RESUMO
Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are a major cause of malignancy worldwide. They are the aetiological agents of almost all cervical cancers as well as a sub-set of other anogenital and head and neck cancers. Hijacking of host cellular pathways is essential for virus pathogenesis; however, a major challenge remains to identify key host targets and to define their contribution to HPV-driven malignancy. The Hippo pathway regulates epithelial homeostasis by down-regulating the function of the transcription factor YAP. Increased YAP expression has been observed in cervical cancer but the mechanisms driving this increase remain unclear. We found significant down-regulation of the master Hippo regulatory kinase STK4 (also termed MST1) in cervical disease samples and cervical cancer cell lines compared with healthy controls. Re-introduction of STK4 inhibited the proliferation of HPV positive cervical cells and this corresponded with decreased YAP nuclear localization and decreased YAP-dependent gene expression. The HPV E6 and E7 oncoproteins maintained low STK4 expression in cervical cancer cells by upregulating the oncomiR miR-18a, which directly targeted the STK4 mRNA 3'UTR. Interestingly, miR-18a knockdown increased STK4 expression and activated the Hippo pathway, significantly reducing cervical cancer cell proliferation. Our results identify STK4 as a key cervical cancer tumour suppressor, which is targeted via miR-18a in HPV positive tumours. Our study indicates that activation of the Hippo pathway may offer a therapeutically beneficial option for cervical cancer treatment.
Assuntos
Transformação Celular Viral , MicroRNAs/metabolismo , Papillomaviridae/metabolismo , Infecções por Papillomavirus/metabolismo , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/metabolismo , RNA Neoplásico/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais , Proteínas Supressoras de Tumor/metabolismo , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/metabolismo , Proteínas Adaptadoras de Transdução de Sinal/genética , Proteínas Adaptadoras de Transdução de Sinal/metabolismo , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Feminino , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intracelular , MicroRNAs/genética , Proteínas Oncogênicas Virais/genética , Proteínas Oncogênicas Virais/metabolismo , Papillomaviridae/genética , Infecções por Papillomavirus/genética , Infecções por Papillomavirus/patologia , Infecções por Papillomavirus/virologia , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/genética , RNA Neoplásico/genética , Fatores de Transcrição/genética , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismo , Proteínas Supressoras de Tumor/genética , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/genética , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/patologia , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/virologia , Proteínas de Sinalização YAPRESUMO
Resistance to the lantibiotic nisin (NIS) arises readily in Staphylococcus aureus as a consequence of mutations in the nsaS gene, which encodes the sensor kinase of the NsaRS two-component regulatory system. Here we present a series of studies to establish how these mutational changes result in reduced NIS susceptibility. Comparative transcriptomic analysis revealed upregulation of the NsaRS regulon in a NIS-resistant mutant of S. aureus versus its otherwise-isogenic progenitor, indicating that NIS resistance mutations prompt gain-of-function in NsaS. Two putative ABC transporters (BraDE and VraDE) encoded within the NsaRS regulon that have been reported to provide a degree of intrinsic protection against NIS were shown to be responsible for acquired NIS resistance; as is the case for intrinsic NIS resistance, NIS detoxification was ultimately mediated by VraDE, with BraDE participating in the signaling cascade underlying VraDE expression. Our study revealed new features of this signal transduction pathway, including that BraDE (but not VraDE) physically interacts with NsaRS. Furthermore, while BraDE has been shown to sense stimuli and signal to NsaS in a process that is contingent upon ATP hydrolysis, we established that this protein complex is also essential for onward transduction of the signal from NsaS through energy-independent means. NIS resistance in S. aureus therefore joins the small number of documented examples in which acquired antimicrobial resistance results from the unmasking of an intrinsic detoxification mechanism through gain-of-function mutation in a regulatory circuit.IMPORTANCE NIS and related bacteriocins are of interest as candidates for the treatment of human infections caused by Gram-positive pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus An important liability of NIS in this regard is the ease with which S. aureus acquires resistance. Here we establish that this organism naturally possesses the cellular machinery to detoxify NIS but that the ABC transporter responsible (VraDE) is not ordinarily produced to a degree sufficient to yield substantial resistance. Acquired NIS resistance mutations prompt activation of the regulatory circuit controlling expression of vraDE, thereby unmasking an intrinsic resistance determinant. Our results provide new insights into the complex mechanism by which expression of vraDE is regulated and suggest that a potential route to overcoming the resistance liability of NIS could involve chemical modification of the molecule to prevent its recognition by the VraDE transporter.