1
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Weischedel J, Higgins L, Rogers S, Gramalla-Schmitz A, Wyrzykowska P, Borgoni S, MacCarthy T, Chahwan R. Modular cytosine base editing promotes epigenomic and genomic modifications. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:e8. [PMID: 37994786 PMCID: PMC10810192 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad1118] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Prokaryotic and eukaryotic adaptive immunity differ considerably. Yet, their fundamental mechanisms of gene editing via Cas9 and activation-induced deaminase (AID), respectively, can be conveniently complimentary. Cas9 is an RNA targeted dual nuclease expressed in several bacterial species. AID is a cytosine deaminase expressed in germinal centre B cells to mediate genomic antibody diversification. AID can also mediate epigenomic reprogramming via active DNA demethylation. It is known that sequence motifs, nucleic acid structures, and associated co-factors affect AID activity. But despite repeated attempts, deciphering AID's intrinsic catalytic activities and harnessing its targeted recruitment to DNA is still intractable. Even recent cytosine base editors are unable to fully recapitulate AID's genomic and epigenomic editing properties. Here, we describe the first instance of a modular AID-based editor that recapitulates the full spectrum of genomic and epigenomic editing activity. Our 'Swiss army knife' toolbox will help better understand AID biology per se as well as improve targeted genomic and epigenomic editing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Weischedel
- Institute of Experimental Immunology, University of Zurich, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
| | - Laurence Higgins
- Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Sally Rogers
- Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QD, UK
| | - Anna Gramalla-Schmitz
- Institute of Experimental Immunology, University of Zurich, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
| | - Paulina Wyrzykowska
- Institute of Experimental Immunology, University of Zurich, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
| | - Simone Borgoni
- Institute of Experimental Immunology, University of Zurich, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
| | - Thomas MacCarthy
- Department of Applied Mathematics & Statistics, Stony Brook University, NY 11794-3600, USA
| | - Richard Chahwan
- Institute of Experimental Immunology, University of Zurich, Zurich 8057, Switzerland
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2
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Beumers L, Vlachavas EI, Borgoni S, Schwarzmüller L, Penso-Dolfin L, Michels BE, Sofyali E, Burmester S, Heiss D, Wilhelm H, Yarden Y, Helm D, Will R, Goncalves A, Wiemann S. Clonal heterogeneity in ER+ breast cancer reveals the proteasome and PKC as potential therapeutic targets. NPJ Breast Cancer 2023; 9:97. [PMID: 38042915 PMCID: PMC10693625 DOI: 10.1038/s41523-023-00604-4] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Intratumoral heterogeneity impacts the success or failure of anti-cancer therapies. Here, we investigated the evolution and mechanistic heterogeneity in clonal populations of cell models for estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. To this end, we established barcoded models of luminal breast cancer and rendered them resistant to commonly applied first line endocrine therapies. By isolating single clones from the resistant cell pools and characterizing replicates of individual clones we observed inter- (between cell lines) and intra-tumor (between different clones from the same cell line) heterogeneity. Molecular characterization at RNA and phospho-proteomic levels revealed private clonal activation of the unfolded protein response and respective sensitivity to inhibition of the proteasome, and potentially shared sensitivities for repression of protein kinase C. Our in vitro findings are consistent with tumor-heterogeneity that is observed in breast cancer patients thus highlighting the need to uncover heterogeneity at an individual patient level and to adjust therapies accordingly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Beumers
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Faculty of Biosciences, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 234, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - Efstathios-Iason Vlachavas
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Simone Borgoni
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Luisa Schwarzmüller
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 234, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Luca Penso-Dolfin
- Division of Somatic Evolution and Early Detection, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Birgitta E Michels
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Emre Sofyali
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sara Burmester
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Daniela Heiss
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Heike Wilhelm
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Yosef Yarden
- Department of Immunology and Regenerative Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel
| | - Dominic Helm
- Proteomics Core Facility, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Rainer Will
- Cellular Tools Core Facility, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Angela Goncalves
- Division of Somatic Evolution and Early Detection, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stefan Wiemann
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
- Faculty of Biosciences, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 234, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
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3
