1
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Huang Y, Durall RT, Luong NM, Hertzler HJ, Huang J, Gokhale PC, Leeper BA, Persky NS, Root DE, Anekal PV, Montero Llopis PD, David CN, Kutok JL, Raimondi A, Saluja K, Luo J, Zahnow CA, Adane B, Stegmaier K, Hawkins CE, Ponne C, Le Q, Shapiro GI, Lemieux ME, Eagen KP, French CA. EZH2 Cooperates with BRD4-NUT to Drive NUT Carcinoma Growth by Silencing Key Tumor Suppressor Genes. Cancer Res 2023; 83:3956-3973. [PMID: 37747726 PMCID: PMC10843040 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-23-1475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2023] [Revised: 07/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
NUT carcinoma is an aggressive carcinoma driven by the BRD4-NUT fusion oncoprotein, which activates chromatin to promote expression of progrowth genes. BET bromodomain inhibitors (BETi) are a promising treatment for NUT carcinoma that can impede BRD4-NUT's ability to activate genes, but the efficacy of BETi as monotherapy is limited. Here, we demonstrated that enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), which silences genes through establishment of repressive chromatin, is a dependency in NUT carcinoma. Inhibition of EZH2 with the clinical compound tazemetostat potently blocked growth of NUT carcinoma cells. Epigenetic and transcriptomic analysis revealed that tazemetostat reversed the EZH2-specific H3K27me3 silencing mark and restored expression of multiple tumor suppressor genes while having no effect on key oncogenic BRD4-NUT-regulated genes. Indeed, H3K27me3 and H3K27ac domains were found to be mutually exclusive in NUT carcinoma cells. CDKN2A was identified as the only gene among all tazemetostat-derepressed genes to confer resistance to tazemetostat in a CRISPR-Cas9 screen. Combined inhibition of EZH2 and BET synergized to downregulate cell proliferation genes, resulting in more pronounced growth arrest and differentiation than either inhibitor alone. In preclinical models, combined tazemetostat and BETi synergistically blocked tumor growth and prolonged survival of NUT carcinoma-xenografted mice, with complete remission without relapse in one cohort. Identification of EZH2 as a dependency in NUT carcinoma substantiates the reliance of NUT carcinoma tumor cells on epigenetic dysregulation of functionally opposite, yet highly complementary, chromatin regulatory pathways to maintain NUT carcinoma growth. SIGNIFICANCE Repression of tumor suppressor genes, including CDKN2A, by EZH2 provides a mechanistic rationale for combining EZH2 and BET inhibitors for the clinical treatment of NUT carcinoma. See related commentary by Kazansky and Kentsis, p. 3827.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yeying Huang
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - R. Taylor Durall
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nhi M. Luong
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hans J. Hertzler
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julianna Huang
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Prafulla C. Gokhale
- Experimental Therapeutics Core and Belfer Center for Applied Cancer Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Brittaney A. Leeper
- Experimental Therapeutics Core and Belfer Center for Applied Cancer Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - David E. Root
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Praju V. Anekal
- MicRoN, Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Karan Saluja
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jia Luo
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Cynthia A. Zahnow
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Biniam Adane
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kimberly Stegmaier
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Catherine E. Hawkins
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Christopher Ponne
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Quan Le
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Geoffrey I. Shapiro
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Kyle P. Eagen
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Center for Precision Environmental Health, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Christopher A. French
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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2
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Huang Y, Durall RT, Luong NM, Hertzler HJ, Huang J, Gokhale PC, Leeper BA, Persky NS, Root DE, Anekal PV, Montero Llopis PD, David CN, Kutok JL, Raimondi A, Saluja K, Luo J, Zahnow CA, Adane B, Stegmaier K, Hawkins CE, Ponne C, Le Q, Shapiro GI, Lemieux ME, Eagen KP, French CA. EZH2 synergizes with BRD4-NUT to drive NUT carcinoma growth through silencing of key tumor suppressor genes. bioRxiv 2023:2023.08.15.553204. [PMID: 37645799 PMCID: PMC10461970 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.15.553204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
NUT carcinoma (NC) is an aggressive carcinoma driven by the BRD4-NUT fusion oncoprotein, which activates chromatin to promote expression of pro-growth genes. BET bromodomain inhibitors (BETi) impede BRD4-NUT's ability to activate genes and are thus a promising treatment but limited as monotherapy. The role of gene repression in NC is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that EZH2, which silences genes through establishment of repressive chromatin, is a dependency in NC. Inhibition of EZH2 with the clinical compound tazemetostat (taz) potently blocked growth of NC cells. Epigenetic and transcriptomic analysis revealed that taz reversed the EZH2-specific H3K27me3 silencing mark, and restored expression of multiple tumor suppressor genes while having no effect on key oncogenic BRD4- NUT-regulated genes. CDKN2A was identified as the only gene amongst all taz-derepressed genes to confer resistance to taz in a CRISPR-Cas9 screen. Combined EZH2 inhibition and BET inhibition synergized to downregulate cell proliferation genes resulting in more pronounced growth arrest and differentiation than either inhibitor alone. In pre-clinical models, combined taz and BETi synergistically blocked growth and prolonged survival of NC-xenografted mice, with all mice cured in one cohort. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Identification of EZH2 as a dependency in NC substantiates the reliance of NC tumor cells on epigenetic dysregulation of functionally opposite, yet highly complementary chromatin regulatory pathways to maintain NC growth. In particular, repression of CDKN2A expression by EZH2 provides a mechanistic rationale for combining EZH2i with BETi for the clinical treatment of NC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yeying Huang
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - R. Taylor Durall
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nhi M. Luong
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hans J. Hertzler
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julianna Huang
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Prafulla C. Gokhale
- Experimental Therapeutics Core and Belfer Center for Applied Cancer Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Brittaney A. Leeper
- Experimental Therapeutics Core and Belfer Center for Applied Cancer Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - David E. Root
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Praju V. Anekal
- MicRoN, Department of Microbiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Karan Saluja
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jia Luo
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Cynthia A. Zahnow
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Biniam Adane
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Kimberly Stegmaier
- Department of Pediatric Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Catherine E. Hawkins
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Christopher Ponne
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Quan Le
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Geoffrey I. Shapiro
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Kyle P. Eagen
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Christopher A. French
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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3
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Lu Z, Zou J, Li S, Topper MJ, Tao Y, Zhang H, Jiao X, Xie W, Kong X, Vaz M, Li H, Cai Y, Xia L, Huang P, Rodgers K, Lee B, Riemer JB, Day CP, Yen RWC, Cui Y, Wang Y, Wang Y, Zhang W, Easwaran H, Hulbert A, Kim K, Juergens RA, Yang SC, Battafarano RJ, Bush EL, Broderick SR, Cattaneo SM, Brahmer JR, Rudin CM, Wrangle J, Mei Y, Kim YJ, Zhang B, Wang KKH, Forde PM, Margolick JB, Nelkin BD, Zahnow CA, Pardoll DM, Housseau F, Baylin SB, Shen L, Brock MV. Epigenetic therapy inhibits metastases by disrupting premetastatic niches. Nature 2020; 579:284-290. [PMID: 32103175 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2054-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 182] [Impact Index Per Article: 45.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2019] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Cancer recurrence after surgery remains an unresolved clinical problem1-3. Myeloid cells derived from bone marrow contribute to the formation of the premetastatic microenvironment, which is required for disseminating tumour cells to engraft distant sites4-6. There are currently no effective interventions that prevent the formation of the premetastatic microenvironment6,7. Here we show that, after surgical removal of primary lung, breast and oesophageal cancers, low-dose adjuvant epigenetic therapy disrupts the premetastatic microenvironment and inhibits both the formation and growth of lung metastases through its selective effect on myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). In mouse models of pulmonary metastases, MDSCs are key factors in the formation of the premetastatic microenvironment after resection of primary tumours. Adjuvant epigenetic therapy that uses low-dose DNA methyltransferase and histone deacetylase inhibitors, 5-azacytidine and entinostat, disrupts the premetastatic niche by inhibiting the trafficking of MDSCs through the downregulation of CCR2 and CXCR2, and by promoting MDSC differentiation into a more-interstitial macrophage-like phenotype. A decreased accumulation of MDSCs in the premetastatic lung produces longer periods of disease-free survival and increased overall survival, compared with chemotherapy. Our data demonstrate that, even after removal of the primary tumour, MDSCs contribute to the development of premetastatic niches and settlement of residual tumour cells. A combination of low-dose adjuvant epigenetic modifiers that disrupts this premetastatic microenvironment and inhibits metastases may permit an adjuvant approach to cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihao Lu
- Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, China.,Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jianling Zou
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Shuang Li
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Michael J Topper
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Yong Tao
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Hao Zhang
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Xi Jiao
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Wenbing Xie
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Xiangqian Kong
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Michelle Vaz
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Huili Li
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Yi Cai
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Limin Xia
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA.,State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases, Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Air Force Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Peng Huang
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Kristen Rodgers
- Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Beverly Lee
- Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Joanne B Riemer
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Chi-Ping Day
- Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Ray-Whay Chiu Yen
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ying Cui
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Yujiao Wang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Yanni Wang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Weiqiang Zhang
- Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Thoracic Surgery, The Seventh Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Hariharan Easwaran
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Alicia Hulbert
- Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Surgery, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - KiBem Kim
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Rosalyn A Juergens
- Division of Medical Oncology, McMaster University, Juravinski Cancer Centre, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Stephen C Yang
- Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Richard J Battafarano
- Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Errol L Bush
- Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Stephen R Broderick
- Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Julie R Brahmer
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Charles M Rudin
- Thoracic Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - John Wrangle
- Division of Hematology-Oncology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Yuping Mei
- Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Young J Kim
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Bin Zhang
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.,School of Biomedical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
| | - Ken Kang-Hsin Wang
- Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Patrick M Forde
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Joseph B Margolick
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Barry D Nelkin
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Cynthia A Zahnow
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Drew M Pardoll
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Franck Housseau
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA. .,Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Stephen B Baylin
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Lin Shen
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, China.
| | - Malcolm V Brock
- Department of Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. .,Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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4
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Zahnow CA. When the cancer researcher becomes the patient. Nat Rev Cancer 2019; 19:603-604. [PMID: 31576002 DOI: 10.1038/s41568-019-0206-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia A Zahnow
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center (SKCCC) at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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5
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Travers M, Brown SM, Dunworth M, Holbert CE, Wiehagen KR, Bachman KE, Foley JR, Stone ML, Baylin SB, Casero RA, Zahnow CA. DFMO and 5-Azacytidine Increase M1 Macrophages in the Tumor Microenvironment of Murine Ovarian Cancer. Cancer Res 2019; 79:3445-3454. [PMID: 31088836 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-18-4018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Revised: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Although ovarian cancer has a low incidence rate, it remains the most deadly gynecologic malignancy. Previous work has demonstrated that the DNMTi 5-Azacytidine (5AZA-C) activates type I interferon signaling to increase IFNγ+ T cells and natural killer (NK) cells and reduce the percentage of macrophages in the tumor microenvironment. To improve the efficacy of epigenetic therapy, we hypothesized that the addition of α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO), an ornithine decarboxylase inhibitor, may further decrease immunosuppressive cell populations improving outcome. We tested this hypothesis in an immunocompetent mouse model for ovarian cancer and found that in vivo, 5AZA-C and DFMO, either alone or in combination, significantly increased survival, decreased tumor burden, and caused recruitment of activated (IFNγ+) CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and NK cells. The combination therapy had a striking increase in survival when compared with single-agent treatment, despite a smaller difference in recruited lymphocytes. Instead, combination therapy led to a significant decrease in immunosuppressive cells such as M2 polarized macrophages and an increase in tumor-killing M1 macrophages. In this model, depletion of macrophages with a CSF1R-blocking antibody reduced the efficacy of 5AZA-C + DFMO treatment and resulted in fewer M1 macrophages in the tumor microenvironment. These observations suggest our novel combination therapy modifies macrophage polarization in the tumor microenvironment, recruiting M1 macrophages and prolonging survival. SIGNIFICANCE: Combined epigenetic and polyamine-reducing therapy stimulates M1 macrophage polarization in the tumor microenvironment of an ovarian cancer mouse model, resulting in decreased tumor burden and prolonged survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meghan Travers
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Stephen M Brown
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Matthew Dunworth
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Cassandra E Holbert
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland
| | | | | | - Jackson R Foley
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Meredith L Stone
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland.,Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Stephen B Baylin
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Robert A Casero
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland.
| | - Cynthia A Zahnow
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland.
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6
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Kong X, Chen J, Xie W, Brown SM, Cai Y, Wu K, Fan D, Nie Y, Yegnasubramanian S, Tiedemann RL, Tao Y, Chiu Yen RW, Topper MJ, Zahnow CA, Easwaran H, Rothbart SB, Xia L, Baylin SB. Defining UHRF1 Domains that Support Maintenance of Human Colon Cancer DNA Methylation and Oncogenic Properties. Cancer Cell 2019; 35:633-648.e7. [PMID: 30956060 PMCID: PMC6521721 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2019.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2018] [Revised: 01/22/2019] [Accepted: 03/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
UHRF1 facilitates the establishment and maintenance of DNA methylation patterns in mammalian cells. The establishment domains are defined, including E3 ligase function, but the maintenance domains are poorly characterized. Here, we demonstrate that UHRF1 histone- and hemimethylated DNA binding functions, but not E3 ligase activity, maintain cancer-specific DNA methylation in human colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Disrupting either chromatin reader activity reverses DNA hypermethylation, reactivates epigenetically silenced tumor suppressor genes (TSGs), and reduces CRC oncogenic properties. Moreover, an inverse correlation between high UHRF1 and low TSG expression tracks with CRC progression and reduced patient survival. Defining critical UHRF1 domain functions and its relationship with CRC prognosis suggests directions for, and value of, targeting this protein to develop therapeutic DNA demethylating agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangqian Kong
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Jie Chen
- Department of Gastroenterology, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430030, China; State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710032, China
| | - Wenbing Xie
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Stephen M Brown
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Yi Cai
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Kaichun Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710032, China
| | - Daiming Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710032, China
| | - Yongzhan Nie
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710032, China
| | - Srinivasan Yegnasubramanian
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Rochelle L Tiedemann
- Center for Epigenetics, Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, USA
| | - Yong Tao
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Ray-Whay Chiu Yen
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Michael J Topper
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Cynthia A Zahnow
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Hariharan Easwaran
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Scott B Rothbart
- Center for Epigenetics, Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, USA.
| | - Limin Xia
- Department of Gastroenterology, Tongji Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430030, China; State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710032, China.
| | - Stephen B Baylin
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; Center for Epigenetics, Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, USA.
