Project description:Activating mutations of G protein alpha subunits (Ga) occur in 4-5% of all human cancers1 but oncogenic alterations in beta subunits (Gb) have not been defined. Here we demonstrate that recurrent mutations in the Gb proteins GNB1 and GNB2 confer cytokine-independent growth and activate canonical G protein signaling. Multiple mutations in GNB1 affect the protein interface that binds Ga subunits as well as downstream effectors, and disrupt Ga-Gbg interactions. Different mutations in Gb proteins clustered to some extent based on lineage; for example, all eleven GNB1 K57 mutations were in myeloid neoplasms while 6 of 7 GNB1 I80 mutations were in B cell neoplasms. Expression of patient-derived GNB1 alleles in Cdkn2a-deficient bone marrow followed by transplantation resulted in either myeloid or B cell malignancies. In vivo treatment with the dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor BEZ235 suppressed GNB1-induced signaling and markedly increased survival. In several human tumors, GNB1 mutations co-occurred with oncogenic kinase alterations, including BCR/ABL, JAK2 V617F and BRAF V600K. Co-expression of patient-derived GNB1 alleles with these mutant kinases resulted in inhibitor resistance in each context. Thus, GNB1 and GNB2 mutations confer transformed and resistance phenotypes across a range of human tumors and may be targetable with inhibitors of G protein signaling. The GM-CSF dependent human cell line TF-1 was transduced with a retrovirus expressing GNB1 K89E or empty vector. RNA was extracted from cells 12 hours after withdrawal of GM-CSF and from cells maintained in GM-CSF. Biological triplicates of each condition were performed. Gene expression differences were calculated between the four conditions.
Project description:Activating mutations of G protein alpha subunits (Ga) occur in 4-5% of all human cancers1 but oncogenic alterations in beta subunits (Gb) have not been defined. Here we demonstrate that recurrent mutations in the Gb proteins GNB1 and GNB2 confer cytokine-independent growth and activate canonical G protein signaling. Multiple mutations in GNB1 affect the protein interface that binds Ga subunits as well as downstream effectors, and disrupt Ga-Gbg interactions. Different mutations in Gb proteins clustered to some extent based on lineage; for example, all eleven GNB1 K57 mutations were in myeloid neoplasms while 6 of 7 GNB1 I80 mutations were in B cell neoplasms. Expression of patient-derived GNB1 alleles in Cdkn2a-deficient bone marrow followed by transplantation resulted in either myeloid or B cell malignancies. In vivo treatment with the dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor BEZ235 suppressed GNB1-induced signaling and markedly increased survival. In several human tumors, GNB1 mutations co-occurred with oncogenic kinase alterations, including BCR/ABL, JAK2 V617F and BRAF V600K. Co-expression of patient-derived GNB1 alleles with these mutant kinases resulted in inhibitor resistance in each context. Thus, GNB1 and GNB2 mutations confer transformed and resistance phenotypes across a range of human tumors and may be targetable with inhibitors of G protein signaling.
Project description:The conserved Snf1/AMPK (AMP-activated protein Kinase) family is one of the central components in nutrient sensing and regulation of carbon metabolism in eukaryotes. It is also involved in several other processes such as stress resistance, invasive growth and ageing. Snf1 kinase is composed of a catalytic alpha-subunit Snf1, a regulatory gamma-subunit Snf4 and one of three possible beta-subunits, Sip1, Sip2 or Gal83. We used a systematic approach to study the role of the three beta-subunits by analyzing all 7 possible combinations of beta-subunit deletions together with the reference strain.
