MEMO1, a new IRS1-interacting protein, induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition in mammary epithelial cells

The Novel Functions of High-Molecular-Mass Complexes Containing Insulin Receptor Substrates in Mediation and Modulation of Insulin-Like Activities: Emerging Concept of Diverse Functions by IRS-Associated Proteins

Insulin-like peptides, such as insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and insulin, induce a variety of bioactivities, such as growth, differentiation, survival, increased anabolism, and decreased catabolism in many cell types and in vivo. In general, IGFs or insulin bind to IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR) or insulin receptor (IR), activating the receptor tyrosine kinase. Insulin receptor substrates (IRSs) are known to be major substrates of receptor kinases, mediating IGF/insulin signals to direct bioactivities. Recently, we discovered that IRSs form high-molecular-mass complexes (referred to here as IRSomes) even without IGF/insulin stimulation. These complexes contain proteins (referred to here as IRSAPs; IRS-associated proteins), which modulate tyrosine phosphorylation of IRSs by receptor kinases, control IRS stability, and determine intracellular localization of IRSs. In addition, in these complexes, we found not only proteins that are involved in RNA metabolism but also RNAs themselves. Thus, IRSAPs possibly contribute to modulation of IGF/insulin bioactivities. Since it is established that disorder of modulation of insulin-like activities causes various age-related diseases including cancer, we could propose that the IRSome is an important target for treatment of these diseases.

Memo is a copper-dependent redox protein with an essential role in migration and metastasis

Memo is an evolutionarily conserved protein with a critical role in cell motility. We found that Memo was required for migration and invasion of breast cancer cells in vitro and spontaneous lung metastasis from breast cancer cell xenografts in vivo. Biochemical assays revealed that Memo is a copper-dependent redox enzyme that promoted a more oxidized intracellular milieu and stimulated the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cellular structures involved in migration. Memo was also required for the sustained production of the ROS O2- by NADPH (reduced form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) oxidase 1 (NOX1) in breast cancer cells. Memo abundance was increased in >40% of the primary breast tumors tested, was correlated with clinical parameters of aggressive disease, and was an independent prognostic factor of early distant metastasis.

Global transcriptome analysis of formalin-fixed prostate cancer specimens identifies biomarkers of disease recurrence

Prostate cancer remains the second leading cause of cancer death in American men and there is an unmet need for biomarkers to identify patients with aggressive disease. In an effort to identify biomarkers of recurrence, we performed global RNA sequencing on 106 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded prostatectomy samples from 100 patients at three independent sites, defining a 24-gene signature panel. The 24 genes in this panel function in cell-cycle progression, angiogenesis, hypoxia, apoptosis, PI3K signaling, steroid metabolism, translation, chromatin modification, and transcription. Sixteen genes have been associated with cancer, with five specifically associated with prostate cancer (BTG2, IGFBP3, SIRT1, MXI1, and FDPS). Validation was performed on an independent publicly available dataset of 140 patients, where the new signature panel outperformed markers published previously in terms of predicting biochemical recurrence. Our work also identified differences in gene expression between Gleason pattern 4 + 3 and 3 + 4 tumors, including several genes involved in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and developmental pathways. Overall, this study defines a novel biomarker panel that has the potential to improve the clinical management of prostate cancer.

Memo has a novel role in S1P signaling and is [corrected] crucial for vascular development

Memo is a conserved protein that was identified as an essential mediator of tumor cell motility induced by receptor tyrosine kinase activation. Here we show that Memo null mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) are impaired in PDGF-induced migration and this is due to a defect in sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) signaling. S1P is a bioactive phospholipid produced in response to multiple stimuli, which regulates many cellular processes. S1P is secreted to the extracellular milieu where it exerts its function by binding a family of G-protein coupled receptors (S1PRs), causing their activation in an autocrine or paracrine manner. The process, termed cell-autonomous S1PR signaling, plays a role in survival and migration. Indeed, PDGF uses cell-autonomous S1PR signaling to promote cell migration; we show here that this S1P pathway requires Memo. Using vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) with Memo knock-down we show that their survival in conditions of serum-starvation is impaired. Furthermore, Memo loss in HUVECs causes a reduction of junctional VE-cadherin and an increase in sprout formation. Each of these phenotypes is rescued by S1P or S1P agonist addition, showing that Memo also plays an important role in cell-autonomous S1PR signaling in endothelial cells. We also produced conventional and endothelial cell-specific conditional Memo knock-out mouse strains and show that Memo is essential for embryonic development. Starting at E13.5 embryos of both strains display bleeding and other vascular problems, some of the phenotypes that have been described in mouse strains lacking S1PRs. The essential role of Memo in embryonic vascular development may be due in part to alterations in S1P signaling. Taken together our results show that Memo has a novel role in the S1P pathway and that Memo is needed to promote cell-autonomous S1PR activation.

