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The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 86, No. 5 2111-2117
Copyright © 2001 by The Endocrine Society


Original Studies

Expression of Cyclic Adenosine 3',5'-Monophosphate (cAMP)-Responsive Element Binding Protein and Inducible-cAMP Early Repressor Genes in Growth Hormone-Secreting Pituitary Adenomas with or without Mutations of the Gs{alpha} Gene

Alessandro Peri, Barbara Conforti, Silvana Baglioni-Peri, Paola Luciani, Federica Cioppi, Lisa Buci, Sabrina Corbetta, Emilia Ballaré, Mario Serio and Anna Spada

Endocrine Unit (A.P., B.C., P.L., F.C., L.B., M.S.) and Medical Genetics Unit (S.B.-P.), Department of Clinical Physiopathology, University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy; and Institute of Endocrine Sciences, Ospedale Maggiore, University of Milan (S.C., E.B., A.S.), 20122 Milan, Italy

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Alessandro Peri, M.D., Ph.D., Endocrine Unit, Department of Clinical Physiopathology, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini, 6, 50139 Florence, Italy. E-mail: a.peri{at}dfc.unifi.it


    Abstract
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
In about 30–40% of GH-secreting adenomas, gain-of-function mutations of the Gs{alpha} gene, which convert this gene into an oncogene termed gsp, occur. Gs{alpha} mutations have been related to pituitary tumorigenesis. We focused on 2 nuclear transcription factors that are final targets of the cAMP-dependent pathway and are positively regulated by cAMP signaling, i.e. the cAMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB) and the inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER), that derives from alternative splicing of cAMP-responsive element modulator gene. We examined 21 GH-secreting adenomas, 8 with (gsp+) and 13 without (gsp-) a mutated Gs{alpha}. Analysis of CREB and ICER I/II messenger RNA revealed that the levels of both transcripts were higher in gsp+ than in gsp- tumors (CREB/glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) mean optical density ± SE, 2.34 ± 0.36 in gsp+ vs. 0.99 ± 0.22 in gsp-, P = 0.003; ICER I/GAPDH, 0.53 ± 0.15 in gsp+ vs. 0.14 ± 0.07 in gsp-, P = 0.01; ICER II/GAPDH, 1.5 ± 0.21 in gsp+ vs. 0.83 ± 0.13 in gsp-, P = 0.01), although a few cases in both groups did not display this pattern of expression. Moreover, no positive correlation between the levels of CREB and ICER transcripts was observed, suggesting the possible presence of alterations in the mechanisms by which cAMP signaling directs the expression of CREB and/or ICER genes. Our results indicate a complex pattern of expression of nuclear transcription factors that mediate cAMP action in both gsp+ and gsp- tumors, suggesting that, beside Gs{alpha} gene mutations, different and partially unknown molecular events may contribute to the pathogenesis of these tumors.


    Introduction
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
IT IS WELL KNOWN that the cAMP-dependent signal transduction pathway controls metabolic, differentiation, and proliferative processes in almost the totality of endocrine cells. Among these, cAMP has been shown to act as a mitogen in GH-secreting somatotrophs of the anterior pituitary (1). The proliferative action of cAMP in this cell type has been widely confirmed by the demonstration of the presence of gain-of-function point mutations occurring at codons 201 or 227 of the gene coding the {alpha} subunit of the Gs protein in a subset (30–40%) of GH-secreting adenomas (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). These mutations convert the Gs{alpha} gene into an oncogene, termed gsp (for Gs protein) (3). In recent studies, the cellular phenotype resulting from the expression of mutant Gs{alpha} has been investigated and the presence of counterregulatory mechanisms, such as increased activity of phosphodiesterases (PDEs) and low levels of mutated protein, has been identified (8, 9).

