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Wei R, Hitomi M, Sadler T, Yehia L, Calvetti D, Scott J, Eng C. Quantitative evaluation of DNA damage repair dynamics to elucidate predictors of autism vs. cancer in individuals with germline PTEN variants. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1012449. [PMID: 39356721 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 08/31/2024] [Indexed: 10/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Persons with germline variants in the tumor suppressor gene phosphatase and tensin homolog, PTEN, are molecularly diagnosed with PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS). PHTS confers high risks of specific malignancies, and up to 23% of the patients are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or developmental delay (DD). The accurate prediction of these two seemingly disparate phenotypes (cancer vs. ASD/DD) for PHTS at the individual level remains elusive despite the available statistical prevalence of specific phenotypes of the syndrome at the population level. The pleiotropy of the syndrome may, in part, be due to the alterations of the key multi-functions of PTEN. Maintenance of genome integrity is one of the key biological functions of PTEN, but no integrative studies have been conducted to quantify the DNA damage response (DDR) in individuals with PHTS and to relate to phenotypes and genotypes. In this study, we used 43 PHTS patient-derived lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) to investigate the associations between DDR and PTEN genotypes and/or clinical phenotypes ASD/DD vs. cancer. The dynamics of DDR of γ-irradiated LCLs were analyzed using the exponential decay mathematical model to fit temporal changes in γH2AX levels which report the degree of DNA damage. We found that PTEN nonsense variants are associated with less efficient DNA damage repair ability resulting in higher DNA damage levels at 24 hours after irradiation compared to PTEN missense variants. Regarding PHTS phenotypes, LCLs from PHTS individuals with ASD/DD showed faster DNA damage repairing rate than those from patients without ASD/DD or cancer. We also applied the reaction-diffusion partial differential equation (PDE) mathematical model, a tumor cell growth model with a DNA damage term, to accurately describe the DDR process in the LCLs. For each LCL, we can derive parameters of the PDE. Then we averaged the numerical results by PHTS phenotypes. By performing simple subtraction of two subgroup average results, we found that PHTS-ASD/DD is associated with higher live cell density at lower DNA damage level but lower cell density level at higher DNA damage level compared to LCLs from individuals with PHTS-cancer and PHTS-neither.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruipeng Wei
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- Department of Nutrition and Systems Biology and Bioinformatics Program, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Masahiro Hitomi
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- Translational Hematology & Oncology Research, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Tammy Sadler
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Lamis Yehia
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Daniela Calvetti
- Department of Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, and Statistics, Case Western Reserve University College of Arts and Sciences, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Jacob Scott
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- Translational Hematology & Oncology Research, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Charis Eng
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- Center for Personalized Genetic Healthcare, Medical Specialties Institute, Cleveland Clinic, United States of America
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
- Germline High Risk Cancer Focus Group, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States of America
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Hitomi M, Venegas J, Kang SC, Eng C. Differential cell cycle checkpoint evasion by PTEN germline mutations associated with dichotomous phenotypes of cancer versus autism spectrum disorder. Oncogene 2023; 42:3698-3707. [PMID: 37907589 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-023-02867-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Individuals with a PTEN germline mutation receive the molecular diagnosis of PTEN hamartoma tumor syndrome (PHTS). PHTS displays a complex spectrum of clinical phenotypes including harmartomas, predisposition to cancers, and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Clear-cut genotype-phenotype correlations are yet to be established due to insufficient information on the PTEN function being impacted by mutations. To fill this knowledge gap, we compared functional impacts of two selected missense PTEN mutant alleles, G132D and M134R, each respectively being associated with distinct clinical phenotype, ASD or thyroid cancer without ASD using gene-edited human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). In homozygous hiPSCs, PTEN expression was severely reduced by M134R mutation due to shortened protein half-life. G132D suppressed PTEN expression to a lesser extent than Μ134R mutation without altering protein half-life. When challenged with γ-irradiation, G132D heterozygous cells exited radiation-induced G2 arrest earlier than wildtype and M134R heterozygous hiPSCs despite the similar DNA damage levels as the latter two. Immunoblotting analyses suggested that γ-irradiation induced apoptosis in G132D heterozygous cells to lesser degrees than in the hiPSCs of other genotypes. These data suggest that ASD-associated G132D allele promotes genome instability by premature cell cycle reentry with incomplete DNA repair.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masahiro Hitomi
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA
| | - Juan Venegas
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA
| | - Shin Chung Kang
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA
| | - Charis Eng
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA.
