Browsing by Author "Wolf, Eric R."

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
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    Author Correction: Mutant p53 drives clonal hematopoiesis through modulating epigenetic pathway
    (Nature Publishing Group, 2020-07-28) Chen, Sisi; Wang, Qiang; Yu, Hao; Capitano, Maegan L.; Vemula, Sasidhar; Nabinger, Sarah C.; Gao, Rui; Yao, Chonghua; Kobayashi, Michihiro; Geng, Zhuangzhuang; Fahey, Aidan; Henley, Danielle; Liu, Stephen Z.; Barajas, Sergio; Cai, Wenjie; Wolf, Eric R.; Ramdas, Baskar; Cai, Zhigang; Gao, Hongyu; Luo, Na; Sun, Yang; Wong, Terrence N.; Link, Daniel C.; Liu, Yunlong; Boswell, H. Scott; Mayo, Lindsey D.; Huang, Gang; Kapur, Reuben; Yoder, Mervin C.; Broxmeyer, Hal E.; Gao, Zhonghua; Liu, Yan; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine
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    Early-Stage Metastasis Requires Mdm2 and Not p53 Gain of Function
    (AACR, 2017-11) Hauck, Paula M.; Wolf, Eric R.; Olivos, David J., III; Batuello, Christopher N.; McElyea, Kyle C.; McAtarsney, Ciaran; Cournoyer, R. Michael; Sandusky, George E.; Mayo, Lindsey D.; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Metastasis of cancer cells to distant organ systems is a complex process that is initiated with the programming of cells in the primary tumor. The formation of distant metastatic foci is correlated with poor prognosis and limited effective treatment options. We and others have correlated Mouse double minute 2 (Mdm2) with metastasis; however, the mechanisms involved have not been elucidated. Here, it is reported that shRNA-mediated silencing of Mdm2 inhibits epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cell migration. In vivo analysis demonstrates that silencing Mdm2 in both post-EMT and basal/triple-negative breast cancers resulted in decreased primary tumor vasculature, circulating tumor cells, and metastatic lung foci. Combined, these results demonstrate the importance of Mdm2 in orchestrating the initial stages of migration and metastasis.
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    The fate of murine double minute X (MdmX) is dictated by distinct signaling pathways through murine double minute 2 (Mdm2)
    (Impact Journals, 2017-11-06) Hauck, Paula M.; Wolf, Eric R.; Olivos, David J.; McAtarsney, Ciaran P.; Mayo, Lindsey D.; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Mouse double minute 2 (Mdm2) and MdmX dimerize in response to low levels of genotoxic stress to function in a ubiquitinating complex, which signals for destabilization of p53. Under growth conditions, Mdm2 functions as a neddylating ligase, but the importance and extent of MdmX involvement in this process are largely unknown. Here we show that when Mdm2 functions as a neddylating enzyme, MdmX is stabilized. Furthermore, we demonstrate that under growth conditions, MdmX enhances the neddylation activity of Mdm2 on p53 and is a substrate for neddylation itself. Importantly, MdmX knockdown in MCF-7 breast cancer cells resulted in diminished neddylated p53, suggesting that MdmX is important for Mdm2-mediated neddylation. Supporting this finding, the lack of MdmX in transient assays or in p53/MdmX-/- MEFs results in decreased or altered neddylation of p53 respectively; therefore, MdmX is a critical component of the Mdm2-mediated neddylating complex. c-Src is the upstream activator of this Mdm2-MdmX neddylating pathway and loss of Src signaling leads to the destabilization of MdmX that is dependent on the RING (Really Interesting New Gene) domain of MdmX. Treatment with a small molecule inhibitor of neddylation, MLN4924, results in the activation of Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM). ATM phosphorylates Mdm2, converting Mdm2 to a ubiquitinating enzyme which leads to the destabilization of MdmX. These data show how distinct signaling pathways engage neddylating or ubiquitinating activities and impact the Mdm2-MdmX axis.
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    Mdm2 mediated neddylation of pVHL blocks the induction of anti-angiogenic factors.
