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Molecular and Cellular Biology, January 2004, p. 899-911, Vol. 24, No. 2
0270-7306/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/MCB.24.2.899-911.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Department of Oncology, Radiation, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63108,1 Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 277112
Received 22 August 2003/ Returned for modification 23 September 2003/ Accepted 15 October 2003
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Members of the HSP70 family play essential roles in preventing misfolding and aggregation of newly synthesized or unfolded proteins (4, 5, 13, 16). HSP70 holds unfolded substrates in an intermediately folded state to prevent irreversible aggregation and catalyzes the refolding of unfolded substrates in an energy- and cochaperone-dependent reaction. HSP70s interact with cochaperones through the N-terminal ATPase domain and with substrates at the C-terminal substrate domains. Coordinated binding and release of substrates by these molecular chaperones are strictly dependent on their ATPase activity. Several studies have suggested a role for HSPs during development; however, only limited information is available about whether inactivation of such genes could influence genomic stability. It has been shown that HSP70 binds to human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease and enhances the specific endonuclease activity of HAP1, supporting the idea that HSP70s have a role in the repair of DNA damage (24). Whether inactivation of HSP70 influences genomic stability and DNA repair after heat and ionizing radiation (IR) treatment is not known.
Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 are the only HSPs that are heat induced in mice (15, 19, 20). The genes for these two proteins are identical, and their functions are thought to be redundant. HSP70 is known to interact with telomerase (10); however, it is not known whether the inhibition of the Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 (Hsp70.1/3) genes would influence genomic stability and heat-induced radiosensitization. Because of this redundancy, it was important to inactivate both genes and then determine whether Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 influence genomic stability and heat-induced radiosensitization. To this end we generated mice in which both Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 have been knocked out, allowing us to then establish cell lines from Hsp70.1/3-/- mice. We report here the influence of inactivation of both Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 on spontaneous chromosome damage, telomerase activity, telomere stability, IR- and heat-modulated IR-induced cell killing, chromosome repair, and oncogenic transformation. Furthermore, transfection of the Hsp70.1 gene into Hsp70.1/3-/- cells rescued the enhanced heat- and IR-induced cell death, as well as radioresistant DNA synthesis, confirming that Hsp70.1/3 play a critical role in genomic stability and heat-induced radiosensitization.
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FIG. 1. Targeted disruption of Hsp70.1/3. (A) Genomic structure of Hsp70.1/3 and design of targeting construct. The Hsp70 gene replacement vector was constructed by deletion of approximately 11 kb of genomic DNA separating the 5' end of the Hsp70.3 gene and the 3' end of the Hsp70.1 gene, thereby simultaneously inactivating both genes. This region was replaced with a 3.1-kb neo gene driven by the RNA polymerase II gene promoter. (B) Southern blot analysis of wild-type (+/+) Hsp70.1/3+/+ and correctly targeted heterozygote (+/-) Hsp70.1/3+/- and homozygote (-/-) Hsp70.1/3-/- mice, demonstrating the presence of the recombined 5.2-kb BamHI/HindIII fragment.
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For growth assays, MEFs were plated in 35-mm-diameter tissue culture dishes and four dishes were counted on the indicated days. Four different passages (1, 3, 7, and 13) were utilized in order to determine the effect of passage number on growth rates. To determine plating efficiency, we seeded MEFs at various densities and fixed and stained colonies after 15 days in culture.
Clonogenic survival assays. For survival assays, cells in plateau-phase growth were plated as single cells into 60-mm-diameter dishes in 5 ml of medium, incubated for 6 h, and subsequently exposed to IR. The actual amounts of cells per dish were chosen to ensure that about 50 colonies would survive a particular heat and radiation dose treatment. Cells were exposed to IR in the dose range of 0 to 8 Gy at room temperature. To determine the influence of heat on IR-induced cell killing, cells were subjected to heat treatment at 43°C for 30 min and then exposed to IR. Cells were incubated for 12 or more days and then fixed in methanol-acetic acid (3:1), prior to being stained with crystal violet. Only colonies containing >50 cells were counted.
