Signalling via class IA PI3Ks

PTEN Protein Phosphatase Activity Is Not Required for Tumour Suppression in the Mouse Prostate

Loss PTEN function is one of the most common events driving aggressive prostate cancers and biochemically, PTEN is a lipid phosphatase which opposes the activation of the oncogenic PI3K-AKT signalling network. However, PTEN also has additional potential mechanisms of action, including protein phosphatase activity. Using a mutant enzyme, PTEN Y138L, which selectively lacks protein phosphatase activity, we characterised genetically modified mice lacking either the full function of PTEN in the prostate gland or only lacking protein phosphatase activity. The phenotypes of mice carrying a single allele of either wild-type Pten or Pten^Y138L in the prostate were similar, with common prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) and similar gene expression profiles. However, the latter group, lacking PTEN protein phosphatase activity additionally showed lymphocyte infiltration around PIN and an increased immune cell gene expression signature. Prostate adenocarcinoma, elevated proliferation and AKT activation were only frequently observed when PTEN was fully deleted. We also identify a common gene expression signature of PTEN loss conserved in other studies (including Nkx3.1, Tnf and Cd44). We provide further insight into tumour development in the prostate driven by loss of PTEN function and show that PTEN protein phosphatase activity is not required for tumour suppression.

Class I PI 3-kinases: Function and evolution

In many human cell types, the class I phosphoinositide 3-kinases play key roles in the control of diverse cellular processes including growth, proliferation, survival and polarity. This is achieved through their activation by many cell surface receptors, leading to the synthesis of the phosphoinositide lipid signal, PIP3, which in turn influences the function of numerous direct PIP3-binding proteins. Here we review PI3K pathway biology and analyse the evolutionary distribution of its components and their functions. The broad phylogenetic distribution of class I PI3Ks in metazoa, amoebozoa and choannoflagellates, implies that these enzymes evolved in single celled organisms and were later co-opted into metazoan intercellular communication. A similar distribution is evident for the AKT and Cytohesin groups of downstream PIP3-binding proteins, with other effectors and pathway components appearing to evolve later. The genomic and functional phylogeny of regulatory systems such as the PI3K pathway provides a framework to improve our understanding of the mechanisms by which key cellular processes are controlled in humans.

Class IA Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Isoform p110α Mediates Vascular Remodeling

Objective—

Neointima formation after vascular injury remains a significant problem in clinical cardiology, and current preventive strategies are suboptimal. Phosphatidylinositol 3′-kinase is a central downstream mediator of growth factor signaling, but the role of phosphatidylinositol 3′-kinase isoforms in vascular remodeling remains elusive. We sought to systematically characterize the precise role of catalytic class IA phosphatidylinositol 3′-kinase isoforms (p110α, p110β, p110δ), which signal downstream of receptor tyrosine kinases, for vascular remodeling in vivo.

Approach and Results—

Western blot analyses revealed that all 3 isoforms are abundantly expressed in smooth muscle cells. To analyze their significance for receptor tyrosine kinases–dependent cellular responses, we used targeted gene knockdown and isoform-specific small molecule inhibitors of p110α (PIK-75), p110β (TGX-221), and p110δ (IC-87114), respectively. We identified p110α to be crucial for receptor tyrosine kinases signaling, thus affecting proliferation, migration, and survival of rat, murine, and human smooth muscle cells, whereas p110β and p110δ activities were dispensable. Surprisingly, p110δ exerted noncatalytic functions in smooth muscle cell proliferation, but had no effect on migration. Based on these results, we generated a mouse model of smooth muscle cell–specific p110α deficiency (sm-p110α −/− ). Targeted deletion of p110α in sm-p110α −/− mice blunted growth factor–induced cellular responses and abolished neointima formation after balloon injury of the carotid artery in mice. In contrast, p110δ deficiency did not affect vascular remodeling in vivo.

Conclusions—

Receptor tyrosine kinases–induced phosphatidylinositol 3′-kinase signaling via the p110α isoform plays a central role for vascular remodeling in vivo. Thus, p110α represents a selective target for the prevention of neointima formation after vascular injury, whereas p110β and p110δ expression and activity do not play a significant role.

Regulation and function of P-Rex family Rac-GEFs

The P-Rex family are Dbl-type guanine-nucleotide exchange factors for Rac family small G proteins. They are distinguished from other Rac-GEFs through their synergistic mode of activation by the lipid second messenger phosphatidyl inositol (3,4,5) trisphosphate and the Gβγ subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins, thus acting as coincidence detectors for phosphoinositide 3-kinase and G protein coupled receptor signaling. Work in genetically-modified mice has shown that P-Rex1 has physiological importance in the inflammatory response and the migration of melanoblasts during development, whereas P-Rex2 controls the dendrite morphology of cerebellar Purkinje neurons as well as glucose homeostasis in liver and adipose tissue. Deregulation of P-Rex1 and P-Rex2 expression occurs in many types of cancer, and P-Rex2 is frequently mutated in melanoma. Both GEFs promote tumor growth or metastasis. This review critically evaluates the P-Rex literature and tools available and highlights exciting recent developments and open questions.

