RESUMEN
Functional loss of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor protein (pVHL), which is part of an E3-ubiquitin ligase complex, initiates most inherited and sporadic clear-cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCC). Genetic inactivation of the TP53 gene in ccRCC is rare, suggesting that an alternate mechanism alleviates the selective pressure for TP53 mutations in ccRCC. Here we use a zebrafish model to describe the functional consequences of pVHL loss on the p53/Mdm2 pathway. We show that p53 is stabilized in the absence of pVHL and becomes hyperstabilized upon DNA damage, which we propose is because of a novel in vivo interaction revealed between human pVHL and a negative regulator of Mdm2, the programmed cell death 5 (PDCD5) protein. PDCD5 is normally localized at the plasma membrane and in the cytoplasm. However, upon hypoxia or loss of pVHL, PDCD5 relocalizes to the nucleus, an event that is coupled to the degradation of Mdm2. Despite the subsequent hyperstabilization and normal transcriptional activity of p53, we find that zebrafish vhl(-/-) cells are still as highly resistant to DNA damage-induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis as human ccRCC cells. We suggest this is because of a marked increase in expression of birc5a, the zebrafish homolog of Survivin. Accordingly, when we knock down Survivin in human ccRCC cells we are able to restore caspase activity in response to DNA damage. Taken together, our study describes a new mechanism for p53 stabilization through PDCD5 upon hypoxia or pVHL loss, and reveals new clinical potential for the treatment of pathobiological disorders linked to hypoxic stress.
Asunto(s)
Proteínas Reguladoras de la Apoptosis/genética , Carcinoma de Células Renales/genética , Proteínas de Neoplasias/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogénicas c-mdm2/metabolismo , Proteína p53 Supresora de Tumor/genética , Proteína Supresora de Tumores del Síndrome de Von Hippel-Lindau/genética , Animales , Proteínas Reguladoras de la Apoptosis/metabolismo , Carcinoma de Células Renales/patología , Núcleo Celular/genética , Daño del ADN/genética , Humanos , Proteínas Inhibidoras de la Apoptosis/biosíntesis , Proteínas de Neoplasias/metabolismo , Proteolisis , Survivin , Ubiquitina-Proteína Ligasas/genética , Ubiquitina-Proteína Ligasas/metabolismo , Proteína Supresora de Tumores del Síndrome de Von Hippel-Lindau/antagonistas & inhibidores , Proteína Supresora de Tumores del Síndrome de Von Hippel-Lindau/biosíntesis , Pez Cebra , Proteínas de Pez Cebra/biosíntesisRESUMEN
Activation of the Wnt signaling pathway initiates the transformation of colorectal epithelial cells, although the transition to metastatic cancer requires angiogenesis. We have investigated the expression of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) tumor suppressor in the intestines from humans and mice. Here, we show that VHL expression is regulated by TCF4 and is restricted to the proliferative compartment at the bottom of intestinal crypts. Accordingly, VHL is completely absent from the proliferative intestinal pockets of Tcf4(-/-) perinatal mice. We observed complementary staining of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) 1alpha to VHL in normal intestinal epithelium as well as in all stages of colorectal cancer (CRC). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating the presence of nuclear HIF1alpha in normoxic healthy adult tissue. Although we observed upregulated levels of VHL in very early CRC lesions from sporadic and familial adenomatous polyposis patients - presumably due to activated Wnt signaling - a clear reduction of VHL expression is observed in later stages of CRC progression, coinciding with stabilization of HIF1alpha. As loss of VHL in later stages of CRC progression results in stabilization of HIF, these data provide evidence that selection for VHL downregulation provides a proangiogenic impulse for CRC progression.
