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Zeng P, Shu LZ, Zhou YH, Huang HL, Wei SH, Liu WJ, Deng H. Stem Cell Division and Its Critical Role in Mammary Gland Development and Tumorigenesis: Current Progress and Remaining Challenges. Stem Cells Dev 2024. [PMID: 38943275 DOI: 10.1089/scd.2024.0035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/01/2024] Open
Abstract
The origin of breast cancer (BC) has traditionally been a focus of medical research. It is widely acknowledged that BC originates from immortal mammary stem cells and that these stem cells participate in two division modes: symmetric cell division (SCD) and asymmetrical cell division (ACD). Although both of these modes are key to the process of breast development and their imbalance is closely associated with the onset of BC, the molecular mechanisms underlying these phenomena deserve in-depth exploration. In this review, we first outline the molecular mechanisms governing ACD/SCD and analyze the role of ACD/SCD in various stages of breast development. We describe that the changes in telomerase activity, the role of polar proteins, and the stimulation of ovarian hormones subsequently lead to two distinct consequences: breast development or carcinogenesis. Finally, gene mutations, abnormalities in polar proteins, modulation of signal-transduction pathways, and alterations in the microenvironment disrupt the balance of BC stem cell division modes and cause BC. Important regulatory factors such as mammalian Inscuteable mInsc, Numb, Eya1, PKCα, PKCθ, p53, and IL-6 also play significant roles in regulating pathways of ACD/SCD and may constitute key targets for future research on stem cell division, breast development, and tumor therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Zeng
- Department of Breast Surgery, Jiangxi Armed Police Corps Hospital, Nanchang, China
| | - Lin-Zhen Shu
- Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Yu-Hong Zhou
- Department of Breast Surgery, Jiangxi Armed Police Corps Hospital, Nanchang, China
| | - Hai-Lin Huang
- Department of Breast Surgery, Jiangxi Armed Police Corps Hospital, Nanchang, China
| | - Shu-Hua Wei
- Department of Breast Surgery, Jiangxi Armed Police Corps Hospital, Nanchang, China
| | - Wen-Jian Liu
- Department of Breast Surgery, Jiangxi Armed Police Corps Hospital, Nanchang, China
| | - Huan Deng
- Affiliated Rehabilitation Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
- The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
- Tumor Immunology Institute, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
- The MOE Basic Research and Innovation Center for the Targeted Therapeutics of Solid Tumors, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
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2
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Buss JH, Begnini KR, Lenz G. The contribution of asymmetric cell division to phenotypic heterogeneity in cancer. J Cell Sci 2024; 137:jcs261400. [PMID: 38334041 DOI: 10.1242/jcs.261400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Cells have evolved intricate mechanisms for dividing their contents in the most symmetric way during mitosis. However, a small proportion of cell divisions results in asymmetric segregation of cellular components, which leads to differences in the characteristics of daughter cells. Although the classical function of asymmetric cell division (ACD) in the regulation of pluripotency is the generation of one differentiated daughter cell and one self-renewing stem cell, recent evidence suggests that ACD plays a role in other physiological processes. In cancer, tumor heterogeneity can result from the asymmetric segregation of genetic material and other cellular components, resulting in cell-to-cell differences in fitness and response to therapy. Defining the contribution of ACD in generating differences in key features relevant to cancer biology is crucial to advancing our understanding of the causes of tumor heterogeneity and developing strategies to mitigate or counteract it. In this Review, we delve into the occurrence of asymmetric mitosis in cancer cells and consider how ACD contributes to the variability of several phenotypes. By synthesizing the current literature, we explore the molecular mechanisms underlying ACD, the implications of phenotypic heterogeneity in cancer, and the complex interplay between these two phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julieti Huch Buss
- Departamento de Biofísica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS 91509-900, Brazil
- Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS 91509-900, Brazil
| | - Karine Rech Begnini
- Departamento de Biofísica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS 91509-900, Brazil
- Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS 91509-900, Brazil
- Instituto do Cérebro (INSCER), Pontifícia Universidade Católica RS (PUCRS), Porto Alegre, RS 90610-000, Brazil
| | - Guido Lenz
- Departamento de Biofísica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS 91509-900, Brazil
- Centro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS 91509-900, Brazil
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3
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Jablonski KP, Beerenwinkel N. Coherent pathway enrichment estimation by modeling inter-pathway dependencies using regularized regression. Bioinformatics 2023; 39:btad522. [PMID: 37610338 PMCID: PMC10471899 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btad522] [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: 11/12/2022] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Abstract
MOTIVATION Gene set enrichment methods are a common tool to improve the interpretability of gene lists as obtained, for example, from differential gene expression analyses. They are based on computing whether dysregulated genes are located in certain biological pathways more often than expected by chance. Gene set enrichment tools rely on pre-existing pathway databases such as KEGG, Reactome, or the Gene Ontology. These databases are increasing in size and in the number of redundancies between pathways, which complicates the statistical enrichment computation. RESULTS We address this problem and develop a novel gene set enrichment method, called pareg, which is based on a regularized generalized linear model and directly incorporates dependencies between gene sets related to certain biological functions, for example, due to shared genes, in the enrichment computation. We show that pareg is more robust to noise than competing methods. Additionally, we demonstrate the ability of our method to recover known pathways as well as to suggest novel treatment targets in an exploratory analysis using breast cancer samples from TCGA. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION pareg is freely available as an R package on Bioconductor (https://bioconductor.org/packages/release/bioc/html/pareg.html) as well as on https://github.com/cbg-ethz/pareg. The GitHub repository also contains the Snakemake workflows needed to reproduce all results presented here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim Philipp Jablonski
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel 4058, Switzerland
- SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Basel 4058, Switzerland
| | - Niko Beerenwinkel
- Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zurich, Basel 4058, Switzerland
- SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Basel 4058, Switzerland
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4
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Potential to Eradicate Cancer Stemness by Targeting Cell Surface GRP78. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12070941. [PMID: 35883497 PMCID: PMC9313351 DOI: 10.3390/biom12070941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2022] [Revised: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer stemness is proposed to be the main cause of metastasis and tumor relapse after conventional therapy due to the main properties of cancer stem cells. These include unlimited self-renewal, the low percentage in a cell population, asymmetric/symmetric cell division, and the hypothetical different nature for absorbing external substances. As the mechanism of how cancer stemness is maintained remains unknown, further investigation into the basic features of cancer stemness is required. Many articles demonstrated that glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) plays a key role in cancer stemness, suggesting that this molecule is feasible for targeting cancer stem cells. This review summarizes the history of finding cancer stem cells, as well as the functions of GRP78 in cancer stemness, for discussing the possibility of targeting GRP78 to eradicate cancer stemness.
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5
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Schreier VN, Loehr MO, Deng T, Lattmann E, Hajnal A, Neuhauss SC, Luedtke NW. Fluorescent dATP for DNA Synthesis In Vivo. ACS Chem Biol 2020; 15:2996-3003. [PMID: 33108866 DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.0c00654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Fluorescent nucleoside triphosphates are powerful probes of DNA synthesis, but their potential use in living animals has been previously underexplored. Here, we report the synthesis and characterization of 7-deaza-(1,2,3-triazole)-2'-deoxyadenosine-5'-triphosphate (dATP) derivatives of tetramethyl rhodamine ("TAMRA-dATP"), cyanine ("Cy3-dATP"), and boron-dipyrromethene ("BODIPY-dATP"). Upon microinjection into live zebrafish embryos, all three compounds were incorporated into the DNA of dividing cells; however, their impact on embryonic toxicity was highly variable, depending on the exact structure of the dye. TAMRA-EdATP exhibited superior characteristics in terms of its high brightness, low toxicity, and rapid incorporation and depletion kinetics in both a vertebrate (zebrafish) and a nematode (Caenorhabditis elegans). TAMRA-EdATP allows for unprecedented, real-time visualization of DNA replication and chromosome segregation in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena N. Schreier
- Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Zurich CH-8006, Switzerland
| | - Morten O. Loehr
- Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Zurich CH-8006, Switzerland
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0G4, Canada
| | - Ting Deng
- Department of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich CH-8006, Switzerland
| | - Evelyn Lattmann
- Department of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich CH-8006, Switzerland
| | - Alex Hajnal
- Department of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich CH-8006, Switzerland
| | - Stephan C.F. Neuhauss
- Department of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich CH-8006, Switzerland
| | - Nathan W. Luedtke
- Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Zurich CH-8006, Switzerland
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0G4, Canada
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0G4, Canada
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6
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Abstract
The loss of genetic fidelity in tissue stem cells is considered a significant cause of human aging and carcinogenesis. Many cellular mechanisms are well accepted for limiting mutations caused by replication errors and DNA damage. However, one mechanism, non-random sister chromatid segregation, remains controversial. This atypical pattern of chromosome segregation is restricted to asymmetrically self-renewing cells. Though first confirmed in murine cells, non-random segregation was originally proposed by Cairns as an important genetic fidelity mechanism in human tissues. We investigated human hepatic stem cells expanded by suppression of asymmetric cell kinetics (SACK) for evidence of non-random sister chromatid segregation. Cell kinetics and time-lapse microscopy analyses established that an ex vivo expanded human hepatic stem cell strain possessed SACK agent-suppressible asymmetric cell kinetics. Complementary DNA strand-labeling experiments revealed that cells in hepatic stem cell cultures segregated sister chromatids non-randomly. The number of cells cosegregating sister chromatids with the oldest “immortal DNA strands” was greater under conditions that increased asymmetric self-renewal kinetics. Detection of this mechanism in a human tissue stem cell strain increases support for Cairns’ proposal that non-random sister chromatid segregation operates in human tissue stem cells to limit carcinogenesis.
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7
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Xing M, Zhang F, Liao H, Chen S, Che L, Wang X, Bao Z, Ji F, Chen G, Zhang H, Li W, Chen Z, Liu Y, Hickson ID, Shen H, Ying S. Replication Stress Induces ATR/CHK1-Dependent Nonrandom Segregation of Damaged Chromosomes. Mol Cell 2020; 78:714-724.e5. [PMID: 32353258 DOI: 10.1016/j.molcel.2020.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Revised: 02/22/2020] [Accepted: 04/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Nonrandom DNA segregation (NDS) is a mitotic event in which sister chromatids carrying the oldest DNA strands are inherited exclusively by one of the two daughter cells. Although this phenomenon has been observed across various organisms, the mechanism and physiological relevance of this event remain poorly defined. Here, we demonstrate that DNA replication stress can trigger NDS in human cells. This biased inheritance of old template DNA is associated with the asymmetric DNA damage response (DDR), which derives at least in part from telomeric DNA. Mechanistically, we reveal that the ATR/CHK1 signaling pathway plays an essential role in mediating NDS. We show that this biased segregation process leads to cell-cycle arrest and cell death in damaged daughter cells inheriting newly replicated DNA. These data therefore identify a key role for NDS in the maintenance of genomic integrity within cancer cell populations undergoing replication stress due to oncogene activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meichun Xing
- Department of Pharmacology and Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Fengjiao Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology and Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Hongwei Liao
- Department of Pharmacology and Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Sisi Chen
- Department of Pharmacology and Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Luanqing Che
- Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Zhejiang Province, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China
| | - Xiaohui Wang
- Department of Pharmacology and Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Zhengqiang Bao
- Department of Pharmacology and Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Fang Ji
- Department of Pharmacology and Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Gaoying Chen
- Department of Pharmacology and Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Huihui Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology and Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310009, China
| | - Wen Li
- Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Zhejiang Province, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China
| | - Zhihua Chen
- Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Zhejiang Province, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China
| | - Ying Liu
- Center for Chromosome Stability and Center for Healthy Aging, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Ian D Hickson
- Center for Chromosome Stability and Center for Healthy Aging, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark.
| | - Huahao Shen
- Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Zhejiang Province, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China; State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510120, China.
| | - Songmin Ying
- Department of Pharmacology and Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310009, China.
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8
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Chen HY, Chang JTC, Chien KY, Lee YS, You GR, Cheng AJ. The Endogenous GRP78 Interactome in Human Head and Neck Cancers: A Deterministic Role of Cell Surface GRP78 in Cancer Stemness. Sci Rep 2018; 8:536. [PMID: 29323121 PMCID: PMC5765009 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-14604-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2017] [Accepted: 10/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Cell surface glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78), an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone, was suggested to be a cancer stem cell marker, but the influence of this molecule on cancer stemness is poorly characterized. In this study, we developed a mass spectrometry platform to detect the endogenous interactome of GRP78 and investigated its role in cancer stemness. The interactome results showed that cell surface GRP78 associates with multiple molecules. The influence of cell population heterogeneity of head and neck cancer cell lines (OECM1, FaDu, and BM2) according to the cell surface expression levels of GRP78 and the GRP78 interactome protein, Progranulin, was investigated. The four sorted cell groups exhibited distinct cell cycle distributions, asymmetric/symmetric cell divisions, and different relative expression levels of stemness markers. Our results demonstrate that cell surface GRP78 promotes cancer stemness, whereas drives cells toward a non-stemlike phenotype when it chaperones Progranulin. We conclude that cell surface GRP78 is a chaperone exerting a deterministic influence on cancer stemness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsin-Ying Chen
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan
| | | | - Kun-Yi Chien
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan.,Proteomics Core Laboratory, Molecular Medicine Research Center, Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan
| | - Yun-Shien Lee
- Genomic Medicine Research Core Laboratory, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan.,Department of Biotechnology, Ming Chuan University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan
| | - Guo-Rung You
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan
| | - Ann-Joy Cheng
- Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan. .,Department of Radiation Oncology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan. .,Department of Medical Biotechnology and Laboratory Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan.
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9
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Cadherins Associate with Distinct Stem Cell-Related Transcription Factors to Coordinate the Maintenance of Stemness in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Stem Cells Int 2017; 2017:5091541. [PMID: 28392805 PMCID: PMC5368378 DOI: 10.1155/2017/5091541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2016] [Revised: 01/05/2017] [Accepted: 01/17/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive type of breast cancer with poor prognosis and is enriched in cancer stem cells (CSCs). However, it is not completely understood how the CSCs were maintained in TNBC. In this study, by analyzing The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) provisional datasets and several small-size breast datasets, we found that cadherins (CDHs) 2, 4, 6, and 17 were frequently amplified/overexpressed in 47% of TNBC while E-cadherin (CDH1) was downregulated/mutated at 10%. The alterations of CDH2/4/6/17 were strongly associated with the elevated levels of several stem cell-related transcription factors (SC-TFs) including FOXM1, MCM2, WWTR1, SNAI1, and SOX9. CDH2/4/6/17-enriched genes including FOXM1 and MCM2 were also clustered and regulated by NFY (nuclear transcription factor Y) and/or EVI1/MECOM. Meanwhile, these SC-TFs including NFYA were upregulated in TNBC cells, but they were downregulated in luminal type of cells. Furthermore, small compounds might be predicted via the Connectivity Map analysis to target TNBC with the alterations of CDH2/4/6/17 and SC-TFs. Together with the important role of these SC-TFs in the stem cell regulation, our data provide novel insights into the maintenance of CSCs in TNBC and the discovery of these SC-TFs associated with the alterations of CDH2/4/6/17 has an implication in targeted therapy of TNBC.
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10
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Kaur S, Elkahloun AG, Singh SP, Chen QR, Meerzaman DM, Song T, Manu N, Wu W, Mannan P, Garfield SH, Roberts DD. A function-blocking CD47 antibody suppresses stem cell and EGF signaling in triple-negative breast cancer. Oncotarget 2017; 7:10133-52. [PMID: 26840086 PMCID: PMC4891109 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.7100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2016] [Accepted: 01/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
CD47 is a signaling receptor for thrombospondin-1 and the counter-receptor for signal-regulatory protein-α (SIRPα). By inducing inhibitory SIRPα signaling, elevated CD47 expression by some cancers prevents macrophage phagocytosis. The anti-human CD47 antibody B6H12 inhibits tumor growth in several xenograft models, presumably by preventing SIRPα engagement. However, CD47 signaling in nontransformed and some malignant cells regulates self-renewal, suggesting that CD47 antibodies may therapeutically target cancer stem cells (CSCs). Treatment of MDA-MB-231 breast CSCs with B6H12 decreased proliferation and asymmetric cell division. Similar effects were observed in T47D CSCs but not in MCF7 breast carcinoma or MCF10A breast epithelial cells. Gene expression analysis in breast CSCs treated with B6H12 showed decreased expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and the stem cell transcription factor KLF4. EGFR and KLF4 mRNAs are known targets of microRNA-7, and B6H12 treatment correspondingly enhanced microRNA-7 expression in breast CSCs. B6H12 treatment also acutely inhibited EGF-induced EGFR tyrosine phosphorylation. Expression of B6H12-responsive genes correlated with CD47 mRNA expression in human breast cancers, suggesting that the CD47 signaling pathways identified in breast CSCs are functional in vivo. These data reveal a novel SIRPα-independent mechanism by which therapeutic CD47 antibodies could control tumor growth by autonomously forcing differentiation of CSC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sukhbir Kaur
- Laboratory of Pathology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Abdel G Elkahloun
- Cancer Genetics and Comparative Genomics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Satya P Singh
- Inflammation Biology Section, Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Qing-Rong Chen
- Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Daoud M Meerzaman
- Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Timothy Song
- Laboratory of Pathology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Nidhi Manu
- Laboratory of Pathology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Weiwei Wu
- Cancer Genetics and Comparative Genomics Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Poonam Mannan
- Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Susan H Garfield
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - David D Roberts
- Laboratory of Pathology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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11
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Pietilä M, Vijay GV, Soundararajan R, Yu X, Symmans WF, Sphyris N, Mani SA. FOXC2 regulates the G2/M transition of stem cell-rich breast cancer cells and sensitizes them to PLK1 inhibition. Sci Rep 2016; 6:23070. [PMID: 27064522 PMCID: PMC4827390 DOI: 10.1038/srep23070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2015] [Accepted: 02/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer cells with stem cell properties (CSCs) underpin the chemotherapy resistance and high therapeutic failure of triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs). Even though CSCs are known to proliferate more slowly, they are sensitive to inhibitors of G2/M kinases such as polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1). Understanding the cell cycle regulatory mechanisms of CSCs will help target these cells more efficiently. Herein, we identify a novel role for the transcription factor FOXC2, which is mostly expressed in CSCs, in the regulation of cell cycle of CSC-enriched breast cancer cells. We demonstrate that FOXC2 expression is regulated in a cell cycle-dependent manner, with FOXC2 protein levels accumulating in G2, and rapidly decreasing during mitosis. Knockdown of FOXC2 in CSC-enriched TNBC cells delays mitotic entry without significantly affecting the overall proliferation rate of these cells. Moreover, PLK1 activity is important for FOXC2 protein stability, since PLK1 inhibition reduces FOXC2 protein levels. Indeed, FOXC2 expressing CSC-enriched TNBC cells are sensitive to PLK1 inhibition. Collectively, our findings demonstrate a novel role for FOXC2 as a regulator of the G2/M transition and elucidate the reason for the observed sensitivity of CSC-enriched breast cancer cells to PLK1 inhibitor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mika Pietilä
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Geraldine V. Vijay
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Rama Soundararajan
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Xian Yu
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX, USA
| | - William F. Symmans
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Nathalie Sphyris
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Sendurai A. Mani
- Department of Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX, USA
- Metastasis Research Centre, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX, USA
- Center for Stem Cells and Developmental Biology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Centre, Houston, TX, USA
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12
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Sehl ME, Shimada M, Landeros A, Lange K, Wicha MS. Modeling of Cancer Stem Cell State Transitions Predicts Therapeutic Response. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0135797. [PMID: 26397099 PMCID: PMC4580445 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2014] [Accepted: 07/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) possess capacity to both self-renew and generate all cells within a tumor, and are thought to drive tumor recurrence. Targeting the stem cell niche to eradicate CSCs represents an important area of therapeutic development. The complex nature of many interacting elements of the stem cell niche, including both intracellular signals and microenvironmental growth factors and cytokines, creates a challenge in choosing which elements to target, alone or in combination. Stochastic stimulation techniques allow for the careful study of complex systems in biology and medicine and are ideal for the investigation of strategies aimed at CSC eradication. We present a mathematical model of the breast cancer stem cell (BCSC) niche to predict population dynamics during carcinogenesis and in response to treatment. Using data from cell line and mouse xenograft experiments, we estimate rates of interconversion between mesenchymal and epithelial states in BCSCs and find that EMT/MET transitions occur frequently. We examine bulk tumor growth dynamics in response to alterations in the rate of symmetric self-renewal of BCSCs and find that small changes in BCSC behavior can give rise to the Gompertzian growth pattern observed in breast tumors. Finally, we examine stochastic reaction kinetic simulations in which elements of the breast cancer stem cell niche are inhibited individually and in combination. We find that slowing self-renewal and disrupting the positive feedback loop between IL-6, Stat3 activation, and NF-κB signaling by simultaneous inhibition of IL-6 and HER2 is the most effective combination to eliminate both mesenchymal and epithelial populations of BCSCs. Predictions from our model and simulations show excellent agreement with experimental data showing the efficacy of combined HER2 and Il-6 blockade in reducing BCSC populations. Our findings will be directly examined in a planned clinical trial of combined HER2 and IL-6 targeted therapy in HER2-positive breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary E. Sehl
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
- Department of Biomathematics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | | | - Alfonso Landeros
- Department of Biomathematics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Kenneth Lange
- Department of Biomathematics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
- Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
- Department of Statistics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Max S. Wicha
- University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
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Evaluating the immortal strand hypothesis in cancer stem cells: Symmetric/self-renewal as the relevant surrogate marker of tumorigenicity. Biochem Pharmacol 2014; 91:129-34. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2014.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2014] [Revised: 06/09/2014] [Accepted: 06/09/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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14
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Pine SR, Liu W. Asymmetric cell division and template DNA co-segregation in cancer stem cells. Front Oncol 2014; 4:226. [PMID: 25191642 PMCID: PMC4139651 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2014.00226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2014] [Accepted: 08/06/2014] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
During tissue homeostasis, normal stem cells self-renew and repopulate the diverse cell types found within the tissue via a series of carefully controlled symmetric and asymmetric cell divisions (ACDs). The notion that solid tumors comprise a subset of cancer stem cells (CSCs) with dysregulated self-renewal and excessive symmetric cell divisions has led to numerous studies aimed to elucidate the mechanisms regulating ACD under steady-state conditions, during stem-cell expansion and in cancer. In this perspective, we focus on a type of asymmetry that can be established during ACD, called non-random co-segregation of template DNA, which has been identified across numerous species, cell types, and cancers. We discuss the role of p53 loss in maintaining self-renewal in both normal and malignant cells. We then review our current knowledge of the mechanisms underlying co-segregation of template DNA strands and the stem-cell pathways associated with it in normal and CSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharon R Pine
- Department of Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , New Brunswick, NJ , USA
| | - Wenyu Liu
- Department of Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , New Brunswick, NJ , USA
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