    (Springer Nature, 2020-07) Wolf, Eric R.; Mabry, Alexander R.; Damania, Blossom; Mayo, Lindsey D.; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine
    Mutations in the tumor suppressor TP53 are rare in renal cell carcinomas. p53 is a key factor for inducing anti-angiogenic genes and RCC are highly vascularized, which suggests that p53 is inactive in these tumors. One regulator of p53 is the Mdm2 oncogene, which is correlated with high-grade, metastatic tumors. However, the sole activity of Mdm2 is not just to regulate p53, but it can also function independent of p53 to regulate the early stages of metastasis. Here, we report that the oncoprotein Mdm2 can bind directly to the tumor suppressor VHL, and conjugate nedd8 to VHL within a region that is important for the p53-VHL interaction. Nedd8 conjugated VHL is unable to bind to p53 thereby preventing the induction of anti-angiogenic factors. These results highlight a previously unknown oncogenic function of Mdm2 during the progression of cancer to promote angiogenesis through the regulation of VHL. Thus, the Mdm2-VHL interaction represents a pathway that impacts tumor angiogenesis.
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    Mutant and wild-type p53 complex with p73 in response to JNK phosphorylation
    (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2018-04-03) Wolf, Eric R.; McAtarsney, Ciaran P.; Bredhold, Kristin E.; Kline, Amber M.; Mayo, Lindsey D.; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine
    The transcription factors p53 and p73 are critical to the induction of apoptotic cell death, particularly in response to cell stress that activates c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Mutations in the DNA-binding domain of p53, which are commonly seen in cancers, result in conformational changes that enable p53 to interact with and inhibit p73, thereby suppressing apoptosis. In contrast, wild-type p53 reportedly does not interact with p73. We found that JNK-mediated phosphorylation of Thr81 in the proline-rich domain (PRD) of p53 enabled wild-type p53, as well as mutant p53, to form a complex with p73. Structural algorithms predicted that phosphorylation of Thr81 exposes the DNA-binding domain in p53 to enable its binding to p73. The dimerization of wild-type p53 with p73 facilitated the expression of apoptotic target genes [such as those encoding p53-up-regulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) and Bcl-2-associated X protein (BAX)] and, subsequently, the induction of apoptosis in response to JNK activation by cell stress in various cells. Thus, JNK phosphorylation of mutant and wild-type p53 promotes the formation of a p53/p73 complex that determines cell fate: apoptosis in the context of wild-type p53 or cell survival in the context of the mutant. These findings refine our current understanding of both the mechanistic links between p53 and p73 and the functional role for Thr81 phosphorylation.
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    Mutant and wild-type p53 form complexes with p73 upon phosphorylation by the kinase JNK
    (2018-04) Wolf, Eric R.; McAtarsney, Ciaran P.; Bredhold, Kristin E.; Kline, Amber M.; Mayo, Lindsey D.; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    The transcription factors p53 and p73 are critical to the induction of apoptotic cell death, particularly in response to cell stress that activates c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). Mutations in the DNA-binding domain of p53, which are commonly seen in cancers, result in conformational changes that enable p53 to interact with and inhibit p73, thereby suppressing apoptosis. In contrast, wild-type p53 reportedly does not interact with p73. We found that JNK-mediated phosphorylation of Thr81 in the proline-rich domain (PRD) of p53 enabled wild-type p53, as well as mutant p53, to form a complex with p73. Structural algorithms predicted that phosphorylation of Thr81 exposes the DNA-binding domain in p53 to enable its binding to p73. The dimerization of wild-type p53 with p73 facilitated the expression of apoptotic target genes [such as those encoding p53–up-regulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) and Bcl-2-associated X protein (BAX)] and, subsequently, the induction of apoptosis in response to JNK activation by cell stress in various cells. Thus, JNK phosphorylation of mutant and wild-type p53 promotes the formation of a p53/p73 complex that determines cell fate: apoptosis in the context of wild-type p53 or cell survival in the context of the mutant. These findings refine our current understanding of both the mechanistic links between p53 and p73 and the functional role for Thr81 phosphorylation.
