La NEM1 est un syndrome cancéreux affectant de nombreuses glandes endocrines, qui résulte d’une prédisposition génétique liée à des mutations du gène MEN1. La Menin, protéine codée par MEN1 possède de nombreux partenaires qui interviennent dans la dynamique de la chromatine, la régulation de la transcription et de la stabilité du génome. Le besoin de mieux connaître les fonctions biochimiques de la Menin m’a conduit à tenter de produire la protéine purifiée en grande quantité. Ce faisant, j’ai pu apporter des informations sur la structure de la Menin. Sur un plan fonctionnel, j’ai étudié l’interaction entre Menin et l’oncosuppresseur p53, et montré que certaines modifications post-traductionnelles de p53 déterminantes pour son activité et sa stabilité en réponse à un stress génotoxique, n’affectent pas l’interaction, rendant possible que ce soient des modifications de la Menin qui y jouent un rôle déterminant. J’ai ainsi montré que la Menin pouvait être mono-ubiquitinée. La Menin interfère également avec un autre régulateur du cycle cellulaire, la protéine RB dont elle semble réguler le niveau de phosphorylation et peut-être même la quantité totale dans la cellule. / MEN1 is a cancer syndrome affecting many endocrine glands, which results from a genetic predisposition related to mutations of the MEN1 gene. Menin, the protein encoded by MEN1 has many partners that play a role in the dynamics of chromatin and in the regulation of the transcription and of genome stability. The need for knowing better the biochemical functions of Menin led me to try to produce the purified protein in great quantity. By doing this, I could bring information on the structure of Menin. On a functional level, I studied the interaction between Menin and the oncosuppressor p53, and showed that certain post-translational modifications of p53 crucial for its activity and its stability in response to a genotoxic stress, do not affect the interaction, making possible that modifications of Menin play a determining role there. I thus showed that Menin could be monoubiquitinylated. Menin also interferes with another regulator of the cell cycle, the protein RB of which it seems to control the level of phosphorylation and perhaps even the total amount in the cell.

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<p>Menin is a tumour suppressor protein associated with the MEN1 hereditary cancer syndrome. Numerous protein interactions have been identified for menin but its specific function in tumour suppression remains enigmatic. Since the protein is well conserved, the <em>Drosophila</em> model system was used to study menin protein interactions in hopes of further elucidating menin function. In this study, two menin protein interactions were examined; the first was a novel interaction with <em>Drosophila</em> fas-associated death domain (dFADD), an important protein in innate immune signalling and the second was a conserved interaction with Trithorax (Trx), a histone methyltransferase important for activation of gene expression. Both these interactions were confirmed through co-immunoprecipitation in <em>Drosophila</em> S2 cells. Unlike <em>dFADD</em> mutants that are highly susceptible to bacterial infection, <em>Mnn1</em> mutants display normal resistance, suggesting that menin does not play an essential role in innate immune signalling. Moreover, <em>dFADD</em> mutants do not display a heat shock sensitivity phenotype, as previously reported for <em>Mnn1</em> mutants. The importance of the menin-Trx interaction in the regulation of heat shock gene expression was examined since both proteins were independently shown to be necessary for proper expression of <em>hsp70</em>. Chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses demonstrate that menin and Trx co-localize in the coding region of <em>hsp70</em>. Heat shock results in a loss of menin and an increase in Trx localization at <em>hsp70</em> and the proteins fail to co-immunoprecipitate with prolonged heat stress, suggesting a complex regulation of the interaction. Due to the recently identified interactions between mammalian menin and proteins of the insulin signalling pathway, a potential role for <em>Drosophila</em> menin in this pathway was examined. <em>Mnn1</em> mutants display increased desiccation and starvation resistance, similar to other positive regulators of insulin signalling. Overall, this thesis describes a novel interaction between menin and dFADD and a conserved interaction with Trx and also proposes a potential role for menin in the <em>Drosophila</em> insulin signalling pathway.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is an aggressive lymphoproliferative disorder associated with human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection. Reactivation of telomerase, a critical event in tumor progression observed in late phases of ATL development, has been shown to be caused by HBZ (HTLV-1 bZIP factor), a regulatory protein encoded by the negative strand of the HTLV-1 genome. The HBZ-mediated up-regulation of the telomerase catalytic subunit is dependent on JunD, which in the cellular context occurs in the complex with menin, the product of the MEN-1 tumor suppressor gene. Interaction with menin represses JunD-dependent transcription and converts JunD into a growth suppressor, whereas it acts as a growth promoter in the absence of menin. My results demonstrate that the viral protein HBZ abrogates tumor suppressor function of menin, resulting in the activation of JunD transcriptional activity and finally in the up-regulation of its target gene, the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT). I showed that HBZ, JunD and menin can coexist in the same protein complex and that HBZ and menin exert opposite effects on JunD transcriptional activity. Moreover menin inhibits the JunD-mediated activation of the hTERT proximal promoter and HBZ is able to counteract this effect. Finally, I proposed that HBZ, by recruiting p300 histone acetyltransferase, reverses the histone deacetylation conducted by menin-recruited HDACs and therefore up-regulates the expression of the hTERT gene. Altogether, my work led to the identification of the molecular mechanism leading to the functional impairment of the menin tumor suppressor, which results in the deregulation of AP-1 signaling in HTLV-1 infected cells. Finally this work gave new insights into the mechanism of the transcriptional up-regulation of the hTERT gene upon HTLV-1 infection, being a key event during the development of Adult T-cell leukemia and a necessary step towards the progression into more aggressive courses.

<p>Understanding signalling pathways that control pancreatic endocrine tumour (PET) development and proliferation may reveal novel targets for therapeutic intervention. The pathogenesis for sporadic and hereditary PETs, apart from mutations of the <i>MEN1</i> and <i>VHL</i> tumour suppressor genes, is still elusive. The protein product of the <i>MEN1</i> gene, menin, regulates many genes. The aim of this thesis was to identify genes involved in pancreatic endocrine tumourigenesis, with special reference to Notch signalling.</p><p>Messenger RNA and protein expression of NOTCH1, HES1, HEY1, ASCL1, NEUROG3, NEUROD1, DLK1, POU3F4, PDX1, RPL10, DKK1 and TPH1 were studied in human PETs, sporadic and MEN 1, as well as in tumours from heterozygous <i>Men1</i> mice. For comparison, normal and <i>MEN1</i> non-tumourous human and mouse pancreatic specimens were used. Nuclear expression of HES1 was consistently absent in PETs. In mouse tumours this coincided with loss of menin expression, and there was a correlation between <i>Men1</i> expression and several Notch signalling factors. A new phenotype consisting of numerous menin-expressing endocrine cell clusters, smaller than islets, was found in <i>Men1</i> mice. Expression of NEUROG3 and NEUROD1 was predominantly localised to the cytoplasm in PETs and islets from MEN 1 patients and <i>Men1</i> mice, whereas expression was solely nuclear in wt mice. Differences in expression levels of Pou3f4, Rpl10 and Dlk1 between islets of <i>Men1</i> and wt mice were observed.</p><p>In addition, combined RNA interference and microarray expression analysis in the pancreatic endocrine cell line BON1 identified 158 target genes of ASCL1. For two of these, DKK1 (a negative regulator of the WNT/β-catenin signalling pathway) and TPH1, immunohistochemistry was performed on PETs. In concordance with the microarray finding, DKK1 expression showed an inverse relation to ASCL1 expression.</p><p>Altered subcellular localisation of HES1, NEUROD1 and NEUROG3 and down-regulation of DKK1 may contribute to tumourigenesis.</p>

La leucémie T de l’adulte (ATL) est une pathologie lympho-proliférative aiguë associée à l’infection par le virus HTLV-1 (human T-cell leukemia virus type 1). La réactivation de la télomérase observée lors de la phase tardive du développement de l’ATL est un évènement crucial dans la progression tumorale. Elle est induite au niveau transcriptionnel par la protéine HBZ (HTLV-1 bZIP factor) et est dépendante du facteur de transcription JunD. Ce dernier est normalement associé en complexe avec le produit du gène suppresseur de tumeur MEN-1, la ménine, dont l’interaction avec JunD réprime la transcription JunD-dépendante et convertit JunD en inhibiteur de croissance.Mes résultats démontrent que la protéine virale HBZ inhibe la fonction suppresseur de tumeur de la ménine, induisant l’activité transcriptionnelle de JunD et donc l’activation de la transcription de son gène cible : la transcriptase inverse télomérase humaine (hTERT). J’ai démontré que HBZ, JunD et la ménine peuvent coexister dans un même complexe protéique et que HBZ et la ménine ont des effets opposés sur l’activité transcriptionnelle de JunD. En effet la ménine inhibe l’activation du promoteur proximal d’hTERT par JunD, alors que HBZ est capable de contre balancer cet effet. Finalement, je propose qu’en recrutant l’histone acétyltransférase p300, HBZ réverse la déacétylation des histones induite par le recrutement des HDACs par la ménine et par conséquent active le promoteur d’hTERT. L’ensemble de ces résultats a permis d’identifier les mécanismes moléculaires aboutissant à l’inhibition fonctionnelle de la protéine suppresseur de tumeur ménine, résultant en la dérégulation de la voie AP-1 dans les cellules infectées par HTLV-1. Finalement, ce travail apporte de nouvelles précisions sur le mécanisme de la surexpression transcriptionnelle de la télomérase lors de l’infection par HTLV-1, une étape importante de la mise en place et du développement de la leucémie T de l’adulte vers des stades plus agressifs. / Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is an aggressive lymphoproliferative disorder associated with human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infection. Reactivation of telomerase, a critical event in tumor progression observed in late phases of ATL development, has been shown to be caused by HBZ (HTLV-1 bZIP factor), a regulatory protein encoded by the negative strand of the HTLV-1 genome. The HBZ-mediated up-regulation of the telomerase catalytic subunit is dependent on JunD, which in the cellular context occurs in the complex with menin, the product of the MEN-1 tumor suppressor gene. Interaction with menin represses JunD-dependent transcription and converts JunD into a growth suppressor, whereas it acts as a growth promoter in the absence of menin. My results demonstrate that the viral protein HBZ abrogates tumor suppressor function of menin, resulting in the activation of JunD transcriptional activity and finally in the up-regulation of its target gene, the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT). I showed that HBZ, JunD and menin can coexist in the same protein complex and that HBZ and menin exert opposite effects on JunD transcriptional activity. Moreover menin inhibits the JunD-mediated activation of the hTERT proximal promoter and HBZ is able to counteract this effect. Finally, I proposed that HBZ, by recruiting p300 histone acetyltransferase, reverses the histone deacetylation conducted by menin-recruited HDACs and therefore up-regulates the expression of the hTERT gene. Altogether, my work led to the identification of the molecular mechanism leading to the functional impairment of the menin tumor suppressor, which results in the deregulation of AP-1 signaling in HTLV-1 infected cells. Finally this work gave new insights into the mechanism of the transcriptional up-regulation of the hTERT gene upon HTLV-1 infection, being a key event during the development of Adult T-cell leukemia and a necessary step towards the progression into more aggressive courses.

