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Plattner C, Lamberti G, Blattmann P, Kirchmair A, Rieder D, Loncova Z, Sturm G, Scheidl S, Ijsselsteijn M, Fotakis G, Noureen A, Lisandrelli R, Böck N, Nemati N, Krogsdam A, Daum S, Finotello F, Somarakis A, Schäfer A, Wilflingseder D, Gonzalez Acera M, Öfner D, Huber LA, Clevers H, Becker C, Farin HF, Greten FR, Aebersold R, de Miranda NF, Trajanoski Z. Functional and spatial proteomics profiling reveals intra- and intercellular signaling crosstalk in colorectal cancer. iScience 2023; 26:108399. [PMID: 38047086 PMCID: PMC10692669 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Precision oncology approaches for patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) continue to lag behind other solid cancers. Functional precision oncology-a strategy that is based on perturbing primary tumor cells from cancer patients-could provide a road forward to personalize treatment. We extend this paradigm to measuring proteome activity landscapes by acquiring quantitative phosphoproteomic data from patient-derived organoids (PDOs). We show that kinase inhibitors induce inhibitor- and patient-specific off-target effects and pathway crosstalk. Reconstruction of the kinase networks revealed that the signaling rewiring is modestly affected by mutations. We show non-genetic heterogeneity of the PDOs and upregulation of stemness and differentiation genes by kinase inhibitors. Using imaging mass-cytometry-based profiling of the primary tumors, we characterize the tumor microenvironment (TME) and determine spatial heterocellular crosstalk and tumor-immune cell interactions. Collectively, we provide a framework for inferring tumor cell intrinsic signaling and external signaling from the TME to inform precision (immuno-) oncology in CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Plattner
- Biocenter, Institute of Bioinformatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Giorgia Lamberti
- Biocenter, Institute of Bioinformatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Peter Blattmann
- Department of Biology, Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Alexander Kirchmair
- Biocenter, Institute of Bioinformatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Dietmar Rieder
- Biocenter, Institute of Bioinformatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Zuzana Loncova
- Biocenter, Institute of Bioinformatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Gregor Sturm
- Biocenter, Institute of Bioinformatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Stefan Scheidl
- Department of Visceral, Transplant and Thoracic Surgery, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Marieke Ijsselsteijn
- Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Georgios Fotakis
- Biocenter, Institute of Bioinformatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Asma Noureen
- Biocenter, Institute of Bioinformatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Rebecca Lisandrelli
- Biocenter, Institute of Bioinformatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Nina Böck
- Biocenter, Institute of Bioinformatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Niloofar Nemati
- Biocenter, Institute of Bioinformatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Anne Krogsdam
- Biocenter, Institute of Bioinformatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Sophia Daum
- Biocenter, Institute of Bioinformatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Francesca Finotello
- Biocenter, Institute of Bioinformatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Antonios Somarakis
- Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Alexander Schäfer
- Department of Biology, Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Doris Wilflingseder
- Institute of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Miguel Gonzalez Acera
- Department of Medicine 1, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Dietmar Öfner
- Department of Visceral, Transplant and Thoracic Surgery, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Lukas A. Huber
- Biocenter, Institute of Cell Biology, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Hans Clevers
- Hubrecht Institute, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Christoph Becker
- Department of Medicine 1, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Henner F. Farin
- Institute for Tumor Biology and Experimental Therapy, Georg-Speyer-Haus, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Frankfurt Cancer Institute, Goethe University, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), partner site Frankfurt/Mainz, a partnership with DKFZ Heidelberg, Frankfurt/Mainz, Germany
| | - Florian R. Greten
- Institute for Tumor Biology and Experimental Therapy, Georg-Speyer-Haus, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Frankfurt Cancer Institute, Goethe University, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), partner site Frankfurt/Mainz, a partnership with DKFZ Heidelberg, Frankfurt/Mainz, Germany
| | - Ruedi Aebersold
