Background
The tumour suppressor protein p53 is a transcription factor that responds to oncogenic stress such as DNA damage, oncogene activtaion, γ-irradiation and certain chemotherapeutic drugs that may result in apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest [
1,
2]. In over half of all of human cancers,
p53 has been shown to be either lost or mutated. In those tumours in which the
p53gene is intact, the regulation of the p53 pathway may be defect [
3,
4]. The type of response following p53 activation depends upon a number of factors. Importantly, oncogenic transformation can cause a switch in the cell's response to p53 activation from growth arrest to programmed cell death. As a result, tumour cells are more likely to undergo apoptosis following p53 activation than the corresponding normal cells, making the p53 pathway an excellent target for therapeutic intervention [
5‐
8].
iSAPP, Inhibitory Member of the ASPP (Apoptosis-stimulating protein of p53) family is also known as the Rela-associated inhibitor, RAI and NF-kappa-B-interacting protein-1, NKIP1. It is one of the conserved inhibitors of p53. The discovery of the ASPP family of proteins as specific regulators of p53 identifies a new mechanism by which the apoptotic function of p53 is regulated [
9,
10]. The name of the family is based on the domain organization of the proteins (
ankyrin repeat,
SH3, and
proline-rich domain containing
protein) as well as their functions (
apoptosis-
stimulating
protein of
p53) [
11]. There are three family members in humans: ASPP1, ASPP2, and iASPP. ASPP1 and ASPP2 enhance the apoptotic function of p53, whereas iASPP inhibits p53-dependent apoptosis [
9‐
13]. Regulatory function of p53 by iASPP is conserved from worm to human [
14]. The expression levels of ASPP proteins in human malignancies have been sparsely reported. While ASPP1 and ASPP2 are down-regulated in a large percentage of tumours, iASPP has been found to be significantly higher in patients with acute leukaemia when compared with healthy donors or patients with leukaemia but with complete remission. iASPP has also been found to be over-expressed in breast carcinomas [
14‐
19]. There has been no reports on the expression of the ASPP family and their possible functions in lung cancer.
In the present study, we first investigated the protein expression of iASPP in human lung cancer tissues and further evaluated the impact of knocking down iASPP, by way of lentivirus shRNA to iASPP, on the function of a panel of lung cancer cell lines which exhibited different p53 expression pattern.
Methods
Cell lines, reagents and antibodies
Human lung cancer cell lines A549, 95D and H1229 were purchased from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Manassas, VA, USA) and cultured either in in F-12K medium (A549 cells) or RPMI-1640 medium (95D cells and H1229 cells) containing 10% fetal bovine serum, at 37°C with 5% v/v CO2. MTT assay reagents were purchased from DingGuo Biotech (Beijing, China). 5-Bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) assay reagents were purchased from Chemicon International (Temecula, CA, USA). Anti-iASPP mAb used for Western blot assay was purchased from Abcam (Boston, MA, USA). Anti-iASPP rAb using for Immunohistochemical assay was purchased from Rockland Immunochemicals, Inc., (Gilbertsville, PA, USA). Anti-GAPDH monoclonal was purchased from Santa Cruz Biotechnology (Santa Cruz, CA, USA).
Sequences of iASPP shRNA were inserted into the pGCL-GFP lentivirus RNAi expression system. The shRNA containing vectors were transfected together into 293T cells with pHelper1.0 and the lentiviral helper plasmid pHelper2.0 to generate the respective lentiviruses. Viral stocks were collected from the transduced 293T cells and were used to infect A549 cells, 95D cells and H1229 cells. The sequence of iASPP nonsense shRNA was: AATGTACTGCGCGTGGAGA; the sequence of iASPP shRNA was AACACATGGATCTGAAGCAGA. The mRNA and protein levels were measured 72 hrs after cells being infected.
Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of iASPP expression
Total RNA was extracted and reverse transcribed into cDNA using M-MLV-RTase (Promega, Madison, WI, USA). The resulting cDNA was used for PCR using the SYBR-Green Master PCR Mix (Applied Biosystem, Carlsbad, CA, USA) in triplicates. Primers for qRT-PCR were as follows: iASPP forward primer: GGCGGTGAAGGAGATGAAC; iASPP reverse primer: TGATGAGGAAATCCACGATAGAGA; p53 forward primer: CCTCCTCAGCATCTTATCC; p53 reverse primer: ACAAACACGCACCTCAAA; p21 forward primer: GGGACAGCAGAGGAAGACC; p21 reverse primer: GACTAAGGCAGAAGATGTAGAGC; PUMA forward primer: GACGACCTCAACGCACAG; PUMA reverse primer: CACCTAATTGGGCTCCATCTC. PCR and data collection were performed on the TP800 qPCR System (Takara, Japan). All quantitations were normalized to an endogenous β-actin control. β-actin forward primer: GGCGGCACCACCATGTACCCT; β-actin reverse primer: AGGGGCCGGACTCGTCATACT. The relative quantitation value for each target gene compared to the calibrator for that target is expressed as 2-(Ct-Cc) (Ct and Cc are the mean threshold cycle differences after normalizing to β-actin).
Western blot
Protein samples prepared from the cells were subjected to SDS-PAGE, transferred to PVDF membranes (Millipore, Kankakee, IL, USA) and detected with appropriate primary antibodies followed by horseradish peroxidase-conjugated goat, anti-mouse or rabbit IgG. The protein signals were detected using SuperSignal West Dura Extended Duration Substrate (Pierce, Rockford, IL, USA).
