RESUMO
Plekha7 (Pleckstrin homology [PH] domain containing, family A member 7) regulates the assembly of proteins of the cytoplasmic apical zonula adherens junction (AJ), thus ensuring cell-cell adhesion and tight-junction barrier integrity. Little is known of Plekha7 function in cancer. In colorectal cancer (CRC) Plekha7 expression is elevated compared to adjacent normal tissue levels, increasing with clinical stage. Plekha7 was present at plasma membrane AJ with wild-type KRas (wt-KRas) but was dispersed in cells expressing mutant KRas (mut-KRas). Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) indicated a direct Plekha7 interaction with wt-KRas but scantily with mut-KRas. Inhibiting Plekha7 specifically decreased mut-KRas cell signaling, proliferation, attachment, migration, and retarded mut-KRAS CRC tumor growth. Binding of diC8-phosphoinositides (PI) to the PH domain of Plekha7 was relatively low affinity. This may be because a D175 amino acid residue plays a "sentry" role preventing PI(3,4)P2 and PI(3,4,5)P3 binding. Molecular or pharmacological inhibition of the Plekha7 PH domain prevented the growth of mut-KRas but not wt-KRas cells. Taken together the studies suggest that Plekha7, in addition to maintaining AJ structure plays a role in mut-KRas signaling and phenotype through interaction of its PH domain with membrane mut-KRas, but not wt-KRas, to increase the efficiency of mut-KRas downstream signaling.
Assuntos
Biomarcadores Tumorais/metabolismo , Proteínas de Transporte/metabolismo , Neoplasias Colorretais/patologia , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Mutação , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/genética , Apoptose , Biomarcadores Tumorais/genética , Proteínas de Transporte/genética , Adesão Celular , Proliferação de Células , Neoplasias Colorretais/genética , Neoplasias Colorretais/metabolismo , Humanos , Junções Intercelulares , Transdução de Sinais , Junções Íntimas , Células Tumorais CultivadasRESUMO
MicroRNAs (miRs) are important posttranscriptional regulators of cell fate in both normal and disease states. miR-211 has previously been shown to be a direct regulator of metabolism in BRAFV600E-mutant melanoma cells in vitro. Here, we report that miR-211 expression promotes the aggressive growth of BRAFV600E-mutant melanoma xenografts in vivo. miR-211 promoted proliferation through the posttranscriptional activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 5 signaling, which has recently been implicated in the resistance to BRAF and MAPK/ERK kinase inhibitors. We therefore examined whether miR-211 similarly modulated melanoma resistance to the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib and the MAPK/ERK kinase inhibitor cobimetinib. Consistent with this model, miR-211 expression increased melanoma cell resistance to both the inhibitors, and this resistance was associated with an increased ERK5 phosphorylation. miR-211 mediates these effects by directly inhibiting the expression of DUSP6, an ERK5 pathway-specific phosphatase and now shown to be an miR-211 target gene. These results dissect the role of the miR-211-DUSP6-ERK5 axis in melanoma tumor growth and suggest a mechanism for the development of drug-resistant tumors and a target for overcoming resistance.
Assuntos
Resistencia a Medicamentos Antineoplásicos/genética , Fosfatase 6 de Especificidade Dupla/genética , Melanoma/tratamento farmacológico , MicroRNAs/metabolismo , Proteína Quinase 7 Ativada por Mitógeno/metabolismo , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/farmacologia , Animais , Azetidinas/farmacologia , Azetidinas/uso terapêutico , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Proliferação de Células/genética , Fosfatase 6 de Especificidade Dupla/metabolismo , Técnicas de Silenciamento de Genes , Humanos , Sistema de Sinalização das MAP Quinases/genética , Melanoma/genética , Melanoma/patologia , Camundongos , Proteína Quinase 7 Ativada por Mitógeno/genética , Mutação , Fosforilação/genética , Piperidinas/farmacologia , Piperidinas/uso terapêutico , Inibidores de Proteínas Quinases/uso terapêutico , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas B-raf/antagonistas & inibidores , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas B-raf/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas B-raf/metabolismo , Vemurafenib/farmacologia , Vemurafenib/uso terapêutico , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de XenoenxertoRESUMO
Cnk1 (connector enhancer of kinase suppressor of Ras 1) is a pleckstrin homology (PH) domain-containing scaffold protein that increases the efficiency of Ras signaling pathways, imparting efficiency and specificity to the response of cell proliferation, survival, and migration. Mutated KRAS (mut-KRAS) is the most common proto-oncogenic event, occurring in approximately 25% of human cancers and has no effective treatment. In this study, we show that selective inhibition of Cnk1 blocks growth and Raf/Mek/Erk, Rho and RalA/B signaling in mut-KRAS lung and colon cancer cells with little effect on wild-type (wt)-KRAS cells. Cnk1 inhibition decreased anchorage-independent mut-KRas cell growth more so than growth on plastic, without the partial "addiction" to mut-KRAS seen on plastic. The PH domain of Cnk1 bound with greater affinity to PtdIns(4,5)P2 than PtdIns(3,4,5)P3, and Cnk1 localized to areas of the plasma membranes rich in PtdIns, suggesting a role for the PH domain in the biological activity of Cnk1. Through molecular modeling and structural modification, we identified a compound PHT-7.3 that bound selectively to the PH domain of Cnk1, preventing plasma membrane colocalization with mut-KRas. PHT-7.3 inhibited mut-KRas, but not wild-type KRas cancer cell and tumor growth and signaling. Thus, the PH domain of Cnk1 is a druggable target whose inhibition selectively blocks mutant KRas activation, making Cnk1 an attractive therapeutic target in patients with mut-KRAS-driven cancer. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings identify a therapeutic strategy to selectively block oncogenic KRas activity through the PH domain of Cnk1, which reduces its cell membrane binding, decreasing the efficiency of Ras signaling and tumor growth.