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Harmange G, Hueros RAR, Schaff DL, Emert B, Saint-Antoine M, Kim LC, Niu Z, Nellore S, Fane ME, Alicea GM, Weeraratna AT, Simon MC, Singh A, Shaffer SM. Disrupting cellular memory to overcome drug resistance. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7130. [PMID: 37932277 PMCID: PMC10628298 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41811-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Gene expression states persist for varying lengths of time at the single-cell level, a phenomenon known as gene expression memory. When cells switch states, losing memory of their prior state, this transition can occur in the absence of genetic changes. However, we lack robust methods to find regulators of memory or track state switching. Here, we develop a lineage tracing-based technique to quantify memory and identify cells that switch states. Applied to melanoma cells without therapy, we quantify long-lived fluctuations in gene expression that are predictive of later resistance to targeted therapy. We also identify the PI3K and TGF-β pathways as state switching modulators. We propose a pretreatment model, first applying a PI3K inhibitor to modulate gene expression states, then applying targeted therapy, which leads to less resistance than targeted therapy alone. Together, we present a method for finding modulators of gene expression memory and their associated cell fates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Harmange
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate Group, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Raúl A Reyes Hueros
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Dylan L Schaff
- Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Benjamin Emert
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
| | - Michael Saint-Antoine
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Laura C Kim
- Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Zijian Niu
- Department of Chemistry, College of the Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Physics, College of the Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Shivani Nellore
- Department of Biology, College of the Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Mitchell E Fane
- Cancer Signaling and Microenvironment Research Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Gretchen M Alicea
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ashani T Weeraratna
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - M Celeste Simon
- Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Abhyudai Singh
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA
| | - Sydney M Shaffer
- Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- Department of Pathology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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2
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Beretti F, Gatti M, Zavatti M, Bassoli S, Pellacani G, Maraldi T. Reactive Oxygen Species Regulation of Chemoresistance and Metastatic Capacity of Melanoma: Role of the Cancer Stem Cell Marker CD271. Biomedicines 2023; 11:biomedicines11041229. [PMID: 37189846 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11041229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BRAF mutations are present in 30-50% of cases of cutaneous melanoma, and treatment with selective BRAF and MEK inhibitors has been introduced. However, the development of resistance to these drugs often occurs. Chemo-resistant melanoma cells show increased expression of CD271, a stem cell marker that features increased migration. Concordantly, resistance to the selective inhibitor of oncogenic BRAFV600E/K, vemurafenib, is mediated by the increased expression of CD271. It has recently been shown that the BRAF pathway leads to an overexpression of the NADPH oxidase Nox4, which produces reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here, we examined in vitro how Nox-derived ROS in BRAF-mutated melanoma cells regulates their drug sensitivity and metastatic potential. We demonstrated that DPI, a Nox inhibitor, reduced the resistance of a melanoma cell line (SK-MEL-28) and a primary culture derived from a BRAFV600E-mutated biopsy to vemurafenib. DPI treatment affected the expression of CD271 and the ERK and Akt signaling pathways, leading to a drop in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which undoubtedly promotes an invasive phenotype in melanoma. More importantly, the scratch test demonstrated the efficacy of the Nox inhibitor (DPI) in blocking migration, supporting its use to counteract drug resistance and thus cell invasion and metastasis in BRAF-mutated melanoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Beretti
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Martina Gatti
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Manuela Zavatti
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Sara Bassoli
- Department of Dermatology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
| | - Giovanni Pellacani
- Department of Dermatology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
- Department of Clinical Internal, Anesthesiological and Cardiovascular Sciences, Dermatology Clinic, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Tullia Maraldi
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, 41125 Modena, Italy
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3