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Noronha A, Belugali Nataraj N, Lee JS, Zhitomirsky B, Oren Y, Oster S, Lindzen M, Mukherjee S, Will R, Ghosh S, Simoni-Nieves A, Verma A, Chatterjee R, Borgoni S, Robinson W, Sinha S, Brandis A, Kerr DL, Wu W, Sekar A, Giri S, Chung Y, Drago-Garcia D, Danysh BP, Lauriola M, Fiorentino M, Ardizzoni A, Oren M, Blakely CM, Ezike J, Wiemann S, Parida L, Bivona TG, Aqeilan RI, Brugge JS, Regev A, Getz G, Ruppin E, Yarden Y. AXL and Error-Prone DNA Replication Confer Drug Resistance and Offer Strategies to Treat EGFR-Mutant Lung Cancer. Cancer Discov 2022; 12:2666-2683. [PMID: 35895872 PMCID: PMC9627128 DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.cd-22-0111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [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: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Anticancer therapies have been limited by the emergence of mutations and other adaptations. In bacteria, antibiotics activate the SOS response, which mobilizes error-prone factors that allow for continuous replication at the cost of mutagenesis. We investigated whether the treatment of lung cancer with EGFR inhibitors (EGFRi) similarly engages hypermutators. In cycling drug-tolerant persister (DTP) cells and in EGFRi-treated patients presenting residual disease, we observed upregulation of GAS6, whereas ablation of GAS6's receptor, AXL, eradicated resistance. Reciprocally, AXL overexpression enhanced DTP survival and accelerated the emergence of T790M, an EGFR mutation typical to resistant cells. Mechanistically, AXL induces low-fidelity DNA polymerases and activates their organizer, RAD18, by promoting neddylation. Metabolomics uncovered another hypermutator, AXL-driven activation of MYC, and increased purine synthesis that is unbalanced by pyrimidines. Aligning anti-AXL combination treatments with the transition from DTPs to resistant cells cured patient-derived xenografts. Hence, similar to bacteria, tumors tolerate therapy by engaging pharmacologically targetable endogenous mutators. SIGNIFICANCE EGFR-mutant lung cancers treated with kinase inhibitors often evolve resistance due to secondary mutations. We report that in similarity to the bacterial SOS response stimulated by antibiotics, endogenous mutators are activated in drug-treated cells, and this heralds tolerance. Blocking the process prevented resistance in xenograft models, which offers new treatment strategies. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 2483.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashish Noronha
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | | | - Joo Sang Lee
- Cancer Data Science Lab, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland.,Next-Gen Medicine Lab, School of Medicine and Department of Artificial Intelligence, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | | | - Yaara Oren
- Klarman Cell Observatory, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts.,Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Sara Oster
- Lautenberg Center for Immunology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Moshit Lindzen
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Saptaparna Mukherjee
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Rainer Will
- Genomics and Proteomics Core Facility, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Soma Ghosh
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Arturo Simoni-Nieves
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Aakanksha Verma
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Rishita Chatterjee
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Simone Borgoni
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Sanju Sinha
- Cancer Data Science Lab, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Alexander Brandis
- Life Sciences Core Facilities, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - D. Lucas Kerr
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California
| | - Wei Wu
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California
| | - Arunachalam Sekar
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Suvendu Giri
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Youngmin Chung
- Next-Gen Medicine Lab, School of Medicine and Department of Artificial Intelligence, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Diana Drago-Garcia
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Brian P. Danysh
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Mattia Lauriola
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Michelangelo Fiorentino
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Andrea Ardizzoni
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine (DIMES), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Medical Oncology IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Moshe Oren
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Collin M. Blakely
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California.,Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, California
| | - Jideofor Ezike
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts.,Computational and Systems Biology Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
| | - Stefan Wiemann
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Laxmi Parida
- Thomas J. Watson Research Center, IBM Research, Yorktown Heights, New York
| | - Trever G. Bivona
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California.,Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco, California.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California, San Francisco, California
| | - Rami I. Aqeilan
- Lautenberg Center for Immunology and Cancer Research, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Joan S. Brugge
- Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Aviv Regev
- Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, California
| | - Gad Getz
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts.,Cancer Center and Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Eytan Ruppin
- Cancer Data Science Lab, NCI, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Yosef Yarden
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.,Corresponding Author: Yosef Yarden, Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. Phone: 972-8-934-3974; Fax: 972-8-934-2488; E-mail:
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4
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Yim KHW, Borgoni S, Chahwan R. Serum extracellular vesicles profiling is associated with COVID-19 progression and immune responses. J Extracell Biol 2022; 1:e37. [PMID: 35574251 PMCID: PMC9088353 DOI: 10.1002/jex2.37] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Revised: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) has transformed very quickly into a world pandemic with severe and unexpected consequences on human health. Concerted efforts to generate better diagnostic and prognostic tools have been ongoing. Research, thus far, has primarily focused on the virus itself or the direct immune response to it. Here, we propose extracellular vesicles (EVs) from serum liquid biopsies as a new and unique modality to unify diagnostic and prognostic tools for COVID‐19 analyses. EVs are a novel player in intercellular signalling particularly influencing immune responses. We herein show that innate and adaptive immune EVs profiling, together with SARS‐CoV‐2 Spike S1+ EVs provide a novel signature for SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. It also provides a unique ability to associate the co‐existence of viral and host cell signatures to monitor affected tissues and severity of the disease progression. And provide a phenotypic insight into COVID‐associated EVs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Ho Wai Yim