Analysis of micronuclei and ratio of normochromatic to polychromatic erythrocytes. Micronucleus formation and the ratio of normochromatic to polychromatic erythrocytes were determined by procedures described previously (36). Briefly, bone marrow smears were prepared from the mice and the stained smears were examined to determine the incidence of micronucleated cells in 1,800 polychromatic erythrocytes as well as the ratio of normochromatic to polychromatic erythrocytes for each animal.
Metaphase preparations and detection of telomeres. Metaphases from exponentially growing cells were prepared by a standard procedure (9). Detection of telomeres on metaphase chromosomes was obtained by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with a telomere sequence-specific PNA probe (48), and quantitation of telomeric signal was done as described previously (25).
Telomerase assays. Telomerase activity was determined using the telomerase PCR enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit (Roche) as described previously (48). Telomerase activity was determined in triplicate, and negative and positive controls were run with each experiment. An aliquot of each extract was heat inactivated for 10 min at 95°C as a negative control.
Meiotic chromosome preparations. Male mice were killed by cervical dislocation. Testicular cell suspensions for Giemsa staining were obtained by immersing dissected fragments of testis tubules for 30 min in 0.0375 M KCl solution at room temperature. The seminiferous tubules were then minced with forceps, and large tubular fragments were removed by sedimentation. The turbid supernatant was collected and centrifuged. The cell pellet was fixed in methanol-acetic acid (2:1). The suspension was then dropped on prechilled glass slides and air dried. Nuclear morphology as described earlier (40, 46) was used to identify spermatocytes at various stages of prophase.
Assay for chromosomal repair after IR treatment. G1-type chromosomal aberrations were assessed as described previously (37). Briefly, cells in plateau phase were irradiated with 3 Gy, allowed to incubate for 18 h, and subcultured and metaphases were collected. Chromosome spreads were prepared by the procedure described previously (47). The categories of G1-type asymmetrical chromosome aberrations scored included dicentrics, centric rings, interstitial deletions-acentric rings, and terminal deletions.
S-phase-specific chromosomal aberrations were analyzed at metaphase. Exponentially growing cells were treated with 2 Gy of gamma radiation, and mitotic cells were collected after 150 to 240 min postirradiation. Both chromosome and chromatid-type aberrations were scored. For G2-phase-specific chromosomal aberrations, cells in exponential phase were irradiated with 1 Gy of gamma radiation and metaphases were collected at 1 h following irradiation and examined for chromatid breaks and gaps per metaphase as described previously (9). Fifty metaphases were scored for each postirradiation time point.
Radioresistant DNA synthesis. Asynchronously growing MEFs were treated with ionizing radiation. The rate of DNA synthesis was determined 1 h postirradiation by pulse-labeling with [3H]thymidine for 30 min. The value of unirradiated control was set to 100% for each cell type. The means and standard deviations of the triplicate experimental points are shown.
Transformation assay. The transformation assay was performed as described previously (11, 38). Exponentially growing subconfluent cells were trypsinized and plated 48 h prior to exposure to 1 Gy. Immediately after irradiation, the cells were trypsinized and replated into 10-cm-diameter culture dishes at cell numbers estimated to result in either 300 viable cells per dish for the assay of neoplastic transformation or 30 viable cells for the cell survival assay. For the assay of neoplastic transformation, cells were grown in Eagle's basal medium supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum and culture medium was changed at 12-day intervals during 6 to 8 weeks of incubation. Cells plated for cell survival determination were incubated as described above. At the end of 12 or 42 days of incubation, cells were fixed in formalin and stained with Giemsa stain. Cell survival was determined by the colony assay as described above, while neoplastically transformed foci II and III were identified according to the criteria of Reznikoff et al. (41, 42).
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FIG. 2. Northern blot analysis of Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 tissue-specific mRNA expression under nonstress conditions. A radiolabeled 3' untranslated region probe derived from the mouse Hsp70.1 or Hsp70.3 gene was hybridized to fractionated poly(A) RNA isolated from eight mouse tissues. Note that Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 mRNA are highly expressed in kidney and lung tissue and that the major difference between Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 was found to be a lack of Hsp70.3 expression in liver tissue.
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Lack of Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 mRNA or protein expression in Hsp70.1/3-null fibroblasts. To confirm the loss of Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 expression in the targeted mice, MEFs were prepared from KO and wild-type day 13.5 embryos and analyzed for Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 mRNA and protein synthesis before and after heat shock (Fig. 3). Nonstressed wild-type MEF cells did not contain detectable levels of Hsp70 mRNA by Northern blot analysis but synthesized both Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 mRNA after heat shock (Fig. 3A). The mRNA then decayed and was undetectable from 8 to 24 h postheating. A subsequent heat treatment once again induced Hsp70 mRNA synthesis in Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells. In contrast, the Hsp70.1/3-/- MEFs lacked Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 mRNA both before and after either heat shock treatment. Protein analysis was consistent with this result, as pulse-labeled Hsp70 protein was readily detected in wild-type MEFs 1 h after heating and following a second heat shock 24 h after the initial treatment, whereas no Hsp70 was synthesized in the Hsp70-/- MEFs (Fig. 3B) after either treatment. Western analysis further confirmed the absence of Hsp70 protein in Hsp70.1/3-/- after heat shock treatment (Fig. 3C). Heat-induced synthesis of Hsp70.1 mRNA and protein was restored in Hsp70.1/3-/- cells stably transfected with the mouse Hsp70.1 gene (Fig. 3B and C), indicating that the transcriptional mechanism underlying HSP regulation is unaltered in the mutant cells.
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FIG. 3. Synthesis of Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 mRNA and protein in Hsp70.1/3-/- and Hsp70.1/3+/+ MEFs. (A) Northern blot analysis of Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 mRNA levels. Cells were subjected to heat shock at 43°C for 30 min and then examined for mRNA expression of Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 with a radiolabeled DNA fragment probe derived from the mouse Hsp70.1 or Hsp70.3 gene coding region. (a) Control (Hsp70.1/3+/+) cells treatedwith heat and examined for mRNA expression. Lane 1, control RNA from unheated cells; lanes 2 to 5, cells subjected to heat shock and recovery for 1, 4, 8, and 24 h, respectively; lanes 6 to 9, cells subjected to heat shock, recovery for 24 h, heat treatment again for 30 min at 43°C, and no recovery or 1, 4, or 8 h of recovery, respectively. Note that the primary MEFs do not show detectable levels of Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 under nonstress conditions and that the heat shock induces both Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 mRNA. The induction of Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 is restored after a second heat shock treatment. (b) Mutant (Hsp70.1/3-/-) and control (Hsp70.1/3+/+) cells treated with heat and examined for mRNA expression. Lanes 1 to 7, Hsp70.1/3-/- cells; lane 1, control RNA from unheated cells; lanes 2 to 5, cells subjected to heat shock and no recovery or 1, 4, or 24 h of recovery, respectively; lanes 6 and 7, cells subjected to heat treatment, recovery for 24 h, heat treatment again for 30 min at 43°C, and no recovery or 2 h of recovery, respectively; lanes 8 and 9, Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells subjected to heat shock with either no or 1 h of recovery, respectively. The induction of Hsp70.1 and Hsp70.3 is restored in Hsp70.1/3+/+ but not in Hsp70.1/3-/- cells after a second heat shock treatment. (B) Heat-induced synthesis of Hsp70 in fibroblasts with and without Hsp70.1/3 genes. Polyacrylamide gel analysis of 3H-leucine-pulse-labeled (1 h) proteins synthesized after heat shock treatment. Shown is protein synthesis in Hsp70.1/3+/+ and Hsp70.1/3-/- cells (a) and Hsp70.1/3-/- cells without and with ectopically expressing Hsp70.1 (b). Cells were subjected to heat shock at 43°C for 30 min and no further treatment (lane 1); or recovery for 24 h (lane 2); or recovery for 24 h and a second heat shock at 43°C for 30 min (lane 3) or recovery for 1 h (lane 4). Note the appearance of the 70-kDa protein in lanes 2 and 4 representing cell lysates of Hsp70.1/3+/+ and Hsp70.1/3-/- cells with ectopically expressed Hsp70.1. The arrow indicates the appearance of the 70-kDa protein in Hsp70.1/3+/+ and Hsp70.1/3-/- cells with ectopically expressed Hsp70.1, while no such band is found in Hsp70.1/3-/- cells. (C) Western blot analysis for HSP70 synthesis following heat shock as detected by anti-HSP70 antibody. Cells were subjected to heat shock at 43°C for 30 min (with 2 h of recovery in lanes 2, 4, and 6) and examined for HSP70 protein with anti-HSP70 antibody. Lanes: 1 and 2, Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells; 3 and 4, Hsp70.1/3-/- cells; 5 and 6, Hsp70.1/3-/- cells with ectopically expressed Hsp70.1. Note the increase in HSP70 protein in lanes 2 and 6 whereas no HSP70 was detected in lanes 3 and 4.
