The clinical utility of histone/protein deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors (HDACi’s) in combinatorial regimens with proteasome inhibitors for patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (MM) is limited often by excessive toxicity due to HDACi promiscuity with multiple HDACs. Therefore, more selective inhibition minimizing off-target toxicity may increase the clinical effectiveness of HDACi’s. We demonstrate that both plasma cell (PC) development and survival are dependent upon HDAC11, suggesting this enzyme is a promising therapeutic target in MM. Mice lacking HDAC11 exhibited markedly decreased PC numbers. Accordingly, in vitro PC differentiation was arrested in B cells lacking functional HDAC11. Mechanistically, we show that HDAC11 is involved in the deacetylation of IRF4 at lysine103. Further, targeting HDAC11 led to IRF4 hyperacetylation resulting in impaired IRF4 nuclear localization and target promoter binding. Importantly, transient HDAC11 knockdown or treatment with elevenostat, an HDAC11-selective inhibitor, induced cell death in MM cell lines. Elevenostat produced similar anti-MM activity in vivo, improving survival among mice inoculated with 5TGM1 MM cells. Elevenostat demonstrated nanomolar ex vivo activity in 34 MM patient specimens and synergistic activity when combined with bortezomib. Collectively, our data indicate that HDAC11 is an emerging therapeutic vulnerability in MM by targeting an essential pathway in PC biology.
AGM Mostofa, Allison Distler, Mark B. Meads, Eva Sahakian, John J. Powers, Alexandra Achille, David Noyes, Gabriela Wright, Bin Fang, Victoria Izumi, John Koomen, Rupal Rampakrishnan, Tuan P. Nguyen, Gabriel De Avila, Ariosto S. Silva, Praneeth Sudalagunta, Rafael Renatino Canevarolo, Maria D. Coelho Siqueira Silva, Raghunandan Reddy Alugubelli, Hongyue A. Dai, Amit Kulkarni, William S. Dalton, Oliver A. Hampton, Eric A. Welsh, Jamie K. Teer, Alexandre Tungesvik, Kenneth L. Wright, Javier Pinilla-Ibarz, Eduardo M. Sotomayor, Kenneth H. Shain, Jason Brayer
CPVL (Carboxypeptidase, vitellogenic-like) is a serine carboxypeptidase which was first characterized in human macrophages. However, the function of CPVL remains unclear in a variety of tumors. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays were utilized to measure the CPVL expression. CPVL was significantly upregulated in glioma cells and tissues compared to normal cells and tissues, respectively. Moreover, high CPVL expression was correlated with advanced clinical grade and poor prognosis. Silencing of CPVL promoted glioma cell apoptosis, inhibited cell proliferation and tumorigenicity in vitro and in vivo. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) demonstrated that CPVL silencing activated the IFN-γ/STAT1 signaling pathway, thereby inducing glioma cell apoptosis. Mechnistically, immunopurification, mass spectrometry, immunoprecipitation (IP), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) pull-down experiments elucidated that CPVL physically interacts with Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) and downregulates the STAT1 phosphorylation through promoting p300-mediated STAT1 acetylation. For the first time, our findings revealed the crucial role of CPVL in promoting the progression of glioma through suppressing STAT1 phosphorylation. CPVL might serve as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for the treatment of glioma.
Hui Yang, Xiaocen Liu, Xiaolong Zhu, Xueqin Li, Lan Jiang, Min Zhong, Mengying Zhang, Tianbing Chen, Mingzhe Ma, Xiuming Liang, Kun Lv
Synthetic immunosuppressive glucocorticoids (GCs) are widely used to control inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, the impact of GC signaling on intestinal tumorigenesis remains controversial. Here, we report that intestinal epithelial glucocorticoid receptor (GR), but not whole intestinal tissue GR, promotes chronic intestinal inflammation-associated colorectal cancer in both humans and mice. In colorectal cancer patients, GR is enriched in intestinal epithelial cells and high epithelial GR is associated with poor prognosis. Consistently, intestinal epithelium-specific deletion of GR (GR iKO) in mice increases macrophage infiltration, improves tissue recovery, and enhances anti-tumor response in a chronic inflammation-associated colorectal cancer model. Consequently, GR iKO mice develop fewer and less advanced tumors than control mice. Furthermore, oral GC administration in the early-phase of tissue injury delays recovery and accelerates the formation of aggressive colorectal cancers. Our study reveals that intestinal epithelial GR signaling represses acute colitis but promotes chronic inflammation-associated colorectal cancer, and suggests that colorectal epithelial GR could serve as a predictive marker for colorectal cancer risk and prognosis. Our findings further suggest that although synthetic glucocorticoid treatment for IBD should be used with caution, there is a therapeutic window for glucocorticoid therapy during colorectal cancer development in immunocompetent patients.