- Department of Molecular Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA.
- Center for Personalized Genetic Healthcare, Medical Specialties Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA.
- Department of Genetics and Genome Science, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44116, USA.
- Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44116, USA.
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Suzuki M, Shindo Y, Yamanaka R, Oka K. Live imaging of apoptotic signaling flow using tunable combinatorial FRET-based bioprobes for cell population analysis of caspase cascades. Sci Rep 2022; 12:21160. [PMID: 36476686 PMCID: PMC9729311 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25286-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding cellular signaling flow is required to comprehend living organisms. Various live cell imaging tools have been developed but challenges remain due to complex cross-talk between pathways and response heterogeneities among cells. We have focused on multiplex live cell imaging for statistical analysis to address the difficulties and developed simple multiple fluorescence imaging system to quantify cell signaling at single-cell resolution using Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)-based chimeric molecular sensors comprised of fluorescent proteins and dyes. The dye-fluorescent protein conjugate is robust for a wide selection of combinations, facilitating rearrangement for coordinating emission profile of molecular sensors to adjust for visualization conditions, target phenomena, and simultaneous use. As the molecular sensor could exhibit highly sensitive in detection for protease activity, we customized molecular sensor of caspase-9 and combine the established sensor for caspase-3 to validate the system by observation of caspase-9 and -3 dynamics simultaneously, key signaling flow of apoptosis. We found cumulative caspase-9 activity rather than reaction rate inversely regulated caspase-3 execution times for apoptotic cell death. Imaging-derived statistics were thus applied to discern the dominating aspects of apoptotic signaling unavailable by common live cell imaging and proteomics protein analysis. Adopted to various visualization targets, the technique can discriminate between rivalling explanations and should help unravel other protease involved signaling pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miho Suzuki
- grid.263023.60000 0001 0703 3735Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, Saitama, 338-8570 Japan
| | - Yutaka Shindo
- grid.26091.3c0000 0004 1936 9959Department of Bioscience and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Kanagawa, 223-0061 Japan
| | - Ryu Yamanaka
- grid.469470.80000 0004 0617 5071Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sanyo-Onoda City University, Yamaguchi, 756-0884 Japan
| | - Kotaro Oka
- grid.26091.3c0000 0004 1936 9959Department of Bioscience and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Kanagawa, 223-0061 Japan ,grid.412019.f0000 0000 9476 5696Graduate Institute of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 80708 Taiwan ,grid.5290.e0000 0004 1936 9975Waseda Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, 169-8555 Japan
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Yannic K, Stefanie W, nxiong NC, Vahid A, Rainer H, Stephan B. A fast open-source Fiji-macro to quantify virus infection and transfection on single-cell level by fluorescence microscopy. MethodsX 2022; 9:101834. [PMID: 36160109 PMCID: PMC9490200 DOI: 10.1016/j.mex.2022.101834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 10/24/2022] Open
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Barish ME, Weng L, Awabdeh D, Zhai Y, Starr R, D'Apuzzo M, Rockne RC, Li H, Badie B, Forman SJ, Brown CE. Spatial organization of heterogeneous immunotherapy target antigen expression in high-grade glioma. Neoplasia 2022; 30:100801. [PMID: 35550513 PMCID: PMC9108993 DOI: 10.1016/j.neo.2022.100801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
High-grade (WHO grades III-IV) glioma remains one of the most lethal human cancers. Adoptive transfer of tumor-targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-redirected T cells for high-grade glioma has revealed promising indications of anti-tumor activity, but objective clinical responses remain elusive for most patients. A significant challenge to effective immunotherapy is the highly heterogeneous structure of these tumors, including large variations in the magnitudes and distributions of target antigen expression, observed both within individual tumors and between patients. To obtain a more detailed understanding of immunotherapy target antigens within patient tumors, we immunochemically mapped at single cell resolution three clinically-relevant targets, IL13Rα2, HER2 and EGFR, on tumor samples drawn from a 43-patient cohort. We observed that within individual tumor samples, expression of these antigens was neither random nor uniform, but rather that they mapped into local neighborhoods - phenotypically similar cells within regions of cellular tumor - reflecting not well understood properties of tumor cells and their milieu. Notably, tumor cell neighborhoods of high antigen expression were not arranged independently within regions. For example, in cellular tumor regions, neighborhoods of high IL13Rα2 and HER2 expression appeared to be reciprocal to those of EGFR, while in areas of pseudopalisading necrosis, expression of IL13Rα2 and HER2, but not EGFR, appeared to reflect the radial organization of tumor cells around hypoxic cores. Other structural features affecting expression of immunotherapy target antigens remain to be elucidated. This structured but heterogeneous organization of antigen expression in high grade glioma is highly permissive for antigen escape, and combinatorial antigen targeting is a commonly suggested potential mitigating strategy. Deeper understanding of antigen expression within and between patient tumors will enhance optimization of combination immunotherapies, the most immediate clinical application of the observations presented here being the importance of including (wild-type) EGFR as a target antigen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael E Barish
- Department of Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, United States.