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FIG. 4. Effect of Hsp70.1/3 inactivation on cell growth. MEFs were seeded in plates, and cell counts were determined at regular intervals. Numbers of cells are plotted against days of growth in a semilog diagram. MEFs without Hsp70.1/3 (passages 3 and 7) exhibit slightly slower growth kinetics than do parental wild-type cells, and the differences in growth kinetics are significant (P < 0.05). Atm-null fibroblasts were used as a positive control to determine the growth abnormalities.
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TABLE 1. Influence of heat on ratio of normochromatic to polychromatic erythrocytes and micronucleus formation in Hsp70.1/3-/- and Hsp70.1/3+/+ micea
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TABLE 2. Influence of inactivation of Hsp70.1/3 on chromosome aberrationsa
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We, therefore, first compared telomerase activities in Hsp70.1/3-/- and Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells. Interestingly, Hsp70.1/3-/- cells showed about a 2.5-fold decrease in telomerase activity compared to that of wild-type Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells (Fig. 5A). We further performed FISH for telomeric repeats on metaphase spreads by using a telomere-specific Cy3-labeled (CCCTAA)3 peptide nucleic acid probe. Fifty metaphase chromosome spreads from Hsp70.1/3+/+ and Hsp70.1/3-/- cells were analyzed (see representative examples in Fig. 5B). While no significant overall changes in signal intensities could be detected in cells with and without Hsp70.1/3, there was a slightly higher proportion of chromatid ends (about 10% of telomeres per metaphase), which had fewer telomere-specific fluorescent signals than did the parental cells (about 3% of telomeres per metaphase). Loss of telomeric signals has been linked with chromosome end-to-end associations.
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FIG. 5. Telomerase activity and telomere signals. (A) Comparison of telomerase activities in MEFs with and without Hsp70.1/3. Note that Hsp70.1/3-/- cells have a lower telomerase activity per unit of protein than do Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells and that the differences in telomerase activity are significant (P < 0.01). Ectopic expression of Hsp70.1 restored telomerase activity in Hsp70.1/3-/- cells, almost to the level in Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells. (B) Segments of metaphases from Hsp70.1/3+/+ and Hsp70.1/3-/- cells showing telomere FISH signals. Hsp70.1/3+/+ (a) and Hsp70.1/3-/- (b and c) cells were analyzed by FISH with a telomere-specific probe. Note the telomere associations (indicated by arrows in panel b) as well as breaks near telomeres (indicated by the arrow in panel c) in Hsp70.1/3-/- cells.
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Aberrant spermatocytes in Hsp70.1/3 KO mice. Results from in vivo as well as in vitro studies described above clearly demonstrate that inactivation of Hsp70.1/3 influences the genomic stability in somatic cells. We also determined whether inactivation of Hsp70.1/3 influences genomic stability in germ cells. Meiotic cell cycle progression in Hsp70.1/3-/- and Hsp70.1/3+/+ mice was monitored in Giemsa-stained testicular touch preparations (40). All stages of meiotic prophase were present in preparations of testicles of 35-day-old Hsp70.1/3-/- and Hsp70.1/3+/+ mice. The frequencies of cells at different stages of prophase 1 of meiosis were comparable between Hsp70.1/3-/- and Hsp70.1/3+/+ mice; however, heat treatment enhanced aberrant spermatocytes in Hsp70.1/3-/- mice (Table 3). These observations suggest that Hsp70.1/3 support progression of meiotic prophase 1 in spermatocytes of heat-shocked testis.
