Carcinogenesis Advance Access published online on March 14, 2007
Carcinogenesis, doi:10.1093/carcin/bgm055
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Latent membrane protein 1 induced EGFR signalling is negatively regulated by TGF
prior to neoplasia
Division of Molecular Genetics, Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G11 6NU, UK
¥ To whom correspondence should be addressed. address: Division of Molecular Genetics, Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G11 6NU, UK. email: Joanna.Wilson{at}bio.gla.ac.uk, Tel: +141 330 5100, FAX: +141 330 4878
The latent membrane protein-1 (LMP1) of Epstein-Barr virus is an onco-protein, expressed in several EBV-associated malignancies. We have utilised mice expressing the Cao strain of LMP1 in epithelia to explore the consequences of expression in vivo, specifically the changes that occur prior to neoplasia, in the hyperplastic but degenerating tissue. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) ligands (TGF
, HB-EGF and EPR) are constitutively induced by LMP1, leading to EGFR phosphorylation but also down-regulation, degradation or turn-over, with the appearance of cleaved EGFR fragments. This is accompanied by down-regulation of Akt and activation of caspase-3 and p38MAPK. Surprisingly, removal of TGF
(using the null strain) does not ameliorate the LMP1 induced phenotype, but instead accelerates the deterioration. Consistent with this, EGFR is reduced less rapidly and MEK and ERK are initially activated in the null background, suggesting that TGF
or excess of the ligands together act to divert phosphorylated EGFR into a cleavage pathway. In addition LMP1 leads to the activation of JNK2 followed by JNK1 in the effected tissue. Specific AP1 family members FosB, Fra1 and JunB are constitutively induced and SRF, AP1 and NF-
B (incorporating p65) are activated in the transgenic tissue compared to wild type. This system allows the analysis of early events resulting from the expression of a viral oncogene with broad impact in the signalling milieu and the attempts at homeostasis in the responding tissue. It reveals what regulatory circuits are in place in a normal tissue, thus facilitating further prediction of causative events in carcinogenic progression.
Key Words: TGF
EGFR LMP1 EBV MAPK JNK Akt apoptosis
Received October 5, 2006; revised February 23, 2007; accepted March 2, 2007.