Silencing p110β prevents rapid depletion of nuclear pAkt

Presence of active AKT in the nucleus upon adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells

AKT is an essential player in the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signalling pathway. Although the mechanisms of its action are well understood at the plasma membrane, AKT can also be found in the nucleus. In adipocytes, this pathway is activated during the process of adipogenesis and solicits both plasma membrane and nuclear AKT activity. However, the endogenous presence of active AKT in the nucleus during adipogenesis has not been shown. Here, we show that the levels of active AKT phosphorylated at Ser-473 increase rapidly after the induction of differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells, both in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus, and tend to remain elevated over the course of differentiation. In conclusion, these results support the notion that nuclear AKT plays an important role in this process.

A role for microsomal glutathione transferase 1 in melanin biosynthesis and melanoma progression

Recent advancements in the treatment of melanoma are encouraging, but there remains a need to identify additional therapeutic targets. We identify a role for microsomal glutathione transferase 1 (MGST1) in biosynthetic pathways for melanin and as a determinant of tumor progression. Knockdown (KD) of MGST1 depleted midline-localized, pigmented melanocytes in zebrafish embryos, while in both mouse and human melanoma cells, loss of MGST1 resulted in a catalytically dependent, quantitative, and linear depigmentation, associated with diminished conversion of L-dopa to dopachrome (eumelanin precursor). Melanin, especially eumelanin, has antioxidant properties, and MGST1 KD melanoma cells are under higher oxidative stress, with increased reactive oxygen species, decreased antioxidant capacities, reduced energy metabolism and ATP production, and lower proliferation rates in 3D culture. In mice, when compared to nontarget control, Mgst1 KD B16 cells had less melanin, more active CD8+ T cell infiltration, slower growing tumors, and enhanced animal survival. Thus, MGST1 is an integral enzyme in melanin synthesis and its inhibition adversely influences tumor growth.

Glutathione S-Transferase P-Mediated Protein S-Glutathionylation of Resident Endoplasmic Reticulum Proteins Influences Sensitivity to Drug-Induced Unfolded Protein Response

AIMS

S-glutathionylation of cysteine residues, catalyzed by glutathione S-transferase Pi (GSTP), alters structure/function characteristics of certain targeted proteins. Our goal is to characterize how S-glutathionylation of proteins within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) impact cell sensitivity to ER-stress inducing drugs.

RESULTS

We identify GSTP to be an ER-resident protein where it demonstrates both chaperone and catalytic functions. Redox based proteomic analyses identified a cluster of proteins cooperatively involved in the regulation of ER stress (immunoglobulin heavy chain-binding protein [BiP], protein disulfide isomerase [PDI], calnexin, calreticulin, endoplasmin, sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺-ATPase [SERCA]) that individually co-immunoprecipitated with GSTP (implying protein complex formation) and were subject to reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced S-glutathionylation. S-glutathionylation of each of these six proteins was attenuated in cells (liver, embryo fibroblasts or bone marrow dendritic) from mice lacking GSTP (Gstp1/p2^-/-) compared to wild type (Gstp1/p2^+/+). Moreover, Gstp1/p2^-/- cells were significantly more sensitive to the cytotoxic effects of the ER-stress inducing drugs, thapsigargin (7-fold) and tunicamycin (2-fold).

INNOVATION

Within the family of GST isozymes, GSTP has been ascribed the broadest range of catalytic and chaperone functions. Now, for the first time, we identify it as an ER resident protein that catalyzes S-glutathionylation of critical ER proteins within this organelle. Of note, this can provide a nexus for linkage of redox based signaling and pathways that regulate the unfolded protein response (UPR). This has novel importance in determining how some drugs kill cancer cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Contextually, these results provide mechanistic evidence that GSTP can exert redox regulation in the oxidative ER environment and indicate that, within the ER, GSTP influences the cellular consequences of the UPR through S-glutathionylation of a series of key interrelated proteins. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 26, 247-261.

