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Harold Varmus

Publications and source records attributed to Harold Varmus.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2024

Genome-wide CRISPR screens in spheroid culture reveal that the tumor suppressor LKB1 inhibits growth via the PIKFYVE lipid kinase.

The tumor suppressor LKB1 is a serine/threonine protein kinase that is frequently mutated in human lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). LKB1 regulates a complex signaling network that is known to control cell polarity and metabolism; however, the pathways that mediate the tumor-suppressive activity of LKB1 are incompletely defined. To identify mechanisms of LKB1-mediated growth suppression, we developed a spheroid-based cell culture assay to study LKB1-dependent growth. We then performed genome-wide CRISPR screens in spheroidal culture and found that LKB1 suppresses growth, in part, by activating the PIKFYVE lipid kinase. Finally, we used chemical inhibitors and a pH-sensitive reporter to determine that LKB1 impairs growth by promoting the internalization of wild-type EGFR in a PIKFYVE-dependent manner.

Humans↗
PubMed2005

Acquired resistance of lung adenocarcinomas to gefitinib or erlotinib is associated with a second mutation in the EGFR kinase domain.

BACKGROUND: Lung adenocarcinomas from patients who respond to the tyrosine kinase inhibitors gefitinib (Iressa) or erlotinib (Tarceva) usually harbor somatic gain-of-function mutations in exons encoding the kinase domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Despite initial responses, patients eventually progress by unknown mechanisms of "acquired" resistance. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We show that in two of five patients with acquired resistance to gefitinib or erlotinib, progressing tumors contain, in addition to a primary drug-sensitive mutation in EGFR, a secondary mutation in exon 20, which leads to substitution of methionine for threonine at position 790 (T790M) in the kinase domain. Tumor cells from a sixth patient with a drug-sensitive EGFR mutation whose tumor progressed on adjuvant gefitinib after complete resection also contained the T790M mutation. This mutation was not detected in untreated tumor samples. Moreover, no tumors with acquired resistance had KRAS mutations, which have been associated with primary resistance to these drugs. Biochemical analyses of transfected cells and growth inhibition studies with lung cancer cell lines demonstrate that the T790M mutation confers resistance to EGFR mutants usually sensitive to either gefitinib or erlotinib. Interestingly, a mutation analogous to T790M has been observed in other kinases with acquired resistance to another kinase inhibitor, imatinib (Gleevec). CONCLUSION: In patients with tumors bearing gefitinib- or erlotinib-sensitive EGFR mutations, resistant subclones containing an additional EGFR mutation emerge in the presence of drug. This observation should help guide the search for more effective therapy against a specific subset of lung cancers.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2004

EGF receptor gene mutations are common in lung cancers from "never smokers" and are associated with sensitivity of tumors to gefitinib and erlotinib.

Somatic mutations in the tyrosine kinase (TK) domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene are reportedly associated with sensitivity of lung cancers to gefitinib (Iressa), kinase inhibitor. In-frame deletions occur in exon 19, whereas point mutations occur frequently in codon 858 (exon 21). We found from sequencing the EGFR TK domain that 7 of 10 gefitinib-sensitive tumors had similar types of alterations; no mutations were found in eight gefitinib-refractory tumors (P = 0.004). Five of seven tumors sensitive to erlotinib (Tarceva), a related kinase inhibitor for which the clinically relevant target is undocumented, had analogous somatic mutations, as opposed to none of 10 erlotinib-refractory tumors (P = 0.003). Because most mutation-positive tumors were adenocarcinomas from patients who smoked <100 cigarettes in a lifetime ("never smokers"), we screened EGFR exons 2-28 in 15 adenocarcinomas resected from untreated never smokers. Seven tumors had TK domain mutations, in contrast to 4 of 81 non-small cell lung cancers resected from untreated former or current smokers (P = 0.0001). Immunoblotting of lysates from cells transiently transfected with various EGFR constructs demonstrated that, compared to wild-type protein, an exon 19 deletion mutant induced diminished levels of phosphotyrosine, whereas the phosphorylation at tyrosine 1092 of an exon 21 point mutant was inhibited at 10-fold lower concentrations of drug. Collectively, these data show that adenocarcinomas from never smokers comprise a distinct subset of lung cancers, frequently containing mutations within the TK domain of EGFR that are associated with gefitinib and erlotinib sensitivity.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2004

Nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling of Axin regulates subcellular localization of beta-catenin.

