Inhibition of pluripotency networks by the Rb tumor suppressor restricts reprogramming and tumorigenesis.

Mutations in the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor gene Rb are involved in many forms of human cancer. In this study, we investigated the early consequences of inactivating Rb in the context of cellular reprogramming. We found that Rb inactivation promotes the reprogramming of differentiated cells to a pluripotent state.

The extreme COOH terminus of the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein pRb is required for phosphorylation on Thr-373 and activation of E2F.

The retinoblastoma protein pRb plays a pivotal role in G(1)- to S-phase cell cycle progression and is among the most frequently mutated gene products in human cancer. Although much focus has been placed on understanding how the A/B pocket and COOH-terminal domain of pRb cooperate to relieve transcriptional repression of E2F-responsive genes, comparatively little emphasis has been placed on the function of the NH(2)-terminal region of pRb and the interaction of the multiple domains of pRb in the full-length context. Using "reverse mutational analysis" of Rb(DeltaCDK) (a dominantly active repressive allele of Rb), we have previously shown that restoration of Thr-373 is sufficient to render Rb(DeltaCDK) sensitive to inactivation via cyclin-CDK phosphorylation.

Reverse mutational analysis reveals threonine-373 as a potentially sufficient phosphorylation site for inactivation of the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (pRB).

Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that constitutive cyclin E expression can alleviate the requirement for cyclin D-CDK activity in the inactivation of the retinoblastoma protein (pRb). Rb(DeltaCDK), a mutant construct of pRb with 15 of the 16 CDK phosphorylation sites mutated to alanine represses activation of E2F by mitogen, despite cyclin E overexpression. However, restoration of the four cyclin E-CDK2 phosphorylation sites to Rb(DeltaCDK) renders this construct sensitive to inactivation by CDK phosphorylation.

Retinoblastoma suppression of matrix metalloproteinase 1, but not interleukin-6, through a p38-dependent pathway in rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts.

Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by increased synovial lining cellularity, inflammation, and destruction of cartilage and bone. During the pathogenesis of RA, synovial fibroblasts reenter the cell cycle and multiply in number. RA synovial fibroblasts express high levels of the MAP kinase p38, which may contribute to the production of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs).