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Maietta I, Viscusi E, Laudati S, Iannaci G, D'Antonio A, Melillo RM, Motti ML, De Falco V. Targeting the p90RSK/MDM2/p53 Pathway Is Effective in Blocking Tumors with Oncogenic Up-Regulation of the MAPK Pathway Such as Melanoma and Lung Cancer. Cells 2024; 13:1546. [PMID: 39329730 PMCID: PMC11430938 DOI: 10.3390/cells13181546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2024] [Revised: 09/05/2024] [Accepted: 09/11/2024] [Indexed: 09/28/2024] Open
Abstract
In most human tumors, the MAPK pathway is constitutively activated. Since p90RSK is downstream of MAPK, it is often hyperactive and capable of phosphorylating oncogenic substrates. We have previously shown that p90RSK phosphorylates MDM2 at S166, promoting p53 degradation in follicular thyroid carcinomas. Thus, the inhibition of p90RSK restores p53 expression, which in turn inhibits cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis. In the present study, we demonstrated that the p90RSK/MDM2/p53 pathway proved to be an excellent target in the therapy of tumors with MAPK hyperactivation. For this purpose, we selected p53wt melanoma, lung and medullary thyroid carcinoma cell lines with high activation of p90RSK. In these cell lines, we demonstrated that the p90RSK/MDM2/p53 pathway is implicated in the regulation of the cell cycle and apoptosis through p53-dependent transcriptional control of p21 and Bcl-2. Furthermore, with an immunohistochemical evaluation of primary melanomas and lung tumors, which exhibit highly activated p90RSK compared to corresponding normal tissue, we demonstrated that MDM2 stabilization was associated with p90RSK phosphorylation. The results indicate that p90RSK is able to control the proliferative rate and induction of apoptosis through the regulation of p53wt levels by stabilizing MDM2 in selected tumors with constitutively activated MAPKs, making p90RSK a new attractive target for anticancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Immacolata Maietta
- Institute of Endocrinology and Experimental Oncology (IEOS), National Research Council (CNR), Via S. Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Eleonora Viscusi
- U.O.C. Anatomia Patologica, P.O. Pellegrini ASL NA1 Centro, 80134 Naples, Italy
| | - Stefano Laudati
- U.O.C. Anatomia Patologica, Ospedale del Mare ASL NA1 Centro, 80147 Naples, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Iannaci
- U.O.C. Anatomia Patologica, P.O. Pellegrini ASL NA1 Centro, 80134 Naples, Italy
| | - Antonio D'Antonio
- U.O.C. Anatomia Patologica, Ospedale del Mare ASL NA1 Centro, 80147 Naples, Italy
| | - Rosa Marina Melillo
- Institute of Endocrinology and Experimental Oncology (IEOS), National Research Council (CNR), Via S. Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, 80131 Naples, Italy
| | - Maria Letizia Motti
- Department of Medical, Movement and Wellbeing Sciences, University of Naples Parthenope, 80133 Naples, Italy
| | - Valentina De Falco
- Institute of Endocrinology and Experimental Oncology (IEOS), National Research Council (CNR), Via S. Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy
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Felício D, Santos M. Spinocerebellar ataxia type 11 (SCA11): TTBK2 variants, functions and associated disease mechanisms. CEREBELLUM (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2024; 23:678-687. [PMID: 36892783 PMCID: PMC10951003 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-023-01540-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023]
Abstract
Spinocerebellar ataxia type 11 (SCA11) is a rare type of autosomal dominant cerebellar ataxia, mainly characterized by progressive cerebellar ataxia, abnormal eye signs and dysarthria. SCA11 is caused by variants in TTBK2, which encodes tau tubulin kinase 2 (TTBK2) protein. Only a few families with SCA11 were described to date, all harbouring small deletions or insertions that result in frameshifts and truncated TTBK2 proteins. In addition, TTBK2 missense variants were also reported but they were either benign or still needed functional validation to ascertain their pathogenic potential in SCA11. The mechanisms behind cerebellar neurodegeneration mediated by TTBK2 pathogenic alleles are not clearly established. There is only one neuropathological report and a few functional studies in cell or animal models published to date. Moreover, it is still unclear whether the disease is caused by TTBK2 haploinsufficiency of by a dominant negative effect of TTBK2 truncated forms on the normal allele. Some studies point to a lack of kinase activity and mislocalization of mutated TTBK2, while others reported a disruption of normal TTBK2 function caused by SCA11 alleles, particularly during ciliogenesis. Although TTBK2 has a proven function in cilia formation, the phenotype caused by heterozygous TTBK2 truncating variants are not clearly typical of ciliopathies. Thus, other cellular mechanisms may explain the phenotype seen in SCA11. Neurotoxicity caused by impaired TTBK2 kinase activity against known neuronal targets, such as tau, TDP-43, neurotransmitter receptors or transporters, may contribute to neurodegeneration in SCA11.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Felício
- UnIGENe, IBMC-Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, i3S-Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal
- ICBAS, Instituto Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Universidade do Porto, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal
| | - Mariana Santos
- UnIGENe, IBMC-Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, i3S-Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal.
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Wang Y, Liu X, Gong L, Ding W, Hao W, Peng Y, Zhang J, Cai W, Gao Y. Mechanisms of sunitinib resistance in renal cell carcinoma and associated opportunities for therapeutics. Br J Pharmacol 2023; 180:2937-2955. [PMID: 37740648 DOI: 10.1111/bph.16252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Sunitinib is the first-line drug for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) treatment. However, patients who received sunitinib treatment will ultimately develop drug resistance after 6-15 months, creating a huge obstacle to the current treatment of renal cell carcinoma. Therefore, it is urgent to clarify the mechanisms of sunitinib resistance and develop new strategies to overcome it. In this review, the mechanisms of sunitinib resistance in renal cell carcinoma have been summarized based on five topics: activation of bypass or alternative pathway, inadequate drug accumulation, tumour microenvironment, metabolic reprogramming and epigenetic regulation. Furthermore, present and potential biomarkers, as well as potential treatment strategies for overcoming sunitinib resistance in renal cell carcinoma, are also covered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunxia Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaolin Liu
- School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Luyao Gong
- School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Weihong Ding
- Department of Urology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Wenjing Hao
- School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yeheng Peng
- School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jun Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Weimin Cai
- School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuan Gao
- School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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Pang F, Zhang L, Li M, Yi X, Wang Y, Yang P, Wen B, Jiang J, Teng Y, Yang X, Chen L, Xu J, Wang L. Ribosomal S6 protein kinase 4 promotes resistance to EZH2 inhibitors in glioblastoma. Cancer Gene Ther 2023; 30:1636-1648. [PMID: 37726387 DOI: 10.1038/s41417-023-00666-3] [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: 06/19/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly malignant type of brain tumor with limited treatment options. Recent research has focused on epigenetic regulatory factors, such as Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 (EZH2), which plays a role in gene expression through epigenetic modifications. EZH2 inhibitors have been developed as potential therapeutic agents for GBM, but resistance to these inhibitors remains a considerable challenge. This study aimed to investigate the role of ribosomal S6 protein kinase 4 (RSK4) in GBM and its association with resistance to EZH2 inhibitors. We first induced drug resistance in primary GBM cell lines by treatment with an EZH2 inhibitor and observed increases in the expression of stemness markers associated with glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) in the drug-resistant cells. We also found high expression of RSK4 in GBM patient samples and identified the correlation of high RSK4 expression with poor prognosis and GSC marker expression. Further experiments showed that knocking down RSK4 in drug-resistant GBM cells restored their sensitivity to EZH2 inhibitors and decreased the expression of GSC markers, thus reducing their self-renewal capacity. From a mechanistic perspective, we discovered that RSK4 directly phosphorylates EZH2, activating the EZH2/STAT3 pathway and promoting resistance to EZH2 inhibitors in GBM. We also found that combining EZH2 inhibitors with an RSK4 inhibitor called BI-D1870 had better inhibitory effects on GBM occurrence and progression in both in vitro and in vivo experiments. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that RSK4 enhances cancer stemness and mediates resistance to EZH2 inhibitors in GBM. Combination treatment with EZH2 inhibitors and RSK4 inhibitors is a promising potential therapeutic strategy for GBM. Collectively, our results strongly demonstrate that RSK4 regulates the EZH2/STAT3 pathway to promote GSC maintenance and EZH2i resistance in a PRC2-independent manner, indicating that RSK4 is a promising therapeutic target for GBM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangning Pang
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Lei Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Mingyang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Holistic Integrative Management of Gastrointestinal Cancers, Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medicine and Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xicai Yi
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yu Wang
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Peng Yang
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Bin Wen
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jinquan Jiang
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yunpeng Teng
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xinyu Yang
- Department of Neurosurgery, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, China
| | - Ligang Chen
- Department of Neurosurgery, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, China.
| | - Jin Xu
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
| | - Li Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xijing Hospital, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China.
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Nagumo Y, Villareal MO, Isoda H, Usui T. RSK4 confers paclitaxel resistance to ovarian cancer cells, which is resensitized by its inhibitor BI-D1870. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2023; 679:23-30. [PMID: 37660640 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2023.08.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
Many ovarian cancers initially respond well to chemotherapy, but often become drug-resistant after several years. Therefore, analysis of drug resistance mechanisms and overcoming resistance are urgently needed. Paclitaxel is one of the first-choice and widely-used drugs for ovarian cancer, but like most drugs, drug resistance is observed in subsequent use. RSK4 is known as a tumor-suppressor, however, it has increasingly been reported to lead to drug resistance. Here, we found that RSK4 expression was elevated in paclitaxel-resistant ovarian cancer cells using DNA microarray, quantitative real-time PCR, and western blotting analysis. We examined the contribution of RSK4 to paclitaxel resistance and found that paclitaxel sensitivity was restored by RSK inhibitor co-treatment. We analyzed the mechanism by which resistance is developed when RSK4 level is elevated, and accelerated phosphorylation of the downstream translation factor eIF4B was discovered. In the Kaplan-Meier plot, the overall survival time was longer with RSK4 high, supporting its role as a tumor suppressor, as in previous findings, but the tendency was reversed when focusing on paclitaxel treatment. In addition, RSK4 levels were higher in non-responders than in responders in the ROC plotter. Finally, external expression of RSK4 in ovarian cancer cells increased the cell viability under paclitaxel treatment. These findings suggest that RSK4 may contribute to paclitaxel resistance, and that co-treatment with RSK4 inhibitors is effective treatment of paclitaxel-resistant ovarian cancer in which RSK4 is elevated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoko Nagumo
- Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan; Alliance for Research on the Mediterranean and North Africa (ARENA), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, 305-8572, Japan.