Most of the effects of cAMP are mediated by the activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA). PKA activates, upon phosphorylation at specific serine sites, two members of the family of transcription factors containing the basic domain leucine zipper (bZIP), i.e. cAMP-responsive element modulator (CREM) and cAMP-responsive element binding protein (CREB) (reviewed in Ref. 10). Phosphorylated CREB and CREM bind as dimers to palindromic cAMP response element (CRE) sequences, thus modulating the expression of cAMP-dependent genes. The peculiar aspect of CREB and CREM genes resides in the fact that they can encode different isoforms by mechanisms of alternative exon splicing, alternative promoter usage and autoregulation of promoters (11, 12). Some of CREB and CREM isoforms stimulate gene expression, whereas others act as repressors (11, 12). The promoter of CREB gene is autoregulated by cAMP signaling (13), whereas the promoter of CREM gene is not. Instead, an alternative internal promoter of CREM gene directs the expression of repressor isoforms indicated as inducible cAMP early repressors (ICER) in response to cAMP signaling (14). Four ICERs isoforms, i.e. ICER I, I{gamma}, II, and II{gamma} have been described (14). Several targets of CREB are related to mitogenesis, including the early immediate genes c-fos, c-jun, and jun B, (15) and cyclin D1 (16). Interestingly, overexpression of a transcriptionally inactive CREB transgene in pituitary somatotrophs led to dwarfism in transgenic mice (17). In a series of 15 human GH-secreting tumors elevated levels of phosphorylated, hence activated, CREB have been consistently detected, independently of the presence or not of Gs{alpha} gene mutations (18). This observation prompted us to further investigate on the final targets of the intracellular signaling pathways, in particular by focusing on the expression of both CREB and ICER in GH-secreting adenomas either with or without Gs{alpha} mutations.


    Materials and Methods
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Patients

Twenty-one patients (11 males and 10 females) affected by acromegaly and undergoing transphenoidal surgery were included in the study, after obtaining informed consent. The age ranged from 18–69 yr (41.6 ± 3.5, mean ± SE), GH levels were between 3.8 and 65.3 µg/L (28.2 ± 4.5, mean ± SE; normal value <3 µg/L), insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) levels ranged from 55.4–227.2 nmol/L (130.97 ± 12.7, mean ± SE), and the size of the tumors (maximum diameter) ranged from 12–43 mm (23 ± 2.1, mean ± SE). In 13 cases the tumors extended beyond the sella turcica. At the time of surgery, a sample from the adenoma was obtained for each patient, frozen, and stored at -80 C.

Analysis of Gs{alpha} gene mutations

DNA was extracted from tissue homogenate at the same time of RNA extraction, by using a commercial kit (Tri-Reagent; Molecular Research Center, Inc., Cincinnati, OH). Analysis of mutations in the Gs{alpha} gene was performed as described previously (8). Briefly, 100 ng DNA were amplified in a 50-µL reaction mixture containing 2 U Taq polymerase (Perkin-Elmer Corp./Cetus, Norwalk, CT), 0.5 µM of each primer, 0.2 mM 2-deoxy-nucleoside-5'-triphosphate, 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.3), 1.5 mM MgCl2, 50 mM KCl, and 0.001% (wt/vol) gelatin. The following amplification program was used: 1 min at 94 C, 1 min at 56 C (for codon 201 of the Gs{alpha} gene) or at 54 C (for codon 227 of the Gs{alpha} gene), and 1 min at 72 C. The oligonucleotides used as primers for the amplification of codon 201 were: 5'-CCAAACTACTCCAGACCTTT-3' and 5'-TGGAAGTTGACTTTGTCCAC-3'. For the amplification of codon 227 the following oligonucleotides were used: 5'-ACAGAGATCATGGTTTCTTG-3' and 5'-TTAACCAAAGAGAGCAAAGC-3'. Amplified fragments were purified and directly sequenced using the AmpliCycle Sequencing Kit (Perkin-Elmer Corp., Branchburg, NY).

RT-PCR

RT-PCR was performed on total RNAs (0.5 µg for each reaction) extracted from tissue homogenates by acid guanidine thyocianate-phenol-chloroform extraction using a commercial kit (Tri-Reagent; Molecular Research Center, Inc.). A commercially available kit (SuperScript One Step RT-PCR System; Stratagene, La Jolla, CA) was used to prepare the mixture for RT-PCR. For the detection of CREB transcripts, a pair of specific primers spanning sequences at the 5' and 3' end of CREB messenger RNA (mRNA) and previously described (19) were used. The sequence of the sense primer (CREB-L) was 5'-ATGACCATGGAATCTGGAGC-3'. The sequence of the antisense primer (CREB-R) was 5'-TTAATCTGATTTGTGGCAGT-3'. For the analysis of ICER transcripts, a pair of primers was designed by using the computer program OLIGO 4.0. The sequence of the sense primer (ICER-L), which spanned sequences of the internal promoter and exon {gamma} of CREM gene, was 5'-CTGATGAGGAAACTGAACTTG-3'. The sequence of the antisense primer (ICER-R), spanning sequences of exon Ib of CREM gene, was 5'- TCGGCTCTCCAGACATTTTAC-3'. The primers were synthesized by Roche Diagnostics (Monza, Italy). RT-PCR was performed by using the Programmable Thermal Controller PTC-100 (MJ Research, Inc., Watertown, MA). Retrotranscription was performed at 50 C for 30 min. For complementary DNA (cDNA) amplification the following conditions were established: 1 min at 94 C (denaturation); 1 min at 60 C (for CREB) or at 56 C (for ICER) (annealing); and 1 min at 70 C (extension). Preliminary experiments were performed to determine the PCR cycles corresponding to the exponential phase of amplification. Thereafter, the PCR were always stopped in the exponential phase. The quality of RNAs was assessed by performing additional RT-PCR using primers specific for the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene, as described previously (20). Finally, in each RT-PCR experiment a no RNA reaction was added as a negative control.

Detection of RT-PCR products

The detection of RT-PCR products was performed as described previously (21). Briefly, cDNAs were subjected to agarose gel electrophoresis and subsequent Southern blot on nylon membranes (Roche Diagnostics). Immobilized cDNAs were hybridized to CREB- and ICER-specific oligonucleotide probes, synthesized by Roche Diagnostics. The sequence of the probes was completely different from the sequence of the primers. The sequences of CREB probe, ICER probe, and GAPDH probe were, respectively, 5'-GTACAGGGCCTGCAAACATTA-3', 5'-GGAGTGGTGATGGCTGCATCG-3', and 5'-CTAAGCAGTTGGTGGTGCA-3'. The hybridization temperatures were, respectively, 57, 63, and 57 C. The hybridized cDNAs were detected by using an immunochemiluminescent method (Roche Diagnostics), as described previously (21).

The levels of CREB, ICER I, and ICER II mRNA were evaluated by calculating the ratio between the optical densities of the signals representing CREB or ICER I/II RT-PCR products on x-ray films and those corresponding to GAPDH, as described for comparative PCR (9, 22, 23). To compare the results qualitatively, the time of exposure to x-ray films was kept constant.