Wnt signaling regulates many aspects of development by increasing the signaling activity of beta-catenin. Axin is a negative regulator of the Wnt signaling pathway, and it is responsible for the formation of the beta-catenin degradation complex. Genetic studies with Drosophila suggest that Axin promotes cytoplasmic localization of beta-catenin independent of Axin's known role of enhancing degradation of beta-catenin. Here, we show that Axin is a nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling protein. Nuclear export of Axin depends on the chromosome maintenance region 1 nuclear receptor; treatment with the chromosome maintenance region 1 inhibitor leptomycin B induces nuclear accumulation of ectopically expressed or endogenous Axin. Functional nuclear localization and nuclear export signals have been mapped within Axin. Significantly, overexpression of an Axin fragment shifts coexpressed stabilized beta-catenin to the cytoplasm, and this effect requires shuttling of Axin between the cytoplasm and the nucleus. Our results suggest that Axin functions as a molecular chaperone for beta-catenin and that nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling of Axin regulates the nuclear-cytoplasmic distribution of beta-catenin.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

The knockout mouse project.

Mouse knockout technology provides a powerful means of elucidating gene function in vivo, and a publicly available genome-wide collection of mouse knockouts would be significantly enabling for biomedical discovery. To date, published knockouts exist for only about 10% of mouse genes. Furthermore, many of these are limited in utility because they have not been made or phenotyped in standardized ways, and many are not freely available to researchers. It is time to harness new technologies and efficiencies of production to mount a high-throughput international effort to produce and phenotype knockouts for all mouse genes, and place these resources into the public domain.

Alleles↗
PubMed2004

Casein kinase Iepsilon modulates the signaling specificities of dishevelled.

Wnt signaling is critical to many aspects of development, and aberrant activation of the Wnt signaling pathway can cause cancer. Dishevelled (Dvl) protein plays a central role in this pathway by transducing the signal from the Wnt receptor complex to the beta-catenin destruction complex. Dvl also plays a pivotal role in the planar cell polarity pathway that involves the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). How functions of Dvl are regulated in these two distinct pathways is not clear. We show that deleting the C-terminal two-thirds of Dvl, which includes the PDZ and DEP domains and is essential for Dvl-induced JNK activation, rendered the molecule a much more potent activator of the beta-catenin pathway. We also found that casein kinase Iepsilon (CKIepsilon), a previously identified positive regulator of Wnt signaling, stimulated Dvl activity in the Wnt pathway, but dramatically inhibited Dvl activity in the JNK pathway. Consistent with this, overexpression of CKIepsilon in Drosophila melanogaster stimulated Wnt signaling and disrupted planar cell polarity. We also observed a correlation between the localization and the signaling activity of Dvl in the beta-catenin pathway and the JNK pathway. Furthermore, by using RNA interference, we demonstrate that the Drosophila CKIepsilon homologue Double time positively regulates the beta-catenin pathway through Dvl and negatively regulates the Dvl-induced JNK pathway. We suggest that CKIepsilon functions as a molecular switch to direct Dvl from the JNK pathway to the beta-catenin pathway, possibly by altering the conformation of the C terminus of Dvl.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed2004

Wnt signals across the plasma membrane to activate the beta-catenin pathway by forming oligomers containing its receptors, Frizzled and LRP.

Wnt-induced signaling via beta-catenin plays crucial roles in animal development and tumorigenesis. Both a seven-transmembrane protein in the Frizzled family and a single transmembrane protein in the LRP family (LDL-receptor-related protein 5/6 or Arrow) are essential for efficiently transducing a signal from Wnt, an extracellular ligand, to an intracellular pathway that stabilizes beta-catenin by interfering with its rate of destruction. However, the molecular mechanism by which these two types of membrane receptors synergize to transmit the Wnt signal is not known. We have used mutant and chimeric forms of Frizzled, LRP and Wnt proteins, small inhibitory RNAs, and assays for beta-catenin-mediated signaling and protein localization in Drosophila S2 cells and mammalian 293 cells to study transmission of a Wnt signal across the plasma membrane. Our findings are consistent with a mechanism by which Wnt protein binds to the extracellular domains of both LRP and Frizzled receptors, forming membrane-associated hetero-oligomers that interact with both Disheveled (via the intracellular portions of Frizzled) and Axin (via the intracellular domain of LRP). This model takes into account several observations reported here: the identification of intracellular residues of Frizzled required for beta-catenin signaling and for recruitment of Dvl to the plasma membrane; evidence that Wnt3A binds to the ectodomains of LRP and Frizzled; and demonstrations that a requirement for Wnt ligand can be abrogated by chimeric receptors that allow formation of Frizzled-LRP hetero-oligomers. In addition, the beta-catenin signaling mediated by ectopic expression of LRP is not dependent on Disheveled or Wnt, but can also be augmented by oligomerization of LRP receptors.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed2003

A protein knockdown strategy to study the function of beta-catenin in tumorigenesis.

BACKGROUND: The Wnt signaling pathway plays critical roles in cell proliferation and cell fate determination at many stages of development. A critical downstream target of Wnt signaling is the cytosolic beta-catenin, which is stabilized upon Wnt activation and promotes transcription of a variety of target genes including c-myc and cyclin D. Aberrant Wnt signaling, which results from mutations of either beta-catenin or adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), renders beta-catenin resistant to degradation, and has been associated with multiple types of human cancers. RESULTS: A protein knockdown strategy was designed to reduce the cytosolic beta-catenin levels through accelerating its turnover rate. By engineering a chimeric protein with the beta-catenin binding domain of E-cadherin fused to betaTrCP ubiquitin-protein ligase, the stable beta-catenin mutant was recruited to the cellular SCF (Skp1, Cullin 1, and F-box-containing substrate receptor) ubiquitination machinery for ubiquitination and degradation. The DLD1 colon cancer cells express wild type beta-catenin at abnormally high levels due to loss of APC. Remarkably, conditional expression of betaTrCP-E-cadherin under the control of a tetracycline-repressive promoter in DLD1 cells selectively knocked down the cytosolic, but not membrane-associated subpopulation of beta-catenin. As a result, DLD1 cells were impaired in their growth and clonogenic ability in vitro, and lost their tumorigenic potential in nude mice. CONCLUSION: We have designed a novel approach to induce degradation of stabilized/mutated beta-catenin. Our results suggest that a high concentration of cytoplasmic beta-catenin is critical for the growth of colorectal tumor cells. The protein knockdown strategy can be utilized not only as a novel method to dissect the role of oncoproteins in tumorigenesis, but also as a unique tool to delineate the function of a subpopulation of proteins localized to a specific subcellular compartment.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Medicine. The need for a global HIV vaccine enterprise.

A new collaborative model of research is needed to increase resources, to prioritize the R (ii) to increase the pace, reduce the overlap, and more systematically explore the elements of and delivery systems for vaccines; (iii) to use common standards for the prompt comparative testing of vaccine candidates; (iv) to expand resources for manufacturing vaccine candidates to speed their use in human trials; and (v) to increase the capacity for international clinical trials and to focus this effort toward quickly measuring the effectiveness of vaccine protection as prototype vaccine candidates are identified.

AIDS Vaccines↗
PubMed2003

Wnt/Wingless signaling through beta-catenin requires the function of both LRP/Arrow and frizzled classes of receptors.

