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  • Oncogenomics
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Ubiquitin E3 ligase WWP1 as an oncogenic factor in human prostate cancer

Oncogene volume 26, pages 2386–2394 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

The gene for E3 ubiquitin ligase WWP1 is located at 8q21, a region frequently amplified in human cancers, including prostate cancer. Recent studies have shown that WWP1 negatively regulates the TGFβ tumor suppressor pathway by inactivating its molecular components, including Smad2, Smad4 and TβR1. These findings suggest an oncogenic role of WWP1 in carcinogenesis, but direct supporting evidence has been lacking. In this study, we examined WWP1 for gene dosage, mRNA expression, mutation and functions in a number of human prostate cancer samples. We found that the WWP1 gene had copy number gain in 15 of 34 (44%) xenografts and cell lines from prostate cancer and 15 of 49 (31%) clinical prostate cancer samples. Consistently, WWP1 was overexpressed in 60% of xenografts and cell lines from prostate cancer. Mutation of WWP1 occurred infrequently in prostate cancer. Functionally, WWP1 overexpression promoted colony formation in the 22Rv1 prostate cancer cell line. In PC-3 prostate cancer cells, WWP1 knockdown significantly suppressed cell proliferation and enhanced TGFβ-mediated growth inhibition. These findings suggest that WWP1 is an oncogene that undergoes genomic amplification at 8q21 in human prostate cancer, and WWP1 overexpression is a common mechanism involved in the inactivation of TGFβ function in human cancer.

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Acknowledgements

C Chen is an AFUD/AUA Research Scholar. This work was supported in part by grants from the National Cancer Institute (Grant # CA87921), from the Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program (Grant # DAMD17-03-2-0033), from the Georgia Cancer Coalition, and from the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Winship Cancer Institute and Department of Hematology and Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA

    C Chen, X Sun, P Guo, X-Y Dong, P Sethi, W Zhou, J Petros & J-T Dong

  2. Center for Cell Biology and Cancer Research, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, USA

    C Chen & Z Zhou

  3. Department of Urology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA

    J Petros & J-T Dong

  4. Atlanta VA Medical Center, Decatur, GA, USA

    J Petros

  5. Department of Pathology, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA, USA

    H F Frierson Jr

  6. Department of Urology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    R L Vessella

  7. INSERM U482, Hôpital St-Antoine, Paris, France

    A Atfi

  8. Department of Genetics and Cell Biology, Nankai University College of Life Sciences, Tianjin, China

    J-T Dong

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  1. C Chen
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  2. X Sun
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  3. P Guo
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Correspondence to J-T Dong.

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Chen, C., Sun, X., Guo, P. et al. Ubiquitin E3 ligase WWP1 as an oncogenic factor in human prostate cancer. Oncogene 26, 2386–2394 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1210021

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