Sporadic distribution of prion-forming ability of Sup35p from yeasts and fungi.

Sup35p of Saccharomyces cerevisiae can form the [PSI+] prion, an infectious amyloid in which the protein is largely inactive. The part of Sup35p that forms the amyloid is the region normally involved in control of mRNA turnover. The formation of [PSI+] by Sup35p's from other yeasts has been interpreted to imply that the prion-forming ability of Sup35p is conserved in evolution, and thus of survival/fitness/evolutionary value to these organisms. We surveyed a larger number of yeast and fungal species by the same criteria as used previously and find that the Sup35p from many species cannot form prions. [PSI+] could be formed by the Sup35p from Candida albicans, Candida maltosa, Debaromyces hansenii, and Kluyveromyces lactis, but orders of magnitude less often than the S. cerevisiae Sup35p converts to the prion form. The Sup35s from Schizosaccharomyces pombe and Ashbya gossypii clearly do not form [PSI+]. We were also unable to detect [PSI+] formation by the Sup35ps from Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus fumigatus, Magnaporthe grisea, Ustilago maydis, or Cryptococcus neoformans. Each of two C. albicans SUP35 alleles can form [PSI+], but transmission from one to the other is partially blocked. These results suggest that the prion-forming ability of Sup35p is not a conserved trait, but is an occasional deleterious side effect of a protein domain conserved for another function.

ALK inhibitor PF02341066 (crizotinib) increases sensitivity to radiation in non-small cell lung cancer expressing EML4-ALK.

Crizotinib (PF02341066) is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) that has been shown to selectively inhibit growth of cancer cells that harbor the EML4-ALK fusion found in a subset of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). While in clinical trials, PF02341066 has shown a significant therapeutic benefit as a single agent; the effectiveness of combining it with other therapeutic modalities including ionizing radiation remains unknown. To further elucidate the role of PF02341066 in tumor inhibition, we examined its effects alone and in combination with radiation on downstream signaling, apoptosis, and radiosensitivity in two NSCLC cell lines in vitro: H3122, which harbors the EML4-ALK fusion, and H460, which does not. We also examined the in vivo effects of PF02341066 in H3122 mouse xenografts. In the H3122 cell line, PF02341066 inhibited phosphorylation of ALK and its downstream effectors: AKT, ERK, and STAT3. H3122 cells treated with a combination of PF02341066 and radiation showed an increase in cellular apoptosis and were sensitized to radiation therapy (dose enhancement ratio, 1.43; P < 0.0001). Moreover, in an H3122 xenograft model, the combined treatment resulted in greater tumor growth inhibition than either treatment alone (P < 0.05). None of these effects was observed in the EML4-ALK-negative H460 cells. Our findings indicate that PF02341066 acts as a radiation sensitizer in cells harboring the EML4-ALK fusion, providing a rationale for a clinical trial combining ALK inhibitor with radiation in the NSCLCs expressing ALK.

Prion amyloid structure explains templating: how proteins can be genes.

The yeast and fungal prions determine heritable and infectious traits, and are thus genes composed of protein. Most prions are inactive forms of a normal protein as it forms a self-propagating filamentous ß-sheet-rich polymer structure called amyloid. Remarkably, a single prion protein sequence can form two or more faithfully inherited prion variants, in effect alleles of these genes. What protein structure explains this protein-based inheritance? Using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, we showed that the infectious amyloids of the prion domains of Ure2p, Sup35p and Rnq1p have an in-register parallel architecture. This structure explains how the amyloid filament ends can template the structure of a new protein as it joins the filament. The yeast prions [PSI(+)] and [URE3] are not found in wild strains, indicating that they are a disadvantage to the cell. Moreover, the prion domains of Ure2p and Sup35p have functions unrelated to prion formation, indicating that these domains are not present for the purpose of forming prions. Indeed, prion-forming ability is not conserved, even within Saccharomyces cerevisiae, suggesting that the rare formation of prions is a disease. The prion domain sequences generally vary more rapidly in evolution than does the remainder of the molecule, producing a barrier to prion transmission, perhaps selected in evolution by this protection.