| | - Myra O Villareal
- Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan
| | - Hiroko Isoda
- Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan; Alliance for Research on the Mediterranean and North Africa (ARENA), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, 305-8572, Japan
| | - Takeo Usui
- Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan; Microbiology Research Center for Sustainability (MiCS), University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan
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Arechavaleta-Velasco F, Dominguez-Lopez P, Acosta-Jimenez E, Diaz-Cueto L. Ribosomal S6 kinase 4 (RSK4) tumor suppressor gene promoter methylation status in ovarian cancer. Mol Biol Rep 2023; 50:6863-6870. [PMID: 37402066 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-023-08609-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previously, we reported lower RSK4 mRNA and protein levels in malignant ovarian tumors compared to normal and benign ovarian tissues. Also, we observed a significant inverse correlation between the advanced ovarian cancer stages and RSK4 mRNA levels. We did not investigate the mechanisms involved in RSK4-reduced expression in ovarian cancer. Thus, this study investigates whether RSK4 promoter methylation in ovarian cancer tissues is responsible for its low expression. Additionally, the reactivation of RSK4 expression and its effect was studied in ovarian cancer cell lines. METHODS AND RESULTS RSK4 promoter methylation percentage in malignant and benign ovarian tumors and normal ovary tissues was determined by combined bisulfite restriction analysis. The reactivation of RSK4 expression by decitabine treatment was studied in OVCAR3, SKOV3, TOV-112D, and TOV-21G cells by Western blotting. Cell proliferation was determined by XTT. A significantly high methylation percentage of the RSK4 promoter was observed among malignant and benign ovarian tumors but not in normal ovarian tissue. RSK4 promoter methylation was not associated with age, histological subtype, or stages of ovarian cancer. RSK4 promoter methylation correlates weakly but not significantly with RSK4 protein expression. No correlation was shown between RSK4 methylation and RSK4 mRNA expression. Decitabine induces RSK4 reactivation in all cell lines. However, cell proliferation was reduced only in TOV-112D cells. CONCLUSION These data indicate that although RSK4 promoter methylation is increased in malignant ovarian tumors, this mechanism is unlikely to regulate its expression in ovarian cancer. RSK4 reactivation reduced cell proliferation only in the endometroid histological subtype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabian Arechavaleta-Velasco
- Unidad de Investigación Médica en Medicina Reproductiva, UMAE Hospital de Gineco-Obstetricia No. 4 "Luis Castelazo Ayala", Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Av. Rio Magdalena No. 289, Sexto piso. Tizapán, San Angel, CP 01090, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Pablo Dominguez-Lopez
- Unidad de Investigación Médica en Medicina Reproductiva, UMAE Hospital de Gineco-Obstetricia No. 4 "Luis Castelazo Ayala", Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Av. Rio Magdalena No. 289, Sexto piso. Tizapán, San Angel, CP 01090, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Ernesto Acosta-Jimenez
- Unidad de Investigación Médica en Medicina Reproductiva, UMAE Hospital de Gineco-Obstetricia No. 4 "Luis Castelazo Ayala", Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Av. Rio Magdalena No. 289, Sexto piso. Tizapán, San Angel, CP 01090, Mexico City, Mexico
- Hospital Angeles del Pedregal, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Laura Diaz-Cueto
- Unidad de Investigación Médica en Medicina Reproductiva, UMAE Hospital de Gineco-Obstetricia No. 4 "Luis Castelazo Ayala", Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Av. Rio Magdalena No. 289, Sexto piso. Tizapán, San Angel, CP 01090, Mexico City, Mexico.
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Yao J, Liang Z, Duan L, G Y, Liu J, An G. Construction of a novel immune response prediction signature to predict the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in clear cell renal cell carcinoma patients. Heliyon 2023; 9:e15925. [PMID: 37484396 PMCID: PMC10360603 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2022] [Revised: 04/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment has enhanced survival outcomes in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) patients. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of immunotherapy in ccRCC patients is restricted and we intended to develop and characterize an immune response prediction signature (IRPS) to forecast the efficacy of immunotherapy. Methods RNA-seq expression profile and clinicopathologic characteristics of 539 kidney cancer and 72 patients with normal specimens, were downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, while the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database was used as the validation set, which included 24 ccRCC samples. Utilization of the TCGA data and immune genes databases (ImmPort and the InnateDB), we explored through Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA), along with Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator method (LASSO), and constructed an IRPS for kidney cancer patients. GSEA and CIBERSORT were performed to declare the molecular and immunologic mechanism underlying the predictive value of IRPS. The Human Protein Atlas (HPA) was deployed to verify the protein expressions of IRPS genes. Tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) score and immunophenoscore (IPS) were computed to determine the risk of immune escape and value the discrimination of IRPS. A ccRCC cohort with anti-PD-1 therapy was obtained as an external validation data set to verify the predictive value of IRPS. Results We constructed a 10 gene signature related to the prognosis and immune response of ccRCC patients. Considering the IRPS risk score, patients were split into high and low risk groups. Patients with high risk in the TCGA cohort tended towards advanced tumor stage and grade with poor prognosis (p < 0.001), which was validated in GEO database (p = 0.004). High-risk group tumors were related with lower PD-L1 expression, higher TMB, higher MSIsensor score, lower IPS, higher TIDE score, and enriched Treg cells, which might be the potential mechanism of immune dysfunction and exclusion. Patients in the IRPS low risk group had better PFS (HR:0.73; 95% CI: 0.54-1.0; P = 0.047). Conclusion A novel biomarker of IRPS was constructed to predict the benefit of immunotherapy, which might lead to more individualized prognoses and tailored therapy for kidney cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiannan Yao
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100020, China
| | - Ziwei Liang
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100020, China
| | - Ling Duan
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100020, China
| | - Yang G
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100020, China
| | - Jian Liu
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100020, China
- Medical Research Center, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100020, China
| | - Guangyu An
- Department of Oncology, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100020, China
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Ahamad S, Hema K, Gupta D. Identification of Novel Tau-Tubulin Kinase 2 Inhibitors Using Computational Approaches. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:13026-13037. [PMID: 37065061 PMCID: PMC10099139 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c00225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Tau tubulin kinase 2 (TTBK2) associated with multiple diseases is one of the kinases which phosphorylates tau and tubulin. Numerous efforts have been made to understand the role of TTBK2 in protein folding mechanisms and misfolding behavior. The misfolded protein intermediates form polymers with unwanted aggregation properties that initiate several diseases, including Alzheimer's. The availability of TTBK2 inhibitors can enhance the understanding of the molecular mechanism of action of the kinase and assist in developing novel therapeutics. In the quest for TTBK2 inhibitors, this study focuses on screening two chemical libraries (ChEMBL and ZINC-FDA). The molecular docking, RO5/absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion/toxicity, density functional theory, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and molecular mechanics with generalized Born and surface area solvation techniques enabled shortlisting of the four most active compounds, namely, ChEMBL1236395, ChEMBL2104398, ChEMBL3427435, and ZINC000000509440. Moreover, 500 ns MD simulation was performed for each complex, which provided valuable insights into the structural changes in the complexes. The relative fluctuation, solvent accessible surface area, atomic gyration, compactness covariance, and free energy landscapes revealed that the compounds could stabilize the TTBK2 protein. Overall, this study would be valuable for the researchers targeting the development of novel TTBK2 inhibitors.
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Deng Y, Wang F, Wu X, Du K, Yang Q, Xia T. The m6A-regulation and single cell effect pattern in sunitinib resistance on clear cell renal cell carcinoma: Identification and validation of targets. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1131610. [PMID: 37063301 PMCID: PMC10102343 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1131610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Sunitinib is the main target drug for clear cell renal cell carcinoma. However, the effect of sunitinib is often limited by acquired drug resistance.Methods: The open-accessed data used in this study were obtained from different online public databases, which were analyzed using the R software. The RNA level of specific genes was detected using quantitative Real-Time PCR. Sunitinib-resistant cell lines were constructed based on protocol get from the previous study. Colony formation and Cell Counting Kit-8 assays were applied to detect cell proliferation ability.Results: In this study, through publicly available data and high-quality analysis, we deeply explored the potential biological mechanisms that affect the resistance of sunitinib. Detailed, data from GSE64052, GSE76068 and The Cancer Genome Atlas were extracted. We identified the IFITM1, IL6, MX2, PCOLCE2, RSAD2 and SLC2A3 were associated with sunitinib resistance. Single-cell analysis, prognosis analysis and m6A regulatory network were conducted to investigate their role. Moreover, the MX2 was selected for further analysis, including its biological role and effect on the ccRCC microenvironment. Interestingly, we noticed that MX2 might be an immune-related gene that could affect the response rate of immunotherapy. Then, in vitro experiments validated the overexpression of MX2 in sunitinib-resistance cells. Colony formation assay indicated that the knockdown of MX2 could remarkably inhibit the proliferation ability of 786-O-Res and Caki-1-Res when exposed to sunitinib.Conclusion: In summary, through publicly available data and high-quality analysis, we deeply explored the potential biological mechanisms that affect the resistance of sunitinib. MX2 was selected for further analysis, including its biological role and effect on the ccRCC microenvironment. Finally, in vitro experiments were used to validate its role in ccRCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanxi Deng
- Clinical Laboratory, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Fang Wang
- Clinical Laboratory, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Xinhui Wu
- Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Kangming Du
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Qing Yang
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- *Correspondence: Qing Yang, ; Ting Xia,
| | - Ting Xia
- Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- *Correspondence: Qing Yang, ; Ting Xia,
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Wang W, Li W, Pan L, Li L, Xu Y, Wang Y, Zhang X, Zhang S. Dynamic Regulation Genes at Microtubule Plus Ends: A Novel Class of Glioma Biomarkers. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:biology12030488. [PMID: 36979179 PMCID: PMC10045452 DOI: 10.3390/biology12030488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2023] [Revised: 03/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
Simple Summary Microtubule plus-end-related genes (MPERGs) encode a group of proteins that specifically aggregate at the microtubule plus ends to play critical biological roles in the cell cycle, cell movement, ciliogenesis, and neuronal development by coordinating microtubule assembly and dynamics; however, the MPERG correlations and their clinical significance in glioma are not fully understood. This study is the first to systematically analyze and define a seven-gene signature (CTTNBP2, KIF18A, NAV1, SLAIN2, SRCIN1, TRIO, and TTBK2) and nomogram model closely associated with clinical factors and the tumor microenvironment as a reliable and independent prognostic biomarker to guide personalized choices of immunotherapy and chemotherapy for glioma patients. Abstract Glioma is the most prevalent and aggressive primary nervous system tumor with an unfavorable prognosis. Microtubule plus-end-related genes (MPERGs) play critical biological roles in the cell cycle, cell movement, ciliogenesis, and neuronal development by coordinating microtubule assembly and dynamics. This research seeks to systematically explore the oncological characteristics of these genes in microtubule-enriched glioma, focusing on developing a novel MPERG-based prognostic signature to improve the prognosis and provide more treatment options for glioma patients. First, we thoroughly analyzed and identified 45 differentially expressed MPERGs in glioma. Based on these genes, glioma patients were well distinguished into two subgroups with survival and tumor microenvironment infiltration differences. Next, we further screened the independent prognostic genes (CTTNBP2, KIF18A, NAV1, SLAIN2, SRCIN1, TRIO, and TTBK2) using 36 prognostic-related differentially expressed MPERGs to construct a signature with risk stratification and prognostic prediction ability. An increased risk score was related to the malignant progression of glioma. Therefore, we also designed a nomogram model containing clinical factors to facilitate the clinical use of the risk signature. The prediction accuracy of the signature and nomogram model was verified using The Cancer Genome Atlas and Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas datasets. Finally, we examined the connection between the signature and tumor microenvironment. The signature positively correlated with tumor microenvironment infiltration, especially immunoinhibitors and the tumor mutation load, and negatively correlated with microsatellite instability and cancer stemness. More importantly, immune checkpoint blockade treatment and drug sensitivity analyses confirmed that this prognostic signature was helpful in anticipating the effect of immunotherapy and chemotherapy. In conclusion, this research is the first study to define and validate an MPERG-based signature closely associated with the tumor microenvironment as a reliable and independent prognostic biomarker to guide personalized choices of immunotherapy and chemotherapy for glioma patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenwen Wang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Hangzhou 310053, China
- Translational Medicine Research Center, Key Laboratory of Clinical Cancer Pharmacology and Toxicology Research of Zhejiang Province, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
| | - Weilong Li
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Hangzhou 310053, China
- Translational Medicine Research Center, Key Laboratory of Clinical Cancer Pharmacology and Toxicology Research of Zhejiang Province, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
| | - Lifang Pan
- Translational Medicine Research Center, Key Laboratory of Clinical Cancer Pharmacology and Toxicology Research of Zhejiang Province, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
- The Fourth Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Hangzhou 310006, China
| | - Lingjie Li
- Translational Medicine Research Center, Key Laboratory of Clinical Cancer Pharmacology and Toxicology Research of Zhejiang Province, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
- The Fourth Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Hangzhou 310006, China
| | - Yasi Xu
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Hangzhou 310053, China
- Translational Medicine Research Center, Key Laboratory of Clinical Cancer Pharmacology and Toxicology Research of Zhejiang Province, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
| | - Yuqing Wang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Hangzhou 310053, China
- Translational Medicine Research Center, Key Laboratory of Clinical Cancer Pharmacology and Toxicology Research of Zhejiang Province, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
| | - Xiaochen Zhang
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310006, China
- Correspondence: (X.Z.); (S.Z.); Tel./Fax: +86-571-5600-7650 (S.Z.)
| | - Shirong Zhang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Hangzhou 310053, China
- Translational Medicine Research Center, Key Laboratory of Clinical Cancer Pharmacology and Toxicology Research of Zhejiang Province, Affiliated Hangzhou First People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310006, China
- Correspondence: (X.Z.); (S.Z.); Tel./Fax: +86-571-5600-7650 (S.Z.)
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11
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Dick M, Jamal H, Liu YR, Celli JP, Lilge L. On the need for standardized reporting of photophysical parameters of in vitro photodynamic therapy studies. Photodiagnosis Photodyn Ther 2022; 41:103263. [PMID: 36587862 DOI: 10.1016/j.pdpdt.2022.103263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
In vitro dose escalation experiments are one of the first gatekeepers in therapeutic evaluation and development. This also holds for evaluating novel photosensitizers (PS) and Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) co-therapies as needed to provide dose response guidelines before engaging in further pre-clinical studies. The dose needed to achieve 50% cell kill (LD50) is a standard metric to report the potency of a therapeutic agents that is widely accepted for single-drug therapies. In reporting results of PDT experiments, which involve delivery of both drug and light, it is inherently more complicated to identify such a convenient dose response metric that actually captures the larger space of treatment parameters. In addition to ubiquitous sources of biological variability that apply broadly in biomedical research, PDT treatment efficacy is determined by multiple key parameters that may or may not have been documented, including PS concentration and light fluence, where the latter is itself a function of the spectral properties of the light source used (often not described), not to mention dose rate, fractionation and other parameters that potentially vary between individual studies. It is impossible to compare results between two study when, for example one reports LD50 PS concentration without providing essential light dosimetry details. Motivated by this challenge in comparing outcomes and establishing reproducibility of in vitro PDT studies, we endeavored to perform a meta-analysis of the reporting of PDT results by converting, where possible, the disparately reported experimental details into a consistent metric that could be used to compare across studies. In this context we adopt here the number of photons absorbed by photosensitizers per unit volume to affect a 50% decline in cell survival as a standardized metric. By choosing this metric one can acknowledge the quantum-based generation of cytotoxins. While this metric does not cover every possible source of variability between any two studies, for a PS with known optical properties, this does encapsulate PS concentration as well as irradiance and spectral properties of light delivered. For the sake of focus we adopt this approach for study of reported results with two photosensitizers, Protoporphyrin IX, either synthesized in the cells by aminolevulinic acid or administered exogenously, and Chlorin e6. A literature search was performed to identify in vitro studies with these two photosensitizers and collect necessary information to calculate the absorbed photon LD50 threshold for each study. Only approximately 1/10 of the manuscripts reporting on in vitro studies provide the minimum required information to calculate the threshold values. While the majority of the determined threshold values are within a factor of 10, the range of threshold values spanned close to 7 orders of magnitude for both photosensitizers. To contrast with single-agent therapies, a similar exercise was performed for chemotherapeutic drugs targeting cellular mitosis or tyrosine kinase inhibitors resulted in an LD50 or IC50 range of 1-2 orders of magnitude, with LD50 or IC50 values for a single cell line being within a factor of 5. This review underscores challenges in the reporting of in vitro PDT efficacy. In many cases it takes considerable effort to extract the necessary methodology information to make meaningful comparison between PDT studies. Only when results between studies can be compared is it possible to begin to assess reproducibility which, as shown here, can be a major issue. Hence, guidelines need to be developed and enforced through the peer review process for meaningful reporting of preclinical PDT results in order for the most promising sensitizers and co-therapies to be identified and translated into the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madison Dick
- Princess Margaret Cancer Centre at University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Hunain Jamal
- Princess Margaret Cancer Centre at University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Yi Ran Liu
- Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Jonathan P Celli
- Department of Physics, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Lothar Lilge
- Princess Margaret Cancer Centre at University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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12
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p90RSK Regulates p53 Pathway by MDM2 Phosphorylation in Thyroid Tumors. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 15:cancers15010121. [PMID: 36612117 PMCID: PMC9817759 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15010121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 12/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The expression level of the tumor suppressor p53 is controlled by the E3 ubiquitin ligase MDM2 with a regulatory feedback loop, which allows p53 to upregulate its inhibitor MDM2. In this manuscript we demonstrated that p90RSK binds and phosphorylates MDM2 on serine 166 both in vitro and in vivo by kinase assay, immunoblot, and co-immunoprecipitation assay; this phosphorylation increases the stability of MDM2 which in turn binds p53, ubiquitinating it and promoting its degradation by proteasome. A pharmacological inhibitor of p90RSK, BI-D1870, decreases MDM2 phosphorylation, and restores p53 function, which in turn transcriptionally increases the expression of cell cycle inhibitor p21 and of pro-apoptotic protein Bax and downregulates the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, causing a block of cell proliferation, measured by a BrdU assay and growth curve, and promoting apoptosis, measured by a TUNEL assay. Finally, an immunohistochemistry evaluation of primary thyroid tumors, in which p90RSK is very active, confirms MDM2 stabilization mediated by p90RSK phosphorylation.
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13
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Zhang Y, Zhang J, Wang J, Chen H, Ouyang L, Wang Y. Targeting GRK2 and GRK5 for treating chronic degenerative diseases: Advances and future perspectives. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 243:114668. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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14
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Chen Q, Xie J, Yang Y. Long non-coding RNA NRSN2-AS1 facilitates tumorigenesis and progression of ovarian cancer via miR-744-5p/PRKX axis. Biol Reprod 2021; 106:526-539. [PMID: 34791059 DOI: 10.1093/biolre/ioab212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2021] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Newly discovered lncRNA neurensin-2 antisense RNA 1 (NRSN2-AS1) has not been well explored in cancers. Ovarian cancer (OV) is a primary gynecologic cancer worldwide and has the highest mortality rate among gynecologic cancers. Hence, the role and underlying mechanisms of NRSN2-AS1 in OV were worth investigating. According to the results of qRT-PCR, NRSN2-AS1 displayed the remarkably high expression in OV cells, in contrast to human ovarian epithelial cells. Based on online database, the expression level of NRSN2-AS1 was significantly higher in OV tissues than that in normal ovarian tissues. The data from functional experiments indicated that NRSN2-AS1 knockdown inhibited OV cell malignant behaviors in vitro and OV tumor growth in vivo. Moreover, mechanism analysis unveiled that NRSN2-AS1 functioned as a miR-744-5p sponge to regulate PRKX expression in OV cells. The results of TOP/FOP flash and western blot assays suggested that NRSN2-AS1/miR-744-5p/PRKX axis modulated the activity of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. In summary, we validated NRSN2-AS1 functioned as a novel oncogenic lncRNA in OV and elucidated its specific molecular mechanism. This work might advance our understanding of OV and provide evidence for supporting NRSN2-AS1 as a potential biomarker for OV treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Chen
- Department of Gynaecology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 39 Shi-er-qiao Road, Chengdu, 610072, Sichuan Province, P. R. China
| | - Jia Xie
- Department of Gynaecology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 39 Shi-er-qiao Road, Chengdu, 610072, Sichuan Province, P. R. China
| | - Yisi Yang
- Department of Gynaecology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 39 Shi-er-qiao Road, Chengdu, 610072, Sichuan Province, P. R. China
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15
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Yuan Y, Xu J, Jiang L, Yu K, Ge Y, Li M, He H, Niu Q, Shi X, Fan L, Chen Z, Zhao Z, Li S, Xu Y, Wang Z, Li H. Discovery, Optimization, and Structure-Activity Relationship Study of Novel and Potent RSK4 Inhibitors as Promising Agents for the Treatment of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma. J Med Chem 2021; 64:13572-13587. [PMID: 34496560 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Ribosomal S6 protein kinase 4 (RSK4) was identified to be a promising target for the treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in our previous research, whose current treatments are primarily chemotherapy and radiotherapy due to the lack of targeted therapy. However, few potent and specific RSK4 inhibitors are reported. In this study, a series of 1,4-dihydro-2H-pyrimido[4,5-d][1,3]oxazin-2-ones derivatives were designed and synthesized as novel and potent RSK4 inhibitors. Compound 14f was identified with potent RSK4 inhibitory activity both in vitro and in vivo. 14f significantly inhibited the proliferation and invasion of ESCC cells in vitro with IC50 values of 0.57 and 0.98 μM, respectively. It dose dependently inhibited the phosphorylation of RSK4 downstream substrates while exerting little effect on the substrates of RSK1-3 in ESCC cells. The markedly suppressed tumor growth and no observed toxicity to main organs in the ESCC xenograft mouse model suggested 14f to be a promising RSK4-targeting agent for ESCC treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Yuan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Junpeng Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China
| | - Lei Jiang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Kangjie Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China
| | - Yuanyuan Ge
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Mingyang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China
| | - Huan He
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Qiqi Niu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Xiayu Shi
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Linni Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China
| | - Zhuo Chen
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Zhenjiang Zhao
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Shiliang Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Yufang Xu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
| | - Zhe Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China
| | - Honglin Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science & Technology, Shanghai 200237, China
- Research and Development Department, Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Nanchang 330096, China
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16
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Chrysostomou S, Roy R, Prischi F, Thamlikitkul L, Chapman KL, Mufti U, Peach R, Ding L, Hancock D, Moore C, Molina-Arcas M, Mauri F, Pinato DJ, Abrahams JM, Ottaviani S, Castellano L, Giamas G, Pascoe J, Moonamale D, Pirrie S, Gaunt C, Billingham L, Steven NM, Cullen M, Hrouda D, Winkler M, Post J, Cohen P, Salpeter SJ, Bar V, Zundelevich A, Golan S, Leibovici D, Lara R, Klug DR, Yaliraki SN, Barahona M, Wang Y, Downward J, Skehel JM, Ali MMU, Seckl MJ, Pardo OE. Repurposed floxacins targeting RSK4 prevent chemoresistance and metastasis in lung and bladder cancer. Sci Transl Med 2021; 13:eaba4627. [PMID: 34261798 PMCID: PMC7611705 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aba4627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Revised: 10/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Lung and bladder cancers are mostly incurable because of the early development of drug resistance and metastatic dissemination. Hence, improved therapies that tackle these two processes are urgently needed to improve clinical outcome. We have identified RSK4 as a promoter of drug resistance and metastasis in lung and bladder cancer cells. Silencing this kinase, through either RNA interference or CRISPR, sensitized tumor cells to chemotherapy and hindered metastasis in vitro and in vivo in a tail vein injection model. Drug screening revealed several floxacin antibiotics as potent RSK4 activation inhibitors, and trovafloxacin reproduced all effects of RSK4 silencing in vitro and in/ex vivo using lung cancer xenograft and genetically engineered mouse models and bladder tumor explants. Through x-ray structure determination and Markov transient and Deuterium exchange analyses, we identified the allosteric binding site and revealed how this compound blocks RSK4 kinase activation through binding to an allosteric site and mimicking a kinase autoinhibitory mechanism involving the RSK4's hydrophobic motif. Last, we show that patients undergoing chemotherapy and adhering to prophylactic levofloxacin in the large placebo-controlled randomized phase 3 SIGNIFICANT trial had significantly increased (P = 0.048) long-term overall survival times. Hence, we suggest that RSK4 inhibition may represent an effective therapeutic strategy for treating lung and bladder cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stelios Chrysostomou
- Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Rajat Roy
- Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Filippo Prischi
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Lucksamon Thamlikitkul
- Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10700, Thailand
| | - Kathryn L Chapman
- Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
- Assay Biology, Domainex Ltd, Cambridge CB10 1XL, UK
| | - Uwais Mufti
- Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Robert Peach
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Laifeng Ding
- Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, National Centre for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China
| | - David Hancock
- Oncogene Biology Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Christopher Moore
- Oncogene Biology Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Miriam Molina-Arcas
- Oncogene Biology Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - Francesco Mauri
- Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - David J Pinato
- Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Joel M Abrahams
- Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Silvia Ottaviani
- Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Leandro Castellano
- Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Georgios Giamas
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedicine, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Jennifer Pascoe
- Department of Oncology, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham B15 2TH, UK
| | - Devmini Moonamale
- Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Sarah Pirrie
- Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Claire Gaunt
- Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Lucinda Billingham
- Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Neil M Steven
- Department of Oncology, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham B15 2TH, UK
| | - Michael Cullen
- Department of Oncology, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham B15 2TH, UK
| | - David Hrouda
- Department Urology, Charing Cross Hospital, London W6 8RF, UK
| | - Mathias Winkler
- Department Urology, Charing Cross Hospital, London W6 8RF, UK
| | - John Post
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH. UK
| | - Philip Cohen
- MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dow Street, Dundee DD1 5EH. UK
| | | | - Vered Bar
- Curesponse, 6 Weizmann Street, 6423906 Tel Aviv, Israel
| | | | - Shay Golan
- Department of Urology, Rabin Medical Center, Jabotinsky St. 39, 4941492 Petah Tikva, Israel
| | - Dan Leibovici
- Department of Urology, Kaplan Medical Center, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel
| | - Romain Lara
- Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
- AstraZeneca, Discovery Science, R&D, Discovery Biology, Darwin Building, Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, Cambridge CB4 0WG, UK
| | - David R Klug
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Sophia N Yaliraki
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Mauricio Barahona
- Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Yulan Wang
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 636921, Singapore
| | - Julian Downward
- Oncogene Biology Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
| | - J Mark Skehel
- Biological Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, MRC LMB, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK
| | - Maruf M U Ali
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
| | - Michael J Seckl
- Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
| | - Olivier E Pardo
- Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK.
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Xu J, Jia Q, Zhang Y, Yuan Y, Xu T, Yu K, Chai J, Wang K, Chen L, Xiao T, Li M. Prominent roles of ribosomal S6 kinase 4 (RSK4) in cancer. Pathol Res Pract 2021; 219:153374. [PMID: 33621918 DOI: 10.1016/j.prp.2021.153374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
RSK4 refers to one Ser/Thr protein kinase functioning downstream pertaining to the signaling channel of protein kinase (MAPK) stimulated by Ras/mitogen. RSK4 can regulate numerous substrates impacting cells' surviving state, growing processes and proliferating process. Thus, dysregulated RSK4 active state display a relationship to several carcinoma categories, covering breast carcinoma, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, glioma, colorectal carcinoma, lung carcinoma, ovarian carcinoma, leukemia, endometrial carcinoma, and kidney carcinoma. Whether RSK4 is a tumor suppressor gene or one oncogene remains controversial. No specific inhibiting elements for RSK4 have been found. This review briefs the existing information regarding RSK4 activating process, the function and mechanism of RSK4 in different tumors, and the research progress and limitations of existing RSK inhibitors. RSK4 may be a potential target of molecular therapy medicine in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junpeng Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Qingge Jia
- Xi'an International Medical Center, Northwest University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yan Zhang
- Children's Heart Disease Center, Sichuan Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Chengdu, China
| | - Yuan Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Tianqi Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Kangjie Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jia Chai
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Kaijing Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Ligang Chen
- Department of Neurology, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, China.
| | - Tian Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
| | - Mingyang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
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18
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Li MY, Fan LN, Han DH, Yu Z, Ma J, Liu YX, Li PF, Zhao DH, Chai J, Jiang L, Li SL, Xiao JJ, Duan QH, Ye J, Shi M, Nie YZ, Wu KC, Liao DJ, Shi Y, Wang Y, Yan QG, Guo SP, Bian XW, Zhu F, Zhang J, Wang Z. Ribosomal S6 protein kinase 4 promotes radioresistance in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. J Clin Invest 2021; 130:4301-4319. [PMID: 32396532 DOI: 10.1172/jci134930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most aggressive cancers and is highly resistant to current treatments. ESCC harbors a subpopulation of cells exhibiting cancer stem-like cell (CSC) properties that contribute to therapeutic resistance including radioresistance, but the molecular mechanisms in ESCC CSCs are currently unknown. Here, we report that ribosomal S6 protein kinase 4 (RSK4) plays a pivotal role in promoting CSC properties and radioresistance in ESCC. RSK4 was highly expressed in ESCC CSCs and associated with radioresistance and poor survival in patients with ESCC. RSK4 was found to be a direct downstream transcriptional target of ΔNp63α, the main p63 isoform, which is frequently amplified in ESCC. RSK4 activated the β-catenin signaling pathway through direct phosphorylation of GSK-3β at Ser9. Pharmacologic inhibition of RSK4 effectively reduced CSC properties and improved radiosensitivity in both nude mouse and patient-derived xenograft models. Collectively, our results strongly suggest that the ΔNp63α/RSK4/GSK-3β axis plays a key role in driving CSC properties and radioresistance in ESCC, indicating that RSK4 is a promising therapeutic target for ESCC treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Yang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Lin-Ni Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Dong-Hui Han
- Department of Urology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Zhou Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jing Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yi-Xiong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Pei-Feng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Dan-Hui Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jia Chai
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Lei Jiang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Shi-Liang Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of New Drug Design, State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, China
| | - Juan-Juan Xiao
- Cancer Research Institute, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China
| | - Qiu-Hong Duan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jing Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Mei Shi
- Department of Radiation Oncology and
| | - Yong-Zhan Nie
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Kai-Chun Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Dezhong Joshua Liao
- Department of Pathology, Second Hospital, Guizhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guiyang, China
| | - Yu Shi
- Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yan Wang
- Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Qing-Guo Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Shuang-Ping Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xiu-Wu Bian
- Institute of Pathology and Southwest Cancer Center, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Feng Zhu
- Cancer Research Institute, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin, China.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medicine, and.,Key Laboratory of Gastrointestinal Pharmacology of Chinese Materia Medica of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Zhe Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
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19
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Mei Y, Liao X, Zhu L, Yang H. Overexpression of RSK4 reverses doxorubicin resistance in human breast cancer cells via PI3K/AKT signalling pathway. J Biochem 2021; 167:603-611. [PMID: 31960922 DOI: 10.1093/jb/mvaa009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Doxorubicin (DOX) is one of the most effective chemotherapy drugs for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer (BC), but drug resistance becomes an obstacle to treatment. This study aims to investigate the role of Ribosomal S6 protein kinase 4 (RSK4) in regulating BC resistance to DOX. We first used Kaplan-Meier Plotter to identify the prognostic roles of RSK4 in BC. DOX-resistant BC cells (MCF-7/DOX) were constructed and the expression of RSK4 was determined by reverse transcript polymerase chain reaction and western blot. Subsequently, we overexpressed the RSK4 in MCF-7/DOX cells, and measured drug resistance, colony formation, cell migration, invasion ability and cell apoptosis after transfection. In addition, western blot was used to explore the expression of apoptosis-related proteins and BC-resistance protein. Effects of RSK4 on activation of the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway were also tested. Furthermore, tumour xenograft in nude mice was constructed to observe the effect of RSK4 overexpression on tumour growth in vivo. In conclusion, RSK4 was positively correlated with survival rate in BC patients, which is lowly expressed in MCF-7/DOX. Meanwhile, the overexpression of RSK4 may inhibit drug resistance, cell migration, invasion, apoptosis and tumour growth. RSK4 may effectively attenuate DOX resistance in BC by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Mei
- Department of Breast Surgery, Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, P.R. China
| | - Xiaoming Liao
- Department of Breast Surgery, Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, P.R. China
| | - Lingyu Zhu
- Department of Breast Surgery, Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, P.R. China
| | - Huawei Yang
- Department of Breast Surgery, Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, Guangxi 530021, P.R. China
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20
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Cheng Y, Sun M, Wang F, Geng X, Wang F. Identification of Hub Genes Related to Alzheimer's Disease and Major Depressive Disorder. Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen 2021; 36:15333175211046123. [PMID: 34732058 PMCID: PMC10695082 DOI: 10.1177/15333175211046123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
BackgroundAlthough many studies reported a close relationship between depression and Alzheimer's disease (AD), the underlying pathophysiological mechanism remains unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the mechanism of AD and major depressive disorder (MDD). Method: The datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus. After screening differentially expressed genes (DEGs), gene ontology and pathway analysis were performed and protein-protein interaction, TF-target gene, and miRNA-target gene networks were established. Results: 171 DEGs of AD-related datasets and 79 DEGs shared by AD and MDD were detected. Functional analysis revealed that AD and MDD common genes were significantly enriched in circadian entrainment and long-term depression signaling pathways. Five hub genes were identified after construction of networks and validation of hub gene signatures. In conclusion, DYNC1H1, MAPRE3, TTBK2, ITGB1, and WASL may be potential targets for the diagnosis and treatment of AD and MDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yajing Cheng
- Department of Neurology, General Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Meiyue Sun
- Department of Neurology, General Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Feng Wang
- Department of Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Xin Geng
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Immunology, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease of Ministry of Education, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Fei Wang
- Department of Neurology, General Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
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21
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Chen L, Xu T, Jia Q, Wang X, Li M, Liang G. RSK4: a new prognostic factor in glioma. Pathol Res Pract 2020; 216:153020. [PMID: 32703488 DOI: 10.1016/j.prp.2020.153020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Revised: 05/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Glioma is the most common and fatal brain tumour and has a poor prognosis. Ribosomal S6 protein kinase 4 (RSK4) has been found to be involved in multiple tumour types; however, the role of RSK4 in gliomas and its clinical relevance remain unclear. In the present study, RSK4 expression was found to be significantly increased in glioma tissues compared with matched adjunct non-noncancerous tissues. Moreover, the expression of RSK4 was significantly higher in high-grade (III and IV) glioma tissues than in low-grade (I and II) glioma tissues. The data showed that the expression of RSK4 was significantly correlated with WHO grade, three-year survival rate and five-year survival rate. Kaplan-Meier analyses showed that patients with high RSK4 expression had poor overall survival. In addition, multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that RSK4 might be an independent prognostic factor in glioma patients. Collectively, these results suggest that RSK4 may be a new prognostic factor in glioma patients, and RSK4 is expected to be a potential biomarker and a potential target for glioma therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ligang Chen
- Department of Neurology, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang 110016, China
| | - Tianqi Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China
| | - Qingge Jia
- Second Retired Cadres Sanitarium of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province Military Region, Xi'an 710032, China
| | - Xiaokai Wang
- Department of Pathology, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang 110016, China
| | - Mingyang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China.
| | - Guobiao Liang
- Department of Neurology, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang 110016, China.
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22
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Liu Y, Chen TY, Yang ZY, Fang W, Wu Q, Zhang C. Identification of hub genes in papillary thyroid carcinoma: robust rank aggregation and weighted gene co-expression network analysis. J Transl Med 2020; 18:170. [PMID: 32299435 PMCID: PMC7161219 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-020-02327-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Accepted: 04/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), which is the most common endocrine malignancy, has been steadily increasing worldwide in incidence over the years, while mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis and diagnostic for PTC are incomplete. The purpose of this study is to identify potential biomarkers for diagnosis of PTC, and provide new insights into pathogenesis of PTC. METHODS Based on weighted gene co-expression network analysis, Robust Rank Aggregation, functional annotation, GSEA and DNA methylation, were employed for investigating potential biomarkers for diagnosis of PTC. RESULTS Black and turquoise modules were identified in the gene co-expression network constructed by 1807 DEGs that from 6 eligible gene expression profiles of Gene Expression Omnibus database based on Robust Rank Aggregation and weighted gene co-expression network analysis. Hub genes were significantly down-regulated and the expression levels of the hub genes were different in different stages in hub gene verification. ROC curves indicated all hub genes had good diagnostic value for PTC (except for ABCA6 AUC = 89.5%, the 15 genes with AUC > 90%). Methylation analysis showed that hub gene verification ABCA6, ACACB, RMDN1 and TFPI were identified as differentially methylated genes, and the decreased expression level of these genes may relate to abnormal DNA methylation. Moreover, the expression levels of 8 top hub genes were correlated with tumor purity and tumor-infiltrating immune cells. These findings, including functional annotations and GSEA provide new insights into pathogenesis of PTC. CONCLUSIONS The hub genes and methylation of hub genes may as potential biomarkers provide new insights for diagnosis of PTC, and all these findings may be the direction to study the mechanisms underlying of PTC in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Liu
- Center for Evidence-Based Medicine and Clinical Research, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, No. 32, South Renmin Road, Shiyan, 442000, China
| | - Ting-Yu Chen
- Center for Evidence-Based Medicine and Clinical Research, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, No. 32, South Renmin Road, Shiyan, 442000, China
| | - Zhi-Yan Yang
- Center for Evidence-Based Medicine and Clinical Research, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, No. 32, South Renmin Road, Shiyan, 442000, China
| | - Wei Fang
- Center for Evidence-Based Medicine and Clinical Research, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, No. 32, South Renmin Road, Shiyan, 442000, China
| | - Qian Wu
- School of Public Health, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China.
| | - Chao Zhang
- Center for Evidence-Based Medicine and Clinical Research, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, No. 32, South Renmin Road, Shiyan, 442000, China.
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23
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Ciliary Genes in Renal Cystic Diseases. Cells 2020; 9:cells9040907. [PMID: 32276433 PMCID: PMC7226761 DOI: 10.3390/cells9040907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2020] [Revised: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 04/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Cilia are microtubule-based organelles, protruding from the apical cell surface and anchoring to the cytoskeleton. Primary (nonmotile) cilia of the kidney act as mechanosensors of nephron cells, responding to fluid movements by triggering signal transduction. The impaired functioning of primary cilia leads to formation of cysts which in turn contribute to development of diverse renal diseases, including kidney ciliopathies and renal cancer. Here, we review current knowledge on the role of ciliary genes in kidney ciliopathies and renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Special focus is given on the impact of mutations and altered expression of ciliary genes (e.g., encoding polycystins, nephrocystins, Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) proteins, ALS1, Oral-facial-digital syndrome 1 (OFD1) and others) in polycystic kidney disease and nephronophthisis, as well as rare genetic disorders, including syndromes of Joubert, Meckel-Gruber, Bardet-Biedl, Senior-Loken, Alström, Orofaciodigital syndrome type I and cranioectodermal dysplasia. We also show that RCC and classic kidney ciliopathies share commonly disturbed genes affecting cilia function, including VHL (von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor), PKD1 (polycystin 1, transient receptor potential channel interacting) and PKD2 (polycystin 2, transient receptor potential cation channel). Finally, we discuss the significance of ciliary genes as diagnostic and prognostic markers, as well as therapeutic targets in ciliopathies and cancer.
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24
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Downregulation of GRK5 hampers the migration of breast cancer cells. Sci Rep 2019; 9:15548. [PMID: 31664083 PMCID: PMC6820534 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51923-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Sunitinib is a multispecific kinase inhibitor and one of its targets is the kinase GRK5, which is regulating a multitude of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). In this study we demonstrate that a decreased GRK5 expression induced by knock-down experiments or sunitinib treatment hampers the migration of cancer cell lines. A proteomic analysis revealed many pathways related to cell migration which were down regulated upon the GRK5 knock-down. Furthermore, we found in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells that the inhibition of migration is mediated by the GPCR gastrin releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) leading to a reduced expression of migration regulating downstream targets like CDC42 and ROCK1. An in silico Kaplan Meier analysis revealed that GRK5 and GRPR overexpression reduces the distant metastasis free survival in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients. Thus, we suggest a novel anti-migratory effect of impaired GRK5 expression which induces a negative feedback loop on GRPR signalling.
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25
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Taylor LM, McMillan PJ, Kraemer BC, Liachko NF. Tau tubulin kinases in proteinopathy. FEBS J 2019; 286:2434-2446. [PMID: 31034749 PMCID: PMC6936727 DOI: 10.1111/febs.14866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Revised: 02/23/2019] [Accepted: 04/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
A number of neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by deposition of abnormally phosphorylated tau or TDP-43 in disease-affected neurons. These diseases include Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. No disease-modifying therapeutics is available to treat these disorders, and we have a limited understanding of the cellular and molecular factors integral to disease initiation or progression. Phosphorylated tau and TDP-43 are important markers of pathology in dementia disorders and directly contribute to tau- and TDP-43-related neurotoxicity and neurodegeneration. Here, we review the scope of tau and TDP-43 phosphorylation in neurodegenerative disease and discuss recent work demonstrating the kinases TTBK1 and TTBK2 phosphorylate both tau and TDP-43, promoting neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M Taylor
- Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Pamela J McMillan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Brian C Kraemer
- Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
- Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, USA
- Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Nicole F Liachko
- Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Geriatrics Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, USA
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26
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Luo L, Liang Y, Ding X, Ma X, Zhang G, Sun L. Significance of cyclooxygenase-2, prostaglandin E2 and CD133 levels in sunitinib-resistant renal cell carcinoma. Oncol Lett 2019; 18:1442-1450. [PMID: 31423209 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2019.10442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2018] [Accepted: 04/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The current study investigated the mechanism underlying sunitinib resistance. The parental human renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell line 786-O was continuously exposed to various doses of sunitinib to obtain sunitinib-resistant cells (786-O/S). Cell proliferation and colony formation assays were performed to assess the survival of 786-O/S cells. The half-inhibitory concentration for the drug-resistant cells was calculated. 786-O/S cells demonstrated notably morphological changes compared with parental cells. Compared with 786-O cells, 786-O/S cells exhibited stronger proliferative and colony-forming abilities. Western blot analysis was performed to measure the levels of cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2). Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the expression of COX-2 and cluster of differentiation (CD) 133 in both 786-O and 786-O/S cells. Following incubation of the two cell lines with celecoxib, a COX-2 inhibitor, RT-qPCR was performed to detect the expression of COX-2 and CD133, and western blot analysis was used to assess the expression of CD133. The results revealed that the levels of COX-2 and PGE2 were significantly higher in 786-O/S cells compared with 786-O cells (P<0.01). Similarly, the expression of CD133 was 24-fold higher in 786-O/S compared with the parental cells (P<0.01). When celecoxib was incubated with the two cell lines, the expression of COX-2 and CD133 decreased significantly (P<0.0001). In summary, the results indicate that activation of the COX-2-PGE2 pathway in RCC leads to the development of sunitinib resistance and may serve an important role in the maintenance of the characteristics of stem cells that are closely associated with drug resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Luo
- Department of Urology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shangdong 266003, P.R. China
| | - Ye Liang
- Key Laboratory, Department of Urology and Andrology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shangdong 266003, P.R. China
| | - Xuemei Ding
- Operating Room, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shangdong 266003, P.R. China
| | - Xiaocheng Ma
- Department of Urology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shangdong 266003, P.R. China
| | - Guiming Zhang
- Department of Urology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shangdong 266003, P.R. China
| | - Lijiang Sun
- Department of Urology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shangdong 266003, P.R. China
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27
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Characterisation of the Morphological, Functional and Molecular Changes in Sunitinib-Resistant Renal Cell Carcinoma Cells. J Kidney Cancer VHL 2018; 5:1-9. [PMID: 30109169 PMCID: PMC6088203 DOI: 10.15586/jkcvhl.2018.106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2018] [Accepted: 07/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Sunitinib resistance is a major clinical problem hampering the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Studies on the comprehensive characterisation of morphological, functional and molecular changes in sunitinib-resistant RCC cells are lacking. The aim of the current study was to develop sunitinib resistance in four human RCC cell lines (786-0, Caki-1, Caki-2 and SN12K1), and to characterise the changed cell biology with sunitinib resistance. RCC cells were made resistant by continuous, chronic exposure to 10 μM of sunitinib over a period of 12 months. Cell proliferation, morphology, transmigration, and gene expression for interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), Bcl-2 and Bax were studied. There was no significant difference in growth rate or transmigration between the parental and resistant cells. Sunitinib-resistant cells were significantly hypertrophic compared with parental cells as evidenced by increases in the surface areas of the whole cells and the nuclei. IL-6 was significantly increased in all resistant cells. IL-8 was increased in sunitinib-resistant Caki-2 and SN12K1 cells and decreased in 786-0 without any significant changes in Caki-1. VEGF was increased in resistant Caki-2 and SN12K1 cells but not in 786-0 and Caki-1. The Bcl2/Bax ratio was increased in Caki-1, Caki-2 and SN12K1 cells but decreased in 786-0 cells. The increased IL-6 may contribute to sunitinib resistance either via VEGF-mediated angiogenesis or through shifting of the Bcl2/Bax balance in favour of anti-apoptosis.
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28
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Zheng J, Liu X, Xue Y, Gong W, Ma J, Xi Z, Que Z, Liu Y. TTBK2 circular RNA promotes glioma malignancy by regulating miR-217/HNF1β/Derlin-1 pathway. J Hematol Oncol 2017; 10:52. [PMID: 28219405 PMCID: PMC5319142 DOI: 10.1186/s13045-017-0422-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 179] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2017] [Accepted: 02/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Circular RNAs are a subgroup of non-coding RNAs and generated by a mammalian genome. Herein, the expression and function of circular RNA circ-TTBK2 were investigated in human glioma cells. METHODS Fluorescence in situ hybridization and quantitative real-time PCR were conducted to profile the cell distribution and expression of circ-TTBK2 and microRNA-217 (miR-217) in glioma tissues and cells. Immunohistochemical and western blot were used to determine the expression of HNF1β and Derlin-1 in glioma tissues and cells. Stable knockdown of circ-TTBK2 or overexpression of miR-217 glioma cell lines (U87 and U251) were established to explore the function of circ-TTBK2 and miR-217 in glioma cells. Further, luciferase reports and RNA immunoprecipitation were used to investigate the correlation between circ-TTBK2 and miR-217. Cell Counting Kit-8, transwell assays, and flow cytometry were used to investigate circ-TTBK2 and miR-217 function including cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and apoptosis, respectively. ChIP assays were used to ascertain the correlations between HNF1β and Derlin-1. RESULTS We found that circ-TTBK2 was upregulated in glioma tissues and cell lines, while linear TTBK2 was not dysregulated in glioma tissues and cells. Enhanced expression of circ-TTBK2 promoted cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, while inhibited apoptosis. MiR-217 was downregulated in glioma tissues and cell lines. We also found that circ-TTBK2, but not linear TTBK2, acted as miR-217 sponge in a sequence-specific manner. In addition, upregulated circ-TTBK2 decreased miR-217 expression and there was a reciprocal negative feedback between them in an Argonaute2-dependent manner. Moreover, reintroduction of miR-217 significantly reversed circ-TTBK2-mediated promotion of glioma progression. HNF1β was a direct target of miR-217, and played oncogenic role in glioma cells. Remarkably, circ-TTBK2 knockdown combined with miR-217 overexpression led to tumor regression in vivo. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrated a novel role circ-TTBK2 in the glioma progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jian Zheng
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110004, People's Republic of China.,Liaoning Research Center for Translational Medicine in Nervous System Disease, Shenyang, 110004, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaobai Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110004, People's Republic of China.,Liaoning Research Center for Translational Medicine in Nervous System Disease, Shenyang, 110004, People's Republic of China
| | - Yixue Xue
- Department of Neurobiology, College of Basic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110122, People's Republic of China.,Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Ministry of Public Health of China, and Key Laboratory of Medical Cell Biology, Ministry of Education of China, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110122, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei Gong
- Department of Neurobiology, College of Basic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110122, People's Republic of China.,Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Ministry of Public Health of China, and Key Laboratory of Medical Cell Biology, Ministry of Education of China, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110122, People's Republic of China
| | - Jun Ma
- Department of Neurobiology, College of Basic Medicine, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110122, People's Republic of China.,Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Ministry of Public Health of China, and Key Laboratory of Medical Cell Biology, Ministry of Education of China, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110122, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhuo Xi
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110004, People's Republic of China.,Liaoning Research Center for Translational Medicine in Nervous System Disease, Shenyang, 110004, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhongyou Que
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110004, People's Republic of China.,Liaoning Research Center for Translational Medicine in Nervous System Disease, Shenyang, 110004, People's Republic of China
| | - Yunhui Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110004, People's Republic of China. .,Liaoning Research Center for Translational Medicine in Nervous System Disease, Shenyang, 110004, People's Republic of China.
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Huang S, Li Q, Alberts I, Li X. PRKX, a Novel cAMP-Dependent Protein Kinase Member, Plays an Important Role in Development. J Cell Biochem 2016; 117:566-73. [PMID: 26252946 DOI: 10.1002/jcb.25304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2015] [Accepted: 08/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The human protein kinase X gene (PRKX) and cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) are both c-AMP-dependent serine/threonine protein kinases within the protein kinase AGC subgroup. Of all the protein kinases in this group, PRKX is the least studied. PRKX has been isolated from patients with chondrodysplasia punctate and is involved in numerous processes, including sexual differentiation and fertilization, normal kidney development and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), blood maturation, neural development, and angiogenesis in vitro. Although the role of PRKX in development and disease has been reported recently, the underlying mechanism of PRKX activity is largely unknown. In addition, based on the expression pattern of PRKX and the extensive role of PKA in disease and development, PRKX might have additional crucial functions that have not been addressed in the literature. In this review, we summarize the characteristics and developmental functions of PRKX that have been reported by recent studies. In particular, we elucidate the structural and functional differences between PRKX and PKA, as well as the possible roles of PRKX in development and related diseases. Finally, we propose future studies that could lead to important discoveries of more PRKX functions and the underlying mechanisms involved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sizhou Huang
- Department of Anatomy and Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China, 610500
| | - Qian Li
- Department of Neurochemisty, NY State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, New York, 10314
| | - Ian Alberts
- Department of Natural Sciences, LaGuardia CC, CUNY, Long Island City, New York, 11101
| | - Xiaohong Li
- Department of Neurochemisty, NY State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, New York, 10314
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Elgendy M, Abdel-Aziz AK, Renne SL, Bornaghi V, Procopio G, Colecchia M, Kanesvaran R, Toh CK, Bossi D, Pallavicini I, Perez-Gracia JL, Lozano MD, Giandomenico V, Mercurio C, Lanfrancone L, Fazio N, Nole F, Teh BT, Renne G, Minucci S. Dual modulation of MCL-1 and mTOR determines the response to sunitinib. J Clin Invest 2016; 127:153-168. [PMID: 27893461 DOI: 10.1172/jci84386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2015] [Accepted: 10/14/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Most patients who initially respond to treatment with the multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunitinib eventually relapse. Therefore, developing a deeper understanding of the contribution of sunitinib's numerous targets to the clinical response or to resistance is crucial. Here, we have shown that cancer cells respond to clinically relevant doses of sunitinib by enhancing the stability of the antiapoptotic protein MCL-1 and inducing mTORC1 signaling, thus evoking little cytotoxicity. Inhibition of MCL-1 or mTORC1 signaling sensitized cells to clinically relevant doses of sunitinib in vitro and was synergistic with sunitinib in impairing tumor growth in vivo, indicating that these responses are triggered as prosurvival mechanisms that enable cells to tolerate the cytotoxic effects of sunitinib. Furthermore, higher doses of sunitinib were cytotoxic, triggered a decline in MCL-1 levels, and inhibited mTORC1 signaling. Mechanistically, we determined that sunitinib modulates MCL-1 stability by affecting its proteasomal degradation. Dual modulation of MCL-1 stability at different dose ranges of sunitinib was due to differential effects on ERK and GSK3β activity, and the latter also accounted for dual modulation of mTORC1 activity. Finally, comparison of patient samples prior to and following sunitinib treatment suggested that increases in MCL-1 levels and mTORC1 activity correlate with resistance to sunitinib in patients.
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Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor-Dependent and -Independent Paracrine Signaling by Sunitinib-Resistant Renal Cell Carcinoma. Mol Cell Biol 2016; 36:1836-55. [PMID: 27141054 DOI: 10.1128/mcb.00189-16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2016] [Accepted: 04/26/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Antiangiogenic therapies, such as sunitinib, have revolutionized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) treatment. However, a precarious understanding of how resistance emerges and a lack of tractable experimental systems hinder progress. We evaluated the potential of primary RCC cultures (derived from tumors and tumor grafts) to signal to endothelial cells (EC) and fibroblasts in vitro and to stimulate angiogenesis ex vivo in chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assays. From 65 patients, 27 primary cultures, including several from patients with sunitinib-resistant RCC, were established. RCC cells supported EC survival in coculture assays and induced angiogenesis in CAM assays. RCC-induced EC survival was sensitive to sunitinib in half of the tumors and was refractory in tumors from resistant patients. Sunitinib sensitivity correlated with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production. RCC induced paracrine extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation in EC which was inhibited by sunitinib in sensitive but not in resistant tumors. As determined by fibroblast growth factor receptor substrate 2 (FRS2) phosphorylation in fibroblasts, RCC broadly induced low-level fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) signaling. Whereas ERK activation in EC was uniformly inhibited by combined VEGF/platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)/FGF receptor inhibitors, paracrine ERK activation in fibroblasts was blocked in only a fraction of tumors. Our data show that RCC activates EC through VEGF-dependent and -independent pathways, that sunitinib sensitivity correlates with VEGF-mediated ERK activation, and that combined inhibition of VEGF/PDGF/FGF receptors is sufficient to inhibit mitogenic signaling in EC but not in fibroblasts.
