Zeng Yongji, Stauffer Seth, Zhou Jiuli, Chen Xingcheng, Chen Yuanhong, Dong Jixin
From the Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.
Department of Pathology and Microbiology, and.
J Biol Chem. 2017 Sep 8;292(36):15028-15038. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M117.796284. Epub 2017 Jul 24.
The Hippo pathway is an evolutionarily conserved signaling pathway that plays important roles in stem cell biology, tissue homeostasis, and cancer development. Vestigial-like 4 (Vgll4) functions as a transcriptional co-repressor in the Hippo-Yes-associated protein (YAP) pathway. Vgll4 inhibits cell proliferation and tumor growth by competing with YAP for binding to TEA-domain proteins (TEADs). However, the mechanisms by which Vgll4 itself is regulated are unclear. Here we identified a mechanism that regulates Vgll4's tumor-suppressing function. We found that Vgll4 is phosphorylated and by cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) during antimitotic drug-induced mitotic arrest and also in normal mitosis. We further identified Ser-58, Ser-155, Thr-159, and Ser-280 as the main mitotic phosphorylation sites in Vgll4. We also noted that the nonphosphorylatable mutant Vgll4-4A (S58A/S155A/T159A/S280A) suppressed tumorigenesis in pancreatic cancer cells and to a greater extent than did wild-type Vgll4, suggesting that mitotic phosphorylation inhibits Vgll4's tumor-suppressive activity. Consistent with these observations, the Vgll4-4A mutant possessed higher-binding affinity to TEAD1 than wild-type Vgll4. Interestingly, Vgll4 and Vgll4-4A markedly suppressed YAP and β-catenin signaling activity. Together, these findings reveal a previously unrecognized mechanism for Vgll4 regulation in mitosis and its role in tumorigenesis.
河马通路是一条在进化上保守的信号通路,在干细胞生物学、组织稳态和癌症发展中发挥重要作用。类 vestigial 蛋白 4(Vgll4)在河马 - Yes 相关蛋白(YAP)通路中作为转录共抑制因子发挥作用。Vgll4 通过与 YAP 竞争结合 TEA 结构域蛋白(TEADs)来抑制细胞增殖和肿瘤生长。然而,Vgll4 自身的调控机制尚不清楚。在此,我们确定了一种调节 Vgll4 肿瘤抑制功能的机制。我们发现,在抗有丝分裂药物诱导的有丝分裂停滞期间以及正常有丝分裂过程中,Vgll4 会被细胞周期蛋白依赖性激酶 1(CDK1)磷酸化。我们进一步确定 Ser - 58、Ser - 155、Thr - 159 和 Ser - 280 是 Vgll4 中的主要有丝分裂磷酸化位点。我们还注意到,不可磷酸化的突变体 Vgll4 - 4A(S58A/S155A/T159A/S280A)在胰腺癌细胞中比野生型 Vgll4 更能抑制肿瘤发生,这表明有丝分裂磷酸化会抑制 Vgll4 的肿瘤抑制活性。与这些观察结果一致,Vgll4 - 4A 突变体与 TEAD1 的结合亲和力高于野生型 Vgll4。有趣的是,Vgll4 和 Vgll4 - 4A 显著抑制 YAP 和β-连环蛋白信号活性。总之,这些发现揭示了一种此前未被认识的 Vgll4 在有丝分裂中的调控机制及其在肿瘤发生中的作用。