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Isermann T, Schneider KL, Wegwitz F, De Oliveira T, Conradi LC, Volk V, Feuerhake F, Papke B, Stintzing S, Mundt B, Kühnel F, Moll UM, Schulz-Heddergott R. Enhancement of colorectal cancer therapy through interruption of the HSF1-HSP90 axis by p53 activation or cell cycle inhibition. bioRxiv 2024:2024.02.22.581507. [PMID: 38464125 PMCID: PMC10925225 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.22.581507] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
The stress-associated molecular chaperone system is an actionable target in cancer therapies. It is ubiquitously upregulated in cancer tissues and enables tumorigenicity by stabilizing hundreds of oncoproteins and disturbing the stoichiometry of protein complexes. Most inhibitors target the key component heat-shock protein 90 (HSP90). However, although classical HSP90 inhibitors are highly tumor-selective, they fail in phase 3 clinical oncology trials. These failures are at least partly due to an interference with a negative feedback loop by HSP90 inhibition, known as heat-shock response (HSR): in response to HSP90 inhibition there is compensatory synthesis of stress-inducible chaperones, mediated by the transcription factor heat-shock factor 1 (HSF1). We recently identified that wildtype p53 (p53) actively reduces the HSR by repressing HSF1 via a p21-CDK4/6-MAPK-HSF1 axis. Here we test the hypothesis that in HSP90-based therapies simultaneous p53 activation or direct cell cycle inhibition interrupts the deleterious HSF1-HSR axis and improves the efficiency of HSP90 inhibitors. Indeed, we find that the clinically relevant p53 activator Idasanutlin suppresses the HSF1-HSR activity in HSP90 inhibitor-based therapies. This combination synergistically reduces cell viability and accelerates cell death in p53-proficient colorectal cancer (CRC) cells, murine tumor-derived organoids and patient-derived organoids (PDOs). Mechanistically, upon combination therapy human CRC cells strongly upregulate p53-associated pathways, apoptosis, and inflammatory immune pathways. Likewise, in the chemical AOM/DSS CRC model in mice, dual HSF1-HSP90 inhibition strongly represses tumor growth and remodels immune cell composition, yet displays only minor toxicities in mice and normal mucosa-derived organoids. Importantly, inhibition of the cyclin dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) under HSP90 inhibition phenocopies synergistic repression of the HSR in p53-proficient CRC cells. Even more important, in p53-deficient (mutp53-harboring) CRC cells, an HSP90 inhibition in combination with CDK4/6 inhibitors similarly suppresses the HSF1-HSR system and reduces cancer growth. Likewise, p53-mutated PDOs strongly respond to dual HSF1-HSP90 pathway inhibition and thus, providing a strategy to target CRC independent of the p53 status. In sum, activating p53 (in p53-proficient cancer cells) or inhibiting CDK4/6 (independent of the p53 status) provide new options to improve the clinical outcome of HSP90-based therapies and to enhance colorectal cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamara Isermann
- Department of Molecular Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Institute of Pathology, Laboratory of Molecular Tumor Pathology and Systems Biology, Berlin, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK); Partner Site Berlin, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Kim Lucia Schneider
- Department of Molecular Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Tiago De Oliveira
- Department of General, Visceral, and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany
| | - Lena-Christin Conradi
- Department of General, Visceral, and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany
| | - Valery Volk
- Institute for Pathology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | | | - Björn Papke
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Institute of Pathology, Laboratory of Molecular Tumor Pathology and Systems Biology, Berlin, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK); Partner Site Berlin, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sebastian Stintzing
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Department of Hematology, Oncology, and Cancer Immunology, Berlin, Germany
| | - Bettina Mundt
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Infectious Diseases and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Florian Kühnel
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Infectious Diseases and Endocrinology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Ute M. Moll
- Department of Pathology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY
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Prokakis E, Bamahmoud H, Jansari S, Fritsche L, Dietz A, Boshnakovska A, Rehling P, Johnsen SA, Gallwas J, Wegwitz F. USP22 supports the aggressive behavior of basal-like breast cancer by stimulating cellular respiration. Cell Commun Signal 2024; 22:120. [PMID: 38347585 PMCID: PMC10863169 DOI: 10.1186/s12964-023-01441-5] [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: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent tumor entity in women worldwide with a high chance of therapeutic response in early- and non-metastatic disease stages. Among all BC subtypes, triple-negative BC (TNBC) is the most challenging cancer subtype lacking effective molecular targets due to the particular enrichment of cancer stem cells (CSCs), frequently leading to a chemoresistant phenotype and metastasis. The Ubiquitin Specific Peptidase 22 (USP22) is a deubiquitinase that has been frequently associated with a CSC-promoting function and intimately implicated in resistance to conventional therapies, tumor relapse, metastasis and overall poor survival in a broad range of cancer entities, including BC. To date, though, the role of USP22 in TNBC has been only superficially addressed. METHODS The current study utilized the MMTV-cre, Usp22fl/fl transgenic mouse model to study the involvement of USP22 in the stem cell-like properties of the growing mammary tissue. Additionally, we combined high-throughput transcriptomic analyses with publicly available patient transcriptomic data and utilized TNBC culture models to decipher the functional role of USP22 in the CSC characteristics of this disease. RESULTS Interestingly, we identified that USP22 promotes CSC properties and drug tolerance by supporting the oxidative phosphorylation program, known to be largely responsible for the poor response to conventional therapies in this particularly aggressive BC subtype. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests a novel tumor-supportive role of USP22 in sustaining cellular respiration to facilitate the drug-tolerant behavior of HER2+-BC and TNBC cells. Therefore, we posit USP22 as a promising therapeutic target to optimize standard therapies and combat the aggressiveness of these malignancies. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evangelos Prokakis
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
- Department of General, Visceral & Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Husam Bamahmoud
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Shaishavi Jansari
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Lena Fritsche
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Alexander Dietz
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Angela Boshnakovska
- Department of Cellular Biochemistry, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Peter Rehling
- Department of Cellular Biochemistry, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Steven A Johnsen
- Department of General, Visceral & Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- The Robert Bosch Center for Tumor Diseases, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Julia Gallwas
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
- Department of General, Visceral & Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
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3
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Prokakis E, Jansari S, Boshnakovska A, Wiese M, Kusch K, Kramm C, Dullin C, Rehling P, Glatzel M, Pantel K, Wikman H, Johnsen SA, Gallwas J, Wegwitz F. RNF40 epigenetically modulates glycolysis to support the aggressiveness of basal-like breast cancer. Cell Death Dis 2023; 14:641. [PMID: 37770435 PMCID: PMC10539310 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-023-06157-5] [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: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most difficult breast cancer subtype to treat due to the lack of targeted therapies. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are strongly enriched in TNBC lesions and are responsible for the rapid development of chemotherapy resistance and metastasis. Ubiquitin-based epigenetic circuits are heavily exploited by CSCs to regulate gene transcription and ultimately sustain their aggressive behavior. Therefore, therapeutic targeting of these ubiquitin-driven dependencies may reprogram the transcription of CSC and render them more sensitive to standard therapies. In this work, we identified the Ring Finger Protein 40 (RNF40) monoubiquitinating histone 2B at lysine 120 (H2Bub1) as an indispensable E3 ligase for sustaining the stem-cell-like features of the growing mammary gland. In addition, we found that the RNF40/H2Bub1-axis promotes the CSC properties and drug-tolerant state by supporting the glycolytic program and promoting pro-tumorigenic YAP1-signaling in TNBC. Collectively, this study unveils a novel tumor-supportive role of RNF40 and underpins its high therapeutic value to combat the malignant behavior of TNBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evangelos Prokakis
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
- Department of General, Visceral & Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Shaishavi Jansari
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Angela Boshnakovska
- Department of Cellular Biochemistry, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Maria Wiese
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Kathrin Kusch
- Institute for Auditory Neuroscience, Functional Auditory Genomics Group, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christof Kramm
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christian Dullin
- Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Peter Rehling
- Department of Cellular Biochemistry, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Markus Glatzel
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Klaus Pantel
- Institute of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Harriet Wikman
- Institute of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Steven A Johnsen
- Department of General, Visceral & Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- The Robert Bosch Center for Tumor Diseases, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Julia Gallwas
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
- Department of General, Visceral & Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
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4
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Wang X, Kutschat AP, Aggrey-Fynn J, Hamdan FH, Graham RP, Wixom AQ, Souto Y, Ladigan-Badura S, Yonkus JA, Abdelrahman AM, Alva-Ruiz R, Gaedcke J, Ströbel P, Kosinsky RL, Wegwitz F, Hermann P, Truty MJ, Siveke JT, Hahn SA, Hessmann E, Johnsen SA, Najafova Z. Identification of a ΔNp63-Dependent Basal-Like A Subtype-Specific Transcribed Enhancer Program (B-STEP) in Aggressive Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Mol Cancer Res 2023; 21:881-891. [PMID: 37279184 PMCID: PMC10542885 DOI: 10.1158/1541-7786.mcr-22-0916] [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: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
A major hurdle to the application of precision oncology in pancreatic cancer is the lack of molecular stratification approaches and targeted therapy for defined molecular subtypes. In this work, we sought to gain further insight and identify molecular and epigenetic signatures of the Basal-like A pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) subgroup that can be applied to clinical samples for patient stratification and/or therapy monitoring. We generated and integrated global gene expression and epigenome mapping data from patient-derived xenograft models to identify subtype-specific enhancer regions that were validated in patient-derived samples. In addition, complementary nascent transcription and chromatin topology (HiChIP) analyses revealed a Basal-like A subtype-specific transcribed enhancer program in PDAC characterized by enhancer RNA (eRNA) production that is associated with more frequent chromatin interactions and subtype-specific gene activation. Importantly, we successfully confirmed the validity of eRNA detection as a possible histologic approach for PDAC patient stratification by performing RNA-ISH analyses for subtype-specific eRNAs on pathologic tissue samples. Thus, this study provides proof-of-concept that subtype-specific epigenetic changes relevant for PDAC progression can be detected at a single-cell level in complex, heterogeneous, primary tumor material. IMPLICATIONS Subtype-specific enhancer activity analysis via detection of eRNAs on a single-cell level in patient material can be used as a potential tool for treatment stratification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Wang
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ana P. Kutschat
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Joana Aggrey-Fynn
- Robert Bosch Center for Tumor Diseases, Stuttgart, Germany
- Gene Regulatory Mechanisms and Molecular Epigenetics Lab, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Feda H. Hamdan
- Gene Regulatory Mechanisms and Molecular Epigenetics Lab, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | | | - Alexander Q. Wixom
- Gene Regulatory Mechanisms and Molecular Epigenetics Lab, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Yara Souto
- Robert Bosch Center for Tumor Diseases, Stuttgart, Germany
| | | | - Jennifer A. Yonkus
- Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Amro M. Abdelrahman
- Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Roberto Alva-Ruiz
- Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Jochen Gaedcke
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Clinical Research Unit 5002, KFO5002, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Philipp Ströbel
- Clinical Research Unit 5002, KFO5002, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Robyn Laura Kosinsky
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Robert Bosch Center for Tumor Diseases, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Mark J. Truty
- Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Jens T. Siveke
- Bridge Institute of Experimental Tumor Therapy, West German Cancer Center, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
- Division of Solid Tumor Translational Oncology, German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner site University Hospital Essen, and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stephan A. Hahn
- Department of Molecular Gastrointestinal Oncology, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Hessmann
- Clinical Research Unit 5002, KFO5002, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Zeynab Najafova
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Robert Bosch Center for Tumor Diseases, Stuttgart, Germany
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5
