Categories
Articles

ABBS 2005,37(08):Study of a Novel Brain Relatively Specific Gene LRRC4 Involved in Glioma Tumorigenesis Suppression Using the Tet-on System

Research

Paper

Pdf file on Synergy

Download Chinese abstract

Acta Biochim Biophys

Sin 2005,37:532-540

doi:10.1111/j.1745-7270.2005.00079.x

Study of a Novel Brain Relatively Specific Gene LRRC4

Involved in Glioma Tumorigenesis­ Suppression Using the Tet-on System

Qiu-Hong ZHANG, Li-Li WANG, Li CAO, Cong PENG, Xiao-Ling LI, Ke

TANG, Wei-Fang LI, Ping LIAO, Jie-Ru WANG, and Gui-Yuan LI*

Cancer Research

Institute, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China

Received: March 20,

2005

Accepted: May 11,

2005

This work was

supported by the grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China

(No. 30100191 and No. 30270429) and the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan

Province (No. 03JJY3062)

*Corresponding

author: Tel, 86-731-480-5090; Fax, 86-731-480-5383; E-mail, [email protected]

Abstract        LRRC4 is a novel

relatively specific gene, which displays significant down-regulation in primary

brain tumor biopsies and has the potential to suppress brain tumor growth. In

this study, we investigated the growth inhibitory effect of LRRC4 on

tumorigencity in vivo and on cell proliferation in vitro by a

tetracycline-inducible expression system. Results showed that LRRC4

significantly reduced the growth and malignant grade of xenografts arising from

glioblastoma U251MG cells. Cell proliferation was markedly inhibited after

U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4 cell induction with doxycycline. Flow cytometry and

Western blot analysis demonstrated that LRRC4 mediated a delay of the

cell cycle in late G1, possibly through up-regulating the

expressions of p21Waf1/cip1 and p27Kip1 and down-regulating the expressions of

cyclin-dependent kinase 2, retinoblastoma protein and epidermal growth factor

receptors. Together, these findings provide clues to the function of LRRC4 as

a negative regulator of cell growth and underscore a link between the

above-mentioned cyclins, cyclin-associated molecules and tumorigenicity.

Key words        LRRC4; tumorigencity; cell proliferation; cell cycle

delay

Gliomas represent only 2% of adult tumors, but they contribute to 10%

of all cancer-related deaths [1]. Although­ there have been significant

advances in the treatment of other cancers, there is only modest progress in

brain tumor­ therapy because gliomas grow in an infiltrative fashion. Because

substantial genetic heterogeneity exists even within tumors of the same

histological subtype, it is generally­ believed that there are multiple

pathways of genetic­ alterations­ leading to gliomas [2]. The development of

and progression towards gliomas is clearly due to a multistep process that

involves functional inactivation of tumor suppressor­ genes as well as oncogene

activation and/or overexpression, related to both cellular proliferation­ and

differentiation processes [35]. Some

insights into potential­ future therapies for astrocytomas have been derived­

from genetic studies [6]. Cancer has always been attributed to an abnormal

proliferation of cells, and agents that interfere­ with cell cycle progression

may have potential­ as anticancer­ therapeutics. The discovery of inhibitors of

the cell cycle such as paclitaxel [7] and olomucine [8] has led to rapid

advances in the investigation and design of a variety of anti-mitosis compounds

that are used clinically or have the potential for development as

anti-proliferative agents.LRRC4 (GenBank accession No. AF196976),

a relatively specific gene cloned from chromosome 7q31-32 [9,10], displays

significant down-regulation and expression deletion in primary brain tumor

biopsies [9] and has the potential to suppress brain tumor growth [11]. But it

is still unclear what mechanisms and molecules are involved­ in the suppression

of glioma growth and cell proliferation. The gene switch Tet-on system [12,13] can induce gene expression by

