MDM2 protein overexpression promotes proliferation and survival of multiple myeloma cells

The murine double minute 2 (MDM2) protein facilitates G1 to S phase transition by activation of E2F-1 and can enhance cell survival by suppressing wild-type p53 (wtp53) function. In this study, we examined MDM2 expression and function in multiple myeloma (MM) cells. MDM2 is strongly and constitutively expressed in MM cell lines (ARH-77, RPMI 8226, and OCI-My5) and in the cells of plasma cell leukemia (PCL) patients, but is not expressed in normal bone marrow mononuclear cells (BM MNCs). Treatment of MM cells with MDM2 antisense, but not sense, nonsense, or scrambled, oligodeoxyribonucleotides (ODNs) decreased DNA synthesis and cell viability; it also induced G1 growth arrest, as evidenced by propidium iodide (PI) staining and induction of retinoblastoma protein (pRB) to E2F-1 binding. Moreover, inhibition of MDM2 using antisense ODNs also triggered MM cell apoptosis as evidenced by acridine orange-ethidium bromide staining. We next studied the association of MDM2 with wtp53 and/or mutant p53 (mtp53), E2F-1, CDK4, and p21. MDM2 constitutively binds to E2F-1 in all MM cells, to both wtp53 and mtp53, and to p21 in tumor cells lacking p53. These data suggest that MDM2 may enhance cell-cycle progression in MM cells both by activating E2F-1 and by downregulating cell-cycle inhibitory proteins (wtp53 and p21). Overexpression of MDM2 may therefore contribute to both growth and survival of MM cells, suggesting the potential utility of treatment strategies targeting MDM2 in MM.