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Sun YM, Wu Y, Li GX, Liang HF, Yong TY, Li Z, Zhang B, Chen XP, Jin GN, Ding ZY. TGF-β downstream of Smad3 and MAPK signaling antagonistically regulate the viability and partial epithelial-mesenchymal transition of liver progenitor cells. Aging (Albany NY) 2024; 16:6588-6612. [PMID: 38604156 PMCID: PMC11042936 DOI: 10.18632/aging.205725] [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: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Liver progenitor cells (LPCs) are a subpopulation of cells that contribute to liver regeneration, fibrosis and liver cancer initiation under different circumstances. RESULTS By performing adenoviral-mediated transfection, CCK-8 analyses, F-actin staining, transwell analyses, luciferase reporter analyses and Western blotting, we observed that TGF-β promoted cytostasis and partial epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in LPCs. In addition, we confirmed that TGF-β activated the Smad and MAPK pathways, including the Erk, JNK and p38 MAPK signaling pathways, and revealed that TGFβ-Smad signaling induced growth inhibition and partial EMT, whereas TGFβ-MAPK signaling had the opposite effects on LPCs. We further found that the activity of Smad and MAPK signaling downstream of TGF-β was mutually restricted in LPCs. Mechanistically, we found that TGF-β activated Smad signaling through serine phosphorylation of both the C-terminal and linker regions of Smad2 and 3 in LPCs. Additionally, TGFβ-MAPK signaling inhibited the phosphorylation of Smad3 but not Smad2 at the C-terminus, and it reinforced the linker phosphorylation of Smad3 at T179 and S213. We then found that overexpression of mutated Smad3 at linker phosphorylation sites intensifies TGF-β-induced cytostasis and EMT, mimicking the effects of MAPK inhibition in LPCs, whereas mutation of Smad3 at the C-terminus caused LPCs to blunt TGF-β-induced cytostasis and partial EMT. CONCLUSION These results suggested that TGF-β downstream of Smad3 and MAPK signaling were mutually antagonistic in regulating the viability and partial EMT of LPCs. This antagonism may help LPCs overcome the cytostatic effect of TGF-β under fibrotic conditions and maintain partial EMT and progenitor phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Min Sun
- Hepatic Surgery Center, Hubei Province for The Clinical Medicine Research Center of Hepatic Surgery and Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepatic-Biliary-Pancreatic Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
- Present address: Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Affiliated First Hospital, Yangtze University, Jingzhou, Hubei 434000, China
| | - Yu Wu
- Hepatic Surgery Center, Hubei Province for The Clinical Medicine Research Center of Hepatic Surgery and Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepatic-Biliary-Pancreatic Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
| | - Gan-Xun Li
- Hepatic Surgery Center, Hubei Province for The Clinical Medicine Research Center of Hepatic Surgery and Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepatic-Biliary-Pancreatic Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
| | - Hui-Fang Liang
- Hepatic Surgery Center, Hubei Province for The Clinical Medicine Research Center of Hepatic Surgery and Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepatic-Biliary-Pancreatic Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
| | - Tu-Ying Yong
- National Engineering Research Center for Nanomedicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Zifu Li
- National Engineering Research Center for Nanomedicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430071, China
| | - Bixiang Zhang
- Hepatic Surgery Center, Hubei Province for The Clinical Medicine Research Center of Hepatic Surgery and Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepatic-Biliary-Pancreatic Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
| | - Xiao-Ping Chen
- Hepatic Surgery Center, Hubei Province for The Clinical Medicine Research Center of Hepatic Surgery and Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepatic-Biliary-Pancreatic Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
| | - Guan-Nan Jin
- Hepatic Surgery Center, Hubei Province for The Clinical Medicine Research Center of Hepatic Surgery and Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepatic-Biliary-Pancreatic Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
- Present address: Department of Nephrology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
| | - Ze-Yang Ding
- Hepatic Surgery Center, Hubei Province for The Clinical Medicine Research Center of Hepatic Surgery and Hubei Key Laboratory of Hepatic-Biliary-Pancreatic Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
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Federspiel J, Greier MDC, Ladányi A, Dudas J. p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Inhibition of Mesenchymal Transdifferentiated Tumor Cells in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Biomedicines 2023; 11:3301. [PMID: 38137525 PMCID: PMC10741606 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11123301] [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: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
High mortality in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is due to recurrence, metastasis, and radiochemotherapy (RCT) resistance. These phenomena are related to the tumor cell subpopulation undergoing partial epithelial to mesenchymal transition (pEMT). Repeated transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta-1) treatment via the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) signaling pathway induces pEMT in SCC-25 HNSCC cells, and activates and stabilizes the pro-EMT transcription factor Slug. We investigated the growth inhibitory, cisplatin-sensitizing, and pro-apoptotic effects of p38 MAPK inhibition in cisplatin-resistant (SCC-25) and -sensitive (UPCI-SCC090) HNSCC cell lines, using two specific p38 MAPK inhibitors, SB202190 and ralimetinib. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay; cell cycle distribution and cell death were evaluated by flow cytometry; p38 MAPK phosphorylation, Slug protein stabilization, and p38 MAPK downstream targets were investigated by Western blot. p-p38 inhibitors achieved sustained phosphorylation of p38 MAPK (Thr180/Tyr182) and inhibition of its function, which resulted in decreased phosphorylation (Thr69/71) of the downstream target pATF2 in pEMT cells. Subsequently, the p-p38 inhibition resulted in reduced Slug protein levels. In accordance, p-p38 inhibition led to sensitization of pEMT cells to cisplatin-induced cell death; moreover, p-p38 inhibitor treatment cycles significantly decreased the viability of cisplatin-surviving cells. In conclusion, clinically relevant p38 inhibitors might be effective for RCT-resistant pEMT cells in HNSCC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Federspiel
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria and University Hospital of Tyrol, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria; (J.F.); (M.d.C.G.)
