bims-cabrim 2022-07-31 papers

bims-cabrim

Biomed News

on Cancer-brain interactions: molecular mechanisms

Issue of 2022‒07‒31
thirteen papers selected by
Bojana Milutinovic
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Synaptic components are required for glioblastoma progression in Drosophila.
CD95 gene deletion may reduce clonogenic growth and invasiveness of human glioblastoma cells in a CD95 ligand-independent manner.
NCAPG2 Is a Novel Prognostic Biomarker and Promotes Cancer Stem Cell Maintenance in Low-Grade Glioma.
Transcription factor network analysis identifies REST/NRSF as an intrinsic regulator of CNS regeneration in mice.
The Role of SliTrk5 in Central Nervous System.
[Latest Research Findings on the Role of Non-Tumor Cells in Glioma Microenvironment].
JUN Regulation of Injury-induced Enhancers in Schwann Cells.
Transforming growth factor-β1 protects against LPC-induced cognitive deficit by attenuating pyroptosis of microglia via NF-κB/ERK1/2 pathways.
Phloretin enhances autophagy by impairing AKT activation and inducing JNK-Beclin-1 pathway activation.
Protocadherin Gamma C3 (PCDHGC3) Is Strongly Expressed in Glioblastoma and Its High Expression Is Associated with Longer Progression-Free Survival of Patients.
Identification of Candidate Genes Associated With Prognosis in Glioblastoma.
A patient-designed tissue-engineered model of the infiltrative glioblastoma microenvironment.
Ubiquitin-Specific Protease 6 n-Terminal-like Protein (USP6NL) and the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Signaling Axis Regulates Ubiquitin-Mediated DNA Repair and Temozolomide-Resistance in Glioblastoma.

PLoS Genet. 2022 Jul 25. 18(7): e1010329

Synaptic components are required for glioblastoma progression in Drosophila.

María Losada-Pérez, Mamen Hernández García-Moreno, Irene García-Ricote, Sergio Casas-Tintó.

Glioblastoma (GB) is the most aggressive, lethal and frequent primary brain tumor. It originates from glial cells and is characterized by rapid expansion through infiltration. GB cells interact with the microenvironment and healthy surrounding tissues, mostly neurons and vessels. GB cells project tumor microtubes (TMs) contact with neurons, and exchange signaling molecules related to Wingless/WNT, JNK, Insulin or Neuroligin-3 pathways. This cell to cell communication promotes GB expansion and neurodegeneration. Moreover, healthy neurons form glutamatergic functional synapses with GB cells which facilitate GB expansion and premature death in mouse GB xerograph models. Targeting signaling and synaptic components of GB progression may become a suitable strategy against glioblastoma. In a Drosophila GB model, we have determined the post-synaptic nature of GB cells with respect to neurons, and the contribution of post-synaptic genes expressed in GB cells to tumor progression. In addition, we document the presence of intratumoral synapses between GB cells, and the functional contribution of pre-synaptic genes to GB calcium dependent activity and expansion. Finally, we explore the relevance of synaptic genes in GB cells to the lifespan reduction caused by GB advance. Our results indicate that both presynaptic and postsynaptic proteins play a role in GB progression and lethality.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1010329
Cell Death Discov. 2022 Jul 29. 8(1): 341

CD95 gene deletion may reduce clonogenic growth and invasiveness of human glioblastoma cells in a CD95 ligand-independent manner.

Clara Quijano-Rubio, Manuela Silginer, Michael Weller.

CD95 (Fas/APO-1) is a multifunctional cell surface receptor with antithetic roles. First described to mediate cell death, interactions of CD95 with its natural ligand, CD95L, have also been described to induce tumor-promoting signaling leading to proliferation, invasion and stem cell maintenance, mainly in cancer cells that are resistant to CD95-mediated apoptosis. While activation of CD95-mediated apoptosis in cancer cells may not be clinically practicable due to toxicity, inhibition of tumor-promoting CD95 signaling holds therapeutic potential. In the present study, we characterized CD95 and CD95L expression in human glioma-initiating cells (GIC), a glioblastoma cell population with stem cell features, and investigated the consequences of CRISPR-Cas9-mediated CD95 or CD95L gene deletion. In vitro, GIC expressed CD95 but not CD95L and were sensitive to CD95-mediated apoptosis. Upon genetic deletion of CD95, GIC acquired resistance to CD95L-induced apoptosis but exhibited inferior clonogenic growth, sphere-forming capacity, and invasiveness compared with control cells, suggesting the existence of CD95L-independent constitutive CD95 signaling with tumor-promoting properties in GIC. In vivo, GIC expressed CD95 and a non-canonical form of CD95L lacking the CD95-binding region. CD95 genetic deletion did not prolong survival in immunocompromised GIC-bearing mice. Altogether, these data indicate that canonical CD95L may not be expressed in human GIC and suggest the existence of a CD95L-independent CD95-signaling pathway that maintains some malignancy traits of GIC. The lack of altered survival of tumor-bearing mice after genetic deletion of CD95 suggests that CD95 signaling is not essential to maintain the growth of human GIC xenografted into the brains of nude mice. The ligand-independent tumor-promoting role of constitutive CD95 in our GIC models in vitro highlights the complexity and challenges associated with targeting CD95 with therapeutic intent.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41420-022-01133-y
Front Oncol. 2022 ;12 918606

NCAPG2 Is a Novel Prognostic Biomarker and Promotes Cancer Stem Cell Maintenance in Low-Grade Glioma.

Wenjun Ren, Shu Yang, Xi Chen, Jishu Guo, Heng Zhao, Ruihan Yang, Zhi Nie, Li Ding, Lei Zhang.

  Gliomas account for 75% of all primary malignant brain tumors in adults and are associated with high mortality. Mounting evidence has shown that NCAPG2 is differentially expressed in various cancers. However, the prognostic value and immune functions of NCAPG2 in low-grade glioma (LGG) remain unresolved. In the present study, we revealed that NCAPG2 was up-regulated in LGG, and its higher expression was associated with adverse clinical outcomes and poor clinical characteristics, including WHO grade, IDH mutation, 1p/19q codeletion, and primary therapy outcome. The results of the Cox regression analysis revealed that NCAPG2 was an independent factor for the prognosis of low-grade glioma. Meanwhile, we also established a nomogram based on NCAPG2 to predict the 1-, 3-, or 5-year survival in LGG patients. Furthermore, we found that Copy number variation (CNV) and DNA hypomethylation results in its overexpression in LGG. In addition, functional annotation confirmed that NCAPG2 was mainly involved in the immune regulation and WNT signaling pathways. Finally, we determined that increased expression of NCAPG2 was correlated with infiltration levels of various immune cells and immune checkpoint in LGG. Importantly, we found that NCAPG2 was highly expressed in glioma stem cells lines and knockdown of NCAPG2 significantly inhibited the self-renewal ability of GSC. This is the first study to identify NCAPG2 as a new potential prognostic biomarker and characterize the functional roles of NCAPG2 in the progression of LGG, and provides a novel potential diagnostic and therapeutic biomarker for LGG in the future.

Keywords:  NCAPG2; glioma stem cell; immune infiltration; low-grade glioma; prognostic biomarker

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2022.918606
Nat Commun. 2022 Jul 29. 13(1): 4418

Transcription factor network analysis identifies REST/NRSF as an intrinsic regulator of CNS regeneration in mice.

Yuyan Cheng, Yuqin Yin, Alice Zhang, Alexander M Bernstein, Riki Kawaguchi, Kun Gao, Kyra Potter, Hui-Ya Gilbert, Yan Ao, Jing Ou, Catherine J Fricano-Kugler, Jeffrey L Goldberg, Zhigang He, Clifford J Woolf, Michael V Sofroniew, Larry I Benowitz, Daniel H Geschwind.

The inability of neurons to regenerate long axons within the CNS is a major impediment to improving outcome after spinal cord injury, stroke, and other CNS insults. Recent advances have uncovered an intrinsic program that involves coordinate regulation by multiple transcription factors that can be manipulated to enhance growth in the peripheral nervous system. Here, we use a systems genomics approach to characterize regulatory relationships of regeneration-associated transcription factors, identifying RE1-Silencing Transcription Factor (REST; Neuron-Restrictive Silencer Factor, NRSF) as a predicted upstream suppressor of a pro-regenerative gene program associated with axon regeneration in the CNS. We validate our predictions using multiple paradigms, showing that mature mice bearing cell type-specific deletions of REST or expressing dominant-negative mutant REST show improved regeneration of the corticospinal tract and optic nerve after spinal cord injury and optic nerve crush, which is accompanied by upregulation of regeneration-associated genes in cortical motor neurons and retinal ganglion cells, respectively. These analyses identify a role for REST as an upstream suppressor of the intrinsic regenerative program in the CNS and demonstrate the utility of a systems biology approach involving integrative genomics and bio-informatics to prioritize hypotheses relevant to CNS repair.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31960-7
Biomed Res Int. 2022 ;2022 4678026

The Role of SliTrk5 in Central Nervous System.

Yan Liu, Linming Zhang, Rong Mei, Mingda Ai, Ruijing Pang, Di Xia, Ling Chen, Lianmei Zhong.

SLIT and NTRK-like protein-5 (SliTrk5) is one of the six members of SliTrk protein family, which is widely expressed in the central nervous system (CNS), regulating and participating in many essential steps of central nervous system development, including axon and dendritic growth, neuron differentiation, and synaptogenesis. SliTrk5, as a neuron transmembrane protein, contains two important conservative domains consisting of leucine repeats (LRRs) located at the amino terminal in the extracellular region and tyrosine residues (Tyr) located at the carboxyl terminal in the intracellular domains. These special structures make SliTrk5 play an important role in the pathological process of the CNS. A large number of studies have shown that SliTrk5 may be involved in the pathogenesis of CNS diseases, such as obsessive-compulsive-disorder (OCD), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), glioma, autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), and Parkinson's disease (PD). Targeting SliTrk5 is expected to become a new target for the treatment of CNS diseases, promoting the functional recovery of CNS. The purpose of this article is to review the current research progression of the role of SliTrk5 in CNS and its potential mechanisms in CNS diseases.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/4678026
Sichuan Da Xue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban. 2022 Jul;53(4): 573-578

[Latest Research Findings on the Role of Non-Tumor Cells in Glioma Microenvironment].

Ming-Rong Zuo, Yan-Hui Liu.

  As the tumor cell-centered treatment strategies cannot curb the malignant progression of glioblastoma effectively, the therapeutic effect of glioblastoma is still not satisfactory. In addition to glioma cells, glioma microenvironment (GME) comprises massive numbers of non-tumor cells and soluble cytokines. The non-tumor cells include endothelial cells, pericytes, microglia/macrophages, mesenchymal cells, astrocytes, neurons, etc. These non-tumor cell components, together with glioma cells, form one organism which regulates the progression of glioma. Considerable progress has been been in research on GME, which will be conducive to the development of non-tumor cell targeted therapies and and improvements in the prognosis of glioma patients. Herein, we summarized the interaction of glioma cells with endothelial cells, pericytes, microglia/macrophages, astrocytes, neurons and mesenchymal cells, a topic that has been extensively researched, as well as the corresponding translational studies. We also discussed the potential challenges and opportunities of developing glioma treatments based on tumor microenvironment.

Keywords:  Glioma; Non-tumor cells; Tumor microenvironment

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.12182/20220760204
J Neurosci. 2022 Jul 22. pii: JN-RM-2533-21. [Epub ahead of print]

JUN Regulation of Injury-induced Enhancers in Schwann Cells.

Raghu Ramesh, Yanti Manurung, Ki H Ma, Todd Blakely, Seongsik Won, Oscar Moreno Ramos, Eugene Wyatt, Rajeshwar Awatramani, John Svaren.

Schwann cells play a critical role after peripheral nerve injury by clearing myelin debris, forming axon-guiding Bands of Bungner, and re-myelinating regenerating axons. Schwann cells undergo epigenomic remodeling to differentiate into a repair state that expresses unique genes, some of which are not expressed at other stages of Schwann cell development. We previously identified a set of enhancers that are activated in Schwann cells after nerve injury, and we determined if these enhancers are pre-programmed into the Schwann cell epigenome as poised enhancers prior to injury. Poised enhancers share many attributes of active enhancers, such as open chromatin, but are marked by repressive H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) rather than H3K27ac. We find that most injury-induced enhancers are not marked as poised enhancers prior to injury indicating that injury-induced enhancers are not pre-programmed in the Schwann cell epigenome. Injury-induced enhancers are enriched with AP-1 binding motifs, and the c-JUN subunit of AP-1 had been shown to be critical to drive the transcriptional response of Schwann cells after injury. Using in vivo ChIP-seq analysis in rat, we find that c-JUN binds to a subset of injury-induced enhancers. To test the role of specific injury-induced enhancers, we focused on c-JUN-binding enhancers upstream of the Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) gene, which is only upregulated in repair Schwann cells compared to other stages of Schwann cell development. We used targeted deletions in male/female mice to show that the enhancers are required for robust induction of the Shh gene after injury.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTThe pro-regenerative actions of Schwann cells after nerve injury depends on upon profound reprogramming of the epigenome. The repair state is directed by injury-induced transcription factors, like JUN, which is uniquely required after nerve injury. In this study, we test whether the injury program is pre-programmed into the epigenome as poised enhancers and define which enhancers bind JUN. Finally, we test the roles of these enhancers by performing CRISPR-mediated deletion of JUN-bound injury enhancers in the Sonic hedgehog gene. While many long range enhancers drive expression of Sonic hedgehog at different developmental stages of specific tissues, these studies identify an entirely new set of enhancers that are required for Sonic hedgehog induction in Schwann cells after injury.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2533-21.2022
J Neuroinflammation. 2022 Jul 28. 19(1): 194

Transforming growth factor-β1 protects against LPC-induced cognitive deficit by attenuating pyroptosis of microglia via NF-κB/ERK1/2 pathways.

Yi Xie, Xuejiao Chen, Ying Li, Simiao Chen, Shuai Liu, Zhiyuan Yu, Wei Wang.

  BACKGROUND: Demyelinating diseases in central nervous system (CNS) are a group of diseases characterized by myelin damage or myelin loss. Transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-β1) is widely recognized as an anti-inflammatory cytokine, which can be produced by both glial and neuronal cells in CNS. However, the effects of TGF-β1 on demyelinating diseases and its underlying mechanisms have not been well investigated.METHODS: A demyelinating mouse model using two-point injection of lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) to the corpus callosum in vivo was established. Exogenous TGF-β1 was delivered to the lesion via brain stereotactic injection. LFB staining, immunofluorescence, and Western blot were applied to examine the severity of demyelination and pyroptosis process in microglia. Morris water maze test was used to assess the cognitive abilities of experimental mice. Furthermore, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was applied to induce pyroptosis in primary cultured microglia in vitro, to explore potential molecular mechanism.
RESULTS: The degree of demyelination in LPC-modeling mice was found improved with supplement of TGF-β1. Besides, TGF-β1 treatment evidently ameliorated the activated proinflammatory pyroptosis of microglia, with downregulated levels of the key pyroptosis effector Gasdermin D (GSDMD), inflammasomes, and cleaved-IL-1β, which effectively attenuated neuroinflammation in vivo. Evaluated by behavioral tests, the cognitive deficit in LPC-modeling mice was found mitigated with application of TGF-β1. Mechanistically, TGF-β1 could reverse pyroptosis-like morphology in LPS-stimulated primary cultured microglia observed by scanning electron microscopy, as well as decrease the protein levels of cleaved-GSDMD, inflammasomes, and cleaved-IL-1β. Activation of ERK1/2 and NF-κB pathways largely abolished the protective effects of TGF-β1, which indicated that TGF-β1 alleviated the pyroptosis possibly via regulating NF-κB/ERK1/2 signal pathways.
CONCLUSIONS: Our studies demonstrated TGF-β1 notably relieved the demyelinating injury and cognitive disorder in LPC-modeling mice, by attenuating the inflammatory pyroptosis of microglia via ERK1/2 and NF-κB pathways. Targeting TGF-β1 activity might serve as a promising therapeutic strategy in demyelinating diseases.

Keywords:  Cognitive deficit; Demyelination; LPC; Microglia; Neuroinflammation; Pyroptosis; TGF-β1

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12974-022-02557-0
Exp Mol Pathol. 2022 Jul 22. pii: S0014-4800(22)00077-6. [Epub ahead of print]127 104814

Phloretin enhances autophagy by impairing AKT activation and inducing JNK-Beclin-1 pathway activation.

Chenghe Fan, Yilin Zhang, Yu Tian, Xinyu Zhao, Junfang Teng.

  Phloretin is a type of dihydrochalcone that is primarily found in apples and has been reported to possess various potent biological activities, such as anticancer, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Our previous study has shown that phloretin induces apoptosis in human glioblastoma. In this study, we found that phloretin induced autophagy in SH-SY5Y cells by decreasing p-AKT and p-mTOR levels in the AKT/mTOR pathway and increasing the activation of JNK, the phosphorylation of c-Jun and the expression of Beclin-1. Moreover, the upregulation of Beclin-1 was decreased by SP600125 or a siRNA against c-Jun. Furthermore, SP600125 and siRNAs against c-Jun and Beclin-1 inhibited phloretin-induced autophagy. In addition, inhibition of phloretin-induced autophagy by cotreatment with phloretin and 3-MA decreased phloretin-induced cytotoxicity to SH-SY5Y cells. In conclusion, our results suggest that the AKT/mTOR pathway and JNK-mediated Beclin-1 expression are involved in phloretin-induced autophagy. Phloretin can be used to protect neurons during phloretin treatment of glioblastoma.

Keywords:  AKT; Autophagy; Beclin-1; JNK; Phloretin

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yexmp.2022.104814
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Jul 22. pii: 8101. [Epub ahead of print]23(15):

Protocadherin Gamma C3 (PCDHGC3) Is Strongly Expressed in Glioblastoma and Its High Expression Is Associated with Longer Progression-Free Survival of Patients.

Jonas Feldheim, David Wend, Mara J Lauer, Camelia M Monoranu, Martin Glas, Christoph Kleinschnitz, Ralf-Ingo Ernestus, Barbara M Braunger, Patrick Meybohm, Carsten Hagemann, Malgorzata Burek.

  Protocadherins (PCDHs) belong to the cadherin superfamily and represent the largest subgroup of calcium-dependent adhesion molecules. In the genome, most PCDHs are arranged in three clusters, α, β, and γ on chromosome 5q31. PCDHs are highly expressed in the central nervous system (CNS). Several PCDHs have tumor suppressor functions, but their individual role in primary brain tumors has not yet been elucidated. Here, we examined the mRNA expression of PCDHGC3, a member of the PCDHγ cluster, in non-cancerous brain tissue and in gliomas of different World Health Organization (WHO) grades and correlated it with the clinical data of the patients. We generated a PCDHGC3 knockout U343 cell line and examined its growth rate and migration in a wound healing assay. We showed that PCDHGC3 mRNA and protein were significantly overexpressed in glioma tissue compared to a non-cancerous brain specimen. This could be confirmed in glioma cell lines. High PCDHGC3 mRNA expression correlated with longer progression-free survival (PFS) in glioma patients. PCDHGC3 knockout in U343 resulted in a slower growth rate but a significantly faster migration rate in the wound healing assay and decreased the expression of several genes involved in WNT signaling. PCDHGC3 expression should therefore be further investigated as a PFS-marker in gliomas. However, more studies are needed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying the PCDHGC3 effects.

Keywords:  PCDHGC3; WNT signaling; astrocytoma; brain; expression; glioblastoma multiforme; glioma; mRNA; protein; recurrence; relapse

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23158101
Front Mol Neurosci. 2022 ;15 913328

Identification of Candidate Genes Associated With Prognosis in Glioblastoma.

Rongjie Li, Qiulan Jiang, Chunhai Tang, Liechun Chen, Deyan Kong, Chun Zou, Yan Lin, Jiefeng Luo, Donghua Zou.

  Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant primary brain tumor, which associated with extremely poor prognosis.Methods: Data from datasets GSE16011, GSE7696, GSE50161, GSE90598 and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were analyzed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between patients and controls. DEGs common to all five datasets were analyzed for functional enrichment and for association with overall survival using Cox regression. Candidate genes were further screened using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and random forest algorithms, and the effects of candidate genes on prognosis were explored using a Gaussian mixed model, a risk model, and concordance cluster analysis. We also characterized the GBM landscape of immune cell infiltration, methylation, and somatic mutations.
Results: We identified 3,139 common DEGs, which were associated mainly with PI3K-Akt signaling, focal adhesion, and Hippo signaling. Cox regression identified 106 common DEGs that were significantly associated with overall survival. LASSO and random forest algorithms identified six candidate genes (AEBP1, ANXA2R, MAP1LC3A, TMEM60, PRRG3 and RPS4X) that predicted overall survival and GBM recurrence. AEBP1 showed the best prognostic performance. We found that GBM tissues were heavily infiltrated by T helper cells and macrophages, which correlated with higher AEBP1 expression. Stratifying patients based on the six candidate genes led to two groups with significantly different overall survival. Somatic mutations in AEBP1 and modified methylation of MAP1LC3A were associated with GBM.
Conclusion: We have identified candidate genes, particularly AEBP1, strongly associated with GBM prognosis, which may help in efforts to understand and treat the disease.

Keywords:  AEBP1; Cox regression; consensus cluster; glioblastoma; overall survival

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fnmol.2022.913328
NPJ Precis Oncol. 2022 Jul 29. 6(1): 54

A patient-designed tissue-engineered model of the infiltrative glioblastoma microenvironment.

R C Cornelison, J X Yuan, K M Tate, A Petrosky, G F Beeghly, M Bloomfield, S C Schwager, A L Berr, C A Stine, D Cimini, F F Bafakih, J W Mandell, B W Purow, B J Horton, J M Munson.

Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain cancer characterized by diffuse infiltration. Infiltrated glioma cells persist in the brain post-resection where they interact with glial cells and experience interstitial fluid flow. We use patient-derived glioma stem cells and human glial cells (i.e., astrocytes and microglia) to create a four-component 3D model of this environment informed by resected patient tumors. We examine metrics for invasion, proliferation, and putative stemness in the context of glial cells, fluid forces, and chemotherapies. While the responses are heterogeneous across seven patient-derived lines, interstitial flow significantly increases glioma cell proliferation and stemness while glial cells affect invasion and stemness, potentially related to CCL2 expression and differential activation. In a screen of six drugs, we find in vitro expression of putative stemness marker CD71, but not viability at drug IC50, to predict murine xenograft survival. We posit this patient-informed, infiltrative tumor model as a novel advance toward precision medicine in glioblastoma treatment.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41698-022-00290-8
Biomedicines. 2022 Jun 28. pii: 1531. [Epub ahead of print]10(7):

Ubiquitin-Specific Protease 6 n-Terminal-like Protein (USP6NL) and the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Signaling Axis Regulates Ubiquitin-Mediated DNA Repair and Temozolomide-Resistance in Glioblastoma.

I-Chang Su, Yu-Kai Su, Hao-Yu Chuang, Vijesh Kumar Yadav, Syahru Agung Setiawan, Iat-Hang Fong, Chi-Tai Yeh, Hui-Chuan Huang, Chien-Min Lin.

  Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most malignant glioma, with a 30-60% epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation. This mutation is associated with unrestricted cell growth and increases the possibility of cancer invasion. Patients with EGFR-mutated GBM often develop resistance to the available treatment modalities and higher recurrence rates. The drug resistance observed is associated with multiple genetic or epigenetic factors. The ubiquitin-specific protease 6 N-terminal-like protein (USP6NL) is a GTPase-activating protein that functions as a deubiquitinating enzyme and regulates endocytosis and signal transduction. It is highly expressed in many cancer types and may promote the growth and proliferation of cancer cells. We hypothesized that USP6NL affects GBM chemoresistance and tumorigenesis, and that its inhibition may be a novel therapeutic strategy for GBM treatment. The USP6NL level, together with EGFR expression in human GBM tissue samples and cell lines associated with therapy resistance, tumor growth, and cancer invasion, were investigated. Its pivotal roles and potential mechanism in modulating tumor growth, and the key mechanism associated with therapy resistance of GBM cells, were studied, both in vitro and in vivo. Herein, we found that deubiquitinase USP6NL and growth factor receptor EGFR were strongly associated with the oncogenicity and resistance of GBM, both in vitro and in vivo, toward temozolomide, as evidenced by enhanced migration, invasion, and acquisition of a highly invasive and drug-resistant phenotype by the GBM cells. Furthermore, abrogation of USP6NL reversed the properties of GBM cells and resensitized them toward temozolomide by enhancing autophagy and reducing the DNA damage repair response. Our results provide novel insights into the probable mechanism through which USP6NL/EGFR signaling might suppress the anticancer therapeutic response, induce cancer invasiveness, and facilitate reduced sensitivity to temozolomide treatment in GBM in an autolysosome-dependent manner. Therefore, controlling the USP6NL may offer an alternative, but efficient, therapeutic strategy for targeting and eradicating otherwise resistant and recurrent phenotypes of aggressive GBM cells.

Keywords:  DNA repair; USP6NL; drug resistance; glioblastoma; ubiquitin-proteasome system

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10071531