administrating tetracycline derivatives such as doxycycline to analyze the

relationship between LRRC4 gene expression and function in vivo

and in vitro. In this study, we established a stable U251MG Tet-on cell line and

two dual-stable U251MG Tet-on cell lines expressing­ LRRC4, and analyzed

the inhibitory effect of LRRC4 on tumorgenesis and cell proliferation in

U251MG using tumorigenicity assays, cell growth curves and

methylthiazoltetrazolium (MTT) cell proliferation assays. We determined the

particular stage when LRRC4 inhibits cell cycle progression using flow

cytometry. In order to illustrate the potential molecular mechanism involved in

suppression of glioma tumorigenesis by LRRC4, we examined­ expressions

of cell cycle-associated key molecules­ using Western blot analysis.

Materials and Methods

Cell culture

U251MG cells originally derived from a patient with glioblastoma­

were obtained from American Type Culture Collection (Rockville, USA) and

maintained in RPMI 1640 (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, USA) containing 10% fetal bovine

serum (FBS; BD Biosciences Clontech, Palo Alto, USA).

Generation of U251MG Tet-on cell lines expressing LRRC4

U251MG Tet-on cells, which were stably transfected with pTet-on (BD

Biosciences Clontech) and a G418-resistance­ plasmid, were maintained in RPMI

1640 supplemented­ with 10% FBS, 100 U/ml penicillin, 20 U/ml streptomycin and

800 mg/ml G418 (Sigma, St. Louis, USA). Clones were screened by a

luciferase-expressing system and counted by scintillation counting.The doxycycline-inducible LRRC4 expression plasmid pTRE-2hyg-LRRC4

was constructed by inserting the LRRC4 coding sequence into the NotI

site of vector pTRE-2hyg (BD Biosciences Clontech). To generate stable cell

lines, U251MG Tet-on cells were transfected with pTRE-2hyg-LRRC4. Each

culture was divided and transferred onto three plates 2 days later, grown for

an additional 24 h, then subjected to selection with 300 mg/ml hygromycin

(Calbiochem, San Diego, USA)/G418 (Sigma). Resulting colonies were screened for

LRRC4 expression by semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase­-polymerase­

chain reaction (RT-PCR) using avian myeloblastosis virus (AMV) Reverse

Transcriptase System (Promega, Madison, USA) and Northern blot. Two positive­

U251MG Tet-on cell lines expressing LRRC4 cell clones were selected for

the following experiments. Primer and probe sequences were chosen using Primer

3 (http://www-genome.wi.mit.edu/). The LRRC4 cDNA from stably­

transfected cell lines was amplified using a forward­ primer (5-TTGGCCCACAATAACCTCTC-3)

and a reverse­ primer (5-ACAGGCTTGTACTTTCGCGT-3). As an

internal control, b-actin gene was analyzed in parallel­ using a forward primer (5-TCCGTGGAGAAG­AGCTAC­GA-3)

and a reverse primer (5-GTACTTGAG­CTCAGA­AGGAG-3). Total RNA

was extracted from the culture cells using Trizol reagent (Gibco BRL, Grand

Island, USA). DNA-free RNA was denatured and transferred­ onto a nylon­

membrane (BD Biosciences Clontech) according to the standard procedure. After

UV cross-linking, the membrane was hybridized with [a32P]dATP

(Yahui Company, Beijing, China) labeled LRRC4 cDNA at 68 ?C overnight in

Express­ Hyb (BD Biosciences Clontech). The membrane was washed with increasing

stringency up to a final wash of 1?SSC, 0.1%

sodium dodecyl sulfate­ (SDS) at 65 ?C. The membrane was subsequently reprobed

with b-actin. Autoradiograms were exposed after 24 h.

