Cancer-specific mutations in the iSH2 (inter-SH2) and nSH2 (Nterminal SH2) domains of p85α, the regulatory subunit of phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), show gain of function. They induce oncogenic cellular transformation, stimulate cellular proliferation, and enhance PI3K signaling. Quantitative determinations of oncogenic activity reveal large differences between individual mutants of p85α. The mutant proteins are still able to bind to the catalytic subunits p110α and p110β. Studies with isoform-specific inhibitors of p110 suggest that expression of p85 mutants in fibroblasts leads exclusively to an activation of p110α, and p110α is the sole mediator of p85 mutant-induced oncogenic transformation. The characteristics of the p85 mutants are in agreement with the hypothesis that the mutations weaken an inhibitory interaction between p85α and p110α while preserving the stabilizing interaction between p85α iSH2 and the adapter-binding domain of p110α.oncogenic transformation | target of rapamycin T he phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling pathway is deregulated in most human cancers by differential gene expression, amplification, or mutation. Of particular interest are mutations that occur in the catalytic subunit p110α of class I PI3K, because they confer a strong gain of function upon the enzyme, resulting in enhanced catalytic activity, constitutive signaling, and oncogenicity in vitro and in vivo (1-8). There have also been early reports of cancer-specific mutations in p85α, a regulatory subunit of class I PI3K (9-14). Such mutations gained high significance by recent comprehensive genomic analyses of glioblastomas (15,16). Approximately 9% of these tumors harbor a mutation in p85α. The mutations cluster in the inter-SH2 (iSH2) domain of p85α, involving residues that interact with the C2 domain of the catalytic subunit p110α (15,17). The iSH2-C2 domain interaction has an inhibitory effect on enzyme activity, and the mutations in the iSH2 domain of p85α could weaken this interaction and release the inhibition of PI3K activity (15,(17)(18)(19). A similar mechanism has been proposed for the gain-of-function mutations in the helical domain of p110α that alleviate an inhibitory interaction with the N-terminal SH2 domain (nSH2) of p85α (20).We have studied mutations in p85α (referred to as p85). Most of these were identified in a genomic characterization of glioblastoma (15) and map to the iSH2 domain of p85; one was an engineered mutation that maps to the nSH2 domain of p85. These mutations show oncogenic potency in cell culture and elevated levels of downstream signaling and operate through the p110α isoform of the catalytic subunit of class I PI3K. Our observations extend recent studies of the p85α mutants using different cell systems (17,19) by providing quantitative data on the oncogenic potency of the mutations and by presenting evidence that suggests a unique role of p110α for the p85 mutation-induced gain of function in PI3K activity. ResultsCancer-Derived Mutations of p85 Induce Oncogenic Transform...
BackgroundHuman pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most aggressive and lethal malignancies in the world and despite great efforts in research types of treatment remain limited. A frequently detected alteration in PDACs is a truncated O-linked N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) glycosylation with expression of the Tn antigen. Changes in O-glycosylation affect posttranslationally modified O-GalNAc proteins resulting in profound cellular alterations. Tn antigen is a tumor associated glycan detected in 75-90 % of PDACs and up to 67 % in its precursor lesions. Since the role of Tn antigen expression in PDAC is insufficiently understood we analyzed the impact of COSMC mediated Tn antigen expression in two human PDAC cell lines on cellular oncogenic properties.MethodsForced expression of Tn antigen on O-glycosylated proteins in pancreatic cancer cells was induced by lentiviral-mediated knockdown of the COSMC chaperone, which prevented O-glycan elongation beyond the initial GalNAcα1- residue on O-linked glycoproteins. Altered O-GalNAc glycosylation was analyzed in human pancreatic cancer cell lines Panc-1 and L3.6pl using Western and Far-Western blot as well as immunocytochemical techniques. To assess the biological implications of COSMC function on oncogenic properties, cell viability assays, scratch assays combined with live cell imaging, migration and apoptosis assays were performed. Lectin based glycoprotein enrichment with subsequent mass spectrometric analysis identified new cancer O-GalNAc modified proteins. Expression of Tn antigen bearing Nucleolin in patient derived PDAC tumor specimens was evaluated and correlated with clinicopathological data.ResultsTn antigen expression was induced on various O-GalNAc glycoproteins in COSMC deficient cell lines compared to the control. Proliferation was reduced (p < 0.001) in COSMC knockdown cells, whereas migration was increased (p < 0.001) and apoptosis was decreased (p = 0.03), highlighting the importance of Tn antigen expression on metastatic and anti-apoptotic behavior of PDAC derived cells. Nucleolin was identified as O-GalNAc modified protein in COSMC deficient PDAC cell lines. Interestingly, immunohistochemical staining and co-localization studies of patient derived PDACs revealed poor survival for patients with strong co-localization of Tn antigen and Nucleolin (p = 0.037).ConclusionThis study substantiates the influence of altered O-glycan (Tn/STn) expression on oncogenic properties in pancreatic cancer and identifies O-GalNAc modified Nucleolin as novel prognostic marker.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12943-015-0386-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
BackgroundDue to the frequent dysregulation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, mTOR represents a suitable therapeutic target in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, emerging data from clinical trials of HCC patients indicate that mTOR inhibition by RAD001 (Everolimus) alone has only moderate antitumor efficacy which may be due to the feedback activation of AKT after mTOR inhibition. In this study, we analyzed the effects of dual inhibition of mTOR and AKT on the proliferation of HCC cell lines. In addition, we measured the feedback activation of each of the AKT isoforms after mTOR inhibition in HCC cell lines and their enzymatic activity in primary samples from HCC patients.MethodsThe activation status of specific AKT isoforms in human HCC samples and corresponding healthy liver tissue was analyzed using an AKT isoform specific in vitro kinase assay. AKT isoform activation after mTOR inhibition was analyzed in three HCC cell lines (Hep3B, HepG2 and Huh7), and the impact of AKT signaling on proliferation after mTOR inhibition was investigated using the novel AKT inhibitor MK-2206 and AKT isoform specific knockdown cells.ResultsAKT isoforms become differentially activated during feedback activation following RAD001 treatment. The combination of mTOR inhibition and AKT isoform knockdown showed only a weak synergistic effect on proliferation of HCC cell lines. However, the combinatorial treatment with RAD001 and the pan AKT inhibitor MK-2206 resulted in a strong synergism, both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, by analyzing primary HCC tissue samples we were able to demonstrate that a hotspot mutation (H1047R) of PI3KCA, the gene encoding the catalytic subunit of PI3K, was associated with increased in vitro kinase activity of all AKT isoforms in comparison to healthy liver tissue of the patient.ConclusionOur results demonstrate that dual targeting of mTOR and AKT by use of RAD001 and the pan AKT inhibitor MK-2206 does effectively inhibit proliferation of HCC cell lines. These data suggest that combined treatment with RAD001 and MK-2206 may be a promising therapy approach in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.
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