mTOR inhibition reverses Akt-dependent prostate intraepithelial neoplasia through regulation of apoptotic and HIF-1-dependent pathways.

Nat Med
Authors
Keywords
Abstract

Loss of PTEN function leads to activation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling and Akt. Clinical trials are now testing whether mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibition is useful in treating PTEN-null cancers. Here, we report that mTOR inhibition induced apoptosis of epithelial cells and the complete reversal of a neoplastic phenotype in the prostate of mice expressing human AKT1 in the ventral prostate. Induction of cell death required the mitochondrial pathway, as prostate-specific coexpression of BCL2 blocked apoptosis. Thus, there is an mTOR-dependent survival signal required downstream of Akt. Bcl2 expression, however, only partially restored intraluminal cell growth in the setting of mTOR inhibition. Expression profiling showed that Hif-1 alpha targets, including genes encoding most glycolytic enzymes, constituted the dominant transcriptional response to AKT activation and mTOR inhibition. These data suggest that the expansion of AKT-driven prostate epithelial cells requires mTOR-dependent survival signaling and activation of HIF-1 alpha, and that clinical resistance to mTOR inhibitors may emerge through BCL2 expression and/or upregulation of HIF-1 alpha activity.

Year of Publication
2004
Journal
Nat Med
Volume
10
Issue
6
Pages
594-601
Date Published
2004 Jun
ISSN
1078-8956
URL
DOI
10.1038/nm1052
PubMed ID
15156201
Links
Grant list
P01CA89021 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States