Project description:PTEN is a multifaceted tumor suppressor that is highly sensitive to alterations in expression or function. The PTEN C-tail domain, which is rich in phosphorylation sites, has been implicated in PTEN stability, localization, catalytic activity, and protein interactions, but its role in tumor suppression remains unknown. To address this, we utilized several mouse strains with nonlethal C-tail mutations. Analysis of mice containing nonphosphorylatable or phosphomimetic versions of S380, a C-tail residue hyperphosphorylated in human gastric cancers, reveals that PTEN stability and ability to inhibit PI3K-AKT depends on dynamic phosphorylation-dephosphorylation of this residue. While phosphomimetic S380 drives neoplastic growth in prostate by promoting nuclear accumulation of β-catenin, nonphosphorylatable S380 is not tumorigenic. These data suggest that C-tail hyper-phosphorylation creates oncogenic PTEN and is a potential target for anti-cancer therapy.
Project description:The PTEN tumor suppressor controls cell death and survival by regulating functions of various molecular targets. Whilst the role of PTEN lipid-phosphatase activity on PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 and inhibition of PI3K pathway is well characterized, the biological relevance of PTEN protein-phosphatase activity remains undefined. Using knock-in (KI) mice harbouring cancer-associated and functionally relevant missense mutations, we show that although loss of PTEN lipid-phosphatase function cooperates with oncogenic PI3K to promote rapid mammary tumorigenesis, the additional loss of PTEN protein-phosphatase activity triggered an extensive cell death response evident in early and advanced mammary tumors. Omics and drug-targeting studies revealed that PI3Ks act to reduce glucocorticoid receptor (GR) levels, which are rescued by loss of PTEN protein-phosphatase activity to restrain cell survival. The dual regulation of GR by PI3K and PTEN functions as a rheostat that can be exploited for the treatment of PTEN-loss driven cancers.
Project description:Decremental loss of PTEN results in cancer susceptibility and tumor progression. In turn this raises the possibility that PTEN elevation might be an attractive option for cancer prevention and therapy. We have generated several transgenic mouse lines with variably elevated PTEN expression levels, taking advantage of BAC (Bacterial Artificial Chromosome)-mediated transgenesis. Super-PTEN mutants are viable and show reduced body size due to decreased cell number, with no effect on cell size. Unexpectedly, PTEN elevation at the organism level results in healthy metabolism characterized by increased energy expenditure and reduced body fat accumulation. Cells derived from these mice show reduced glucose and glutamine uptake, increased mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, and are resistant to oncogenic transformation. Mechanistically we find that PTEN elevation orchestrates this metabolic switch by regulating PI3K-dependent and independent pathways, and negatively impacts two of the most pronounced metabolic features of tumor cells: glutaminolysis and the Warburg effect. In order to elucidate the pathophysiological impact of PTEN elevation, we generated transgenic mice carrying additional copies of this critical tumor suppressor gene (referred to as Super-PTEN mice). In order to maintain the regulation properties of the endogenous Pten gene, we made use of large genomic fragments containing the entire Pten locus carried by BACs (Bacterial Artificial Chromosomes). We next generated mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and confirmed successful overexpression of PTEN by the BAC transgenic system. Primary cells derived from Super-PTEN mice represent a powerful tool to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying dose-dependent PTEN actions. We therefore performed microarray analysis in primary cells (MEFs) derived from day 13.5 embryos obtained by crossing Super-PTEN mice with C57BL6 mice. Three independent embryos from each genotype were analyzed (background: >98%C57BL6 / CBA). Gene expression profile analysis in these cells will reveal target genes and pathways differentially regulated upon PTEN elevation.
Project description:WAP-Cre:Ptenf/f:p53lox.stop.lox_R270H composite mice were generated by genetic crossing. In these mice, Pten is deleted and a R270H p53 mutation in the DNA binding domain is induced upon expression of Cre recombinase in pregnancy-identified alveolar progenitors. Tumors were characterized by histology, marker analysis, various bioinformatics methods, high-throughput (HTP) FDA-drug screen as well as orthotopic injection to quantify tumor initiating cells (TICs) and tail-vein injection to identify lung-metastasis. Expression data comparing 2 types of Pten-deficient tumors (spindle and poorly differentiated) with other modles of mouse mammary tumors 2 types of Pten deletion plus p53-R270H mutation tumors (spindle and poorly differentiated) was compared with MMTV-Neu, Spindle Pten-p53-deficient tumors, and wild-type mammary gland cells.
Project description:Phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) is a tumour suppressor gene associated with inherited tumour susceptibility conditions, macrocephaly, autism, ataxia, tremor and epilepsy. Functional implications of this protein have been investigated in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. We describe the first patient presented with multifocal demyelinating motor neuropathy in association with a de novo PTEN mutation. The pathogenicity of the mutation was supported by altered expression of several proteins involved in tumorigenesis and fibroblasts showed a reversible defect in catalytic activity of PTEN against the secondary substrate, phosphatidylinositol 3,4,-trisphosphate, suggesting a novel and potentially treatable mechanism for multi-focal demyelinating motor neuropathy.
Project description:PTEN-WT and PTEN-4A models generation using Rosetta restrained with XL-MS crosslink distance restraints. Two major conformations of each protein were modeled
Project description:WAP-Cre:Ptenf/f:p53lox.stop.lox_R270H composite mice were generated by genetic crossing. In these mice, Pten is deleted and a R270H p53 mutation in the DNA binding domain is induced upon expression of Cre recombinase in pregnancy-identified alveolar progenitors. Tumors were characterized by histology, marker analysis, various bioinformatics methods, high-throughput (HTP) FDA-drug screen as well as orthotopic injection to quantify tumor initiating cells (TICs) and tail-vein injection to identify lung-metastasis. Expression data comparing 2 types of Pten-deficient tumors (spindle and poorly differentiated) with other modles of mouse mammary tumors
Project description:PTEN (Phosphatase and TENsin homolog deleted on chromosome ten) is a major tumor suppressor gene that is frequently mutated or lost under cancerous conditions. PTEN is a dual-specificity phosphatase that negatively regulates the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway at the plasma membrane (PM). Its functional regulation and cellular localization are known to be conformationally driven. Access to the PM is phospho-regulated by open and closed PTEN forms. However, clarifying the underlying structural mechanisms is still an open avenue of research. Here, we apply an integrative structural modeling approach, combining coarse-grained and all-atom molecular dynamics with experimental crosslinking mass spectrometry. Conformational exchange between an “eased” form and a “strained” form brings the protein’s phosphatase and C2 domains closer together, blocking the catalytic site, and affecting the loops involved in PM binding. Our full-length PTEN models, AlphaMissense, and RaSP were used to better predict the consequences of PTEN mutations.
Project description:The phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) tumor suppressor gene encodes a tightly regulated dual-specificity phosphatase that serves as the master regulator of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling. The carboxy-terminal tail (CTT) is key to regulation and harbors multiple phosphorylation sites (Ser/Thr residues 380-385). CTT phosphorylation suppresses the phosphatase activity by inducing a stable, closed conformation. However, little is known about the mechanisms of phosphorylation-induced CTT-deactivation dynamics. Using explicit solvent microsecond molecular dynamics simulations, we show that CTT phosphorylation leads to a partially collapsed conformation, which alters the secondary structure of PTEN and induces long-range conformational rearrangements that encompass the active site. The active site rearrangements prevent localization of PTEN to the membrane, precluding lipid phosphatase activity. Notably, we have identified phosphorylation-induced allosteric coupling between the interdomain region and a hydrophobic site neighboring the active site in the phosphatase domain. Collectively, the results provide a mechanistic understanding of CTT phosphorylation dynamics and reveal potential druggable allosteric sites in a previously believed clinically undruggable protein.