Tumorigenicity assayTumorigenicity assay

We inoculated 5?106

parental U251MG and U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4 cells s.c. into the

flanks of 4- to 6-week-old male nude mice (BALB/c-nu/nu, Shanghai Cancer

Institute, Shanghai, China). Tumorigenicity assay of U251MG and U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4

cell lines was carried­ out in the same manner, except that U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4

cells-treated mice were provided with drinking­ water­ containing either 4%

sucrose or 4% sucrose­ plus 2.0 mg/ml doxycycline (Sigma) to induce the pTRE

promoter; doxycycline-supplemented water was refreshed every 3 days. Tumor

volumes were calculated with the ellipsoid formula: V=4/3pab2,

where a and b are the length and width of the tumor,

respectively. The mice were killed when the tumors reached a volume of about

1.5 cm3 or 1 month after inoculation. Experiments were performed­ in

accordance with European Union and Italian animal care regulations.

Cell growth curves and MTT cell proliferation assay

Cell growth curves and MTT cell proliferation assay were conducted.

We seeded 1?104 parental

U251MG and U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4 cells in 24-well flat-bottom plates

(Falcon, BD Labware, Lincoln­ Park, USA) in 1 ml/well of RPMI 1640 with or

without doxycycline. After 24 h, cells were counted for 6 days continuously.Parental U251MG and U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4 cells were plated in

96-well plates (Falcon) at a density of 5?103 cells/well in 200 ml/well of RPMI 1640 with or without doxycycline. 4872 h later, 20 ml 5 mg/ml 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide

(MTT; Sigma) was added per well, and the culture was incubated for another 4 h.

Then the supernatant fluid was discarded and 150 ml of dimethyl­ sulfoxide

(DMSO) was added per well. The spectrometric absorbance at a wavelength of 570

nm (A570) was measured­ on a microplate reader (Elx800, Bio-Tek Instruments

Inc., Vt., USA). The data were finalized by means of triplicate experiments.

Morphology alteration features

The ultrastructure of the U251MG cells transfected with LRRC4

was observed with an optical microscope (Olympus, Tokyo, Japan) and a

transmission scanning electron microscope­ (Hitachi Ltd., Tokyo, Japan).

Cell cycle analysis

The cells were plated in 75 cm2 cell culture

flask at a density of 2?105

cells/flask. After 24 h, the cells were treated with 0.5 mM nocodazole for

7 or 24 h, then trypsinized, washed, and fixed in 70% ice-cold ethanol at 4 ?C

for 30 min. The cells were then washed in ice-cold PBS twice and incubated in

100 mg/ml propidium iodide (PI; Sigma) containing 100 mg/ml RNase

overnight at 4 ?C, then samples were analyzed by flow cytometry using­ a 488 nm

argon laser and FL2-A detection line. DNA content­ frequency histograms were

deconvoluted using ModFit LT software (Verity, Topsham, USA). Data were

expressed­ in mean±SD of three independent­ experiments.

Western blot analysis

Cells were centrifugated at 12,000 g for 10 min, then the

pellet was resuspended in lysis buffer (1% Nonidet P-40; 40 mM Tris

hydrochloride, pH 8.0, 150 mM NaCl) at 4 ?C for 30 min. Protein concentrations

were determined with BCA protein assay kit (Pierce, Rockford, USA) on a

microplate reader at 570 nm. Cells were lysed in sodium dodecyl sulfate

polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) sample buffer with complete protease

inhibitors (Roche Applied Science, Indianapolis, USA), separated by SDS/PAGE

and transferred to polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF; Amersham Biosciences,

Piscataway, USA). Blots were incubated with goat anti-epidermal growth factor

receptor (EGFR) (sc-03-G; Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Santa Cruz, USA), rabbit

anti-p21 (H-164, sc-756), rabbit anti-p27 (c-19), rabbit anti-retinoblastoma

protein (pRb) (C-15, sc-50), and rabbit anti-cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2)

(M2, sc-163) (Santa Cruz Biotechnology), followed by a horseradish peroxidase

conjugated anti-goat or anti-rabbit Ab (Santa Cruz Biotechnology), developed

using Supersignal chemiluminescence reagents (Pierce), and exposed to X-ray

film.

