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Liu Y, Hu L, Wu Z, Yuan K, Hong G, Lian Z, Feng J, Li N, Li D, Wong J, Chen J, Liu M, He J, Pang X. Loss of PHF8 induces a viral mimicry response by activating endogenous retrotransposons. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4225. [PMID: 37454216 PMCID: PMC10349869 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39943-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Immunotherapy has become established as major treatment modality for multiple types of solid tumors, including colorectal cancer. Identifying novel immunotherapeutic targets to enhance anti-tumor immunity and sensitize current immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) in colorectal cancer is needed. Here we report the histone demethylase PHD finger protein 8 (PHF8, KDM7B), a Jumonji C domain-containing protein that erases repressive histone methyl marks, as an essential mediator of immune escape. Ablation the function of PHF8 abrogates tumor growth, activates anti-tumor immune memory, and augments sensitivity to ICB therapy in mouse models of colorectal cancer. Strikingly, tumor PHF8 deletion stimulates a viral mimicry response in colorectal cancer cells, where the depletion of key components of endogenous nucleic acid sensing diminishes PHF8 loss-meditated antiviral immune responses and anti-tumor effects in vivo. Mechanistically, PHF8 inhibition elicits H3K9me3-dependent retrotransposon activation by promoting proteasomal degradation of the H3K9 methyltransferase SETDB1 in a demethylase-independent manner. Moreover, PHF8 expression is anti-correlated with canonical immune signatures and antiviral immune responses in human colorectal adenocarcinoma. Overall, our study establishes PHF8 as an epigenetic checkpoint, and targeting PHF8 is a promising viral mimicry-inducing approach to enhance intrinsic anti-tumor immunity or to conquer immune resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanan Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Longmiao Hu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhengzhen Wu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Kun Yuan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | | | - Zhengke Lian
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Juanjuan Feng
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Na Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Dali Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jiemin Wong
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jiekai Chen
- Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Mingyao Liu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | | | - Xiufeng Pang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
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2
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Koo SY, Park EJ, Noh HJ, Jo SM, Ko BK, Shin HJ, Lee CW. Ubiquitination Links DNA Damage and Repair Signaling to Cancer Metabolism. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24098441. [PMID: 37176148 PMCID: PMC10179089 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24098441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Changes in the DNA damage response (DDR) and cellular metabolism are two important factors that allow cancer cells to proliferate. DDR is a set of events in which DNA damage is recognized, DNA repair factors are recruited to the site of damage, the lesion is repaired, and cellular responses associated with the damage are processed. In cancer, DDR is commonly dysregulated, and the enzymes associated with DDR are prone to changes in ubiquitination. Additionally, cellular metabolism, especially glycolysis, is upregulated in cancer cells, and enzymes in this metabolic pathway are modulated by ubiquitination. The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), particularly E3 ligases, act as a bridge between cellular metabolism and DDR since they regulate the enzymes associated with the two processes. Hence, the E3 ligases with high substrate specificity are considered potential therapeutic targets for treating cancer. A number of small molecule inhibitors designed to target different components of the UPS have been developed, and several have been tested in clinical trials for human use. In this review, we discuss the role of ubiquitination on overall cellular metabolism and DDR and confirm the link between them through the E3 ligases NEDD4, APC/CCDH1, FBXW7, and Pellino1. In addition, we present an overview of the clinically important small molecule inhibitors and implications for their practical use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seo-Young Koo
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Eun-Ji Park
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun-Ji Noh
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Su-Mi Jo
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Bo-Kyoung Ko
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun-Jin Shin
- Team of Radiation Convergence Research, Korea Institute of Radiological & Medical Sciences, Seoul 01812, Republic of Korea
| | - Chang-Woo Lee
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
- SKKU Institute for Convergence, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
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3
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Hernandez S, Das P, Holliday EB, Shen L, Lu W, Johnson B, Messick CA, Taniguchi CM, Skibber J, Ludmir EB, You YN, Smith GL, Bednarski B, Kostousov L, Koay EJ, Minsky BD, Tillman M, Portier S, Eng C, Koong AC, Chang GJ, Foo WC, Wang J, Soto LS, Morris VK. Differential Spatial Gene and Protein Expression Associated with Recurrence Following Chemoradiation for Localized Anal Squamous Cell Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:1701. [PMID: 36980587 PMCID: PMC10046657 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15061701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2023] [Revised: 03/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The identification of transcriptomic and protein biomarkers prognosticating recurrence risk after chemoradiation of localized squamous cell carcinoma of the anus (SCCA) has been limited by a lack of available fresh tissue at initial presentation. We analyzed archival FFPE SCCA specimens from pretreatment biopsies prior to chemoradiation for protein and RNA biomarkers from patients with localized SCCA who recurred (N = 23) and who did not recur (N = 25). Tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME) were analyzed separately to identify biomarkers with significantly different expression between the recurrent and non-recurrent groups. Recurrent patients had higher mean protein expression of FoxP3, MAPK-activation markers (BRAF, p38-MAPK) and PI3K/Akt activation (phospho-Akt) within the tumor regions. The TME was characterized by the higher protein expression of immune checkpoint biomarkers such as PD-1, OX40L and LAG3. For patients with recurrent SCCA, the higher mean protein expression of fibronectin was observed in the tumor and TME compartments. No significant differences in RNA expression were observed. The higher baseline expression of immune checkpoint biomarkers, together with markers of MAPK and PI3K/Akt signaling, are associated with recurrence following chemoradiation for patients with localized SCCA. These data provide a rationale towards the application of immune-based therapeutic strategies to improve curative-intent outcomes beyond conventional therapies for patients with SCCA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharia Hernandez
- Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (S.H.)
