Alterations of anaphase-promoting complex genes in human colon cancer cells

Ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis of cell cycle regulators is a major element of the cell cycle control. The anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C) is a large multisubunit ubiquitin-protein ligase required for the ubiquitination and degradation of G1 and mitotic checkpoint regulators. APC/C-dependent proteolysis regulates cyclin levels in G1, and triggers the separation of sister chromatids at the metaphase-anaphase transition and the destruction of mitotic cyclins at the end of mitosis. Furthermore, it was recently shown that APC/C regulates the degradation of crucial regulators of signal transduction pathways. We report here gene alterations in several components of this complex in human colon cancer cells, including APC6/CDC16 and APC8/CDC23 which are known to be key function elements. The experimental expression of a truncation mutant of APC8/CDC23 subunit (CDC23DeltaTPR) leads to abnormal levels of APC/C targets such as cyclin B1 and disturbs the cell cycle progression of colon epithelial cells through mitosis. Overall, these data support the hypothesis of a deleterious role of these mutations during colorectal carcinogenesis.