- Institute of Experimental Immunology University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Simone Borgoni
- Institute of Experimental Immunology University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
| | - Richard Chahwan
- Institute of Experimental Immunology University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
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5
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Borgoni S, Kudryashova KS, Burka K, de Magalhães JP. Targeting immune dysfunction in aging. Ageing Res Rev 2021; 70:101410. [PMID: 34280555 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2021.101410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Human aging is a multifactorial phenomenon that affects numerous organ systems and cellular processes, with the immune system being one of the most dysregulated. Immunosenescence, the gradual deterioration of the immune system, and inflammaging, a chronic inflammatory state that persists in the elderly, are among the plethora of immune changes that occur during aging. Almost all populations of immune cells change with age in terms of numbers and/or activity. These alterations are in general highly detrimental, resulting in an increased susceptibility to infections, reduced healing abilities, and altered homeostasis that promote the emergence of age-associated diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and other diseases associated with inflammation. Thanks to recent developments, several strategies have been proposed to target central immunological processes or specific immune subpopulations affected by aging. These therapeutic approaches could soon be applied in the clinic to slow down or even reverse specific age-induced immune changes in order to rejuvenate the immune system and prevent or reduce the impact of various diseases. Due to its systemic nature and interconnection with all the other systems in the body, the immune system is an attractive target for aging intervention because relatively targeted modifications to a small set of cells have the potential to improve the health of multiple organ systems. Therefore, anti-aging immune targeting therapies could represent a potent approach for improving healthspan. Here, we review aging changes in the major components of the immune system, we summarize the current immune-targeting therapeutic approaches in the context of aging and discuss the future directions in the field of immune rejuvenation.
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6
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Haga Y, Marrocco I, Noronha A, Uribe ML, Nataraj NB, Sekar A, Drago-Garcia D, Borgoni S, Lindzen M, Giri S, Wiemann S, Tsutsumi Y, Yarden Y. Host-Dependent Phenotypic Resistance to EGFR Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors. Cancer Res 2021; 81:3862-3875. [PMID: 33941614 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-20-3555] [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] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Lung cancers driven by mutant forms of EGFR invariably develop resistance to kinase inhibitors, often due to secondary mutations. Here we describe an unconventional mechanism of resistance to dacomitinib, a newly approved covalent EGFR kinase inhibitor, and uncover a previously unknown step of resistance acquisition. Dacomitinib-resistant (DR) derivatives of lung cancer cells were established by means of gradually increasing dacomitinib concentrations. These DR cells acquired no secondary mutations in the kinase or other domains of EGFR. Along with resistance to other EGFR inhibitors, DR cells acquired features characteristic to epithelial-mesenchymal transition, including an expanded population of aldehyde dehydrogenase-positive cells and upregulation of AXL, a receptor previously implicated in drug resistance. Unexpectedly, when implanted in animals, DR cells reverted to a dacomitinib-sensitive state. Nevertheless, cell lines derived from regressing tumors displayed renewed resistance when cultured in vitro. Three-dimensional and cocultures along with additional analyses indicated lack of involvement of hypoxia, fibroblasts, and immune cells in phenotype reversal, implying that other host-dependent mechanisms might nullify nonmutational modes of resistance. Thus, similar to the phenotypic resistance of bacteria treated with antibiotics, the reversible resisters described here likely evolve from drug-tolerant persisters and give rise to the irreversible, secondary mutation-driven nonreversible resister state. SIGNIFICANCE: This study reports that stepwise acquisition of kinase inhibitor resistance in lung cancers driven by mutant EGFR comprises a nonmutational, reversible resister state. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/81/14/3862/F1.large.jpg.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuya Haga
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.,Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Ilaria Marrocco
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Ashish Noronha
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Mary Luz Uribe
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | | | - Arunachalam Sekar
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Diana Drago-Garcia
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Simone Borgoni
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Moshit Lindzen
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Suvendu Giri
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Stefan Wiemann
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Yasuo Tsutsumi
- Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.,Global Center for Medical Engineering and Informatics, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Yosef Yarden
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