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Pantelaiou-Prokaki G, Reinhardt O, Georges NS, Agorku DJ, Hardt O, Prokakis E, Mieczkowska IK, Deppert W, Wegwitz F, Alves F. Basal-like mammary carcinomas stimulate cancer stem cell properties through AXL-signaling to induce chemotherapy resistance. Int J Cancer 2023; 152:1916-1932. [PMID: 36637144 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.34429] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) is the most aggressive and heterogeneous breast cancer (BC) subtype. Conventional chemotherapies represent next to surgery the most frequently employed treatment options. Unfortunately, resistant tumor phenotypes often develop, resulting in therapeutic failure. To identify the early events occurring upon the first drug application and initiating chemotherapy resistance in BLBC, we leveraged the WAP-T syngeneic mammary carcinoma mouse model and we developed a strategy combining magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS)-based tumor cell enrichment with high-throughput transcriptome analyses. We discovered that chemotherapy induced a massive gene expression reprogramming toward stemness acquisition to tolerate and survive the cytotoxic treatment in vitro and in vivo. Retransplantation experiments revealed that one single cycle of cytotoxic drug combination therapy (Cyclophosphamide, Adriamycin and 5-Fluorouracil) suffices to induce resistant tumor cell phenotypes in vivo. We identified Axl and its ligand Pros1 as highly induced genes driving cancer stem cell (CSC) properties upon chemotherapy in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, from our analysis of BLBC patient datasets, we found that AXL expression is also strongly correlated with CSC-gene signatures, a poor response to conventional therapies and worse survival outcomes in those patients. Finally, we demonstrate that AXL inhibition sensitized BLBC-cells to cytotoxic treatment in vitro. Together, our data support AXL as a promising therapeutic target to optimize the efficiency of conventional cytotoxic therapies in BLBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Garyfallia Pantelaiou-Prokaki
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Translational Molecular Imaging, Göttingen, Germany.,Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Oliver Reinhardt
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Translational Molecular Imaging, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Nadine S Georges
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - David J Agorku
- Miltenyi Biotec B.V. & Co. KG, R&D Reagents, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
| | - Olaf Hardt
- Miltenyi Biotec B.V. & Co. KG, R&D Reagents, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
| | - Evangelos Prokakis
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Iga K Mieczkowska
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Deppert
- University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Institute for Tumor Biology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Frauke Alves
- Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Translational Molecular Imaging, Göttingen, Germany.,Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Clinic for Hematology and Medical Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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6
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Werner M, Dyas A, Parfentev I, Schmidt GE, Mieczkowska IK, Müller-Kirschbaum LC, Müller C, Kalkhof S, Reinhardt O, Urlaub H, Alves F, Gallwas J, Prokakis E, Wegwitz F. ROBO3s: a novel ROBO3 short isoform promoting breast cancer aggressiveness. Cell Death Dis 2022; 13:762. [PMID: 36057630 PMCID: PMC9440919 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-022-05197-7] [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] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Revised: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) is a highly aggressive breast cancer subtype frequently associated with poor prognosis. Due to the scarcity of targeted treatment options, conventional cytotoxic chemotherapies frequently remain the standard of care. Unfortunately, their efficacy is limited as BLBC malignancies rapidly develop resistant phenotypes. Using transcriptomic and proteomic approaches in human and murine BLBC cells, we aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the acquisition of aggressive and chemotherapy-resistant phenotypes in these mammary tumors. Specifically, we identified and characterized a novel short isoform of Roundabout Guidance Receptor 3 (ROBO3s), upregulated in BLBC in response to chemotherapy and encoding for a protein variant lacking the transmembrane domain. We established an important role for the ROBO3s isoform, mediating cancer stem cell properties by stimulating the Hippo-YAP signaling pathway, and thus driving resistance of BLBC cells to cytotoxic drugs. By uncovering the conservation of ROBO3s expression across multiple cancer types, as well as its association with reduced BLBC-patient survival, we emphasize its potential as a prognostic marker and identify a novel attractive target for anti-cancer drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel Werner
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany ,grid.4567.00000 0004 0483 2525Chromosome Dynamics and Genome Stability, Institute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany
| | - Anna Dyas
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany ,grid.4372.20000 0001 2105 1091International Max-Planck Research School for Molecular Biology, Göttingen, Germany ,Early Cancer Institute, University of Cambridge, Department of Oncology, Hutchison Research Centre, Box 197 Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, Germany
| | - Iwan Parfentev
- grid.4372.20000 0001 2105 1091Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry group, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Geske E. Schmidt
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Iga K. Mieczkowska
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Lukas C. Müller-Kirschbaum
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Claudia Müller
- grid.418008.50000 0004 0494 3022Department of Preclinical Development and Validation, Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stefan Kalkhof
- grid.418008.50000 0004 0494 3022Department of Preclinical Development and Validation, Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Oliver Reinhardt
- grid.4372.20000 0001 2105 1091Translational Molecular Imaging, Max-Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Henning Urlaub
- grid.4372.20000 0001 2105 1091Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry group, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, Germany ,grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Bioanalytics, Institute of Clinical Chemistry, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Frauke Alves
- grid.4372.20000 0001 2105 1091Translational Molecular Imaging, Max-Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, Germany ,grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, University Medicine Goettingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Julia Gallwas
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Evangelos Prokakis
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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7
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Krebs N, Klein L, Wegwitz F, Espinet E, Maurer HC, Tu M, Penz F, Küffer S, Xu X, Bohnenberger H, Cameron S, Brunner M, Neesse A, Kishore U, Hessmann E, Trumpp A, Ströbel P, Brekken RA, Ellenrieder V, Singh SK. Axon guidance receptor ROBO3 modulates subtype identity and prognosis via AXL-associated inflammatory network in pancreatic cancer. JCI Insight 2022; 7:154475. [PMID: 35993361 PMCID: PMC9462476 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.154475] [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] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Metastatic pancreatic cancer (PDAC) has a poor clinical outcome with a 5-year survival rate below 3%. Recent transcriptome profiling of PDAC biopsies has identified 2 clinically distinct subtypes - the "basal-like" (BL) subtype with poor prognosis and therapy resistance compared with the less aggressive and drug-susceptible "classical" (CLA) subtype. However, the mechanistic events and environmental factors that promote the BL subtype identity are not very clear. Using preclinical models, patient-derived xenografts, and FACS-sorted PDAC patient biopsies, we report here that the axon guidance receptor, roundabout guidance receptor 3 (ROBO3), promotes the BL metastatic program via a potentially unique AXL/IL-6/phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) regulatory axis. RNA-Seq identified a ROBO3-mediated BL-specific gene program, while tyrosine kinase profiling revealed AXL as the key mediator of the p-STAT3 activation. CRISPR/dCas9-based ROBO3 silencing disrupted the AXL/p-STAT3 signaling axis, thereby halting metastasis and enhancing therapy sensitivity. Transcriptome analysis of resected patient tumors revealed that AXLhi neoplastic cells associated with the inflammatory stromal program. Combining AXL inhibitor and chemotherapy substantially restored a CLA phenotypic state and reduced disease aggressiveness. Thus, we conclude that a ROBO3-driven hierarchical network determines the inflammatory and prometastatic programs in a specific PDAC subtype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niklas Krebs
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology and
| | - Lukas Klein
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology and
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Elisa Espinet
- Division of Stem Cells and Cancer, DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany.,HI-STEM: The Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany.,Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapy, School of Medicine, University of Barcelona, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.,Molecular Mechanisms and Experimental Therapy in Oncology Program (Oncobell), Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Hans Carlo Maurer
- Department of Internal Medicine II, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Mengyu Tu
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology and
| | - Frederike Penz
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology and
| | | | - Xingbo Xu
- Department of Cardiology and Pneumology, and
| | | | - Silke Cameron
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology and
| | - Marius Brunner
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology and
| | - Albrecht Neesse
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology and,Clinical Research Unit 5002, KFO5002, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Uday Kishore
- Biosciences, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, United Kingdom.,Department of Veterinary Medicine, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
| | - Elisabeth Hessmann
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology and,Clinical Research Unit 5002, KFO5002, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Andreas Trumpp
- Division of Stem Cells and Cancer, DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany.,HI-STEM: The Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine gGmbH, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Philipp Ströbel
- Institute of Pathology,,Clinical Research Unit 5002, KFO5002, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Rolf A. Brekken
- Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research, Departments of Surgery and Pharmacology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Volker Ellenrieder
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology and,Clinical Research Unit 5002, KFO5002, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Shiv K. Singh
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology and,Clinical Research Unit 5002, KFO5002, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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8
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Pantelaiou-Prokaki G, Mieczkowska I, Schmidt GE, Fritzsche S, Prokakis E, Gallwas J, Wegwitz F. HDAC8 suppresses the epithelial phenotype and promotes EMT in chemotherapy-treated basal-like breast cancer. Clin Epigenetics 2022; 14:7. [PMID: 35016723 PMCID: PMC8753869 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-022-01228-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) is one of the most aggressive malignant diseases in women with an increased metastatic behavior and poor prognosis compared to other molecular subtypes of breast cancer. Resistance to chemotherapy is the main cause of treatment failure in BLBC. Therefore, novel therapeutic strategies counteracting the gain of aggressiveness underlying therapy resistance are urgently needed. The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been established as one central process stimulating cancer cell migratory capacity but also acquisition of chemotherapy-resistant properties. In this study, we aimed to uncover epigenetic factors involved in the EMT-transcriptional program occurring in BLBC cells surviving conventional chemotherapy. RESULTS Using whole transcriptome data from a murine mammary carcinoma cell line (pG-2), we identified upregulation of Hdac4, 7 and 8 in tumor cells surviving conventional chemotherapy. Subsequent analyses of human BLBC patient datasets and cell lines established HDAC8 as the most promising factor sustaining tumor cell viability. ChIP-sequencing data analysis identified a pronounced loss of H3K27ac at regulatory regions of master transcription factors (TFs) of epithelial phenotype like Gata3, Elf5, Rora and Grhl2 upon chemotherapy. Interestingly, impairment of HDAC8 activity reverted epithelial-TFs levels. Furthermore, loss of HDAC8 activity sensitized tumor cells to chemotherapeutic treatments, even at low doses. CONCLUSION The current study reveals a previously unknown transcriptional repressive function of HDAC8 exerted on a panel of transcription factors involved in the maintenance of epithelial cell phenotype, thereby supporting BLBC cell survival to conventional chemotherapy. Our data establish HDAC8 as an attractive therapeutically targetable epigenetic factor to increase the efficiency of chemotherapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Garyfallia Pantelaiou-Prokaki
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Translational Molecular Imaging, Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Iga Mieczkowska
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Geske E Schmidt
- Department of Gastroenterology, GI-Oncology and Endocrinology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sonja Fritzsche
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Evangelos Prokakis
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Julia Gallwas
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
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9
