Phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase (PI 3‐kinase) has a regulatory 85 kDa adaptor subunit whose SH2 domains bind phosphotyrosine in specific recognition motifs, and a catalytic 110 kDa subunit. Mutagenesis of the p110 subunit, within a sequence motif common to both protein and lipid kinases, demonstrates a novel intrinsic protein kinase activity which phosphorylates the p85 subunit on serine at a stoichiometry of approximately 1 mol of phosphate per mol of p85. This protein‐serine kinase activity is detectable only upon high affinity binding of the p110 subunit with its unique substrate, the p85 subunit. Tryptic phosphopeptide mapping revealed that the same major peptide was phosphorylated in p85 alpha both in vivo in cultured cells and in the purified recombinant enzyme. N‐terminal sequence and mass analyses were used to identify Ser608 as the major phosphorylation site on p85 alpha. Phosphorylation of the p85 subunit at this serine causes an 80% decrease in PI 3‐kinase activity, which can subsequently be reversed upon treatment with protein phosphatase 2A. These results have implications for the role of inter‐subunit serine phosphorylation in the regulation of the PI 3‐kinase in vivo.

The Src family of protein tyrosine kinases have been implicated in the response of cells to several ligands. These include platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), and colony stimulating factor type 1 (CSF-1, in macrophages and in fibroblasts engineered to express the receptor). We recently described a microinjection approach which we used to demonstrate that Src family kinases are required for PDGF-induced S phase entry of fibroblasts. We now use this approach to ask whether other ligands also require Src kinases to stimulate cells to replicate DNA. An antibody specific for the carboxy terminus of Src, Fyn, and Yes (anti-cst.1) inhibited Src kinase activity in vitro and caused morphological reversion of Src transformed cells in vivo. Microinjection of this antibody was used to demonstrate that Src kinases were required for both CSF-1 and EGF to drive cells into the S phase. Expression of a kinase-inactive form of Src family kinases also prevented EGF-and CSF-1-stimulated DNA synthesis. However, even though the Src family kinases were necessary for both PDGF-and EGF-induced DNA synthesis in Swiss 3T3 cells, the responses to two other potent growth factors for these cells, lysophosphatidic acid and bombesin, were unaffected by the neutralizing antibodies. Therefore, some but not all growth factors required functional Src family kinases to transmit mitogenic responses.

The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-K) becomes activated when quiescent cells are stimulated with a variety of growth factors. We have micronijected antibodies specific for the pulla subunit of the PI 3-K into quiescent fibroblasts and tested their effect on the ability of growth factors to stimulate exit from quiescence and entry into S phase. The antibodies inhibited platelet-derived growth factorinduced DNA synthesis, a result in keeping with previous studies using mutant platelet-derived growth factor receptors. Interestingly, functional PI 3-K was required for the first 6 hr of G1-i.e., until -4 hr before the point at which the cells were committed to make DNA. A second tyrosine kinase receptor, the epidermal growth factor receptor, also required the PI 3-K for efficient signaling. However, colony-stimulating factor 1 (whose receptor is highly related to the platelet-derived growth factor receptor) could induce DNA synthesis in the absence of active PI 3-K, as could two growth factors (bombesin and lysophosphatidic acid) whose receptors are functionally coupled to G proteins. These data, therefore, demonstrate that some, but not all, growth factors require functional PI 3-K.The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-K) associates with several proteins, including growth factor receptors, nonreceptor tyrosine kinases of the Src family, and crk and abl oncogene products (for review, see ref. 1). PI 3-K phosphorylates inositolphospholipids at the D3 position ofthe inositol ring, leading to the formation of phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate, phosphatidylinositol 3,4-bisphosphate, and phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (2), which are poor substrates for any known phospholipase C (3, 4) and may form a new class of second messenger (1). PI 3-K activation and 3-phosphorylated inositolphospholipid formation occur rapidly after growth factor activation (5, 6); thus PI 3-K activation and the formation of its products could be important steps in mitogenic signal transduction. PI 3-K usually consists of a heterodimer of an 85-kDa and a 110-kDa subunit.There are at least two 85-kDa proteins (p85a and p85(), which contain one Src homology region 3 (SH3) domain and two Src homology domain 2 (SH2) domains (for review, see ref. 7). The latter bind with high specificity and affinity to tyrosine phosphorylated sequences (8); indeed, p85a associates with growth factor receptors and the mT-cSrc complex via its SH2 domains (9-12). The catalytic activity resides in the 110-kDa subunit, which has similarity to a Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein, VPS34 (13), that has been implicated in targeting of proteins to the yeast vacuole and vacuole morphogenesis during budding (14), leading to speculation on a possible role of PI 3-K in protein trafficking and vesicular morphogenesis (7). A second catalytic subunit, called p110,8, has recently been described (15); little is known about its biological activity.The binding sites for the SH2 domains of PI 3-K are in the kinase insert region of the platelet-derived growth factor (PD...