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Kontogianni G, Voutetakis K, Piroti G, Kypreou K, Stefanaki I, Vlachavas EI, Pilalis E, Stratigos A, Chatziioannou A, Papadodima O. A Comprehensive Analysis of Cutaneous Melanoma Patients in Greece Based on Multi-Omic Data. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15030815. [PMID: 36765773 PMCID: PMC9913631 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15030815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Revised: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Cutaneous melanoma (CM) is the most aggressive type of skin cancer, and it is characterised by high mutational load and heterogeneity. In this study, we aimed to analyse the genomic and transcriptomic profile of primary melanomas from forty-six Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded (FFPE) tissues from Greek patients. Molecular analysis for both germline and somatic variations was performed in genomic DNA from peripheral blood and melanoma samples, respectively, exploiting whole exome and targeted sequencing, and transcriptomic analysis. Detailed clinicopathological data were also included in our analyses and previously reported associations with specific mutations were recognised. Most analysed samples (43/46) were found to harbour at least one clinically actionable somatic variant. A subset of samples was profiled at the transcriptomic level, and it was shown that specific melanoma phenotypic states could be inferred from bulk RNA isolated from FFPE primary melanoma tissue. Integrative bioinformatics analyses, including variant prioritisation, differential gene expression analysis, and functional and gene set enrichment analysis by group and per sample, were conducted and molecular circuits that are implicated in melanoma cell programmes were highlighted. Integration of mutational and transcriptomic data in CM characterisation could shed light on genes and pathways that support the maintenance of phenotypic states encrypted into heterogeneous primary tumours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Kontogianni
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 11635 Athens, Greece
- Centre of Systems Biology, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
| | | | - Georgia Piroti
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 11635 Athens, Greece
| | - Katerina Kypreou
- 1st Department of Dermatology, Andreas Syggros Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 16121 Athens, Greece
| | - Irene Stefanaki
- 1st Department of Dermatology, Andreas Syggros Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 16121 Athens, Greece
| | | | | | - Alexander Stratigos
- 1st Department of Dermatology, Andreas Syggros Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 16121 Athens, Greece
| | - Aristotelis Chatziioannou
- Centre of Systems Biology, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
- e-NIOS Applications Private Company, 17671 Kallithea, Greece
- Correspondence: (A.C.); (O.P.); Tel.: +30-210-727-3721 (A.C. & O.P.)
| | - Olga Papadodima
- Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 11635 Athens, Greece
- Correspondence: (A.C.); (O.P.); Tel.: +30-210-727-3721 (A.C. & O.P.)
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Vlašić I, Horvat A, Tadijan A, Slade N. p53 Family in Resistance to Targeted Therapy of Melanoma. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 24:ijms24010065. [PMID: 36613518 PMCID: PMC9820688 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24010065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Metastatic melanoma is one of the most aggressive tumors, with frequent mutations affecting components of the MAPK pathway, mainly protein kinase BRAF. Despite promising initial response to BRAF inhibitors, melanoma progresses due to development of resistance. In addition to frequent reactivation of MAPK or activation of PI3K/AKT signaling pathways, recently, the p53 pathway has been shown to contribute to acquired resistance to targeted MAPK inhibitor therapy. Canonical tumor suppressor p53 is inactivated in melanoma by diverse mechanisms. The TP53 gene and two other family members, TP63 and TP73, encode numerous protein isoforms that exhibit diverse functions during tumorigenesis. The p53 family isoforms can be produced by usage of alternative promoters and/or splicing on the C- and N-terminus. Various p53 family isoforms are expressed in melanoma cell lines and tumor samples, and several of them have already shown to have specific functions in melanoma, affecting proliferation, survival, metastatic potential, invasion, migration, and response to therapy. Of special interest are p53 family isoforms with increased expression and direct involvement in acquired resistance to MAPK inhibitors in melanoma cells, implying that modulating their expression or targeting their functional pathways could be a potential therapeutic strategy to overcome resistance to MAPK inhibitors in melanoma.
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5
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Tracking of Melanoma Cell Plasticity by Transcriptional Reporters. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23031199. [PMID: 35163127 PMCID: PMC8835814 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23031199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Clonal evolution and cellular plasticity are the genetic and non-genetic driving forces of tumor heterogeneity, which in turn determine tumor cell responses towards therapeutic drugs. Several lines of evidence suggest that therapeutic interventions foster the selection of drug-resistant neural crest stem-like cells (NCSCs) that establish minimal residual disease (MRD) in melanoma. Here, we establish a dual-reporter system, enabling the tracking of NGFR expression and mRNA stability and providing insights into the maintenance of NCSC states. We observed that a transcriptional reporter that contained a 1-kilobase fragment of the human NGFR promoter was activated only in a minor subset (0.72 ± 0.49%, range 0.3–1.5), and ~2–4% of A375 melanoma cells revealed stable NGFR mRNA. The combination of both reporters provides insights into phenotype switching and reveals that both cellular subsets gave rise to cellular heterogeneity. Moreover, whole transcriptome profiling and gene-set enrichment analysis (GSEA) of the minor cellular subset revealed hypoxia-associated programs that might serve as potential drivers of an in vitro switching of NGFR-associated phenotypes and relapse of post-BRAF inhibitor-treated tumors. Concordantly, we observed that the minor cellular subset increased in response to dabrafenib over time. In summary, our reporter-based approach provides insights into plasticity and identified a cellular subset that might be responsible for the establishment of MRD in melanoma.
