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Blood, 15 May 2008, Vol. 111, No. 10, pp. 5142-5151.
Prepublished online as a Blood First Edition Paper on March 13, 2008; DOI 10.1182/blood-2007-07-103481.
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Submitted July 27, 2007
Accepted March 7, 2008
Distinct functional significance of Akt and mTOR constitutive activation in mantle cell lymphoma
Jessica Dal Col, Paola Zancai, Liliana Terrin, Massimo Guidoboni, Maurilio Ponzoni, Alessandro Pavan, Michele Spina, Stefano Bergamin, Silvana Rizzo, Umberto Tirelli, Anita De Rossi, Claudio Doglioni, and Riccardo Dolcetti*
Cancer Bio-Immunotherapy Unit, Department of Medical Oncology, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, IRCCS- National Cancer Institute, Aviano, Italy
Department of Oncology and Surgical Sciences, University of Padova and Istituto Oncologico Veneto, Padova, Italy
Pathology Unit, Unit of Lymphoid Malignancies, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
Medical Oncology A, Department. of Medical Oncology, Centro di Riferimento Oncologico, IRCCS- National Cancer Institute, Aviano, Italy
* Corresponding author; email: rdolcetti{at}cro.it.
Functional characterization of signaling pathways that critically control mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) cell growth and survival is relevant to design new therapies for this lymphoma. We herein demonstrate that the constitutive activation of Akt correlates with the expression of the phosphorylated, inactive form of PTEN. PI3-K/Akt or mTOR inhibition decreased the growth of both primary MCL cultures and established cell lines and antagonizes the growth-promoting activity of CD40 triggering and IL-4. These effects are mediated by nuclear accumulation of the p27Kip1 inhibitor induced by down-regulation of the p45Skp2 and Cks1 proteins, which target p27Kip1 for degradation. Moreover, Akt inhibition down-regulated cyclin D1 by promoting its proteasome-dependent degradation driven by GSK-3. Intriguingly, mTOR inhibition affected cyclin D1 proteolysis only in MCL cells in which GSK-3 is under the direct control of mTOR, suggesting that different MCL subsets could be differently responsive to mTOR inhibition. Finally, PI3-K/Akt inhibitors, but not rapamycin, induced variable levels of caspase-dependent apoptosis and reduced telomerase activity. These results indicate that Akt and mTOR activation have distinct functional relevance in MCL and suggest that targeting Akt may result in more effective therapeutic effects compared to mTOR inhibition.

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