Results

Suppression of tumorigenicity by LRRC4 in U251MG cell line

Because LRRC4 displays expression deletion in the U251MG cell

line, we chose the U251MG cell line as the host. To determine the effects of LRRC4

on tumorigeni­city­ in vivo, we established the stable U251MG Tet-on

cell line and the doxycycline-inducible U251MG Tet-on cell line with the

plasmid pTRE-2hyg-LRRC4. RT-PCR (data not shown) and Northern blot

analysis showed that the levels of LRRC4 mRNA detected in the stable

cell lines P27 and P28 exhibited a significant expression difference in the

absence and presence of doxycycline (Fig. 1). We investigated tumorigenesis in nude mice of the parental­ U251MG

cell line compared with U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4 cell lines (P27 and P28) in the

absence of doxycycline (Doxy) or

presence of doxycycline (Doxy+). As shown in Fig. 2, inoculation of 5?106 cells produced tumors­ in all mice, with tumor masses detectable

after 57 d and reaching a volume of 1 cm3 in

approximately three weeks. Like the parental U251MG group, the P27 and P28 Doxy group produced larger tumors in 100% of the mice. In contrast, the

P27 and P28 Doxy+ group produced smaller tumors [Fig. 2(B)]; the average

weight of xenografts from the Doxy+ group was significantly lighter than any

xenografts­ from the Doxy group.

There was a highly significant difference between the Doxy+ group and the

others (P<0.01, ANOVA test) [Fig. 2(C)]. Consistent with the

tumor volume and weight changes, tumors arising from LRRC4 cell lines

treated with doxycycline displayed markedly reduced growth rates compared with

control U251MG cells [Fig. 2(A)]. Differences in tumor growth rates

between the parental U251MG group and the U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4 (P27, P28)

Doxy+ group were highly significant (P<0.001, ANOVA test), but there was no significant difference between the parental U251MG and the U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4 (P27, P28) Doxy

group (P>0.05, ANOVA test). One month after the mice had been

inoculated, the differences between the groups gradually­ increased.Furthermore, the overexpression of LRRC4 induced   significant morphological changes

in U251MG cells [Fig. 2(D)]. The cells tended to be in a rhombic

arrangement, the volume lessened, cytoplasm expanded, nuclei shrinked in a

rather regular shape, and the number of nucleoli lowered. Tumor tissue cells,

extracted from U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4 cell line in the Doxy+ group were

regularly arranged like fences and vortices. Nuclear fission in both cell lines

was significantly inhibited in the Doxy+ group compared with those in Doxy group. However, there was marked heteromorphism­ and more giant

malignant cells in the tumor­ tissues derived from the parental U251MG and

U251MG Tet-on cell lines not induced with doxycycline. Among the xenografts

from all experiment groups, cells derived from the parental U251MG and U251MG

Tet-on cell lines not treated with doxycycline were arranged­ in a much more

disorderly­ fashion and were accompanied by cell necrosis. RT-PCR analysis­

confirmed­ the expression of LRRC4 in tumors (data not shown). Taken

together, the growth rate and malignant grade of tumors arising from the

expression of LRRC4 cells were markedly reduced compared with that of

tumors­ from the other groups of cells.

Inhibition of cell proliferation by LRRC4

To investigate the causes underlying the effects of LRRC4 on

tumorigenesis, we compared the proliferation of the U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4

cells in the absence or presence of doxycycline and the parental U251MG cell

line by growth curves and MTT cell proliferation assays. As shown in Fig. 3,

cell number and viability of the U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4 positive clones

(P27, P28) in the Doxy+ group were lower than that of the same clones in the

Doxy group. Differences in the growth

rate and viability­ of cells in the LRRC4 group (P27, P28) between  the Doxy+ and Doxy groups were highly significant (P<0.01, t test).

However, there was no significant difference­ between the parental U251MG cells

treated with doxycycline and those not (P>0.05, t test).