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Bashir N, Ishfaq M, Mazhar K, Khan JS, Shahid R. Upregulation of CD271 transcriptome in breast cancer promotes cell survival via NFκB pathway. Mol Biol Rep 2021; 49:487-495. [PMID: 34755264 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-021-06900-1] [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: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Biological treatment of many cancers currently targets membrane bound receptors located on a cell surface. We are in a great to need identify novel membrane proteins associated with migration and metastasis of breast cancer cells. CD271, a single transmembrane protein belongs to tumor necrosis factor receptor family acts and play its role in proliferation of cancer cell. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of CD271 in breast cancer. METHODS AND RESULTS In this study we analyzed the mRNA expression of CD271 in breast tumor tissue, breast cancer cell line MCF7 and isolated cancer stem cells (MCF7-CSCs) by RT-qPCR. We also measured the protein levels through western blotting in MCF-7 cell line. CD271 was upregulated in breast cancer patients among all age groups. Within the promoter region of CD271, there is a binding site for NF-κB1 which overlaps a putative quadraplex forming sequence. While CD271 also activates NF-κB pathway, down regulation of CD271 through quadraplex targeting resulted in inhibition of NF-κB and its downstream targets Nanog and Sox2. CONCLUSION In conclusion, our data shows that CD271 and NF-κB are regulated in interdependent manner. Upon CD271 inhibition, the NF-κB expression also reduces which in turn affects the cell proliferation and migration. These results suggest that CD271 is playing a crucial rule in cancer progression by regulating NF-κB and is a good candidate for the therapeutic targeting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nabiha Bashir
- Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Mehreen Ishfaq
- Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Kehkashan Mazhar
- Institute of Biomedical and Genetic Engineering (IBGE), KRL Hospital Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
| | - Jahangir Sarwar Khan
- Department of General Surgery, Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
| | - Ramla Shahid
- Department of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Islamabad, Pakistan.
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Schrom S, Hebesberger T, Wallner SA, Anders I, Richtig E, Brandl W, Hirschmugl B, Garofalo M, Bernecker C, Schlenke P, Kashofer K, Wadsack C, Aigelsreiter A, Heitzer E, Riedl S, Zweytick D, Kretschmer N, Richtig G, Rinner B. MUG Mel3 Cell Lines Reflect Heterogeneity in Melanoma and Represent a Robust Model for Melanoma in Pregnancy. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms222111318. [PMID: 34768746 PMCID: PMC8583216 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222111318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Melanomas are aggressive tumors with a high metastatic potential and an increasing incidence rate. They are known for their heterogeneity and propensity to easily develop therapy-resistance. Nowadays they are one of the most common cancers diagnosed during pregnancy. Due to the difficulty in balancing maternal needs and foetal safety, melanoma is challenging to treat. The aim of this study was to provide a potential model system for the study of melanoma in pregnancy and to illustrate melanoma heterogeneity. For this purpose, a pigmented and a non-pigmented section of a lymph node metastasis from a pregnant patient were cultured under different conditions and characterized in detail. All four culture conditions exhibited different phenotypic, genotypic as well as tumorigenic properties, and resulted in four newly established melanoma cell lines. To address treatment issues, especially in pregnant patients, the effect of synthetic human lactoferricin-derived peptides was tested successfully. These new BRAF-mutated MUG Mel3 cell lines represent a valuable model in melanoma heterogeneity and melanoma pregnancy research. Furthermore, treatment with anti-tumor peptides offers an alternative to conventionally used therapeutic options—especially during pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silke Schrom
- Division of Biomedical Research, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria; (S.S.); (T.H.); (S.A.W.); (I.A.)
| | - Thomas Hebesberger
- Division of Biomedical Research, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria; (S.S.); (T.H.); (S.A.W.); (I.A.)
| | - Stefanie Angela Wallner
- Division of Biomedical Research, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria; (S.S.); (T.H.); (S.A.W.); (I.A.)
| | - Ines Anders
- Division of Biomedical Research, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria; (S.S.); (T.H.); (S.A.W.); (I.A.)
| | - Erika Richtig
- Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria;
| | - Waltraud Brandl
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria; (W.B.); (B.H.); (C.W.)
| | - Birgit Hirschmugl
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria; (W.B.); (B.H.); (C.W.)
