Suppression of staurosporine-mediated apoptosis in Hs578T breast cells through inhibition of neutral-sphingomyelinase by caveolin-1

Caveolin-1 affects early mycobacterial infection and apoptosis in macrophages and mice

Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, remains one of the deadliest infections in humans. Because Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) share genetic similarities with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, it is often used as a model to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of more severe tuberculosis infection. Caveolin-1 has been implied in many physiological processes and diseases, but it's role in mycobacterial infections has barely been studied. We isolated macrophages from Wildtype or Caveolin-1 deficient mice and analyzed hallmarks of infection, such as internalization, induction of autophagy and apoptosis. For in vivo assays we intravenously injected mice with BCG and investigated tissues for bacterial load with colony-forming unit assays, bioactive lipids with mass spectrometry and changes of protein expressions by Western blotting. Our results revealed that Caveolin-1 was important for early killing of BCG infection in vivo and in vitro, controlled acid sphingomyelinase (Asm)-dependent ceramide formation, apoptosis and inflammatory cytokines upon infection with BCG. In accordance, Caveolin-1 deficient mice and macrophages showed higher bacterial burdens in the livers. The findings indicate that Caveolin-1 plays a role in infection of mice and murine macrophages with BCG, by controlling cellular apoptosis and inflammatory host response. These clues might be useful in the fight against tuberculosis.

Identification and validation of a prognostic risk model based on caveolin family genes for breast cancer

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most vicious killer of women’s health and is accompanied by increased incidence and mortality rates worldwide. Many studies have demonstrated that caveolins (CAVs) were abnormally expressed in a variety of tumors and implicated in tumorigenesis and cancer progression. However, the role of CAVs in BC remains somewhat contentious.

Methods: We comprehensively explored the expression and prognostic value of CAVs (CAV1-3) in BC utilizing public databases (ONCOMINE, TIMER, UALCAN, and TCGA databases). Then we constructed a prognostic model based on the expression profiles. Also, a prognostic nomogram was built to predict the overall survival (OS). We further investigated the relationship between this signature and immune cell infiltration and the mutational landscape in BC. The R package “pRRophetic” was used to predict chemotherapeutic response in BC patients. Finally, we employed loss-of-function approaches to validate the role of CAVs in BC.

Results: We found that CAVs were significantly downregulated in various cancer types, especially in BC. Low CAV expression was closely related to the malignant clinicopathological characteristics and worse OS and relapse-free survival (RFS) in BC. Then we constructed a prognostic model based on the expression profiles of CAVs, which divided BC patients into two risk groups. The Kaplan–Meier analysis showed that patients in the high-risk group tend to have a poorer prognosis than those in the low-risk group. Multivariate analysis indicated that the risk score and stage were both independent prognostic factors for BC patients, suggesting a complementary value. The clinical profiles and risk module were used to construct a nomogram that could accurately predict the OS in BC. In addition, we found that patients in the low-risk group tend to have a relatively high immune status and a lower mutation event frequency compared to the high-risk group. Furthermore, this signature could predict the response to chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Finally, CAV depletion promoted the colony formation, migration, and invasion of BC cells.

Conclusion: CAVs may serve as novel biomarkers and independent prognostic factors for BC patients. Also, the constructed signature based on CAVs may predict immunotherapeutic responses and provide a novel nomogram for precise outcome prediction of BC.

Lipid Rafts in Exosome Biogenesis

Exosomes (secreted extracellular vesicles formed in the intracellular vesicular transport system) play a crucial role in distant cell-cell communication. Exosomes transfer active forms of various biomolecules; the molecular composition of the exosomal cargo is a result of targeted selection and depends on the type of producer cells. The mechanisms underlying exosome formation and cargo selection are poorly understood. It is believed that there are several pathways for exosome biogenesis, although the questions about their independence and simultaneous coexistence in the cell still remain open. The least studied topic is the recently discovered mechanism of exosome formation associated with lipid rafts, or membrane lipid microdomains. Here, we present modern concepts and basic hypotheses on the mechanisms of exosome biogenesis and secretion and summarize current data on the involvement of lipid rafts and their constituent molecules in these processes. Special attention is paid to the analysis of possible role in the exosome formation of raft-forming proteins of the SPFH family, components of planar rafts, and caveolin, the main component of caveolae.

