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Auslander N, Cunningham CE, Toosi BM, McEwen EJ, Yizhak K, Vizeacoumar FS, Parameswaran S, Gonen N, Freywald T, Bhanumathy KK, Freywald A, Vizeacoumar FJ, Ruppin E. An integrated computational and experimental study uncovers FUT9 as a metabolic driver of colorectal cancer. Mol Syst Biol 2017; 13:956. [PMID: 29196508 PMCID: PMC5740504 DOI: 10.15252/msb.20177739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Metabolic alterations play an important role in cancer and yet, few metabolic cancer driver genes are known. Here we perform a combined genomic and metabolic modeling analysis searching for metabolic drivers of colorectal cancer. Our analysis predicts FUT9, which catalyzes the biosynthesis of Ley glycolipids, as a driver of advanced-stage colon cancer. Experimental testing reveals FUT9's complex dual role; while its knockdown enhances proliferation and migration in monolayers, it suppresses colon cancer cells expansion in tumorspheres and inhibits tumor development in a mouse xenograft models. These results suggest that FUT9's inhibition may attenuate tumor-initiating cells (TICs) that are known to dominate tumorspheres and early tumor growth, but promote bulk tumor cells. In agreement, we find that FUT9 silencing decreases the expression of the colorectal cancer TIC marker CD44 and the level of the OCT4 transcription factor, which is known to support cancer stemness. Beyond its current application, this work presents a novel genomic and metabolic modeling computational approach that can facilitate the systematic discovery of metabolic driver genes in other types of cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noam Auslander
- Department of Computer Science, Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Chelsea E Cunningham
- Department of Pathology, Cancer Cluster, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Behzad M Toosi
- Department of Pathology, Cancer Cluster, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Emily J McEwen
- Department of Pathology, Cancer Cluster, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Keren Yizhak
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Frederick S Vizeacoumar
- Department of Pathology, Cancer Cluster, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Sreejit Parameswaran
- Department of Pathology, Cancer Cluster, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Nir Gonen
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Tanya Freywald
- Department of Pathology, Cancer Cluster, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Kalpana K Bhanumathy
- Department of Pathology, Cancer Cluster, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Andrew Freywald
- Department of Pathology, Cancer Cluster, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Franco J Vizeacoumar
- Department of Pathology, Cancer Cluster, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada .,Cancer Research, Saskatchewan Cancer Agency, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Eytan Ruppin
- Department of Computer Science, Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
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Joo EJ, Weyers A, Li G, Gasimli L, Li L, Choi WJ, Lee KB, Linhardt RJ. Carbohydrate-containing molecules as potential biomarkers in colon cancer. OMICS-A JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY 2014; 18:231-41. [PMID: 24502776 DOI: 10.1089/omi.2013.0128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Glycans play a critical role in physiological and pathological processes through interaction with a variety of ligands. Altered expression and dysregulation of these molecules can cause aberrant cellular function such as malignancy. Glycomics provide information of the structure and function of glycans, glycolipids, and glycoproteins such as proteoglycans, and may help to predict cancer development and progression as biomarkers. In this report, we compared the expression of proteoglycans, the content and structure of glycosaminoglycans and glycolipids between patient-matched normal and cancer tissues obtained from colon cancer patients. Tumor-related proteoglycans, glypican-3, and syndecan-1 showed downregulation in cancer tissues compared to normal tissues. In cancer tissue, the total amount of chondroitin sulfate (CS)/dermatan sulfate and heparan sulfate were lower and, interestingly, the level of disaccharide units of both 4S6S (CS-E) and 6S (CS-C) were higher compared to normal tissue. Also, overall lipids including glycolipids, a major glycomics target, were analyzed by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Increase of lyso-phosphatidylcholine (phospholipid), sphingomyelin (sphigolipid), and four types of glycolipids (glucosylceramide, lactosylceramide, monosialic acid ganglioside, and globoside 4) in cancer tissue showed the possibility as potential biomarkers in colon cancer. While requiring the need for careful interpretation, this type of broad investigation gives us a better understanding of pathophysiological roles on glycosaminoglycans and glycolipids and might be a powerful tool for colon cancer diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eun Ji Joo
- 1 Department of Chemical and Chemical Biology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , Troy, New York