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7
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Tao Y, Kang B, Petkovich DA, Bhandari YR, In J, Stein-O'Brien G, Kong X, Xie W, Zachos N, Maegawa S, Vaidya H, Brown S, Chiu Yen RW, Shao X, Thakor J, Lu Z, Cai Y, Zhang Y, Mallona I, Peinado MA, Zahnow CA, Ahuja N, Fertig E, Issa JP, Baylin SB, Easwaran H. Aging-like Spontaneous Epigenetic Silencing Facilitates Wnt Activation, Stemness, and Braf V600E-Induced Tumorigenesis. Cancer Cell 2019; 35:315-328.e6. [PMID: 30753828 PMCID: PMC6636642 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2019.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2018] [Revised: 09/25/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
We addressed the precursor role of aging-like spontaneous promoter DNA hypermethylation in initiating tumorigenesis. Using mouse colon-derived organoids, we show that promoter hypermethylation spontaneously arises in cells mimicking the human aging-like phenotype. The silenced genes activate the Wnt pathway, causing a stem-like state and differentiation defects. These changes render aged organoids profoundly more sensitive than young ones to transformation by BrafV600E, producing the typical human proximal BRAFV600E-driven colon adenocarcinomas characterized by extensive, abnormal gene-promoter CpG-island methylation, or the methylator phenotype (CIMP). Conversely, CRISPR-mediated simultaneous inactivation of a panel of the silenced genes markedly sensitizes to BrafV600E-induced transformation. Our studies tightly link aging-like epigenetic abnormalities to intestinal cell fate changes and predisposition to oncogene-driven colon tumorigenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yong Tao
- CRB1, Department of Oncology and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 530, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Byunghak Kang
- CRB1, Department of Oncology and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 530, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Daniel A Petkovich
- CRB1, Department of Oncology and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 530, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Yuba R Bhandari
- CRB1, Department of Oncology and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 530, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Julie In
- Hopkins Conte Digestive Disease, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Genevieve Stein-O'Brien
- Division of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Xiangqian Kong
- CRB1, Department of Oncology and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 530, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Wenbing Xie
- CRB1, Department of Oncology and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 530, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Nicholas Zachos
- Hopkins Conte Digestive Disease, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Shinji Maegawa
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Unit 853, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Himani Vaidya
- Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
| | - Stephen Brown
- CRB1, Department of Oncology and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 530, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Ray-Whay Chiu Yen
- CRB1, Department of Oncology and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 530, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Xiaojian Shao
- Department of Human Genetics, Canadian Centre for Computational Genomics, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Jai Thakor
- CRB1, Department of Oncology and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 530, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Zhihao Lu
- Department of Gastrointestinal Oncology, Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing 100142, China
| | - Yi Cai
- CRB1, Department of Oncology and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 530, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Yuezheng Zhang
- Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Izaskun Mallona
- Germans Trias i Pujol Health Science Research Institute (IGTP), Program for Personalized Medicine of Cancer, Badalona, 08916 Catalonia, Spain
| | - Miguel Angel Peinado
- Germans Trias i Pujol Health Science Research Institute (IGTP), Program for Personalized Medicine of Cancer, Badalona, 08916 Catalonia, Spain
| | - Cynthia A Zahnow
- CRB1, Department of Oncology and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 530, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Nita Ahuja
- CRB1, Department of Oncology and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 530, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Elana Fertig
- Division of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Jean-Pierre Issa
- Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
| | - Stephen B Baylin
- CRB1, Department of Oncology and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 530, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
| | - Hariharan Easwaran
- CRB1, Department of Oncology and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Room 530, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
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8
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Zhang H, Pandey S, Travers M, Khowsathit J, Morton G, Sum H, Barrero CA, Merali C, Okamoto Y, Sato T, Garriga J, Bhanu NV, Simithy J, Patel B, Madzo J, Raynal N, Garcia BA, Jacobson MA, Merali S, Zhang Y, Childers W, Abou-Gharbia M, Karanicolas J, Baylin SB, Zahnow CA, Jelinek J, Graña X, Issa JPJ. Abstract 2952: Targeting CDK9 reactivates epigenetically silenced genes in cancer. Cancer Res 2018. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2018-2952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
In cancer, the epigenome is aberrantly reprogrammed leading to a wide range of heritable changes in gene expression, such as silencing of tumor suppressor genes (TSG). Altered epigenetic marks in cancer involve DNA methylation and histone post-translational modifications, and these come about as a result of aging and acquisition of genetic and epigenetic changes in readers/writers/editors of the epigenome. Given the reversible nature of epigenetic modifications, one goal of epigenetic therapy of cancer is to induce TSG reactivation, leading to cancer cell differentiation and cancer cell death.
To identify novel targets that can reactivate epigenetically silenced genes, we developed a phenotypic-based system, YB5. YB5 is a colon cancer cell line generated by stably transfecting SW48 cells with a vector containing GFP driven by a methylated and silenced CMV promoter. GFP re-expression can be achieved by known epigenetic drugs that lead to demethylation or induce active chromatin marks in the CMV promoter.
We screened a natural compound library for GFP activation in YB5 and identified a novel drug class that shares an aminothiazole core structure, and has epigenetic effects that are equivalent to DNA methyltransferase inhibitor (DNMTi). Target deconvolution identified CDK9 as the target of these drugs, which reactivate gene expression without affecting DNA methylation. It is well established that CDK9, the catalytic subunit of p-TEFb, is a transcriptional activator. CDK9 in complex with its regulatory subunit, Cyclin T1 or T2, is recruited by multiple mechanisms to promote RNAPII promoter-proximal pause release by phosphorylating negative elongation factors (DSIF and NELF). In addition, phosphorylation of the C-terminal domain (CTD) of RNAPII on Serine-2 allows recruitment of RNA processing factors, which work on the nascent RNA as it emerges from RNAPII. Our new data show that long-term CDK9 inhibition can reactivate epigenetically silenced genes with minimal downregulation effects, effects which are the opposite of the canonical role of CDK9-mediated transcriptional elongation. Mechanistically, we showed that CDK9 inhibition dephosphorylates the SWI/SNF protein SMARCA4 and represses HP1α expression, both of which contribute to gene reactivation. Based on gene activation, we developed the highly selective and potent CDK9 inhibitor MC180295 (IC50 =5nM) that has broad anti-cancer activity in-vitro and is effective in in-vivo cancer models. Additionally, CDK9 inhibition sensitizes with the immune checkpoint inhibitor α-PD-1 in vivo, making it an excellent target for epigenetic therapy of cancer. This is the first study that links CDK9 to maintaining gene silencing at epigenetically repressed loci in mammals. Excitingly, this is also the first example of kinase inhibitors as potential drugs that reverse epigenetic silencing.
Citation Format: Hanghang Zhang, Somnath Pandey, Meghan Travers, Jittasak Khowsathit, George Morton, Hongxing Sum, Carlos A. Barrero, Carmen Merali, Yasuyuki Okamoto, Takahiro Sato, Judit Garriga, Natarajan V. Bhanu, Johayra Simithy, Bela Patel, Jozef Madzo, Noël Raynal, Benjamin A. Garcia, Marlene A. Jacobson, Salim Merali, Yi Zhang, Wayne Childers, Magid Abou-Gharbia, John Karanicolas, Stephen B. Baylin, Cynthia A. Zahnow, Jaroslav Jelinek, Xavier Graña, Jean-Pierre J. Issa. Targeting CDK9 reactivates epigenetically silenced genes in cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2952.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanghang Zhang
- 1Fels Institute for Cancer Research, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Somnath Pandey
- 1Fels Institute for Cancer Research, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Meghan Travers
- 2The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
| | | | - George Morton
- 4Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research, Temple University School of Pharmacy, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Hongxing Sum
- 1Fels Institute for Cancer Research, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Carlos A. Barrero
- 4Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research, Temple University School of Pharmacy, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Carmen Merali
- 4Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research, Temple University School of Pharmacy, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Yasuyuki Okamoto
- 1Fels Institute for Cancer Research, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Takahiro Sato
- 1Fels Institute for Cancer Research, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Judit Garriga
- 1Fels Institute for Cancer Research, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Natarajan V. Bhanu
- 5Epigenetics Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Johayra Simithy
- 5Epigenetics Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Bela Patel
- 1Fels Institute for Cancer Research, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Jozef Madzo
- 1Fels Institute for Cancer Research, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Noël Raynal
- 6Département de pharmacologie et physiologie, Université de Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Benjamin A. Garcia
- 5Epigenetics Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Marlene A. Jacobson
- 4Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research, Temple University School of Pharmacy, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Salim Merali
- 4Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research, Temple University School of Pharmacy, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Yi Zhang
- 1Fels Institute for Cancer Research, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Wayne Childers
- 4Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research, Temple University School of Pharmacy, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Magid Abou-Gharbia
- 4Moulder Center for Drug Discovery Research, Temple University School of Pharmacy, Philadelphia, PA
| | - John Karanicolas
- 3Molecular Therapeutics Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Stephen B. Baylin
- 2The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
| | - Cynthia A. Zahnow
- 2The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
| | - Jaroslav Jelinek
- 1Fels Institute for Cancer Research, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Xavier Graña
- 1Fels Institute for Cancer Research, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Jean-Pierre J. Issa
- 1Fels Institute for Cancer Research, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA
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9
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De Carvalho Fischer C, Hu Y, Morreale M, Lin WY, Wali A, Thakar M, Karunasena E, Sen R, Cai Y, Murphy L, Zahnow CA, Keer H, Thakar M, Ahuja N. Treatment with epigenetic agents profoundly inhibits tumor growth in leiomyosarcoma. Oncotarget 2018; 9:19379-19395. [PMID: 29721210 PMCID: PMC5922404 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.25056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2017] [Accepted: 03/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Leiomyosarcomas are rare mesenchymal neoplasms characterized by a smooth muscle differentiation pattern. Due to the extremely poor prognosis in patients, the development of novel chemotherapeutic regimens remains critically important. In this study, multiple leiomyosarcoma cell lines, SK-UT1, SK-LMS1, and MES-SA were treated with varying doses of the DNA Methyltransferase Inhibitors (DNMTi) 5-azacitidine (Aza), 5-aza-2-deoxycytidine (DAC), and guadecitabine (SGI-110). The effect of these epigenetic modulators was measured using both in-vitro and in-vivo models. Of the three epigenetic modulators, Guadecitabine was the most effective at decreasing cell survival in LMS cell lines. SK-UT1 was found to be the more sensitive to all three epigenetic modulators, while SK-LMS1 and MES-SA were more resistant. The contrast in sensitivity seen was also represented by the increase in apoptosis in Aza and guadecitabine. In parallel with Aza, guadecitabine was observed to also arrest the cell cycle. Treatment with guadecitabine led to a decrease in growth across the spectrum of sensitivity in LMS cell lines, both in a delayed in vitro and in vivo model; in parallel experiments, apoptotic pathways were activated in sensitive and less sensitive lines. Additional studies are required to explore potential therapeutic applications and mechanisms for leiomyosarcoma treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia De Carvalho Fischer
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.,Institut für Allgemein, Viszeral und Transplantationschirurgie, Charite Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Yue Hu
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.,Department of Surgical Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, P.R. China
| | - Michael Morreale
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Wan Ying Lin
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Akhil Wali
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Maya Thakar
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Enusha Karunasena
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Rupashree Sen
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Yi Cai
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Lauren Murphy
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Cynthia A Zahnow
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Harold Keer
- Astex Pharmaceuticals Inc., Pleasanton, CA, United States
| | - Manjusha Thakar
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Nita Ahuja
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.,Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.,Department of Urology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
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10
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Zahnow CA. Abstract BS1-1: Epigenetic therapy activates type 1 interferon signaling to reduce immunosuppression and tumor burden. Cancer Res 2018. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.sabcs17-bs1-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Therapies that activate the host immune system have shown tremendous promise for a variety of solid tumors. However, in most cancer types, fewer than half of patients respond to these immunotherapies. Ovarian and breast tumors are often characterized by an immune suppressive microenvironment and response of these cancers to immune therapies has thus far been disappointing. Studies by our group and others have shown that DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTIs) can upregulate a wide range of genes involved in immune signaling in breast and ovarian cancer cells. The mechanism regulating this immune signaling in tumor cells involves DNMTIs and the demethylation and re-expression of endogenous retroviruses which can induce a cytosolic sensing double stranded RNA (dsRNA) anti-viral pathway resulting in Type I interferon signaling and the upregulation of interferon stimulated genes and immune cell attracting chemokines/cytokines. Furthermore, epigenetic changes, specifically de novo methylation, have been shown to play an important role in the promotion of CD8+ T cell exhaustion, which is a barrier to immune cell activation during checkpoint inhibition therapy. We propose that epigenetic therapy can modulate the tumor microenvironment via type 1 interferon signaling and can sensitize tumors to immune checkpoint therapy.
To test whether epigenetic treatment alters the tumor microenvironment to reduce immunosuppression, our analysis employed two immunocompetent murine cancer models. The first consists of C57Bl/6 mice transplanted with syngeneic ID8 ovarian surface epithelial cells. In this model, hemorrhagic ascites is a measure of tumor burden and the source of tumor and immune cells for analysis. In the second model, BALB/c mice were orthotopically transplanted with luminal-like, p53 null breast tumors, 2208L. We find, in both cancer models that clinically relevant doses of (DNMTi) and histone deacetylase (HDACi) inhibitors reduce tumor burden and improve overall survival. We show in the ovarian model that type I interferon signaling is necessary for AZA induced increases in the numbers of CD45+ immune cells and the percentage of active CD8+ T and NK cells in the tumor microenvironment. Antibody blockade of interferon alpha and beta receptor subunit 1 prevents reductions in tumor burden and increases in survival. In both the ovary and breast cancer models, AZA reduces the percentage of macrophages and myeloid derived suppressor cells in the tumor microenvironment. In breast, numbers of M-MDSCs are reduced while the G-MDSC population remains unchanged. Additionally, in contrast to the ovarian cancer model, CD45+ immune cells do not appear to be increased, but %CD3 cells are decreased by all treatments. In the ovarian model, addition of an HDACi to AZA enhances the modulation of the immune microenvironment, specifically increasing T and natural killer cell activation and reducing macrophages over AZA treatment alone, while further increasing the survival of the mice. Finally, a triple combination of the DNMTi/HDACi plus the immune checkpoint inhibitor alpha-PD-1 provides the best anti-tumor effect and longest overall survival, and may be an attractive concept for future clinical trials.