Sequence analysis of ICER I and II isoforms

RT-PCR for the determination of ICER transcripts originated signals of different length. The specificity of the putative signals corresponding to ICER I and II isoforms was validated by additional sequence analysis. After gel electrophoresis, the ICER I (657 bp) and ICER II putative signals (257 bp) were excised from the agarose and purified by means of a commercially available kit (Agarose Gel DNA Extraction Kit; Roche Diagnostics). Sequence analysis was performed by using the AmpliCycle Sequencing Kit (Perkin-Elmer Corp.), according to the manufacturer’s instructions. For ICER II sequencing, ICER-L and ICER-R primers were radiolabeled with [{gamma}-32P]ATP. For ICER I sequencing, 2 additional [{gamma}-32P]ATP-radiolabeled primers were used. The sequence of these primers that was internal to the sequence spanned by ICER-L and ICER-R was: ICERSEQ-R (used together with ICER-L), 5'-GATCTTTGAGGGCCTTGAGTT-3'; and ICERSEQ-L (used together with ICER-R), 5'-GAACTCAAGGCCCTCAAAGAT-3'. The Programmable Thermal Controller PTC-100 (MJ Research, Inc.) was used for direct sequencing, using the following conditions, after an initial 2-min denaturation step at 95 C: 30 sec at 95 C (denaturation) and 30 sec at 70 C (annealing and extension), for a total of 30 cycles. Amplified products were electrophoresed on acrilamide gel (6%) in the presence of 7 M urea. The gels were then blotted on Whatman 3-M filters (Whatman International Ltd., Maidstone, UK). After drying, the filters were transferred to an x-ray cassette and exposed to x-ray films for 12 h.

Statistical analysis

Linear regression analysis was performed to search a correlation between the levels of CREB and ICER I or II expression. GH and IGF-I levels, the size of the tumors, CREB and ICER I/II expression in gsp+ and gsp- tumors were compared by Student’s t test. Differences were considered as statistically significant at the 0.05 level.


    Results
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Analysis of Gs{alpha} gene mutations

GH-secreting adenomas were submitted to mutation analysis for Gs{alpha} gene (n = 21). Eight tumors (38.1%) harbored point mutations of Gs{alpha} gene. In all cases the mutation was located at codon 201 (CGT > TGT/Arg > Cys, tumors 1, 3, 10, 11, and 17; CGT > CAT/Arg > His, tumors 2 and 19; CAG > CTG/Gln > Leu, tumor 18). The numbers indicating the tumors refer to the numeration used in Fig. 1Go. These mutations are known to constitutively activate adenylyl cyclase. No significant difference in serum GH levels (30.3 ± 8.4 µg/L in gsp+ vs. 26.9 ± 5.5 µg/L in gsp-, mean ± SE, P > 0.05) between patients with or without Gs{alpha} mutations was found. Similarly, IGF-I levels did not significantly differ between gsp+ and gsp- adenomas (137.7 ± 21.1 nmol/L in gsp+ vs. 124.4 ± 13.4 nmol/L in gsp-, mean ± SE, P > 0.05). Conversely, in our series of patients tumor size appeared statistically higher in gsp- than in gsp+ tumors (17.62 ± 2.2 mm in gsp+ vs. 26.3 ± 2.8 mm in gsp-, mean ± SE, P = 0.04).



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Figure 1. A and B, Chemilumigrams showing the hybridization pattern of RT-PCR products corresponding to CREB or ICER transcripts, respectively, using specific probes. Patients are numbered from 1 to 21. St, DNA molecular weight marker VI (Roche Diagnostics); N, no RNA control reaction. C, Ethidium bromide-stained gel showing GAPDH-specific RT-PCR products. Patients are numbered as in A and B. St, DNA molecular weight marker VI (Roche Diagnostics); N, no RNA control reaction.

 
Detection of CREB mRNA

Because the amount of tumoral tissue was too limited to perform Northern blot analysis or RNase protection assay, the presence of CREB transcripts in GH-secreting adenomas was determined by RT-PCR, using specific primers spanning sequences at the 5' and 3' end of CREB mRNA. Each RNA was retro-transcribed and amplified in three different experiments, to assess the reproducibility of the results. After agarose gel electrophoresis, Southern blotting, and hybridization to a CREB-specific probe, a major signal of 1026 bp, corresponding to the full-length transcript of CREB gene and acting as an activator of gene transcription, was consistently detected by chemiluminescence in the tumors, with the exclusion of two gsp- cases (6, 13). In Fig. 1AGo the results of a typical experiment are reported; the results were virtually identical in all the experiments that were performed. In all cases the quality of RNAs was assessed by the analysis of GAPDH transcripts. A GAPDH-specific signal was found in all RNA samples (Fig. 1CGo), indicating that the failure to detect CREB signals in tumors 6 and 13 was not due to RNA degradation. The levels of expression of CREB gene were determined by densitometric analysis as the CREB/GAPDH ratio, as previously described for Gs{alpha} expression (9). By this analysis, the levels of CREB transcript were significantly higher in tumors with a mutated Gs{alpha} than in those with wild-type Gs{alpha} (CREB/GAPDH ratio, 2.34 ± 0.36 in gsp+ vs. 0.99 ± 0.22 in gsp-, mean optical density ± SE, P = 0.003). The exclusion of the tumors in which CREB mRNA was not detectable did not result in loss of statistically significant difference among gsp+ and gsp- tumors (P = 0.01). However, individual variations in each of the two groups were observed, as shown in Fig. 2Go. Among tumors showing the highest levels of expression of CREB gene there were for instance two gsp- tumors (4, 21). Conversely, in a gsp+ tumor (tumor 19) one of the lowest levels of CREB mRNA was detected (Fig. 2Go).



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Figure 2. Graphical representation of the levels of CREB transcript in GH-secreting adenomas. CREB mRNA corresponds to the CREB/GAPDH ratio of RT-PCR products, expressed in densitometric units. Each number indicates the same patient as in Fig. 1Go. gsp+ tumors are indicated by the filled bars, whereas gsp- tumors by the open bars. The optical density (mean value ± SE) between the two groups is significantly different (P < 0.05) even after excluding the 0 values from two gsp- tumors (see Results).

 
Detection of ICER mRNA

The expression of ICER was also assessed by RT-PCR, using specific primers, in three different experiments for each RNA sample. The RT-PCR products were hybridized to a specific probe and detected by chemiluminescence. A predominant signal of 257 bp (Fig. 1BGo), corresponding to the isoform ICER II, as determined by sequence analysis (Fig. 3Go), was detected in all cases except for three gsp- tumors (7, 8, 9). As already mentioned, a signal corresponding to GAPDH transcript was detected in all samples (Fig. 1CGo). We analyzed the levels of ICER II transcript, which resulted to be significantly higher in gsp+ than in gsp- tumors (ICER II/GAPDH ratio, 1.5 ± 0.21 in gsp+ vs. 0.83 ± 0.13 in gsp-, mean optical density ± SE, P = 0.01; the difference remained significant even after exclusion of the tumors not showing detectable levels of ICER II mRNA, P = 0.04), despite the tumor-to-tumor variations (Fig. 4Go). In particular, among tumors in which ICER II mRNA could be detected, the lowest level was consistently found in a gsp+ adenoma (1; Fig. 4Go). An additional RT-PCR product (657 bp), present in the majority of cases (Fig. 1BGo), was subjected to sequence analysis and was found to correspond to the isoform ICER I (Fig. 3Go). According to ICER II, the levels of ICER I mRNA, despite sporadic individual variations (i.e. no detectable signal in a gsp+ tumor, patient 18, Fig. 1BGo), were also significantly higher in gsp+ than in gsp- adenomas (ICER I/GAPDH ratio, 0.53 ± 0.15 in gsp+ vs. 0.14 ± 0.07 in gsp-, mean optical density ± SE, P = 0.01) (data not shown).



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Figure 3. ICER cDNA (14 ). The complete sequence corresponds to ICER I. ICER II lacks exon 1a. The nucleotides included between ICER-L (sense) and ICER-R (antisense) primers (bold) correspond to ICER I- and to ICER II- (underlined) specific sequences, as determined by sequence analysis of RT-PCR products.

 


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Figure 4. Graphical representation of the levels of ICER II transcript in GH-secreting adenomas. ICER mRNA corresponds to the ICER II/GAPDH ratio of RT-PCR products expressed in densitometric units. Each number indicates the same patient as in Fig. 1Go. gsp+ tumors are indicated by the filled bars, and gsp- tumors by the open bars. The optical density (mean value ± SE) between the two groups is significantly different. The difference is maintained even after excluding the 0 values from three gsp- tumors (P < 0.05) (See Results).

