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Abstract. Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is typified by translocation t(11;14)(q13;q32) causing upregulation of cyclin D1 and deregulation of cell cycle. The cyclin D1 activation plays a critical role in MCL pathogenesis but additional oncogenic events, such as aberrations of the ARF/MDM2/p53 pathway are also necessary for progression of the disease. We analyzed the p53 tumor suppressor in tumor tissue of 33 patients with MCL. The p53 status was determined by functional analyses in yeast (FASAY) and by cDNA sequencing. The level of the p53 protein was assessed by immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting. Loss of the p53-specific locus 17p13.3 was detected by FISH. Mutations in the p53 gene were detected in nine samples and they included eight missense mutations and one short deletion causing frame shift and premature stop codon formation in position 169. This mutation was associated with mRNA decay as revealed by sequencing of the p53 gDNA. All eight missense mutations were manifested by accumulation of the p53 protein in nuclei of tumor cells and three of them exhibited loss of the p53-specific locus 17p13.3. The p53 mutations were shown to be a negative prognostic marker in MCL.

The p53 protein is a sequence-specific transcription factor controlling the expression of multiple genes and protecting cells from oncogenic transformation. In many tumors, the p53 protein is completely or partially inactivated by mutations in the p53 gene. We analyzed the transactivating activity of nine human temperature-dependent (td) p53 mutants in yeast cells. Mutations in seven of them were localized in the β-sandwich-coding region of the p53 gene, eight p53 mutants were temperature-sensitive and the R283C mutant was cold-sensitive. Patterns of their transactivation abilities towards three different responsive elements, the extent of their temperature dependency as well as discriminativity, were considerably variable. Similarly, their capacity to become reactivated by amifostine varied from complete resistance to high sensitivity. Transactivation abilities and temperature dependency of six p53 td mutants were determined in transiently-transfected H1299 human cells and revealed substantial concordance between the activity patterns of the p53 mutants in yeast and human cells. We concluded that the td p53 mutants do not comprise a uniform group, therefore, the behavior of each mutant has to be tested individually.

Roscovitine, an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases, is promising anticancer agent. Its antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects can be mediated by the p53 signaling pathway. To define the role of p53 in roscovitine-induced cell response, we prepared H1299/p53 cell lines inducibly expressing specific variants of p53 (p53wt and hotspot R175H, temperature-dependent P98A, A159V, S215G, Y220C, Y234C mutants). In the presence of roscovitine, each cell line variant behaved in specific way reflecting activity of the p53 protein. Roscovitine decreased production of the cell cycle inhibitor p21 and induced apoptosis. This effect was the most efficient in cells expressing p53wt protein with full activity. The cell expressing partially and conditionally active p53 mutants responded to roscovitine less efficiently. The cells expressing p53 mutants A159V and Y234C were very sensitive to roscovitine but their response was clearly temperature-dependent. The cells expressing P98A, S215G and Y220C p53 mutants exhibited only weak sensitivity to roscovitine and underwent apoptosis in low frequency. In principle, each td p53 mutant responded to roscovitine in distinct way. We showed clearly that the impact of roscovitine on H1299 cells depends on functional status of p53 they produce. This suggests that patients with tumors exhibiting specific p53 variants can benefit from the roscovitine therapy.

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