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7
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Mitra D, Vega-Rubin-de-Celis S, Royla N, Bernhardt S, Wilhelm H, Tarade N, Poschet G, Buettner M, Binenbaum I, Borgoni S, Vetter M, Kantelhardt EJ, Thomssen C, Chatziioannou A, Hell R, Kempa S, Müller-Decker K, Wiemann S. Abrogating GPT2 in triple-negative breast cancer inhibits tumor growth and promotes autophagy. Int J Cancer 2021; 148:1993-2009. [PMID: 33368291 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.33456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 06/03/2020] [Revised: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Uncontrolled proliferation and altered metabolic reprogramming are hallmarks of cancer. Active glycolysis and glutaminolysis are characteristic features of these hallmarks and required for tumorigenesis. A fine balance between cancer metabolism and autophagy is a prerequisite of homeostasis within cancer cells. Here we show that glutamate pyruvate transaminase 2 (GPT2), which serves as a pivot between glycolysis and glutaminolysis, is highly upregulated in aggressive breast cancers, particularly the triple-negative breast cancer subtype. Abrogation of this enzyme results in decreased tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates, which promotes the rewiring of glucose carbon atoms and alterations in nutrient levels. Concordantly, loss of GPT2 results in an impairment of mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 activity as well as the induction of autophagy. Furthermore, in vivo xenograft studies have shown that autophagy induction correlates with decreased tumor growth and that markers of induced autophagy correlate with low GPT2 levels in patient samples. Taken together, these findings indicate that cancer cells have a close network between metabolic and nutrient sensing pathways necessary to sustain tumorigenesis and that aminotransferase reactions play an important role in maintaining this balance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devina Mitra
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Silvia Vega-Rubin-de-Celis
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Institute of Cell Biology (Cancer Research), University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Nadine Royla
- Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Berlin, Germany
| | - Stephan Bernhardt
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Heike Wilhelm
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Nooraldeen Tarade
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Gernot Poschet
- Centre for Organismal Studies (COS), University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Michael Buettner
- Centre for Organismal Studies (COS), University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ilona Binenbaum
- Department of Biology, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
- Institute of Biology, Medicinal Chemistry and Biotechnology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens, Greece
- Division of Medical Informatics for Translational Oncology, German Cancer Research Centre, Heidelberg, Germany
- Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, First Department of Pediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
| | - Simone Borgoni
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Martina Vetter
- Department of Gynaecology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Eva Johanna Kantelhardt
- Department of Gynaecology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Christoph Thomssen
- Department of Gynaecology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Aristotelis Chatziioannou
- Institute of Biology, Medicinal Chemistry and Biotechnology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens, Greece
- e-NIOS PC, Athens, Greece
| | - Rüdiger Hell
- Centre for Organismal Studies (COS), University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stefan Kempa
- Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), Berlin, Germany
- Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC), Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Berlin, Germany
| | - Karin Müller-Decker
- DKFZ Tumor Models Core Facility, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stefan Wiemann
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
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8
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Berdiel-Acer M, Maia A, Hristova Z, Borgoni S, Vetter M, Burmester S, Becki C, Michels B, Abnaof K, Binenbaum I, Bethmann D, Chatziioannou A, Hasmann M, Thomssen C, Espinet E, Wiemann S. Stromal NRG1 in luminal breast cancer defines pro-fibrotic and migratory cancer-associated fibroblasts. Oncogene 2021; 40:2651-2666. [PMID: 33692466 PMCID: PMC8049869 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-021-01719-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [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: 05/10/2020] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
HER3 is highly expressed in luminal breast cancer subtypes. Its activation by NRG1 promotes activation of AKT and ERK1/2, contributing to tumour progression and therapy resistance. HER3-targeting agents that block this activation, are currently under phase 1/2 clinical studies, and although they have shown favorable tolerability, their activity as a single agent has proven to be limited. Here we show that phosphorylation and activation of HER3 in luminal breast cancer cells occurs in a paracrine manner and is mediated by NRG1 expressed by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Moreover, we uncover a HER3-independent NRG1 signaling in CAFs that results in the induction of a strong migratory and pro-fibrotic phenotype, describing a subtype of CAFs with elevated expression of NRG1 and an associated transcriptomic profile that determines their functional properties. Finally, we identified Hyaluronan Synthase 2 (HAS2), a targetable molecule strongly correlated with NRG1, as an attractive player supporting NRG1 signaling in CAFs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mireia Berdiel-Acer
- grid.7497.d0000 0004 0492 0584Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ana Maia
- grid.7497.d0000 0004 0492 0584Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany ,grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Faculty of Biosciences, Ruprecht-Karls-University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Zhivka Hristova
