Ian J. Frew

Siah2 Regulates Stability of Prolyl-Hydroxylases, Controls HIF1α Abundance, and Modulates Physiological Responses to Hypoxia

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF1alpha) is a central regulator of the cellular response to hypoxia. Prolyl-hydroxylation of HIF1alpha by PHD enzymes is prerequisite for HIF1alpha degradation. Here, we demonstrate that the abundance of PHD1 and PHD3 are regulated via their targeting for proteasome-dependent degradation by the E3 ubiquitin ligases Siah1a/2, under hypoxia conditions. Siah2 null fibroblasts exhibit prolonged PHD3 half-life, resulting in lower levels of HIF1alpha expression during hypoxia. Significantly, hypoxia-induced HIF1alpha expression was completely inhibited in Siah1a/2 null cells, yet could be rescued upon inhibition of PHD3 by RNAi. Siah2 targeting of PHD3 for degradation increases upon exposure to even mild hypoxic conditions, which coincides with increased Siah2 transcription. Siah2 null mice subjected to hypoxia displayed an impaired hyperpneic respiratory response and reduced levels of hemoglobin. Thus, the control of PHD1/3 by Siah1a/2 constitutes another level of complexity in the regulation of HIF1alpha during hypoxia.

Combined mutation of Vhl and Trp53 causes renal cysts and tumours in mice

The combinations of genetic alterations that cooperate with von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) mutation to cause clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) remain poorly understood. We show that the TP53 tumour suppressor gene is mutated in approximately 9% of human ccRCCs. Combined deletion of Vhl and Trp53 in primary mouse embryo fibroblasts causes proliferative dysregulation and high rates of aneuploidy. Deletion of these genes in the epithelium of the kidney induces the formation of simple cysts, atypical cysts and neoplasms, and deletion in the epithelia of the genital urinary tract leads to dysplasia and tumour formation. Kidney cysts display a reduced frequency of primary cilia and atypical cysts and neoplasms exhibit a pro‐proliferative signature including activation of mTORC1 and high expression of Myc, mimicking several cellular and molecular alterations seen in human ccRCC and its precursor lesions. As the majority of ccRCC is associated with functional inactivation of VHL, our findings suggest that for a subset of ccRCC, loss of p53 function represents a critical event in tumour development.

pVHL and PTEN tumour suppressor proteins cooperatively suppress kidney cyst formation

In patients with von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) disease, renal cysts and clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) arise from renal tubular epithelial cells containing biallelic inactivation of the VHL tumour suppressor gene. However, it is presumed that formation of renal cysts and their conversion to ccRCC involve additional genetic changes at other loci. Here, we show that cystic lesions in the kidneys of patients with VHL disease also demonstrate activation of the phosphatidylinositol‐3‐kinase (PI3K) pathway. Strikingly, combined conditional inactivation of Vhlh and the Pten tumour suppressor gene, which normally antagonises PI3K signalling, in the mouse kidney, elicits cyst formation after short latency, whereas inactivation of either tumour suppressor gene alone failed to produce such a phenotype. Interestingly, cells lining these cysts frequently lack a primary cilium, a microtubule‐based cellular antenna important for suppression of uncontrolled kidney epithelial cell proliferation and cyst formation. Our results support a model in which the PTEN tumour suppressor protein cooperates with pVHL to suppress cyst development in the kidney.

A binding motif for Siah ubiquitin ligase

The Drosophila SINA (seven in absentia) protein and its mammalian orthologs (Siah, seven in absentia homolog) are RING domain proteins that function in E3 ubiquitin ligase complexes and facilitate ubiquitination and degradation of a wide range of cellular proteins, including β-catenin. Despite these diverse targets, the means by which SINA/Siah recognize substrates or binding proteins has remained unknown. Here we identify a peptide motif (RPVAxVxPxxR) that mediates the interaction of Siah protein with a range of protein partners. Sequence alignment and mutagenesis scanning revealed residues that are important to this interaction. This consensus sequence correctly predicted a high-affinity interaction with a peptide from the cytoskeletal protein plectin-1 (residues 95–117). The unusually high-affinity binding obtained with a 23-residue peptide (KDapp = 29 nM with SINA) suggests that it may serve as a useful dominant negative reagent for SINA/Siah proteins.

Stress-induced decrease in TRAF2 stability is mediated by Siah2

TRAF2 serves as a central regulator of the cellular response to stress and cytokines through the regulation of key stress‐signaling cascades. Here we demonstrate that wild‐type, but not RING mutant, Siah2 targets TRAF2 for ubiquitylation and degradation in vitro. Siah2 mediates equally efficient ubiquitylation of RING mutant TRAF2. In vivo, Siah2 primarily targets TRAF2 for degradation under stress conditions. Tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) and actinomycin D treatment results in accelerated TRAF2 degradation in wild‐type mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs), as compared with Siah2−/− cells. Similarly, TRAF2 half‐life is prolonged in Siah2−/− compared with wild‐type MEFs subjected to stress stimuli. Siah2 efficiently decreases TNF‐α‐dependent induction of JNK activity and transcriptional activation of NF‐κB. Apoptosis induced by TNF‐α and actinomycin D treatment is increased upon expression of Siah2, or attenuated upon expression of TRAF2 or RING mutant Siah2. Identifying Siah2 as a regulator of TRAF2 stability reveals its role in the regulation of TRAF2 signaling following exposure to stress.

The Ubiquitin Ligase Component Siah1a Is Required for Completion of Meiosis I in Male Mice

ABSTRACT The mammalian Siah genes encode highly conserved proteins containing a RING domain. As components of E3 ubiquitin ligase complexes, Siah proteins facilitate the ubiquitination and degradation of diverse protein partners including β-catenin, N-CoR, and DCC. We used gene targeting in mice to analyze the function of Siah1a during mammalian development and reveal novel roles in growth, viability, and fertility. Mutant animals have normal weights at term but are postnatally growth retarded, despite normal levels of pituitary growth hormone. Embryonic fibroblasts isolated from mutant animals grow normally. Most animals die before weaning, and few survive beyond 3 months. Serum gonadotropin levels are normal in Siah1a mutant mice; however, females are subfertile and males are sterile due to a block in spermatogenesis. Although spermatocytes in mutant mice display normal meiotic prophase and meiosis I spindle formation, they accumulate at metaphase to telophase of meiosis I and subsequently undergo apoptosis. The requirement of Siah1a for normal progression beyond metaphase I suggests that Siah1a may be part of a novel E3 complex acting late in the first meiotic division.

Generation and analysis of Siah2 mutant mice.

ABSTRACT Siah proteins function as E3 ubiquitin ligase enzymes to target the degradation of diverse protein substrates. To characterize the physiological roles of Siah2, we have generated and analyzed Siah2 mutant mice. In contrast to Siah1a knockout mice, which are growth retarded and exhibit defects in spermatogenesis, Siah2 mutant mice are fertile and largely phenotypically normal. While previous studies implicate Siah2 in the regulation of TRAF2, Vav1, OBF-1, and DCC, we find that a variety of responses mediated by these proteins are unaffected by loss of Siah2. However, we have identified an expansion of myeloid progenitor cells in the bone marrow of Siah2 mutant mice. Consistent with this, we show that Siah2 mutant bone marrow produces more osteoclasts in vitro than wild-type bone marrow. The observation that combined Siah2 and Siah1a mutation causes embryonic and neonatal lethality demonstrates that the highly homologous Siah proteins have partially overlapping functions in vivo.

A Clearer View of the Molecular Complexity of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

The von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor gene is mutated as an early event in almost all cases of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), the most frequent form of kidney cancer. In this review we discuss recent advances in understanding how dysregulation of the many hypoxia-inducible factor α-dependent and -independent functions of the VHL tumor suppressor protein (pVHL) can contribute to tumor initiation and progression. Recent evidence showing extensive inter- and intratumoral genetic diversity has given rise to the idea that ccRCC should actually be considered as a series of molecularly related, yet distinct, diseases defined by the pattern of combinatorial genetic alterations present within the cells of the tumor. We highlight the range of genetic and epigenetic alterations that recur in ccRCC and discuss the mechanisms through which these events appear to function cooperatively with a loss of pVHL function in tumorigenesis.

The VHL Tumor Suppressor: Riding Tandem with GSK3β in Primary Cilium Maintenance

Amongst other clinical manifestations, patients with the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) cancer syndrome are predisposed to develop kidney cysts, which are considered to be precursor lesions of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Recent evidence has highlighted an unexpected function of the VHL tumour suppressor protein (pVHL) in maintaining the structural integrity of the primary cilium, a microtubule-based cellular antenna important for suppression of uncontrolled proliferation of kidney epithelial cells and cyst formation. Intriguingly, this function of pVHL is directly linked to its capacity to regulate the microtubule cytoskeleton independent of its well-characterized role in the degradation of hypoxia inducible factor alpha (HIFα) subunits. However, loss of pVHL alone does not suffice for a cell to lose the primary cilium. Other pathways need to be additionally inactivated, including one involving glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3β). These new findings draw attention to a primary cilium-maintenance network as new territory for pVHL tumour suppressive activity and have implications for understanding the development of kidney pathology in the setting of VHL disease.

Combined Vhlh and Pten Mutation Causes Genital Tract Cystadenoma and Squamous Metaplasia

ABSTRACT Patients with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease develop tumors in a range of tissues, but existing mouse models of Vhlh mutation have failed to reproduce these lesions. Epididymal cystadenomas arise frequently in VHL patients, but VHL mutation alone is believed to be insufficient for tumor formation, implying a requirement for cooperating mutations in epididymal pathogenesis. Here we show that epididymal cystadenomas from VHL patients frequently also lack expression of the PTEN tumor suppressor and display activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway signaling. Strikingly, while conditional inactivation of either Vhlh or Pten in epithelia of the mouse genital tract fails to produce a tumor phenotype, their combined deletion causes benign genital tract tumors with regions of squamous metaplasia and cystadenoma. The latter are histologically identical to lesions found in VHL patients. Importantly, these lesions are characterized by expansion of basal stem cells, high levels of expression and activity of HIF1α and HIF2α, and dysregulation of PI3K signaling. Our studies suggest a model for cooperative tumor suppression in which inactivation of PTEN facilitates epididymal cystadenoma genesis initiated by loss of VHL.