Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Molecular and Cellular Biology, December 2000, p. 9138-9148, Vol. 20, No. 24
Departments of Pulmonary Diseases1
and Hematology,2 University Medical
Center, 3584 CX Utrecht, and Department of Physiological
Chemistry and Center for Biomedical Genetics, University of Utrecht,
3584 CG Utrecht,5 The Netherlands, and
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and Section of Virology
and Cell Biology, Imperial College School of Medicine, St. Mary's
Campus,3 and Department of
Haematological Medicine, Guy's, King's and St. Thomas' School of
Medicine and Dentistry, King's Denmark Hill
Campus,4 London, United Kingdom
Received 12 May 2000/Returned for modification 21 June
2000/Accepted 12 September 2000
Interleukin-3 (IL-3), IL-5, and granulocyte-macrophage
colony-stimulating factor regulate the survival, proliferation, and differentiation of hematopoietic lineages. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) has been implicated in the regulation of these processes. Here we investigate the molecular mechanism by which PI3K
regulates cytokine-mediated proliferation and survival in the murine
pre-B-cell line Ba/F3. IL-3 was found to repress the expression of the
cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27KIP1 through
activation of PI3K, and this occurs at the level of transcription. This
transcriptional regulation occurs through modulation of the forkhead
transcription factor FKHR-L1, and IL-3 inhibited FKHR-L1 activity in a
PI3K-dependent manner. We have generated Ba/F3 cell lines expressing a
tamoxifen-inducible active FKHR-L1 mutant [FKHR-L1(A3):ER*]. Tamoxifen-mediated activation of FKHR-L1(A3):ER* resulted in a striking
increase in p27KIP1 promoter activity and mRNA and
protein levels as well as induction of the apoptotic program.
The level of p27KIP1 appears to be critical in the
regulation of cell survival since mere ectopic expression of
p27KIP1 was sufficient to induce Ba/F3 apoptosis.
Moreover, cell survival was increased in cytokine-starved bone
marrow-derived stem cells from p27KIP1 null-mutant mice
compared to that in cells from wild-type mice. Taken together, these
observations indicate that inhibition of p27KIP1
transcription through PI3K-induced FKHR-L1 phosphorylation provides a
novel mechanism of regulating cytokine-mediated survival and proliferation.
Cytokines of the interleukin-3
(IL-3)/IL-5/granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)
family are important regulators of proliferation, differentiation and
effector functions of various hematopoietic cell lineages and their
precursors (2, 15). IL-3 and GM-CSF regulate the
proliferation and survival of multiple hematopoietic lineages, whereas
IL-5 has a more restricted role in the differentiation of eosinophils
and basophils, as well as of murine B cells (15, 51).
Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and its downstream target protein
kinase B (PKB) have been linked to regulation of proliferation and
survival in a variety of hematopoietic systems (14, 16, 26).
PI3K activity is negatively regulated by the PTEN phosphatase, which
specifically dephosphorylates the D3 position of phosphatidylinositol,
thus inhibiting the action of PI3K (22, 36, 50, 62). Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the requirement for PI3K activity in cytokine-mediated cell survival. For example, IL-3 regulates PKB-induced phosphorylation of the proapoptotic Bcl-2 family member BAD, inhibiting its proapoptotic activity
(14, 16). However, it has recently been shown that this
phosphorylation does not correlate well with cell survival
(24). Another target of PKB possibly accounting for its
antiapoptotic effect is the apoptotic protease
caspase-9, which is inactivated upon phosphorylation by PKB
(9). However, this phosphorylation site is not
evolutionarily conserved (18), leaving its relevance in vivo
to be demonstrated. More recently, PKB was demonstrated to be involved
in negatively regulating the activity of the forkhead family of
transcription factors, which can mediate apoptosis as well as
proliferation (6, 30, 52).
To identify a potential mechanism by which PI3K could exert its
proliferative and antiapoptotic effects, we focused on
cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor p27KIP1.
Upregulation of p27KIP1 is linked to cell cycle arrest in
G0/G1 through its interaction with CDK-cyclin
complexes (53). Regulation of p27KIP1 levels has
been described as occurring predominantly posttranslationally, by
cyclin E-CDK2-mediated phosphorylation, which subsequently targets
p27KIP1 for degradation by the proteasome (23, 46, 53,
55). p27KIP1 in turn also inhibits cyclin E-CDK2
complexes, suggesting that the balance of p27KIP1 and
cyclin E-CDK2 is important for G1 progression. Mitogens
upregulate cyclin D levels, subsequently sequestering away
p27KIP1 from cyclin E-CDK2 complexes and thereby activating
these complexes (11). Interestingly, p27KIP1 has
also been implicated in the regulation of immunoglobulin M
(IgM)-induced B-cell apoptosis, which can be rescued by CD40 ligand engagement (17, 61). The exact mechanism by which
cytokines are able to regulate p27KIP1 levels and what the
importance of this is for mediating its proliferative and
antiapoptotic effects in hematopoietic cells are largely unknown.
Here we show that an important means by which cytokine-mediated
proliferation and survival are regulated is through
downregulation of p27KIP1. Transcriptional induction
of p27KIP1 is regulated by the forkhead-related
transcription factor FKHR-L1. Activation of FKHR-L1 is
sufficient to elevate p27KIP1 mRNA and protein
levels, as well as to induce apoptosis. Importantly, apoptosis of bone marrow-derived hematopoietic stem cells from p27KIP1 null-mutant mice is decreased upon cytokine
withdrawal compared to that of cells from wild-type mice,
demonstrating the importance of regulating p27KIP1
levels in vivo for cell survival. Our data provide a novel
mechanism by which cytokines can both regulate cell cycle progression
and inhibit apoptosis by the PI3K-PKB-mediated
downregulation of p27KIP1. We propose that the
regulation of p27KIP1 transcription by
forkhead-related transcription factors may be a general mechanism by
which hematopoietic cells can respond appropriately to their
environmental conditions, resulting in survival, proliferation, or differentiation.
Cell culture.
Ba/F3 cells were cultured in RPMI 1640 supplemented with 8% Hyclone serum (Gibco) and recombinant mouse IL-3
produced in COS cells (8). Peripheral blood eosinophils from
healthy volunteers obtained from the Blood Bank (Utrecht, The
Netherlands) were isolated as described previously (29).
Fetal liver-derived myeloid cultures were prepared from day-17 mouse
embryos by culture of suspension cells in RPMI 1640 supplemented with
IL-3, IL-6, and stem cell factor (SCF) as previously described
(45).
0270-7306/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Forkhead Transcription Factor FKHR-L1 Modulates
Cytokine-Dependent Transcriptional Regulation of
p27KIP1
![]()
ABSTRACT
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
![]()
INTRODUCTION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
![]()
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References
Reagents and antibodies. LY294002, PD098059, and SB203580 were from Alexis (San Diego, Calif.). Rapamycin was a kind gift from N. Lomax from the Drug Synthesis and Chemistry Branch of the National Cancer Institute (Bethesda, Md.). pRC-p27KIP1 (mouse) was a kind gift from R. Bernards (Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands), and spectrin-linked green fluorescent protein (GFP) was a kind gift from A. Beavis and T. Sheck (Princeton, N.J.) and has been described previously (25). myrPKB:ER* was a kind gift from A. Klippel (Chiron Corporation, Emeryville, Calif.). pSG5-mycPTENcaax was obtained by PCR amplification of PTEN from human neutrophil cDNA and shuttling through pGEM-T_caax (33) before subsequent cloning into pSG5. FKHR-L1 constructs were a kind gift from M. E. Greenberg (Boston, Mass.) (6); pCDNA3-FKHR-L1(A3):ER* was generated by cloning FKHR-L1(A3) without the stop codon into a pCDNA3 vector containing the hormone-binding domain of the estrogen receptor (pCDNA3-ER). Constructs for hemagglutinin (HA)-PKB, gagPKB, cyclin D1, cyclin D1 promoter, kinase-dead CDK4, and the low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor (LNGFR) have been described previously (7, 37, 38). The pGL2-p27KIP1 luciferase promoter construct (31) was a kind gift from I. P. Touw (Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands). Histone H1 and actinomycin D were purchased from Sigma, and protein A-agarose was purchased from Boehringer GmbH (Mannheim, Germany). p27KIP1 and RACK1 monoclonal antibodies were purchased from Transduction Laboratories (Lexington, Kentucky). PKB, cyclin E, CDK2, ERK1, and ERK2 antibodies were purchased from Santa Cruz Biotechnology Inc. (Santa Cruz, Calif.). Phospho-Ser473 PKB antibodies were from New England Biolabs (Beverly, Mass.), while FKHR-L1 and phospho-Thr32 FKHR-L1 were from Upstate Biotechnology, Inc. (Lake Placid, N.Y.).
Western blotting. For the detection of p27KIP1, cells were lysed in Lowry sample buffer and the protein concentration was determined as described previously (39). Equal amounts of each protein sample were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blotting with p27KIP1 antibody. Blots were subsequently probed with RACK1 antibody (or ERK1 and -2 for eosinophils) to confirm equal protein loading. For the analysis of CDK2 levels, equal amounts of protein of cells lysed in ELB buffer (39) together with inhibitors (see the description of kinase assays below) were analyzed in parallel with cyclin E-associated kinase activity. For detection with phosphospecific antibodies, cells were lysed in ELB buffer together with inhibitors and equal amounts of protein were run on gel, blotted, and probed with phosphospecific antibodies.
Northern blotting. Ba/F3 cells were cultured with IL-3 and then starved for various times or were starved for IL-3 overnight and subsequently stimulated with IL-3. In some experiments cells were cultured with IL-3 and 4-hydroxy tamoxifen (4-OHT) was added. Total RNA was isolated as described previously (47). Twenty micrograms of total RNA was used for Northern blotting and hybridized with a p27KIP1 probe consisting of full-length p27KIP1 cDNA. Equal RNA loading was verified by stripping and reprobing the blots with a 1.4-kb cDNA fragment of the human glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene.
Apoptosis and proliferation assays. For apoptosis assays cells were counted, washed twice with PBS, resuspended in RPMI 1640 containing 8% Hyclone, and seeded in 24-well dishes (0.4 × 106 cells per well). After 2 h inhibitors were added, and after a further 30 min cytokines were added. After 48 h cells were harvested, washed twice in PBS, and fixed for at least 2 h in 300 µl of PBS-700 µl of ethanol. Cells were spun down gently and permeabilized in 200 µl of 0.1% Triton X-100-0.045 M Na2HPO4-0.0025 M sodium citrate at 37°C for 20 min. Next, 750 µl of apoptosis buffer (0.1% Triton X-100, 10 mM PIPES [piperazine-N,N'-bis{2-ethanesulfonic acid}], 2 mM MgCl2, 40 µg of RNase/ml, 20 µg of propidium iodide/ml) was added, and cells were incubated for 30 min in the dark. The percentage of apoptotic cells was analyzed by FACS as the percentage of cells (10,000 cells counted) with a DNA content of <2N. Thresholds were set to gate out cellular debris. For Ba/F3 cells transfected with GFP-spectrin, 5,000 GFP-positive cells were analyzed. Cell cycle profiles were determined using a FACScalibur (Becton Dickson, Mountain View, Calif.) and analyzed using Cell Quest and MofFit software. For cell proliferation assays Ba/F3 cells were seeded in 24-well dishes (0.1 × 106 cells per well) together with IL-3 with or without inhibitors and the viable cells were counted every 24 h by trypan blue exclusion.
Transient electroporations and generation of stable cell lines. For transient transfection, Ba/F3 cells were electroporated (0.28 kV; capacitance, 960 µF) and 2 h after electroporation dead cells were removed by separation through a Ficoll gradient (2,500 rpm for 20 min). Cells were harvested 24 h after electroporation and analyzed by FACS as described above. For the generation of polyclonal transfectants constructs were electroporated into Ba/F3 cells together with pSG5 conferring neomycin resistance and maintained in 500 µg of G418 (Boehringer GmbH)/ml in the presence of IL-3. Clonal cell lines were generated by limited dilution, and results shown are representative of at least two separate clones. For the analysis of p27KIP1 levels in cells transiently overexpressing p27KIP1, cells were electroporated together with LNGFR as a marker (37). Dead cells were removed, and LNGFR-expressing cells were separated using monoclonal LNGFR antibody 20.4 (37) and goat anti-mouse microbeads (Miltenyi Biotech). Equal protein concentrations were analyzed by p27KIP1 Western blotting.
Cyclin E-CDK2 kinase assays. Cyclin E-associated kinase activity was determined as described previously (39), using histone H1 as a substrate. CDK2 levels were determined in parallel by Western blotting.
Luciferase assays. Ba/F3 cells were electroporated with the pGL2-p27KIP1 luciferase promoter construct (31), a pGL2 thymidine kinase luciferase construct or a pGL2 control luciferase construct, the internal transfection control (pRL-TK; Promega), and expression plasmids. Twenty-four hours after transfection cells were harvested and luciferase activity was measured. Values were corrected for transfection efficiency and growth and represent the means of at least three independent experiments (± standard errors of the means).
| |
RESULTS |
|---|
|
|
|---|
Signaling pathways regulating cytokine-mediated proliferation and
survival.
Lymphoid and myeloid lineages require cytokines and
growth factors to both induce cell division and act as survival
factors. The mouse pre-B-cell line Ba/F3 requires IL-3 to proliferate
as well as to overcome a default apoptotic program. To define
signaling pathways critically involved in mediating the proliferative
response to IL-3, we analyzed the effect of various pharmacological
inhibitors on Ba/F3 cells cultured with IL-3. Cells were cultured for
72 h, and the number of trypan blue-excluding cells was determined every 24 h. Proliferation was not affected when the cells were cultured with IL-3 in the presence of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinase inhibitor PD098059 (1) or with
SB203580, an inhibitor of p38 MAPK (13), indicating that the
proliferative response is not affected by inhibition of MAPKs (Fig.
1A). Activation of ERK and p38 kinases
was potently inhibited under these conditions (data not shown).
IL-3-dependent proliferation was profoundly inhibited when the cells
were cultured in the presence of either PI3K inhibitor LY294002
(56) or rapamycin, an inhibitor of the activation of
p70S6K, a target of PI3K signaling.
|
p27KIP1 protein levels correlate with induction of
apoptosis.
The CDK inhibitor (CKI) p27KIP1 is
the only CKI whose expression declines upon mitogenic stimulation, as
demonstrated for IL-2 and platelet-derived growth factor (42, 58,
60). Upregulation of p27KIP1 levels has been
correlated not only with a decrease in proliferation but also with
induction of apoptosis, suggesting that PI3K activity might be
associated with a decrease in p27KIP1 levels. To determine
whether IL-3 can regulate p27KIP1 levels, Ba/F3 cells were
cultured with or without IL-3 and after 24 h the level of
p27KIP1 expression was determined by Western blotting.
Equal protein loading was confirmed by probing the blot with a
RACK1 antibody. Cells cultured without cytokines or with IL-3 in the
presence of LY294002 exhibited a significant increase in
p27KIP1 expression, whereas inhibition of ERK MAPK, p38
MAPK, or p70S6K had no significant effect (Fig.
2A), correlating with a lack of effect of
these inhibitors on apoptosis. Expression of another CKI,
p21CIP1, was unaffected (data not shown), suggesting that
upregulation of p27KIP1 upon induction of apoptosis
may be specific for this CKI.
|
IL-3 downregulates p27KIP1 mRNA levels in a
PI3K-dependent manner.
The regulation of p27KIP1
protein expression by phosphorylation, resulting in its degradation by
the ubiquitin system, has been extensively studied (41, 54).
As upregulation of p27KIP levels upon IL-3 withdrawal was
completely abrogated by inhibiting transcription, we investigated
whether IL-3 is also capable of regulating p27KIP1 mRNA
levels. We observed a very rapid upregulation of p27KIP1
mRNA upon IL-3 withdrawal, whereas addition of IL-3 rapidly
downregulated p27KIP1 mRNA (Fig.
3A). To establish a potential role for
PI3K in downregulating p27KIP1 mRNA, cytokine-starved
Ba/F3 cells were either left untreated or were preincubated with
LY294002 before IL-3 stimulation. In agreement with the findings for
p27KIP1 protein expression, p27KIP1 mRNA
expression was also dependent on PI3K activity, since preincubation with LY294002 was found to significantly abrogate downregulation of
p27KIP1 mRNA expression by IL-3 (Fig. 3B).
|
FKHR-L1 is inhibited by PI3K-PKB and elevates p27KIP1
promoter activity.
The data obtained so far raise the possibility
that PI3K activity results in inactivation of a transcription factor
responsible for p27KIP1 transcription. To identify a
possible molecular mechanism by which PI3K could regulate
p27KIP1 transcription, we focused on the forkhead-related
transcription factor FKHR-L1, which has recently been identified as a
target of PI3K signaling (6). The activity of FKHR-L1 is
inhibited upon phosphorylation by PKB, resulting in nuclear exclusion
(6). First we analyzed whether IL-3 could regulate the
activity of this transcription factor in PI3K-dependent manner. Indeed,
IL-3 stimulation resulted in a rapid transient phosphorylation of
endogenous FKHR-L1 (Fig. 4A, left),
whereas preincubation of cells with LY294002 completely abrogated this
phosphorylation (Fig. 4A, right).
|
Transcriptional activity of FKHR-L1 directly induces
p27KIP1 expression.
