The fate of pancreatic tumor cell lines following p16 overexpression depends on the modulation of CDK2 activity.
Restitution of lost tumor-suppressor activities may be a promising strategy to target specifically cancer cells. However, the action of ectopically expressed tumor-suppressor genes depends on genetic background of tumoral cells. Ectopic expression of p16(INK4a) induces either cell cycle arrest or apoptosis in different pancreatic cancer cell lines. We examined the molecular mechanisms mediating these two different cellular responses to p16 overexpression. Ectopic expression of p16 leads to G1 arrest in NP-9 cells by redistributing p21/p27 CKIs and inhibiting cyclin-dependent kinase CDK2 activity. In contrast, in NP-18 cells cyclin E (CycE)/CDK2 activity is significantly higher and is not downregulated by p16-mediated redistribution of p21/p27. Moreover, inhibition of CDK4 activity with fascaplysine, which does not affect CycE/CDK2 activity, reduces pocket protein phosphorylation in both cell lines, but fails to induce growth arrest. Like overexpression of p16, fascaplysine induces apoptosis in NP-18 cells, suggesting that inhibition of D-type cyclin/CDK activity in cells with high levels of CycE/CDK2 activity activates an apoptotic pathway. Inhibition of CycE/CDK2 activity via ectopic expression of p21 in NP-18 cells overexpressing p16 induces growth arrest and prevents p16-mediated apoptosis. Accordingly, silencing of p21 expression by using small interfering RNA switches the fate of p16-expressing NP-9 cells from cell cycle arrest to apoptosis. Our data suggest that, after CDK4/6 inactivation, the fate of pancreatic tumor cells depends on the ability to modulate CDK2 activity.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Barcelona, Avda. Diagonal 645, Barcelona 08028, Spain.
J
J
Calbó
C
C
Serna
J
J
Garriga
X
X
Graña
A
A
Mazo
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D017502:Adenovirus E2 Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D017209:Apoptosis; D042846:CDC2-CDC28 Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D002453:Cell Cycle; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D051357:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2; D051358:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D050759:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; D018844:Cyclin-Dependent Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D016213:Cyclins / Q000378:metabolism; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011485:Protein Binding; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D034622:RNA Interference
D017502:Adenovirus E2 Proteins; C493956:CDKN1A protein, human; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16; D050759:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; D016213:Cyclins; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D042846:CDC2-CDC28 Kinases; C495894:CDK2 protein, human; C495900:CDK4 protein, human; D051357:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 2; D051358:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4; D018844:Cyclin-Dependent Kinases