Citation Format: Zahnow CA. Epigenetic therapy activates type 1 interferon signaling to reduce immunosuppression and tumor burden [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr BS1-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- CA Zahnow
- Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
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11
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Xie W, Kagiampakis I, Pan L, Zhang YW, Murphy L, Tao Y, Kong X, Kang B, Xia L, Carvalho FLF, Sen S, Chiu Yen RW, Zahnow CA, Ahuja N, Baylin SB, Easwaran H. DNA Methylation Patterns Separate Senescence from Transformation Potential and Indicate Cancer Risk. Cancer Cell 2018; 33:309-321.e5. [PMID: 29438699 PMCID: PMC5813821 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2018.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2017] [Revised: 10/24/2017] [Accepted: 01/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Overall shared DNA methylation patterns between senescence (Sen) and cancers have led to the model that tumor-promoting epigenetic patterns arise through senescence. We show that transformation-associated methylation changes arise stochastically and independently of programmatic changes during senescence. Promoter hypermethylation events in transformation involve primarily pro-survival and developmental genes, similarly modified in primary tumors. Senescence-associated hypermethylation mainly involves metabolic regulators and appears early in proliferating "near-senescent" cells, which can be immortalized but are refractory to transformation. Importantly, a subset of transformation-associated hypermethylated developmental genes exhibits highest methylation gains at all age-associated cancer risk states across tissue types. These epigenetic changes favoring cell self-renewal and survival, arising during tissue aging, are fundamentally important for stratifying cancer risk and concepts for cancer prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenbing Xie
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Ioannis Kagiampakis
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Lixia Pan
- Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Yang W Zhang
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Lauren Murphy
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Yong Tao
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Xiangqian Kong
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Byunghak Kang
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Limin Xia
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Filipe L F Carvalho
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Subhojit Sen
- UM-DAE Center for Excellence in Basic Sciences (CBS), Mumbai University, Mumbai 400098, India
| | - Ray-Whay Chiu Yen
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Cynthia A Zahnow
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Nita Ahuja
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Stephen B Baylin
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
| | - Hariharan Easwaran
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
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12
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Topper MJ, Vaz M, Chiappinelli KB, DeStefano Shields CE, Niknafs N, Yen RWC, Wenzel A, Hicks J, Ballew M, Stone M, Tran PT, Zahnow CA, Hellmann MD, Anagnostou V, Strissel PL, Strick R, Velculescu VE, Baylin SB. Epigenetic Therapy Ties MYC Depletion to Reversing Immune Evasion and Treating Lung Cancer. Cell 2017; 171:1284-1300.e21. [PMID: 29195073 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.10.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 301] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2017] [Revised: 08/07/2017] [Accepted: 10/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Combining DNA-demethylating agents (DNA methyltransferase inhibitors [DNMTis]) with histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) holds promise for enhancing cancer immune therapy. Herein, pharmacologic and isoform specificity of HDACis are investigated to guide their addition to a DNMTi, thus devising a new, low-dose, sequential regimen that imparts a robust anti-tumor effect for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Using in-vitro-treated NSCLC cell lines, we elucidate an interferon α/β-based transcriptional program with accompanying upregulation of antigen presentation machinery, mediated in part through double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) induction. This is accompanied by suppression of MYC signaling and an increase in the T cell chemoattractant CCL5. Use of this combination treatment schema in mouse models of NSCLC reverses tumor immune evasion and modulates T cell exhaustion state towards memory and effector T cell phenotypes. Key correlative science metrics emerge for an upcoming clinical trial, testing enhancement of immune checkpoint therapy for NSCLC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Topper
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; The Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Michelle Vaz
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Katherine B Chiappinelli
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Tropical Medicine, The George Washington University Cancer Center, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Christina E DeStefano Shields
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Noushin Niknafs
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Ray-Whay Chiu Yen
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Alyssa Wenzel
- The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Jessica Hicks
- Department of Urologic Pathology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Matthew Ballew
- Department of Radiation Oncology & Molecular Radiation Sciences, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Meredith Stone
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; The Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Phuoc T Tran
- Department of Radiation Oncology & Molecular Radiation Sciences, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Cynthia A Zahnow
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Matthew D Hellmann
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Valsamo Anagnostou
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Pamela L Strissel
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, University-Clinic Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Reiner Strick
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, University-Clinic Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Victor E Velculescu
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Stephen B Baylin
- Department of Oncology, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
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13
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Vaz M, Hwang SY, Kagiampakis I, Phallen J, Patil A, O'Hagan HM, Murphy L, Zahnow CA, Gabrielson E, Velculescu VE, Easwaran HP, Baylin SB. Chronic Cigarette Smoke-Induced Epigenomic Changes Precede Sensitization of Bronchial Epithelial Cells to Single-Step Transformation by KRAS Mutations. Cancer Cell 2017; 32:360-376.e6. [PMID: 28898697 PMCID: PMC5596892 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2017.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2016] [Revised: 06/21/2017] [Accepted: 08/11/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
We define how chronic cigarette smoke-induced time-dependent epigenetic alterations can sensitize human bronchial epithelial cells for transformation by a single oncogene. The smoke-induced chromatin changes include initial repressive polycomb marking of genes, later manifesting abnormal DNA methylation by 10 months. At this time, cells exhibit epithelial-to-mesenchymal changes, anchorage-independent growth, and upregulated RAS/MAPK signaling with silencing of hypermethylated genes, which normally inhibit these pathways and are associated with smoking-related non-small cell lung cancer. These cells, in the absence of any driver gene mutations, now transform by introducing a single KRAS mutation and form adenosquamous lung carcinomas in mice. Thus, epigenetic abnormalities may prime for changing oncogene senescence to addiction for a single key oncogene involved in lung cancer initiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Vaz
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Stephen Y Hwang
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Ioannis Kagiampakis
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Jillian Phallen
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Ashwini Patil
- Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Heather M O'Hagan
- Medical Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA; Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
| | - Lauren Murphy
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Cynthia A Zahnow
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Edward Gabrielson
- Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Victor E Velculescu
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Hariharan P Easwaran
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
| | - Stephen B Baylin
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
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14
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McLaughlin LJ, Li H, Nagaria P, Baylin SB, Zahnow CA, Rassool FV. Abstract 4045: Decreased Fanconi anemia gene expression contributes to efficacy of PARP and DNMT inhibitor combination therapy in triple negative breast cancer. Cancer Res 2017. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2017-4045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors (PARPi) have efficacy in a sub-set of triple negative breast cancers (TNBCs) with inherited mutations in DNA double strand break repair (DSBR) genes, such as the BRCA1/2 genes in homologous recombination (HR), through synthetic lethality. However, PARP inhibitors have failed for the majority of sporadic TNBCs with intact BRCA1 genes. Therefore, novel targeted therapies must be explored. We have recently reported that PARPi Talazoparib in combination with DNA methyl transferase inhibitors (DNMTi)s azacytidine (AZA) or decitabine (DAC) have efficacy in sporadic TNBCs in vitro and in vivo. PARPi act not only to catalytically inhibit PARP but also to trap PARP at DNA single strand breaks (SSB), leading to suicidal DNA-protein crosslinks (DPC). We also showed that Talazoparib in combination with AZA/DAC increases PARP trapping in DNA, leading to increased and persistent levels of lethal DSBs, suggesting that DSBR may also be impaired with this treatment. HR plays an important role in resolving DPC in mammalian cells and Fanconi anemia (FA)-dependent HR has been previously shown to resolve AZA-induced replication lesions. Herein, we determined whether HR is impaired with combination drug treatment using a chromosomally integrated GFP-based reporter in the TNBC cell line, MDA-MB-231. HR activity was significantly (p<0.05) decreased with AZA or AZA/Talazoparib combination treatment, suggesting that AZA mediates decreased HR activity. We next questioned whether subsets of HR genes are indirectly down-regulated by the epigenetic reprogramming effects of DNMTis, thereby contributing to the efficacy of DNMTi and PARPi combination therapy. Microarray analysis was performed in multiple TNBC cell lines (including MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468, and SUM159PT) post DNMTi treatment and showed significant (p<0.05) decreases in expression of FANCD2, FANCC, and FANCE that could potentially generate a synthetic lethality when combined with PARPi, as has recently been reported. Decreased FA gene expression was validated by qPCR of mRNA and western analysis of proteins. Moreover, treatment of TNBC with DNA crosslinking agents, which require FA-dependent repair, have increased sensitivity post DNMTi treatment. These data suggest that decreased FA gene expression contributes to the efficacy of PARPi/DNMTi treatment in TNBC. Work is now underway to determine whether depletion of FA proteins can increase PARP trapping in PARPis treated TNBCs, leading to increased levels of cytotoxic DSBs.
Citation Format: Lena J. McLaughlin, Huili Li, Pratik Nagaria, Stephen B. Baylin, Cynthia A. Zahnow, Feyruz V. Rassool. Decreased Fanconi anemia gene expression contributes to efficacy of PARP and DNMT inhibitor combination therapy in triple negative breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4045. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4045
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Huili Li
- 2Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
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15
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Xia L, Huang W, Bellani M, Seidman MM, Wu K, Fan D, Nie Y, Cai Y, Zhang YW, Yu LR, Li H, Zahnow CA, Xie W, Chiu Yen RW, Rassool FV, Baylin SB. CHD4 Has Oncogenic Functions in Initiating and Maintaining Epigenetic Suppression of Multiple Tumor Suppressor Genes. Cancer Cell 2017; 31:653-668.e7. [PMID: 28486105 PMCID: PMC5587180 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccell.2017.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2016] [Revised: 01/30/2017] [Accepted: 04/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
An oncogenic role for CHD4, a NuRD component, is defined for initiating and supporting tumor suppressor gene (TSG) silencing in human colorectal cancer. CHD4 recruits repressive chromatin proteins to sites of DNA damage repair, including DNA methyltransferases where it imposes de novo DNA methylation. At TSGs, CHD4 retention helps maintain DNA hypermethylation-associated transcriptional silencing. CHD4 is recruited by the excision repair protein OGG1 for oxidative damage to interact with the damage-induced base 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), while ZMYND8 recruits it to double-strand breaks. CHD4 knockdown activates silenced TSGs, revealing their role for blunting colorectal cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and metastases. High CHD4 and 8-OHdG levels plus low expression of TSGs strongly correlates with early disease recurrence and decreased overall survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Limin Xia
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA; State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, Shaanxi, China
| | - Wenjie Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, Shaanxi, China
| | - Marina Bellani
- Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Michael M Seidman
- Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Kaichun Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, Shaanxi, China
| | - Daiming Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yongzhan Nie
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, National Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases and Xijing Hospital of Digestive Diseases, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yi Cai
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Yang W Zhang
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Li-Rong Yu
- Biomarkers and Alternative Models Branch, Division of Systems Biology, National Center for Toxicological Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Jefferson, AR 72079, USA
| | - Huili Li
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Cynthia A Zahnow
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Wenbing Xie
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Ray-Whay Chiu Yen
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Feyruz V Rassool
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
| | - Stephen B Baylin
- Department of Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
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16
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Merino VF, Cho S, Liang X, Park S, Jin K, Chen Q, Pan D, Zahnow CA, Rein AR, Sukumar S. Inhibitors of STAT3, β-catenin, and IGF-1R sensitize mouse PIK3CA-mutant breast cancer to PI3K inhibitors. Mol Oncol 2017; 11:552-566. [PMID: 28296140 PMCID: PMC5527464 DOI: 10.1002/1878-0261.12053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2016] [Revised: 02/02/2017] [Accepted: 02/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Although mutations in the phosphoinositide 3‐kinase catalytic subunit (PIK3CA) are common in breast cancer, PI3K inhibitors alone have shown modest efficacy. We sought to identify additional pathways altered in PIK3CA‐mutant tumors that might be targeted in combination with PI3K inhibitors. We generated two transgenic mouse models expressing the human PIK3CA‐H1047R‐ and the ‐E545K hotspot‐mutant genes in the mammary gland and evaluated their effects on development and tumor formation. Molecular analysis identified pathways altered in these mutant tumors, which were also targeted in multiple cell lines derived from the PIK3CA tumors. Finally, public databases were analyzed to determine whether novel pathways identified in the mouse tumors were altered in human tumors harboring mutant PIK3CA. Mutant mice showed increased branching and delayed involution of the mammary gland compared to parental FVB/N mice. Mammary tumors arose in 30% of the MMTV‐PIK3CA‐H1047R and in 13% of ‐E545K mice. Compared to MMTV‐Her‐2 transgenic mouse mammary tumors, H1047R tumors showed increased upregulation of Wnt/β‐catenin/Axin2, hepatocyte growth factor (Hgf)/Stat3, insulin‐like growth factor 2 (Igf‐2), and Igf‐1R pathways. Inhibitors of STAT3, β‐catenin, and IGF‐1R sensitized H1047R‐derived mouse tumor cells and PIK3CA‐H1047R overexpressing human HS578T breast cancer cells to the cytotoxic effects of PI3K inhibitors. Analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas database showed that, unlike primary PIK3CA‐wild‐type and HER‐2+ breast carcinomas, PIK3CA‐mutant tumors display increased expression of AXIN2, HGF, STAT3, IGF‐1, and IGF‐2 mRNA and activation of AKT, IGF1‐MTOR, and WNT canonical signaling pathways. Drugs targeting additional pathways that are altered in PIK3CA‐mutant tumors may improve treatment regimens using PI3K inhibitors alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa F Merino
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Soonweng Cho
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Xiaohui Liang
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Sunju Park
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Kideok Jin
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Qian Chen
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Duojia Pan
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Cynthia A Zahnow
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Alan R Rein
- HIV Dynamics and Replication Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, USA
| | - Saraswati Sukumar
- Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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17
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Anagnostou V, Smith KN, Forde PM, Niknafs N, Bhattacharya R, White J, Zhang T, Adleff V, Phallen J, Wali N, Hruban C, Guthrie VB, Rodgers K, Naidoo J, Kang H, Sharfman W, Georgiades C, Verde F, Illei P, Li QK, Gabrielson E, Brock MV, Zahnow CA, Baylin SB, Scharpf RB, Brahmer JR, Karchin R, Pardoll DM, Velculescu VE. Evolution of Neoantigen Landscape during Immune Checkpoint Blockade in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Cancer Discov 2017; 7:264-276. [PMID: 28031159 PMCID: PMC5733805 DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-16-0828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 640] [Impact Index Per Article: 91.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2016] [Revised: 12/22/2016] [Accepted: 12/27/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown significant therapeutic responses against tumors containing increased mutation-associated neoantigen load. We have examined the evolving landscape of tumor neoantigens during the emergence of acquired resistance in patients with non-small cell lung cancer after initial response to immune checkpoint blockade with anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-1/anti-CTLA-4 antibodies. Analyses of matched pretreatment and resistant tumors identified genomic changes resulting in loss of 7 to 18 putative mutation-associated neoantigens in resistant clones. Peptides generated from the eliminated neoantigens elicited clonal T-cell expansion in autologous T-cell cultures, suggesting that they generated functional immune responses. Neoantigen loss occurred through elimination of tumor subclones or through deletion of chromosomal regions containing truncal alterations, and was associated with changes in T-cell receptor clonality. These analyses provide insight into the dynamics of mutational landscapes during immune checkpoint blockade and have implications for the development of immune therapies that target tumor neoantigens.Significance: Acquired resistance to immune checkpoint therapy is being recognized more commonly. This work demonstrates for the first time that acquired resistance to immune checkpoint blockade can arise in association with the evolving landscape of mutations, some of which encode tumor neoantigens recognizable by T cells. These observations imply that widening the breadth of neoantigen reactivity may mitigate the development of acquired resistance. Cancer Discov; 7(3); 264-76. ©2017 AACR.See related commentary by Yang, p. 250This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 235.
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MESH Headings
- Adult
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/pharmacology
- Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use
- Antigens, Neoplasm/immunology
- Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological/pharmacology
- Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological/therapeutic use
- CTLA-4 Antigen/genetics
- CTLA-4 Antigen/immunology
- Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/genetics
- Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/immunology
- Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/pathology
- Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/therapy
- Cell Cycle Checkpoints/drug effects
- Cell Cycle Checkpoints/immunology
- Cohort Studies
- Drug Resistance, Neoplasm/genetics
- Drug Resistance, Neoplasm/immunology
- Female
- Humans
- Immunotherapy
- Ipilimumab/pharmacology
- Ipilimumab/therapeutic use
- Janus Kinase 1/genetics
- Janus Kinase 2/genetics
- Lung Neoplasms/genetics
- Lung Neoplasms/immunology
- Lung Neoplasms/pathology
- Lung Neoplasms/therapy
- Male
- Middle Aged
- Mutation
- Nivolumab
- Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor/antagonists & inhibitors
- Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor/genetics
- Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor/immunology
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell/genetics
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell/immunology
- Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell/metabolism
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Affiliation(s)
- Valsamo Anagnostou
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- The Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Kellie N Smith
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- The Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Patrick M Forde
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- The Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Noushin Niknafs
- Institute for Computational Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Rohit Bhattacharya
- Institute for Computational Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - James White
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | | | - Vilmos Adleff
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Jillian Phallen
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Neha Wali
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Carolyn Hruban
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Violeta B Guthrie
- Institute for Computational Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Kristen Rodgers
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Jarushka Naidoo
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- The Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Hyunseok Kang
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - William Sharfman
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Christos Georgiades
- Department of Radiology and Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Franco Verde
- Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Peter Illei
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Qing Kay Li
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Edward Gabrielson
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Malcolm V Brock
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Cynthia A Zahnow
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Stephen B Baylin
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Robert B Scharpf
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Julie R Brahmer
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- The Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Rachel Karchin
- Institute for Computational Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Drew M Pardoll
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- The Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Victor E Velculescu
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
- The Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
- Institute for Computational Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
- Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
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18
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Connolly RM, Li H, Jankowitz RC, Zhang Z, Rudek MA, Jeter SC, Slater SA, Powers P, Wolff AC, Fetting JH, Brufsky A, Piekarz R, Ahuja N, Laird PW, Shen H, Weisenberger DJ, Cope L, Herman JG, Somlo G, Garcia AA, Jones PA, Baylin SB, Davidson NE, Zahnow CA, Stearns V. Combination Epigenetic Therapy in Advanced Breast Cancer with 5-Azacitidine and Entinostat: A Phase II National Cancer Institute/Stand Up to Cancer Study. Clin Cancer Res 2016; 23:2691-2701. [PMID: 27979916 DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-16-1729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2016] [Revised: 10/27/2016] [Accepted: 11/19/2016] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Purpose: In breast cancer models, combination epigenetic therapy with a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor and a histone deacetylase inhibitor led to reexpression of genes encoding important therapeutic targets, including the estrogen receptor (ER). We conducted a multicenter phase II study of 5-azacitidine and entinostat in women with advanced hormone-resistant or triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).Experimental Design: Patients received 5-azacitidine 40 mg/m2 (days 1-5, 8-10) and entinostat 7 mg (days 3, 10) on a 28-day cycle. Continuation of epigenetic therapy was offered with the addition of endocrine therapy at the time of progression [optional continuation (OC) phase]. Primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR) in each cohort. We hypothesized that ORR would be ≥20% against null of 5% using Simon two-stage design. At least one response was required in 1 of 13 patients per cohort to continue accrual to 27 per cohort (type I error, 4%; power, 90%).Results: There was one partial response among 27 women with hormone-resistant disease (ORR = 4%; 95% CI, 0-19), and none in 13 women with TNBC. One additional partial response was observed in the OC phase in the hormone-resistant cohort (n = 12). Mandatory tumor samples were obtained pre- and posttreatment (58% paired) with either up- or downregulation of ER observed in approximately 50% of posttreatment biopsies in the hormone-resistant, but not TNBC cohort.Conclusions: Combination epigenetic therapy was well tolerated, but our primary endpoint was not met. OC phase results suggest that some women benefit from epigenetic therapy and/or reintroduction of endocrine therapy beyond progression, but further study is needed. Clin Cancer Res; 23(11); 2691-701. ©2016 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roisin M Connolly
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Huili Li
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | | | - Zhe Zhang
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Michelle A Rudek
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Stacie C Jeter
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Shannon A Slater
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Penny Powers
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Antonio C Wolff
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - John H Fetting
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Adam Brufsky
- University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Richard Piekarz
- Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP), NCI, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Nita Ahuja
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Peter W Laird
- Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan
| | - Hui Shen
- Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan
| | | | - Leslie Cope
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - James G Herman
- University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | | | | | - Peter A Jones
- Van Andel Research Institute, Grand Rapids, Michigan
| | - Stephen B Baylin
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Nancy E Davidson
- University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Cynthia A Zahnow
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Vered Stearns
- Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
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19
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Vaz MP, Hwang SY, Patil A, Phallen J, Murphy L, Zahnow CA, Velculescu VE, Easwaran H, Baylin SB. Abstract 2773: Chronic cigarette smoke exposure of bronchial epithelial cells induces progressive epigenomic changes leading to transformation. Cancer Res 2016. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2016-2773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Herein, we define a model for how cigarette smoke and chronic inflammation induce human lung cancer via evolution of a co-ordinated pattern of progressive cancer-associated epigenetic abnormalities which prime cells for addiction to a single key genetic alteration, KRAS mutation. Non-clonogenic, non-tumorigenic, epigenetically stable human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEC) were exposed to cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) for 15 months. Earlier studies have established a requirement for the simultaneous disruption of three oncogenes to fully transform these cells. Genome-wide DNA methylation, expression, chromatin changes, as well as binding to chromatin of key epigenetic regulators and cell phenotypic features were examined over time in exposed versus non-exposed cells. CSC exposure acutely causes, within 10 days, a change we have previously associated with DNA damage, tightening of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) and EZH2 to chromatin. While the EZH2 binding decreases with prolonged exposure, DNMT1 remains tightly bound to chromatin. Chronic exposure causes progressive, but stochastically variable, global DNA methylation changes which begin by six months and progress over the time course of the study to include hypermethylation of gene promoters which are frequent in human lung cancer. ChIP-seq analyses reveal, preceding the above methylation changes, that promoters of such methylated genes have an initial recruitment of EZH2, which begins at 10 days and then decreases with time. In contrast, recruitment of EZH2 increases with time and remains dominant for these same genes in the non-exposed controls. Following 10 months of exposure, CSC treated cells begin to clone in soft agar, often a feature of transformation, yet do not form tumors in immunodeficient mice. At this time point, gene expression studies show the top signaling pathway change is strong activation of MAP-kinase and KRAS pathways. Yet genome-wide, exome sequencing reveals no known lung cancer driver gene mutations. Remarkably, overexpression of mutant KRAS alone now markedly enlarges the soft agar colonies, and the cells are now fully transformed and form tumors in mice. Our study reveals, in a chronic cigarette exposure model relevant to the time course for evolution of KRAS mutant human lung adenocarcinoma, a key initial role for smoking induced epigenetic changes which facilitate addiction to the oncogene.
Citation Format: Michelle P. Vaz, Stephen Y. Hwang, Ashwini Patil, Jillian Phallen, Lauren Murphy, Cynthia A. Zahnow, Victor E. Velculescu, Hariharan Easwaran, Stephen B. Baylin. Chronic cigarette smoke exposure of bronchial epithelial cells induces progressive epigenomic changes leading to transformation. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 2773.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle P. Vaz
- 1Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
| | - Stephen Y. Hwang
- 1Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
| | - Ashwini Patil
- 2Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Advanced Academic Programs, Baltimore, MD
| | - Jillian Phallen
- 1Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
| | - Lauren Murphy
- 1Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
| | - Cynthia A. Zahnow
- 1Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
| | - Victor E. Velculescu
- 1Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
| | - Hariharan Easwaran
- 1Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
| | - Stephen B. Baylin
- 1Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
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Chiappinelli KB, Stone ML, Topper MJ, Murphy L, Strissel PL, Strick R, Zahnow CA, Baylin SB. Abstract 4019: Inhibiting DNA methylation causes an interferon response in cancer cells via endogenous retroviruses and recruits immune cells to the tumor microenvironment to sensitize to immune therapy. Cancer Res 2016. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2016-4019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Therapies that activate the host immune system have shown tremendous promise for a wide variety of solid tumors, with patients exhibiting vigorous and durable responses. However, in most cancer types, fewer than half of patients respond to these immune therapies. We propose epigenetic therapy as a mechanism to sensitize these patients. DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTis) upregulate immune attraction, including the interferon response, in solid tumors. We have shown that in human epithelial ovarian cancer cells, DNMTis upregulate viral defense by cytosolic sensing of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), triggering a Type I Interferon response and apoptosis. Demethylation and expression of bidirectionally transcribed endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) is a major component of the dsRNA that activates the response. Our work showed that treatment with the DNMTi 5-azacytidine (Aza) sensitizes mouse melanoma cells to subsequent anti-CTLA4 therapy, likely through activation of the interferon response and subsequent signaling to host immune cells. Our current work aims to verify this hypothesis. In addition, we observe that adding histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACis) to DNMTis can augment the upregulation of specific ERVs and the resulting downstream interferon response in human cancer cell lines. Specifically, the ERV-K family as well as the Fc2 and ERV-9 families are increased by DNMTi treatment but further augmented by HDACi treatment, while HDACis alone have minimal effects on the ERVs and the downstream interferon response. We tested the hypothesis that epigenetic drugs sensitize to immune therapy by recruiting host immune cells in an immunocompetent mouse model of serous ovarian cancer. Treatment of this model with DNMTi and HDACi results in increased recruitment of (CD3+) T cells, including tumor-killing T Effector cells, to the tumor. This epigenetic therapy causes increased activation of CD8 T cells and natural killer cells, an increase in helper T cells, and a reduction in myeloid derived suppressor cells and macrophages. We observed upregulation of the immune checkpoint ligand PD-L1 on tumor cells by DNMTis and hypothesized that treatment of this mouse model with the above drug combination plus an antibody to the PD-L1 receptor (anti-PD-1) could reduce tumor burden. This combination does indeed significantly reduce tumor burden and increase survival. We thus define a major mechanism for how DNMTis and HDACis may induce cancer cells to increase attraction and activation of immune cells and sensitize patients to immunotherapy.
Citation Format: Katherine B. Chiappinelli, Meredith L. Stone, Michael J. Topper, Lauren Murphy, Pamela L. Strissel, Reiner Strick, Cynthia A. Zahnow, Stephen B. Baylin. Inhibiting DNA methylation causes an interferon response in cancer cells via endogenous retroviruses and recruits immune cells to the tumor microenvironment to sensitize to immune therapy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 4019.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Meredith L. Stone
- 1The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Michael J. Topper
- 1The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Lauren Murphy
- 1The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Pamela L. Strissel
- 2Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, University-Clinic Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Reiner Strick
- 2Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, University-Clinic Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Cynthia A. Zahnow
- 1The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Stephen B. Baylin
- 1The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
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Abstract
The most exciting recent advance for achieving durable management of advanced human cancers is immunotherapy, especially the concept of immune checkpoint blockade. However, with the exception of melanoma, most patients do not respond to immunotherapy alone. A growing body of work has shown that epigenetic drugs, specifically DNA methyltransferase inhibitors, can upregulate immune signaling in epithelial cancer cells through demethylation of endogenous retroviruses and cancer testis antigens. These demethylating agents may induce T-cell attraction and enhance immune checkpoint inhibitor efficacy in mouse models. Current clinical trials are testing this combination therapy as a potent new cancer management strategy. Cancer Res; 76(7); 1683-9. ©2016 AACR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine B Chiappinelli
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Cynthia A Zahnow
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Nita Ahuja
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Stephen B Baylin
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland.
