NTPDASE4 gene products cooperate with the adenovirus E4orf4 protein through PP2A-dependent and -independent mechanisms and contribute to induction of cell death

The adenoviral E4orf4 protein: A multifunctional protein serving as a guide for treating cancer, a multifactorial disease

Viruses exploit several cellular pathways to support their replication, and many of these virus-targeted pathways are also important for cancer growth. Consequently, studying virus-host interactions offers valuable insights into tumorigenesis and can suggest the development of novel anti-cancer therapies, with oncolytic viruses being one well-known example. The adenovirus E4orf4 protein, which disrupts several host regulatory pathways to facilitate viral infection, also functions as a potent anti-cancer agent when expressed independently. E4orf4 can selectively kill a wide range of cancer cell lines while sparing non-cancerous cells. Moreover, it effectively eliminated cancer in an in vivo Drosophila model without causing significant harm to normal tissues. In this study we provide evidence that an E4orf4-mimicking drug cocktail, comprising sublethal doses of four FDA-approved drugs targeting the pathways disrupted by E4orf4, significantly enhanced cancer cell death in many cancer cell types compared with individual drugs or less inclusive drug combinations. The quadruple drug cocktail was not toxic in non-cancerous cells. These findings provide a proof-of-principle for the potential application of virus-host interaction studies to design an effective E4orf4-based cancer therapy. Further investigation of E4orf4 interactions with the host cell will likely improve this E4orf4-based therapy by adding drugs that disrupt additional pathways. Crucially, the E4orf4-based approach offers a strategic advantage by avoiding the time-consuming development of novel drugs. Instead, it leverages existing drugs, including those that might be too toxic for use as monotherapies, by employing them at sublethal concentrations in combination. Thus, it provides a feasible and efficient method for advancing cancer therapy.

An Interaction with PARP-1 and Inhibition of Parylation Contribute to Attenuation of DNA Damage Signaling by the Adenovirus E4orf4 Protein

The adenovirus (Ad) E4orf4 protein was reported to contribute to inhibition of ATM- and ATR-regulated DNA damage signaling during Ad infection and following treatment with DNA-damaging drugs. Inhibition of these pathways improved Ad replication, and when expressed alone, E4orf4 sensitized transformed cells to drug-induced toxicity. However, the mechanisms utilized were not identified. Here, we show that E4orf4 associates with the DNA damage sensor poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1) and that the association requires PARP activity. During Ad infection, PARP is activated, but its activity is not required for recruitment of either E4orf4 or PARP-1 to virus replication centers, suggesting that their association occurs following recruitment. Inhibition of PARP-1 assists E4orf4 in reducing DNA damage signaling during infection, and E4orf4 attenuates virus- and DNA damage-induced parylation. Furthermore, E4orf4 reduces PARP-1 phosphorylation on serine residues, which likely contributes to PARP-1 inhibition as phosphorylation of this enzyme was reported to enhance its activity. PARP-1 inhibition is important to Ad infection since treatment with a PARP inhibitor enhances replication efficiency. When E4orf4 is expressed alone, it associates with poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR) chains and is recruited to DNA damage sites in a PARP-1-dependent manner. This recruitment is required for inhibition of drug-induced ATR signaling by E4orf4 and for E4orf4-induced cancer cell death. Thus, the results presented here demonstrate a novel mechanism by which E4orf4 targets and inhibits DNA damage signaling through an association with PARP-1 for the benefit of the virus and impacting E4orf4-induced cancer cell death.IMPORTANCE Replication intermediates and ends of viral DNA genomes can be recognized by the cellular DNA damage response (DDR) network as DNA damage whose repair may lead to inhibition of virus replication. Therefore, many viruses evolved mechanisms to inhibit the DDR network. We have previously shown that the adenovirus (Ad) E4orf4 protein inhibits DDR signaling, but the mechanisms were not identified. Here, we describe an association of E4orf4 with the DNA damage sensor poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1). E4orf4 reduces phosphorylation of this enzyme and inhibits its activity. PARP-1 inhibition assists E4orf4 in reducing Ad-induced DDR signaling and improves the efficiency of virus replication. Furthermore, the ability of E4orf4, when expressed alone, to accumulate at DNA damage sites and to kill cancer cells is attenuated by chemical inhibition of PARP-1. Our results indicate that the E4orf4-PARP-1 interaction has an important role in Ad replication and in promotion of E4orf4-induced cancer-selective cell death.

