Selective inhibition of beta-F1-ATPase mRNA translation in human tumours.

Down-regulation of beta-F1-ATPase (the catalytic subunit of the mitochondrial H+-ATP synthase) is a hallmark of many human tumours. The expression level of beta-F1-ATPase provides a marker of the prognosis of cancer patients, as well as of the tumour response to chemotherapy. However, the mechanisms...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Willers, Imke M., Isidoro, Antonio, Ortega, Álvaro D., Fernández, Pedro L., Cuezva, José M.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2010
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/37486
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/37486
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Cancer
H+-ATP synthase
mitochondrion
oxidative phosphorylation
regulation of gene expression
translation
Descripción
Sumario:Down-regulation of beta-F1-ATPase (the catalytic subunit of the mitochondrial H+-ATP synthase) is a hallmark of many human tumours. The expression level of beta-F1-ATPase provides a marker of the prognosis of cancer patients, as well as of the tumour response to chemotherapy. However, the mechanisms that participate in down-regulating its expression in human tumours remain unknown. In the present study, we have investigated the expression of beta-F1-ATPase mRNA (termed beta-mRNA) in breast, colon and lung adenocarcinomas and squamous carcinomas of the lung. Despite the down-regulation of the protein, tumour beta-mRNA levels remained either unchanged (breast and lung adenocarcinomas) or significantly increased (colon and squamous lung carcinomas) when compared with paired normal tissues, suggesting a specific translation-masking event for beta-mRNA in human cancer. Consistently, we show using cell-free translation assays that a large fraction (approximately 70%) of protein extracts derived from breast and lung adenocarcinomas specifically repress the translation of beta-mRNA. We show that the 3'UTR (3' untranslated region) of human beta-mRNA is a relevant cis-acting element required for efficient translation of the transcript. However, an RNA chimaera bearing the 3'UTR of human beta-mRNA does not recapitulate the inhibitory effect of tumour extracts on beta-mRNA translation. Overall, the findings of the present study support the hypothesis that down-regulation of the bioenergetic activity of mitochondria in human tumours is exerted by translation silencing of beta-mRNA.