Biomedical subjects

Emmanuelle Querido

Publications and source records attributed to Emmanuelle Querido.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

An E2F/miR-20a autoregulatory feedback loop.

The E2F family of transcription factors is essential in the regulation of the cell cycle and apoptosis. While the activity of E2F1-3 is tightly controlled by the retinoblastoma family of proteins, the expression of these factors is also regulated at the level of transcription, post-translational modifications and protein stability. Recently, a new level of regulation of E2Fs has been identified, where micro-RNAs (miRNAs) from the mir-17-92 cluster influence the translation of the E2F1 mRNA. We now report that miR-20a, a member of the mir-17-92 cluster, modulates the translation of the E2F2 and E2F3 mRNAs via binding sites in their 3'-untranslated region. We also found that the endogenous E2F1, E2F2, and E2F3 directly bind the promoter of the mir-17-92 cluster activating its transcription, suggesting an autoregulatory feedback loop between E2F factors and miRNAs from the mir-17-92 cluster. Our data also point toward an anti-apoptotic role for miR-20a, since overexpression of this miRNA decreased apoptosis in a prostate cancer cell line, while inhibition of miR-20a by an antisense oligonucleotide resulted in increased cell death after doxorubicin treatment. This anti-apoptotic role of miR-20a may explain some of the oncogenic capacities of the mir-17-92 cluster. Altogether, these results suggest that the autoregulation between E2F1-3 and miR-20a is important for preventing an abnormal accumulation of E2F1-3 and may play a role in the regulation of cellular proliferation and apoptosis.

Cell Death↗

PubMed2004

PML is a direct p53 target that modulates p53 effector functions.

The p53 tumor suppressor promotes cell cycle arrest or apoptosis in response to stress. Previous work suggests that the promyelocytic leukemia gene (PML) can act upstream of p53 to enhance transcription of p53 targets by recruiting p53 to nuclear bodies (NBs). We show that PML is itself a p53 target gene that also acts downstream of p53 to potentiate its antiproliferative effects. Hence, p53 is required for PML induction in response to oncogenes and DNA damaging chemotherapeutics. Furthermore, the PML gene contains p53 binding sites that confer p53 responsiveness to a heterologous reporter and can bind p53 in vitro and in vivo. Finally, cells lacking PML show a reduced propensity to undergo senescence or apoptosis in response to p53 activation, despite the induction of several p53 target genes. These results identify an additional element of PML regulation and establish PML as a mediator of p53 tumor suppressor functions.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Oncogenic ras and p53 cooperate to induce cellular senescence.

Oncogenic activation of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade in murine fibroblasts initiates a senescence-like cell cycle arrest that depends on the ARF/p53 tumor suppressor pathway. To investigate whether p53 is sufficient to induce senescence, we introduced a conditional murine p53 allele (p53(val135)) into p53-null mouse embryonic fibroblasts and examined cell proliferation and senescence in cells expressing p53, oncogenic Ras, or both gene products. Conditional p53 activation efficiently induced a reversible cell cycle arrest but was unable to induce features of senescence. In contrast, coexpression of oncogenic ras or activated mek1 with p53 enhanced both p53 levels and activity relative to that observed for p53 alone and produced an irreversible cell cycle arrest that displayed features of cellular senescence. p19(ARF) was required for this effect, since p53(-/-) ARF(-/-) double-null cells were unable to undergo senescence following coexpression of oncogenic Ras and p53. Although the levels of exogenous p53 achieved in ARF-null cells were relatively low, the stabilizing effects of p19(ARF) on p53 could not explain the cooperation between oncogenic Ras and p53 in promoting senescence. Hence, enforced p53 expression without oncogenic ras in p53(-/-) mdm2(-/-) double-null cells produced extremely high p53 levels but did not induce senescence. Taken together, our results indicate that oncogenic activation of the MAP kinase pathway in murine fibroblasts converts p53 into a senescence inducer through both quantitative and qualitative mechanisms.

Animals↗