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Yang SH, Zeng YZ, Jia XZ, Gu YW, Wood C, Yang RS, Yang JS, Yang WJ. Activated dormant stem cells recover spermatogenesis in chemoradiotherapy-induced infertility. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114582. [PMID: 39096488 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114582] [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: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 03/23/2024] [Accepted: 07/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Male infertility is a recognized side effect of chemoradiotherapy. Extant spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) may act as originators for any subsequent recovery. However, which type of SSCs, the mechanism by which they survive and resist toxicity, and how they act to restart spermatogenesis remain largely unknown. Here, we identify a small population of Set domain-containing protein 4 (Setd4)-expressing SSCs that occur in a relatively dormant state in the mouse seminiferous tubule. Extant beyond high-dose chemoradiotherapy, these cells then activate to recover spermatogenesis. Recovery fails when Setd4+ SSCs are deleted. Confirmed to be of fetal origin, these Setd4+ SSCs are shown to facilitate early testicular development and also contribute to steady-state spermatogenesis in adulthood. Upon activation, chromatin remodeling increases their genome-wide accessibility, enabling Notch1 and Aurora activation with corresponding silencing of p21 and p53. Here, Setd4+ SSCs are presented as the originators of both testicular development and spermatogenesis recovery in chemoradiotherapy-induced infertility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Hua Yang
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yi-Zhe Zeng
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Xi-Zheng Jia
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Yun-Wen Gu
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Christopher Wood
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Ri-Sheng Yang
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Jin-Shu Yang
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Wei-Jun Yang
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
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Villegas-Novoa C, Wang Y, Sims CE, Allbritton NL. Creation of a spatially complex mucus bilayer on an in vitro colon model. Sci Rep 2024; 14:16849. [PMID: 39039235 PMCID: PMC11263341 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-67591-9] [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: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 07/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The colonic epithelium is comprised of three-dimensional crypts (3D) lined with mucus secreted by a heterogeneous population of goblet cells. In this study, we report the formation of a long-lived, and self-renewing replica of human 3D crypts with a mucus layer patterned in the X-Y-Z dimensions. Primary colon cells were cultured on a shaped scaffold under an air-liquid interface to yield architecturally accurate crypts with a mucus bilayer (605 ± 180 μm thick) possessing an inner (149 ± 50 μm) and outer (435 ± 111 μm) region. Lectins with distinct carbohydrate-binding preferences demonstrated that the mucus in the intercrypt regions was chemically distinct from that above and within the crypts replicating in vivo chemical patterning. Constitutive mucus secretion ejected beads from crypt lumens in 8-10 days, while agonist-stimulated secretion increased mucus thickness by 17-fold in 8 h. The tissue was long-lived, > 50 days, the longest time assessed. In conclusion, the in vitro mucus replicated key physiology of the human mucus, including the bilayer (Z) structure and intercrypt-crypt (X-Y) zones, constitutive mucus flow, spatially complex chemical attributes, and mucus secretion response to stimulation, with the potential to reveal local and global determinants of mucus function and its breakdown in disease.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yuli Wang
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Christopher E Sims
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Nancy L Allbritton
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
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Wang C, Wang T, Li KJ, Hu LH, Li Y, Yu YZ, Xie T, Zhu S, Fu DJ, Wang Y, Zeng XZ, Liu FP, Chen H, Chen ZS, Feng NH, Liu J, Jiang Y, Zhao SC. SETD4 inhibits prostate cancer development by promoting H3K27me3-mediated NUPR1 transcriptional repression and cell cycle arrest. Cancer Lett 2023; 579:216464. [PMID: 37879429 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2023.216464] [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: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
The suppressor of variegation enhancer of zeste-trithorax (SET) domain methyltransferases have been reported to function as key regulators in multiple tumor types by catalyzing histone lysine methylation. Nevertheless, our understanding on the role of these lysine methyltransferases, including SETD4, in prostate cancer (PCa) remains limited. Hence, the specific role of SETD4 in PCa was investigated in this study. The expression of SETD4 in PCa cells and tissue samples was downregulated in PCa cells and tissue specimens, and decreased SETD4 expression led to inferior clinicopathological characteristics in patients with PCa. knockdown of SETD4 facilitated the proliferation of PCa cells and accelerated cell cycle progression. Mechanistically, SETD4 repressed NUPR1 transcription by methylating H3K27 to generate H3K27me3, subsequently inactivated Akt pathway and impeded the tumorigenesis of PCa. Our results highlight that SETD4 prevents the development of PCa by catalyzing the methylation of H3K27 and suppressing NUPR1 transcription, subsequently inactivating the Akt signaling pathway. The findings suggest the potential application of SETD4 in PCa prognosis and therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chong Wang
