RESUMEN
Signaling proteins in eukaryotes usually comprise a catalytic domain coupled to one or several interaction domains, such as SH2 and SH3 domains. An additional class of proteins critically involved in cellular communication are adapter or scaffold proteins, which fulfill their purely non-enzymatic functions by organizing protein-protein interactions. Intriguingly, certain signaling enzymes, e.g., kinases and phosphatases, have been demonstrated to promote particular cellular functions by means of their interaction domains only. In this review, we will refer to such a function as "the adapter function of an enzyme". Though many stories can be told, we will concentrate on several proteins executing critical adapter functions in cells of the immune system, such as Bruton´s tyrosine kinase (BTK), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), and SH2-containing inositol phosphatase 1 (SHIP1), as well as in cancer cells, such as proteins of the rat sarcoma/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (RAS/ERK) mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. We will also discuss how these adaptor functions of enzymes determine or even undermine the efficacy of targeted therapy compounds, such as ATP-competitive kinase inhibitors. Thereby, we are highlighting the need to develop pharmacological approaches, such as proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs), that eliminate the entire protein, and thus both enzymatic and adapter functions of the signaling protein. We also review how genetic knock-out and knock-in approaches can be leveraged to identify adaptor functions of signaling proteins.
Asunto(s)
Transducción de Señal , Humanos , AnimalesRESUMEN
Here we study the effects of inducible oncogenic K-Ras (G12V) expression on the polarized morphogenesis of colonic epithelial cells. We provide evidence that the autocrine production of heregulins, ligands for the ErbB3 receptor tyrosine kinase, is responsible for the hyperproliferation and aberrant 3D morphogenesis upon oncogenic K-Ras expression. This is in line with results obtained in primary intestinal organoid cultures, in which exogenous heregulin is shown to interfere with normal tissue architecture. Importantly, ErbB3 inhibition and heregulin gene silencing rescued K-RasG12V-induced features of cell transformation. Together with the increased ErbB3 positivity detected in human high-grade primary colorectal cancers, our findings provide support for an autocrine signaling loop engaged by oncogenic K-Ras involving ErbB3 that contributes to the dedifferentiation of the intestinal epithelium during tumor initiation and progression.
Asunto(s)
Comunicación Autocrina/fisiología , Transformación Celular Neoplásica/metabolismo , Mucosa Intestinal/patología , Receptor ErbB-3/metabolismo , Proteínas ras/metabolismo , Desdiferenciación Celular/fisiología , Línea Celular Tumoral , Polaridad Celular/fisiología , Proliferación Celular , Transformación Celular Neoplásica/patología , Neoplasias Colorrectales/metabolismo , Neoplasias Colorrectales/patología , Humanos , Mucosa Intestinal/metabolismo , Morfogénesis/fisiologíaRESUMEN
Trastuzumab (Herceptin®) has demonstrated clinical potential in several types of HER2-overexpressing human cancers. However, primary and acquired resistance occurs in many HER2-positive patients with regimens. To investigate the possible mechanism of acquired therapeutic resistance to trastuzumab, we have developed a preclinical model of human ovarian cancer cells, SKOV3/T, with the distinctive feature of stronger carcinogenesis. The differences in gene expression between parental and the resistant cells were explored by microarray analysis, of which IGF-1R and HER3 were detected to be key molecules in action. Their correctness was validated by follow-up experiments of RT-PCR, shRNA-mediated knockdown, downstream signal activation, cell cycle distribution and survival. These results suggest that IGF-1R and HER3 differentially regulate trastuzumab resistance and could be promising targets for trastuzumab therapy in ovarian cancer.
