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Fasler-Kan E, Milošević M, Ruggiero S, Aliu N, Cholewa D, Häcker FM, Dekany G, Bartenstein A, Berger SM. Cytokine Signaling in Pediatric Kidney Tumor Cell Lines WT-CLS1, WT-3ab and G-401. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:2281. [PMID: 38396958 PMCID: PMC10889092 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25042281] [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] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2024] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Renal tumors comprise ~7% of all malignant pediatric tumors. Approximately 90% of pediatric kidney tumors comprise Wilms tumors, and the remaining 10% include clear cell sarcoma of the kidney, malignant rhabdoid tumor of the kidney, renal cell carcinoma and other rare renal tumors. Over the last 30 years, the role of cytokines and their receptors has been considerably investigated in both cancer progression and anti-cancer therapy. However, more effective immunotherapies require the cytokine profiling of each tumor type and comprehensive understanding of tumor biology. In this study, we aimed to investigate the activation of signaling pathways in response to cytokines in three pediatric kidney tumor cell lines, in WT-CLS1 and WT-3ab cells (both are Wilms tumors), and in G-401 cells (a rhabdoid kidney tumor, formerly classified as Wilms tumor). We observed that interferon-alpha (IFN-α) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) very strongly induced the activation of the STAT1 protein, whereas IL-6 and IFN-α activated STAT3 and IL-4 activated STAT6 in all examined tumor cell lines. STAT protein activation was examined by flow cytometry and Western blot using phospho-specific anti-STAT antibodies which recognize only activated (phosphorylated) STAT proteins. Nuclear translocation of phospho-STAT proteins upon activation with specific cytokines was furthermore confirmed by immunofluorescence. Our results also showed that both IFN-α and IFN-γ caused upregulation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I proteins, however, these cytokines did not have any effect on the expression of MHC class II proteins. We also observed that pediatric kidney tumor cell lines exhibit the functional expression of an additional cytokine signaling pathway, the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-mediated activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). In summary, our data show that human pediatric renal tumor cell lines are responsive to stimulation with various human cytokines and could be used as in vitro models for profiling cytokine signaling pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizaveta Fasler-Kan
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children’s Hospital, Inselspital Bern, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland; (M.M.); (S.R.); (D.C.); (G.D.); (A.B.)
| | - Milan Milošević
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children’s Hospital, Inselspital Bern, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland; (M.M.); (S.R.); (D.C.); (G.D.); (A.B.)
| | - Sabrina Ruggiero
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children’s Hospital, Inselspital Bern, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland; (M.M.); (S.R.); (D.C.); (G.D.); (A.B.)
| | - Nijas Aliu
- Department of Human Genetics, Inselspital Bern, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland;
| | - Dietmar Cholewa
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children’s Hospital, Inselspital Bern, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland; (M.M.); (S.R.); (D.C.); (G.D.); (A.B.)
| | - Frank-Martin Häcker
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Switzerland, CH-9000 St. Gallen, Switzerland;
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Basel, CH-4031 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Gabriela Dekany
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children’s Hospital, Inselspital Bern, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland; (M.M.); (S.R.); (D.C.); (G.D.); (A.B.)
| | - Andreas Bartenstein
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children’s Hospital, Inselspital Bern, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland; (M.M.); (S.R.); (D.C.); (G.D.); (A.B.)
| | - Steffen M. Berger
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children’s Hospital, Inselspital Bern, University of Bern, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland; (M.M.); (S.R.); (D.C.); (G.D.); (A.B.)