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22
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Chiappinelli KB, Strissel PL, Desrichard A, Li H, Henke C, Akman B, Hein A, Rote NS, Cope LM, Snyder A, Makarov V, Budhu S, Slamon DJ, Wolchok JD, Pardoll DM, Beckmann MW, Zahnow CA, Merghoub T, Chan TA, Baylin SB, Strick R. Inhibiting DNA Methylation Causes an Interferon Response in Cancer via dsRNA Including Endogenous Retroviruses. Cell 2016; 164:1073. [PMID: 27064190 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.10.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Chiappinelli KB, Strissel PL, Desrichard A, Li H, Henke C, Akman B, Hein A, Rote NS, Cope LM, Snyder A, Makarov V, Budhu S, Wolchok J, Zahnow CA, Mergoub T, Chan TA, Strick R, Baylin SB. Abstract B32: Inhibiting DNA methylation causes an interferon response in cancer via dsRNA including endogenous retroviruses. Cancer Res 2016. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.chromepi15-b32] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTis) upregulate immune attraction, including the interferon response, in solid tumors. We now define viral defense signaling as one mechanism for this. In epithelial ovarian cancer cells DNMTis upregulate viral defense by cytosolic sensing of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), triggering a Type I Interferon response, upregulation of downstream interferon response genes, and increased apoptosis. Knockdown of the dsRNA sensors TLR3 and MAVS and inhibition of the interferon alpha/beta receptor blunt the DNMTi induced dsRNA response. DNMTis cause apoptosis of cancer cells, which is partially rescued by inhibiting the interferon alpha/beta receptor. We observe upregulation and demethylation of hypermethylated endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) and overexpression of individual ERVs whose sense and anti-sense transcripts may be key candidates for triggering the above signaling. Overexpression of ERVs alone is sufficient to trigger an interferon response in the absence of DNMTis. Basal levels of ERV and viral defense gene expression significantly correlate in primary OC and basal expression of the viral defense signature separates primary TCGA samples for multiple tumor types into low versus high expression groups. In melanoma patients treated with an immune checkpoint therapy, high viral defense signature expression in tumors significantly associates with durable clinical response and DNMTi treatment sensitizes to anti-CTLA4 therapy in a pre-clinical melanoma model. We thus define a major mechanism for how DNMTis may induce cancer cells to increase immune attraction and possibly sensitize patients to immunotherapy. Experiments determining which Aza-upregulated molecules on tumor cells are necessary for attraction and activation of host immune cells are ongoing.
Citation Format: Katherine B. Chiappinelli, Pamela L. Strissel, Alexis Desrichard, Huili Li, Christine Henke, Benjamin Akman, Alexander Hein, Neal S. Rote, Leslie M. Cope, Alexandra Snyder, Vladimir Makarov, Sadna Budhu, Jedd Wolchok, Cynthia A. Zahnow, Taha Mergoub, Timothy A. Chan, Reiner Strick, Stephen B. Baylin. Inhibiting DNA methylation causes an interferon response in cancer via dsRNA including endogenous retroviruses. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Chromatin and Epigenetics in Cancer; Sep 24-27, 2015; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(2 Suppl):Abstract nr B32.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pamela L. Strissel
- 2Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, University-Clinic Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany,
| | | | - Huili Li
- 1The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD,
| | - Christine Henke
- 2Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, University-Clinic Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany,
| | - Benjamin Akman
- 1The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD,
| | - Alexander Hein
- 2Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, University-Clinic Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany,
| | | | - Leslie M. Cope
- 1The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD,
| | | | | | - Sadna Budhu
- 3Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY,
| | - Jedd Wolchok
- 3Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY,
| | - Cynthia A. Zahnow
- 1The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD,
| | - Taha Mergoub
- 3Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY,
| | | | - Reiner Strick
- 2Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, University-Clinic Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany,
| | - Stephen B. Baylin
- 1The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD,
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24
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Chiappinelli KB, Strissel PL, Desrichard A, Li H, Henke C, Akman B, Hein A, Rote NS, Cope LM, Snyder A, Makarov V, Budhu S, Buhu S, Slamon DJ, Wolchok JD, Pardoll DM, Beckmann MW, Zahnow CA, Merghoub T, Mergoub T, Chan TA, Baylin SB, Strick R. Inhibiting DNA Methylation Causes an Interferon Response in Cancer via dsRNA Including Endogenous Retroviruses. Cell 2015; 162:974-86. [PMID: 26317466 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2015.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1122] [Impact Index Per Article: 124.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2014] [Revised: 05/04/2015] [Accepted: 06/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
We show that DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTis) upregulate immune signaling in cancer through the viral defense pathway. In ovarian cancer (OC), DNMTis trigger cytosolic sensing of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) causing a type I interferon response and apoptosis. Knocking down dsRNA sensors TLR3 and MAVS reduces this response 2-fold and blocking interferon beta or its receptor abrogates it. Upregulation of hypermethylated endogenous retrovirus (ERV) genes accompanies the response and ERV overexpression activates the response. Basal levels of ERV and viral defense gene expression significantly correlate in primary OC and the latter signature separates primary samples for multiple tumor types from The Cancer Genome Atlas into low versus high expression groups. In melanoma patients treated with an immune checkpoint therapy, high viral defense signature expression in tumors significantly associates with durable clinical response and DNMTi treatment sensitizes to anti-CTLA4 therapy in a pre-clinical melanoma model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine B Chiappinelli
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Pamela L Strissel
- Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, University-Clinic Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Alexis Desrichard
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Huili Li
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Christine Henke
- Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, University-Clinic Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Benjamin Akman
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Alexander Hein
- Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, University-Clinic Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Neal S Rote
- Department of Reproductive Biology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Leslie M Cope
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Alexandra Snyder
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA; Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Vladimir Makarov
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | | | - Sadna Buhu
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Dennis J Slamon
- The Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Jedd D Wolchok
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Drew M Pardoll
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Matthias W Beckmann
- Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, University-Clinic Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany
| | - Cynthia A Zahnow
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | | | - Taha Mergoub
- Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Timothy A Chan
- Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA; Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Stephen B Baylin
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA.
| | - Reiner Strick
- Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Laboratory for Molecular Medicine, University-Clinic Erlangen, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
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25
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Wu X, Zahari MS, Ma B, Liu R, Renuse S, Sahasrabuddhe NA, Chen L, Chaerkady R, Kim MS, Zhong J, Jelinek C, Barbhuiya MA, Leal-Rojas P, Yang Y, Kashyap MK, Marimuthu A, Ling M, Fackler MJ, Merino V, Zhang Z, Zahnow CA, Gabrielson E, Stearns V, Roa JC, Sukumar S, Gill PS, Pandey A. Global phosphotyrosine survey in triple-negative breast cancer reveals activation of multiple tyrosine kinase signaling pathways. Oncotarget 2015; 6:29143-60. [PMID: 26356563 PMCID: PMC4745717 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.5020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2015] [Accepted: 08/24/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women worldwide. About 15-20% of all breast cancers are triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and are often highly aggressive when compared to other subtypes of breast cancers. To better characterize the biology that underlies the TNBC phenotype, we profiled the phosphotyrosine proteome of a panel of twenty-six TNBC cell lines using quantitative high resolution Fourier transform mass spectrometry. A heterogeneous pattern of tyrosine kinase activation was observed based on 1,789 tyrosine-phosphorylated peptides identified from 969 proteins. One of the tyrosine kinases, AXL, was found to be activated in a majority of aggressive TNBC cell lines and was accompanied by a higher level of AXL expression. High levels of AXL expression are correlated with a significant decrease in patient survival. Treatment of cells bearing activated AXL with a humanized AXL antibody inhibited cell proliferation and migration in vitro, and tumor growth in mice. Overall, our global phosphoproteomic analysis provided new insights into the heterogeneity in the activation status of tyrosine kinase pathways in TNBCs. Our approach presents an effective means of identifying important novel biomarkers and targets for therapy such as AXL in TNBC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyan Wu
- 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 2 McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Muhammad Saddiq Zahari
- 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 2 McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Binyun Ma
- 6 Department of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Ren Liu
- 6 Department of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Santosh Renuse
- 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 2 McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 5 Institute of Bioinformatics, International Technology Park, Bangalore, India
| | - Nandini A. Sahasrabuddhe
- 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 2 McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 5 Institute of Bioinformatics, International Technology Park, Bangalore, India
| | - Lily Chen
- 3 Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Raghothama Chaerkady
- 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 2 McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Min-Sik Kim
- 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 2 McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Jun Zhong
- 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 2 McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Christine Jelinek
- 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 2 McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Mustafa A. Barbhuiya
- 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 2 McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 5 Institute of Bioinformatics, International Technology Park, Bangalore, India
| | - Pamela Leal-Rojas
- 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 2 McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 7 Department of Pathology, Center of Genetic and Immunological Studies (CEGIN) and Scientific and Technological Bioresource Nucleus (BIOREN), Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile
| | - Yi Yang
- 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 2 McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Manoj Kumar Kashyap
- 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 2 McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 5 Institute of Bioinformatics, International Technology Park, Bangalore, India
| | - Arivusudar Marimuthu
- 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 2 McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 5 Institute of Bioinformatics, International Technology Park, Bangalore, India
| | - Min Ling
- 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Mary Jo Fackler
- 3 Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Vanessa Merino
- 3 Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Zhen Zhang
- 3 Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Cynthia A. Zahnow
- 3 Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Edward Gabrielson
- 3 Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 4 Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Vered Stearns
- 3 Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Juan Carlos Roa
- 8 Advanced Center for Chronic Diseases (ACCDiS), Department of Pathology Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Saraswati Sukumar
- 3 Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
| | - Parkash S. Gill
- 6 Department of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Akhilesh Pandey
- 1 Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 2 McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 3 Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
- 4 Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
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Chiappinelli KB, Strissel P, Yen RWC, Li H, Stone ML, Murphy L, Akman B, Zahnow CA, Strick R, Baylin SB. Abstract NG07: Immunomodulatory and tumor cell killing effects of the demethylating agent 5-azacytidine in ovarian cancer. Cancer Res 2015. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2015-ng07] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
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Citation Format: Katherine B. Chiappinelli, Pamela Strissel, Ray-Whay Chiu Yen, Huili Li, Meredith L. Stone, Lauren Murphy, Benjamin Akman, Cynthia A. Zahnow, Reiner Strick, Stephen B. Baylin. Immunomodulatory and tumor cell killing effects of the demethylating agent 5-azacytidine in ovarian cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr NG07. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-NG07
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Huili Li
- 1Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | | | | | | | | | - Reiner Strick
- 2University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany
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Li H, Chiappinelli KB, Guzzetta AA, Easwaran H, Yen RWC, Vatapalli R, Topper MJ, Luo J, Connolly RM, Azad NS, Stearns V, Pardoll DM, Davidson N, Jones PA, Slamon DJ, Baylin SB, Zahnow CA, Ahuja N. Immune regulation by low doses of the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-azacitidine in common human epithelial cancers. Oncotarget 2015; 5:587-98. [PMID: 24583822 PMCID: PMC3996658 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.1782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 321] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic therapy is emerging as a potential therapy for solid tumors. To investigate its mechanism of action, we performed integrative expression and methylation analysis of 63 cancer cell lines (breast, colorectal, and ovarian) after treatment with the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-azacitidine (AZA). Gene Set Enrichment Analysis demonstrated significant enrichment for immunomodulatory pathways in all three cancers (14.4-31.3%) including interferon signaling, antigen processing and presentation, and cytokines/chemokines. Strong upregulation of cancer testis antigens was also observed. An AZA IMmune gene set (AIMs) derived from the union of these immunomodulatory pathway genes classified primary tumors from all three types, into "high" and "low" AIM gene expression subsets in tumor expression data from both TCGA and GEO. Samples from selected patient biopsies showed upregulation of AIM genes after treatment with epigenetic therapy. These results point to a broad immune stimulatory role for DNA demethylating drugs in multiple cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huili Li
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Connolly RM, Jankowitz RC, Zahnow CA, Zhang Z, Rudek MA, Slater S, Powers P, Jeter S, Brufsky A, Piekarz R, Herman JG, Ahuja N, Somlo G, Garcia AA, Baylin S, Davidson NE, Stearns V. Phase 2 study investigating the safety, efficacy, and surrogate biomarkers of response to 5-azacitidine (5-AZA) and entinostat in advanced breast cancer. J Clin Oncol 2014. [DOI: 10.1200/jco.2014.32.15_suppl.569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Roisin M. Connolly
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
| | - Rachel Catherine Jankowitz
- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Women's Cancer Program at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA
| | | | - Zhe Zhang
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
| | - Michelle A. Rudek
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
| | - Shannon Slater
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
| | - Penny Powers
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
| | - Stacie Jeter
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
| | - Adam Brufsky
- University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
| | | | - James Gordon Herman
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
| | - Nita Ahuja
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | | | | | - Stephen Baylin
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | | | - Vered Stearns
- The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
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Chen Q, Zhang N, Gray RS, Li H, Ewald AJ, Zahnow CA, Pan D. A temporal requirement for Hippo signaling in mammary gland differentiation, growth, and tumorigenesis. Genes Dev 2014; 28:432-7. [PMID: 24589775 PMCID: PMC3950341 DOI: 10.1101/gad.233676.113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 167] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Despite recent progress, the physiological role of Hippo signaling in mammary gland development and tumorigenesis remains poorly understood. Here we show that the Hippo pathway is functionally dispensable in virgin mammary glands but specifically required during pregnancy. In contrast to many other tissues, hyperactivation of YAP in mammary epithelia does not induce hyperplasia but leads to defects in terminal differentiation. Interestingly, loss of YAP causes no obvious defects in virgin mammary glands but potently suppresses oncogene-induced mammary tumors. The selective requirement for YAP in oncogenic growth highlights the potential of YAP inhibitors as molecular targeted therapies against breast cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Chen
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
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Wrangle J, Wang W, Koch A, Easwaran H, Mohammad HP, Vendetti F, VanCriekinge W, DeMeyer T, Du Z, Parsana P, Rodgers K, Yen RW, Zahnow CA, Taube JM, Brahmer JR, Tykodi SS, Easton K, Carvajal RD, Jones PA, Laird PW, Weisenberger DJ, Tsai S, Juergens RA, Topalian SL, Rudin CM, Brock MV, Pardoll D, Baylin SB. Alterations of immune response of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer with Azacytidine. Oncotarget 2013; 4:2067-79. [PMID: 24162015 PMCID: PMC3875770 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.1542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 287] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2013] [Accepted: 10/25/2013] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Innovative therapies are needed for advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). We have undertaken a genomics based, hypothesis driving, approach to query an emerging potential that epigenetic therapy may sensitize to immune checkpoint therapy targeting PD-L1/PD-1 interaction. NSCLC cell lines were treated with the DNA hypomethylating agent azacytidine (AZA - Vidaza) and genes and pathways altered were mapped by genome-wide expression and DNA methylation analyses. AZA-induced pathways were analyzed in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project by mapping the derived gene signatures in hundreds of lung adeno (LUAD) and squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) samples. AZA up-regulates genes and pathways related to both innate and adaptive immunity and genes related to immune evasion in a several NSCLC lines. DNA hypermethylation and low expression of IRF7, an interferon transcription factor, tracks with this signature particularly in LUSC. In concert with these events, AZA up-regulates PD-L1 transcripts and protein, a key ligand-mediator of immune tolerance. Analysis of TCGA samples demonstrates that a significant proportion of primary NSCLC have low expression of AZA-induced immune genes, including PD-L1. We hypothesize that epigenetic therapy combined with blockade of immune checkpoints - in particular the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway - may augment response of NSCLC by shifting the balance between immune activation and immune inhibition, particularly in a subset of NSCLC with low expression of these pathways. Our studies define a biomarker strategy for response in a recently initiated trial to examine the potential of epigenetic therapy to sensitize patients with NSCLC to PD-1 immune checkpoint blockade.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Wrangle
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Oncology Center-Hematology/Medical Oncology, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Wei Wang
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Human Genetics Graduate Program, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Alexander Koch
- Departments of Molecular Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Hariharan Easwaran
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Oncology, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Helai P. Mohammad
- GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, Cancer Epigenetics and Oncology, Collegeville, Pennsylvania
| | - Frank Vendetti
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Oncology, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Wim VanCriekinge
- Departments of Molecular Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Tim DeMeyer
- Departments of Molecular Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Zhengzong Du
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Oncology, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Princy Parsana
- The Johns Hopkins University, Advanced Academic Bioinformatics, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Kristen Rodgers
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Oncology, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Ray-Whay Yen
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Oncology, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Cynthia A. Zahnow
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Oncology, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Janis M. Taube
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Dermatology and Oral Pathology, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Julie R. Brahmer
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Oncology, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Scott S. Tykodi
- University of Washington and Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, Washington
| | - Keith Easton
- University of Washington and Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, Washington
| | | | - Peter A. Jones
- USC Epigenome Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Peter W. Laird
- USC Epigenome Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Daniel J. Weisenberger
- USC Epigenome Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Salina Tsai
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Rosalyn A. Juergens
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Oncology, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Suzanne L. Topalian
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Surgery, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Charles M. Rudin
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Oncology, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Malcolm V. Brock
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Oncology, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Drew Pardoll
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Oncology, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Stephen B. Baylin
- The Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Oncology, Baltimore, Maryland
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Chiappinelli KB, Yen RWC, Li H, Topper M, Zahnow CA, Baylin SB. Abstract PR12: Immunomodulatory effects of 5-Azacyditine in ovarian cancer cell lines. Clin Cancer Res 2013. [DOI: 10.1158/1078-0432.ovca13-pr12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Epithelial ovarian cancer is a deadly disease due to late detection and lack of targeted therapies. Novel therapies for ovarian cancer are clearly needed and epigenetic agents have emerged as promising new therapies for ovarian cancer and other solid tumors. Clinical success observed for patients with lung cancer suggests that the actions of the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-azacytidine (AZA) may stimulate the immune response and target immune cells to clear tumors. Ovarian cancer is a good candidate for immune therapy, as infiltrating lymphocytes predict longer time to recurrence. Therapies that upregulate the immune system have been shown to be effective in mouse and human ovarian cancers.