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Mieczkowska IK, Pantelaiou-Prokaki G, Prokakis E, Schmidt GE, Müller-Kirschbaum LC, Werner M, Sen M, Velychko T, Jannasch K, Dullin C, Napp J, Pantel K, Wikman H, Wiese M, Kramm CM, Alves F, Wegwitz F. Decreased PRC2 activity supports the survival of basal-like breast cancer cells to cytotoxic treatments. Cell Death Dis 2021; 12:1118. [PMID: 34845197 PMCID: PMC8630036 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-021-04407-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer occurring in women but also rarely develops in men. Recent advances in early diagnosis and development of targeted therapies have greatly improved the survival rate of BC patients. However, the basal-like BC subtype (BLBC), largely overlapping with the triple-negative BC subtype (TNBC), lacks such drug targets and conventional cytotoxic chemotherapies often remain the only treatment option. Thus, the development of resistance to cytotoxic therapies has fatal consequences. To assess the involvement of epigenetic mechanisms and their therapeutic potential increasing cytotoxic drug efficiency, we combined high-throughput RNA- and ChIP-sequencing analyses in BLBC cells. Tumor cells surviving chemotherapy upregulated transcriptional programs of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stemness. To our surprise, the same cells showed a pronounced reduction of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) activity via downregulation of its subunits Ezh2, Suz12, Rbbp7 and Mtf2. Mechanistically, loss of PRC2 activity leads to the de-repression of a set of genes through an epigenetic switch from repressive H3K27me3 to activating H3K27ac mark at regulatory regions. We identified Nfatc1 as an upregulated gene upon loss of PRC2 activity and directly implicated in the transcriptional changes happening upon survival to chemotherapy. Blocking NFATc1 activation reduced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, aggressiveness, and therapy resistance of BLBC cells. Our data demonstrate a previously unknown function of PRC2 maintaining low Nfatc1 expression levels and thereby repressing aggressiveness and therapy resistance in BLBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iga K. Mieczkowska
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Garyfallia Pantelaiou-Prokaki
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany ,grid.419522.90000 0001 0668 6902Translational Molecular Imaging, Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Evangelos Prokakis
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Geske E. Schmidt
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of Gastroenterology, GI-Oncology and Endocrinology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Lukas C. Müller-Kirschbaum
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Marcel Werner
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Madhobi Sen
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Taras Velychko
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Katharina Jannasch
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Clinic for Haematology and Medical Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christian Dullin
- grid.419522.90000 0001 0668 6902Translational Molecular Imaging, Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany ,grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Clinic for Haematology and Medical Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany ,grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Joanna Napp
- grid.419522.90000 0001 0668 6902Translational Molecular Imaging, Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany ,grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Klaus Pantel
- grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Institute of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Harriet Wikman
- grid.13648.380000 0001 2180 3484Institute of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Maria Wiese
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christof M. Kramm
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Frauke Alves
- grid.419522.90000 0001 0668 6902Translational Molecular Imaging, Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany ,grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Clinic for Haematology and Medical Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany ,grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany. .,Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
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10
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Tu M, Klein L, Espinet E, Georgomanolis T, Wegwitz F, Li X, Urbach L, Danieli-Mackay A, Küffer S, Bojarczuk K, Mizi A, Günesdogan U, Chapuy B, Gu Z, Neesse A, Kishore U, Ströbel P, Hessmann E, Hahn SA, Trumpp A, Papantonis A, Ellenrieder V, Singh SK. TNF-α-producing macrophages determine subtype identity and prognosis via AP1 enhancer reprogramming in pancreatic cancer. Nat Cancer 2021; 2:1185-1203. [PMID: 35122059 DOI: 10.1038/s43018-021-00258-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Large-scale genomic profiling of pancreatic cancer (PDAC) has revealed two distinct subtypes: 'classical' and 'basal-like'. Their variable coexistence within the stromal immune microenvironment is linked to differential prognosis; however, the extent to which these neoplastic subtypes shape the stromal immune landscape and impact clinical outcome remains unclear. By combining preclinical models, patient-derived xenografts, as well as FACS-sorted PDAC patient biopsies, we show that the basal-like neoplastic state is sustained via BRD4-mediated cJUN/AP1 expression, which induces CCL2 to recruit tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-secreting macrophages. TNF-α+ macrophages force classical neoplastic cells into an aggressive phenotypic state via lineage reprogramming. Integration of ATAC-, ChIP- and RNA-seq data revealed distinct JUNB/AP1 (classical) and cJUN/AP1 (basal-like)-driven regulation of PDAC subtype identity. Pharmacological inhibition of BRD4 led to suppression of the BRD4-cJUN-CCL2-TNF-α axis, restoration of classical subtype identity and a favorable prognosis. Hence, patient-tailored therapy for a cJUNhigh/TNF-αhigh subtype is paramount in overcoming highly inflamed and aggressive PDAC states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengyu Tu
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Lukas Klein
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Elisa Espinet
- Division of Stem Cells and Cancer, DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany
- Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM gGmbh), Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Xiaojuan Li
- Department of Developmental Biology, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Laura Urbach
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Adi Danieli-Mackay
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Küffer
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Kamil Bojarczuk
- Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Athanasia Mizi
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ufuk Günesdogan
- Department of Developmental Biology, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Björn Chapuy
- Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Zuguang Gu
- Bioinformatics and Omics Data Analytics, DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Cancer Epigenomics, DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Albrecht Neesse
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Uday Kishore
- Biosciences, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, UK
| | - Philipp Ströbel
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Hessmann
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Stephan A Hahn
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Molecular GI Oncology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Andreas Trumpp
- Division of Stem Cells and Cancer, DKFZ, Heidelberg, Germany
- Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM gGmbh), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Argyris Papantonis
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Volker Ellenrieder
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Shiv K Singh
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
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11
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Kosinsky RL, Zerche M, Kutschat AP, Nair A, Ye Z, Saul D, von Heesen M, Friton JJ, Schwarzer AC, Paglilla N, Sheikh SZ, Wegwitz F, Sun Z, Ghadimi M, Newberry RD, Sartor RB, Faubion WA, Johnsen SA. RNF20 and RNF40 regulate vitamin D receptor-dependent signaling in inflammatory bowel disease. Cell Death Differ 2021; 28:3161-3175. [PMID: 34088983 PMCID: PMC8563960 DOI: 10.1038/s41418-021-00808-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Revised: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the identification of several genetic factors linked to increased susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), underlying molecular mechanisms remain to be elucidated in detail. The ubiquitin ligases RNF20 and RNF40 mediate the monoubiquitination of histone H2B at lysine 120 (H2Bub1) and were shown to play context-dependent roles in the development of inflammation. Here, we aimed to examine the function of the RNF20/RNF40/H2Bub1 axis in intestinal inflammation in IBD patients and mouse models. For this purpose, intestinal sections from IBD patients were immunohistochemically stained for H2Bub1. Rnf20 or Rnf40 were conditionally deleted in the mouse intestine and mice were monitored for inflammation-associated symptoms. Using mRNA-seq and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-seq, we analyzed underlying molecular pathways in primary intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) isolated from these animals and confirmed these findings in IBD resection specimens using ChIP-seq.The majority (80%) of IBD patients displayed a loss of H2Bub1 levels in inflamed areas and the intestine-specific deletion of Rnf20 or Rnf40 resulted in spontaneous colorectal inflammation in mice. Consistently, deletion of Rnf20 or Rnf40 promoted IBD-associated gene expression programs, including deregulation of various IBD risk genes in these animals. Further analysis of murine IECs revealed that H3K4me3 occupancy and transcription of the Vitamin D Receptor (Vdr) gene and VDR target genes is RNF20/40-dependent. Finally, these effects were confirmed in a subgroup of Crohn's disease patients which displayed epigenetic and expression changes in RNF20/40-dependent gene signatures. Our findings reveal that loss of H2B monoubiquitination promotes intestinal inflammation via decreased VDR activity thereby identifying RNF20 and RNF40 as critical regulators of IBD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robyn Laura Kosinsky
- grid.66875.3a0000 0004 0459 167XDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN USA
| | - Maria Zerche
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Ana Patricia Kutschat
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Asha Nair
- grid.66875.3a0000 0004 0459 167XDivision of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN USA
| | - Zhenqing Ye
- grid.66875.3a0000 0004 0459 167XDivision of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN USA
| | - Dominik Saul
- grid.66875.3a0000 0004 0459 167XKogod Center on Aging and Division of Endocrinology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN USA
| | - Maximilian von Heesen
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Jessica J. Friton
- grid.66875.3a0000 0004 0459 167XDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN USA
| | - Ana Carolina Schwarzer
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Nadia Paglilla
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Shehzad Z. Sheikh
- grid.10698.360000000122483208Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC USA
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Zhifu Sun
- grid.66875.3a0000 0004 0459 167XDivision of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN USA
| | - Michael Ghadimi
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Rodney D. Newberry
- grid.4367.60000 0001 2355 7002Division of Gastroenterology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO USA
| | - R. Balfour Sartor
- grid.10698.360000000122483208Center for Gastrointestinal Biology and Disease, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC USA
| | - William A. Faubion
- grid.66875.3a0000 0004 0459 167XDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN USA
| | - Steven A. Johnsen
- grid.411984.10000 0001 0482 5331Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany ,grid.66875.3a0000 0004 0459 167XGene Regulatory Mechanisms and Molecular Epigenetics Laboratory, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN USA
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12
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Isermann T, Şener ÖÇ, Stender A, Klemke L, Winkler N, Neesse A, Li J, Wegwitz F, Moll UM, Schulz-Heddergott R. Suppression of HSF1 activity by wildtype p53 creates a driving force for p53 loss-of-heterozygosity. Nat Commun 2021; 12:4019. [PMID: 34188043 PMCID: PMC8242083 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24064-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The vast majority of human tumors with p53 mutations undergo loss of the remaining wildtype p53 allele (loss-of-heterozygosity, p53LOH). p53LOH has watershed significance in promoting tumor progression. However, driving forces for p53LOH are poorly understood. Here we identify the repressive WTp53-HSF1 axis as one driver of p53LOH. We find that the WTp53 allele in AOM/DSS chemically-induced colorectal tumors (CRC) of p53R248Q/+ mice retains partial activity and represses heat-shock factor 1 (HSF1), the master regulator of the proteotoxic stress response (HSR) that is ubiquitously activated in cancer. HSR is critical for stabilizing oncogenic proteins including mutp53. WTp53-retaining CRC tumors, tumor-derived organoids and human CRC cells all suppress the tumor-promoting HSF1 program. Mechanistically, retained WTp53 activates CDKN1A/p21, causing cell cycle inhibition and suppression of E2F target MLK3. MLK3 links cell cycle with the MAPK stress pathway to activate the HSR response. In p53R248Q/+ tumors WTp53 activation by constitutive stress represses MLK3, thereby weakening the MAPK-HSF1 response necessary for tumor survival. This creates selection pressure for p53LOH which eliminates the repressive WTp53-MAPK-HSF1 axis and unleashes tumor-promoting HSF1 functions, inducing mutp53 stabilization enabling invasion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamara Isermann
- Institute of Molecular Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Özge Çiçek Şener
- Institute of Molecular Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Adrian Stender
- Institute of Molecular Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Luisa Klemke
- Institute of Molecular Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Nadine Winkler
- Institute of Molecular Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Albrecht Neesse
- Department of Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Endocrinology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jinyu Li
- Department of Pathology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ute M Moll
- Institute of Molecular Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Pathology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
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13