The different functions and clinical significances of caveolin-1 in human adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma

Caveolin-1 (Cav-1), a major structural protein of caveolae, is an integral membrane protein which plays an important role in the progression of carcinoma. However, whether Cav-1 acts as a tumor promoter or a tumor suppressor still remains controversial. For example, the tumor-promoting function of Cav-1 has been found in renal cancer, prostate cancer, tongue squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), lung SCC and bladder SCC. In contrast, Cav-1 also plays an inhibitory role in esophagus adenocarcinoma, lung adenocarcinoma and cutaneous SCC. The role of Cav-1 is still controversial in thyroid cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, gastric adenocarcinoma, colon adenocarcinoma, breast cancer, pancreas cancer, oral SCC, laryngeal SCC, head and neck SCC, esophageal SCC and cervical SCC. Besides, it has been reported that the loss of stromal Cav-1 might predict poor prognosis in breast cancer, gastric cancer, pancreas cancer, prostate cancer, oral SCC and esophageal SCC. However, the accumulation of stromal Cav-1 has been found to be promoted by the progression of tongue SCC. Taken together, Cav-1 seems playing a different role in different cancer subtypes even of the same organ, as well as acting differently in the same cancer subtype of different organs. Thus, we hereby explore the functions of Cav-1 in human adenocarcinoma and SCC from the perspective of clinical significances and pathogenesis. We envision that novel targets may come with the further investigation of Cav-1 in carcinogenesis.

Caveolin-1 in Breast Cancer: Single Molecule Regulation of Multiple Key Signaling Pathways

Caveolin-1 is a 22-kD trans-membrane protein enriched in particular plasma membrane invaginations known as caveolae. Cav-1 expression is often dysregulated in human breast cancers, being commonly upregulated in cancer cells and downregulated in stromal cells. As an intracellular scaffolding protein, Cav-1, is involved in several vital biological regulations including endocytosis, transcytosis, vesicular transport, and signaling pathways. Several pathways are modulated by Cav-1 including estrogen receptor, EGFR, Her2/neu, TGFβ, and mTOR and represent as major drivers in mammary carcinogenesis. Expression and role of Cav-1 in breast carcinogenesis is highly variable depending on the stage of tumor development as well as context of the cell. However, recent data have shown that downregulation of Cav-1 expression in stromal breast tumors is associated with frequent relapse, resistance to therapy, and poor outcome. Modification of Cav-1 expression for translational cancer therapy is particularly challenging since numerous signaling pathways might be affected. This review focuses on present understanding of Cav-1 in breast carcinogenesis and its potential role as a new biomarker for predicting therapeutic response and prognosis as well as new target for therapeutic manipulation.

The role of caveolin-1 in human breast cancer

Caveolin-1 is the essential constituent protein of specialised plasma membrane invaginations called caveolae. The unique topology of caveolin-1 facilitates the role of caveolae as molecular hubs, integrating the activity of a multitude of signalling molecules. Despite improvements in our understanding of caveolin-1 interactions and the function of caveolae, the relationship between dysfunctional caveolin-1 and tumourigenesis remains contentious. Perhaps most intriguing has been the demonstration of both oncogenic and tumour suppressor function within particular tumour types, including breast cancer. In this review, the biological and clinical relevance of caveolin-1 in human breast cancer are considered. Evidence is systematically presented for the potential tumour suppressor and oncogenic functions of caveolin-1. Specific reference is made to interactions between caveolin-1 and signalling pathways in the clinical and biological subtypes of breast cancer. Areas of controversy are discussed and technical considerations are highlighted. Translational implications and potential for specific therapeutic manipulation of caveolin-1 are evaluated in the context of evidence from in vitro and in vivo studies.

