1
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Tan P, Cai S, Huang Z, Li M, Liu S, Chen J, Fu W, Zhao L. E3 ubiquitin ligase FBXW11 as a novel inflammatory biomarker is associated with immune infiltration and NF-κB pathway activation in pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Cell Signal 2024; 116:111033. [PMID: 38182068 DOI: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2024.111033] [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: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/01/2024] [Indexed: 01/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pancreatic cancer (pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, PDAC) is an aggressive disease with an overall poor prognosis. Pancreatitis is a major risk factor for the development of PDAC. Due to the lack of reliable and accurate biomarkers, the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of PDAC face great challenges. It is of great significance to elucidate the pathogenesis of PDAC and explore novel inflammatory biomarkers. METHODS We identified E3 ubiquitin ligases associated with pancreatic inflammation by combining multiple GEO datasets and UbiNet 2.0, and integrating the WGCNA algorithm and Limma R package. A risk score model for PDAC patients was established by using LASSO regression. We investigated the correlation between FBXW11 and immune cell infiltration using CIBERSORT, mMCP-counter, ImmuCellAI-mouse, QUANTISEQ, and TIMER algorithms, based on GEO, ArrayExpress, and TCGA datasets. We used Ubibrowser 2.0 to predict potential substrates for FBXW11. WikiPathway, MSigDB Hallmark, and Elsevier pathway analysis of FBXW11 key substrates were also performed using the EnrichR database. We detected protein expression through IHC, immunofluorescence, and western blot in the cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis mouse model. RESULTS We first identified that FBXW11 exhibited a clear tendency to gradually increase in normal, pancreatitis, and PDAC patients. The validation analysis revealed that the FBXW11 protein exhibited significantly high expression in cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis mice, with its distribution primarily observed in the cytoplasm. Simultaneously, we developed a risk model utilizing the genes associated with FBXW11 to forecast the outcome of patients with PDAC and the likelihood of pancreatitis advancing to pancreatic cancer. Functional analysis showed that FBXW11, as a novel inflammatory biomarker, had a significant positive correlation with macrophage infiltration and the NF-κB signaling pathway. Finally, the western blot assay of the NF-κB signaling pathway in pancreatic tissues demonstrated that high activation of NF-κB was correlated with high expression of FBXW11. CONCLUSIONS Our research not only provides evidence for FBXW11 as a novel inflammatory biomarker but also provides new insights into the research and clinical treatment of pancreatic cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Tan
- Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an 710000, China; Metabolic Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases Key Laboratory of Luzhou City, Academician (Expert) Workstation of Sichuan Province, Department of General Surgery (Hepatopancreatobiliary surgery), The Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
| | - Shuang Cai
- Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an 710000, China
| | - Zhiwei Huang
- Department of General Surgery (Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery), The Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
| | - Mo Li
- Department of General Surgery (Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery), The Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
| | - Shenglu Liu
- Department of General Surgery (Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery), The Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
| | - Jiatong Chen
- Department of General Surgery (Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery), The Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
| | - Wenguang Fu
- Metabolic Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Diseases Key Laboratory of Luzhou City, Academician (Expert) Workstation of Sichuan Province, Department of General Surgery (Hepatopancreatobiliary surgery), The Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China.; Department of General Surgery (Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery), The Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, China
| | - Lingyu Zhao
- Department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an 710000, China.
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Lambies G, Lee SW, Duong-Polk K, Aza-Blanc P, Maganti S, Dawson DW, Commisso C. Cell polarity proteins promote macropinocytosis in response to metabolic stress. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.16.575943. [PMID: 38293142 PMCID: PMC10827152 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.16.575943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Macropinocytosis has emerged as a nutrient-scavenging pathway that cancer cells exploit to survive the nutrient-deprived conditions of the tumor microenvironment. Cancer cells are especially reliant on glutamine for their survival, and in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells, glutamine deficiency can enhance the stimulation of macropinocytosis, allowing the cells to escape metabolic stress through the production of extracellular-protein-derived amino acids. Here, we identify the atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) enzymes, PKCζ and PKCι as novel regulators of macropinocytosis. In normal epithelial cells, aPKCs are known to regulate cell polarity in association with the scaffold proteins Par3 and Par6, controlling the function of several targets, including the Par1 kinases. In PDAC cells, we identify that each of these cell polarity proteins are required for glutamine stress-induced macropinocytosis. Mechanistically, we find that the aPKCs are regulated by EGFR signaling or by the transcription factor CREM to promote the relocation of Par3 to microtubules, facilitating macropinocytosis in a dynein-dependent manner. Importantly, we determine that cell fitness impairment caused by aPKC depletion is rescued by the restoration of macropinocytosis and that aPKCs support PDAC growth in vivo. These results identify a previously unappreciated role for cell polarity proteins in the regulation of macropinocytosis and provide a better understanding of the mechanistic underpinnings that control macropinocytic uptake in the context of metabolic stress.