To determine how epigenetic therapy affects ovarian cancer cells, we utilized genome-wide methylation and expression profiling on 17 ovarian cancer cell lines treated with low-dose AZA. We discovered upregulation of immunomodulatory pathways including viral defense, type I interferon signaling, antigen processing and presentation, and immune evasion via Gene Set Enrichment Analysis. In addition, we observed strong upregulation of cancer testis antigens and molecules that attract and activate natural killer cells. Endogenous retroviruses were also increased; increased transcription of these elements caused by reversal of DNA methylation may trigger the viral defense/ interferon response.
This was a specific, not an off-target, effect of AZA, as a colon cancer cell line (DKO) genetically haploinsufficient for DNMT1 and lacking DNMT3b showed a similar upregulation of immune genes. Treatment with the chemotherapeutic agent carboplatin did not upregulate the same immune response genes. The cell lines that had the highest upregulation of immune genes after AZA treatment were often the best responders to AZA when grown as xenografts in NOD/SCID mice. We hypothesize that AZA activates the immune response in cancer cells, resulting in tumor cell killing.
Validation of immune target genes showed that AZA treatment activates the interferon response, including transcription of interferon beta. Media transferred from AZA-treated cells to naïve cells was sufficient to cause an interferon response in the target cells, as evidenced by increased levels of interferon-stimulated genes. FACS staining confirmed the upregulation of antigen-presenting MHC Class I molecules on the cell surface of AZA-treated ovarian cancer cells. Adding the histone deacetylase inhibitor MS275 (entinostat) to AZA treatment increased AZA-induced expression of interferon-stimulated genes IRF7 and IFI27. This combination treatment also caused an increase in the activating chromatin mark H3Ac at the IRF7 promoter.
AZA increased transcript levels and cell surface expression of the PD-L1 molecule, ligand for PD-1 on lymphocytes and responsible for evasion of the host immune system by tumors, in ovarian cancer cell lines. We predict that AZA plus anti-PD-L1 (or PD-1) treatment, which has shown success in non-small cell lung cancer, might be effective for ovarian cancers. Future work will involve combination treatment of AZA and anti-PD-1 in immune competent ovarian cancer mouse models.
The immune pathways upregulated by AZA were used to query hundreds of primary ovarian cancer samples from the Cancer Genome Atlas project (TCGA). Ovarian tumors classified clearly into “high” and “low” interferon gene expression subsets. The “high” interferon group was associated with higher levels of antigen presentation as well as an expression signature associated with better prognosis. The “low” interferon group indicates a group of solid tumors that could be targeted by AZA to upregulate levels of immunomodulatory pathways, and thus apoptosis or targeting by host immune cells. These preliminary results point to an “immune priming” role for the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-azacytidine and could lead to clinical trials with combined AZA and immune therapies in epithelial ovarian cancer.
This abstract is also presented as Poster B79.
Citation Format: Katherine B. Chiappinelli, Ray-Whay Chiu Yen, Huili Li, Michael Topper, Cynthia A. Zahnow, Stephen B. Baylin. Immunomodulatory effects of 5-Azacyditine in ovarian cancer cell lines. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Ovarian Cancer Research: From Concept to Clinic; Sep 18-21, 2013; Miami, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2013;19(19 Suppl):Abstract nr PR12.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ray-Whay Chiu Yen
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
| | - Huili Li
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
| | - Michael Topper
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
| | - Cynthia A. Zahnow
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
| | - Stephen B. Baylin
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD
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Di Cello F, Flowers VL, Li H, Vecchio-Pagán B, Gordon B, Harbom K, Shin J, Beaty R, Wang W, Brayton C, Baylin SB, Zahnow CA. Cigarette smoke induces epithelial to mesenchymal transition and increases the metastatic ability of breast cancer cells. Mol Cancer 2013; 12:90. [PMID: 23919753 PMCID: PMC3750372 DOI: 10.1186/1476-4598-12-90] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2013] [Accepted: 07/25/2013] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Recent epidemiological studies demonstrate that both active and involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke increase the risk of breast cancer. Little is known, however, about the molecular mechanisms by which continuous, long term exposure to tobacco smoke contributes to breast carcinogenesis because most previous studies have focused on short term treatment models. In this work we have set out to investigate the progressive transforming effects of tobacco smoke on non-tumorigenic mammary epithelial cells and breast cancer cells using in vitro and in vivo models of chronic cigarette smoke exposure. Results We show that both non-tumorigenic (MCF 10A, MCF-12A) and tumorigenic (MCF7) breast epithelial cells exposed to cigarette smoke acquire mesenchymal properties such as fibroblastoid morphology, increased anchorage-independent growth, and increased motility and invasiveness. Moreover, transplantation experiments in mice demonstrate that treatment with cigarette smoke extract renders MCF 10A cells more capable to survive and colonize the mammary ducts and MCF7 cells more prone to metastasize from a subcutaneous injection site, independent of cigarette smoke effects on the host and stromal environment. The extent of transformation and the resulting phenotype thus appear to be associated with the differentiation state of the cells at the time of exposure. Analysis by flow cytometry showed that treatment with CSE leads to the emergence of a CD44hi/CD24low population in MCF 10A cells and of CD44+ and CD49f + MCF7 cells, indicating that cigarette smoke causes the emergence of cell populations bearing markers of self-renewing stem-like cells. The phenotypical alterations induced by cigarette smoke are accompanied by numerous changes in gene expression that are associated with epithelial to mesenchymal transition and tumorigenesis. Conclusions Our results indicate that exposure to cigarette smoke leads to a more aggressive and transformed phenotype in human mammary epithelial cells and that the differentiation state of the cell at the time of exposure may be an important determinant in the phenotype of the final transformed state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francescopaolo Di Cello
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
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Di Cello F, Cope L, Li H, Jeschke J, Wang W, Baylin SB, Zahnow CA. Methylation of the claudin 1 promoter is associated with loss of expression in estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. PLoS One 2013; 8:e68630. [PMID: 23844228 PMCID: PMC3701071 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2013] [Accepted: 05/31/2013] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Downregulation of the tight junction protein claudin 1 is a frequent event in breast cancer and is associated with recurrence, metastasis, and reduced survival, suggesting a tumor suppressor role for this protein. Tumor suppressor genes are often epigenetically silenced in cancer. Downregulation of claudin 1 via DNA promoter methylation may thus be an important determinant in breast cancer development and progression. To investigate if silencing of claudin 1 has an epigenetic etiology in breast cancer we compared gene expression and methylation data from 217 breast cancer samples and 40 matched normal samples available through the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Moreover, we analyzed claudin 1 expression and methylation in 26 breast cancer cell lines. We found that methylation of the claudin 1 promoter CpG island is relatively frequent in estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer and is associated with low claudin 1 expression. In contrast, the claudin 1 promoter was not methylated in most of the ER-breast cancers samples and some of these tumors overexpress claudin 1. In addition, we observed that the demethylating agents, azacitidine and decitabine can upregulate claudin 1 expression in breast cancer cell lines that have a methylated claudin 1 promoter. Taken together, our results indicate that DNA promoter methylation is causally associated with downregulation of claudin 1 in a subgroup of breast cancer that includes mostly ER+ tumors, and suggest that epigenetic therapy to restore claudin 1 expression might represent a viable therapeutic strategy in this subtype of breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francescopaolo Di Cello
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
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Connolly RM, Jankowitz RC, Zahnow CA, Zhang Z, Rudek MA, Jeter SC, Slater S, Powers P, Wolff AC, Fetting J, Brufsky AM, Piekarz R, Ahuja N, Somlo G, Garcia A, Baylin S, Davidson NE, Stearns V. Abstract 4666: A phase 2 study investigating the safety, efficacy and surrogate biomarkers of response of 5-azacitidine (5-AZA) andentinostat (MS-275) in patients with triple-negative advanced breast cancer. Cancer Res 2013. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2013-4666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Background:
In preclinical breast cancer models, combination epigenetic therapy with a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor (DNMTI) and a histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACI) yield superior estrogen receptor (ER) re-expression and greater restoration of tamoxifen responsiveness than either agent alone. We conducted a multicenter phase II clinical trial to evaluate the DNMTI 5-azacitidine (5-AZA) and the HDACI entinostat in women with advanced breast cancer.
Methods:
Women with advanced HER2-negative, either triple-negative (TN; ER/progesterone receptor [PR]/HER2-negative) or hormone-resistant breast cancer received 5-AZA 40 mg/m2 (SQ, days 1-5, 8-10) and entinostat 7 mg (PO, days 3,10) every 28 days. Primary endpoint: objective response rate (ORR) in each group. Secondary endpoints: safety, tolerability, survival, clinical benefit rate. Exploratory endpoints: pharmacokinetics, pharmacogenetics, change in candidate gene re-expression/methylation in circulating DNA and mandatory tumor samples. Patients are offered ongoing study therapy at progression with addition of hormonal therapy (optional continuation phase). Sample size: Simon two-stage design with interim analysis after 13 patients per cohort (1st stage). If ≥1 response, accrual will continue for total of 27 per cohort (2nd stage). Null hypothesis: ORR at most 5% against alternative hypothesis that is at least 20% with type I error 4% and power 90%. Preclinical TN/ ER-positive xenograft studies assessing 5-AZA impact were also performed.
Results:
Thirteen evaluable patients were enrolled in 1st stage of TN cohort. Median age was 47 (31-67), median prior chemotherapies 3 (1-5), 77% white/33% black, 77% visceral disease. Median cycles received 2 (1-4). Therapy was well tolerated, most common grade 3/4 treatment related adverse events leucopenia and neutropenia (23% each). No responses observed following 1st stage and this cohort was closed. Median 1.5 additional cycles (optional continuation phase) received by 4 patients with no responses to date. Exposure to 5-AZA (Cmax=1134±1670ng/mL; AUCINF=939±724 ng*h/mL) was slightly higher than previous studies, entinostat (Cmin=0.78±0.65ng/mL) was similar. Hormone-resistant cohort proceeded to 2nd stage as 1 partial response observed. Final results will be reported once accrual complete. Ongoing preclinical studies suggest that ER-positive is more sensitive than TN breast cancer to 5-AZA.
Conclusion:
Combination epigenetic therapy with agents, dose and schedule described was well tolerated but not associated with clinical activity in advanced TN breast cancer. Correlative analyses will be presented at meeting. Promising preclinical findings suggest epigenetic therapy may be efficacious in ER-positive breast cancer.