MTT assay
All the cells, including those transfected, were grown in exponential phase and detached by trypsin/EDTA treatment. Viable cells (2,000 cells/ml) were plated into 96-well tissue culture plates (100 μl complete medium/well) and cultured at 37°C in 5% CO2. At different time points, MTT reagent was added (10 μl per well) and incubated at 37°C for 4 hr. The reaction was stopped with addition of 100 μl DMSO and the optical density was determined at OD570 nm on a multi-well plate reader. Data from three independent experiments were analyzed by student t test and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
BrdU assay
Cells were seeded into 96-well plates (1,500 cells/well) and cultured at 37°C in 5% CO2. At different time points, BrdU reagent was added (20 μl/well) and incubated at 37°C for 4 hr. Cells were then fixed in a fixation solution for 30 min. After washing three times with a washing buffer, anti-BrdU antibody was added (50 μl/well) and incubated at 37°C for 1 hr. Following washing, an enzyme conjugated secondary antibody was added (50 μl/well) and incubated at 37°C for a further 30 min. Colour was then developed by incubation with 50 μl TMB substrate for 30 min in dark and the optical density was determined at OD490 nm on a multi-well plate reader. Data from three independent experiments were analyzed by student t test and p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Cells were seeded into six-well plates (200 cells/well) (in three duplicate wells) and cultured at 37°C in 5% CO2. After two weeks, the cells were fixed with paraformaldehyde for 30 min and then stained with GIEMSA for 10 min. ddH2O was used to wash the cells three times to obtain a clean background. The number of colonies and the cell number in each colony were counted and statistically analyzed.
Immunohistochemical Staining
Tissues sections (5-μm thick) were dewaxed, followed by quenching the endogenous peroxidase with 3% H2O2 in methanol for 30 min. Prior to staining, non-specific binding was blocked by incubation with 10% BSA in PBS at 37°C for 1 hr. Tissue sections were incubated with pre-immune IgG or specific antibodies in PBS containing 1% BSA at 4°C overnight, followed by incubation with a horseradish peroxidase-conjugated anti-mouse or rabbit antibody. Colour was then developed by incubation with an ImmunoPure Metal Enhanced Diaminobenzidine (DAB) Substrate kit (Pierce). After each incubation, tissue sections were washed three times in PBS for 10 min. Tissue sections were finally counterstained with hematoxylin. For determination of iASPP immunoreactivity, cytosolic staining of yellowish or brownish granules was graded as follows: 0 for background staining, 1 for faint staining, 2 for moderate staining and 3 for strong staining. In addition, positive staining areas in entire tissue section were graded as follows: 0 for <5%, 1 for 5-25%, 2 for 26-50%, 3 for 51-75%, and 4 for 76%-100%. When combining these two parameters, 0-2 and ≥3 were considered negative and positive staining, respectively.
Statistical analysis was carried using SPSS (version 16). Fisher's Exact test was used for analyzing the immunohistochemical data and Student t test for other quantitative data.
Discussion
To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first report of up-regulation of iASPP in human lung cancers. Our study has shown that there was an over-expression of the iASPP protein in lung tumour tissues in comparison with normal tissues and that knocking down iASPP resulted in an inhibition of cell proliferation. Given the prevalent of lung cancer and the death rate associated with the tumour type [
23], our finding has important bearing.
In accordance with our results, others have reported that SNPs in iASPP are associated with response to chemotherapy or combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy in NSCLC (non-small cell lung cancer) patients [
20]. Together, it suggests that iASPP plays important roles in lung cancer. In the present study, we also demonstrated that iASPP down-regulation inhibited the proliferation and colony formation of lung cancer cell lines A549 and 95D
in vitro. A few recent reports have indicated that iASPP is over-expressed in breast cancers and certain types of leukaemia, and that down-regulation of iASPP could inhibit the proliferation of these cancer cells [
14‐
19]. Together with our results in lung cancer, it is plausible to suggest that iASPP acts as a common factor of regulating the proliferation in difference cancer cells. Over-expression of iASPP may be involved in both the establishment and the progression of tumours, whereas down-regulation of iASPP may inhibit tumour development. In this regard, drugs specifically directed against iASPP could be beneficial in the treatment of cancers, including lung cancer [
24].
p53 is perhaps one of the best known tumour suppressor genes and plays a critical role in regulating cell proliferation through induction of growth arrest or apoptosis. iASPP is the most phylogenetically conserved inhibitor of p53 identified thus far. Our results suggesting that iASPP down-regulation in H1229 cells did not affect the proliferation and colony formation is very interesting. H1229 cells have little p53 expression as shown in the literature and in the present study. This thus confirms that the effect of iASPP is largely dependent upon p53 in order to regulate the apoptotic pathway, as seen with other cancer cell types. Besides p53, the p53-related protein p73 also has the similar functions. Previously, iASPP has been shown to form a protein complex with p73 to regulate cell death [
8,
24]. Whether iASPP forms the same complex with p73 in lung cancer cells deserve further exploration.
The ASPP family consists of three members, ASPP1, ASPP2 and iASPP. All three proteins share sequence similarity at their C-terminus which contains their signature sequences of ankyrin repeats, SH3 domain and Proline-rich region. The C-terminus is the preferred binding site for p53 [
25]. In contrast to iASPP, ASPP1 and ASPP2 activate p53 to stimulate specifically the expression of pro-apoptotic target genes. This implies that ASPP1 and ASPP2 can compete with iASPP for binding to p53, thereby inhibiting the ability of iASPP and stimulating the apoptotic function of p53. However, the detailed mechanism requires further exploration.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
JC and FX contributed equally to the study design, experimental work, data analysis and preparation of the manuscript. LZ and WGJ contributed to the study design, data analysis and manuscript preparation. All the authors read and approved the manuscript.