Mid-region parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) binds chromatin of MDA-MB231 breast cancer cells and isolated oligonucleotides “in vitro”

We have previously shown that PTHrP(38-94)-amide restrains growth and invasion "in vitro", causes striking toxicity and accelerates death of some breast cancer cell lines, the most responsive being MDA-MB231 whose tumorigenesis was also attenuated "in vivo". PTHrP(38-94)-amide contains the domain implicated in the nuclear import of PTHrP. Although the nucleus was identified as a destination for mid-region PTHrP, evidence for direct DNA-binding capability is lacking to date. Here, we examined the localization of PTHrP(38-94)-amide within MDA-MB231 cells and within metaphase spread preparations and characterized its DNA-binding properties, employing a combination of immunocytochemical, cytogenetic, "whole genome"/conventional PCR, EMSA and DNase footprinting techniques. The results obtained: (i) show that PTHrP(38-94)-amide gains access to the nuclear compartment of MDA-MB231 cell; (ii) demonstrate that PTHrP(38-94)-amide is a DNA-binding peptide; and, (iii) represent the first data to date on the potential molecular targets in both cellular chromatin and isolated oligonucleotides "in vitro"

Cadmium effects on p38/MAPK isoforms in MDA-MB231 breast cancer cells

Emerging evidence seems to indicate that the heavy metal cadmium (Cd) is able to regulate gene expression, drastically affecting the pattern of transcriptional activity in normal and pathological eukaryotic cells, also affecting intracellular signalization events. Human p38 is a family of mitogen-activated protein kinases consisting of four isoforms (\u3b1, \u3b2, \u3b3 and \u3b4) which mediate signal transduction cascades controlling several aspects of cell physiology. In this study we examined whether exposure of MDA-MB231 tumor cells from the human breast to Cd may exert some effect on p38 isoform expression and accumulation, as well as on p38 activation. Employing a combination of proliferation tests, conventional and semiquantitative multiplex (SM)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blot assays, we report that the treatment of breast cancer cells with 5 \u3bcM CdCl2 induces a diversified modulation of the transcription patterns of p38 isoform genes and of the accumulation of the related protein products, which are, on the other hand, also affected by \u3b1 and \u3b2 isoform functional inactivation induced by SB203580. Our findings suggest the existence of so far unexplored mechanisms of gene regulation in our model system and validate that MDA-MB231 cell line is a suitable in vitro model for further and more detailed studies on the intracellular mechanisms underlying the control of p38 expression, synthesis and activation in mammary tumor cells exposed to different stresses