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Hu Y, Recouvreux MS, Haro M, Taylan E, Taylor-Harding B, Walts AE, Karlan BY, Orsulic S. INHBA(+) cancer-associated fibroblasts generate an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment in ovarian cancer. NPJ Precis Oncol 2024; 8:35. [PMID: 38360876 PMCID: PMC10869703 DOI: 10.1038/s41698-024-00523-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Effective targeting of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) is hindered by the lack of specific biomarkers and a poor understanding of the mechanisms by which different populations of CAFs contribute to cancer progression. While the role of TGFβ in CAFs is well-studied, less attention has been focused on a structurally and functionally similar protein, Activin A (encoded by INHBA). Here, we identified INHBA(+) CAFs as key players in tumor promotion and immunosuppression. Spatiotemporal analyses of patient-matched primary, metastatic, and recurrent ovarian carcinomas revealed that aggressive metastatic tumors enriched in INHBA(+) CAFs were also enriched in regulatory T cells (Tregs). In ovarian cancer mouse models, intraperitoneal injection of the Activin A neutralizing antibody attenuated tumor progression and infiltration with pro-tumorigenic subsets of myofibroblasts and macrophages. Downregulation of INHBA in human ovarian CAFs inhibited pro-tumorigenic CAF functions. Co-culture of human ovarian CAFs and T cells revealed the dependence of Treg differentiation on direct contact with INHBA(+) CAFs. Mechanistically, INHBA/recombinant Activin A in CAFs induced the autocrine expression of PD-L1 through SMAD2-dependent signaling, which promoted Treg differentiation. Collectively, our study identified an INHBA(+) subset of immunomodulatory pro-tumoral CAFs as a potential therapeutic target in advanced ovarian cancers which typically show a poor response to immunotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ye Hu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Department of Gastroenterology, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Maria Sol Recouvreux
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Marcela Haro
- Women's Cancer Program, Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, 90048, USA
| | - Enes Taylan
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Barbie Taylor-Harding
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Ann E Walts
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, 90048, USA
| | - Beth Y Karlan
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Sandra Orsulic
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
- Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
- United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, 90073, USA.
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Kappes EC, Kattamuri C, Czepnik M, Yarawsky AE, Brûlé E, Wang Y, Ongaro L, Herr AB, Walton KL, Bernard DJ, Thompson TB. Follistatin Forms a Stable Complex With Inhibin A That Does Not Interfere With Activin A Antagonism. Endocrinology 2023; 164:7010688. [PMID: 36718082 DOI: 10.1210/endocr/bqad017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Inhibins are transforming growth factor-β family heterodimers that suppress follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) secretion by antagonizing activin class ligands. Inhibins share a common β chain with activin ligands. Follistatin is another activin antagonist, known to bind the common β chain of both activins and inhibins. In this study, we characterized the antagonist-antagonist complex of inhibin A and follistatin to determine if their interaction impacted activin A antagonism. We isolated the inhibin A:follistatin 288 complex, showing that it forms in a 1:1 stoichiometric ratio, different from previously reported homodimeric ligand:follistatin complexes, which bind in a 1:2 ratio. Small angle X-ray scattering coupled with modeling provided a low-resolution structure of inhibin A in complex with follistatin 288. Inhibin binds follistatin via the shared activin β chain, leaving the α chain free and flexible. The inhibin A:follistatin 288 complex was also shown to bind heparin with lower affinity than follistatin 288 alone or in complex with activin A. Characterizing the inhibin A:follistatin 288 complex in an activin-responsive luciferase assay and by surface plasmon resonance indicated that the inhibitor complex readily dissociated upon binding type II receptor activin receptor type IIb, allowing both antagonists to inhibit activin signaling. Additionally, injection of the complex in ovariectomized female mice did not alter inhibin A suppression of FSH. Taken together, this study shows that while follistatin binds to inhibin A with a substochiometric ratio relative to the activin homodimer, the complex can dissociate readily, allowing both proteins to effectively antagonize activin signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily C Kappes
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Chandramohan Kattamuri
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Magdalena Czepnik
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | | | - Emilie Brûlé
- Departments of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Ying Wang
- Departments of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Luisina Ongaro
- Departments of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Andrew B Herr
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Kelly L Walton
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Department of Physiology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Daniel J Bernard
- Departments of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Departments of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Thomas B Thompson
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, and Microbiology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA
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Chinnam NB, Syed A, Burnett KH, Hura GL, Tainer JA, Tsutakawa SE. Universally Accessible Structural Data on Macromolecular Conformation, Assembly, and Dynamics by Small Angle X-Ray Scattering for DNA Repair Insights. Methods Mol Biol 2022; 2444:43-68. [PMID: 35290631 PMCID: PMC9020468 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2063-2_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Structures provide a critical breakthrough step for biological analyses, and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is a powerful structural technique to study dynamic DNA repair proteins. As toxic and mutagenic repair intermediates need to be prevented from inadvertently harming the cell, DNA repair proteins often chaperone these intermediates through dynamic conformations, coordinated assemblies, and allosteric regulation. By measuring structural conformations in solution for both proteins, DNA, RNA, and their complexes, SAXS provides insight into initial DNA damage recognition, mechanisms for validation of their substrate, and pathway regulation. Here, we describe exemplary SAXS analyses of a DNA damage response protein spanning from what can be derived directly from the data to obtaining super resolution through the use of SAXS selection of atomic models. We outline strategies and tactics for practical SAXS data collection and analysis. Making these structural experiments in reach of any basic and clinical researchers who have protein, SAXS data can readily be collected at government-funded synchrotrons, typically at no cost for academic researchers. In addition to discussing how SAXS complements and enhances cryo-electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, NMR, and computational modeling, we furthermore discuss taking advantage of recent advances in protein structure prediction in combination with SAXS analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naga Babu Chinnam
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Aleem Syed
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Kathryn H Burnett
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Greg L Hura
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA
| | - John A Tainer
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Susan E Tsutakawa
- Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA.
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