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Cui Y, Yang G, Goodwin DR, O’Flanagan CH, Sinha A, Zhang C, Kitko KE, Shin TW, Park D, Aparicio S, Boyden ES. Expansion microscopy using a single anchor molecule for high-yield multiplexed imaging of proteins and RNAs. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0291506. [PMID: 37729182 PMCID: PMC10511132 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Expansion microscopy (ExM), by physically enlarging specimens in an isotropic fashion, enables nanoimaging on standard light microscopes. Key to existing ExM protocols is the equipping of different kinds of molecules, with different kinds of anchoring moieties, so they can all be pulled apart from each other by polymer swelling. Here we present a multifunctional anchor, an acrylate epoxide, that enables proteins and RNAs to be equipped with anchors in a single experimental step. This reagent simplifies ExM protocols and reduces cost (by 2-10-fold for a typical multiplexed ExM experiment) compared to previous strategies for equipping RNAs with anchors. We show that this united ExM (uniExM) protocol can be used to preserve and visualize RNA transcripts, proteins in biologically relevant ultrastructures, and sets of RNA transcripts in patient-derived xenograft (PDX) cancer tissues and may support the visualization of other kinds of biomolecular species as well. uniExM may find many uses in the simple, multimodal nanoscale analysis of cells and tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Cui
- McGovern Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Media Arts & Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Gaojie Yang
- McGovern Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Media Arts & Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Daniel R. Goodwin
- McGovern Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Media Arts & Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Ciara H. O’Flanagan
- Department of Molecular Oncology, BC Cancer, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Anubhav Sinha
- McGovern Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Media Arts & Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Chi Zhang
- McGovern Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Media Arts & Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Kristina E. Kitko
- McGovern Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Media Arts & Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Tay Won Shin
- McGovern Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Media Arts & Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Demian Park
- McGovern Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Media Arts & Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Samuel Aparicio
- Department of Molecular Oncology, BC Cancer, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | | | - Edward S. Boyden
- McGovern Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Media Arts & Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Biological Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Koch Institute for Cancer Research, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
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2
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Funnell T, O’Flanagan CH, Williams MJ, McPherson A, McKinney S, Kabeer F, Lee H, Salehi S, Vázquez-García I, Shi H, Leventhal E, Masud T, Eirew P, Yap D, Zhang AW, Lim JLP, Wang B, Brimhall J, Biele J, Ting J, Au V, Van Vliet M, Liu YF, Beatty S, Lai D, Pham J, Grewal D, Abrams D, Havasov E, Leung S, Bojilova V, Moore RA, Rusk N, Uhlitz F, Ceglia N, Weiner AC, Zaikova E, Douglas JM, Zamarin D, Weigelt B, Kim SH, Da Cruz Paula A, Reis-Filho JS, Martin SD, Li Y, Xu H, de Algara TR, Lee SR, Llanos VC, Huntsman DG, McAlpine JN, Shah SP, Aparicio S, Cannell IG, Casbolt H, Jauset C, Kovačević T, Mulvey CM, Nugent F, Ribes MP, Pearson I, Qosaj F, Sawicka K, Wild SA, Williams E, Laks E, Smith A, Lai D, Roth A, Balasubramanian S, Lee M, Bodenmiller B, Burger M, Kuett L, Tietscher S, Windhager J, Boyden ES, Alon S, Cui Y, Emenari A, Goodwin DR, Karagiannis ED, Sinha A, Wassie AT, Caldas C, Bruna A, Callari M, Greenwood W, Lerda G, Eyal-Lubling Y, Rueda OM, Shea A, Harris O, Becker R, Grimaldo F, Harris S, Vogl SL, Joyce JA, Watson SS, Tavare S, Dinh KN, Fisher E, Kunes R, Walton NA, Al Sa’d M, Chornay N, Dariush A, González-Solares EA, González-Fernández C, Yoldaş AK, Miller N, Zhuang X, Fan J, Lee H, Sepúlveda LA, Xia C, Zheng P, Shah SP, Aparicio S. Single-cell genomic variation induced by mutational processes in cancer. Nature 2022; 612:106-115. [PMID: 36289342 PMCID: PMC9712114 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05249-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
How cell-to-cell copy number alterations that underpin genomic instability1 in human cancers drive genomic and phenotypic variation, and consequently the evolution of cancer2, remains understudied. Here, by applying scaled single-cell whole-genome sequencing3 to wild-type, TP53-deficient and TP53-deficient;BRCA1-deficient or TP53-deficient;BRCA2-deficient mammary epithelial cells (13,818 genomes), and to primary triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC) cells (22,057 genomes), we identify three distinct 'foreground' mutational patterns that are defined by cell-to-cell structural variation. Cell- and clone-specific high-level amplifications, parallel haplotype-specific copy number alterations and copy number segment length variation (serrate structural variations) had measurable phenotypic and evolutionary consequences. In TNBC and HGSC, clone-specific high-level amplifications in known oncogenes were highly prevalent in tumours bearing fold-back inversions, relative to tumours with homologous recombination deficiency, and were associated with increased clone-to-clone phenotypic variation. Parallel haplotype-specific alterations were also commonly observed, leading to phylogenetic evolutionary diversity and clone-specific mono-allelic expression. Serrate variants were increased in tumours with fold-back inversions and were highly correlated with increased genomic diversity of cellular populations. Together, our findings show that cell-to-cell structural variation contributes to the origins of phenotypic and evolutionary diversity in TNBC and HGSC, and provide insight into the genomic and mutational states of individual cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler Funnell
- grid.5386.8000000041936877XTri-Institutional PhD Program in Computational Biology and Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY USA ,grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Ciara H. O’Flanagan
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Marc J. Williams
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Andrew McPherson
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Steven McKinney
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Farhia Kabeer