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Asić K. Dominant mechanisms of primary resistance differ from dominant mechanisms of secondary resistance to targeted therapies. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol 2016; 97:178-96. [DOI: 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2015.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2014] [Revised: 06/18/2015] [Accepted: 08/04/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
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TTBK2: a tau protein kinase beyond tau phosphorylation. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2015; 2015:575170. [PMID: 25950000 PMCID: PMC4407412 DOI: 10.1155/2015/575170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2015] [Revised: 03/11/2015] [Accepted: 03/25/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Tau tubulin kinase 2 (TTBK2) is a kinase known to phosphorylate tau and tubulin. It has recently drawn much attention due to its involvement in multiple important cellular processes. Here, we review the current understanding of TTBK2, including its sequence, structure, binding sites, phosphorylation substrates, and cellular processes involved. TTBK2 possesses a casein kinase 1 (CK1) kinase domain followed by a ~900 amino acid segment, potentially responsible for its localization and substrate recruitment. It is known to bind to CEP164, a centriolar protein, and EB1, a microtubule plus-end tracking protein. In addition to autophosphorylation, known phosphorylation substrates of TTBK2 include tau, tubulin, CEP164, CEP97, and TDP-43, a neurodegeneration-associated protein. Mutations of TTBK2 are associated with spinocerebellar ataxia type 11. In addition, TTBK2 is essential for regulating the growth of axonemal microtubules in ciliogenesis. It also plays roles in resistance of cancer target therapies and in regulating glucose and GABA transport. Reported sites of TTBK2 localization include the centriole/basal body, the midbody, and possibly the mitotic spindles. Together, TTBK2 is a multifunctional kinase involved in important cellular processes and demands augmented efforts in investigating its functions.
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Médard G, Pachl F, Ruprecht B, Klaeger S, Heinzlmeir S, Helm D, Qiao H, Ku X, Wilhelm M, Kuehne T, Wu Z, Dittmann A, Hopf C, Kramer K, Kuster B. Optimized chemical proteomics assay for kinase inhibitor profiling. J Proteome Res 2015; 14:1574-86. [PMID: 25660469 DOI: 10.1021/pr5012608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Solid supported probes have proven to be an efficient tool for chemical proteomics. The kinobeads technology features kinase inhibitors covalently attached to Sepharose for affinity enrichment of kinomes from cell or tissue lysates. This technology, combined with quantitative mass spectrometry, is of particular interest for the profiling of kinase inhibitors. It often leads to the identification of new targets for medicinal chemistry campaigns where it allows a two-in-one binding and selectivity assay. The assay can also uncover resistance mechanisms and molecular sources of toxicity. Here we report on the optimization of the kinobead assay resulting in the combination of five chemical probes and four cell lines to cover half the human kinome in a single assay (∼ 260 kinases). We show the utility and large-scale applicability of the new version of kinobeads by reprofiling the small molecule kinase inhibitors Alvocidib, Crizotinib, Dasatinib, Fasudil, Hydroxyfasudil, Nilotinib, Ibrutinib, Imatinib, and Sunitinib.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Médard
- Chair of Proteomics and Bioanalytics, Technische Universität München , Freising, Germany
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p21-activated kinase 1 determines stem-like phenotype and sunitinib resistance via NF-κB/IL-6 activation in renal cell carcinoma. Cell Death Dis 2015; 6:e1637. [PMID: 25675297 PMCID: PMC4669810 DOI: 10.1038/cddis.2015.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2014] [Revised: 12/22/2014] [Accepted: 01/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1), a serine/threonine kinase that orchestrates cytoskeletal remodeling and cell motility, has been shown to function as downstream node for various oncogenic signaling pathways to promote cell proliferation, regulate apoptosis and accelerate mitotic abnormalities, resulting in tumor formation and invasiveness. Although alterations in PAK1 expression and activity have been detected in various human malignancies, its potential biological and clinical significance in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) remains obscure. In this study, we found increased PAK1 and phosphorylated PAK1 levels in tumor tissues according to TNM stage progression. Elevated phosphorylated PAK1 levels associated with progressive features and indicated unfavorable overall survival (OS) as an independent adverse prognosticator for patients with RCC. Moreover, PAK1 kinase activation with constitutive active PAK1 mutant T423E promoted growth, colony formation, migration, invasion and stem-like phenotype of RCC cells, and vice versa, in PAK1 inhibition by PAK1 kinase inactivation with specific PAK1 shRNA, dead kinase PAK1 mutant K299R or allosteric inhibitor IPA3. Stem-like phenotype due to sunitinib administration via increased PAK1 kinase activation could be ameliorated by PAK1 shRNA, PAK1 mutant K299R and IPA3. Furthermore, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB)/interleukin-6 (IL-6) activation was found to be responsible for PAK1-mediated stem-like phenotype following sunitinib treatment. Both IL-6 neutralizing antibody and IPA3 administration enhanced tumor growth inhibition effect of sunitinib treatment on RCC cells in vitro and in vivo. Our results unraveled that oncogenic activation of PAK1 defines an important mechanism for maintaining stem-like phenotype and sunitinib resistance through NF-κB/IL-6 activation in RCC, lending PAK1-mediated NF-κB/IL-6 activation considerable appeal as novel pharmacological therapeutic targets against sunitinib resistance.
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Cross-resistance to clinically used tyrosine kinase inhibitors sunitinib, sorafenib and pazopanib. Cell Oncol (Dordr) 2015; 38:119-29. [PMID: 25665527 PMCID: PMC4555235 DOI: 10.1007/s13402-015-0218-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/13/2015] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE When during cancer treatment resistance to a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) occurs, switching to another TKI is often considered as a reasonable option. Previously, we reported that resistance to sunitinib may be caused by increased lysosomal sequestration, leading to increased intracellular lysosomal storage and, thereby, inactivity. Here, we studied the effect of several other TKIs on the development of (cross-) resistance. METHODS TKI resistance was induced by continuous exposure of cancer cell lines to increasing TKI concentrations for 3-4 months. (Cross-) resistance was evaluated using MTT cell proliferation assays. Intracellular TKI concentrations were measured using LC-MS/MS. Western blotting was used to detect lysosome-associated membrane protein-1 and -2 (LAMP1/2) expression. RESULTS The previously generated sunitinib-resistant (SUN) renal cancer cells (786-O) and colorectal cancer cells (HT-29) were found to be cross-resistant to pazopanib, erlotinib and lapatinib, but not sorafenib. Exposure of 786-O and HT-29 cells to sorafenib, pazopanib or erlotinib for 3-4 months induced drug resistance to pazopanib and erlotinib, but not sorafenib. Intracellular drug accumulation was found to be increased in pazopanib- and erlotinib-, but not in sorafenib-exposed cells. Lysosomal capacity, reflected by LAMP1/2 expression, was found to be increased in resistant cells and, in addition, to be transient. No cross-resistance to the mTOR inhibitor everolimus was detected. CONCLUSIONS Our data indicate that tumor cells can develop (cross-) resistance to TKIs, and that such resistance includes increased intracellular drug accumulation accompanied by increased lysosomal storage. Transient (cross-) resistance was found to occur for several of the TKIs tested, but not for everolimus, indicating that switching from a TKI to a mTOR inhibitor may be an attractive therapeutic option.
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Sabbatino F, Wang Y, Wang X, Flaherty KT, Yu L, Pepin D, Scognamiglio G, Pepe S, Kirkwood JM, Cooper ZA, Frederick DT, Wargo JA, Ferrone S, Ferrone CR. PDGFRα up-regulation mediated by sonic hedgehog pathway activation leads to BRAF inhibitor resistance in melanoma cells with BRAF mutation. Oncotarget 2015; 5:1926-41. [PMID: 24732172 PMCID: PMC4039118 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.1878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Control of BRAF(V600E) metastatic melanoma by BRAF inhibitor (BRAF-I) is limited by intrinsic and acquired resistance. Growth factor receptor up-regulation is among the mechanisms underlying BRAF-I resistance of melanoma cells. Here we demonstrate for the first time that PDGFRα up-regulation causes BRAF-I resistance. PDGFRα inhibition by PDGFRα-specific short hairpin (sh)RNA and by PDGFRα inhibitors restores and increases melanoma cells' sensitivity to BRAF-I in vitro and in vivo. This effect reflects the inhibition of ERK and AKT activation which is associated with BRAF-I resistance of melanoma cells. PDGFRα up-regulation is mediated by Sonic Hedgehog Homolog (Shh) pathway activation which is induced by BRAF-I treatment. Similarly to PDGFRα inhibition, Shh inhibition by LDE225 restores and increases melanoma cells' sensitivity to BRAF-I. These effects are mediated by PDGFRα down-regulation and by ERK and AKT inhibition. The clinical relevance of these data is indicated by the association of PDGFRα up-regulation in melanoma matched biopsies of BRAF-I +/- MEK inhibitor treated patients with shorter time to disease progression and less tumor regression. These findings suggest that monitoring patients for early PDGFRα up-regulation will facilitate the identification of those who may benefit from the treatment with BRAF-I in combination with clinically approved PDGFRα or Shh inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Sabbatino
- Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA
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Bartolotti M, Franceschi E, Poggi R, Tosoni A, Battista MD, Brandes AA. Resistance to antiangiogenic therapies. Future Oncol 2014; 10:1417-25. [DOI: 10.2217/fon.14.57] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
ABSTRACT: Angiogenesis is a key process for tumoral growth, which has become a main target for anticancer treatments. A wide number of agents targeting both VEGF and its receptor have recently become standard treatments for different tumor types. Unfortunately, most of the tumors become resistant to these agents after few months of treatment. Different mechanisms of resistance to antiangiogenic drugs have been proposed and investigated; some agents demonstrated to be able to restore sensitivity to antiangiogenic drugs by blocking pathways or molecules involved in the resistance in preclinical models. Biomarkers for the prediction of response or resistance to antiangiogenic agents are under evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Bartolotti
- Department of Medical Oncology, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale, Bologna, Italy
| | - Enrico Franceschi
- Department of Medical Oncology, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale, Bologna, Italy
| | - Rosalba Poggi
- Department of Medical Oncology, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale, Bologna, Italy
| | - Alicia Tosoni
- Department of Medical Oncology, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale, Bologna, Italy
| | - Monica Di Battista
- Department of Medical Oncology, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale, Bologna, Italy
| | - Alba A Brandes
- Department of Medical Oncology, Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale, Bologna, Italy
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Sunitinib resistance in renal cell carcinoma. J Kidney Cancer VHL 2014; 1:1-11. [PMID: 28326244 PMCID: PMC5345511 DOI: 10.15586/jkcvhl.2014.7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2014] [Accepted: 04/10/2014] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Of the many targeted therapies introduced since 2006, sunitinib has carved its way to become the most commonly used first-line therapy for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Despite significant improvements in progression-free survival, 30% of the patients are intrinsically resistant to sunitinib and the remaining 70% who respond initially will eventually become resistant in 6-15 months. While the molecular mechanisms of acquired resistance to sunitinib have been unravelling at a rapid rate, the mechanisms of intrinsic resistance remain elusive. Combination therapy, sunitinib rechallenge and sequential therapy have been investigated as means to overcome resistance to sunitinib. Of these, sequential therapy appears to be the most promising strategy. This mini review summarises our emerging understanding of the molecular mechanisms, and the strategies employed to overcome sunitinib resistance.
