Yasumichi Inoue

Rb Depletion Results in Deregulation of E-Cadherin and Induction of Cellular Phenotypic Changes that Are Characteristic of the Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition

The retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (Rb) is mutated or expressed at very low levels in several tumor types, including retinoblastoma and osteosarcoma, as well as small cell lung, colon, prostate, bladder, and breast carcinomas. Loss or reduction of Rb expression is seen most commonly in high-grade breast adenocarcinomas, suggesting that a relationship may exist between loss of Rb function and a less-differentiated state, increased proliferation, and high metastatic potential. In this study, we found that knockdown of Rb by small interfering RNA in MCF7 breast cancer cells disrupts cell-cell adhesion and induces a mesenchymal-like phenotype. The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a key event in embryonic morphogenesis, is implicated in the metastasis of primary tumors. Additionally, Rb is decreased during growth factor- and cytokine-induced EMT and overexpression of Rb inhibits the EMT in MCF10A human mammary epithelial cells. Ectopic expression and knockdown of Rb resulted in increased or reduced expression of E-cadherin, which is specifically involved in epithelial cell-cell adhesion. Other EMT-related transcriptional factors, including Slug and Zeb-1, are also induced by Rb depletion. Furthermore, we confirmed that Rb binds to an E-cadherin promoter sequence in association with the transcription factor activator protein-2alpha. Finally, in breast cancer specimens, we observed a concurrent down-regulation of Rb and E-cadherin expression in mesenchymal-like invasive cancers. These findings suggest that Rb inactivation contributes to tumor progression due to not only loss of cell proliferation control but also conversion to an invasive phenotype and that the inhibition of EMT is a novel tumor suppressor function of Rb.

C/EBP family transcription factors are degraded by the proteasome but stabilized by forming dimer

CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) family transcription factors are critical for transcription of several genes involved in tissue development and cellular function, proliferation, and differentiation. Here we show that inhibitory/regulatory C/EBP family proteins, Ig/EBP (C/EBPγ) and CHOP (C/EBPζ), but not positively functioning NF-IL6 (C/EBPβ), are constitutively multiubiquitinated and subsequently degraded by the proteasome. In addition, ubiquitination and degradation of these proteins are suppressed by forming dimer through their leucine zipper domains. Deletion of leucine zipper domain in NF-IL6 caused the loss of its homodimerization activity and the degradation of protein by the ubiquitin–proteasome system. In addition, Ig/EBP with its leucine zipper domain substituted for that of NF-IL6 formed homodimer and was stabilized. These observations suggest that mammalian cells equip a novel regulatory system abrogating the excess C/EBP family transcription factors bereft of dimerizing partner.

Phosphorylation of pRB at Ser612 by Chk1/2 leads to a complex between pRB and E2F‐1 after DNA damage

The retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (pRB) plays a critical role in the control of cell proliferation and in the DNA damage checkpoints. pRB inhibits cell cycle progression through interactions with the E2F family of transcription factors. Here, we report that DNA damage induced not only the dephosphorylation of pRB at Cdk phosphorylation sites and the binding of pRB to E2F‐1, but also the phosphorylation of pRB at Ser612. Phosphorylation of pRB at Ser612 enhanced the formation of a complex between pRB and E2F‐1. Substitution of Ser612 with Ala decreased pRB–E2F‐1 binding and the transcriptional repression activity. Until now, Ser612 of pRB has been thought to be phosphorylated by Cdk2. However, the phosphorylation of pRB at Ser612 was conducted by Chk1/2 after DNA damage, and inhibition of ATM‐Chk1/2 activity suppressed the phosphorylation of Ser612 and the binding of pRB to E2F‐1. These results suggest that Ser612 is phosphorylated by Chk1/2 after DNA damage, leading to the formation of pRB–E2F‐1. This is the first report that pRB is phosphorylated in vivo by a kinase other than Cdk.

Smad3 is acetylated by p300/CBP to regulate its transactivation activity

Smad proteins are crucial for the intracellular signaling of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β). Upon their receptor-induced activation, Smad proteins are phosphorylated and translocated to the nucleus to activate the transcription of a select set of target genes. Here, we show that the co-activator p300/CBP bound and acetylated Smad3 as well as Smad2 in vivo, and that the acetylation was stimulated by TGF-β. A major acetylation site of Smad3 by p300/CBP is Lys-378 in the MH2 domain (Smad3C) known to be critical for the regulation of transcriptional activity. Replacement of Lys-378 with Arg decreased the transcriptional activity of GAL4-Smad3C in a luciferase assay. Moreover, p300/CBP potentiated the transcriptional activity of GAL4-Smad3C, but not the acetylation-resistant GAL4-Smad3C(K378R) mutant. These results suggest that acetylation of Smad3 by p300/CBP regulates positively its transcriptional activity.

The roles of TGF-β signaling in carcinogenesis and breast cancer metastasis

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) ligand is a multifunctional growth factor that regulates various cell behavior, such as cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, and apoptosis. Because TGF-β is a potent growth inhibitor, abnormalities in TGF-β signaling result in carcinogenesis. In addition to tumor suppressor function, TGF-β acts as an oncogenic factor. In particular, TGF-β signaling plays an important role during metastasis of breast cancer. Recently, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been shown to confer malignant properties such as cell motility and invasiveness to cancer cells and plays crucial roles during cancer metastasis. Moreover, breast stem-like cells exhibit EMT properties. Because TGF-β is a potent regulator of EMT as well as cell stemness, TGF-β signaling might play a crucial role in the regulation of breast cancer stem cells.

Smurf2 Induces Ubiquitin-dependent Degradation of Smurf1 to Prevent Migration of Breast Cancer Cells

Ubiquitin-dependent protein degradation is involved in various biological processes, and accumulating evidence suggests that E3 ubiquitin ligases play important roles in cancer development. Smad ubiquitin regulatory factor 1 (Smurf1) and Smurf2 are E3 ubiquitin ligases, which suppress transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family signaling through degradation of Smads and receptors for TGF-β and bone morphogenetic proteins. In addition, Smurf1 has been reported to promote RhoA ubiquitination and degradation and regulate cell motility, suggesting the involvement of Smurf1 in cancer progression. However, the regulation and biological function of Smurf1 and Smurf2 in cancer development remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we show the post-translational regulation of Smurf1 by Smurf2 and the functional differences between Smurf1 and Smurf2 in the progression of breast cancer cells. Smurf2 interacted with Smurf1 and induced its ubiquitination and degradation, whereas Smurf1 failed to induce degradation of Smurf2. Knockdown of Smurf2 in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells resulted in increases in the levels of Smurf1 protein, and enhancement of cell migration in vitro and bone metastasis in vivo. Of note, knockdown of Smurf1, but not of Smurf2, enhanced TGF-β signaling in MDA-MB-231 cells, suggesting that increased an protein level of Smurf1 offsets the effect of Smurf2 knockdown on TGF-β signaling. These results indicate that two related E3 ubiquitin ligases, Smurf1 and Smurf2, act in the same direction in TGF-β family signaling but play opposite roles in cell migration.

SKI and MEL1 Cooperate to Inhibit Transforming Growth Factor-β Signal in Gastric Cancer Cells

Chromosomal amplification occurs frequently in solid tumors and is associated with poor prognosis. Several reports demonstrated the cooperative effects of oncogenic factors in the same amplicon during cancer development. However, the functional correlation between the factors remains unclear. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling plays important roles in cytostasis and normal epithelium differentiation, and alterations in TGF-β signaling have been identified in many malignancies. Here, we demonstrated that transcriptional co-repressors of TGF-β signaling, SKI and MDS1/EVI1-like gene 1 (MEL1), were aberrantly expressed in MKN28 gastric cancer cells by chromosomal co-amplification of 1p36.32. SKI and MEL1 knockdown synergistically restored TGF-β responsiveness in MKN28 cells and reduced tumor growth in vivo. MEL1 interacted with SKI and inhibited TGF-β signaling by stabilizing the inactive Smad3-SKI complex on the promoter of TGF-β target genes. These findings reveal a novel mechanism where distinct transcriptional co-repressors are co-amplified and functionally interact, and provide molecular targets for gastric cancer treatment.

TGFβ down-regulates IFN-γ production in IL-18 treated NK cell line LNK5E6

Abstract Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) is a critical immunosuppressive cytokine that inhibits the cell-mediated immune responses partly via inhibition of immunostimulatory cytokine production from T cells, NK cells, and macrophages. Here we investigated the effect of TGFβ on NK cell activation induced by interleukin 18 (IL-18) using a murine NK cell line LNK5E6. IL-18 activated LNK5E6 cells to produce antiviral activity against vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and TGFβ inhibited this activation. TGFβ inhibited interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production in LNK5E6 cells treated with IL-18. TGFβ also suppressed the IL-18 induced mRNA expression of IFN-γ. Moreover, TGFβ did not affect the transcriptional activity of IFN-γ but decreased the half-life of IFN-γ mRNA induced by IL-18. These results suggest that the destabilization of IFN-γ mRNA induced by TGFβ leads to the inhibition of antiviral activity and IFN-γ production in IL-18 stimulated LNK5E6 cells.

Suppression of p53 activity through the cooperative action of Ski and histone deacetylase SIRT1.

Ski was originally identified as an oncogene based on the fact that Ski overexpression transformed chicken and quail embryo fibroblasts. Consistent with these proposed oncogenic roles, Ski is overexpressed in various human tumors. However, whether and how Ski functions in mammalian tumorigenesis has not been fully investigated. Here, we show that Ski interacts with p53 and attenuates the biological functions of p53. Ski overexpression attenuated p53-dependent transactivation, whereas Ski knockdown enhanced the transcriptional activity of p53. Interestingly, Ski bound to the histone deacetylase SIRT1 and stabilized p53-SIRT1 interaction to promote p53 deacetylation, which subsequently decreased the DNA binding activity of p53. Consistent with the ability of Ski to inactivate p53, overexpressing Ski desensitized cells to genotoxic drugs and Nutlin-3, a small-molecule antagonist of Mdm2 that stabilizes p53 and activates the p53 pathway, whereas knocking down Ski increased the cellular sensitivity to these agents. These results indicate that Ski negatively regulates p53 and suggest that the p53-Ski-SIRT1 axis is an attractive target for cancer therapy.

Contribution of the constitutive and inducible degradation of Smad3 by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway to transforming growth factor-β signaling

Smad proteins are crucial for the intracellular signaling of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta). After receptor-induced activation, Smad proteins are phosphorylated and translocated to the nucleus to activate transcription of a select set of target genes. Here, we investigated the turnover of Smad3, positively regulating Smad for TGF-beta signaling. In a steady state, the inhibition of proteasome activity leads to stabilization of Smad3 protein. Smad proteins are multi-ubiquitinated and degraded independently of the phosphorylation induced by the TGF-beta receptors. Moreover, the degradation of Smad3 was enhanced by treatment with TGF-beta, and phosphorylated Smad3 was accumulated on proteasome inhibition. Ubiquitination of phosphorylated Smad3 but not Smad3(3SA), a receptor-mediated phosphorylation-incompetent mutant, was observed in the nucleus after treatment with TGF-beta. These findings suggest that, in a steady state, Smad3 is constitutively degraded via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in the cytoplasm and that, in response to TGF-beta, it is phosphorylated and translocated into the nucleus, where it is degraded through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway.