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Gómez-Gil V. Therapeutic Implications of TGFβ in Cancer Treatment: A Systematic Review. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:379. [PMID: 33498521 PMCID: PMC7864190 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13030379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Revised: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) is a pleiotropic cytokine that participates in a wide range of biological functions. The alterations in the expression levels of this factor, or the deregulation of its signaling cascade, can lead to different pathologies, including cancer. A great variety of therapeutic strategies targeting TGFβ, or the members included in its signaling pathway, are currently being researched in cancer treatment. However, the dual role of TGFβ, as a tumor suppressor or a tumor-promoter, together with its crosstalk with other signaling pathways, has hampered the development of safe and effective treatments aimed at halting the cancer progression. This systematic literature review aims to provide insight into the different approaches available to regulate TGFβ and/or the molecules involved in its synthesis, activation, or signaling, as a cancer treatment. The therapeutic strategies most commonly investigated include antisense oligonucleotides, which prevent TGFβ synthesis, to molecules that block the interaction between TGFβ and its signaling receptors, together with inhibitors of the TGFβ signaling cascade-effectors. The effectiveness and possible complications of the different potential therapies available are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verónica Gómez-Gil
- Department of Biomedical Sciences (Area of Pharmacology), School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
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ErbB3 Phosphorylation as Central Event in Adaptive Resistance to Targeted Therapy in Metastatic Melanoma: Early Detection in CTCs during Therapy and Insights into Regulation by Autocrine Neuregulin. Cancers (Basel) 2019; 11:cancers11101425. [PMID: 31557826 PMCID: PMC6826737 DOI: 10.3390/cancers11101425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2019] [Revised: 09/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years the introduction of target therapies with BRAF and MEK inhibitors (MAPKi) and of immunotherapy with anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibodies have dramatically improved survival of metastatic melanoma patients. Despite these changes drug resistance remains a major hurdle. Several mechanisms are at the basis of drug resistance. Particular attention has been devoted over the last years to unravel mechanisms at the basis of adaptive/non genetic resistance occurring in BRAF mutated melanomas upon treatment with to MAPKi. In this paper we focus on the involvement of activation of ErbB3 receptor following early exposure of melanoma cells to BRAF or MEK inhibitors, and the following induction of PI3K/AKT pathway. Although different mechanisms have been invoked in the past at the basis of this activation we show here with a combination of approaches that autocrine production of neuregulin by melanoma cells is a major factor responsible for ErbB3 phosphorylation and downstream AKT activation. Interestingly the kinetic of neuregulin production and of the ensuing ErbB3 phosphorylation is different in different melanoma cell lines which underscores the high degree of tumor heterogeneity. Moreover, heterogeneity is further highlighted by the evidence that in different cell lines neuregulin upregulation can occur at the transcriptional or at the post-transcritpional level. Finally we complement our study by showing with a liquid biopsy assay that circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from melanoma patients undergo upregulation of ErbB3 phosphorylation in vivo shortly after initiation of therapy.
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Xu W, Wei Q, Han M, Zhou B, Wang H, Zhang J, Wang Q, Sun J, Feng L, Wang S, Ye Y, Wang X, Zhou J, Jin H. CCL2-SQSTM1 positive feedback loop suppresses autophagy to promote chemoresistance in gastric cancer. Int J Biol Sci 2018; 14:1054-1066. [PMID: 29989092 PMCID: PMC6036739 DOI: 10.7150/ijbs.25349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2018] [Accepted: 05/10/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Chemotherapy is one of the most important approaches for the treatment of various cancers. However, tumor cells often develop resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. The tumor microenvironment reconstituted by various cytokines secreted from immune cells was recently found to play important roles in affecting therapeutic response of tumor cells. Herein, we reported that tumor cells can secrete autocrine cytokines to confer chemoresistance by inactivating proapoptotic autophagy. Through cytokine screening, we found that drug resistant cancer cells secreted more CCL2 than drug sensitive cells. Such secreted CCL2 could not only maintain chemoresistance in drug-resistant cancer cells but also confer drug resistance to drug-sensitive cancer cells. CCL2 attenuated drug-induced cytotoxicity by activating PI3K-Akt-mTOR signaling to inhibit proapoptotic autophagy and increase SQSTM1 expression. CCL2 expression in primary carcinoma tissues also correlated well with SQSTM1 expression. Either CCL2 knock-down or autophagy induction successfully reversed drug resistance of tumor cells. Moreover, increased expression of SQSTM1 in turn activated CCL2 transcription via NF-κB signal pathway, representing a positive feedback loop to maintain drug resistance. Therefore, our results provided a new insight to understand drug resistance, and indicated the potential value of CCL2 as a biomarker and intervention target for chemotherapy resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenxia Xu
- Labortaory of Cancer Biology, Key Laboratory of Biotherapy in Zhejiang, Sir Runrun Shaw hospital, Medical School of Zhejiang University, China
| | - Qi Wei
- Labortaory of Cancer Biology, Key Laboratory of Biotherapy in Zhejiang, Sir Runrun Shaw hospital, Medical School of Zhejiang University, China
| | - Mengjiao Han
- Department of Medical Oncology, Sir Runrun Shaw hospital, Medical School of Zhejiang University, China
| | - Bingluo Zhou
- Department of Medical Oncology, Sir Runrun Shaw hospital, Medical School of Zhejiang University, China
| | - Hanying Wang
- Department of Medical Oncology, Sir Runrun Shaw hospital, Medical School of Zhejiang University, China
| | - Jianbing Zhang
- Pathology Center, Shanghai General Hospital, Medical School of Shanghai Jiaotong University
| | - Qiang Wang
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Toxicology, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jie Sun
- Labortaory of Cancer Biology, Key Laboratory of Biotherapy in Zhejiang, Sir Runrun Shaw hospital, Medical School of Zhejiang University, China
| | - Lifeng Feng
- Labortaory of Cancer Biology, Key Laboratory of Biotherapy in Zhejiang, Sir Runrun Shaw hospital, Medical School of Zhejiang University, China
| | - Shouyu Wang
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Toxicology, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yang Ye
- Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health Laboratory Science, School of Medicine, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xian Wang
- Department of Medical Oncology, Sir Runrun Shaw hospital, Medical School of Zhejiang University, China
| | - Jianwei Zhou
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Toxicology, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China
| | - Hongchuan Jin
- Labortaory of Cancer Biology, Key Laboratory of Biotherapy in Zhejiang, Sir Runrun Shaw hospital, Medical School of Zhejiang University, China
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Kodet O, Dvořánková B, Bendlová B, Sýkorová V, Krajsová I, Štork J, Kučera J, Szabo P, Strnad H, Kolář M, Vlček Č, Smetana K, Lacina L. Microenvironment‑driven resistance to B‑Raf inhibition in a melanoma patient is accompanied by broad changes of gene methylation and expression in distal fibroblasts. Int J Mol Med 2018; 41:2687-2703. [PMID: 29393387 PMCID: PMC5846633 DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2018.3448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2017] [Accepted: 01/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The incidence of malignant melanoma is rapidly increasing and current medicine is offering only limited options for treatment of the advanced disease. For B‑Raf mutated melanomas, treatment with mutation‑specific drug inhibitors may be used. Unfortunately, tumors frequently acquire resistance to the treatment. Tumor microenvironment, namely cancer‑associated fibroblasts, largely influence this acquired resistance. In the present study, fibroblasts were isolated from a patient suffering from acrolentiginous melanoma (Breslow, 4.0 mm; Clark, IV; B‑Raf V600E mutated). The present study focused on the expression of structural and functional markers of fibroblast activation in melanoma‑associated fibroblasts (MAFs; isolated prior to therapy initiation) as well as in autologous control fibroblasts (ACFs) of the same patient isolated during B‑Raf inhibitor therapy, yet before clinical progression of the disease. Analysis of gene transcription was also performed, as well as DNA methylation status analysis at the genomic scale of both isolates. MAFs were positive for smooth muscle actin (SMA), which is a marker of myofibroblasts and the hallmark of cancer stoma. Surprisingly, ACF isolated from the distant uninvolved skin of the same patient also exhibited strong SMA expression. A similar phenotype was also observed in control dermal fibroblasts (CDFs; from different donors) exclusively following stimulation by transforming growth factor (TGF)‑β1. Immunohistochemistry confirmed that melanoma cells potently produce TGF‑β1. Significant differences were also identified in gene transcription and in DNA methylation status at the genomic scale. Upregulation of SMA was observed in ACF cells at the protein and transcriptional levels. The present results support recent experimental findings that tumor microenvironment is driving resistance to B‑Raf inhibition in patients with melanoma. Such an activated microenvironment may be viable for the growth of circulating melanoma cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ondřej Kodet
- Institute of Anatomy
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 12808 Prague
- BIOCEV, Biotechnology and Biomedicine Center of The Academy of Sciences and Charles University in Vestec, 25250 Vestec
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, General University Hospital, 12808 Prague
| | - Barbora Dvořánková
- Institute of Anatomy
- BIOCEV, Biotechnology and Biomedicine Center of The Academy of Sciences and Charles University in Vestec, 25250 Vestec
| | | | | | - Ivana Krajsová
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, General University Hospital, 12808 Prague
| | - Jiří Štork
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 12808 Prague
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, General University Hospital, 12808 Prague
| | - Jan Kučera
- Institute of Anatomy
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 12808 Prague
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, General University Hospital, 12808 Prague
| | - Pavol Szabo
- Institute of Anatomy
- BIOCEV, Biotechnology and Biomedicine Center of The Academy of Sciences and Charles University in Vestec, 25250 Vestec
| | - Hynek Strnad
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of The Czech Republic, 14220 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Kolář
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of The Czech Republic, 14220 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Čestmír Vlček
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of The Czech Republic, 14220 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Karel Smetana
- Institute of Anatomy
- BIOCEV, Biotechnology and Biomedicine Center of The Academy of Sciences and Charles University in Vestec, 25250 Vestec
| | - Lukáš Lacina
- Institute of Anatomy
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 12808 Prague
- BIOCEV, Biotechnology and Biomedicine Center of The Academy of Sciences and Charles University in Vestec, 25250 Vestec
- Department of Dermatology and Venereology, General University Hospital, 12808 Prague
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Singleton KR, Crawford L, Tsui E, Manchester HE, Maertens O, Liu X, Liberti MV, Magpusao AN, Stein EM, Tingley JP, Frederick DT, Boland GM, Flaherty KT, McCall SJ, Krepler C, Sproesser K, Herlyn M, Adams DJ, Locasale JW, Cichowski K, Mukherjee S, Wood KC. Melanoma Therapeutic Strategies that Select against Resistance by Exploiting MYC-Driven Evolutionary Convergence. Cell Rep 2017; 21:2796-2812. [PMID: 29212027 PMCID: PMC5728698 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.11.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2017] [Revised: 10/02/2017] [Accepted: 11/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Diverse pathways drive resistance to BRAF/MEK inhibitors in BRAF-mutant melanoma, suggesting that durable control of resistance will be a challenge. By combining statistical modeling of genomic data from matched pre-treatment and post-relapse patient tumors with functional interrogation of >20 in vitro and in vivo resistance models, we discovered that major pathways of resistance converge to activate the transcription factor, c-MYC (MYC). MYC expression and pathway gene signatures were suppressed following drug treatment, and then rebounded during progression. Critically, MYC activation was necessary and sufficient for resistance, and suppression of MYC activity using genetic approaches or BET bromodomain inhibition was sufficient to resensitize cells and delay BRAFi resistance. Finally, MYC-driven, BRAFi-resistant cells are hypersensitive to the inhibition of MYC synthetic lethal partners, including SRC family and c-KIT tyrosine kinases, as well as glucose, glutamine, and serine metabolic pathways. These insights enable the design of combination therapies that select against resistance evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine R Singleton
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Lorin Crawford
- Department of Statistical Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Elizabeth Tsui
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Haley E Manchester
- Genetics Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Ophelia Maertens
- Genetics Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Xiaojing Liu
