Hepatocyte growth factor enhances alternative splicing of the Kruppel-like factor 6 (KLF6) tumor suppressor to promote growth through SRSF1.

Abstract

Alternative splicing of the Krüppel-like factor 6 (KLF6) tumor suppressor into an antagonistic splice variant 1 (SV1) is a pathogenic event in several cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) because elevated SV1 is associated with increased tumor metastasis and mortality. Ras activation is one factor that can enhance KLF6 splicing in cancer cells, however pathways driving KLF6 splicing are unknown. Splice site selection is regulated by splice factors that include serine/arginine-rich (SR) proteins such as SRSF1 (ASF-SF2), which in turn is controlled by phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. Because signaling pathways downstream of the liver mitogen hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) include Akt, we explored whether HGF induces KLF6 alternative splicing. In HepG2 cells, HGF (25 ng/mL) significantly increases the ratio of SV1/KLF6 full by 40% through phosphorylation of Akt and subsequent downregulation of two splicing regulators, SRSF3 (SRp20) and SRSF1. Decreased SRSF3 levels regulate SRSF1 levels by alternative splicing associated with the nonsense-mediated mRNA decay pathway (AS-NMD), which stimulates cell growth by decreasing p21 levels. Enhanced cell replication through increased KLF6 alternative splicing is a novel growth-promoting pathway of HGF that could contribute to the molecule's mitogenic activity in physiologic liver growth and hepatocellular carcinoma.

• Authors: Úrsula Muñoz, Juan E Puche, Rebekka Hannivoort, Ursula E Lang, Michal Cohen-Naftaly, Scott L Friedman
• Journal: Molecular cancer research : MCR (Mol Cancer Res) Vol. 10 Issue 9 Pg. 1216-27 (Sep 2012) ISSN: 1557-3125 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 22859706 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• KLF6 protein, human
• Kruppel-Like Factor 6
• Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors
• Nuclear Proteins
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins
• RNA, Neoplasm
• RNA-Binding Proteins
• SRSF3 protein, human
• Serine-Arginine Splicing Factors
• Hepatocyte Growth Factor
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
• Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases

Topics

• Alternative Splicing
• Base Sequence
• Carcinoma, Hepatocellular (genetics, metabolism)
• Cell Proliferation
• Down-Regulation
• Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
• Hep G2 Cells
• Hepatocyte Growth Factor (metabolism)
• Humans
• Kruppel-Like Factor 6
• Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors (genetics, metabolism)
• Liver Neoplasms (genetics, metabolism)
• Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (metabolism)
• Models, Biological
• Molecular Sequence Data
• Neoplasm Metastasis
• Nonsense Mediated mRNA Decay
• Nuclear Proteins (genetics, metabolism)
• Phosphorylation
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins (genetics, metabolism)
• Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt (genetics, metabolism)
• RNA, Neoplasm (genetics)
• RNA-Binding Proteins (genetics, metabolism)
• Sequence Analysis, DNA
• Serine-Arginine Splicing Factors
• Signal Transduction