Albendazole inhibits colon cancer progression and therapy resistance by targeting ubiquitin ligase RNF20

BACKGROUND

The repurposing of FDA-approved drugs for anti-cancer therapies is appealing due to their established safety profiles and pharmacokinetic properties and can be quickly moved into clinical trials. Cancer progression and resistance to conventional chemotherapy remain the key hurdles in improving the clinical management of colon cancer patients and associated mortality.

METHODS

High-throughput screening (HTS) was performed using an annotated library of 1,600 FDA-approved drugs to identify drugs with strong anti-CRC properties. The candidate drug exhibiting most promising inhibitory effects in in-vitro studies was tested for its efficacy using in-vivo models of CRC progression and chemoresistance and patient derived organoids (PTDOs).

RESULTS

Albendazole, an anti-helminth drug, demonstrated the strongest inhibitory effects on the tumorigenic potentials of CRC cells, xenograft tumor growth and organoids from mice. Also, albendazole sensitized the chemoresistant CRC cells to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and oxaliplatin suggesting potential to treat chemoresistant CRC. Mechanistically, Albendazole treatment modulated the expression of RNF20, to promote apoptosis in CRC cells by delaying the G2/M phase and suppressing anti-apoptotic-Bcl2 family transcription.

CONCLUSIONS

Albendazole, an FDA approved drug, carries strong therapeutic potential to treat colon cancers which are aggressive and potentially resistant to conventional chemotherapeutic agents. Our findings also lay the groundwork for further clinical testing.

Ketamine and rapid antidepressant action: new treatments and novel synaptic signaling mechanisms

Ketamine is an open channel blocker of ionotropic glutamatergic N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) receptors. The discovery of its rapid antidepressant effects in patients with depression and treatment-resistant depression fostered novel effective treatments for mood disorders. This discovery not only provided new insight into the neurobiology of mood disorders but also uncovered fundamental synaptic plasticity mechanisms that underlie its treatment. In this review, we discuss key clinical aspects of ketamine's effect as a rapidly acting antidepressant, synaptic and circuit mechanisms underlying its action, as well as how these novel perspectives in clinical practice and synapse biology form a road map for future studies aimed at more effective treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders.

Metabolic reprogramming by Syntenin-1 directs RA FLS and endothelial cell-mediated inflammation and angiogenesis

A novel rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovial fluid protein, Syntenin-1, and its receptor, Syndecan-1 (SDC-1), are colocalized on RA synovial tissue endothelial cells and fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS). Syntenin-1 exacerbates the inflammatory landscape of endothelial cells and RA FLS by upregulating transcription of IRF1/5/7/9, IL-1β, IL-6, and CCL2 through SDC-1 ligation and HIF1α, or mTOR activation. Mechanistically, Syntenin-1 orchestrates RA FLS and endothelial cell invasion via SDC-1 and/or mTOR signaling. In Syntenin-1 reprogrammed endothelial cells, the dynamic expression of metabolic intermediates coincides with escalated glycolysis along with unchanged oxidative factors, AMPK, PGC-1α, citrate, and inactive oxidative phosphorylation. Conversely, RA FLS rewired by Syntenin-1 displayed a modest glycolytic-ATP accompanied by a robust mitochondrial-ATP capacity. The enriched mitochondrial-ATP detected in Syntenin-1 reprogrammed RA FLS was coupled with mitochondrial fusion and fission recapitulated by escalated Mitofusin-2 and DRP1 expression. We found that VEGFR1/2 and Notch1 networks are responsible for the crosstalk between Syntenin-1 rewired endothelial cells and RA FLS, which are also represented in RA explants. Similar to RA explants, morphological and transcriptome studies authenticated the importance of VEGFR1/2, Notch1, RAPTOR, and HIF1α pathways in Syntenin-1 arthritic mice and their obstruction in SDC-1 deficient animals. Consistently, dysregulation of SDC-1, mTOR, and HIF1α negated Syntenin-1 inflammatory phenotype in RA explants, while inhibition of HIF1α impaired synovial angiogenic imprint amplified by Syntenin-1. In conclusion, since the current therapies are ineffective on Syntenin-1 and SDC-1 expression in RA synovial tissue and blood, targeting this pathway and its interconnected metabolic intermediates may provide a novel therapeutic strategy.

