The oncogenic FIP1L1-PDGFRalpha fusion protein displays skewed signaling properties compared to its wild-type PDGFRalpha counterpart.

in JAK-STAT (2015), 4(1), 1062596

Aberrant activation of oncogenic kinases is frequently observed in human cancers, but the underlying mechanism and resulting effects on global signaling are incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate ... [more ▼]

Aberrant activation of oncogenic kinases is frequently observed in human cancers, but the underlying mechanism and resulting effects on global signaling are incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate that the oncogenic FIP1L1-PDGFRalpha kinase exhibits a significantly different signaling pattern compared to its PDGFRalpha wild type counterpart. Interestingly, the activation of primarily membrane-based signal transduction processes (such as PI3-kinase- and MAP-kinase- pathways) is remarkably shifted toward a prominent activation of STAT factors. This diverging signaling pattern compared to classical PDGF-receptor signaling is partially coupled to the aberrant cytoplasmic localization of the oncogene, since membrane targeting of FIP1L1-PDGFRalpha restores activation of MAPK- and PI3K-pathways. In stark contrast to the classical cytokine-induced STAT activation process, STAT activation by FIP1L1-PDGFRalpha does neither require Janus kinase activity nor Src kinase activity. Furthermore, we investigated the mechanism of STAT5 activation via FIP1L1-PDGFRalpha in more detail and found that STAT5 activation does not involve an SH2-domain-mediated binding mechanism. We thus demonstrate that STAT5 activation occurs via a non-canonical activation mechanism in which STAT5 may be subject to a direct phosphorylation by FIP1L1-PDGFRalpha. [less ▲]

JAK2-V617F-induced MAPK activity is regulated by PI3K and acts synergistically with PI3K on the proliferation of JAK2-V617F-positive cells.

in JAK-STAT (2013), 2(3), 24574

The identification of a constitutively active JAK2 mutant, namely JAK2-V617F, was a milestone in the understanding of Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms. The JAK2-V617F mutation ... [more ▼]

The identification of a constitutively active JAK2 mutant, namely JAK2-V617F, was a milestone in the understanding of Philadelphia chromosome-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms. The JAK2-V617F mutation confers cytokine hypersensitivity, constitutive activation of the JAK-STAT pathway, and cytokine-independent growth. In this study we investigated the mechanism of JAK2-V617F-dependent signaling with a special focus on the activation of the MAPK pathway. We observed JAK2-V617F-dependent deregulated activation of the multi-site docking protein Gab1 as indicated by constitutive, PI3K-dependent membrane localization and tyrosine phosphorylation of Gab1. Furthermore, we demonstrate that PI3K signaling regulates MAPK activation in JAK2-V617F-positve cells. This cross-regulation of the MAPK pathway by PI3K affects JAK2-V617F-specific target gene induction, erythroid colony formation, and regulates proliferation of JAK2-V617F-positive patient cells in a synergistically manner. [less ▲]