- BioTechMed-Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria; (S.R.); (D.Z.)
| | - Mariangela Garofalo
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, 35122 Padova, Italy;
| | - Claudia Bernecker
- Department of Blood Group Serology and Transfusion Medicine, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria; (C.B.); (P.S.)
| | - Peter Schlenke
- Department of Blood Group Serology and Transfusion Medicine, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria; (C.B.); (P.S.)
| | - Karl Kashofer
- Diagnostic and Research Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria; (K.K.); (A.A.)
| | - Christian Wadsack
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria; (W.B.); (B.H.); (C.W.)
- BioTechMed-Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria; (S.R.); (D.Z.)
| | - Ariane Aigelsreiter
- Diagnostic and Research Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria; (K.K.); (A.A.)
| | - Ellen Heitzer
- Institute of Human Genetics, Diagnostic and Research Center for Molecular BioMedicine, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria;
| | - Sabrina Riedl
- BioTechMed-Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria; (S.R.); (D.Z.)
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Biophysics Division, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
- BioHealth, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Dagmar Zweytick
- BioTechMed-Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria; (S.R.); (D.Z.)
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Biophysics Division, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
- BioHealth, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Nadine Kretschmer
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Pharmacognosy, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria;
| | - Georg Richtig
- Division of Oncology, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria;
| | - Beate Rinner
- Division of Biomedical Research, Medical University of Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria; (S.S.); (T.H.); (S.A.W.); (I.A.)
- BioTechMed-Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria; (S.R.); (D.Z.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +43-316-3857-3524
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Osrodek M, Wozniak M. Targeting Genome Stability in Melanoma-A New Approach to an Old Field. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:3485. [PMID: 33800547 PMCID: PMC8036881 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22073485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite recent groundbreaking advances in the treatment of cutaneous melanoma, it remains one of the most treatment-resistant malignancies. Due to resistance to conventional chemotherapy, the therapeutic focus has shifted away from aiming at melanoma genome stability in favor of molecularly targeted therapies. Inhibitors of the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK (MAPK) pathway significantly slow disease progression. However, long-term clinical benefit is rare due to rapid development of drug resistance. In contrast, immune checkpoint inhibitors provide exceptionally durable responses, but only in a limited number of patients. It has been increasingly recognized that melanoma cells rely on efficient DNA repair for survival upon drug treatment, and that genome instability increases the efficacy of both MAPK inhibitors and immunotherapy. In this review, we discuss recent developments in the field of melanoma research which indicate that targeting genome stability of melanoma cells may serve as a powerful strategy to maximize the efficacy of currently available therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michal Wozniak
- Department of Molecular Biology of Cancer, Medical University of Lodz, 92-215 Lodz, Poland;
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9
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Cai M, Hao Nguyen C, Mamitsuka H, Li L. XGSEA: CROSS-species gene set enrichment analysis via domain adaptation. Brief Bioinform 2021; 22:6120324. [PMID: 33515011 DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbaa406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Revised: 12/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) has been widely used to identify gene sets with statistically significant difference between cases and controls against a large gene set. GSEA needs both phenotype labels and expression of genes. However, gene expression are assessed more often for model organisms than minor species. Also, importantly gene expression are not measured well under specific conditions for human, due to high risk of direct experiments, such as non-approved treatment or gene knockout, and then often substituted by mouse. Thus, predicting enrichment significance (on a phenotype) of a given gene set of a species (target, say human), by using gene expression measured under the same phenotype of the other species (source, say mouse) is a vital and challenging problem, which we call CROSS-species gene set enrichment problem (XGSEP). RESULTS For XGSEP, we propose the CROSS-species gene set enrichment analysis (XGSEA), with three steps of: (1) running GSEA for a source species to obtain enrichment scores and $p$-values of source gene sets; (2) representing the relation between source and target gene sets by domain adaptation; and (3) using regression to predict $p$-values of target gene sets, based on the representation in (2). We extensively validated the XGSEA by using five regression and one classification measurements on four real data sets under various settings, proving that the XGSEA significantly outperformed three baseline methods in most cases. A case study of identifying important human pathways for T -cell dysfunction and reprogramming from mouse ATAC-Seq data further confirmed the reliability of the XGSEA. AVAILABILITY Source code of the XGSEA is available through https://github.com/LiminLi-xjtu/XGSEA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Menglan Cai
