Yim Eun-Kyoung, Peng Guang, Dai Hui, Hu Ruozhen, Li Kaiyi, Lu Yiling, Mills Gordon B, Meric-Bernstam Funda, Hennessy Bryan T, Craven Rolf J, Lin Shiaw-Yih
Department of Systems Biology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77054, USA.
Cancer Cell. 2009 Apr 7;15(4):304-14. doi: 10.1016/j.ccr.2009.02.012.
Expression of the PTEN tumor suppressor is frequently lost in breast cancer in the absence of mutation or promoter methylation through as yet undetermined mechanisms. In this study, we demonstrate that the Rak tyrosine kinase physically interacts with PTEN and phosphorylates PTEN on Tyr336. Knockdown of Rak enhanced the binding of PTEN to its E3 ligase NEDD4-1 and promoted PTEN polyubiquitination, leading to PTEN protein degradation. Notably, ectopic expression of Rak effectively suppressed breast cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and colony formation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. Furthermore, Rak knockdown was sufficient to transform normal mammary epithelial cells. Therefore, Rak acts as a bona fide tumor suppressor gene through the mechanism of regulating PTEN protein stability and function.
在乳腺癌中,PTEN肿瘤抑制因子常常在没有突变或启动子甲基化的情况下,通过尚未明确的机制而缺失表达。在本研究中,我们证明Rak酪氨酸激酶与PTEN发生物理相互作用,并使PTEN的Tyr336位点磷酸化。敲低Rak可增强PTEN与其E3连接酶NEDD4-1的结合,并促进PTEN多聚泛素化,导致PTEN蛋白降解。值得注意的是,异位表达Rak可有效抑制体外乳腺癌细胞的增殖、侵袭和集落形成以及体内肿瘤生长。此外,敲低Rak足以使正常乳腺上皮细胞发生转化。因此,Rak通过调节PTEN蛋白稳定性和功能的机制,作为一种真正的肿瘤抑制基因发挥作用。