NORE1A induction by membrane-bound CD40L (mCD40L) contributes to CD40L-induced cell death and G1 growth arrest in p21-mediated mechanism

TRAF3/p38-JNK Signalling Crosstalk with Intracellular-TRAIL/Caspase-10-Induced Apoptosis Accelerates ROS-Driven Cancer Cell-Specific Death by CD40

The capacity to induce tumour-cell specific apoptosis represents the most unique feature of the TNF receptor (TNFR) family member CD40. Recent studies on the signalling events triggered by its membrane-presented ligand CD40L (mCD40L) in normal and malignant epithelial cells have started to unravel an exquisite context and cell type specificity for the functional effects of CD40. Here, we demonstrate that, in comparison to other carcinomas, mCD40L triggered strikingly more rapid apoptosis in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) cells, underpinned by its ability to entrain two concurrently operating signalling axes. CD40 ligation initially activates TNFR-associated factor 3 (TRAF3) and subsequently NADPH oxidase (NOX)/Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1)-signalling and induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to mediate p38/JNK- and ROS-dependent cell death. At that point, p38/JNK signalling directly activates the mitochondrial pathway, and triggers rapid induction of intracellular TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) that signals from internal compartments to initiate extrinsic caspase-10-asscociated apoptosis, leading to truncated Bid (tBid)-activated mitochondrial signalling. p38 and JNK are essential both for direct mitochondrial apoptosis induction and the TRAIL/caspase-10/tBid pathway, but their involvement follows functional hierarchy and temporally controlled interplay, as p38 function is required for JNK phosphorylation. By engaging both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways to activate apoptosis via two signals simultaneously, CD40 can accelerate CRC cell death. Our findings further unravel the multi-faceted properties of the CD40/mCD40L dyad, highlighted by the novel TNFR crosstalk that accelerates tumour cell-specific death, and may have implications for the use of CD40 as a therapeutic target.

Novel Functions of Integrins as Receptors of CD154: Their Role in Inflammation and Apoptosis

CD154, an inflammatory mediator also known as CD40 ligand, has been identified as a novel binding partner for some members of the integrin family. The αIIbβ3, specifically expressed on platelets, was the first integrin to be described as a receptor for CD154 after CD40. Its interaction with soluble CD154 (sCD154) highly contributes to thrombus formation and stability. Identifying αIIbβ3 opened the door for investigating other integrins as partners of CD154. The αMβ2 expressed on myeloid cells was shown capable of binding CD154 and contributing as such to cell activation, adhesion, and release of proinflammatory mediators. In parallel, α5β1 communicates with sCD154, inducing pro-inflammatory responses. Additional pathogenic effects involving apoptosis-preventing functions were exhibited by the CD154–α5β1 dyad in T cells, conferring a role for such interaction in the survival of malignant cells, as well as the persistence of autoreactive T cells. More recently, CD154 receptors integrated two new integrin members, αvβ3 and α4β1, with little known as to their biological significance in this context. This article provides an overview of the novel role of integrins as receptors of CD154 and as critical players in pro-inflammatory and apoptotic responses.

Long Intergenic Noncoding RNA OIN1 Promotes Ovarian Cancer Growth by Modulating Apoptosis-Related Gene Expression

Patients with advanced ovarian cancer usually exhibit high mortality rates, thus more efficient therapeutic strategies are expected to be developed. Recent transcriptomic studies revealed that long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) can be a new class of molecular targets for cancer management, because lincRNAs likely exert tissue-specific activities compared with protein-coding genes or other noncoding RNAs. We here show that an unannotated lincRNA originated from chromosome 10q21 and designated as ovarian cancer long intergenic noncoding RNA 1 (OIN1), is often overexpressed in ovarian cancer tissues compared with normal ovaries as analyzed by RNA sequencing. OIN1 silencing by specific siRNAs significantly exerted proliferation inhibition and enhanced apoptosis in ovarian cancer cells. Notably, RNA sequencing showed that OIN1 expression was negatively correlated with the expression of apoptosis-related genes ras association domain family member 5 (RASSF5) and adenosine A1 receptor (ADORA1), which were upregulated by OIN1 knockdown in ovarian cancer cells. OIN1-specifc siRNA injection was effective to suppress in vivo tumor growth of ovarian cancer cells inoculated in immunodeficient mice. Taken together, OIN1 could function as a tumor-promoting lincRNA in ovarian cancer through modulating apoptosis and will be a potential molecular target for ovarian cancer management.

