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    Article: p85β phosphoinositide 3-kinase subunit regulates tumor progression.
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    ABSTRACT: PIK3R2 encodes a ubiquitous regulatory subunit (p85β) of PI3K, an enzyme that generates 3-polyphosphoinositides at the plasma membrane. PI3K activation triggers cell survival and migration. We found that p85β expression is elevated in breast and colon carcinomas and that its increased expression correlates with PI3K pathway activation and tumor progression. p85β expression induced moderate PIP(3) generation at the cell membrane and enhanced cell invasion. In accordance, genetic alteration of pik3r2 expression levels modulated tumor progression in vivo. Increased p85β expression thus represents a cellular strategy in cancer progression.
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 06/2012; 109(28):11318-23. · 9.68 Impact Factor
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    Article: Specific function of phosphoinositide 3-kinase beta in the control of DNA replication.
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    ABSTRACT: Class I(A) phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) are enzymes comprised of a p85 regulatory and a p110 catalytic subunit that induce formation of 3-polyphosphoinositides, which activate numerous downstream targets. PI3K controls cell division. Of the 2 ubiquitous PI3K isoforms, alpha has selective action in cell growth and cell cycle entry, but no specific function in cell division has been described for beta. We report here a unique function for PI3Kbeta in the control of DNA replication. PI3Kbeta regulated DNA replication through kinase-dependent and kinase-independent mechanisms. PI3Kbeta was found in the nucleus, where it associated PKB. Modulation of PI3Kbeta activity altered the DNA replication rate by controlling proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) binding to chromatin and to DNA polymerase delta. PI3Kbeta exerted this action by regulating the nuclear activation of PKB in S phase, and in turn phosphorylation of PCNA negative regulator p21(Cip). Also, p110beta associated with PCNA and controlled PCNA loading onto chromatin in a kinase-independent manner. These results show a selective function of PI3Kbeta in the control of DNA replication.
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 06/2009; 106(18):7525-30. · 9.68 Impact Factor
  • Article: A cascade involving p85, Cdc42 and septin 2 regulates cytokinesis.
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    ABSTRACT: Mitosis, the final phase of cell division, includes the processes of nuclear division and cytosolic division (cytokinesis). Cytokinesis occurs when DNA separation terminates, and involves a number of proteins that induce furrowing at the region of cell separation, formation of new membrane, and abscission. This process is remarkably complex, and the list of proteins that regulate it is long. Our understanding is limited as to how these players are organized in space and time to ensure that the cytosol divides equally, and only after nuclear division. Class I(A) PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) is an enzyme activated by growth factor receptor stimulation, but it is re-activated in early mitosis and regulates mitosis entry. By the end of mitosis, PI3K activity is low; at this point, the class I(A) PI3K regulatory subunit p85 contributes to co-ordination of the cytoskeletal changes required for cytokinesis. The impact of these observations on current models of cytokinesis execution is discussed here.
    Biochemical Society Transactions 05/2007; 35(Pt 2):222-4. · 3.71 Impact Factor
  • Article: Phosphoinositide 3-kinase and Forkhead, a switch for cell division.
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    ABSTRACT: Cell cycle progression is a tightly controlled process. To initiate cell division, mitogens trigger a number of early signals that promote the G(0)-G(1) transition by inducing cell growth and the activation of G(1) cyclins. Activation of cyclin E/cdk2 (cyclin-dependent kinase 2) at the end of G(1) is then required to trigger DNA synthesis (S phase entry). Among the early signals induced by mitogens, activation of PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) appears essential to induce cell cycle entry, as it regulates cell growth signalling pathways, which in turn determine the rate of cell cycle progression. Another mechanisms by which PI3K and its downstream effector protein kinase B regulate cell cycle entry is by inactivation of the FOXO (Forkhead Box, subgroup O) transcription factors, which induce expression of quiescence genes such as those encoding p27(kip), p130 and cyclin G2. PI3K/FOXO then work as a complementary switch: when PI3K is active, FOXO transcription factors are inactive. The switch is turned on and off at different phases of the cell cycle, thus regulating cell cycle progression.
    Biochemical Society Transactions 05/2004; 32(Pt 2):360-1. · 3.71 Impact Factor
  • Article: Phosphoinositide 3-kinases p110alpha and p110beta regulate cell cycle entry, exhibiting distinct activation kinetics in G1 phase.
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    ABSTRACT: Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) is an early signaling molecule that regulates cell growth and cell cycle entry. PI3K is activated immediately after growth factor receptor stimulation (at the G(0)/G(1) transition) and again in late G(1). The two ubiquitous PI3K isoforms (p110alpha and p110beta) are essential during embryonic development and are thought to control cell division. Nonetheless, it is presently unknown at which point each is activated during the cell cycle and whether or not they both control S-phase entry. We found that p110alpha was activated first in G(0)/G(1), followed by a minor p110beta activity peak. In late G(1), p110alpha activation preceded that of p110beta, which showed the maximum activity at this time. p110beta activation required Ras activity, whereas p110alpha was first activated by tyrosine kinases and then further induced by active Ras. Interference with p110alpha and -beta activity diminished the activation of downstream effectors with different kinetics, with a selective action of p110alpha in blocking early G(1) events. We show that inhibition of either p110alpha or p110beta reduced cell cycle entry. These results reveal that PI3Kalpha and -beta present distinct activation requirements and kinetics in G(1) phase, with a selective action of PI3Kalpha at the G(0)/G(1) phase transition. Nevertheless, PI3Kalpha and -beta both regulate S-phase entry.
    Molecular and cellular biology 05/2008; 28(8):2803-14. · 6.06 Impact Factor

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