Project description:Although persistent elevations in circulating glucose concentrations promote compensatory increases in pancreatic islet mass, unremitting insulin resistance causes a deterioration in beta cell function that disrupts glucose balance and signals the progression to diabetes 1. Glucagon like Peptide 1 (GLP1) agonists improve glucose tolerance in insulin resistance, although some individuals are unresponsive to treatment. Here we show that increases in GLP1 during feeding promote beta cell function in part through the PKA-mediated activation of CREB and its coactivator CRTC2 2. Mice with a knockout of CRTC2 in beta cells have impaired oral glucose tolerance due to decreases in circulating insulin concentrations. CRTC2 was found to promote beta cell function in part by stimulating the expression of the transcription factor MafA. Chronic hyperglycemia associated with high fat or high carbohydrate diet feeding disrupted cAMP signaling in pancreatic islets. Indeed, prolonged elevations in circulating glucose concentrations interfered with CREB signaling by activating the mTOR pathway and triggering the hypoxia inducible factor (HIF1)-dependent induction of the Protein Kinase A Inhibitor beta (PKIB), a potent inhibitor of PKA catalytic activity 3. As disruption of the PKIB gene restored glucose tolerance and insulin secretion in obesity, our results demonstrate how cross-talk between nutrient and hormonal pathways contributes to loss of pancreatic islet function in insulin resistance. Rat insulinoma cells were used to interrogate the impact of glucose exposure and CREB activity on cAMP dependent gene regulation in the pancreatic beta cells
Project description:Protein kinase inhibitors are effective cancer therapies, but acquired resistance often limits clinical efficacy. Despite the cataloguing of numerous resistance mutations with model studies and in the clinic, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of kinase inhibitor resistance. Here, we measured the resistance of thousands of Src tyrosine kinase mutants to a panel of ATP-competitive inhibitors. We found that ATP-competitive inhibitor resistance mutations are distributed throughout Src’s catalytic domain. In addition to inhibitor contact residues, residues that participate in regulating Src’s phosphotransferase activity were prone to the development of resistance. Unexpectedly, a resistance-prone cluster of residues that are on the top face of the N-terminal lobe of the catalytic domain contributes to Src autoinhibition by reducing the dynamics of the catalytic domain, and mutations in this cluster led to resistance by lowering inhibitor affinity and promoting kinase hyperactivation. Together, our studies demonstrate how comprehensive profiling of drug resistance can be used to understand potential resistance pathways and uncover new mechanisms of kinase regulation.
Project description:The conserved Snf1/AMPK (AMP-activated protein Kinase) family is one of the central components in nutrient sensing and regulation of carbon metabolism in eukaryotes. It is also involved in several other processes such as stress resistance, invasive growth and ageing. Snf1 kinase is composed of a catalytic α-subunit Snf1, a regulatory γ-subunit Snf4 and one of three possible β-subunits, Sip1, Sip2 or Gal83. We used a systematic approach to study the role of the three β-subunits by analyzing all 7 possible combinations of β-subunit deletions together with the reference strain.
Project description:Although persistent elevations in circulating glucose concentrations promote compensatory increases in pancreatic islet mass, unremitting insulin resistance causes a deterioration in beta cell function that disrupts glucose balance and signals the progression to diabetes 1. Glucagon like Peptide 1 (GLP1) agonists improve glucose tolerance in insulin resistance, although some individuals are unresponsive to treatment. Here we show that increases in GLP1 during feeding promote beta cell function in part through the PKA-mediated activation of CREB and its coactivator CRTC2 2. Mice with a knockout of CRTC2 in beta cells have impaired oral glucose tolerance due to decreases in circulating insulin concentrations. CRTC2 was found to promote beta cell function in part by stimulating the expression of the transcription factor MafA. Chronic hyperglycemia associated with high fat or high carbohydrate diet feeding disrupted cAMP signaling in pancreatic islets. Indeed, prolonged elevations in circulating glucose concentrations interfered with CREB signaling by activating the mTOR pathway and triggering the hypoxia inducible factor (HIF1)-dependent induction of the Protein Kinase A Inhibitor beta (PKIB), a potent inhibitor of PKA catalytic activity 3. As disruption of the PKIB gene restored glucose tolerance and insulin secretion in obesity, our results demonstrate how cross-talk between nutrient and hormonal pathways contributes to loss of pancreatic islet function in insulin resistance.