 
The presence of a relationship between the levels of transcripts of CREB and ICER I or II in both gsp+ and gsp- adenomas was evaluated. Linear regression analysis revealed the absence of any significant correlation in both gsp+ (CREB vs. ICER I, R = -0.69, P > 0.05; CREB vs. ICER II, R = -0.42, P > 0.05) and gsp- (CREB vs. ICER I, R = 0.41, P > 0.05; CREB vs. ICER II, R = 0.07, P > 0.05) adenomas.


    Discussion
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 
Along with the well known gain-of-function mutations of the Gs{alpha} gene (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7), in the last few years mutation analyses of other key components of the cAMP-dependent pathway have been carried out in GH-secreting pituitary adenomas, generally with negative results. Indeed, no mutations in GHRH receptor and PKA catalytic subunit genes have been reported so far (24, 25); the pathogenesis of GH-secreting adenomas harboring a wild-type Gs remains elusive. Moreover, in gsp+ tumors multiple processes probably contribute to determine the oncogenic potential of Gs{alpha} mutations, as cellular mechanisms able to contrast the consequence of the constitutive activation of the cAMP-dependent pathway have been identified (8, 9).

In the present study, we examined by RT-PCR the expression of two members of the cAMP-dependent nuclear transcription factors family, i.e. CREB and ICER, in 21 GH-secreting adenomas harboring either a wild-type or a mutated Gs{alpha} gene. mRNA measurements were performed by comparing the optical density of the specific CREB and ICER (i.e. the isoforms I and II) signals with that corresponding to the GAPDH signal obtained from the same RNA. In principle, RT-PCR does not provide a direct measurement of specific transcripts (requiring both retrotranscription of RNA and subsequent amplification of the obtained cDNA), and it is dependent on the appropriate setting of the experimental conditions, such as the temperature of annealing of the primers and the cycle number. However, especially when the starting material is not sufficient to perform direct measurements of RNA by Northern blot analysis or by RNase protection assay, as in our case, semiquantitative RT-PCR is largely used to determine the levels of a specific transcript, provided that it is performed correctly (9, 22, 23). Quantitative RT-PCR applications, such as competitive PCR, are not possible in the case of CREB and ICER, as well as in the case of genes with similar characteristics, as the coexistence of various isoforms represents a major problem for constructing specific competitors. Indeed, the structure of both CREB and ICER gene makes virtually impossible to design specific primers for only one isoform. It is noteworthy that, to our knowledge, there have been no reports on competitive PCR for CREB and/or ICER mRNA measurements so far. In our hands, semiquantitative RT-PCR was validated by adding the same amount of RNA to each reaction, by stopping the amplification in the exponential phase and by using the same time of exposure of the films. Furthermore, the reproducibility of the results was confirmed in different experiments.

The analysis of CREB and ICER I/II expression revealed in most cases the presence of specific transcripts in GH-secreting adenomas. We found that in gsp+ tumors the levels of either CREB or ICER I/II mRNA were significantly higher than in gsp- tumors. This finding confirms that the presence of a mutated Gs{alpha} appears to be associated to the activation of the cAMP-dependent pathway. In particular, it is likely that increased PKA-mediated phosphorylation of CREB represents the key regulator in directing high levels of expression of CREB itself and ICER. In fact, both the promoter of CREB and the internal promoter of CREM that regulates ICER expression contain CREs (13, 14), through which activated, i.e. phosphorylated, CREB stimulates mRNA transcription and protein synthesis (26). Therefore, CREB and ICER mRNA levels may indirectly provide information about the amount of phosphorylated CREB.

