07-091 Sigma-AldrichAnti-Pin1 Antibody

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are currently undergoing clinical evaluation as anti-cancer agents. Dietary constituents share certain properties of HDAC inhibitor drugs, including the ability to induce global histone acetylation, turn-on epigenetically-silenced genes, and trigger cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, or differentiation in cancer cells. One such example is sulforaphane (SFN), an isothiocyanate derived from the glucosinolate precursor glucoraphanin, which is abundant in broccoli. Here, we examined the time-course and reversibility of SFN-induced HDAC changes in human colon cancer cells.Cells underwent progressive G2/M arrest over the period 6-72 h after SFN treatment, during which time HDAC activity increased in the vehicle-treated controls but not in SFN-treated cells. There was a time-dependent loss of class I and selected class II HDAC proteins, with HDAC3 depletion detected ahead of other HDACs. Mechanism studies revealed no apparent effect of calpain, proteasome, protease or caspase inhibitors, but HDAC3 was rescued by cycloheximide or actinomycin D treatment. Among the protein partners implicated in the HDAC3 turnover mechanism, silencing mediator for retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors (SMRT) was phosphorylated in the nucleus within 6 h of SFN treatment, as was HDAC3 itself. Co-immunoprecipitation assays revealed SFN-induced dissociation of HDAC3/SMRT complexes coinciding with increased binding of HDAC3 to 14-3-3 and peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase 1 (Pin1). Pin1 knockdown blocked the SFN-induced loss of HDAC3. Finally, SFN treatment for 6 or 24 h followed by SFN removal from the culture media led to complete recovery of HDAC activity and HDAC protein expression, during which time cells were released from G2/M arrest.The current investigation supports a model in which protein kinase CK2 phosphorylates SMRT and HDAC3 in the nucleus, resulting in dissociation of the corepressor complex and enhanced binding of HDAC3 to 14-3-3 or Pin1. In the cytoplasm, release of HDAC3 from 14-3-3 followed by nuclear import is postulated to compete with a Pin1 pathway that directs HDAC3 for degradation. The latter pathway predominates in colon cancer cells exposed continuously to SFN, whereas the former pathway is likely to be favored when SFN has been removed within 24 h, allowing recovery from cell cycle arrest.

The serine/threonine protein kinase B (PKB, also known as Akt) plays a pivotal role in diverse cellular functions. Elevated expression of activated Akt has been detected in a wide variety of human cancers; however, the mechanism of Akt protein stability regulation remains unclear. In this study, we showed a strong correlation between the expression levels of an oncogenic peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase Pin1 and levels of Akt phosphorylation at S473 in multiple cancer types (Pless than 0.0001). Akt-pS473 status combined with Pin1 expression levels predicted a poorer prognosis than did either one alone in patients with breast cancer (P=0.0052). We further showed that Pin1 regulated Akt stability and phosphorylation on S473 through the phosphorylated Thr-Pro motifs of Akt. These motifs are conserved evolutionary and are required for the maintenance of Akt stability and its interaction with Pin1. In addition, repressing Pin1 expression through either homologue Pin1 knockout or small interfering RNA-mediated knockingdown compromised its ability to protect Akt from degradation. Our results show how Akt protein stability is regulated by the peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase Pin1 and highlight the importance of this oncogenic network in human disease pathogenesis.

Androgen receptor (AR) interacts with beta-catenin and can suppress its coactivation of T cell factor 4 (Tcf4) in prostate cancer (PCa) cells. Pin1 is a peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase that stabilizes beta-catenin by inhibiting its binding to the adenomatous polyposis coli gene product and subsequent glycogen synthase kinase 3beta (GSK-3beta)-dependent degradation. Higher Pin1 expression in primary PCa is correlated with disease recurrence, and this study found that Pin1 expression was markedly increased in metastatic PCa. Consistent with this result, increased expression of Pin1 in transfected LNCaP PCa cells strongly accelerated tumor growth in vivo in immunodeficient mice. Pin1 expression in LNCaP cells enhanced beta-catenin/Tcf4 transcriptional activity, as assessed using Tcf4-regulated reporter genes, and increased expression of endogenous Tcf4 and c-myc. However, in contrast to results in cells with intact PTEN and active GSK-3beta, Pin1 expression in LNCaP PCa cells, which are PTEN deficient, did not increase beta-catenin. Instead, Pin1 expression markedly inhibited the beta-catenin interaction with AR, and Pin1 abrogated the ability of AR to antagonize beta-catenin/Tcf4 binding and transcriptional activity. These findings demonstrate that AR can suppress beta-catenin signaling, that the AR-beta-catenin interaction can be regulated by Pin1, and that abrogation of this interaction can enhance beta-catenin/Tcf4 signaling and contribute to aggressive biological behavior in PCa.

The NIMA kinase is essential for progression through mitosis in Aspergillus nidulans, and there is evidence for a similar pathway in other eukaryotic cells. Here we describe the human protein Pin1, a peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase (PPIase) that interacts with NIMA. PPIases are important in protein folding, assembly and/or transport, but none has so far been shown to be required for cell viability. Pin1 is nuclear PPIase containing a WW protein interaction domain, and is structurally and functionally related to Ess1/Ptf1, an essential protein in budding yeast. PPIase activity is necessary for Ess1/Pin1 function in yeast. Depletion of Pin1/Ess1 from yeast or HeLa cells induces mitotic arrest, whereas HeLa cells overexpressing Pin1 arrest in the G2 phase of the cell cycle. Pin1 is thus an essential PPIase that regulates mitosis presumably by interacting with NIMA and attenuating its mitosis-promoting activity.