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The human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) promoter is activated by both wild-type and tumorderived mutant p53. In this communication, we demonstrate that EGFR promoter sequence requirements for transactivation by wild-type and mutant p53 are different. Transient-expression assays with EGFR promoter deletions identified a wild-type human p53 response element, 5-AGCTAGACGTCCGGGCAGCCCCCGGCG -3, from positions ؊265 to ؊239. Electrophoretic mobility shift analysis and DNase I footprinting assays indicated that wild-type p53 binds sequence specifically to the response element. Using circularly permuted DNA fragments containing the p53-binding site, we show that wild-type p53 binding induces DNA bending at this site. We further show that the EGFR promoter is also activated by tumor-derived p53 mutants p53-143A, p53-175H, p53-248W, p53-273H, and p53-281G. However, the transactivation by mutant p53 does not require the wild-type p53-binding site. The minimal EGFR promoter from positions ؊104 to ؊20 which does not contain the wild-type p53-binding site is transactivated by the p53 mutants but not by the wild-type protein, showing a difference in the mechanism of transactivation by wild-type and mutant p53. Transactivation of the EGFR promoter by p53 may represent a novel mechanism of cell growth regulation.

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In systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), T helper cells exhibit increased and prolonged expression of cell-surface CD40 ligand (CD154), spontaneously overproduce interleukin-10 (IL-10), but underproduce interferon-gamma (IFN-␥). We tested the hypothesis that the imbalance of these gene products reflects skewed expression of CD154, IL-10, and IFN-␥ genes. Here, we demonstrate that the histone deacetylase inhibitor, trichostatin A, significantly down-regulated CD154 and IL-10 and up-regulated IFN-␥ gene expression in SLE T cells. This reversal corrected the aberrant expression of these gene products, thereby enhancing IFN-␥ production and inhibiting IL-10 and CD154 expression. That trichostatin A can simultaneously reverse the skewed expression of multiple genes implicated in the immunopathogenesis of SLE suggests that this pharmacologic agent may be a candidate for the treatment of this autoimmune disease.

Purpose To determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of radiation (RT) with concurrent temozolomide (TMZ) in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma (GBM), to estimate their progression free (PFS) and overall survival (OS), and to assess the role of 11C methionine PET (MET-PET) imaging in predicting recurrence. Methods and Materials Intensity modulated RT (IMRT) doses of 66–81 Gy, assigned to patients by the time-to-event continual reassessment method, were delivered over 6 wks with concurrent daily TMZ (75 mg/m2) followed by adjuvant cyclic TMZ (200 mg/m2 d1-5 q28d x6 cycles). Treatment was based on gadolinium-enhanced MRI. Pretreatment MET-PET scans were obtained for correlation with eventual sites of failure. Results 38 patients were analyzed with a median follow-up of 54 months for patients who remain alive. Late CNS grade≥3 toxicity was observed at 78 (2 pts of 7) and 81 Gy (1 pt of 9). None of 22 patients receiving ≤75 Gy developed radiation necrosis. Median OS and PFS were 20.1(14.0, 32.5) and 9.0 (6.0, 11.7) months, respectively. Twenty-two of 32 patients with pretreatment MET PET uptake showed uptake beyond the contrast-enhanced MRI. Patients whose treatment did not include the region of increased MET-PET uptake demonstrated an increased risk of non-central failure (p<0.001). Conclusions GBM patients can safely receive standard TMZ with 75 Gy in 30 fractions, delivered using IMRT. The median OS of 20.1 months is promising. Furthermore, MET-PET appears to predict regions of high risk of recurrence not defined by MRI, suggesting that further improvements may be possible by targeting metabolically active regions.