1
|
Brandstoetter T, Schmoellerl J, Grausenburger R, Kollmann S, Doma E, Huuhtanen J, Klampfl T, Eder T, Grebien F, Hoermann G, Zuber J, Mustjoki S, Maurer B, Sexl V. SBNO2 is a critical mediator of STAT3-driven hematological malignancies. Blood 2023; 141:1831-1845. [PMID: 36630607 PMCID: PMC10646773 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2022018494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Gain-of-function mutations in the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) gene are recurrently identified in patients with large granular lymphocytic leukemia (LGLL) and in some cases of natural killer (NK)/T-cell and adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma. To understand the consequences and molecular mechanisms contributing to disease development and oncogenic transformation, we developed murine hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell models that express mutated STAT3Y640F. These cells show accelerated proliferation and enhanced self-renewal potential. We integrated gene expression analyses and chromatin occupancy profiling of STAT3Y640F-transformed cells with data from patients with T-LGLL. This approach uncovered a conserved set of direct transcriptional targets of STAT3Y640F. Among these, strawberry notch homolog 2 (SBNO2) represents an essential transcriptional target, which was identified by a comparative genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9-based loss-of-function screen. The STAT3-SBNO2 axis is also present in NK-cell leukemia, T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and NPM-ALK-rearranged T-cell anaplastic large cell lymphoma (T-ALCL), which are driven by STAT3-hyperactivation/mutation. In patients with NPM-ALK+ T-ALCL, high SBNO2 expression correlates with shorter relapse-free and overall survival. Our findings identify SBNO2 as a potential therapeutic intervention site for STAT3-driven hematopoietic malignancies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tania Brandstoetter
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Reinhard Grausenburger
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Sebastian Kollmann
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Eszter Doma
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jani Huuhtanen
- Hematology Research Unit Helsinki, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center, Helsinki, Finland
- Translational Immunology Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Computer Science, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
| | - Thorsten Klampfl
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Thomas Eder
- Institute for Medical Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Florian Grebien
- Institute for Medical Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Johannes Zuber
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna BioCenter, Vienna, Austria
| | - Satu Mustjoki
- Hematology Research Unit Helsinki, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center, Helsinki, Finland
- Translational Immunology Research Program, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- ICAN Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship, Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Clinical Chemistry and Hematology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Barbara Maurer
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Veronika Sexl
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Mayer IM, Hoelbl-Kovacic A, Sexl V, Doma E. Isolation, Maintenance and Expansion of Adult Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells and Leukemic Stem Cells. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14071723. [PMID: 35406494 PMCID: PMC8996967 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14071723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Transplantation of adult hematopoietic stem cells is an important therapeutic tool to help patients suffering from diverse hematological disorders. All types of blood cells can develop from a single hematopoietic stem cell underlining their enormous potential. Intense efforts are ongoing to generate “engraftable” human hematopoietic stem cells to treat hematopoietic diseases and to understand the molecular machinery driving them. Leukemic stem cells represent a low frequency subpopulation of leukemia cells that possess stem cell properties. They can instigate, maintain, and serially propagate leukemia in vivo, while they retain the capacity to differentiate into committed progenitors. Leukemic stem cells are unaffected by many therapeutic strategies and represent the major cause of relapse. We here describe all methods to maintain and expand murine and human hematopoietic cells in culture and describe their specific advantages. These methods are also employed to understand the biology of leukemic stem cells and to identify novel therapeutic strategies. Abstract Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are rare, self-renewing cells that perch on top of the hematopoietic tree. The HSCs ensure the constant supply of mature blood cells in a tightly regulated process producing peripheral blood cells. Intense efforts are ongoing to optimize HSC engraftment as therapeutic strategy to treat patients suffering from hematopoietic diseases. Preclinical research paves the way by developing methods to maintain, manipulate and expand HSCs ex vivo to understand their regulation and molecular make-up. The generation of a sufficient number of transplantable HSCs is the Holy Grail for clinical therapy. Leukemia stem cells (LSCs) are characterized by their acquired stem cell characteristics and are responsible for disease initiation, progression, and relapse. We summarize efforts, that have been undertaken to increase the number of long-term (LT)-HSCs and to prevent differentiation towards committed progenitors in ex vivo culture. We provide an overview and compare methods currently available to isolate, maintain and enrich HSC subsets, progenitors and LSCs and discuss their individual advantages and drawbacks.
Collapse
|
3
|
Schmalzbauer BS, Thondanpallil T, Heller G, Schirripa A, Sperl CM, Mayer IM, Knab VM, Nebenfuehr S, Zojer M, Mueller AC, Fontaine F, Klampfl T, Sexl V, Kollmann K. CDK6 Degradation Is Counteracted by p16INK4A and p18INK4C in AML. Cancers (Basel) 2022; 14:cancers14061554. [PMID: 35326705 PMCID: PMC8946512 DOI: 10.3390/cancers14061554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary CDK4/6 kinase inhibitors show promising results in various subtypes of AML, which has been primarily assigned to the inhibition of CDK6. To bypass therapeutic resistances and tackle the kinase-dependent, as well as kinase-independent, functions of CDK6, new CDK6 degraders have been developed. Here, we present insights into the mechanistic requirements for the efficacy of a CDK6-specific degrader in AML. We show that the presence and levels of the INK4 proteins p16INK4A and p18INK4C determine the extent of CDK6 degradation. Our study reveals the importance of INK4 protein levels as predictive markers for CDK6-targeted therapy in AML. Abstract Cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6) represents a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of certain subtypes of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). CDK4/6 kinase inhibitors have been widely studied in many cancer types and their effects may be limited by primary and secondary resistance mechanisms. CDK4/6 degraders, which eliminate kinase-dependent and kinase-independent effects, have been suggested as an alternative therapeutic option. We show that the efficacy of the CDK6-specific protein degrader BSJ-03-123 varies among AML subtypes and depends on the low expression of the INK4 proteins p16INK4A and p18INK4C. INK4 protein levels are significantly elevated in KMT2A-MLLT3+ cells compared to RUNX1-RUNX1T1+ cells, contributing to the different CDK6 degradation efficacy. We demonstrate that CDK6 complexes containing p16INK4A or p18INK4C are protected from BSJ-mediated degradation and that INK4 levels define the proliferative response to CDK6 degradation. These findings define INK4 proteins as predictive markers for CDK6 degradation-targeted therapies in AML.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Belinda S. Schmalzbauer
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria; (B.S.S.); (T.T.); (A.S.); (C.-M.S.); (I.M.M.); (V.M.K.); (S.N.); (M.Z.); (T.K.); (V.S.)
| | - Teresemary Thondanpallil
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria; (B.S.S.); (T.T.); (A.S.); (C.-M.S.); (I.M.M.); (V.M.K.); (S.N.); (M.Z.); (T.K.); (V.S.)
| | - Gerwin Heller
- Division of Oncology, Department of Medicine I, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria;
| | - Alessia Schirripa
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria; (B.S.S.); (T.T.); (A.S.); (C.-M.S.); (I.M.M.); (V.M.K.); (S.N.); (M.Z.); (T.K.); (V.S.)
| | - Clio-Melina Sperl
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria; (B.S.S.); (T.T.); (A.S.); (C.-M.S.); (I.M.M.); (V.M.K.); (S.N.); (M.Z.); (T.K.); (V.S.)
| | - Isabella M. Mayer
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria; (B.S.S.); (T.T.); (A.S.); (C.-M.S.); (I.M.M.); (V.M.K.); (S.N.); (M.Z.); (T.K.); (V.S.)
| | - Vanessa M. Knab
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria; (B.S.S.); (T.T.); (A.S.); (C.-M.S.); (I.M.M.); (V.M.K.); (S.N.); (M.Z.); (T.K.); (V.S.)
| | - Sofie Nebenfuehr
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria; (B.S.S.); (T.T.); (A.S.); (C.-M.S.); (I.M.M.); (V.M.K.); (S.N.); (M.Z.); (T.K.); (V.S.)
| | - Markus Zojer
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria; (B.S.S.); (T.T.); (A.S.); (C.-M.S.); (I.M.M.); (V.M.K.); (S.N.); (M.Z.); (T.K.); (V.S.)
| | - André C. Mueller
- CeMM—Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, 1090 Vienna, Austria; (A.C.M.); (F.F.)
| | - Frédéric Fontaine
- CeMM—Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, 1090 Vienna, Austria; (A.C.M.); (F.F.)
| | - Thorsten Klampfl
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria; (B.S.S.); (T.T.); (A.S.); (C.-M.S.); (I.M.M.); (V.M.K.); (S.N.); (M.Z.); (T.K.); (V.S.)
| | - Veronika Sexl
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria; (B.S.S.); (T.T.); (A.S.); (C.-M.S.); (I.M.M.); (V.M.K.); (S.N.); (M.Z.); (T.K.); (V.S.)
| | - Karoline Kollmann
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria; (B.S.S.); (T.T.); (A.S.); (C.-M.S.); (I.M.M.); (V.M.K.); (S.N.); (M.Z.); (T.K.); (V.S.)
- Correspondence:
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
A STAT5B-CD9 axis determines self-renewal in hematopoietic and leukemic stem cells. Blood 2021; 138:2347-2359. [PMID: 34320169 DOI: 10.1182/blood.2021010980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The transcription factors STAT5A and STAT5B are critical in hematopoiesis and leukemia. They are widely believed to have redundant functions but we describe a unique role for STAT5B in driving the self-renewal of hematopoietic and leukemic stem cells (HSCs/LSCs). We find STAT5B to be specifically activated in HSCs and LSCs, where it induces many genes associated with quiescence and self-renewal, including the surface marker CD9. Levels of CD9 represent a prognostic marker for patients with STAT5-driven leukemia and our findings suggest that anti-CD9 antibodies may be useful in their treatment to target and eliminate LSCs. We show that it is vital to consider STAT5A and STAT5B as distinct entities in normal and malignant hematopoiesis.
Collapse
|
5
|
Klein K, Witalisz-Siepracka A, Gotthardt D, Agerer B, Locker F, Grausenburger R, Knab VM, Bergthaler A, Sexl V. T Cell-Intrinsic CDK6 Is Dispensable for Anti-Viral and Anti-Tumor Responses In Vivo. Front Immunol 2021; 12:650977. [PMID: 34248938 PMCID: PMC8264666 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.650977] [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: 01/08/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (CDK6) regulates the transition through the G1-phase of the cell cycle, but also acts as a transcriptional regulator. As such CDK6 regulates cell survival or cytokine secretion together with STATs, AP-1 or NF-κB. In the hematopoietic system, CDK6 regulates T cell development and promotes leukemia and lymphoma. CDK4/6 kinase inhibitors are FDA approved for treatment of breast cancer patients and have been reported to enhance T cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity. The involvement of CDK6 in T cell functions remains enigmatic. We here investigated the role of CDK6 in CD8+ T cells, using previously generated CDK6 knockout (Cdk6-/-) and kinase-dead mutant CDK6 (Cdk6K43M) knock-in mice. RNA-seq analysis indicated a role of CDK6 in T cell metabolism and interferon (IFN) signaling. To investigate whether these CDK6 functions are T cell-intrinsic, we generated a T cell-specific CDK6 knockout mouse model (Cdk6fl/fl CD4-Cre). T cell-intrinsic loss of CDK6 enhanced mitochondrial respiration in CD8+ T cells, but did not impact on cytotoxicity and production of the effector cytokines IFN-γ and TNF-α by CD8+ T cells in vitro. Loss of CDK6 in peripheral T cells did not affect tumor surveillance of MC38 tumors in vivo. Similarly, while we observed an impaired induction of early responses to type I IFN in CDK6-deficient CD8+ T cells, we failed to observe any differences in the response to LCMV infection upon T cell-intrinsic loss of CDK6 in vivo. This apparent contradiction might at least partially be explained by the reduced expression of Socs1, a negative regulator of IFN signaling, in CDK6-deficient CD8+ T cells. Therefore, our data are in line with a dual role of CDK6 in IFN signaling; while CDK6 promotes early IFN responses, it is also involved in the induction of a negative feedback loop. These data assign CDK6 a role in the fine-tuning of cytokine responses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Klara Klein
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Agnieszka Witalisz-Siepracka
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Microbiology, Division Pharmacology, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Krems, Austria
| | - Dagmar Gotthardt
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Benedikt Agerer
- CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Felix Locker
- Institute of Physiology, Pathophysiology and Biophysics, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
| | - Reinhard Grausenburger
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Vanessa Maria Knab
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Andreas Bergthaler
- CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, Austria
| | - Veronika Sexl
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| |
Collapse
|