TDRG1 regulates chemosensitivity of seminoma TCam-2 cells to cisplatin via PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway and mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway

We previously identified TDRG1 (testis developmental related gene 1), a novel gene with exclusive expression in testis, promoted the proliferation and progression of cultured human seminoma cells through PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling. As increasing evidence reveal that aberrant activation of this signaling is involved in cisplatin resistance. Then, in this study, we further explored whether TDRG1 regulated the chemosensitivity of seminoma TCam-2 cells to cisplatin. Our researches showed TDRG1 could regulate the viability of TCam-2 cells following cisplatin treatment in vitro through control of both cell apoptosis and cell cycle. Mechanistically, we observed TDRG1 positively regulated the expression levels of the key elements in PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway including p-PI3K, p-Akt and p-mTOR and also affected the translocation of nuclear p-Akt in TCam-2 cells during cisplatin treatment. Meanwhile, the levels of Bad, cytochrome c, caspase-9 ratio (activated/total), caspase-3 ratio (activated/total) and cleaved-PARP were negatively modulated by TDRG1, which meant the involvement of mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway. Furthermore, we found the effect of TDRG1 knockdown or TDRG1 overexpression could be reversed by IGF-1, a PI3K signaling activator, or LY294002, a inhibitor of this pathway, respectively. Similar effects of TDRG1 on cisplatin chemosensitivity and associated molecular mechanism were also confirmed in vivo by employing xenograft assays. In addition, the positive correlation between TDRG1 and p-PI3K, or p-Akt, was found in tumor tissues from seminoma patients. In conclusion, we uncover that TDRG1 regulates chemosensitivity of TCam-2 cells to cisplatin through PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling and mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway both in vitro and in vivo.

Nuclear PI3K signaling in cell growth and tumorigenesis

The PI3K/Akt signaling pathway is a major driving force in a variety of cellular functions. Dysregulation of this pathway has been implicated in many human diseases including cancer. While the activity of the cytoplasmic PI3K/Akt pathway has been extensively studied, the functions of these molecules and their effector proteins within the nucleus are poorly understood. Harboring key cellular processes such as DNA replication and repair as well as nascent messenger RNA transcription, the nucleus provides a unique compartmental environment for protein–protein and protein–DNA/RNA interactions required for cell survival, growth, and proliferation. Here we summarize recent advances made toward elucidating the nuclear PI3K/Akt signaling cascade and its key components within the nucleus as they pertain to cell growth and tumorigenesis. This review covers the spatial and temporal localization of the major nuclear kinases having PI3K activities and the counteracting phosphatases as well as the role of nuclear PI3K/Akt signaling in mRNA processing and exportation, DNA replication and repair, ribosome biogenesis, cell survival, and tumorigenesis.

Purinergic signalling and cancer

Receptors for extracellular nucleotides are widely expressed by mammalian cells. They mediate a large array of responses ranging from growth stimulation to apoptosis, from chemotaxis to cell differentiation and from nociception to cytokine release, as well as neurotransmission. Pharma industry is involved in the development and clinical testing of drugs selectively targeting the different P1 nucleoside and P2 nucleotide receptor subtypes. As described in detail in the present review, P2 receptors are expressed by all tumours, in some cases to a very high level. Activation or inhibition of selected P2 receptor subtypes brings about cancer cell death or growth inhibition. The field has been largely neglected by current research in oncology, yet the evidence presented in this review, most of which is based on in vitro studies, although with a limited amount from in vivo experiments and human studies, warrants further efforts to explore the therapeutic potential of purinoceptor targeting in cancer.

Atorvastatin prevents ATP-driven invasiveness via P2X7 and EHBP1 signaling in PTEN-expressing prostate cancer cells

Epidemiological studies indicate that statins, cholesterol-lowering drugs, prevent aggressive prostate cancer and other types of cancer. Employing essentially non-prostate cell lines, we previously showed that statins rapidly downregulate nuclear levels of phosphorylated Akt via P2X7, a purinergic receptor recently implicated in invasive growth. Here, we present studies on phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN)-positive prostatic cells. We document an involvement of EH domain-binding protein 1 (EHBP1), previously associated with aggressive prostate cancer and insulin-stimulated trafficking and cell migration, in P2X7 signaling. We also show that EHBP1 is essential for an anti-invasive effect of atorvastatin. Furthermore, EHBP1 interacted with P-Rex1, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor previously implicated in invasive growth. Mevalonate did not prevent this anti-invasive effect of atorvastatin. These data indicate that atorvastatin modulates invasiveness via P2X7, EHBP1 and P-Rex1. Interestingly, the interaction between EHBP1 and P-Rex1 was not induced by extracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the endogenous P2X7 ligand, and statins counteracted invasiveness stimulated by extracellular ATP. In support of these experimental data, a population-based genetic analysis showed that a loss of function allele in the P2X7 gene (rs3751143) associated with non-aggressive cancer, and the common allele with aggressive cancer. Our data indicate a novel signaling pathway that inhibits invasiveness and that is druggable. Statins may reduce the risk of aggressive prostate cancer via P2X7 and by counteracting invasive effects of extracellular ATP.