Person: Pandolfi, Pier Paolo
Loading...
Email Address
AA Acceptance Date
Birth Date
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Job Title
Last Name
Pandolfi
First Name
Pier Paolo
Name
Pandolfi, Pier Paolo
6 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
Publication CIP2A Promotes Proliferation of Spermatogonial Progenitor Cells and Spermatogenesis in Mice(Public Library of Science, 2012) Ventelä, Sami; Côme, Christophe; Mäkelä, Juho-Antti; Hobbs, Robin M.; Mannermaa, Leni; Kallajoki, Markku; Chan, Edward K.; Pandolfi, Pier Paolo; Toppari, Jorma; Westermarck, JukkaProtein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a critical regulator of protein serine/threonine phosphorylation. However, the physiological and developmental roles of different PP2A complexes are very poorly understood. Here, we show that a newly characterized PP2A inhibitory protein CIP2A is co-expressed with ki-67 and with self-renewal protein PLZF in the spermatogonial progenitor cell (SPC) population in the testis. CIP2A and PLZF expression was shown also to correlate Ki-67 expression in human testicular spermatogonia. Functionally, CIP2A mutant mouse testes exhibited smaller number of PLZF-positive SPCs and reduced sperm counts. Moreover, seminiferous tubuli cells isolated from CIP2A mutant mice showed reduced expression of Plzf and other renewal genes Oct-4 and Nanog at mRNA level. However, PLZF-deficient testes did not show altered CIP2A expression. Importantly, spermatogonia-specific restoration of CIP2A expression rescued PLZF expression and sperm production defects observed in CIP2A mutant mice. Taken together, these results reveal first physiological function for an emerging human oncoprotein CIP2A, and provide insights into maintenance of PLZF-positive progenitors. Moreover, demonstration that CIP2A expression can be systematically inhibited without severe consequences to normal mouse development and viability may have clinical relevance regarding targeting of oncogenic CIP2A for future cancer therapies.Publication Translation-Dependent Mechanisms Lead to PML Upregulation and Mediate Oncogenic K-RAS-Induced Cellular Senescence(Wiley, 2012) Scaglioni, Pier Paolo; Rabellino, Andrea; Yung, Thomas M.; Bernardi, Rosa; Choi, Sooyeon; Konstantinidou, Georgia; Nardella, Caterina; Cheng, Ke; Pandolfi, Pier PaoloExpression of oncogenic K-RAS in primary cells elicits oncogene-induced cellular senescence (OIS), a form of growth arrest that potently opposes tumourigenesis. This effect has been largely attributed to transcriptional mechanisms that depend on the p53 tumour suppressor protein. The PML tumour suppressor was initially identified as a component of the \(PML-RAR\alpha\) oncoprotein of acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL). PML, a critical OIS mediator, is upregulated by oncogenic K-RAS in vivo and in vitro. We demonstrate here that oncogenic K-RAS induces PML protein upregulation by activating the RAS/MEK1/mTOR/eIF4E pathway even in the absence of p53. Under these circumstances, PML mRNA is selectively associated to polysomes. Importantly, we find that the PML 5′ untranslated mRNA region plays a key role in mediating PML protein upregulation and that its presence is essential for an efficient OIS response. These findings demonstrate that upregulation of PML translation plays a central role in oncogenic K-RAS-induced OIS. Thus, selective translation initiation plays a critical role in tumour suppression with important therapeutic implications for the treatment of solid tumours and APL.Publication Amplification of the Angiogenic Signal through the Activation of the TSC/mTOR/HIF Axis by the KSHV vGPCR in Kaposi's Sarcoma(Public Library of Science, 2011) Jham, Bruno C.; Ma, Tao; Hu, Jiadi; Chaisuparat, Risa; Friedman, Eitan R.; Pandolfi, Pier Paolo; Schneider, Abraham; Sodhi, Akrit; Montaner, SilviaBackground: Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is a vascular neoplasm characterized by the dysregulated expression of angiogenic and inflammatory cytokines. The driving force of the KS lesion, the KSHV-infected spindle cell, secretes elevated levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), essential for KS development. However, the origin of VEGF in this tumor remains unclear. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we report that the KSHV G protein-coupled receptor (vGPCR) upregulates VEGF in KS through an intricate paracrine mechanism. The cytokines secreted by the few vGPCR-expressing tumor cells activate in neighboring cells multiple pathways (including AKT, ERK, p38 and IKK\(\beta\)) that, in turn, converge on TSC1/2, promoting mTOR activation, HIF upregulation, and VEGF secretion. Conditioned media from vGPCR-expressing cells lead to an mTORdependent increase in HIF-1\(\alpha\) and HIF-2\(\alpha\) protein levels and VEGF upregulation. In a mouse allograft model for KS, specific inhibition of the paracrine activation of mTOR in non-vGPCR-expressing cells was sufficient to inhibit HIF upregulation in these cells, and abolished the ability of the vGPCR-expressing cells to promote