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Meril S, Muhlbauer Avni M, Lior C, Bahlsen M, Olender T, Savidor A, Krausz J, Belhanes Peled H, Birisi H, David N, Bialik S, Scherz-Shouval R, Ben David Y, Kimchi A. Loss of EIF4G2 mediates aggressiveness in distinct human endometrial cancer subpopulations with poor survival outcome in patients. Oncogene 2024; 43:1098-1112. [PMID: 38388710 PMCID: PMC10997518 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-024-02981-x] [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: 10/08/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
The non-canonical translation initiation factor EIF4G2 plays essential roles in cellular stress responses via translation of selective mRNA cohorts. Currently there is limited and conflicting information regarding its involvement in cancer development and progression. Here we assessed its role in endometrial cancer (EC), in a cohort of 280 EC patients across different types, grades, and stages, and found that low EIF4G2 expression highly correlated with poor overall- and recurrence-free survival in Grade 2 EC patients, monitored over a period of up to 12 years. To establish a causative connection between low EIF4G2 expression and cancer progression, we stably knocked-down EIF4G2 in two human EC cell lines in parallel. EIF4G2 depletion resulted in increased resistance to conventional therapies and increased the prevalence of molecular markers for aggressive cell subsets, altering their transcriptional and proteomic landscapes. Prominent among the proteins with decreased abundance were Kinesin-1 motor proteins, KIF5B and KLC1, 2, 3. Multiplexed imaging of the EC patient tumor cohort showed a correlation between decreased expression of the kinesin proteins, and poor survival in patients with tumors of certain grades and stages. These findings reveal potential novel biomarkers for Grade 2 EC with ramifications for patient stratification and therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Meril
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Maya Muhlbauer Avni
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Emek Medical Center, Afula, Israel
- The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa, Israel
| | - Chen Lior
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Marcela Bahlsen
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Tsviya Olender
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Alon Savidor
- The de Botton Institute for Protein Profiling of the Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine (G-INCPM), Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Judit Krausz
- Pathology Department, Emek Medical Center, Afula, Israel
| | | | - Hila Birisi
- Pathology Department, Emek Medical Center, Afula, Israel
| | - Nofar David
- Pathology Department, Emek Medical Center, Afula, Israel
| | - Shani Bialik
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Ruth Scherz-Shouval
- Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel
| | - Yehuda Ben David
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Emek Medical Center, Afula, Israel
- The Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion, Haifa, Israel
| | - Adi Kimchi
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel.
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Meril S, Bahlsen M, Eisenstein M, Savidor A, Levin Y, Bialik S, Pietrokovski S, Kimchi A. Loss-of-function cancer-linked mutations in the EIF4G2 non-canonical translation initiation factor. Life Sci Alliance 2024; 7:e202302338. [PMID: 38129098 PMCID: PMC10746786 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202302338] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Tumor cells often exploit the protein translation machinery, resulting in enhanced protein expression essential for tumor growth. Since canonical translation initiation is often suppressed because of cell stress in the tumor microenvironment, non-canonical translation initiation mechanisms become particularly important for shaping the tumor proteome. EIF4G2 is a non-canonical translation initiation factor that mediates internal ribosome entry site (IRES)- and uORF-dependent initiation mechanisms, which can be used to modulate protein expression in cancer. Here, we explored the contribution of EIF4G2 to cancer by screening the COSMIC database for EIF4G2 somatic mutations in cancer patients. Functional examination of missense mutations revealed deleterious effects on EIF4G2 protein-protein interactions and, importantly, on its ability to mediate non-canonical translation initiation. Specifically, one mutation, R178Q, led to reductions in protein expression and near-complete loss of function. Two other mutations within the MIF4G domain specifically affected EIF4G2's ability to mediate IRES-dependent translation initiation but not that of target mRNAs with uORFs. These results shed light on both the structure-function of EIF4G2 and its potential tumor suppressor effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Meril
- https://ror.org/0316ej306 Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Marcela Bahlsen
- https://ror.org/0316ej306 Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Miriam Eisenstein
- https://ror.org/0316ej306 Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Alon Savidor
- https://ror.org/0316ej306 The de Botton Institute for Protein Profiling of the Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine (G-INCPM), Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Yishai Levin
- https://ror.org/0316ej306 The de Botton Institute for Protein Profiling of the Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine (G-INCPM), Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Shani Bialik
- https://ror.org/0316ej306 Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Shmuel Pietrokovski
- https://ror.org/0316ej306 Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Adi Kimchi
- https://ror.org/0316ej306 Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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Nuta GC, Gilad Y, Goldberg N, Meril S, Bahlsen M, Carvalho S, Kozer N, Barr H, Fridmann Sirkis Y, Hercík K, Břehová P, Nencka R, Bialik S, Eisenstein M, Kimchi A. Identifying a selective inhibitor of autophagy that targets ATG12-ATG3 protein-protein interaction. Autophagy 2023; 19:2372-2385. [PMID: 37184247 PMCID: PMC10351452 DOI: 10.1080/15548627.2023.2178159] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Macroautophagy/autophagy is a catabolic process by which cytosolic content is engulfed, degraded and recycled. It has been implicated as a critical pathway in advanced stages of cancer, as it maintains tumor cell homeostasis and continuous growth by nourishing hypoxic or nutrient-starved tumors. Autophagy also supports alternative cellular trafficking pathways, providing a mechanism of non-canonical secretion of inflammatory cytokines. This opens a significant therapeutic opportunity for using autophagy inhibitors in cancer and acute inflammatory responses. Here we developed a high throughput compound screen to identify inhibitors of protein-protein interaction (PPI) in autophagy, based on the protein-fragment complementation assay (PCA). We chose to target the ATG12-ATG3 PPI, as this interaction is indispensable for autophagosome formation, and the analyzed structure of the interaction interface predicts that it may be amenable to inhibition by small molecules. We screened 41,161 compounds yielding 17 compounds that effectively inhibit the ATG12-ATG3 interaction in the PCA platform, and which were subsequently filtered by their ability to inhibit autophagosome formation in viable cells. We describe a lead compound (#189) that inhibited GFP-fused MAP1LC3B/LC3B (microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta) puncta formation in cells with IC50 value corresponding to 9.3 μM. This compound displayed a selective inhibitory effect on the growth of autophagy addicted tumor cells and inhibited secretion of IL1B/IL-1β (interleukin 1 beta) by macrophage-like cells. Compound 189 has the potential to be developed into a therapeutic drug and its discovery documents the power of targeting PPIs for acquiring specific and selective compound inhibitors of autophagy.Abbreviations: ANOVA: analysis of variance; ATG: autophagy related; CQ: chloroquine; GFP: green fluorescent protein; GLuc: Gaussia Luciferase; HEK: human embryonic kidney; IL1B: interleukin 1 beta; LPS: lipopolysaccharide; MAP1LC3B/LC3B: microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta; PCA: protein-fragment complementation assay; PDAC: pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; PMA: phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate; PPI: protein-protein interaction. VCL: vinculin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gal Chaim Nuta
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Yuval Gilad
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Nadav Goldberg
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Sara Meril
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Marcela Bahlsen
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Silvia Carvalho
- The Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine (G-INCPM), Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Noga Kozer
- The Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine (G-INCPM), Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Haim Barr
- The Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine (G-INCPM), Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Yael Fridmann Sirkis
- Department of Life Science Core Facilities, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Kamil Hercík
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Břehová
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Radim Nencka
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Shani Bialik
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Miriam Eisenstein
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Adi Kimchi
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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