Pin1 regulates centrosome duplication, and its overexpression induces centrosome amplification, chromosome instability, and oncogenesis.

Phosphorylation on Ser/Thr-Pro motifs is a major mechanism regulating many events involved in cell proliferation and transformation, including centrosome duplication, whose defects have been implicated in oncogenesis. Certain phosphorylated Ser/Thr-Pro motifs can exist in two distinct conformations whose conversion in certain proteins is catalyzed specifically by the prolyl isomerase Pin1. Pin1 is prevalently overexpressed in human cancers and is important for the activation of multiple oncogenic pathways, and its deletion suppresses the ability of certain oncogenes to induce cancer in mice. However, little is known about the role of Pin1 in centrosome duplication and the significance of Pin1 overexpression in cancer development in vivo. Here we show that Pin1 overexpression correlates with centrosome amplification in human breast cancer tissues. Furthermore, Pin1 localizes to and copurifies with centrosomes in interphase but not mitotic cells. Moreover, Pin1 ablation in mouse embryonic fibroblasts drastically delays centrosome duplication without affecting DNA synthesis and Pin1 inhibition also suppresses centrosome amplification in S-arrested CHO cells. In contrast, overexpression of Pin1 drives centrosome duplication and accumulation, resulting in chromosome missegregation, aneuploidy, and transformation in nontransformed NIH 3T3 cells. More importantly, transgenic overexpression of Pin1 in mouse mammary glands also potently induces centrosome amplification, eventually leading to mammary hyperplasia and malignant mammary tumors with overamplified centrosomes. These results demonstrate for the first time that the phosphorylation-specific isomerase Pin1 regulates centrosome duplication and its deregulation can induce centrosome amplification, chromosome instability, and oncogenesis.