Previous studies investigating the
function of forkhead-related transcription factors have all utilized
transient overexpression of these proteins (6, 40). To allow
us to specifically analyze the consequence of FKHR-L1 activation
in more detail, we generated several clonal Ba/F3 cell
lines expressing a 4-OHT-inducible FKHR-L1(A3) construct,
FKHR-L1(A3):ER*. Expression levels of FKHR-L1(A3):ER* in all
cell lines were approximately one-third to one-fifth of that of
endogenous FKHR-L1 (Fig. 5A). Similar to
what was found in the cotransfection experiments (Fig. 4D),
p27KIP1 promoter activity was upregulated upon 4-OHT
addition (Fig. 5B). Furthermore, addition of 4-OHT resulted in a
striking upregulation of p27KIP1 mRNA within 30 to 60 min (Fig. 5C), providing compelling evidence for direct FKHR-L1
transcriptional regulation of p27KIP1 expression in vivo.
In accordance with induction of p27KIP1 mRNA,
p27KIP1 protein levels were also highly elevated in cells
treated with 4-OHT (Fig. 5D). To confirm that upregulation of
p27KIP1 levels was indeed a result of FKHR-L1-mediated
transcription, actinomycin D was added prior to 4-OHT
addition. As shown in Fig. 5E, this completely abrogated
upregulation of p27KIP1 protein, as well as mRNA
(data not shown). Finally, we analyzed levels of
p27KIP1 with various concentrations of 4-OHT; the levels
were elevated in a dose-dependent fashion (Fig. 5F).
|
Regulation of p27KIP1 expression is important for
maintenance of cell survival.
The data described above suggest
that repression of p27KIP1 levels through PKB-mediated
FKHR-L1 phosphorylation may be necessary for cytokine-mediated
survival and proliferation. To address whether mere ectopic
expression of p27KIP1 is sufficient to induce
apoptosis, we introduced an expression plasmid for
p27KIP1 in Ba/F3 cells, together with spectrin-GFP as a
marker for transfected cells. Twenty-four hours after electroporation,
cells were fixed and stained with PI and the DNA content of the
spectrin-GFP-expressing cells was analyzed. Cells transfected with both
spectrin-GFP and p27KIP1 exhibited a significantly higher
percentage of apoptotic cells and cells in
G0/G1 than control cells (Fig.
6A). To exclude the possibility that
supraphysiological levels of p27KIP1 expression alone
cause cells to undergo apoptosis, p27KIP1 levels in
transfected cells were analyzed. This was performed by coexpressing
LNGFR (47), sorting LNGFR-expressing cells by magnetic cell
sorting, and analyzing p27KIP1 expression levels in
corrected protein samples. Levels of p27KIP1 inducing
apoptosis in transfected cells did not exceed the levels in
IL-3-starved cells (Fig. 6B). Thus uncontrolled expression of
physiological levels of p27KIP1 is sufficient to induce
apoptosis in cytokine-dependent cells.
|
p27KIP1 deficiency increases hematopoietic cell
survival after cytokine withdrawal.
Finally, to examine the
importance of p27KIP1 in the regulation of
apoptosis in vivo, we utilized hematopoietic stem cells
obtained from either wild-type mice or mice lacking one or both
p27KIP1 alleles (27). Bone marrow-derived
Sca1+ stem cells were cytokine starved and analyzed 24 h later, using annexin-V staining to label apoptotic cells.
Strikingly, stem cells obtained from mice lacking one
p27KIP1 allele exhibited a moderate protection against
cytokine withdrawal-induced apoptosis compared to those from
wild-type mice (Fig. 7). This was
significantly enhanced in stem cells from mice lacking both alleles.
These data demonstrate the importance of regulating p27KIP1
levels in the modulation of hematopoietic cell apoptosis in
vivo.
|
| |
DISCUSSION |
|---|
|
|
|---|
The control of proliferation and apoptosis by cytokines is critical in the regulation of a variety of hematopoietic lineages (15, 21). Our data demonstrate PI3K signaling to be indispensable in mediating cellular proliferation and survival. The importance of PI3K activity in mediating survival was supported by overexpression the 3-phosphatidylinositol lipid phosphatase PTEN (36), which is a uniquely specific tool for decreasing 3-phosphoinositide levels in cells. Upon overexpression of membrane-localized PTEN, we observed an induction of apoptosis in IL-3-cultured Ba/F3 cells (Fig. 1C). The fact that membrane-targeted PTEN, unlike wild-type PTEN, is potently active (Fig. 1C) suggests that membrane localization is a critical aspect of PTEN regulation in vivo. Mutations in the chromosomal region of PTEN resulting in a loss of function of PTEN have been described in a variety of neoplasias, including lymphoid malignancies (19). These mutations result in the accumulation of PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 in the absence of cellular stimulation. While inhibition of PTEN activity may have deleterious effects on cell proliferation, resulting in a neoplastic phenotype, our data demonstrate that uncontrolled PTEN activity can result in the induction of an apoptotic program.
In search of a potential mechanism by which PI3K could regulate cytokine-mediated cell survival and proliferation, we focused on the CKI p27KIP1. p27KIP1 is an inhibitor of cell cycle progression, exerting its effect through interaction with cyclin-CDK complexes and arresting cells in G0/G1 (53). Furthermore, p27KIP1 has been implicated in the regulation of apoptosis in immature B cells (17, 61). Cross-linking of surface Ig (IgM) on the WEHI-231 B-cell lymphoma, for example, results in growth arrest and eventually induction of an apoptotic program which can be rescued by CD40 ligand engagement. These IgM-induced changes are correlated with an increase in p27KIP1 protein which is inhibited by CD40, although the molecular mechanisms of these observations are unclear (17, 61). A potential role for PI3K in downregulating p27KIP1 levels was suggested by the observation that overexpression of PTEN in glioblastoma cells resulted in enhanced p27KIP1 levels (34). We have explored the IL-3-mediated regulation of p27KIP1 levels and a possible role for PI3K therein. Survival factor withdrawal resulted in an increase of p27KIP1 protein levels in a PI3K-dependent manner (Fig. 2A). In cultures of primary fetal liver cells cytokine withdrawal also resulted in an increase of apoptosis paralleled by upregulation of p27KIP1, suggesting that this may be a common feature of primary lymphocyte lineages (Fig. 2D). Levels of p27KIP1 in primary human eosinophils undergoing apoptosis were also analyzed (Fig. 2E). In eosinophils, both cytokine starvation and inhibition of PI3K resulted in significantly higher levels of p27KIP1, correlating with induction of apoptosis (Fig. 1D). Importantly, induction of p27KIP1 in these nondividing cells suggests an additional cell cycle-independent role for this CKI.
