Long noncoding RNA lincRNA-p21 is the major mediator of UVB-induced and p53-dependent apoptosis in keratinocytes

Cell Death Dis. 2015 Mar 19;6(3):e1700. doi: 10.1038/cddis.2015.67.

Abstract

LincRNA-p21 is a long noncoding RNA and a transcriptional target of p53 and HIF-1α. LincRNA-p21 regulates gene expression in cis and trans, mRNA translation, protein stability, the Warburg effect, and p53-dependent apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in doxorubicin-treated mouse embryo fibroblasts. p53 plays a key role in the response of skin keratinocytes to UVB-induced DNA damage by inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. In skin cancer development, UVB-induced mutation of p53 allows keratinocytes upon successive UVB exposures to evade apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. We hypothesized that lincRNA-p21 has a key functional role in UVB-induced apoptosis and/or cell cycle arrest in keratinocytes and loss of lincRNA-p21 function results in the evasion of apoptosis and/or cell cycle arrest. We observed that lincRNA-p21 transcripts are highly inducible by UVB in mouse and human keratinocytes in culture and in mouse skin in vivo. LincRNA-p21 is regulated at the transcriptional level in response to UVB, and the UVB induction of lincRNA-p21 in keratinocytes and in vivo in mouse epidermis is primarily through a p53-dependent pathway. Knockdown of lincRNA-p21 blocked UVB-induced apoptosis in mouse and human keratinocytes, and lincRNA-p21 was responsible for the majority of UVB-induced and p53-mediated apoptosis in keratinocytes. Knockdown of lincRNA-p21 had no effect on cell proliferation in untreated or UVB-treated keratinocytes. An early event in skin cancer is the mutation of a single p53 allele. We observed that a mutant p53(+/R172H) allele expressed in mouse epidermis (K5Cre(+/tg);LSLp53(+/R172H)) showed a significant dominant-negative inhibitory effect on UVB-induced lincRNA-p21 transcription and apoptosis in epidermis. We conclude lincRNA-p21 is highly inducible by UVB and has a key role in triggering UVB-induced apoptotic death. We propose that the mutation of a single p53 allele provides a pro-oncogenic function early in skin cancer development through a dominant inhibitory effect on UVB-induced lincRNA-p21 expression and the subsequent evasion of UVB-induced apoptosis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apoptosis / genetics*
  • Apoptosis / radiation effects
  • Cell Cycle Checkpoints / genetics
  • Cell Cycle Checkpoints / radiation effects
  • Cell Line
  • Cell Proliferation / genetics
  • Cell Proliferation / radiation effects
  • DNA Damage / genetics
  • DNA Damage / radiation effects
  • Gene Expression Regulation / radiation effects
  • Humans
  • Keratinocytes / metabolism
  • Keratinocytes / pathology
  • Keratinocytes / radiation effects
  • Mice
  • RNA, Long Noncoding / biosynthesis*
  • RNA, Long Noncoding / genetics
  • Skin / metabolism
  • Skin / pathology
  • Skin / radiation effects
  • Skin Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Skin Neoplasms / pathology
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / genetics*
  • Ultraviolet Rays

Substances

  • RNA, Long Noncoding
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53