The hyaluronan-related genes HAS2, HYAL1-4, PH20 and HYALP1 are associated with prognosis, cell viability and spheroid formation capacity in ovarian cancer

Purpose

Hyaluronan modulates tumour progression, including cell adhesion, cohesion, proliferation and invasion, and the cancer stem cell phenotype. In ovarian cancer, high levels of stromal hyaluronan are associated with poor prognosis. In this work, hyaluronan synthases (HAS1-3) and hyaluronidases (HYAL1-4, PH-20, HYALP1) were examined with regard to different levels of gene expression and its influence on ovarian cancer patients’ survival. The impact of a siRNA depletion of HAS2 was investigated in vitro.

Methods

Using the Kaplan–Meier Plotter tool, we investigated the influence of hyaluronic synthases and hyaluronidases on the survival of a collective of 1435 ovarian cancer patients. Differences in gene expression between normal (n = 46) and cancerous (n = 744) ovarian tissue were examined using the TNMplot database. Following an evaluation of hyaluronan-related gene expression in the ATCC ovarian cancer panel, we studied SKOV3 and SW 626 ovarian cancer cells subjected to HAS2 siRNA or control siRNA treatment in terms of HAS1-3, HYAL2 and HYAL3 mRNA expression. We investigated the ability to form spheroids using the Hanging Drop method and the response to chemotherapy at different concentrations using the MTT Assay. By STRING analysis, interactions within the enzymes of the hyaluronic acid system and with binding partners were visualized.

Results

HAS1, HYAL1 and HYAL4 mRNA expression is significantly upregulated, whereas HAS2, HYAL2 and HYAL3 mRNA expression is significantly downregulated in ovarian cancer tissue compared to controls. HAS2 improves cell viability, the capability to form tumour spheroids and has a negative prognostic value regarding overall survival. Lower HAS2 expression and high expression of HYAL2 and HYAL3 favours the survival of ovarian cancer patients. HAS2 knockdown cells and control cells showed a moderate response to combinatorial in vitro chemotherapy with taxol and cisplatin.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our study shows that the hyaluronic acid system has a relevant influence on the survival of ovarian cancer patients and could therefore be considered as a possible prognostic factor.

Modulation of hyaluronan synthases and involvement of T cell-derived hyaluronan in autoimmune responses to transplanted islets

The extracellular matrix glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan (HA) accumulates in human and mouse islets during the onset of autoimmune type 1 diabetes (T1D). HA plays a critical role in T1D pathogenesis, as spontaneous disease is blocked in mice fed the HA synthesis inhibitor 4-methylumbelliferone (4MU). The present study demonstrates the involvement of HA in T cell-mediated autoimmune responses to transplanted islets and in in vivo and in vitro T cell activation. Scaffolded islet implants (SIs) loaded with RIP-mOVA mouse islets expressing chicken ovalbumin (OVA) on their β cells were grafted into T and B cell-deficient RIP-mOVA mice, which subsequently received CD4⁺ T cells from DO11.10 transgenic mice bearing OVA peptide-specific T cell receptors (TcRs), followed by injection of OVA peptide to induce an immune response to the OVA-expressing islets. By affinity histochemistry (AHC), HA was greatly increased in grafted islets with T cell infiltrates (compared to islets grafted into mice lacking T cells) and a portion of this HA co-localized with the infiltrating T cells. Transferred T cells underwent HA synthase (HAS) isoform switching – T cells isolated from the SI grafts strongly upregulated HAS1 and HAS2 mRNAs and downregulated HAS3 mRNA, in contrast to T cells from graft-draining mesenteric lymph nodes, which expressed HAS3 mRNA only. Expression of HAS1 and HAS2 proteins by T cells in SI infiltrates was confirmed by immunohistochemistry (IHC). DO11.10 mice fed 4MU had suppressed in vivo T cell immune priming (measured as a reduced recall response to OVA peptide) compared to T cells from control mice fed a normal diet. In co-cultures of naïve DO11.10 T cells and OVA peptide-loaded antigen-presenting cells (APCs), pre-exposure of the T cells (but not pre-exposure of APCs) to 4MU inhibited early T cell activation (CD69 expression). In addition, T cells exposed to 4MU during activation in vitro with anti-CD3/CD28 antibodies had inhibited phosphorylation of the CD3ζ subunit of the TcR, a very early event in TcR signaling. Collectively, our results demonstrate that T cell-derived HA plays a significant role in T cell immune responses, and that expression of T cell HAS isoforms changes in a locale-specific manner during in vivo priming and functional phases of the T cell response.

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T cell infiltration of transplanted islets resulted in increased HA in the islets.

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Some of the HA in T cell-infiltrated islets was directly associated with T cells.

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T cells from SIs vs. MLNs differentially expressed mRNA for HAS isoforms 1–3.

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4MU suppressed T cell activation and increased the proportion of Tregs in vivo.

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Exposure of T cells to 4MU inhibited their activation by APCs or mAbs in vitro.

