Disruption of retinoic acid receptor alpha reveals the growth promoter face of retinoic acid.

Retinoic acid (RA), the bioactive derivative of Vitamin A, by epigenetically controlling transcription through the RA-receptors (RARs), exerts a potent antiproliferative effect on human cells. However, a number of studies show that RA can also promote cell survival and growth. In the course of one o...

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Main Authors: Giulia Somenzi, Giusy Sala, Stefano Rossetti, MingQiang Ren, Riccardo Ghidoni, Nicoletta Sacchi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2007-09-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC1959242?pdf=render
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author Giulia Somenzi
Giusy Sala
Stefano Rossetti
MingQiang Ren
Riccardo Ghidoni
Nicoletta Sacchi
author_facet Giulia Somenzi
Giusy Sala
Stefano Rossetti
MingQiang Ren
Riccardo Ghidoni
Nicoletta Sacchi
author_sort Giulia Somenzi
collection DOAJ
description Retinoic acid (RA), the bioactive derivative of Vitamin A, by epigenetically controlling transcription through the RA-receptors (RARs), exerts a potent antiproliferative effect on human cells. However, a number of studies show that RA can also promote cell survival and growth. In the course of one of our studies we observed that disruption of RA-receptor alpha, RARalpha, abrogates the RA-mediated growth-inhibitory effects and unmasks the growth-promoting face of RA (Ren et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 2005, 25:10591). The objective of this study was to investigate whether RA can differentially govern cell growth, in the presence and absence of RARalpha, through differential regulation of the "rheostat" comprising ceramide (CER), the sphingolipid with growth-inhibitory activity, and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), the sphingolipid with prosurvival activity.We found that functional inhibition of endogenous RARalpha in breast cancer cells by using either RARalpha specific antagonists or a dominant negative RARalpha mutant hampers on one hand the RA-induced upregulation of neutral sphingomyelinase (nSMase)-mediated CER synthesis, and on the other hand the RA-induced downregulation of sphingosine kinase 1, SK1, pivotal for S1P synthesis. In association with RA inability to regulate the sphingolipid rheostat, cells not only survive, but also grow more in response to RA both in vitro and in vivo. By combining genetic, pharmacological and biochemical approaches, we mechanistically demonstrated that RA-induced growth is, at least in part, due to non-RAR-mediated activation of the SK1-S1P signaling.In the presence of functional RARalpha, RA inhibits cell growth by concertedly, and inversely, modulating the CER and S1P synthetic pathways. In the absence of a functional RARalpha, RA-in a non-RAR-mediated fashion-promotes cell growth by activating the prosurvival S1P signaling. These two distinct, yet integrated processes apparently concur to the growth-promoter effects of RA.
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spelling doaj.art-525bf1271e8c4ab993160e4f5d35ff9d2022-12-21T22:30:23ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032007-09-0129e83610.1371/journal.pone.0000836Disruption of retinoic acid receptor alpha reveals the growth promoter face of retinoic acid.Giulia SomenziGiusy SalaStefano RossettiMingQiang RenRiccardo GhidoniNicoletta SacchiRetinoic acid (RA), the bioactive derivative of Vitamin A, by epigenetically controlling transcription through the RA-receptors (RARs), exerts a potent antiproliferative effect on human cells. However, a number of studies show that RA can also promote cell survival and growth. In the course of one of our studies we observed that disruption of RA-receptor alpha, RARalpha, abrogates the RA-mediated growth-inhibitory effects and unmasks the growth-promoting face of RA (Ren et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 2005, 25:10591). The objective of this study was to investigate whether RA can differentially govern cell growth, in the presence and absence of RARalpha, through differential regulation of the "rheostat" comprising ceramide (CER), the sphingolipid with growth-inhibitory activity, and sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), the sphingolipid with prosurvival activity.We found that functional inhibition of endogenous RARalpha in breast cancer cells by using either RARalpha specific antagonists or a dominant negative RARalpha mutant hampers on one hand the RA-induced upregulation of neutral sphingomyelinase (nSMase)-mediated CER synthesis, and on the other hand the RA-induced downregulation of sphingosine kinase 1, SK1, pivotal for S1P synthesis. In association with RA inability to regulate the sphingolipid rheostat, cells not only survive, but also grow more in response to RA both in vitro and in vivo. By combining genetic, pharmacological and biochemical approaches, we mechanistically demonstrated that RA-induced growth is, at least in part, due to non-RAR-mediated activation of the SK1-S1P signaling.In the presence of functional RARalpha, RA inhibits cell growth by concertedly, and inversely, modulating the CER and S1P synthetic pathways. In the absence of a functional RARalpha, RA-in a non-RAR-mediated fashion-promotes cell growth by activating the prosurvival S1P signaling. These two distinct, yet integrated processes apparently concur to the growth-promoter effects of RA.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC1959242?pdf=render
spellingShingle Giulia Somenzi
Giusy Sala
Stefano Rossetti
MingQiang Ren
Riccardo Ghidoni
Nicoletta Sacchi
Disruption of retinoic acid receptor alpha reveals the growth promoter face of retinoic acid.
PLoS ONE
title Disruption of retinoic acid receptor alpha reveals the growth promoter face of retinoic acid.
title_full Disruption of retinoic acid receptor alpha reveals the growth promoter face of retinoic acid.
title_fullStr Disruption of retinoic acid receptor alpha reveals the growth promoter face of retinoic acid.
title_full_unstemmed Disruption of retinoic acid receptor alpha reveals the growth promoter face of retinoic acid.
title_short Disruption of retinoic acid receptor alpha reveals the growth promoter face of retinoic acid.
title_sort disruption of retinoic acid receptor alpha reveals the growth promoter face of retinoic acid
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC1959242?pdf=render
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