Identification and characterization of a new oncogene derived from the regulatory subunit of phosphoinositide 3-kinase

p85/p110 phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) is a heterodimer composed of a p85-regulatory and a p110-catalytic subunit, which is involved in a variety of cellular responses including cytoskeletal organization, cell survival and proliferation. We describe here the cloning and characterization of p65-PI3K, a mutant of the regulatory subunit of PI3K, which includes the initial 571 residues of the wild type p85 alpha-protein linked to a region conserved in the eph tyrosine kinase receptor family. We demonstrate that this mutation, obtained from a transformed cell, unlike previously engineered mutations of the regulatory subunit, induces the constitutive activation of PI3K and contributes to cellular transformation. This report links the PI3K enzyme to mammalian tumor development for the first time.