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Spadafora V, Pryce BR, Oles A, Talbert EE, Romeo M, Vaena S, Berto S, Ostrowski MC, Wang DJ, Guttridge DC. Optimization of a mouse model of pancreatic cancer to simulate the human phenotypes of metastasis and cachexia. BMC Cancer 2024; 24:414. [PMID: 38570770 PMCID: PMC10993462 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-024-12104-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) presents with a high mortality rate. Two important features of PDAC contribute to this poor outcome. The first is metastasis which occurs in ~ 80% of PDAC patients. The second is cachexia, which compromises treatment tolerance for patients and reduces their quality of life. Although various mouse models of PDAC exist, recapitulating both metastatic and cachectic features have been challenging. METHODS Here, we optimize an orthotopic mouse model of PDAC by altering several conditions, including the subcloning of parental murine PDAC cells, implantation site, number of transplanted cells, and age of recipient mice. We perform spatial profiling to compare primary and metastatic immune microenvironments and RNA sequencing to gain insight into the mechanisms of muscle wasting in PDAC-induced cachexia, comparing non-metastatic to metastatic conditions. RESULTS These modifications extend the time course of the disease and concurrently increase the rate of metastasis to approximately 70%. Furthermore, reliable cachexia endpoints are achieved in both PDAC mice with and without metastases, which is reminiscent of patients. We also find that cachectic muscles from PDAC mice with metastasis exhibit a similar transcriptional profile to muscles derived from mice and patients without metastasis. CONCLUSION Together, this model is likely to be advantageous in both advancing our understanding of the mechanism of PDAC cachexia, as well as in the evaluation of novel therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victoria Spadafora
- Department of Pediatrics, Darby Children's Research Institute, 416, Medical University of South Carolina, 173 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
| | - Benjamin R Pryce
- Department of Pediatrics, Darby Children's Research Institute, 416, Medical University of South Carolina, 173 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
| | - Alexander Oles
- Department of Pediatrics, Darby Children's Research Institute, 416, Medical University of South Carolina, 173 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
| | - Erin E Talbert
- Department of Health and Human Physiology, and the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa, Iowa, 52242, USA
| | - Martin Romeo
- Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
| | - Silvia Vaena
- Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
| | - Stefano Berto
- Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
| | - Michael C Ostrowski
- Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
| | - David J Wang
- Department of Pediatrics, Darby Children's Research Institute, 416, Medical University of South Carolina, 173 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA.
| | - Denis C Guttridge
- Department of Pediatrics, Darby Children's Research Institute, 416, Medical University of South Carolina, 173 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA.
- Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA.
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Rajan S, Franz EM, McAloney CA, Vetter TA, Cam M, Gross AC, Taslim C, Wang M, Cannon MV, Oles A, Roberts RD. Osteosarcoma tumors maintain intra-tumoral transcriptional heterogeneity during bone and lung colonization. BMC Biol 2023; 21:98. [PMID: 37106386 PMCID: PMC10142502 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-023-01593-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tumors are complex tissues containing collections of phenotypically diverse malignant and nonmalignant cells. We know little of the mechanisms that govern heterogeneity of tumor cells nor of the role heterogeneity plays in overcoming stresses, such as adaptation to different microenvironments. Osteosarcoma is an ideal model for studying these mechanisms-it exhibits widespread inter- and intra-tumoral heterogeneity, predictable patterns of metastasis, and a lack of clear targetable driver mutations. Understanding the processes that facilitate adaptation to primary and metastatic microenvironments could inform the development of therapeutic targeting strategies. RESULTS We investigated single-cell RNA-sequencing profiles of 47,977 cells obtained from cell line and patient-derived xenograft models as cells adapted to growth within primary bone and metastatic lung environments. Tumor cells maintained phenotypic heterogeneity as they responded to the selective pressures imposed during bone and lung colonization. Heterogenous subsets of cells defined by distinct transcriptional profiles were maintained within bone- and lung-colonizing tumors, despite high-level selection. One prominent heterogenous feature involving glucose metabolism was clearly validated using immunofluorescence staining. Finally, using concurrent lineage tracing and single-cell transcriptomics, we found that lung colonization enriches for multiple clones with distinct transcriptional profiles that are preserved across cellular generations. CONCLUSIONS Response to environmental stressors occurs through complex and dynamic phenotypic adaptations. Heterogeneity is maintained, even in conditions that enforce clonal selection. These findings likely reflect the influences of developmental processes promoting diversification of tumor cell subpopulations, which are retained, even in the face of selective pressures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanjana Rajan
- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Center for Childhood Cancer, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Emily M Franz
- Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Center for Childhood Cancer, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Camille A McAloney
- Center for Childhood Cancer, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Tatyana A Vetter
- Center for Gene Therapy, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Maren Cam
- Center for Childhood Cancer, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Amy C Gross
- Center for Childhood Cancer, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Cenny Taslim
- Center for Childhood Cancer, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Meng Wang
- Center for Childhood Cancer, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Matthew V Cannon
- Center for Childhood Cancer, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Alexander Oles
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Ryan D Roberts
- Center for Childhood Cancer, Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.
- Division of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and BMT, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.
- The Ohio State University James Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH, USA.
