PgmNr D1036: The PARP enzyme Tankyrase antagonizes activity of the βcatenin destruction complex through ADP-ribosylation of Axin and APC2.

Authors:
H. An; C. Powers; J. Tran; H. Croy; C. Fuller; J. Giannotti; P. Robinson; A. Foley; R. Yamulla; S. Cosgriff; B. Greaves; R. von Kleeck; A. Tocker; K. Jacob; B. Davis; D. Roberts


Institutes
Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, PA.


Keyword: wingless

Abstract:

Most colon cancer cases are initiated by truncating mutations in the tumor suppressor, Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC). APC is a critical negative regulator of the Wnt signaling pathway that participates in a multi-protein “destruction complex” to target the key effector protein βcatenin for ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. Prior work has established that the Poly ADP ribose Polymerase (PARP) enzyme Tankyrase (TNKS) antagonizes destruction complex activity by promoting degradation of the scaffold protein Axin, and recent work suggests that TNKS inhibition is a promising cancer therapy. We performed a yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) screen and uncovered TNKS as a putative binding partner of Drosophila APC2, suggesting that TNKS may play multiple roles in destruction complex regulation. We find that TNKS binds a C-terminal RPQPSG motif in Drosophila APC2, and that this motif is conserved in human APC2, but not human APC1. In addition, we find that APC2 can recruit TNKS into the βcatenin destruction complex, placing the APC2/TNKS interaction at the correct intracellular location to regulate βcatenin proteolysis. We further show that TNKS directly PARylates both Drosophila Axin and APC2, but that PARylation does not globally regulate APC2 protein levels as it does for Axin. Moreover, TNKS inhibition in colon cancer cells decreases βcatenin signaling, which we find cannot be explained solely through Axin stabilization. Instead, our findings suggest that TNKS regulates destruction complex activity at the level of both Axin and APC2, providing further mechanistic insight into TNKS inhibition as a potential Wnt pathway cancer therapy.