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Molecular and Cellular Biology, March 2000, p. 2186-2197, Vol. 20, No. 6
Division of Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom
Received 26 July 1999/Returned for modification 15 September
1999/Accepted 24 November 1999
E2F integrates and coordinates cell cycle progression with the
transcription apparatus through its cyclical interactions with important regulators of cellular proliferation, such as pRb, cyclins, and cdk's. Physiological E2F is a heterodimeric transcription factor
composed of an E2F and a DP family member, and while E2F proteins can
stimulate proliferation, certain members of the family are known to be
endowed with growth-inhibitory and tumor suppressor-like activity. We
have investigated the product of the human mdm2 oncogene, hDM2, and report on its ability to regulate E2F-dependent apoptosis in
a fashion that is independent of p53. hDM2 can prevent
p53
0270-7306/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Apoptotic and Growth-Promoting Activity of E2F
Modulated by MDM2
/
cells from entering E2F-dependent apoptosis, an
outcome that is dependent upon the presence of the DP subunit. Cells
rescued from apoptosis possess lower levels of E2F subunits, although the rescued cells show an increase in DNA synthesis and possess enhanced viability that reflects cooperation between E2F-DP and hMD2.
Furthermore, the regulation of E2F activity correlates with an
hDM2-dependent effect on the intracellular distribution of DP-1, since
hDM2 causes the nuclear accumulation of DP-1. The control of E2F by
hDM2 therefore has certain parallels with the targeted degradation by
MDM2 of p53. However, the domains in hDM2 required for the regulation
of E2F activity can be distinguished from those necessary for p53
degradation, suggesting that control of E2F and p53 by hDM2 may be
mechanistically distinct. These experiments define a new level of
interplay between E2F and hDM2 whereby hDM2 has a profound impact on
the physiological consequences of E2F activation. They suggest that the
oncogenic properties of hDM2 may in part be mediated by an
antiapoptotic activity that converts E2F from a negative to a positive
regulator of cell cycle progression and thereby retains E2F at a level
that contributes to a continual state of growth stimulation.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Davidson Building, University of
Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom. Phone: 0044 141 330 5514. Fax: 0044 141 330 5859. E-mail:
n.lathangue{at}bio.gla.ac.uk.
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