| Title | Species Specific Differences in Translational Regulation of Dihydrofolate Reductase. | | Author(s) | Hsieh YC, Skacel NE, Bansal N, Scotto KW, Banerjee D, Bertino JR, Abali EE | | Institution | RWJMS-UMDNJ. | | Source | Mol Pharmacol 2009 Jul 1. | | Abstract | We have observed that rodent cell lines (mouse, hamster) contain approximately 10 times the levels of dihydrofolate reductase as human cell lines, yet the sensitivity to methotrexate (ED50), the folate antagonist that targets this enzyme, is similar. Our previous studies showed that dihydrofolate reductase protein levels increased after methotrexate exposure; and we proposed that this increase was due to the relief of feedback inhibition of translation as a consequence of methotrexate binding to dihydrofolate reductase. In the current report we show that unlike what was observed in human cells, DHFR levels do not increase in hamster cells following methotrexate exposure. We provide evidence to show that although there are differences in the putative mRNA structure between hamster and human mRNA in the dihydrofolate reductase binding region previously identified, "hamsterization" of this region in human dihydrofolate reductase mRNA did not change the level of the enzyme or its induction by methotrexate. Further experiments showed that human dihydrofolate reductase is a promiscuous enzyme, and that it is the difference between the hamster and human dihydrofolate reductase protein, rather than the DHFR mRNA, that determines the response to methotrexate exposure. We also present evidence to suggest that the translational upregulation of dihydrofolate reductase by MTX in tumor cells is an adaptive mechanism that decreases sensitivity to this drug. | | Language | ENG | | Pub Type(s) | JOURNAL ARTICLE
| | PubMed ID | 19570950 |
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