A Novel Functional Domain of Tab2 Involved in the Interaction with Estrogen Receptor Alpha in Breast Cancer Cells

PLoS One. 2016 Dec 19;11(12):e0168639. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168639. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Tab2, originally described as a component of the inflammatory pathway, has been implicated in phenomena of gene de-repression in several contexts, due to its ability to interact with the NCoR corepressor. Tab2 interacts also with steroid receptors and dismisses NCoR from antagonist-bound Estrogen and Androgen Receptors on gene regulatory regions, thus modifying their transcriptional activity and leading to pharmacological resistance in breast and prostate cancer cells. We demonstrated previously that either Tab2 knock-down, or a peptide mimicking the Estrogen Receptor alpha domain interacting with Tab2, restore the antiproliferative response to Tamoxifen in Tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cells. In this work, we map the domain of Tab2 responsible of Estrogen Receptor alpha interaction. First, using both co-immunoprecipitation and pull-down with recombinant proteins, we found that the central part of Tab2 is primarily responsible for this interaction, and that this region also interacts with Androgen Receptor. Then, we narrowed down the essential interaction region by means of competition assays using recombinant protein pull-down. The interaction motif was finally identified as a small region adjacent to, but not overlapping, the Tab2 MEKK1 phosphorylation sites. A synthetic peptide mimicking this motif efficiently displaced Tab2 from interacting with recombinant Estrogen Receptor alpha in vitro, prompting us to test its efficacy using derivatives of the MCF7 breast carcinoma cell lines that are spontaneously resistant to Tamoxifen. Indeed, we observed that this mimic peptide, made cell-permeable by addition of the TAT minimal carrier domain, reduced the growth of Tamoxifen-resistant MCF7 cells in the presence of Tamoxifen. These data indicate a novel functional domain of the Tab2 protein with potential application in drug design.

MeSH terms

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / genetics
  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing / metabolism*
  • Amino Acid Motifs
  • Breast Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Breast Neoplasms / genetics
  • Breast Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / drug effects
  • Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / genetics
  • Estrogen Receptor alpha / genetics
  • Estrogen Receptor alpha / metabolism*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • MCF-7 Cells
  • Neoplasm Proteins / genetics
  • Neoplasm Proteins / metabolism*
  • Peptides / genetics
  • Peptides / pharmacology
  • Protein Domains
  • Tamoxifen / pharmacology

Substances

  • Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing
  • ESR1 protein, human
  • Estrogen Receptor alpha
  • Neoplasm Proteins
  • Peptides
  • TAB2 protein, human
  • Tamoxifen

Grants and funding

Support was provided by AIRC (Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro, www.airc.it) grant IG 15600, to MDB, project concerning molecules determining subtypes of breast cancer; Fondazione CRT (www.fondazionecrt.it) grant 2014.1854, to MDB, project on lncRNAs expression to characterize breast cancer subtypes; and Università degli Studi di Torino, Ricerca Locale 2014, to MDB, project on Molecular Determinants of Human Disease.