RESUMEN
Topoisomerase II is an essential enzyme in all organisms with several independent roles in DNA metabolism. In this article we review our knowledge on the regulation of the expression and catalytic activity of topoisomerase II in both lower and higher eukaryotes. Current data indicate that the regulation of topoisomerase II gene expression is complex, with positive and negative controls in evidence at the level of both promoter activity and mRNA stability. Similarly, the activity of the mature enzyme can be regulated by the action of several different protein kinases. Of particular interest is the cell cycle-dependent phosphorylation of topoisomerase II, including multiple, mitosis-specific modifications, which are proposed to regulate the essential chromosome decatenation activity of the enzyme.
Asunto(s)
ADN-Topoisomerasas de Tipo II/fisiología , Regulación Enzimológica de la Expresión Génica/genética , Animales , Secuencia de Bases , Ciclo Celular/fisiología , ADN/metabolismo , Células Eucariotas , Mamíferos , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Fosforilación , Regiones Promotoras Genéticas/genética , Proteínas Quinasas/metabolismo , Procesamiento Proteico-Postraduccional/fisiología , Análisis de Secuencia de ADN , Transcripción Genética/genéticaRESUMEN
DNA topoisomerase IIalpha is an essential enzyme for chromosome segregation during mitosis. Consistent with a cell division-specific role, the expression of the topoisomerase IIalpha gene is strongly influenced by the proliferation status of cells. The p53 protein is one of the most important regulators of cell cycle progression in mammals, with an apparent dual role in the induction of cell cycle arrest following cytotoxic insults and in the regulation of the apoptotic cell death pathway. We have analysed whether p53 plays a role in regulating expression of the human topoisomerase IIalpha gene. We show that wild-type, but not mutant, p53 is able to decrease substantially the activity of the full length topoisomerase IIalpha gene promoter. Using a series of constructs comprising various deleted or mutated versions of the promoter lacking critical cis-acting elements, we show that this p53-specific regulation of the topoisomerase IIalpha promoter is independent of all characterised transcription factor binding sites and is directed at the minimal gene promoter. We conclude that expression of wild-type p53 induces downregulation of the human topoisomerase IIalpha promoter by acting on the basal transcription machinery. These findings implicate topoisomerase II as one of the downstream targets for p53-dependent regulation of cell cycle progression in human cells.
Asunto(s)
Antígenos de Neoplasias/genética , ADN-Topoisomerasas de Tipo II/genética , Isoenzimas/genética , Regiones Promotoras Genéticas , Proteína p53 Supresora de Tumor/metabolismo , Línea Celular , Proteínas de Unión al ADN , Regulación hacia Abajo , Femenino , Humanos , Neoplasias Ováricas , Células Tumorales CultivadasRESUMEN
Topoisomerase II is a key target for several anti-cancer drugs used for breast cancer therapy, including doxorubicin, epirubicin and mitoxantrone. Two isoforms of topoisomerase II (alpha and beta) have been described in human cells which differ in their subcellular localisation, biochemical properties and susceptibility to inhibition by anti-cancer drugs. The relative level of expression of the alpha and beta isoforms may contribute to the degree of tumour responsiveness to different chemotherapeutic agents. To assess the relationship between expression of topoisomerase II isoforms and established prognostic factors and pathological variables, 56 primary breast tumour samples were studied. The expression of the two topoisomerase II genes was apparently not co-ordinately regulated in these tissue samples. There was no relationship between any of the commonly used pathological variables [tumour size, lymph node status, S-phase fraction (SPF)] and the level of expression of topoisomerase II beta mRNA. However, high topoisomerase II alpha gene expression was significantly associated with a high SPF (sign-rank test; P = 0.01). Moreover, the ratio of mRNA levels for topoisomerase II alpha and beta showed a stronger relationship to SPF (median raito 0.62 for tumours with SPF < 10, and 1.64 for SPF > 10; P = 0.0021, sign-rank test). As expected from previous studies, an SPF > 10 was associated with poor overall survival (P = 0.01). Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that topoisomerase II beta was widely distributed ( > 90% positive tumour cells), but that topoisomerase II alpha expression was less widely expressed, with a pattern of expression similar to that of the proliferation-dependent antigen recognised by Ki67. Because topoisomerase II gene expression showed a log-normal distribution, log-transformed data were used in multivariate analysis of relapse-free survival. This showed that lymph node status and topoisomerase II beta mRNA expression were the only significant survival factors (P = 0.001 and 0.05, respectively, with relative risks of 1.3 and 1.8). These results indicate that topoisomerase II alpha, but not beta, expression is dependent upon cellular proliferation status, but that the more widely expressed topoisomerase II beta protein may play a significant role as a target for anti-tumour therapy.