Project description:Somatic NOTCH1 mutations are found in ~60% of T lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemias (T-ALLs). Notch1 is cleaved by γ secretase to generate activated Notch intracellular domain (NICD) proteins. The NOTCH1 mutations found in T-ALL constitutively activate Notch1 signaling by increasing NICD levels. Genetic alterations in components of the Ras/PI3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway are also highly prevalent in T-ALL, and often coexist with NOTCH1 mutations. Exposing a T-ALL cell line to the PI3 kinase (PI3K) inhibitor GDC-0941 generated drug resistant clones that down-regulated NICD expression. To address the in vivo relevance of this unexpected observation, we transplanted primary wild-type (WT) and KrasG12D mutant T-ALLs into recipient mice, and treated them with GDC-0941 alone and in combination with the MEK inhibitor PD0325901 (PD901). Although many leukemias responded dramatically to these targeted agents in vivo, drug-resistant clones invariably emerged. Multiple resistant T-ALLs lost NICD expression through mechanisms that included loss of Notch1 mutations found in the parental T-ALL. These GDC-0941-resistant leukemias exhibited reduced expression of many Notch1 target genes, elevated levels of phosphorylated Akt (pAkt), and displayed cross-resistance to γ secretase inhibitors (GSIs). Consistent with these data, inhibiting Notch1 activity in T-ALL cells enhanced PI3K signaling, providing a likely mechanism for in vivo selection against clones with Notch1 pathway activation. Thus, oncogenic Notch1 mutations that promote clonal outgrowth during malignant transformation unexpectedly “switch” to become deleterious during treatment with a PI3K inhibitor. These data advance our understanding of T-ALL pathogenesis and have implications for implementing new therapeutic regimens. We analyzed 28 mouse T-ALL samples obtained after in vivo treatment with GDC-0941 alone or GDC-0941 + PD0325901. These T-ALL samples are either Kras wild type or harbor a KrasG12D mutations.
Project description:We evaluated the effects of suppressing MAP4K4 on transcriptome and YAP1 pathway based on the observation that partial suppression of MAP4K4 leads to transformation through activation of YAP1. Mutations and deletions involving subunits of the serine-threonine phosphatase PP2A occur in a broad range of human cancers, and partial loss of PP2A function contributes to cell transformation. In particular, displacement of regulatory B subunits by the viral oncoprotein SV40 small-t antigen (ST) or mutation or deletion of PP2A subunits alters the abundance and types of PP2A complexes in cells and induces cell transformation in human cells. Here we show that ST not only displaces common PP2A B subunits but also promotes PP2A A-C subunit interactions with a set of alternative B subunits (B’’’, striatins) that are components of the Striatin-interacting phosphatase and kinase (STRIPAK) complex. We found that members of the STRIPAK complex are required for ST-PP2A induced cell transformation. PP2A interacts with and dephosphorylates the STRIPAK-associated kinase MAP4K4, which induces cell transformation in part through the regulation of the Hippo pathway effector YAP1. These observations identify an unanticipated role of MAP4K4 in transformation and show that the STRIPAK complex plays a key role in defining PP2A specificity and activity.
Project description:AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Manoeuvres aimed at increasing beta cell mass have been proposed as regenerative medicine strategies for diabetes treatment. Raf-1 kinase inhibitor protein 1 (RKIP1) is a common regulatory node of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) pathways and therefore may be involved in regulation of beta cell homeostasis. The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of RKIP1 in the control of beta cell mass and function. METHODS: Rkip1 (also known as Pebp1) knockout (Rkip1 (-/-)) mice were characterised in terms of pancreatic and glucose homeostasis, including morphological and functional analysis. Glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity were examined, followed by assessment of glucose-induced insulin secretion in isolated islets and beta cell mass quantification through morphometry. Further characterisation included determination of endocrine and exocrine proliferation, apoptosis, MAPK activation and whole genome gene expression assays. Capacity to reverse a diabetic phenotype was assessed in adult Rkip1 (-/-) mice after streptozotocin treatment. RESULTS: Rkip1 (-/-) mice exhibit a moderately larger pancreas and increased beta cell mass and pancreatic insulin content, which correlate with an overall improvement in whole body glucose tolerance. This phenotype is established in young postnatal stages and involves enhanced cellular proliferation without significant alterations in cell death. Importantly, adult Rkip1 (-/-) mice exhibit rapid reversal of streptozotocin-induced diabetes compared with control mice. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: These data implicate RKIP1 in the regulation of pancreatic growth and beta cell expansion, thus revealing RKIP1 as a potential pharmacological target to promote beta cell regeneration. Pancreatic gene expression of Rkip-1 (Raf kinase inhibitor 1) knockout (KO) and wild type (WT) mice, including three biological replicates in each group.