Despite clear epidemiological and genetic evidence for X-linked prostate cancer risk, all prostate cancer genes identified are autosomal. Here we report somatic inactivating mutations and deletion of the X-linked FOXP3 gene residing at Xp11.23 in human prostate cancer. Lineage-specific ablation of FoxP3 in the mouse prostate epithelial cells leads to prostate hyperplasia and prostate intraepithelial neoplasia. In both normal and malignant prostate tissues, FOXP3 is both necessary and sufficient to transcriptionally repress cMYC, the most commonly over-expressed oncogene in prostate cancer as well as among the aggregates of other cancers. FOXP3 is an X-linked prostate tumor suppressor in the male. Since the male has only one X chromosome, our data represents a paradigm of “single-genetic-hit” inactivation-mediated carcinogenesis.

Control of inflammation is critical for therapy of infectious diseases. Pathogen-associated and/or danger-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs and DAMPs, respectively) are the two major inducers of inflammation. Because the CD24-Siglec G/10 interactions selectively repress inflammatory response to DAMPs, microbial disruption of the negative regulation would provide a general mechanism to exacerbate inflammation. Here we show that the sialic acid-based pattern recognitions of CD24 by Siglec G/10 are targeted by sialidases in polybacterial sepsis. Sialidase inhibitors protect mice against sepsis by a CD24-Siglecg-dependent mechanism, whereas a targeted mutation of either CD24 or Siglecg exacerbates sepsis. Bacterial sialidase and host CD24 and Siglecg genes interact to determine pathogen virulence. Our data demonstrate a critical role for disrupting sialic acid-based pattern recognitions in microbial virulence and suggest a therapeutic approach to dampen harmful inflammatory response during infection.

Both pathogen- and tissue damage-associated molecular patterns induce inflammation through toll-like receptors (TLRs), while sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin superfamily lectin receptors (Siglecs) provide negative regulation. Here we report extensive and direct interactions between these pattern recognition receptors. The promiscuous TLR binders were human SIGLEC-5/9 and mouse Siglec-3/E/F. Mouse Siglec-G did not show appreciable binding to any TLRs tested. Correspondingly, Siglece deletion enhanced dendritic cell responses to all microbial TLR ligands tested, while Siglecg deletion did not affect the responses to these ligands. TLR4 activation triggers Neu1 translocation to cell surface to disrupt TLR4:Siglec-E interaction. Conversely, sialidase inhibitor Neu5Gc2en prevented TLR4 ligand-induced disruption of TLR4:Siglec E/F interactions. Absence of Neu1 in hematopoietic cells or systematic treatment with sialidase inhibitor Neu5Gc2en protected mice against endotoxemia. Our data raised an intriguing possibility of a broad repression of TLR function by Siglecs and a sialidase-mediated de-repression that allows positive feedback of TLR activation during infection.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.04066.001

Midkine is a heparin-binding growth factor that promotes the growth, survival, migration and differentiation of various target cells. So far, receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatase ζ, low-density-lipoprotein-receptor-related protein and anaplastic lymphoma kinase have been identified as receptors for midkine. We found β1 integrin in midkine-binding proteins from 13-day-old mouse embryos. β1-Integrin bound to a midkine-agarose column and was eluted mostly with EDTA. Further study revealed that the α-subunits capable of binding to midkine were α4 and α6. Purified α4β1- and α6β1-integrins bound midkine. Anti-α4 antibody inhibited the midkine-dependent migration of osteoblastic cells, and anti-α6 antibody inhibited the midkine-dependent neurite outgrowth of embryonic neurons. After midkine treatment, tyrosine phosphorylation of paxillin, an integrin-associated molecule, was transiently increased in osteoblastic cells. Therefore, we concluded that α4β1- and α6β1-integrins are functional receptors for midkine. We observed that the low-density-lipoprotein-receptor-related-protein-6 ectodomain was immunoprecipitated with α6β1-integrin and α4β1-integrin. The low-density-lipoprotein-receptor-related-protein-6 ectodomain was also immunoprecipitated with receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatase ζ. α4β1- and α6β1-Integrins are expected to co-operate with other midkine receptors, possibly in a multimolecular complex that contains other midkine receptors.

CD24 is over-expressed in nearly 70% human cancers while TP53 is the most frequently mutated tumor suppressor gene that functions in a context-dependent manner. Here we show that both targeted mutation and shRNA silencing of CD24 retard the growth, progression, and metastasis of prostate cancer. CD24 competitively inhibits ARF binding to NPM, resulting in decreased ARF, increase MDM2, and decrease levels of p53 and the p53 target p21/CDKN1A. CD24 silencing prevents functional inactivation of p53 by both somatic mutation and viral oncogenes, including the SV40 large T antigen and human papilloma virus 16 E6-antigen. In support of the functional interaction between CD24 and p53, in silico analyses reveal that TP53 mutates at a higher rate among glioma and prostate cancer samples with higher CD24 mRNA levels. These data provide a general mechanism for functional inactivation of ARF and reveal an important cellular context for genetic and viral inactivation of TP53.