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Prokakis E, Dyas A, Grün R, Fritzsche S, Bedi U, Kazerouni ZB, Kosinsky RL, Johnsen SA, Wegwitz F. USP22 promotes HER2-driven mammary carcinoma aggressiveness by suppressing the unfolded protein response. Oncogene 2021; 40:4004-4018. [PMID: 34007022 PMCID: PMC8195738 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-021-01814-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Revised: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The Ubiquitin-Specific Protease 22 (USP22) is a deubiquitinating subunit of the mammalian SAGA transcriptional co-activating complex. USP22 was identified as a member of the so-called "death-from-cancer" signature predicting therapy failure in cancer patients. However, the importance and functional role of USP22 in different types and subtypes of cancer remain largely unknown. In the present study, we leveraged human cell lines and genetic mouse models to investigate the role of USP22 in HER2-driven breast cancer (HER2+-BC) and demonstrate for the first time that USP22 is required for the tumorigenic properties in murine and human HER2+-BC models. To get insight into the underlying mechanisms, we performed transcriptome-wide gene expression analyses and identified the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) as a pathway deregulated upon USP22 loss. The UPR is normally induced upon extrinsic or intrinsic stresses that can promote cell survival and recovery if shortly activated or programmed cell death if activated for an extended period. Strikingly, we found that USP22 actively suppresses UPR induction in HER2+-BC cells by stabilizing the major endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone HSPA5. Consistently, loss of USP22 renders tumor cells more sensitive to apoptosis and significantly increases the efficiency of therapies targeting the ER folding capacity. Together, our data suggest that therapeutic strategies targeting USP22 activity may sensitize tumor cells to UPR induction and could provide a novel, effective approach to treat HER2+-BC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evangelos Prokakis
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Anna Dyas
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- MRC Cancer Unit, University of Cambridge, Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, Box 197, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, CB2 0XZ, UK
| | - Regina Grün
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sonja Fritzsche
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Upasana Bedi
- Chromatin Remodeling Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India, 110067
| | - Zahra B Kazerouni
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Robyn L Kosinsky
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Gene Regulatory Mechanisms and Molecular Epigenetics Lab, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA
| | - Steven A Johnsen
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
- Gene Regulatory Mechanisms and Molecular Epigenetics Lab, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
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14
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Wüst HM, Wegener A, Fröb F, Hartwig AC, Wegwitz F, Kari V, Schimmel M, Tamm ER, Johnsen SA, Wegner M, Sock E. Egr2-guided histone H2B monoubiquitination is required for peripheral nervous system myelination. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:8959-8976. [PMID: 32672815 PMCID: PMC7498331 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Revised: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Schwann cells are the nerve ensheathing cells of the peripheral nervous system. Absence, loss and malfunction of Schwann cells or their myelin sheaths lead to peripheral neuropathies such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease in humans. During Schwann cell development and myelination chromatin is dramatically modified. However, impact and functional relevance of these modifications are poorly understood. Here, we analyzed histone H2B monoubiquitination as one such chromatin modification by conditionally deleting the Rnf40 subunit of the responsible E3 ligase in mice. Rnf40-deficient Schwann cells were arrested immediately before myelination or generated abnormally thin, unstable myelin, resulting in a peripheral neuropathy characterized by hypomyelination and progressive axonal degeneration. By combining sequencing techniques with functional studies we show that H2B monoubiquitination does not influence global gene expression patterns, but instead ensures selective high expression of myelin and lipid biosynthesis genes and proper repression of immaturity genes. This requires the specific recruitment of the Rnf40-containing E3 ligase by Egr2, the central transcriptional regulator of peripheral myelination, to its target genes. Our study identifies histone ubiquitination as essential for Schwann cell myelination and unravels new disease-relevant links between chromatin modifications and transcription factors in the underlying regulatory network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah M Wüst
- Institut für Biochemie, Emil-Fischer-Zentrum, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Fahrstrasse 17, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Amélie Wegener
- Institut für Biochemie, Emil-Fischer-Zentrum, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Fahrstrasse 17, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Franziska Fröb
- Institut für Biochemie, Emil-Fischer-Zentrum, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Fahrstrasse 17, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Anna C Hartwig
- Institut für Biochemie, Emil-Fischer-Zentrum, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Fahrstrasse 17, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of General, Visceral, and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, D-37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Vijayalakshmi Kari
- Department of General, Visceral, and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, D-37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Margit Schimmel
- Institut für Humananatomie und Embryologie, Universität Regensburg, Universitätsstrasse 31, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Ernst R Tamm
- Institut für Humananatomie und Embryologie, Universität Regensburg, Universitätsstrasse 31, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Steven A Johnsen
- Department of General, Visceral, and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, D-37075 Göttingen, Germany.,Gene Regulatory Mechanisms and Molecular Epigenetics Lab, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Michael Wegner
- Institut für Biochemie, Emil-Fischer-Zentrum, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Fahrstrasse 17, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Sock
- Institut für Biochemie, Emil-Fischer-Zentrum, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Fahrstrasse 17, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany
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15
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Wegwitz F, Prokakis E, Pejkovska A, Kosinsky RL, Glatzel M, Pantel K, Wikman H, Johnsen SA. The histone H2B ubiquitin ligase RNF40 is required for HER2-driven mammary tumorigenesis. Cell Death Dis 2020; 11:873. [PMID: 33070155 PMCID: PMC7568723 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-020-03081-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Revised: 09/18/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The HER2-positive breast cancer subtype (HER2+-BC) displays a particularly aggressive behavior. Anti-HER2 therapies have significantly improved the survival of patients with HER2+-BC. However, a large number of patients become refractory to current targeted therapies, necessitating the development of new treatment strategies. Epigenetic regulators are commonly misregulated in cancer and represent attractive molecular therapeutic targets. Monoubiquitination of histone 2B (H2Bub1) by the heterodimeric ubiquitin ligase complex RNF20/RNF40 has been described to have tumor suppressor functions and loss of H2Bub1 has been associated with cancer progression. In this study, we utilized human tumor samples, cell culture models, and a mammary carcinoma mouse model with tissue-specific Rnf40 deletion and identified an unexpected tumor-supportive role of RNF40 in HER2+-BC. We demonstrate that RNF40-driven H2B monoubiquitination is essential for transcriptional activation of RHO/ROCK/LIMK pathway components and proper actin-cytoskeleton dynamics through a trans-histone crosstalk with histone 3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3). Collectively, this work demonstrates a previously unknown essential role of RNF40 in HER2+-BC, revealing the H2B monoubiquitination axis as a possible tumor context-dependent therapeutic target in breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Wegwitz
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.,Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Evangelos Prokakis
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Anastasija Pejkovska
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Robyn Laura Kosinsky
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Markus Glatzel
- Institute for Neuropathology, University of Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Klaus Pantel
- Institute of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Harriet Wikman
- Institute of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Steven A Johnsen
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany. .,Institute of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. .,Gene Regulatory Mechanisms and Molecular Epigenetics Lab, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
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16
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Kosinsky RL, Zerche M, Saul D, Wang X, Wohn L, Wegwitz F, Begus-Nahrmann Y, Johnsen SA. USP22 exerts tumor-suppressive functions in colorectal cancer by decreasing mTOR activity. Cell Death Differ 2019; 27:1328-1340. [PMID: 31527800 DOI: 10.1038/s41418-019-0420-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Revised: 08/01/2019] [Accepted: 09/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
USP22, the deubiquitinating subunit of the SAGA transcriptional cofactor complex, is a member of an 11-gene "death-from-cancer" signature. USP22 has been considered an attractive therapeutic target since high levels of its expression were associated with distant metastasis, poor survival, and high recurrence rates in a wide variety of solid tumors, including colorectal cancer (CRC). We sought to investigate the role of Usp22 during tumorigenesis in vivo using a mouse model for intestinal carcinogenesis with a tissue-specific Usp22 ablation. In addition, we assessed the effects of USP22 depletion in human CRC cells on tumorigenic potential and identified underlying molecular mechanisms. For the first time, we report that USP22 has an unexpected tumor-suppressive function in vivo. Intriguingly, intestine-specific Usp22 deletion exacerbated the tumor phenotype caused by Apc mutation, resulting in significantly decreased survival and higher intestinal tumor incidence. Accordingly, human CRC cells showed increased tumorigenic properties upon USP22 reduction in vitro and in vivo and induced gene expression signatures associated with an unfavorable outcome in CRC patients. Notably, USP22 loss resulted in increased mTOR activity with the tumorigenic properties elicited by the loss of USP22 being reversible by mTOR inhibitor treatment in vitro and in vivo. Here, we demonstrate that USP22 can exert tumor-suppressive functions in CRC where its loss increases CRC burden by modulating mTOR activity. Importantly, our data uncover a tumor- and context-specific role of USP22, suggesting that USP22 expression could serve as a marker for therapeutic stratification of cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robyn Laura Kosinsky
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Maria Zerche
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Dominik Saul
- Department of Trauma, Orthopedics and Reconstructive Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Luisa Wohn
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Yvonne Begus-Nahrmann
- Institute of Molecular Oncology, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Steven A Johnsen
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany. .,Gene Regulatory Mechanisms and Molecular Epigenetics Lab, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
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17
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Schneider D, Chua RL, Molitor N, Hamdan FH, Rettenmeier EM, Prokakis E, Mishra VK, Kari V, Wegwitz F, Johnsen SA, Kosinsky RL. The E3 ubiquitin ligase RNF40 suppresses apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells. Clin Epigenetics 2019; 11:98. [PMID: 31266541 PMCID: PMC6604314 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-019-0698-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and deciphering underlying molecular mechanism is essential. The loss of monoubiquitinated histone H2B (H2Bub1) was correlated with poor prognosis of CRC patients and, accordingly, H2Bub1 was suggested as a tumor-suppressive mark. Surprisingly, our previous work revealed that the H2B ubiquitin ligase RING finger protein 40 (RNF40) might exert tumor-promoting functions. Here, we investigated the effect of RNF40 loss on tumorigenic features of CRC cells and their survival in vitro. Methods We evaluated the effects of RNF40 depletion in several human CRC cell lines in vitro. To evaluate cell cycle progression, cells were stained with propidium iodide and analyzed by flow cytometry. In addition, to assess apoptosis rates, caspase 3/7 activity was assessed in a Celigo® S-based measurement and, additionally, an Annexin V assay was performed. Genomic occupancy of H2Bub1, H3K79me3, and H3K27ac was determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation. Transcriptome-wide effects of RNF40 loss were evaluated based on mRNA-seq results, qRT-PCR, and Western blot. To rescue apoptosis-related effects, cells were treated with Z-VAD-FMK. Results Human CRC cell lines displayed decreased cell numbers in vitro after RNF40 depletion. While the differences in confluence were not mediated by changes in cell cycle progression, we discovered highly increased apoptosis rates after RNF40 knockdown due to elevated caspase 3/7 activity. This effect can be explained by reduced mRNA levels of anti-apoptotic and upregulation of pro-apoptotic BCL2 family members. Moreover, the direct occupancy of the RNF40-mediated H2B monoubiquitination was observed in the transcribed region of anti-apoptotic genes. Caspase inhibition by Z-VAD-FMK treatment rescued apoptosis in RNF40-depleted cells. However, knockdown cells still displayed decreased tumorigenic features despite the absence of apoptosis. Conclusions Our findings reveal that RNF40 is essential for maintaining tumorigenic features of CRC cells in vitro by controlling the expression of genes encoding central apoptotic regulators. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13148-019-0698-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah Schneider
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Robert Lorenz Chua
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Nicole Molitor
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Feda H Hamdan
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.,Gene Regulatory Mechanisms and Molecular Epigenetics Lab, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Eva Maria Rettenmeier
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Evangelos Prokakis
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Vivek Kumar Mishra
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.,Department of Dermatology and the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Vijayalakshmi Kari
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Steven A Johnsen
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany. .,Gene Regulatory Mechanisms and Molecular Epigenetics Lab, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, USA.
| | - Robyn Laura Kosinsky
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
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18
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Sen M, Wang X, Hamdan FH, Rapp J, Eggert J, Kosinsky RL, Wegwitz F, Kutschat AP, Younesi FS, Gaedcke J, Grade M, Hessmann E, Papantonis A, Strӧbel P, Johnsen SA. ARID1A facilitates KRAS signaling-regulated enhancer activity in an AP1-dependent manner in colorectal cancer cells. Clin Epigenetics 2019; 11:92. [PMID: 31217031 PMCID: PMC6585056 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-019-0690-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 05/29/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background ARID1A (AT-rich interactive domain-containing protein 1A) is a subunit of the BAF chromatin remodeling complex and plays roles in transcriptional regulation and DNA damage response. Mutations in ARID1A that lead to inactivation or loss of expression are frequent and widespread across many cancer types including colorectal cancer (CRC). A tumor suppressor role of ARID1A has been established in a number of tumor types including CRC where the genetic inactivation of Arid1a alone led to the formation of invasive colorectal adenocarcinomas in mice. Mechanistically, ARID1A has been described to largely function through the regulation of enhancer activity. Methods To mimic ARID1A-deficient colorectal cancer, we used CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing to inactivate the ARID1A gene in established colorectal cancer cell lines. We integrated gene expression analyses with genome-wide ARID1A occupancy and epigenomic mapping data to decipher ARID1A-dependent transcriptional regulatory mechanisms. Results Interestingly, we found that CRC cell lines harboring KRAS mutations are critically dependent on ARID1A function. In the absence of ARID1A, proliferation of these cell lines is severely impaired, suggesting an essential role for ARID1A in this context. Mechanistically, we showed that ARID1A acts as a co-factor at enhancers occupied by AP1 transcription factors acting downstream of the MEK/ERK pathway. Consistently, loss of ARID1A led to a disruption of KRAS/AP1-dependent enhancer activity, accompanied by a downregulation of expression of the associated target genes. Conclusions We identify a previously unknown context-dependent tumor-supporting function of ARID1A in CRC downstream of KRAS signaling. Upon the loss of ARID1A in KRAS-mutated cells, enhancers that are co-occupied by ARID1A and the AP1 transcription factors become inactive, thereby leading to decreased target gene expression. Thus, targeting of the BAF complex in KRAS-mutated CRC may offer a unique, previously unknown, context-dependent therapeutic option in CRC. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13148-019-0690-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhobi Sen
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Feda H Hamdan
- Gene Regulatory Mechanisms and Molecular Epigenetics Lab, Gastroenterology Research, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA
| | - Jacobe Rapp
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jessica Eggert
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Robyn Laura Kosinsky
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ana Patricia Kutschat
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Fereshteh S Younesi
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Jochen Gaedcke
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Marian Grade
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Hessmann
- Department of Gastroenterology & Gastrointestinal Oncology, University Medical Center Gӧttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Argyris Papantonis
- Department of Pathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Philipp Strӧbel
- Department of Pathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Steven A Johnsen
- Gene Regulatory Mechanisms and Molecular Epigenetics Lab, Gastroenterology Research, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
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19
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Kosinsky RL, Chua RL, Qui M, Saul D, Mehlich D, Ströbel P, Schildhaus HU, Wegwitz F, Faubion WA, Johnsen SA. Loss of RNF40 Decreases NF-κB Activity in Colorectal Cancer Cells and Reduces Colitis Burden in Mice. J Crohns Colitis 2019; 13:362-373. [PMID: 30321325 PMCID: PMC6599279 DOI: 10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjy165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Inflammatory bowel diseases are linked to an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer [CRC]. Previous studies suggested that the H2B ubiquitin ligase RING finger protein-20 [RNF20] inhibited inflammatory signaling mediated by the nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells [NF-κB]. However, the role of RNF40, the obligate heterodimeric partner of RNF20, in the context of inflammation and CRC has not been addressed. Here, we examined the effect of RNF40 loss on CRC cells in vitro and on inflammation and inflammatory signaling in vitro and in vivo. METHODS We evaluated H2Bub1 levels in human and murine colorectal tumors by immunohistochemistry. Moreover, we correlated H2Bub1 and RNF40 levels in vivo and assessed the consequences of RNF40 depletion on cellular phenotype and gene expression in CRC cells in vitro. Finally, we examined the effect of a colon-specific loss of Rnf40 in a murine model of colitis, and assessed both local and systemic inflammation-associated consequences. RESULTS In vitro studies revealed that the tumorigenic phenotype of CRC cells decreased after RNF40 depletion and displayed gene expression changes related to chromosome segregation and DNA replication, as well as decreased induction of several NF-κB-associated cytokines. This effect was associated with decreased nuclear localization of NF-κB following tumor necrosis factor alpha treatment. Consistently, the colon-specific loss of Rnf40 exerted a protective local, as well as systemic, effect following acute colitis. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that RNF40 plays a central role in the maintenance of tumorigenic features and inflammatory signaling by promoting nuclear NF-κB activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robyn Laura Kosinsky
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Robert Lorenz Chua
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Martin Qui
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Dominik Saul
- Department of Trauma, Orthopedics and Reconstructive Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Dawid Mehlich
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Philipp Ströbel
- Institute of Pathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - William A Faubion
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Steven A Johnsen
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany,Corresponding author: Prof. Steven A. Johnsen, PhD, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, Clinic for General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Section of Tumor Epigenetics, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany. Tel.: +49 551 39-13711; fax: +49 551 39-13713; email
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20
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Wegwitz F, Lenfert E, Gerstel D, von Ehrenstein L, Einhoff J, Schmidt G, Logsdon M, Brandner J, Tiegs G, Beauchemin N, Wagener C, Deppert W, Horst AK. CEACAM1 controls the EMT switch in murine mammary carcinoma in vitro and in vivo. Oncotarget 2018; 7:63730-63746. [PMID: 27572314 PMCID: PMC5325399 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.11650] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2015] [Accepted: 08/08/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
We analyzed the molecular basis for carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (CEACAM1)-controlled inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in a mouse model for mammary adenocarcinoma (WAP-T mice). We demonstrate that silencing of CEACAM1 in WAP-T tumor-derived G-2 cells induces epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity (EMP), as evidenced by typical changes of gene expression, morphology and increased invasion. In contrast, reintroduction of CEACAM1 into G-2 cells reversed up-regulation of genes imposing mesenchymal transition, as well as cellular invasion. We identified the Wnt-pathway as target for CEACAM1-mediated repression of EMT. Importantly, β-catenin phosphorylation status and transcriptional activity strongly depend on CEACAM1 expression: CEACAM1high G-2 cells displayed enhanced phosphorylation of β-catenin at S33/S37/T41 and decreased phosphorylation at Y86, thereby inhibiting canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling. We identified Src-homology 2 domain-containing phosphatase 2 (SHP-2) as a critical binding partner of CEACAM1 that could modulate β-catenin Y86 phosphorylation. Hence, CEACAM1 serves as a scaffold that controls membrane proximal β-catenin signaling. In vivo, mammary tumors of WAP-T/CEACAM1null mice displayed increased nuclear translocation of β-catenin and a dramatically enhanced metastasis rate compared to WAP-T mice. Hence, CEACAM1 controls EMT in vitro and in vivo by site-specific regulation of β-catenin phosphorylation. Survival analyses of human mammary carcinoma patients corroborated these data, indicating that CEACAM1 is a prognostic marker for breast cancer survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Wegwitz
- Clinic for General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany.,Institute for Tumor Biology, University Medical Center-Hamburg-Eppendorf, D-20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Eva Lenfert
- Institute for Tumor Biology, University Medical Center-Hamburg-Eppendorf, D-20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Daniela Gerstel
- Center for Diagnostics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, D-20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Lena von Ehrenstein
- Institute for Tumor Biology, University Medical Center-Hamburg-Eppendorf, D-20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Julia Einhoff
- Institute for Tumor Biology, University Medical Center-Hamburg-Eppendorf, D-20251 Hamburg, Germany.,Pharmaceutical Institute, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, D-24118 Kiel, Germany
| | - Geske Schmidt
- Clinic for General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Matthew Logsdon
- Clinic for General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August-University of Göttingen, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Johanna Brandner
- Dermatology and Venerology Department and Clinic, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, D-20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Gisa Tiegs
- Institute for Experimental Immunology and Hepatology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, D-20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Nicole Beauchemin
- Goodman Cancer Research Centre and Departments of Biochemistry, Medicine and Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, H3G1Y6, Canada
| | - Christoph Wagener
- Center for Diagnostics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, D-20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Deppert
- Institute for Tumor Biology, University Medical Center-Hamburg-Eppendorf, D-20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andrea Kristina Horst
- Institute for Experimental Immunology and Hepatology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, D-20251 Hamburg, Germany
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21
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Mishra VK, Wegwitz F, Kosinsky RL, Sen M, Baumgartner R, Wulff T, Siveke JT, Schildhaus HU, Najafova Z, Kari V, Kohlhof H, Hessmann E, Johnsen SA. Histone deacetylase class-I inhibition promotes epithelial gene expression in pancreatic cancer cells in a BRD4- and MYC-dependent manner. Nucleic Acids Res 2017; 45:6334-6349. [PMID: 28369619 PMCID: PMC5499659 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkx212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2016] [Accepted: 03/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive cancer with a particularly dismal prognosis. Histone deacetylases (HDAC) are epigenetic modulators whose activity is frequently deregulated in various cancers including PDAC. In particular, class-I HDACs (HDAC 1, 2, 3 and 8) have been shown to play an important role in PDAC. In this study, we investigated the effects of the class I-specific HDAC inhibitor (HDACi) 4SC-202 in multiple PDAC cell lines in promoting tumor cell differentiation. We show that 4SC-202 negatively affects TGFβ signaling and inhibits TGFβ-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Moreover, 4SC-202 markedly induced p21 (CDKN1A) expression and significantly attenuated cell proliferation. Mechanistically, genome-wide studies revealed that 4SC-202-induced genes were enriched for Bromodomain-containing Protein-4 (BRD4) and MYC occupancy. BRD4, a well-characterized acetyllysine reader, has been shown to play a major role in regulating transcription of selected subsets of genes. Importantly, BRD4 and MYC are essential for the expression of a subgroup of genes induced by class-I HDACi. Taken together, our study uncovers a previously unknown role of BRD4 and MYC in eliciting the HDACi-mediated induction of a subset of genes and provides molecular insight into the mechanisms of HDACi action in PDAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivek Kumar Mishra
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Robyn Laura Kosinsky
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Madhobi Sen
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Tanja Wulff
- 4SC AG, Am Klopferspitz 19a, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Jens T Siveke
- German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research (DKTK) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Solid Tumor Translational Oncology, West German Cancer Center, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Hans-Ulrich Schildhaus
- Department of Pathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Strasse 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Zeynab Najafova
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Vijayalakshmi Kari
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Hella Kohlhof
- 4SC AG, Am Klopferspitz 19a, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Hessmann
- Department of Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Strasse 40, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Steven A Johnsen
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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22
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Nagarajan S, Bedi U, Budida A, Hamdan FH, Mishra VK, Najafova Z, Xie W, Alawi M, Indenbirken D, Knapp S, Chiang CM, Grundhoff A, Kari V, Scheel CH, Wegwitz F, Johnsen SA. BRD4 promotes p63 and GRHL3 expression downstream of FOXO in mammary epithelial cells. Nucleic Acids Res 2017; 45:3130-3145. [PMID: 27980063 PMCID: PMC5389510 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkw1276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2016] [Accepted: 12/09/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) is a member of the bromo- and extraterminal (BET) domain-containing family of epigenetic readers which is under intensive investigation as a target for anti-tumor therapy. BRD4 plays a central role in promoting the expression of select subsets of genes including many driven by oncogenic transcription factors and signaling pathways. However, the role of BRD4 and the effects of BET inhibitors in non-transformed cells remain mostly unclear. We demonstrate that BRD4 is required for the maintenance of a basal epithelial phenotype by regulating the expression of epithelial-specific genes including TP63 and Grainy Head-like transcription factor-3 (GRHL3) in non-transformed basal-like mammary epithelial cells. Moreover, BRD4 occupancy correlates with enhancer activity and enhancer RNA (eRNA) transcription. Motif analyses of cell context-specific BRD4-enriched regions predicted the involvement of FOXO transcription factors. Consistently, activation of FOXO1 function via inhibition of EGFR-AKT signaling promoted the expression of TP63 and GRHL3. Moreover, activation of Src kinase signaling and FOXO1 inhibition decreased the expression of FOXO/BRD4 target genes. Together, our findings support a function for BRD4 in promoting basal mammary cell epithelial differentiation, at least in part, by regulating FOXO factor function on enhancers to activate TP63 and GRHL3 expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sankari Nagarajan
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Upasana Bedi
- Institute of Molecular Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.,Institute of Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Anusha Budida
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Feda H Hamdan
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Vivek Kumar Mishra
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Zeynab Najafova
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Wanhua Xie
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Malik Alawi
- Bioinformatics Core, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20251 Hamburg, Germany.,Heinrich-Pette-Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, 20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Daniela Indenbirken
- Heinrich-Pette-Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, 20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Knapp
- Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK.,Target Discovery Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7FZ, UK.,Institute for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Goethe University Frankfurt 60323, Germany
| | - Cheng-Ming Chiang
- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dallas, TX 75235, USA
| | - Adam Grundhoff
- Heinrich-Pette-Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, 20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Vijayalakshmi Kari
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christina H Scheel
- Institute of Stem Cell Research, Helmholtz Center for Health and Environmental Research Munich, 85764 Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Steven A Johnsen
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
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23
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Mishra VK, Subramaniam M, Kari V, Pitel KS, Baumgart SJ, Naylor RM, Nagarajan S, Wegwitz F, Ellenrieder V, Hawse JR, Johnsen SA. Krüppel-like Transcription Factor KLF10 Suppresses TGFβ-Induced Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition via a Negative Feedback Mechanism. Cancer Res 2017; 77:2387-2400. [PMID: 28249899 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-16-2589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2016] [Revised: 10/24/2016] [Accepted: 02/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
TGFβ-SMAD signaling exerts a contextual effect that suppresses malignant growth early in epithelial tumorigenesis but promotes metastasis at later stages. Longstanding challenges in resolving this functional dichotomy may uncover new strategies to treat advanced carcinomas. The Krüppel-like transcription factor, KLF10, is a pivotal effector of TGFβ/SMAD signaling that mediates antiproliferative effects of TGFβ. In this study, we show how KLF10 opposes the prometastatic effects of TGFβ by limiting its ability to induce epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). KLF10 depletion accentuated induction of EMT as assessed by multiple metrics. KLF10 occupied GC-rich sequences in the promoter region of the EMT-promoting transcription factor SLUG/SNAI2, repressing its transcription by recruiting HDAC1 and licensing the removal of activating histone acetylation marks. In clinical specimens of lung adenocarcinoma, low KLF10 expression associated with decreased patient survival, consistent with a pivotal role for KLF10 in distinguishing the antiproliferative versus prometastatic functions of TGFβ. Our results establish that KLF10 functions to suppress TGFβ-induced EMT, establishing a molecular basis for the dichotomy of TGFβ function during tumor progression. Cancer Res; 77(9); 2387-400. ©2017 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivek Kumar Mishra
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, Göttingen, Germany
| | | | - Vijayalakshmi Kari
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Kevin S Pitel
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
| | - Simon J Baumgart
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ryan M Naylor
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
| | - Sankari Nagarajan
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Volker Ellenrieder
- Department of Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - John R Hawse
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
| | - Steven A Johnsen
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, Göttingen, Germany.
