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Cellular senescence acts as a potent barrier to tumorigenesis and contributes to the anti-tumor activity of certain chemotherapeutic agents. Senescent cells undergo a stable cell cycle arrest controlled by RB and p53 and, in addition, display a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) involving the production of factors that reinforce the senescence arrest, alter the microenvironment, and trigger immune surveillance of the senescent cells. Through a proteomics analysis of senescent chromatin, we identified the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) subunit p65 as a major transcription factor that accumulates on chromatin of senescent cells. We found that NF-κB acts as a master regulator of the SASP, influencing the expression of more genes than RB and p53 combined. In cultured fibroblasts, NF-κB suppression causes escape from immune recognition by natural killer (NK) cells and cooperates with p53 inactivation to bypass senescence. In a mouse lymphoma model, NF-κB inhibition bypasses treatment-induced senescence, producing drug resistance, early relapse, and reduced survival. Our results demonstrate that NF-κB controls both cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous aspects of the senescence program and identify a tumor-suppressive function of NF-κB that contributes to the outcome of cancer therapy.

SummaryThe monomeric RalGTPases, RalA and RalB are recognized as components of a regulatory framework supporting tumorigenic transformation. Specifically, RalB is required to suppress apoptotic checkpoint activation, the mechanistic basis of which is unknown. Reported effector proteins of RalB include the Sec5 component of the exocyst, an octameric protein complex implicated in tethering of vesicles to membranes. Surprisingly, we find that the RalB/Sec5 effector complex directly recruits and activates the atypical IκB kinase family member TBK1. In cancer cells, constitutive engagement of this pathway, via chronic RalB activation, restricts initiation of apoptotic programs typically engaged in the context of oncogenic stress. Although dispensable for survival in a nontumorigenic context, this pathway helps mount an innate immune response to virus exposure. These observations define the mechanistic contribution of RalGTPases to cancer cell survival and reveal the RalB/Sec5 effector complex as a component of TBK1-dependent innate immune signaling.

Expression of an oncogene in a primary cell can, paradoxically, block proliferation by inducing senescence or apoptosis through pathways that remain to be elucidated. Here we perform genome-wide RNA-interference screening to identify 17 genes required for an activated BRAF oncogene (BRAFV600E) to block proliferation of human primary fibroblasts and melanocytes. Surprisingly, we find a secreted protein, IGFBP7, has a central role in BRAFV600E-mediated senescence and apoptosis. Expression of BRAFV600E in primary cells leads to synthesis and secretion of IGFBP7, which acts through autocrine/paracrine pathways to inhibit BRAF-MEK-ERK signaling and induce senescence and apoptosis. Apoptosis results from IGFBP7-mediated upregulation of BNIP3L, a pro-apoptotic BCL2 family protein. Recombinant IGFBP7 (rIGFBP7) induces apoptosis in BRAFV600E-positive human melanoma cell lines, and systemically administered rIGFBP7 markedly suppresses growth of BRAFV600E-positive tumors in xenografted mice. Immunohistochemical analysis of human skin, nevi and melanoma samples implicates loss of IGFBP7 expression as a critical step in melanoma genesis.

The Ras-like GTPases, RalA and RalB, are key components of the oncogenic Ras signaling network. Recent evidence suggests that RalA and RalB collaborate to support tumorigenic transformation through distinct cell regulatory events. While RalA is apparently required to bypass normal restraints on cell proliferation, RalB is required to bypass normal restraints on cell survival. A direct Ral effector protein, Sec5, is a subunit of the exocyst complex, and is required to mediate RalB-dependent survival signals in transformed cells. Further analysis identified TBK1, a key mediator of the host defense response to viral challenge, as a novel Sec5 interacting protein essential for the capacity of RalB and Sec5 to deflect cell death in transformed cells. RalB activation promotes a direct interaction between Sec5 and TBK1 that results in TBK1 kinase activation via an unknown mechanism. Accordingly, both RalB and Sec5 are required for initiating host defense pathway activation upon virus infection. These observations revealed a novel relationship between molecular components of cell-autonomous innate immune signaling pathways and oncogenic transformation, and identified TBK1 as a potential target for therapeutic intervention in cancer. Here we describe details of methods, including protein complex analysis, protein kinase assays, host defense-response pathway activation, and cell transformation analysis, that can be used to investigate the contribution of the RalB-Sec5-TBK1 signaling cascade to both innate immune signaling and cell transformation.