Transmission scanning electron microscope observation

The transmission scanning electron microscope revealed that the

nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio of U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4 not exposed to

doxycycline was relatively larger; the cells showed giant irregular nuclei with

scanty and irregularly clumped chromatin and scanty cytoplasm. In a few cells a

dense collection of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) was seen around the nucleus and

the rest cytoplasm contained several­ mitochondria. Rough ER was not well

developed, and Golgi vesicles were few in number. Part of the ER expanded­ for

compensation (Fig. 4, Doxy).

However, after­ 2.0 mg/ml doxycycline induction, the ultrastructure of U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4

(P27, P28) also underwent a significant­ change. The nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio

lessened, the nuclear shape became regular, heterochromatin in nuclei­

decreased while euchromatin increased, the volume of nucleoli lessened, rough

ER increased significantly, Golgi apparatus was well-developed and Golgi

vesicles increased and were regularly arranged. Most mitochondria were oval,

and their crista grew in number and were regularly arranged, polyribosome

reduced while free ribosome increased (Fig. 4, Doxy+). U251MG Tet-on

cell lines expressing LRRC4 showed some ultrastructural characteristics of

their normal relevant cells after exposure to doxycycline.

Cell cycle kinetics of LRRC4 cell lines

To test whether the decreased MTT of the over­expressing LRRC4

cells reflected a delay at a specific stage in the cell cycle or apoptosis

product, we analyzed their DNA content by propidium iodide (PI)

staining and flow cytometry. Results showed an increased fraction of cells in G1 and

subsequent decrease in both S- and G2/M-phase after

U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4 (P27, P28) exposed to doxycycline [Fig. 5(A)].

But results failed to reveal significant­ differences in apoptosis (data not

shown). This result suggested that LRRC4-mediated growth inhibition

probably results from a delay at a particular phase of the cell cycle rather

than from apoptosis.The alteration of cyclins was further analyzed by flow cytometry,

and the results showed that cyclin D1 and cyclin E were increased, but cyclin A

was decreased when the U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4 positive clones (P27,P28)

were induced by doxycycline [Fig. 5(B)]. Together, these observations­

suggested that LRRC4 mediates the delay of the cell cycle late in G1.

Expressions of cell cycle-related key molecules regulated by LRRC4

To validate the potential molecular mechanism of LRRC4-mediated

late G1 delay in U251MG, we examined the expression alterations of

cycle-associated key molecules by Western blot analysis. The results indicated

that the expressions of p21Waf1/cip1 and p27Kip1 were up-regulated and the

expressions of CDK2, EGFR and pRb were down-regulated (Fig. 6) after the

overexpression of LRRC4.

Discussion

Inducibility is desirable for gene function study, since it provides

a more flexible control of gene expression. The benefit is obvious: the level

of the target gene product can be affected at will. Current examples for

inducible gene expression systems include the utilization of

tetracycline-regulated transactivation systems [14], metallothionein promoters

[15], the yeast Gal14 regulatory region [16], the T7 binary system [17],

heat-shock promoters [18], and ecdysone-inducible systems [19]. Among these inducible

mammalian gene expression systems, most induction is nonspecific and expression

levels can not be precisely regulated. In addition, these systems are generally

leaky in the “off” state, and the inducing agent itself may be toxic to the

cells. In contrast, regulation of gene expression by the heterogenous bacterial

control elements in the Tet systems is very specific, a feature that vastly

reduces pleiotropic effects.Furthermore, the levels of tetracycline or doxycycline required for

the full range of gene expression are subtoxic, so the antibiotics have no

significant effect on cell growth, even with continuous treatment to keep gene

expression off in Tet-off cells [20]. Here we utilized a tetracycline-based

inducible system to investigate the correlation between the expression and

function of LRRC4.We constructed a stable U251MG Tet-on cell line and two dual-stable

U251MG Tet-on-LRRC4 cell lines. The cell lines exhibited low basal

activity and high inducibility. On the basis of the dual-stable U251MG Tet-on

cell lines expressing LRRC4, we studied the effects and potential

molecular mechanisms for suppression of tumorigenesis and cell proliferation of

U251MG cells by LRRC4.The tumor suppressive effect of LRRC4 was demonstrated in two

distinct models: drinking water (for mice) supplemented with or without

doxycycline. The in vivo proliferation defect of LRRC4-expressing

U251MG Tet-on cells was triggered by the presence of doxycycline (Fig. 2).

