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Rukhlenko OS, Imoto H, Tambde A, McGillycuddy A, Junk P, Tuliakova A, Kolch W, Kholodenko BN. Cell State Transition Models Stratify Breast Cancer Cell Phenotypes and Reveal New Therapeutic Targets. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:2354. [PMID: 39001416 PMCID: PMC11240448 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16132354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2024] [Revised: 06/17/2024] [Accepted: 06/23/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding signaling patterns of transformation and controlling cell phenotypes is a challenge of current biology. Here we applied a cell State Transition Assessment and Regulation (cSTAR) approach to a perturbation dataset of single cell phosphoproteomic patterns of multiple breast cancer (BC) and normal breast tissue-derived cell lines. Following a separation of luminal, basal, and normal cell states, we identified signaling nodes within core control networks, delineated causal connections, and determined the primary drivers underlying oncogenic transformation and transitions across distinct BC subtypes. Whereas cell lines within the same BC subtype have different mutational and expression profiles, the architecture of the core network was similar for all luminal BC cells, and mTOR was a main oncogenic driver. In contrast, core networks of basal BC were heterogeneous and segregated into roughly four major subclasses with distinct oncogenic and BC subtype drivers. Likewise, normal breast tissue cells were separated into two different subclasses. Based on the data and quantified network topologies, we derived mechanistic cSTAR models that serve as digital cell twins and allow the deliberate control of cell movements within a Waddington landscape across different cell states. These cSTAR models suggested strategies of normalizing phosphorylation networks of BC cell lines using small molecule inhibitors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oleksii S Rukhlenko
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
| | - Hiroaki Imoto
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
| | - Ayush Tambde
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
- Stratford College, D06 T9V3 Dublin, Ireland
| | - Amy McGillycuddy
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
- School of Biological, Health and Sports Sciences, Technological University, D07 H6K8 Dublin, Ireland
| | - Philipp Junk
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
| | - Anna Tuliakova
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
| | - Walter Kolch
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
- Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
| | - Boris N Kholodenko
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
- Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, D04 V1W8 Dublin, Ireland
- Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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2
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Kholodenko BN, Kolch W, Rukhlenko OS. Reversing pathological cell states: the road less travelled can extend the therapeutic horizon. Trends Cell Biol 2023; 33:913-923. [PMID: 37263821 PMCID: PMC10593090 DOI: 10.1016/j.tcb.2023.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 04/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Acquisition of omics data advances at a formidable pace. Yet, our ability to utilize these data to control cell phenotypes and design interventions that reverse pathological states lags behind. Here, we posit that cell states are determined by core networks that control cell-wide networks. To steer cell fate decisions, core networks connecting genotype to phenotype must be reconstructed and understood. A recent method, cell state transition assessment and regulation (cSTAR), applies perturbation biology to quantify causal connections and mechanistically models how core networks influence cell phenotypes. cSTAR models are akin to digital cell twins enabling us to purposefully convert pathological states back to physiologically normal states. While this capability has a range of applications, here we discuss reverting oncogenic transformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris N Kholodenko
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Walter Kolch
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Oleksii S Rukhlenko
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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3
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Hakobyan S, Stepanyan A, Nersisyan L, Binder H, Arakelyan A. PSF toolkit: an R package for pathway curation and topology-aware analysis. Front Genet 2023; 14:1264656. [PMID: 37680201 PMCID: PMC10482229 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1264656] [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: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Most high throughput genomic data analysis pipelines currently rely on over-representation or gene set enrichment analysis (ORA/GSEA) approaches for functional analysis. In contrast, topology-based pathway analysis methods, which offer a more biologically informed perspective by incorporating interaction and topology information, have remained underutilized and inaccessible due to various limiting factors. These methods heavily rely on the quality of pathway topologies and often utilize predefined topologies from databases without assessing their correctness. To address these issues and make topology-aware pathway analysis more accessible and flexible, we introduce the PSF (Pathway Signal Flow) toolkit R package. Our toolkit integrates pathway curation and topology-based analysis, providing interactive and command-line tools that facilitate pathway importation, correction, and modification from diverse sources. This enables users to perform topology-based pathway signal flow analysis in both interactive and command-line modes. To showcase the toolkit's usability, we curated 36 KEGG signaling pathways and conducted several use-case studies, comparing our method with ORA and the topology-based signaling pathway impact analysis (SPIA) method. The results demonstrate that the algorithm can effectively identify ORA enriched pathways while providing more detailed branch-level information. Moreover, in contrast to the SPIA method, it offers the advantage of being cut-off free and less susceptible to the variability caused by selection thresholds. By combining pathway curation and topology-based analysis, the PSF toolkit enhances the quality, flexibility, and accessibility of topology-aware pathway analysis. Researchers can now easily import pathways from various sources, correct and modify them as needed, and perform detailed topology-based pathway signal flow analysis. In summary, our PSF toolkit offers an integrated solution that addresses the limitations of current topology-based pathway analysis methods. By providing interactive and command-line tools for pathway curation and topology-based analysis, we empower researchers to conduct comprehensive pathway analyses across a wide range of applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siras Hakobyan