BACKGROUND: Wnt/Wingless (Wg) signals are transduced by seven-transmembrane Frizzleds (Fzs) and the single-transmembrane LDL-receptor-related proteins 5 or 6 (LRP5/6) or Arrow. The aminotermini of LRP and Fz were reported to associate only in the presence of Wnt, implying that Wnt ligands form a trimeric complex with two different receptors. However, it was recently reported that LRPs activate the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway by binding to Axin in a Dishevelled--independent manner, while Fzs transduce Wnt signals through Dishevelled to stabilize beta-catenin. Thus, it is possible that Wnt proteins form separate complexes with Fzs and LRPs, transducing Wnt signals separately, but converging downstream in the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway. The question then arises whether both receptors are absolutely required to transduce Wnt signals. RESULTS: We have established a sensitive luciferase reporter assay in Drosophila S2 cells to determine the level of Wg--stimulated signaling. We demonstrate here that Wg can synergize with DFz2 and function cooperatively with LRP to activate the beta-catenin/Armadillo signaling pathway. Double-strand RNA interference that disrupts the synthesis of either receptor type dramatically impairs Wg signaling activity. Importantly, the pronounced synergistic effect of adding Wg and DFz2 is dependent on Arrow and Dishevelled. The synergy requires the cysteine-rich extracellular domain of DFz2, but not its carboxyterminus. Finally, mammalian LRP6 and its activated forms, which lack most of the extracellular domain of the protein, can activate the Wg signaling pathway and cooperate with Wg and DFz2 in S2 cells. We also show that the aminoterminus of LRP/Arr is required for the synergy between Wg and DFz2. CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that Wg signal transduction in S2 cells depends on the function of both LRPs and DFz2, and the results are consistent with the proposal that Wnt/Wg signals through the aminoterminal domains of its dual receptors, activating target genes through Dishevelled.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Requirement for a nuclear function of beta-catenin in Wnt signaling.

Wnt signaling stabilizes beta-catenin, which in turn influences the transcription of Wnt-responsive genes in conjunction with T-cell factor (TCF) transcription factors. At present, there are two models for the actions of beta-catenin. The conventional nuclear model suggests that beta-catenin acts in the nucleus to form a heterodimeric transcriptional factor complex with TCF, with TCF providing DNA-specific binding and the C and N termini of beta-catenin stimulating transcription. The alternative cytoplasmic model postulates that beta-catenin exports TCF from the nucleus to relieve its repressive activity or activates it in the cytoplasm. We have generated modified forms of beta-catenin and used RNA interference against endogenous beta-catenin to distinguish between these models in cultured mammalian and Drosophila cells. We show that the VP16 transcriptional activation domain can replace the C terminus of beta-catenin without loss of function and that the function of beta-catenin is compromised by fusion to a transcriptional repressor domain from histone deacetylase, favoring the direct effects of beta-catenin in the nucleus. Furthermore, membrane-tethered beta-catenin requires interaction with the adenomatous polyposis coli protein but not with TCF for its function, whereas untethered beta-catenin requires binding to TCF for its signaling activity. Importantly, by using RNA interference, we show that the signaling activity of membrane-tethered beta-catenin, but not free beta-catenin, requires the presence of endogenous beta-catenin, which is able to accumulate in the nucleus when stabilized by the binding of the beta-catenin degradation machinery to the membrane-tethered form. All of these data support a nuclear model for the normal function of beta-catenin.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Overview of the Alliance for Cellular Signaling.

The Alliance for Cellular Signaling is a large-scale collaboration designed to answer global questions about signalling networks. Pathways will be studied intensively in two cells--B lymphocytes (the cells of the immune system) and cardiac myocytes--to facilitate quantitative modelling. One goal is to catalyse complementary research in individual laboratories; to facilitate this, all alliance data are freely available for use by the entire research community.

B-Lymphocytes↗