CD154 Resistant to Cleavage from Intracellular Milieu and Cell Surface Induces More Potent CD40-Mediated Responses

In addition to the membrane-bound form, CD154 also exists as a soluble molecule originating from an intracellular and membrane cleavage. We have previously shown that CD154 cleavage from T cell surface is mediated by CD40 and involves the action of ADAM10/ADAM17 enzymes. In the aim of defining the importance of CD154 maintained on cell surface, we generated a CD154 mutated at the cleavage site. Our data show that the double mutation of E112 and M113 residues of CD154 abolishes its spontaneous release and the CD40-mediated cleavage from cell surface but does not affect its binding to CD40. We also demonstrated that both the release of CD154 from the intracellular milieu and its CD40-mediated cleavage from cell surface are highly dependent on ADAM10/ADAM17 enzymes. The CD154-EM mutant was shown capable of inducing a more prominent apoptotic response in susceptible B cell lines than the wild-type (WT) form of the molecule. In addition, human B cells cultured in the presence of the CD154-EM mutant exhibited upregulated proliferative responses compared with the CD154-WT. The CD154-EM mutant was also shown to trigger differentiation of human B cells, reflected by an increased Ig production, more significantly than CD154-WT. Thus, our data strongly suggest that cleavage-resistant CD154 is a more prominent stimulant than the cleavable form of the molecule. Therefore, a maintained expression of CD154 on cell membrane and a disturbed cleavage of the molecule could be a mechanism by which CD154 is involved in some pathological conditions and should be revisited.

Interplay of opposing fate choices stalls oncogenic growth in murine skin epithelium

Skin epithelium can accumulate a high burden of oncogenic mutations without morphological or functional consequences. To investigate the mechanism of oncogenic tolerance, we induced Hras^G12V in single murine epidermal cells and followed them long term. We observed that Hras^G12V promotes an early and transient clonal expansion driven by increased progenitor renewal that is replaced with an increase in progenitor differentiation leading to reduced growth. We attribute this dynamic effect to emergence of two populations within oncogenic clones: renewing progenitors along the edge and differentiating ones within the central core. As clone expansion is accompanied by progressive enlargement of the core and diminishment of the edge compartment, the intraclonal competition between the two populations results in stabilized oncogenic growth. To identify the molecular mechanism of Hras^G12V-driven differentiation, we screened known Ras-effector in vivo and identified Rassf5 as a novel regulator of progenitor fate choice that is necessary and sufficient for oncogene-specific differentiation.

Pumping the brakes on RAS - negative regulators and death effectors of RAS

Mutations that activate the RAS oncoproteins are common in cancer. However, aberrant upregulation of RAS activity often occurs in the absence of activating mutations in the RAS genes due to defects in RAS regulators. It is now clear that loss of function of Ras GTPase-activating proteins (RasGAPs) is common in tumors, and germline mutations in certain RasGAP genes are responsible for some clinical syndromes. Although regulation of RAS is central to their activity, RasGAPs exhibit great diversity in their binding partners and therefore affect signaling by multiple mechanisms that are independent of RAS. The RASSF family of tumor suppressors are essential to RAS-induced apoptosis and senescence, and constitute a barrier to RAS-mediated transformation. Suppression of RASSF protein expression can also promote the development of excessive RAS signaling by uncoupling RAS from growth inhibitory pathways. Here, we will examine how these effectors of RAS contribute to tumor suppression, through both RAS-dependent and RAS-independent mechanisms.

CD40L membrane retention enhances the immunostimulatory effects of CD40 ligation

In carcinomas, the nature of CD40 ligand shapes the outcome of CD40 ligation. To date, the consequences of membrane-bound CD40L (mCD40L) on its immune-stimulatory function are unknown. Here, we examined the impact of mCD40L versus soluble CD40L (sCD40L) on T24 bladder carcinoma gene expression profiling. Of 410 differentially expressed genes, 286 were upregulated and 124 downregulated by mCD40L versus sCD40L. Gene ontology enrichment analysis revealed immune-stimulatory function as the most significant enriched biological process affected by upregulated transcripts, while those downregulated were critical for cell growth and division. Furthermore, immature dendritic cells (iDC) responded to mCD40L with enhanced maturation and activation over sCD40L evidenced by higher expression levels of CD83, CD86, HLA-DR and CD54, increased secretion of IL12 and IL10 and higher tumour-antigen (TA) uptake capacity. Furthermore, autologus CD3+ T cells responded to TA-loaded mCD40L-activated DC with increased proliferation and cytotoxic response (CD107a and IFN-γ-producing CD3+ CD8+ T cells) to the tumour-loaded autologous PBMCs compared to sCD40L. Thus, these data indicate that mCD40L enhances the immunostimulatory capacity over sCD40L. Furthermore, the ability of mCD40L to also directly induce cell death in CD40-expressing carcinomas, subsequently releasing tumour-specific antigens into the tumour microenvironment highlights the potential for mCD40L as a multi-faceted anti-cancer immunotherapeutic.

