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Conway C, Collins DM, McCann A, Dean K. Research Strategies for Low-Survival Cancers. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:528. [PMID: 33573275 PMCID: PMC7866553 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13030528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Revised: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
While substantial progress has been made to improve the diagnosis, prognosis, and survivorship of patients with cancer, certain cancer types, along with metastatic and refractory disease, remain clinical challenges. To improve patient outcomes, ultimately, the cancer research community must meet and overcome these challenges, leading to improved approaches to treat the most difficult cancers. Here, we discuss research progress aimed at gaining a better understanding of the molecular and cellular changes in tumor cells and the surrounding stroma, presented at the 56th Irish Association for Cancer Research (IACR) Annual Conference. With a focus on poor prognosis cancers, such as esophageal and chemo-resistant colorectal cancers, we highlight how detailed molecular knowledge of tumor and stromal biology can provide windows of opportunity for biomarker discovery and therapeutic targets. Even with previously characterized targets, such as phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), one of the most altered proteins in all human cancers, new insights into how this protein may be more effectively inhibited through novel combination therapies is presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Conway
- Genomics Core Facility, Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, Ulster University, Coleraine BT52 1SA, UK;
| | - Denis M. Collins
- National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology, Dublin City University, Glasnevin, Dublin 9, Ireland;
| | - Amanda McCann
- UCD Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research and UCD School of Medicine College of Health and Agricultural Science (CHAS), University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland;
| | - Kellie Dean
- School of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, 3.91 Western Gateway Building, University College Cork, Cork T12 XF62, Ireland
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Hu B, Wang Q, Wang YA, Hua S, Sauvé CEG, Ong D, Lan ZD, Chang Q, Ho YW, Monasterio MM, Lu X, Zhong Y, Zhang J, Deng P, Tan Z, Wang G, Liao WT, Corley LJ, Yan H, Zhang J, You Y, Liu N, Cai L, Finocchiaro G, Phillips JJ, Berger MS, Spring DJ, Hu J, Sulman EP, Fuller GN, Chin L, Verhaak RGW, DePinho RA. Epigenetic Activation of WNT5A Drives Glioblastoma Stem Cell Differentiation and Invasive Growth. Cell 2017; 167:1281-1295.e18. [PMID: 27863244 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.10.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 189] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2016] [Revised: 08/11/2016] [Accepted: 10/20/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) are implicated in tumor neovascularization, invasiveness, and therapeutic resistance. To illuminate mechanisms governing these hallmark features, we developed a de novo glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) model derived from immortalized human neural stem/progenitor cells (hNSCs) to enable precise system-level comparisons of pre-malignant and oncogene-induced malignant states of NSCs. Integrated transcriptomic and epigenomic analyses uncovered a PAX6/DLX5 transcriptional program driving WNT5A-mediated GSC differentiation into endothelial-like cells (GdECs). GdECs recruit existing endothelial cells to promote peritumoral satellite lesions, which serve as a niche supporting the growth of invasive glioma cells away from the primary tumor. Clinical data reveal higher WNT5A and GdECs expression in peritumoral and recurrent GBMs relative to matched intratumoral and primary GBMs, respectively, supporting WNT5A-mediated GSC differentiation and invasive growth in disease recurrence. Thus, the PAX6/DLX5-WNT5A axis governs the diffuse spread of glioma cells throughout the brain parenchyma, contributing to the lethality of GBM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baoli Hu
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Qianghu Wang
- Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Genomic Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Y Alan Wang
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
| | - Sujun Hua
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | | | - Derrick Ong
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Zheng D Lan
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Qing Chang
- Department of Genomic Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Institute for Applied Cancer Science, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Yan Wing Ho
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Marta Moreno Monasterio
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Xin Lu
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Yi Zhong
- Department of Epigenetics and Molecular Carcinogenesis, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Jianhua Zhang
- Department of Genomic Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Institute for Applied Cancer Science, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Pingna Deng
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Zhi Tan
- Department of Experimental Therapeutics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Guocan Wang
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Wen-Ting Liao
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Lynda J Corley
- Department of Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Haiyan Yan
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Junxia Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Yongping You
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Ning Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Linbo Cai
- Department of Oncology, Guangdong 999 Brain Hospital, Guangzhou 510510, China
| | - Gaetano Finocchiaro
- Unit of Molecular Neuro-Oncology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico C. Besta, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Joanna J Phillips
- Departments of Neurological Surgery and Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Mitchel S Berger
- Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Denise J Spring
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Jian Hu
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Erik P Sulman
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Gregory N Fuller
- Department of Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Lynda Chin
- Department of Genomic Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Roeland G W Verhaak
- Department of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Genomic Medicine, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Ronald A DePinho
- Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
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Fresán U, Cuartero S, O'Connor MB, Espinàs ML. The insulator protein CTCF regulates Drosophila steroidogenesis. Biol Open 2015; 4:852-7. [PMID: 25979705 PMCID: PMC4571099 DOI: 10.1242/bio.012344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The steroid hormone ecdysone is a central regulator of insect development. In this report we show that CTCF expression in the prothoracic gland is required for full transcriptional activation of the Halloween genes spookier, shadow and noppera-bo, which encode ecdysone biosynthetic enzymes, and for proper timing of ecdysone-responsive gene expression. Loss of CTCF results in delayed and less synchronized larval development that can only be rescued by feeding larvae with both, the steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone and cholesterol. Moreover, CTCF-knockdown in prothoracic gland cells leads to increased lipid accumulation. In conclusion, the insulator protein CTCF is required for Halloween gene expression and cholesterol homeostasis in ecdysone-producing cells controlling steroidogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ujué Fresán
- Institute of Molecular Biology of Barcelona, IBMB-CSIC, and Institute for Research in Biomedicine IRB, Barcelona 08028, Spain
| | - Sergi Cuartero
- Institute of Molecular Biology of Barcelona, IBMB-CSIC, and Institute for Research in Biomedicine IRB, Barcelona 08028, Spain
| | - Michael B O'Connor
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - M Lluisa Espinàs
- Institute of Molecular Biology of Barcelona, IBMB-CSIC, and Institute for Research in Biomedicine IRB, Barcelona 08028, Spain Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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Zhang H, Zhu L, He H, Zhu S, Zhang W, Liu X, Zhao X, Gao C, Mei M, Bao S, Zheng H. NF-kappa B mediated up-regulation of CCCTC-binding factor in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Mol Cancer 2014; 13:5. [PMID: 24393203 PMCID: PMC3928924 DOI: 10.1186/1476-4598-13-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2013] [Accepted: 01/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most frequently occurring malignant neoplasm in children. Despite advances in treatment and outcomes for ALL patients, the pathogenesis of the disease remains unclear. Microarray analysis of samples from 100 Chinese children with ALL revealed the up-regulation of CTCF (CCCTC binding factor). CTCF is a highly conserved 11-zinc finger protein that is involved in many human cancers; however, the biological function of CTCF in pediatric ALL is unknown. Methods The expression patterns of CTCF were evaluated in matched newly diagnosed (ND), complete remission (CR), and relapsed (RE) bone marrow samples from 28 patients. The potential oncogenic mechanism of CTCF and related pathways in leukemogenesis were investigated in leukemia cell lines. Results We identified significant up-regulation of CTCF in the ND samples. Importantly, the expression of CTCF returned to normal levels after CR but rebounded in the RE samples. In the pre-B ALL cell line Nalm-6, siRNA-mediated silencing of CTCF expression promoted cell apoptosis and reduced cell proliferation; accordingly, over-expression of a cDNA encoding full-length CTCF protected cells from apoptosis and enhanced cell proliferation. Furthermore, inhibition or activation of the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway resulted in marked variations in the levels of CTCF mRNA and protein in leukemic cells, indicating that CTCF may be involved downstream of the NF-κB pathway. Moreover, inhibition of the NF-κB pathway increased cell apoptosis, which was partially rescued by ectopic over-expression of CTCF, suggesting that CTCF may play a significant role in the anti-apoptotic pathway mediated by NF-κB. Conclusions Our results indicate that CTCF serves as both an anti-apoptotic factor and a proliferative factor in leukemic cells. It potentially contributes to leukemogenesis through the NF-κB pathway in pediatric ALL patients.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Shilai Bao
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Pediatric Hematology Oncology; National Key Discipline of Pediatrics, Ministry of Education; Key Laboratory of Major Diseases in Children, Ministry of Education; Hematology Oncology Center, Beijing Children's Hospital, Capital Medical University, 56 Nanlishi Road, Beijing, 100045, China.
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Tsui S, Gao J, Wang C, Lu L. CTCF mediates effect of insulin on glucagon expression. Exp Cell Res 2012; 318:887-95. [PMID: 22426149 DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2012.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2011] [Revised: 02/29/2012] [Accepted: 03/01/2012] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Pancreatic islet α-cell development and glucagon production are mainly regulated by Pax6 in the homeobox gene families. However, the molecular mechanism fine-tuning the regulation of these events in α-cell still remains unclear. In ocular cells, Pax6 transcription is regulated by CTCF through its binding to specific sites in Pax6 promoter. In this study, CTCF-mediated regulations of islet α-cell development and glucagon production were investigated in both CTCF transgenic mice and α-TC-1-6 cells. Over-expression of CTCF in transgenic mice affected development of pancreatic islets by significantly suppressing α-cell population in both embryonic and adult pancreases. The effect of CTCF on Pax6 gene expression and subsequently, on pro-glucagon production was however, examined in pancreatic islet α-cells. Over-expression and knock-down of CTCF directly affected Pax6 expression. More importantly, the CTCF binding sites upstream from Pax6 p0 promoter were required for regulating p0 promoter activity in islet α-cells. Stimulation of α-cells with insulin resulted in a significant increase in CTCF expression and a decrease in Pax6 expression, and consequently suppressed pro-glucagon expression. In contrast, these insulin-induced effects were blocked by knockdown of CTCF mRNA with specific siRNA in α-cells. Altogether, our results demonstrated for the first time that CTCF functions as a switch-like molecule between the insulin signaling and the regulations of Pax6 and glucagon expression in pancreatic islet α-cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shanli Tsui
- Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine University of California Los Angeles, Torrance, CA 90502, USA
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