TRIP-Br1 oncogenic protein has been shown to have multiple biological functions in cells. In this study, we demonstrate that TRIP-Br1 functions as an oncoprotein by inhibiting autophagy, apoptosis, and necroptosis of cancer cells and eventually helping them to survive under the nutrient/serum starved condition. TRIP-Br1 expression level was significantly increased in conditions with low levels of nutrients. Nutrient depleted conditions were induced by culturing cancer cells until they were overcrowded with high cell density or in media deprived of glucose, amino acids, or serum. Among them, serum starvation significantly enhanced the expression of TRIP-Br1 only in all tested breast cancer cell lines (MCF7, MDA-MB-231, T47D, MDA-MB-435, Hs578D, BT549, and MDA-MB-435) but not in the three normal cell lines (MCF10A, HfCH8, and NIH3T3). As compared with the control cells, the introduction of TRIP-Br1 silencing siRNA into MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells accelerated cell death by inducing apoptosis and necroptosis. In this process, TRIP-Br1 confers resistance to serum starvation-induced cell deaths by stabilizing the XIAP protein and inhibiting cellular ROS production. Moreover, our data also show that the intracellular increase of TRIP-Br1 protein resulting from serum starvation seems to occur in part through the blockage of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.
Keywords: TRIP-Br1; apoptosis; autophagy; necroptosis; nutrient/serum starvation.