1
|
Meneceur S, Grunewald CM, Niegisch G, Hoffmann MJ. Epigenetic Priming and Development of New Combination Therapy Approaches. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2684:259-281. [PMID: 37410240 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3291-8_16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/07/2023]
Abstract
Muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (MIBC) has been treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy for over 30 years. With the advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors, antibody drug conjugates and FGFR3 inhibitors new therapeutic options have been approved for patients with urothelial carcinoma (UC) and are still under investigation regarding association between patients' response and recently defined molecular subtypes. Unfortunately, similar to chemotherapy, only a fraction of UC patients responds to these new treatment approaches. Thus, either further new efficacious therapeutic options for treatment of individual subtypes or new approaches to overcome treatment resistance and to increase patients' response to standard of care treatment are needed.Epigenetic modifications of DNA and chromatin are known to mediate cellular plasticity or treatment resistance, and the responsible epigenetic regulators are frequently mutated or aberrantly expressed in UC. Thus, these enzymes provide targets for novel drug combination therapies to "episensitize" toward approved standard therapies by epigenetic priming. In general, these epigenetic regulators comprise writers and erasers like DNA methyltransferases and DNA demethylases (for DNA methylation), histone methyltransferases and histone demethylases (for histone methylation), as well as acetyl transferases and histone deacetylases (for histone and nonhistone acetylation). Such modifications, e.g., acetyl groups, are recognized by further epigenetic reader proteins, e.g., like the bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) family proteins that often interact in multi-protein complexes and finally regulate chromatin conformation and transcriptional activity.Concurringly, epigenetic regulators target a plethora of cellular functions. Their pharmaceutical inhibitors often inhibit enzymatic activity of more than one isoenzyme or may have further noncanonical cytotoxic effects. Thus, analysis of their functions in UC pathogenesis as well as of the antineoplastic capacity of corresponding inhibitors alone or in combination with other approved drugs should follow a multidimensional approach. Here, we present our standard approach to analyze cellular effects of new epigenetic inhibitors on UC cells alone to define their potency and to conclude on putative reasonable combination therapy partners. We further describe our approach to identify efficacious synergistic combination therapies (e.g., with cisplatin or PARP inhibitors) that may have reduced normal toxicity through dose reduction, which can then be further analyzed in animal experiments. This approach may also serve as prototype for the preclinical evaluation of other epigenetic treatment approaches.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Meneceur
- Department of Urology, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Duesseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Camilla M Grunewald
- Department of Urology, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Duesseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Günter Niegisch
- Department of Urology, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Duesseldorf, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany
| | - Michèle J Hoffmann
- Department of Urology, Medical Faculty and University Hospital, Heinrich-Heine-University Duesseldorf, Duesseldorf, Germany.
- German Study Group of Bladder Cancer (DFBK e.V.), Munich, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
The role of tumour microenvironment-driven miRNAs in the chemoresistance of muscle-invasive bladder cancer-a review. Urol Oncol 2022; 40:133-148. [PMID: 35246373 DOI: 10.1016/j.urolonc.2022.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Successful treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer is challenged by the ability of cancer cells to resist chemotherapy. While enormous progress has been made toward understanding the divergent molecular mechanisms underlying chemoresistance, the heterogenous interplay between the bladder tumour and its microenvironment presents significant challenges in comprehending the occurrence of chemoresistance. The last decade has seen exponential interest in the exploration of microRNA (miRNA) as a tool in the management of chemoresistance. In this review, we highlight the miRNAs involved in the tumour microenvironment crosstalk that contributes to the chemoresistance in bladder cancer. Decrypting the role of miRNAs in the interplay beholds scope for future clinical translational application in managing the long-standing concerns of chemoresistance in muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
Collapse
|
3
|
Skowron MA, Oing C, Bremmer F, Ströbel P, Murray MJ, Coleman N, Amatruda JF, Honecker F, Bokemeyer C, Albers P, Nettersheim D. The developmental origin of cancers defines basic principles of cisplatin resistance. Cancer Lett 2021; 519:199-210. [PMID: 34320371 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2021.07.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Revised: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
