Inhibition of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) activity has been identified as a prerequisite for the transformation of human cells. However, the molecular mechanisms by which PP2A activity is inhibited in human cancers are currently unclear. In this study, we describe a cellular inhibitor of PP2A with oncogenic activity. The protein, designated Cancerous Inhibitor of PP2A (CIP2A), interacts directly with the oncogenic transcription factor c-Myc, inhibits PP2A activity toward c-Myc serine 62 (S62), and thereby prevents c-Myc proteolytic degradation. In addition to its function in c-Myc stabilization, CIP2A promotes anchorage-independent cell growth and in vivo tumor formation. The oncogenic activity of CIP2A is demonstrated by transformation of human cells by overexpression of CIP2A. Importantly, CIP2A is overexpressed in two common human malignancies, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and colon cancer. Thus, our data show that CIP2A is a human oncoprotein that inhibits PP2A and stabilizes c-Myc in human malignancies.

The stability of c-Myc is regulated by multiple Ras effector pathways. Phosphorylation at Ser 62 stabilizes c-Myc, whereas subsequent phosphorylation at Thr 58 is required for its degradation. Here we show that Ser 62 is dephosphorylated by protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) before ubiquitination of c-Myc, and that PP2A activity is regulated by the Pin1 prolyl isomerase. Furthermore, the absence of Pin1 or inhibition of PP2A stabilizes c-Myc. A stable c-Myc(T58A) mutant that cannot bind Pin1 or be dephosphorylated by PP2A replaces SV40 small T antigen in human cell transformation and tumorigenesis assays. Therefore, small T antigen, which inactivates PP2A, exerts its oncogenic potential by preventing dephosphorylation of c-Myc, resulting in c-Myc stabilization. Thus, Ras-dependent signalling cascades ensure transient and self-limiting accumulation of c-Myc, disruption of which contributes to human cell oncogenesis.

The human prostate gland is an important target organ of androgenic hormones. Testosterone and dihydrotestosterone interact with the androgen receptor to regulate vital aspects of prostate growth and function including cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, metabolism, and secretory activity. Our objective in this study was to characterize the temporal program of transcription that reflects the cellular response to androgens and to identify specific androgen-regulated genes (ARGs) or gene networks that participate in these responses. We used cDNA microarrays representing about 20,000 distinct human genes to profile androgen-responsive transcripts in the LNCaP adenocarcinoma cell line and identified 146 genes with transcript alterations more than 3-fold. Of these, 103 encode proteins with described functional roles, and 43 represent transcripts that have yet to be characterized. Temporal gene expression profiles grouped the ARGs into four distinct cohorts. Five uncharacterized ARGs demonstrated exclusive or high expression levels in the prostate relative to other tissues studied. A search of available DNA sequence upstream of 28 ARGs identified 25 with homology to the androgen responseelement consensus-binding motif. These results identify previously uncharacterized and unsuspected genes whose expression levels are directly or indirectly regulated by androgens; further, they provide a comprehensive temporal view of the transcriptional program of human androgen-responsive cells.T he androgenic hormones testosterone and dihydrotestosterone exert their cellular effects by means of interactions with the androgen receptor (AR), a member of the family of intracellular steroid hormone receptors that function as liganddependent transcription factors (1). Ligand-activated AR, complexed with coactivator proteins and general transcription factors, binds to cis-acting androgen response elements (AREs) located in the promoter regions of specific target genes and serves to activate or to repress transcription (1, 2). During human development, circulating androgens and a functional AR mediate a wide range of reversible and irreversible effects that include the morphogenesis and differentiation of major target tissues such as the prostate, seminal vesicles, and epididimus. The prostate gland has been used extensively as a model system to study androgen effects. In part, this is because of the fact that androgens promote the development and progression of prostate diseases that account for significant morbidity in the population including benign prostatic hypertrophy and prostate adenocarcinoma (2). The recognition that normal and neoplastic prostate epithelial cells depend on circulating androgens for their continued survival and growth led to the development of effective endocrine-based therapy for prostate carcinoma (3). To date, manipulating the androgen pathway by means of surgical or chemical castration remains the primary therapeutic modality for advanced prostate cancer.In the human prostate, the AR mediates ...

