JC virus T-antigen regulates glucose metabolic pathways in brain tumor cells

Recent studies have reported the detection of the human neurotropic virus, JCV, in a significant population of brain tumors, including medulloblastomas. Accordingly, expression of the JCV early protein, T-antigen, which has transforming activity in cell culture and in transgenic mice, results in the development of a broad range of tumors of neural crest and glial origin. Evidently, the association of T-antigen with a range of tumor-suppressor proteins, including p53 and pRb, and signaling molecules, such as β-catenin and IRS-1, plays a role in the oncogenic function of JCV T-antigen. We demonstrate that T-antigen expression is suppressed by glucose deprivation in medulloblastoma cells and in glioblastoma xenografts that both endogenously express T-antigen. Mechanistic studies indicate that glucose deprivation-mediated suppression of T-antigen is partly influenced by 5'-activated AMP kinase (AMPK), an important sensor of the AMP/ATP ratio in cells. In addition, glucose deprivation-induced cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase is blocked with AMPK inhibition, which also prevents T-antigen downregulation. Furthermore, T-antigen prevents G1 arrest and sustains cells in the G2 phase during glucose deprivation. On a functional level, T-antigen downregulation is partially dependent on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production during glucose deprivation, and T-antigen prevents ROS induction, loss of ATP production, and cytotoxicity induced by glucose deprivation. Additionally, we have found that T-antigen is downregulated by the glycolytic inhibitor, 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), and the pentose phosphate inhibitors, 6-aminonicotinamide and oxythiamine, and that T-antigen modulates expression of the glycolytic enzyme, hexokinase 2 (HK2), and the pentose phosphate enzyme, transaldolase-1 (TALDO1), indicating a potential link between T-antigen and metabolic regulation. These studies point to the possible involvement of JCV T-antigen in medulloblastoma proliferation and the metabolic phenotype and may enhance our understanding of the role of viral proteins in glycolytic tumor metabolism, thus providing useful targets for the treatment of virus-induced tumors.     

Identification and characterization of putative tumor suppressor NGB, a GTP-binding protein that interacts with the neurofibromatosis 2 protein

Mutations of the neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2) tumor suppressor gene have frequently been detected not only in schwannomas and other central nervous system tumors of NF2 patients but also in their sporadic counterparts and malignant tumors unrelated to the NF2 syndrome such as malignant mesothelioma, indicating a broader role for the NF2 gene in human tumorigenesis. However, the mechanisms by which the NF2 product, merlin or schwannomin, is regulated and controls cell proliferation remain elusive. Here, we identify a novel GTP-binding protein, dubbed NGB (referring to NF2-associated GTP binding protein), which binds to merlin. NGB is highly conserved between Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caenorhabditis elegans, and human cells, and its GTP-binding region is very similar to those found in R-ras and Rap2. However, ectopic expression of NGB inhibits cell growth, cell aggregation, and tumorigenicity in tumorigenic schwanomma cells. Down-regulation and infrequent mutation of NGB were detected in human glioma cell lines and primary tumors. The interaction of NGB with merlin impairs the turnover of merlin, yet merlin does not affect the GTPase nor GTP-binding activity of NGB. Finally, the tumor suppressor functions of NGB require merlin and are linked to its ability to suppress cyclin D1 expression. Collectively, these findings indicate that NGB is a tumor suppressor that regulates and requires merlin to suppress cell proliferation.     

Bag3-Induced Autophagy Is Associated with Degradation of JCV Oncoprotein, T-Ag

JC virus, JCV, is a human neurotropic polyomavirus whose replication in glial cells causes the fatal demyelinating disease progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). In addition, JCV possesses oncogenic activity and expression of its transforming protein, large T-antigen (T-Ag), in several experimental animals induces tumors of neural origin. Further, the presence of JCV DNA and T-Ag have been repeatedly observed in several human malignant tissues including primitive neuroectodermal tumors and glioblastomas. Earlier studies have demonstrated that Bag3, a member of the Bcl-2-associated athanogene (Bag) family of proteins, which is implicated in autophagy and apoptosis, is downregulated upon JCV infection of glial cells and that JCV T-Ag is responsible for suppressing the activity of the BAG3 promoter. Here, we investigated the possible impact of Bag3 on T-Ag expression in JCV-infected human primary glial cells as well as in cells derived from T-Ag-induced medulloblastoma in transgenic animals. Results from these studies revealed that overexpression of Bag3 drastically decreases the level of T-Ag expression by inducing the autophagic degradation of the viral protein. Interestingly, this event leads to the inhibition of JCV infection of glial cells, suggesting that the reduced levels of T-antigen seen upon the overexpression of Bag3 has a biological impact on the viral lytic cycle. Results from protein-protein interaction studies showed that T-Ag and Bag3 physically interact with each other through the zinc-finger of T-Ag and the proline rich domains of Bag3, and this interaction is important for the autophagic degradation of T-Ag. Our observations open a new avenue of research for better understanding of virus-host interaction by investigating the interplay between T-Ag and Bag3, and their impact on the development of JCV-associated diseases.     