Cisplatin-based chemotherapy has been used for more than four decades as a standard therapeutic option in several tumor entities. However, being a multifaceted and heterogeneous phenomenon, inherent or acquired resistance to cisplatin remains a major obstacle during the treatment of several solid malignancies and inevitably results in disease progression. Hence, we felt there was an urgent need to evaluate common mechanisms between multifarious cancer entities to identify patient-specific therapeutic strategies. We found joint molecular and (epi)genetic resistance mechanisms and specific cisplatin-induced mutational signatures that depended on the developmental origin (endo-, meso-, ectoderm) of the tumor tissue. Based on the findings of thirteen tumor entities, we identified three resistance groups, where Group 1 (endodermal origin) prominently indicates NRF2-pathway activation, Group 2 (mesodermal origin, primordial germ cells) shares elevated DNA repair mechanisms and decreased apoptosis induction, and Group 3 (ectodermal and paraxial mesodermal origin) commonly presents deregulated apoptosis induction and alternating pathways as the main cisplatin-induced resistance mechanisms. This review further proposes potential and novel therapeutic strategies to improve the outcome of cisplatin-based chemotherapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Margaretha A Skowron
- Department of Urology, Urological Research Laboratory, Translational UroOncology, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
| | - Christoph Oing
- Department of Oncology, Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation with Section of Pneumology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinsstraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; Mildred Scheel Cancer Career Center HaTriCs4, University Cancer Center Hamburg, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinsstraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Felix Bremmer
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Str.4, 37075 Gottingen, Germany.
| | - Philipp Ströbel
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Str.4, 37075 Gottingen, Germany.
| | - Matthew J Murray
- Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QP, UK; Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK.
| | - Nicholas Coleman
- Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QP, UK; Department of Histopathology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK.
| | - James F Amatruda
- Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, Cancer and Blood Disease Institute, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, University of Southern California, 1975 Zonal Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
| | - Friedemann Honecker
- Laboratory of Experimental Oncology, Department of Oncology, Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation with Section Pneumology, Hubertus Wald-Tumorzentrum, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinsstraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; Tumor and Breast Center ZeTuP St. Gallen, Rorschacher Strasse 150, 9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland.
| | - Carsten Bokemeyer
- Department of Oncology, Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation with Section of Pneumology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinsstraße 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Peter Albers
- Department of Urology, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University, Moorenstraße 5, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
| | - Daniel Nettersheim
- Department of Urology, Urological Research Laboratory, Translational UroOncology, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University, Universitätsstraße 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
High-throughput screening for natural compound-based autophagy modulators reveals novel chemotherapeutic mode of action for arzanol. Cell Death Dis 2021; 12:560. [PMID: 34059630 PMCID: PMC8167120 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-021-03830-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Autophagy is an intracellular recycling pathway with implications for intracellular homeostasis and cell survival. Its pharmacological modulation can aid chemotherapy by sensitizing cancer cells toward approved drugs and overcoming chemoresistance. Recent translational data on autophagy modulators show promising results in reducing tumor growth and metastasis, but also reveal a need for more specific compounds and novel lead structures. Here, we searched for such autophagy-modulating compounds in a flow cytometry-based high-throughput screening of an in-house natural compound library. We successfully identified novel inducers and inhibitors of the autophagic pathway. Among these, we identified arzanol as an autophagy-modulating drug that causes the accumulation of ATG16L1-positive structures, while it also induces the accumulation of lipidated LC3. Surprisingly, we observed a reduction of the size of autophagosomes compared to the bafilomycin control and a pronounced accumulation of p62/SQSTM1 in response to arzanol treatment in HeLa cells. We, therefore, speculate that arzanol acts both as an inducer of early autophagosome biogenesis and as an inhibitor of later autophagy events. We further show that arzanol is able to sensitize RT-112 bladder cancer cells towards cisplatin (CDDP). Its anticancer activity was confirmed in monotherapy against both CDDP-sensitive and -resistant bladder cancer cells. We classified arzanol as a novel mitotoxin that induces the fragmentation of mitochondria, and we identified a series of targets for arzanol that involve proteins of the class of mitochondria-associated quinone-binding oxidoreductases. Collectively, our results suggest arzanol as a valuable tool for autophagy research and as a lead compound for drug development in cancer therapy.
