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Wang Y, Huang D, Chen KY, Cui M, Wang W, Huang X, Awadellah A, Li Q, Friedman A, Xin WW, Di Martino L, Cominelli F, Miron A, Chan R, Fox J, Xu Y, Shen X, Kalady MF, Markowitz S, Maillard I, Lowe JB, Xin W, Zhou L. Fucosylation Deficiency in Mice Leads to Colitis and Adenocarcinoma. Gastroenterology 2017; 152:193-205.e10. [PMID: 27639802 PMCID: PMC5164974 DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2016.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2016] [Revised: 08/29/2016] [Accepted: 09/07/2016] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS De novo synthesis of guanosine diphosphate (GDP)-fucose, a substrate for fucosylglycans, requires sequential reactions mediated by GDP-mannose 4,6-dehydratase (GMDS) and GDP-4-keto-6-deoxymannose 3,5-epimerase-4-reductase (FX or tissue specific transplantation antigen P35B [TSTA3]). GMDS deletions and mutations are found in 6%-13% of colorectal cancers; these mostly affect the ascending and transverse colon. We investigated whether a lack of fucosylation consequent to loss of GDP-fucose synthesis contributes to colon carcinogenesis. METHODS FX deficiency and GMDS deletion produce the same biochemical phenotype of GDP-fucose deficiency. We studied a mouse model of fucosylation deficiency (Fx-/- mice) and mice with the full-length Fx gene (controls). Mice were placed on standard chow or fucose-containing diet (equivalent to a control fucosylglycan phenotype). Colon tissues were collected and analyzed histologically or by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to measure cytokine levels; T cells also were collected and analyzed. Fecal samples were analyzed by 16s ribosomal RNA sequencing. Mucosal barrier function was measured by uptake of fluorescent dextran. We transplanted bone marrow cells from Fx-/- or control mice (Ly5.2) into irradiated 8-week-old Fx-/- or control mice (Ly5.1). We performed immunohistochemical analyses for expression of Notch and the hes family bHLH transcription factor (HES1) in colon tissues from mice and a panel of 60 human colorectal cancer specimens (27 left-sided, 33 right-sided). RESULTS Fx-/- mice developed colitis and serrated-like lesions. The intestinal pathology of Fx-/- mice was reversed by addition of fucose to the diet, which restored fucosylation via a salvage pathway. In the absence of fucosylation, dysplasia appeared and progressed to adenocarcinoma in up to 40% of mice, affecting mainly the right colon and cecum. Notch was not activated in Fx-/- mice fed standard chow, leading to decreased expression of its target Hes1. Fucosylation deficiency altered the composition of the fecal microbiota, reduced mucosal barrier function, and altered epithelial proliferation marked by Ki67. Fx-/- mice receiving control bone marrow cells had intestinal inflammation and dysplasia, and reduced expression of cytokines produced by cytotoxic T cells. Human sessile serrated adenomas and right-sided colorectal tumors with epigenetic loss of MutL homolog 1 (MLH1) had lost or had lower levels of HES1 than other colorectal tumor types or nontumor tissues. CONCLUSIONS In mice, fucosylation deficiency leads to colitis and adenocarcinoma, loss of Notch activation, and down-regulation of Hes1. HES1 loss correlates with the development of human right-sided colorectal tumors with epigenetic loss of MLH1. These findings indicate that carcinogenesis in a subset of colon cancer is consequent to a molecular mechanism driven by fucosylation deficiency and/or HES1-loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiwei Wang
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Dan Huang
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Kai-Yuan Chen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Min Cui
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Weihuan Wang
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Xiaoran Huang
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Amad Awadellah
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Qing Li
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Ann Friedman
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - William W. Xin
- School of Arts & Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-6304, USA
| | - Luca Di Martino
- Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Fabio Cominelli
- Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Alex Miron
- Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Ricky Chan
- Institute for Computational Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - James Fox
- Division of Comparative Medicine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Yan Xu
- Department of Chemistry, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Xiling Shen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Mathew F. Kalady
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Digestive Diseases Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Sanford Markowitz
- Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Ivan Maillard
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
| | - John B. Lowe
- Department of Pathology, Genentech Inc., San Francisco, CA, 94080 USA
| | - Wei Xin
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA,Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Lan Zhou
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio; Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
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Abstract
