Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States with 112,000 new cases diagnosed per year and approximately 52,000 deaths estimated in 2007. Dysregulation of Akt and protein kinase C (PKC) contributes to tumorigenesis by promoting cell proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis. The signaling activation process of Akt and PKC has been studied in great detail. However, little is known about how the signals are turned off once activated. Recently, we have identified a family of novel protein phosphatases, PHLPP (PH domain Leucine-rich-repeats Protein Phosphatase) that directly dephosphorylates Akt and PKC. However, the role of PHLPP in cancer has not been defined. In the preliminary studies, we found that loss of PHLPP expression occurs with high frequency in human colorectal cancer specimens. Furthermore, our studies have suggested that PHLPP plays a role in regulating cell polarity. In light of our findings, the central hypothesis driving this proposal is that PHLPP serves as a tumor suppressor by regulating cell polarity in addition to its ability of turning off the growth signaling activated by Akt and PKC. The long-term goal of our studies is to better understand the physiological role of PHLPP and its contribution to colon cancer development and progression in vivo.
The Specific Aims are:
Aim 1 : To define the molecular mechanism of PHLPP downregulation. The goal of this aim is to investigate the potential mechanism leading to PHLPP downregulation in cancer. We will test the hypothesis that the expression level of PHLPP is controlled by the ubiquitin proteasome pathway in cells, and preventing PHLPP degradation leads to upregulation of the protein.
Aim 2 : To determine the role PHLPP in maintaining cell polarity. We hypothesize that PHLPP exerts its function as a tumor suppressor by regulating cell polarity and cell growth. The functional effect of PHLPP on establishing epithelial cell polarity will be determined. To elucidate the underlying mechanism, we will test the hypothesis that PHLPP is required for epithelial junction formation by modulating PKC activity via binding to the polarity protein Scribble.
Aim 3 : To delineate the role of PHLPP in tumorigenesis in vivo. The hypothesis driving this aim is that loss of PHLPP expression contributes to the initiation and progression of colorectal tumors. We will address the question whether there is an increase of tumor incidence when PHLPP is knocked out, both basally and in combination with other carcinogenic factors. Furthermore, we will assess the contribution of altered cell polarity in normal development of gut epithelium and tumor initiation using the knockout mice.

Public Health Relevance

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States with 148,000 new cases diagnosed per year and approximately 50,000 deaths estimated in 2007 and, among many contributing factors, aberrant protein phosphorylation resulting from hyperactivation of oncogenic signaling mediated by protein kinases such as Akt and PKC, is a key cause of colorectal cancer. We recently identified a novel protein phosphatase PHLPP that directly dephosphorylates Akt and PKC and terminates the growth signals activated by these kinases. We propose to determine the functional importance of PHLPP as a tumor suppressor in colorectal cancer and the results from this study will provide significant insights into the development of potential cancer therapy using PHLPP as a novel target.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01CA133429-05
Application #
8244527
Study Section
Molecular Oncogenesis Study Section (MONC)
Program Officer
Yassin, Rihab R,
Project Start
2009-04-01
Project End
2015-02-28
Budget Start
2012-03-01
Budget End
2013-02-28
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$75,510
Indirect Cost
$24,558
Name
University of Kentucky
Department
Biochemistry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
939017877
City
Lexington
State
KY
Country
United States
Zip Code
40506
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Wen, Yang-An; Xing, Xiaopeng; Harris, Jennifer W et al. (2017) Adipocytes activate mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation and autophagy to promote tumor growth in colon cancer. Cell Death Dis 8:e2593
Liu, Yi; Zhang, Cuiping; Li, Zhenyu et al. (2017) Latexin Inactivation Enhances Survival and Long-Term Engraftment of Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Expands the Entire Hematopoietic System in Mice. Stem Cell Reports 8:991-1004
Xiong, Xiaopeng; Li, Xin; Wen, Yang-An et al. (2016) Pleckstrin Homology (PH) Domain Leucine-rich Repeat Protein Phosphatase Controls Cell Polarity by Negatively Regulating the Activity of Atypical Protein Kinase C. J Biol Chem 291:25167-25178
Smith, Alena J; Wen, Yang-An; Stevens, Payton D et al. (2016) PHLPP negatively regulates cell motility through inhibition of Akt activity and integrin expression in pancreatic cancer cells. Oncotarget 7:7801-15

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