tumor formation \(in\) \(vivo\). Similarly, pharmacologic inhibition of HIF in this model blocked VEGF secretion and also lead to tumor regression. Conclusions/Significance: Our findings provide a compelling explanation for how the few tumor cells expressing vGPCR can contribute to the dramatic amplification of VEGF secretion in KS, and further provide a molecular mechanism for how cytokine dysregulation in KS fuels angiogenesis and tumor development. These data further suggest that activation of HIF by vGPCR may be a vulnerable target for the treatment of patients with KS.Publication The Proto-Oncogene LRF Is Under Post-Transcriptional Control of MiR-20a: Implications for Senescence(Public Library of Science, 2008) Poliseno, Laura; Pitto, Letizia; Simili, Marcella; Mariani, Laura; Riccardi, Luisa; Ciucci, Alessia; Rizzo, Milena; Evangelista, Monica; Mercatanti, Alberto; Pandolfi, Pier Paolo; Rainaldi, GiuseppeMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short 20–22 nucleotide RNA molecules that act as negative regulators of gene expression via translational repression: they have been shown to play a role in development, proliferation, stress response, and apoptosis. The transcriptional regulator LRF (Leukemia/lymphoma Related Factor) has been shown to prevent p19ARF transcription and consequently to inhibit senescence in mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF). Here we report, for the first time, that LRF is post-transcriptionally regulated by miR-20a. Using a gene reporter assay, direct interaction of miR-20a with the LRF 3′UTR is demonstrated. To validate the interaction miR-20a/3′UTR LRF miR-20a was over-expressed, either by transient transfection or retroviral infection, in wild type mouse embryo fibroblasts and in LRF-null MEF derived from LRF knock-out mice. We observed LRF decrease, p19ARF increase, inhibition of cell proliferation and induction of senescence. The comparison of miR-20a activity in wt and LRF-null MEF indicates that LRF is the main mediator of the miR-20a-induced senescence and that other targets are cooperating. As LRF down-regulation/p19ARF induction is always accompanied by E2F1 down-regulation and increase of p16, we propose that all these events act in synergy to accomplish miR-20a-induced senescence in MEF. Senescence has been recently revaluated as a tumor suppressor mechanism, alternative to apoptosis; from this point of view the discovery of new physiological “senescence inducer” appears to be promising as this molecule could be used as anticancer drug.Publication Pml Represses Tumour Progression Through Inhibition of mTOR(Wiley-VCH Verlag Berlin, 2011) Bernardi, Rosa; Papa, Antonella; Egia, Ainara; Coltella, Nadia; Teruya-Feldstein, Julie; Signoretti, Sabina; Pandolfi, Pier PaoloThe promyelocytic leukaemia gene PML is a pleiotropic tumour suppressor. We have recently demonstrated that PML opposes \(mTOR-HIF1\alpha -VEGF\) signalling in hypoxia. To determine the relevance of PML-mTOR antagonism in tumourigenesis, we have intercrossed Pml null mice with Tsc2 heterozygous mice, which develop kidney cysts and carcinomas exhibiting mTOR upregulation. We find that combined inactivation of Pml and Tsc2 results in aberrant TORC1 activity both in pre-tumoural kidneys as well as in kidney lesions. Such increase correlates with a marked acceleration in tumour progression, impacting on both the biology and histology of kidney carcinomas. Also, Pml inactivation decreases the rate of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) for the wt Tsc2 allele. Interestingly, however, aberrant TORC1 activity does not accelerate renal cystogenesis in Tsc2/Pml mutants. Our data demonstrate that activation of mTOR is critical for tumour progression, but not for tumour initiation in the kidney.Publication Dual DNA and Protein Tagging of Open Chromatin Unveils Dynamics of Epigenomic Landscapes in Leukemia(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2021-03-01) Lee, Jonathan D.; Paulo, Joao; Posey, Ryan R.; Mugoni, Vera; Kong, Nikki; Cheloni, Giulia; Lee, Yu-Ru; Slack, Frank; Tenen, Daniel; Clohessy, John; Gygi, Steven; Pandolfi, Pier PaoloThe architecture of chromatin specifies eukaryotic cell identity by controlling transcription factor access to sites of gene regulation. Here we describe a dual transposase/peroxidase approach, integrative DNA And Protein Tagging (iDAPT), which detects both DNA (iDAPT-seq) and protein (iDAPT-MS) associated with accessible regions of chromatin. In addition to direct identification of bound transcription factors, iDAPT enables the inference of their gene regulatory networks, protein interactors, and regulation of chromatin accessibility. We applied iDAPT to profile the epigenomic consequences of granulocytic differentiation of acute promyelocytic leukemia, yielding previously undescribed mechanistic insights with potential therapeutic implications. Our findings demonstrate the power of iDAPT as a discovery platform for both the dynamic epigenomic landscapes and their transcription factor components associated with biological phenomena and disease.