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    Mutant p53 drives clonal hematopoiesis through modulating epigenetic pathway
    (Nature Research, 2019-12-11) Chen, Sisi; Wang, Qiang; Yu, Hao; Capitano, Maegan L.; Vemula, Sasidhar; Nabinger, Sarah C.; Gao, Rui; Yao, Chonghua; Kobayashi, Michihiro; Geng, Zhuangzhuang; Fahey, Aidan; Henley, Danielle; Liu, Stephen Z.; Barajas, Sergio; Sergio, Wenjie; Wolf, Eric R.; Ramdas, Baskar; Cai, Zhigang; Gao, Hongyu; Luo, Na; Sun, Yang; Wong, Terrence N.; Link, Daniel C.; Liu, Yunlong; Boswell, H. Scott; Mayo, Lindsey D.; Huang, Gang; Kapur, Reuben; Yoder, Mervin C.; Broxmeyer, Hal E.; Gao, Zhonghua; Liu, Yan; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine
    Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) increases with age and is associated with increased risks of hematological malignancies. While TP53 mutations have been identified in CHIP, the molecular mechanisms by which mutant p53 promotes hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) expansion are largely unknown. Here we discover that mutant p53 confers a competitive advantage to HSPCs following transplantation and promotes HSPC expansion after radiation-induced stress. Mechanistically, mutant p53 interacts with EZH2 and enhances its association with the chromatin, thereby increasing the levels of H3K27me3 in genes regulating HSPC self-renewal and differentiation. Furthermore, genetic and pharmacological inhibition of EZH2 decreases the repopulating potential of p53 mutant HSPCs. Thus, we uncover an epigenetic mechanism by which mutant p53 drives clonal hematopoiesis. Our work will likely establish epigenetic regulator EZH2 as a novel therapeutic target for preventing CHIP progression and treating hematological malignancies with TP53 mutations.
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    Specific Functions of the Tumor Suppressor P53 are Activated by P73 and VHL
    (2019-07) Wolf, Eric R.; Mayo, Lindsey; Goebl, Mark; Ivan, Mircea; Mendonca, Marc; Wells, Clark
    The transcription factor and tumor suppressor protein p53 critically regulates cell survival or death in response to cellular stress. p53 can activate genes involved in a wide variety of processes, including apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, angiogenesis, metabolism, and senescence. Mutations in p53 are common in cancer and alter its interactions with other proteins, but there are other mechanisms and posttranslational modifications that can alter these interactions as well. In some tumors, such as renal cell carcinoma, p53 is commonly inactive even though mutations to TP53 are rare. This suggests that there are other biochemical mechanisms of inhibition, which we explore in this study. Mutations in the DNA-binding domain of p53 result in conformational changes that enable p53 to interact with and inhibit its family member p73, thereby promoting cell survival instead of apoptosis. In contrast, it has been reported that wild-type p53 does not bind to p73. We found that JNK-mediated phosphorylation of Thr81 in the proline-rich domain (PRD) of p53 enabled wild-type p53 to form a complex with p73. The dimerization of wild-type p53 with p73 facilitated the expression of apoptotic target genes such as PUMA and BAX, as well as the induction of apoptosis. In addition to the apoptotic function of p53, the tumor suppressor also plays a major role in the inhibition of angiogenesis. Here we also report a new mechanism where the Mdm2 oncoprotein can indirectly inactive p53 through the regulation of the tumor suppressor VHL. In response to hypoxia, VHL can bind p53, which results in activation of several anti-angiogenic targets of p53 such as THBS1 and COL18A1. Mdm2 regulates the VHL-p53 interaction by conjugating nedd8 to VHL within a region that is important for the VHL-p53 interaction, blocking the induction of anti-angiogenic genes and resulting in a proangiogenic phenotype. Due to its positive regulation of major proangiogenic proteins and its negative regulation of potent inhibitors of angiogenesis, we propose that the oncoprotein Mdm2 is the angiogenic switch. These findings refine our understanding of p53 interactions and activation, specifically for p53-p73 induced cell death and p53-VHL inhibition of angiogenesis.