PTEN

The importance of PTEN in cellular function is underscored by the frequency of its deregulation in cancer. PTEN tumor-suppressor activity depends largely on its lipid phosphatase activity, which opposes PI3K/AKT activation. As such, PTEN regulates many cellular processes, including proliferation, survival, energy metabolism, cellular architecture, and motility. More than a decade of research has expanded our knowledge about how PTEN is controlled at the transcriptional level as well as by numerous posttranscriptional modifications that regulate its enzymatic activity, protein stability, and cellular location. Although the role of PTEN in cancers has long been appreciated, it is also emerging as an important factor in other diseases, such as diabetes and autism spectrum disorders. Our understanding of PTEN function and regulation will hopefully translate into improved prognosis and treatment for patients suffering from these ailments.

Phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate: tool of choice for class I PI 3-kinases

Class I PI 3-kinases signal by producing the signaling lipid phosphatidylinositol(3,4,5) trisphosphate, which in turn acts by recruiting downstream effectors that contain specific lipid-binding domains. The class I PI 3-kinases comprise four distinct catalytic subunits linked to one of seven different regulatory subunits. All the class I PI 3-kinases produce the same signaling lipid, PIP3, and the different isoforms have overlapping expression patterns and are coupled to overlapping sets of upstream activators. Nonetheless, studies in cultured cells and in animals have demonstrated that the different isoforms are coupled to distinct ranges of downstream responses. This review focuses on the mechanisms by which the production of a common product, PIP3, can produce isoform-specific signaling by PI 3-kinases.

BMX acts downstream of PI3K to promote colorectal cancer cell survival and pathway inhibition sensitizes to the BH3 mimetic ABT-737

Evasion of apoptosis is a hallmark of cancer, and reversing this process by inhibition of survival signaling pathways is a potential therapeutic strategy. Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling can promote cell survival and is upregulated in solid tumor types, including colorectal cancer (CRC), although these effects are context dependent. The role of PI3K in tumorigenesis combined with their amenability to specific inhibition makes them attractive drug targets. However, we observed that inhibition of PI3K in HCT116, DLD-1, and SW620 CRC cells did not induce apoptotic cell death. Moreover, these cells were relatively resistant to the Bcl-2 homology domain 3 (BH3) mimetic ABT-737, which directly targets the Bcl-2 family of apoptosis regulators. To test the hypothesis that PI3K inhibition lowers the apoptotic threshold without causing apoptosis per se, PI3K inhibitors were combined with ABT-737. PI3K inhibition enhanced ABT-737-induced apoptosis by 2.3- to 4.5-fold and reduced expression levels of MCL-1, the resistance biomarker for ABT-737. PI3K inhibition enhanced ABT-737-induced apoptosis a further 1.4- to 2.4-fold in CRC cells with small interfering RNA-depleted MCL-1, indicative of additional sensitizing mechanisms. The observation that ABT-737-induced apoptosis was unaffected by inhibition of PI3K downstream effectors AKT and mTOR, implicated a novel PI3K-dependant pathway. To elucidate this, an RNA interference (RNAi) screen of potential downstream effectors of PI3K signaling was conducted, which demonstrated that knockdown of the TEC kinase BMX sensitized to ABT-737. This suggests that BMX is an antiapoptotic downstream effector of PI3K, independent of AKT.

Differential AKT dependency displayed by mouse models of BRAFV600E-initiated melanoma

Malignant melanoma is frequently driven by mutational activation of v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1 (BRAF) accompanied by silencing of the phosphatase and tensin homology (PTEN) tumor suppressor. Despite the implied importance of PI3K signaling in PTENNull melanomas, mutational activation of the gene encoding the catalytic subunit of PI3Kα (PIK3CA), is rarely detected. Since PTEN has both PI3-lipid phosphatase-dependent and -independent tumor suppressor activities, we investigated the contribution of PI3K signaling to BRAFV600E-induced melanomagenesis using mouse models, cultured melanoma cells, and PI3K pathway-targeted inhibitors. These experiments revealed that mutationally activated PIK3CAH1047R cooperates with BRAFV600E for melanomagenesis in mice. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition of PI3Ks prevented growth of BRAFV600E/PTENNull melanomas in vivo and in tissue culture. Combined inhibition of BRAFV600E and PI3K had more potent effects on the regression of established BRAFV600E/PTENNull melanomas and cultured melanoma cells than individual blockade of either pathway. Surprisingly, growth of BRAFV600E/PIK3CAH1047R melanomas was dependent on the protein kinase AKT; however, AKT inhibition had no effect on growth of BRAFV600E/PTENNull melanomas. These data indicate that PTEN silencing contributes a PI3K-dependent, but AKT-independent, function in melanomagenesis. Our findings enhance our knowledge of how BRAFV600E and PI3K signaling cooperate in melanomagenesis and provide preclinical validation for combined pathway-targeted inhibition of PI3K and BRAFV600E in the therapeutic management of BRAFV600E/PTENNull melanomas.

Abi1, a critical molecule coordinating actin cytoskeleton reorganization with PI-3 kinase and growth signaling

Coordination of actin cytoskeletal reorganization with growth and proliferation signals is a key cellular process that is not fully understood. PI-3 kinase is one of the central nodes for distributing growth and proliferation signals downstream from growth factor receptors to the nucleus. Although PI-3 kinase function has been associated with actin cytoskeleton remodeling, satisfactory explanations of the mechanisms mediating this regulation have been elusive. Here we propose that interaction of the Abi1 protein with the p85 regulatory subunit of PI-3 kinase represents the link between growth receptor signaling and actin cytoskeleton remodeling. This function of Abi1, which involves WAVE complex, was initially observed in macropinocytosis, and may explain the coincident dysregulation of PI-3 kinase and actin cytoskeleton in cancer.