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Wagner A, Rouleau M, Villeneuve L, Le T, Peltier C, Allain ÉP, Beaudoin C, Tremblay S, Courtier F, Nguyen Van Long F, Laverdière I, Lévesque É, Banerji V, Vanura K, Guillemette C. A Non-Canonical Role for the Glycosyltransferase Enzyme UGT2B17 as a Novel Constituent of the B Cell Receptor Signalosome. Cells 2023; 12:cells12091295. [PMID: 37174695 PMCID: PMC10177405 DOI: 10.3390/cells12091295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), an elevated glycosyltransferase UGT2B17 expression (UGT2B17HI) identifies a subgroup of patients with shorter survival and poor drug response. We uncovered a mechanism, possibly independent of its enzymatic function, characterized by an enhanced expression and signaling of the proximal effectors of the pro-survival B cell receptor (BCR) pathway and elevated Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) phosphorylation in B-CLL cells from UGT2B17HI patients. A prominent feature of B-CLL cells is the strong correlation of UGT2B17 expression with the adverse marker ZAP70 encoding a tyrosine kinase that promotes B-CLL cell survival. Their combined high expression levels in the treatment of naïve patients further defined a prognostic group with the highest risk of poor survival. In leukemic cells, UGT2B17 knockout and repression of ZAP70 reduced proliferation, suggesting that the function of UGT2B17 might involve ZAP70. Mechanistically, UGT2B17 interacted with several kinases of the BCR pathway, including ZAP70, SYK, and BTK, revealing a potential therapeutic vulnerability. The dual SYK and JAK/STAT6 inhibitor cerdulatinib most effectively compromised the proliferative advantage conferred by UGT2B17 compared to the selective BTK inhibitor ibrutinib. Findings point to an oncogenic role for UGT2B17 as a novel constituent of BCR signalosome also connected with microenvironmental signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Wagner
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec Research Center-Université Laval (CRCHUQc-UL), Faculty of Pharmacy, and Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer de l'Université Laval (CRC-UL), Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada
| | - Michèle Rouleau
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec Research Center-Université Laval (CRCHUQc-UL), Faculty of Pharmacy, and Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer de l'Université Laval (CRC-UL), Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada
| | - Lyne Villeneuve
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec Research Center-Université Laval (CRCHUQc-UL), Faculty of Pharmacy, and Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer de l'Université Laval (CRC-UL), Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada
| | - Trang Le
- Department of Medicine I, Division of Haematology and Haemostaseology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Cheryl Peltier
- Department of Internal Medicine & Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 3P4, Canada
- CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute, Cancer Care Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0V9, Canada
| | - Éric P Allain
- Molecular Genetics Laboratory, Dr. Georges-L-Dumont University Hospital Center, Moncton, NB E1C 2Z3, Canada
| | - Caroline Beaudoin
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec Research Center-Université Laval (CRCHUQc-UL), Faculty of Pharmacy, and Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer de l'Université Laval (CRC-UL), Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada
| | - Sophie Tremblay
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec Research Center-Université Laval (CRCHUQc-UL), Faculty of Pharmacy, and Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer de l'Université Laval (CRC-UL), Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada
| | - Fréderic Courtier
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec Research Center-Université Laval (CRCHUQc-UL), Faculty of Pharmacy, and Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer de l'Université Laval (CRC-UL), Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada
| | - Flora Nguyen Van Long
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec Research Center-Université Laval (CRCHUQc-UL), Faculty of Pharmacy, and Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer de l'Université Laval (CRC-UL), Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada
| | - Isabelle Laverdière
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec Research Center-Université Laval (CRCHUQc-UL), Faculty of Pharmacy, and Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer de l'Université Laval (CRC-UL), Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada
| | - Éric Lévesque
- CRCHUQc-UL, Faculty of Medicine, and CRC-UL, Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada
| | - Versha Banerji
- Department of Internal Medicine & Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 3P4, Canada
- CancerCare Manitoba Research Institute, Cancer Care Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3E 0V9, Canada
| | - Katrina Vanura
- Department of Medicine I, Division of Haematology and Haemostaseology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Chantal Guillemette
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec Research Center-Université Laval (CRCHUQc-UL), Faculty of Pharmacy, and Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer de l'Université Laval (CRC-UL), Université Laval, Québec, QC G1V 4G2, Canada
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Spaner DE, Luo TY, Wang G, Schreiber G, Harari D, Shi Y. Paradoxical activation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells by ruxolitinib in vitro and in vivo. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1043694. [PMID: 37114129 PMCID: PMC10126367 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1043694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by an aberrant cytokine network that can support tumor growth by triggering janus kinase (JAK)/STAT pathways. Targeting cytokine-signaling should then be a rational therapeutic strategy but the JAK inhibitor ruxolitinib failed to control and seemingly accelerated the disease in clinical trials. Methods The effect of ruxolitinib on primary human CLL cells was studied in vitro and in vivo. Results Ruxolitinib increased phosphorylation of IRAK4, an important toll-like receptor (TLR)- signaling intermediate, in circulating CLL cells in vitro. It also enhanced p38 and NFKB1 phosphorylation while lowering STAT3 phosphorylation in CLL cells activated with TLR-7/8 agonists and IL-2. Among the cytokines made by activated CLL cells, high levels of IL-10 contributed strongly to STAT3 phosphorylation and inhibited TLR7 activity. Ruxolitinib limited TLR-mediated IL10 transcription and markedly reduced IL-10 production in vitro. It also decreased blood levels of IL-10 while increasing TNFα along with phospho-p38 expression and gene sets associated with TLR-activation in CLL cells in vivo. The bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib decreased IL-10 production in vitro but, in contrast to ruxolitinib, blocked initial IL10 transcription induced by TLR-signaling in vitro, decreased TNFα production, and deactivates CLL cells in vivo. Discussion These findings suggest the possible benefits of inhibiting growth factors with JAK inhibitors in CLL are outweighed by negative effects on potential tumor suppressors such as IL-10 that allow unrestrained activation of NFκB by drivers such as TLRs. Specific inhibition of growth-promoting cytokines with blocking antibodies or infusing suppressive cytokines like IL-10 might be better strategies to manipulate cytokines in CLL.
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Affiliation(s)
- David E. Spaner
- Biology Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Hematology, Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Center, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- *Correspondence: David E. Spaner,
| | - Tina YuXuan Luo
- Biology Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Guizhi Wang
- Biology Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Gideon Schreiber
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Daniel Harari
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Yonghong Shi
- Biology Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Spaner DE. O-GlcNAcylation in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Other Blood Cancers. Front Immunol 2021; 12:772304. [PMID: 34868034 PMCID: PMC8639227 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.772304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In the past decade, aberrant O-GlcNAcylation has emerged as a new hallmark of cancer. O-GlcNAcylation is a post-translational modification that results when the amino-sugar β-D-N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) is made in the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway (HBP) and covalently attached to serine and threonine residues in intracellular proteins by the glycosyltransferase O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT). O-GlcNAc moieties reflect the metabolic state of a cell and are removed by O-GlcNAcase (OGA). O-GlcNAcylation affects signaling pathways and protein expression by cross-talk with kinases and proteasomes and changes gene expression by altering protein interactions, localization, and complex formation. The HBP and O-GlcNAcylation are also recognized to mediate survival of cells in harsh conditions. Consequently, O-GlcNAcylation can affect many of the cellular processes that are relevant for cancer and is generally thought to promote tumor growth, disease progression, and immune escape. However, recent studies suggest a more nuanced view with O-GlcNAcylation acting as a tumor promoter or suppressor depending on the stage of disease or the genetic abnormalities, proliferative status, and state of the p53 axis in the cancer cell. Clinically relevant HBP and OGA inhibitors are already available and OGT inhibitors are in development to modulate O-GlcNAcylation as a potentially novel cancer treatment. Here recent studies that implicate O-GlcNAcylation in oncogenic properties of blood cancers are reviewed, focusing on chronic lymphocytic leukemia and effects on signal transduction and stress resistance in the cancer microenvironment. Therapeutic strategies for targeting the HBP and O-GlcNAcylation are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- David E Spaner
- Biology Platform, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Medical Oncology, Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Center, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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