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Leask A, Nguyen J, Naik A, Chitturi P, Riser BL. The role of yes activated protein (YAP) in melanoma metastasis. iScience 2024; 27:109864. [PMID: 38770136 PMCID: PMC11103372 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109864] [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] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Hippo was first identified in a genetic screen as a protein that suppressed proliferation and cell growth. Subsequently, it was shown that hippo acted in a so-called canonical cascade to suppress Yorkie, the Drosophila equivalent of Yes-activated protein (YAP), a mechanosensitive transcriptional cofactor that enhances the activity of the TEAD family of transcription factors. YAP promotes fibrosis, activation of cancer-associated fibroblasts, angiogenesis and cancer cell invasion. YAP activates the expression of the matricellular proteins CCN1 (cyr61) and CCN2 (ctgf), themselves mediators of fibrogenesis and oncogenesis, and coordination of matrix deposition and angiogenesis. This review discusses how therapeutically targeting YAP through YAP inhibitors verteporfin and celastrol and its downstream mediators CCN1 and CCN2 might be useful in treating melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Leask
- College of Dentistry, University of Saskatchewan, 105 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E4, Canada
| | - John Nguyen
- College of Dentistry, University of Saskatchewan, 105 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E4, Canada
| | - Angha Naik
- College of Dentistry, University of Saskatchewan, 105 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E4, Canada
| | - Pratyusha Chitturi
- College of Dentistry, University of Saskatchewan, 105 Wiggins Road, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E4, Canada
| | - Bruce L. Riser
- Department of Physiology & Biophysics, Center for Cancer Cell Biology, Immunology & Infection, Rosalind Franklin University, 3333 N. Green Bay Road, Chicago, IL 60064, USA
- BLR Bio, LLC, Kenosha, WI 53140, USA
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Hutchenreuther J, Nguyen J, Quesnel K, Vincent KM, Petitjean L, Bourgeois S, Boyd M, Bou-Gharios G, Postovit LM, Leask A. Cancer-associated Fibroblast-specific Expression of the Matricellular Protein CCN1 Coordinates Neovascularization and Stroma Deposition in Melanoma Metastasis. CANCER RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS 2024; 4:556-570. [PMID: 38363129 PMCID: PMC10898341 DOI: 10.1158/2767-9764.crc-23-0571] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 01/19/2024] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
Melanoma is the leading cause of skin cancer-related death. As prognosis of patients with melanoma remains problematic, identification of new therapeutic targets remains essential. Matricellular proteins are nonstructural extracellular matrix proteins. They are secreted into the tumor microenvironment to coordinate behavior among different cell types, yet their contribution to melanoma is underinvestigated. Examples of matricellular proteins include those comprising the CCN family. The CCN family member, CCN1, is highly proangiogenic. Herein, we show that, in human patients with melanoma, although found in several tumor cell types, CCN1 is highly expressed by a subset of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) in patients with melanoma and this expression correlates positively with expression of proangiogenic genes and progressive disease/resistance to anti-PD1 checkpoint inhibitors. Consistent with these observations, in a syngeneic C57BL6 mouse model of melanoma, loss of CCN1 expression from Col1A2-Cre-, herein identified as "universal," fibroblasts, impaired metastasis of subcutaneously injected B16F10 tumor cells to lung, concomitant with disrupted neovascularization and collagen organization. Disruption of the extracellular matrix in the loss of CCN1 was validated using a novel artificial intelligence-based image analysis platform that revealed significantly decreased phenotypic fibrosis and composite morphometric collagen scores. As drug resistance is linked to matrix deposition and neoangiogenesis, these data suggest that CCN1, due to its multifaceted role, may represent a novel therapeutic target for drug-resistant melanoma. Our data further emphasize the essential role that cancer-associated, (universal) Col1A2-Cre-fibroblasts and extracellular matrix remodeling play in coordinating behavior among different cell types within the tumor microenvironment. SIGNIFICANCE In human patients, the expression of proangiogenic matricellular protein CCN1 in CAFs correlates positively with expression of stroma and angiogenic markers and progressive disease/resistance to checkpoint inhibitor therapy. In an animal model, loss of CCN1 from CAFs impaired metastasis of melanoma cells, neovascularization, and collagen deposition, emphasizing that CAFs coordinate cellular behavior in a tumor microenvironment and that CCN1 may be a novel target.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Hutchenreuther
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - John Nguyen
- College of Dentistry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - Katherine Quesnel
- Department of Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Krista M. Vincent
- Department of Oncology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Department of Medical Genetics, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | | | - Sophia Bourgeois
- Department of Biology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mark Boyd
- Office of the Vice President of Research, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
| | - George Bou-Gharios
- Department of Musculoskeletal and Ageing Science, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Lynne-Marie Postovit
- Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Andrew Leask
- College of Dentistry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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Banerjee S, Ansari AA, Upadhyay SP, Mettman DJ, Hibdon JR, Quadir M, Ghosh P, Kambhampati A, Banerjee SK. Benefits and Pitfalls of a Glycosylation Inhibitor Tunicamycin in the Therapeutic Implication of Cancers. Cells 2024; 13:395. [PMID: 38474359 PMCID: PMC10930662 DOI: 10.3390/cells13050395] [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: 01/25/2024] [Revised: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The aberrant glycosylation is a hallmark of cancer progression and chemoresistance. It is also an immune therapeutic target for various cancers. Tunicamycin (TM) is one of the potent nucleoside antibiotics and an inhibitor of aberrant glycosylation in various cancer cells, including breast cancer, gastric cancer, and pancreatic cancer, parallel with the inhibition of cancer cell growth and progression of tumors. Like chemotherapies such as doxorubicin (DOX), 5'fluorouracil, etoposide, and cisplatin, TM induces the unfolded protein response (UPR) by blocking aberrant glycosylation. Consequently, stress is induced in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that promotes apoptosis. TM can thus be considered a potent antitumor drug in various cancers and may promote chemosensitivity. However, its lack of cell-type-specific cytotoxicity impedes its anticancer efficacy. In this review, we focus on recent advances in our understanding of the benefits and pitfalls of TM therapies in various cancers, including breast, colon, and pancreatic cancers, and discuss the mechanisms identified by which TM functions. Finally, we discuss the potential use of nano-based drug delivery systems to overcome non-specific toxicity and enhance the therapeutic efficacy of TM as a targeted therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Snigdha Banerjee
- Cancer Research Unit, VA Medical Center, Kansas City, MO 64128, USA; (A.A.A.); (S.P.U.); (D.J.M.); (J.R.H.); (A.K.)
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA
| | - Affan A. Ansari
- Cancer Research Unit, VA Medical Center, Kansas City, MO 64128, USA; (A.A.A.); (S.P.U.); (D.J.M.); (J.R.H.); (A.K.)
| | - Sunil P. Upadhyay
- Cancer Research Unit, VA Medical Center, Kansas City, MO 64128, USA; (A.A.A.); (S.P.U.); (D.J.M.); (J.R.H.); (A.K.)
| | - Daniel J. Mettman
- Cancer Research Unit, VA Medical Center, Kansas City, MO 64128, USA; (A.A.A.); (S.P.U.); (D.J.M.); (J.R.H.); (A.K.)
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA
- Pathology Department, City VA Medical Center, Kansas City, MO 64128, USA
| | - Jamie R. Hibdon
- Cancer Research Unit, VA Medical Center, Kansas City, MO 64128, USA; (A.A.A.); (S.P.U.); (D.J.M.); (J.R.H.); (A.K.)
| | - Mohiuddin Quadir
- Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108, USA; (M.Q.); (P.G.)
| | - Pratyusha Ghosh
- Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND 58108, USA; (M.Q.); (P.G.)
| | - Anjali Kambhampati
- Cancer Research Unit, VA Medical Center, Kansas City, MO 64128, USA; (A.A.A.); (S.P.U.); (D.J.M.); (J.R.H.); (A.K.)
| | - Sushanta K. Banerjee
- Cancer Research Unit, VA Medical Center, Kansas City, MO 64128, USA; (A.A.A.); (S.P.U.); (D.J.M.); (J.R.H.); (A.K.)