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24
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Xie W, Nagarajan S, Baumgart SJ, Kosinsky RL, Najafova Z, Kari V, Hennion M, Indenbirken D, Bonn S, Grundhoff A, Wegwitz F, Mansouri A, Johnsen SA. RNF40 regulates gene expression in an epigenetic context-dependent manner. Genome Biol 2017; 18:32. [PMID: 28209164 PMCID: PMC5314486 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-017-1159-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2016] [Accepted: 01/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Monoubiquitination of H2B (H2Bub1) is a largely enigmatic histone modification that has been linked to transcriptional elongation. Because of this association, it has been commonly assumed that H2Bub1 is an exclusively positively acting histone modification and that increased H2Bub1 occupancy correlates with increased gene expression. In contrast, depletion of the H2B ubiquitin ligases RNF20 or RNF40 alters the expression of only a subset of genes. Results Using conditional Rnf40 knockout mouse embryo fibroblasts, we show that genes occupied by low to moderate amounts of H2Bub1 are selectively regulated in response to Rnf40 deletion, whereas genes marked by high levels of H2Bub1 are mostly unaffected by Rnf40 loss. Furthermore, we find that decreased expression of RNF40-dependent genes is highly associated with widespread narrowing of H3K4me3 peaks. H2Bub1 promotes the broadening of H3K4me3 to increase transcriptional elongation, which together lead to increased tissue-specific gene transcription. Notably, genes upregulated following Rnf40 deletion, including Foxl2, are enriched for H3K27me3, which is decreased following Rnf40 deletion due to decreased expression of the Ezh2 gene. As a consequence, increased expression of some RNF40-“suppressed” genes is associated with enhancer activation via FOXL2. Conclusion Together these findings reveal the complexity and context-dependency whereby one histone modification can have divergent effects on gene transcription. Furthermore, we show that these effects are dependent upon the activity of other epigenetic regulatory proteins and histone modifications. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13059-017-1159-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanhua Xie
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sankari Nagarajan
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Simon J Baumgart
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Robyn Laura Kosinsky
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Zeynab Najafova
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Vijayalakshmi Kari
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Magali Hennion
- Research Group for Computational Systems Biology, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Griesebachstraße 5, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Daniela Indenbirken
- Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, 20251, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Stefan Bonn
- Research Group for Computational Systems Biology, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Griesebachstraße 5, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Adam Grundhoff
- Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, 20251, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ahmed Mansouri
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Max-Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Am Fassberg, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.,Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, University of Göttingen, Robert-Koch-Strasse 40, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Steven A Johnsen
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences, University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
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25
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Kosinsky RL, Wegwitz F, Hellbach N, Dobbelstein M, Mansouri A, Vogel T, Begus-Nahrmann Y, Johnsen SA. Usp22 deficiency impairs intestinal epithelial lineage specification in vivo. Oncotarget 2016; 6:37906-18. [PMID: 26431380 PMCID: PMC4741973 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.5412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2015] [Accepted: 09/14/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic regulatory mechanisms play a central role in controlling gene expression during development, cell differentiation and tumorigenesis. Monoubiquitination of histone H2B is one epigenetic modification which is dynamically regulated by the opposing activities of specific ubiquitin ligases and deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs). The Ubiquitin-specific Protease 22 (USP22) is the ubiquitin hydrolase component of the human SAGA complex which deubiquitinates histone H2B during transcription. Recently, many studies have investigated an oncogenic potential of USP22 overexpression. However, its physiological function in organ maintenance, development and its cellular function remain largely unknown. A previous study reported embryonic lethality in Usp22 knockout mice. Here we describe a mouse model with a global reduction of USP22 levels which expresses the LacZ gene under the control of the endogenous Usp22 promoter. Using this reporter we found Usp22 to be ubiquitously expressed in murine embryos. Notably, adult Usp22lacZ/lacZ displayed low residual Usp22 expression levels coupled with a reduced body size and weight. Interestingly, the reduction of Usp22 significantly influenced the frequency of differentiated cells in the small intestine and the brain while H2B and H2Bub1 levels remained constant. Taken together, we provide evidence for a physiological role for USP22 in controlling cell differentiation and lineage specification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robyn L Kosinsky
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany.,Institute of Molecular Oncology, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), Faculty of Medicine, University of Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Nicole Hellbach
- Department of Molecular Embryology, Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Dobbelstein
- Institute of Molecular Oncology, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), Faculty of Medicine, University of Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ahmed Mansouri
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Max-Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, RG Molecular Cell Differentiation, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Tanja Vogel
- Department of Molecular Embryology, Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Yvonne Begus-Nahrmann
- Institute of Molecular Oncology, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), Faculty of Medicine, University of Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Steven A Johnsen
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
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26
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Nagarajan S, Bedi U, Budida A, Xie W, Hamdan FHM, Mishra VK, Najafova Z, Alawi M, Indenbirken D, Knapp S, Chiang CM, Grundhoff A, Scheel CH, Kari V, Wegwitz F, Johnsen SA. Abstract 1982: BRD4-FOXO axis maintains differentiated mammary epithelial phenotype by regulating p63 and GRHL3 expression. Cancer Res 2016. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2016-1982] [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]
Abstract
Abstract
Bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) is an important epigenetic reader which promotes gene transcription to modulate cell-specific functions and is under intensive investigation for its potential as an anti-tumor therapeutic target. However, the role of BRD4 in non-transformed cells remains unclear. Using RNA sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing analyses in normal basal-like breast epithelial cells, we demonstrate that BRD4 is required for the expression of epithelial-specific genes and suppression of stem cell-like properties by binding to the distal regions of epithelial-related genes. Moreover, BRD4 occupancy correlates with enhancer activity and enhancer RNA (eRNA) transcription of these genes. Interestingly, we show that BRD4 perturbation regulates the expression of p63 and Grainy Head-like transcription factor-3, GRHL3, whose depletion partially mimics BRD4 inhibition and impairs a differentiated phenotype. By binding to the distal regions of p63 and GRHL3, BRD4 promotes RNA polymerase-II occupancy and thus affects eRNA transcription. Motif analyses on cell-specific BRD4 binding sites predict the involvement of FOXO transcription factors. Consistently, inhibition of EGFR-AKT signalling activates FOXO1 function and promotes the expression of p63 and GRHL3. Activation of Src kinase signaling decreases RNA polymerase-II occupancy on BRD4 target genes and enhancers. Altogether, these findings provide evidence that BRD4 promotes a differentiated epithelial phenotype in non-transformed mammary cells at least in part through the activation of p63 and GRHL3 expression by associating with FOXO factors.