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TABLE 3. Influence of heat on the frequency of spermatocytes detected at the indicated prophase stage in spread spermatocytes of Hsp70.1/3-/- and Hsp70.1/3+/+ micea
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FIG. 6. Influence of Hsp70.1/3 inactivation on cell survival after IR and heat-IR treatment. (A) Dose-response curves are shown for cells with and without Hsp70.1/3. Cells were treated with IR while growing exponentially and asynchronously. Hsp70.1/3-/- cells were more sensitive to cell killing by IR than were wild-type cells, and the differences are significant (P < 0.05). Cells were also subjected to heat treatment at 43°C for 30 min and then irradiated with different doses of IR. Hsp70.1/3-/- cells are more sensitive to cell killing after heat and IR treatment than are Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells. (B) Ectopic expression of Hsp70.1 in Hsp70.1/3-/- cells rescued the enhanced killing by IR or heat-modulated IR-induced cell killing.
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FIG. 7. Chromosomal aberrations after heat, IR, and heat-IR treatment in cells with and without Hsp70.1/3. (A) Cells in plateau phase either were subjected to heat treatment at 43°C for 30 min or irradiated with 3 Gy or were first treated with heat at 43°C for 30 min followed by irradiation with 3 Gy, incubated for 18 h postirradiation, and then subcultured, and metaphases were collected. G1-type aberrations were examined at metaphase. Categories of asymmetric chromosome aberrations scored included dicentrics, centric rings, interstitial deletions-acentric rings, and terminal deletions. Treatment with heat alone did not induce G1-type chromosome aberrations. The frequency of chromosomal aberrations was higher in samples treated with heat and IR than in samples treated with IR only; however, the differences were not statistically significant. (B) Cells in exponential phase were treated with heat at 43°C for 30 min or irradiated with 2 Gy or first treated with heat at 43°C for 30 min followed by irradiation with 2 Gy. Metaphases were harvested after 3 h following irradiation and examined for chromosomal aberrations. The difference between chromatid as well as chromosomal aberrations induced by IR and those induced by heat plus IR is significantly higher in Hsp70.1/3-/- cells (P < 0.01). (C) Cells in exponential phase were treated with heat at 43°C for 30 min or irradiated with 1 Gy or first treated with heat at 43°C for 30 min followed by irradiation with 1 Gy. Metaphases were harvested after 1 h following irradiation and examined for chromosomal aberrations. The differences in chromosomal aberrations between samples treated with IR and those treated with heat-IR are not statistically significant. Note that Hsp70.1/3-/- cells have relatively more chromosomal aberrations than do parental Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells in all phases of the cell cycle;however, Hsp70.1/3-/- cells treated with heat-IR have more S-phase-specific chromosomal aberrations than do cells treated with IR only, suggesting that Hsp70.1/3 may have a specific role in S-phase-specific DNA repair. (D) DNA synthesis after IR treatment. Asynchronously growing Hsp70.1/3-/- and Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells were irradiated at the doses indicated. The rate of DNA synthesis was determined 1 h postirradiation by pulse-labeling with [3H]thymidine for 20 min. The values of unirradiated controls were set to 100% for each cell type. The mean and standard deviation of triplicate experimental points are shown.