- grid.7497.d0000 0004 0492 0584Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany ,grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Faculty of Biosciences, Ruprecht-Karls-University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Simone Borgoni
- grid.7497.d0000 0004 0492 0584Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany ,grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Faculty of Biosciences, Ruprecht-Karls-University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Martina Vetter
- grid.9018.00000 0001 0679 2801Department of Gynecology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Sara Burmester
- grid.7497.d0000 0004 0492 0584Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Corinna Becki
- grid.7497.d0000 0004 0492 0584Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Birgitta Michels
- grid.7497.d0000 0004 0492 0584Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Khalid Abnaof
- grid.7497.d0000 0004 0492 0584Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ilona Binenbaum
- grid.7497.d0000 0004 0492 0584Division of Medical Informatics for Translational Oncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany ,grid.11047.330000 0004 0576 5395Department of Biology, University of Patras, Patras, Greece ,grid.22459.380000 0001 2232 6894Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens, Greece
| | - Daniel Bethmann
- grid.9018.00000 0001 0679 2801Institute of Pathology Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Aristotelis Chatziioannou
- grid.22459.380000 0001 2232 6894Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Athens, Greece ,e-NIOS PC, Kallithea-Athens, Greece
| | - Max Hasmann
- grid.424277.0Roche Diagnostics, Penzberg, Germany
| | - Christoph Thomssen
- grid.9018.00000 0001 0679 2801Department of Gynecology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany
| | - Elisa Espinet
- grid.7497.d0000 0004 0492 0584Divison of Stem Cells and Cancer, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany ,grid.482664.aHeidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stefan Wiemann
- grid.7497.d0000 0004 0492 0584Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
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9
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Borgoni S, Sofyalı E, Soleimani M, Wilhelm H, Müller-Decker K, Will R, Noronha A, Beumers L, Verschure PJ, Yarden Y, Magnani L, van Kampen AH, Moerland PD, Wiemann S. Time-Resolved Profiling Reveals ATF3 as a Novel Mediator of Endocrine Resistance in Breast Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:E2918. [PMID: 33050633 PMCID: PMC7650760 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12102918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2020] [Revised: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death for women worldwide. Patients whose tumors express Estrogen Receptor α account for around 70% of cases and are mostly treated with targeted endocrine therapy. However, depending on the degree of severity of the disease at diagnosis, 10 to 40% of these tumors eventually relapse due to resistance development. Even though recent novel approaches as the combination with CDK4/6 inhibitors increased the overall survival of relapsing patients, this remains relatively short and there is a urgent need to find alternative targetable pathways. In this study we profiled the early phases of the resistance development process to uncover drivers of this phenomenon. Time-resolved analysis revealed that ATF3, a member of the ATF/CREB family of transcription factors, acts as a novel regulator of the response to therapy via rewiring of central signaling processes towards the adaptation to endocrine treatment. ATF3 was found to be essential in controlling crucial processes such as proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis during the early response to treatment through the regulation of MAPK/AKT signaling pathways. Its essential role was confirmed in vivo in a mouse model, and elevated expression of ATF3 was verified in patient datasets, adding clinical relevance to our findings. This study proposes ATF3 as a novel mediator of endocrine resistance development in breast cancer and elucidates its role in the regulation of downstream pathways activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Borgoni
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; (E.S.); (H.W.); (L.B.)
- Faculty of Biosciences, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 234, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Emre Sofyalı
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; (E.S.); (H.W.); (L.B.)
- Faculty of Biosciences, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 234, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Maryam Soleimani
- Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Bioinformatics, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (M.S.); (A.H.C.v.K.); (P.D.M.)
- Biosystems Data Analysis, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Heike Wilhelm
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; (E.S.); (H.W.); (L.B.)
| | - Karin Müller-Decker
- Tumor Models Core Facility, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany;
| | - Rainer Will
- Genomics and Proteomics Core Facility, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany;
| | - Ashish Noronha
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel; (A.N.); (Y.Y.)
| | - Lukas Beumers
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; (E.S.); (H.W.); (L.B.)
- Faculty of Biosciences, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 234, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Pernette J. Verschure
- Synthetic Systems Biology and Nuclear Organization, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
| | - Yosef Yarden
- Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001 Rehovot, Israel; (A.N.); (Y.Y.)
| | - Luca Magnani
- Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, W12 0NN London, UK;
| | - Antoine H.C. van Kampen
- Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Bioinformatics, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (M.S.); (A.H.C.v.K.); (P.D.M.)
- Biosystems Data Analysis, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Perry D. Moerland
- Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Bioinformatics, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands; (M.S.); (A.H.C.v.K.); (P.D.M.)
| | - Stefan Wiemann
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; (E.S.); (H.W.); (L.B.)
- Faculty of Biosciences, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 234, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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10
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Wahjudi LW, Bernhardt S, Abnaof K, Horak P, Kreutzfeldt S, Heining C, Borgoni S, Becki C, Berg D, Richter D, Hutter B, Uhrig S, Pfütze K, Leichsenring J, Glimm H, Brors B, von Kalle C, Stenzinger A, Korf U, Fröhling S, Wiemann S. Integrating proteomics into precision oncology. Int J Cancer 2020; 148:1438-1451. [PMID: 32949162 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.33301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [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: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
DNA sequencing and RNA sequencing are increasingly applied in precision oncology, where molecular tumor boards evaluate the actionability of genetic events in individual tumors to guide targeted treatment. To work toward an additional level of patient characterization, we assessed the abundance and activity of 27 proteins in 134 patients whose tumors had previously undergone whole-exome and RNA sequencing within the Molecularly Aided Stratification for Tumor Eradication Research (MASTER) program of National Center for Tumor Diseases, Heidelberg. Proteomic and phosphoproteomic targets were selected to reflect the most relevant therapeutic baskets in MASTER. Among six different therapeutic baskets, the proteomic data supported treatment recommendations that were based on DNA and RNA analyses in 10% to 57% and frequently suggested alternative treatment options. In several cases, protein activities explained the patients' clinical course and provided potential explanations for treatment failure. Our study indicates that the integrative analysis of DNA, RNA and protein data may refine therapeutic stratification of individual patients and, thus, holds potential to increase the success rate of precision cancer therapy. Prospective validation studies are needed to advance the integration of proteomic analysis into precision oncology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonie W Wahjudi
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stephan Bernhardt
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Khalid Abnaof
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Peter Horak
- Division of Translational Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Simon Kreutzfeldt
- Division of Translational Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christoph Heining
- Department of Translational Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Dresden, Dresden, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Dresden, Germany.,Center for Personalized Oncology, National Center for Tumour Diseases (NCT) Dresden and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden at TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Simone Borgoni
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.,Faculty of Biosciences, University Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Corinna Becki
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Daniela Berg
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Daniela Richter
- Department of Translational Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Dresden, Dresden, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Dresden, Germany
| | - Barbara Hutter
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Applied Bioinformatics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sebastian Uhrig
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany.,Faculty of Biosciences, University Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Applied Bioinformatics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Katrin Pfütze
- Division of Translational Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Hanno Glimm
- Department of Translational Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Dresden, Dresden, Germany.,Translational Functional Cancer Genomics, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Dresden, Germany.,Center for Personalized Oncology, National Center for Tumour Diseases (NCT) Dresden and University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden at TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Benedikt Brors
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany.,Division of Applied Bioinformatics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christof von Kalle
- Division of Translational Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.,Translational Functional Cancer Genomics, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Albrecht Stenzinger
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany.,Institute of Pathology, University Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Ulrike Korf
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stefan Fröhling
- Division of Translational Medical Oncology, National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Stefan Wiemann
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.,German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Heidelberg, Germany
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11
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Soleimani Dodaran M, Borgoni S, Sofyalı E, Verschure PJ, Wiemann S, Moerland PD, van Kampen AHC. Candidate methylation sites associated with endocrine therapy resistance in ER+/HER2- breast cancer. BMC Cancer 2020; 20:676. [PMID: 32684154 PMCID: PMC7368985 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-020-07100-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [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: 11/05/2019] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer is often effectively treated with drugs that inhibit ER signaling, i.e., tamoxifen (TAM) and aromatase inhibitors (AIs). However, 30% of ER+ breast cancer patients develop resistance to therapy leading to tumour recurrence. Changes in the methylation profile have been implicated as one of the mechanisms through which therapy resistance develops. Therefore, we aimed to identify methylation loci associated with endocrine therapy resistance. METHODS We used genome-wide DNA methylation profiles of primary ER+/HER2- tumours from The Cancer Genome Atlas in combination with curated data on survival and treatment to predict development of endocrine resistance. Association of individual DNA methylation markers with survival was assessed using Cox proportional hazards models in a cohort of ER+/HER2- tumours (N = 552) and two sub-cohorts corresponding to the endocrine treatment (AI or TAM) that patients received (N = 210 and N = 172, respectively). We also identified multivariable methylation signatures associated with survival using Cox proportional hazards models with elastic net regularization. Individual markers and multivariable signatures were compared with DNA methylation profiles generated in a time course experiment using the T47D ER+ breast cancer cell line treated with tamoxifen or deprived from estrogen. RESULTS We identified 134, 5 and 1 CpGs for which DNA methylation is significantly associated with survival in the ER+/HER2-, TAM and AI cohorts respectively. Multi-locus signatures consisted of 203, 36 and 178 CpGs and showed a large overlap with the corresponding single-locus signatures. The methylation signatures were associated with survival independently of tumour stage, age, AI treatment, and luminal status. The single-locus signature for the TAM cohort was conserved among the loci that were differentially methylated in endocrine-resistant T47D cells. Similarly, multi-locus signatures for the ER+/HER2- and AI cohorts were conserved in endocrine-resistant T47D cells. Also at the gene set level, several sets related to endocrine therapy and resistance were enriched in both survival and T47D signatures. CONCLUSIONS We identified individual and multivariable DNA methylation markers associated with therapy resistance independently of luminal status. Our results suggest that these markers identified from primary tumours prior to endocrine treatment are associated with development of endocrine resistance.