| | - Lihong Weng
- Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, National Medical Center, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, United States
| | - Dina Awabdeh
- Department of Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, United States
| | - Yubo Zhai
- Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, National Medical Center, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, United States
| | - Renate Starr
- Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, National Medical Center, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, United States
| | - Massimo D'Apuzzo
- Department of Pathology, National Medical Center, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, United States
| | - Russell C Rockne
- Department of Computational and Quantitative Medicine, Division of Mathematical Oncology, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, United States
| | - Haiqing Li
- Integrative Genomics Core, Division of Translational Bioinformatics, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, United States
| | - Behnam Badie
- Department of Surgery, Division of Neurosurgery, National Medical Center, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, United States
| | - Stephen J Forman
- Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, National Medical Center, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, United States
| | - Christine E Brown
- Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, National Medical Center, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, United States; Department of Immuno-Oncology, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, United States.
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Iranmanesh Y, Jiang B, Favour OC, Dou Z, Wu J, Li J, Sun C. Mitochondria's Role in the Maintenance of Cancer Stem Cells in Glioblastoma. Front Oncol 2021; 11:582694. [PMID: 33692947 PMCID: PMC7937970 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.582694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM), one of the deadliest primary brain malignancies, is characterized by a high recurrence rate due to its limited response to existing therapeutic strategies such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. Several mechanisms and pathways have been identified to be responsible for GBM therapeutic resistance. Glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) are known culprits of GBM resistance to therapy. GSCs are characterized by their unique self-renewal, differentiating capacity, and proliferative potential. They form a heterogeneous population of cancer stem cells within the tumor and are further divided into different subpopulations. Their distinct molecular, genetic, dynamic, and metabolic features distinguish them from neural stem cells (NSCs) and differentiated GBM cells. Novel therapeutic strategies targeting GSCs could effectively reduce the tumor-initiating potential, hence, a thorough understanding of mechanisms involved in maintaining GSCs' stemness cannot be overemphasized. The mitochondrion, a regulator of cellular physiological processes such as autophagy, cellular respiration, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, apoptosis, DNA repair, and cell cycle control, has been implicated in various malignancies (for instance, breast, lung, and prostate cancer). Besides, the role of mitochondria in GBM has been extensively studied. For example, when stressors, such as irradiation and hypoxia are present, GSCs utilize specific cytoprotective mechanisms like the activation of mitochondrial stress pathways to survive the harsh environment. Proliferating GBM cells exhibit increased cytoplasmic glycolysis in comparison to terminally differentiated GBM cells and quiescent GSCs that rely more on oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Furthermore, the Warburg effect, which is characterized by increased tumor cell glycolysis and decreased mitochondrial metabolism in the presence of oxygen, has been observed in GBM. Herein, we highlight the importance of mitochondria in the maintenance of GSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Biao Jiang
- Department of Radiology, The 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University Medical School, Hangzhou, China
| | - Okoye C Favour
- School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhangqi Dou
- Department of Neurosurgery, The 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University Medical School, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiawei Wu
- Department of Neurosurgery, The 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University Medical School, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jinfan Li
- Department of Pathology, The 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University Medical School, Hangzhou, China
| | - Chongran Sun
- Department of Neurosurgery, The 2nd Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University Medical School, Hangzhou, China
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Hitomi M, Chumakova AP, Silver DJ, Knudsen AM, Pontius WD, Murphy S, Anand N, Kristensen BW, Lathia JD. Asymmetric cell division promotes therapeutic resistance in glioblastoma stem cells. JCI Insight 2021; 6:130510. [PMID: 33351787 PMCID: PMC7934841 DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.130510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Asymmetric cell division (ACD) enables the maintenance of a stem cell population while simultaneously generating differentiated progeny. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) undergo multiple modes of cell division during tumor expansion and in response to therapy, yet the functional consequences of these division modes remain to be determined. Using a fluorescent reporter for cell surface receptor distribution during mitosis, we found that ACD generated a daughter cell with enhanced therapeutic resistance and increased coenrichment of EGFR and neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) from a glioblastoma CSC. Stimulation of both receptors antagonized differentiation induction and promoted self-renewal capacity. p75NTR knockdown enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of EGFR inhibition, indicating that coinheritance of p75NTR and EGFR promotes resistance to EGFR inhibition through a redundant mechanism. These data demonstrate that ACD produces progeny with coenriched growth factor receptors, which contributes to the generation of a more therapeutically resistant CSC population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masahiro Hitomi
