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Giovannini S, Smirnov A, Concetti L, Scimeca M, Mauriello A, Bischof J, Rovella V, Melino G, Buonomo CO, Candi E, Bernassola F. A comprehensive molecular characterization of a claudin-low luminal B breast tumor. Biol Direct 2024; 19:66. [PMID: 39152485 PMCID: PMC11328405 DOI: 10.1186/s13062-024-00482-1] [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: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 08/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most common cause of death from cancer in women. Here, we present the case of a 43-year-old woman, who received a diagnosis of claudin-low luminal B breast cancer. The lesion revealed to be a poorly differentiated high-grade infiltrating ductal carcinoma, which was strongly estrogen receptor (ER)/progesterone receptor (PR) positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2) negative. Her tumor underwent in-depth chromosomal, mutational and gene expression analyses. We found a pathogenic protein truncating mutation in the TP53 gene, which is predicted to disrupt its transcriptional activity. The patient also harbors germline mutations in some mismatch repair (MMR) genes, and her tumor displays the presence of immune infiltrates, high tumor mutational burden (TMB) status and the apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide 3 (APOBEC3) associated signatures, which, overall, are predictive for the use of immunotherapy. Here, we propose promising prognostic indicators as well as potential therapeutic strategies based on the molecular characterization of the tumor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Giovannini
- Department of Experimental Medicine, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Artem Smirnov
- Department of Experimental Medicine, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy
- Istituto Dermopatico Immacolata (IDI-IRCCS), 00100, Rome, Italy
| | - Livia Concetti
- Department of Experimental Medicine, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Manuel Scimeca
- Department of Experimental Medicine, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Alessandro Mauriello
- Department of Experimental Medicine, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Julia Bischof
- Germany Biochemistry Laboratory, Indivumed GmbH, Falkenried, 88 Building D, 20251, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Valentina Rovella
- Department of Experimental Medicine, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Gerry Melino
- Department of Experimental Medicine, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy
| | - Claudio Oreste Buonomo
- Department of Experimental Medicine, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy.
| | - Eleonora Candi
- Department of Experimental Medicine, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy.
- Istituto Dermopatico Immacolata (IDI-IRCCS), 00100, Rome, Italy.
| | - Francesca Bernassola
- Department of Experimental Medicine, TOR, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy.
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Liu G, Hou Y, Jin X, Zhang Y, Sun C, Huang C, Ren Y, Gao J, Wang X, Jiang X. PI3K/HSCB axis facilitates FOG1 nuclear translocation to promote erythropoiesis and megakaryopoiesis. eLife 2024; 13:RP95815. [PMID: 38757931 PMCID: PMC11101173 DOI: 10.7554/elife.95815] [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] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Erythropoiesis and megakaryopoiesis are stringently regulated by signaling pathways. However, the precise molecular mechanisms through which signaling pathways regulate key transcription factors controlling erythropoiesis and megakaryopoiesis remain partially understood. Herein, we identified heat shock cognate B (HSCB), which is well known for its iron-sulfur cluster delivery function, as an indispensable protein for friend of GATA 1 (FOG1) nuclear translocation during erythropoiesis of K562 human erythroleukemia cells and cord-blood-derived human CD34+CD90+hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), as well as during megakaryopoiesis of the CD34+CD90+HSCs. Mechanistically, HSCB could be phosphorylated by phosphoinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) to bind with and mediate the proteasomal degradation of transforming acidic coiled-coil containing protein 3 (TACC3), which otherwise detained FOG1 in the cytoplasm, thereby facilitating FOG1 nuclear translocation. Given that PI3K is activated during both erythropoiesis and megakaryopoiesis, and that FOG1 is a key transcription factor for these processes, our findings elucidate an important, previously unrecognized iron-sulfur cluster delivery independent function of HSCB in erythropoiesis and megakaryopoiesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of the Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal UniversityChangchunChina
| | - Yunxuan Hou
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of the Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal UniversityChangchunChina
| | - Xin Jin
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of the Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal UniversityChangchunChina
| | - Yixue Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of the Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal UniversityChangchunChina
| | - Chaoyue Sun
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of the Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal UniversityChangchunChina
| | - Chengquan Huang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of the Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal UniversityChangchunChina