- Bioinformatics Group, Institute of Molecular Biology, Armenian National Academy of Sciences, Yerevan, Armenia
- Armenian Bioinformatics Institute (ABI), Yerevan, Armenia
| | | | | | - Hans Binder
- Armenian Bioinformatics Institute, Yerevan, Armenia
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Bioinformatics, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Arsen Arakelyan
- Bioinformatics Group, Institute of Molecular Biology, Armenian National Academy of Sciences, Yerevan, Armenia
- Russian-Armenian University, Yerevan, Armenia
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4
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Sarmah D, Meredith WO, Weber IK, Price MR, Birtwistle MR. Predicting anti-cancer drug combination responses with a temporal cell state network model. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011082. [PMID: 37126527 PMCID: PMC10174488 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011082] [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: 10/18/2022] [Revised: 05/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer chemotherapy combines multiple drugs, but predicting the effects of drug combinations on cancer cell proliferation remains challenging, even for simple in vitro systems. We hypothesized that by combining knowledge of single drug dose responses and cell state transition network dynamics, we could predict how a population of cancer cells will respond to drug combinations. We tested this hypothesis here using three targeted inhibitors of different cell cycle states in two different cell lines in vitro. We formulated a Markov model to capture temporal cell state transitions between different cell cycle phases, with single drug data constraining how drug doses affect transition rates. This model was able to predict the landscape of all three different pairwise drug combinations across all dose ranges for both cell lines with no additional data. While further application to different cell lines, more drugs, additional cell state networks, and more complex co-culture or in vivo systems remain, this work demonstrates how currently available or attainable information could be sufficient for prediction of drug combination response for single cell lines in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepraj Sarmah
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Wesley O. Meredith
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Ian K. Weber
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, United States of America
- The University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Madison R. Price
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, United States of America
- College of Pharmacy, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, United States of America
| | - Marc R. Birtwistle
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Bioengineering, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, United States of America
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Sarmah D, Smith GR, Bouhaddou M, Stern AD, Erskine J, Birtwistle MR. Network inference from perturbation time course data. NPJ Syst Biol Appl 2022; 8:42. [PMID: 36316338 PMCID: PMC9622863 DOI: 10.1038/s41540-022-00253-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Networks underlie much of biology from subcellular to ecological scales. Yet, understanding what experimental data are needed and how to use them for unambiguously identifying the structure of even small networks remains a broad challenge. Here, we integrate a dynamic least squares framework into established modular response analysis (DL-MRA), that specifies sufficient experimental perturbation time course data to robustly infer arbitrary two and three node networks. DL-MRA considers important network properties that current methods often struggle to capture: (i) edge sign and directionality; (ii) cycles with feedback or feedforward loops including self-regulation; (iii) dynamic network behavior; (iv) edges external to the network; and (v) robust performance with experimental noise. We evaluate the performance of and the extent to which the approach applies to cell state transition networks, intracellular signaling networks, and gene regulatory networks. Although signaling networks are often an application of network reconstruction methods, the results suggest that only under quite restricted conditions can they be robustly inferred. For gene regulatory networks, the results suggest that incomplete knockdown is often more informative than full knockout perturbation, which may change experimental strategies for gene regulatory network reconstruction. Overall, the results give a rational basis to experimental data requirements for network reconstruction and can be applied to any such problem where perturbation time course experiments are possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deepraj Sarmah
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
| | - Gregory R Smith
- Department of Neurology, Center for Advanced Research on Diagnostic Assays, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mehdi Bouhaddou
- J. David Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA
| | - Alan D Stern
- Department of Pharmacological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - James Erskine
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
| | - Marc R Birtwistle
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA.
