Dataset Information

SPOP Promotes Ubiquitination and Degradation of the ERG Oncoprotein to Suppress Prostate Cancer Progression.

ABSTRACT: The ERG gene is fused to TMPRSS2 in approximately 50% of prostate cancers (PrCa), resulting in its overexpression. However, whether this is the sole mechanism underlying ERG elevation in PrCa is currently unclear. Here we report that ERG ubiquitination and degradation are governed by the Cullin 3-based ubiquitin ligase SPOP and that deficiency in this pathway leads to aberrant elevation of the ERG oncoprotein. Specifically, we find that truncated ERG (?ERG), encoded by the ERG fusion gene, is stabilized by evading SPOP-mediated destruction, whereas prostate cancer-associated SPOP mutants are also deficient in promoting ERG ubiquitination. Furthermore, we show that the SPOP/ERG interaction is modulated by CKI-mediated phosphorylation. Importantly, we demonstrate that DNA damage drugs, topoisomerase inhibitors, can trigger CKI activation to restore the SPOP/?ERG interaction and its consequent degradation. Therefore, SPOP functions as a tumor suppressor to negatively regulate the stability of the ERG oncoprotein in prostate cancer.

SUBMITTER: Gan W

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4575912 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

SPOP Promotes Ubiquitination and Degradation of the ERG Oncoprotein to Suppress Prostate Cancer Progression.

Gan Wenjian W Dai Xiangpeng X Lunardi Andrea A Li Zhen Z Inuzuka Hiroyuki H Liu Pengda P Varmeh Shoreh S Zhang Jinfang J Cheng Liang L Sun Yin Y Asara John M JM Beck Andrew H AH Huang Jiaoti J Pandolfi Pier Paolo PP Wei Wenyi W

Molecular cell 20150903 6

The ERG gene is fused to TMPRSS2 in approximately 50% of prostate cancers (PrCa), resulting in its overexpression. However, whether this is the sole mechanism underlying ERG elevation in PrCa is currently unclear. Here we report that ERG ubiquitination and degradation are governed by the Cullin 3-based ubiquitin ligase SPOP and that deficiency in this pathway leads to aberrant elevation of the ERG oncoprotein. Specifically, we find that truncated ERG (ΔERG), encoded by the ERG fusion gene, is st ...[more]

PMID: 26344095

Similar Datasets

Project description:The E3 ubiquitin ligase adaptor speckle-type POZ protein (SPOP) is frequently dysregulated in prostate adenocarcinoma (PC), via either somatic mutations or mRNA downregulation, suggesting an important tumour suppressor function. To examine its physiologic role in the prostate epithelium in vivo, we generated mice with prostate-specific biallelic ablation of Spop. These mice exhibited increased prostate mass, prostate epithelial cell proliferation, and expression of c-MYC protein compared to littermate controls, and eventually developed prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN). We found that SPOPWT can physically interact with c-MYC protein and, upon exogenous expression in vitro, can promote c-MYC ubiquitination and degradation. This effect was attenuated in PC cells by introducing PC-associated SPOP mutants or upon knockdown of SPOP via short-hairpin-RNA, suggesting that SPOP inactivation directly increases c-MYC protein levels. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis revealed enrichment of Myc-induced genes in transcriptomic signatures associated with SPOPMT. Likewise, we observed strong inverse correlation between c-MYC activity and SPOP mRNA levels in two independent PC patient cohorts. The core SPOPMT;MYCHigh transcriptomic response, defined by the overlap between the SPOPMT and c-MYC transcriptomic programmes, was also associated with inferior clinical outcome in human PCs. Finally, the organoid-forming capacity of Spop-null murine prostate cells was more sensitive to c-MYC inhibition than that of Spop-WT cells, suggesting that c-MYC upregulation functionally contributes to the proliferative phenotype of Spop knock-out prostates. Taken together, our data highlight SPOP as an important regulator of luminal epithelial cell proliferation and c-MYC expression in prostate physiology, identify c-MYC as a novel bona fide SPOP substrate, and help explain the frequent inactivation of SPOP in human PC. We propose SPOPMT-induced stabilization of c-MYC protein as a novel mechanism that can increase total c-MYC levels in PC cells, in addition to amplification of c-MYC locus.

Dataset Information

SPOP Promotes Ubiquitination and Degradation of the ERG Oncoprotein to Suppress Prostate Cancer Progression.

Publications

SPOP Promotes Ubiquitination and Degradation of the ERG Oncoprotein to Suppress Prostate Cancer Progression.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets