Project description:CDK4 inhibitors have reached clinical approval for cancer therapy. In parallel, the p53 antagonist Mdm2 remains an attractive target for anti-cancer therapy, including numerous clinical studies. The genes encoding Mdm2 and CDK4 are frequently co-amplified in human malignancies, most notably in liposarcomas, suggesting their combined targeting for therapy. Here we show, however, that small compounds that inhibit Mdm2 and CDK4 antagonize each other rather than synergize in their cytotoxicity towards sarcoma cells. CDK4 inhibition attenuates the induction of p53-responsive genes upon Mdm2 inhibition, and similar results were obtained when depleting Mdm2 and/or CDK4 with siRNA. CDK4 inhibitors also interfered with p53 activity in response to DNA damage. CDK4 inhibition did not reduce p53 binding or histone acetylation to promoters, but rather attenuated the subsequent recruitment of RNA polymerase II. The complexes of p53 and Mdm2, as well as CDK4 and Cyclin D1, physically associated with each other. Upon combined inhibition of Mdm2 and CDK4/6, the interaction of this complex was impaired. Thus, the CDK4-Cyclin D1 complex plays a key role in enabling the transcription of p53 target genes. Taken together, our results raise caution regarding the combination of CDK4 inhibitors with Mdm2 antagonists or conventional DNA-damaging chemotherapeutics in the clinics. Moreover, they suggest a hitherto unknown role for CDK4-cyclin D1 complex in sustaining p53 activity, possibly focusing p53-mediated transcription on actively proliferating cells.
Project description:Here we characterise the response of models of ER-positive breast cancer to treatment with the small molecule MDM2 inhibitor NVP-CGM097, a dihydroisoquinolinone derivative currently evaluated in a phase I clinical trial. We show that NVP-CGM097 reduces tumour cell viability of in vitro and in vivo models of endocrine sensitive, endocrine resistant and palbociclib (CDK4/6 inhibitor) resistant p53 wildtype (p53wt) ER-positive breast cancer. NVP-CGM097 synergises with both fulvestrant and palbociclib in models of therapy resistance. Importantly, we identify the key mechanisms of the synergistic interactions between NVP-CGM097 and endocrine therapy, which occurs through the inhibition of E2F Targets and G2M Checkpoint signalling and induction of senescence, rather than depending upon upregulation of p53 dependent apoptotic pathways. Moreover, we find these same pathways are synergistically targeted during the combination treatment of ER positive breast cancer models with NVP-CGM097 and palbociclib. This indicates the genuine potential of MDM2 inhibition as therapy in advanced ER-positive breast cancer as combination endocrine therapy and CDK4/6 inhibitor treatment becomes embedded as standard of care.
Project description:Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of noncoding RNAs produced by a non-canonical form of alternative splicing called back-splicing. To investigate a potential role of circRNAs in the p53 pathway, we analyzed RNA-seq data from colorectal cancer cell lines (HCT116, RKO and SW48) in the presence or absence of DNA damage. Surprisingly, unlike the strong p53-dependent induction of hundreds of p53-induced mRNAs, only a few circRNAs were induced from the p53-induced genes. Circ-MDM2, an annotated circRNA from the MDM2 locus, was one of the handful of circRNAs that originated from a p53-induced gene. Given the central role of MDM2 in suppressing p53 protein levels and p53 activity, we investigated the function of circ-MDM2. Knocking down circ-MDM2 with siRNAs that targeted the circ-MDM2 junction and had no effect on linear MDM2 mRNA, resulted in increased basal p53 levels and growth defects in vitro and in vivo. Consistent with these results, transcriptome profiling showed increased expression of several direct p53 targets, reduced Rb phosphorylation and defects in G1-S progression upon silencing circ-MDM2. Our results reveal the role of a novel circRNA by which the MDM2 locus suppresses p53 levels and cell cycle progression.
Project description:RNA-sequencing was performed to gain insight into the mechanism responsible for the apoptosis and cell cycle arrest induced by loss of Mdm2 in p53-null cells. Following CreERT2-mediated deletion of Mdm2 in three p53-null cell types (T cell lymphoma, sarcoma, and fibroblasts), RNA-sequencing was performed. This high-throughput data revealed Mdm2 deletion in p53-null cells upregulated p53/p73 transcriptional target genes known to induce apoptosis and cell cycle arrest.
Project description:The Mdm2 oncoprotein ubiquitinates and antagonizes p53 but may also carry out p53-independent functions. Here we report that Mdm2 is required for the efficient generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from murine embryonic fibroblasts, in the absence of p53. Similarly, Mdm2 depletion in the context of p53 deficiency also promoted the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells and diminished clonogenic survival of cancer cells. Most of the Mdm2-controlled genes also responded to the inactivation of the Polycomb Repressor Complex 2 (PRC2) and its catalytic component EZH2. Mdm2 physically associated with EZH2 on chromatin, enhancing the trimethylation of Histone 3 at lysine 27 and the ubiquitination of Histone 2A at lysine 119 (H2AK119) at its target genes. Removing Mdm2 simultaneously with the H2AK119 E3 ligase Ring1B/RNF2 further induced these genes and synthetically arrested cell proliferation. In conclusion, Mdm2 supports the Polycomb-mediated repression of lineage specific genes independent of p53. Expression profiling by high throughput sequencing of p53 ko MEFs, p53Mdm2 ko MEFs, p53ko Mdm2 C462A ki MEFs.