While regulation of p27KIP1 levels has been previously considered to occur predominantly posttranslationally (23, 49), we found a rapid and dramatic effect of IL-3 on p27KIP1 mRNA (Fig. 3A). In addition, IL-3 was also capable of downregulating p27KIP1 promoter activity in a PI3K-dependent manner (Fig. 3C), prompting us to investigate the role of PI3K-regulated transcription factors in this process. Transcription factors of the AFX/FKHR forkhead family are phosphorylated by the PI3K target PKB, resulting in inhibition of their activity (3, 6, 20, 30). One member, FKHR-L1, has been linked to induction of apoptosis, possibly by the upregulation of Fas ligand on cells (6). FKHR-L1 is endogenously expressed in Ba/F3 cells and phosphorylated in a PI3K- and PKB-dependent manner (Fig. 4A and C). Furthermore, overexpression of an active FKHR-L1 mutant resulted in induction of apoptosis (Fig. 6C). Since Fas ligand was unable to induce apoptosis in Ba/F3 cells (data not shown), a role for FKHR-L1 in induction of apoptosis must be mediated by an alternative mechanism. The presence of several forkhead transcription factor binding sites in the p27KIP1 promoter suggested a possible link between FKHR-L1 and transcription of p27KIP1. Indeed, overexpression of FKHR-L1 elevated p27KIP1 promoter activity, which could be inhibited by cotransfection of active PKB (Fig. 4D). To specifically analyze the effect of FKHR-L1 on p27KIP1 transcription, we utilized Ba/F3 cells stably expressing a 4-OHT-inducible active FKHR-L1 construct. Upon FKHR-L1 activation, p27KIP1 mRNA was greatly elevated within 30 to 60 min, concomitant with a spectacular elevation of p27KIP1 protein levels (Fig. 5C to E). These data clearly demonstrate that activation of FKHR-L1 alone is sufficient to induce rapid upregulation of p27KIP1 mRNA in vivo. To determine if p27KIP1 is indeed an important target of FKHR-L1-induced apoptosis, we overexpressed cyclin D-CDK4 complexes to titrate away functional p27KIP1. Indeed, overexpression of cyclin D-CDK4 complexes was sufficient to significantly reduce FKHR-L1-induced apoptosis, thus suggesting that p27KIP1 is an important FKHR-L1 target for the induction of apoptosis. The fact that apoptosis was not completely rescued by overexpression of cyclin D-CDK4 suggests that there are possibly additional targets accounting for FKHR-L1-induced apoptosis. During the preparation of this paper it was reported that FKHR-L1-related transcription factor AFX was able to induce growth suppression through regulation of p27KIP1 expression (40). However, these overexpression studies were performed with cells not normally expressing AFX. We have now been able to demonstrate that regulation of p27KIP1 transcription can be controlled through cytokines and further that this seems to play a role in the regulation of survival.
Here we also provide proof for the importance of p27KIP1 in
the induction of apoptosis by utilizing mice lacking one or
both alleles of the p27KIP1 gene (27). There was
a significant decrease in apoptosis upon cytokine withdrawal in
mice lacking one p27KIP1 gene allele (change in
apoptosis [
apoptosis] = 10.6%) compared to that
in wild-type mice (
apoptosis = 24.6%); this decrease was even more striking in mice lacking both alleles
(
apoptosis = 6.1%). While the role of
p27KIP1 in regulating growth arrest is fairly well defined,
relatively little is known regarding the mechanisms by which this
protein may regulate apoptosis. A potential mechanism is
suggested by a recent report by Boussiotis et al., who demonstrated
that p27KIP1 is capable of directly influencing
transcription independently of its ability to block cell cycle
progression (5). Increased p27KIP1 levels were
found to inhibit IL-2 transcription in T cells through the binding,
nuclear export, and subsequent degradation of the Jun transcription
factor coactivator JAB1 (12). Potentially inhibition of
antiapoptotic gene expression through
p27KIP1-mediated degradation of JAB1 could play a role in
the induction of apoptosis. In various malignancies it has been
shown that reduced levels of p27KIP1 correlate with poor
prognosis (10, 35, 48). The levels of p27KIP1 do
not, however, correlate with the proliferative status of the tumor
cells, suggesting that the benefits of p27KIP1 reflect an
additional function such as increased apoptosis. Indeed, decreased p27KIP1 expression in gastric carcinomas
correlates with decreased apoptosis and increased
aggressiveness of the tumor (44).
The regulation of both proliferation and survival by p27KIP1 has parallels with that by the tumor suppressor protein p53. p53 has a major G1 checkpoint function and can mediate a transient growth arrest in certain situations that favor cell survival, while inducing apoptosis in others (59). Interestingly, one study has demonstrated that overexpression of Bcl-2 can significantly counteract the apoptotic effects of p27KIP1, preventing caspase activation (57). This suggests that p27KIP1 may either inhibit specific antiapoptotic Bcl-2 family members or activate proapoptotic family members such as Bim that have recently been shown to play a critical role in apoptosis induced by cytokine withdrawal (4).
Our findings demonstrate a novel mechanism by which cytokines mediate rescue from apoptosis. This involves the downregulation p27KIP1 levels through the PI3K- and PKB-regulated inactivation of transcription factors of the AFX/FKHR forkhead family. Exposure of hematopoietic cells to cytokines acts to stimulate both survival and proliferation. The regulation of p27KIP1 expression by PI3K allows the modulation of both these processes by altering the levels of a single protein. Our data not only provide insight into the mechanisms of cytokine-mediated signal transduction regulating cell proliferation and survival but also identify critical components regulating p27KIP1 transcription. The mechanism of PI3K-mediated forkhead transcription factor regulation is conserved between the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans (43) and mammalian cells. Our data implicate the regulation of p27KIP1 by this evolutionarily conserved signaling pathway as a general mechanism for controlling cell fate decisions regulating survival and proliferation or differentiation.
| |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
|---|
We thank Tom O'Toole for technical help with the fetal liver cultures, Kris Reedquist for critically reading the manuscript, and Geert Kops for helpful discussions. Thanks also to Ivo Touw for helpful discussions and providing the p27KIP1 luciferase construct, Anke Klippel for providing the myrPKB:ER* construct and M. E. Greenberg for the FKHR-L1 and FKHR-L1(A3) constructs.
