CRISPR/CAS9-mediated knockout of Abi1 inhibits p185Bcr-Abl-induced leukemogenesis and signal transduction to ERK and PI3K/Akt pathways

CRISPR technology: A versatile tool to model, screen, and reverse drug resistance in cancer

BACKGROUND

Drug resistance is a serious challenge in cancer treatment that can render chemotherapy a failure. Understanding the mechanisms behind drug resistance and developing novel therapeutic approaches are cardinal steps in overcoming this issue. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindrome repeats (CRISPR) gene-editing technology has proven to be a useful tool to study cancer drug resistance mechanisms and target the responsible genes. In this review, we evaluated original research studies that used the CRISPR tool in three areas related to drug resistance, namely screening resistance-related genes, generating modified models of resistant cells and animals, and removing resistance by genetic manipulation. We reported the targeted genes, study models, and drug groups in these studies. In addition to discussing different applications of CRISPR technology in cancer drug resistance, we analyzed drug resistance mechanisms and provided examples of CRISPR's role in studying them. Although CRISPR is a powerful tool for examining drug resistance and sensitizing resistant cells to chemotherapy, more studies are required to overcome its disadvantages, such as off-target effects, immunotoxicity, and inefficient delivery of CRISPR/cas9 into the cells.

The Abl/Abi signaling links WAVE regulatory complex to Cbl E3 ubiquitin ligase and is essential for breast cancer cell metastasis

•

A Cbl-TKB binding motif regulates the stability of Abi and WAVE regulatory complex.

•

Abl kinases serve as a switch to activate Cbl-mediated Abi/WRC degradation.

•

Depletion of Abi1 impairs EGFR and Src family kinases signaling.

•

Abi1 is essential for breast cancer cell invasion and lung metastasis.

The family of Abelson interactor (Abi) proteins is a component of WAVE regulatory complex (WRC) and a downstream target of Abelson (Abl) tyrosine kinase. The fact that Abi proteins also interact with diverse membrane proteins and intracellular signaling molecules places these proteins at a central position in the network that controls cytoskeletal functions and cancer cell metastasis. Here, we identified a motif in Abi proteins that conforms to consensus sequences found in a cohort of receptor and non-receptor tyrosine kinases that bind to Cbl-tyrosine kinase binding domain. The phosphorylation of tyrosine 213 in this motif is essential for Abi degradation. Double knockout of c-Cbl and Cbl B in Bcr-Abl-transformed leukemic cells abolishes Abi1, Abi2, and WAVE2 degradation. Moreover, knockout of Abi1 reduces Src family kinase Lyn activation in Bcr-Abl-positive leukemic cells and promotes EGF-induced EGF receptor downregulation in breast cancer cells. Importantly, Abi1 depletion impeded breast cancer cell invasion in vitro and metastasis in mouse xenografts. Together, these studies uncover a novel mechanism by which the WRC and receptor/non-receptor tyrosine kinases are regulated and identify Abi1 as a potential therapeutic target for metastatic breast cancer.

Optimizing sgRNA to Improve CRISPR/Cas9 Knockout Efficiency: Special Focus on Human and Animal Cell

During recent years, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) technologies have been noticed as a rapidly evolving tool to deliver a possibility for modifying target sequence expression and function. The CRISPR/Cas9 tool is currently being used to treat a myriad of human disorders, ranging from genetic diseases and infections to cancers. Preliminary reports have shown that CRISPR technology could result in valued consequences for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), cystic fibrosis (CF), β-thalassemia, Huntington's diseases (HD), etc. Nonetheless, high rates of off-target effects may hinder its application in clinics. Thereby, recent studies have focused on the finding of the novel strategies to ameliorate these off-target effects and thereby lead to a high rate of fidelity and accuracy in human, animals, prokaryotes, and also plants. Meanwhile, there is clear evidence indicating that the design of the specific sgRNA with high efficiency is of paramount importance. Correspondingly, elucidation of the principal parameters that contributed to determining the sgRNA efficiencies is a prerequisite. Herein, we will deliver an overview regarding the therapeutic application of CRISPR technology to treat human disorders. More importantly, we will discuss the potent influential parameters (e.g., sgRNA structure and feature) implicated in affecting the sgRNA efficacy in CRISPR/Cas9 technology, with special concentration on human and animal studies.

