bims-cagime Biomed News
on Cancer, aging and metabolism
Issue of 2021–04–18
85 papers selected by
Kıvanç Görgülü, Technical University of Munich
  1. Stabilized epithelial phenotype of cancer cells in primary tumors leads to increased colonization of liver metastasis in pancreatic cancer.
  2. Oncogenic KRAS recruits an expansive transcriptional network through mutant p53 to drive pancreatic cancer metastasis.
  3. Loss of activating transcription factor 3 prevents KRAS-mediated pancreatic cancer.
  4. Tumor-derived IL-6 and trans-signaling among tumor, fat, and muscle mediate pancreatic cancer cachexia.
  5. Alternative splicing is a developmental switch for hTERT expression.
  6. Synthetic lethality-mediated precision oncology via the tumor transcriptome.
  7. Ion Channels Orchestrate Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Progression and Therapy.
  8. Loss of LUC7L2 and U1 snRNP subunits shifts energy metabolism from glycolysis to OXPHOS.
  9. Kinase-mediated RAS signaling via membraneless cytoplasmic protein granules.
  10. Chromothripsis as an on-target consequence of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing.
  11. Ferroptotic cell death triggered by conjugated linolenic acids is mediated by ACSL1.
  12. A guide to interrogating immunometabolism.
  13. Metabolic flexibility determines human NK cell functional fate in the tumor microenvironment.
  14. Metabolomic profiling of pancreatic adenocarcinoma reveals key features driving clinical outcome and drug resistance.
  15. A methionine-Mettl3-N6-methyladenosine axis promotes polycystic kidney disease.
  16. Inhibition of the IL-17A axis in adipocytes suppresses diet-induced obesity and metabolic disorders in mice.
  17. A GATA6-centred gene regulatory network involving HNFs and ΔNp63 controls plasticity and immune escape in pancreatic cancer.
  18. Genome-wide programmable transcriptional memory by CRISPR-based epigenome editing.
  19. Towards decoding the coupled decision-making of metabolism and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in cancer.
  20. NR5A2 transcriptional activation by BRD4 promotes pancreatic cancer progression by upregulating GDF15.
  21. Human white adipose tissue displays selective insulin resistance in the obese state.
  22. Aging drives organ-specific alterations of the inflammatory microenvironment guided by immunomodulatory mediators in mice.
  23. Myeloid cell-derived PROS1 inhibits tumor metastasis by regulating inflammatory and immune responses via IL-10.
  24. Development and validation of a novel nomogram for individualized prediction of survival in cancer of unknown primary (CUP).
  25. Chemokines and the immune response to cancer.
  26. Major Advances in Targeted Protein Degradation: PROTACs, LYTACs, and MADTACs.
  27. The interplay between DNA and histone methylation: molecular mechanisms and disease implications.
  28. Clocking cancer: the circadian clock as a target in cancer therapy.
  29. Mouse aging cell atlas analysis reveals global and cell type-specific aging signatures.
  30. Mechanisms of Cellular Senescence: Cell Cycle Arrest and Senescence Associated Secretory Phenotype.
  31. Mechanosurveillance of tumour metastasis.
  32. Molecular tracking devices quantify antigen distribution and archiving in the murine lymph node.
  33. Irx3 and Irx5 in Ins2-Cre+ cells regulate hypothalamic postnatal neurogenesis and leptin response.
  34. AMPK signaling and its targeting in cancer progression and treatment.
  35. Meeting Report: Translational Advances in Cancer Prevention Agent Development Meeting.
  36. Improving oligo-conjugated antibody signal in multimodal single-cell analysis.
  37. A new perspective on mesenchymal-immune interactions in adipose tissue.
  38. Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma, Version 2.2021, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.
  39. Heparanase 2 (Hpa2) attenuates the growth of pancreatic carcinoma.
  40. Kog1/Raptor mediates metabolic rewiring during nutrient limitation by controlling SNF1/AMPK activity.
  41. N-acetyl cysteine induces quiescent-like pancreatic stellate cells from an active state and attenuates cancer-stroma interactions.
  42. Cell competition removes segmental aneuploid cells from Drosophila imaginal disc-derived tissues based on ribosomal protein gene dose.
  43. Autophagy and senescence in cancer therapy.
  44. The deubiquitinase USP36 promotes snoRNP group SUMOylation and is essential for ribosome biogenesis.
  45. Quantitative mapping of the cellular small RNA landscape with AQRNA-seq.
  46. Surgery After Response to Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Guide for Management.
  47. Immunometabolic responses according to physical fitness status and lifelong exercise during aging: new roads for exercise immunology.
  48. CytoTalk: De novo construction of signal transduction networks using single-cell transcriptomic data.
  49. Decoupling transcription factor expression and activity enables dimmer switch gene regulation.
  50. Parkin-independent mitophagy via Drp1-mediated outer membrane severing and inner membrane ubiquitination.
  51. 3D quantification of autophagy activation and autophagosome-to-mitochondria recruitment in a Drosophila model of Parkinson's disease.
  52. Repeated mutation of a developmental enhancer contributed to human thermoregulatory evolution.
  53. Autophagy and senescence, converging roles in pathophysiology as seen through mouse models.
  54. SLFN11 inactivation induces proteotoxic stress and sensitizes cancer cells to ubiquitin activating enzyme inhibitor TAK-243.
  55. The lysosomal protein ABCD4 can transport vitamin B12 across liposomal membranes in vitro.
  56. p62/SQSTM1 droplets initiate autophagosome biogenesis and oxidative stress control.
  57. Deletion of Mfsd2b impairs thrombotic functions of platelets.
  58. Outcomes following synchronous liver resection, cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for colorectal liver and peritoneal metastases: A bi-institutional study.
  59. Tissue-specific cell-free DNA degradation quantifies circulating tumor DNA burden.
  60. An energetics perspective on geroscience: mitochondrial protonmotive force and aging.
  61. Mitochondrial membrane tension governs fission.
  62. Schlafen 5 as a novel therapeutic target in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
  63. VOCs profile can discriminate biological age.
  64. A genome-wide atlas of co-essential modules assigns function to uncharacterized genes.
  65. Programmable protein circuit design.
  66. A model for a partnership of lipid transfer proteins and scramblases in membrane expansion and organelle biogenesis.
  67. A genetically defined signature of responsiveness to erlotinib in early-stage pancreatic cancer patients: Results from the CONKO-005 trial.
  68. Targeting K-Ras and apoptosis-driven cellular transformation in cancer.
  69. An optimized fixation method containing glyoxal and paraformaldehyde for imaging nuclear bodies.
  70. Laminins in metabolic tissues.
  71. Exploring risk factors at the molecular level.
  72. Metastases from metastases: comparative metastatic potential of human cancer cell lines originated from primary tumors or metastases in various tissues.
  73. Inositol treatment inhibits medulloblastoma through suppression of epigenetic-driven metabolic adaptation.
  74. PRMT1-mediated H4R3me2a recruits SMARCA4 to promote colorectal cancer progression by enhancing EGFR signaling.
  75. Postprandial glycaemic dips predict appetite and energy intake in healthy individuals.
  76. The functional roles of TCA cycle metabolites in cancer.
  77. A large-scale snapshot of intratumor heterogeneity in human cancer.
  78. Liquid-induced topological transformations of cellular microstructures.
  79. Cellular fate of intersex differentiation.
  80. P53 regulates cellular redox state, ferroptosis and metabolism.
  81. A functional outside-in signaling network of proteoglycans and matrix molecules regulating autophagy.
  82. Targeting adenosine with adenosine deaminase 2 to inhibit growth of solid tumors.
  83. Complement Detection in Human Tumors by Immunohistochemistry and Immunofluorescence.
  84. FIT2 organizes lipid droplet biogenesis with ER tubule-forming proteins and septins.
  85. SOD1 regulates ribosome biogenesis in KRAS mutant non-small cell lung cancer.
  1. Cell Rep. 2021 Apr 13. pii: S2211-1247(21)00304-1. [Epub ahead of print]35(2): 108990
    Stabilized epithelial phenotype of cancer cells in primary tumors leads to increased colonization of liver metastasis in pancreatic cancer.
    Julienne L Carstens, Sujuan Yang, Pedro Correa de Sampaio, Xiaofeng Zheng, Souptik Barua, Kathleen M McAndrews, Arvind Rao, Jared K Burks, Andrew D Rhim, Raghu Kalluri.
      Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is therapeutically recalcitrant and metastatic. Partial epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is associated with metastasis; however, a causal connection needs further unraveling. Here, we use single-cell RNA sequencing and genetic mouse models to identify the functional roles of partial EMT and epithelial stabilization in PDAC growth and metastasis. A global EMT expression signature identifies ∼50 cancer cell clusters spanning the epithelial-mesenchymal continuum in both human and murine PDACs. The combined genetic suppression of Snail and Twist results in PDAC epithelial stabilization and increased liver metastasis. Genetic deletion of Zeb1 in PDAC cells also leads to liver metastasis associated with cancer cell epithelial stabilization. We demonstrate that epithelial stabilization leads to the enhanced collective migration of cancer cells and modulation of the immune microenvironment, which likely contribute to efficient liver colonization. Our study provides insights into the diverse mechanisms of metastasis in pancreatic cancer and potential therapeutic targets.
    Keywords:  Snail; Twist; Zeb1; collective migration; epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition; immune modulation; metastasis; mouse models; pancreatic cancer; single-cell RNA sequencing
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108990
  2. Cancer Discov. 2021 Apr 10. pii: candisc.1228.2020. [Epub ahead of print]
    Oncogenic KRAS recruits an expansive transcriptional network through mutant p53 to drive pancreatic cancer metastasis.
    Michael P Kim, Xinqun Li, Jenying Deng, Yun Zhang, Bingbing Dai, Kendra L Allton, Tara G Hughes, Christian Siangco, Jithesh J Augustine, Ya'an Kang, Joy M McDaniel, Shunbin Xiong, Eugene J Koay, Florencia McAllister, Christopher A Bristow, Timothy P Heffernan, Anirban Maitra, Bin Liu, Michelle C Barton, Amanda R Wasylishen, Jason B Fleming, Guillermina Lozano.
      Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is almost uniformly fatal and characterized by early metastasis. Oncogenic KRAS mutations prevail in 95% of PDAC tumors and co-occur with genetic alterations in the TP53 tumor suppressor in nearly 70% of patients. Most TP53 alterations are missense mutations that exhibit gain-of-function phenotypes that include increased invasiveness and metastasis yet the extent of direct cooperation between KRAS effectors and mutant p53 remains largely undefined. We show that oncogenic KRAS effectors activate cyclic AMP responsive element binding protein 1 (CREB1) to allow physical interactions with mutant p53 that hyperactivate multiple pro-metastatic transcriptional networks. Specifically, mutant p53 and CREB1 upregulate the pro-metastatic, pioneer transcription factor, FOXA1, activating its transcriptional network while promoting Wnt/B-catenin signaling, together driving PDAC metastasis. Pharmacologic CREB1 inhibition dramatically reduced FOXA1 and B-catenin expression and dampened PDAC metastasis, identifying a new therapeutic strategy to disrupt cooperation between oncogenic KRAS and mutant p53 to mitigate metastasis.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-1228
  3. Oncogene. 2021 Apr 16.
    Loss of activating transcription factor 3 prevents KRAS-mediated pancreatic cancer.