Shuang Tang, Zhan Zhang, Robert H. Oakley, Wenling Li, Weijing He, Xiaojiang Xu, Ming Ji, Qing Xu, Liang Chen, Alicia S. Wellman, Qingguo Li, Leping Li, Jian-Liang Li, Xinxiang Li, John A. Cidlowski, Xiaoling Li
BACKGROUND. Although aberrant glycosylation is recognized as a hallmark of cancer, glycosylation in clinical breast cancer (BC) metastasis has not yet been studied. While preclinical studies show that the glycocalyx coating of cancer cells is involved in adhesion, migration, and metastasis, glycosylation changes from primary tumor (PT) to various metastatic sites remain unknown in patients. METHODS. We investigated N-glycosylation profiles in 17 metastatic BC patients from our rapid autopsy program. Primary breast tumor, lymph node metastases, multiple systemic metastases, and various normal tissue cores from each patient were arranged on unique single-patient tissue microarrays (TMAs). We performed mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) combined with extensive pathology annotation of these TMAs, which enabled spatially differentiated cell-based analysis of N-glycosylation patterns in metastatic BC. RESULTS. N-glycan abundance increased during metastatic progression independent of BC subtype and treatment regimen, with high-mannose glycans most frequently elevated in BC metastases, followed by fucosylated and complex glycans. Bone metastasis, however, displayed increased core-fucosylation and decreased high-mannose glycans. Consistently, N-glycosylated proteins and N-glycan biosynthesis genes were differentially expressed during metastatic BC progression, with reduced expression of EpCAM and mannose-trimming enzymes and elevated N-glycan branching and sialylation enzymes in BC metastases versus PT. CONCLUSION. We show for the first time in patients that N-glycosylation of breast cancer cells undergoing metastasis occurs in a metastatic site-specific manner, supporting the clinical importance of high-mannose, fucosylated, and complex N-glycans as future diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets in metastatic BC. FUNDING. United States National Institutes of Health grants NIH R01CA213428, R01CA213492, T32CA193145, Dutch Province Limburg “LINK”, European Union ERA-NET TRANSCAN2-643638.
Klára Ščupáková, Oluwatobi T. Adelaja, Benjamin Balluff, Vinay Ayyappan, Caitlin M. Tressler, Nicole M. Jenkinson, Britt S.R. Claes, Andrew P. Bowman, Ashley M. Cimino-Mathews, Marissa J. White, Pedram Argani, Ron M.A. Heeren, Kristine Glunde
Hypoxia is associated with tumor radioresistance; therefore, a predictive marker for tumor hypoxia and a rational target to overcome it have been sought to realize personalized radiotherapy. Here, we show that serine protease inhibitor Kazal type I (SPINK1) meets these 2 criteria. SPINK1 expression was induced upon hypoxia (O2 < 0.1%) at the transcription initiation level in a HIF-dependent manner, causing an increase in secreted SPINK1 levels. SPINK1 proteins were detected both within and around hypoxic regions of xenografted and clinical tumor tissues, and their plasma levels increased in response to decreased oxygen supply to xenografts. Secreted SPINK1 proteins enhanced radioresistance of cancer cells even under normoxic conditions in EGFR-dependent and nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2–dependent (Nrf2-dependent) manners and accelerated tumor growth after radiotherapy. An anti-SPINK1 neutralizing antibody exhibited a radiosensitizing effect. These results suggest that SPINK1 secreted from hypoxic cells protects the surrounding and relatively oxygenated cancer cells from radiation in a paracrine manner, justifying the use of SPINK1 as a target for radiosensitization and a plasma marker for predicting tumor hypoxia.