- Cancer Impact Area, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.,Department of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.,Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Anastasia P Chumakova
- Cancer Impact Area, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.,Department of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Daniel J Silver
- Cancer Impact Area, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.,Department of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.,Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.,Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Arnon M Knudsen
- Department of Pathology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - W Dean Pontius
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Stephanie Murphy
- Cancer Impact Area, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.,Department of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Neha Anand
- Cancer Impact Area, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.,Department of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
| | - Bjarne W Kristensen
- Department of Pathology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark.,Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Justin D Lathia
- Cancer Impact Area, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.,Department of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.,Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.,Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.,Rose Ella Burkhardt Brain Tumor and Neuro-Oncology Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
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8
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Houston JP. Apoptosis and autophagy. Cytometry A 2020; 95:655-656. [PMID: 31207048 DOI: 10.1002/cyto.a.23837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2019] [Revised: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 05/21/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jessica P Houston
- Chemical and Materials Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico
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Thankamony AP, Saxena K, Murali R, Jolly MK, Nair R. Cancer Stem Cell Plasticity - A Deadly Deal. Front Mol Biosci 2020; 7:79. [PMID: 32426371 PMCID: PMC7203492 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2020.00079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Intratumoral heterogeneity is a major ongoing challenge in the effective therapeutic targeting of cancer. Accumulating evidence suggests that a fraction of cells within a tumor termed Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) are primarily responsible for this diversity resulting in therapeutic resistance and metastasis. Adding to this complexity, recent studies have shown that there can be different subpopulations of CSCs with varying biochemical and biophysical traits resulting in varied dissemination and drug-resistance potential. Moreover, cancer cells can exhibit a high level of plasticity or the ability to dynamically switch between CSC and non-CSC states or among different subsets of CSCs. In addition, CSCs also display extensive metabolic plasticity. The molecular mechanisms underlying these different interconnected axes of plasticity has been under extensive investigation and the trans-differentiation process of Epithelial to Mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been identified as a major contributing factor. Besides genetic and epigenetic factors, CSC plasticity is also shaped by non-cell-autonomous effects such as the tumor microenvironment (TME). In this review, we discuss the latest developments in decoding mechanisms and implications of CSC plasticity in tumor progression at biochemical and biophysical levels, and the latest in silico approaches being taken for characterizing cancer cell plasticity. These efforts can help improve existing therapeutic approaches by taking into consideration the contribution of cellular plasticity/heterogeneity in enabling drug resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Archana P. Thankamony
- Cancer Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, India
- Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal, India
| | - Kritika Saxena
- Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
| | - Reshma Murali
- Cancer Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, India
| | - Mohit Kumar Jolly
- Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
| | - Radhika Nair
- Cancer Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram, India
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Facile Method for Fabricating Microfluidic Chip Integrated with Microwell Arrays for Cell Trapping. MICROMACHINES 2019; 10:mi10110719. [PMID: 31731448 PMCID: PMC6915356 DOI: 10.3390/mi10110719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2019] [Revised: 10/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
With the development of biomedical technology, personalized diagnosis and treatment at the single-cell level are becoming more important in the medical field. As one of the most powerful tools, microfluidic chips have shown significant potential for various applications related to cell separation, cell proliferation, and cell behavior analysis. However, fabricating microfluidic devices requires complicated procedures and high-cost equipment. In this study, an optofluidic maskless lithography method was proposed for rapid fabrication of microfluidic devices integrated with microwells. Through the use of this approach, microwells can be on-line designed and the exposure patterns can be modulated. Single or multi polystyrene microspheres were successfully trapped by using the designed microwells. The capture of MCF-7 cells and cell arrays indicated that the microfluidic devices fabricated in the present study can be applied for cell research.