- Department of Biology, Institute of Molecular Systems Biology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Noel F.C.C. de Miranda
- Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, 2333 ZA Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Zlatko Trajanoski
- Biocenter, Institute of Bioinformatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
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Kilmister EJ, Koh SP, Weth FR, Gray C, Tan ST. Cancer Metastasis and Treatment Resistance: Mechanistic Insights and Therapeutic Targeting of Cancer Stem Cells and the Tumor Microenvironment. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10112988. [PMID: 36428556 PMCID: PMC9687343 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10112988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 11/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancer metastasis and treatment resistance are the main causes of treatment failure and cancer-related deaths. Their underlying mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated and have been attributed to the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs)-a small population of highly tumorigenic cancer cells with pluripotency and self-renewal properties, at the apex of a cellular hierarchy. CSCs drive metastasis and treatment resistance and are sustained by a dynamic tumor microenvironment (TME). Numerous pathways mediate communication between CSCs and/or the surrounding TME. These include a paracrine renin-angiotensin system and its convergent signaling pathways, the immune system, and other signaling pathways including the Notch, Wnt/β-catenin, and Sonic Hedgehog pathways. Appreciation of the mechanisms underlying metastasis and treatment resistance, and the pathways that regulate CSCs and the TME, is essential for developing a durable treatment for cancer. Pre-clinical and clinical studies exploring single-point modulation of the pathways regulating CSCs and the surrounding TME, have yielded partial and sometimes negative results. This may be explained by the presence of uninhibited alternative signaling pathways. An effective treatment of cancer may require a multi-target strategy with multi-step inhibition of signaling pathways that regulate CSCs and the TME, in lieu of the long-standing pursuit of a 'silver-bullet' single-target approach.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sabrina P. Koh
- Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, Wellington 6242, New Zealand
| | - Freya R. Weth
- Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, Wellington 6242, New Zealand
| | - Clint Gray
- Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, Wellington 6242, New Zealand
| | - Swee T. Tan
- Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, Wellington 6242, New Zealand
- Wellington Regional Plastic, Maxillofacial & Burns Unit, Hutt Hospital, Lower Hutt 5010, New Zealand
- Department of Surgery, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
- Correspondence:
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Niu Y, Yang W, Qian H, Sun Y. Intracellular and extracellular factors of colorectal cancer liver metastasis: a pivotal perplex to be fully elucidated. Cancer Cell Int 2022; 22:341. [DOI: 10.1186/s12935-022-02766-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractMetastasis is the leading cause of death in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, and the liver is the most common site of metastasis. Tumor cell metastasis can be thought of as an invasion-metastasis cascade and metastatic organotropism is thought to be a process that relies on the intrinsic properties of tumor cells and their interactions with molecules and cells in the microenvironment. Many studies have provided new insights into the molecular mechanism and contributing factors involved in CRC liver metastasis for a better understanding of the organ-specific metastasis process. The purpose of this review is to summarize the theories that explain CRC liver metastasis at multiple molecular dimensions (including genetic and non-genetic factors), as well as the main factors that cause CRC liver metastasis. Many findings suggest that metastasis may occur earlier than expected and with specific organ-anchoring property. The emergence of potential metastatic clones, the timing of dissemination, and the distinct routes of metastasis have been explained by genomic studies. The main force of CRC liver metastasis is also thought to be epigenetic alterations and dynamic phenotypic traits. Furthermore, we review key extrinsic factors that influence CRC cell metastasis and liver tropisms, such as pre-niches, tumor stromal cells, adhesion molecules, and immune/inflammatory responses in the tumor microenvironment. In addition, biomarkers associated with early diagnosis, prognosis, and recurrence of liver metastasis from CRC are summarized to enlighten potential clinical practice, including some markers that can be used as therapeutic targets to provide new perspectives for the treatment strategies of CRC liver metastasis.
