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Goode EA, Orozco-Moreno M, Hodgson K, Nabilah A, Murali M, Peng Z, Merx J, Rossing E, Pijnenborg JFA, Boltje TJ, Wang N, Elliott DJ, Munkley J. Sialylation Inhibition Can Partially Revert Acquired Resistance to Enzalutamide in Prostate Cancer Cells. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:2953. [PMID: 39272811 PMCID: PMC11393965 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16172953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2024] [Revised: 08/08/2024] [Accepted: 08/22/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Prostate cancer is a lethal solid malignancy and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in males worldwide. Treatments, including radical prostatectomy, radiotherapy, and hormone therapy, are available and have improved patient survival; however, recurrence remains a huge clinical challenge. Enzalutamide is a second-generation androgen receptor antagonist that is used to treat castrate-resistant prostate cancer. Among patients who initially respond to enzalutamide, virtually all acquire secondary resistance, and an improved understanding of the mechanisms involved is urgently needed. Aberrant glycosylation, and, in particular, alterations to sialylated glycans, have been reported as mediators of therapy resistance in cancer, but a link between tumour-associated glycans and resistance to therapy in prostate cancer has not yet been investigated. Here, using cell line models, we show that prostate cancer cells with acquired resistance to enzalutamide therapy have an upregulation of the sialyltransferase ST6 beta-galactoside alpha-2,6-sialyltransferase 1 (ST6GAL1) and increased levels of α2,6-sialylated N-glycans. Furthermore, using the sialyltransferase inhibitor P-SiaFNEtoc, we discover that acquired resistance to enzalutamide can be partially reversed by combining enzalutamide therapy with sialic acid blockade. Our findings identify a potential role for ST6GAL1-mediated aberrant sialylation in acquired resistance to enzalutamide therapy for prostate cancer and suggest that sialic acid blockade in combination with enzalutamide may represent a novel therapeutic approach in patients with advanced disease. Our study also highlights the potential to bridge the fields of cancer biology and glycobiology to develop novel combination therapies for prostate cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Archer Goode
- Newcastle University Centre for Cancer, Newcastle University Institute of Biosciences, Newcastle NE1 3BZ, UK
| | - Margarita Orozco-Moreno
- Newcastle University Centre for Cancer, Newcastle University Institute of Biosciences, Newcastle NE1 3BZ, UK
| | - Kirsty Hodgson
- Newcastle University Centre for Cancer, Newcastle University Institute of Biosciences, Newcastle NE1 3BZ, UK
| | - Amirah Nabilah
- Newcastle University Centre for Cancer, Newcastle University Institute of Biosciences, Newcastle NE1 3BZ, UK
| | - Meera Murali
- Newcastle University Centre for Cancer, Newcastle University Institute of Biosciences, Newcastle NE1 3BZ, UK
| | - Ziqian Peng
- Newcastle University Centre for Cancer, Newcastle University Institute of Biosciences, Newcastle NE1 3BZ, UK
| | - Jona Merx
- Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, 6525 XZ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Emiel Rossing
- GlycoTherapeutics B.V., 6511 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | | | - Thomas J Boltje
- Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, 6525 XZ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- GlycoTherapeutics B.V., 6511 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Ning Wang
- The Mellanby Centre for Musculoskeletal Research, Division of Clinical Medicine, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
- Leicester Cancer Research Centre, Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE2 7LX, UK
| | - David J Elliott
- Newcastle University Centre for Cancer, Newcastle University Institute of Biosciences, Newcastle NE1 3BZ, UK
| | - Jennifer Munkley
- Newcastle University Centre for Cancer, Newcastle University Institute of Biosciences, Newcastle NE1 3BZ, UK
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Zhou X, Chi K, Zhang C, Liu Q, Yang G. Sialylation: A Cloak for Tumors to Trick the Immune System in the Microenvironment. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:832. [PMID: 37372117 DOI: 10.3390/biology12060832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023]
Abstract
The tumor microenvironment (TME), where the tumor cells incite the surrounding normal cells to create an immune suppressive environment, reduces the effectiveness of immune responses during cancer development. Sialylation, a type of glycosylation that occurs on cell surface proteins, lipids, and glycoRNAs, is known to accumulate in tumors and acts as a "cloak" to help tumor cells evade immunological surveillance. In the last few years, the role of sialylation in tumor proliferation and metastasis has become increasingly evident. With the advent of single-cell and spatial sequencing technologies, more research is being conducted to understand the effects of sialylation on immunity regulation. This review provides updated insights into recent research on the function of sialylation in tumor biology and summarizes the latest developments in sialylation-targeted tumor therapeutics, including antibody-mediated and metabolic-based sialylation inhibition, as well as interference with sialic acid-Siglec interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoman Zhou