Citation Format: Roisin M. Connolly, Rachel C. Jankowitz, Cynthia A. Zahnow, Zhe Zhang, Michelle A. Rudek, Stacie C. Jeter, Shannon Slater, Penny Powers, Antonio C. Wolff, John Fetting, Adam M. Brufsky, Richard Piekarz, Nita Ahuja, George Somlo, Augustin Garcia, Steven Baylin, Nancy E. Davidson, Vered Stearns. A phase 2 study investigating the safety, efficacy and surrogate biomarkers of response of 5-azacitidine (5-AZA) andentinostat (MS-275) in patients with triple-negative advanced breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4666. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-4666
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Richard Piekarz
- 3Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
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35
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Wrangle J, Mohammad HP, Abukhdeir A, Juergens RA, Harbom K, Rodgers K, Shin J, Zahnow CA, Baylin S, Herman JG, Rudin CM, Brock M. Predicting sensitivity to azacytidine in non-small cell cancer lines by absence of activating mutations. J Clin Oncol 2012. [DOI: 10.1200/jco.2012.30.15_suppl.e18147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
e18147 Background: A completed clinical trial has demonstrated activity of a combination of epigenetic therapies: entinostat, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, and azacytidine (AZA), a hypomethylating agent. A plasma-based biomarker assaying methylation status of key gene promoters from circulating DNA was developed. In order to test the relationship of activating mutations to sensitivity to epigenetic therapy, we treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) lines with AZA and assessed tumor growth in xenografts. Tumor from patients on trial was analyzed for mutational status. Methods: Nine NSCLC lines were treated in vitro for 72 hours with 500 nM AZA and injected to form flank tumors in NOG mice. Four lines contain no activating mutations. Of the five mutant lines, three were KRAS and two were EGFR mutations. Lines with no activating mutations are termed “mutation-negative” for known oncogenic drivers. Growth of mock versus treated tumors was compared over time to determine treatment phenotypes. Lines were grouped into four categories: augmented growth compared to mock, no treatment effect, mild inhibition of tumor growth, and marked inhibition. Seventeen tumors from the clinical trial were analyzed by SNaPshot multiplex PCR. Results: Among mutation negative lines three showed marked tumor growth inhibition and one showed mild inhibition. Among cell lines with activating mutations, one showed mild inhibition, three showed no effect, and one showed augmented tumor growth. Among 17 tumor samples from patients on study, four driver mutations were identified: 3 KRAS and one PTEN mutation. All four patients experienced progressive disease on study. Among thirteen patients with mutation negative tumors, three had stable disease and one had a complete response. Conclusions: The association between driver mutation negative status and treatment outcome in NSCLC cell lines in patients receiving AZA and entinostat merits further exploration. Future trials of epigenetic therapy in NSCLC may benefit from a biomarker enrichment strategy and the data presented here represents a potential way forward.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - James Shin
- The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
| | | | | | | | - Charles M. Rudin
- Johns Hopkins University, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD
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Tsai HC, Li H, Neste LV, Cai Y, Robert C, Rassool FV, Shin JJ, Harbom KM, Beaty R, Pappou E, Harris J, Yen RWC, Ahuja N, Brock MV, Stearns V, Feller-Kopman D, Lin YC, Welm AL, Issa JP, Minn I, Matsui W, Jang YY, Sharkis SJ, Baylin SB, Zahnow CA. Abstract 995: Transient low doses of DNA demethylating agents exert durable antitumor effects on hematological and epithelial tumor cells. Cancer Res 2012. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am2012-995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Reversal of gene promoter DNA hypermethylation and associated abnormal gene silencing is an attractive approach to cancer therapy. The DNA methylation inhibitors, decitabine (5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine) and azacitidine (5-azacytidine) are proving efficacious clinically for hematological neoplasms, especially at lower, less toxic, doses. Experimentally, high doses induce rapid DNA damage and cytotoxicity, but these may not explain the prolonged time to response often seen in patients. We now show that transient exposure of cultured and primary leukemic and epithelial tumor cells to decitabine or azacitidine at clinically-relevant nanomolar doses, without causing immediate cytotoxicity, produces a “memory” for anti-tumor responses, including potent inhibition of subpopulations of cancer, stem-like cells which often resist other therapies. These inhibitory effects are accompanied by sustained decreases in genome-wide promoter DNA methylation with associated gene re-expression, and anti-tumor changes in multiple key cellular regulatory pathways, such as cell cycle events mediated through FOXM1, cell invasion and motility, and granulocyte and breast cancer cell maturation. Notably, most of the key pathways altered by decitabine or azacitidine involve high priority targets for pharmacologic anti-cancer strategies, which provides molecular basis for possible combination therapies. Thus, low dose decitabine and azacitidine regimens may potentially have broad applicability for cancer management.
Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 995. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-995
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Huili Li
- 1Johns Hopkins Univ. School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | | | - Yi Cai
- 1Johns Hopkins Univ. School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Carine Robert
- 2University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | | | - James J. Shin
- 1Johns Hopkins Univ. School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | | | - Robert Beaty
- 1Johns Hopkins Univ. School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | | | - James Harris
- 1Johns Hopkins Univ. School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | | | - Nita Ahuja
- 1Johns Hopkins Univ. School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | | | - Vered Stearns
- 1Johns Hopkins Univ. School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | | | | | | | - Jean-Pierre Issa
- 4The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
| | - Il Minn
- 1Johns Hopkins Univ. School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
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37
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Tsai HC, Li H, Van Neste L, Cai Y, Robert C, Rassool FV, Shin JJ, Harbom KM, Beaty R, Pappou E, Harris J, Yen RWC, Ahuja N, Brock MV, Stearns V, Feller-Kopman D, Yarmus LB, Lin YC, Welm AL, Issa JP, Minn I, Matsui W, Jang YY, Sharkis SJ, Baylin SB, Zahnow CA. Transient low doses of DNA-demethylating agents exert durable antitumor effects on hematological and epithelial tumor cells. Cancer Cell 2012; 21:430-46. [PMID: 22439938 PMCID: PMC3312044 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccr.2011.12.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 465] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2010] [Revised: 06/20/2011] [Accepted: 12/30/2011] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Reversal of promoter DNA hypermethylation and associated gene silencing is an attractive cancer therapy approach. The DNA methylation inhibitors decitabine and azacitidine are efficacious for hematological neoplasms at lower, less toxic, doses. Experimentally, high doses induce rapid DNA damage and cytotoxicity, which do not explain the prolonged time to response observed in patients. We show that transient exposure of cultured and primary leukemic and epithelial tumor cells to clinically relevant nanomolar doses, without causing immediate cytotoxicity, produce an antitumor "memory" response, including inhibition of subpopulations of cancer stem-like cells. These effects are accompanied by sustained decreases in genomewide promoter DNA methylation, gene reexpression, and antitumor changes in key cellular regulatory pathways. Low-dose decitabine and azacitidine may have broad applicability for cancer management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsing-Chen Tsai
- The Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
| | - Huili Li
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
| | - Leander Van Neste
- Department of Molecular Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Yi Cai
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
| | - Carine Robert
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Greenebaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Feyruz V. Rassool
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Greenebaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - James J. Shin
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD21231, USA
| | - Kirsten M. Harbom
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
| | - Robert Beaty
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
| | - Emmanouil Pappou
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD21231, USA
| | - James Harris
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD21231, USA
| | - Ray-Whay Chiu Yen
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
| | - Nita Ahuja
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD21231, USA
| | - Malcolm V. Brock
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
- Department of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD21231, USA
| | - Vered Stearns
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
- Breast Cancer Program, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
| | - David Feller-Kopman
- Bronchoscopy and Interventional Pulmonology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Lonny B. Yarmus
- Bronchoscopy and Interventional Pulmonology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Yi-Chun Lin
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 USA
| | - Alana L. Welm
- Department of Oncological Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 USA
| | - Jean-Pierre Issa
- Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 77030 USA
| | - Il Minn
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
| | - William Matsui
- The Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
| | - Yoon-Young Jang
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
| | - Saul J. Sharkis
- The Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
| | - Stephen B. Baylin
- The Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
| | - Cynthia A. Zahnow
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
- Breast Cancer Program, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
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Connolly RM, Jankowitz RC, Andreopoulou E, Allred JB, Jeter SC, Zorzi J, Adam BM, Espinoza-Delgado I, Baylin SB, Zahnow CA, Ahuja N, Davidson NE, Stearns V. OT3-01-06: A Phase 2 Study Investigating the Safety, Efficacy and Surrogate Biomarkers of Response of 5-Azacitidine (5-AZA) and Entinostat (MS-275) in Patients with Advanced Breast Cancer. Cancer Res 2011. [DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.sabcs11-ot3-01-06] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Background: Epigenetic alterations in the genome, including abnormal DNA methylation and histone hypoacetylation, initiate and promote cancerous changes via several mechanisms, including inactivation of tumor suppressor genes. Preclinical investigations in breast cancer suggest that use of epigenetic modifiers results in re-expression of aberrantly silenced genes and proteins that represent important therapeutic targets (e.g. estrogen receptor alpha, ER). Combination therapy with a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor (DNMTI) and a histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACI) has yielded superior ER reexpression and greater restoration of tamoxifen responsiveness than with HDACI alone. We hypothesize that clinically tolerable doses of the DNMTI 5-azacitidine (5-AZA) and the HDACI entinostat may not only effect changes in DNA methylation and gene expression, but also yield objective disease responses in women with advanced breast cancer.
Trial design: This multicenter phase II study (NCT01349959) is enrolling patients with advanced human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer with triple negative (ER/progesterone receptor [PR]/HER2−negative, Cohort A) or hormone-resistant (Cohort B) disease. Patients will receive 5-AZA 40 mg/m2 subcutaneously days 1–5 and 8–10 and entinostat 7 mg orally days 3 and 10 every 28 days. Because of the potential for re-expression of the ER with epigenetic agents, patients will be offered continuation of 5-AZA and entinostat at progression with the addition of hormonal therapy (investigator discretion). Mandatory tumor biopsies will be performed at baseline and after 8 weeks of therapy to evaluate correlative biomarkers.
Eligibility Criteria: Eligible patients must be ≥ 18 years, have measurable locally advanced/metastatic triple-negative (at least one prior chemotherapy received adjuvant/metastatic setting) or hormone-resistant (must have received two prior hormonal agents and one prior chemotherapy) disease, adequate organ function and ECOG PS ≤ 2.
Specific Aims:
1. Objective response rate (ORR) by RECIST 1.1 criteria.
2. Safety and tolerability
3. Progression-free survival, overall survival and clinical benefit rate.
4. Safety and toxicity data, feasibility and response rate where hormonal therapy is added to the combination under investigation at the time of progressive disease.
5. Pharmacokinetics, cytidine deaminase, changes from baseline of candidate gene methylation and expression in circulating deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and malignant tissue.
Statistical Methods:
Using a two-stage three-outcome design to assess the efficacy of the combination, a maximum of 30 patients (requiring 27 evaluable) will be accrued to each cohort unless undue toxicity is encountered for a maximum sample size of 60 patients. The study design tests the null hypothesis that the ORR is at most 5% against the alternative hypothesis that it is at least 20% with a type I error of 4% and power of 90%.
Present and Targeted Accrual: This study has just opened to patient enrollment. We anticipate a rapid accrual of 60 patients within 1 year.br](Funding from Stand Up to Cancer and CTEP).
Citation Information: Cancer Res 2011;71(24 Suppl):Abstract nr OT3-01-06.
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Affiliation(s)
- RM Connolly
- 1Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - RC Jankowitz
- 1Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - E Andreopoulou
- 1Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - JB Allred
- 1Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - SC Jeter
- 1Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - J Zorzi
- 1Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - BM Adam
- 1Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - I Espinoza-Delgado
- 1Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - SB Baylin
- 1Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - CA Zahnow
- 1Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - N Ahuja
- 1Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - NE Davidson
- 1Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - V Stearns
- 1Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, PA; Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY; Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
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Li H, Baldwin BR, Zahnow CA. LIP expression is regulated by IGF-1R signaling and participates in suppression of anoikis. Mol Cancer 2011; 10:100. [PMID: 21854628 PMCID: PMC3176234 DOI: 10.1186/1476-4598-10-100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2011] [Accepted: 08/19/2011] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The transcription factor, CCAAT enhancer binding protein-β (C/EBPβ), is expressed as several distinct protein isoforms (LAP1, LAP2 and LIP) that have opposing actions in cellular proliferation and differentiation. Increases in the ratio of LIP/LAP are associated with aggressive, metastatic breast cancer; however, little is known regarding the molecular mechanisms that regulate LIP expression or the biological actions of an increase in the LIP/LAP ratio. Metastasis is highly dependent upon the suppression of anoikis and the role of C/EBPβ and LIP in this anchorage-independent, survival process is currently not known in mammary epithelial cells. IGF-1R signaling is important for the survival of breast cancer cells and crosstalk between IGF-1R and EGFR signaling pathways have been implicated in the development of more aggressive disease. We therefore evaluated in mammary epithelial cells whether IGF-1R signaling regulates the LIP/LAP ratio, analyzed the potential interplay between EGFR and IGF-1R signaling and addressed the biological significance of increased LIP expression in cellular survival and suppression of anoikis. Results Our data provide the first evidence that IGF-1R signaling regulates LIP expression in an EGFR independent manner to increase the LIP/LAP ratio in mammary epithelial cells. Although crosstalk between IGF-1R signaling and EGFR signaling is detectable in MCF10A cells, this crosstalk is not required for the IGF-1 mediated regulation of LIP expression. Rather, the critical regulator of IGF-1 induced LIP expression appears to be EGFR-independent, Akt activity. Our data also demonstrate that increases in LIP expression promote cell survival via suppression of anoikis. Likewise, knockdown of total C/EBPβ leads to increased cell death and suggest that C/EBPβ expression is important for survival and resistance to anoikis. IGF-1 treatment can partially rescue vector control cells from anoikis; however, cells with reduced C/EBPβ expression do not survive anoikis. Conclusions Taken together, our data demonstrate that IGF-1R signaling regulates LIP expression in an EGFR independent manner to increase the LIP/LAP ratio in mammary epithelial cells. C/EBPβ expression and elevations in LIP play an important role in regulating cellular survival via suppression of anoikis, in an IGF-1R mediated context or in a manner independent of IGF-1R signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huili Li
- Department of Oncology, the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland 21231, USA
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Rao KR, Riehm JP, Zahnow CA, Kleinholz LH, Tarr GE, Johnson L, Norton S, Landau M, Semmes OJ, Sattelberg RM, Jorenby WH, Hintz MF. Characterization of a pigment-dispersing hormone in eyestalks of the fiddler crab Uca pugilator. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2010; 82:5319-22. [PMID: 16593589 PMCID: PMC390559 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.82.16.5319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A pigment-dispersing hormone (PDH) from eyestalks of the fiddler crab Uca pugilator has been purified by gel filtration, ion-exchange chromatography, partition chromatography, and reversed-phase liquid chromatography. Based on automated gas-phase sequencing and subsequent identification of carboxyl-terminal amide, we have assigned the primary structure of this peptide as Asn-Ser-Glu-Leu-Ile-Asn-Ser-Ile-Leu-Gly-Leu-Pro-Lys-Val-Met-Asn-Asp-Ala-NH (2). We have confirmed the sequence by synthesizing this peptide and demonstrating that the synthetic PDH and the native PDH display identical chromatographic behavior and biological activity. This hormone is a member of a family of invertebrate neuropeptides that includes a light-adapting/pigment-dispersing octadecapeptide hormone from the prawn Pandalus borealis. In assays for melanophore pigment dispersion in destalked fiddler crabs, Uca PDH was 21-fold more potent than Pandalus PDH. These two hormones share a hexapeptide core sequence (residues 5-10: -Ile-Asn-Ser-Ile-Leu-Gly-) as well as the amino- and carboxyl-terminal residues but differ at positions 3, 4, 11, 13, 16, and 17. These results point to speciesrelated or group-specific structural differences among crustacean PDHs.