Insulin receptor substrate 1/2 (IRS1/2) regulates Wnt/β-catenin signaling through blocking autophagic degradation of dishevelled2

Wnt signaling plays a pivotal role in cell proliferation, tissue homeostasis, and tumorigenesis. Dishevelled (Dvl) is a central node of Wnt signaling. Insulin receptor substrates (IRSs), as a critical component of insulin signaling, are involved in cell proliferation, metabolism, and cancer development. In this study, we report that IRS1/2 promotes Wnt/β-catenin signaling by stabilizing Dvl2. We found that IRS1/2 interacts with Dvl2. Overexpression of IRS1/2 increased the protein level of Dvl2 and promoted canonical Wnt signaling, as evidenced by the increased T cell-specific factor 4 transcriptional activity and the up-regulation of expression of CYCLIN D1 and c-MYC, two Wnt target genes critical for cell growth, whereas depletion of IRS1/2 reduced the level of Dvl2 and attenuated Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Biochemical analyses revealed that IRS1/2 decreased Lys-63-linked ubiquitination of Dvl2 and stabilized Dvl2 protein via suppressing its autophagy-mediated degradation. We further revealed that IRS1/2 blocks autophagy-induced formation of the Dvl2-p62/SQSTM1 complex, resulting in disabled association of Dvl2 to autophagosomes. We demonstrated that IRS1/2 promoted the induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cell proliferation in response to Wnt stimulation, whereas depletion of Dvl2 impaired the IRS1/2-mediated EMT and cell growth. Our findings revealed that IRS1/2 promotes EMT and cell proliferation through stabilizing Dvl2.

The emerging role of insulin and insulin-like growth factor signaling in cancer stem cells

Cancer cells frequently exploit the IGF signaling, a fundamental pathway mediating development, cell growth, and survival. As a consequence, several components of the IGF signaling are deregulated in cancer and sustain cancer progression. However, specific targeting of IGF-IR in humans has resulted efficacious only in small subsets of cancers, making researches wondering whether IGF system targeting is still worth pursuing in the clinical setting. Although no definite answer is yet available, it has become increasingly clear that other components of the IGF signaling pathway, such as IR-A, may substitute for the lack of IGF-IR, and induce cancer resistance and/or clonal selection. Moreover, accumulating evidence now indicates that IGF signaling is a central player in the induction/maintenance of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cell stemness, two strictly related programs, which play a key role in metastatic spread and resistance to cancer treatments. Here we review the evidences indicating that IGF signaling enhances the expression of transcription factors implicated in the EMT program and has extensive cross-talk with specific pathways involved in cell pluripotency and stemness maintenance. In turn, EMT and cell stemness activate positive feed-back mechanisms causing up-regulation of various IGF signaling components. These findings may have novel translational implications.

The proteolytic YB-1 fragment interacts with DNA repair machinery and enhances survival during DNA damaging stress

The Y-box binding protein 1 (YB-1) is a DNA/RNA-binding nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein whose regulatory effect on many DNA and RNA-dependent events is determined by its localization in the cell. We have shown previously that YB-1 is cleaved by 20S proteasome between E219 and G220, and the truncated N-terminal YB-1 fragment accumulates in the nuclei of cells treated with DNA damaging drugs. We proposed that appearance of truncated YB-1 in the nucleus may predict multiple drug resistance. Here, we compared functional activities of the full-length and truncated YB-1 proteins and showed that the truncated form was more efficient in protecting cells against doxorubicin treatment. Both forms of YB-1 induced changes in expression of various genes without affecting those responsible for drug resistance. Interestingly, although YB-1 cleavage did not significantly affect its DNA binding properties, truncated YB-1 was detected in complexes with Mre11 and Rad50 under genotoxic stress conditions. We conclude that both full-length and truncated YB-1 are capable of protecting cells against DNA damaging agents, and the truncated form may have an additional function in DNA repair.