Collapse
|
5
|
Berning L, Schlütermann D, Friedrich A, Berleth N, Sun Y, Wu W, Mendiburo MJ, Deitersen J, Brass HUC, Skowron MA, Hoffmann MJ, Niegisch G, Pietruszka J, Stork B. Prodigiosin Sensitizes Sensitive and Resistant Urothelial Carcinoma Cells to Cisplatin Treatment. Molecules 2021; 26:1294. [PMID: 33673611 PMCID: PMC7957586 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26051294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Revised: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Cisplatin-based treatment is the standard of care therapy for urothelial carcinomas. However, complex cisplatin resistance mechanisms limit the success of this approach. Both apoptosis and autophagy have been shown to contribute to this resistance. Prodigiosin, a secondary metabolite from various bacteria, exerts different biological activities including the modulation of these two cellular stress response pathways. We analyzed the effect of prodigiosin on protein levels of different autophagy- and apoptosis-related proteins in cisplatin-sensitive and -resistant urothelial carcinoma cells (UCCs). Furthermore, we investigated the effect on cell viability of prodigiosin alone or in combination with cisplatin. We made use of four different pairs of cisplatin-sensitive and -resistant UCCs. We found that prodigiosin blocked autophagy in UCCs and re-sensitized cisplatin-resistant cells to apoptotic cell death. Furthermore, we found that prodigiosin is a potent anticancer agent with nanomolar IC50 values in all tested UCCs. In combination studies, we observed that prodigiosin sensitized both cisplatin-sensitive and -resistant urothelial carcinoma cell lines to cisplatin treatment with synergistic effects in most tested cell lines. These effects of prodigiosin are at least partially mediated by altering lysosomal function, since we detected reduced activities of cathepsin B and L. We propose that prodigiosin is a promising candidate for the therapy of cisplatin-resistant urothelial carcinomas, either as a single agent or in combinatory therapeutic approaches.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lena Berning
- Institute of Molecular Medicine I, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (L.B.); (D.S.); (A.F.); (N.B.); (Y.S.); (W.W.); (M.J.M.); (J.D.)
| | - David Schlütermann
- Institute of Molecular Medicine I, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (L.B.); (D.S.); (A.F.); (N.B.); (Y.S.); (W.W.); (M.J.M.); (J.D.)
| | - Annabelle Friedrich
- Institute of Molecular Medicine I, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (L.B.); (D.S.); (A.F.); (N.B.); (Y.S.); (W.W.); (M.J.M.); (J.D.)
| | - Niklas Berleth
- Institute of Molecular Medicine I, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (L.B.); (D.S.); (A.F.); (N.B.); (Y.S.); (W.W.); (M.J.M.); (J.D.)
| | - Yadong Sun
- Institute of Molecular Medicine I, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (L.B.); (D.S.); (A.F.); (N.B.); (Y.S.); (W.W.); (M.J.M.); (J.D.)
| | - Wenxian Wu
- Institute of Molecular Medicine I, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (L.B.); (D.S.); (A.F.); (N.B.); (Y.S.); (W.W.); (M.J.M.); (J.D.)
| | - María José Mendiburo
- Institute of Molecular Medicine I, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (L.B.); (D.S.); (A.F.); (N.B.); (Y.S.); (W.W.); (M.J.M.); (J.D.)
| | - Jana Deitersen
- Institute of Molecular Medicine I, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (L.B.); (D.S.); (A.F.); (N.B.); (Y.S.); (W.W.); (M.J.M.); (J.D.)
| | - Hannah U. C. Brass
- Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Heinrich Heine University, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Stetternicher Forst, 52428 Jülich, Germany; (H.U.C.B.); (J.P.)
- Institute for Bio- and Geosciences 1: Bioorganic Chemistry (IBG-1), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Margaretha A. Skowron
- Department of Urology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (M.A.S.); (M.J.H.); (G.N.)
| | - Michèle J. Hoffmann
- Department of Urology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (M.A.S.); (M.J.H.); (G.N.)
| | - Günter Niegisch
- Department of Urology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (M.A.S.); (M.J.H.); (G.N.)
| | - Jörg Pietruszka
- Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Heinrich Heine University, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Stetternicher Forst, 52428 Jülich, Germany; (H.U.C.B.); (J.P.)
- Institute for Bio- and Geosciences 1: Bioorganic Chemistry (IBG-1), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52428 Jülich, Germany
| | - Björn Stork
- Institute of Molecular Medicine I, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; (L.B.); (D.S.); (A.F.); (N.B.); (Y.S.); (W.W.); (M.J.M.); (J.D.)
| |
Collapse
|