CDKN1B

Here, transcriptional regulatory processes that mediate the SASP are annotated. DNA damage triggers ATM-mediated activation of TP53, resulting in the increased level of CDKN1A (p21). CDKN1A-mediated inhibition of CDK2 prevents phosphorylation and inactivation of the Cdh1:APC/C complex, allowing it to ubiquitinate and target for degradation EHMT1 and EHMT2 histone methyltransferases. As EHMT1 and EHMT2 methylate and silence the promoters of IL6 and IL8 genes, degradation of these methyltransferases relieves the inhibition of IL6 and IL8 transcription (Takahashi et al. 2012). In addition, oncogenic RAS signaling activates the CEBPB (C/EBP-beta) transcription factor (Nakajima et al. 1993, Lee et al. 2010), which binds promoters of IL6 and IL8 genes and stimulates their transcription (Kuilman et al. 2008, Lee et al. 2010). CEBPB also stimulates the transcription of CDKN2B (p15-INK4B), reinforcing the cell cycle arrest (Kuilman et al. 2008). CEBPB transcription factor has three isoforms, due to three alternative translation start sites. The CEBPB-1 isoform (C/EBP-beta-1) seems to be exclusively involved in growth arrest and senescence, while the CEBPB-2 (C/EBP-beta-2) isoform may promote cellular proliferation (Atwood and Sealy 2010 and 2011). IL6 signaling stimulates the transcription of CEBPB (Niehof et al. 2001), creating a positive feedback loop (Kuilman et al. 2009, Lee et al. 2010). NF-kappa-B transcription factor is also activated in senescence (Chien et al. 2011) through IL1 signaling (Jimi et al. 1996, Hartupee et al. 2008, Orjalo et al. 2009). NF-kappa-B binds IL6 and IL8 promoters and cooperates with CEBPB transcription factor in the induction of IL6 and IL8 transcription (Matsusaka et al. 1993, Acosta et al. 2008). Besides IL6 and IL8, their receptors are also upregulated in senescence (Kuilman et al. 2008, Acosta et al. 2008) and IL6 and IL8 may be master regulators of the SASP.

IGFBP7 is also an SASP component that is upregulated in response to oncogenic RAS-RAF-MAPK signaling and oxidative stress, as its transcription is directly stimulated by the AP-1 (JUN:FOS) transcription factor. IGFBP7 negatively regulates RAS-RAF (BRAF)-MAPK signaling and is important for the establishment of senescence in melanocytes (Wajapeyee et al. 2008).

Please refer to Young and Narita 2009 for a recent review

The evolutionarily conserved MRN complex, consisting of MRE11A (MRE11), RAD50 and NBN (NBS1) subunits, binds DSBs (Lee and Paull 2005) and shortened telomeres that are no longer protected by shelterin (Wu et al. 2007). Once bound to the DNA, the MRN complex recruits and activates ATM kinase (Lee and Paull 2005, Wu et al. 2007), leading to phosphorylation of ATM targets, including TP53 (p53) (Banin et al. 1998, Canman et al. 1998, Khanna et al. 1998). TP53, phosphorylated on serine S15 by ATM, binds the CDKN1A (also known as p21, CIP1 or WAF1) promoter and induces CDKN1A transcription (El-Deiry et al. 1993, Karlseder et al. 1999). CDKN1A inhibits the activity of CDK2, leading to G1/S cell cycle arrest (Harper et al. 1993, El-Deiry et al. 1993).

SMURF2 is upregulated in response to telomere attrition in human fibroblasts and induces senecscent phenotype through RB1 and TP53, independently of its role in TGF-beta-1 signaling (Zhang and Cohen 2004). The exact mechanism of SMURF2 involvement is senescence has not been elucidated

While the binding of CIT to RHO GTPases RHOA, RHOB, RHOC and RAC1 is well established (Madaule et al. 1995), the mechanism of CIT activation by GTP-bound RHO GTPases has not been elucidated. There are indications that CIT may be activated through autophosphorylation in the presence of active forms of RHO GTPases (Di Cunto et al. 1998). CIT appears to phosphorylate the myosin regulatory light chain (MRLC), the only substrate identified to date, on the same residues that are phosphorylated by ROCKs, but it has not been established yet how this relates to activation by RHO GTPases (Yamashiro et al. 2003). CIT and RHOA are implicated to act together in Golgi apparatus organization through regulation of the actin cytoskeleton (Camera et al. 2003). CIT is also involved in the regulation of cytokinesis through its interaction with KIF14 (Gruneberg et al. 2006, Bassi et al. 2013, Watanabe et al. 2013) and p27(Kip1) (Serres et al. 2012)

TP53 has co-factors that are key determinants of transcriptional selectivity within the p53 network. For instance, the zinc finger transcription factor ZNF385A (HZF) is a direct transcriptional target of TP53 that can form a complex with TP53 and facilitate TP53-mediated induction of CDKN1A, strongly favouring cell cycle arrest over apoptosis (Das et al. 2007)

Under normal conditions, p53 is a short-lived protein. The MDM2 protein, usually interacts with p53 (Haupt et al, 1997 and Kubbutat et al, 1997), and by virtue of its E3 ubiquitin ligase activity, shuttles p53 to the cytoplasm and mediates its degradation by the ubiquitin-proteasome machinery. Upon detection of DNA damage, the ATM kinase mediates the phosphorylation of the Mdm2 protein to block its interaction with p53. Also, phosphorylation of p53 at multiple loci, by the ATM kinase and by other kinases activated by the ATM kinase, stabilizes and activates the p53 protein.

The p53 protein activates the transcription of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p21. p21 inactivates the CyclinE:Cdk2 complexes, and prevent entry of the cell into S phase, leading to G1 arrest. Under severe conditions, the cell may undergo apoptosis