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS 66160, USA
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Liu CT, Wu FC, Zhuang YX, Huang XY, Li XH, Qu QQ, Peng YH, Xu YW, Chen SL, Huang XC. The diagnostic value of serum insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7 in gastric cancer. PeerJ 2023; 11:e15419. [PMID: 37304887 PMCID: PMC10249617 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Backgrounds Early detection might help in reducing the burden and promoting the survival rate of gastric cancers. Herein, we tried to explore the diagnostic value of insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7 (IGFBP7) in gastric cancers. Methods In this study, we first analyzed the expression levels and prognostic value of IGFBP7 mRNA in gastric cancers from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Then, we recruited 169 gastric cancer patients and 100 normal controls as training cohort, and 55 gastric cancer patients and 55 normal controls as independent validation cohort. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was applied to test the serum levels of IGFBP7. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) and the area under the curve (AUC) were applied to evaluation the diagnostic value. Results TCGA showed that IGFBP7 mRNA was dysregulated and associated with prognosis in gastric cancer patients. Then, we examined the expression of serum IGFBP7 and found that serum IGFBP7 expressed lower in gastric cancer patients than normal controls both in training and independent validation cohorts (p < 0.0001). In training cohort, with the cutoff value of 1.515 ng/ml, the AUC for distinguishing gastric cancer patients was 0.774 (95% CI [0.713-0.836]) with sensitivity of 36.7% (95% CI [29.5-44.5]) and specificity of 90.0% (95% CI [82.0-94.8]). As for early-stage EJA, the AUC was 0.773 (95% CI [0.701-0.845]) with the sensitivity of 33.3% (95% CI [14.4-58.8]). In independent validation cohort, with the same cutoff value, the AUC reached to 0.758 (95% CI [0.664-0.852]). Similarly, for early-stage gastric cancer diagnosis in the independent validation cohort, the AUC value was 0.778 (95% CI [0.673-0.882]). Conclusions This study indicated that serum IGFBP7 might act as a potential early diagnostic marker for gastric cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Can-Tong Liu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, the Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
- Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Control Research Center, the Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
- Guangdong Esophageal Cancer Research Institute, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Fang-Cai Wu
- Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Control Research Center, the Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
- Department of Radiation Oncology, the Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yi-Xuan Zhuang
- Department of Pathology, the Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
| | - Xin-Yi Huang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
| | - Xin-Hao Li
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, the Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
| | - Qi-Qi Qu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, the Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yu-Hui Peng
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, the Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
- Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Control Research Center, the Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
- Guangdong Esophageal Cancer Research Institute, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yi-Wei Xu
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, the Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
- Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Control Research Center, the Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
- Guangdong Esophageal Cancer Research Institute, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Shu-Lin Chen
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Xu-Chun Huang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, the Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
- Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Control Research Center, the Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China
- Guangdong Esophageal Cancer Research Institute, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
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Yeger H. CCN proteins: opportunities for clinical studies-a personal perspective. J Cell Commun Signal 2023:10.1007/s12079-023-00761-y. [PMID: 37195381 DOI: 10.1007/s12079-023-00761-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2022] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The diverse members of the CCN family now designated as CCN1(CYR61), CCN2 (CTGF), CCN3(NOV), CCN4(WISP1), CCN5(WISP2), CCN6(WISP3) are a conserved matricellular family of proteins exhibiting a spectrum of functional properties throughout all organs in the body. Interaction with cell membrane receptors such as integrins trigger intracellular signaling pathways. Proteolytically cleaved fragments (constituting the active domains) can be transported to the nucleus and perform transcriptional relevant functional activities. Notably, as also found in other protein families some members act opposite to others creating a system of functionally relevant checks and balances. It has become apparent that these proteins are secreted into the circulation, are quantifiable, and can serve as disease biomarkers. How they might also serve as homeostatic regulators is just becoming appreciated. In this review I have attempted to highlight the most recent evidence under the subcategories of cancer and non-cancer relevant that could lead to potential therapeutic approaches or ideas that can be factored into clinical advances. I have added my own personal perspective on feasibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herman Yeger
- Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Research Institute, SickKids, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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Perbal B. Inception and establishment of the International CCN Society (ICCNS) and of the Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling (JCCS): A response to A. Leask's Editorial entitled "Modeling the microenvironment special issue". J Cell Commun Signal 2022; 16:627-629. [PMID: 36098895 PMCID: PMC9733759 DOI: 10.1007/s12079-022-00694-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A little over a year ago, on January 25, 2021, the new Editor-in-Chief (EiC) of JCCS stated in his Editorial: "ICCNS and JCCS were the brainchildren of Bernard Perbal, and without his energy and drive, neither would exist, to the detriment of us who are driven to solve difficult problems in science, and not picking low-hanging fruit. All one has to do is examine all the editorials written in JCCS (and CCS!) to see evidence of this. It will be tough to fill those shoes."I disagree with the assertion in the Editorial published on March 29, 2022 that G. Martin contributed "to the initial growth of the International CCN Society, and, ultimately, to the establishment of this journal." My opinion is based on the evidence that the International CCN Society (ICCNS) and its official organ journal, the Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling (JCCS), were created by myself. Over a span of 21 years until the present, and in spite of his contribution to the early history of CTGF, we never heard from G. Martin being involved or interested in any aspect of the ICCNS and its biannual meetings, nor in any aspect in the growth of JCCS.In order to further clarify the confusion stemming from the Editorial in question and to give credit where it is due, I provide below detailed evidence that undoubtedly ascribes the true inception of both ICCNS and JCCS, and merit to the efforts of all those who trusted and supported us during the initial difficult creative moments.I am of the opinion that the Editorial, and the implications that it carries do not justice to the efforts of those who were really involved in the creation of both the ICCNS and JCCS.In the name of respectful scientific integrity, I will provide the evidence that correctly attributes the inception of ICCNS and JCCS.
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