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In this study, the inhibitor 2 of protein phosphatase 2A (I2PP2A) was identified in vitro and in situ as a ceramide-binding protein, which exhibits stereoisomer specificity and fatty acid chain length preference. Site- directed mutagenesis coupled with structural details of I2PP2A suggested that VIK 207-209 residues localized on helix 7 are important for ceramide binding and single mutation of K209D altered this interaction. Notably, I2PP2A-ceramide binding decreased the association between PP2A and the inhibitor, preventing the inhibition of PP2A activity in vitro. In addition, studies in A549 human lung cancer cells revealed that ceramide mediates c-Myc degradation via its PP2A-dependent dephosphorylation at S62, and treatment with okadaic acid and expression of c-Myc mutants with S62A or S62D conversions resulted in resistance to ceramide-mediated degradation. Importantly, whereas down-regulation of I2PP2A enhanced PP2A-mediated c-Myc degradation in response to ceramide, ectopic expression of wild-type I2PP2A but not of its K209D mutant protected this degradation in A549 cells. Moreover, expression of wild-type I2PP2A prevented the growth-inhibitory effects of ceramide both against A549 cells and xenograft-driven tumors in situ and in vivo compared with that in controls. Thus, these results suggest that direct interaction of I2PP2A with ceramide plays important biological roles via the regulation of PP2A activity and signaling, which in turn control ceramide-mediated degradation of c-Myc and antiproliferation.

The c-Myc oncoprotein promotes cell growth by enhancing ribosomal biogenesis through upregulation of RNA polymerases I-, II-, and III-dependent transcription. Overexpression of c-Myc and aberrant ribosomal biogenesis leads to deregulated cell growth and tumorigenesis. Hence, c-Myc activity and ribosomal biogenesis must be regulated in cells. Here, we show that ribosomal protein L11, a component of the large subunit of the ribosome, controls c-Myc function through a negative feedback mechanism. L11 is transcriptionally induced by c-Myc, and overexpression of L11 inhibits c-Myc-induced transcription and cell proliferation. Conversely, reduction of endogenous L11 by siRNA increases these c-Myc activities. Mechanistically, L11 binds to the Myc box II (MB II), inhibits the recruitment of the coactivator TRRAP, and reduces histone H4 acetylation at c-Myc target gene promoters. In response to serum stimulation or serum starvation, L11 and TRRAP display inverse promoter-binding profiles. In addition, L11 regulates c-Myc levels. These results identify L11 as a feedback inhibitor of c-Myc and suggest a novel role for L11 in regulating c-Myc-enhanced ribosomal biogenesis.

In page 3344, there is an error for the primers for L11 mRNA in paragraph under 'Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and quantitative real-time PCR analysis'. The correct primers for L11 should be 5 0 -ATGGCGCAGGATCAAGGTG-3 0 and 5 0 -ATTT GCCAGGAAGGATG-3 0 .

Expression of the c-Myc proto-oncoprotein is tightly regulated in normal cells. Phosphorylation at two conserved residues, threonine58 (T58) and serine62 (S62), regulates c-Myc protein stability. In cancer cells, c-Myc can become aberrantly stabilized associated with altered T58 and S62 phosphorylation. A complex signalling cascade involving GSK3b kinase, the Pin1 prolyl isomerase, and the PP2A-B56a phosphatase controls phosphorylation at these sites. We report here a novel role for the tumour suppressor scaffold protein Axin1 in facilitating the formation of a degradation complex for c-Myc containing GSK3b, Pin1, and PP2A-B56a. Although knockdown of Axin1 decreases the association of c-Myc with these proteins, reduces T58 and enhances S62 phosphorylation, and increases c-Myc stability, acute expression of Axin1 reduces c-Myc levels and suppresses c-Myc transcriptional activity. Moreover, the regulation of c-Myc by Axin1 is impaired in several tested cancer cell lines with known stabilization of c-Myc or loss of Axin1. This study provides critical insight into the regulation of c-Myc expression, how this can be disrupted in three cancer types, and adds to our knowledge of the tumour suppressor activity of Axin1.