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Kasai T, Tamori S, Takasaki Y, Matsuoka I, Ozaki A, Matsuda C, Harada Y, Sasaki K, Ohno S, Akimoto K. High expression of PKCλ and ALDH1A3 indicates a poor prognosis, and PKCλ is required for the asymmetric cell division of ALDH1A3-positive cancer stem cells in PDAC. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2023; 669:85-94. [PMID: 37267864 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2023.05.086] [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: 05/09/2023] [Revised: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the cancer with the poorest prognosis. One of the major properties reflecting its poor prognosis is high-grade heterogeneity, which leads to insensitivity to anticancer treatments. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) acquire phenotypic heterogeneity, generating abnormally differentiated cells by asymmetric cell division. However, the detailed mechanism leading to phenotypic heterogeneity is largely unknown. Here, we showed that PDAC patients with co-upregulation of PKCλ and ALDH1A3 had the poorest clinical outcome. PKCλ knockdown by DsiRNA in the ALDH1high population of PDAC MIA-PaCa-2 cells attenuated the asymmetric distribution of the ALDH1A3 protein. To monitor asymmetric cell division of ALDH1A3-positive PDAC CSCs, we established stable Panc-1 PDAC clones expressing ALDH1A3-turboGFP (Panc-1-ALDH1A3-turboGFP cells). In addition to MIA-PaCa-2-ALDH1high cells, turboGFPhigh cells sorted from Panc-1-ALDH1A3-turboGFP cells showed asymmetric cell propagation of ALDH1A3 protein. PKCλ DsiRNA in Panc-1-ALDH1A3-turboGFP cells also attenuated the asymmetric distribution of ALDH1A3 protein. These results suggest that PKCλ regulates the asymmetric cell division of ALDH1A3-positive PDAC CSCs. Furthermore, Panc-1-ALDH1A3-turboGFP cells can be useful for the visualization and monitoring of CSC properties such as asymmetric cell division of ALDH1A3-positive PDAC CSCs in time-lapse imaging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takahiro Kasai
- Department of Medicinal and Life Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba, Japan
| | - Shoma Tamori
- Department of Medicinal and Life Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba, Japan; Research Division of Medical Data Science, Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yuta Takasaki
- Department of Medicinal and Life Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba, Japan
| | - Izumi Matsuoka
- Department of Medicinal and Life Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba, Japan
| | - Ayaka Ozaki
- Department of Medicinal and Life Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba, Japan
| | - Chika Matsuda
- Department of Medicinal and Life Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yohsuke Harada
- Department of Medicinal and Life Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba, Japan
| | - Kazunori Sasaki
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Institute for Diseases of Old Age, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shigeo Ohno
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Institute for Diseases of Old Age, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kazunori Akimoto
- Department of Medicinal and Life Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba, Japan; Research Division of Medical Data Science, Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba, Japan.
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4
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Wang J, Weng S, Zhu Y, Chen H, Pan J, Qiu S, Liu Y, Wei D, Zhu T. PKCι induces differential phosphorylation of STAT3 to modify STAT3-related signaling pathways in pancreatic cancer cells. J Cell Commun Signal 2023:10.1007/s12079-023-00780-9. [PMID: 37548811 DOI: 10.1007/s12079-023-00780-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023] Open
Abstract
An increasing number of studies have documented atypical protein kinase C isoform ι (PKCι) as an oncoprotein playing multifaceted roles in pancreatic carcinogenesis, including sustaining the transformed growth, prohibiting apoptosis, strengthening invasiveness, facilitating autophagy, as well as promoting the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment of pancreatic tumors. In this study, we present novel evidence that PKCι overexpression increases STAT3 phosphorylation at the Y705 residue while decreasing STAT3 phosphorylation at the S727 residue in pancreatic cancer cells. We further demonstrate that STAT3 phosphorylation at Y705 and S727 residues is mutually antagonistic, and that STAT3 Y705 phosphorylation is positively related to the transcriptional activity of STAT3 in pancreatic cancer cells. Furthermore, we discover that PKCι inhibition attenuates STAT3 transcriptional activity via Y705 dephosphorylation, which appears to be resulted from enhanced phosphorylation of S727 in pancreatic cancer cells. Finally, we investigate and prove that by modulating the STAT3 activity, the PKCι inhibitor can synergistically enhance the antitumor effects of pharmacological STAT3 inhibitors or reverse the anti-apoptotic side effects incited by the MEK inhibitor, thereby posing as a prospective sensitizer in the treatment of pancreatic cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junli Wang
- Department of Biochemistry, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, 3-17 Renmin South Road, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 610072, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Sijia Weng
- Department of Immunology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, 3-17 Renmin South Road, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Yue Zhu
- Department of Immunology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, 3-17 Renmin South Road, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongmei Chen
- Department of Immunology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, 3-17 Renmin South Road, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Jueyu Pan
- Department of Immunology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, 3-17 Renmin South Road, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuoyu Qiu
- Department of Immunology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, 3-17 Renmin South Road, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Yufeng Liu
- Department of Immunology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, 3-17 Renmin South Road, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Dapeng Wei
- Department of Immunology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, 3-17 Renmin South Road, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, People's Republic of China
| | - Tongbo Zhu
- Department of Immunology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, 3-17 Renmin South Road, Chengdu, 610041, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.
