Abstract A31: Regulation of ErbB4 receptor tyrosine kinase by the SUMO system

Abstract

Abstract The members of the ErbB family (EGFR/ErbB1, ErbB2, ErbB3, and ErbB4) of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK) regulate key cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation, and survival, and play critical roles in several human malignancies. The alternatively spliced ErbB4 JM-a isoform was the first RTK found to signal by a mechanism involving proteolytic release of an intracellular receptor domain (ErbB4 ICD). The released ErbB4 ICD can translocate into the nucleus, where it functions as a transcriptional coregulator. ErbB4 ICD has been shown to regulate mammary epithelial development in vivo. Furthermore, nuclear ErbB4 immunoreactivity is frequently observed in clinical breast cancer samples. Although these findings suggest that ErbB4 signaling via ICD is biologically significant, little is known about the regulation of ErbB4 ICD functions or cellular localization. We hypothesized that the soluble ErbB4 ICD is likely to be regulated by different mechanisms than the ones controlling conventional RTK signaling. One regulatory mechanism that is often employed by nuclear proteins is the small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) system. SUMO proteins modify protein substrates covalently, and alter their function through changes in activity, stability, or cellular localization. Here, we demonstrate that ErbB4 ICD is modified by SUMO-1 and SUMO-3. Full-length ErbB4 was not sumoylated, indicating that SUMO is a specific regulatory modification for the soluble ICD. By using site-directed mutagenesis followed by sumoylation assays, we mapped the major SUMO acceptor site in ErbB4. No differences were found between wild type and sumoylation deficient mutant of ErbB4 in biochemical assays measuring the tyrosine kinase activity of ErbB4, or activation of canonical RTK signaling pathways downstream of ErbB4. However, we showed that protein inhibitor of activated STAT3 (PIAS3), a SUMO E3 ligase that could stimulate the sumoylation, modulated the transcriptional coregulatory activity of ErbB4 ICD in luciferase reporter assays, as well as the function of ErbB4 ICD in mammary epithelial cell differentiation. Based on these findings we propose that the SUMO system regulates the nuclear signaling of ErbB4 ICD. Citation Format: Anna Korhonen, Maria Sundvall, Katri Vaparanta, Klaus Elenius. Regulation of ErbB4 receptor tyrosine kinase by the SUMO system. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Third AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Basic Cancer Research; Sep 18-22, 2013; National Harbor, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(19 Suppl):Abstract nr A31.