Consistent with these findings, cell cycle and cyclin analysis suggested that LRRC4

leads to a delay of cell cycle progression at late G1 [Fig.

5(A)], possibly by interrupting the connection between cyclin E and cyclin

A [Fig. 5(B)]. Therefore, these imply that LRRC4 is able to

suppress tumorigenesis and cell proliferation through mediating a delay in G1/S

transition.As is well known, the eukaryotic cell cycle transition is regulated

by the action of the CDKs, a CDK subunit and a regulatory cyclin subunit

[21,22]. Cyclin E is necessary and rate-limiting for the passage of mammalian

cells through G1 of the cell cycle, which is expressed in mid-G1 and

associates with CDK2 [23]. CDK2 accelerates G1/S transition

and S-phase progression by combining cyclin E and activating cyclin A

transcription [24]. In addition, progression from G1 to

S requires inactivation of pRb by phosphorylation and the consequent release of

a number of factors including the E2F family of transcription factors. These

transcription factors then activate transcription of various genes to promote

cell cycle progression entry into S phase [25,26]. Aside from being regulated

by the activity­ of cyclins and CDKs, the cell cycle is also regulated by CDK

inhibitors, such as p21Waf1/cip1 and p27kip1 [24,27]. Many antiproliferative

factors mediate an arrest in the G0/G1-phase

by induced expression of p21Waf1/cip1 and p27Kip1, resulting in CDK2 activity

inhibition [2833]. Therefore, it is

important to characterize the potential molecular pathway through which LRRC4

mediates its antiproliferative action upon the U251MG cell line. In the absence

and presence of doxycycline, we investigated the relation between induced

expression of LRRC4 and cell cycle-associated molecules. Results

indicated that the expressions of p21Waf1/Cip1 and p27Kip1 are up-regulated,

while the expressions of CDK2 and pRb kinase activity are down-regulated. These

findings suggest that the increase­ in the expressions of p21Waf1/Cip1 and

p27Kip1 and the reduction in CDK2 activity may be a mechanism of cell cycle

delay during the early phase of Tet-regulatable­ LRRC4 treated with

doxycycline. As a result, the expression­ of pRb and cyclin A are reduced,

leading to a delay of the cell cycle in late G1.Furthermore, down-regulation of EGFR by LRRC4 overexpression

may be a synergistic effect in the inhibition­ of cell proliferation and

tumorigenesis. EGFR over­expression is observed in a number of diseases, and

mediates increased­ cell proliferation, migration, and aggregation­ [34].

Inhibition of EGFR signaling could protect human malignant glioma cells from

hypoxia-induced cell death [35]. EGFR signaling has become an important target

for drug development. Inhibition of EGF-dependent signaling, ERK1/2 and the AKT

pathway can result in cell cycle arrest in G1 and

suppression of cell proliferation [36]. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that LRRC4 inhibits

glioma tumorigenesis and cell growth of U251MG cells mainly by delaying the

cell cycle in late G1, associated­ with the up-regulation of

p21Waf1/Cip1 and p27Kip1 and down-regulation of CDK2, pRb and EGFR. This result

may serve as a basis for further study of the role of LRRC4 in the

maintenance of the normal function and inhibition of tumorigenesis in the

central nervous system.