Mechanism of WASP and WAVE family proteins in the progression of prostate cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most commonly diagnosed and third lethal cause of death from cancer in men worldwide. Despite the availability of vast treatment procedures, still the high occurrence of invasion and metastasis of PCa are reported in cancer patients. The WASP (Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein) and WAVE (WASP family verprolin homologous protein) family of proteins are actin cytoskeleton regulatory proteins, reported to enhance cancer cell invasion and migration in prostate cancer. Hence, this review sheds light on the studies that explored the potential role of WASP and WAVE family of proteins in invasion and metastasis of prostate cancer. The research articles explored for the completion of this review were mostly from PubMed and Google Scholar by using the appropriate keywords for indexing. The conserved function of WASP and WAVE protein family is to receive the upstream signals from the Rho GTPase family and transmit them to activate the Arp2/3 complex that leads to rapid actin polymerization at leading edge of cells, which is crucial for PCa metastasis. Therefore, targeting these proteins could reflect a very interesting therapeutic opportunity to combat prostate cancer.

The roles and prognostic significance of ABI1-TSV-11 expression in patients with left-sided colorectal cancer

Abnormally expressed and/or phosphorylated Abelson interactor 1 (ABI1) participates in the metastasis and progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). ABI1 presents as at least 12 transcript variants (TSVs) by mRNA alternative splicing, but it is unknown which of them is involved in CRC metastasis and prognosis. Here, we firstly identified ABI1-TSV-11 as a key TSV affecting the metastasis and prognosis of left-sided colorectal cancer (LsCC) and its elevated expression is related to lymph node metastasis and shorter overall survival (OS) in LsCC by analyzing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and TSVdb. Secondly, ABI1-TSV-11 overexpression promoted LoVo and SW480 cells adhesion and migration in vitro, and accelerated LoVo and SW480 cells lung metastasis in vivo. Finally, mechanism investigations revealed that ABI1-isoform-11 interacted with epidermal growth factor receptor pathway substrate 8 (ESP8) and regulated actin dynamics to affect LoVo and SW480 cells biological behaviors. Taken together, our data demonstrated that ABI1-TSV-11 plays an oncogenic role in LsCC, it is an independent risk factor of prognosis and may be a potential molecular marker and therapeutic target in LsCC.

Challenges and advances in clinical applications of mesenchymal stromal cells

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), also known as mesenchymal stem cells, have been intensely investigated for clinical applications within the last decades. However, the majority of registered clinical trials applying MSC therapy for diverse human diseases have fallen short of expectations, despite the encouraging pre-clinical outcomes in varied animal disease models. This can be attributable to inconsistent criteria for MSCs identity across studies and their inherited heterogeneity. Nowadays, with the emergence of advanced biological techniques and substantial improvements in bio-engineered materials, strategies have been developed to overcome clinical challenges in MSC application. Here in this review, we will discuss the major challenges of MSC therapies in clinical application, the factors impacting the diversity of MSCs, the potential approaches that modify MSC products with the highest therapeutic potential, and finally the usage of MSCs for COVID-19 pandemic disease.

LILRB4, from the immune system to the disease target

Leukocyte immunoglobulin (Ig)-like receptor B4 (LILRB4) is a member of leukocyte Ig-like receptors (LILRs), which associate with membrane adaptors to signal through multiple cytoplasmic immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs (ITIMs). Under physiological conditions, LILRB4 plays a very important role in the function of the immune system through its expression on various immune cells, such as T cells and plasma cells. Under pathological conditions, LILRB4 affects the processes of various diseases, such as the transformation and infiltration of tumors and leukemias, through various signaling pathways. Differential expression of LILRB4 is present in a variety of immune system diseases, such as Kawasaki disease, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and sepsis. Recent studies have shown that LILRB4 also plays a role in mental illness. The important role of LILRB4 in the immune system and its differential expression in a variety of diseases make LILRB4 a potential prophylactic and therapeutic target for a variety of diseases.