Degradation of polyomavirus JC T-antigen by stress involves the LIP isoform of C/EBP

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is caused by the accumulation of misfolded or unfolded proteins in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins are one of the cellular proteins whose expression is upregulated during ER stress. Previously, we have identified C/EBPbeta isoforms, especially LIP, as a negative regulator of polyomavirus JC (JCV), the causative agent of the demyelinating disease progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). Here, we show that the induction of ER stress by thapsigargin increase the expression of endogenous LIP and the degradation of JCV T-antigen in a JCV-transgenic mouse tumor cell line. Our results also revealed that overexpression of LIP significantly reduced the level of T-Ag and this effect is reversed upon siRNA-mediated silencing of LIP. Immunoprecipitation/Western blot experiments indicated that LIP interacts with T-antigen directly. Treatment of cells that overexpress LIP with MG115, a proteasome inhibitor, partially rescued LIP-mediated degradation of T-antigen. Our observations point to a role of LIP in ER stress regulation of T-antigen stability and may open a new avenue to study host-virus interaction during ER stress.     

Neural Crest Cells Isolated from the Bone Marrow of Transgenic Mice Express JCV T-Antigen

JC virus (JCV), a common human polyomavirus, is the etiological agent of the demyelinating disease, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). In addition to its role in PML, studies have demonstrated the transforming ability of the JCV early protein, T-antigen, and its association with some human cancers. JCV infection occurs in childhood and latent virus is thought to be maintained within the bone marrow, which harbors cells of hematopoietic and non-hematopoietic lineages. Here we show that non-hematopoietic mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) isolated from the bone marrow of JCV T-antigen transgenic mice give rise to JCV T-antigen positive cells when cultured under neural conditions. JCV T-antigen positive cells exhibited neural crest characteristics and demonstrated p75, SOX-10 and nestin positivity. When cultured in conditions typical for mesenchymal cells, a population of T-antigen negative cells, which did not express neural crest markers arose from the MSCs. JCV T-antigen positive cells could be cultured long-term while maintaining their neural crest characteristics. When these cells were induced to differentiate into neural crest derivatives, JCV T-antigen was downregulated in cells differentiating into bone and maintained in glial cells expressing GFAP and S100. We conclude that JCV T-antigen can be stably expressed within a fraction of bone marrow cells differentiating along the neural crest/glial lineage when cultured in vitro. These findings identify a cell population within the bone marrow permissible for JCV early gene expression suggesting the possibility that these cells could support persistent viral infection and thus provide clues toward understanding the role of the bone marrow in JCV latency and reactivation. Further, our data provides an excellent experimental model system for studying the cell-type specificity of JCV T-antigen expression, the role of bone marrow-derived stem cells in the pathogenesis of JCV-related diseases and the opportunities for the use of this model in development of therapeutic strategies.     

IFN-Gamma Inhibits JC Virus Replication in Glial Cells by Suppressing T-Antigen Expression

Objective

Patients undergoing immune modulatory therapies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and individuals with an impaired-immune system, most notably AIDS patients, are in the high risk group of developing progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), an often lethal disease of the brain characterized by lytic infection of oligodendrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS) with JC virus (JCV). The immune system plays an important regulatory role in controlling JCV reactivation from latent sites by limiting viral gene expression and replication. However, little is known regarding the molecular mechanisms responsible for this regulation.

Methods and Results

Here, we investigated the impact of soluble immune mediators secreted by activated PBMCs on viral replication and gene expression by cell culture models and molecular virology techniques. Our data revealed that viral gene expression and viral replication were suppressed by soluble immune mediators. Further studies demonstrated that soluble immune mediators secreted by activated PBMCs inhibit viral replication induced by T-antigen, the major viral regulatory protein, by suppressing its expression in glial cells. This unexpected suppression of T-antigen was mainly associated with the suppression of translational initiation. Cytokine/chemokine array studies using conditioned media from activated PBMCs revealed several candidate cytokines with possible roles in this regulation. Among them, only IFN-γ showed a robust inhibition of T-antigen expression. While potential roles for IFN-β, and to a lesser extent IFN-α have been described for JCV, IFN-γ has not been previously implicated. Further analysis of IFN-γ signaling pathway revealed a novel role of Jak1 signaling in control of viral T-antigen expression. Furthermore, IFN-γ suppressed JCV replication and viral propagation in primary human fetal glial cells, and showed a strong anti-JCV activity.

Conclusions

Our results suggest a novel role for IFN-γ in the regulation of JCV gene expression via downregulation of the major viral regulatory protein, T-antigen, and provide a new avenue of research to understand molecular mechanisms for downregulation of viral reactivation that may lead to development of novel strategies for the treatment of PML.     

The NF2 tumor suppressor gene product, merlin, inhibits cell proliferation and cell cycle progression by repressing cyclin D1 expression

Inactivation of the NF2 tumor suppressor gene has been observed in certain benign and malignant tumors. Recent studies have demonstrated that merlin, the product of the NF2 gene, is regulated by Rac/PAK signaling. However, the mechanism by which merlin acts as a tumor suppressor has remained obscure. In this report, we show that adenovirus-mediated expression of merlin in NF2-deficient tumor cells inhibits cell proliferation and arrests cells at G1 phase, concomitant with decreased expression of cyclin D1, inhibition of CDK4 activity, and dephosphorylation of pRB. The effect of merlin on cell cycle progression was partially overridden by ectopic expression of cyclin D1. RNA interference experiments showed that silencing of the endogenous NF2 gene results in upregulation of cyclin D1 and S-phase entry. Furthermore, PAK1-stimulated cyclin D1 promoter activity was repressed by cotransfection of NF2, and PAK activity was inhibited by expression of merlin. Interestingly, the S518A mutant form of merlin, which is refractory to phosphorylation by PAK, was more efficient than the wild-type protein in inhibiting cell cycle progression and in repressing cyclin D1 promoter activity. Collectively, our data indicate that merlin exerts its antiproliferative effect, at least in part, via repression of PAK-induced cyclin D1 expression, suggesting a unifying mechanism by which merlin inactivation might contribute to the overgrowth seen in both noninvasive and malignant tumors.     

A potential role for NF1 mRNA editing in the pathogenesis of NF1 tumors.

Neurofibromatosis type I (NF1) is a common disorder that predisposes to neoplasia in tissues derived from the embryonic neural crest. The NF1 gene encodes a tumor suppressor that most likely acts through the interaction of its GTPase-activating protein (GAP)-related domain (GRD) with the product of the ras protooncogene. We have previously identified a site in the NF1 mRNA, within the first half of the NF1 GRD, which undergoes base-modification editing. Editing at that site changes a C to a U, thereby introducing an in-frame stop codon. NF1 RNA editing has been detected in all cell types studied, to date. In order to investigate the role played by editing in NF1 tumorigenesis, we analyzed RNA from 19 NF1 and 4 non-NF1 tumors. We observed varying levels of NF1 mRNA editing in different tumors, with a higher range of editing levels in more malignant tumors (e.g., neurofibrosarcomas) compared to benign tumors (cutaneous neurofibromas). Plexiform neurofibromas have an intermediate range of levels of NF1 mRNA editing. We also compared tumor and nontumor tissues from several NF1 individuals, to determine the extent of variability present in the constitutional levels of NF1 mRNA editing and to determine whether higher levels are present in tumors. The constitutional levels of NF1 mRNA editing varied slightly but were consistent with the levels observed in non-NF1 individuals. In every case, there was a greater level of NF1 mRNA editing in the tumor than in the nontumor tissue from the same patient. These results suggest that inappropriately high levels of NF1 mRNA editing does play a role in NF1 tumorigenesis and that editing may result in the functional equivalent of biallelic inactivation of the NF1 tumor suppressor.     

The p38 MAPK Regulates IL-24 Expression by Stabilization of the 3′ UTR of IL-24 mRNA

Background

IL-24 (melanoma differentiation-associated gene-7 (mda-7)), a member of the IL-10 cytokine family, possesses the properties of a classical cytokine as well as tumor suppressor effects. The exact role of IL-24 in the immune system has not been defined but studies have indicated a role for IL-24 in inflammatory conditions such as psoriasis. The tumor suppressor effects of IL-24 include inhibition of angiogenesis, sensitization to chemotherapy, and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-mediated apoptosis. Current knowledge on the regulation of IL-24 expression is sparse. Previous studies have suggested that mRNA stabilization is of major importance to IL-24 expression. Yet, the mechanisms responsible for the regulation of IL-24 mRNA stability remain unidentified. As p38 MAPK is known to regulate gene expression by interfering with mRNA degradation we examined the role of p38 MAPK in the regulation of IL-24 gene expression in cultured normal human keratinocytes.

Methodology/Principal Findings

In the present study we show that anisomycin- and IL-1β- induced IL-24 expression is strongly dependent on p38 MAPK activation. Studies of IL-24 mRNA stability in anisomycin-treated keratinocytes reveal that the p38 MAPK inhibitor SB 202190 accelerates IL-24 mRNA decay suggesting p38 MAPK to regulate IL-24 expression by mRNA-stabilizing mechanisms. The insertion of the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) of IL-24 mRNA in a tet-off reporter construct induces degradation of the reporter mRNA. The observed mRNA degradation is markedly reduced when a constitutively active mutant of MAPK kinase 6 (MKK6), which selectively activates p38 MAPK, is co-expressed.

Conclusions/Significance

Taken together, we here report p38 MAPK as a regulator of IL-24 expression and determine interference with destabilization mediated by the 3′ UTR of IL-24 mRNA as mode of action. As discussed in the present work these findings have important implications for our understanding of IL-24 as a tumor suppressor protein as well as an immune modulating cytokine.     

Owl monkey astrocytoma cells in culture spontaneously produce infectious JC virus which demonstrates altered biological properties.

A tumor cell suspension of an explanted JC virus (JCV)-induced owl monkey glioblastoma was inoculated intracranially into four recipient juvenile owl monkeys. Twenty-eight months following inoculation one owl monkey developed a glioblastoma, which was explanted into tissue culture. DNA from both the tumor tissue and tumor cells in culture hybridized to a JCV DNA probe by Southern analysis, indicating that free, as well as integrated, viral DNA may be present. At the time of the second culture passage, viral JCV DNA was extracted from these cells and cloned into a plasmid vector. Nucleotide sequencing of the regulatory region of the cloned DNA demonstrated homology with the prototype Mad-1 strain of JCV and revealed a 19-base-pair deletion in the second 98-base-pair tandem repeat that eliminated a second TATA box. This deletion is characteristic of the Mad-4 strain of JCV, which is highly neurooncogenic. By the third culture passage, 100% of the cells were T-antigen positive. Approximately one-third of the cells in culture hybridized to a biotinylated JCV DNA probe when in situ hybridization was used, a technique that only detects high-copy-number of replicating viral sequences. By the culture passage 5 and continuing through culture passage 14, viable JC virions could be recovered. The T protein synthesized by this virus, now termed JCV-586, differed from both the Mad-1 and Mad-4 strains in that it formed a stable complex with the cellular p53 protein in the tumor cells. Also, the JCV-586 T protein reacted to several monoclonal antibodies made to the simian virus 40 T protein that were not recognized by either the Mad-1 or Mad-4 strains.     

泛素蛋白连接酶MDM2活性及稳定性调控的研究进展

泛素蛋白连接酶MDM2(Murine double minute 2)具有癌基因活性, MDM2高表达会导致抑癌基因p53失活而诱发肿瘤, 但在至少7%的肿瘤中p53基因正常而mdm2异常扩增, 表明MDM2还具有其他底物分子, 以p53不依赖的方式促进肿瘤的发生。鉴于MDM2的重要作用, 文章在基因水平、转录水平、翻译后修饰水平、相互作用分子的调节等方面系统总结了目前对MDM2调控的主要研究机制及其进展。     

p21-activated kinase links Rac/Cdc42 signaling to merlin.

The neurofibromatosis type 2 tumor suppressor gene, NF2, is mutated in the germ line of NF2 patients and predisposes affected individuals to intracranial and spinal tumors. Moreover, somatic mutations of NF2 can occur in the sporadic counterparts of these neurological tumor types as well as in certain neoplasms of non-neuroectodermal origin, such as malignant mesothelioma and melanoma. NF2 encodes a 595-amino acid protein, merlin, which exhibits significant homology to the ezrin-radixin-moesin family of proteins. However, the mechanism by which merlin exerts its tumor suppressor activity is not well understood. In this investigation, we show that merlin is phosphorylated in response to expression of activated Rac and activated Cdc42 in mammalian cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate that merlin phosphorylation is mediated by p21-activated kinase (Pak), a common downstream target of both Rac and Cdc42. Both in vivo and in vitro kinase assays demonstrated that Pak can directly phosphorylate merlin at serine 518, a site that affects merlin activity and localization. These biochemical investigations provide insights into the regulation of merlin function and establish a framework for elucidating tumorigenic mechanisms involved in neoplasms associated with merlin inactivation.     

Tumorigenesis in neurofibromatosis: new insights and potential therapies

The neurofibromatoses NF1 and NF2 are inherited cancer predisposition syndromes in which affected individuals are prone to development of mostly benign, but occasionally malignant, tumors. The NF1 and NF2 genes function as tumor suppressor genes (negative growth regulators), such that their loss of expression predisposes to tumor formation. Neurofibromin, the protein product of the NF1 gene, acts as a negative regulator of the ras proto-oncogene, to reduce cell growth. Merlin, the NF2 gene product, is involved in regulating cell proliferation and motility, and probably plays a role in integrating multiple cell-signaling pathways. By understanding the function of these tumor suppressors, we have a unique opportunity to develop targeted pharmacotherapeutic interventions for these disorders.     

The Neurofibromatosis Type 2 Gene Product, merlin, Reverses the F-Actin Cytoskeletal Defects in Primary Human Schwannoma Cells

Schwannoma tumors, which occur sporadically and in patients with neurofibromatosis, account for 8% of intracranial tumors and can only be treated by surgical removal. Most schwannomas have biallelic mutations in the NF2 tumor suppressor gene. We previously showed that schwannoma-derived Schwann cells exhibit membrane ruffling and aberrant cell spreading when plated onto laminin, indicative of fundamental F-actin cytoskeletal defects. Here we expand these observations to a large group of sporadic and NF2-related tumors and extend them to schwannomatosis-derived tumors. Mutation at NF2 correlated with F-actin abnormalities, but the extent of morphological change did not correlate with the type of NF2 mutation. We used a recently described molecular strategy, TAT-mediated protein transfer, to acutely introduce the NF2 protein, merlin, into primary human schwannoma cells in an attempt to reverse the cytoskeletal phenotype. Abnormal ruffling and cell spreading by cells with identified NF2 mutations were rapidly reversed by introduction of TAT-merlin. The effect is specific to TAT-merlin isoform 1, the growth-suppressive isoform of merlin. TAT-merlin isoform 2, a TAT-merlin mutant (L64P), and merlin lacking TAT were ineffective in reversing the cytoskeletal phenotype. Results show that merlin isoform 1 is sufficient to restore normal actin organization in NF2-deficient human tumor cells, demonstrating a key role for merlin in the NF2 phenotype. These results lay the foundation for epigenetic complementation studies in NF2 mouse models and possibly for experiments to evaluate the utility of merlin transduction into patients as protein therapy.     

Primary central nervous system lymphoma expressing the human neurotropic polyomavirus, JC virus, genome

B lymphocytes are known as a potential site for latency and reactivation of the human neurotropic polyomavirus, JC virus (JCV). In light of recent studies on the oncogenicity of JCV and the transforming ability of the JCV early protein, T antigen, we investigated the association of JCV with B-cell lymphomas of the central nervous system. Examination of 27 well-characterized clinical specimens by gene amplification and immunohistochemistry revealed the presence of DNA sequences corresponding to the JCV early genome and the late Agnoprotein in 22 samples and the JCV late genome encoding the viral capsid proteins in 8 samples. Expression of T antigen and that of Agnoprotein by immunohistochemistry were each detected in six specimens. No evidence of the production of viral capsid proteins was observed, ruling out productive infection of JCV in the tumor cells. The results from laser capture microdissection verified the presence of JCV T-antigen sequences in tumor cells with positive immunoreactivity to antibodies against the viral proteins T antigen and Agnoprotein. Due to previous reports demonstrating an association of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) with transformation of B lymphocytes, EBV DNA sequences and the EBV transforming protein, latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1), were analyzed in parallel. EBV LMP1 DNA sequences were detected in 16 of 23 samples, and LMP1 expression was detected in 16 samples, 5 of which exhibited positive immunoreactivity to JCV proteins. Double labeling demonstrated coexpression of JCV T antigen and EBV LMP1 in the same cells. The detection of the JCV genome in large numbers of B-cell lymphomas and its coexistence with EBV suggest a potential role for JCV in the pathogenesis of primary CNS lymphoma.