Sphingomyelin metabolism at the plasma membrane: implications for bioactive sphingolipids

The plasma membrane (PM) is a major resource for production of bioactive lipids and contains a large proportion of the cellular sphingomyelin (SM) content. Consequently, the regulation of SM levels at the PM by enzymes such as sphingomyelinase (SMase) and SM synthase 2 (SMS2) can have profound effects - both on biophysical properties of the membrane, but also on cellular signaling. Over the past 20 years, there has been considerable research into the physiological and cellular functions associated with regulation of SM levels, notably with regards to the production of ceramide. In this review, we will summarize this research with particular focus on the SMases and SMS2. We will outline what biological functions are associated with SM metabolism/production at the PM, and discuss what we believe are major challenges that need to be addressed in future studies.

Comparative epigenomics of human and mouse mammary tumors

Gene silencing by aberrant epigenetic chromatin alteration is a well-recognized event contributing to tumorigenesis. Although genetically engineered tumor-prone mouse models have proven a powerful tool in understanding many aspects of carcinogenesis, to date few studies have focused on epigenetic alterations in mouse tumors. To uncover epigenetically silenced tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) in mouse mammary tumor cells, we conducted initial genome-wide screening by combining the treatment of cultured cells with the DNA demethylating drug 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-azadC) and the histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA) with expression microarray. By conducting this initial screen on EMT6 cells and applying protein function and genomic structure criteria to genes identified as upregulated in response to 5-azadC/TSA, we were able to identify two characterized breast cancer TSGs (Timp3 and Rprm) and four putative TSGs (Atp1B2, Dusp2, FoxJ1 and Smpd3) silenced in this line. By testing a panel of 10 mouse mammary tumor lines, we determined that each of these genes is commonly hypermethylated, albeit with varying frequency. Furthermore, by examining a panel of human breast tumor lines and primary tumors we observed that the human orthologs of ATP1B2, FOXJ1 and SMPD3 are aberrantly hypermethylated in the human disease whereas DUSP2 was not hypermethylated in primary breast tumors. Finally, we examined hypermethylation of several genes targeted for epigenetic silencing in human breast tumors in our panel of 10 mouse mammary tumor lines. We observed that the orthologs of Cdh1, RarB, Gstp1, RassF1 genes were hypermethylated, whereas neither Dapk1 nor Wif1 were aberrantly methylated in this panel of mouse tumor lines. From this study, we conclude that there is significant, but not absolute, overlap in the epigenome of human and mouse mammary tumors.

Growth suppression of MCF-7 cancer cell-derived xenografts in nude mice by caveolin-1

Caveolin-1 is an essential structural constituent of caveolae membrane domains that has been implicated in mitogenic signaling and oncogenesis. However, the exact functional role of caveolin-1 still remains controversial. In this report, utilizing MCF-7 human breast adenocarcinoma cells stably transfected with caveolin-1 (MCF-7/cav-1 cells), we demonstrate that caveolin-1 expression dramatically inhibits invasion and migration of these cells. Importantly, in vivo experiments employing xenograft tumor models demonstrated that expression of caveolin-1 results in significant growth inhibition of breast tumors. Moreover, a dramatic delay in tumor progression was observed in MCF-7/cav-1 cells as compared with MCF-7 cells. Histological analysis of tumor sections demonstrated a marked decrease in the percentage of proliferating tumor cells (Ki-67 assay) along with an increase in apoptotic tumor cells (TUNEL assay) in MCF-7/cav-1-treated animals. Our current findings provide for the first time in vivo evidence that caveolin-1 can indeed function as a tumor suppressor in human breast adenocarcinoma derived from MCF-7 cells rather than as a tumor promoter.