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Hu LF, Lan HR, Huang D, Li XM, Jin KT. Personalized Immunotherapy in Colorectal Cancers: Where Do We Stand? Front Oncol 2021; 11:769305. [PMID: 34888246 PMCID: PMC8649954 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.769305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer death in the world. Immunotherapy using monoclonal antibodies, immune-checkpoint inhibitors, adoptive cell therapy, and cancer vaccines has raised great hopes for treating poor prognosis metastatic CRCs that are resistant to the conventional therapies. However, high inter-tumor and intra-tumor heterogeneity hinder the success of immunotherapy in CRC. Patients with a similar tumor phenotype respond differently to the same immunotherapy regimen. Mutation-based classification, molecular subtyping, and immunoscoring of CRCs facilitated the multi-aspect grouping of CRC patients and improved immunotherapy. Personalized immunotherapy using tumor-specific neoantigens provides the opportunity to consider each patient as an independent group deserving of individualized immunotherapy. In the recent decade, the development of sequencing and multi-omics techniques has helped us classify patients more precisely. The expansion of such advanced techniques along with the neoantigen-based immunotherapy could herald a new era in treating heterogeneous tumors such as CRC. In this review article, we provided the latest findings in immunotherapy of CRC. We elaborated on the heterogeneity of CRC patients as a bottleneck of CRC immunotherapy and reviewed the latest advances in personalized immunotherapy to overcome CRC heterogeneity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Feng Hu
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Shaoxing People’s Hospital (Shaoxing Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine), Shaoxing, China
| | - Huan-Rong Lan
- Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Affiliated Jinhua Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Jinhua, China
| | - Dong Huang
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Affiliated Jinhua Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Jinhua, China
| | - Xue-Min Li
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Jinhua Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Jinhua, China
| | - Ke-Tao Jin
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Affiliated Jinhua Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Jinhua, China
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Rosati D, Giordano A. Single-cell RNA sequencing and bioinformatics as tools to decipher cancer heterogenicity and mechanisms of drug resistance. Biochem Pharmacol 2021; 195:114811. [PMID: 34673017 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2021.114811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
It is well known that cancer is an aggressive disease, often associated with relapse, in many cases due to drug resistance. Cancer stem cell and clonal evolution are frequently causes of innate or acquired drug resistance. Current RNA sequencing technologies do not distinguish gene expression of different cell lineages because they are based on bulk cell studies. Single-cell RNA sequencing technologies and related bioinformatics clustering and differential expression analysis represent a turning point in cancer research. They are emerging as essential tools for dissecting tumors at single-cell resolution and represent novel tools to understand carcinogenesis and drug response. In this review, we will outline the role of these new technologies in addressing cancer heterogeneity and cell lineage-dependent drug resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diletta Rosati
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Antonio Giordano
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, Center for Biotechnology, College of Science and Technology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA.
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Deregulation of Transcriptional Enhancers in Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13143532. [PMID: 34298745 PMCID: PMC8303223 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13143532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Revised: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary One of the major challenges in cancer treatments is the dynamic adaptation of tumor cells to cancer therapies. In this regard, tumor cells can modify their response to environmental cues without altering their DNA sequence. This cell plasticity enables cells to undergo morphological and functional changes, for example, during the process of tumour metastasis or when acquiring resistance to cancer therapies. Central to cell plasticity, are the dynamic changes in gene expression that are controlled by a set of molecular switches called enhancers. Enhancers are DNA elements that determine when, where and to what extent genes should be switched on and off. Thus, defects in enhancer function can disrupt the gene expression program and can lead to tumour formation. Here, we review how enhancers control the activity of cancer-associated genes and how defects in these regulatory elements contribute to cell plasticity in cancer. Understanding enhancer (de)regulation can provide new strategies for modulating cell plasticity in tumour cells and can open new research avenues for cancer therapy. Abstract Epigenetic regulations can shape a cell’s identity by reversible modifications of the chromatin that ultimately control gene expression in response to internal and external cues. In this review, we first discuss the concept of cell plasticity in cancer, a process that is directly controlled by epigenetic mechanisms, with a particular focus on transcriptional enhancers as the cornerstone of epigenetic regulation. In the second part, we discuss mechanisms of enhancer deregulation in adult stem cells and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), as two paradigms of cell plasticity that are dependent on epigenetic regulation and serve as major sources of tumour heterogeneity. Finally, we review how genetic variations at enhancers and their epigenetic modifiers contribute to tumourigenesis, and we highlight examples of cancer drugs that target epigenetic modifications at enhancers.
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