Citation Format: Sankari Nagarajan, Upasana Bedi, Anusha Budida, Wanhua Xie, Feda Hisham Moh’d Hamdan, Vivek Kumar Mishra, Zeynab Najafova, Malik Alawi, Daniela Indenbirken, Stephan Knapp, Cheng-Ming Chiang, Adam Grundhoff, Christina H. Scheel, Vijayalakshmi Kari, Florian Wegwitz, Steven A. Johnsen. BRD4-FOXO axis maintains differentiated mammary epithelial phenotype by regulating p63 and GRHL3 expression. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1982.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sankari Nagarajan
- 1Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany; Cancer Research Centre UK, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Upasana Bedi
- 2Institute for Molecular Oncology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Goettingen, Germany; Institute for Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Anusha Budida
- 3Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Wanhua Xie
- 3Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Feda Hisham Moh’d Hamdan
- 3Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Vivek Kumar Mishra
- 3Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Zeynab Najafova
- 3Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Malik Alawi
- 4Bioinformatics Core, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf; Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Daniela Indenbirken
- 5Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Stephan Knapp
- 6Structural Genomics Consortium and Target Discovery Institute, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Institute for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Goethe Universität, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Cheng-Ming Chiang
- 7University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dallas, TX
| | - Adam Grundhoff
- 5Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christina H. Scheel
- 8Institute of Stem Cell Research, Helmholtz Center for Health and Environmental Research, Munich, Germany
| | - Vijayalakshmi Kari
- 3Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- 3Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Steven A. Johnsen
- 3Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, University Medical Center Göttingen, Goettingen, Germany
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27
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Falker C, Hartmann A, Guett I, Dohler F, Altmeppen H, Betzel C, Schubert R, Thurm D, Wegwitz F, Joshi P, Verderio C, Krasemann S, Glatzel M. Exosomal cellular prion protein drives fibrillization of amyloid beta and counteracts amyloid beta-mediated neurotoxicity. J Neurochem 2016; 137:88-100. [DOI: 10.1111/jnc.13514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2015] [Revised: 12/03/2015] [Accepted: 12/11/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Clemens Falker
- Institute of Neuropathology; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf; Hamburg Germany
| | - Alexander Hartmann
- Institute of Neuropathology; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf; Hamburg Germany
| | - Inga Guett
- Institute of Neuropathology; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf; Hamburg Germany
| | - Frank Dohler
- Institute of Neuropathology; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf; Hamburg Germany
| | - Hermann Altmeppen
- Institute of Neuropathology; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf; Hamburg Germany
| | - Christian Betzel
- Laboratory of Structural Biology of Infection and Inflammation; Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; University of Hamburg; Hamburg Germany
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging; Hamburg Germany
| | - Robin Schubert
- Laboratory of Structural Biology of Infection and Inflammation; Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; University of Hamburg; Hamburg Germany
- The Hamburg Centre for Ultrafast Imaging; Hamburg Germany
| | - Dana Thurm
- Institute of Neuropathology; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf; Hamburg Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of Translational Cancer Research; University Medical Center Göttingen; Göttingen Germany
| | | | - Claudia Verderio
- IRCCS Humanitas; Rozzano Italy
- CNR-Institute of Neuroscience; Milano Italy
| | - Susanne Krasemann
- Institute of Neuropathology; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf; Hamburg Germany
| | - Markus Glatzel
- Institute of Neuropathology; University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf; Hamburg Germany
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Hossan T, Nagarajan S, Baumgart SJ, Xie W, Magallanes RT, Hernandez C, Chiaroni PM, Indenbirken D, Spitzner M, Thomas-Chollier M, Grade M, Thieffry D, Grundhoff A, Wegwitz F, Johnsen SA. Histone Chaperone SSRP1 is Essential for Wnt Signaling Pathway Activity During Osteoblast Differentiation. Stem Cells 2016; 34:1369-76. [PMID: 27146025 DOI: 10.1002/stem.2287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2015] [Accepted: 11/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Cellular differentiation is accompanied by dramatic changes in chromatin structure which direct the activation of lineage-specific transcriptional programs. Structure-specific recognition protein-1 (SSRP1) is a histone chaperone which is important for chromatin-associated processes such as transcription, DNA replication and repair. Since the function of SSRP1 during cell differentiation remains unclear, we investigated its potential role in controlling lineage determination. Depletion of SSRP1 in human mesenchymal stem cells elicited lineage-specific effects by increasing expression of adipocyte-specific genes and decreasing the expression of osteoblast-specific genes. Consistent with a role in controlling lineage specification, transcriptome-wide RNA-sequencing following SSRP1 depletion and the induction of osteoblast differentiation revealed a specific decrease in the expression of genes involved in biological processes related to osteoblast differentiation. Importantly, we observed a specific downregulation of target genes of the canonical Wnt signaling pathway, which was accompanied by decreased nuclear localization of active β-catenin. Together our data uncover a previously unknown role for SSRP1 in promoting the activation of the Wnt signaling pathway activity during cellular differentiation. Stem Cells 2016;34:1369-1376.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tareq Hossan
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sankari Nagarajan
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Simon J Baumgart
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Wanhua Xie
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Roberto Tirado Magallanes
- Computational Systems Biology Team, Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), CNRS, Inserm, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Céline Hernandez
- Computational Systems Biology Team, Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), CNRS, Inserm, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Pierre-Marie Chiaroni
- Computational Systems Biology Team, Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), CNRS, Inserm, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Daniela Indenbirken
- Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Melanie Spitzner
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Morgane Thomas-Chollier
- Computational Systems Biology Team, Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), CNRS, Inserm, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Marian Grade
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Denis Thieffry
- Computational Systems Biology Team, Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure (IBENS), CNRS, Inserm, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Adam Grundhoff
- Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Steven A Johnsen
- Department of General, Visceral and Pediatric Surgery, Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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Maenz C, Lenfert E, Pantel K, Schumacher U, Deppert W, Wegwitz F. Epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity is a decisive feature for the metastatic outgrowth of disseminated WAP-T mouse mammary carcinoma cells. BMC Cancer 2015; 15:178. [PMID: 25886487 PMCID: PMC4381675 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-015-1165-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2014] [Accepted: 03/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Experimental analysis of the metastatic cascade requires suitable model systems which allow tracing of disseminated tumor cells and the identification of factors leading to metastatic outgrowth in distant organs. Such models, especially models using immune-competent mice, are rather scarce. We here analyze tumor cell dissemination and metastasis in an immune-competent transplantable mouse mammary tumor model, based on the SV40 transgenic WAP-T mouse mammary carcinoma model. Methods We orthotopically transplanted into immune-competent WAP-T mice two tumor cell lines (H8N8, moderately metastatic, and G-2, non-metastatic), developed from primary WAP-T tumors. G-2 and H8N8 cells exhibit stem cell characteristics, form homeostatic, heterotypic tumor cell systems in vitro, and closely mimic endogenous primary tumors after orthotopic transplantation into syngeneic, immune-competent WAP-T mice. Tumor cell transgene-specific PCR allows monitoring of tumor cell dissemination into distinct organs, and immunohistochemistry for SV40 T-antigen tracing of single disseminated tumor cells (DTC). Results While only H8N8 cell-derived tumors developed metastases, tumors induced with both cell lines disseminated into a variety of organs with similar efficiency and similar organ distribution. H8N8 metastases arose only in lungs, indicating that organ-specific metastatic outgrowth depends on the ability of DTC to re-establish a tumor cell system rather than on invasion per se. Resection of small tumors (0.5 cm3) prevented metastasis of H8N8-derived tumors, most likely due to the rather short half-life of DTC, and thus to shorter exposure of the mice to DTC. In experimental metastasis by tail vein injection, G-2 and H8N8 cells both were able to form lung metastases with similar efficiency. However, after injection of sorted “mesenchymal” and “epithelial” G-2 cell subpopulations, only the “epithelial” subpopulation formed lung metastases. Conclusions We demonstrate the utility of our mouse model to analyze factors influencing tumor cell dissemination and metastasis. We suggest that the different metastatic capacity of G-2 and H8N8 cells is due to their different degrees of epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity (EMP), and thus the ability of the respective disseminated cells to revert from a “mesenchymal” to an “epithelial” differentiation state. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-015-1165-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Maenz
- Institute for Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), D-20246, Hamburg, Germany. .,Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, D-20251, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Eva Lenfert
- Institute for Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), D-20246, Hamburg, Germany. .,Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, D-20251, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Klaus Pantel
- Institute for Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), D-20246, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Udo Schumacher
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), D-20246, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Wolfgang Deppert
- Institute for Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), D-20246, Hamburg, Germany. .,Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, D-20251, Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Institute for Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), D-20246, Hamburg, Germany. .,Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, D-20251, Hamburg, Germany. .,Department of Translational Cancer Research, University Medical Center Göttingen, D-37075, Göttingen, Germany.
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Jannasch K, Wegwitz F, Lenfert E, Maenz C, Deppert W, Alves F. Chemotherapy of WAP-T mouse mammary carcinomas aggravates tumor phenotype and enhances tumor cell dissemination. Int J Cancer 2014; 137:25-36. [PMID: 25449528 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.29369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2014] [Accepted: 11/13/2014] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
In this study, the effects of the standard chemotherapy, cyclophosphamide/adriamycin/5-fluorouracil (CAF) on tumor growth, dissemination and recurrence after orthotopic implantation of murine G-2 cells were analyzed in the syngeneic immunocompetent whey acidic protein-T mouse model (Wegwitz et al., PLoS One 2010; 5:e12103; Schulze-Garg et al., Oncogene 2000; 19:1028-37). Single-dose CAF treatment reduced tumor size significantly, but was not able to eradicate all tumor cells, as recurrent tumor growth was observed 4 weeks after CAF treatment. Nine days after CAF treatment, residual tumors showed features of regressive alterations and were composed of mesenchymal-like tumor cells, infiltrating immune cells and some tumor-associated fibroblasts with an intense deposition of collagen. Recurrent tumors were characterized by coagulative necrosis and less tumor cell differentiation compared with untreated tumors, suggesting a more aggressive tumor phenotype. In support, tumor cell dissemination was strongly enhanced in mice that had developed recurrent tumors in comparison with untreated controls, although only few disseminated tumor cells could be detected in various organs 9 days after CAF application. In vitro experiments revealed that CAF treatment of G-2 cells eliminates the vast majority of epithelial tumor cells, whereas tumor cells with a mesenchymal phenotype survive. These results together with the in vivo findings suggest that tumor cells that underwent epithelial-mesenchymal transition and/or exhibit stem-cell-like properties are difficult to eliminate using one round of CAF chemotherapy. The model system described here provides a valuable tool for the characterization of the effects of chemotherapeutic regimens on recurrent tumor growth and on tumor cell dissemination, thereby enabling the development and preclinical evaluation of novel therapeutic strategies to target mammary carcinomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Jannasch
- Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, University Medical Center, 37075, Goettingen, Germany
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Schreiber S, Gocht A, Wegwitz F, Deppert W, Schumacher U. Lectin histochemistry of murine WAP-T mammary cancer reveals similar glycoconjugate changes to those in human breast cancer. Anticancer Res 2014; 34:7045-7053. [PMID: 25503131] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The WAP-T mouse model is an established clinically relevant model of breast cancer. Lectins have been used to study malignant progression in clinical studies. We investigated lectin binding sites to test for the clinical relevance of this model. MATERIALS AND METHODS Samples of the WAP-T mouse mammary tissues, from normal tissues to undifferentiated higher tumor grades were stained using an indirect technique with nine different lectins for intensity of lectin binding. RESULTS HPA bound to the luminal epithelium in higher tumor grades in a similar pattern to that in human breast cancer. BSA-IB4 bound to luminal epithelium in hyperplasia and increased towards higher grades, comparable to previous clinical studies. PHA-L-binding to myoepithelium and luminal epithelium increased from hyperplasia to higher grades, comparable to findings in human breast cancer. CONCLUSION The results of our study support the hypothesis that lectin binding sites change similarly in WAP-T and human breast cancer, stressing the similarity of this model with the clinical setting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steffen Schreiber
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Gocht
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany Joint Practice of Pathology, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Institute of Tumor Biology, University Cancer Center, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Deppert