References

 1   Kleihues P, Cavenee WK. Pathology and

Genetics of Tumors of the Nervous System. Lyon: IARC Press 2000

 2   Rasheed BK, Wiltshire RN, Bigner

SH, Bigner DD. Molecular pathogenesis of malignant gliomas. Curr Opin Oncol

1999, 11: 162167

 3   Ranuncolo SM, Varela M, Morandi A,

Lastiri J, Christiansen S, Bal de Kier Joffe E, Pallotta MG et al.

Prognostic value of Mdm2, p53 and p16 in patients with

astrocytomas. J Neurooncol 2004, 68: 113121

 4   Phatak P, Selvi SK, Divya T, Hegde

AS, Hegde S, Somasundaram K. Alterations in tumor suppressor gene p53 in

human gliomas from Indian patients. J Biosci 2002, 27: 673678

 5   Smith JS, Tachibana I, Passe SM,

Huntley BK, Borell TJ, Iturria N, O’Fallon RJ et al. PTEN mutation, EGFR

amplification, and outcome in patients with anaplastic astrocytoma and glioblastoma

multiform. J Natl Cancer Inst 2001, 93: 12461256

 6   Mahaley MS, Mettlin CJ, Natarajan

N, Laws ER, Peace BB. National survey of patterns of care for brain tumor

patients. J Neurosurg 1989, 71: 826836

 7   Schrijvers D, Vermorken JB. Update

on the taxoids and other new agents in head and neck cancer therapy. Curr Opin

Oncol 1998, 10: 233241

 8   Meijer L, Kim SH. Chemical

inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases. Methods Enzymol 1997, 283: 113128

 9   Wang JR, Qian J, Dong L, Li XL, Tan

C, Li J, Li GY et al. Identification of LRRC4, a novel member of Leucine

Repeat (LRR) Superfamily and its expression analysis in brain tumor. Prog

Biochem Biophys 2002, 29: 233239

10 Tan GL, Xiao JY, Tian YQ, Deng LW, Jiang N, Zhan

FH, Li GY. Analysis of deleted mapping on chromosome 7q31.3-36 in

nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Chin J Otorhinolaryngology-Skull Base 1998, 4: 165171

11  Wang JR, Li XL, Fan SQ, Tan C, Xiang JJ,

Tang K, Wang R, Li GY. Expression of LRRC4 has the potential to decrease the

growth rate and tumorigenesis of glioblastoma cell line U251. Ai Zheng 2003,

22: 897902

12  Gossen M, Bujard H. Tight control of gene

expression in mammalian cells by tetracycline-responsive promoters. Proc Natl

Acad Sci USA 1992, 89: 55475551

13  Gossen M, Freundlieb S, Bender G, Muller

G, Hillen W, Bujard H. Transcriptional activation by tetracyclines in mammalian

cells. Science 1995, 268: 17661769

14  Shockett PE, Schatz DG. Diverse

strategies for tetracycline-regulated inducible gene expression. Proc Natl Acad

Sci USA 1996, 93: 51735176

15  Palmiter RD. Molecular biology of

metallothionein gene expression. Experientia Suppl 1987, 52: 6380

16  Sadowski I. Uses for GAL4 expression in

mammalian cells. Genet Eng 1995, 17: 119148

17  Verri T, Argenton F, Tomanin R, Scarpa M,

Storelli C, Costa R, Colombo L et al. The bacteriophage T7 binary system

activates transient transgene expression in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