An interesting aspect of our study is represented by the fact that, although CREB and ICER transcripts were found to be higher in gsp+ tumors, nonetheless variable levels of expression were detected in a few tumors, irrespective of the Gs{alpha} status. In particular, in a minority of cases, despite a mutated Gs{alpha}, low levels of CREB or ICER mRNA were found, suggesting the presence of mechanisms able to counteract the increase in cAMP production induced by Gs{alpha} mutations, such as PDE overactivity or other counterregulatory mechanisms (8, 9). Admittedly, in these tumors the oncogenic pathway activated by Gs{alpha} mutations remains to be clarified.

In a few more cases, high levels of CREB mRNA were found in tumors not harboring gain-of-function mutations of the Gs{alpha} gene. In these tumors high CREB expression might be targeted as the primary alteration leading to cell proliferation. Although the presence of activating mutations of CREB gene in pituitary adenomas has not been reported so far, this could be a possibility to be investigated. Alternatively, the high levels of CREB expression occurring in some gsp- adenomas might be regarded as secondary to increased phosphorylation of CREB, resulting for instance from reduced PDE activity or to augmented kinase(s) activity. Although gain-of-function mutations of PKA have not been so far identified (25), CREB can be the substrate of other non cAMP-dependent protein kinases, such as protein kinase C, casein kinase II, mitogen-activated protein kinase and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase IV (reviewed in Ref. 10). Because CREB should be considered as a point to which different pathways converge and from which signals ultimately modulating gene expression depart, it is tempting to speculate that, besides the cAMP-dependent cascade, other signaling pathways may be activated in gsp- tumors with high CREB expression.

Our data, showing that CREB/ICER levels in gsp+ tumors are higher than in gsp- tumors, are partially at variance with those by Bertherat et al. (18). Even taking into account the variability we observed in some cases, the results of these authors differ from ours, in that they consistently found elevated levels of Ser133-phosphorylated CREB in a series of GH-secreting adenomas, independently of the presence or not of Gs{alpha} gene mutations (18). However, although CREB phosphorylation usually occurs at Ser133 and causes activation of the protein, the additional phosphorylation at Ser142 determines loss of transcriptional activation (27, 28). Therefore, data reporting high levels of phosphorylated CREB in gsp- tumors (18) should be reconsidered taking into account that Ser133-phosphorylated CREB does not unequivocally represent activated CREB.

Because activated CREB binds to consensus CREs in the promoter of CREB and the internal promoter of CREM that regulates ICER expression, activation of the cAMP-dependent pathway is expected in principle to cause a parallel increase of both these transcription factors. Activation of the cAMP-dependent signaling pathway, resulting in increased levels of phosphorylated CREB, has been shown to cause also increased ICER expression in different cell systems such as thyroid (29), Sertoli (30), and ovarian granulosa cells (31, 32). Accordingly, in thyroid hyperfunctioning adenomas, we have observed a positive correlation between CREB and ICER mRNA levels (Peri, A., unpublished observations). Interestingly, this correlation did not occur in GH-secreting adenomas, implicating the existence of different and complex mechanisms regulating the expression of CREB and ICER. It is known for instance that ICER, which is properly a marker of early cAMP stimulation, can compete with the binding of CREB to CREs, thus inhibiting further expression of its own gene as well as of CREB gene (13, 14). Alternatively, the presence of alterations in the mechanisms by which cAMP directs the expression of CREB and/or ICER, ultimately contributing to determine the oncogenic potential of somatotrophs, might be hypothesized.

In conclusion, in the present study we have correlated for the first time the levels of mRNA of the nuclear transcription factors CREB and ICER to the presence or absence of a mutated Gs{alpha} in GH-secreting adenomas. Both the expression of CREB and ICER (I-II) appeared significantly higher in gsp+ tumors. Moreover, the finding that in a few cases CREB and/or ICER expression did not correlate to the Gs{alpha} status, suggests that the pathogenesis of these tumors may involve, in addition to the cAMP-dependent pathway, other signaling cascades.

Received October 2, 2000.

Revised January 22, 2001.

Accepted January 26, 2001.


    References
 Top
 Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results
 Discussion
 References
 

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