Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology (Mar 2020)

The STRIPAK Complex Regulates Response to Chemotherapy Through p21 and p27

  • Carmen Rodriguez-Cupello,
  • Monica Dam,
  • Laura Serini,
  • Shan Wang,
  • David Lindgren,
  • Emelie Englund,
  • Pontus Kjellman,
  • Håkan Axelson,
  • Alberto García-Mariscal,
  • Chris D. Madsen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2020.00146
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8

Abstract

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The STRIPAK complex has been linked to a variety of biological processes taking place during embryogenesis and development, but its role in cancer has only just started to be defined. Here, we expand on previous work indicating a role for the scaffolding protein STRIP1 in cancer cell migration and metastasis. We show that cell cycle arrest and decreased proliferation are seen upon loss of STRIP1 in MDA-MB-231 cells due to the induction of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors, including p21 and p27. We demonstrate that p21 and p27 induction is observed in a subpopulation of cells having low DNA damage response and that the p21high/γH2AXlow ratio within single cells can be rescued by depleting MST3&4 kinases. While the loss of STRIP1 decreases cell proliferation and tumor growth, cells treated with low dosage of chemotherapeutics in vitro paradoxically escape therapy-induced senescence and begin to proliferate after recovery. This corroborates with already known research on the dual role of p21 and indicates that STRIP1 also plays a contradictory role in breast cancer, suppressing tumor growth, but once treated with chemotherapeutics, allowing for possible recurrence and decreased patient survival.

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