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Enhanced oncogenic transformation in Hsp70.1/3-/- cells. Defective DNA repair has been linked with oncogenic malignant transformation (11, 38, 48). As described above, inactivation of the Hsp70.1/3 genes influences the population doubling time, spontaneous chromosomal aberration formation, telomere stability, IR response for cell survival, and repair of chromosomal damage. All of these cellular effects have been linked with the oncogenic transformation and metastatic potential of a cell. To determine whether the Hsp70.1/3 inactivation had consequences for tumorigenicity, we performed in vitro oncogenic transformation assays. The frequency of spontaneous transformants was higher in Hsp70.1/3-/- cells than in Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells (Fig. 8). To determine the influence of heat on transformation, cells were plated, kept at 37°C for 6 h, heated at 43°C for 30 min, and then incubated again at 37°C for 42 days. Heat treatment did not have any effect on the cellular transformation in Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells; however, Hsp70.1/3-/- cells showed an increase in the frequency of transformants (Fig. 8). When cells were irradiated with 1 Gy, the frequencies of transformed cells increased in cells both with and without Hsp70.1/3; however, Hsp70.1/3-/- cells had a higher frequency of transformants. We further investigated whether heat influences the IR-induced transformation. To determine the influence of heat on IR-induced transformation, cells were treated with heat at 43°C for 30 min and then immediately exposed to 1 Gy (Fig. 8). Heat treatment had a minimum effect on IR-induced transformation in Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells, but a significant increase in Hsp70.1/3-/- IR-induced transformants was observed (P < 0.05). Again, consistent with our previous results, Hsp70.1/3-/- cells had significantly higher transformation frequencies.
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FIG. 8. Influence of inactivation of Hsp70.1/3 on oncogenic transformation in vitro. Control and heat-treated cells (43°C for 30 min) with and without irradiation (1 Gy) were examined for cellular transformation. Note that heat treatment had no effect on spontaneous transformation in Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells and very little effect on IR-induced transformation, whereas heat had a profound effect on spontaneous as well as IR-induced transformation in Hsp70.1/3-/- cells. The increase in the frequency of transformants in Hsp70.1/3-/- cells is significant (P < 0.025) compared to Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells.
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Both in vivo and in vitro studies support the argument about the role of Hsp70.1/3 in genomic stability. It has been reported elsewhere that HSP70 interacts with human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonucleases and enhances the specific endonuclease activity of HAP1 (24), thus supporting the idea that Hsp70.1/3 play a role in the repair of DNA damage. Hsp70.1/3-/- mice have a higher ratio of normochromatic to polychromatic erythrocytes than do Hsp70.1/3+/+ mice. Furthermore, Hsp70.1/3-/- mice also have a higher frequency of micronuclei in bone marrow erythrocytes than do Hsp70.1/3+/+ mice. Both the ratio of normochromatic to polychromatic erythrocytes and the frequency of micronuclei in erythrocytes significantly increased after heat shock treatment in Hsp70.1/3-/- mice compared with Hsp70.1/3+/+ mice. In addition, genomic instability was also found in germ cells of Hsp70.1/3-/- mice. Heat shock enhanced significantly the frequency of aberrant spermatocytes in Hsp70.1/3-/- mice compared with Hsp70.1/3+/+ mice. These results are consistent with the effects of heat on testicular weight loss and spermatogenesis (15) with Hsp70.1/3 deficiency enhancing heat-mediated genomic instability.
The in vivo results are consistent with the in vitro studies of chromosome damage repair analysis after heat or heat and IR treatment, supporting the argument that Hsp70.1/3 play a role combating spontaneous or heat-induced genotoxic stress. Based on the fact that heat treatment did enhance significantly the frequency of micronuclei in Hsp70.13-/- mice compared to that in Hsp70.1/3+/+ mice, in vivo studies are thus in agreement with the role of HSP70 in repair of DNA damage. The role of HSP70 in DNA damage repair is further strengthened by the fact that MEFs from Hsp70.1/3-/- mice have a higher frequency of spontaneous as well as heat-modulated and IR-induced chromosome aberrations than do Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells.
Inactivation of Hsp70.1/3 does lead to enhanced heat-modulated IR-induced cell killing, and the enhanced cell killing correlates with higher S-phase-specific chromosome residual damage. Further, a role for Hsp70.1/3 in S phase is evident from the fact that deficient cells demonstrate radioresistant DNA synthesis after IR treatment. Interestingly, expression of Hsp70.1 in Hsp70.1/3-/- cells rescued the radioresistant DNA synthesis phenotype in such cells, thus supporting the role of Hsp70.1/3 in the IR response in S phase.