CD40 induces renal cell carcinoma-specific differential regulation of TRAF proteins, ASK1 activation and JNK/p38-mediated, ROS-dependent mitochondrial apoptosis

A unique feature of CD40 among the TNF receptor (TNFR) superfamily is its exquisitely contextual effects, as originally demonstrated in normal and malignant B-lymphocytes. We studied renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in comparison to normal (human renal proximal tubule) cells, as a model to better understand the role of CD40 in epithelial cells. CD40 ligation by membrane-presented CD40 ligand (mCD40L), but not soluble CD40 agonist, induced extensive apoptosis in RCC cells; by contrast, normal cells were totally refractory to mCD40L. These findings underline the importance of CD40 'signal-quality' on cell fate and explain the lack of pro-apoptotic effects in RCC cells previously, while confirming the tumour specificity of CD40 in epithelial cells. mCD40L differentially regulated TRAF expression, causing sustained TRAF2/TRAF3 induction in RCC cells, yet downregulation of TRAF2 and no TRAF3 induction in normal cells, observations strikingly reminiscent of TRAF modulation in B-lymphocytes. mCD40L triggered reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, critical in apoptosis, and NADPH oxidase (Nox)-subunit p40phox phosphorylation, with Nox blockade abrogating apoptosis thus implying Nox-dependent initial ROS release. mCD40L mediated downregulation of Thioredoxin-1 (Trx-1), ASK1 phosphorylation, and JNK and p38 activation. Although both JNK/p38 were essential in apoptosis, p38 activation was JNK-dependent, which is the first report of such temporally defined JNK-p38 interplay during an apoptotic programme. CD40-killing entrained Bak/Bax induction, controlled by JNK/p38, and caspase-9-dependent mitochondrial apoptosis, accompanied by pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion, the repertoire of which also depended on CD40 signal quality. Previous reports suggested that, despite the ability of soluble CD40 agonist to reduce RCC tumour size in vivo via immunocyte activation, RCC could be targeted more effectively by combining CD40-mediated immune activation with direct tumour CD40 signalling. Since mCD40L represents a potent tumour cell-specific killing signal, our work not only offers insights into CD40's biology in normal and malignant epithelial cells, but also provides an avenue for a 'double-hit' approach for inflammatory, tumour cell-specific CD40-based therapy.

A replication-incompetent CD154/40L recombinant vaccinia virus induces direct and macrophage-mediated antitumor effects in vitro and in vivo

CD40 triggering may result in antitumor effects of potentially high clinical relevance. To gain insights important for patient selection and to identify adequate targeting techniques, we investigated CD40 expression in human cancer tissues and generated a replication-incompetent recombinant vaccinia virus expressing CD40 ligand (rVV40L). Its effects were explored in vitro and in vivo upon direct CD40 targeting on malignant cells or macrophage activation. CD40 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry in tumor and stromal cells in a multi-tumor array including 836 specimens from 27 different tumor types. Established tumor cell lines were used to explore the capacity of rVV40L to induce malignant cell apoptosis and modulate functional profiles of polarized macrophages. CD40 expression was detectable in significantly higher numbers of stromal as compared to malignant cells in lung and breast cancers. CD40 ligation following rVV40L infection induced apoptosis in CD40(+) cancer cells, but only in the presence of intact specific signal transduction chain. Importantly, rVV40L infection promoted the induction of TNF-α-dependent antitumor activity of M1-like macrophages directed against CD40(-) targets. CD40-activated M1-like macrophages also displayed enhanced ability to CXCL10-dependently recruit CD8+ T cells and to efficiently present cancer cell intracellular antigens through cross-priming. Moreover, rVV-driven CD40L expression partially “re-educated” M2-like macrophages, as suggested by detectable CXCL10 and IL-12 production. Most importantly, we observed that intra-tumoral injection of rVV40L-infected human macrophages inhibits progression of human CD40(-) tumors in vivo. First evidences of anticancer activity of rVV40L strongly encourage further evaluations.

