Identification of a lysosomal pathway regulating degradation of the bone morphogenetic protein receptor type II

Pulmonary hypertension: chapters of innovation and tribulation

As can be seen by the mounting literature, there has been immense progress in the field of pulmonary hypertension (PH) over the last three decades, illustrated by several important milestones including improved understanding of disease pathogenesis, new classifications of disease, advances in screening and diagnostic techniques, and new rules for staging and follow-up, which have subsequently led to improvements in patient outcomes. The objectives of this manuscript are to not only highlight these very recent advances but also point out areas of deficiencies or gaps in our knowledge that may serve a focal point for future discussion and investigation.

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus-encoded microRNA miR-K12-11 attenuates transforming growth factor beta signaling through suppression of SMAD5

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) encodes 12 pre-microRNAs (pre-miRNAs). Current studies have shown that these miRNAs are involved in regulation of viral and host gene expression, implicating a role in the maintenance of viral latency and suppression of antiviral innate immunity. However, the functions of these miRNAs remain largely unknown. On the basis of the sequence homology between oncogenic miR-155 and KSHV-encoded miR-K12-11, we hypothesized that miR-K12-11 could attenuate transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) signaling, facilitating viral infection and tumorigenesis. In the present study, we demonstrated that ectopic expression of miR-K12-11 in Ramos, a TGF-β-sensitive cell line, downregulated TGF-β signaling and facilitated cell proliferation upon TGF-β treatment by directly targeting SMAD5, an important mediator in TGF-β signaling. In addition, the downregulation of SMAD5 by miR-K12-11 was further confirmed in a de novo KSHV infection system or latently infected KSHV-positive B-lymphoma cell lines. More importantly, repression of miR-K12-11 by a specific sponge inhibitor restored the expression of SMAD5 in both de novo-infected and latently infected cells. Finally, we found that restoration of SMAD5, in addition to the TGF-β type II receptor, which was epigenetically silenced by the latent viral protein latency-associated nuclear antigen, sensitized BC3 cells to the cytostatic effect of TGF-β signaling. Taken together, our findings highlight a novel mechanism in which miR-K12-11 downregulates TGF-β signaling and suggest that viral miRNAs and proteins may exert a dichotomy regulation in virus-induced oncogenesis by targeting the same signaling pathway.

What has the study of the K3 and K5 viral ubiquitin E3 ligases taught us about ubiquitin-mediated receptor regulation?

Cells communicate with each other and the outside world through surface receptors, which need to be tightly regulated to prevent both overstimulation and receptor desensitization. Understanding the processes involved in the homeostatic control of cell surface receptors is essential, but we are not alone in trying to regulate these receptors. Viruses, as the ultimate host pathogens, have co-evolved over millions of years and have both pirated and adapted host genes to enable viral pathogenesis. K3 and K5 (also known as MIR1 and MIR2) are viral ubiquitin E3 ligases from Kaposi's Sarcoma Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV) which decrease expression of a number of cell surface receptors and have been used to interrogate cellular processes and improve our understanding of ubiquitin-mediated receptor endocytosis and degradation. In this review, we summarize what has been learned from the study of these viral genes and emphasize their role in elucidating the complexity of ubiquitin in receptor regulation.