Nuclear oncogene products have the potential to induce alterations in gene regulation leading to the genesis of cancer. The biochemical mechanisms by which nuclear oncoproteins act remain unknown. Recently, an oncogene, v- jun , was found to share homology with the DNA binding domain of a yeast transcription factor, GCN4. Furthermore, GCN4 and the phorbol ester-inducible enhancer binding protein, AP-1, recognize very similar DNA sequences. The human proto-oncogene c- jun has now been isolated, and the deduced amino acid sequence indicates more than 80 percent identity with v- jun . Expression of cloned c- jun in bacteria produced a protein with sequence-specific DNA binding properties identical to AP-1. Antibodies raised against two distinct peptides derived from v- jun reacted specifically with human AP-1. In addition, partial amino acid sequence of purified AP-1 revealed tryptic peptides in common with the c- jun protein. The structural and functional similarities between the c- jun product and the enhancer binding protein suggest that AP-1 may be encoded by c- jun . These findings demonstrate that the proto-oncogene product of c- jun interacts directly with specific target DNA sequences to regulate gene expression, and therefore it may now be possible to identify genes under the control of c- jun that affect cell growth and neoplasia.

Mutations in genes that encode components of the phosphatidyl-inositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) signaling pathway are common in human cancer. The recent discovery of nonrandom somatic mutations in the PIK3CA gene of many human tumors suggests an oncogenic role for the mutated enzyme. We have determined the growth-regulatory and signaling properties of the three most frequently observed PI3-kinase mutations: E542K, E545K, and H1047R. Expressed in chicken embryo fibroblasts, all three mutants induce oncogenic transformation with high efficiency. This transforming ability is correlated with elevated catalytic activity in in vitro kinase assays. The mutant-transformed cells show constitutive phosphorylation of Akt, of p70 S6 kinase, and of the 4E-binding protein 1. Phosphorylation of S6 kinase and of 4E-binding protein 1 is regulated by the target of rapamycin (TOR) kinase and affects rates of protein synthesis. The inhibitor of TOR, rapamycin, strongly interferes with cellular transformation induced by the PI3-kinase mutants, suggesting that the TOR and its downstream targets are essential components of the transformation process. The oncogenic transforming activity makes the mutated PI3-kinase proteins promising targets for small molecule inhibitors that could be developed into effective and highly specific anticancer drugs.

Class I phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) is a dimeric enzyme, consisting of a catalytic and a regulatory subunit. The catalytic subunit occurs in four isoforms designated as p110α, p110β, p110γ and p110δ. These isoforms combine with several regulatory subunits; for p110α, β and δ, the standard regulatory subunit is p85, for p110γ, it is p101. PI3Ks play important roles in human cancer. PIK3CA, the gene encoding p110α, is mutated frequently in common cancers, including carcinoma of the breast, prostate, colon and endometrium. Eighty percent of these mutations are represented by one of the three amino-acid substitutions in the helical or kinase domains of the enzyme. The mutant p110α shows a gain of function in enzymatic and signaling activity and is oncogenic in cell culture and in animal model systems. Structural and genetic data suggest that the mutations affect regulatory inter- and intramolecular interactions and support the conclusion that there are at least two molecular mechanisms for the gain of function in p110α. One of these mechanisms operates largely independently of binding to p85, the other abolishes the requirement for an interaction with Ras. The non-α isoforms of p110 do not show cancer-specific mutations. However, they are often differentially expressed in cancer and, in contrast to p110α, wild-type non-α isoforms of p110 are oncogenic when overexpressed in cell culture. The isoforms of p110 have become promising drug targets. Isoform-selective inhibitors have been identified. Inhibitors that target exclusively the cancer-specific mutants of p110α constitute an important goal and challenge for current drug development.

The Fos protein complex and several Fos-related antigens (FRA) bind specifically to a sequence element referred to as the HeLa cell activator protein 1 (AP-1) binding site. A combination of structural and immunological comparisons has identified the Fos-associated protein (p39) as the protein product of the jun proto-oncogene (c-Jun). The p39/Jun protein is one of the major polypeptides identified in AP-1 oligonucleotide affinity chromatography extracts of cellular proteins. These preparations of AP-1 also contain Fos and several FRA's. Some of these proteins bind to the AP-1 site directly whereas others, like Fos, appear to bind indirectly via protein-protein interactions. Cell-surface stimulation results in an increase in c- fos and c- jun products. Thus, the products of two protooncogenes (and several related proteins), induced by extracellular stimuli, form a complex that associates with transcriptional control elements containing AP-1 sites, thereby potentially mediating the long-term responses to signals that regulate growth control and development.