| | - Yujie Ren
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Epigenetics of the Ministry of Education, Northeast Normal UniversityChangchunChina
| | - Jianmin Gao
- School of Chemistry, Northeast Normal UniversityChangchunChina
| | - Xiuli Wang
- School of Life Science, Northeast Normal UniversityChangchunChina
| | - Xiumei Jiang
- School of Chemistry, Northeast Normal UniversityChangchunChina
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Gedik ME, Saatci O, Oberholtzer N, Uner M, Akbulut Caliskan O, Cetin M, Aras M, Ibis K, Caliskan B, Banoglu E, Wiemann S, Üner A, Aksoy S, Mehrotra S, Sahin O. Targeting TACC3 Induces Immunogenic Cell Death and Enhances T-DM1 Response in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer. Cancer Res 2024; 84:1475-1490. [PMID: 38319231 PMCID: PMC11063689 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-23-2812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2023] [Revised: 12/27/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) was the first and one of the most successful antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) approved for treating refractory HER2-positive breast cancer. Despite its initial clinical efficacy, resistance is unfortunately common, necessitating approaches to improve response. Here, we found that in sensitive cells, T-DM1 induced spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC)-dependent immunogenic cell death (ICD), an immune-priming form of cell death. The payload of T-DM1 mediated ICD by inducing eIF2α phosphorylation, surface exposure of calreticulin, ATP and HMGB1 release, and secretion of ICD-related cytokines, all of which were lost in resistance. Accordingly, ICD-related gene signatures in pretreatment samples correlated with clinical response to T-DM1-containing therapy, and increased infiltration of antitumor CD8+ T cells in posttreatment samples was correlated with better T-DM1 response. Transforming acidic coiled-coil containing 3 (TACC3) was overexpressed in T-DM1-resistant cells, and T-DM1 responsive patients had reduced TACC3 protein expression whereas nonresponders exhibited increased TACC3 expression during T-DM1 treatment. Notably, genetic or pharmacologic inhibition of TACC3 restored T-DM1-induced SAC activation and induction of ICD markers in vitro. Finally, TACC3 inhibition in vivo elicited ICD in a vaccination assay and potentiated the antitumor efficacy of T-DM1 by inducing dendritic cell maturation and enhancing intratumoral infiltration of cytotoxic T cells. Together, these results illustrate that ICD is a key mechanism of action of T-DM1 that is lost in resistance and that targeting TACC3 can restore T-DM1-mediated ICD and overcome resistance. SIGNIFICANCE Loss of induction of immunogenic cell death in response to T-DM1 leads to resistance that can be overcome by targeting TACC3, providing an attractive strategy to improve the efficacy of T-DM1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mustafa Emre Gedik
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
| | - Ozge Saatci
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
- Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
| | - Nathaniel Oberholtzer
- Department of Surgery, Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
| | - Meral Uner
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
| | | | - Metin Cetin
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
- Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
| | - Mertkaya Aras
- Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
| | - Kubra Ibis
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Burcu Caliskan
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Erden Banoglu
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Stefan Wiemann
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), INF580, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ayşegül Üner
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Sercan Aksoy
- Department of Medical Oncology, Hacettepe University Cancer Institute, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Shikhar Mehrotra
- Department of Surgery, Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
| | - Ozgur Sahin
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
- Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
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Conway PJ, Dao J, Kovalskyy D, Mahadevan D, Dray E. Polyploidy in Cancer: Causal Mechanisms, Cancer-Specific Consequences, and Emerging Treatments. Mol Cancer Ther 2024; 23:638-647. [PMID: 38315992 PMCID: PMC11174144 DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.mct-23-0578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Revised: 11/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
Drug resistance is the major determinant for metastatic disease and fatalities, across all cancers. Depending on the tissue of origin and the therapeutic course, a variety of biological mechanisms can support and sustain drug resistance. Although genetic mutations and gene silencing through epigenetic mechanisms are major culprits in targeted therapy, drug efflux and polyploidization are more global mechanisms that prevail in a broad range of pathologies, in response to a variety of treatments. There is an unmet need to identify patients at risk for polyploidy, understand the mechanisms underlying polyploidization, and to develop strategies to predict, limit, and reverse polyploidy thus enhancing efficacy of standard-of-care therapy that improve better outcomes. This literature review provides an overview of polyploidy in cancer and offers perspective on patient monitoring and actionable therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick J Conway