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Maria V Liberti
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Graduate Field of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cell Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Anniefer N Magpusao
- Department of Genetics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Elizabeth M Stein
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Jennifer P Tingley
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Dennie T Frederick
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Genevieve M Boland
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Keith T Flaherty
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | | | - Clemens Krepler
- Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Katrin Sproesser
- Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Meenhard Herlyn
- Molecular and Cellular Oncogenesis Program, The Wistar Institute, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Drew J Adams
- Department of Genetics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Jason W Locasale
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Karen Cichowski
- Genetics Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Ludwig Center at Harvard, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Sayan Mukherjee
- Department of Statistical Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA; Departments of Mathematics and Computer Science, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - Kris C Wood
- Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
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Basanta D, Anderson ARA. Homeostasis Back and Forth: An Ecoevolutionary Perspective of Cancer. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2017; 7:cshperspect.a028332. [PMID: 28289244 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a028332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The role of genetic mutations in cancer is indisputable: They are a key source of tumor heterogeneity and drive its evolution to malignancy. But, the success of these new mutant cells relies on their ability to disrupt the homeostasis that characterizes healthy tissues. Mutated clones unable to break free from intrinsic and extrinsic homeostatic controls will fail to establish a tumor. Here, we will discuss, through the lens of mathematical and computational modeling, why an evolutionary view of cancer needs to be complemented by an ecological perspective to understand why cancer cells invade and subsequently transform their environment during progression. Importantly, this ecological perspective needs to account for tissue homeostasis in the organs that tumors invade, because they perturb the normal regulatory dynamics of these tissues, often coopting them for its own gain. Furthermore, given our current lack of success in treating advanced metastatic cancers through tumor-centric therapeutic strategies, we propose that treatments that aim to restore homeostasis could become a promising venue of clinical research. This ecoevolutionary view of cancer requires mechanistic mathematical models to both integrate clinical with biological data from different scales but also to detangle the dynamic feedback between the tumor and its environment. Importantly, for these models to be useful, they need to embrace a higher degree of complexity than many mathematical modelers are traditionally comfortable with.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Basanta
- Integrated Mathematical Oncology Department, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida 33612
| | - Alexander R A Anderson
- Integrated Mathematical Oncology Department, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida 33612
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Nath S, Devi GR. Three-dimensional culture systems in cancer research: Focus on tumor spheroid model. Pharmacol Ther 2016; 163:94-108. [PMID: 27063403 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2016.03.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 554] [Impact Index Per Article: 69.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Cancer cells propagated in three-dimensional (3D) culture systems exhibit physiologically relevant cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions, gene expression and signaling pathway profiles, heterogeneity and structural complexity that reflect in vivo tumors. In recent years, development of various 3D models has improved the study of host-tumor interaction and use of high-throughput screening platforms for anti-cancer drug discovery and development. This review attempts to summarize the various 3D culture systems, with an emphasis on the most well characterized and widely applied model - multicellular tumor spheroids. This review also highlights the various techniques to generate tumor spheroids, methods to characterize them, and its applicability in cancer research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sritama Nath
- Division of Surgical Sciences, Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, United States
| | - Gayathri R Devi
- Division of Surgical Sciences, Department of Surgery, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, United States; Duke Cancer Institute, Women's Cancer Program, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, United States.
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