Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology - Research Publications

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    E6AP Promotes a Metastatic Phenotype in Prostate Cancer
    Gamell, C ; Bandilovska, I ; Gulati, T ; Kogan, A ; Lim, SC ; Kovacevic, Z ; Takano, EA ; Timpone, C ; Agupitan, AD ; Litchfield, C ; Blandino, G ; Horvath, LG ; Fox, SB ; Williams, SG ; Russo, A ; Gallo, E ; Paul, PJ ; Mitchell, C ; Sandhu, S ; Keam, SP ; Haupt, S ; Richardson, DR ; Haupt, Y (CELL PRESS, 2019-12-20)
    Although primary prostate cancer is largely curable, progression to metastatic disease is associated with very poor prognosis. E6AP is an E3 ubiquitin ligase and a transcriptional co-factor involved in normal prostate development. E6AP drives prostate cancer when overexpressed. Our study exposed a role for E6AP in the promotion of metastatic phenotype in prostate cells. We revealed that elevated levels of E6AP in primary prostate cancer correlate with regional metastasis and demonstrated that E6AP promotes acquisition of mesenchymal features, migration potential, and ability for anchorage-independent growth. We identified the metastasis suppressor NDRG1 as a target of E6AP and showed it is key in E6AP induction of mesenchymal phenotype. We showed that treatment of prostate cancer cells with pharmacological agents upregulated NDRG1 expression suppressed E6AP-induced cell migration. We propose that the E6AP-NDRG1 axis is an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of E6AP-driven metastatic prostate cancer.
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    The long and the short of it: the MDM4 tail so far
    Haupt, S ; Mejia-Hernandez, JO ; Vijayakumaran, R ; Keam, SP ; Haupt, Y (OXFORD UNIV PRESS, 2019-03)
    The mouse double minute 4 (MDM4) is emerging from the shadow of its more famous relative MDM2 and is starting to steal the limelight, largely due to its therapeutic possibilities. MDM4 is a vital regulator of the tumor suppressor p53. It restricts p53 transcriptional activity and also, at least in development, facilitates MDM2's E3 ligase activity toward p53. These functions of MDM4 are critical for normal cell function and a proper response to stress. Their importance for proper cell maintenance and proliferation identifies them as a risk for deregulation associated with the uncontrolled growth of cancer. MDM4 tails are vital for its function, where its N-terminus transactivation domain engages p53 and its C-terminus RING domain binds to MDM2. In this review, we highlight recently identified cellular functions of MDM4 and survey emerging therapies directed to correcting its dysregulation in disease.