Regulation of bcl-2 expression by Ubc9.
Posttranslational modifications mediated by ubiquitin-like proteins have been implicated in regulating a variety of cellular pathways. Although small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) is a new member of this family, it has caught a great deal of attention recently because of its novel and distinguished functions. Sumoylation is a multiple-step process, involving maturation, activation, conjugation and ligation. Ubc9 is an E2 conjugating enzyme essential for sumoylation. We have previously shown that suppression of sumoylation by a dominant negative Ubc9 mutant (Ubc9-DN) in the estrogen receptor (ER) positive MCF-7 cells is associated with alterations of tumor cell's response to anticancer drugs as well as tumor growth in a xenograft mouse carcinoma model. To dissect the underlying mechanism of Ubc9-associated alterations of drug responsiveness and tumor growth, we profiled gene expression for the cells expressing wild type Ubc9 (Ubc9-WT) and Ubc9-DN. We found that several tumorigenesis-related genes were downregulated in the Ubc9-DN cells. Within this group, we found that over 10 genes are known to be regulated by ER. Experiments using the estrogen response element fused to the luciferase reporter showed that the basal level of luciferase activity was significantly reduced in the Ubc9-DN cells when compared to the vector alone or the Ubc9-WT cells. Furthermore, we found that both the stability and the subcellular localization of steroid hormone receptor coactivator-1 (SRC-1) were altered in the Ubc9-DN cells. Together, these results suggest that Ubc9 might regulate bcl-2 expression through the ER signaling pathway, which ultimately contributes to the alterations of drug responsiveness and tumor growth.
Department of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Cell Biology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, 801 N. Rutledge, PO Box 19626, Springfield, IL 62794, USA.
Zhaohui
Z
Lu
Hailong
H
Wu
Yin-Yuan
YY
Mo
D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D004965:Estrogen Antagonists / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D051548:Histone Acetyltransferases; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D056920:Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 1; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020849:Raloxifene Hydrochloride / Q000378:metabolism; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020218:Response Elements; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D044763:Ubiquitin-Conjugating Enzymes / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000098843:Ubiquitin-Conjugating Enzyme UBC9
D004965:Estrogen Antagonists; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D020849:Raloxifene Hydrochloride; D051548:Histone Acetyltransferases; C538859:NCOA1 protein, human; C538861:Ncoa1 protein, mouse; D056920:Nuclear Receptor Coactivator 1; D044763:Ubiquitin-Conjugating Enzymes; D000098843:Ubiquitin-Conjugating Enzyme UBC9