Mutations in the p53 gene have been associated with a wide range of human tumors, including osteosarcomas. Although it has been shown that wild-type p53 can block the ability of E1a and ras to cotransform primary rodent cells, it is poorly understood why inactivation of the p53 gene is important for tumor formation. We show that overexpression of the gene encoding wild-type p53 blocks the growth of osteosarcoma cells. The growth arrest was determined to be due to an inability of the transfected cells to progress into S phase. This suggests that the role of the p53 gene as an antioncogene may be in controlling the cell cycle in a fashion analogous to the check-point control genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

There is little information regarding the molecular mechanisms of hepatocarcinogenesis. We studied the p53 gene at the DNA, RNA, and protein level in seven human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-derived cell lines; six of seven showed p53 abnormalities. By Southern blotting, the p53 gene was found to be partially deleted in Hep 3B and rearranged in SK-HEP-1 cells. Transcripts of the p53 gene were undetectable in Hep 3B as well as in FOCUS cells that had no apparent deletion or rearrangement of the p53 gene. Immunoprecipitation after [35S]methionine labeling of HCC cells demonstrated that p53 protein was absent in Hep 3B and FOCUS and reduced in concentration in PLC/PRF/5 cells. p53 synthesized by Mahlavu cells showed a slower migration on SDS/polyacrylamide gels suggesting it was an abnormal protein. In Huh7 cells, p53 protein had a prolonged half-life leading to its accumulation in the nuclei; increased levels of p53 protein were also found by immunoblotting. The p53 gene and its expression appeared to be unaltered in the hepatoblastoma-derived Hep G2 cell line. We found that the loss of p53 expression did not occur as a late in vitro event in the FOCUS cell line because p53 protein was also nondetectable at an early passage. We conclude that the loss of p53 expression or the presence of abnormal forms of the protein are frequently associated with HCC cell lines. These observations suggest that alterations in p53 may be important events in the transformation of hepatocytes to the malignant phenotype.

Senescence induction could be used as an effective treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, major senescence inducers (p53 and p16Ink4a) are frequently inactivated in these cancers. We tested whether transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) could serve as a potential senescence inducer in HCC. First, we screened for HCC cell lines with intact TGF-β signaling that leads to small mothers against decapentaplegic (Smad)-targeted gene activation. Five cell lines met this condition, and all of them displayed a strong senescence response to TGF-β1 (1-5 ng/mL) treatment. Upon treatment, c-myc was down-regulated, p21Cip1 and p15Ink4b were up-regulated, and cells were arrested at G1. The expression of p16Ink4a was not induced, and the senescence response was independent of p53 status. A short exposure of less than 1 minute was sufficient for a robust senescence response. Forced expression of p21Cip1 and p15Ink4b recapitulated TGF-β1 effects. Senescence response was associated with reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase 4 (Nox4) induction and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. The treatment of cells with the ROS scavenger N -acetyl-L-cysteine, or silencing of the NOX4 gene, rescued p21Cip1 and p15Ink4b accumulation as well as the growth arrest in response to TGF-β. Human HCC tumors raised in immunodeficient mice also displayed TGF-β1–induced senescence. More importantly, peritumoral injection of TGF-β1 (2 ng) at 4-day intervals reduced tumor growth by more than 75%. In contrast, the deletion of TGF-β receptor 2 abolished in vitro senescence response and greatly accelerated in vivo tumor growth. Conclusion: TGF-β induces p53-independent and p16Ink4a-independent, but Nox4-dependent, p21Cip1-dependent, p15Ink4b-dependent, and ROS-dependent senescence arrest in well-differentiated HCC cells. Moreover, TGF-β–induced senescence in vivo is associated with a strong antitumor response against HCC.