Extracellular matrix enhances heregulin-dependent BRCA1 phosphorylation and suppresses BRCA1 expression through its C terminus

Microenvironmental regulation of BRCA1 gene expression by c-Jun and Fra2 in premalignant human ovarian surface epithelial cells

Reduced BRCA1 gene expression is common in the sporadic form of ovarian carcinoma. The spread of this highly lethal cancer often begins when tumor cell clusters are shed into the fluid of the abdominopelvic cavity such that they can float freely before seeding distant sites on the peritoneal walls and organs. Thus, the microenvironment that tumor cells find themselves in changes dramatically during these early shedding and floating stages of transperitoneal metastasis. To mimic this microenvironmental change in vitro, we released premalignant human ovarian surface epithelial cells from the substratum and forced them to cluster in suspension. Under these conditions, steady state levels of BRCA1 mRNA and protein fell significantly and the transcriptional activation state of the BRCA1 promoter was suppressed. Analysis of the promoter indicated that the previously identified "CRE" element located within the "positive regulatory region" (PRR) contributed to this suppression. More specifically, we show that the suppression was mediated, at least in part, by a suspension culture-driven decrease in the levels of two members of the AP1 transcription factor complex, c-Jun and Fra2, that bind to the CRE element. Therefore, a microenvironmental change that is manifested during the initial stages of ovarian carcinoma dissemination may, potentially, help suppress BRCA1 expression in sporadic tumors and thus promote their progression.

Akt: a double-edged sword in cell proliferation and genome stability

The Akt family of serine/threonine protein kinases are key regulators of multiple aspects of cell behaviour, including proliferation, survival, metabolism, and tumorigenesis. Growth-factor-activated Akt signalling promotes progression through normal, unperturbed cell cycles by acting on diverse downstream factors involved in controlling the G1/S and G2/M transitions. Remarkably, several recent studies have also implicated Akt in modulating DNA damage responses and genome stability. High Akt activity can suppress ATR/Chk1 signalling and homologous recombination repair (HRR) via direct phosphorylation of Chk1 or TopBP1 or, indirectly, by inhibiting recruitment of double-strand break (DSB) resection factors, such as RPA, Brca1, and Rad51, to sites of damage. Loss of checkpoint and/or HRR proficiency is therefore a potential cause of genomic instability in tumor cells with high Akt. Conversely, Akt is activated by DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in a DNA-PK- or ATM/ATR-dependent manner and in some circumstances can contribute to radioresistance by stimulating DNA repair by nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ). Akt therefore modifies both the response to and repair of genotoxic damage in complex ways that are likely to have important consequences for the therapy of tumors with deregulation of the PI3K-Akt-PTEN pathway.

Modified polyelectrolyte complex fibrous scaffold as a matrix for 3D cell culture

The paradigm of scaffold tissue engineering relies on the provision of an appropriate environment for cell growth, which includes both structural support and the presentation of cellular signals. In terms of biosignal presentation, fibrous scaffolds by interfacial polyelectrolyte complexation (IPC) offer a clear advantage over other scaffold types as IPC scaffolds are formed using an aqueous-based, room-temperature process compatible with the incorporation of biological molecules. This paper establishes two primary methods for the chemical and biochemical modification of these scaffolds: (i) physical entrapment of the bioactive component, and (ii) covalent binding of the bioactive component. For the first method, extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, collagen, fibronectin and laminin were drawn into the IPC fiber. For the second method, the cell adhesion peptide, RGD, was chemically conjugated to a thiol-active maleimidylated form of the scaffold. Immobilization of the bioactive components was characterized by confocal fluorescence microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and BCA protein assay. The ECM proteins were distributed throughout the bulk and surface of the fiber. The ratio of covalently bound to physisorbed RGD was approximately 2:3. The performance of the various scaffolds as a matrix to maintain the differentiated function of primary hepatocytes showed that albumin levels in the supernatant were in the order of RGD-modified scaffold>collagen Type I-modified scaffold>fibronectin- or laminin-modified scaffold>unmodified scaffold>plate, while no clear trend in urea production could be discerned. Thus, IPC scaffolds offered a promising platform for the presentation of signals to cells, in this case, to influence their differentiated function.

