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From the Dipartimento di Biologia e Patologia Cellulare e
Molecolare "L. Califano" Centro di Endocrinologia ed Oncologia
Sperimentale del CNR "G. Salvatore,"*
Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II," Napoli; the
Dipartimento di Scienze Biomorfologiche e Funzionali Sez, Anatomia
Patologica e Citopatologia,
Università
degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II," Napoli; the Istituto Nazionale
dei Tumori di Napoli,
Napoli; the
Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica e Biologia
Cellulare,
Università di Roma "Tor
Vergata," Rome; and the Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e
Clinica,¶
Università degli Studi di
Catanzaro "Magna Graecia," Italy
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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RNF4, HMGI-Y, and PATZ are expressed at very high levels in the testis1,4 (our unpublished results) and may thus play a role in the growth and differentiation of germ cells. Here we have analyzed the distribution of RNF4 in the different testicular cells and human testicular tumors and the role of RNF4 in the regulation of cell growth.
| Materials and Methods |
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Total RNA was extracted using the guanidine thiocyanate method. Northern blot analysis was performed as previously described.11 Hybridizations were performed at 42°C with a cDNA probe corresponding to the murine RNF4 coding region, labeled with [32P] dATP and [32P] dGTP (Amersham Phamacia Biotech, Buckinghamshire, U.K.) by random priming procedure.11
Plasmids
To construct the RNF4 sense and antisense expression vectors (pBP-RNF4 and pBP-RNF4-AS, respectively) a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-generated full-length RNF4 cDNA was inserted into the EcoRI-BamHI sites of pBabe-puro expression vector harboring the puromycin-resistance gene. Primers used were for pBP-RNF4, SEco (5'-ACGTGAATTCATGAGTACAAGAAAGCGTCGTG-3') and SBam (5'-ATCGGGATCCTCAAGGGCAAGTGTTAGCATTC-3'); for pBP-RNF4-AS, ASEco (5'-ATCGGAATTCTCAAGGGCAAGTGTTAGCATTC-3') and ASBam (5'-ACGTGGATCCATGAGTACAAGAAAGCGTCGTG-3'). pEGFP-RNF4 was constructed by cloning a PCR-generated full-length RNF4 fragment into the EcoRI site of pEGFP-C1 expression vector (Clontech). Primers used were AA1Eco (5'-ACGTGAATTCATGAGTACAAGAAAGCGTCGTG-3') and GREco (5'-CGCGAATTCATATATAAATGGGGTGG-3'). All plasmid constructs used in this study were subjected to sequence analysis on both strands. pEGFP-RNF4-CS was created using the QuickChange site-directed mutagenesis kit from Stratagene (La Jolla, CA). Mutagenic oligonucleotides were: 5'-CTCAGGTACTGTCAGTAGTCCCATCAGCATGGACGGATACT-CAG-3') and 5'-CTGAGTATCCGTCCATGCTGATGGGACTACTGACAGTACCTGAG). The mutations were confirmed by sequencing.
Immunocytochemistry
Tumor and normal human tissues were obtained from the collection of the Department of Pathology, University of Naples "Federico II," Italy. Normal control tissues were from men undergoing biopsies for infertility (azoospermia). The specimens demonstrated normal spermatogenesis consistent with excurrent ductal obstruction. None of the men biopsied had any other potential causes for infertility, such as hormonal abnormalities or varicoceles. Paraffin embedded sections were dewaxed and rehydrated through graded ethanol rinses. All sections were incubated in a 750 W microwave oven for 15 minutes (3 cycles of 5 minutes) in 10 mmol/L buffered citrate, pH 6.0, to complete antigen unmasking. The endogenous peroxidases were quenched by incubation of sections in 0.1% sodium azide with 0.3% H2O2 for 30 minutes at room temperature. The standard avidin-biotin peroxidase complex (Dako Corp., Glostrup, Denmark) procedure was used.12 Anti-RNF4 was an affinity-purified polyclonal antibody elicited to the RNF4 protein5 used at a dilution 1:400. The peroxidase activity was developed with the use of a filtered solution of 5 mg of 33'-diaminobenzideine tetrahydrochloride (dissolved in 10 ml of Tris buffer 0.05mol/L, pH 7.4) and 0.03% H2O2. For nuclear counterstaining, Mayers hematoxylin was used. Sections were mounted with a synthetic medium. The following controls were performed: omission of the primary antibody; substitution of the primary antiserum with non-immune serum diluted 1:500 in blocking buffer; RNF4 antibodies were preadsorbed with recombinant RNF4 protein. No immunostaining was observed after any of the control procedures.
Cell Culture, Transfections, Colony Assays, and BrdU Incorporation Experiments
Human 293T and NTERA-2 cells were cultured in Dulbeccos modified Eagles medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum (Life Technologies, Paisley, U.K.). Cells were plated at a density of 2 x 106 per 100 mm Petri dish 16 hours before transfection. DNA transfections were carried out by calcium phosphate precipitation using Calphos (Clontech, Palo Alto, CA). 293T and NTERA-2 cells were transfected with 5 µg of plasmid DNA. After puromycin selection the plates of transfected cells were fixed and stained with 500 µg/ml of crystal violet in 20% methanol, and counted. Experiments were done in duplicate and repeated at least three times. For BrdU incorporation experiments, NTERA-2 and 293T cells were transiently transfected with 5 µg of the appropriate plasmid. 48 hours after transfection, BrdU (10 µmol/L) was added to the cultures for an additional 5 hours. At this time, cells were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde in PBS for 10 minutes at 4°C and processed for immunofluorescence using a monoclonal antibody against BrdU (Boehringer Mannheim, Germany) according the manufacturers recommendations. The number of BrdU positive cells in GFP expressing and nonexpressing cells was determined. Experiments were done in duplicate and repeated at least three times.