Hardwiring tissue-specific AAV transduction in mice through engineered receptor expression

The development of transgenic mouse models that express genes of interest in specific cell types has transformed our understanding of basic biology and disease. However, generating these models is time- and resource-intensive. Here we describe a model system, SELective Expression and Controlled Transduction In Vivo (SELECTIV), that enables efficient and specific expression of transgenes by coupling adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors with Cre-inducible overexpression of the multi-serotype AAV receptor, AAVR. We demonstrate that transgenic AAVR overexpression greatly increases the efficiency of transduction of many diverse cell types, including muscle stem cells, which are normally refractory to AAV transduction. Superior specificity is achieved by combining Cre-mediated AAVR overexpression with whole-body knockout of endogenous Aavr, which is demonstrated in heart cardiomyocytes, liver hepatocytes and cholinergic neurons. The enhanced efficacy and exquisite specificity of SELECTIV has broad utility in development of new mouse model systems and expands the use of AAV for gene delivery in vivo.

Embryonic vitamin D deficiency programs hematopoietic stem cells to induce type 2 diabetes

Environmental factors may alter the fetal genome to cause metabolic diseases. It is unknown whether embryonic immune cell programming impacts the risk of type 2 diabetes in later life. We demonstrate that transplantation of fetal hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) made vitamin D deficient in utero induce diabetes in vitamin D-sufficient mice. Vitamin D deficiency epigenetically suppresses Jarid2 expression and activates the Mef2/PGC1a pathway in HSCs, which persists in recipient bone marrow, resulting in adipose macrophage infiltration. These macrophages secrete miR106-5p, which promotes adipose insulin resistance by repressing PIK3 catalytic and regulatory subunits and down-regulating AKT signaling. Vitamin D-deficient monocytes from human cord blood have comparable Jarid2/Mef2/PGC1a expression changes and secrete miR-106b-5p, causing adipocyte insulin resistance. These findings suggest that vitamin D deficiency during development has epigenetic consequences impacting the systemic metabolic milieu.

Streptococcus agalactiae cadD alleviates metal stress and promotes intracellular survival in macrophages and ascending infection during pregnancy

Perinatal infection with Streptococcus agalactiae, or Group B Streptococcus (GBS), is associated with preterm birth, neonatal sepsis, and stillbirth. Here, we study the interactions of GBS with macrophages, essential sentinel immune cells that defend the gravid reproductive tract. Transcriptional analyses of GBS-macrophage co-cultures reveal enhanced expression of a gene encoding a putative metal resistance determinant, cadD. Deletion of cadD reduces GBS survival in macrophages, metal efflux, and resistance to metal toxicity. In a mouse model of ascending infection during pregnancy, the ΔcadD strain displays attenuated bacterial burden, inflammation, and cytokine production in gestational tissues. Furthermore, depletion of host macrophages alters cytokine expression and decreases GBS invasion in a cadD-dependent fashion. Our results indicate that GBS cadD plays an important role in metal detoxification, which promotes immune evasion and bacterial proliferation in the pregnant host.

EGFR-mediated activation of adipose tissue macrophages promotes obesity and insulin resistance

Obesity and obesity-related health complications are increasing in prevalence. Adipose tissue from obese subjects has low-grade, chronic inflammation, leading to insulin resistance. Adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) are a source of proinflammatory cytokines that further aggravate adipocyte dysfunction. In response to a high fat diet (HFD), ATM numbers initially increase by proliferation of resident macrophages, but subsequent increases also result from infiltration in response to chemotactic signals from inflamed adipose tissue. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms regulating the increases in ATMs and their proinflammatory phenotype, we investigated the role of activation of ATM epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). A high fat diet increased expression of EGFR and its ligand amphiregulin in ATMs. Selective deletion of EGFR in ATMs inhibited both resident ATM proliferation and monocyte infiltration into adipose tissue and decreased obesity and development of insulin resistance. Therefore, ATM EGFR activation plays an important role in adipose tissue dysfunction.