CD40L inhibits cell growth of THP-1 cells by suppressing the PI3K/Akt pathway

Introduction

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the hematological malignant tumor with high mortality, is still difficult to treat. CD40L is a type II transmembrane protein, which has been reported to have the potential to inhibit growth of some cancer cells.

Materials and methods

In order to determine the role of CD40L on AML-M5 cell line THP-1, we overexpressed CD40L in the cells using a lentiviral vector system (pHBLV-CMVIE-Zs Green-T2A-puro vector); overexpression was confirmed by the detection of green fluorescent protein and CD40L protein expression.

Results

Cellular apoptosis, proliferation, and cycle assays showed that CD40L could promote the apoptosis of, suppress the proliferation of, and stimulate the arrest of the G1/S phase of THP-1 cells. Finally, the protein expression of P53, Bax/Bcl-2, cyclinD1, PCNA, PTEN, and p-Akt illustrated that CD40L may partly influence cell growth of THP-1 cells through those genes, which was confirmed by immunohistochemistry and a PI3K/Akt activator.

Conclusion

Taken together, CD40L could inhibit cell growth of THP-1 cells through the PI3K/Akt pathway, indicating that the overexpression of CD40L may be a potential target to treat the AML-M5 disease.

Perspectives of RAS and RHEB GTPase Signaling Pathways in Regenerating Brain Neurons

Cellular activation of RAS GTPases into the GTP-binding “ON” state is a key switch for regulating brain functions. Molecular protein structural elements of rat sarcoma (RAS) and RAS homolog protein enriched in brain (RHEB) GTPases involved in this switch are discussed including their subcellular membrane localization for triggering specific signaling pathways resulting in regulation of synaptic connectivity, axonal growth, differentiation, migration, cytoskeletal dynamics, neural protection, and apoptosis. A beneficial role of neuronal H-RAS activity is suggested from cellular and animal models of neurodegenerative diseases. Recent experiments on optogenetic regulation offer insights into the spatiotemporal aspects controlling RAS/mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) or phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K) pathways. As optogenetic manipulation of cellular signaling in deep brain regions critically requires penetration of light through large distances of absorbing tissue, we discuss magnetic guidance of re-growing axons as a complementary approach. In Parkinson’s disease, dopaminergic neuronal cell bodies degenerate in the substantia nigra. Current human trials of stem cell-derived dopaminergic neurons must take into account the inability of neuronal axons navigating over a large distance from the grafted site into striatal target regions. Grafting dopaminergic precursor neurons directly into the degenerating substantia nigra is discussed as a novel concept aiming to guide axonal growth by activating GTPase signaling through protein-functionalized intracellular magnetic nanoparticles responding to external magnets.

Co‑expression of murine double minute 2 siRNA and wild‑type p53 induces G1 cell cycle arrest in H1299 cells

The therapeutic options available for the treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer have increased over the past decade. Small molecule gene therapy has emerged as an effective therapy for the treatment of lung cancer in vitro and in vivo although it has not been tested in a clinical setting. In particular, therapies that target the negative feedback loop between p53 and murine double minute 2 (MDM2) provide a favorable outcome by maintaining activation of the tumor suppressor gene p53. The present study used transfection to simultaneously knockdown MDM2 expression using small interfering (si)RNA, and overexpress wild‑type p53 in H1299 cells. The effects of transfection on cell proliferation and cell cycle progression were determined using an MTT assay and flow cytometry, and the effects on mRNA and protein expression were determined by western blotting and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The results indicated that simultaneously knocking down MDM2 and overexpressing p53 was able to inhibit proliferation and induce G1 cell cycle arrest in H1299 cells, compared with either alone. These findings indicated that the si‑MDM2‑p53 co‑expression plasmid may induce cell cycle arrest, and may be considered a novel therapeutic option for the treatment of lung cancer.

Ras signaling through RASSF proteins

There are six core RASSF family proteins that contain conserved Ras Association domains and may serve as Ras effectors. They lack intrinsic enzymatic activity and appear to function as scaffolding and localization molecules. While initially being associated with pro-apoptotic signaling pathways such as Bax and Hippo, it is now clear that they can also connect Ras to a surprisingly broad range of signaling pathways that control senescence, inflammation, autophagy, DNA repair, ubiquitination and protein acetylation. Moreover, they may be able to impact the activation status of pro-mitogenic Ras effector pathways, such as the Raf pathway. The frequent epigenetic inactivation of RASSF genes in human tumors disconnects Ras from pro-death signaling systems, enhancing Ras driven transformation and metastasis. The best characterized members are RASSF1A and RASSF5 (NORE1A).