Biomedical subjects

David Pim

Publications and source records attributed to David Pim.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Activation of the protein kinase B pathway by the HPV-16 E7 oncoprotein occurs through a mechanism involving interaction with PP2A.

Protein kinase B (PKB) or Akt is one of several second messenger kinases that are activated by cell attachment and growth factor signaling, and that transmit signals to the cell nucleus to inhibit apoptosis and thereby increase cell survival during proliferation. Other viral proteins target this pathway by increasing PKB/Akt phosphorylation, and this pathway has been implicated in the transformation of human keratinocytes by HPV E6 and E7, together with activated notch 1. Here, we examine how HPV E7 expression affects the phosphorylation of PKB. We show that HPV-16 E7 increases the level of phosphorylation of PKB in response to serum stimulation, by a mechanism independent of downregulation of PTEN phosphatase, a known inhibitor of the PI3K (PI3 kinase) pathway. The use of specific antibodies shows that some proportion of PKB/Akt that is phosphorylated both on threonine 308 and serine 473 is maintained in the presence of E7 in a PI3 kinase-independent manner, and is activated for phosphorylation of BAD, a known downstream target of PKB/Akt. Use of E7 mutants has ruled out both an inhibition of IGFBP-3, a known E7 target and PKB/Akt modulator, and the interaction of E7 with cellular pocket proteins, as being the mechanism for the PKB/Akt stimulation. PKB binds PP2A and is a known substrate of PP2A. Here, we show that HPV E7 also binds to both the 35 kDa catalytic and 65 kDa structural subunits of PP2A, an interaction that sequesters these subunits and inhibits their interaction with PKB, thereby maintaining PKB/Akt signaling by inhibiting its dephosphorylation.

Down-Regulation↗

PubMed2004

HPV-18 E6*I modulates HPV-18 full-length E6 functions in a cell cycle dependent manner.

The E6 ORFs of the high-risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Types 16 and 18 have been shown to encode (besides the full-length product) several truncated forms, termed E6*. We have reported previously that the HPV-18 E6*I protein interacts with the full-length E6 protein as well as with the ubiquitin ligase E6-AP and, as a result of this, E6* can inhibit E6-mediated degradation of p53. Moreover, ectopic expression of the HPV-18 E6*I protein has an antiproliferative effect in cervical cancer-derived cell lines. These results led us to investigate further the modulatory functions of E6*I on E6. Using epitope tagged versions of the 2 proteins we have analyzed the sub-cellular distribution of the full-length HPV18 E6 and HPV18 E6*I, as well as their respective cellular abundance during the cell cycle, and show specific upregulation of E6*I during G2/M. We also investigated the effect of E6*I overexpression in cell lines derived from cervical tumors, with respect to the expression levels of E6 target proteins, such as p53, hDlg and Scribble and find a corresponding increase in p53 expression also during G2/M. In addition we show that the overexpression of E6*I reduces the amount of E6 in the insoluble nuclear and membrane fractions of the cell. E6 levels can, however, be restored by the addition of a specific proteasome inhibitor, suggesting that the interaction between E6 and E6*I leads to the destabilization of a subset of the E6 protein. These results suggest that the E6*I protein can function as a fine regulator of the full-length E6 protein by direct interaction that leads both to changes in its cellular abundance as well as its distribution during particular phases of the cell cycle.

Cell Line, Tumor↗

PubMed2004

p53 polymorphic variants at codon 72 exert different effects on cell cycle progression.

Two common polymorphic forms of the p53 tumor suppressor protein are widely distributed throughout the human population. These encode either proline or arginine at position 72, and this difference results in a marked alteration in the primary structure of the protein. A number of previous studies have shown significant differences in the biochemical properties of the p53 protein, depending on the particular polymorphic form. There is little information, however, on their respective biologic activities. In this study, we have used an inducible switch system for expressing both polymorphic forms of p53 within Saos-2 cells. Cell cycle analysis postinduction of p53 function reveals striking differences in how the 2 forms of p53 bring about a cessation of cell growth. Thus, the Arg72 form of p53 is significantly more efficient than the Pro72 form at inducing apoptosis. In contrast, the Pro72 form appears to induce a higher level of G1 arrest than the Arg72 form. These results demonstrate significant differences in how the codon 72 polymorphism affects the biological activity of p53.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed2003

Viruses and the 26S proteasome: hacking into destruction.

The discovery that the human papillomavirus E6 oncoprotein could direct the ubiquitination and degradation of the p53 tumour suppressor at the 26S proteasome was the beginning of a new view on virus-host interactions. A decade later, a plethora of viral proteins have been shown to direct host-cell proteins for proteolytic degradation. These activities are required for various aspects of the virus life-cycle from entry, through replication and enhanced cell survival, to viral release. As with oncogenes and cell-cycle control, the study of apparently simple viruses has provided a wealth of information on the function of a whole class of cellular proteins whose function is arguably as important as that of the kinases: the ubiquitin-protein ligases.

Adenoviridae↗

PubMed2002

Chimaeric HPV E6 proteins allow dissection of the proteolytic pathways regulating different E6 cellular target proteins.

The ability of HPV E6 oncoproteins to induce the degradation of PDZ domain-containing MAGUK proteins correlates with their malignant potential. We previously showed that the HPV-6 E6 protein, when provided with the PDZ-binding domain from HPV-18 E6, acquires the ability to bind the Discs Large (Dlg) tumour suppressor and target it for degradation. Based on this finding we have extended this analysis to E6 proteins from a variety of different papillomavirus types. Cloning a PDZ-binding sequence onto the C-terminus of E6 proteins derived from low-risk mucosal, and low and high-risk cutaneous papillomavirus types, enables them to bind Dlg and a second MAGUK family member, MAGI-1. This renders the mucosally-derived low-risk chimaeric HPV E6 proteins capable of targeting Dlg for degradation, but they are unable to induce significant levels of degradation of MAGI-1. In contrast, none of the E6 proteins derived from cutaneous papillomavirus types induce significant degradation of either MAGI-1 or Dlg when provided with a PDZ-binding domain. These results demonstrate significant differences, both between mucosal and cutaneous HPV E6 proteins and in the pathways required for Dlg and MAGI-1 degradation.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