Drosophila endocytic neoplastic tumor suppressor genes regulate Sav/Wts/Hpo signaling and the c-Jun N-terminal kinase pathway

Cell Cycle. 2011 Dec 1;10(23):4110-8. doi: 10.4161/cc.10.23.18243. Epub 2011 Dec 1.

Abstract

Genetic screens in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster have identified a class of neoplastic tumor suppressor genes (endocytic nTSGs), which encode proteins that localize to endosomes and facilitate the trafficking of membrane-bound receptors and adhesion molecules into the degradative lysosome. Loss of endocytic nTSGs transforms imaginal disc epithelia into highly proliferative, invasive tissues that fail to differentiate and display defects in cellular apicobasal polarity, adhesion and tissue architecture. As vertebrate homologs of some Drosophila nTSGs are linked to tumor formation, identifying molecular changes in signaling associated with nTSG loss could inform understanding of neoplastic transformation in vertebrates. Here we show that mutations in genes that act at multiple steps of the endolysosomal pathway lead to autonomous activation of the Sav/Wts/Hpo (SWH) transcriptional effector Yki (YAP/TAZ in vertebrates) and the Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), which is known to promote Yki activity in cells with disrupted polarity. Yki and JNK activity are elevated by mutations at multiple steps in the endolysosomal pathway including mutations in the AP-2σ gene, which encodes a component of the AP-2 adaptor complex that recruits cargoes into clathrin-coated pits for subsequent internalization. Moreover, reduction of JNK activity can decrease elevated Yki-signaling caused by altered endocytosis. These studies reveal a broad requirement for components of the endocytic pathway in regulating SWH and JNK outputs, and place Drosophila endocytic nTSGs into a network that involving two major signaling pathways implicated in oncogenesis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adaptor Protein Complex 2 / genetics
  • Adaptor Protein Complex 2 / metabolism
  • Animals
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / genetics
  • Cell Cycle Proteins / metabolism*
  • Cell Polarity
  • Crosses, Genetic
  • Drosophila / genetics*
  • Drosophila / metabolism
  • Drosophila Proteins / genetics
  • Drosophila Proteins / metabolism*
  • Endocytosis
  • Enzyme Activation
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Genes, Suppressor
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / genetics
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / metabolism*
  • JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / genetics
  • JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / metabolism
  • Lysosomes / genetics
  • Lysosomes / metabolism
  • MAP Kinase Signaling System*
  • Microscopy, Confocal
  • Mutation
  • Nuclear Proteins / genetics
  • Nuclear Proteins / metabolism
  • Protein Kinases / genetics
  • Protein Kinases / metabolism*
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / genetics
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism*
  • Trans-Activators / genetics
  • Trans-Activators / metabolism
  • Transcription Factor AP-2 / genetics
  • Transcription Factor AP-2 / metabolism
  • Transgenes
  • YAP-Signaling Proteins

Substances

  • Adaptor Protein Complex 2
  • Cell Cycle Proteins
  • Drosophila Proteins
  • Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • TfAP-2 protein, Drosophila
  • Trans-Activators
  • Transcription Factor AP-2
  • YAP-Signaling Proteins
  • Yki protein, Drosophila
  • sav protein, Drosophila
  • Protein Kinases
  • wts protein, Drosophila
  • Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases
  • hpo protein, Drosophila
  • JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases