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Parajuli KR, Jung Y, Taichman RS. Abscisic acid signaling through LANCL2 and PPARγ induces activation of p38MAPK resulting in dormancy of prostate cancer metastatic cells. Oncol Rep 2024; 51:39. [PMID: 38624012 PMCID: PMC10804438 DOI: 10.3892/or.2024.8698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Prostate cancer (PCa) is one the most common malignancies in men. The high incidence of bone metastasis years after primary therapy suggests that disseminated tumor cells must become dormant, but maintain their ability to proliferate in the bone marrow. Abscisic acid (ABA) is a stress response molecule best known for its regulation of seed germination, stomal opening, root shoot growth and other stress responses in plants. ABA is also synthesized by mammalian cells and has been linked to human disease. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of ABA in regulating tumor dormancy via signaling through lanthionine synthetase C‑like protein 2 (LANCL2) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ) receptors. ABA signaling in human PCa cell lines was studied using targeted gene knockdown (KD), western blotting, quantitative PCR, cell proliferation, migration, invasion and soft agar assays, as well as co‑culture assays with bone marrow stromal cells. The data demonstrated that ABA signaling increased the expression of p21, p27 and p16, while inhibiting viability, migration, invasion and colony size in a reversable manner without toxicity. ABA also induced p38MAPK activation and NR2F1 signaling. Targeted gene KD of LANCL2 and PPARγ abrogated the cellular responses to ABA. Taken together, these data demonstrate that ABA may induce dormancy in PCa cell lines through LANCL2 and PPARγ signaling, and suggest novel targets to manage metastatic PCa growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keshab Raj Parajuli
- Department of Periodontology, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
| | - Younghun Jung
- Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - Russell S. Taichman
- Department of Periodontology, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA
- Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Elucidating minimal residual disease of paediatric B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia by single-cell analysis. Nat Cell Biol 2022; 24:242-252. [PMID: 35145224 DOI: 10.1038/s41556-021-00814-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Minimal residual disease that persists after chemotherapy is the most valuable prognostic marker for haematological malignancies and solid cancers. Unfortunately, our understanding of the resistance elicited in minimal residual disease is limited due to the rarity and heterogeneity of the residual cells. Here we generated 161,986 single-cell transcriptomes to analyse the dynamic changes of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) at diagnosis, residual and relapse by combining single-cell RNA sequencing and B-cell-receptor sequencing. In contrast to those at diagnosis, the leukaemic cells at relapse tended to shift to poorly differentiated states, whereas the changes in the residual cells were more complicated. Differential analyses highlighted the activation of the hypoxia pathway in residual cells, resistant clones and B-ALL with MLL rearrangement. Both in vitro and in vivo models demonstrated that inhibition of the hypoxia pathway sensitized leukaemic cells to chemotherapy. This single-cell analysis of minimal residual disease opens up an avenue for the identification of potent treatment opportunities for B-ALL.
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Cackowski FC, Heath EI. Prostate cancer dormancy and recurrence. Cancer Lett 2022; 524:103-108. [PMID: 34624433 PMCID: PMC8694498 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2021.09.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Prostate cancer can progress rapidly after diagnosis, but can also become undetectable after curative intent radiation or surgery, only to recur years or decades later. This capacity to lie dormant and recur long after a patient was thought to be cured, is relatively unique to prostate cancer, with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer being the other common and well-studied example. Most investigators agree that the bone marrow is an important site for dormant tumor cells, given the frequency of bone metastases and that multiple studies have reported disseminated tumor cells in patients with localized disease. However, while more difficult to study, lymph nodes and the prostate bed are likely to be important reservoirs as well. Dormant tumor cells may be truly quiescent and in the G0 phase of the cell cycle, which is commonly called cellular dormancy. However, tumor growth may also be held in check through a balance of proliferation and cell death (tumor mass dormancy). For induction of cellular dormancy, prostate cancer cells respond to signals from their microenvironment, including TGF-β2, BMP-7, GAS6, and Wnt-5a, which result in signals transduced in part through p38 MAPK and pluripotency associated transcription factors including SOX2 and NANOG, which likely affect the epi-genome through histone modification. Clinical use of adjuvant radiation or androgen deprivation has been modestly successful to prevent recurrence. With the rapid pace of discovery in this field, systemic adjuvant therapy is likely to continue to improve in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank C Cackowski
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine and Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, MI, USA.