Tatsuya Suwa, Minoru Kobayashi, Yukari Shirai, Jin-Min Nam, Yoshiaki Tabuchi, Norihiko Takeda, Shusuke Akamatsu, Osamu Ogawa, Takashi Mizowaki, Ester M. Hammond, Hiroshi Harada
Only a subset of cancer patients responds to checkpoint blockade inhibition in the clinic. Strategies to overcome resistance are promising areas of investigation. Targeting glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor–related protein (GITR) has shown efficacy in preclinical models, but GITR engagement is ineffective in controlling advanced, poorly immunogenic tumors, such as B16 melanoma, and has not yielded benefit in clinical trials. The alkylating agent cyclophosphamide (CTX) depletes regulatory T cells (Tregs), expands tumor-specific effector T cells (Teffs) via homeostatic proliferation, and induces immunogenic cell death. GITR agonism has an inhibitory effect on Tregs and activates Teffs. We therefore hypothesized that CTX and GITR agonism would promote effective antitumor immunity. Here we show that the combination of CTX and GITR agonism controlled tumor growth in clinically relevant mouse models. Mechanistically, we show that the combination therapy caused tumor cell death, clonal expansion of highly active CD8+ T cells, and depletion of Tregs by activation-induced cell death. Control of tumor growth was associated with the presence of an expanded population of highly activated, tumor-infiltrating, oligoclonal CD8+ T cells that led to a diminished TCR repertoire. Our studies show that the combination of CTX and GITR agonism is a rational chemoimmunotherapeutic approach that warrants further clinical investigation.
Daniel Hirschhorn, Allison Betof Warner, Rachana Maniyar, Andrew Chow, Levi M.B. Mangarin, Adam D. Cohen, Linda Hamadene, Gabrielle A. Rizzuto, Sadna Budhu, Nathan Suek, Cailian Liu, Alan N. Houghton, Taha Merghoub, Jedd D. Wolchok
Medulloblastoma (MB), one of the most malignant brain tumors of childhood, comprises distinct molecular subgroups, with p53 mutant sonic hedgehog (SHH)-activated MB patients having a very severe outcome that is associated with unfavorable histological large cell/anaplastic (LC/A) features. To identify the molecular underpinnings of this phenotype, we analyzed a large cohort of MBs developing in p53-deficient Ptch+/- SHH mice that, unexpectedly, showed LC/A traits that correlated with mechanistic Target Of Rapamycin Complex 1 (mTORC1) hyperactivation. Mechanistically, mTORC1 hyperactivation was mediated by a decrease in the p53-dependent expression of mTORC1 negative regulator Tsc2. Ectopic mTORC1 activation in mouse MB cancer stem cells (CSCs) promoted the in vivo acquisition of LC/A features and increased malignancy; accordingly, mTORC1 inhibition in p53-mutant Ptch+/- SHH MBs and CSC-derived MBs resulted in reduced tumor burden and aggressiveness. Most remarkably, mTORC1 hyperactivation was detected only in p53-mutant SHH MB patients’ samples and treatment with rapamycin of a human preclinical model phenocopying this subgroup decreased tumor growth and malignancy. Thus, mTORC1 may act as a specific druggable target for this subset of SHH MB, resulting in the implementation of a stringent risk stratification and in the potentially rapid translation of this precision medicine approach into the clinical setting.
Valentina Conti, Manuela Cominelli, Valentina Pieri, Alberto L. Gallotti, Ilaria Pagano, Matteo Zanella, Stefania Mazzoleni, Flavia Pivetta, Monica Patanè, Giulia M. Scotti, Ignazio S. Piras, Bianca Pollo, Andrea Falini, Alessio Zippo, Antonella Castellano, Roberta Maestro, Pietro L. Poliani, Rossella Galli
Angiogenesis, a hallmark of cancer, is induced by vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF). As a result, anti-VEGF therapy is commonly employed for cancer treatment. Recent studies have found that VEGF expression is also associated with immune suppression in cancer patients. This connection has been investigated in preclinical and clinical studies by evaluating the therapeutic effect of combining anti-angiogenic reagents with immune therapy. However, the mechanisms of how anti-VEGF strategies enhance immune therapy are not fully understood. We and others have shown selective elevation of VEGFR2 expression on tumor-associated myeloid cells in tumor-bearing animals. Here we investigated the function of VEGFR2+ myeloid cells in regulating tumor immunity and found VEGF induces an immunosuppressive phenotype in VEGFR2+ myeloid cells including directly upregulating the expression of programmed cell death 1-ligand 1 (PD-L1). Moreover, we found that VEGF blockade inhibits the immunosuppressive phenotype of VEGFR2+ myeloid cells, increases T cell activation and enhances the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade. This study highlights the function of VEGFR2 on myeloid cells and provides mechanistic insight on how VEGF inhibition potentiates immune checkpoint blockade.
