DNA damage response by single-strand breaks in terminally differentiated muscle cells and the control of muscle integrity

DNA single-strand breaks (SSB) formation coordinates the myogenic program, and defects in SSB repair in post-mitotic cells have been associated with human diseases. However, the DNA damage response by SSB in terminally differentiated cells has not been explored yet. Here we show that mouse post-mitotic muscle cells accumulate SSB after alkylation damage, but they are extraordinarily resistant to the killing effects of a variety of SSB-inducers. We demonstrate that, upon SSB induction, phosphorylation of H2AX occurs in myotubes and is largely ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM)-dependent. However, the DNA damage signaling cascade downstream of ATM is defective as shown by lack of p53 increase and phosphorylation at serine 18 (human serine 15). The stabilization of p53 by nutlin-3 was ineffective in activating the cell death pathway, indicating that the resistance to SSB inducers is due to defective p53 downstream signaling. The induction of specific types of damage is required to activate the cell death program in myotubes. Besides the topoisomerase inhibitor doxorubicin known for its cardiotoxicity, we show that the mitochondria-specific inhibitor menadione is able to activate p53 and to kill effectively myotubes. Cell killing is p53-dependent as demonstrated by full protection of myotubes lacking p53, but there is a restriction of p53-activated genes. This new information may have important therapeutic implications in the prevention of muscle cell toxicity.

The logic and regulation of cell cycle exit and reentry

Tissue repair and regeneration are very complex biological events, whose successful attainment requires far more than mere cell division. However, almost unavoidably they entail cell proliferation as a fundamental premise. Full regeneration or repair cannot be achieved without replacing cells lost to disease or injury, replacement that can only take place via proliferation of surviving cells. This review endeavors to outline the molecular bases of exit from and reentry into the cell cycle. In recent years, the decision to proliferate or not has been seen as mostly the concern of cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases. This account tries to show that cell cycle inhibitors are as important as the positive regulators in the making of this decision. Finally, the authors wish to suggest that the molecular knowledge of the cell cycle can be harnessed to the benefit of many aspects of regenerative medicine.

Reconstitution of cyclin D1-associated kinase activity drives terminally differentiated cells into the cell cycle

Terminal cell differentiation entails definitive withdrawal from the cell cycle. Although most of the cells of an adult mammal are terminally differentiated, the molecular mechanisms preserving the postmitotic state are insufficiently understood. Terminally differentiated skeletal muscle cells, or myotubes, are a prototypic terminally differentiated system. We previously identified a mid-G(1) block preventing myotubes from progressing beyond this point in the cell cycle. In this work, we set out to define the molecular basis of such a block. It is shown here that overexpression of highly active cyclin E and cdk2 in myotubes induces phosphorylation of pRb but cannot reactivate DNA synthesis, underscoring the tightness of cell cycle control in postmitotic cells. In contrast, forced expression of cyclin D1 and wild-type or dominant-negative cdk4 in myotubes restores physiological levels of cdk4 kinase activity, allowing progression through the cell cycle. Such reactivation occurs in myotubes derived from primary, as well as established, C2C12 myoblasts and is accompanied by impairment of muscle-specific gene expression. Other terminally differentiated systems as diverse as adipocytes and nerve cells are similarly reactivated. Thus, the present results indicate that the suppression of cyclin D1-associated kinase activity is of crucial importance for the maintenance of the postmitotic state in widely divergent terminally differentiated cell types.

E2F activates late-G1 events but cannot replace E1A in inducing S phase in terminally differentiated skeletal muscle cells

We have previously shown that the adenovirus E1A oncogene can reactivate the cell cycle in terminally differentiated cells. Current models imply that much or all of this E1A activity is mediated by the release of the E2F transcription factors from pocket-protein control. In contrast, we show here that overexpression of E2F-1, E2F-2 and E2F-4, or a chimeric E2F-4 tethered to a nuclear localization signal cannot reactivate postmitotic skeletal muscle cells (myotubes). This is not due to lack of transcriptional activity, as demonstrated on both a reporter construct and a number of endogenous target genes. Although cyclin E was strongly overexpressed in E2F-transduced myotubes, it lacked associated kinase activity, possibly explaining the inability of the myotubes to enter S phase and accumulate cyclin A. Although E2F is not sufficient to trigger DNA synthesis in myotubes, its activity is necessary even in the presence of E1A, as dominant-negative DP-1 mutants inhibit E1A-mediated cell cycle reentry. Our data show that, to reactivate myotubes, E1A must exert other functions, in addition to releasing E2F. They also establish mouse myotubes as an experimental system uniquely suited to study the most direct E2F functions in the absence of downstream cell cycle effects.

Liver and kidney peroxisomes in lactating rats and their pups after treatment with ciprofibrate. Biochemical and morphometric analysis

We administered the hypolipidemic drug ciprofibrate to lactating rats and examined the enzymatic content and ultrastructural features of liver and kidney peroxisomes, both in treated animals and in their pups. The peroxisomal morphometric parameters, in particular, were measured in specimens submitted to the cytochemical reaction for the marker enzyme catalase. In liver of treated rats, the activities of peroxisomal enzymes involved in the fatty acid catabolism were significantly increased, while D-amino acid oxidase activity was lower than in controls; increments were also found in relative volume and pleiomorphism degree of the peroxisomal compartment, where a catalase dilution was supposed to occur. In the kidney, the treatment induced generalized increases of all examined enzymes; values significantly higher than controls were found in peroxisomal relative volume and numerical density, while the peroxisomal mean diameter practically did not change. The two organs, moreover, were affected by the drug in an age-dependent way, the pups being more responsive than the adults. The organ- and age-specific responses to the drug are interpreted as possibly related to the tissue-specific distribution of the peroxisomal proliferator activated receptor isotypes.

Terminally differentiated skeletal myotubes are not confined to G0 but can enter G1 upon growth factor stimulation

Terminally differentiated cells are specialized cells unable to proliferate that constitute most of the mammalian body. Despite their abundance, little information exists on the characteristics of cell cycle control in these cells and the molecular mechanisms that prevent their proliferation. They are generally believed to be irreversibly restricted to the G0 state. In this report, we define some features of a paradigmatic terminally differentiated system, the skeletal muscle, by studying its responses to various mitogenic stimuli. We show that forced expression of a number of cell cycle-regulatory genes, including erbB-2, v-ras, v-myc, B-myb, ld-1, and E2F-1, alone or in combinations, cannot induce terminally differentiated skeletal muscle cells (myotubes) to synthesize DNA. However, serum-stimulated myotubes display a typical immediate-early response, including the up-regulation of c-fos, c-jun, c-myc, and ld-1. They also elevate the expression of cyclin D1 after 4 hours of serum treatment. All these events take place in myotubes in a way that is indistinguishable from that of quiescent, undifferentiated myoblasts reactivated by serum. Moreover, pretreatment with serum shortens the time required by E1A to induce DNA synthesis, confirming that myotubes can partially traverse G1. Serum growth factors do not activate late-G1 genes in myotubes, suggesting that the block that prevents terminally differentiated cells from proliferating acts in mid-G1. Our results show that terminally differentiated cells are not confined to G0 but can partially reenter G1 in response to growth factors; they contribute to a much-needed definition of terminal differentiation. The important differences in the control of the cell cycle between terminally differentiated and senescent cells are discussed.