Asunto(s)
Anticuerpos Monoclonales Humanizados/uso terapéutico , Antineoplásicos/uso terapéutico , Proliferación Celular , Transformación Celular Neoplásica , Neoplasias Ováricas/metabolismo , Receptor ErbB-2/metabolismo , Receptor IGF Tipo 1/metabolismo , Línea Celular Tumoral , Resistencia a Antineoplásicos , Femenino , Humanos , Neoplasias Ováricas/tratamiento farmacológico , Neoplasias Ováricas/patología , Trastuzumab , Regulación hacia ArribaRESUMEN
Aberrant expression and activation of EGFR and ERBB2 (HER2) have been successfully targeted for cancer therapeutics. Recent evidence from both basic and clinical studies suggests that ERBB3 (HER3) serves as a key activator of downstream signaling through dimerization with other ERBB proteins and plays a critical role in the widespread clinical resistance to EGFR and HER2 targeting cancer therapies. As a result, HER3 is actively pursued as an antibody therapeutic target for cancer. Ligand binding is thought to be a prerequisite for dimerization of HER3 with other ERBB proteins, which results in phosphorylation of its c-terminal tyrosine residues and activation of downstream AKT and MAPK signaling pathways. In this study, we report that an anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody (HER2Mab), which blocks HER2 dimerization with HER3, induces HER3 dimerization with EGFR in both low and high HER2 expressing cancer cells. Treatment of the low HER2 expressing MCF7 cancer cells with HER2Mab promoted cell proliferation and migration in the absence of HER3 ligand stimulation. Follow-up studies revealed that HER2Mab-induced HER3 signaling via EGFR/HER3 dimerization and activation of downstream AKT signaling pathways. These results suggest that equilibrium of dimerization among the ERBB proteins can be perturbed by HER2Mab and HER3 plays a key role in sensing the perturbation.
Asunto(s)
Regulación Neoplásica de la Expresión Génica , Neoplasias/genética , Neoplasias/metabolismo , Receptor ErbB-2/genética , Receptor ErbB-2/metabolismo , Receptor ErbB-3/metabolismo , Transducción de Señal , Anticuerpos Monoclonales/farmacología , Línea Celular Tumoral , Movimiento Celular/efectos de los fármacos , Movimiento Celular/genética , Proliferación Celular/efectos de los fármacos , Receptores ErbB/antagonistas & inhibidores , Receptores ErbB/química , Receptores ErbB/metabolismo , Humanos , Ligandos , Células MCF-7 , Neurregulina-1/metabolismo , Fosforilación/efectos de los fármacos , Inhibidores de Proteínas Quinasas/farmacología , Multimerización de Proteína/efectos de los fármacos , Proteínas Proto-Oncogénicas c-akt/metabolismo , Receptor ErbB-2/antagonistas & inhibidores , Receptor ErbB-2/química , Receptor ErbB-3/antagonistas & inhibidores , Receptor ErbB-3/químicaRESUMEN
ErbB3/HER3 is a cell surface receptor which belongs to the ErbB/HER subfamily of receptor protein tyrosine kinases. When expressed in NIH/3T3 cells, ErbB3 can form heterodimeric coreceptor with endogenous ErbB2. Among known intracellular effectors of the ErbB2/ErbB3 are mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phosphoinositide (PI) 3-kinase. In the present study, we studied relative contributions of above two distinct signaling pathways to the heregulin-induced mitogenic response via activated ErbB3. For this, clonal NIH-3T3 cell lines expressing wild-type ErbB3 and ErbB3 mutants were stimulated with heregulin beta1. While cyclin D1 level was markedly high and further increased by treatment of heregulin in cells expressing wild-type ErbB3, the elimination of either Shc binding or PI 3-kinase binding lowered both levels. This result was supported by the reduction of cyclin D1 expression by preteatment with MAPK kinase inhibitor or PI 3-kinase inhibitor before stimulation with heregulin. In accordance with the cyclin D1 expression, elimination of either Shc binding or PI 3-kinase binding reduced the heregulin-induced DNA synthesis and cell growth rate. Our results obtained by the comparison of wild-type and ErbB3 mutants indicate that the full induction of the cell cycle progression through G1/S phase by ErbB3 activation is dependent on both Shc/MAPK and PI 3-kinase signal transduction pathways.