14-3-3 proteins--an update

14-3-3 is a highly conserved acidic protein family, composed of seven isoforms in mammals. 14-3-3 protein can interact with over 200 target proteins by phosphoserine-dependent and phosphoserine-independent manners. Little is known about the consequences of these interactions, and thus are the subjects of ongoing studies. 14-3-3 controls cell cycle, cell growth, differentiation, survival, apoptosis, migration and spreading. Recent studies have revealed new mechanisms and new functions of 14-3-3, giving us more insights on this fascinating and complex family of proteins. Of all the seven isoforms, 14-3-3σ seems to be directly involved in human cancer. 14-3-3σ itself is subject to regulation by p53 upon DNA damage and by epigenetic deregulation. Gene silencing of 14-3-3σ by CpG methylation has been found in many human cancer types. This suggests that therapy-targeting 14-3-3σ may be beneficial for future cancer treatment.     

Glycogen synthase kinase-3β positively regulates the proliferation of human ovarian cancer cells

Although glycogen synthase kinase-3 （GSK-3） might act as a tumor suppressor since its inhibition is expected to mimic the activation of Wnt-signaling pathway, GSK-3β may contribute to NF-κB activation in cancer cells leading to increased cancer cell proliferation and survival. Here we report that GSK-3β activity was involved in the proliferation of human ovarian cancer cell both in vitro and in vivo. Inhibition of GSK-3 activity by pharmacological inhibitors suppressed proliferation of the ovarian cancer cells. Overexpressing constitutively active form of GSK-3β induced entry into the S phase, increased cyclin D1 expression and facilitated the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells. Furthermore, GSK-3 inhibition prevented the formation of the tumor in nude mice generated by the inoculation of human ovarian cancer cells. Our findings thus suggest that GSK-3β activity is important for the proliferation of ovarian cancer cells, implicating this kinase as a potential therapeutic target in ovarian cancer.     

The interaction between ADAM22 and 14-3-3β

ADAM family consists of a number of transmembrane proteins that contain a disintegrin and metalloprotease domain. ADAMs are involved in a highly diverse set of biological processes, including fertilization, neurogenesis, myogenesis and inflammatory response. The ADAM proteins have both cell adhesion and protease activities. Adam22 is highly expressed in human brain. The adam22-/- mice presented severe ataxia and died before weaning, but the function of ADAM22 is still unknown. 14-3-3 β interacting with ADAM22 was detected by using yeast two-hybrid assay. The specificity of interaction between ADAM22 and 14-3-3β was proved by in vitro binding assay and immunoprecipitation. The major 14-3-3β binding site was located in the last 28 amino acid residues of ADAM22 cytoplasmic tail. Protein 14-3-3β is abundant and plays an important role in mediating cell diffusion, migration and cell cycle control. The interaction of ADAM22 and 14-3-3β suggests that the ADAM22 may play a crucial role in neural function a     

GSK-3β as a driving force in ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies in women. Identification of new therapeutic targets would provide opportunities for developing potentially more effective treatment regimes. In the July issue of Cell Research, Cao et al. reports that glycogen synthase kinase-3β （GSK-3β） plays an important role in positively regulating the proliferation of human ovarian cancer cells, and thus it may represent such a target [ 1 ]. GSK-3β is a serine/threonine kinase that is known to be involved in regulation of β-catenin signaling, where it participates in the formation of a multi-component destruction complex that promotes the phosphorylation and subsequent degradation of β-catenin. Given that overactive β-catenin signaling is involved in many forms of human cancer, this classic mode of GSK-3β action should qualify it as a ＂tumor suppressor＂. Intriguingly, however, two recent studies have implicated that GSK-3β may actually play a pro-tumor role in pancreatic and colorectal cancers [2, 3]. Since ovarian tumors often exhibit increased expression of GSK-3β, these recent findings prompted Cao et al. to examine the potential role of GSK-3β in ovarian cancer cells.     

Knockdown of survivin expression by siRNAs enhances chemosensitivity of prostate cancer cells and attenuates its tumorigenicity

Survivin, a member of inhibitor of apoptosis family protein, has become an attractive therapeutic target in cancer due to its selective expression in tumor cells and its important roles for tumor cell viability. Here, we show that vector-based small interfering RNAs （siRNAs） silenced survivin expression in prostate cancer cells, resulting in significantly reduced cell proliferation and enhanced apoptosis, and increased the sensitivity of prostate cancer cells （PC-3） to the apoptosis-inducing agent, platinol. Furthermore, PC-3 cells transfected with the siRNA-expressing vector showed lower tumor formation in nude mice xenografts in vivo. These results demonstrated that inhibition of survivin expression by siRNA attenuated the malignant phenotypes of prostate cancer cells, and may provide a novel approach for gene therapy of androgen-independent prostate cancer.     

Over-expression of fibroblast activation protein alpha increases tumor growth in xenografts of ovarian cancer cells

Fibroblast activation protein alpha （FAPα） is a 95-kDa serine protease of post-prolyl peptidase family on cell surface. FAPoL is widely expressed in tumor microenviron- ment. The wide spread association of FAPα expression with cancer suggests that it has important functions in the disease. However, the nature of FAPα＇s roles in cancer cell activity is not well-determined. It has been showed that FAPα silencing in SKOV3 cells induces ovarian tumors but significantly reduces tumor growth in a xenograft mouse model. To further determine the role of FAPoL in epithelial ovarian cancer cells, SKOV3-FAPα and HO8910-FAPα cell lines, which over-expressed FAPα stably, were con- structed and then their biological behaviors were investi- gated. It was found that FAPoL promoted ovarian cancer cell proliferation, drug resistance, invasiveness, and migra- tion in vitro. Immunochemistry assay showed that FAPα significantly facilitated tumor growth in xenograft tumor tissues. These results suggested that FAPα might directly promote tumor growth and invasiveness in ovarian cancer cells.     

Dysregulated lipid metabolism in cancer

Alteration of lipid metabolism has been increasingly recognized as a hallmark of cancer cells. The changes of expression and activity of lipid metabolizing enzymes are directly regulated by the activity of oncogenic signals. The dependence of tumor cells on the dysregulated lipid metabolism suggests that proteins involved in this process are excellent chemotherapeutic targets for cancer treatment. There are currently several drugs under development or in clinical trials that are based on specifically targeting the altered lipid metabolic pathways in cancer cells. Further understanding of dysregulated lipid metabolism and its associated signaling pathways will help us to better design efficient cancer therapeutic strategy.     

New findings showing how DNA methylation influences diseases

In 1975, Holliday and Pugh as well as Riggs independently hypothesized that DNA methylation in eukaryotes could act as a hereditary regulation mechanism that influences gene expression and cell differentiation. Interest in the study of epigenetic processes has been inspired by their reversibility as well as their potentially preventable or treatable consequences. Recently, we have begun to understand that the features of DNA methylation are not the same for all cells.Major differences have been found between differentiated cells and stem cells.Methylation influences various pathologies, and it is very important to improve the understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms. Epigenetic modifications may take place throughout life and have been related to cancer, brain aging, memory disturbances, changes in synaptic plasticity, and neurodegenerative diseases,such as Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. DNA methylation also has a very important role in tumor biology. Many oncogenes are activated by mutations in carcinogenesis. However, many genes with tumor-suppressor functions are "silenced" by the methylation of CpG sites in some of their regions.Moreover, the role of epigenetic alterations has been demonstrated in neurological diseases. In neuronal precursors, many genes associated with development and differentiation are silenced by CpG methylation. In addition,recent studies show that DNA methylation can also influence diseases that do not appear to be related to the environment, such as IgA nephropathy, thus affecting,the expression of some genes involved in the T-cell receptor signaling. In conclusion, DNA methylation provides a whole series of fundamental information for the cell to regulate gene expression, including how and when the genes are read, and it does not depend on the DNA sequence.     

Frequent 14-3-3 sigma promoter methylation in benign and malignant prostate lesions

14-3-3Sigma is a putative tumor suppressor gene involved in cell cycle regulation and apoptosis following DNA damage. 14-3-3Sigma loss of expression has been reported is several human cancers, including prostate adenocarcinoma and precursor lesions, and promoter hypermethylation has been proposed as the mechanism underlying gene silencing. Here, we investigate the frequency and extent of 14-3-3sigma promoter methylation in benign and cancerous prostate tissues. We examined tumor tissue from 121 patients with prostate carcinoma (PCa), 39 paired high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasias (HGPIN), 29 patients with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), as well as four prostate cancer cell lines using quantitative methylation-specific PCR (QMSP). The percentage of methylated alleles (PMA) was calculated and correlated with clinical and pathological parameters. RT-PCR was performed in the cell lines to assess 14-3-3sigma mRNA expression. PCa, HGPIN, BPH, and cancer cell lines showed ubiquitous 14-3-3sigma promoter methylation. However, the PMA of HGPIN was significantly lower than that of PCa or BPH (P < 0.0001), while PCa and BPH did not significantly differ. The PMA did not correlate with any clinicopathological parameter. All prostate cancer cell lines expressed 14-3-3sigmamRNA. 14-3-3Sigma promoter methylation is a frequent event in prostate tissues and cancer cell lines. Furthermore, there is a progressive accumulation of neoplastic cells with 14-3-3sigma methylated alleles from HGPIN to PCa, suggesting a role for this epigenetic event in prostate carcinogenesis. However, other mechanisms besides promoter methylation might be required for effective 14-3-3sigma downregulation.     

Gene expression and methylation status of 14-3-3sigma in human renal carcinoma tissues

Loss of 14-3-3sigma expression mainly by methylation-mediated silencing has been reported in several human cancers, but the methylation status of 14-3-3sigma in human renal carcinoma is rarely studied so far. In this report, 14-3-3sigma expression was first examined by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, and further we investigated the methylation status by methylation-specific PCR and the correlation between 14-3-3sigma expression and its methylation. We found 14-3-3sigma expression was lost in 27 of 31 renal tissues including 16 renal carcinoma tissues, eight para-cancerous kidney tissues and seven normal kidney tissues. Among 16 renal carcinoma tissues, 14 cases had complete hypermethylation of 14-3-3sigma. Eight para-cancerous kidney tissues were almost completely methylated except one case had both methylation and unmethylation. Among seven normal kidney tissues, five cases had partial methylation, and the other two cases were completely methylated. In addition, 14-3-3sigma mRNA had weak expression in OS-RC-2 cells, but it increased with gradual demethylation after treatment by a demethylation agent, 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine. In general, 14-3-3sigma mRNA was mostly unexpressed, and its DNA frequently hypermethylated within 14-3-3sigma coding region was closely associated with the gene silencing in cancerous and para-cancerous kidney tissues. 14-3-3sigma was also frequently methylated and almost silencing in normal kidney tissues. However, the methylation frequency was gradually reinforced with the extent of malignancy from normal to para-cancerous and cancerous kidney tissues.     

Expression and methylation status of 14-3-3 sigma gene can characterize the different histological features of ovarian cancer

We hypothesize that 14-3-3 sigma gene expression and its regulation by methylation can characterize histological types of primary human epithelial ovarian cancer. To test this hypothesis, ovarian cancer cell lines and 54 ovarian cancer tissue samples were analyzed for expression and methylation of 14-3-3 sigma gene using methylation specific PCR. The results of our experiments demonstrate that 14-3-3 sigma gene was methylated and inactivated in ES-2 ovarian cell line, which was derived from clear cell adenocarcinoma. Treatment of this cell line with demethylating agent 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine restored the expression of 14-3-3 sigma gene. In human ovarian cancer tissues, the expression of 14-3-3 sigma protein was inactivated in most of the ovarian clear cell carcinoma tissues. Interestingly, 14-3-3 sigma protein expression was positive in significantly higher percentages of serous (89.5%), endometrioid (90%), and mucinous (81.8%) ovarian adenocarcinoma tissues. The ovarian clear cell carcinoma samples with inactivated 14-3-3 sigma protein were highly methylated, suggesting that inactivation of 14-3-3 sigma gene is through DNA methylation. Using direct DNA sequencing, 14-3-3 sigma gene methylation on all the 17 CpG sites was significantly higher in ovarian clear cell carcinoma as compared to other histological types of ovarian cancer (serous, endometrioid, and mucinous). This is the first report suggesting that 14-3-3 sigma gene expression and methylation status can characterize histological features of different types of ovarian cancer.     

14-3-3sigma is down-regulated in human prostate cancer

The 14-3-3sigma is a negative regulator of the cell cycle, which is induced by p53 in response to DNA damage. It has been characterized as an epithelium-specific marker and down-regulation of the protein has been shown in breast cancers, suggesting its tumor-suppressive activity in epithelial cells. Here we demonstrate that 14-3-3sigma protein is down-regulated in human prostate cancer cell lines, LNCaP, PC3, and DU145 compared with normal prostate epithelial cells. Immunohistochemical analysis of primary prostate cells shows that the expression of 14-3-3sigma protein is epithelial cell-specific. Among prostate pathological specimens, > 95% of benign hyperplasia samples show significant and diffuse immunostaining of 14-3-3sigma in the cytoplasm whereas < 20% of carcinoma samples show positive staining. In terms of mechanisms for the down-regulation of 14-3-3sigma in prostate cancer cells, hypermethylation of the gene promoter plays a causal role in LNCaP cells as 14-3-3sigma mRNA level was elevated by 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine demethylating treatment. Intriguingly, the proteasome-mediated proteolysis is responsible for 14-3-3sigma reduction in DU145 and PC3 cells, as 14-3-3sigma protein expression was increased by treatment with a proteasome inhibitor MG132. Furthermore, tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand enhances 14-3-3sigma gene and protein expression in DU145 and PC3 cells. These data suggest that 14-3-3sigma expression is down-regulated during the neoplastic transition of prostate epithelial cells.     

Targeted proteomic analysis of 14-3-3 sigma, a p53 effector commonly silenced in cancer

To comprehensively identify proteins interacting with 14-3-3 sigma in vivo, tandem affinity purification and the multidimensional protein identification technology were combined to characterize 117 proteins associated with 14-3-3 sigma in human cells. The majority of identified proteins contained one or several phosphorylatable 14-3-3-binding sites indicating a potential direct interaction with 14-3-3 sigma. 25 proteins were not previously assigned to any function and were named SIP2-26 (for 14-3-3 sigma-interacting protein). Among the 92 interactors with known function were a number of proteins previously implicated in oncogenic signaling (APC, A-RAF, B-RAF, and c-RAF) and cell cycle regulation (AJUBA, c-TAK, PTOV-1, and WEE1). The largest functional classes comprised proteins involved in the regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics, polarity, adhesion, mitogenic signaling, and motility. Accordingly ectopic 14-3-3 sigma expression prevented cellular migration in a wounding assay and enhanced mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling. The functional diversity of the identified proteins indicates that induction of 14-3-3 sigma could allow p53 to affect numerous processes in addition to the previously characterized inhibitory effect on G2/M progression. The data suggest that the cancer-specific loss of 14-3-3 sigma expression by epigenetic silencing or p53 mutations contributes to cancer formation by multiple routes.     

Tumor suppressor gene 14-3-3sigma is down-regulated whereas the proto-oncogene translation elongation factor 1delta is up-regulated in non-small cell lung cancers as identified by proteomic profiling

Lung cancer, a leading cause of cancer deaths, consists of two major groups: small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with the NSCLC accounting for approximately 75% cases of lung cancers. It has been suggested that molecular changes including overexpression of oncogenes and decreased expression of tumor suppressor genes are responsible for lung carcinogenesis. In this study, we analyzed protein profiles of four different human NSCLC cell lines compared with normal human bronchial epithelial cells using two-dimensional PAGE and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. We identified 12 protein spots with different expressions between the normal and cancer cells. Of these proteins, vimentin, cytokeratin 8, YB-1, PCNA, Nm23, hnRNP A2/B1, and HSP90beta were known to be up-regulated in lung cancers, which is consistent with the current study. We also found that the expression of M-type pyruvate kinase is altered in NSCLC likely due to changes in translational control and/or differential phosphorylation of the protein. Interestingly, the expression of the tumor suppressor gene 14-3-3sigma is down-regulated while that of the proto-oncogene TEF1delta is up-regulated in NSCLC cells. On the basis of these observations and previous studies, we propose that the altered expression of 14-3-3sigma and TEF1delta may be involved in lung carcinogenesis.     

14-3-3sigma mediation of cell cycle progression is p53-independent in response to insulin-like growth factor-I receptor activation

We investigated the role of 14-3-3sigma protein in insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) receptor signaling. It has been previously shown that 14-3-3sigma negatively regulates cell cycle especially in response to p53-sensitive DNA damage. In this study we demonstrated that 14-3-3sigma is a positive mediator of IGF-I receptor-induced cell proliferation. Treatment with IGF-I increased 14-3-3sigma mRNA and protein levels about 4-fold, in a time-dependent manner in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Preincubation with the phosphoinositide 3'-kinase inhibitor LY294002 significantly reduced the effects of IGF-I on 14-3-3sigma gene expression in these cells, suggesting that this effect of IGF-I occurs via the phosphoinositide 3'-kinase pathway. 14-3-3sigma is induced by IGF-I in MCF-7 cells, which express wild-type p53, as well as in MCF-7 cells transfected with a small interference RNA targeting duplex that reduced p53 expression levels. These results suggest that IGF-I induces 14-3-3sigma expression in a manner that is independent of p53. Using the small interference RNA strategy, we demonstrated that a 70-75% reduction of 14-3-3sigma mRNA levels resulted in a similar decrease in the effects of IGF-I on cell cycle progression and proliferation in MCF-7 cells. This effect was also associated with a reduction in IGF-I-induced cyclin D1 expression. Taken together, these results suggest that 14-3-3sigma positively mediates IGF-I-induced cell cycle progression.