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Buczek M, Escudier B, Bartnik E, Szczylik C, Czarnecka A. Resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors in clear cell renal cell carcinoma: from the patient's bed to molecular mechanisms. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2013; 1845:31-41. [PMID: 24135488 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2013.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2013] [Revised: 09/30/2013] [Accepted: 10/02/2013] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The introduction of anti-angiogenic drugs especially tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) was a breakthrough in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Although TKIs have significantly improved outcome in patients with metastatic disease, the majority still develop resistance over time. Because different combinations and sequences of TKIs are tested in clinical trials, resistance patterns and mechanisms underlying this phenomenon should be thoroughly investigated. From a clinical point of view, resistance occurs either as a primary phenomenon (intrinsic) or as a secondary phenomenon related to various escape/evasive mechanisms that the tumor develops in response to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibition. Intrinsic resistance is less common, and related to the primary redundancy of available angiogenic signals from the tumor, causing unresponsiveness to VEGF-targeted therapies. Acquired resistance in tumors is associated with activation of an angiogenic switch which leads to either upregulation of the existing VEGF pathway or recruitment of alternative factors responsible for tumor revascularization. Multiple mechanisms can be involved in different tumor settings that contribute both to evasive and intrinsic resistance, and current endeavor aims to identify these processes and assess their importance in clinical settings and design of pharmacological strategies that lead to enduring anti-angiogenic therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ewa Bartnik
- Institute of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw and Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Poland
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Ribosomal s6 protein kinase 4: a prognostic factor for renal cell carcinoma. Br J Cancer 2013; 109:1137-46. [PMID: 23942078 PMCID: PMC3778307 DOI: 10.1038/bjc.2013.463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2013] [Revised: 07/14/2013] [Accepted: 07/21/2013] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: The expression and function of ribosomal s6 protein kinase 4 (RSK4) in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) are unknown. Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of RSK4 in RCC, and the relationship between RSK4 expression and clinicopathological features as well as prognosis of RCC patients was statistically analysed. Ectopic RSK4 expression in RCC cell lines was performed to determine its effect on cell cycle regulation, tumour invasiveness, and metastatic capability. Results: RSK4 was overexpressed in RCCs (P=0.003), compared with normal tissues, and the expression varied in different RCC subtypes (P=0.021), especially in two subtypes of papillary RCCs (P=0.001). RSK4 expression was positively correlated with high pT stage (P<0.001), high Fuhrman grade (P<0.001), lymph node involvement (P<0.001), and presence of distant metastasis (P=0.039), and could predict poor outcome in RCC patients. Molecular studies showed that overexpression of RSK4 could promote cell cycle progression and enhance the invasive and metastatic capability of RCC cell lines and vice versa. Conclusion: The expression pattern and molecular mechanisms of RSK4 in RCCs indicate that it could be a potential independent prognostic factor and serve as a new potential therapeutic target for RCC patients.
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Serra V, Eichhorn PJA, García-García C, Ibrahim YH, Prudkin L, Sánchez G, Rodríguez O, Antón P, Parra JL, Marlow S, Scaltriti M, Pérez-Garcia J, Prat A, Arribas J, Hahn WC, Kim SY, Baselga J. RSK3/4 mediate resistance to PI3K pathway inhibitors in breast cancer. J Clin Invest 2013; 123:2551-63. [PMID: 23635776 DOI: 10.1172/jci66343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2012] [Accepted: 02/27/2013] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The PI3K signaling pathway regulates diverse cellular processes, including proliferation, survival, and metabolism, and is aberrantly activated in human cancer. As such, numerous compounds targeting the PI3K pathway are currently being clinically evaluated for the treatment of cancer, and several have shown some early indications of efficacy in breast cancer. However, resistance against these agents, both de novo and acquired, may ultimately limit the efficacy of these compounds. Here, we have taken a systematic functional approach to uncovering potential mechanisms of resistance to PI3K inhibitors and have identified several genes whose expression promotes survival under conditions of PI3K/mammalian target of rapamycin (PI3K/mTOR) blockade, including the ribosomal S6 kinases RPS6KA2 (RSK3) and RPS6KA6 (RSK4). We demonstrate that overexpression of RSK3 or RSK4 supports proliferation upon PI3K inhibition both in vitro and in vivo, in part through the attenuation of the apoptotic response and upregulation of protein translation. Notably, the addition of MEK- or RSK-specific inhibitors can overcome these resistance phenotypes, both in breast cancer cell lines and patient-derived xenograft models with elevated levels of RSK activity. These observations provide a strong rationale for the combined use of RSK and PI3K pathway inhibitors to elicit favorable responses in breast cancer patients with activated RSK.
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Affiliation(s)
- Violeta Serra
- Experimental Therapeutics, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain
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Heindryckx F, Coulon S, Terrie E, Casteleyn C, Stassen JM, Geerts A, Libbrecht L, Allemeersch J, Carmeliet P, Colle I, Van Vlierberghe H. The placental growth factor as a target against hepatocellular carcinoma in a diethylnitrosamine-induced mouse model. J Hepatol 2013; 58:319-28. [PMID: 23046674 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2012.09.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2012] [Revised: 09/25/2012] [Accepted: 09/28/2012] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS The placental growth factor (PlGF) is a member of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family known to stimulate endothelial cell growth, migration and survival, attract angiocompetent macrophages, and determine the metastatic niche. Unlike VEGF, genetic studies have shown that PlGF is specifically involved in pathologic angiogenesis, thus its inhibition would not affect healthy blood vessels, providing an attractive drug candidate with a good safety profile. METHODS We assess whether inhibition of PlGF could be used as a potential therapy against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), by using PlGF knockout mice and monoclonal anti-PlGF antibodies in a mouse model for HCC. In addition, the effect of PlGF antibodies is compared to that of sorafenib, as well as the combination of both therapies. RESULTS We have found that both in a transgenic knockout model and in a treatment model, targeting PlGF significantly decreases tumor burden. This was achieved not only by inhibiting neovascularisation, but also by decreasing hepatic macrophage recruitment and by normalising the remaining blood vessels, thereby decreasing hypoxia and reducing the prometastatic potential of HCC. CONCLUSIONS Considering the favourable safety profile and its pleiotropic effect on vascularisation, metastasis and inflammation, PlGF inhibition could become a valuable therapeutic strategy against HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Femke Heindryckx
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
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van Malenstein H, Dekervel J, Verslype C, Van Cutsem E, Windmolders P, Nevens F, van Pelt J. Long-term exposure to sorafenib of liver cancer cells induces resistance with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, increased invasion and risk of rebound growth. Cancer Lett 2012; 329:74-83. [PMID: 23111106 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2012.10.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 134] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2012] [Revised: 10/16/2012] [Accepted: 10/16/2012] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Sorafenib leads to a survival benefit in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma but its use is hampered by the occurrence of drug resistance. To investigate the molecular mechanisms involved we developed five resistant human liver cell lines in which we studied morphology, gene expression and invasive potential. The cells changed their appearance, lost E-cadherin and KRT19 and showed high expression of vimentin, indicating epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Resistant cells showed reduced adherent growth, became more invasive and lost liver-specific gene expression. Furthermore, following withdrawal of sorafenib, the resistant cells showed rebound growth, a phenomenon also found in patients. This cell model was further used to investigate strategies for restoration of sensitivity to sorafenib.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah van Malenstein
- Liver Research Facility / Labo Hepatology, Faculty of Medicine, University Hospitals Leuven, KU Leuven, Belgium
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Zhou Q, Lv H, Mazloom AR, Xu H, Ma'ayan A, Gallo JM. Activation of alternate prosurvival pathways accounts for acquired sunitinib resistance in U87MG glioma xenografts. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2012; 343:509-19. [PMID: 22869928 DOI: 10.1124/jpet.112.196097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Acquired drug resistance represents a major obstacle to using sunitinib for the treatment of solid tumors. Here, we examined the cellular and molecular alterations in tumors that are associated with acquired brain tumor resistance to sunitinib by using an in vivo model. U87MG tumors obtained from nude mice that received sunitinib (40 mg/kg/day) for 30 days were classified into sunitinib-sensitive and -resistant groups based on tumor volume and underwent targeted gene microarray and protein array analyses. The expression of several angiogenesis-associated genes was significantly modulated in sunitinib-treated tumors compared with those in control tumors (p<0.05), whereas no significant differences were observed between sunitinib-sensitive and -resistant tumors (p>0.05). Tumor vasculature based on microvessel density, neurogenin 2 chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan density, and α-smooth muscle actin density was also similar in sunitinib-treatment groups (p>0.05). The moderate increase in unbound sunitinib tumor-to-plasma area-under-the-curve ratio in sunitinib-resistant mice was accompanied by up-regulated ATP-binding cassette G2 expression in tumor. The most profound difference between the sunitinib-sensitive and -resistant groups was found in the expression of several phosphorylated proteins involved in intracellular signaling. In particular, phospholipase C-γ1 phosphorylation in sunitinib-resistant tumors was up-regulated by 2.6-fold compared with that in sunitinib-sensitive tumors (p<0.05). In conclusion, acquired sunitinib resistance in U87MG tumors is not associated with revascularization in tumors, but rather with the activation of alternate prosurvival pathways involved in an escape mechanism facilitating tumor growth and possibly insufficient drug uptake in tumor cells caused by an up-regulated membrane efflux transporter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingyu Zhou
- Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics, Systems Biology Center New York, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
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Sun Y, Cao S, Yang M, Wu S, Wang Z, Lin X, Song X, Liao DJ. Basic anatomy and tumor biology of the RPS6KA6 gene that encodes the p90 ribosomal S6 kinase-4. Oncogene 2012; 32:1794-810. [PMID: 22614021 PMCID: PMC3427418 DOI: 10.1038/onc.2012.200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The RPS6KA6 gene encodes the p90 ribosomal S6 kinase-4 (RSK4) that is still largely uncharacterized. In this study we identified a new RSK4 transcription initiation site and several alternative splice sites with a 5’RACE approach. The resulting mRNA variants encompass four possible first start codons. The first 15 nucleotides (nt) of exon 22 in mouse and the penultimate exon in both human (exon 21) and mouse (exon 24) RSK4 underwent alternative splicing, although the penultimate exon deleted variant appeared mainly in cell clines, but not in most normal tissues. Demethylation agent 5-azacytidine inhibited the deletion of the penultimate exon whereas two indolocarbazole-derived inhibitors of cyclin dependent kinase 4 or 6 induced deletion of the first 39 nt from exon 21 of human RSK4. In all human cancer cell lines studied, the 90-kD wild type RSK4 was sparse but, surprisingly, several isoforms at or smaller than 72-kD were expressed as detected by seven different antibodies. On immunoblots, each of these smaller isoforms often appeared as a duplet or triplet and the levels of these isoforms varied greatly among different cell lines and culture conditions. Cyclin D1 inhibited RSK4 expression and serum starvation enhanced the inhibition, whereas c-Myc and RSK4 inhibited cyclin D1. The effects of RSK4 on cell growth, cell death and chemoresponse depended on the mRNA variant or the protein isoform expressed, on the specificity of the cell lines, as well as on the anchorage-dependent or -independent growth conditions and the in vivo situation. Moreover, we also observed that even a given cDNA might be expressed to multiple proteins; therefore, when using a cDNA, one needs to exclude this possibility before attribution of the biological results from the cDNA to the anticipated protein. Collectively, our results suggest that whether RSK4 is oncogenic or tumor suppressive depends on many factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Sun
- Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota, Austin, MN 55912, USA
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