- Institute of Tumor Biology, University Cancer Center, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Udo Schumacher
- Institute of Anatomy and Experimental Morphology, University Cancer Center, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
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Lenfert E, Maenz C, Heinlein C, Jannasch K, Schumacher U, Pantel K, Tolstonog GV, Deppert W, Wegwitz F. Mutant p53 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity and enhances metastasis in mammary carcinomas of WAP-T mice. Int J Cancer 2014; 136:E521-33. [PMID: 25195563 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.29186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2014] [Revised: 07/31/2014] [Accepted: 08/21/2014] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
To study the postulated mutant p53 (mutp53) "gain of function" effects in mammary tumor development, progression and metastasis, we crossed SV40 transgenic WAP-T mice with mutant p53 transgenic WAP-mutp53 mice. Compared to tumors in monotransgenic WAP-T mice, tumors in bitransgenic WAP-T x WAP-mutp53 mice showed higher tumor grading, enhanced vascularization, and significantly increased metastasis. Bitransgenic tumors revealed a gene signature associated with the oncogenic epithelial-mesenchymal transition pathway (EMT gene signature). In cultures of WAP-T tumor-derived G-2 cancer cells, which are comprised of subpopulations displaying "mesenchymal" and "epithelial" phenotypes, this EMT gene signature was associated with the "mesenchymal" compartment. Furthermore, ectopic expression of mutp53 in G-2 cells sufficed to induce a strong EMT phenotype. In contrast to these in vitro effects, monotransgenic and bitransgenic tumors were phenotypically similar suggesting that in vivo the tumor cell phenotype might be under control of the tumor microenvironment. In support, orthotopic transplantation of G-2 cells as well as of G-2 cells expressing ectopic mutp53 into syngeneic mice resulted in tumors with a predominantly epithelial phenotype, closely similar to that of endogenous primary tumors. We conclude that induction of an EMT gene signature by mutp53 in bitransgenic tumors primarily promotes tumor cell plasticity, that is, the probability of tumor cells to undergo EMT processes under appropriate stimuli, thereby possibly increasing their potential to disseminate and metastasize.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Lenfert
- Department for Tumor Biology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), D-20246, Hamburg, Germany; Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology, D-20251, Hamburg, Germany
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Quante T, Wegwitz F, Abe J, Rossi A, Deppert W, Bohn W. Aberrant Proliferation of Differentiating Alveolar Cells Induces Hyperplasia in Resting Mammary Glands of SV40-TAg Transgenic Mice. Front Oncol 2014; 4:168. [PMID: 25019062 PMCID: PMC4071642 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2014.00168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2014] [Accepted: 06/11/2014] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
WAP-T1 transgenic mice express SV40-TAg under control of the whey acidic protein (WAP) promoter, which directs activity of this strong viral oncogene to luminal cells of the mammary gland. Resting uniparous WAP-T1 glands develop hyperplasia composed of TAg positive cells prior to appearance of advanced tumor stages. We show that cells in hyperplasia display markers of alveolar differentiation, suggesting that TAg targets differentiating cells of the alveolar compartment. The glands show significant expression of Elf5 and milk genes (Lalba, Csn2, and Wap). TAg expressing cells largely co-stain with antibodies to Elf5, lack the epithelial marker Sca1, and are hormone receptor negative. High expression levels of Elf5 but not of milk genes are also seen in resting glands of normal BALB/c mice. This indicates that expression of Elf5 in resting WAP-T1 glands is not specifically induced by TAg. CK6a positive luminal cells lack TAg. These cells co-express the markers prominin-1, CK6a, and Sca1, and are positive for hormone receptors. These hormone sensitive cells localize to ducts and seem not to be targeted by TAg. Despite reaching an advanced stage in alveolar differentiation, the cells in hyperplasia do not exit the cell cycle. Thus, expression of TAg in conjunction with regular morphogenetic processes of alveologenesis seem to provide the basis for a hormone independent, unscheduled proliferation of differentiating cells in resting glands of WAP-T1 transgenic mice, leading to the formation of hyperplastic lesions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timo Quante
- Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology , Hamburg , Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Institute for Tumor Biology, University Hospital Eppendorf , Hamburg , Germany
| | - Julia Abe
- Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology , Hamburg , Germany
| | - Alessandra Rossi
- Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology , Hamburg , Germany
| | - Wolfgang Deppert
- Institute for Tumor Biology, University Hospital Eppendorf , Hamburg , Germany
| | - Wolfgang Bohn
- Heinrich Pette Institute, Leibniz Institute for Experimental Virology , Hamburg , Germany
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Otto B, Streichert T, Wegwitz F, Gevensleben H, Klätschke K, Wagener C, Deppert W, Tolstonog GV. Transcription factors link mouse WAP-T mammary tumors with human breast cancer. Int J Cancer 2012; 132:1311-22. [DOI: 10.1002/ijc.27941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2012] [Accepted: 10/25/2012] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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Otto B, Gruner K, Heinlein C, Wegwitz F, Nollau P, Ylstra B, Pantel K, Schumacher U, Baumbusch LO, Martin-Subero JI, Siebert R, Wagener C, Streichert T, Deppert W, Tolstonog GV. Low-grade and high-grade mammary carcinomas in WAP-T transgenic mice are independent entities distinguished by Met expression. Int J Cancer 2012; 132:1300-10. [DOI: 10.1002/ijc.27783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2012] [Accepted: 08/03/2012] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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Hirner H, Günes C, Bischof J, Wolff S, Grothey A, Kühl M, Oswald F, Wegwitz F, Bösl MR, Trauzold A, Henne-Bruns D, Peifer C, Leithäuser F, Deppert W, Knippschild U. Impaired CK1 delta activity attenuates SV40-induced cellular transformation in vitro and mouse mammary carcinogenesis in vivo. PLoS One 2012; 7:e29709. [PMID: 22235331 PMCID: PMC3250488 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0029709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2011] [Accepted: 12/01/2011] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Simian virus 40 (SV40) is a powerful tool to study cellular transformation in vitro, as well as tumor development and progression in vivo. Various cellular kinases, among them members of the CK1 family, play an important role in modulating the transforming activity of SV40, including the transforming activity of T-Ag, the major transforming protein of SV40, itself. Here we characterized the effects of mutant CK1δ variants with impaired kinase activity on SV40-induced cell transformation in vitro, and on SV40-induced mammary carcinogenesis in vivo in a transgenic/bi-transgenic mouse model. CK1δ mutants exhibited a reduced kinase activity compared to wtCK1δ in in vitro kinase assays. Molecular modeling studies suggested that mutation N172D, located within the substrate binding region, is mainly responsible for impaired mutCK1δ activity. When stably over-expressed in maximal transformed SV-52 cells, CK1δ mutants induced reversion to a minimal transformed phenotype by dominant-negative interference with endogenous wtCK1δ. To characterize the effects of CK1δ on SV40-induced mammary carcinogenesis, we generated transgenic mice expressing mutant CK1δ under the control of the whey acidic protein (WAP) gene promoter, and crossed them with SV40 transgenic WAP-T-antigen (WAP-T) mice. Both WAP-T mice as well as WAP-mutCK1δ/WAP-T bi-transgenic mice developed breast cancer. However, tumor incidence was lower and life span was significantly longer in WAP-mutCK1δ/WAP-T bi-transgenic animals. The reduced CK1δ activity did not affect early lesion formation during tumorigenesis, suggesting that impaired CK1δ activity reduces the probability for outgrowth of in situ carcinomas to invasive carcinomas. The different tumorigenic potential of SV40 in WAP-T and WAP-mutCK1δ/WAP-T tumors was also reflected by a significantly different expression of various genes known to be involved in tumor progression, specifically of those involved in wnt-signaling and DNA repair. Our data show that inactivating mutations in CK1δ impair SV40-induced cellular transformation in vitro and mouse mammary carcinogenesis in vivo.
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MESH Headings
- Animals
- Antigens, Viral, Tumor/immunology
- Casein Kinase Idelta/chemistry
- Casein Kinase Idelta/genetics
- Casein Kinase Idelta/metabolism
- Cell Line
- Cell Line, Tumor
- Cell Transformation, Viral/genetics
- Disease Progression
- Female
- Gene Expression Regulation
- Male
- Mammary Glands, Animal/metabolism
- Mammary Glands, Animal/pathology
- Mammary Glands, Animal/virology
- Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental/enzymology
- Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental/genetics
- Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental/pathology
- Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental/virology
- Mice
- Mice, Inbred BALB C
- Mice, Transgenic
- Milk Proteins/genetics
- Models, Molecular
- Mutation
- Phenotype
- Phosphorylation
- Promoter Regions, Genetic/genetics
- Protein Structure, Tertiary
- Simian virus 40/immunology
- Simian virus 40/physiology
- Survival Analysis
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidrun Hirner
- Department of General-, Visceral- and Transplantation Surgery, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Cagatay Günes
- Institute of Molecular Medicine and Max-Planck-Research Group on Stem Cell Aging, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Joachim Bischof
- Department of General-, Visceral- and Transplantation Surgery, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Sonja Wolff
- Department of General-, Visceral- and Transplantation Surgery, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Arnhild Grothey
- Department of General-, Visceral- and Transplantation Surgery, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Marion Kühl
- Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute, Leibniz-Center for Experimental Virology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Franz Oswald
- Department of Internal Medicine I, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Florian Wegwitz
- Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute, Leibniz-Center for Experimental Virology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Michael R. Bösl
- Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology Transgenic Mouse Models, Max Planck Institute, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Anna Trauzold
- Division of Molecular Oncology, Institute for Experimental Cancer Research, CCCNorth, UK S-H, Kiel, Germany
| | - Doris Henne-Bruns
- Department of General-, Visceral- and Transplantation Surgery, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | | | | | - Wolfgang Deppert
- Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute, Leibniz-Center for Experimental Virology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Uwe Knippschild
- Department of General-, Visceral- and Transplantation Surgery, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
- * E-mail:
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Wegwitz F, Kluth MA, Mänz C, Otto B, Gruner K, Heinlein C, Kühl M, Warnecke G, Schumacher U, Deppert W, Tolstonog GV. Tumorigenic WAP-T mouse mammary carcinoma cells: a model for a self-reproducing homeostatic cancer cell system. PLoS One 2010; 5:e12103. [PMID: 20730114 PMCID: PMC2920333 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2010] [Accepted: 07/14/2010] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In analogy to normal stem cell differentiation, the current cancer stem cell (CSC) model presumes a hierarchical organization and an irreversible differentiation in tumor tissue. Accordingly, CSCs should comprise only a small subset of the tumor cells, which feeds tumor growth. However, some recent findings raised doubts on the general applicability of the CSC model and asked for its refinement. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study we analyzed the CSC properties of mammary carcinoma cells derived from transgenic (WAP-T) mice. We established a highly tumorigenic WAP-T cell line (G-2 cells) that displays stem-like traits. G-2 cells, as well as their clonal derivates, are closely related to primary tumors regarding histology and gene expression profiles, and reflect heterogeneity regarding their differentiation states. G-2 cultures comprise cell populations in distinct differentiation states identified by co-expression of cytoskeletal proteins (cytokeratins and vimentin), a combination of cell surface markers and a set of transcription factors. Cellular subsets sorted according to expression of CD24a, CD49f, CD61, Epcam, Sca1, and Thy1 cell surface proteins, or metabolic markers (e.g. ALDH activity) are competent to reconstitute the initial cellular composition. Repopulation efficiency greatly varies between individual subsets and is influenced by interactions with the respective complementary G-2 cellular subset. The balance between differentiation states is regulated in part by the transcription factor Sox10, as depletion of Sox10 led to up-regulation of Twist2 and increased the proportion of Thy1-expressing cells representing cells in a self-renewable, reversible, quasi-mesenchymal differentiation state. Conclusions/Significance G-2 cells constitute a self-reproducing cancer cell system, maintained by bi- and unidirectional conversion of complementary cellular subsets. Our work contributes to the current controversial discussion on the existence and nature of CSC and provides a basis for the incorporation of alternative hypotheses into the CSC model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Wegwitz
- Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute for Experimental Virology and Immunology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Mark-Andreas Kluth
- Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute for Experimental Virology and Immunology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Claudia Mänz
- Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute for Experimental Virology and Immunology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Benjamin Otto
- Department of Clinical Chemistry/Central Laboratories, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Katharina Gruner
- Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute for Experimental Virology and Immunology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christina Heinlein
- Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute for Experimental Virology and Immunology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Marion Kühl
- Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute for Experimental Virology and Immunology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Gabriele Warnecke
- Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute for Experimental Virology and Immunology, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Udo Schumacher
- Department of Anatomy II: Experimental Morphology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Deppert
- Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute for Experimental Virology and Immunology, Hamburg, Germany
- * E-mail: (WD); (GVT)
| | - Genrich V. Tolstonog
- Department of Tumor Virology, Heinrich-Pette-Institute for Experimental Virology and Immunology, Hamburg, Germany
- * E-mail: (WD); (GVT)
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Jannasch K, Dullin C, Heinlein C, Krepulat F, Wegwitz F, Deppert W, Alves F. Detection of different tumor growth kinetics in single transgenic mice with oncogene-induced mammary carcinomas by flat-panel volume computed tomography. Int J Cancer 2009; 125:62-70. [DOI: 10.1002/ijc.24332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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