLIP long isoform protein. The caspase-8 inhibitor Z-IETD-FMK inhibited cell death associated with differentiation in a dose-dependent manner. Exposure to C5b-9 induced an inhibition of caspase-8 activation, Bid cleavage, and a significant increase in expression of cellular FLIP long isoform. These C5b-9 effects were reversed by PI3K inhibitor LY294002. C5b-9 also down-regulated the expression of FasL and the Fas-induced apoptosis. These data suggest that C5b-9 through PI3K signaling can rescue OLG from Fas-mediated apoptosis by regulating caspase-8 processing.

Response gene to complement 32 is required for C5b-9 induced cell cycle activation in endothelial cells

Proliferation of vascular endothelial cells (EC) and smooth muscle cells (SMC) is a critical event in angiogenesis and atherosclerosis. We previously showed that the C5b-9 assembly during complement activation induces cell cycle in human aortic EC (AEC) and SMC. C5b-9 can induce the expression of Response Gene to Complement (RGC)-32 and over expression of this gene leads to cell cycle activation. Therefore, the present study was carried out to test the requirement of endogenous RGC-32 for the cell cycle activation induced by C5b-9 by knocking-down its expression using siRNA. We identified two RGC-32 siRNAs that can markedly reduce the expression of RGC-32 mRNA in AEC. RGC-32 silencing in these cells abolished DNA synthesis induced by C5b-9 and serum growth factors, indicating the requirement of RGC-32 activity for S-phase entry. RGC-32 siRNA knockdown also significantly reduced the C5b-9 induced CDC2 activation and Akt phosphorylation. CDC2 does not play a role in G1/S transition in HeLa cells stably overexpressing RGC-32. RGC-32 was found to physically associate with Akt and was phosphorylated by Akt in vitro. Mutation of RGC-32 protein at Ser 45 and Ser 47 prevented Akt mediated phosphorylation. In addition, RGC-32 was found to regulate the release of growth factors from AEC. All these data together suggest that cell cycle induction by C5b-9 in AEC is RGC-32 dependent and this is in part through regulation of Akt and growth factor release.

Epigenetic modifications induced by RGC-32 in colon cancer.

First described as a cell cycle activator, RGC-32 is both an activator and a substrate for CDC2. Deregulation of RGC-32 expression has been detected in a wide variety of human cancers. We have now shown that RGC-32 is expressed in precancerous states, and its expression is significantly higher in adenomas than in normal colon tissue. The expression of RGC-32 was higher in advanced stages of colon cancer than in precancerous states or the initial stages of colon cancer. In order to identify the genes that are regulated by RGC-32, we used gene array analysis to investigate the effect of RGC-32 knockdown on gene expression in the SW480 colon cancer cell line. Of the 230 genes that were differentially regulated after RGC-32 knockdown, a group of genes involved in chromatin assembly were the most significantly regulated in these cells: RGC-32 knockdown induced an increase in acetylation of histones H2B lysine 5 (H2BK5), H2BK15, H3K9, H3K18, and H4K8. RGC-32 silencing was also associated with decreased expression of SIRT1 and decreased trimethylation of histone H3K27 (H3K27me3). In addition, RGC-32 knockdown caused a significantly higher percentage of SW480 cells to enter S phase and subsequently G2/M. These data suggest that RGC-32 may contribute to the development of colon cancer by regulating chromatin assembly.

JNK1 activation mediates C5b-9-induced P0 mRNA instability and P0 gene expression in Schwann cells.

Abstract  The protein zero (P0) glycoprotein is an important component of compact peripheral nerve myelin produced by the glial cells of the mammalian peripheral nervous system. P0 mRNA expression is reduced following exposure of Schwann cells to sublytic C5b‐9, the terminal activation complex of the complement cascade. Sublytic complement treatment decreased P0 mRNA by 81% within 6 h and required C5b‐9 assembly. C5b‐9 induced a threefold increase in both JNK1 activity and c‐jun mRNA within 20 and 30 min, respectively, compared with cells treated with either human serum depleted of complement component C7 (C7dHS) or medium alone. Sublytic C5b‐9 stimulation, in the presence of the transcription inhibitor Actinomycin D, decreased P0 mRNA expression by 52%, indicating that mRNA was selectively destabilized. This effect was prevented by pretreatment with L‐JNK inhibitor 1 (L‐JNKI1). To study a potential inhibition of P0 gene transcription, we transfected Schwann cells with a P0 promoter‐firefly luciferase construct. Sublytic C5b‐9 stimulation of the transfected cells decreased luciferase activity by 82% at 6 h, and this effect was prevented by pretreatment with L‐JNKI1 inhibitor. Our results indicate that the ability of C5b‐9 in vitro to affect P0 gene expression is mediated via JNK1 activation that leads to enhanced mRNA decay and transcriptional repression of P0.

RGC-32 is expressed in the human atherosclerotic arterial wall: Role in C5b-9-induced cell proliferation and migration.

The complement system is an important player in the development of atherosclerosis. Previously reported as a cell cycle regulator, RGC-32 is an essential effector of the terminal complement complex, C5b-9. In this study, our aims were to determine the expression of RGC-32 in the human atherosclerotic arterial wall and to delineate the mechanisms through which RGC-32 affects C5b-9-induced endothelial cell proliferation and migration. We now demonstrate that RGC-32 is expressed in human aortic atherosclerotic wall and that RGC-32 expression increases with the progression of atherosclerosis. Furthermore, silencing of RGC-32 expression abolished C5b-9-induced human aortic endothelial cell (HAEC) proliferation and migration. Of the 279 genes differentially expressed in HAECs after RGC-32 silencing, the genes involved in cell adhesion and cell cycle activation were significantly regulated by RGC-32. RGC-32 silencing caused a significant reduction in the expression of cyclin D1, cyclin D3, Akt, ROCK1, Rho GDP dissociation inhibitor alpha and profilin. These data suggest that RGC-32 mediates HAEC migration through the regulation of RhoA and ROCK1 expression and is involved in actin cytoskeletal organization. Thus, RGC-32 has promising therapeutic potential with regard to angiogenesis and atherosclerosis.