Project description:Activation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in cancers can occur through loss of PTEN. Transcriptional profiling of pathway inhibitors identified the tumor suppressor RhoB as a gene markedly upregulated by lipid-based Akt inhibitors (LBAI). Here, we demonstrate that the C/EBPbeta full-length isoform LAP is responsible for transcriptional induction through its binding site within the RhoB proximal promoter. LBAI strongly transactivate RhoB by switching translation of C/EBPbeta from the truncated isoform LIP to LAP via PACT-mediated PKR activation in cancer cells with high Akt activity. Unlike PTEN commonly mutated, endogenous RhoB tumor-suppressive activity can be reconstituted by restoring its expression, which was noninvasively monitored by a RhoB promoter-driven luciferase reporter in living mice. LBAI administration increased luciferase activity and decreased the growth of human tumor xenografts. Increased PKR activation by LBAI leads to more robust RhoB induction and cytotoxicity than other PI3K/Akt/mTOR axis inhibitors, revealing a novel strategy for cancer therapy.
Project description:Activation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in cancers can occur through loss of PTEN. Transcriptional profiling of pathway inhibitors identified the tumor suppressor RhoB as a gene markedly upregulated by lipid-based Akt inhibitors (LBAI). Here, we demonstrate that the C/EBPbeta full-length isoform LAP is responsible for transcriptional induction through its binding site within the RhoB proximal promoter. LBAI strongly transactivate RhoB by switching translation of C/EBPbeta from the truncated isoform LIP to LAP via PACT-mediated PKR activation in cancer cells with high Akt activity. Unlike PTEN commonly mutated, endogenous RhoB tumor-suppressive activity can be reconstituted by restoring its expression, which was noninvasively monitored by a RhoB promoter-driven luciferase reporter in living mice. LBAI administration increased luciferase activity and decreased the growth of human tumor xenografts. Increased PKR activation by LBAI leads to more robust RhoB induction and cytotoxicity than other PI3K/Akt/mTOR axis inhibitors, revealing a novel strategy for cancer therapy. H157 cells were plated 2 x 10^6 in T-75 flasks in RPMI 1640 containing 10% FBS and incubated for 24h. The medium was then changed to RPMI 1640 with 0.1% FBS and the cells were incubated overnight. The following morning, cells were treated with 10 microM of LY294002, OSU03012, PIA23, Perifosine, Miltefosine, API-2, DZ-50, or 100 nM of Wortmannin and Rapamycin for 6 hours, or an equal amount of DMSO as control. Following incubation, total RNA was extracted from cells in T-75 flasks using TRIzol reagent (Invitrogen). Two dye-swapped replicates were performed for each treatment.
Project description:Protein kinase R (PKR), an innate immune sensor for double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), is critical for antiviral defense, but its aberrant activation by cellular dsRNA is linked to various diseases. The dsRNA-binding protein PACT plays a crucial and controversial role in the PKR pathway. We demonstrate that PACT is an essential negative regulator of PKR against endogenous dsRNA ligands like inverted repeat Alu RNAs, which satisfy PKR’s selectivity for long dsRNA and robustly activate PKR in the absence of PACT. PACT employs an unusual inhibitory mechanism sensitive to dsRNA length and concentration, inhibiting PKR through low-affinity interactions most effective when both are bound to the same dsRNA molecule. Consequently, PACT’s inhibition of PKR is more robust when dsRNA is longer and less abundant, with minimal effect on abundant or short dsRNA. Thus, PACT functions as a rheostat, setting the PKR activation threshold for long endogenous dsRNA without altering its inherent activity.
Project description:TRBP has two known functions as Dicer co-factor and PKR inhibitor. However, the role of TRBP in miRNA biogenesis is controversial and its regulation of PKR in mitosis remains unexplored. Here, we generate TRBP KO HeLa cells and find that TRBP depletion alters Dicer processing sites of a subset of miRNAs, but does not affect Dicer stability, miRNA abundance, or Argonaute loading. By generating PACT, another Dicer interactor, and TRBP/PACT double-KO cells, we further show that TRBP and PACT do not functionally compensate each other and that only TRBP contributes to Dicer processing. We also report that TRBP is hyperphosphorylated by JNK in M phase when PKR is activated by cellular dsRNAs. Hyperphosphorylation potentiates the inhibitory activity of TRBP on PKR, suppressing PKR in M-G1 transition. By generating the first human TRBP KO, our study clarifies the role of TRBP and unveils negative feedback regulation of PKR through TRBP phosphorylation. small RNAs of wild type, TRBP knockout, PACT knockout and TRBP/PACT double knockout cells were sequenced by Illumina Miseq.
