Palmitic acid negatively regulates tumor suppressor PTEN through T366 phosphorylation and protein degradation.

Chronic elevated free fatty (FFA) levels are linked to metabolic disorders and tumorigenesis. However, the molecular mechanism by which FFAs induce cancer remains poorly understood. Here, we show that the tumor suppressor PTEN protein levels were decreased in high fat diet (HFD) fed mice. As palmitic acid (PA, C16:0) showed a significant increase in the HFD fed mice, we further investigated its role in PTEN down regulation. Our studies revealed that exposure of cells to high doses of PA induced mTOR/S6K-mediated phosphorylation of PTEN at T366. The phosphorylation subsequently enhanced the interaction of PTEN with the E3 ubiquitin ligase WW domain-containing protein 2 (WWP2), which promoted polyubiquitination of PTEN and protein degradation. Consistent with PTEN degradation, exposure of cells to increased concentrations of PA also promoted PTEN-mediated AKT activation and cell proliferation. Significantly, a higher level of S6K activation, PTEN T366 phosphorylation, and AKT activation were also observed in the livers of the HFD fed mice. These results provide a molecular mechanism by which a HFD and elevated PA regulate cell proliferation through inactivation of tumor suppressor PTEN.

B56γ tumor-associated mutations provide new mechanisms for B56γ-PP2A tumor suppressor activity.

UNLABELLED: The hetero-trimeric PP2A serine/threonine phosphatases containing the regulatory subunit B56, and in particular B56γ, can function as tumor suppressors. In response to DNA damage, the B56γ subunit complexes with the PP2A AC core (B56γ-PP2A) and binds p53. This event promotes PP2A-mediated dephosphorylation of p53 at Thr55, which induces expression of p21, and the subsequent inhibition of cell proliferation and transformation. In addition to dephosphorylation of p53, B56γ-PP2A also inhibits cell proliferation and transformation by a second, as yet unknown, p53-independent mechanism. Here, we interrogated a panel of B56γ mutations found in human cancer samples and cell lines and showed that these mutations lost B56γ tumor-suppressive activity by two distinct mechanisms: one is by disrupting interactions with the PP2A AC core and the other with B56γ-PP2A substrates (p53 and unknown proteins). For the first mechanism, due to the absence of the C catalytic subunit in the complex, the mutants are unable to mediate dephosphorylation of any substrate and thus failed to promote both the p53-dependent and -independent tumor-suppressive functions of B56γ-PP2A. For the second mechanism, the mutants lacked specific substrate interactions and thus partially lost tumor-suppressive function, i.e., either the p53-dependent or p53-independent contingent upon which substrate binding was affected. Overall, these data provide new insight into the mechanisms of tumor suppression by B56γ. IMPLICATIONS: This study further indicates the importance of B56γ-PP2A in tumorigenesis.

Structure of the C-terminal half of human XPB helicase and the impact of the disease-causing mutation XP11BE.

XPB is a DNA-dependent helicase and a subunit of the TFIIH complex required for both transcription and DNA repair. XPB contains four domains: an N-terminal domain, two conserved helicase domains (HD1 and HD2) and a C-terminal extension. The C-terminal extension is important for DNA repair since the phosphorylation of Ser751 inhibits 5'-incision by ERCC1-XPF endonuclease. A disease-causing frameshift mutation (XP11BE) that changes the last 42 amino acids of XPB causes manifestations including impaired DNA repair and deficient transcription. Here, the crystal structure of the C-terminal half of XPB (residues 494-782) is reported at 1.8 Šresolution. The structure contained the conserved XPB HD2 and a C-terminal extension which shares structural similarity with RIG-I, leading to a structural model of the XPF-XPB-DNA complex for 5' incision during DNA repair. A mutation mimicking the XP11BE mutation produced the much less soluble mutant XPBm(494-781). Western blotting results confirmed that the intracellular levels of XPB and other TFIIH subunits in XP11BE patient cells were much lower than those from the healthy parents. Together, these results indicate that the XP11BE mutation not only divests the XPF-interaction motif, impairing DNA repair, but also reduces XPB solubility, leading to a lower intracellular level of TFIIH and deficient transcription.

HEAT repeat 1 motif is required for B56γ-containing protein phosphatase 2A (B56γ-PP2A) holoenzyme assembly and tumor-suppressive function.

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) enzyme consists of a heterodimeric core (AC core) comprising a scaffolding subunit (A), a catalytic subunit (C), and a variable regulatory subunit (B). Earlier studies suggest that upon DNA damage, a specific B subunit, B56γ, bridges the PP2A AC core to p53, leading to dephosphorylation of p53 at Thr-55, induction of the p53 transcriptional target p21, and the inhibition of cell proliferation and transformation. In addition to dephosphorylation of p53, B56γ-PP2A also inhibits cell proliferation and transformation by an unknown mechanism. B56γ contains 18 α-helices that are organized into eight HEAT (Huntington-elongation-A subunit-TOR) repeat motifs. Although previous crystal structure study has revealed the residues of B56γ that directly contact the A and C subunits, the contribution of HEAT repeats to holoenzyme assembly and to B56γ-PP2A tumor-suppressive function remains to be elucidated. Here, we show that HEAT repeat 1 is required for the interaction of B56γ with the PP2A AC core and, more importantly, for B56γ-PP2A tumor-suppressive function. Within this region, we identified a tumor-associated mutation, C39R, which disrupts the interaction of B56γ with the AC core and thus was unable to mediate dephosphorylation of p53 by PP2A. Furthermore, due to its lack of AC interaction, C39R was also unable to promote the p53-independent tumor-suppressive function of B56γ-PP2A. This study provides structural insight into the PP2A holoenzyme assembly and emphasizes the importance of HEAT repeat 1 in B56γ-PP2A tumor-suppressive function.