Project description:The Mdm2 oncoprotein ubiquitinates and antagonizes p53 but may also carry out p53-independent functions. Here we report that Mdm2 is required for the efficient generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from murine embryonic fibroblasts, in the absence of p53. Similarly, Mdm2 depletion in the context of p53 deficiency also promoted the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells and diminished clonogenic survival of cancer cells. Most of the Mdm2-controlled genes also responded to the inactivation of the Polycomb Repressor Complex 2 (PRC2) and its catalytic component EZH2. Mdm2 physically associated with EZH2 on chromatin, enhancing the trimethylation of Histone 3 at lysine 27 and the ubiquitination of Histone 2A at lysine 119 (H2AK119) at its target genes. Removing Mdm2 simultaneously with the H2AK119 E3 ligase Ring1B/RNF2 further induced these genes and synthetically arrested cell proliferation. In conclusion, Mdm2 supports the Polycomb-mediated repression of lineage specific genes independent of p53. microarray analysis in HCT116 p53-/-cells
Project description:The Mdm2 oncoprotein ubiquitinates and antagonizes p53 but may also carry out p53-independent functions. Here we report that Mdm2 is required for the efficient generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from murine embryonic fibroblasts, in the absence of p53. Similarly, Mdm2 depletion in the context of p53 deficiency also promoted the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells and diminished clonogenic survival of cancer cells. Most of the Mdm2-controlled genes also responded to the inactivation of the Polycomb Repressor Complex 2 (PRC2) and its catalytic component EZH2. Mdm2 physically associated with EZH2 on chromatin, enhancing the trimethylation of Histone 3 at lysine 27 and the ubiquitination of Histone 2A at lysine 119 (H2AK119) at its target genes. Removing Mdm2 simultaneously with the H2AK119 E3 ligase Ring1B/RNF2 further induced these genes and synthetically arrested cell proliferation. In conclusion, Mdm2 supports the Polycomb-mediated repression of lineage specific genes independent of p53. H3K27me3 and H2Ak119ub1 ChIP-Seq
Project description:The Mdm2 oncoprotein ubiquitinates and antagonizes p53 but may also carry out p53-independent functions. Here we report that Mdm2 is required for the efficient generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from murine embryonic fibroblasts, in the absence of p53. Similarly, Mdm2 depletion in the context of p53 deficiency also promoted the differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells and diminished clonogenic survival of cancer cells. Most of the Mdm2-controlled genes also responded to the inactivation of the Polycomb Repressor Complex 2 (PRC2) and its catalytic component EZH2. Mdm2 physically associated with EZH2 on chromatin, enhancing the trimethylation of Histone 3 at lysine 27 and the ubiquitination of Histone 2A at lysine 119 (H2AK119) at its target genes. Removing Mdm2 simultaneously with the H2AK119 E3 ligase Ring1B/RNF2 further induced these genes and synthetically arrested cell proliferation. In conclusion, Mdm2 supports the Polycomb-mediated repression of lineage specific genes independent of p53. microarray analysis in osteoblasts differentiated from human mesenchymal stem cells after siRNA kd
Project description:Adult cardiomyocytes (CM) are terminally differentiated cells with minimal regenerative capacity, making cardiac tissue particularly vulnerable to injury. Thus, defining the roadblocks responsible for adult CM cell cycle arrest lies at the core of developing therapies to regenerate myocyte loss following injurious events such as myocardial infarction. We have previously shown that inactivating the p53/Mdm2 tumor suppressor circuitry, specifically in the heart (using the Cre-loxP recombination system of bacteriophage P1), can allow differentiated CMs to regain proliferative capacity, through an upregulation of factors involved in cell cycle re-entry. These factors are repressed in quiescent CMs, in part through the action of microRNAs (miRNAs). Notably, knockout of either p53 or Mdm2 individually was insufficient to promote CM proliferation. Therefore, we hypothesized that inactivation of p53/Mdm2-regulated miRNAs could promote the expression of cell cycle activators and induce proliferation of adult murine CMs. To identify miRNAs regulated by both p53 and Mdm2, total miRNA expression profiles from cardiac specific p53/Mdm2 double knockout (DKO) mouse hearts were compared with those from cardiac-specific single knockouts (p53KO and Mdm2KO), and vehicle-injected controls using the Nanostring nCounter mouse miRNA expression assay. This revealed a profile of 11 significantly downregulated miRNAs in the proliferative DKO hearts (versus vehicle-injected control), that were enriched for mRNA targets involved in cell cycle regulation. In vitro studies have demonstrated that knockdown of these 11 miRNAs in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes can increase the occurrence of cytokinetic events. Ultimately, we aim to inject antagomirs targeting these miRNAs into animals post-myocardial infarction to determine the effect of p53/Mdm2-regulated miRNAs on heart function and CM proliferation in vivo.