PTEN is a tumor suppressor frequently mutated in cancer. Recent reports implicated Nedd4-1 as the E3 ubiquitin ligase for PTEN that regulates its stability and nuclear localization. We tested the physiological role of Nedd4-1 as a PTEN regulator by using cells and tissues derived from two independently generated strains of mice with their Nedd4-1 gene disrupted. PTEN stability and ubiquitination were indistinguishable between the wild-type and Nedd4-1-deficient cells, and an interaction between the two proteins could not be detected. Moreover, PTEN subcellular distribution, showing prominent cytoplasmic and nuclear staining, was independent of Nedd4-1 presence. Finally, activation of PKB/Akt, a major downstream target of cytoplasmic PTEN activity, and the ability of PTEN to transactivate the Rad51 promoter, a measure of its nuclear function, were unaffected by the loss of Nedd4-1. Taken together, our results fail to support a role for Nedd4-1 as the E3 ligase regulating PTEN stability and subcellular localization.E3 ligase ͉ tumor suppressor ͉ P13K signal ͉ WW domain P TEN is one of the most frequently mutated genes in human cancer (1-3). In the cytoplasm, PTEN functions as a lipid phosphatase by dephosphorylating the D3 position of phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate [PI(3,4,5)P 3 ], and directly antagonizing PI3K (4-6). Consistent with a negative regulatory role for PTEN in regulation of PI3 signaling, PTEN-deficient cells and tissues exhibit defects in cell proliferation, growth, survival, death, protein translation, metabolism, migration, and structural organization (2,3,7,8).One of the most intriguing features of PTEN is its subcellular localization. Although PTEN was originally found to be a cytoplasmic protein (9), its nuclear localization in many cell types has been reported by using various independently developed monoclonal and polyclonal anti-PTEN antibodies (10)(11)(12)(13)(14). A number of attempts have been made to uncouple the cytoplasmic and nuclear roles of PTEN, yielding incongruous results. For example, differing accounts of the respective levels of cytoplasmic and nuclear PTEN throughout the stages of the cell cycle have been documented (15, 16). Functionally, nuclear PTEN has been shown to induce cell cycle arrest in certain cell types (17), whereas in others, nuclear accumulation of PTEN increased upon stimulation with proapoptotic factors and correlated with induction of apoptosis (18). Finally, nuclear-targeted PTEN was shown to impede the growth of U251MG glioblastoma cells and down-regulate p70S6K in a PKB/Akt-independent manner but was unable to inhibit cell invasion (19).Recently, published work revealed a phosphatase activityindependent nuclear role for PTEN in the regulation of chromosomal stability and repair of DNA damage (20). Wang et al. (21) and Trotman et al. (22) reported that PTEN stability and nuclear translocation were regulated by ubiquitination mediated by the ubiquitin ligase Nedd4-1. Although the Nedd4-1-mediated polyubiquitination of PTEN in the cytosol caused ...