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Liu J, Lin B, Hao Y, Qi Y, Zhu L, Li F, Liu D, Cong J, Zhang S, Iwamori M. Lewis y antigen promotes the proliferation of ovarian carcinoma-derived RMG-I cells through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2009; 28:154. [PMID: 20003467 PMCID: PMC2806302 DOI: 10.1186/1756-9966-28-154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2009] [Accepted: 12/15/2009] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lewis y antigen is difucosylated oligosaccharide and is carried by glycoconjugates at cell surface. Elevated expression of Lewis y has been found in 75% of ovarian tumor, and the high expression level is correlated to the tumor's pathological staging and prognosis. This study was to investigate the effect and the possible mechanism of Lewis y on the proliferation of human ovarian cancer cells. METHODS We constructed a plasmid encoding alpha1,2-fucosyltransferase (alpha1,2-FT) gene and then transfected it into ovarian carcinoma-derived RMG-I cells with lowest Lewis y antigen expression level. Effect of Lewis y on cell proliferation was assessed after transfection. Changes in cell survival and signal transduction were evaluated after alpha-L-fucosidase, anti-Lewis y antibody and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor treatment. RESULTS Our results showed that the levels of alpha1,2-FT gene and Lewis y increased significantly after transfection. The cell proliferation of ovarian carcinoma-derived RMG-I cells sped up as the Lewis y antigen was increased. Both of alpha-L-fucosidase and anti-Lewis y antibody inhibited the cell proliferation. The phosphorylation level of Akt was apparently elevated in Lewis y-overexpressing cells and the inhibitor of PI3K, LY294002, dramatically inhibited the growth of Lewis y-overexpressing cells. In addition, the phosphorylation intensity and difference in phosphorylation intensity between cells with different expression of alpha1,2-FT were attenuated significantly by the monoantibody to Lewis y and by the PI3K inhibitor LY294002. CONCLUSIONS Increased expression of Lewis y antigen plays an important role in promoting cell proliferation through activating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in ovarian carcinoma-derived RMG-I cells. Inhibition of Lewis y expression may provide a new therapeutic approach for Lewis y positive ovarian cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juanjuan Liu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, China Medical University Shengjing, Hospital, 36 Sanhao Street, Heping, Shenyang, 110004, PR China
| | - Bei Lin
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, China Medical University Shengjing, Hospital, 36 Sanhao Street, Heping, Shenyang, 110004, PR China
| | - Yingying Hao
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, China Medical University Shengjing, Hospital, 36 Sanhao Street, Heping, Shenyang, 110004, PR China
| | - Yue Qi
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, China Medical University Shengjing, Hospital, 36 Sanhao Street, Heping, Shenyang, 110004, PR China
| | - Liancheng Zhu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, China Medical University Shengjing, Hospital, 36 Sanhao Street, Heping, Shenyang, 110004, PR China
| | - Feifei Li
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, China Medical University Shengjing, Hospital, 36 Sanhao Street, Heping, Shenyang, 110004, PR China
| | - Dawo Liu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, China Medical University Shengjing, Hospital, 36 Sanhao Street, Heping, Shenyang, 110004, PR China
| | - Jianping Cong
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, China Medical University Shengjing, Hospital, 36 Sanhao Street, Heping, Shenyang, 110004, PR China
| | - Shulan Zhang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, China Medical University Shengjing, Hospital, 36 Sanhao Street, Heping, Shenyang, 110004, PR China
| | - Masao Iwamori
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Kinki University, 3-4-1 Kowakae, Higashiosaka, Osaka, 577-8502, Japan
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Identification of mRNA splicing factors as the endothelial receptor for carbohydrate-dependent lung colonization of cancer cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2009; 106:3095-100. [PMID: 19218444 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0810110106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Cell surfaces of epithelial cancer are covered by complex carbohydrates, whose structures function in malignancy and metastasis. However, the mechanism underlying carbohydrate-dependent cancer metastasis has not been defined. Previously, we identified a carbohydrate-mimicry peptide designated I-peptide, which inhibits carbohydrate-dependent lung colonization of sialyl Lewis X-expressing B16-FTIII-M cells in E/P-selectin doubly-deficient mice. We hypothesized that lung endothelial cells express an unknown carbohydrate receptor, designated as I-peptide receptor (IPR), responsible for lung colonization of B16-FTIII-M cells. Here, we visualized IPR by in vivo biotinylation, which revealed that the major IPR is a group of 35-kDa proteins. IPR proteins isolated by I-peptide affinity chromatography were identified by proteomics as Ser/Arg-rich alternative pre-mRNA splicing factors or Sfrs1, Sfrs2, Sfrs5, and Sfrs7 gene products. Bacterially expressed Sfrs1 protein bound to B16-FTIII-M cells but not to parental B16 cells. Recombinant Sfrs1 protein bound to a series of fucosylated oligosaccharides in glycan array and plate-binding assays. When anti-Sfrs antibodies were injected intravenously into mice, antibodies labeled a subset of lung capillaries. Anti-Sfrs antibodies inhibited homing of I-peptide-displaying phage to the lung colonization of B16-FTIII-M cells in vivo in the mouse. These results strongly suggest that Sfrs proteins are responsible for fucosylated carbohydrate-dependent lung metastasis of epithelial cancers.
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