HSP70 family members transiently associate with key molecules of the cell cycle control systems, including p53, Cdk4, pRb, p27/Kip1, cMyc, Wee-1, and some others, which affect cell growth (7, 17, 23). Cell growth is also affected by several other factors e.g., defective telomere metabolism (35). HSP70 is known to interact with TERT, which is involved in telomere metabolism (10). There is recent evidence that telomerase may have functions other than the synthesis of telomeric repeats of the G strand (47). Ectopic expression of TERT prevents replicative senescence in several cell types including fibroblasts and epithelial cells (3, 34, 49, 52). It may also exert an antiapoptotic action at an early stage of the cell death process prior to mitochondrial dysfunction and caspase activation (12). It has been proposed previously that telomere shortening during human replicative aging generates antiproliferative signals which mediate p53-dependent G1 arrest as observed in senescent cells (50). In support of this idea, Wong et al. (51) reported that telomere dysfunction in mTerc-null mice impairs DNA repair and subsequently leads to cell growth arrest. Goytisolo et al. (14) reported radiosensitivity of the late-generation telomerase-KO mice. Choi et al. (6) demonstrated that telomerase expression suppresses senescence-associated genes in Werner syndrome cells. Sharma et al. (47) reported that hTERT interacts with the telomeres, influences the interaction of telomeres with the nuclear matrix, and leads to transcriptional alteration along with increased genomic stability and enhanced DNA repair. Thus, some of the effects of TERT and HSP70 seem to be similar. Present results clearly demonstrate that the inactivation of Hsp70.1/3 does influence telomerase activity, as Hsp70.1/3-/- cells have 2.5-fold-less telomerase activity than do Hsp70.1/3+/+ cells. Cells deficient in Hsp70.1/3 also showed loss of telomeric signals as well as chromosome end associations, which are known to contribute to the genomic instability.
In addition to HSP70's unique function in protecting the cells from stress-related damage, HSP70s have attracted attention in the cancer field by their aberrant expression in most human tumors in general and physically interacting with cellular proteins of vital biological importance including tumor suppressors like p53 (7). Although it is well established that tumor cells have a higher expression of HSP70, the present results suggest that the lack of such expression leads to genomic instability and higher IR-induced cell killing, both phenomena which are linked with oncogenic transformation. Consistent with such a hypothesis, Hsp70.1/3-/- cells have a higher frequency of oncogenic transformation, suggesting that the absence of such gene products is essential to suppress tumor formation. Interestingly, the results presented here suggest a correlation between the negative effects of Hsp70.1/3 on reduced telomerase activity with telomere instability and reduced growth potential as well as increased radiosensitivity. While it is likely that these different effects are the result of inactivation of Hsp70.1/3 and, therefore, of independent origin, it remains possible that interference with DNA repair and telomere functions could contribute to the overall growth defects. The chromosomal end-to-end associations with telomeric sequences at the fusion points could reflect an inhibition of the TRF2 protein, and the resulting end-to-end association of chromosomes may induce cell cycle arrest and genomic instability. Therefore, we suggest that the overall growth phenotypes and radiosensitivity observed in Hsp70.1/3-null cells may be the result of a combination of effects. Thus, our results show that inactivation of Hsp70.1/3 influences cell growth as well as cell survival after IR treatment, telomere stability, chromosome repair, and oncogenic transformation. These observations are consistent with a model that predicts that Hsp70.1/3 have a critical role in stress response. We therefore propose that Hsp70.1/3 can play a critical role during the process of oncogenesis. Further experiments are required to determine the specific contributions of Hsp70.1/3 in the DNA damage repair process.
This study has been subjected to review by the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents reflect the views of the Environmental Protection Agency, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.
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and HP1Hsb interfere with hTERT-telomere interactions and correlate with changes in cell growth and response to ionizing radiation. Mol. Cell. Biol. 23:8363-8376.
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