Butyrate-induced G1 arrest results from p21-independent disruption of retinoblastoma protein-mediated signals.

When treated with millimolar concentrations of butyrate, many cell types undergo growth arrest in the G1 phase of the cell cycle. However, the molecular basis of butyrate-induced G1 arrest has not been elucidated. We have investigated the molecular mechanisms of butyrate-induced G1 arrest in synchronized cultures of untransformed 3T3 fibroblasts. We tested the hypothesis that butyrate-induced growth arrest might be mediated by the p21 cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor. Sodium butyrate-treated 3T3 cells did, indeed, express elevated levels of p21 mRNA under conditions of G1 arrest. Surprisingly, however, primary cultures of fibroblasts from transgenic p21 "knockout" (p21-/-) mice and fibroblasts from wild-type p21-proficient (p21+/+) mice underwent butyrate-induced G1 arrest with similar dose dependencies. Therefore, p21 expression was not necessary for butyrate-induced G1 arrest. To identify other potential mechanisms of butyrate-induced growth arrest, we analyzed the butyrate sensitivity of key mitogenic signaling events during G1. We found that butyrate inhibited the mitogen-dependent transcriptional induction of cyclin D1 and phosphorylation of retinoblastoma (Rb), both in p21-proficient 3T3 cells and in p21+/+ and p21-/- mouse embryo fibroblasts. Butyrate treatment also prevented mitogen-dependent transcriptional induction of cyclin E and expression of cyclin A, cell cycle events that are temporally distal to expression of cyclin D and are necessary for entry into S phase. Abrogation of a requirement for cyclin D/cyclin-dependent kinase-dependent phosphorylation of Rb (by ectopic expression of the human papilloma virus E7 oncoprotein in 3T3 cells) resulted in decreased sensitivity to the antiproliferative actions of butyrate. Overall, these data show that butyrate-induced G1 arrest is, in large part, independent of p21 induction. Instead, butyrate-induced growth arrest appears to result from perturbation of the Rb signaling axis at the level of or at a stage prior to cyclin D1 expression.