Chemical transformation of mouse liver cells results in altered cyclin D-CDK protein complexes.
Dysregulated cell proliferation is one phenotypic change associated with neoplasia. Key protein complexes involved in regulating cell division are composed of cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) and CDK inhibitors (CDI). Many virally transformed cells in culture exhibit disrupted cyclin-CDK-CDI complexes, suggesting that such changes may play a mechanistic role in viral transformation. To determine whether similar alterations may be involved in chemical carcinogenesis we characterized cyclin D1-CDK-CDI protein complexes in a non-tumorigenic mouse liver cell line and investigated whether complexes were altered after transformation with the genotoxic carcinogens N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) or 3-methylcholanthrene (MC). In non-tumorigenic mouse liver cells cyclin D1 associated with CDK6, CDK4 or CDK2 to form binary (cyclin D1-CDK), tertiary (cyclin D1-CDK-p27KIP1) or quaternary (cyclin D1-CDK-p21WAF1-PCNA) complexes. After chemical transformation of mouse liver cells with either MC or MNNG, select cyclin D1-CDK-CDI protein complexes were altered. In MC-transformed cells formation of various binary, tertiary and quaternary cyclin D1-CDK-(CDI) protein complexes was reduced, resulting in decreased CDK4 kinase activity. Interestingly, CDK6 kinase activity was dramatically elevated due to high levels of cyclin D3 in association with CDK6. In MNNG-transformed cells select cyclin D1-CDK6-CDI and cyclin D1-CDK2-CDI protein complexes were altered but CDK6 and CDK4 kinase activity remained unaffected. Distinct changes in cyclin D1-CDK-CDI complexes found between the two chemically transformed mouse liver cell lines suggest that each cell line harbored unique mutations or alterations that differentially contributed to stabilization of cyclin D1-CDK-CDI holoenzymes. p53 gene mutations were not detected in the MC- or MNNG-transformed mouse liver cell lines and thus were not involved in disrupting cyclin D1-CDK-CDI protein complexes. In summary, this study presents evidence that D-type CDK protein complexes can be altered physically and functionally after chemical transformation with genotoxic carcinogens, suggesting that components of the cell cycle machinery can be targeted during chemical carcinogenesis.
Curriculum in Toxicology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-7270, USA.
A J
AJ
Gonzales
T L
TL
Goldsworthy
T R
TR
Fox
D000818:Animals; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000633:toxicity; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D002460:Cell Line; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects*; D019938:Cyclin D1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D050762:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p15; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16; D050759:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; D018844:Cyclin-Dependent Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D016213:Cyclins / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D016196:S Phase; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins
D002273:Carcinogens; D002352:Carrier Proteins; C493957:Cdkn1a protein, mouse; C493968:Cdkn2b protein, mouse; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D050762:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p15; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16; D050759:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; D016213:Cyclins; D018809:Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; D019938:Cyclin D1; D018844:Cyclin-Dependent Kinases