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Esakov EL, Hale J, Richards EG, Torre-Healy L, Gullapalli K, Trivedi D, Chumakova A, Wessely O, Jensen J, Lathia J, Reizes O. Therapeutic strategies to induce ERα in luminal breast cancer to enhance tamoxifen efficacy. Endocr Relat Cancer 2019; 26:689-698. [PMID: 31167163 PMCID: PMC6885119 DOI: 10.1530/erc-19-0042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Accepted: 06/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy and second leading cause of death in women worldwide, with hormone receptor-positive luminal breast cancers being the most widespread subtype. While these tumors are generally amenable to endocrine therapy, cellular heterogeneity and acquired ability of tumor cells to undergo cell state switching makes these populations difficult to be fully targeted and eradicated through conventional methods. We have leveraged a quality-by-design (QbD) approach that integrates biological responses with predictive mathematical modeling to identify key combinations of commercially available drugs to induce estrogen receptor expression for therapeutic targeting. This technology utilizes a high level of automation through a custom-built platform to reduce bias as well as design-of-experiments methodology to minimize the experimental iterations required. Utilizing this approach, we identified a combination of clinical compounds, each at concentrations well below their efficacious dose, able to induce the expression of estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) in hormone-positive breast cancer cells. Induction of ESR1 in luminal cells leads to chemosensitization. These findings provide proof of concept for the utility of the QbD strategy and identify a unique drug cocktail able to sensitize breast cancer cells to tamoxifen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily L. Esakov
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, OH
| | - James Hale
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, OH
| | - Elliott G. Richards
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, OH
| | - Luke Torre-Healy
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, OH
| | | | | | - Anastasia Chumakova
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, OH
| | - Oliver Wessely
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, OH
| | | | - Justin Lathia
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, OH
- Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, OH
- Co-Corresponding Authors: Ofer Reizes, Lerner Research Institute Cleveland Clinic, NC10, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, , Justin Lathia, Lerner Research Institute Cleveland Clinic, NC10, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44195,
| | - Ofer Reizes
- Department of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland, OH
- Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Cleveland, OH
- Co-Corresponding Authors: Ofer Reizes, Lerner Research Institute Cleveland Clinic, NC10, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, , Justin Lathia, Lerner Research Institute Cleveland Clinic, NC10, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44195,
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12
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Cytometric analysis of cell suspension generated by cavitron ultrasonic surgical aspirator in pediatric brain tumors. J Neurooncol 2019; 143:15-25. [PMID: 30827009 DOI: 10.1007/s11060-019-03135-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2019] [Accepted: 02/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE The aim of this study was to test the possibility of using specimens obtained by a cavitron ultrasonic surgical aspirator (CUSA) in flow and mass cytometry investigations of pediatric brain tumors. METHODS CUSA specimens obtained from 19 pediatric patients with brain tumors were investigated. Flow and mass cytometry methods were applied to analyze the composition of material collected using the CUSA. Cell suspensions were prepared from CUSA aspirates. Then sample viability was assessed by conventional flow cytometry and subsequently stained with a panel of 31 metal-labeled antibodies. RESULTS Viability assessment was performed using conventional flow cytometry. Viability of cells in the acquired samples was below 50% in 16 of 19 cases. A mass cytometry investigation and subsequent analysis enabled us to discriminate brain tumor cells from contaminating leukocytes, whose proportions varied across the specimens. The addition of the viability marker cisplatin directly into the mass cytometry panel gave the means to selecting viable cells only for subsequent analyses. The proportion of non-viable cells was higher among tumor cells compared leukocytes. CONCLUSIONS When the analysis of the tumor cell immunophenotype is performed with markers for determining viability, the expression of the investigated markers can be evaluated. Suitable markers can be selected by high-throughput methods, such as mass cytometry, and those that are diagnostically relevant can be investigated using flow cytometry, which is more flexible in terms of time.
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