Identification of ASF/SF2 as a critical, allele-specific effector of the cyclin D1b oncogene

The cyclin D1b oncogene arises from alternative splicing of the CCND1 transcript, and harbors markedly enhanced oncogenic functions not shared by full-length cyclin D1 (cyclin D1a). Recent studies showed that cyclin D1b is selectively induced in a subset of tissues as a function of tumorigenesis; however, the underlying mechanism(s) that control tumor-specific cyclin D1b induction remain unsolved. Here, we identify the RNA-binding protein ASF/SF2 as a critical, allele-specific, disease-relevant effector of cyclin D1b production. Initially, it was observed that SF2 associates with cyclin D1b mRNA (transcript-b) in minigene analyses and with endogenous transcript in prostate cancer (PCa) cells. SF2 association was altered by the CCND1 G/A870 polymorphism, which resides in the splice donor site controlling transcript-b production. This finding was significant, as the A870 allele promotes cyclin D1b in benign prostate tissue, but in primary PCa, cyclin D1b production is independent of A870 status. Data herein provide a basis for this disparity, as tumor-associated induction of SF2 predominantly results in binding to and accumulation of G870-derived transcript-b. Finally, the relevance of SF2 function was established, as SF2 strongly correlated with cyclin D1b (but not cyclin D1a) in human PCa. Together, these studies identify a novel mechanism by which cyclin D1b is induced in cancer, and reveal significant evidence of a factor that cooperates with a risk-associated polymorphism to alter cyclin D1 isoform production. Identification of SF2 as a disease-relevant effector of cyclin D1b provides a basis for future studies designed to suppress the oncogenic alternative splicing event

The importance of p53 pathway genetics in inherited and somatic cancer genomes

Decades of research have shown that mutations in the p53 stress response pathway affect the incidence of diverse cancers more than mutations in other pathways. However, most evidence is limited to somatic mutations and rare inherited mutations. Using newly abundant genomic data, we demonstrate that commonly inherited genetic variants in the p53 pathway also affect the incidence of a broad range of cancers more than variants in other pathways. The cancer-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the p53 pathway have strikingly similar genetic characteristics to well-studied p53 pathway cancer-causing somatic mutations. Our results enable insights into p53-mediated tumour suppression in humans and into p53 pathway-based cancer surveillance and treatment strategies