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Affiliation(s)
- K R Rao
- Department of Biology, The University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL 32514
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Tsai HC, Van Neste L, Li H, Cai Y, Robert C, Shin JJ, Pappou E, Yen RW, Minn IL, Ahuja N, Brock MV, Rassool FV, Jang YY, Sharkis SJ, Matsui W, Zahnow CA, Baylin SB. Abstract LB-88: Transient exposure to low-dose decitabine and azacytidine reprograms cancer cells to produce a prolonged antitumor response. Cancer Res 2010. [DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.am10-lb-88] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Reversing abnormal promoter DNA hypermethylation to induce expression of abnormally silenced genes is an attractive cancer therapeutic strategy. The DNA methylation inhibitors, decitabine (5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine) and azacytidine (5-azacytidine), have proven clinically effective against hematological neoplasms especially with use of low, minimally toxic, doses. While, experimentally, high doses of these drugs induce DNA damage and cytotoxicity, the prolonged time for patient responses does not suggest acute tumor cell lysis. We now separate, for these drugs, cytotoxic effects at high doses from cellular reprogramming effects at low nanomolar doses. These latter subsequently reduce tumorigenicity of human leukemia and solid tumor cells, and for leukemia cells, blunt long term self-renewal. We correlate these effects with sustained, genome wide, promoter DNA de-methylation and gene re-expression, and an anti-tumor reprogramming of multiple central cancer pathways which regulate cell cycle entry, mitosis, proliferation, apoptosis, and dependence upon anaerobic glycolysis. Thus, decitabine and azacytidine represent drugs that can, at low nanomolar doses, simultaneously reverse major cancer pathways each of which are the focus of intense drug targeting efforts. This suggests these drugs are broadly applicable to cancer management.
Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-88.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Huili Li
- 1Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Yi Cai
- 1Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Carine Robert
- 3University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - James J. Shin
- 1Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | | | - Ray-Whay Yen
- 1Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - IL Minn
- 1Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Nita Ahuja
- 4Johns Hopkins Univeristy School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | | | | | | | | | - William Matsui
- 1Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
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Biankin SA, Collector MI, Biankin AV, Brown LJ, Kleeberger W, Devereux WL, Zahnow CA, Baylin SB, Watkins DN, Sharkis SJ, Leach SD. A histological survey of green fluorescent protein expression in 'green' mice: implications for stem cell research. Pathology 2007; 39:247-51. [PMID: 17454756 DOI: 10.1080/00313020701230807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
AIMS The transgenic enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) expressing 'green' mouse (C57BL/6-TgN(ACTbEGFP)1Osb) is a widely used tool in stem cell research, where the ubiquitous nature of EGFP expression is critical to track the fate of single or small groups of transplanted haematopoietic stem cells (HSC). Our aim was to investigate this assumed ubiquitous expression by performing a detailed histological survey of EGFP expression in these mice. METHODS Fluorescent microscopy of frozen tissue sections was used to perform a detailed histological survey of the pattern of EGFP expression in these mice. Flow cytometry was also used to determine the expression pattern in blood and bone marrow. RESULTS Three patterns of EGFP expression were noted. In most tissues there was an apparently stochastic variegation of the transgene, with individual cell types demonstrating highly variable rates of EGFP expression. Certain specific cell types such as pancreatic ductal epithelium, cerebral cortical neurones and glial cells and glomerular mesangial cells consistently lacked EGFP expression, while others, including pancreatic islet cells, expressed EGFP only at extremely low levels, barely distinguishable from background. Lastly, in the colon and stomach the pattern of EGFP expression was suggestive of clonal inactivation. Only cardiac and skeletal muscle showed near ubiquitous expression. CONCLUSIONS These findings raise questions regarding the 'ubiquitous' expression of EGFP in these transgenic mice and suggest caution in relying overly on EGFP alone as an infallible marker of donor cell origin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra A Biankin
- Epithelial Stem Cell Working Group, Department of Surgery, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA.
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Abstract
ErbB receptor tyrosine kinases are membrane-bound receptors that possess intrinsic, ligand-activated, tyrosine kinase activity. Binding of growth factors to these receptors induces the formation of ErbB homo- and heterodimers and initiates a signalling cascade that traverses the cytoplasm to communicate with the nucleus and the cytoskeleton. The effect of this cascade is the regulation of cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, migration and adhesion. Although ErbB signalling is important for normal growth and development in the breast, a dysregulation of ErbB activity can lead to tumourigenesis. This review will focus on the role of ErbB signalling in both normal mammary gland development and breast cancer, with an emphasis on the mechanisms behind receptor activation and the therapeutic agents designed to inhibit ErbB activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia A Zahnow
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, The Bunting-Blaustein Cancer Research Building, 1650 Orleans St, Baltimore, MD 21231-1000, USA.
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Chen W, Cooper TK, Zahnow CA, Overholtzer M, Zhao Z, Ladanyi M, Karp JE, Gokgoz N, Wunder JS, Andrulis IL, Levine AJ, Mankowski JL, Baylin SB. Epigenetic and genetic loss of Hic1 function accentuates the role of p53 in tumorigenesis. Cancer Cell 2004; 6:387-98. [PMID: 15488761 DOI: 10.1016/j.ccr.2004.08.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 119] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2003] [Revised: 06/29/2004] [Accepted: 08/09/2004] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The gene hypermethylated in cancer 1 (HIC1) is epigenetically inactivated, but not mutated, in cancer. Here we show that cooperative loss of Hic1 with p53, but not INK4a, yields distinct tumor phenotypes in mice. Germline deletion of one allele of each gene on the opposite chromosome yields breast and ovarian carcinomas and metastatic osteosarcomas with epigenetic inactivation of the wild-type Hic1 allele. Germline deletion of the two genes on the same chromosome results in earlier appearance and increased prevalence and aggressiveness of osteosarcomas with genetic deletion of both wild-type genes. In human osteosarcomas, hypermethylation of HIC1 is frequent only in tumors with p53 mutations. Our results indicate the importance of genes altered only through epigenetic mechanisms in cancer progression in conjunction with genetically modified tumor suppressor genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenyong Chen
- Cancer Biology Program, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 1650 Orleans Street, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
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Baldwin BR, Timchenko NA, Zahnow CA. Epidermal growth factor receptor stimulation activates the RNA binding protein CUG-BP1 and increases expression of C/EBPbeta-LIP in mammary epithelial cells. Mol Cell Biol 2004; 24:3682-91. [PMID: 15082764 PMCID: PMC387752 DOI: 10.1128/mcb.24.9.3682-3691.2004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The transcription factor CCAAT/enhancer binding protein beta (C/EBP beta) is a key regulator of growth and differentiation in many tissues. C/EBP beta is expressed as several distinct protein isoforms (LAP1, LAP2, and LIP) whose expression is regulated by alternative translational initiation at downstream AUG start sites. The dominant-negative LIP isoform is predominantly expressed during proliferative cellular responses and is associated with aggressive tumors. In this study, we investigated a mechanism by which the LIP isoform is translationally regulated in mammary epithelial cells. We have demonstrated that LIP expression is increased in response to activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathway and that the increased expression of LIP is regulated in part by an RNA binding protein referred to as CUG repeat binding protein (CUG-BP1). Our data demonstrate that EGFR signaling results in the phosphorylation of CUG-BP1 and this leads to an increase in the binding of CUG-BP1 to C/EBP beta mRNA and elevated expression of the LIP isoform. Phosphorylation is necessary for the binding activity of CUG-BP1 and the consequent increase in LIP expression, as determined by binding assays and a cell free, transcription-coupled translation system. CUG-BP1 is thus a previously unidentified downstream target of EGFR signaling and represents a new translational regulator of LIP expression in human mammary epithelial cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brenda R Baldwin
- Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland 21231, USA
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Lamb J, Ramaswamy S, Ford HL, Contreras B, Martinez RV, Kittrell FS, Zahnow CA, Patterson N, Golub TR, Ewen ME. A mechanism of cyclin D1 action encoded in the patterns of gene expression in human cancer. Cell 2003; 114:323-34. [PMID: 12914697 DOI: 10.1016/s0092-8674(03)00570-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 338] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Here we describe how patterns of gene expression in human tumors have been deconvoluted to reveal a mechanism of action for the cyclin D1 oncogene. Computational analysis of the expression patterns of thousands of genes across hundreds of tumor specimens suggested that a transcription factor, C/EBPbeta/Nf-Il6, participates in the consequences of cyclin D1 overexpression. Functional analyses confirmed the involvement of C/EBPbeta in the regulation of genes affected by cyclin D1 and established this protein as an indispensable effector of a potentially important facet of cyclin D1 biology. This work demonstrates that tumor gene expression databases can be used to study the function of a human oncogene in situ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Lamb
- Departments of Medical Oncology and Medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, 44 Binney Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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Zahnow CA. CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins in normal mammary development and breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res 2002; 4:113-21. [PMID: 12052253 PMCID: PMC138725 DOI: 10.1186/bcr428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2002] [Revised: 04/03/2002] [Accepted: 04/03/2002] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins (C/EBPs) are a family of leucine zipper, transcription factors that bind to DNA as homodimers and heterodimers. They regulate cellular proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis in the mammary gland. Multiple protein isoforms, including truncated, dominant negatives, are generated by translation of the C/EBPbeta transcript or via proteolytic cleavage of the full-length C/EBPbeta protein. Gene deletion of individual C/EBP family members has demonstrated an essential role for C/EBPbeta in normal mammary development, while transgenic and overexpression studies provide evidence that the dominant-negative C/EBPbeta-liver-enriched inhibitory protein isoform induces proliferation in mammary epithelial cells. Mounting evidence suggests that alterations in the ratio of the C/EBPbeta-liver-enriched inhibitory protein isoform and the C/EBPbeta-liver-enriched activating protein isoform may play a role in the development of breast cancer. This review will consequently focus on C/EBP actions in normal mammary development and on the emerging data that supports a role in breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia A Zahnow
- The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland 21231, USA.
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Zahnow CA, Cardiff RD, Laucirica R, Medina D, Rosen JM. A role for CCAAT/enhancer binding protein beta-liver-enriched inhibitory protein in mammary epithelial cell proliferation. Cancer Res 2001; 61:261-9. [PMID: 11196172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/19/2023]
Abstract
The transcription factor, CCAAT/enhancer binding protein beta (C/EBPbeta), regulates the expression of genes involved in proliferation and terminal differentiation. Dimerization of the dominant-negative C/EBPbeta-liver-enriched inhibitory protein (LIP) isoform with the C/EBPbeta-liver-enriched activating protein (LAP) isoform inhibits the transcriptional activation of genes involved in differentiation. Consequently, an increase in LIP levels may inhibit terminal differentiation and lead to proliferation. C/EBPbeta-LIP and LAP are crucial for mammary gland development (G. W. Robinson et al., Genes Dev., 12: 1907-1916, 1998; T. N. Seagroves et al., Genes Dev., 12: 1917-1928, 1998) and are also overexpressed in breast cancer (B. Raught et al., Cancer Res., 56: 4382-4386. 1996; C. A. Zahnow et al., J. Natl. Cancer Inst., 89: 1887-1891, 1997); however, little is known about how these isoforms differentially regulate cell cycle progression. To address this question, C/EBPbeta-LIP was overexpressed in both the mammary glands of transgenic mice and in cultured TM3 mammary epithelial cells. Here we report that the involuted mammary glands from transgenic mice overexpressing C/EBPbeta-LIP contain both focal and diffuse alveolar hyperplasia and, less frequently, contain mammary intraepithelial neoplasias (high grade) and invasive and noninvasive carcinomas. Likewise, cultured TM3 cells, stably expressing C/EBPbeta-LIP, showed an increase in proliferation and foci formation attributable to a reentry into S-phase during cellular confluence. These results demonstrate that C/EBPbeta-LIP can induce epithelial proliferation and the formation of mammary hyperplasias and suggest that a C/EBPbeta-LIP-initiated growth cascade may be susceptible to additional oncogenic hits, which could result in the initiation and progression of neoplasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- C A Zahnow
- Department of Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
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Zahnow CA, Panula P, Yamatodani A, Millhorn DE. Glucocorticoid hormones downregulate histidine decarboxylase mRNA and enzyme activity in rat lung. Am J Physiol 1998; 275:L407-13. [PMID: 9700103 DOI: 10.1152/ajplung.1998.275.2.l407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Histidine decarboxylase (HDC) is the primary enzyme regulating histamine biosynthesis. Histamine contributes to the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory disorders such as asthma. Because glucocorticoids are effective in the treatment of asthma, we examined the effects of 6 h of exogenously administered dexamethasone (0.5-3,000 microg/kg ip), corticosterone (0.2-200 mg/kg ip), or endogenously elevated corticosterone (via exposure of rats to 10% oxygen) on HDC expression in the rat lung. HDC transcripts were decreased approximately 73% with dexamethasone treatment, 57% with corticosterone treatment, and 50% with exposure to 10% oxygen. Likewise, HDC enzyme activity was decreased 80% by treatment with dexamethasone and corticosterone and 60% by exposure to 10% oxygen. Adrenalectomy prevented the decreases in HDC mRNA and enzyme activity observed in rats exposed to 10% oxygen, suggesting that the adrenal gland is necessary for the mediation of hypoxic effects on HDC gene expression. These results demonstrate that corticosteroids initiate a process that leads to the decrease of HDC mRNA levels and enzyme activity in rat lung.
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Affiliation(s)
- C A Zahnow
- Department of Physiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
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