Abstract A109: A signal peptide as a putative tool against MMTV-associated breast cancers

Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus (MMTV) causes mammary carcinoma and lymphoma in mice. An increasing body of evidence from different laboratories suggests an association between MMTV and up to 38% of human breast cancers. This seems related to severity of the disease and geographical location. Signal peptides are N-terminal extensions of nascent secretory and membrane proteins (typically including 15-25 amino acid residues). They mediate translocation across, or insertion into the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The signal peptide of Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus (MMTV) envelop precursor (named MMTV-14 or p14 for short), in addition to being unusually long (98 a.a) demonstrates some unique characteristics: 1) It localizes to nucleoli; 2) It functions as a nuclear export factor for intron-containing viral transcripts; 3) It can function in a pro-oncogenic or anti-oncogenic capacity depending on its phosphorylation by the kinases CK2 (at serine 65) or PKC (at serine 18), respectively. We report that, in addition to its nucleolar localization, p14 is expressed on the cell surface of murine lymphomas and mammary carcinomas that harbor MMTV, as well as on the surface of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells ectopically expressing p14. Cell surface expression allows p14 to play the role of a tumor associated antigen. Indeed, priming and boosting of mice with recombinant p14, using different adjuvants, induces specific anti-p14 antibodies, as well as immunizes these mice against malignant tumor cells that harbor MMTV. This immunity is adoptively transferred to naïve mice. Thus, MMTV-p14 is a multi-faceted signal peptide with immune modulating characteristics that can be used for developing both preventive and therapeutic approaches towards MMTV-associated breast cancers. Supported in part by a Kamin grant from the Office of the Chief Scientist. Citation Format: Ori Braitbard, Allan Bar-Sinai, Maayan Roniger, Dana Rajchman, Nira Hochman, Jacob Hochman. A signal peptide as a putative tool against MMTV-associated breast cancers. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Breast Cancer Research: Genetics, Biology, and Clinical Applications; Oct 3-6, 2013; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2013;11(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A109.