Suchergebnisse

Chimaerins are GTPase-activating proteins that inactivate the GTP-hydrolase Rac1 in a diacylglycerol-dependent manner. To date, the study of chimaerins has been done mostly in neuronal cells. Here, we show that α2- and β2-chimaerin are expressed at different levels in T-cells and that they participate in T-cell receptor signaling. In agreement with this, we have observed that α2- and β2-chimaerins translocate to the T-cell/B-cell immune synapse and, using both gain- and loss-of-function approaches, demonstrated that their catalytic activity is important for the inhibition of the T-cell receptor- and Vav1-dependent stimulation of the transcriptional factor NF-AT. Mutagenesis-based approaches have revealed the molecular determinants that contribute to the biological program of chimaerins during T-cell responses. Unexpectedly, we have found that the translocation of chimaerins to the T-cell/B-cell immune synapse does not rely on the canonical binding of diacylglycerol to the C1 region of these GTPase-activating proteins. Taken together, these results identify chimaerins as candidates for the downmodulation of Rac1 in T-lymphocytes and, in addition, uncover a novel regulatory mechanism that mediates their activation in T-cells. © 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ; This work was supported by grants to MJC from the Spanish Ministry of Health (PI052096), the Castilla-León Autonomous Government (SA051/04), the Mutua Madrileña Medical Foundation, and the Solórzano Foundation, to XRB from the US National Cancer Institute/NIH (5R01-CA73735-11), the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (MES) (SAF2006-01789), the Castilla-León Autonomous Government (SA053A05), and the Red Temática de Investigación Cooperativa en Cáncer (RTICC) (RD06/0020/0001, Spanish Ministry of Health), and to BA from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (SAF2005- 00937). MJC is an investigator of the Ramón y Cajal Program of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science who is associated to the University of Salamanca. ; Peer Reviewed

[Objective]: The CHN2 gene encodes the β2-chimaerin, a Rac-specific guanosine-5′-triphosphatase activating protein with an important role in the establishment of functional brain circuitry by controlling axon pruning. Genetic studies suggest that the CHN2 gene harbors variants that contribute to addiction vulnerability and smoking behavior. To further evaluate the role of β2-chimaerin in nicotine addiction, we investigated the association of 3 individual polymorphisms of the CHN2 gene with smoking dependence. [Methods]:Three hundred sixty-one healthy volunteers, 173 smokers (mean ± SD age, 60.4 ± 1.4 years) and 188 control subjects (mean ± SD age, 45.9 ± 1.4 years) were genotyped for 3 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the CHN2 gene (rs3750103, rs12112301, and rs186911567). The association of these polymorphisms with smoking habits was analyzed. [Results]:There was no significant association of polymorphisms rs12112301 and rs3750103 with smoking. However, there was a significant difference in the frequency of the rs186911567 polymorphism between the smokers and the controls (P = 0.003).[Conclusions]: We report for the first time a significant association of the novel rs186911567 polymorphism of the CHN2 gene with smoking. ; This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Health (Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias, PI052096 to MJC, PI10/00219 to RGS), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation cosponsored by the plan E (BFU2009-08051 to MJC), and the Castilla y Leon Autonomous Government (BIO103/VA44/11 to MJC). ; Peer Reviewed

β2-chimaerin is a Rac1-specific negative regulator and a candidate tumor suppressor in breast cancer but its precise function in mammary tumorigenesis in vivo is unknown. Here, we study for the first time the role of β2-chimaerin in breast cancer using a mouse model and describe an unforeseen role for this protein in epithelial cell-cell adhesion. We demonstrate that expression of β2-chimaerin in breast cancer epithelial cells reduces E-cadherin protein levels, thus loosening cell-cell contacts. In vivo, genetic ablation of β2-chimaerin in the MMTV-Neu/ErbB2 mice accelerates tumor onset, but delays tumor progression. Finally, analysis of clinical databases revealed an inverse correlation between β2-chimaerin and E-cadherin gene expressions in Her2+ breast tumors. Furthermore, breast cancer patients with low β2-chimaerin expression have reduced relapse free survival but develop metastasis at similar times. Overall, our data redefine the role of β2-chimaerin as tumor suppressor and provide the first in vivo evidence of a dual function in breast cancer, suppressing tumor initiation but favoring tumor progression. ; This work was initially supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness to MJC (BFU2009-08051), but could be finished only thanks to the support from the Castilla-León Autonomous Government to MJC (grants BIO103/VA44/11, BIO/VA22/14, CSI090U14 and BIO/VA34/15). ; Peer Reviewed

© 2020 by the authors. ; Hereditary breast and/or ovarian cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease with more than 10 known disease-associated genes. In the framework of the BRIDGES project (Breast Cancer Risk after Diagnostic Gene Sequencing), the RAD51C gene has been sequenced in 60,466 breast cancer patients and 53,461 controls. We aimed at functionally characterizing all the identified genetic variants that are predicted to disrupt the splicing process. Forty RAD51C variants of the intron-exon boundaries were bioinformatically analyzed, 20 of which were selected for splicing functional assays. To test them, a splicing reporter minigene with exons 2 to 8 was designed and constructed. This minigene generated a full-length transcript of the expected size (1062 nucleotides), sequence, and structure (Vector exon V1- RAD51C exons_2-8- Vector exon V2). The 20 candidate variants were genetically engineered into the wild type minigene and functionally assayed in MCF-7 cells. Nineteen variants (95%) impaired splicing, while 18 of them produced severe splicing anomalies. At least 35 transcripts were generated by the mutant minigenes: 16 protein-truncating, 6 in-frame, and 13 minor uncharacterized isoforms. According to ACMG/AMP-based standards, 15 variants could be classified as pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants: c.404G > A, c.405-6T > A, c.571 + 4A > G, c.571 + 5G > A, c.572-1G > T, c.705G > T, c.706-2A > C, c.706-2A > G, c.837 + 2T > C, c.905-3C > G, c.905-2A > C, c.905-2_905-1del, c.965 + 5G > A, c.1026 + 5_1026 + 7del, and c.1026 + 5G > T. ; PD: MPGV: DFE: MdlH and EAV have received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 634935. EAV lab is supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Plan Nacional de I + D+I 2013–2016, ISCIII (PI17/00227) co-funded by FEDER from Regional Development European Funds (European Union) and from the Consejería de Educación, Junta de Castilla y León, ref. CSI242P18 (actuación cofinanciada P.O. FEDER 2014–2020 de Castilla y León). MdlH is supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Plan Nacional de I + D+I 2013–2016, ISCIII (PI15/00059) co-funded by FEDER from Regional Development European Funds (European Union).