Multiomics reveals persistence of obesity-associated immune cell phenotypes in adipose tissue during weight loss and weight regain in mice

Within adipose tissue (AT), immune cells and parenchymal cells closely interact creating a complex microenvironment. In obesity, immune cell derived inflammation contributes to insulin resistance and glucose intolerance. Diet-induced weight loss improves glucose tolerance; however, weight regain further exacerbates the impairment in glucose homeostasis observed with obesity. To interrogate the immunometabolic adaptations that occur in AT during murine weight loss and weight regain, we utilized cellular indexing of transcriptomes and epitopes by sequencing (CITEseq) in male mice. Obesity-induced imprinting of AT immune cells persisted through weight-loss and progressively worsened with weight regain, ultimately leading to impaired recovery of type 2 regulatory cells, activation of antigen presenting cells, T cell exhaustion, and enhanced lipid handling in macrophages in weight cycled mice. This work provides critical groundwork for understanding the immunological causes of weight cycling-accelerated metabolic disease. For further discovery, we provide an open-access web portal of diet-induced AT immune cell imprinting: https://hastylab.shinyapps.io/MAIseq .

Increased activation product of complement 4 protein in plasma of individuals with schizophrenia

Structural variation in the complement 4 gene (C4) confers genetic risk for schizophrenia. The variation includes numbers of the increased C4A copy number, which predicts increased C4A mRNA expression. C4-anaphylatoxin (C4-ana) is a C4 protein fragment released upon C4 protein activation that has the potential to change the blood-brain barrier (BBB). We hypothesized that elevated plasma levels of C4-ana occur in individuals with schizophrenia (iSCZ). Blood was collected from 15 iSCZ with illness duration < 5 years and from 14 healthy controls (HC). Plasma C4-ana was measured by radioimmunoassay. Other complement activation products C3-ana, C5-ana, and terminal complement complex (TCC) were also measured. Digital-droplet PCR was used to determine C4 gene structural variation state. Recombinant C4-ana was added to primary brain endothelial cells (BEC) and permeability was measured in vitro. C4-ana concentration was elevated in plasma from iSCZ compared to HC (mean = 654 ± 16 ng/mL, 557 ± 94 respectively, p = 0.01). The patients also carried more copies of the C4AL gene and demonstrated a positive correlation between plasma C4-ana concentrations and C4A gene copy number. Furthermore, C4-ana increased the permeability of a monolayer of BEC in vitro. Our findings are consistent with a specific role for C4A protein in schizophrenia and raise the possibility that its activation product, C4-ana, increases BBB permeability. Exploratory analyses suggest the novel hypothesis that the relationship between C4-ana levels and C4A gene copy number could also be altered in iSCZ, suggesting an interaction with unknown genetic and/or environmental risk factors.

A roadmap for development of neuro-oscillations as translational biomarkers for treatment development in neuropsychopharmacology

New treatment development for psychiatric disorders depends critically upon the development of physiological measures that can accurately translate between preclinical animal models and clinical human studies. Such measures can be used both as stratification biomarkers to define pathophysiologically homogeneous patient populations and as target engagement biomarkers to verify similarity of effects across preclinical and clinical intervention. Traditional "time-domain" event-related potentials (ERP) have been used translationally to date but are limited by the significant differences in timing and distribution across rodent, monkey and human studies. By contrast, neuro-oscillatory responses, analyzed within the "time-frequency" domain, are relatively preserved across species permitting more precise translational comparisons. Moreover, neuro-oscillatory responses are increasingly being mapped to local circuit mechanisms and may be useful for investigating effects of both pharmacological and neuromodulatory interventions on excitatory/inhibitory balance. The present paper provides a roadmap for development of neuro-oscillatory responses as translational biomarkers in neuropsychiatric treatment development.