Role of Schlafen 2 (SLFN2) in the generation of interferon alpha-induced growth inhibitory responses.
The precise STAT-regulated gene targets that inhibit cell growth and generate the antitumor effects of Type I interferons (IFNs) remain unknown. We provide evidence that Type I IFNs regulate expression of Schlafens (SLFNs), a group of genes involved in the control of cell cycle progression and growth inhibitory responses. Using cells with targeted disruption of different STAT proteins and/or the p38 MAP kinase, we demonstrate that the IFN-dependent expression of distinct Schlafen genes is differentially regulated by STAT complexes and the p38 MAP kinase pathway. We also provide evidence for a key functional role of a member of the SLFN family, SLFN2, in the induction of the growth-suppressive effects of IFNs. This is shown in studies demonstrating that knockdown of SLFN2 enhances hematopoietic progenitor colony formation and reverses the growth-suppressive effects of IFNalpha on normal hematopoietic progenitors. Importantly, NIH3T3 or L929 cells with stable knockdown of SLFN2 form more colonies in soft agar, implicating this protein in the regulation of anchorage-independent growth. Altogether, our data implicate SLFN2 as a negative regulator of the metastatic and growth potential of malignant cells and strongly suggest a role for the SLFN family of proteins in the generation of the antiproliferative effects of Type I IFNs.
Katsoulidis
Efstratios
E
Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center and Division of Hematology-Oncology, Northwestern University Medical School and Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA.
Carayol
Nathalie
N
Woodard
Jennifer
J
Konieczna
Iwona
I
Majchrzak-Kita
Beata
B
Jordan
Alison
A
Sassano
Antonella
A
Eklund
Elizabeth A
EA
Fish
Eleanor N
EN
Platanias
Leonidas C
LC
D000818:Animals; D002453:Cell Cycle; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D018899:CpG Islands; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000378:metabolism*; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D050794:STAT1 Transcription Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism
D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D016207:Cytokines; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D050794:STAT1 Transcription Factor; C521352:schlafen-2 protein, mouse; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases