von Hippel-Lindau mutants in renal cell carcinoma are regulated by increased expression of RSUME

Cell Death Dis. 2019 Mar 19;10(4):266. doi: 10.1038/s41419-019-1507-3.

Abstract

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the major cause of death among patients with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease. Resistance to therapies targeting tumor angiogenesis opens the question about the underlying mechanisms. Previously we have described that RWDD3 or RSUME (RWD domain-containing protein SUMO Enhancer) sumoylates and binds VHL protein and negatively regulates HIF degradation, leading to xenograft RCC tumor growth in mice. In this study, we performed a bioinformatics analysis in a ccRCC dataset showing an association of RSUME levels with VHL mutations and tumor progression, and we demonstrate the molecular mechanism by which RSUME regulates the pathologic angiogenic phenotype of VHL missense mutations. We report that VHL mutants fail to downregulate RSUME protein levels accounting for the increased RSUME expression found in RCC tumors. Furthermore, we prove that targeting RSUME in RCC cell line clones carrying missense VHL mutants results in decreased early tumor angiogenesis. The mechanism we describe is that RSUME sumoylates VHL mutants and beyond its sumoylation capacity, interacts with Type 2 VHL mutants, reduces HIF-2α-VHL mutants binding, and negatively regulates the assembly of the Type 2 VHL, Elongins and Cullins (ECV) complex. Altogether these results show RSUME involvement in VHL mutants deregulation that leads to the angiogenic phenotype of RCC tumors.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • COS Cells
  • Carcinoma, Renal Cell / genetics*
  • Carcinoma, Renal Cell / metabolism
  • Carcinoma, Renal Cell / mortality
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Chlorocebus aethiops
  • Culture Media, Conditioned
  • Elongin / genetics
  • Elongin / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells
  • Humans
  • Kidney Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Kidney Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Kidney Neoplasms / mortality
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred NOD
  • Mice, SCID
  • Mutation, Missense
  • Neovascularization, Pathologic / genetics
  • Neovascularization, Pathologic / metabolism
  • Sumoylation
  • Transcription Factors / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism*
  • Von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor Protein / genetics*
  • Von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor Protein / metabolism
  • von Hippel-Lindau Disease / complications
  • von Hippel-Lindau Disease / genetics*
  • von Hippel-Lindau Disease / metabolism

Substances

  • Culture Media, Conditioned
  • Elongin
  • RWDD3 protein, human
  • Transcription Factors
  • Von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor Protein