Essential roles of PI(3)K–p110β in cell growth, metabolism and tumorigenesis

Abstract

The two most widely expressed isoforms of class 1 PI3 kinases are p110alpha and p110beta. Previously, the p110-alpha isoform has been implicated in growth factor and insulin signalling, as well as in tumorigenesis. Now the analysis of mutant mice reveals a major role for p110-beta in the regulation of insulin-dependent metabolic changes and in tumour formation. Interestingly, some of the effects are mediated by a kinase-independent function of p110-beta. On activation by receptors, the ubiquitously expressed class IA isoforms (p110α and p110β) of phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI(3)K) generate lipid second messengers, which initiate multiple signal transduction cascades1,2,3,4,5. Recent studies have demonstrated specific functions for p110α in growth factor and insulin signalling6,7,8. To probe for distinct functions of p110β, we constructed conditional knockout mice. Here we show that ablation of p110β in the livers of the resulting mice leads to impaired insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis, while having little effect on phosphorylation of Akt, suggesting the involvement of a kinase-independent role of p110β in insulin metabolic action. Using established mouse embryonic fibroblasts, we found that removal of p110β also had little effect on Akt phosphorylation in response to stimulation by insulin and epidermal growth factor, but resulted in retarded cell proliferation. Reconstitution of p110β-null cells with a wild-type or kinase-dead allele of p110β demonstrated that p110β possesses kinase-independent functions in regulating cell proliferation and trafficking. However, the kinase activity of p110β was required for G-protein-coupled receptor signalling triggered by lysophosphatidic acid and had a function in oncogenic transformation. Most strikingly, in an animal model of prostate tumour formation induced by Pten loss, ablation of p110β (also known as Pik3cb), but not that of p110α (also known as Pik3ca), impeded tumorigenesis with a concomitant diminution of Akt phosphorylation. Taken together, our findings demonstrate both kinase-dependent and kinase-independent functions for p110β, and strongly indicate the kinase-dependent functions of p110β as a promising target in cancer therapy.