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Zhu L, Tu D, Li R, Li L, Zhang W, Jin W, Li T, Zhu H. The diagnostic significance of the ZNF gene family in pancreatic cancer: a bioinformatics and experimental study. Front Genet 2023; 14:1089023. [PMID: 37396042 PMCID: PMC10311482 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2023.1089023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) is among the most devastating of all cancers with a poor survival rate. Therefore, we established a zinc finger (ZNF) protein-based prognostic prediction model for PAAD patients. Methods: The RNA-seq data for PAAD were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Differentially expressed ZNF protein genes (DE-ZNFs) in PAAD and normal control tissues were screened using the "lemma" package in R. An optimal risk model and an independent prognostic value were established by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Survival analyses were performed to assess the prognostic ability of the model. Results: We constructed a ZNF family genes-related risk score model that is based on the 10 DE-ZNFs (ZNF185, PRKCI, RTP4, SERTAD2, DEF8, ZMAT1, SP110, U2AF1L4, CXXC1, and RMND5B). The risk score was found to be a significant independent prognostic factor for PAAD patients. Seven significantly differentially expressed immune cells were identified between the high- and low-risk patients. Then, based on the prognostic genes, we constructed a ceRNA regulatory network that includes 5 prognostic genes, 7 miRNAs and 35 lncRNAs. Expression analysis showed ZNF185, PRKCI and RTP4 were significantly upregulated, while ZMAT1 and CXXC1 were significantly downregulated in the PAAD samples in all TCGA - PAAD, GSE28735 and GSE15471 datasets. Moreover, the upregulation of RTP4, SERTAD2, and SP110 were verified by the cell experiments. Conclusion: We established and validated a novel, Zinc finger protein family - related prognostic risk model for patients with PAAD, that has the potential to inform patient management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Zhu
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Dong Tu
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, No. 920 Hospital of the PLA Joint Logistics Support Force, Kunming, China
| | - Ruixue Li
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Lin Li
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Wenjie Zhang
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Wenxiang Jin
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Tiehan Li
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Hong Zhu
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
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Yin N, Liu Y, Weems C, Shreeder B, Lou Y, Knutson KL, Murray NR, Fields AP. Protein kinase Cι mediates immunosuppression in lung adenocarcinoma. Sci Transl Med 2022; 14:eabq5931. [DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abq5931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most prevalent form of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and a leading cause of cancer death. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) of programmed death-1/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) signaling induce tumor regressions in a subset of LUAD, but many LUAD tumors exhibit resistance to ICI therapy. Here, we identified
Prkci
as a major determinant of response to ICI in a syngeneic mouse model of oncogenic mutant
Kras
/
Trp53
loss (KP)–driven LUAD. Protein kinase Cι (PKCι)–dependent KP tumors exhibited resistance to anti–PD-1 antibody therapy (α-PD-1), whereas KP tumors in which
Prkci
was genetically deleted (KPI tumors) were highly responsive.
Prkci-
dependent resistance to α-PD-1 was characterized by enhanced infiltration of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and decreased infiltration of CD8
+
T cells in response to α-PD-1. Mechanistically,
Prkci
regulated YAP1-dependent expression of
Cxcl5
, which served to attract MDSCs to KP tumors. The PKCι inhibitor auranofin inhibited KP tumor growth and sensitized these tumors to α-PD-1, whereas expression of either
Prkci
or its downstream effector
Cxcl5
in KPI tumors induced intratumoral infiltration of MDSCs and resistance to α-PD-1.
PRKCI
expression in tumors of patients with LUAD correlated with genomic signatures indicative of high YAP1-mediated transcription, elevated MDSC infiltration and low CD8
+
T cell infiltration, and with elevated
CXCL5
/
6
expression. Last, PKCι-YAP1 signaling was a biomarker associated with poor response to ICI in patients with LUAD. Our data indicate that immunosuppressive PKCι-YAP1-CXCL5 signaling is a key determinant of response to ICI, and pharmacologic inhibition of PKCι may improve therapeutic response to ICI in patients with LUAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ning Yin
- Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Yi Liu
- Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Capella Weems
- Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Barath Shreeder
- Department of Immunology, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Yanyan Lou
- Division of Hematology and Oncology, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Keith L. Knutson
- Department of Immunology, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Nicole R. Murray
- Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Alan P. Fields
- Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
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