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Bahrami M, Darabi S, Roozbahany NA, Abbaszadeh HA, Moghadasali R. Great potential of renal progenitor cells in kidney: From the development to clinic. Exp Cell Res 2024; 434:113875. [PMID: 38092345 DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2023.113875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Revised: 12/02/2023] [Accepted: 12/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
The mammalian renal organ represents a pinnacle of complexity, housing functional filtering units known as nephrons. During embryogenesis, the depletion of niches containing renal progenitor cells (RPCs) and the subsequent incapacity of adult kidneys to generate new nephrons have prompted the formulation of protocols aimed at isolating residual RPCs from mature kidneys and inducing their generation from diverse cell sources, notably pluripotent stem cells. Recent strides in the realm of regenerative medicine and the repair of tissues using stem cells have unveiled critical signaling pathways essential for the maintenance and generation of human RPCs in vitro. These findings have ushered in a new era for exploring novel strategies for renal protection. The present investigation delves into potential transcription factors and signaling cascades implicated in the realm of renal progenitor cells, focusing on their protection and differentiation. The discourse herein elucidates contemporary research endeavors dedicated to the acquisition of progenitor cells, offering crucial insights into the developmental mechanisms of these cells within the renal milieu and paving the way for the formulation of innovative treatment modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Bahrami
- Department of Biology and Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Laser Applications in Medical Sciences Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Shahram Darabi
- Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Research Institute for Non-Communicable Diseases, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran
| | | | - Hojjat Allah Abbaszadeh
- Laser Applications in Medical Sciences Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Reza Moghadasali
- Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
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Stevenson MJ, Phanor SK, Patel U, Gisselbrecht SS, Bulyk ML, O'Brien LL. Altered binding affinity of SIX1-Q177R correlates with enhanced WNT5A and WNT pathway effector expression in Wilms tumor. Dis Model Mech 2023; 16:dmm050208. [PMID: 37815464 PMCID: PMC10668032 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.050208] [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] [Received: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Wilms tumors present as an amalgam of varying proportions of tissues located within the developing kidney, one being the nephrogenic blastema comprising multipotent nephron progenitor cells (NPCs). The recurring missense mutation Q177R in NPC transcription factors SIX1 and SIX2 is most correlated with tumors of blastemal histology and is significantly associated with relapse. Yet, the transcriptional regulatory consequences of SIX1/2-Q177R that might promote tumor progression and recurrence have not been investigated extensively. Utilizing multiple Wilms tumor transcriptomic datasets, we identified upregulation of the gene encoding non-canonical WNT ligand WNT5A in addition to other WNT pathway effectors in SIX1/2-Q177R mutant tumors. SIX1 ChIP-seq datasets from Wilms tumors revealed shared binding sites for SIX1/SIX1-Q177R within a promoter of WNT5A and at putative distal cis-regulatory elements (CREs). We demonstrate colocalization of SIX1 and WNT5A in Wilms tumor tissue and utilize in vitro assays that support SIX1 and SIX1-Q177R activation of expression from the WNT5A CREs, as well as enhanced binding affinity within the WNT5A promoter that may promote the differential expression of WNT5A and other WNT pathway effectors associated with SIX1-Q177R tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J. Stevenson
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Sabrina K. Phanor
- Division of Genetics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Urvi Patel
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Stephen S. Gisselbrecht
- Division of Genetics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Martha L. Bulyk
- Division of Genetics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Lori L. O'Brien
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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Wojcik HM, Lovvorn HN, Hollingshead M, Pierce J, Stotler H, Murphy AJ, Borgel S, Phelps HM, Correa H, Perantoni AO. Exploiting embryonic niche conditions to grow Wilms tumor blastema in culture. Front Oncol 2023; 13:1091274. [PMID: 37007076 PMCID: PMC10061139 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2023.1091274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2022] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
IntroductionWilms Tumor (WT), or nephroblastoma, is the most common pediatric kidney cancer. Most WTs display a “favorable” triphasic histology, in which the tumor is comprised of blastemal, stromal, and epithelial cell types. Blastemal predominance after neoadjuvant chemotherapy or diffuse anaplasia (“unfavorable” histology; 5-8%) portend a worse prognosis. Blastema likely provide the putative cancer stem cells (CSCs), which retain molecular and histologic features characteristic of nephron progenitor cells (NPCs), within WTs. NPCs arise in the metanephric mesenchyme (MM) and populate the cap mesenchyme (CM) in the developing kidney. WT blastemal cells, like NPCs, similarly express markers, SIX2 and CITED1. Tumor xenotransplantation is currently the only dependable method to propagate tumor tissue for research or therapeutic screening, since efforts to culture tumors in vitro as monolayers have invariably failed. Therefore, a critical need exists to propagate WT stem cells rapidly and efficiently for high-throughput, real-time drug screening.MethodsPreviously, our lab developed niche conditions that support the propagation of murine NPCs in culture. Applying similar conditions to WTs, we assessed our ability to maintain key NPC "stemness" markers, SIX2, NCAM, and YAP1, and CSC marker ALDHI in cells from five distinct untreated patient tumors.ResultsAccordingly, our culture conditions maintained the expression of these markers in cultured WT cells through multiple passages of rapidly dividing cells.DiscussionThese findings suggest that our culture conditions sustain the WT blastemal population, as previously shown for normal NPCs. As a result, we have developed new WT cell lines and a multi-passage in vitro model for studying the blastemal lineage/CSCs in WTs. Furthermore, this system supports growth of heterogeneous WT cells, upon which potential drug therapies could be tested for efficacy and resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather M. Wojcik
- Cancer and Developmental Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, United States
| | - Harold N. Lovvorn
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Melinda Hollingshead
- Biological Testing Branch/Developmental Therapeutics Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, United States
| | - Janene Pierce
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Howard Stotler
- Leidos Biomedical Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD, United States
| | - Andrew J. Murphy
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Suzanne Borgel
- Leidos Biomedical Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD, United States
| | - Hannah M. Phelps
- Department of Pediatric Surgery, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Hernan Correa
- Division of Pediatric Pathology, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Alan O. Perantoni
- Cancer and Developmental Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, United States
- *Correspondence: Alan O. Perantoni,
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