| | - Prajnan Das
- Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Emma B. Holliday
- Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Li Shen
- Bioinformatics, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Wei Lu
- Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (S.H.)
| | - Benny Johnson
- Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Craig A. Messick
- Colon and Rectal Surgery, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Cullen M. Taniguchi
- Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - John Skibber
- Colon and Rectal Surgery, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Ethan B. Ludmir
- Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Y. Nancy You
- Colon and Rectal Surgery, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Grace Li Smith
- Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Brian Bednarski
- Colon and Rectal Surgery, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Larisa Kostousov
- Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (S.H.)
| | - Eugene J. Koay
- Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Bruce D. Minsky
- Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Matthew Tillman
- Colon and Rectal Surgery, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Shaelynn Portier
- Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Cathy Eng
- Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Albert C. Koong
- Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - George J. Chang
- Colon and Rectal Surgery, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Wai Chin Foo
- Pathology, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Jing Wang
- Bioinformatics, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Luisa Solis Soto
- Translational Molecular Pathology, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA; (S.H.)
| | - Van K. Morris
- Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, The University of Texas—MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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4
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Li K, Liu Y, Ding Y, Zhang Z, Feng J, Hu J, Chen J, Lian Z, Chen Y, Hu K, Chen Z, Cai Z, Liu M, Pang X. BCL6 is regulated by the MAPK/ELK1 axis and promotes KRAS-driven lung cancer. J Clin Invest 2022; 132:161308. [PMID: 36377663 PMCID: PMC9663163 DOI: 10.1172/jci161308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Mutational activation of KRAS is a common oncogenic event in lung cancer, yet effective therapies are still lacking. Here, we identify B cell lymphoma 6 (BCL6) as a lynchpin in KRAS-driven lung cancer. BCL6 expression was increased upon KRAS activation in lung tumor tissue in mice and was positively correlated with the expression of KRAS-GTP, the active form of KRAS, in various human cancer cell lines. Moreover, BCL6 was highly expressed in human KRAS-mutant lung adenocarcinomas and was associated with poor patient survival. Mechanistically, the MAPK/ERK/ELK1 signaling axis downstream of mutant KRAS directly regulated BCL6 expression. BCL6 maintained the global expression of prereplication complex components; therefore, BCL6 inhibition induced stalling of the replication fork, leading to DNA damage and growth arrest in KRAS-mutant lung cancer cells. Importantly, BCL6-specific knockout in lungs significantly reduced the tumor burden and mortality in the LSL-KrasG12D/+ lung cancer mouse model. Likewise, pharmacological inhibition of BCL6 significantly impeded the growth of KRAS-mutant lung cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. In summary, our findings reveal a crucial role of BCL6 in promoting KRAS-addicted lung cancer and suggest BCL6 as a therapeutic target for the treatment of this intractable disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kun Li
- Changning Maternity and Infant Health Hospital and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences and
- Joint Translational Science and Technology Research Institute, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
- Cancer Institute, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yanan Liu
- Changning Maternity and Infant Health Hospital and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences and
| | - Yi Ding
- Changning Maternity and Infant Health Hospital and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences and
| | - Zhengwei Zhang
- Changning Maternity and Infant Health Hospital and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences and
| | - Juanjuan Feng
- Changning Maternity and Infant Health Hospital and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences and
| | - Jiaxin Hu
- Changning Maternity and Infant Health Hospital and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences and
| | - Jiwei Chen
- Changning Maternity and Infant Health Hospital and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences and
| | - Zhengke Lian
- Changning Maternity and Infant Health Hospital and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences and
| | - Yiliang Chen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Kewen Hu
- Cancer Institute, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zhi Chen
- Medical Research Institute, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zhenyu Cai
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
| | - Mingyao Liu
- Changning Maternity and Infant Health Hospital and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences and
| | - Xiufeng Pang
- Changning Maternity and Infant Health Hospital and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology and School of Life Sciences and
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