PMID: 9663465Jul 15, 1998Paper

Butyrate-induced G1 arrest results from p21-independent disruption of retinoblastoma protein-mediated signals

Cell Growth & Differentiation : the Molecular Biology Journal of the American Association for Cancer Research
Cyrus VaziriD V Faller

Abstract

When treated with millimolar concentrations of butyrate, many cell types undergo growth arrest in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. However, the molecular basis of butyrate-induced G1 arrest has not been elucidated. We have investigated the molecular mechanisms of butyrate-induced G1 arrest in synchronized cultures of untransformed 3T3 fibroblasts. We tested the hypothesis that butyrate-induced growth arrest might be mediated by the p21 cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor. Sodium butyrate-treated 3T3 cells did, indeed, express elevated levels of p21 mRNA under conditions of G1 arrest. Surprisingly, however, primary cultures of fibroblasts from transgenic p21 "knockout" (p21-/-) mice and fibroblasts from wild-type p21-proficient (p21+/+) mice underwent butyrate-induced G1 arrest with similar dose dependencies. Therefore, p21 expression was not necessary for butyrate-induced G1 arrest. To identify other potential mechanisms of butyrate-induced growth arrest, we analyzed the butyrate sensitivity of key mitogenic signaling events during G1. We found that butyrate inhibited the mitogen-dependent transcriptional induction of cyclin D1 and phosphorylation of retinoblastoma (Rb), both in p21-proficient 3T3 cells and in p21+/+ and p21-/- mo...Continue Reading

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