The protein tyrosine kinase c-Src is transiently activated at the transition from the G2 phase to mitosis in the cell cycle of mammalian fibroblasts. Fyn and Yes, the other members of the Src family present in fibroblasts, were also found to be activated at mitosis. In cells microinjected with a neutralizing antibody specific for Src, Fyn, and Yes (anti-cst.1) during G2, cell division was inhibited by 75 percent. The block occurred before nuclear envelope breakdown. Antibodies specific for phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase alpha and phospholipase C-gamma 1 had no effect. Microinjection of the Src homology 2 (SH2) domain of Fyn was also inhibitory. Functional redundancy between members of the Src family was observed; a Src-specific antibody had no effect in NIH 3T3 cells but inhibited cell division in fibroblasts in which the only functional Src family kinase was Src itself. Thus, Src family kinases and proteins associating with their SH2 domains are required for entry into mitosis.

Targeting the tyrosine kinase activity of Bcr-Abl is an attractive therapeutic strategy in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and in Bcr-Abl-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Whereas imatinib, a selective inhibitor of Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase, is now used in frontline therapy for CML, secondgeneration inhibitors of Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase such as nilotinib or dasatinib have been developed for the treatment of imatinib-resistant or imatinib-intolerant disease. In the current study, we generated nilotinib-resistant cell lines and investigated their mechanism of resistance. Overexpression of BCR-ABL and multidrug resistance gene (MDR-1) were found among the investigated mechanisms. We showed that nilotinib is a substrate of the multidrug resistance gene product, P-glycoprotein, using verapamil or PSC833 to block binding. Up-regulated expression of p53/56 Lyn kinase, both at the mRNA and protein level, was found in one of the resistant cell lines and Lyn silencing by small interfering RNA restored sensitivity to nilotinib. Moreover, failure of nilotinib treatment was accompanied by an increase of Lyn mRNA expression in patients with resistant CML. Two Src kinase inhibitors (PP1 and PP2) partially removed resistance but did not significantly inhibit Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase activity. In contrast, dasatinib, a dual Bcr-Abl and Src kinase inhibitor, inhibited the phosphorylation of both BCR-ABL and Lyn, and induced apoptosis of the Bcr-Abl cell line overexpressing p53/56 Lyn. Such mechanisms of resistance are close to those observed in imatinib-resistant cell lines and emphasize the critical role of Lyn in nilotinib resistance. [Cancer Res 2008;68(23):9809-16]

The mechanism by which the ubiquitously expressed Src family kinases regulate mitogenesis is not well understood. Here we report that cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase c‐Abl is an important effector of c‐Src for PDGF‐ and serum‐induced DNA synthesis. Inactivation of cytoplasmic c‐Abl by the kinase‐ inactive Abl‐PP‐K− (AblP242E/P249E/K290M) or by microinjection of Abl neutralizing antibodies inhibited mitogenesis. The kinase‐inactive SrcK295M induced a G1 block that was overcome by the constitutively active Abl‐PP (AblP242E/P249E). Conversely, the inhibitory effect of Abl‐PP‐K− was not compensated by Src. c‐Src‐induced c‐Abl activation involves phosphorylation of Y245 and Y412, two residues required for c‐Abl mitogenic function. Finally, we found that p53 inactivation and c‐myc expression, two cell cycle events regulated by Src during mitogenesis, also implied c‐Abl: c‐Abl function was dispensable in cells deficient in active p53 and inhibition of c‐Abl reduced mitogen‐induced c‐myc expression. These data identify a novel function of cytoplasmic c‐Abl in the signalling pathways regulating growth factor‐induced c‐myc expression and we propose the existence of a tyro sine kinase signalling cascade (PDGFR/c‐Src/c‐Abl) important for mitogenesis.

The nonreceptor tyrosine kinase Src is frequently overexpressed and/or activated in human colorectal carcinoma (CRC), and its increased activity has been associated with a poor clinical outcome. Src has been implicated in growth and invasion of these cancer cells by still not well-known mechanisms. Here, we addressed Src oncogenic signaling using quantitative phosphoproteomics. Src overexpression increased growth and invasiveness of metastatic SW620 CRC cells. Stable isotope labeling with amino acids in cell culture in combination with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry allowed the identification of 136 proteins which exhibited a significant increase in and/or association with tyrosine phosphorylation upon Src expression. These mainly include signaling, cytoskeleton, and vesicular-associated proteins. Interestingly, Src also phosphorylated a cluster of tyrosine kinases, i.e., the receptors Met and EphA2, the cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase Fak, and pseudo-tyrosine kinase SgK223, which were required for its invasive activity. Similar results were obtained with metastatic Colo205 CRC cells that exhibit high endogenous Src activity. We concluded that Src uses a tyrosine kinases network to promote its invasive activity in CRC and this implicates a reverse signaling via tyrosine kinase receptors. Targeting these tyrosine kinases may be of significant therapeutic value in this cancer. [Cancer Res 2009;69(6):2279-86]

c-Abl is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase which is localized both in the nucleus and cytoplasm, and is involved in the regulation of cell growth, survival and morphogenesis. Although c-Abl nuclear function has been extensively studied, recent data also indicate an important role in cytoplasmic signalling through mitogenic and adhesive receptors. Here, we review the mechanisms by which growth factors promote cytoplasmic c-Abl activation and signalling and its function in the induction of DNA synthesis, changes in cell morphology and receptor endocytosis. The importance of de-regulated c-Abl cytoplasmic signalling in solid tumours is also discussed.