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China
| | - Canh Hao Nguyen
- Bioinformatics Center, Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Uji, 6110011, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Mamitsuka
- Bioinformatics Center, Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Uji, 6110011, Japan.,Department of Computer Science, Aalto Unviersity, Espoo, Finland
| | - Limin Li
- School of Mathematics and Statistics, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China
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10
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Diener J, Sommer L. Reemergence of neural crest stem cell-like states in melanoma during disease progression and treatment. Stem Cells Transl Med 2020; 10:522-533. [PMID: 33258291 PMCID: PMC7980219 DOI: 10.1002/sctm.20-0351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Revised: 10/28/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Melanoma is the deadliest of all skin cancers due to its high metastatic potential. In recent years, advances in targeted therapy and immunotherapy have contributed to a remarkable progress in the treatment of metastatic disease. However, intrinsic or acquired resistance to such therapies remains a major obstacle in melanoma treatment. Melanoma disease progression, beginning from tumor initiation and growth to acquisition of invasive phenotypes and metastatic spread and acquisition of treatment resistance, has been associated with cellular dedifferentiation and the hijacking of gene regulatory networks reminiscent of the neural crest (NC)—the developmental structure which gives rise to melanocytes and hence melanoma. This review summarizes the experimental evidence for the involvement of NC stem cell (NCSC)‐like cell states during melanoma progression and addresses novel approaches to combat the emergence of stemness characteristics that have shown to be linked with aggressive disease outcome and drug resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Diener
- University of Zurich, Institute of Anatomy, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Lukas Sommer
- University of Zurich, Institute of Anatomy, Zürich, Switzerland
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11
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Saleh NA, Rode MP, Sierra JA, Silva AH, Miyake JA, Filippin-Monteiro FB, Creczynski-Pasa TB. Three-dimensional multicellular cell culture for anti-melanoma drug screening: focus on tumor microenvironment. Cytotechnology 2020; 73:35-48. [PMID: 33505112 DOI: 10.1007/s10616-020-00440-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract The development of new treatments for malignant melanoma, which has the worst prognosis among skin neoplasms, remains a challenge. The tumor microenvironment aids tumor cells to grow and resist to chemotherapeutic treatment. One way to mimic and study the tumor microenvironment is by using three-dimensional (3D) co-culture models (spheroids). In this study, a melanoma heterospheroid model composed of cancer cells, fibroblasts, and macrophages was produced by liquid-overlay technique using the agarose gel. The size, growth, viability, morphology, cancer stem-like cells population and inflammatory profile of tumor heterospheroids and monospheroids were analyzed to evaluate the influence of stromal cells on these parameters. Furthermore, dacarbazine cytotoxicity was evaluated using spheroids and two-dimensional (2D) melanoma model. After finishing the experiments, it was observed the M2 macrophages induced an anti-inflammatory microenvironment in heterospheroids; fibroblasts cells support the formation of the extracellular matrix, and a higher percentage of melanoma CD271 was observed in this model. Additionally, melanoma spheroids responded differently to the dacarbazine than the 2D melanoma culture as a result of their cellular heterogeneity and 3D structure. The 3D model was shown to be a fast and reliable tool for drug screening, which can mimic the in vivo tumor microenvironment regarding interactions and complexity. Graphic abstract
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Affiliation(s)
- Najla Adel Saleh
- Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas, GEIMM-Grupo de Estudos de Interações entre Micro e Macromoléculas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, S/N Centro de Ciências da Saúde Bloco H - 3° andar, sala H302-Bairro Trindade, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina CEP: 88040-900 Brazil
| | - Michele Patrícia Rode
- Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas, GEIMM-Grupo de Estudos de Interações entre Micro e Macromoléculas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, S/N Centro de Ciências da Saúde Bloco H - 3° andar, sala H302-Bairro Trindade, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina CEP: 88040-900 Brazil
| | | | - Adny Henrique Silva
- Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC Brazil
| | - Juliano Andreoli Miyake
- Departamento de Ciências Morfológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC Brazil
| | - Fabíola Branco Filippin-Monteiro
- Departamento de Análises Clínicas, GEIMM-Grupo de Estudos de Interações entre Micro e Macromoléculas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, S/N Centro de Ciências da Saúde Bloco H - 3° andar, sala H302-Bairro Trindade, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina CEP: 88040-900 Brazil
| | - Tânia Beatriz Creczynski-Pasa