| | - Maria do Carmo Greier
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria and University Hospital of Tyrol, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria; (J.F.); (M.d.C.G.)
| | - Andrea Ladányi
- Department of Surgical and Molecular Pathology and the National Tumor Biology Laboratory, National Institute of Oncology, 1122 Budapest, Hungary;
| | - Jozsef Dudas
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria and University Hospital of Tyrol, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria; (J.F.); (M.d.C.G.)
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Okuyama K, Suzuki K, Yanamoto S. Relationship between Tumor Budding and Partial Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Head and Neck Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15041111. [PMID: 36831453 PMCID: PMC9953904 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15041111] [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] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 02/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Tumor budding (TB), a microscopic finding in the stroma ahead of the invasive fronts of tumors, has been well investigated and reported as a prognostic marker in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a crucial step in tumor progression and metastasis, and its status cannot be distinguished from TB. The current understanding of partial EMT (p-EMT), the so-called halfway step of EMT, focuses on the tumor microenvironment (TME). Although this evidence has been investigated, the clinicopathological and biological relationship between TB and p-EMT remains debatable. At the invasion front, previous research suggested that cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are important for tumor progression, metastasis, p-EMT, and TB formation in the TME. Although there is biological evidence of TB drivers, no report has focused on their organized functional relationships. Understanding the mechanism of TB onset and the relationship between p-EMTs may facilitate the development of novel diagnostic and prognostic methods, and targeted therapies for the prevention of metastasis in epithelial cancer. Thus far, major pieces of evidence have been established from colorectal cancer (CRC), due to a large number of patients with the disease. Herein, we review the current understanding of p-EMT and TME dynamics and discuss the relationship between TB development and p-EMT, focusing on CAFs, hypoxia, tumor-associated macrophages, laminin-integrin crosstalk, membrane stiffness, enzymes, and viral infections in cancers, and clarify the gap of evidence between HNSCC and CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kohei Okuyama
- Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, 1011 North University Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
- University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, 1600 Huron Pathway, Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgical Oncology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45, Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8510, Japan
- Correspondence: or
| | - Keiji Suzuki
- Department of Radiation Medical Sciences, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University, 1-12-4, Sakamoto, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
| | - Souichi Yanamoto
- Department of Oral Oncology, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3, Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan
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Huynh NC, Huang TT, Nguyen CT, Lin FK. Comprehensive Integrated Single-Cell Whole Transcriptome Analysis Revealed the p-EMT Tumor Cells-CAFs Communication in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:6470. [PMID: 35742914 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23126470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and partial epithelial–mesenchymal transition (p-EMT) tumor cells are closed together and contribute to the tumor progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). In the present study, we deeply analyzed and integrated OSCC single-cell RNA sequencing datasets to define OSCC CAFs and p-EMT subpopulations. We highlighted the cell–cell interaction network of CAFs and p-EMT tumor cells and suggested biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of OSCC during the metastasis condition. The analysis discovered four subtypes of CAFs: one p-EMT tumor cell population, and cycling tumor cells as well as TNFSF12-TNFRSF25/TNFRSF12A interactions between CAFs and p-EMT tumor cells during tumor metastasis. This suggests the prediction of therapeutically targetable checkpoint receptor–ligand interactions between CAFs and p-EMT tumor cells in OSCC regarding the metastasis status.
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