    Nawab Azizi, Jelena Toma, Mickenzie Martin, Muhammad Faran Khalid, Fatemeh Mousavi, Phyo Wei Win, Maria Teresa Borrello, Nina Steele, Jiaqi Shi, Marina Pasca di Magliano, Christopher L Pin.
      The unfolded protein response (UPR) is activated in pancreatic pathologies and suggested as a target for therapeutic intervention. In this study, we examined activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), a mediator of the UPR that promotes acinar-to-ductal metaplasia (ADM) in response to pancreatic injury. Since ADM is an initial step in the progression to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), we hypothesized that ATF3 is required for initiation and progression of PDAC. We generated mice carrying a germline mutation of Atf3 (Atf3-/-) combined with acinar-specific induction of oncogenic KRAS (Ptf1acreERT/+KrasG12D/+). Atf3-/- mice with (termed APK) and without KRASG12D were exposed to cerulein-induced pancreatitis. In response to recurrent pancreatitis, Atf3-/- mice showed decreased ADM and enhanced regeneration based on morphological and biochemical analysis. Similarly, an absence of ATF3 reduced spontaneous pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) formation and PDAC in Ptf1acreERT/+KrasG12D/+ mice. In response to injury, KRASG12D bypassed the requirement for ATF3 with a dramatic loss in acinar tissue and PanIN formation observed regardless of ATF3 status. Compared to Ptf1acreERT/+KrasG12D/+ mice, APK mice exhibited a significant decrease in pancreatic and total body weight, did not progress through to PDAC, and showed altered pancreatic fibrosis and immune cell infiltration. These findings suggest a complex, multifaceted role for ATF3 in pancreatic cancer pathology.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-021-01771-z
  4. J Exp Med. 2021 Jun 07. pii: e20190450. [Epub ahead of print]218(6):
    Tumor-derived IL-6 and trans-signaling among tumor, fat, and muscle mediate pancreatic cancer cachexia.
    Joseph E Rupert, Ashok Narasimhan, Daenique H A Jengelley, Yanlin Jiang, Jianguo Liu, Ernie Au, Libbie M Silverman, George Sandusky, Andrea Bonetto, Sha Cao, Xiaoyu Lu, Thomas M O'Connell, Yunlong Liu, Leonidas G Koniaris, Teresa A Zimmers.
      Most patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) suffer cachexia; some do not. To model heterogeneity, we used patient-derived orthotopic xenografts. These phenocopied donor weight loss. Furthermore, muscle wasting correlated with mortality and murine IL-6, and human IL-6 associated with the greatest murine cachexia. In cell culture and mice, PDAC cells elicited adipocyte IL-6 expression and IL-6 plus IL-6 receptor (IL6R) in myocytes and blood. PDAC induced adipocyte lipolysis and muscle steatosis, dysmetabolism, and wasting. Depletion of IL-6 from malignant cells halved adipose wasting and abolished myosteatosis, dysmetabolism, and atrophy. In culture, adipocyte lipolysis required soluble (s)IL6R, while IL-6, sIL6R, or palmitate induced myotube atrophy. PDAC cells activated adipocytes to induce myotube wasting and activated myotubes to induce adipocyte lipolysis. Thus, PDAC cachexia results from tissue crosstalk via a feed-forward, IL-6 trans-signaling loop. Malignant cells signal via IL-6 to muscle and fat, muscle to fat via sIL6R, and fat to muscle via lipids and IL-6, all targetable mechanisms for treatment of cachexia.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.20190450
  5. Mol Cell. 2021 Apr 06. pii: S1097-2765(21)00228-8. [Epub ahead of print]
    Alternative splicing is a developmental switch for hTERT expression.
    Alex Penev, Andrew Bazley, Michael Shen, Jef D Boeke, Sharon A Savage, Agnel Sfeir.
      Telomere length control is critical for cellular lifespan and tumor suppression. Telomerase is transiently activated in the inner cell mass of the developing blastocyst to reset telomere reserves. Its silencing upon differentiation leads to gradual telomere shortening in somatic cells. Here, we report that transcriptional regulation through cis-regulatory elements only partially accounts for telomerase activation in pluripotent cells. Instead, developmental control of telomerase is primarily driven by an alternative splicing event, centered around hTERT exon 2. Skipping of exon 2 triggers hTERT mRNA decay in differentiated cells, and conversely, its retention promotes telomerase accumulation in pluripotent cells. We identify SON as a regulator of exon 2 alternative splicing and report a patient carrying a SON mutation and suffering from insufficient telomerase and short telomeres. In summary, our study highlights a critical role for hTERT alternative splicing in the developmental regulation of telomerase and implicates defective splicing in telomere biology disorders.
    Keywords:  SON; alternative splicing; hTERT; pluripotent cells; telomerase; telomeres
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2021.03.033
  6. Cell. 2021 Apr 14. pii: S0092-8674(21)00361-5. [Epub ahead of print]
    Synthetic lethality-mediated precision oncology via the tumor transcriptome.
    Joo Sang Lee, Nishanth Ulhas Nair, Gal Dinstag, Lesley Chapman, Youngmin Chung, Kun Wang, Sanju Sinha, Hongui Cha, Dasol Kim, Alexander V Schperberg, Ajay Srinivasan, Vladimir Lazar, Eitan Rubin, Sohyun Hwang, Raanan Berger, Tuvik Beker, Ze'ev Ronai, Sridhar Hannenhalli, Mark R Gilbert, Razelle Kurzrock, Se-Hoon Lee, Kenneth Aldape, Eytan Ruppin.
      Precision oncology has made significant advances, mainly by targeting actionable mutations in cancer driver genes. Aiming to expand treatment opportunities, recent studies have begun to explore the utility of tumor transcriptome to guide patient treatment. Here, we introduce SELECT (synthetic lethality and rescue-mediated precision oncology via the transcriptome), a precision oncology framework harnessing genetic interactions to predict patient response to cancer therapy from the tumor transcriptome. SELECT is tested on a broad collection of 35 published targeted and immunotherapy clinical trials from 10 different cancer types. It is predictive of patients' response in 80% of these clinical trials and in the recent multi-arm WINTHER trial. The predictive signatures and the code are made publicly available for academic use, laying a basis for future prospective clinical studies.
    Keywords:  cancer immunotherapy; patient stratification; precision oncology; synthetic lethality; synthetic rescues; transcriptomics
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.03.030
  7. Front Pharmacol. 2020 ;11 586599
    Ion Channels Orchestrate Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Progression and Therapy.
    Verena Hofschröer, Karolina Najder, Micol Rugi, Rayhana Bouazzi, Marco Cozzolino, Annarosa Arcangeli, Gyorgy Panyi, Albrecht Schwab.
      Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is a devastating disease with a dismal prognosis. Therapeutic interventions are largely ineffective. A better understanding of the pathophysiology is required. Ion channels contribute substantially to the "hallmarks of cancer." Their expression is dysregulated in cancer, and they are "misused" to drive cancer progression, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Ion channels are located in the cell membrane at the interface between the intracellular and extracellular space. They sense and modify the tumor microenvironment which in itself is a driver of PDAC aggressiveness. Ion channels detect, for example, locally altered proton and electrolyte concentrations or mechanical stimuli and transduce signals triggered by these microenvironmental cues through association with intracellular signaling cascades. While these concepts have been firmly established for other cancers, evidence has emerged only recently that ion channels are drivers of PDAC aggressiveness. Particularly, they appear to contribute to two of the characteristic PDAC features: the massive fibrosis of the tumor stroma (desmoplasia) and the efficient immune evasion. Our critical review of the literature clearly shows that there is still a remarkable lack of knowledge with respect to the contribution of ion channels to these two typical PDAC properties. Yet, we can draw parallels from ion channel research in other fibrotic and inflammatory diseases. Evidence is accumulating that pancreatic stellate cells express the same "profibrotic" ion channels. Similarly, it is at least in part known which major ion channels are expressed in those innate and adaptive immune cells that populate the PDAC microenvironment. We explore potential therapeutic avenues derived thereof. Since drugs targeting PDAC-relevant ion channels are already in clinical use, we propose to repurpose those in PDAC. The quest for ion channel targets is both motivated and complicated by the fact that some of the relevant channels, for example, KCa3.1, are functionally expressed in the cancer, stroma, and immune cells. Only in vivo studies will reveal which arm of the balance we should put our weights on when developing channel-targeting PDAC therapies. The time is up to explore the efficacy of ion channel targeting in (transgenic) murine PDAC models before launching clinical trials with repurposed drugs.
    Keywords:  fibrosis; immune cells; ion channels; pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma; therapy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2020.586599
  8. Mol Cell. 2021 Apr 10. pii: S1097-2765(21)00143-X. [Epub ahead of print]
    Loss of LUC7L2 and U1 snRNP subunits shifts energy metabolism from glycolysis to OXPHOS.
    Alexis A Jourdain, Bridget E Begg, Eran Mick, Hardik Shah, Sarah E Calvo, Owen S Skinner, Rohit Sharma, Steven M Blue, Gene W Yeo, Christopher B Burge, Vamsi K Mootha.
      Oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and glycolysis are the two major pathways for ATP production. The reliance on each varies across tissues and cell states, and can influence susceptibility to disease. At present, the full set of molecular mechanisms governing the relative expression and balance of these two pathways is unknown. Here, we focus on genes whose loss leads to an increase in OXPHOS activity. Unexpectedly, this class of genes is enriched for components of the pre-mRNA splicing machinery, in particular for subunits of the U1 snRNP. Among them, we show that LUC7L2 represses OXPHOS and promotes glycolysis by multiple mechanisms, including (1) splicing of the glycolytic enzyme PFKM to suppress glycogen synthesis, (2) splicing of the cystine/glutamate antiporter SLC7A11 (xCT) to suppress glutamate oxidation, and (3) secondary repression of mitochondrial respiratory supercomplex formation. Our results connect LUC7L2 expression and, more generally, the U1 snRNP to cellular energy metabolism.
    Keywords:  7q-; LUC7; MDS; Tarui disease; cancer; ferroptosis; myelodysplastic syndrome; phosphofructokinase; spliceosome; system X(c)(−)
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2021.02.033
  9. Cell. 2021 Apr 08. pii: S0092-8674(21)00362-7. [Epub ahead of print]
    Kinase-mediated RAS signaling via membraneless cytoplasmic protein granules.
    Asmin Tulpule, Juan Guan, Dana S Neel, Hannah R Allegakoen, Yone Phar Lin, David Brown, Yu-Ting Chou, Ann Heslin, Nilanjana Chatterjee, Shriya Perati, Shruti Menon, Tan A Nguyen, Jayanta Debnath, Alejandro D Ramirez, Xiaoyu Shi, Bin Yang, Siyu Feng, Suraj Makhija, Bo Huang, Trever G Bivona.
      Receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK)-mediated activation of downstream effector pathways such as the RAS GTPase/MAP kinase (MAPK) signaling cascade is thought to occur exclusively from lipid membrane compartments in mammalian cells. Here, we uncover a membraneless, protein granule-based subcellular structure that can organize RTK/RAS/MAPK signaling in cancer. Chimeric (fusion) oncoproteins involving certain RTKs including ALK and RET undergo de novo higher-order assembly into membraneless cytoplasmic protein granules that actively signal. These pathogenic biomolecular condensates locally concentrate the RAS activating complex GRB2/SOS1 and activate RAS in a lipid membrane-independent manner. RTK protein granule formation is critical for oncogenic RAS/MAPK signaling output in these cells. We identify a set of protein granule components and establish structural rules that define the formation of membraneless protein granules by RTK oncoproteins. Our findings reveal membraneless, higher-order cytoplasmic protein assembly as a distinct subcellular platform for organizing oncogenic RTK and RAS signaling.
    Keywords:  ALK; MAPK; RAS; RET; anaplastic lymphoma kinase; biomolecular condensate; gene fusion; kinase; protein granule; receptor tyrosine kinase
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.03.031
  10. Nat Genet. 2021 Apr 12.
    Chromothripsis as an on-target consequence of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing.
    Mitchell L Leibowitz, Stamatis Papathanasiou, Phillip A Doerfler, Logan J Blaine, Lili Sun, Yu Yao, Cheng-Zhong Zhang, Mitchell J Weiss, David Pellman.
      Genome editing has therapeutic potential for treating genetic diseases and cancer. However, the currently most practicable approaches rely on the generation of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), which can give rise to a poorly characterized spectrum of chromosome structural abnormalities. Here, using model cells and single-cell whole-genome sequencing, as well as by editing at a clinically relevant locus in clinically relevant cells, we show that CRISPR-Cas9 editing generates structural defects of the nucleus, micronuclei and chromosome bridges, which initiate a mutational process called chromothripsis. Chromothripsis is extensive chromosome rearrangement restricted to one or a few chromosomes that can cause human congenital disease and cancer. These results demonstrate that chromothripsis is a previously unappreciated on-target consequence of CRISPR-Cas9-generated DSBs. As genome editing is implemented in the clinic, the potential for extensive chromosomal rearrangements should be considered and monitored.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-021-00838-7
  11. Nat Commun. 2021 04 14. 12(1): 2244
    Ferroptotic cell death triggered by conjugated linolenic acids is mediated by ACSL1.
    Alexander Beatty, Tanu Singh, Yulia Y Tyurina, Vladimir A Tyurin, Svetlana Samovich, Emmanuelle Nicolas, Kristen Maslar, Yan Zhou, Kathy Q Cai, Yinfei Tan, Sebastian Doll, Marcus Conrad, Aravind Subramanian, Hülya Bayır, Valerian E Kagan, Ulrike Rennefahrt, Jeffrey R Peterson.
      Ferroptosis is associated with lipid hydroperoxides generated by the oxidation of polyunsaturated acyl chains. Lipid hydroperoxides are reduced by glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and GPX4 inhibitors induce ferroptosis. However, the therapeutic potential of triggering ferroptosis in cancer cells with polyunsaturated fatty acids is unknown. Here, we identify conjugated linoleates including α-eleostearic acid (αESA) as ferroptosis inducers. αESA does not alter GPX4 activity but is incorporated into cellular lipids and promotes lipid peroxidation and cell death in diverse cancer cell types. αESA-triggered death is mediated by acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain isoform 1, which promotes αESA incorporation into neutral lipids including triacylglycerols. Interfering with triacylglycerol biosynthesis suppresses ferroptosis triggered by αESA but not by GPX4 inhibition. Oral administration of tung oil, naturally rich in αESA, to mice limits tumor growth and metastasis with transcriptional changes consistent with ferroptosis. Overall, these findings illuminate a potential approach to ferroptosis, complementary to GPX4 inhibition.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22471-y
  12. Nat Rev Immunol. 2021 Apr 15.
    A guide to interrogating immunometabolism.
    Kelsey Voss, Hanna S Hong, Jackie E Bader, Ayaka Sugiura, Costas A Lyssiotis, Jeffrey C Rathmell.
      The metabolic charts memorized in early biochemistry courses, and then later forgotten, have come back to haunt many immunologists with new recognition of the importance of these pathways. Metabolites and the activity of metabolic pathways drive energy production, macromolecule synthesis, intracellular signalling, post-translational modifications and cell survival. Immunologists who identify a metabolic phenotype in their system are often left wondering where to begin and what does it mean? Here, we provide a framework for navigating and selecting the appropriate biochemical techniques to explore immunometabolism. We offer recommendations for initial approaches to develop and test metabolic hypotheses and how to avoid common mistakes. We then discuss how to take things to the next level with metabolomic approaches, such as isotope tracing and genetic approaches. By proposing strategies and evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of different methodologies, we aim to provide insight, note important considerations and discuss ways to avoid common misconceptions. Furthermore, we highlight recent studies demonstrating the power of these metabolic approaches to uncover the role of metabolism in immunology. By following the framework in this Review, neophytes and seasoned investigators alike can venture into the emerging realm of cellular metabolism and immunity with confidence and rigour.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-021-00529-8
  13. Cell Metab. 2021 Apr 10. pii: S1550-4131(21)00130-3. [Epub ahead of print]
    Metabolic flexibility determines human NK cell functional fate in the tumor microenvironment.
    Sophie M Poznanski, Kanwaldeep Singh, Tyrah M Ritchie, Jennifer A Aguiar, Isabella Y Fan, Ana L Portillo, Eduardo A Rojas, Fatemeh Vahedi, Abdullah El-Sayes, Sansi Xing, Martin Butcher, Yu Lu, Andrew C Doxey, Jonathan D Schertzer, Hal W Hirte, Ali A Ashkar.
      NK cells are central to anti-tumor immunity and recently showed efficacy for treating hematologic malignancies. However, their dysfunction in the hostile tumor microenvironment remains a pivotal barrier for cancer immunotherapies against solid tumors. Using cancer patient samples and proteomics, we found that human NK cell dysfunction in the tumor microenvironment is due to suppression of glucose metabolism via lipid peroxidation-associated oxidative stress. Activation of the Nrf2 antioxidant pathway restored NK cell metabolism and function and resulted in greater anti-tumor activity in vivo. Strikingly, expanded NK cells reprogrammed with complete metabolic substrate flexibility not only sustained metabolic fitness but paradoxically augmented their tumor killing in the tumor microenvironment and in response to nutrient deprivation. Our results uncover that metabolic flexibility enables a cytotoxic immune cell to exploit the metabolic hostility of tumors for their advantage, addressing a critical hurdle for cancer immunotherapy.
    Keywords:  NK cell metabolism; NK cells; Warburg effect; adoptive cell therapy; cancer immunotherapy; glucose metabolism; immunometabolism; metabolic flexibility; oxidative stress; tumor microenvironment
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2021.03.023
  14. EBioMedicine. 2021 Apr 13. pii: S2352-3964(21)00125-0. [Epub ahead of print]66 103332
    Metabolomic profiling of pancreatic adenocarcinoma reveals key features driving clinical outcome and drug resistance.
    Abdessamad El Kaoutari, Nicolas A Fraunhoffer, Owen Hoare, Carlos Teyssedou, Philippe Soubeyran, Odile Gayet, Julie Roques, Gwen Lomberk, Raul Urrutia, Nelson Dusetti, Juan Iovanna.
       BACKGROUND: Although significant advances have been made recently to characterize the biology of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), more efforts are needed to improve our understanding and to face challenges related to the aggressiveness, high mortality rate and chemoresistance of this disease.
    METHODS: In this study, we perform the metabolomics profiling of 77 PDAC patient-derived tumor xenografts (PDTX) to investigate the relationship of metabolic profiles with overall survival (OS) in PDAC patients, tumor phenotypes and resistance to five anticancer drugs (gemcitabine, oxaliplatin, docetaxel, SN-38 and 5-Fluorouracil).
    FINDINGS: We identified a metabolic signature that was able to predict the clinical outcome of PDAC patients (p < 0.001, HR=2.68 [95% CI: 1.5-4.9]). The correlation analysis showed that this metabolomic signature was significantly correlated with the PDAC molecular gradient (PAMG) (R = 0.44 and p < 0.001) indicating significant association to the transcriptomic phenotypes of tumors. Resistance score established, based on growth rate inhibition metrics using 35 PDTX-derived primary cells, allowed to identify several metabolites related to drug resistance which was globally accompanied by accumulation of several diacy-phospholipids and decrease in lysophospholipids. Interestingly, targeting glycerophospholipid synthesis improved sensitivity to the three tested cytotoxic drugs indicating that interfering with metabolism could be a promising therapeutic strategy to overcome the challenging resistance of PDAC.
    INTERPRETATION: In conclusion, this study shows that the metabolomic profile of pancreatic PDTX models is strongly associated to clinical outcome, transcriptomic phenotypes and drug resistance. We also showed that targeting the lipidomic profile could be used in combinatory therapies against chemoresistance in PDAC.
    Keywords:  Chemosensitivity; FSG67; Metabolic signature; Metabolomics; Pancreatic cancer; Precision medicine; Tumor heterogeneity
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103332
  15. Cell Metab. 2021 Apr 09. pii: S1550-4131(21)00131-5. [Epub ahead of print]
    A methionine-Mettl3-N6-methyladenosine axis promotes polycystic kidney disease.
    Harini Ramalingam, Sonu Kashyap, Patricia Cobo-Stark, Andrea Flaten, Chun-Mien Chang, Sachin Hajarnis, Kyaw Zaw Hein, Jorgo Lika, Gina M Warner, Jair M Espindola-Netto, Ashwani Kumar, Mohammed Kanchwala, Chao Xing, Eduardo N Chini, Vishal Patel.
      Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a common monogenic disorder marked by numerous progressively enlarging kidney cysts. Mettl3, a methyltransferase that catalyzes the abundant N6-methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification, is implicated in development, but its role in most diseases is unknown. Here, we show that Mettl3 and m6A levels are increased in mouse and human ADPKD samples and that kidney-specific transgenic Mettl3 expression produces tubular cysts. Conversely, Mettl3 deletion in three orthologous ADPKD mouse models slows cyst growth. Interestingly, methionine and S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) levels are also elevated in ADPKD models. Moreover, methionine and SAM induce Mettl3 expression and aggravate ex vivo cyst growth, whereas dietary methionine restriction attenuates mouse ADPKD. Finally, Mettl3 activates the cyst-promoting c-Myc and cAMP pathways through enhanced c-Myc and Avpr2 mRNA m6A modification and translation. Thus, Mettl3 promotes ADPKD and links methionine utilization to epitranscriptomic activation of proliferation and cyst growth.
    Keywords:  AVPR2; METTL3; N(6)-methyladenosine; S-adenosylmethionine; c-Myc; m6A mRNA methylation; mRNA translation; methionine; polycystic kidney disease
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2021.03.024
  16. Nat Metab. 2021 Apr 15.
    Inhibition of the IL-17A axis in adipocytes suppresses diet-induced obesity and metabolic disorders in mice.
    Ana Teijeiro, Amanda Garrido, Anna Ferre, Cristian Perna, Nabil Djouder.
      Overnutrition causes obesity, a global health problem without any effective therapy. Obesity is characterized by low-grade inflammation, which predisposes individuals to metabolic syndrome via unknown mechanisms. Here, we demonstrate that abolishing the interleukin-17A (IL-17A) axis in mice by inhibition of RORγt-mediated IL-17A production by digoxin, or by ubiquitous deletion of IL-17 receptor A (Il17ra), suppresses diet-induced obesity (DIO) and metabolic disorders, and promotes adipose-tissue browning, thermogenesis and energy expenditure. Genetic ablation of Il17ra specifically in adipocytes is sufficient to completely prevent DIO and metabolic dysfunction in mice. IL-17A produced in response to DIO induces PPARγ phosphorylation at Ser273 in adipocytes in a CDK5-dependent manner, thereby modifying expression of diabetogenic and obesity genes, which correlates with IL-17A signalling in white adipose tissues of individuals with morbid obesity. These findings reveal an unanticipated role for IL-17A in adipocyte biology, in which its direct action pathogenically reprograms adipocytes, promoting DIO and metabolic syndrome. Targeting the IL-17A axis could be an efficient antiobesity strategy.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-021-00371-1
  17. Gut. 2021 Apr 12. pii: gutjnl-2020-321397. [Epub ahead of print]
    A GATA6-centred gene regulatory network involving HNFs and ΔNp63 controls plasticity and immune escape in pancreatic cancer.
    Bernhard Kloesch, Vivien Ionasz, Sumit Paliwal, Natascha Hruschka, Jaime Martinez de Villarreal, Rupert Öllinger, Sebastian Mueller, Hans Peter Dienes, Martin Schindl, Elisabeth S Gruber, Judith Stift, Dietmar Herndler-Brandstetter, Gwen A Lomberk, Barbara Seidler, Dieter Saur, Roland Rad, Raul A Urrutia, Francisco X Real, Paola Martinelli.
       OBJECTIVE: Molecular taxonomy of tumours is the foundation of personalised medicine and is becoming of paramount importance for therapeutic purposes. Four transcriptomics-based classification systems of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) exist, which consistently identified a subtype of highly aggressive PDACs with basal-like features, including ΔNp63 expression and loss of the epithelial master regulator GATA6. We investigated the precise molecular events driving PDAC progression and the emergence of the basal programme.
    DESIGN: We combined the analysis of patient-derived transcriptomics datasets and tissue samples with mechanistic experiments using a novel dual-recombinase mouse model for Gata6 deletion at late stages of KRasG12D-driven pancreatic tumorigenesis (Gata6LateKO).
    RESULTS: This comprehensive human-to-mouse approach showed that GATA6 loss is necessary, but not sufficient, for the expression of ΔNp63 and the basal programme in patients and in mice. The concomitant loss of HNF1A and HNF4A, likely through epigenetic silencing, is required for the full phenotype switch. Moreover, Gata6 deletion in mice dramatically increased the metastatic rate, with a propensity for lung metastases. Through RNA-Seq analysis of primary cells isolated from mouse tumours, we show that Gata6 inhibits tumour cell plasticity and immune evasion, consistent with patient-derived data, suggesting that GATA6 works as a barrier for acquiring the fully developed basal and metastatic phenotype.
    CONCLUSIONS: Our work provides both a mechanistic molecular link between the basal phenotype and metastasis and a valuable preclinical tool to investigate the most aggressive subtype of PDAC. These data, therefore, are important for understanding the pathobiological features underlying the heterogeneity of pancreatic cancer in both mice and human.
    Keywords:  epithelial differentiation; molecular mechanisms; pancreatic cancer
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2020-321397
  18. Cell. 2021 Apr 07. pii: S0092-8674(21)00353-6. [Epub ahead of print]
    Genome-wide programmable transcriptional memory by CRISPR-based epigenome editing.
    James K Nuñez, Jin Chen, Greg C Pommier, J Zachery Cogan, Joseph M Replogle, Carmen Adriaens, Gokul N Ramadoss, Quanming Shi, King L Hung, Avi J Samelson, Angela N Pogson, James Y S Kim, Amanda Chung, Manuel D Leonetti, Howard Y Chang, Martin Kampmann, Bradley E Bernstein, Volker Hovestadt, Luke A Gilbert, Jonathan S Weissman.
      A general approach for heritably altering gene expression has the potential to enable many discovery and therapeutic efforts. Here, we present CRISPRoff-a programmable epigenetic memory writer consisting of a single dead Cas9 fusion protein that establishes DNA methylation and repressive histone modifications. Transient CRISPRoff expression initiates highly specific DNA methylation and gene repression that is maintained through cell division and differentiation of stem cells to neurons. Pairing CRISPRoff with genome-wide screens and analysis of chromatin marks establishes rules for heritable gene silencing. We identify single guide RNAs (sgRNAs) capable of silencing the large majority of genes including those lacking canonical CpG islands (CGIs) and reveal a wide targeting window extending beyond annotated CGIs. The broad ability of CRISPRoff to initiate heritable gene silencing even outside of CGIs expands the canonical model of methylation-based silencing and enables diverse applications including genome-wide screens, multiplexed cell engineering, enhancer silencing, and mechanistic exploration of epigenetic inheritance.
    Keywords:  CRISPR; DNA methylation; cell therapy; dCas9; epigenetics
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.03.025
  19. Br J Cancer. 2021 Apr 15.
    Towards decoding the coupled decision-making of metabolism and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in cancer.
    Dongya Jia, Jun Hyoung Park, Harsimran Kaur, Kwang Hwa Jung, Sukjin Yang, Shubham Tripathi, Madeline Galbraith, Youyuan Deng, Mohit Kumar Jolly, Benny Abraham Kaipparettu, José N Onuchic, Herbert Levine.
      Cancer cells have the plasticity to adjust their metabolic phenotypes for survival and metastasis. A developmental programme known as epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a critical role during metastasis, promoting the loss of polarity and cell-cell adhesion and the acquisition of motile, stem-cell characteristics. Cells undergoing EMT or the reverse mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET) are often associated with metabolic changes, as the change in phenotype often correlates with a different balance of proliferation versus energy-intensive migration. Extensive crosstalk occurs between metabolism and EMT, but how this crosstalk leads to coordinated physiological changes is still uncertain. The elusive connection between metabolism and EMT compromises the efficacy of metabolic therapies targeting metastasis. In this review, we aim to clarify the causation between metabolism and EMT on the basis of experimental studies, and propose integrated theoretical-experimental efforts to better understand the coupled decision-making of metabolism and EMT.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41416-021-01385-y
  20. Cell Death Discov. 2021 Apr 13. 7(1): 78
    NR5A2 transcriptional activation by BRD4 promotes pancreatic cancer progression by upregulating GDF15.
    Feng Guo, Yingke Zhou, Hui Guo, Dianyun Ren, Xin Jin, Heshui Wu.
      NR5A2 is a transcription factor regulating the expression of various oncogenes. However, the role of NR5A2 and the specific regulatory mechanism of NR5A2 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are not thoroughly studied. In our study, Western blotting, real-time PCR, and immunohistochemistry were conducted to assess the expression levels of different molecules. Wound-healing, MTS, colony formation, and transwell assays were employed to evaluate the malignant potential of pancreatic cancer cells. We demonstrated that NR5A2 acted as a negative prognostic biomarker in PDAC. NR5A2 silencing inhibited the proliferation and migration abilities of pancreatic cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. While NR5A2 overexpression markedly promoted both events in vitro. We further identified that NR5A2 was transcriptionally upregulated by BRD4 in pancreatic cancer cells and this was confirmed by Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and ChIP-qPCR. Besides, transcriptome RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was performed to explore the cancer-promoting effects of NR5A2, we found that GDF15 is a component of multiple down-regulated tumor-promoting gene sets after NR5A2 was silenced. Next, we showed that NR5A2 enhanced the malignancy of pancreatic cancer cells by inducing the transcription of GDF15. Collectively, our findings suggest that NR5A2 expression is induced by BRD4. In turn, NR5A2 activates the transcription of GDF15, promoting pancreatic cancer progression. Therefore, NR5A2 and GDF15 could be promising therapeutic targets in pancreatic cancer.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41420-021-00462-8
  21. Diabetes. 2021 Apr 16. pii: db210001. [Epub ahead of print]
    Human white adipose tissue displays selective insulin resistance in the obese state.
    Enrichetta Mileti, Kelvin Hm Kwok, Daniel P Andersson, Anthony Mathelier, Amitha Raman, Jesper Bäckdahl, Jutta Jalkanen, Lucas Massier, Anders Thorell, Hui Gao, Peter Arner, Niklas Mejhert, Carsten O Daub, Mikael Rydén.
      Selective hepatic insulin resistance is a feature of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Whether similar mechanisms operate in white adipose tissue (WAT) of obese subjects and to what extent these are normalized by weight loss is unknown. We determined insulin sensitivity by hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp and the insulin response in subcutaneous WAT by RNA-sequencing in 23 women with obesity before and two years after bariatric surgery. To control for effects of surgery, women post-surgery were matched to never-obese subjects. Multidimensional analyses of 138 samples allowed us to classify the effects of insulin into three distinct expression responses: a common set was present in all three groups and included genes encoding several lipid/cholesterol biosynthesis enzymes; a set of obesity-attenuated genes linked to tissue remodelling and protein translation was selectively regulated in the two non-obese states and several post obesity-enriched genes encoding proteins involved in e.g. one carbon metabolism were only responsive to insulin in the women who had lost weight. Altogether, human WAT displays a selective insulin response in the obese state where most genes are normalized by weight loss. This comprehensive atlas provides insights into the transcriptional effects of insulin in WAT and may identify targets to improve insulin action.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.2337/db21-0001
  22. FASEB J. 2021 May;35(5): e21558
    Aging drives organ-specific alterations of the inflammatory microenvironment guided by immunomodulatory mediators in mice.
    Patrick Schädel, Fabiana Troisi, Anna Czapka, Nadja Gebert, Simona Pace, Alessandro Ori, Oliver Werz.
      Aging is accompanied by chronic, low-grade systemic inflammation, termed inflammaging, a main driver of age-associated diseases. Such sterile inflammation is typically characterized by elevated levels of pro-inflammatory mediators, such as cytokines, chemokines and reactive oxygen species causing organ damage. Lipid mediators play important roles in the fine-tuning of both the promotion and the resolution of inflammation. Yet, it remains unclear how lipid mediators fit within the concept of inflammaging and how their biosynthesis and function is affected by aging. Here, we provide comprehensive signature profiles of inflammatory markers in organs afflicted with inflammation of young and old C57BL/6 mice. We reveal an organ-specific footprint of inflammation-related cytokines, chemokines and lipid mediators, which are distinctively affected by aging. While some organs are characterized by a pronounced pro-inflammatory microenvironment and impaired resolution during aging, others display elevated levels of pro-resolving mediators or an overall decrease in inflammatory signaling. Our results demonstrate that it proves difficult to establish a unifying concept for alterations of immunomodulatory mediators as consequence of aging and that organ specificity needs to be considered. Moreover, our data imply that inclusion of lipid mediators into the concept of inflammaging provides a comprehensive tool to characterize the inflammatory microenvironment during aging on a broader and yet, more detailed scope.
    Keywords:  aging; cytokines; inflammation; lipid mediators; resolution
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1096/fj.202002684R
  23. J Clin Invest. 2021 Apr 13. pii: 126089. [Epub ahead of print]
    Myeloid cell-derived PROS1 inhibits tumor metastasis by regulating inflammatory and immune responses via IL-10.
    Avi Maimon, Victor Levi-Yahid, Kerem Ben-Meir, Amit Halpern, Ziv Talmi, Shivam Priya, Gabriel Mizraji, Shani Mistriel-Zerbib, Michael Berger, Michal Baniyash, Sonja Loges, Tal Burstyn-Cohen.
      Stimulation of TAM (TYRO3, AXL and MERTK) Receptor Tyrosine Kinases promotes tumor progression through numerous cellular mechanisms. TAM cognate ligands GAS6 and PROS1 (for TYRO3 and MERTK) are secreted by host immune cells, an interaction which may support tumor progression. Here we reveal an unexpected anti-metastatic role for myeloid-derived PROS1, directly suppressing the metastatic potential of lung and breast tumor models. Pros1 deletion in myeloid cells led to increased lung metastasis, independent of primary tumor infiltration. PROS1-cKO BMDMs led to elevated TNFα, IL-6, Nos2 and IL-10 via modulation of the Socs3-NFκB pathway. Conditioned medium from cKO BMDMs enhanced EMT, ERK, AKT and STAT3 activation within tumor cells, and promoted IL-10 dependent invasion and survival. Macrophages isolated from metastatic lungs modulated T cell proliferation and function, as well as expression of costimulatory molecules on dendritic cells in a PROS1-dependent manner. Inhibition of MERTK kinase activity blocked PROS1-mediated suppression of TNFα and IL-6, but not of IL-10. Overall, using lung and breast cancer models, we identify the PROS1-MERTK axis within BMDMs as a potent regulator of adaptive immune responses with a potential to suppress metastatic seeding, and reveal IL-10 regulation by PROS1 to deviate from that of TNFα and IL-6.
    Keywords:  Inflammation; Macrophages; Oncology
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI126089
  24. Clin Cancer Res. 2021 Apr 15. pii: clincanres.4117.2020. [Epub ahead of print]
    Development and validation of a novel nomogram for individualized prediction of survival in cancer of unknown primary (CUP).
    Kanwal Raghav, Hyunsoo Hwang, Alexandre A Jácome, Eric Bhang, Anneleis Willett, Ryan W Huey, Nishat P Dhillon, Jignesh Modha, Brandon G Smaglo, Aurelio Matamoros, Jeannelyn Santiano Estrella, Justin Jao, Michael J Overman, Xuemei Wang, F Anthony Greco, Jonathan M Loree, Gauri R Varadhachary.
       PURPOSE: Prognostic uncertainty is a major challenge for cancer of unknown primary (CUP). Current models limit a meaningful patient-provider dialogue. We aimed to establish a nomogram for predicting overall survival (OS) in CUP based on robust clinicopathological prognostic factors.
    EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We evaluated 521 patients with CUP at MDACC [MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA] (2012-2016). Baseline variables were analyzed using Cox-regression and nomogram developed using significant predictors. Predictive accuracy and discriminatory performance were assessed by calibration curves, concordance probability estimate (CPE) ({plus minus}standard error [SE]) and concordance statistic (C-index). The model was subjected to bootstrapping and multi-institutional external validations using two independent CUP cohorts: V1 (MDACC [2017], N=103) and V2 (BC Cancer, Vancouver, Canada and Sarah Cannon Cancer Center/Tennessee Oncology, USA, N=302).
    RESULTS: Baseline characteristics of entire cohort (N=926) included: median age (63 years), women (51%), ECOG-PS 0-1 (64%), adenocarcinomas (52%), {greater than or equal to}3 sites of metastases (30%), median follow-up duration and OS of 40.1 and 14.7 months, respectively. Five independent prognostic factors were identified: gender, ECOG-PS, histology, number of metastatic sites and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio. The resulting model predicted OS with CPE of 0.69 (SE: {plus minus}0.01) [C-index: 0.71 (95%CI:0.68-0.74)] outperforming Culine/Seve prognostic models (CPE: 0.59{plus minus}0.01). CPE for external validation cohorts V1 and V2 were 0.67 ({plus minus}0.02) and 0.70 ({plus minus}0.01), respectively. Calibration curves for 1-year OS showed strong agreement between nomogram prediction and actual observations in all cohorts.
    CONCLUSIONS: Our user-friendly CUP nomogram integrating commonly available baseline factors provides robust personalized prognostication which can aid clinical decision making and selection/stratification for clinical trials.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-20-4117
  25. Immunity. 2021 Mar 10. pii: S1074-7613(21)00035-2. [Epub ahead of print]
    Chemokines and the immune response to cancer.
    Aleksandra J Ozga, Melvyn T Chow, Andrew D Luster.
      Chemokines are chemotactic cytokines that regulate the migration of immune cells. Chemokines function as cues for the coordinated recruitment of immune cells into and out of tissue and also guide the spatial organization and cellular interactions of immune cells within tissues. Chemokines are critical in directing immune cell migration necessary to mount and then deliver an effective anti-tumor immune response; however, chemokines also participate in the generation and recruitment of immune cells that contribute to a pro-tumorigenic microenvironment. Here, we review the role of the chemokine system in anti-tumor and pro-tumor immune responses and discuss how malignant cells and the tumor microenvironment regulate the overall chemokine landscape to shape the type and outcome of immune responses to cancer and cancer treatment.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2021.01.012
  26. J Biol Chem. 2021 Apr 08. pii: S0021-9258(21)00433-6. [Epub ahead of print] 100647
    Major Advances in Targeted Protein Degradation: PROTACs, LYTACs, and MADTACs.
    Shanique Alabi, Craig Crews.
      Of late, targeted protein degradation (TPD) has surfaced as a novel and innovative chemical tool and therapeutic modality. By co-opting protein degradation pathways, TPD facilitates complete removal of the protein molecules from within or outside the cell. While the pioneering Proteolysis Targeting Chimera (PROTAC) technology and molecular glues hijack the ubiquitin-proteasome system, newer modalities co-opt autophagy or the endo-lysosomal pathway. Using this mechanism, TPD is posited to largely expand the druggable space far beyond small molecule inhibitors. In this review, we discuss the major advances in TPD, highlight our current understanding, and explore outstanding questions in the field.
    Keywords:  AUTACs; LYTACs; Molecular Glues; PROTACs; chemical biology; drug action; lysosome; protein degradation; ubiquitination
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100647
  27. EMBO Rep. 2021 Apr 12. e51803
    The interplay between DNA and histone methylation: molecular mechanisms and disease implications.
    Yinglu Li, Xiao Chen, Chao Lu.
      Methylation of cytosine in CpG dinucleotides and histone lysine and arginine residues is a chromatin modification that critically contributes to the regulation of genome integrity, replication, and accessibility. A strong correlation exists between the genome-wide distribution of DNA and histone methylation, suggesting an intimate relationship between these epigenetic marks. Indeed, accumulating literature reveals complex mechanisms underlying the molecular crosstalk between DNA and histone methylation. These in vitro and in vivo discoveries are further supported by the finding that genes encoding DNA- and histone-modifying enzymes are often mutated in overlapping human diseases. Here, we summarize recent advances in understanding how DNA and histone methylation cooperate to maintain the cellular epigenomic landscape. We will also discuss the potential implication of these insights for understanding the etiology of, and developing biomarkers and therapies for, human congenital disorders and cancers that are driven by chromatin abnormalities.
    Keywords:  DNA methylation; cancer; chromatin; developmental disorder; histone methylation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.15252/embr.202051803
  28. Oncogene. 2021 Apr 12.
    Clocking cancer: the circadian clock as a target in cancer therapy.
    Francesca Battaglin, Priscilla Chan, Yuanzhong Pan, Shivani Soni, Meng Qu, Erin R Spiller, Sofi Castanon, Evanthia T Roussos Torres, Shannon M Mumenthaler, Steve A Kay, Heinz-Josef Lenz.
      Disruption of the cellular pathway modulating endogenous 24-h rhythms, referred to as "the circadian clock", has been recently proven to be associated with cancer risk, development, and progression. This pathway operates through a complex network of transcription-translation feedback loops generated by a set of interplaying proteins. The expression of core circadian clock genes is frequently dysregulated in human tumors; however, the specific effects and underlying mechanisms seem to vary depending on the cancer types and are not fully understood. In addition, specific oncogenes may differentially induce the dysregulation of the circadian clock in tumors. Pharmacological modulation of clock components has been shown to result in specific lethality in certain types of cancer cells, and thus holds great promise as a novel anti-cancer therapeutic approach. Here we present an overview of the rationale and current evidence for targeting the clock in cancer treatment.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-021-01778-6
  29. Elife. 2021 04 13. pii: e62293. [Epub ahead of print]10
    Mouse aging cell atlas analysis reveals global and cell type-specific aging signatures.
    Martin Jinye Zhang, Angela Oliveira Pisco, Spyros Darmanis, James Zou.
      Aging is associated with complex molecular and cellular processes that are poorly understood. Here we leveraged the Tabula Muris Senis single-cell RNA-seq data set to systematically characterize gene expression changes during aging across diverse cell types in the mouse. We identified aging-dependent genes in 76 tissue-cell types from 23 tissues and characterized both shared and tissue-cell-specific aging behaviors. We found that the aging-related genes shared by multiple tissue-cell types also change their expression congruently in the same direction during aging in most tissue-cell types, suggesting a coordinated global aging behavior at the organismal level. Scoring cells based on these shared aging genes allowed us to contrast the aging status of different tissues and cell types from a transcriptomic perspective. In addition, we identified genes that exhibit age-related expression changes specific to each functional category of tissue-cell types. Altogether, our analyses provide one of the most comprehensive and systematic characterizations of the molecular signatures of aging across diverse tissue-cell types in a mammalian system.
    Keywords:  aging; computation; computational biology; mouse; single cell; systems biology
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.62293
  30. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 ;9 645593
    Mechanisms of Cellular Senescence: Cell Cycle Arrest and Senescence Associated Secretory Phenotype.
    Ruchi Kumari, Parmjit Jat.
      Cellular senescence is a stable cell cycle arrest that can be triggered in normal cells in response to various intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli, as well as developmental signals. Senescence is considered to be a highly dynamic, multi-step process, during which the properties of senescent cells continuously evolve and diversify in a context dependent manner. It is associated with multiple cellular and molecular changes and distinct phenotypic alterations, including a stable proliferation arrest unresponsive to mitogenic stimuli. Senescent cells remain viable, have alterations in metabolic activity and undergo dramatic changes in gene expression and develop a complex senescence-associated secretory phenotype. Cellular senescence can compromise tissue repair and regeneration, thereby contributing toward aging. Removal of senescent cells can attenuate age-related tissue dysfunction and extend health span. Senescence can also act as a potent anti-tumor mechanism, by preventing proliferation of potentially cancerous cells. It is a cellular program which acts as a double-edged sword, with both beneficial and detrimental effects on the health of the organism, and considered to be an example of evolutionary antagonistic pleiotropy. Activation of the p53/p21WAF1/CIP1 and p16INK4A/pRB tumor suppressor pathways play a central role in regulating senescence. Several other pathways have recently been implicated in mediating senescence and the senescent phenotype. Herein we review the molecular mechanisms that underlie cellular senescence and the senescence associated growth arrest with a particular focus on why cells stop dividing, the stability of the growth arrest, the hypersecretory phenotype and how the different pathways are all integrated.
    Keywords:  DNA damage response (DDR); DREAM complex; cell cycle arrest; cellular senescence; senescence associated secretory phenotype (SASP)
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2021.645593
  31. Nat Rev Cancer. 2021 Apr 14.
    Mechanosurveillance of tumour metastasis.
    Kirsty Minton.
      
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41568-021-00360-2
  32. Elife. 2021 Apr 12. pii: e62781. [Epub ahead of print]10
    Molecular tracking devices quantify antigen distribution and archiving in the murine lymph node.
    Shannon M Walsh, Ryan M Sheridan, Erin D Lucas, Thu A Doan, Brian C Ware, Johnathon Schafer, Rui Fu, Matthew A Burchill, Jay R Hesselberth, Beth Ann Jiron Tamburini.
      The detection of foreign antigens in vivo has relied on fluorescent conjugation or indirect read-outs such as antigen presentation. In our studies, we found that these widely used techniques had several technical limitations that have precluded a complete picture of antigen trafficking or retention across lymph node cell types. To address these limitations, we developed a 'molecular tracking device' to follow the distribution, acquisition, and retention of antigen in the lymph node. Utilizing an antigen conjugated to a nuclease-resistant DNA tag, acting as a combined antigen-adjuvant conjugate, and single-cell mRNA sequencing we quantified antigen abundance in lymph node. Variable antigen levels enabled the identification of caveolar endocytosis as a mechanism of antigen acquisition or retention in lymphatic endothelial cells. Thus, these molecular tracking devices enable new approaches to study dynamic tissue dissemination of antigen-adjuvant conjugates and identify new mechanisms of antigen acquisition and retention at cellular resolution in vivo.
    Keywords:  cell biology; immunology; inflammation; mouse
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.62781
  33. Nat Metab. 2021 Apr 15.
    Irx3 and Irx5 in Ins2-Cre+ cells regulate hypothalamic postnatal neurogenesis and leptin response.
    Joe Eun Son, Zhengchao Dou, Kyoung-Han Kim, Siyi Wanggou, Vincent Su Bin Cha, Rong Mo, Xiaoyun Zhang, Xinyu Chen, Troy Ketela, Xuejun Li, Xi Huang, Chi-Chung Hui.
      Obesity is mainly due to excessive food intake. IRX3 and IRX5 have been suggested as determinants of obesity in connection with the intronic variants of FTO, but how these genes contribute to obesity via changes in food intake remains unclear. Here, we show that mice doubly heterozygous for Irx3 and Irx5 mutations exhibit lower food intake with enhanced hypothalamic leptin response. By lineage tracing and single-cell RNA sequencing using the Ins2-Cre system, we identify a previously unreported radial glia-like neural stem cell population with high Irx3 and Irx5 expression in early postnatal hypothalamus and demonstrate that reduced dosage of Irx3 and Irx5 promotes neurogenesis in postnatal hypothalamus leading to elevated numbers of leptin-sensing arcuate neurons. Furthermore, we find that mice with deletion of Irx3 in these cells also exhibit a similar food intake and hypothalamic phenotype. Our results illustrate that Irx3 and Irx5 play a regulatory role in hypothalamic postnatal neurogenesis and leptin response.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-021-00382-y
  34. Semin Cancer Biol. 2021 Apr 13. pii: S1044-579X(21)00107-3. [Epub ahead of print]
    AMPK signaling and its targeting in cancer progression and treatment.
    Che-Chia Hsu, Danni Peng, Zhen Cai, Hui-Kuan Lin.
      The intrinsic mechanisms sensing the imbalance of energy in cells are pivotal for cell survival under various environmental insults. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) serves as a central guardian maintaining energy homeostasis by orchestrating diverse cellular processes, such as lipogenesis, glycolysis, TCA cycle, cell cycle progression and mitochondrial dynamics. Given that AMPK plays an essential role in the maintenance of energy balance and metabolism, managing AMPK activation is considered as a promising strategy for the treatment of metabolic disorders such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. Since AMPK has been attributed to aberrant activation of metabolic pathways, mitochondrial dynamics and functions, and epigenetic regulation, which are hallmarks of cancer, targeting AMPK may open up a new avenue for cancer therapies. Although AMPK is previously thought to be involved in tumor suppression, several recent studies have unraveled its tumor promoting activity. The double-edged sword characteristics for AMPK as a tumor suppressor or an oncogene are determined by distinct cellular contexts. In this review, we will summarize recent progress in dissecting the upstream regulators and downstream effectors for AMPK, discuss the distinct roles of AMPK in cancer regulation and finally offer potential strategies with AMPK targeting in cancer therapy.
    Keywords:  AMPK; Cancer; glucose deprivation; metabolism; mitocondrial; phosphorylation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semcancer.2021.04.006
  35. J Cancer Prev. 2021 Mar 30. 26(1): 71-82
    Meeting Report: Translational Advances in Cancer Prevention Agent Development Meeting.
    Mark Steven Miller, Peter J Allen, Powel H Brown, Andrew T Chan, Margie L Clapper, Roderick H Dashwood, Shadmehr Demehri, Mary L Disis, Raymond N DuBois, Robert J Glynn, Thomas W Kensler, Seema A Khan, Bryon D Johnson, Karen T Liby, Steven M Lipkin, Susan R Mallery, Emmanuelle J Meuillet, Richard B S Roden, Robert E Schoen, Zelton D Sharp, Haval Shirwan, Jill M Siegfried, Chinthalapally V Rao, Ming You, Eduardo Vilar, Eva Szabo, Altaf Mohammed.
      The Division of Cancer Prevention of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Office of Disease Prevention of the National Institutes of Health co-sponsored the Translational Advances in Cancer Prevention Agent Development Meeting on August 27 to 28, 2020. The goals of this meeting were to foster the exchange of ideas and stimulate new collaborative interactions among leading cancer prevention researchers from basic and clinical research; highlight new and emerging trends in immunoprevention and chemoprevention as well as new information from clinical trials; and provide information to the extramural research community on the significant resources available from the NCI to promote prevention agent development and rapid translation to clinical trials. The meeting included two plenary talks and five sessions covering the range from pre-clinical studies with chemo/immunopreventive agents to ongoing cancer prevention clinical trials. In addition, two NCI informational sessions describing contract resources for the preclinical agent development and cooperative grants for the Cancer Prevention Clinical Trials Network were also presented.
    Keywords:  Cancer vaccines; Chemoprevention; Clinical trials as topic; Immunoprevention
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.15430/JCP.2021.26.1.71
  36. Elife. 2021 Apr 16. pii: e61973. [Epub ahead of print]10
    Improving oligo-conjugated antibody signal in multimodal single-cell analysis.
    Terkild B Buus, Alberto Herrera, Ellie Ivanova, Eleni Mimitou, Anthony Cheng, Ramin S Herati, Thales Papagiannakopoulos, Peter Smibert, Niels Odum, Sergei B Koralov.
      Simultaneous measurement of surface proteins and gene expression within single cells using oligo-conjugated antibodies offers high-resolution snapshots of complex cell populations. Signal from oligo-conjugated antibodies is quantified by high-throughput sequencing and is highly scalable and sensitive. We investigated the response of oligo-conjugated antibodies towards four variables: concentration, staining volume, cell number at staining, and tissue. We find that staining with recommended antibody concentrations causes unnecessarily high background and amount of antibody used can be drastically reduced without loss of biological information. Reducing staining volume only affects antibodies targeting abundant epitopes used at low concentrations and is counteracted by reducing cell numbers. Adjusting concentrations increases signal, lowers background, and reduces costs. Background signal can account for a major fraction of total sequencing and is primarily derived from antibodies used at high concentrations. This study provides new insight into titration response and background of oligo-conjugated antibodies and offers concrete guidelines to improve such panels.
    Keywords:  Background signal; CITE-seq; ECCITE-seq; cytometry; genetics; genomics; human; immunology; inflammation; oligo-conjugated antibodies; scRNA-seq
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61973
  37. Trends Immunol. 2021 Apr 10. pii: S1471-4906(21)00049-1. [Epub ahead of print]
    A new perspective on mesenchymal-immune interactions in adipose tissue.
    Monica T Jimenez, Michaël F Michieletto, Jorge Henao-Mejia.
      The mammalian immune system has crucial homeostatic functions in different adipose depots. However, white adipose tissue (WAT) inflammation is a hallmark of obesity and can contribute to type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Recently, mesenchymal cells were identified as highly heterogenous populations displaying specialized immune functions in immune cell migration, activation, survival, and overall lymphoid tissue organization in several tissues. How they regulate the inflammatory milieu within different adipose depots remains unknown. Using recently published single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNAseq) data sets, we analyze cytokine and chemokine expression of mouse WAT mesenchymal cell subpopulations to highlight potential immunological heterogeneity and specialization, hypothesizing on their immunological functions. This new perspective on immune-mesenchymal cell interactions in adipose tissue may promote studies that heighten our understanding of immune cell processes within WAT during health and obesity. We hope that these studies redefine our knowledge of the roles of mesenchymal cells in regulating adipose tissue inflammation and physiology.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.it.2021.03.001
  38. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2021 Apr 01. pii: jnccngls1904. [Epub ahead of print]19(4): 439-457
    Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma, Version 2.2021, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.
    Margaret A Tempero, Mokenge P Malafa, Mahmoud Al-Hawary, Stephen W Behrman, Al B Benson, Dana B Cardin, E Gabriela Chiorean, Vincent Chung, Brian Czito, Marco Del Chiaro, Mary Dillhoff, Timothy R Donahue, Efrat Dotan, Cristina R Ferrone, Christos Fountzilas, Jeffrey Hardacre, William G Hawkins, Kelsey Klute, Andrew H Ko, John W Kunstman, Noelle LoConte, Andrew M Lowy, Cassadie Moravek, Eric K Nakakura, Amol K Narang, Jorge Obando, Patricio M Polanco, Sushanth Reddy, Marsha Reyngold, Courtney Scaife, Jeanne Shen, Charles Vollmer, Robert A Wolff, Brian M Wolpin, Beth Lynn, Giby V George.
      Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death among men and women in the United States. A major challenge in treatment remains patients' advanced disease at diagnosis. The NCCN Guidelines for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma provides recommendations for the diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, and follow-up for patients with pancreatic cancer. Although survival rates remain relatively unchanged, newer modalities of treatment, including targeted therapies, provide hope for improving patient outcomes. Sections of the manuscript have been updated to be concordant with the most recent update to the guidelines. This manuscript focuses on the available systemic therapy approaches, specifically the treatment options for locally advanced and metastatic disease.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.6004/jnccn.2021.0017
  39. Matrix Biol. 2021 Apr 08. pii: S0945-053X(21)00039-1. [Epub ahead of print]
    Heparanase 2 (Hpa2) attenuates the growth of pancreatic carcinoma.
    Yasmin Kayal, Preeti Singh, Inna Naroditsky, Neta Ilan, Israel Vlodavsky.
      While the pro-tumorigenic properties of the ECM-degrading heparanase enzyme are well documented, the role of its close homolog, heparanase 2 (Hpa2), in cancer is largely unknown. We examined the role of Hpa2 in pancreatic cancer, a malignancy characterized by a dense fibrotic ECM associated with poor response to treatment and bad prognosis. We show that pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients that exhibit high levels of Hpa2 survive longer than patients with low levels of Hpa2. Strikingly, overexpression of Hpa2 in pancreatic carcinoma cells resulted in a most prominent decrease in the growth of tumors implanted orthotopically and intraperitoneally, whereas Hpa2 silencing resulted in bigger tumors. We further found that Hpa2 enhances endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response and renders cells more sensitive to external stress, associating with increased apoptosis. Interestingly, we observed that ER stress induces the expression of Hpa2, thus establishing a feedback loop by which Hpa2 enhances ER stress which, in turn, induces Hpa2 expression. This leads to increased apoptosis and attenuated tumor growth. Altogether, Hpa2 emerges as a powerful tumor suppressor in pancreatic cancer.
    Keywords:  ER stress; Heparanase 2; gene expression; pancreatic cancer; tumor growth
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matbio.2021.03.002
  40. Sci Adv. 2021 Apr;pii: eabe5544. [Epub ahead of print]7(16):
    Kog1/Raptor mediates metabolic rewiring during nutrient limitation by controlling SNF1/AMPK activity.
    Zeenat Rashida, Rajalakshmi Srinivasan, Meghana Cyanam, Sunil Laxman.
      In changing environments, cells modulate resource budgeting through distinct metabolic routes to control growth. Accordingly, the TORC1 and SNF1/AMPK pathways operate contrastingly in nutrient replete or limited environments to maintain homeostasis. The functions of TORC1 under glucose and amino acid limitation are relatively unknown. We identified a modified form of the yeast TORC1 component Kog1/Raptor, which exhibits delayed growth exclusively during glucose and amino acid limitations. Using this, we found a necessary function for Kog1 in these conditions where TORC1 kinase activity is undetectable. Metabolic flux and transcriptome analysis revealed that Kog1 controls SNF1-dependent carbon flux apportioning between glutamate/amino acid biosynthesis and gluconeogenesis. Kog1 regulates SNF1/AMPK activity and outputs and mediates a rapamycin-independent activation of the SNF1 targets Mig1 and Cat8. This enables effective glucose derepression, gluconeogenesis activation, and carbon allocation through different pathways. Therefore, Kog1 centrally regulates metabolic homeostasis and carbon utilization during nutrient limitation by managing SNF1 activity.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abe5544
  41. J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2021 Apr 15. 40(1): 133
    N-acetyl cysteine induces quiescent-like pancreatic stellate cells from an active state and attenuates cancer-stroma interactions.
    Haimin Feng, Taiki Moriyama, Kenoki Ohuchida, Nan Sheng, Chika Iwamoto, Koji Shindo, Kengo Shirahane, Naoki Ikenaga, Shuntaro Nagai, Kohei Nakata, Kazuhiro Mizumoto, Masafumi Nakamura.
       BACKGROUND: Pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) occupy the majority of the pancreatic cancer microenvironment, contributing to aggressive behavior of pancreatic cancer cells (PCCs). Recently, anti-fibrotic agents have proven to be an effective strategy against cancer, but clinical trials have shown little efficacy, and the driving mechanism remains unknown. N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) is often used for pulmonary cystic fibrosis. Pioglitazone, an agonist of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, was habitually used for type II diabetes, but recently reported to inhibit metastasis of PCCs. However, few studies have focused on the effects of these two agents on cancer-stromal interactions.
    METHOD: We evaluated the expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and the number of lipid droplets in PSCs cultured with or without NAC. We also evaluated changes in invasiveness, viability, and oxidative level in PSCs and PCCs after NAC treatment. Using an indirect co-culture system, we investigated changes in viability, invasiveness, and migration of PSCs and PCCs. Combined treatment effects of NAC and Pioglitazone were evaluated in PSCs and PCCs. In vivo, we co-transplanted KPC-derived organoids and PSCs to evaluate the effects of NAC and Pioglitazone's combination therapy on subcutaneous tumor formation and splenic xenografted mouse models.
    RESULTS: In vitro, NAC inhibited the viability, invasiveness, and migration of PSCs at a low concentration, but not those of PCCs. NAC treatment significantly reduced oxidative stress level and expression of α-SMA, collagen type I in PSCs, which apparently present a quiescent-like state with a high number of lipid droplets. Co-cultured PSCs and PCCs mutually promoted the viability, invasiveness, and migration of each other. However, these promotion effects were attenuated by NAC treatment. Pioglitazone maintained the NAC-induced quiescent-like state of PSCs, which were reactivated by PCC-supernatant, and enhanced chemosensitivity of PCCs. In vivo, NAC and Pioglitazone's combination suppressed tumor growth and liver metastasis with fewer stromal components and oxidative stress level.
    CONCLUSION: NAC suppressed activated PSCs and attenuated cancer-stromal interactions. NAC induces quiescent-like PSCs that were maintained in this state by pioglitazone treatment.
    Keywords:  Cancer-stromal interactions; N-acetyl-cysteine; Pancreatic Cancer; Pancreatic stellate cells; Pioglitazone
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s13046-021-01939-1
  42. Elife. 2021 04 13. pii: e61172. [Epub ahead of print]10
    Cell competition removes segmental aneuploid cells from Drosophila imaginal disc-derived tissues based on ribosomal protein gene dose.
    Zhejun Ji, Jacky Chuen, Marianthi Kiparaki, Nicholas Baker.
      Aneuploidy causes birth defects and miscarriages, occurs in nearly all cancers and is a hallmark of aging. Individual aneuploid cells can be eliminated from developing tissues by unknown mechanisms. Cells with ribosomal protein (Rp) gene mutations are also eliminated, by cell competition with normal cells. Because Rp genes are spread across the genome, their copy number is a potential marker for aneuploidy. We found that elimination of imaginal disc cells with irradiation-induced genome damage often required cell competition genes. Segmentally aneuploid cells derived from targeted chromosome excisions were eliminated by the RpS12-Xrp1 cell competition pathway if they differed from neighboring cells in Rp gene dose, whereas cells with normal doses of the Rp and eIF2γ genes survived and differentiated adult tissues. Thus, cell competition, triggered by differences in Rp gene dose between cells, is a significant mechanism for the elimination of aneuploid somatic cells, likely to contribute to preventing cancer.
    Keywords:  D. melanogaster; Minute; aneuploidy; cell competition; developmental biology; genetics; genomics; ribosomal protein mutation
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.61172
  43. Adv Cancer Res. 2021 ;pii: S0065-230X(21)00002-6. [Epub ahead of print]150 1-74
    Autophagy and senescence in cancer therapy.
    Nipa H Patel, Sarah Bloukh, Enas Alwohosh, Ahmad Alhesa, Tareq Saleh, David A Gewirtz.
      Tumor cells can undergo diverse responses to cancer therapy. While apoptosis represents the most desirable outcome, tumor cells can alternatively undergo autophagy and senescence. Both autophagy and senescence have the potential to make complex contributions to tumor cell survival via both cell autonomous and cell non-autonomous pathways. The induction of autophagy and senescence in tumor cells, preclinically and clinically, either individually or concomitantly, has generated interest in the utilization of autophagy modulating and senolytic therapies to target autophagy and senescence, respectively. This chapter summarizes the current evidence for the promotion of autophagy and senescence as fundamental responses to cancer therapy and discusses the complexity of their functional contributions to cell survival and disease outcomes. We also highlight current modalities designed to exploit autophagy and senescence in efforts to improve the efficacy of cancer therapy.
    Keywords:  Apoptosis; Autophagy; Cancer; Chemotherapy; Cytoprotective; Dormancy; Durable growth arrest; Radiation; SASP; Senescence; Senolytics
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.acr.2021.01.002
  44. EMBO Rep. 2021 Apr 14. e50684
    The deubiquitinase USP36 promotes snoRNP group SUMOylation and is essential for ribosome biogenesis.
    Hyunju Ryu, Xiao-Xin Sun, Yingxiao Chen, Yanping Li, Xiaoyan Wang, Roselyn S Dai, Hong-Ming Zhu, John Klimek, Larry David, Lev M Fedorov, Yoshiaki Azuma, Rosalie C Sears, Mu-Shui Dai.
      SUMOylation plays a crucial role in regulating diverse cellular processes including ribosome biogenesis. Proteomic analyses and experimental evidence showed that a number of nucleolar proteins involved in ribosome biogenesis are modified by SUMO. However, how these proteins are SUMOylated in cells is less understood. Here, we report that USP36, a nucleolar deubiquitinating enzyme (DUB), promotes nucleolar SUMOylation. Overexpression of USP36 enhances nucleolar SUMOylation, whereas its knockdown or genetic deletion reduces the levels of SUMOylation. USP36 interacts with SUMO2 and Ubc9 and directly mediates SUMOylation in cells and in vitro. We show that USP36 promotes the SUMOylation of the small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein (snoRNP) components Nop58 and Nhp2 in cells and in vitro and their binding to snoRNAs. It also promotes the SUMOylation of snoRNP components Nop56 and DKC1. Functionally, we show that knockdown of USP36 markedly impairs rRNA processing and translation. Thus, USP36 promotes snoRNP group SUMOylation and is critical for ribosome biogenesis and protein translation.
    Keywords:  SUMOylation; USP36; deubiquitinating enzyme; ribosome biogenesis; snoRNP
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.15252/embr.202050684
  45. Nat Biotechnol. 2021 Apr 15.
    Quantitative mapping of the cellular small RNA landscape with AQRNA-seq.
    Jennifer F Hu, Daniel Yim, Duanduan Ma, Sabrina M Huber, Nick Davis, Jo Marie Bacusmo, Sidney Vermeulen, Jieliang Zhou, Thomas J Begley, Michael S DeMott, Stuart S Levine, Valérie de Crécy-Lagard, Peter C Dedon, Bo Cao.