Preparation of Testicular Cells
Testes of adult CD1 mice (Charles River, Milan, Italy) were used to prepare germ cells. Germ cells at pachytene spermatocytes, and spermatids were obtained by elutriation of the unfractionated single cell suspension as described previously.13 Homogeneity of cell populations was routinely monitored morphologically and ranged between 80 and 85% (pachytene spermatocytes) and 95% (spermatids). Mature spermatozoa were obtained from the cauda of the epididymis of mature mice while spermatogonia were obtained from prepuberal mice as previously described.14
Western Blot and Antibodies
Immunoblotting experiments were performed according to standard procedures. Anti-RNF4 was an affinity-purified polyclonal antibody elicited to the RNF4 protein.5 Anti-ERK1 and anti-GFP were commercial rabbit poyclonal antibodies (Santa Cruz Biotechnologies, Inc., Santa Cruz, CA). Immunoblots were stained with anti-rabbit secondary antibodies (Amersham) and revealed with the enhanced chemiluminescence, ECL system (Amersham).
| Results and Discussion |
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We performed an immunohistochemical analysis on sections of normal
human adult testis (Figure 1a)
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Undifferentiated spermatogonia in the basal compartment showed little
staining, whereas primary and secondary spermatocytes showed a strong
nuclear positivity. Spermatids and mature spermatozoa were slightly
immunoreactive. Western blot analysis of cell extracts from
fractionated mouse germ cells confirmed such differential distribution
of RNF4 (Figure 2)
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RNF4 Inhibits Cell Proliferation
The stage-specific expression together with the lack of RNF4
expression observed in human testicular germ cell tumors suggested that
RNF4 could be involved in either the establishment of a differentiated
phenotype and/or the regulation of germ cell proliferation. Thus, we
investigated the effect of ectopically expressed RNF4 on the growth
potential of two different cell lines (NTERA-2 and 293T cells) using
two independent experimental approaches: colony formation assays and
bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation experiments. Endogenous RNF4
mRNA was undetectable in 293T and very low in NTERA-2 cells (data not
shown). First, both the sense (pBP-RNF4) and antisense (pBP-RNF4-AS)
RNF4 expression plasmids were transfected in 293T or in NTERA-2 cells.
We found that stable expression of the sense construct, but not of the
antisense construct, led to a significant reduction in the
proliferative capacity of these cells as measured by a colony formation
assay in monolayer culture (Figure 3A)
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We then subcloned RNF4 coding region into the pEGFP fusion
protein expression plasmid (pEGFP-RNF4) and analyzed, on transfection
into NTERA-2 and 293T cells, the ability to enter S phase displayed by
the transfected (GFP-positive) and non-transfected cells
(GFP-negative). The results are shown in Figure 3B
. We found that for
both cell lines there is a clear inhibition of BrdU incorporation in
transfected cells indicating that RNF4 overexpression led to S phase
entry inhibition.
|
S
mutation on growth regulation was investigated. The EGFP-RNF4-CS mutant
was incapable of inducing growth inhibition in NTERA-2 and 293T cells
(Figure 3B)
The hypothesis that the absence of RNF4 expression could have an
important role in the genesis or progression of germ cell tumors is
corroborated by the demonstration that, when overexpressed, RNF4
behaves as a growth inhibitor in an embryonal carcinoma cell line
(NTERA-2) (Figure 3)
. RNF4 expression is also increased on retinoic
acid treatment of NTERA-2 cells that induces differentiation and growth
arrest of these cells (our unpublished results). A similar extent of
growth inhibition is induced by RNF4 in somatic 293T cells thus
suggesting that such activity is not restricted to germ cell
tumor-derived cell lines. Further investigation is required to
establish whether the lack or decrease of RNF4, which is ubiquitously
expressed in adult tissues,1
could be a more general
phenomenon in human tumors of different origins and to clarify whether
RNF4 functions in either E3 ligase pathway or through the association
with other transcription factors.
RNF4 interacts with a least two oncogenic products of genes (HMGI and PATZ) that have been found rearranged in human tumors.5,9,10 Chromosomal alterations within 4p16.3 are associated with different neoplastic diseases: a translocation breakpoint in malignant cells from patients with hairy cell leukemia,16 allelic losses in 50% of breast carcinomas (localized at 4p16.3),17 and in 23% of neuroblastomas (4p).18 A loss of heterozygosity is detected in 22% of bladder carcinomas, suggesting the presence of a tumor suppressor gene, and involves a 750-kb region between D4S43 and D4S127 where the RNF4 gene is located.19 Finally, other RING-finger proteins such as BRCA1, mel18, and PML have been shown to possess tumor suppressor activity which is lost by mutation in the RING finger.3 All these observations indicate that RNF4 shares some properties with tumor suppressor genes and warrant additional genetic studies to assess the pathogenetic contribution of RNF4 to cancer.
| Acknowledgements |
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| Footnotes |
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Supported by grants from the Ministero dell Università e della Ricerca Scientifica and from the Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro.
Accepted for publication July 2, 2001.
| References |
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