- Department of Bioengineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA.
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Kholodenko BN, Rauch N, Kolch W, Rukhlenko OS. A systematic analysis of signaling reactivation and drug resistance. Cell Rep 2021; 35:109157. [PMID: 34038718 PMCID: PMC8202068 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Revised: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Increasing evidence suggests that the reactivation of initially inhibited signaling pathways causes drug resistance. Here, we analyze how network topologies affect signaling responses to drug treatment. Network-dependent drug resistance is commonly attributed to negative and positive feedback loops. However, feedback loops by themselves cannot completely reactivate steady-state signaling. Newly synthesized negative feedback regulators can induce a transient overshoot but cannot fully restore output signaling. Complete signaling reactivation can only occur when at least two routes, an activating and inhibitory, connect an inhibited upstream protein to a downstream output. Irrespective of the network topology, drug-induced overexpression or increase in target dimerization can restore or even paradoxically increase downstream pathway activity. Kinase dimerization cooperates with inhibitor-mediated alleviation of negative feedback. Our findings inform drug development by considering network context and optimizing the design drug combinations. As an example, we predict and experimentally confirm specific combinations of RAF inhibitors that block mutant NRAS signaling. Kholodenko et al. uncover signaling network circuitries and molecular mechanisms necessary and sufficient for complete reactivation or overshoot of steady-state signaling after kinase inhibitor treatment. The two means to revive signaling output fully are through network topology or reactivation of the kinase activity of the primary drug target. Blocking RAF dimer activity by a combination of type I½ and type II RAF inhibitors efficiently blocks mutant NRAS-driven ERK signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Boris N Kholodenko
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Department of Pharmacology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Nora Rauch
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Walter Kolch
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Oleksii S Rukhlenko
- Systems Biology Ireland, School of Medicine and Medical Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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Jimenez-Dominguez G, Ravel P, Jalaguier S, Cavaillès V, Colinge J. An R package for generic modular response analysis and its application to estrogen and retinoic acid receptor crosstalk. Sci Rep 2021; 11:7272. [PMID: 33790340 PMCID: PMC8012374 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-86544-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Modular response analysis (MRA) is a widely used inference technique developed to uncover directions and strengths of connections in molecular networks under a steady-state condition by means of perturbation experiments. We devised several extensions of this methodology to search genomic data for new associations with a biological network inferred by MRA, to improve the predictive accuracy of MRA-inferred networks, and to estimate confidence intervals of MRA parameters from datasets with low numbers of replicates. The classical MRA computations and their extensions were implemented in a freely available R package called aiMeRA (https://github.com/bioinfo-ircm/aiMeRA/). We illustrated the application of our package by assessing the crosstalk between estrogen and retinoic acid receptors, two nuclear receptors implicated in several hormone-driven cancers, such as breast cancer. Based on new data generated for this study, our analysis revealed potential cross-inhibition mediated by the shared corepressors NRIP1 and LCoR. We designed aiMeRA for non-specialists and to allow biologists to perform their own analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Jimenez-Dominguez
- Inserm U1194, Institut de Recherche en Cancérologie de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.,University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France.,ICM, Institut régional du Cancer de Montpellier, 208 avenue des Apothicaires, 34298, Montpellier cedex 5, France
| | - Patrice Ravel
- Inserm U1194, Institut de Recherche en Cancérologie de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.,University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France.,ICM, Institut régional du Cancer de Montpellier, 208 avenue des Apothicaires, 34298, Montpellier cedex 5, France
| | - Stéphan Jalaguier
- Inserm U1194, Institut de Recherche en Cancérologie de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.,University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France.,ICM, Institut régional du Cancer de Montpellier, 208 avenue des Apothicaires, 34298, Montpellier cedex 5, France
| | - Vincent Cavaillès
- Inserm U1194, Institut de Recherche en Cancérologie de Montpellier, Montpellier, France. .,University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France. .,ICM, Institut régional du Cancer de Montpellier, 208 avenue des Apothicaires, 34298, Montpellier cedex 5, France.
| | - Jacques Colinge
- Inserm U1194, Institut de Recherche en Cancérologie de Montpellier, Montpellier, France. .,University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France. .,ICM, Institut régional du Cancer de Montpellier, 208 avenue des Apothicaires, 34298, Montpellier cedex 5, France.
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