title: The mRNA-destabilizing protein tristetraprolin is suppressed in many cancers, altering tumorigenic phenotypes and patient prognosis.
abstract: AU-rich element-binding proteins (ARE-BP) regulate the stability and/or translational efficiency of mRNAs containing cognate binding sites. Many targeted transcripts encode factors that control processes such as cell division, apoptosis, and angiogenesis, suggesting that dysregulated ARE-BP expression could dramatically influence oncogenic phenotypes. Using several approaches, we evaluated the expression of four well-characterized ARE-BPs across a variety of human neoplastic syndromes. AUF1, TIA-1, and HuR mRNAs were not systematically dysregulated in cancers; however, tristetraprolin mRNA levels were significantly decreased across many tumor types, including advanced cancers of the breast and prostate. Restoring tristetraprolin expression in an aggressive tumor cell line suppressed three key tumorgenic phenotypes: cell proliferation, resistance to proapoptotic stimuli, and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA. However, the cellular consequences of tristetraprolin expression varied across different cell models. Analyses of gene array data sets revealed that suppression of tristetraprolin expression is a negative prognostic indicator in breast cancer, because patients with low tumor tristetraprolin mRNA levels were more likely to present increased pathologic tumor grade, vascular endothelial growth factor expression, and mortality from recurrent disease. Collectively, these data establish that tristetraprolin expression is frequently suppressed in human cancers, which in turn can alter tumorigenic phenotypes that influence patient outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Brennan
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuwano
authors.forename: Nadim
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alkharouf
authors.forename: Perry J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Blackshear
authors.forename: Myriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gorospe
authors.forename: Gerald M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D010641:Phenotype; D011379:Prognosis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*; D051816:Tristetraprolin / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D051816:Tristetraprolin; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C497552:ZFP36 protein, human