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Jagust P, Powell AM, Ola M, Watson L, de Pablos-Aragoneses A, García-Gómez P, Fallon R, Bane F, Heiland M, Morris G, Cavanagh B, McGrath J, Ottaviani D, Hegarty A, Cocchiglia S, Sweeney KJ, MacNally S, Brett FM, Cryan J, Beausang A, Morris P, Valiente M, Hill ADK, Varešlija D, Young LS. RET overexpression leads to increased brain metastatic competency in luminal breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 2024:djae091. [PMID: 38852945 DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djae091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Breast cancer brain metastasis is a rising occurrence, necessitating a better understanding of the mechanisms involved for effective management. Breast cancer brain metastases diverge notably from the primary tumor, with gains in kinase and concomitant losses of steroid signaling observed. In this study, we explored the role of the kinase receptor RET in promoting breast cancer brain metastases and provide a rationale for targeting this receptor. METHODS RET expression was characterized in a cohort of patients with primary and brain metastatic tumors. RET functionality was assessed using pharmacological inhibition and gene silencing in patient-derived brain metastatic tumor explants and in vivo models, organoid models, and brain organotypic cultures. RNA sequencing was used to uncover novel brain metastatic relevant RET mechanisms of action. RESULTS A statistically significant enrichment of RET in brain metastases was observed in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, where it played a role in promoting cancer cell adhesion, survival, and outgrowth in the brain. In vivo, RET overexpression enhanced brain metastatic competency in patient-derived models. At a mechanistic level, RET overexpression was found to enhance the activation of gene programs involved in cell adhesion, requiring EGFR cooperation to deliver a pro-brain metastatic phenotype. CONCLUSION Our results illustrate, for the first time, the role of RET in regulating colonization and outgrowth of breast cancer brain metastasis and provide data to support the use of RET inhibitors in the management strategy for patients with breast cancer brain metastases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Jagust
- Department of Surgery, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Aoibhin M Powell
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Mihaela Ola
- Department of Surgery, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Louise Watson
- Department of Surgery, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | | | - Ramón Fallon
- Department of Surgery, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Fiona Bane
- Department of Surgery, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Mona Heiland
- Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Gareth Morris
- Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Brenton Cavanagh
- Cellular and Molecular Imaging Core, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Jason McGrath
- Department of Surgery, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Daniela Ottaviani
- Department of Surgery, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Aisling Hegarty
- Department of Surgery, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Sinéad Cocchiglia
- Department of Surgery, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Kieron J Sweeney
- National Centre of Neurosurgery, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Stephen MacNally
- National Centre of Neurosurgery, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | - Jane Cryan
- Department of Neuropathology, National Centre of Neurosurgery, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Alan Beausang
- Department of Neuropathology, National Centre of Neurosurgery, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Patrick Morris
- Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | - Arnold D K Hill
- Department of Surgery, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Damir Varešlija
- School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
- Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Leonie S Young
- Department of Surgery, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dublin, Ireland
- Beaumont RCSI Cancer Centre, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
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2
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Zheng ZZ, Xia L, Hu GS, Liu JY, Hu YH, Chen YJ, Peng JY, Zhang WJ, Liu W. Super-enhancer-controlled positive feedback loop BRD4/ERα-RET-ERα promotes ERα-positive breast cancer. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:10230-10248. [PMID: 36124682 PMCID: PMC9561272 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Estrogen and estrogen receptor alpha (ERα)-induced gene transcription is tightly associated with ERα-positive breast carcinogenesis. ERα-occupied enhancers, particularly super-enhancers, have been suggested to play a vital role in regulating such transcriptional events. However, the landscape of ERα-occupied super-enhancers (ERSEs) as well as key ERα-induced target genes associated with ERSEs remain to be fully characterized. Here, we defined the landscape of ERSEs in ERα-positive breast cancer cell lines, and demonstrated that bromodomain protein BRD4 is a master regulator of the transcriptional activation of ERSEs and cognate ERα target genes. RET, a member of the tyrosine protein kinase family of proteins, was identified to be a key ERα target gene of BRD4-regulated ERSEs, which, in turn, is vital for ERα-induced gene transcriptional activation and malignant phenotypes through activating the RAS/RAF/MEK2/ERK/p90RSK/ERα phosphorylation cascade. Combination therapy with BRD4 and RET inhibitors exhibited additive effects on suppressing ERα-positive breast cancer both in vitro and in vivo, comparable with that of standard endocrine therapy tamoxifen. Furthermore, combination therapy re-sensitized a tamoxifen-resistant ERα-positive breast cancer cell line to tamoxifen treatment. Taken together, our data uncovered the critical role of a super-enhancer-associated positive feedback loop constituting BRD4/ERα–RET–ERα in ERα-positive breast cancer, and suggested that targeting components in this loop would provide a new therapeutic avenue for treating ERα-positive breast cancer in the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zao-Zao Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiang'an South Road, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China.,Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiang'an South Road, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Lin Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiang'an South Road, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China.,Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiang'an South Road, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Guo-Sheng Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiang'an South Road, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China.,Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiang'an South Road, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Jun-Yi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, National Institute of Diagnostics and Vaccine Development in Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiang'an South Road, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Ya-Hong Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiang'an South Road, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China.,Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiang'an South Road, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Yu-Jie Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiang'an South Road, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China.,Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiang'an South Road, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Jia-Yin Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiang'an South Road, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China.,Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiang'an South Road, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
| | - Wen-Juan Zhang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, No. 23, Qingnian Road, Ganzhou, Jiangxi 341000, China
| | - Wen Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiang'an South Road, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China.,Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiang'an South Road, Xiamen, Fujian 361102, China
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3
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Ingles-Prieto A, Furthmann N, Crossman SH, Tichy AM, Hoyer N, Petersen M, Zheden V, Biebl J, Reichhart E, Gyoergy A, Siekhaus DE, Soba P, Winklhofer KF, Janovjak H. Optogenetic delivery of trophic signals in a genetic model of Parkinson's disease. PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009479. [PMID: 33857132 PMCID: PMC8049241 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Optogenetics has been harnessed to shed new mechanistic light on current and future therapeutic strategies. This has been to date achieved by the regulation of ion flow and electrical signals in neuronal cells and neural circuits that are known to be affected by disease. In contrast, the optogenetic delivery of trophic biochemical signals, which support cell survival and are implicated in degenerative disorders, has never been demonstrated in an animal model of disease. Here, we reengineered the human and Drosophila melanogaster REarranged during Transfection (hRET and dRET) receptors to be activated by light, creating one-component optogenetic tools termed Opto-hRET and Opto-dRET. Upon blue light stimulation, these receptors robustly induced the MAPK/ERK proliferative signaling pathway in cultured cells. In PINK1B9 flies that exhibit loss of PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1), a kinase associated with familial Parkinson's disease (PD), light activation of Opto-dRET suppressed mitochondrial defects, tissue degeneration and behavioral deficits. In human cells with PINK1 loss-of-function, mitochondrial fragmentation was rescued using Opto-dRET via the PI3K/NF-кB pathway. Our results demonstrate that a light-activated receptor can ameliorate disease hallmarks in a genetic model of PD. The optogenetic delivery of trophic signals is cell type-specific and reversible and thus has the potential to inspire novel strategies towards a spatio-temporal regulation of tissue repair.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alvaro Ingles-Prieto
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Nikolas Furthmann
- Molecular Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Samuel H. Crossman
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI), Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton/Melbourne, Australia
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory Australia (EMBL Australia), Monash University, Clayton/Melbourne, Australia
| | - Alexandra-Madelaine Tichy
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI), Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton/Melbourne, Australia
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory Australia (EMBL Australia), Monash University, Clayton/Melbourne, Australia
| | - Nina Hoyer
- Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Meike Petersen
- Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Vanessa Zheden
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Julia Biebl
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Eva Reichhart
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Klosterneuburg, Austria
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI), Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton/Melbourne, Australia
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory Australia (EMBL Australia), Monash University, Clayton/Melbourne, Australia
| | - Attila Gyoergy
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Daria E. Siekhaus
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - Peter Soba
- Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Konstanze F. Winklhofer
- Molecular Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Harald Janovjak
- Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), Klosterneuburg, Austria
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI), Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton/Melbourne, Australia
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory Australia (EMBL Australia), Monash University, Clayton/Melbourne, Australia
- * E-mail:
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Richardson DS, Rodrigues DM, Hyndman BD, Crupi MJF, Nicolescu AC, Mulligan LM. Alternative splicing results in RET isoforms with distinct trafficking properties. Mol Biol Cell 2012; 23:3838-50. [PMID: 22875993 PMCID: PMC3459860 DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e12-02-0114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The RET gene encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase that is alternatively spliced to two protein isoforms that differ in their C-terminal peptide sequences (RET9, RET51). These unique C-terminal tails produce distinct subcellular localizations and intracellular trafficking properties, which affect downstream signaling. RET encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase that is essential for spermatogenesis, development of the sensory, sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric nervous systems and the kidneys, as well as for maintenance of adult midbrain dopaminergic neurons. RET is alternatively spliced to encode multiple isoforms that differ in their C-terminal amino acids. The RET9 and RET51 isoforms display unique levels of autophosphorylation and have differential interactions with adaptor proteins. They induce distinct gene expression patterns, promote different levels of cell differentiation and transformation, and play unique roles in development. Here we present a comprehensive study of the subcellular localization and trafficking of RET isoforms. We show that immature RET9 accumulates intracellularly in the Golgi, whereas RET51 is efficiently matured and present in relatively higher amounts on the plasma membrane. RET51 is internalized faster after ligand binding and undergoes recycling back to the plasma membrane. This differential trafficking of RET isoforms produces a more rapid and longer duration of signaling through the extracellular-signal regulated kinase/mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway downstream of RET51 relative to RET9. Together these differences in trafficking properties contribute to some of the functional differences previously observed between RET9 and RET51 and establish the important role of intracellular trafficking in modulating and maintaining RET signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas S Richardson
- Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine and Division of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Cancer Research Institute, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
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