- Department of Urology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Tao Wang
- Department of Urology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China; Department of Urology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510900, China
| | - Kang-Jing Li
- Department of Urology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Ling-Hong Hu
- Department of Urology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Yue Li
- Laboratory Medicine, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200233, China
| | - Yu-Zhong Yu
- Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510500, China
| | - Tao Xie
- Department of Urology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Sha Zhu
- Department of Urology, Jiangnan University Medical Center, Wuxi, 214002, China; Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214002, China
| | - Du-Jiang Fu
- Department of Urology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Yang Wang
- Department of Urology, Jiangnan University Medical Center, Wuxi, 214002, China; Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214002, China
| | - Xian-Zi Zeng
- Department of Urology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China
| | - Feng-Ping Liu
- Department of Urology, Jiangnan University Medical Center, Wuxi, 214002, China; Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214002, China
| | - Hong Chen
- Luoyang Key Laboratory of Organic Functional Molecules, College of Food and Drug, Luoyang Normal University, Luoyang, Henan, 471934, China
| | - Zhe-Sheng Chen
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, St. John's University, Queens, NY, 11439, USA
| | - Ning-Han Feng
- Department of Urology, Jiangnan University Medical Center, Wuxi, 214002, China; Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214002, China.
| | - Jinghua Liu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Proteomics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China.
| | - Yong Jiang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Proteomics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China.
| | - Shan-Chao Zhao
- Department of Urology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, China; Department of Urology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510500, China.
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Wood CR, Wu WT, Yang YS, Yang JS, Xi Y, Yang WJ. From ecology to oncology: To understand cancer stem cell dormancy, ask a Brine shrimp (Artemia). Adv Cancer Res 2023; 158:199-231. [PMID: 36990533 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acr.2022.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
The brine shrimp (Artemia), releases embryos that can remain dormant for up to a decade. Molecular and cellular level controlling factors of dormancy in Artemia are now being recognized or applied as active controllers of dormancy (quiescence) in cancers. Most notably, the epigenetic regulation by SET domain-containing protein 4 (SETD4), is revealed as highly conserved and the primary control factor governing the maintenance of cellular dormancy from Artemia embryonic cells to cancer stem cells (CSCs). Conversely, DEK, has recently emerged as the primary factor in the control of dormancy exit/reactivation, in both cases. The latter has been now successfully applied to the reactivation of quiescent CSCs, negating their resistance to therapy and leading to their subsequent destruction in mouse models of breast cancer, without recurrence or metastasis potential. In this review, we introduce the many mechanisms of dormancy from Artemia ecology that have been translated into cancer biology, and herald Artemia's arrival on the model organism stage. We show how Artemia studies have unlocked the mechanisms of the maintenance and termination of cellular dormancy. We then discuss how the antagonistic balance of SETD4 and DEK fundamentally controls chromatin structure and consequently governs CSCs function, chemo/radiotherapy resistance, and dormancy in cancers. Many key stages from transcription factors to small RNAs, tRNA trafficking, molecular chaperones, ion channels, and links with various pathways and aspects of signaling are also noted, all of which link studies in Artemia to those of cancer on a molecular and/or cellular level. We particularly emphasize that the application of such emerging factors as SETD4 and DEK may open new and clear avenues for the treatment for various human cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher R Wood
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
| | - Wen-Tao Wu
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yao-Shun Yang
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jin-Shu Yang
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yongmei Xi
- The Women's Hospital, and Institute of Genetics, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Genetic & Developmental Disorders, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Wei-Jun Yang
- MOE Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection, College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
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