p53 And Akt are critical players regulating tumorigenesis with opposite effects: whereas p53 transactivates target genes to exert its function as a tumor suppressor, Akt phosphorylates its substrates and transduces downstream survival signals. In addition, p53 and Akt negatively regulate each other to balance survival and death signals within a cell. We now identify PHLDA3 as a p53 target gene that encodes a PH domain-only protein. We find that PHLDA3 competes with the PH domain of Akt for binding of membrane lipids, thereby inhibiting Akt translocation to the cellular membrane and activation. Ablation of endogenous PHLDA3 results in enhanced Akt activity and decrease of p53-dependent apoptosis. We also demonstrate the suppression of anchorage-independent cell growth by PHLDA3. Loss of the PHLDA3 genomic locus was frequently observed in primary lung cancers, suggesting a role of PHLDA3 in tumor suppression. Our results reveal a new mode of coordination between the p53 and Akt pathways.

The 14-3-3 proteins form a highly conserved family of dimeric proteins that interact with various signal transduction proteins and regulate cell cycle, apoptosis, stress response, and malignant transformation. We previously demonstrated that the ␤ isoform of 14-3-3 proteins promotes tumorigenicity and angiogenesis of rat hepatoma K2 cells. In this study, to analyze the mechanism of 14-3-3␤-induced malignant transformation, yeast two-hybrid screening was performed, and a novel 14-3-3␤-binding factor, FBI1 (fourteen-three-three beta interactant 1), was identified. In vitro binding and co-immunoprecipitation analyses verified specific interaction of 14-3-3␤ with FBI1. The strong expression of FBI1 was observed in several tumor cell lines but not in non-tumor cell lines. Forced expression of antisense FBI1 in K2 cells inhibited anchorage-independent growth but had no significant effect on cell proliferation in monolayer culture. Down-regulation of FBI1 also inhibited tumorigenicity and metastasis accompanying a decrease in MMP-9 (matrix metalloproteinase-9) expression. In addition, the duration of ERK1/2 activation was curtailed in antisense FBI1-expressing K2 cells. A luciferase reporter assay revealed that the FBI1-14-3-3␤ complex could act as a transcriptional silencer, and MKP-1 (MAPK phosphatase-1) was one of the target genes of the FBI1-14-3-3␤ complex. Moreover, chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis demonstrated that FBI1 and 14-3-3␤ were presented on the MKP-1 promoter. These results indicate that FBI1 promotes sustained ERK1/2 activation through repression of MKP-1 transcription, resulting in promotion of tumorigenicity and metastasis.

DNA degradation is one of the biochemical hallmarks detected in apoptotic cells, and several nucleases have been reported to function cooperatively in this process. It has also been suggested that different sets of nucleases are activated by different stimuli, and induce distinct patterns of DNA degradation. Here we report that apoptosisenhancing nuclease (AEN) is a novel direct target gene of p53. AEN is induced by p53 with various DNA damage, and its expression is regulated by the phosphorylation status of p53. We demonstrate that AEN is a typical exonuclease with conserved exonuclease domains Exo I-III, and it targets both single-and double-stranded DNA and RNA. AEN induces apoptosis by itself, and the conserved domains are essential for both AEN nuclease activity and its apoptosis-inducing ability. AEN possesses nuclear and nucleolar localization signals, and it translocates from the nucleolus to nucleoplasm upon apoptosis induction. We also show the dislocation of nucleophosmin in conjunction with the translocation of AEN to the nucleoplasm, indicating the ability of AEN in nucleolus disruption. In addition, AEN is shown to be required for efficient DNA fragmentation in p53-dependent apoptosis. These results suggest that AEN is an important downstream mediator of p53 in apoptosis induction.

Bcl-2 homology domain (BH) 3-only proteins of the proapoptotic Bcl-2 subfamily play a key role as initiators of mitochondria-dependent apoptosis. To date, at least 10 mammalian BH3-only proteins have been identified, and it is now being realized that they have different roles and mechanisms of regulation in the transduction of apoptotic signals to mitochondria. Hrk/DP5 is one of the mammalian BH3-only proteins implicated in a variety of physiological and pathological apoptosis, yet the molecular mechanism involved in Hrk-mediated apoptosis remains poorly understood. In an attempt to identify cellular proteins participating in Hrkmediated apoptosis, we have conducted yeast two-hybrid screening for Hrk-interacting proteins and isolated p32, a mitochondrial protein that has been shown to form a channel consisting of its homotrimer. In vitro binding, co-immunoprecipitation, as well as immunocytochemical analyses verified specific interaction and colocalization of Hrk and p32, both of which depended on the presence of the highly conserved C-terminal region of p32. Importantly, Hrk-induced apoptosis was suppressed by the expression of p32 mutants lacking the N-terminal mitochondrial signal sequence (p32 (74-282)) and the conserved C-terminal region (p32 (1-221)), which are expected to inhibit binding of Hrk competitively to the endogenous p32 protein and to disrupt the channel function of p32, respectively. Furthermore, small interfering RNA-mediated knockdown of p32 conferred protection against Hrk-induced apoptosis. Altogether, these results suggest that p32 may be a key molecule that links Hrk to mitochondria and is critically involved in the regulation of Hrk-mediated apoptosis.

No abstract