Adenosine and hyaluronan promote lung fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension in combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema

Combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) is a syndrome that predominantly affects male smokers or ex-smokers and it has a mortality rate of 55% and a median survival of 5 years. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a frequently fatal complication of CPFE. Despite this dismal prognosis, no curative therapies exist for patients with CPFE outside of lung transplantation and no therapies are recommended to treat PH. This highlights the need to develop novel treatment approaches for CPFE. Studies from our group have demonstrated that both adenosine and its receptor ADORA2B are elevated in chronic lung diseases. Activation of ADORA2B leads to elevated levels of hyaluronan synthases (HAS) and increased hyaluronan, a glycosaminoglycan that contributes to chronic lung injury. We hypothesize that ADORA2B and hyaluronan contribute to CPFE. Using isolated CPFE lung tissue, we characterized expression levels of ADORA2B and HAS. Next, using a unique mouse model of experimental lung injury that replicates features of CPFE, namely airspace enlargement, PH and fibrotic deposition, we investigated whether 4MU, a HAS inhibitor, was able to inhibit features of CPFE. Increased protein levels of ADORA2B and HAS3 were detected in CPFE and in our experimental model of CPFE. Treatment with 4MU was able to attenuate PH and fibrosis but not airspace enlargement. This was accompanied by a reduction of HAS3-positive macrophages. We have generated pre-clinical data demonstrating the capacity of 4MU, an FDA-approved drug, to attenuate features of CPFE in an experimental model of chronic lung injury.

This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper.

Summary: Fibrotic deposition and PH are inhibited by the FDA-approved drug hymecromone, suggesting hyaluronan synthesis inhibition as a potential therapy for CPFE and highlighting a novel mechanism through HAS3-positive macrophages.

Deficiency of hyaluronan synthase 1 (Has1) results in chronic joint inflammation and widespread intra-articular fibrosis in a murine model of knee joint cartilage damage

OBJECTIVE

Articular cartilage defects commonly result from traumatic injury and predispose to degenerative joint diseases. To test the hypothesis that aberrant healing responses and chronic inflammation lead to osteoarthritis (OA), we examined spatiotemporal changes in joint tissues after cartilage injury in murine knees. Since intra-articular injection of hyaluronan (HA) can attenuate injury-induced osteoarthritis in wild-type (WT) mice, we investigated a role for HA in the response to cartilage injury in mice lacking HA synthase 1 (Has1(-/-)).

DESIGN

Femoral groove cartilage of WT and Has1(-/-) mice was debrided to generate a non-bleeding wound. Macroscopic imaging, histology, and gene expression were used to evaluate naïve, sham-operated, and injured joints.

RESULTS

Acute responses (1-2 weeks) in injured joints from WT mice included synovial hyperplasia with HA deposition and joint-wide increases in expression of genes associated with inflammation, fibrosis, and extracellular matrix (ECM) production. By 4 weeks, some resurfacing of damaged cartilage occurred, and early cell responses were normalized. Cartilage damage in Has1(-/-) mice also induced early responses; however, at 4 weeks, inflammation and fibrosis genes remained elevated with widespread cartilage degeneration and fibrotic scarring in the synovium and joint capsule.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that the ineffective repair of injured cartilage in Has1(-/-) joints can be at least partly explained by the markedly enhanced expression of particular genes in pathways linked to ECM turnover, IL-17/IL-6 cytokine signaling, and apoptosis. Notably, Has1 ablation does not alter gross HA content in the ECM, suggesting that HAS1 has a unique function in the metabolism of inflammatory HA matrices.

The reciprocal association between mammographic breast density, hyaluronan synthesis and patient outcome

Low mammographic breast density (MBD) and increased hyaluronan (HA) synthesis have been shown to have adverse effects on breast cancer prognosis. We aimed at elucidating the background of risk associated with mammographic characteristics, MBD and HA and its synthesizing isoforms in an attempt to uncover potential underlying biological mechanisms. MBD and mammographic characteristics of 270 patients were classified according to percentile density (very low density VLD, ≤25 %; mixed density MID, >25 %) and the BI-RADS 5th edition lexicon. Breast density and mammographic features were correlated with the localization and expression of HA, CD44, and HAS1-3 isoforms, and their combined effect on patients' survivals was explored. VLD showed an increased level of HA-positive carcinoma cells and stromal HA, HAS2, and HAS3. Tumors presenting as masses had more HA-positive carcinoma cells and more stromal HAS2 and HAS3. Indistinct margin tumors showed more stromal HA and HAS3. Patients who combined both VLD breasts with either high HA in carcinoma cells or stroma showed a worse prognosis compared to low levels (carcinoma cells 58.0 vs. 80.5 %, p = 0.001; stroma 64.2 vs. 79.6 %, p = 0.017), while no similar HA-related effect was observed in MID breasts. Our findings suggest a strong reciprocal relationship between low MBD and HA expression and synthesis. The expression of both factors simultaneously leads to an especially adverse prognostic effect which might have an impact on treatment decision in the future. Moreover, HA around cancer cells may inhibit chemotherapy agents and antibody treatments from reaching cancer cells.

The dynamic metabolism of hyaluronan regulates the cytosolic concentration of UDP-GlcNAc

Hyaluronan, a macromolecular glycosaminoglycan, is normally synthesized by hyaluronan synthases at the plasma membrane using cytosolic UDP-GlcUA and UDP-GlcNAc substrates and extruding the elongating chain into the extracellular space. The cellular metabolism (synthesis and catabolism) of hyaluronan is dynamic. UDP-GlcNAc is also the substrate for O-GlcNAc transferase, which is central to the control of many cytosolic pathways. This Perspective outlines recent data for regulation of hyaluronan synthesis and catabolism that support a model that hyaluronan metabolism can be a rheostat for controlling an acceptable normal range of cytosolic UDP-GlcNAc concentrations in order to maintain normal cell functions.