- The Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Kaijun Chi
- The Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Chairui Zhang
- The Key Laboratory of Carbohydrate Chemistry and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Biotechnology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Quan Liu
- Department of Medical Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Ganglong Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Biochemical Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
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Fei F, Zhang M, Tarighat SS, Joo EJ, Yang L, Heisterkamp N. Galectin-1 and Galectin-3 in B-Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232214359. [PMID: 36430839 PMCID: PMC9694201 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232214359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Revised: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute lymphoblastic leukemias arising from the malignant transformation of B-cell precursors (BCP-ALLs) are protected against chemotherapy by both intrinsic factors as well as by interactions with bone marrow stromal cells. Galectin-1 and Galectin-3 are lectins with overlapping specificity for binding polyLacNAc glycans. Both are expressed by bone marrow stromal cells and by hematopoietic cells but show different patterns of expression, with Galectin-3 dynamically regulated by extrinsic factors such as chemotherapy. In a comparison of Galectin-1 x Galectin-3 double null mutant to wild-type murine BCP-ALL cells, we found reduced migration, inhibition of proliferation, and increased sensitivity to drug treatment in the double knockout cells. Plant-derived carbohydrates GM-CT-01 and GR-MD-02 were used to inhibit extracellular Galectin-1/-3 binding to BCP-ALL cells in co-culture with stromal cells. Treatment with these compounds attenuated migration of the BCP-ALL cells to stromal cells and sensitized human BCP-ALL cells to vincristine and the targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor nilotinib. Because N-glycan sialylation catalyzed by the enzyme ST6Gal1 can regulate Galectin cell-surface binding, we also compared the ability of BCP-ALL wild-type and ST6Gal1 knockdown cells to resist vincristine treatment when they were co-cultured with Galectin-1 or Galectin-3 knockout stromal cells. Consistent with previous results, stromal Galectin-3 was important for maintaining BCP-ALL fitness during chemotherapy exposure. In contrast, stromal Galectin-1 did not significantly contribute to drug resistance, and there was no clear effect of ST6Gal1-catalysed N-glycan sialylation. Taken together, our results indicate a complicated joint contribution of Galectin-1 and Galectin-3 to BCP-ALL survival, with different roles for endogenous and stromal produced Galectins. These data indicate it will be important to efficiently block both extracellular and intracellular Galectin-1 and Galectin-3 with the goal of reducing BCP-ALL persistence in the protective bone marrow niche during chemotherapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Fei
- Section of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA
| | - Mingfeng Zhang
- Department of Systems Biology, Beckman Research Institute City of Hope, Monrovia, CA 91016, USA
| | - Somayeh S. Tarighat
- Section of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Hematology/Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles, CA 90027, USA
| | - Eun Ji Joo
- Department of Systems Biology, Beckman Research Institute City of Hope, Monrovia, CA 91016, USA
| | - Lu Yang
- Department of Systems Biology, Beckman Research Institute City of Hope, Monrovia, CA 91016, USA
| | - Nora Heisterkamp
- Department of Systems Biology, Beckman Research Institute City of Hope, Monrovia, CA 91016, USA
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-626-218-7503
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GC S, Bellis SL, Hjelmeland AB. ST6Gal1: Oncogenic signaling pathways and targets. Front Mol Biosci 2022; 9:962908. [PMID: 36106023 PMCID: PMC9465715 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2022.962908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The Golgi-sialyltransferase ST6Gal1 (βgalactosidase α2,6 sialyltransferase 1), adds the negatively charged sugar, sialic acid, to the terminal galactose of N-glycosylated proteins. Upregulation of ST6Gal1 is observed in many malignancies, and a large body of research has determined that ST6Gal1-mediated α2,6 sialylation impacts cancer hallmarks. ST6Gal1 affects oncogenic behaviors including sustained proliferation, enhanced self-renewal, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, invasion, and chemoresistance. However, there are relatively few ST6GaL1 related signaling pathways that are well-established to mediate these biologies: greater delineation of specific targets and signaling mechanisms that are orchestrated by ST6Gal1 is needed. The aim of this review is to provide a summary of our current understanding of select oncogenic signaling pathways and targets affected by ST6Gal1.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Anita B. Hjelmeland
- Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States
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