Project description:Cancer cells evolve various mechanisms to overcome cellular stresses and maintain progression. Protein kinase R (PKR) and its protein activator (PACT) are the initial responders in monitoring diverse stress signals and lead to cell proliferation inhibition and cell apoptosis in consequence. However, the regulation of PACT-PKR pathway in cancer cells is largely unknown. Herein, we identify that the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) aspartyl-tRNA synthetase antisense RNA 1 (DARS-AS1) is directly involved in the inhibition of the PACT-PKR pathway and promotes cancer cell proliferation. Using large-scale CRISPRi functional screening of 971 cancer-associated lncRNAs, we find that DARS-AS1 is associated with significantly enhanced cancer cell proliferation. Accordingly, knocking down DARS-AS1 inhibits cell proliferation of multiple cancer cell lines and promotes cancer cell apoptosis in vitro and significantly reduces tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, DARS-AS1 directly binds to the activator domain of PACT and prevents PACT-PKR interaction, thereby decreasing PKR activation, eIF2α phosphorylation and inhibiting apoptotic cell death. Clinically, DARS-AS1 is broadly expressed across multiple cancers and the increased expression of this lncRNA indicates poor prognosis. This study elucidates the lncRNA DARS-AS1 directed cancer-specific modulation of the PACT-PKR pathway and provides a novel target for cancer prognosis and therapeutic treatment.
Project description:TRBP has two known functions as Dicer co-factor and PKR inhibitor. However, the role of TRBP in miRNA biogenesis is controversial and its regulation of PKR in mitosis remains unexplored. Here, we generate TRBP KO HeLa cells and find that TRBP depletion alters Dicer processing sites of a subset of miRNAs, but does not affect Dicer stability, miRNA abundance, or Argonaute loading. By generating PACT, another Dicer interactor, and TRBP/PACT double-KO cells, we further show that TRBP and PACT do not functionally compensate each other and that only TRBP contributes to Dicer processing. We also report that TRBP is hyperphosphorylated by JNK in M phase when PKR is activated by cellular dsRNAs. Hyperphosphorylation potentiates the inhibitory activity of TRBP on PKR, suppressing PKR in M-G1 transition. By generating the first human TRBP KO, our study clarifies the role of TRBP and unveils negative feedback regulation of PKR through TRBP phosphorylation.
Project description:Stress granules (SGs) formation is a conserved cellular strategy to reduce stress-related damage regulating cell survival. A Mass spectrometry-based profiling of the interactome of PPRV N protein revealed that PPRV N interacted with PACT to regulate the assembly of SGs. N protein inhibited the interaction between PACT and a PKR inhibitor TRBP through binding to the M1 domain of PACT, which enhanced the interaction between PACT and PKR and thus promoted PKR activation and subsequent eIF2α phosphorylation as well as SGs formation. The regulatory function of N protein was strikingly abrogated in PACT-/- cells. PPRV infection-induced SGs through the PKR/eIF2α pathway are PACT-dependent. The loss of function assay indicated that PPRV-induced SGs were critical for PPRV replication. We concluded that the PPRV N protein manipulates the host PKR/eIF2α/SGs axis to favor virus replication.
Project description:PTEN imparts tumor suppression in mice by cell autonomous and non-autonomous mechanisms. Whether these two tumor suppressor mechanisms are mediated through similar or distinct signaling pathways is not known. Here we generated and analyzed knockin mice that express a series of human cancer-derived mutant alleles of PTEN that differentially alter the Akt axis in either stromal or tumor cell compartments of mammary glands. We find that cell non-autonomous tumor suppression by Pten in stromal fibroblasts strictly requires activation of P-Akt signaling, whereas cell autonomous tumor suppression in epithelial tumor cells is independent of overt canonical pathway activation. These findings expose distinct Akt-dependent and independent tumor suppressor functions of PTEN in stromal fibroblasts and tumor cells, respectively, that can be used to guide clinical care of breast cancer patients Wild type, Pten null and PtenF341V primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts isolated from 13.5 day old embryos (E13.5) were cultured, RNA was extracted and Affymetrix gene expression arrays were performed.
Project description:Activation of the serine/threonine kinase Akt contributes to the formation, maintenance, and therapeutic resistance of cancer, which is driving development of compounds that inhibit Akt. Phosphatidylinositol ether lipid analogues (PIAs) are analogues of the products of PI3K that inhibit Akt activation, translocation, and the proliferation of a broad spectrum of cancer cell types. To gain insight into the mechanism of PIAs, time-dependent transcriptional profiling of 5 active PIAs and the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 (LY) was performed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells using high-density oligonucleotide arrays. Gene ontology analysis revealed genes involved in apoptosis, wounding response, and angiogenesis were upregulated by PIAs, while genes involved in DNA replication, repair and mitosis were suppressed. Genes that exhibited early differential expression were partitioned into 3 groups; those induced by PIAs only (DUSP1, KLF6, CENTD2, BHLHB2, PREX1), those commonly induced by PIAs and LY (TRIB1, KLF2, RHOB and CDKN1A), and those commonly suppressed by PIAs and LY (IGFBP3, PCNA, PRIM1, MCM3 and HSPA1B). Increased expression of the tumor suppressors RHOB (RhoB), KLF6 (COPEB) and CDKN1A (p21Cip1/Waf1) was validated as an Akt-independent effect that contributed to PIA-induced cytotoxicity. Despite some overlap with LY, active PIAs have a distinct expression signature that contributes to their enhanced cytotoxicity.