| | - Elisabeth I Heath
- Department of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine and Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit, MI, USA
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Singh DK, Patel VG, Oh WK, Aguirre-Ghiso JA. Prostate Cancer Dormancy and Reactivation in Bone Marrow. J Clin Med 2021; 10:2648. [PMID: 34208521 PMCID: PMC8234151 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10122648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Prostate cancer has a variable clinical course, ranging from curable local disease to lethal metastatic spread. Eradicating metastatic cells is a unique challenge that is rarely met with the available therapies. Thus, targeting prostate cancer cells in earlier disease states is a crucial window of opportunity. Interestingly, cancer cells migrate from their primary site during pre-cancerous and malignant phases to seed secondary organs. These cells, known as disseminated cancer cells (DCCs), may remain dormant for months or decades before activating to form metastases. Bone marrow, a dormancy-permissive site, is the major organ for housed DCCs and eventual metastases in prostate cancer. The dynamic interplay between DCCs and the primary tumor microenvironment (TME), as well as that between DCCs and the secondary organ niche, controls the conversion between states of dormancy and activation. Here, we discuss recent discoveries that have improved our understanding of dormancy signaling and the role of the TME in modulating the epigenetic reprogramming of DCCs. We offer potential strategies to target DCCs in prostate cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepak K. Singh
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Department of Otolaryngology, Department of Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA;
| | - Vaibhav G. Patel
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA;
| | - William K. Oh
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA;
| | - Julio A. Aguirre-Ghiso
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Department of Otolaryngology, Department of Oncological Sciences, Tisch Cancer Institute, Black Family Stem Cell Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA;
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Hassan S, Blick T, Thompson EW, Williams ED. Diversity of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Phenotypes in Circulating Tumour Cells from Prostate Cancer Patient-Derived Xenograft Models. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13112750. [PMID: 34206049 PMCID: PMC8198708 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13112750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2021] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Spread of prostate cancer to other parts of the body is responsible for the majority of deaths. Tumour cell epithelial mesenchymal plasticity (EMP) increases their metastatic potential and facilitates their survival in the blood as circulating tumour cells (CTCs). The aim of this study was to molecularly characterise CTCs in a panel of prostate cancer patient-derived xenografts using genes associated with epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes, and to compare the EMP status of CTCs with their matched primary tumours. The study highlights high heterogeneity in CTC enumeration and EMP gene expression between tumour-bearing mice and within individual blood samples, and therefore caution should be taken when interpreting pooled CTC analyses. Critically, tumour cells were present in the epithelial-mesenchymal hybrid state in the circulation. The study also demonstrates that there is high variation in CTC size, which would introduce sample bias to size-based CTC isolation techniques. Abstract Metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity (EMP) status of primary tumours has relevance to metastatic potential and therapy resistance. Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) provide a window into the metastatic process, and molecular characterisation of CTCs in comparison to their primary tumours could lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in the metastatic cascade. In this study, paired blood and tumour samples were collected from four prostate cancer patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models (BM18, LuCaP70, LuCaP96, LuCaP105) and assessed using an EMP-focused, 42 gene human-specific, nested quantitative RT-PCR assay. CTC burden varied amongst the various xenograft models with LuCaP96 having the highest number of CTCs per mouse (mean: 704; median: 31) followed by BM18 (mean: 101; median: 21), LuCaP70 (mean: 73; median: 16) and LuCaP105 (mean: 57; median: 6). A significant relationship was observed between tumour size and CTC number (p = 0.0058). Decreased levels of kallikrein-related peptidase 3 (KLK3) mRNA (which encodes prostate-specific antigen; PSA) were observed in CTC samples from all four models compared to their primary tumours. Both epithelial- and mesenchymal-associated genes were commonly expressed at higher levels in CTCs compared to the bulk primary tumour, although some common EMT-associated genes (CDH1, VIM, EGFR, EPCAM) remained unchanged. Immunofluorescence co-staining for pan-cytokeratin (KRT) and vimentin (VIM) indicated variable proportions of CTCs across the full EMP axis, even in the same model. EMP hybrids predominated in the BM18 and LuCaP96 models, but were not detected in the LuCaP105 model, and variable numbers of KRT+ and human VIM+ cells were observed in each model. SERPINE1, which encodes plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), was enriched at the RNA level in CTCs compared to primary tumours and was the most commonly expressed mesenchymal gene in the CTCs. Co-staining for SERPINE1 and KRT revealed SERPINE1+ cells in 7/11 samples, six of which had SERPINE+KRT+ CTCs. Cell size variation was observed in CTCs. The majority of samples (8/11) contained larger CTCs ranging from 15.3 to 37.8 µm, whilst smaller cells (10.7 ± 4.1 µm, similar in size to peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs)) were identified in 6 of 11 samples. CTC clusters were also identified in 9/11 samples, containing 2–100 CTCs per cluster. Where CTC heterogeneity was observed in the clusters, epithelial-like cells (KRT+VIM−) were located on the periphery of the cluster, forming a layer around hybrid (KRT+VIM+) or mesenchymal-like (KRT−VIM+) cells. The CTC heterogeneity observed in these models emphasises the complexity in CTC isolation and classification and supports the increasingly recognised importance of the epithelial-mesenchymal hybrid state in cancer progression and metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Hassan
- Faculty of Health and Institute of Health & Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane City, QLD 4000, Australia; (S.H.); (T.B.)
- Translational Research Institute (TRI), Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Tony Blick
- Faculty of Health and Institute of Health & Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane City, QLD 4000, Australia; (S.H.); (T.B.)
- Translational Research Institute (TRI), Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Erik W. Thompson
- Faculty of Health and Institute of Health & Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane City, QLD 4000, Australia; (S.H.); (T.B.)
- Translational Research Institute (TRI), Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
- Correspondence: (E.W.T.); (E.D.W.)
| | - Elizabeth D. Williams
- Faculty of Health and Institute of Health & Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane City, QLD 4000, Australia; (S.H.); (T.B.)
- Translational Research Institute (TRI), Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
- Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre—Queensland (APCRC-Q), Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
- Queensland Bladder Cancer Initiative (QBCI), Brisbane, QLD 4102, Australia
- Correspondence: (E.W.T.); (E.D.W.)
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Cackowski FC, Wang Y, Decker JT, Sifuentes C, Weindorf S, Jung Y, Wang Y, Decker AM, Yumoto K, Szerlip N, Buttitta L, Pienta KJ, Morgan TM, Taichman RS. Detection and isolation of disseminated tumor cells in bone marrow of patients with clinically localized prostate cancer. Prostate 2019; 79:1715-1727. [PMID: 31449673 PMCID: PMC8177057 DOI: 10.1002/pros.23896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) have been reported in the bone marrow (BM) of patients with localized prostate cancer (PCa). However, the existence of these cells continues to be questioned, and few methods exist for viable DTC isolation. Therefore, we sought to develop novel approaches to identify and, if detected, analyze localized PCa patient DTCs. METHODS We used fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) to isolate a putative DTC population, which was negative for CD45, CD235a, alkaline phosphatase, and CD34, and strongly expressed EPCAM. We examined tumor cell content by bulk cell RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) and whole-exome sequencing after whole genome amplification. We also enriched for BM DTCs with α-EPCAM immunomagnetic beads and performed quantitative reverse trancriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) for PCa markers. RESULTS At a threshold of 4 cells per million BM cells, the putative DTC population was present in 10 of 58 patients (17%) with localized PCa, 4 of 8 patients with metastatic PCa of varying disease control, and 1 of 8 patients with no known cancer, and was positively correlated with patients' plasma PSA values. RNA-Seq analysis of the putative DTC population collected from samples above (3 patients) and below (5 patients) the threshold of 4 putative DTCs per million showed increased expression of PCa marker genes in 4 of 8 patients with localized PCa, but not the one normal donor who had the putative DTC population present. Whole-exome sequencing also showed the presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms and structural variants in the gene characteristics of PCa in 2 of 3 localized PCa patients. To examine the likely contaminating cell types, we used a myeloid colony formation assay, differential counts of cell smears, and analysis of the RNA-Seq data using the CIBERSORT algorithm, which most strongly suggested the presence of B-cell lineages as a contaminant. Finally, we used EPCAM enrichment and qRT-PCR for PCa markers to estimate DTC prevalence and found evidence of DTCs in 21 of 44 samples (47%). CONCLUSION These data support the presence of DTCs in the BM of a subset of patients with localized PCa and describe a novel FACS method for isolation and analysis of viable DTCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank C. Cackowski
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Yugang Wang
- Department of Urology, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Joseph T. Decker
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Michigan College of Engineering, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Christopher Sifuentes
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Steven Weindorf
- Department of Pathology, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Younghun Jung
- Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Yu Wang
- Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Ann M. Decker
- Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Kenji Yumoto
- Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Nicholas Szerlip
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Michigan and AAVAMC, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Laura Buttitta
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Kenneth J. Pienta
- Department of Urology and Oncology, James Buchannan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Todd M. Morgan
- Department of Urology, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Russell S. Taichman
- Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- School of Dentistry, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
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