The small and large intestines are tubular organs composed of several tissue types. The columnar epithelium that lines the inner surface of the intestines distinguishes the digestive physiology of each region of the intestine and consists of several distinct cell types that are rapidly and continually renewed by intestinal stem cells that reside near the base of the crypts of Lieberkühn. Notch signaling controls the fate of intestinal stem cells by regulating the expression of Hes genes and by repressing Atoh1. Alternate models of Notch pathway control of cell fate determination are presented. Roles for Notch signaling in development of the intestine, including mesenchymal and neural cells, are discussed. The oncogenic activities of Notch in colorectal cancer, as well as the tumor suppressive activities of Atoh1, are reviewed. Therapeutic targeting of the Notch pathway in colorectal cancers is discussed, along with potential caveats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taeko K Noah
- Division of Gastroenterology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229, USA
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Wang G, Xu Z, Wang R, Al-Hijji M, Salit J, Strulovici-Barel Y, Tilley AE, Mezey JG, Crystal RG. Genes associated with MUC5AC expression in small airway epithelium of human smokers and non-smokers. BMC Med Genomics 2012; 5:21. [PMID: 22676183 PMCID: PMC3443416 DOI: 10.1186/1755-8794-5-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2012] [Accepted: 05/01/2012] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Mucus hypersecretion contributes to the morbidity and mortality of smoking-related lung diseases, especially chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which starts in the small airways. Despite progress in animal studies, the genes and their expression pattern involved in mucus production and secretion in human airway epithelium are not well understood. We hypothesized that comparison of the transcriptomes of the small airway epithelium of individuals that express high vs low levels of MUC5AC, the major macromolecular component of airway mucus, could be used as a probe to identify the genes related to human small airway mucus production/secretion. Methods Flexible bronchoscopy and brushing were used to obtain small airway epithelium (10th to 12th order bronchi) from healthy nonsmokers (n=60) and healthy smokers (n=72). Affymetrix HG-U133 plus 2.0 microarrays were used to assess gene expression. Massive parallel sequencing (RNA-Seq) was used to verify gene expression of small airway epithelium from 5 nonsmokers and 6 smokers. Results MUC5AC expression varied 31-fold among the healthy nonsmokers. Genome-wide comparison between healthy nonsmokers (n = 60) grouped as “high MUC5AC expressors” vs “low MUC5AC expressors” identified 528 genes significantly up-regulated and 15 genes significantly down-regulated in the high vs low expressors. This strategy identified both mucus production and secretion related genes under control of a network composed of multiple transcription factors. Based on the literature, genes in the up-regulated list were used to identify a 73 “MUC5AC-associated core gene” list with 9 categories: mucus component; mucus-producing cell differentiation-related transcription factor; mucus-producing cell differentiation-related pathway or mediator; post-translational modification of mucin; vesicle transport; endoplasmic reticulum stress-related; secretory granule-associated; mucus secretion-related regulator and mucus hypersecretory-related ion channel. As a validation cohort, we assessed the MUC5AC-associated core gene list in the small airway epithelium of an independent set of healthy smokers (n = 72). There was up-regulation of MUC5AC in the small airway epithelium of smokers (2.3-fold, p < 10-8) associated with a coordinated up-regulation of MUC5AC-associated core gene expression pattern in the small airway epithelium of smokers (p < 0.01). Deep sequencing confirmed these observations. Conclusion The identification of the genes associated with increased airway mucin production in humans should be useful in understanding the pathogenesis of airway mucus hypersecretion and identifying therapeutic targets. Author summary Mucus hypersecretion contributes to the morbidity and mortality of smoking-related lung diseases, especially chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which starts in the small airways. Little is known about the gene networks associated with the synthesis and secretion of mucins in the human small airway epithelium. Taking advantage of the knowledge that MUC5AC is a major mucin secreted by the small airway epithelium, the expression of MUC5AC in small airway epithelium is highly regulated at the transcriptional level and our observation that healthy nonsmokers have variable numbers of MUC5AC+ secretory cells in the human small airway epithelium, we compared genome-wide gene expression of the small airway epithelium of high vs low MUC5AC expressors from 60 nonsmokers to identify the genes associated with MUC5AC expression. This novel strategy enabled identification of a 73 “MUC5AC-associated core gene” list with 9 categories, which control a series of processes from mucin biosynthesis to mucus secretion. The coordinated gene expression pattern of MUC5AC-associated core genes were corroborated in an independent cohort of 72 healthy smokers. Deep sequencing of small airway epithelium RNA confirmed these observations. This finding will be useful in identifying therapeutic targets to treat small airway mucus hypersecretion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guoqing Wang
- Department of Genetic Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA.
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Kazanjian A, Shroyer NF. NOTCH Signaling and ATOH1 in Colorectal Cancers. CURRENT COLORECTAL CANCER REPORTS 2011; 7:121-127. [PMID: 21980310 DOI: 10.1007/s11888-011-0090-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
The Notch receptor signaling pathway regulates expression of the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor ATOH1 (Math1/Hath1) to determine cell fate in the intestine. In differentiating intestinal stem cells, high levels of Notch activity specify absorptive enterocyte/colonocyte differentiation, whereas high ATOH1 activity specifies secretory (goblet, enteroendocrine, and Paneth) cell differentiation. In colorectal cancer, ATOH1 is a tumor suppressor that is silenced in most tumors, while Notch is oncogenic and often highly active in human tumors. In other gastrointestinal malignancies with features of intestinal metaplasia, such as esophageal and gastric cancers, the Notch-ATOH1 pathway becomes activated. In cancers and preneoplastic tissues that retain the ability to activate ATOH1, therapeutic targeting of this pathway can be achieved by inhibiting Notch activity (with Notch-targeting antibodies or small-molecule inhibitors of γ-secretase). Thus, targeting the Notch-ATOH1 pathway represents a novel approach to differentiation therapy in gastrointestinal cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Avedis Kazanjian
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, MLC 2010, 3333 Burnet Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
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Lu L, Hou X, Shi S, Körner C, Stanley P. Slc35c2 promotes Notch1 fucosylation and is required for optimal Notch signaling in mammalian cells. J Biol Chem 2010; 285:36245-54. [PMID: 20837470 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m110.126003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Mammalian Notch receptors require modification by fucose on epidermal growth factor-like (EGF) repeats of their extracellular domain to respond optimally to signal induction by canonical Notch ligands. Inactivation of the Golgi GDP-fucose transporter Slc35c1 in mouse or human does not cause marked defects in Notch signaling during development, and shows milder fucosylation defects than those observed in mice unable to synthesize GDP-fucose, indicating the existence of another mechanism for GDP-fucose transport into the secretory pathway. We show here that fibroblasts from mice or humans lacking Slc35c1 exhibit robust Notch signaling in co-culture signaling assays. A potential candidate for a second GDP-fucose transporter is the related gene Slc35c2. Overexpression of Slc35c2 reduces expression of the fucosylated epitopes Lewis X and sialylated Lewis X in CHO cells, indicating competition with Slc35c1. The fucosylation of a Notch1 EGF repeat fragment that occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum was increased in CHO transfectants overexpressing Slc35c2. In CHO cells with low levels of Slc35c2, both Delta1- and Jagged1-induced Notch signaling were reduced, and the fucosylation of a Notch1 fragment was also decreased. Immunofluorescence microscopy of rat intestinal epithelial cells and HeLa cells, and analysis of rat liver membrane fractions showed that Slc35c2 is primarily colocalized with markers of the cis-Golgi network and endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi intermediate compartment (ERGIC). The combined results suggest that Slc35c2 is either a GDP-fucose transporter that competes with Slc35c1 for GDP-fucose, or a factor that otherwise enhances the fucosylation of Notch and is required for optimal Notch signaling in mammalian cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linchao Lu
- Department of Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Bronx, New York 10461, USA
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Jafar-Nejad H, Leonardi J, Fernandez-Valdivia R. Role of glycans and glycosyltransferases in the regulation of Notch signaling. Glycobiology 2010; 20:931-49. [PMID: 20368670 DOI: 10.1093/glycob/cwq053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolutionarily conserved Notch signaling pathway plays broad and important roles during embryonic development and in adult tissue homeostasis. Unlike most other pathways used during animal development, Notch signaling does not rely on second messengers and intracellular signaling cascades. Instead, pathway activation results in the cleavage of the Notch intracellular domain and its translocation into the nucleus, where it functions as a transcriptional co-activator of the Notch target genes. To ensure tight spatial and temporal regulation of a pathway with such an unusually direct signaling transduction, animal cells have devised a variety of specialized modulatory mechanisms. One such mechanism takes advantage of decorating the Notch extracellular domain with rare types of O-linked glycans. In this review, we will discuss the genetic and biochemical data supporting the notion that carbohydrate modification is essential for Notch signaling and attempt to provide a brief historical overview of how we have learned what we know about the glycobiology of Notch. We will also summarize what is known about the contribution of specific nucleotide-sugar transporters to Notch biology and the roles-enzymatic and non-enzymatic-played by specific glycosyltransferases in the regulation of this pathway. Mutations in the Notch pathway components cause a variety of human diseases, and manipulation of Notch signaling is emerging as a powerful tool in regenerative medicine. Therefore, studying how sugar modification modulates Notch signaling provides a framework for better understanding the role of glycosylation in animal development and might offer new tools to manipulate Notch signaling for therapeutic purposes.
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Freeze HH, Sharma V. Metabolic manipulation of glycosylation disorders in humans and animal models. Semin Cell Dev Biol 2010; 21:655-62. [PMID: 20363348 DOI: 10.1016/j.semcdb.2010.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2009] [Revised: 03/24/2010] [Accepted: 03/26/2010] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
In the last decade, over 40 inherited human glycosylation disorders were identified. Most patients have hypomorphic, rather than null alleles. The phenotypic spectrum is broad and most of the disorders affect embryonic and early post-natal development; a few appear in adult life. Some deficiencies can be treated with simple dietary sugar (monosaccharide) supplements. Here we focus on four glycosylation disorders that have been treated with supplements in patients or in model systems, primarily the mouse. Surprisingly, small differences in the amount of exogenous sugar have a major impact on the diseases in specific cells or organs while others are unaffected. The underlying mechanisms are mostly unknown, but changes in the contributions of the de novo, salvage and dietary pathways may contribute to the beneficial outcome. Clearly, the metabolic chart is not flat; all arrows are not equally robust at all points of time and space. This metabolic perspective may help explain some of these observations and guide the development of other vertebrate models of glycosylation disorders that can respond to dietary manipulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hudson H Freeze
- Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
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Abstract
Notch and the DSL Notch ligands Delta and Serrate/Jagged are glycoproteins with a single transmembrane domain. The extracellular domain (ECD) of both Notch receptors and Notch ligands contains numerous epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like repeats which are post-translationally modified by a variety of glycans. Inactivation of a subset of genes that encode glycosyltransferases which initiate and elongate these glycans inhibits Notch signaling. In the formation of developmental boundaries in Drosophila and mammals, in mouse T-cell and marginal zone B-cell development, and in co-culture Notch signaling assays, the regulation of Notch signaling by glycans is to date a cell-autonomous effect of the Notch-expressing cell. The regulation of Notch signaling by glycans represents a new paradigm of signal transduction. O-fucose glycans modulate the strength of Notch binding to DSL Notch ligands, while O-glucose glycans facilitate juxta-membrane cleavage of Notch, generating the substrate for intramembrane cleavage and Notch activation. Identifying precisely how the addition of particular sugars at specific locations on Notch modifies Notch signaling is a challenge for the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela Stanley
- Department of Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College Medicine, New York, USA
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