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada ,grid.17091.3e0000 0001 2288 9830Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Hakwoo Lee
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada ,grid.17091.3e0000 0001 2288 9830Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Sohrab Salehi
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Ignacio Vázquez-García
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Hongyu Shi
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Emily Leventhal
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Tehmina Masud
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Peter Eirew
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Damian Yap
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Allen W. Zhang
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Jamie L. P. Lim
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Beixi Wang
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Jazmine Brimhall
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Justina Biele
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Jerome Ting
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Vinci Au
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Michael Van Vliet
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Yi Fei Liu
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Sean Beatty
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Daniel Lai
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada ,grid.17091.3e0000 0001 2288 9830Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Jenifer Pham
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Diljot Grewal
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Douglas Abrams
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Eliyahu Havasov
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Samantha Leung
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Viktoria Bojilova
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Richard A. Moore
- grid.434706.20000 0004 0410 5424Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Nicole Rusk
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Florian Uhlitz
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Nicholas Ceglia
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Adam C. Weiner
- grid.5386.8000000041936877XTri-Institutional PhD Program in Computational Biology and Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY USA ,grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Elena Zaikova
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - J. Maxwell Douglas
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Dmitriy Zamarin
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952GYN Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Britta Weigelt
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Sarah H. Kim
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Arnaud Da Cruz Paula
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Jorge S. Reis-Filho
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Spencer D. Martin
- grid.17091.3e0000 0001 2288 9830Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Yangguang Li
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Hong Xu
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Teresa Ruiz de Algara
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - So Ra Lee
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Viviana Cerda Llanos
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - David G. Huntsman
- grid.248762.d0000 0001 0702 3000Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada ,grid.17091.3e0000 0001 2288 9830Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | - Jessica N. McAlpine
- grid.17091.3e0000 0001 2288 9830Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada
| | | | - Sohrab P. Shah
- grid.51462.340000 0001 2171 9952Computational Oncology, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY USA
| | - Samuel Aparicio
- Department of Molecular Oncology, British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. .,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
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Coleman MF, O’Flanagan CH, Pfeil AJ, Chen X, Pearce JB, Sumner S, Krupenko SA, Hursting SD. Metabolic Response of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer to Folate Restriction. Nutrients 2021; 13:nu13051637. [PMID: 34068120 PMCID: PMC8152779 DOI: 10.3390/nu13051637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs), accounting for approximately 15% of breast cancers, lack targeted therapy. A hallmark of cancer is metabolic reprogramming, with one-carbon metabolism essential to many processes altered in tumor cells, including nucleotide biosynthesis and antioxidant defenses. We reported that folate deficiency via folic acid (FA) withdrawal in several TNBC cell lines results in heterogenous effects on cell growth, metabolic reprogramming, and mitochondrial impairment. To elucidate underlying drivers of TNBC sensitivity to folate stress, we characterized in vivo and in vitro responses to FA restriction in two TNBC models differing in metastatic potential and innate mitochondrial dysfunction. Methods: Metastatic MDA-MB-231 cells (high mitochondrial dysfunction) and nonmetastatic M-Wnt cells (low mitochondrial dysfunction) were orthotopically injected into mice fed diets with either 2 ppm FA (control), 0 ppm FA, or 12 ppm FA (supplementation; in MDA-MB-231 only). Tumor growth, metabolomics, and metabolic gene expression were assessed. MDA-MB-231 and M-Wnt cells were also grown in media with 0 or 2.2 µM FA; metabolic alterations were assessed by extracellular flux analysis, flow cytometry, and qPCR. Results: Relative to control, dietary FA restriction decreased MDA-MB-231 tumor weight and volume, while FA supplementation minimally increased MDA-MB-231 tumor weight. Metabolic studies in vivo and in vitro using MDA-MB-231 cells showed FA restriction remodeled one-carbon metabolism, nucleotide biosynthesis, and glucose metabolism. In contrast to findings in the MDA-MB-231 model, FA restriction in the M-Wnt model, relative to control, led to accelerated tumor growth, minimal metabolic changes, and modest mitochondrial dysfunction. Increased mitochondrial dysfunction in M-Wnt cells, induced via chloramphenicol, significantly enhanced responsiveness to the cytotoxic effects of FA restriction. Conclusions: Given the lack of targeted treatment options for TNBC, uncovering metabolic vulnerabilities that can be exploited as therapeutic targets is an important goal. Our findings suggest that a major driver of TNBC sensitivity to folate restriction is a high innate level of mitochondrial dysfunction, which can increase dependence on one-carbon metabolism. Thus, folate deprivation or antifolate therapy for TNBCs with metabolic inflexibility due to their elevated levels of mitochondrial dysfunction may represent a novel precision-medicine strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael F. Coleman
- Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (M.F.C.); (C.H.O.); (A.J.P.); (X.C.); (J.B.P.); (S.S.); (S.A.K.)