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Swiderska-Syn M, Mir-Pedrol J, Oles A, Babcock B, Martin V, Krieg C, Gershon T, McCrea H, Rodriguez-Blanco J. STEM-26. ASTROCYTIC SOX2+ CELLS RELAY IN NON-CANONICAL GLI SIGNALING TO FACILITATE MEDULLOBLASTOMA RELAPSE. Neuro Oncol 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/neuonc/noac209.143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor. Despite the fair efficacy of current treatment approaches, 30 % of patients with medulloblastoma relapse. Cells expressing the stemness biomarker SRY (sex determining region Y)-box 2 (SOX2) are known to play key roles in sustaining medulloblastoma growth, providing chemo-resistance, and driving tumor relapse. It is therefore critical to elucidate the underlying mechanisms that propagate these cells and ensure therapies to target them. Single cell sequencing analyses revealed the existence of a subset of astrocyte-like SOX2+ cells expressing biomarkers indicative of SHH signaling activation. Intriguingly, such SOX2+ cells were not affected by the upstream SHH inhibitor vismodegib. Using SOX2+ enriched cultures, we observed that astrocyte-like SOX2 cells not only express SHH effectors, but require GLI signaling to proliferate, and that GLI is activated in a non-canonical and MYC dependent manner. Importantly, in vivo inhibition of SHH signaling downstream of SMO depleted the vismodegib resistant SOX2+ cell pool, while reduced the ability of residual medulloblastoma tissues to engraft in vivo. Our data show that in medulloblastoma, a subset of SOX2+ tumor cells rely on non-canonical GLI signaling to propagate, and emphasizes the importance of using therapies that deplete SOX2+ cells to prevent tumor recurrence.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Alexander Oles
- Medical University of South Carolina , Charleston, SC , USA
| | | | | | - Carsten Krieg
- Medical University of South Carolina , Charleston, SC , USA
| | - Timothy Gershon
- University of North Carolina School of Medicine , Chapel Hill, NC , USA
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Swiderska-Syn M, Mir-Pedrol J, Oles A, Schleuger O, Salvador AD, Greiner SM, Seward C, Yang F, Babcock BR, Shen C, Wynn DT, Sanchez-Mejias A, Gershon TR, Martin V, McCrea HJ, Lindsey KG, Krieg C, Rodriguez-Blanco J. Noncanonical activation of GLI signaling in SOX2 + cells drives medulloblastoma relapse. Sci Adv 2022; 8:eabj9138. [PMID: 35857834 PMCID: PMC9299538 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj9138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
SRY (sex determining region Y)-box 2 (SOX2)-labeled cells play key roles in chemoresistance and tumor relapse; thus, it is critical to elucidate the mechanisms propagating them. Single-cell transcriptomic analyses of the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor, medulloblastoma (MB), revealed the existence of astrocytic Sox2+ cells expressing sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling biomarkers. Treatment with vismodegib, an SHH inhibitor that acts on Smoothened (Smo), led to increases in astrocyte-like Sox2+ cells. Using SOX2-enriched MB cultures, we observed that SOX2+ cells required SHH signaling to propagate, and unlike in the proliferative tumor bulk, the SHH pathway was activated in these cells downstream of Smo in an MYC-dependent manner. Functionally different GLI inhibitors depleted vismodegib-resistant SOX2+ cells from MB tissues, reduced their ability to further engraft in vivo, and increased symptom-free survival. Our results emphasize the promise of therapies targeting GLI to deplete SOX2+ cells and provide stable tumor remission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marzena Swiderska-Syn
- Darby Children’s Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Júlia Mir-Pedrol
- Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona 08002, Spain
| | - Alexander Oles
- Darby Children’s Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Olga Schleuger
- Darby Children’s Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - April D. Salvador
- Darby Children’s Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Sean M. Greiner
- Darby Children’s Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Cara Seward
- Darby Children’s Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Fan Yang
- Molecular Oncology Program, The Dewitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Benjamin R. Babcock
- Lowance Center for Human Immunology, Department of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Chen Shen
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Daniel T. Wynn
- Department of Oncology, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Avencia Sanchez-Mejias
- Department of Experimental and Health Sciences, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona 08002, Spain
| | - Timothy R. Gershon
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Vanesa Martin
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Asturias 33006, Spain
| | - Heather J. McCrea
- Department of Clinical Neurological Surgery, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136, USA
| | - Kathryn G. Lindsey
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Carsten Krieg
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Jezabel Rodriguez-Blanco
- Darby Children’s Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
- Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
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Venegas A, Goldstein JC, Beauregard K, Oles A, Abdulhayoglu N, Fuhrman JA. Expression of recombinant microfilarial chitinase and analysis of domain function. Mol Biochem Parasitol 1996; 78:149-59. [PMID: 8813685 DOI: 10.1016/s0166-6851(96)02620-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
A family of chitinase isozymes was previously characterized from the microfilariae of Brugia malayi and Brugia pahangi. The expression of these enzymes correlates with the onset of microfilarial infectivity for the mosquito vector. To study the role of chitinase activity in filarial transmission, the p70 chitinase from Brugia malayi was cloned and expressed in two forms: a full-length product of approximately 62 kDa and a truncated product of 43 kDa containing only the N-terminal catalytic domain. Two epitopes defined by monoclonal antibodies were preserved only in the full-length recombinant enzyme. It was found that deletion of the cysteine-rich C-terminal domain increased the yield of the recombinant expression product, and did not affect the K(m) for di- or trisaccharide substrates. However, affinity for high molecular weight chitin was specific to the full-length molecule, and is apparently mediated by the cysteine-rich domain, suggesting a role for this part of the protein in targeting the secreted enzyme to its substrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Venegas
- Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford MA, USA
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