HOXA9 regulates BRCA1 expression to modulate human breast tumor phenotype

Breast cancer 1, early onset (BRCA1) expression is often reduced in sporadic breast tumors, even in the absence of BRCA1 genetic modifications, but the molecular basis for this is unknown. In this study, we identified homeobox A9 (HOXA9) as a gene frequently downregulated in human breast cancers and tumor cell lines and noted that reduced HOXA9 transcript levels associated with tumor aggression, metastasis, and patient mortality. Experiments revealed that loss of HOXA9 promoted mammary epithelial cell growth and survival and perturbed tissue morphogenesis. Restoring HOXA9 expression repressed growth and survival and inhibited the malignant phenotype of breast cancer cells in culture and in a xenograft mouse model. Molecular studies showed that HOXA9 restricted breast tumor behavior by directly modulating the expression of BRCA1. Indeed, ectopic expression of wild-type BRCA1 phenocopied the tumor suppressor function of HOXA9, and reducing BRCA1 levels or function inhibited the antitumor activity of HOXA9. Consistently, HOXA9 expression correlated with BRCA1 in clinical specimens and with tumor aggression in patients lacking estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor expression in their breast tissue. These findings indicate that HOXA9 restricts breast tumor aggression by modulating expression of the tumor suppressor gene BRCA1, which we believe provides an explanation for the loss of BRCA1 expression in sporadic breast tumors in the absence of BRCA1 genetic modifications.

AKT1 represses gene conversion induced by different genotoxic stresses and induces supernumerary centrosomes and aneuploidy in hamster ovary cells

The oncogenic kinase AKT1 is frequently overexpressed or activated in sporadic breast and ovarian cancers. In human breast tumors, we have previously shown that AKT1 represses homologous recombination (HR) induced by one double-strand break (DSB). To further analyze the impact of AKT1 on HR, we ectopically expressed wild-type or mutant forms of AKT1 in a hamster ovary cell line containing an intrachromosomal substrate for monitoring HR. In this cell line, AKT1 repressed HR induced by different genotoxic stresses including ionizing radiation, UV-C and one single DSB introduced into the intrachromosomal substrate. Consistently, AKT1 disrupted RAD51 foci formation, showing that AKT1 specifically affects gene conversion. Concomitantly, AKT1 represses both BRCA1 foci formation and HR stimulation resulting from BRCA1 overexpression, showing that AKT1 affects BRCA1-mediated HR functions, also in another species (hamster) and in another type of cell tissue (ovary cells). Finally, consistent with the HR defects, active AKT1 expression induces supernumerary centrosomes and aneuploidy. In addition to its impact on cell proliferation and apoptosis, the present data propose a novel oncogenic function for AKT1, by producing genomic instability as a consequence of HR repression.

Negative Regulation of AKT Activation by BRCA1

The breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) plays a key role in mammary tumorigenesis. However, the reasons why silencing the Brca1 gene leads to tumorigenesis are not clearly understood. We report here that BRCA1 deficiency activates the AKT oncogenic pathway, one of the most common alterations associated with human malignancy. Mutation of Brca1 gene increases the phosphorylation and the kinase activity of AKT. The BRCA1-BRCT domains bind to phosphorylated AKT (pAKT) and lead to its ubiquitination toward protein degradation. BRCA1 mutant cells lacking the BRCT repeats accumulate nuclear pAKT and consequently inactivate the transcription functions of FOXO3a, a main nuclear target of pAKT. Our results show that BRCA1 is a negative regulator of the AKT pathway and imply the significance of the BRCA1/AKT pathway in tumorigenesis.

Design logic of a cannabinoid receptor signaling network that triggers neurite outgrowth

Cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R) regulates neuronal differentiation. To understand the logic underlying decision-making in the signaling network controlling CB1R-induced neurite outgrowth, we profiled the activation of several hundred transcription factors after cell stimulation. We assembled an in silico signaling network by connecting CB1R to 23 activated transcription factors. Statistical analyses of this network predicted a role for the breast cancer 1 protein BRCA1 in neuronal differentiation and a new pathway from CB1R through phosphoinositol 3-kinase to the transcription factor paired box 6 (PAX6). Both predictions were experimentally confirmed. Results of transcription factor activation experiments that used pharmacological inhibitors of kinases revealed a network organization of partial OR gates regulating kinases stacked above AND gates that control transcription factors, which together allow for distributed decision-making in CB1R-induced neurite outgrowth.

Rho GTPases in alveolar macrophage phagocytosis

Alveolar macrophages are "professional phagocytes" and critical effector cells that protect the lungs from a broad array of microbes that can cause severe respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia. The molecular mechanisms that mediate microbial phagocytosis in alveolar macrophages are not fully known, and the specific role of small Rho GTPases has not been established. Most studies of Rho GTPase and phagocytosis focus on cell lines and transfected cells, and results may not accurately represent mechanisms operant in the lungs of humans. The use of clinically relevant primary human lung macrophages to examine phagocytosis in the context of host defense function may provide data that translate more readily to human conditions in health and disease. This chapter provides a description of methods and techniques for isolating, culturing, and assaying human alveolar macrophages for studies of small Rho GTPases and phagocytosis in the context of host defense. Data support the concept that different macrophage phagocytic receptors may exhibit distinct molecular mechanisms of small Rho GTPase activation that mediate phagocytosis.

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt signaling enhances nuclear localization and transcriptional activity of BRCA1

Signaling pathways involved in regulating nuclear-cytoplasmic distribution of BRCA1 have not been previously reported. Here, we provide evidence that heregulin beta1-induced activation of the Akt pathway increases the nuclear content of BRCA1. First, treatment of T47D breast cancer cells with heregulin beta1 results in a two-fold increase in nuclear BRCA1 as assessed by FACS analysis, immunoblotting and immunofluorescence. This heregulin-induced increase in nuclear BRCA1 is blocked by siRNA-mediated down-regulation of Akt. Second, mutation of threonine 509 in BRCA1, the site of Akt phosphorylation, to an alanine, attenuates the ability of heregulin to induce BRCA1 nuclear accumulation. These data suggest that Akt-catalyzed phosphorylation of BRCA1 is required for the heregulin-regulated nuclear concentration of BRCA1. Because most functions ascribed to BRCA1 occur within the nucleus, we postulated that phosphorylation-dependent nuclear accumulation of BRCA1 would result in enhanced nuclear activity, specifically transcriptional activity, of BRCA1. This postulate is affirmed by our observation that the ability of BRCA1 to transactivate GADD45 promoter constructs was enhanced in T47D cells treated with heregulin beta1. Furthermore, the heterologous expression of BRCA1 in HCC1937 human breast cancer cells, which have constitutively active Akt, also induces GADD45 promoter activity, whereas the expression of BRCA1 in which threonine 509 has been mutated to an alanine is able to only minimally induce promoter activity. These findings implicate Akt in upstream events leading to BRCA1 nuclear localization and function.

Human biliverdin reductase, a previously unknown activator of protein kinase C betaII

Human biliverdin reductase (hBVR), a dual specificity kinase (Ser/Thr/Tyr) is, as protein kinase C (PKC) betaII, activated by insulin and free radicals (Miralem, T., Hu, Z., Torno, M. D., Lelli, K. M., and Maines, M. D. (2005) J. Biol. Chem. 280, 17084-17092; Lerner-Marmarosh, N., Shen, J., Torno, M. D., Kravets, A., Hu, Z., and Maines, M. D. (2005) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 102, 7109-7114). Here, by using 293A cells co-transfected with pcDNA3-hBVR and PKC betaII plasmids, we report the co-immunoprecipitation of the proteins and co-purification in the glutathione S-transferase (GST) pulldown assay. hBVR and PKC betaII, but not the reductase and PKC zeta, transphosphorylated in assay systems supportive of activity of only one of the kinases. PKC betaII K371R mutant protein ("kinase-dead") was also a substrate for hBVR. The reductase increased the Vmax but not the apparent Km values of PKC betaII for myelin basic protein; activation was independent of phospholipids and extended to the phosphorylation of S2, a PKC-specific substrate. The increase in substrate phosphorylation was blocked by specific inhibitors of conventional PKCs and attenuated by sihBVR. The effect of the latter could be rescued by subsequent overexpression of hBVR. To a large extent, the activation was a function of the hBVR N-terminal chain of valines and intact ATP-binding site and the cysteine-rich C-terminal segment. The cobalt protoporphyrin-activated hBVR phosphorylated a threonine in a peptide corresponding to the Thr500 in the human PKC betaII activation loop. Neither serine nor threonine residues in peptides corresponding to other phosphorylation sites of the PKC betaII nor PKC zeta activation loop-derived peptides were substrates. The phosphorylation of Thr500 was confirmed by immunoblotting of hBVR.PKC betaII immunocomplex. The potential biological relevance of the hBVR activation of PKC betaII was suggested by the finding that in cells transfected with the PKC betaII, hBVR augmented phorbol myristate acetate-mediated c-fos expression, and infection with sihBVR attenuated the response. Also, in cells overexpressing hBVR and PKC betaII, as well as in untransfected cells, upon treatment with phorbol myristate acetate, the PKC translocated to the plasma membrane and co-localized with hBVR. hBVR activation of PKC betaII underscores its potential function in propagation of signals relayed through PKCs.

Roles for neuregulins in human cancer

The human epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (HER) family of receptor tyrosine kinases has frequently been implicated in cancer. Apart from overexpression or mutation of these receptors, also the aberrant autocrine or paracrine activation of HERs by EGF-like ligands may be important in cancer progression. Neuregulins constitute a family of EGF-like ligands that bind to HER3 or HER4, preferably forming heterodimers with the orphan receptor HER2. Mesenchymal neuregulin typically serves as a pro-survival and pro-differentiation signal for adjacent epithelia. Disruption of the balance between proliferation and differentiation, because of autocrine production by the epithelial cells, increased sensitivity to paracrine signals or disruption of the spatial organization, may lead to constitutive receptor activation, in the absence of receptor overexpression. Consequently, the analysis of ligand expression and/or activated receptors in tumor samples may broaden the group of patients that can benefit from targeted therapies.

BRCA1 regulation of transcription

BRCA1, a tumor suppressor gene on chromosome 17q21, was identified in 1994 based on its linkage to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndromes. The BRCA1 gene encodes a 220 kDa nuclear phosphoprotein. Studies aimed at elucidating the mechanisms of its tumor suppressor activity have revealed, in part, that BRCA1 participates in the DNA damage response and acts to maintain the integrity of the genome. This activity is generic and does not account for the propensity of BRCA1 mutation carriers to develop specific tumor types rather than a broad spectrum of cancers. In addition to genome maintenance, BRCA1 has been found to broadly regulate gene transcription, even though it is not itself a sequence-specific DNA-binding transcription factor. The ability of BRCA1 to function as a coregulator of transcription may underlie some of its tumor suppressor activity and may explain the tissue-specific nature of this activity. This review will focus on how BRCA1 selectively regulates transcription and how this regulatory function may relate to tumor suppression.

Down-regulation of BRCA2 expression by collagen type I promotes prostate cancer cell proliferation

BRCA2 is a tumor suppressor gene that when mutated confers an increased susceptibility to developing breast and prostate carcinoma. Besides its role in mediating DNA repair, new evidence suggests that BRCA2 may also play a role in suppressing cancer cell growth. Because altered interactions between neoplastic cells and the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM) play a pivotal role in unchecked cancer cell proliferation and metastatic progression, we hypothesized that the ECM may have an effect in BRCA2 expression. By using normal and prostate carcinoma cell lines, we demonstrated that although normal cells transiently increase BRCA2 protein levels when adhering to the ECM protein collagen type I (COL1), carcinoma cells exhibit a significant reduction in BRCA2 protein. This aberrant effect is independent from de novo protein synthesis and results from COL1-beta(1) integrin signaling through phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase leading to BRCA2 ubiquitination and degradation in the proteasome. BRCA2 protein depletion after cancer cell adhesion to COL1 or in small RNA interference assays triggers new DNA synthesis, a trophic effect that is abrogated by recombinant BRCA2 expression. Blocking or inhibiting beta(1) integrin, PI 3-kinase, or proteasome activity all have a negative effect on COL1-mediated DNA synthesis in cancer cells. In normal cells, the transient increase in BRCA2 expression is independent from beta(1) integrin or PI 3-kinase and has no effect in cell proliferation. In summary, these results unravel a novel mechanism whereby prostate carcinoma cell proliferation is enhanced by the down-regulation of BRCA2 expression when interacting with COL1, a major component of the ECM at osseous metastatic sites.

Small interference RNA-mediated gene silencing of human biliverdin reductase, but not that of heme oxygenase-1, attenuates arsenite-mediated induction of the oxygenase and increases apoptosis in 293A kidney cells

BVR reduces biliverdin, the HO-1 and HO-2 product, to bilirubin. Human biliverdin (BVR) is a serine/threonine kinase activated by free radicals. It is a leucine zipper (bZip) DNA-binding protein and a regulatory factor for 8/7-bp AP-1-regulated genes, including HO-1 and ATF-2/CREB. Presently, small interference (si) RNA constructs were used to investigate the role of human BVR in sodium arsenite (As)-mediated induction of HO-1 and in cytoprotection against apoptosis. Activation of BVR involved increased serine/threonine phosphorylation but not its protein or transcript levels. The peak activity at 1 h (4-5-fold) after treatment of 293A cells with 5 mum As preceded induction of HO-1 expression by 3 h. The following suggests BVR involvement in regulating oxidative stress response of HO-1: siBVR attenuated As-mediated increase in HO-1 expression; siBVR, but not siHO-1, inhibited As-dependent increased c-jun promoter activity; treatment of cells with As increased AP-1 binding of nuclear proteins; BVR was identified in the DNA-protein complex; and AP-1 binding of the in vitro translated BVR was phosphorylation-dependent and was attenuated by biliverdin. Most unexpectedly, cells transfected with siBVR, but not siHO-1, displayed a 4-fold increase in apoptotic cells when treated with 10 mum As as detected by flow cytometry. The presence of BVR small interference RNA augmented the effect of As on levels of cytochrome c, TRAIL, and DR-5 mRNA and cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. The findings describe the function of BVR in HO-1 oxidative response and, demonstrate, for the first time, not only that BVR advances the role of HO-1 in cytoprotection but also affords cytoprotection independent of heme degradation.

Cdc42 and RhoB activation are required for mannose receptor-mediated phagocytosis by human alveolar macrophages

Human alveolar macrophages (AMs) phagocytose Pneumocystis (Pc) organisms predominantly through mannose receptors, although the molecular mechanism mediating this opsonin-independent process is not known. In this study, using AMs from healthy individuals, Pc phagocytosis was associated with focal F-actin polymerization and Cdc42, Rac1, and Rho activation in a time-dependent manner. Phagocytosis was primarily dependent on Cdc42 and RhoB activation (as determined by AM transfection with Cdc42 and RhoB dominant-negative alleles) and mediated predominantly through mannose receptors (as determined by siRNA gene silencing of AM mannose receptors). Pc also promoted PAK-1 phosphorylation, which was also dependent on RhoGTPase activation. HIV infection of AMs (as a model for reduced mannose receptor expression and function) was associated with impaired F-actin polymerization, reduced Cdc42 and Rho activation, and markedly reduced PAK-1 phosphorylation in response to Pc organisms. In healthy AMs, Pc phagocytosis was partially dependent on PAK activation, but dependent on the Rho effector molecule ROCK. These data provide a molecular mechanism for AM mannose receptor-mediated phagocytosis of unopsonized Pc organisms that appears distinct from opsonin-dependent phagocytic receptors. Reduced AM mannose receptor-mediated Cdc42 and Rho activation in the context of HIV infection may represent a mechanism that contributes to the pathogenesis of opportunistic pneumonia.

An essential role for protein synthesis in oncogenic cellular transformation

The induction and maintenance of oncogenic transformation requires interference with the controls that regulate translation and transcription. The PI 3-kinase pathway, which shows gain of function in numerous and diverse human cancers, generates signals that have a positive effect on the initiation of protein synthesis. Here we review the components of the PI 3-kinase signaling pathway and the mRNA-binding protein YB-1, exploring their roles in protein synthesis and oncogenic cell transformation.

Biliverdin reductase, a novel regulator for induction of activating transcription factor-2 and heme oxygenase-1

Biliverdin IXalpha reductase (BVR) catalyzes reduction of the HO activity product, biliverdin, to bilirubin. hBVR is a serine/threonine kinase that contains a bZip domain. Presently, regulation of gene expression by hBVR was examined. 293A cells were infected with adenovirus-doxycycline (Ad-Dox)-inducible hBVR cDNA. High level expression of hBVR was determined at mRNA, protein, and activity levels 8 h after induction. Cell signal transduction microarray analysis of cells infected with expression or with the control Ad-inverted (INV)-hBVR vector identified ATF-2 among several up-regulated genes. ATF-2 is a bZip transcription factor for activation of cAMP response element (CRE) and a dimeric partner to c-jun in MAPK pathway that regulates the stress protein, HO-1, expression. Northern and Western blot analyses showed increases of approximately 10-fold in ATF-2 mRNA and protein at 16 and 24 h after Dox addition. Ad-INV-hBVR did not effect ATF-2 expression. In hBVR-infected cells, levels of HO-1 mRNA and protein were increased. In vitro translated hBVR and nuclear extract containing hBVR in gel mobility-shift assay bound to AP-1 sites in the ATF-2 promoter region and to an oligonucleotide containing the CRE site. Both bindings could be competed out by excess unlabeled probe; in the presence of hBVR antibody, they displayed shifted bands. Co-transfection of hBVR with ATF-2 or c-jun promoters caused a severalfold increase in luciferase activity. hBVR modulation of ATF-2 and HO-1 expression suggests it has a potential role in regulation of AP-1 and cAMP-regulated genes and a role in cell signaling. We propose that increased expression of the protein can be used to alter the gene expression profile in the cell.

JAK/STAT, Raf/MEK/ERK, PI3K/Akt and BCR-ABL in cell cycle progression and leukemogenesis

The roles of the JAK/STAT, Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/Akt signal transduction pathways and the BCR-ABL oncoprotein in leukemogenesis and their importance in the regulation of cell cycle progression and apoptosis are discussed in this review. These pathways have evolved regulatory proteins, which serve to limit their proliferative and antiapoptotic effects. Small molecular weight cell membrane-permeable drugs that target these pathways have been developed for leukemia therapy. One such example is imatinib mesylate, which targets the BCR-ABL kinase as well as a few structurally related kinases. This drug has proven to be effective in the treatment of CML patients. However, leukemic cells have evolved mechanisms to become resistant to this drug. A means to combat drug resistance is to target other prominent signaling components involved in the pathway or to inhibit BCR-ABL by other mechanisms. Treatment of imatinib-resistant leukemia cells with drugs that target Ras (farnysyl transferase inhibitors) or with the protein destabilizer geldanamycin has proven to be a means to inhibit the growth of resistant cells. This review will tie together three important signal transduction pathways involved in the regulation of hematopoietic cell growth and indicate how their expression is dysregulated by the BCR-ABL oncoprotein.