In a genome-wide screen for microRNAs regulated by the transcription factor encoded by the p53 tumor suppressor gene we found that after p53-activation the abundance of thirty-four miRNAs was significantly increased, whereas sixteen miRNAs were suppressed. The induction of miR-34a was most pronounced among all differential regulations. Also expression of the primary miR-34a transcript was induced after p53 activation and by DNA damage in a p53-dependent manner. p53 occupied an evolutionarily conserved binding site proximal to the first non-coding exon of miR-34a. Ectopic miR-34a induced apoptosis and a cell cycle arrest in the G1-phase, thereby suppressing tumor cell proliferation. Other p53-induced miRNAs identified here may also have tumor suppressive potential as they are known to suppress the anti-apoptotic factor Bcl2 (miR-15a/16) and the oncogenes RAS and HMGA2 (let-7a). Our results for the first time directly integrate the regulation of miRNA expression into the transcriptional network regulated by p53. siRNAs corresponding to p53-induced miRNAs may have potential as cancer therapeutic agents as RNA interference based therapies are currently emerging.

Recently, we and others identified the microRNA miR-34a as a target of the tumor suppressor gene product p53. Ectopic miR-34a induces a G 1 cell cycle arrest, senescence and apoptosis. Here we report that miR-34a expression is silenced in several types of cancer due to aberrant CpG methylation of its promoter. 19 out of 24 (79.1%) primary prostate carcinomas displayed CpG methylation of the miR-34a promoter and concomitant loss of miR-34a expression. CpG methylation of the miR-34a promoter was also detected in breast (6/24; 25%), lung (7/24; 29.1%), colon (3/23; 13%), kidney (3/14; 21.4%), bladder (2/6; 33.3%) and pancreatic (3/19; 15.7%) carcinoma cell lines, as well as in melanoma cell lines (19/44; 43.2%) and primary melanoma (20/32 samples; 62.5%). Silencing of miR-34a was dominant over its transactivation by p53 after DNA damage. Re-expression of miR-34a in prostate and pancreas carcinoma cell lines induced senescence and cell cycle arrest at least in part by targeting CDK6. These results show that miR-34a represents a tumor suppressor gene which is inactivated by CpG methylation and subsequent transcriptional silencing in a broad range of tumors.

SummaryHaloarchaeal¯agella are composed of a number of distinct¯agellin proteins, speci®ed by genes in two separate operons (A and B). The roles of these¯agel-lins were assessed by studying mutants of H. salinarum with insertions in either the A or the B operon. Cells of the¯gA À mutant produced abnormally short, curved agella that were distributed all over the cell surface. The¯gA2 À strain produced straight¯agella, mainly found at the poles. The¯gB À mutant had¯agella of the same size and spiral shape as wild-type cells, but these cells also showed unusual outgrowths, which appeared to be sacs ®lled with basal body-like structures. In broth cultures of this mutant, the medium accumulated¯agella with basal body-like structures at their ends.

Flagella of the haloalkalophilic archaebacterium Natronobacterium magadii were purified and characterized. The diameter of the flagella was 10 nm. It was shown that the flagella consist of four major proteins with molecular weights of 105 000, 60 000, 59 000, and 45 000. With decreasing NaCl concentration, the flagella dissociated into protofilaments. The structure of dissociated flagella and individual flagellins was studied by limited proteolysis. It was found that proteolytic cleavage of flagellins in dissociated flagella into high molecular weight fragments (about 40 000) did not lead to protofilament degradation. It was shown that the most stable fragment is formed from the 60 000 molecular weight flagellin. Cleavage of this fragment led to complete disappearance of protofilaments. On the basis of the data obtained, possible principles of archaebacterial flagellar construction are discussed.Key words: flagellin, archaebacteria, protofilaments, Natronobacterium magadii.