Wq. Zhao et al., CELL CYCLE-ASSOCIATED ACCUMULATION OF TISSUE INHIBITOR OF METALLOPROTEINASES-1 (TIMP-1) IN THE NUCLEI OF HUMAN GINGIVAL FIBROBLASTS, Journal of Cell Science, 111, 1998, pp. 1147-1153
We first confirmed an earlier immunohistochemical study showing that i
mmunoreactive TIMP-1-like protein accumulated in the nuclei of human g
ingival fibroblasts (Gin-1 cells), reaching a maximum in the S phase o
f the cell cycle (Li, H., Nishio, K., Yamashita, K., Hayakawa, T. and
Hoshino, T. (1995), Nagoya J. Med. Sci. 58, 133-142), Then we isolated
this protein from a nuclear extract of Gin-1 cells and demonstrated i
t to be identical to human recombinant TIMP-1 by western blotting, by
a sandwich enzyme immunoassay for TIMP-1 and by an assay for matrix me
talloproteinase inhibition. The amount of TIMP-1 in the cytosolic frac
tion of quiescent Gin-1 cells after stimulation by fetal calf serum in
creased continuously for 48 hours, whereas that in the nuclear extract
showed a maximum at 24 hours (S phase) and significantly decreased th
ereafter. Gin-1 cells expressed mRNAs for both TIMP-2 and TIMP-3 toget
her with mRNA for TIMP-1, However, neither TIMP-2 nor TIMP-3 proteins
seemed to accumulate in the nuclei of Gin-1 cells. These facts strongl
y suggest that TIMP-1 accumulates specifically in the nuclei of Gin-1
cells in a cell cycle-dependent manner.