- Departamento de Ciências Farmacêuticas, GEIMM-Grupo de Estudos de Interações entre Micro e Macromoléculas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, S/N Centro de Ciências da Saúde Bloco H - 3° andar, sala H302-Bairro Trindade, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina CEP: 88040-900 Brazil
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Insights into Differentiation of Melanocytes from Human Stem Cells and Their Relevance for Melanoma Treatment. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12092508. [PMID: 32899370 PMCID: PMC7564443 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12092508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2020] [Revised: 08/20/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary The reactivation of embryonic developmental programs is crucial for melanoma cells to grow and to metastasize. In order to understand this process better, we first summarize the melanocytic differentiation process both in vivo and in vitro. Secondly, we compare and highlight important similarities between neural crest cell fate during differentiation and tumor cell characteristics during melanoma mestastasis. Finally, we suggest possible therapeutic targets, which could be used to inhibit phenotype switching by developmental cues and hence also suppress the metastatic melanoma spread. Abstract Malignant melanoma represents a highly aggressive form of skin cancer. The metastatic process itself is mostly governed by the so-called epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT), which confers cancer cells migrative, invasive and resistance abilities. Since EMT represents a conserved developmental process, it is worthwhile further examining the nature of early developmental steps fundamental for melanocyte differentiation. This can be done either in vivo by analyzing the physiologic embryo development in different species or by in vitro studies of melanocytic differentiation originating from embryonic human stem cells. Most importantly, external cues drive progenitor cell differentiation, which can be divided in stages favoring neural crest specification or melanocytic differentiation and proliferation. In this review, we describe ectopic factors which drive human pluripotent stem cell differentiation to melanocytes in 2D, as well as in organoid models. Furthermore, we compare developmental mechanisms with processes described to occur during melanoma development. Finally, we suggest differentiation factors as potential co-treatment options for metastatic melanoma patients.
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Vidal A, Redmer T. Decoding the Role of CD271 in Melanoma. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12092460. [PMID: 32878000 PMCID: PMC7564075 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12092460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2020] [Revised: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolution of melanoma, the most aggressive type of skin cancer, is triggered by driver mutations that are acquired in the coding regions of particularly BRAF (rat fibrosarcoma serine/threonine kinase, isoform B) or NRAS (neuroblastoma-type ras sarcoma virus) in melanocytes. Although driver mutations strongly determine tumor progression, additional factors are likely required and prerequisite for melanoma formation. Melanocytes are formed during vertebrate development in a well-controlled differentiation process of multipotent neural crest stem cells (NCSCs). However, mechanisms determining the properties of melanocytes and melanoma cells are still not well understood. The nerve growth factor receptor CD271 is likewise expressed in melanocytes, melanoma cells and NCSCs and programs the maintenance of a stem-like and migratory phenotype via a comprehensive network of associated genes. Moreover, CD271 regulates phenotype switching, a process that enables the rapid and reversible conversion of proliferative into invasive or non-stem-like states into stem-like states by yet largely unknown mechanisms. Here, we summarize current findings about CD271-associated mechanisms in melanoma cells and illustrate the role of CD271 for melanoma cell migration and metastasis, phenotype-switching, resistance to therapeutic interventions, and the maintenance of an NCSC-like state.
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Inactivating p53 is essential for nerve growth factor receptor to promote melanoma-initiating cell-stemmed tumorigenesis. Cell Death Dis 2020; 11:550. [PMID: 32686661 PMCID: PMC7371866 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-020-02758-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2019] [Revised: 07/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR, CD271, or p75NTR) is highly expressed in melanoma-initiating cells (MICs) and is critical for their proliferation and tumorigenesis, and yet the underlying mechanism(s) remain incompletely understood. We previously showed that NGFR inhibits p53 activity in a negative feedback manner in various cancer cells. Here we report that this feedback inhibition of p53 by NGFR plays an essential role in maintaining the sphere formation (stem-like phenotype) and proliferation of MICs, and in promoting MIC-derived melanoma growth in vivo. Knockdown of NGFR markedly reduced the size and number of spheroid formation of melanoma cells, which can be rescued by ectopically expressed NGFR. This reduction was also reversed by depleting p53. Consistently, knockdown of NGFR led to the suppression of MIC-derived xenograft tumor growth by inducing the p53 pathway. These results demonstrate that the NGFR-p53 feedback loop is essential for maintaining MIC stem-like phenotype and MIC-derived tumorigenesis, and further validates NGFR as a potential target for developing a molecule-based therapy against melanoma.
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