Eric W.-F. Lam is supported by the Leukemia Research Fund of Great Britain.
| |
FOOTNOTES |
|---|
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Pulmonary Diseases, University Medical Center, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands. Phone: 31-30-2507134. Fax: 31-30-2505414. E-mail: P.Coffer{at}hli.azu.nl.
| |
REFERENCES |
|---|
|
|
|---|
| 1. |
Alessi, D. R.,
A. Cuenda,
P. Cohen,
D. T. Dudley, and A. R. Saltiel.
1995.
PD 098059 is a specific inhibitor of the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase in vitro and in vivo.
J. Biol. Chem.
270:27489-27494 |
| 2. | Arai, K. I., F. Lee, A. Miyajima, S. Miyatake, N. Arai, and T. Yokota. 1990. Cytokines: coordinators of immune and inflammatory responses. Annu. Rev. Biochem. 59:783-836[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 3. |
Biggs, W. H.,
J. Meisenhelder,
T. Hunter,
W. K. Cavenee, and K. C. Arden.
1999.
Protein kinase B/Akt-mediated phosphorylation promotes nuclear exclusion of the winged helix transcription factor FKHR1.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
96:7421-7426 |
| 4. |
Bouillet, P.,
D. Metcalf,
D. C. Huang,
D. M. Tarlinton,
T. W. Kay,
F. Kontgen,
J. M. Adams, and A. Strasser.
1999.
Proapoptotic Bcl-2 relative Bim required for certain apoptotic responses, leukocyte homeostasis, and to preclude autoimmunity.
Science
286:1735-1738 |
| 5. | Boussiotis, V. A., G. J. Freeman, P. A. Taylor, A. Berezovskaya, I. Grass, B. R. Blazar, and L. M. Nadler. 2000. p27kip1 functions as an anergy factor inhibiting interleukin 2 transcription and clonal expansion of alloreactive human and mouse helper T lymphocytes. Nat. Med. 6:290-297[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 6. | Brunet, A., A. Bonni, M. J. Zigmond, M. Z. Lin, P. Juo, L. S. Hu, M. J. Anderson, K. C. Arden, J. Blenis, and M. E. Greenberg. 1999. Akt promotes cell survival by phosphorylating and inhibiting a Forkhead transcription factor. Cell 96:857-868[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 7. | Burgering, B. M., and P. J. Coffer. 1995. Protein kinase B (c-Akt) in phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase signal transduction. Nature 376:599-602[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 8. |
Caldenhoven, E.,
T. van Dijk,
J. A. Raaijmakers,
J. W. Lammers,
L. Koenderman, and R. P. de Groot.
1995.
Activation of the STAT3/acute phase response factor transcription factor by interleukin-5.
J. Biol. Chem.
270:25778-25784 |
| 9. |
Cardone, M. H.,
N. Roy,
H. R. Stennicke,
G. S. Salvesen,
T. F. Franke,
E. Stanbridge,
S. Frisch, and J. C. Reed.
1998.
Regulation of cell death protease caspase-9 by phosphorylation.
Science
282:1318-1321 |
| 10. | Catzavelos, C., N. Bhattacharya, Y. C. Ung, J. A. Wilson, L. Roncari, C. Sandhu, P. Shaw, H. Yeger, I. Morava-Protzner, L. Kapusta, E. Franssen, K. I. Pritchard, and J. M. Slingerland. 1997. Decreased levels of the cell-cycle inhibitor p27Kip1 protein: prognostic implications in primary breast cancer. Nat. Med. 3:227-230[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 11. |
Cheng, M.,
V. Sexl,
C. J. Sherr, and M. F. Roussel.
1998.
Assembly of cyclin D-dependent kinase and titration of p27Kip1 regulated by mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK1).
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
95:1091-1096 |
| 12. | Claret, F. X., M. Hibi, S. Dhut, T. Toda, and M. Karin. 1996. A new group of conserved coactivators that increase the specificity of AP-1 transcription factors. Nature 383:453-457[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 13. | Cuenda, A., J. Rouse, Y. N. Doza, R. Meier, P. Cohen, T. F. Gallagher, P. R. Young, and J. C. Lee. 1995. SB 203580 is a specific inhibitor of a MAP kinase homologue which is stimulated by cellular stresses and interleukin-1. FEBS Lett. 364:229-233[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 14. | Datta, S. R., H. Dudek, X. Tao, S. Masters, H. Fu, Y. Gotoh, and M. E. Greenberg. 1997. Akt phosphorylation of BAD couples survival signals to the cell-intrinsic death machinery. Cell 91:231-241[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 15. | de Groot, R. P., P. Coffer, and L. Koenderman. 1998. Regulation of proliferation, differentiation and survival by the IL-3/IL-5/GM-CSF receptor family. Cell Signal. 8:12-18. |
| 16. |
del Peso, L.,
M. Gonzalez-Garcia,
C. Page,
R. Herrera, and G. Nunez.
1997.
Interleukin-3-induced phosphorylation of BAD through the protein kinase Akt.
Science
278:687-689 |
| 17. | Ezhevsky, S. A., H. Toyoshima, T. Hunter, and D. W. Scott. 1996. Role of cyclin A and p27 in anti-IgM induced G1 growth arrest of murine B-cell lymphomas. Mol. Biol. Cell. 7:553-564[Abstract]. |
| 18. | Fujita, E., A. Jinbo, H. Matuzaki, H. Konishi, U. Kikkawa, and T. Momoi. 1999. Akt phosphorylation site found in human caspase-9 is absent in mouse caspase-9. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 264:550-555[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 19. |
Gronbaek, K.,
J. Zeuthen,
P. Guldberg,
E. Ralfkiaer, and K. Hou-Jensen.
1998.
Alterations of the MMAC1/PTEN gene in lymphoid malignancies.
Blood
91:4388-4390 |
| 20. |
Guo, S.,
G. Rena,
S. Cichy,
X. He,
P. Cohen, and T. Unterman.
1999.
Phosphorylation of serine 256 by protein kinase B disrupts transactivation by FKHR and mediates effects of insulin on insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 promoter activity through a conserved insulin response sequence.
J. Biol. Chem.
274:17184-17192 |
| 21. | Guthridge, M. A., F. C. Stomski, D. Thomas, J. M. Woodcock, C. J. Bagley, M. C. Berndt, and A. F. Lopez. 1998. Mechanism of activation of the GM-CSF, IL-3, and IL-5 family of receptors. Stem Cells 16:301-313[Medline]. |
| 22. | Haas-Kogan, D., N. Shalev, M. Wong, G. Mills, G. Yount, and D. Stokoe. 1998. Protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) activity is elevated in glioblastoma cells due to mutation of the tumor suppressor PTEN/MMAC. Curr. Biol. 8:1195-1198[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 23. | Hengst, L., and S. I. Reed. 1996. Translational control of p27Kip1 accumulation during the cell cycle. Science 271:1861-1864[Abstract]. |
| 24. |
Hinton, H. J., and M. J. Welham.
1999.
Cytokine-induced protein kinase B activation and Bad phosphorylation do not correlate with cell survival of hematopoietic cells.
J. Immunol.
162:7002-7009 |
| 25. | Kalejta, R. F., T. Shenk, and A. J. Beavis. 1997. Use of a membrane-localized green fluorescent protein allows simultaneous identification of transfected cells and cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry. Cytometry 29:286-291[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 26. | Kauffmann-Zeh, A., P. Rodriguez-Viciana, E. Ulrich, C. Gilbert, P. Coffer, J. Downward, and G. Evan. 1997. Suppression of c-Myc-induced apoptosis by Ras signalling through PI(3)K and PKB. Nature 385:544-548[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 27. | Kiyokawa, H., R. D. Kineman, K. O. Manova-Todorova, V. C. Soares, E. S. Hoffman, M. Ono, D. Khanam, A. C. Hayday, L. A. Frohman, and A. Koff. 1996. Enhanced growth of mice lacking the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor function of p27(Kip1). Cell 85:721-732[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 28. |
Klippel, A.,
M. A. Escobedo,
M. S. Wachowicz,
G. Apell,
T. W. Brown,
M. A. Giedlin,
W. M. Kavanaugh, and L. T. Williams.
1998.
Activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase is sufficient for cell cycle entry and promotes cellular changes characteristic of oncogenic transformation.
Mol. Cell. Biol.
18:5699-5711 |
| 29. | Koenderman, L., P. T. Kok, M. L. Hamelink, A. J. Verhoeven, and P. L. Bruijnzeel. 1988. An improved method for the isolation of eosinophilic granulocytes from peripheral blood of normal individuals. J. Leukoc. Biol. 44:79-86[Abstract]. |
| 30. | Kops, G. J., N. D. de Ruiter, A. M. de Vries-Smits, D. R. Powell, J. L. Bos, and B. M. Burgering. 1999. Direct control of the Forkhead transcription factor AFX by protein kinase B. Nature 398:630-634[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 31. | Kwon, T. K., J. E. Nagel, M. A. Buchholz, and A. A. Nordin. 1996. Characterization of the murine cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor gene p27Kip1. Gene 180:113-120[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 32. | Lee, J. O., H. Yang, M. M. Georgescu, A. Di Cristofano, T. Maehama, Y. Shi, J. E. Dixon, P. Pandolfi, and N. P. Pavletich. 1999. Crystal structure of the PTEN tumor suppressor: implications for its phosphoinositide phosphatase activity and membrane association. Cell 99:323-334[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 33. | Leevers, S. J., H. F. Paterson, and C. J. Marshall. 1994. Requirement for Ras in Raf activation is overcome by targeting Raf to the plasma membrane. Nature 369:411-414[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 34. |
Li, D. M., and H. Sun.
1998.
PTEN/MMAC1/TEP1 suppresses the tumorigenicity and induces G1 cell cycle arrest in human glioblastoma cells.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
95:15406-15411 |
| 35. | Loda, M., B. Cukor, S. W. Tam, P. Lavin, M. Fiorentino, G. F. Draetta, J. M. Jessup, and M. Pagano. 1997. Increased proteasome-dependent degradation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27 in aggressive colorectal carcinomas. Nat. Med. 3:231-234[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 36. |
Maehama, T., and J. E. Dixon.
1998.
The tumor suppressor, PTEN/MMAC1, dephosphorylates the lipid second messenger, phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate.
J. Biol. Chem.
273:13375-13378 |
| 37. |
Mavilio, F.,
G. Ferrari,
S. Rossini,
N. Nobili,
C. Bonini,
G. Casorati,
C. Traversari, and C. Bordignon.
1994.
Peripheral blood lymphocytes as target cells of retroviral vector-mediated gene transfer.
Blood
83:1988-1997 |
| 38. |
Medema, R. H.,
R. E. Herrera,
F. Lam, and R. A. Weinberg.
1995.
Growth suppression by p16ink4 requires functional retinoblastoma protein.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
92:6289-6293 |
| 39. | Medema, R. H., R. Klompmaker, V. A. Smits, and G. Rijksen. 1998. p21waf1 can block cells at two points in the cell cycle, but does not interfere with processive DNA-replication or stress-activated kinases. Oncogene 16:431-441[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 40. | Medema, R. H., G. J. Kops, J. L. Bos, and B. M. Burgering. 2000. AFX-like Forkhead transcription factors mediate cell-cycle regulation by Ras and PKB through p27kip1. Nature 404:782-787[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 41. |
Montagnoli, A.,
F. Fiore,
E. Eytan,
A. C. Carrano,
G. F. Draetta,
A. Hershko, and M. Pagano.
1999.
