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Bhat AM, Mohapatra BC, Luan H, Mushtaq I, Chakraborty S, Kumar S, Wu W, Nolan B, Dutta S, Stock MD, Schott M, Meza JL, Lele SM, Lin MF, Cook LM, Corey E, Morrissey C, Coulter DW, Rowley J, Natarajan A, Datta K, Band V, Band H. GD2 and its biosynthetic enzyme GD3 synthase promote tumorigenesis in prostate cancer by regulating cancer stem cell behavior. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.03.18.533299. [PMID: 36993422 PMCID: PMC10055271 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.18.533299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
While better management of loco-regional prostate cancer (PC) has greatly improved survival, advanced PC remains a major cause of cancer deaths. Identification of novel targetable pathways that contribute to tumor progression in PC could open new therapeutic options. The di-ganglioside GD2 is a target of FDA-approved antibody therapies in neuroblastoma, but the role of GD2 in PC is unexplored. Here, we show that GD2 is expressed in a small subpopulation of PC cells in a subset of patients and a higher proportion of metastatic tumors. Variable levels of cell surface GD2 expression were seen on many PC cell lines, and the expression was highly upregulated by experimental induction of lineage progression or enzalutamide resistance in CRPC cell models. GD2high cell fraction was enriched upon growth of PC cells as tumorspheres and GD2high fraction was enriched in tumorsphere-forming ability. CRISPR-Cas9 knockout (KO) of the rate-limiting GD2 biosynthetic enzyme GD3 Synthase (GD3S) in GD2high CRPC cell models markedly impaired the in vitro oncogenic traits and growth as bone-implanted xenograft tumors and reduced the cancer stem cell (CSC) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) marker expression. Our results support the potential role of GD3S and its product GD2 in promoting PC tumorigenesis by maintaining cancer stem cells and suggest the potential for GD2 targeting in advanced PC.
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SOX2 Modulates the Nuclear Organization and Transcriptional Activity of the Glucocorticoid Receptor. J Mol Biol 2022; 434:167869. [PMID: 36309135 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2022.167869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Steroid receptors (SRs) are ligand-dependent transcription factors (TFs) relevant to key cellular processes in both physiology and pathology, including some types of cancer. SOX2 is a master TF of pluripotency and self-renewal of embryonic stem cells, and its dysregulation is also associated with various types of human cancers. A potential crosstalk between these TFs could be relevant in malignant cells yet, to the best of our knowledge, no formal study has been performed thus far. Here we show, by quantitative live-cell imaging microscopy, that ectopic expression of SOX2 disrupts the formation of hormone-dependent intranuclear condensates of many steroid receptors (SRs), including those formed by the glucocorticoid receptor (GR). SOX2 also reduces GR's binding to specific DNA targets and modulates its transcriptional activity. SOX2-driven effects on GR condensates do not require the intrinsically disordered N-terminal domain of the receptor and, surprisingly, neither relies on GR/SOX2 interactions. SOX2 also alters the intranuclear dynamics and compartmentalization of the SR coactivator NCoA-2 and impairs GR/NCoA-2 interactions. These results suggest an indirect mechanism underlying SOX2-driven effects on SRs involving this coactivator. Together, these results highlight that the transcriptional program elicited by GR relies on its nuclear organization and is intimately linked to the distribution of other GR partners, such as the NCoA-2 coactivator. Abnormal expression of SOX2, commonly observed in many tumors, may alter the biological action of GR and, probably, other SRs as well. Understanding this crosstalk may help to improve steroid hormone-based therapies in cancers with elevated SOX2 expression.
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Bhagirath D, Yang TL, Tabatabai ZL, Majid S, Dahiya R, Tanaka Y, Saini S. BRN4 Is a Novel Driver of Neuroendocrine Differentiation in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer and Is Selectively Released in Extracellular Vesicles with BRN2. Clin Cancer Res 2019; 25:6532-6545. [PMID: 31371344 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-19-0498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2019] [Revised: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 07/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC), an aggressive variant of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), often emerges after androgen receptor-targeted therapies such as enzalutamide or de novo, via trans-differentiation process of neuroendocrine differentiation. The mechanistic basis of neuroendocrine differentiation is poorly understood, contributing to lack of effective predictive biomarkers and late disease recognition. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of novel proneural Pit-Oct-Unc-domain transcription factors (TF) in NEPC and examine their potential as noninvasive predictive biomarkers.Experimental Design: Prostate cancer patient-derived xenograft models, clinical samples, and cellular neuroendocrine differentiation models were employed to determine the expression of TFs BRN1 and BRN4. BRN4 levels were modulated in prostate cancer cell lines followed by functional assays. Furthermore, extracellular vesicles (EV) were isolated from patient samples and cell culture models, characterized by nanoparticle tracking analyses, Western blotting, and real-time PCR. RESULTS We identify for the first time that: (i) BRN4 is amplified and overexpressed in NEPC clinical samples and that BRN4 overexpression drives neuroendocrine differentiation via its interplay with BRN2, a TF that was previously implicated in NEPC; (ii) BRN4 and BRN2 mRNA are actively released in prostate cancer EVs upon neuroendocrine differentiation induction; and (iii) enzalutamide treatment augments release of BRN4 and BRN2 in prostate cancer EVs, promoting neuroendocrine differentiation induction. CONCLUSIONS Our study identifies a novel TF that drives NEPC and suggests that as adaptive mechanism to enzalutamide treatment, prostate cancer cells express and secrete BRN4 and BRN2 in EVs that drive oncogenic reprogramming of prostate cancer cells to NEPC. Importantly, EV-associated BRN4 and BRN2 are potential novel noninvasive biomarkers to predict neuroendocrine differentiation in CRPC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Divya Bhagirath
- Department of Urology, Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Francisco and University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Thao Ly Yang
- Department of Urology, Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Francisco and University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Z Laura Tabatabai
- Department of Urology, Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Francisco and University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Shahana Majid
- Department of Urology, Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Francisco and University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Rajvir Dahiya
- Department of Urology, Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Francisco and University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Yuichiro Tanaka
- Department of Urology, Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Francisco and University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California
| | - Sharanjot Saini
- Department of Urology, Veterans Affairs Medical Center San Francisco and University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
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Response to olaparib in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer with germline BRCA2 mutation: a case report. BMC MEDICAL GENETICS 2018; 19:185. [PMID: 30333000 PMCID: PMC6192270 DOI: 10.1186/s12881-018-0703-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2018] [Accepted: 10/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Background Prostate cancer is a heterogeneous disease, meaning patients would benefit from different treatment strategies based on their molecular stratification. In recent years, several genomic studies have identified prostate cancers with defects in DNA repair genes. It is known that the PARP inhibitor, olaparib, has a significant synthetic lethal effect on tumors with BRCA 1/2 mutations, particularly in ovarian and breast cancer. Case presentation In this study, we describe a patient with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) containing a BRCA2 germline mutation who underwent olaparib treatment. The efficacy of the treatment was monitored by serum TPSA level as well as mutation levels of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) using next-generation sequencing (NGS). The patient responded to the olaparib treatment as indicated by the minimal residual levels of TPSA and tumor-specific mutations of ctDNA in plasma after four months of treatment, although the patient eventually progressed at six-month post-treatment with significantly elevated and newly acquired somatic mutations in ctDNA. Conclusions Our study provides evidence that mCRPC with BRCA2 germline mutations could response to PARP inhibitor, which improves patient’s outcome. We further demonstrated that NGS-based genetic testing on liquid biopsy can be used to dynamically monitor the efficacy of treatment.
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Fernandez HR, Gadre SM, Tan M, Graham GT, Mosaoa R, Ongkeko MS, Kim KA, Riggins RB, Parasido E, Petrini I, Pacini S, Cheema A, Varghese R, Ressom HW, Zhang Y, Albanese C, Üren A, Paige M, Giaccone G, Avantaggiati ML. The mitochondrial citrate carrier, SLC25A1, drives stemness and therapy resistance in non-small cell lung cancer. Cell Death Differ 2018; 25:1239-1258. [PMID: 29651165 PMCID: PMC6030199 DOI: 10.1038/s41418-018-0101-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2017] [Revised: 02/08/2018] [Accepted: 03/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Therapy resistance represents a clinical challenge for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which still remains an incurable disease. There is growing evidence that cancer-initiating or cancer stem cells (CSCs) provide a reservoir of slow-growing dormant populations of cells with tumor-initiating and unlimited self-renewal ability that are left behind by conventional therapies reigniting post-therapy relapse and metastatic dissemination. The metabolic pathways required for the expansion of CSCs are incompletely defined, but their understanding will likely open new therapeutic opportunities. We show here that lung CSCs rely upon oxidative phosphorylation for energy production and survival through the activity of the mitochondrial citrate transporter, SLC25A1. We demonstrate that SLC25A1 plays a key role in maintaining the mitochondrial pool of citrate and redox balance in CSCs, whereas its inhibition leads to reactive oxygen species build-up thereby inhibiting the self-renewal capability of CSCs. Moreover, in different patient-derived tumors, resistance to cisplatin or to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor treatment is acquired through SLC25A1-mediated implementation of mitochondrial activity and induction of a stemness phenotype. Hence, a newly identified specific SLC25A1 inhibitor is synthetic lethal with cisplatin or with EGFR inhibitor co-treatment and restores antitumor responses to these agents in vitro and in animal models. These data have potential clinical implications in that they unravel a metabolic vulnerability of drug-resistant lung CSCs, identify a novel SLC25A1 inhibitor and, lastly, provide the first line of evidence that drugs, which block SLC25A1 activity, when employed in combination with selected conventional antitumor agents, lead to a therapeutic benefit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harvey R Fernandez
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington D.C, 20057, USA
| | - Shreyas M Gadre
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington D.C, 20057, USA
| | - Mingjun Tan
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington D.C, 20057, USA
| | - Garrett T Graham
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington D.C, 20057, USA
| | - Rami Mosaoa
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington D.C, 20057, USA
| | - Martin S Ongkeko
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington D.C, 20057, USA
| | - Kyu Ah Kim
- Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Rebecca B Riggins
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington D.C, 20057, USA
| | - Erika Parasido
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington D.C, 20057, USA
| | - Iacopo Petrini
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Simone Pacini
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Department of Surgical, Medical and Molecular Pathology and Critical Care Medicine University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Amrita Cheema
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington D.C, 20057, USA
| | - Rency Varghese
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington D.C, 20057, USA
| | - Habtom W Ressom
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington D.C, 20057, USA
| | - Yuwen Zhang
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington D.C, 20057, USA
| | - Christopher Albanese
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington D.C, 20057, USA
| | - Aykut Üren
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington D.C, 20057, USA
| | - Mikell Paige
- Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
| | - Giuseppe Giaccone
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington D.C, 20057, USA
| | - Maria Laura Avantaggiati
- Georgetown University Medical Center, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington D.C, 20057, USA.
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