title: Attenuation of the TGF-beta-Smad signaling pathway in pancreatic tumor cells confers resistance to TGF-beta-induced growth arrest.
abstract: We have investigated the mechanism whereby tumor cells become resistant to the antiproliferative effects of transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta, while maintaining other responses that can lead to increased malignancy and invasiveness. TGF-beta signaling results in nuclear accumulation of active Smad complexes which regulate transcription of target genes. Here we show that in two pancreatic carcinoma cell lines, PT45 and Panc-1, that are resistant to TGF-beta-induced growth arrest, the TGF-beta-Smad signaling pathway is attenuated compared with epithelial cells that are sensitive to the antiproliferative effects of TGF-beta (HaCaT and Colo-357). In PT45 and Panc-1 cells, active Smad complexes remain nuclear for only 1-2 h compared with more than 6 h in HaCaT and Colo-357 cells. The attenuated pathway in PT45 and Panc-1 cells correlates with low levels of TGF-beta type I receptor and results in an altered expression profile of TGF-beta-inducible genes required for cell cycle arrest. Most significantly, expression of the CDK inhibitor, p21(Cip1/WAF1), which is required for TGF-beta-induced growth arrest in these cells, is not maintained. Moreover, we show that artificially attenuating the TGF-beta-Smad signaling pathway in HaCaT cells is sufficient to prevent TGF-beta-induced growth arrest. Our results demonstrate that the duration of TGF-beta-Smad signaling is a critical determinant of the specificity of the TGF-beta response.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Developmental Signalling, Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, Lincoln's Inn Fields Laboratories, 44 Lincoln's Inn Fields, UK.
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Nicolás
authors.forename: Caroline S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Hill
mesh_terms: D030201:Activin Receptors, Type I / Q000032:analysis; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D050759:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; D016213:Cyclins / Q000032:analysis; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D000077293:Receptor, Transforming Growth Factor-beta Type I; D018125:Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000032:analysis; D051901:Smad4 Protein; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000502:physiology*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: C493956:CDKN1A protein, human; D050759:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p21; D016213:Cyclins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D018125:Receptors, Transforming Growth Factor beta; C497796:SMAD4 protein, human; D051901:Smad4 Protein; D015534:Trans-Activators; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D030201:Activin Receptors, Type I; D000077293:Receptor, Transforming Growth Factor-beta Type I