Yuqing Zhang, Huocong Huang, Morgan Coleman, Arturas Ziemys, Purva Gopal, Syed M. Kazmi, Rolf A. Brekken
Sarcomas contain a subpopulation of tumor propagating cells (TPCs) with enhanced tumor-initiating and self-renewal properties. However, it is unclear whether the TPC phenotype in sarcomas is stable or a dynamic cell state that can derive from non-tumor propagating cells (non-TPCs). In this study, we utilized a mouse model of undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) to trace the lineage relationship between sarcoma side population (SP) cells that are enriched for TPCs and non-side population (non-SP) cells. By co-transplanting SP and non-SP cells expressing different endogenous fluorescent reporters, we show that non-SP cells can give rise to SP cells with enhanced tumor propagating potential in-vivo. Lineage trajectory analysis using single-cell RNA sequencing from SP and non-SP cells supports the notion that non-SP cells can assume the SP cell phenotype de novo. To test the effect of eradicating SP cells on tumor growth and self-renewal, we generated mouse sarcomas in which the Diphtheria Toxin Receptor (DTR) is expressed in the SP cells and their progeny. Ablation of the SP population using diphtheria toxin (DT) did not impede tumor growth or self-renewal. Together, we show that sarcoma SP is a dynamic cell state and targeting TPCs alone is insufficient to eliminate tumor progression.
Yuning Jackie Tang, Vijitha Puviindran, Yu Xiang, Yasuhito Yahara, Hongyuan Zhang, Puviindran Nadesan, Yarui Diao, David G. Kirsch, Benjamin A. Alman
BACKGROUND. Childhood cancer survivors who received abdominal radiotherapy (RT) or total body irradiation (TBI) are at increased risk for cardiometabolic disease, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. We hypothesize that RT-induced adipose tissue dysfunction contributes to the development of cardiometabolic disease in the expanding population of childhood cancer survivors. METHODS. We performed clinical metabolic profiling of adult childhood cancer survivors previously exposed to TBI, abdominal RT, or chemotherapy alone, alongside a group of healthy controls. Study participants underwent abdominal subcutaneous adipose biopsies to obtain tissue for bulk RNA-sequencing. Transcriptional signatures were analyzed using pathway and network analyses and cellular deconvolution. RESULTS. Irradiated adipose tissue is characterized by a gene expression signature indicative of a complex macrophage expansion. This signature includes activation of the TREM2-TYROBP network, a pathway described in diseases of chronic tissue injury. Radiation exposure of adipose is further associated with dysregulated adipokine secretion, specifically a decrease in insulin-sensitizing adiponectin and an increase in insulin resistance-promoting plasminogen activator inhibitor-1. Accordingly, survivors exhibiting these changes have early signs of clinical metabolic derangement such as increased fasting glucose and hemoglobin A1c. CONCLUSION. Childhood cancer survivors exposed to abdominal RT or TBI during treatment exhibit signs of chronic subcutaneous adipose tissue dysfunction, manifested as dysregulated adipokine secretion that may negatively impact their systemic metabolic health. FUNDING. Rockefeller University Hospital; National Institute of General Medical Sciences (T32GM007739); National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (UL1TR001866); National Cancer Institute (P30CA008748); American Cancer Society (133831-CSDG-19-117-01-CPHPS); American Diabetes Association (1-17-ACE-17); anonymous donor (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center).
Xiaojing Huang, Olivia A. Maguire, Jeanne M. Walker, Caroline S. Jiang, Thomas S. Carroll, Ji-Dung Luo, Emily Tonorezos, Danielle Novetsky Friedman, Paul Cohen
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