embryos. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1997, 237: 492495

18  Bienz M, Pelham HR. Heat shock regulatory

elements function as an inducible enhancer in the Xenopus hsp70

gene and when linked to a heterologous promoter. Cell 1986, 45: 753760

19  No D, Yao TP, Evans RM.

Ecdysone-inducible gene expression in mammalian cells and transgenic mice. Proc

Natl Acad Sci USA 1996, 93: 33463351 

20  van Craenenbroeck K, Vanhoenacker P,

Leysen JE, Haegeman G. Evaluation of the tetracycline- and ecdysone-inducible

systems for expression of neurotransmitter receptors in mammalian cells. Eur J

Neurosci 2001, 14: 968976

21  McDonald ER III, El-Deiry WS. Checkpoint

genes in cancer. Ann Med 2001, 33: 113122

22  Harper JW, Adams PD. Cyclin-dependent

kinases. Chem Rev 2001, 101: 25112526

23  Koff A, Giordano A, Desai D, Yamashita K,

Harper JW, Elledge S, Nishimoto T et al. Formation and activation of a

cyclin E-cdk2 complex during the G1 phase of the human

cell cycle. Science 1992, 257: 16891694

24  Zerfass-Thome K, Schulze A, Zwerschke W,

Vogt B, Helin K, Bartek J, Henglein B et al. p27KIP1 blocks cyclin

E-dependent transactivation of cyclin A gene expression. Mol Cell Biol 1997,

17: 407415

25  Dyson N. The regulation of E2F by

pRb-family proteins. Genes Dev 1998, 12: 22452262

26  Nevins JR. Toward an understanding of the

functional complexity of the E2F and the retinoblastoma families. Cell Growth

Differ 1998, 9: 585593

27  Bunz F, Dutriaux A, Lengauer C, Waldman

T, Zhou S, Brown JP, Sedivy JM et al. Requirement for p53 and p21

to sustain G2 arrest after DNA damage. Science 1998, 282: 14971501

28  Rao S, Lowe M, Herliczek TW, Keyomarsi K.

Lovastatin mediated G1 arrest in normal and tumor breast cells is through

inhibition of CDK2 activity and redistribution of p21 and p27,

independent of p53. Oncogene 1998, 17: 23932402

29  Rao S, Porter D, Chen X, Herliczek T, Lowe

M, Keyomarsi K. Lovastatin-mediated G1 arrest is through inhibition of the

proteasome, independent of hydroxymethyl glutaryl-CoA reductase. Proc Natl Acad

Sci USA 1999, 96: 77977802

30  Chen WJ, Chang CY, Lin JK.

Induction of G1 phase arrest in MCF human breast cancer cells by

pentagalloylglucose through the down-regulation of CDK4 and CDK2 activities and

up-regulation of the CDK inhibitors p27Kip and p21Cip. Biochem Pharmacol

2003, 65: 17771785

31  Franz?n ?, Heldin NE. BMP-7-induced cell

cycle arrest of anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cells via p21CIP1 and p27KIP1. Biochem Biophys

Res Commun 2001, 285: 773781

32  Kano H, Arakawa Y, Takahashi JA, Nozaki

K, Kawabata Y, Takatsuka K, Kageyama R et al. Overexpression of RFT

induces G1-S arrest and apoptosis via p53/p21Waf1 pathway in glioma cell. Biochem

Biophys Res Commun 2004, 317: 902908


33  Cho JW, Jeong YW, Kim KS, Oh JY, Park JC,

Lee JC, Baek WK et al. p21 (WAF1) is associated with CDK2 and

CDK4 protein during HL-60 cell differentiation by TPA treatment. Cell Prolif

2001, 34: 267274

34  Andl CD, Mizushima T, Nakagawa H, Oyama

K, Harada H, Chruma K, Herlyn M et al. Epidermal growth factor receptor

mediates increased cell proliferation, migration, and aggregation in esophageal

keratinocytes in vitro and in vivo. J Biol Chem 2003, 278: 18241830

35  Steinbach JP, Klumpp A, Wolburg H, Weller

M. Inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor signaling protects human

malignant glioma cells from hypoxia-induced cell death. Cancer Res 2004, 64:

15751578

36     Sah JF, Balasubramanian S, Eckert RL, Rorke

EA. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibits epidermal growth factor receptor

signaling pathway: Evidence for direct inhibition of ERK1/2 and AKT kinases. J

Biol Chem 2004, 279: 1275512762