Ubiquitination of p27 is regulated by Cdk-dependent phosphorylation and trimeric complex formation.
Genes Dev.
13:1181-1189 |
| 42. | Nourse, J., E. Firpo, W. M. Flanagan, S. Coats, K. Polyak, M. H. Lee, J. Massague, G. R. Crabtree, and J. M. Roberts. 1994. Interleukin-2-mediated elimination of the p27Kip1 cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor prevented by rapamycin. Nature 372:570-573[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 43. | Ogg, S., S. Paradis, S. Gottlieb, G. I. Patterson, L. Lee, H. A. Tissenbaum, and G. Ruvkun. 1997. The Fork head transcription factor DAF-16 transduces insulin-like metabolic and longevity signals in C. elegans. Nature 389:994-999[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 44. | Ohtani, M., H. Isozaki, K. Fujii, E. Nomura, M. Niki, H. Mabuchi, K. Nishiguchi, M. Toyoda, T. Ishibashi, and N. Tanigawa. 1999. Impact of the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1 and apoptosis in tumor cells on the overall survival of patients with non-early stage gastric carcinoma. Cancer 85:1711-1718[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 45. |
Packham, G.,
E. L. White,
C. M. Eischen,
H. Yang,
E. Parganas,
J. N. Ihle,
D. A. Grillot,
G. P. Zambetti,
G. Nuñez, and J. L. Cleveland.
1998.
Selective regulation of Bcl-XL by a Jak kinase-dependent pathway is bypassed in murine hematopoietic malignancies.
Genes Dev.
12:2475-2487 |
| 46. |
Pagano, M.,
S. W. Tam,
A. M. Theodoras,
P. Beer-Romero,
G. Del Sal,
V. Chau,
P. R. Yew,
G. F. Draetta, and M. Rolfe.
1995.
Role of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in regulating abundance of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27.
Science
269:682-685 |
| 47. | Pals, C. M., S. A. Verploegen, J. A. Raaijmakers, J. W. Lammers, L. Koenderman, and P. J. Coffer. 2000. Identification of cytokine-regulated genes in human leukocytes in vivo. J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 105:760-768[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 48. | Porter, P. L., K. E. Malone, P. J. Heagerty, G. M. Alexander, L. A. Gatti, E. J. Firpo, J. R. Daling, and J. M. Roberts. 1997. Expression of cell-cycle regulators p27Kip1 and cyclin E, alone and in combination, correlate with survival in young breast cancer patients. Nat. Med. 3:222-225[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 49. |
Sheaff, R. J.,
M. Groudine,
M. Gordon,
J. M. Roberts, and B. E. Clurman.
1997.
Cyclin E-CDK2 is a regulator of p27Kip1.
Genes Dev.
11:1464-1478 |
| 50. | Stambolic, V., A. Suzuki, J. L. de la Pompa, G. M. Brothers, C. Mirtsos, T. Sasaki, J. Ruland, J. M. Penninger, D. P. Siderovski, and T. W. Mak. 1998. Negative regulation of PKB/Akt-dependent cell survival by the tumor suppressor PTEN. Cell 95:29-39[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 51. | Takatsu, K. 1998. Interleukin 5 and B cell differentiation. Cytokine Growth Factor Rev. 9:25-35[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 52. |
Tang, E. D.,
G. Nuñez,
F. G. Barr, and K. L. Guan.
1999.
Negative regulation of the forkhead transcription factor FKHR by Akt.
J. Biol. Chem.
274:16741-16746 |
| 53. | Toyoshima, H., and T. Hunter. 1994. p27, a novel inhibitor of G1 cyclin-Cdk protein kinase activity, is related to p21. Cell 78:67-74[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 54. | Tsvetkov, L. M., K. H. Yeh, S. J. Lee, H. Sun, and H. Zhang. 1999. p27(Kip1) ubiquitination and degradation is regulated by the SCF(Skp2) complex through phosphorylated Thr187 in p27. Curr. Biol. 9:661-664[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 55. | Vlach, J., S. Hennecke, and B. Amati. 1997. Phosphorylation-dependent degradation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27. EMBO J. 16:5334-5344[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 56. |
Vlahos, C. J.,
W. F. Matter,
K. Y. Hui, and R. F. Brown.
1994.
A specific inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, 2-(4-morpholinyl)-8-phenyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one (LY294002).
J. Biol. Chem.
269:5241-5248 |
| 57. | Wang, X. 1997. p27Kip1 overexpression causes apoptotic death of mammalian cells. Oncogene 15:2991-2997[CrossRef][Medline]. |
| 58. |
Weber, J. D.,
W. Hu,
S. C. J. Jefcoat,
D. M. Raben, and J. J. Baldassare.
1997.
Ras-stimulated extracellular signal-related kinase 1 and RhoA activities coordinate platelet-derived growth factor-induced G1 progression through the independent regulation of cyclin D1 and p27.
J. Biol. Chem.
272:32966-32971 |
| 59. |
White, E.
1996.
Life, death, and the pursuit of apoptosis.
Genes Dev.
10:1-15 |
| 60. |
Winston, J.,
F. Dong, and W. J. Pledger.
1996.
Differential modulation of G1 cyclins and the Cdk inhibitor p27kip1 by platelet-derived growth factor and plasma factors in density-arrested fibroblasts.
J. Biol. Chem.
271:11253-11260 |
| 61. |
Wu, M.,
R. E. Bellas,
J. Shen,
W. Yang, and G. E. Sonenshein.
1999.
Increased p27Kip1 cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor gene expression following anti-IgM treatment promotes apoptosis of WEHI 231 B cells.
J. Immunol.
163:6530-6535 |
| 62. |
Wu, X.,
K. Senechal,
M. S. Neshat,
Y. E. Whang, and C. L. Sawyers.
1998.
The PTEN/MMAC1 tumor suppressor phosphatase functions as a negative regulator of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
95:15587-15591 |
This article has been cited by other articles:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»