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MESH Headings
- Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal/pharmacology
- Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal/therapeutic use
- Aromatase Inhibitors/pharmacology
- Aromatase Inhibitors/therapeutic use
- Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics
- Breast Neoplasms/drug therapy
- Breast Neoplasms/genetics
- Breast Neoplasms/mortality
- Breast Neoplasms/pathology
- Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/drug therapy
- Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/genetics
- Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/mortality
- Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/pathology
- Cohort Studies
- CpG Islands/genetics
- DNA Methylation
- Drug Resistance, Neoplasm/genetics
- Female
- Gene Expression Profiling
- Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
- Humans
- Receptor, ErbB-2/metabolism
- Receptors, Estrogen/metabolism
- Survival Analysis
- Tamoxifen/pharmacology
- Tamoxifen/therapeutic use
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Soleimani Dodaran
- Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Bioinformatics, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, AZ, 1105, The Netherlands
- Biosystems Data Analysis, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, Amsterdam, 1098 XH, The Netherlands
| | - Simone Borgoni
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, University Heidelberg, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Emre Sofyalı
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, University Heidelberg, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Pernette J Verschure
- Synthetic Systems Biology and Nuclear Organization, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, Amsterdam, 1098 XH, The Netherlands
| | - Stefan Wiemann
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 580, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Biosciences, University Heidelberg, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Perry D Moerland
- Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Bioinformatics, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, AZ, 1105, The Netherlands.
| | - Antoine H C van Kampen
- Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Bioinformatics, Amsterdam Public Health research institute, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, AZ, 1105, The Netherlands.
- Biosystems Data Analysis, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, Amsterdam, 1098 XH, The Netherlands.
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12
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Saatci Ö, Borgoni S, Akbulut Ö, Durmuş S, Raza U, Eyüpoğlu E, Alkan C, Akyol A, Kütük Ö, Wiemann S, Şahin Ö. Targeting PLK1 overcomes T-DM1 resistance via CDK1-dependent phosphorylation and inactivation of Bcl-2/xL in HER2-positive breast cancer. Oncogene 2018; 37:2251-2269. [PMID: 29391599 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-017-0108-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [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: 05/07/2017] [Revised: 10/22/2017] [Accepted: 11/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Trastuzumab-refractory, HER2 (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2)-positive breast cancer is commonly treated with trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), an antibody-drug conjugate of trastuzumab and the microtubule-targeting agent, DM1. However, drug response reduces greatly over time due to acquisition of resistance whose molecular mechanisms are mostly unknown. Here, we uncovered a novel mechanism of resistance against T-DM1 by combining whole transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq), proteomics and a targeted small interfering RNA (siRNA) sensitization screen for molecular level analysis of acquired and de novo T-DM1-resistant models of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer. We identified Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1), a mitotic kinase, as a resistance mediator whose genomic as well as pharmacological inhibition restored drug sensitivity. Both acquired and de novo resistant models exhibited synergistic growth inhibition upon combination of T-DM1 with a selective PLK1 inhibitor, volasertib, at a wide concentration range of the two drugs. Mechanistically, T-DM1 sensitization upon PLK1 inhibition with volasertib was initiated by a spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC)-dependent mitotic arrest, leading to caspase activation, followed by DNA damage through CDK1-dependent phosphorylation and inactivation of Bcl-2/xL. Furthermore, we showed that Ser70 phosphorylation of Bcl-2 directly regulates apoptosis by disrupting the binding to and sequestration of the pro-apoptotic protein Bim. Importantly, T-DM1 resistance signature or PLK1 expression correlated with cell cycle progression and DNA repair, and predicted a lower sensitivity to taxane/trastuzumab combination in HER2-positive breast cancer patients. Finally, volasertib in combination with T-DM1 greatly synergized in models of T-DM1 resistance in terms of growth inhibition both in three dimensional (3D) cell culture and in vivo. Altogether, our results provide promising pre-clinical evidence for potential testing of T-DM1/volasertib combination in T-DM1 refractory HER2-positive breast cancer patients for whom there is currently no treatment available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Özge Saatci
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, Bilkent University, 06800, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Simone Borgoni
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), INF580, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany
| | - Özge Akbulut
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, Bilkent University, 06800, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Selvi Durmuş
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, Bilkent University, 06800, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Umar Raza
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, Bilkent University, 06800, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Erol Eyüpoğlu
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, Bilkent University, 06800, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Can Alkan
- Department of Computer Engineering, Bilkent University, 06800, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Aytekin Akyol
- Department of Pathology, Hacettepe University School of Medicine, 06410, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Özgür Kütük
- Department of Medical Genetics, Başkent University, 01250, Adana, Turkey
| | - Stefan Wiemann
- Division of Molecular Genome Analysis, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), INF580, Heidelberg, 69120, Germany
| | - Özgür Şahin
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science, Bilkent University, 06800, Ankara, Turkey.
- National Nanotechnology Research Center (UNAM), Bilkent University, 06800, Ankara, Turkey.
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13
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Borgoni S, Iannello A, Cutrupi S, Allavena P, D'Incalci M, Novelli F, Cappello P. Depletion of tumor-associated macrophages switches the epigenetic profile of pancreatic cancer infiltrating T cells and restores their anti-tumor phenotype. Oncoimmunology 2017; 7:e1393596. [PMID: 29308326 DOI: 10.1080/2162402x.2017.1393596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [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: 06/09/2017] [Revised: 10/11/2017] [Accepted: 10/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDA) is characterized by a complex tumor microenvironment that supports its progression, aggressiveness and resistance to therapies. The delicate interplay between cancer and immune cells creates the conditions for PDA development, particularly due to the functional suppression of T cell anti-tumor effector activity. However, some of the mechanisms involved in this process are still poorly understood. In this study, we analyze whether the functional and epigenetic profile of T cells that infiltrate PDA is modulated by the microenvironment, and in particular by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). CD4 and CD8 T cells obtained from mice orthotopically injected with syngeneic PDA cells, and untreated or treated with Trabectedin, a cytotoxic drug that specifically targets TAMs, were sorted and analyzed by flow cytometry and characterized for their epigenetic profile. Assessment of cytokine production and the epigenetic profile of genes coding for IL10, T-bet and PD1 revealed that T cells that infiltrated PDA displayed activated Il10 promoter and repressed T-bet activity, in agreement with their regulatory phenotype (IL10high/IFNγlow, PD1high). By contrast, in Trabectedin-treated mice, PDA-infiltrating T cells displayed repressed Il10 and Pdcd1 and activated T-bet promoter activity, in accordance with their anti-tumor effector phenotype (IL10low/IFNγhigh), indicating a key role of TAMs in orchestrating functions of PDA-infiltrating T cells by modulating their epigenetic profile towards a pro-tumoral phenotype. These results suggest the targeting of TAMs as an efficient strategy to obtain an appropriate T cell anti-tumor immune response and open new potential combinations for PDA treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Borgoni
- Dept. of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of Turin, via Nizza 52, Torino, Italy.,Center for Experimental Research and Medical Studies, University Hospital Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, via Santena 5, Torino, Italy
| | - Andrea Iannello
- Center for Molecular Systems Biology, University of Turin, Orbassano, Turin, Italy.,Dept. of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, Orbassano, Turin, Italy
| | - Santina Cutrupi
- Center for Molecular Systems Biology, University of Turin, Orbassano, Turin, Italy.,Dept. of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, Orbassano, Turin, Italy
| | - Paola Allavena
- Dept. Immunology and Inflammation, IRCCS-Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, Via Manzoni 56, Rozzano (Milano), Italy
| | - Maurizio D'Incalci
- Dept. of Oncology, IRCCS Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Via La Masa 19, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesco Novelli
- Dept. of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of Turin, via Nizza 52, Torino, Italy.,Center for Experimental Research and Medical Studies, University Hospital Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, via Santena 5, Torino, Italy.,Transplant Immunology Service, University Hospital Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, Turin, Italy.,Molecular Biotechnology Center, via Nizza 52, Torino, Italy
| | - Paola Cappello
- Dept. of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Sciences, University of Turin, via Nizza 52, Torino, Italy.,Center for Experimental Research and Medical Studies, University Hospital Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, via Santena 5, Torino, Italy.,Molecular Biotechnology Center, via Nizza 52, Torino, Italy
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