Understanding signalling pathways that control pancreatic endocrine tumour (PET) development and proliferation may reveal novel targets for therapeutic intervention. The pathogenesis for sporadic and hereditary PETs, apart from mutations of the MEN1 and VHL tumour suppressor genes, is still elusive. The protein product of the MEN1 gene, menin, regulates many genes. The aim of this thesis was to identify genes involved in pancreatic endocrine tumourigenesis, with special reference to Notch signalling. Messenger RNA and protein expression of NOTCH1, HES1, HEY1, ASCL1, NEUROG3, NEUROD1, DLK1, POU3F4, PDX1, RPL10, DKK1 and TPH1 were studied in human PETs, sporadic and MEN 1, as well as in tumours from heterozygous Men1 mice. For comparison, normal and MEN1 non-tumourous human and mouse pancreatic specimens were used. Nuclear expression of HES1 was consistently absent in PETs. In mouse tumours this coincided with loss of menin expression, and there was a correlation between Men1 expression and several Notch signalling factors. A new phenotype consisting of numerous menin-expressing endocrine cell clusters, smaller than islets, was found in Men1 mice. Expression of NEUROG3 and NEUROD1 was predominantly localised to the cytoplasm in PETs and islets from MEN 1 patients and Men1 mice, whereas expression was solely nuclear in wt mice. Differences in expression levels of Pou3f4, Rpl10 and Dlk1 between islets of Men1 and wt mice were observed. In addition, combined RNA interference and microarray expression analysis in the pancreatic endocrine cell line BON1 identified 158 target genes of ASCL1. For two of these, DKK1 (a negative regulator of the WNT/β-catenin signalling pathway) and TPH1, immunohistochemistry was performed on PETs. In concordance with the microarray finding, DKK1 expression showed an inverse relation to ASCL1 expression. Altered subcellular localisation of HES1, NEUROD1 and NEUROG3 and down-regulation of DKK1 may contribute to tumourigenesis.

La Néoplasie Endocrinienne Multiple de type1 (NEM1) est une maladie à transmission autosomique dominante liée à l'inactivation du gène MEN1 codant pour la protéine ménine. Bien que ménine soit exprimée dans tous les tissus testés de l'organisme, elle n'a un effet oncosuppresseur que dans les cellules endocrines. L'hypothèse de mon travail est que ménine interagit avec des fonctions endocrines spécifiques. J'ai ciblé mes études sur une lignée de cellules β pancréatiques INS-1 dans laquelle j'ai étudié la réponse cellulaire au glucose et la régulation du facteur de transcription MAFA en fonction de la variation de l'expression de ménine. Nos résultats ont démontré que l'inhibition de ménine augmente l'incorporation de BrdU en réponse au glucose dans les cellules INS-1, ainsi que l'expression de plusieurs gènes impliqués dans la prolifération de ces cellules. Cette inhibition de ménine est associée avec une réduction dramatique de l'expression de MafA, et celle de certains gènes cibles de MafA. Par ailleurs, la surexpression de la forme sauvage, et non pas des formes mutées de ménine, stimule l'expression de MafA. La variation de l'expression de MafA étant également associée à une variation du taux de prolifération cellulaire. D'autre part, les études in vivo ont montré une bonne corrélation entre le niveau d'expression de ménine et celui de MafA dans les insulinomes du rat et de l'homme. En conclusion, mon travail de thèse a permis de mieux clarifier la fonction biologique de ménine dans les cellules β, et de mettre en évidence l'implication potentielle du facteur MafA dans la tumorigénèse des insulinomes / Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is an autosomal dominant inherited syndrome caused by mutations of the MEN1 gene coding for the protein menin. Although menin is expressed in all tested tissues, its oncosuppressor effect is limited to the endocrine cells. The assumption of my work was that menin interact with specific endocrine functions. To check out this assumption, we selected the β pancreatic cell line INS-1 in which, we analysed the cellular response to glucose stimulation and the regulation of the transcription factor MAFA according to the variation of menin expression. Our results showed that menin inhibition increased BudU incorporation in response to glucose stimulation in INS-1 cells, as well as the expression of several genes involved in the proliferation of these cells. Menin inhibition was associated with a dramatic reduction of MafA expression level, and some of its targeted genes. Interestingly, wild type menin overexpression, but not mutant forms, stimulated MafA expression. Interestingly, modification of MafA expression modified proliferation rate of INS-1 cells. In addition, the in vivo studies, showed a good correlation between menin and MafA expression levels in both rat and human insulinoma. In conclusion, my thesis work results clarified the biological function of menin in β cells, and highlighted the potential implication of MafA factor in insulinoma tumorigenesis