- Mays Cancer Center, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
- Department of Molecular Immunology & Microbiology, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
| | - Jonathan Dao
- Mays Cancer Center, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
- Long School of Medicine, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
| | - Dmytro Kovalskyy
- Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
| | - Daruka Mahadevan
- Mays Cancer Center, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
- Department of Molecular Immunology & Microbiology, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
- Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
| | - Eloise Dray
- Long School of Medicine, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
- Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
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White-Gilbertson S, Lu P, Saatci O, Sahin O, Delaney JR, Ogretmen B, Voelkel-Johnson C. Transcriptome analysis of polyploid giant cancer cells and their progeny reveals a functional role for p21 in polyploidization and depolyploidization. J Biol Chem 2024; 300:107136. [PMID: 38447798 PMCID: PMC10979113 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107136] [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: 10/07/2023] [Revised: 02/03/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
Polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCC) are frequently detected in tumors and are increasingly recognized for their roles in chromosomal instability and associated genome evolution that leads to cancer recurrence. We previously reported that therapy stress promotes polyploidy, and that acid ceramidase plays a role in depolyploidization. In this study, we used an RNA-seq approach to gain a better understanding of the underlying transcriptomic changes that occur as cancer cells progress through polyploidization and depolyploidization. Our results revealed gene signatures that are associated with disease-free and/or overall survival in several cancers and identified the cell cycle inhibitor CDKN1A/p21 as the major hub in PGCC and early progeny. Increased expression of p21 in PGCC was limited to the cytoplasm. We previously demonstrated that the sphingolipid enzyme acid ceramidase is dispensable for polyploidization upon therapy stress but plays a crucial role in depolyploidization. The current study demonstrates that treatment of cells with ceramide is not sufficient for p53-independent induction of p21 and that knockdown of acid ceramidase, which hydrolyzes ceramide, does not interfere with upregulation of p21. In contrast, blocking the expression of p21 with UC2288 prevented the induction of acid ceramidase and inhibited both the formation of PGCC from parental cells as well as the generation of progeny from PGCC. Taken together, our data suggest that p21 functions upstream of acid ceramidase and plays an important role in polyploidization and depolyploidization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shai White-Gilbertson
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
| | - Ping Lu
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
| | - Ozge Saatci
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
| | - Ozgur Sahin
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
| | - Joe R Delaney
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
| | - Besim Ogretmen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
| | - Christina Voelkel-Johnson
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
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Saatci O, Sahin O. TACC3: a multi-functional protein promoting cancer cell survival and aggressiveness. Cell Cycle 2023; 22:2637-2655. [PMID: 38197196 PMCID: PMC10936615 DOI: 10.1080/15384101.2024.2302243] [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: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 01/11/2024] Open
Abstract
TACC3 is the most oncogenic member of the transforming acidic coiled-coil domain-containing protein (TACC) family. It is one of the major recruitment factors of distinct multi-protein complexes. TACC3 is localized to spindles, centrosomes, and nucleus, and regulates key oncogenic processes, including cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and stemness. Recently, TACC3 inhibition has been identified as a vulnerability in highly aggressive cancers, such as cancers with centrosome amplification (CA). TACC3 has spatiotemporal functions throughout the cell cycle; therefore, targeting TACC3 causes cell death in mitosis and interphase in cancer cells with CA. In the clinics, TACC3 is highly expressed and associated with worse survival in multiple cancers. Furthermore, TACC3 is a part of one of the most common fusions of FGFR, FGFR3-TACC3 and is important for the oncogenicity of the fusion. A detailed understanding of the regulation of TACC3 expression, its key partners, and molecular functions in cancer cells is vital for uncovering the most vulnerable tumors and maximizing the therapeutic potential of targeting this highly oncogenic protein. In this review, we summarize the established and emerging interactors and spatiotemporal functions of TACC3 in cancer cells, discuss the potential of TACC3 as a biomarker in cancer, and therapeutic potential of its inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ozge Saatci
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Ozgur Sahin
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
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