Cooperates with AGTR2 to inhibit ERK2 activation and cell proliferation. May be required for AGTR2 cell surface expression. Together with PTPN6, induces UBE2V2 expression upon angiotensin-II stimulation.
BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease that is not totally eradicated by current therapies. The classification of breast tumors into distinct molecular subtypes by gene profiling and immunodetection of surrogate markers has proven useful for tumor prognosis and prediction of effective targeted treatments. The challenge now is to identify molecular biomarkers that may be of functional relevance for personalized therapy of breast tumors with poor outcome that do not respond to available treatments. The Mitochondrial Tumor Suppressor (MTUS1) gene is an interesting candidate whose expression is reduced in colon, pancreas, ovary and oral cancers. The present study investigates the expression and functional effects of MTUS1 gene products in breast cancer. METHODS AND FINDINGS: By means of gene array analysis, real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, we show here that MTUS1/ATIP3 is significantly down-regulated in a series of 151 infiltrating breast cancer carcinomas as compared to normal breast tissue. Low levels of ATIP3 correlate with high grade of the tumor and the occurrence of distant metastasis. ATIP3 levels are also significantly reduced in triple negative (ER- PR- HER2-) breast carcinomas, a subgroup of highly proliferative tumors with poor outcome and no available targeted therapy. Functional studies indicate that silencing ATIP3 expression by siRNA increases breast cancer cell proliferation. Conversely, restoring endogenous levels of ATIP3 expression leads to reduced cancer cell proliferation, clonogenicity, anchorage-independent growth, and reduces the incidence and size of xenografts grown in vivo. We provide evidence that ATIP3 associates with the microtubule cytoskeleton and localizes at the centrosomes, mitotic spindle and intercellular bridge during cell division. Accordingly, live cell imaging indicates that ATIP3 expression alters the progression of cell division by promoting prolonged metaphase, thereby leading to a reduced number of cells ungergoing active mitosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results identify for the first time ATIP3 as a novel microtubule-associated protein whose expression is significantly reduced in highly proliferative breast carcinomas of poor clinical outcome. ATIP3 re-expression limits tumor cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that this protein may represent a novel useful biomarker and an interesting candidate for future targeted therapies of aggressive breast cancer.
Transformation of normal cells into malignant tumor cells, a process termed carcinogenesis, depends on progressive acquisition of genetic alterations. These result in activation of protooncogenes or inactivation of tumor suppressor genes responsible for the loss of proliferative control in tumor cells and the failure to undergo cellular differentiation. The aim of our study was the identification of molecular regulators of carcinogenesis by studying gene expression during induction of cellular differentiation and quiescence in a three-dimensional (3D) cell culture model. Here, we report the discovery of a tumor suppressor gene located at chromosome 8p21.3-22 near marker D8S254. It is ubiquitously expressed in normal tissue and transiently up-regulated during initiation of cellular differentiation and quiescence in 3D cell culture. In contrast, mRNA expression was not detectable in tissue from pancreatic tumor and the pancreatic tumor cell line MIA PaCa-2. Recombinant expression in the tumor cell line MIA PaCa-2 inhibited proliferation, as shown by a 30% reduction of BrdU uptake after recombinant expression. Immunocytochemistry and Western blot analysis of subcellular fractions demonstrated a mitochondrial localization for the mature protein. In conclusion, we identified a tumor suppressor gene at chromosome 8p21.3-22, encoding a mitochondrial protein, controlling cellular proliferation.
BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease that is not totally eradicated by current therapies. The classification of breast tumors into distinct molecular subtypes by gene profiling and immunodetection of surrogate markers has proven useful for tumor prognosis and prediction of effective targeted treatments. The challenge now is to identify molecular biomarkers that may be of functional relevance for personalized therapy of breast tumors with poor outcome that do not respond to available treatments. The Mitochondrial Tumor Suppressor (MTUS1) gene is an interesting candidate whose expression is reduced in colon, pancreas, ovary and oral cancers. The present study investigates the expression and functional effects of MTUS1 gene products in breast cancer. METHODS AND FINDINGS: By means of gene array analysis, real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, we show here that MTUS1/ATIP3 is significantly down-regulated in a series of 151 infiltrating breast cancer carcinomas as compared to normal breast tissue. Low levels of ATIP3 correlate with high grade of the tumor and the occurrence of distant metastasis. ATIP3 levels are also significantly reduced in triple negative (ER- PR- HER2-) breast carcinomas, a subgroup of highly proliferative tumors with poor outcome and no available targeted therapy. Functional studies indicate that silencing ATIP3 expression by siRNA increases breast cancer cell proliferation. Conversely, restoring endogenous levels of ATIP3 expression leads to reduced cancer cell proliferation, clonogenicity, anchorage-independent growth, and reduces the incidence and size of xenografts grown in vivo. We provide evidence that ATIP3 associates with the microtubule cytoskeleton and localizes at the centrosomes, mitotic spindle and intercellular bridge during cell division. Accordingly, live cell imaging indicates that ATIP3 expression alters the progression of cell division by promoting prolonged metaphase, thereby leading to a reduced number of cells ungergoing active mitosis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results identify for the first time ATIP3 as a novel microtubule-associated protein whose expression is significantly reduced in highly proliferative breast carcinomas of poor clinical outcome. ATIP3 re-expression limits tumor cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that this protein may represent a novel useful biomarker and an interesting candidate for future targeted therapies of aggressive breast cancer.
Transformation of normal cells into malignant tumor cells, a process termed carcinogenesis, depends on progressive acquisition of genetic alterations. These result in activation of protooncogenes or inactivation of tumor suppressor genes responsible for the loss of proliferative control in tumor cells and the failure to undergo cellular differentiation. The aim of our study was the identification of molecular regulators of carcinogenesis by studying gene expression during induction of cellular differentiation and quiescence in a three-dimensional (3D) cell culture model. Here, we report the discovery of a tumor suppressor gene located at chromosome 8p21.3-22 near marker D8S254. It is ubiquitously expressed in normal tissue and transiently up-regulated during initiation of cellular differentiation and quiescence in 3D cell culture. In contrast, mRNA expression was not detectable in tissue from pancreatic tumor and the pancreatic tumor cell line MIA PaCa-2. Recombinant expression in the tumor cell line MIA PaCa-2 inhibited proliferation, as shown by a 30% reduction of BrdU uptake after recombinant expression. Immunocytochemistry and Western blot analysis of subcellular fractions demonstrated a mitochondrial localization for the mature protein. In conclusion, we identified a tumor suppressor gene at chromosome 8p21.3-22, encoding a mitochondrial protein, controlling cellular proliferation.
Any process that results in a change in state or activity of a cell (in terms of movement, secretion, enzyme production, gene expression, etc.) as a result of a peptide hormone stimulus. A peptide hormone is any of a class of peptides that are secreted into the blood stream and have endocrine functions in living animals.
A reference proteome is a set of protein sequences derived from a complete proteome which constitutes a defined standard for a particular user community. Reference proteomes are manually defined according to a number of criteria. They cover the proteomes of well- studied model organisms and other proteomes of interest for biomedical and biotechnological research. Reference proteomes have been selected to provide broad coverage of the tree of life, and constitute a representative cross-section of the taxonomic diversity to be found within UniProtKB.