Biphasic Functional Interaction between the Adenovirus E4orf4 Protein and DNA-PK

The adenovirus (Ad) E4orf4 protein contributes to virus-induced inhibition of the DNA damage response (DDR) by reducing ATM and ATR signaling. Consequently, E4orf4 inhibits DNA repair and sensitizes transformed cells to killing by DNA-damaging drugs. Inhibition of ATM and ATR signaling contributes to the efficiency of virus replication and may provide one explanation for the cancer selectivity of cell death induced by the expression of E4orf4 alone. In this report, we investigate a direct interaction of E4orf4 with the DDR. We show that E4orf4 physically associates with the DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK), and we demonstrate a biphasic functional interaction between these proteins, wherein DNA-PK is required for ATM and ATR inhibition by E4orf4 earlier during infection but is inhibited by E4orf4 as infection progresses. This biphasic process is accompanied by initial augmentation and a later inhibition of DNA-PK autophosphorylation as well as by colocalization of DNA-PK with early Ad replication centers and distancing of DNA-PK from late replication centers. Moreover, inhibition of DNA-PK improves Ad replication more effectively when a DNA-PK inhibitor is added later rather than earlier during infection. When expressed alone, E4orf4 is recruited to DNA damage sites in a DNA-PK-dependent manner. DNA-PK inhibition reduces the ability of E4orf4 to induce cancer cell death, likely because E4orf4 is prevented from arriving at the damage sites and from inhibiting the DDR. Our results support an important role for the E4orf4-DNA-PK interaction in Ad replication and in facilitation of E4orf4-induced cancer-selective cell death.IMPORTANCE Several DNA viruses evolved mechanisms to inhibit the cellular DNA damage response (DDR), which acts as an antiviral defense system. We present a novel mechanism by which the adenovirus (Ad) E4orf4 protein inhibits the DDR. E4orf4 interacts with the DNA damage sensor DNA-PK in a biphasic manner. Early during infection, E4orf4 requires DNA-PK activity to inhibit various branches of the DDR, whereas it later inhibits DNA-PK itself. Furthermore, although both E4orf4 and DNA-PK are recruited to virus replication centers (RCs), DNA-PK is later distanced from late-phase RCs. Delayed DNA-PK inhibition greatly contributes to Ad replication efficiency. When E4orf4 is expressed alone, it is recruited to DNA damage sites. Inhibition of DNA-PK prevents both recruitment and the previously reported ability of E4orf4 to kill cancer cells. Our results support an important role for the E4orf4-DNA-PK interaction in Ad replication and in facilitation of E4orf4-induced cancer-selective cell death.

The Human Adenovirus Type 5 E4orf4 Protein Targets Two Phosphatase Regulators of the Hippo Signaling Pathway

When expressed alone at high levels, the human adenovirus E4orf4 protein exhibits tumor cell-specific p53-independent toxicity. A major E4orf4 target is the B55 class of PP2A regulatory subunits, and we have shown recently that binding of E4orf4 inhibits PP2A(B55) phosphatase activity in a dose-dependent fashion by preventing access of substrates (M. Z. Mui et al., PLoS Pathog 9:e1003742, 2013, http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1003742). While interaction with B55 subunits is essential for toxicity, E4orf4 mutants exist that, despite binding B55 at high levels, are defective in cell killing, suggesting that other essential targets exist. In an attempt to identify additional targets, we undertook a proteomics approach to characterize E4orf4-interacting proteins. Our findings indicated that, in addition to PP2A(B55) subunits, ASPP-PP1 complex subunits were found among the major E4orf4-binding species. Both the PP2A and ASPP-PP1 phosphatases are known to positively regulate effectors of the Hippo signaling pathway, which controls the expression of cell growth/survival genes by dephosphorylating the YAP transcriptional coactivator. We find here that expression of E4orf4 results in hyperphosphorylation of YAP, suggesting that Hippo signaling is affected by E4orf4 interactions with PP2A(B55) and/or ASPP-PP1 phosphatases. Furthermore, knockdown of YAP1 expression was seen to enhance E4orf4 killing, again consistent with a link between E4orf4 toxicity and inhibition of the Hippo pathway. This effect may in fact contribute to the cancer cell specificity of E4orf4 toxicity, as many human cancer cells rely heavily on the Hippo pathway for their enhanced proliferation.

IMPORTANCE

The human adenovirus E4orf4 protein has been known for some time to induce tumor cell-specific death when expressed at high levels; thus, knowledge of its mode of action could be of importance for development of new cancer therapies. Although the B55 form of the phosphatase PP2A has long been known as an essential E4orf4 target, genetic analyses indicated that others must exist. To identify additional E4orf4 targets, we performed, for the first time, a large-scale affinity purification/mass spectrometry analysis of E4orf4 binding partners. Several additional candidates were detected, including key regulators of the Hippo signaling pathway, which enhances cell viability in many cancers, and results of preliminary studies suggested a link between inhibition of Hippo signaling and E4orf4 toxicity.

Mechanisms of cancer cell killing by the adenovirus E4orf4 protein

During adenovirus (Ad) replication the Ad E4orf4 protein regulates progression from the early to the late phase of infection. However, when E4orf4 is expressed alone outside the context of the virus it induces a non-canonical mode of programmed cell death, which feeds into known cell death pathways such as apoptosis or necrosis, depending on the cell line tested. E4orf4-induced cell death has many interesting and unique features including a higher susceptibility of cancer cells to E4orf4-induced cell killing compared with normal cells, caspase-independence, a high degree of evolutionary conservation of the signaling pathways, a link to perturbations of the cell cycle, and involvement of two distinct cell death programs, in the nucleus and in the cytoplasm. Several E4orf4-interacting proteins including its major partners, protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) and Src family kinases, contribute to induction of cell death. The various features of E4orf4-induced cell killing as well as studies to decipher the underlying mechanisms are described here. Many explanations for the cancer specificity of E4orf4-induced cell death have been proposed, but a full understanding of the reasons for the different susceptibility of cancer and normal cells to killing by E4orf4 will require a more detailed analysis of the complex E4orf4 signaling network. An improved understanding of the mechanisms involved in this unique mode of programmed cell death may aid in design of novel E4orf4-based cancer therapeutics.

Viral genes as oncolytic agents for cancer therapy

Many viruses have the ability to modulate the apoptosis, and to accomplish it; viruses encode proteins which specifically interact with the cellular signaling pathways. While some viruses encode proteins, which inhibit the apoptosis or death of the infected cells, there are viruses whose encoded proteins can kill the infected cells by multiple mechanisms, including apoptosis. A particular class of these viruses has specific gene(s) in their genomes which, upon ectopic expression, can kill the tumor cells selectively without affecting the normal cells. These genes and their encoded products have demonstrated great potential to be developed as novel anticancer therapeutic agents which can specifically target and kill the cancer cells leaving the normal cells unharmed. In this review, we will discuss about the viral genes having specific cancer cell killing properties, what is known about their functioning, signaling pathways and their therapeutic applications as anticancer agents.

Induction of cancer-specific cell death by the adenovirus E4orf4 protein

The adenovirus E4orf4 protein is a multifunctional viral regulator that contributes to temporal regulation of the progression of viral infection. When expressed alone, outside the context of the virus, E4orf4 induces p53-independent cell-death in transformed cells. Oncogenic transformation of primary cells in tissue culture sensitizes them to cell killing by E4orf4, indicating that E4orf4 research may have implications for cancer therapy. It has also been reported that E4orf4 induces a caspase-independent, non-classical apoptotic pathway, which maintains crosstalk with classical caspase-dependent pathways. Furthermore, several E4orf4 activities in the nucleus and in the cytoplasm and various protein partners contribute to cell killing by this viral protein. In the following chapter I summarize the current knowledge of the unique mode of E4orf4-induced cell death and its underlying mechanisms. Although several explanations for the cancer-specificity of E4orf4-induced toxicity have been proposed, a better grasp of the mechanisms responsible for E4orf4-induced cell death is required to elucidate the differential sensitivity of normal and cancer cells to E4orf4.