In this study, we show that several microtubule-destabilizing agents used for decades for treatment of cancer and other diseases also sensitize cancer cells to oncolytic rhabdoviruses and improve therapeutic outcomes in resistant murine cancer models. Drug-induced microtubule destabilization leads to superior viral spread in cancer cells by disrupting type I IFN mRNA translation, leading to decreased IFN protein expression and secretion. Furthermore, microtubule-destabilizing agents specifically promote cancer cell death following stimulation by a subset of infection-induced cytokines, thereby increasing viral bystander effects. This study reveals a previously unappreciated role for microtubule structures in the regulation of the innate cellular antiviral response and demonstrates that unexpected combinations of approved chemotherapeutics and biological agents can lead to improved therapeutic outcomes.

The p53 tumor suppressor is a DNA-damage-responsive sequence-specific transcriptional activator. The sustained activation of the p53 response is incompatible with cell growth and viability. To circumvent this issue, a variety of negative feedback loops exist to limit the duration of p53 activation. Despite our understanding of p53 regulation, very little is known about the effect of transient p53 activation on the long-term expression of p53 target genes. Here we used a temperature-sensitive variant of p53 and oligonucleotide microarrays to monitor gene expression during and following reversible p53 activation. The expression of most p53-induced transcripts was rapidly reversible, consistent with active mRNA decay. Representative 39 UTRs derived from short-lived transcripts (i.e., DDB2 and GDF15) conferred instability on a heterologous mRNA, while 39 UTRs derived from more stable transcripts (i.e., CRYAB and TP53I3) did not. The 39 UTRs derived from unstable p53-induced mRNAs were significantly longer than those derived from stable mRNAs. These 39 UTRs had high uridine and low cytosine content, leading to a higher density of U-, AU-, and GU-rich sequences. Remarkably, short-lived p53 targets were induced faster, reaching maximum transcript levels earlier than the stable p53 targets. Taken together, the evidence indicates that the p53 transcriptional response has evolved with primarily short-lived target mRNAs and that post-transcription processes play a prominent role in the p53 response.

No abstract

Ultraviolet light (UV light) induces helix distorting DNA lesions that pose a block to replicative DNA polymerases. Recovery from this replication arrest is reportedly impaired in nucleotide excision repair (NER)-deficient xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) fibroblasts and primary fibroblasts lacking functional p53. These independent observations suggested that the involvement of p53 in the recovery from UV-induced replication arrest was related to its role in regulating the global genomic subpathway of NER (GG-NER). Using primary human fibroblasts, we confirm that the recovery from UV-induced replication arrest is impaired in cells lacking functional p53 and in primary XP fibroblasts derived from complementation groups A or C (XP-A and XP-C) that are defective in GG-NER. Surprisingly, DNA synthesis recovered normally in GG-NER-deficient XP complementation group E (XP-E) cells that carry mutations in the p53 regulated DNA repair gene DDB2 and are specifically defective in the repair of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD) but not pyrimidine (6-4) pyrimidone photoproducts. Disruption of p53 in these XP-E fibroblasts prevented the recovery from UV-induced replication arrest. Therefore, the roles of p53 and GG-NER in the recovery from UV-induced replication are separable and DDB2-independent. These results further indicate that primary human fibroblasts expressing functional p53 efficiently replicate DNA containing CPD whereas p53-deficient cells do not, consistent with a role for p53 in permitting translesion synthesis of these DNA lesions.

The p53 tumour suppressor is a transcription factor that can regulate the expression of numerous genes including many encoding proteins and microRNAs (miRNAs). The predominant outcomes of a typical p53 response are the initiation of apoptotic cascades and the activation of cell cycle checkpoints. HT29-tsp53 cells express a temperature sensitive variant of p53 and in the absence of exogenous DNA damage, these cells preferentially undergo G1 phase cell cycle arrest at the permissive temperature that correlates with increased expression of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21WAF1. Recent evidence also suggests that a variety of miRNAs can induce G1 arrest by inhibiting the expression of proteins like CDK4 and CDK6. Here we used oligonucleotide microarrays to identify p53-regulated miRNAs that are induced in these cells undergoing G1 arrest. At the permissive temperature, the expression of several miRNAs was increased through a combination of either transcriptional or post-transcriptional regulation. In particular, miR-34a-5p, miR-143-3p and miR-145-5p were strongly induced and they reached levels comparable to that of reference miRNAs (miR-191 and miR-103). Importantly, miR-34a-5p and miR-145-5p are known to silence the Cdk4 and/or Cdk6 G1 cyclin-dependent kinases (cdks). Surprisingly, there was no p53-dependent decrease in the expression of either of these G1 cdks. To search for other potential targets of p53-regulated miRNAs, p53-downregulated mRNAs were identified through parallel microarray analysis of mRNA expression. Once again, there was no clear effect of p53 on the repression of mRNAs under these conditions despite a remarkable increase in p53-induced mRNA expression. Therefore, despite a strong p53 transcriptional response, there was no clear evidence that p53-responsive miRNA contributed to gene silencing. Taken together, the changes in cell cycle distribution in this cell line at the permissive temperature is likely attributable to transcriptional upregulation of the CDKN1A mRNA and p21WAF1 protein and not to the down regulation of CDK4 or CDK6 by p53-regulated miRNAs.