Oncogene database

1915

EEF1A1

eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 alpha 1;EEF1A1;eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 alpha 1

CTCL tumor antigen|EF-1-alpha-1|EF1a-like protein|cervical cancer suppressor 3|elongation factor 1 alpha subunit|elongation factor 1-alpha 1|elongation factor Tu|eukaryotic elongation factor 1 A-1|eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 alpha 1-like 14

6q14.1

protein-coding

Several components of the eukaryotic protein synthesis apparatus have been associated with oncogenic transformation of cells. Altered expression of translation elongation factor 1 alpha (EF-1 alpha), a core component of protein synthesis and closely related sequences have been linked with transformed phenotypes by several independent studies, in diverse systems. A dominant acting oncogene, prostate tumor inducing gene-1 (PTI-1) has provided further evidence for this link. PTI-1 appears to be a hybrid molecule with components derived from both prokaryotic and eukaryotic origins. The predicted protein coding moiety represents an EF-1 alpha molecule, truncated N-terminal to amino acid residue 68 and having six additional point mutations. This coding sequence is fused to a 5 untranslated region (UTR) showing strongest homology to ribosomal RNA derived from Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. expression studies using the cloned cDNA in nude mouse tumor formation assays have confirmed the oncogenic nature of the molecule. A broad spectrum of tumor derived cell lines, from varied tissue sources and blood samples from patients having confirmed prostate carcinoma, ALL scored positive for expression of PTI-1, while corresponding normal tissues or blood samples were negative. Based on its near identity to EF-1 alpha, it is proposed that PTI-1 represents a new class of oncogene whose transforming capacity probably arises through mechanisms including: (i) protein translational infidelity, resulting in the synthesis of mutant polypeptides due to loss of proofreading function during peptide chain elongation, (ii) by its association with and alteration of the cytoskeleton, (iii) by impinging on one particular or several different signal transduction pathways through its properties as a G-protein.

Testis-specific protein Y-encoded (TSPY) is the putative gene for the gonadoblastoma locus on the Y chromosome. TSPY is expressed in normal germ cells of fetal and adult testis and ectopically in tumor germ cells, including gonadoblastoma in intersex patients, testicular germ cell tumors, prostate cancer and other somatic cancers. It is a member of the TSPY/SET/NAP1 superfamily and harbors a highly conserved domain, termed SET/NAP domain. To explore its possible role(s) in tumorigenesis, we had performed a yeast two-hybrid screen of a fetal gonadal cDNA library and identified the translation elongation factor eEF1A as a binding partner for TSPY at the SET/NAP domain. TSPY and eEF1A were highly expressed and colocalized in tumor germ cells of human seminoma specimens, suggesting their possible interaction in germ cell tumors. They were colocalized in the cytoplasm and could be co-immunoprecipitated from transfected COS7 cells. Significantly, both eEF1A1 and eEF1A2 have postulated to be involved in various types of human cancer, including breast and prostate cancers. TSPY enhanced protein synthesis of a reporter gene, which was augmented by an overexpression of eEF1A. TSPY also increased the nuclear redistribution of eEF1A, resulting in a parallel increase in reporter gene transcripts. Our results suggest that TSPY could exert its oncogenic function(s) by interacting with eEF1As and stimulating gene expression via its enhancements in protein synthesis and gene transcription.

Elucidating the relevant genomic changes mediating development and evolution of prostate cancer is paramount for effective diagnosis and therapy. A putative dominant-acting nude mouse prostatic carcinoma tumor-inducing gene, PTI-1, has been cloned that is expressed in patient-derived human prostatic carcinomas but not in benign prostatic hypertrophy or normal prostate tissue. PTI-1 was detected by cotransfecting human prostate carcinoma DNA into CREF-Trans 6 cells, inducing tumors in nude mice, and isolating genes displaying increased expression in tumor-derived cells by using differential RNA display (DD). Screening a human prostatic carcinoma (LNCaP) cDNA library with a 214-bp DNA fragment found by DD permitted the cloning of a full-length 2.0-kb PTI-1 cDNA. Sequence analysis indicates that PTI-1 is a gene containing a 630-bp 5 sequence and a 3 sequence homologous to a truncated and mutated form of human elongation factor 1 alpha. In vitro translation demonstrates that the PTI-1 cDNA encodes a predominant approximately 46-kDa protein. Probing Northern blots with a DNA fragment corresponding to the 5 region of PTI-1 identifies multiple PTI-1 transcripts in RNAs from human carcinoma cell lines derived from the prostate, lung, breast, and colon. In contrast, PTI-1 RNA is not detected in human melanoma, neuroblastoma, osteosarcoma, normal cerebellum, or glioblastoma multiforme cell lines. By using a pair of primers recognizing a 280-bp region within the 630-bp 5 PTI-1 sequence, reverse transcription-PCR detects PTI-1 expression in patient-derived prostate carcinomas but not in normal prostate or benign hypertrophic prostate tissue. In contrast, reverse transcription-PCR detects prostate-specific antigen expression in ALL of the prostate tissues. These results indicate that PTI-1 may be a member of a class of oncogenes that could affect protein translation and contribute to carcinoma development in human prostate and other tissues. The approaches used, rapid expression cloning with the CREF-Trans 6 system and the DD strategy, should prove widely applicable for identifying and cloning additional human oncogenes.

The genetic alterations and molecular events mediating human prostate cancer development and progression remain to be defined. Rapid expression cloning and differential RNA display detect a putative oncogene, prostate tumor-inducing gene 1 (PTI-1), that is differentially expressed in human prostate (as well as breast, colon, and small cell lung) cancer cell lines, patient-derived prostate carcinomas, and blood from patients with metastatic prostate cancer. PTI-1 consists of a unique 5 untranslated region (5 UTR) with significant sequence homology to Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae 23S ribosomal RNA juxtaposed to a sequence that encodes a truncated and mutated human elongation factor 1alpha (Trun-EF). Stable expression of a nearly full-length 1.9-kb PTI-1 gene, but not the separate PTI-1 5 UTR or Trun-EF region, in normal rat embryo fibroblast cells, CREF-Trans 6, induces an aggressive tumorigenic phenotype in athymic nude mice. Blocking PTI-1 expression with antisense PTI-1 results in reversion of transformed PTI-1-expressing cells to a more normal cellular morphology with suppression in both anchorage-independent growth and tumorigenic potential in athymic nude mice. These findings document that PTI-1 is indeed an oncogene, and directly blocking PTI-1 expression can nullify cancer phenotypes. In these contexts, PTI-1 not only represents a gene with discriminating diagnostic properties but also may serve as a target for the gene-based therapy of human prostate and other cancers.