| | - Ciara H. O’Flanagan
- Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (M.F.C.); (C.H.O.); (A.J.P.); (X.C.); (J.B.P.); (S.S.); (S.A.K.)
| | - Alexander J. Pfeil
- Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (M.F.C.); (C.H.O.); (A.J.P.); (X.C.); (J.B.P.); (S.S.); (S.A.K.)
| | - Xuewen Chen
- Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (M.F.C.); (C.H.O.); (A.J.P.); (X.C.); (J.B.P.); (S.S.); (S.A.K.)
| | - Jane B. Pearce
- Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (M.F.C.); (C.H.O.); (A.J.P.); (X.C.); (J.B.P.); (S.S.); (S.A.K.)
| | - Susan Sumner
- Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (M.F.C.); (C.H.O.); (A.J.P.); (X.C.); (J.B.P.); (S.S.); (S.A.K.)
- Nutrition Research Institute, University of North Carolina, Kannapolis, NC 28081, USA
| | - Sergey A. Krupenko
- Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (M.F.C.); (C.H.O.); (A.J.P.); (X.C.); (J.B.P.); (S.S.); (S.A.K.)
- Nutrition Research Institute, University of North Carolina, Kannapolis, NC 28081, USA
| | - Stephen D. Hursting
- Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; (M.F.C.); (C.H.O.); (A.J.P.); (X.C.); (J.B.P.); (S.S.); (S.A.K.)
- Nutrition Research Institute, University of North Carolina, Kannapolis, NC 28081, USA
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
- Correspondence:
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O’Flanagan CH, Rossi EL, Hursting SD. Abstract 1020: Autophagy forms part of a metabolic switch during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and metastasis in a murine claudin-low breast cancer model. Cancer Res 2016. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2016-1020] [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
Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), the process through which epithelial cells gain mesenchymal characteristics including reduced adhesion and enhanced invasion, is a critical step in progression of cancer cells toward metastasis. However, the molecular mechanisms governing this process remain poorly understood. Furthermore, though metastasis is the cause of 90% of cancer deaths, no targeted therapy is currently available for metastatic disease. Metabolic reprogramming is a key feature of most cancer cells, with oxidative phosphorylation often being switched off in favor of glycolytic and synthetic pathways. Autophagy is a catabolic process in which protein complexes, damaged organelles and other macromolecules are lysosomally degraded. Autophagy can promote cancer cell survival, providing protein, lipid, nucleic acid and membrane precursors as well as auxiliary energy during periods of energy stress. The role of metabolism in EMT and metastasis has not been well studied. We hypothesized that the transition to metastasis involves metabolic alterations, including activation of autophagy.
Previously, we derived (from a spontaneous mammary tumor in an MMTV-Wnt transgenic mouse) epithelial-like (E-Wnt) and mesenchymal-like (M-Wnt) cell lines, which recapitulate basal-like and claudin-low and breast tumors, respectively. Here, a metastatic derivative of M-Wnt cells was generated from lung metastases following serial passages in a severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mouse. metM-Wnt cells were more proliferative, invasive and formed more colonies in soft agar than their parental M-Wnt cell line. Tail vein injection or mammary fat pad orthotopic implantation of metM-Wnt cells resulted in metastatic tumor formation in either the lungs or liver as detected by IVIS imaging and histological analysis. metM-Wnt cells displayed higher rates of glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation, indicating that these cells are highly energetic. Furthermore, M-Wnt and metM-Wnt cells and tumors were found to have increased autophagic flux, as measured by LC3B expression and cleavage compared to E-Wnt cells and tumors. metM-Wnt cells were more sensitive to autophagy inhibition (either via chloroquine treatment or knockout of Atg5, a key component of the autophagic machinery) than M-Wnt or E-Wnt cells. Conversely, metM-Wnt cells were resistant to treatment with rapamycin, concomitant with sustained activation of mTOR, which controls many metabolic pathways including autophagy and protein synthesis. These results indicate that metabolic alteration is a feature of EMT in claudin-low breast cancer, including increased glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation and autophagy. Furthermore, metastatic breast cancer cells may be more reliant on autophagy than non-metastatic cells, and autophagy may therefore be a therapeutic target in which to treat metastatic breast cancers.
Citation Format: Ciara H. O’Flanagan, Emily L. Rossi, Stephen D. Hursting. Autophagy forms part of a metabolic switch during epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and metastasis in a murine claudin-low breast cancer model. [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 1020.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Emily L. Rossi
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
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