      Current next-generation RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) methods do not provide accurate quantification of small RNAs within a sample, due to sequence-dependent biases in capture, ligation and amplification during library preparation. We present a method, absolute quantification RNA-sequencing (AQRNA-seq), that minimizes biases and provides a direct, linear correlation between sequencing read count and copy number for all small RNAs in a sample. Library preparation and data processing were optimized and validated using a 963-member microRNA reference library, oligonucleotide standards of varying length, and RNA blots. Application of AQRNA-seq to a panel of human cancer cells revealed >800 detectable miRNAs that varied during cancer progression, while application to bacterial transfer RNA pools, with the challenges of secondary structure and abundant modifications, revealed 80-fold variation in tRNA isoacceptor levels, stress-induced site-specific tRNA fragmentation, quantitative modification maps, and evidence for stress-induced, tRNA-driven, codon-biased translation. AQRNA-seq thus provides a versatile means to quantitatively map the small RNA landscape in cells.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-021-00874-y
  46. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2021 Apr;pii: jnccn20448. [Epub ahead of print]19(4): 459-467
    Surgery After Response to Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Guide for Management.
    Zhi Ven Fong, Cristina R Ferrone.
      Because of the biologic aggressiveness and late presentation of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), up to 80% of patients have locally advanced or metastatic disease at presentation. The success of multiagent chemotherapy regimens in the management of metastatic disease has been translated to patients with locally advanced PDAC. Both FOLFIRINOX (fluorouracil/folinic acid/irinotecan/oxaliplatin) and gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel are used to downstage locally advanced PDAC to render it eligible for resection with curative intent. This paradigm shift has significantly expanded the pool of patients who are eligible for resection with curative intent. However, the generalizability of present studies and the patient selection process are unclear. This article provides an evidence-based review of patient selection considerations and management algorithms, and details our institution's approach to patients with locally advanced PDAC after preoperative chemotherapy.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.6004/jnccn.2021.7009
  47. Ageing Res Rev. 2021 Apr 08. pii: S1568-1637(21)00088-X. [Epub ahead of print] 101341
    Immunometabolic responses according to physical fitness status and lifelong exercise during aging: new roads for exercise immunology.
    Camila S Padilha, Caique Figueiredo, Luciele Guerra Minuzzi, Patricia Chimin, Rafael Deminice, Karsten Krüger, José Cesar Rosa-Neto, Fabio Santos Lira.
      Molecules such as cytokines, energetic substrates, and hormones found in the immune cell environment, especially lymphocytes and monocytes, are crucial for directing energy metabolism. In turn, changes in energy metabolism occur in a synchronized manner with the activation of certain signaling pathways, thereby this crosstalk is responsible for determining the functionality of immune cells. The immunometabolism field has grown over time and that is becoming increasingly promising in several populations; here we discuss the mechanisms involved in sedentary and physically active middle-aged individuals and master athletes. In this context, this review shows that the physical activity status and lifelong exercise seems to be good strategies for the promotion of metabolic and functional adaptations in T lymphocytes and monocytes, counteracting inflammatory environments caused by expanded adipose tissue and sedentary behavior, as well as delaying the immunosenescence caused by aging.
    Keywords:  Body adiposity; Cardiorespiratory fitness; Immunometabolism; Inflammation; Physical exercise
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2021.101341
  48. Sci Adv. 2021 Apr;pii: eabf1356. [Epub ahead of print]7(16):
    CytoTalk: De novo construction of signal transduction networks using single-cell transcriptomic data.
    Yuxuan Hu, Tao Peng, Lin Gao, Kai Tan.
      Single-cell technology enables study of signal transduction in a complex tissue at unprecedented resolution. We describe CytoTalk for de novo construction of cell type-specific signaling networks using single-cell transcriptomic data. Using an integrated intracellular and intercellular gene network as the input, CytoTalk identifies candidate pathways using the prize-collecting Steiner forest algorithm. Using high-throughput spatial transcriptomic data and single-cell RNA sequencing data with receptor gene perturbation, we demonstrate that CytoTalk has substantial improvement over existing algorithms. To better understand plasticity of signaling networks across tissues and developmental stages, we perform a comparative analysis of signaling networks between macrophages and endothelial cells across human adult and fetal tissues. Our analysis reveals an overall increased plasticity of signaling networks across adult tissues and specific network nodes that contribute to increased plasticity. CytoTalk enables de novo construction of signal transduction pathways and facilitates comparative analysis of these pathways across tissues and conditions.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abf1356
  49. Science. 2021 Apr 16. 372(6539): 292-295
    Decoupling transcription factor expression and activity enables dimmer switch gene regulation.
    C Ricci-Tam, I Ben-Zion, J Wang, J Palme, A Li, Y Savir, M Springer.
      Gene-regulatory networks achieve complex mappings of inputs to outputs through mechanisms that are poorly understood. We found that in the galactose-responsive pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the decision to activate the transcription of genes encoding pathway components is controlled independently from the expression level, resulting in behavior resembling that of a mechanical dimmer switch. This was not a direct result of chromatin regulation or combinatorial control at galactose-responsive promoters; rather, this behavior was achieved by hierarchical regulation of the expression and activity of a single transcription factor. Hierarchical regulation is ubiquitous, and thus dimmer switch regulation is likely a key feature of many biological systems. Dimmer switch gene regulation may allow cells to fine-tune their responses to multi-input environments on both physiological and evolutionary time scales.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aba7582
  50. J Cell Biol. 2021 Jun 07. pii: e202006043. [Epub ahead of print]220(6):
    Parkin-independent mitophagy via Drp1-mediated outer membrane severing and inner membrane ubiquitination.
    Yumiko Oshima, Etienne Cartier, Liron Boyman, Nicolas Verhoeven, Brian M Polster, Weiliang Huang, Maureen Kane, W Jonathan Lederer, Mariusz Karbowski.
      Here, we report that acute reduction in mitochondrial translation fidelity (MTF) causes ubiquitination of the inner mitochondrial membrane (IMM) proteins, including TRAP1 and CPOX, which occurs selectively in mitochondria with a severed outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM). Ubiquitinated IMM recruits the autophagy machinery. Inhibiting autophagy leads to increased accumulation of mitochondria with severed OMM and ubiquitinated IMM. This process occurs downstream of the accumulation of cytochrome c/CPOX in a subset of mitochondria heterogeneously distributed throughout the cell ("mosaic distribution"). Formation of mosaic mitochondria, OMM severing, and IMM ubiquitination require active mitochondrial translation and mitochondrial fission, but not the proapoptotic proteins Bax and Bak. In contrast, in Parkin-overexpressing cells, MTF reduction does not lead to the severing of the OMM or IMM ubiquitination, but it does induce Drp1-independent ubiquitination of the OMM. Furthermore, high-cytochrome c/CPOX mitochondria are preferentially targeted by Parkin, indicating that in the context of reduced MTF, they are mitophagy intermediates regardless of Parkin expression. In sum, Parkin-deficient cells adapt to mitochondrial proteotoxicity through a Drp1-mediated mechanism that involves the severing of the OMM and autophagy targeting ubiquitinated IMM proteins.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202006043
  51. STAR Protoc. 2021 Jun 18. 2(2): 100408
    3D quantification of autophagy activation and autophagosome-to-mitochondria recruitment in a Drosophila model of Parkinson's disease.
    Susana J Gutierrez-Luke, Amber N Juba, Giulia Bertolin, Lori M Buhlman.
      Here, we describe a protocol for comprehensive quantification of autophagosome recruitment to mitochondria as an early step in mitophagy. Data collected using this protocol can be useful in the study of neurodegenerative disease, cancer, and metabolism-related disorders using models in which co-expression of mito-GFP and mCherry-Atg8a is feasible. This protocol has the advantage of assessment in an in vivo model organism (Drosophila melanogaster), where tissue-specific mitophagy can be investigated. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to (Cackovic et al., 2018).
    Keywords:  Cell Biology; Microscopy; Model Organisms; Neuroscience
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100408
  52. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Apr 20. pii: e2021722118. [Epub ahead of print]118(16):
    Repeated mutation of a developmental enhancer contributed to human thermoregulatory evolution.
    Daniel Aldea, Yuji Atsuta, Blerina Kokalari, Stephen F Schaffner, Rexxi D Prasasya, Adam Aharoni, Heather L Dingwall, Bailey Warder, Yana G Kamberov.
      Humans sweat to cool their bodies and have by far the highest eccrine sweat gland density among primates. Humans' high eccrine gland density has long been recognized as a hallmark human evolutionary adaptation, but its genetic basis has been unknown. In humans, expression of the Engrailed 1 (EN1) transcription factor correlates with the onset of eccrine gland formation. In mice, regulation of ectodermal En1 expression is a major determinant of natural variation in eccrine gland density between strains, and increased En1 expression promotes the specification of more eccrine glands. Here, we show that regulation of EN1 has evolved specifically on the human lineage to promote eccrine gland formation. Using comparative genomics and validation of ectodermal enhancer activity in mice, we identified a human EN1 skin enhancer, hECE18. We showed that multiple epistatically interacting derived substitutions in the human ECE18 enhancer increased its activity compared with nonhuman ape orthologs in cultured keratinocytes. Repression of hECE18 in human cultured keratinocytes specifically attenuated EN1 expression, indicating this element positively regulates EN1 in this context. In a humanized enhancer knock-in mouse, hECE18 increased developmental En1 expression in the skin to induce the formation of more eccrine glands. Our study uncovers a genetic basis contributing to the evolution of one of the most singular human adaptations and implicates multiple interacting mutations in a single enhancer as a mechanism for human evolutionary change.
    Keywords:  Engrailed 1; eccrine gland; human evolution; regulatory evolution; sweat
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2021722118
  53. Adv Cancer Res. 2021 ;pii: S0065-230X(21)00007-5. [Epub ahead of print]150 113-145
    Autophagy and senescence, converging roles in pathophysiology as seen through mouse models.
    Andrew R J Young, Liam D Cassidy, Masashi Narita.
      Both senescence and autophagy have been strongly linked to aging and also cancer development. Numerous molecular, cellular, and physiological changes are known to correlate with an increasing age, yet our understanding of what underlies these changes or how they combine to give rise to the various pathologies associated with aging is still unclear. Levels of autophagy activity are known to decrease with advancing age, in a variety of organisms including mammals. Whereas senescent cells are known to accumulate in our bodies with age. Herein we review evidence from some elegant genetic mouse models linking senescence and also autophagy to aging and cancer. It is especially interesting to note the convergence in the pathological phenotypes of these two processes, senescence and autophagy, in these mouse models.
    Keywords:  Aging; Autophagy; Cancer; Cellular senescence; Mouse models
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.acr.2021.02.001
  54. Cancer Res. 2021 Apr 16. pii: canres.2694.2020. [Epub ahead of print]
    SLFN11 inactivation induces proteotoxic stress and sensitizes cancer cells to ubiquitin activating enzyme inhibitor TAK-243.
    Yasuhisa Murai, Ukhyun Jo, Junko Murai, Lisa Jenkins, Shar-Yin N Huang, Sirisha Chakka, Lu Chen, Ken Cheng, Shinsaku Fukuda, Naoko Takebe, Yves Pommier.
      Schlafen11 (SLFN11) inactivation occurs in approximately 50% of cancer cell lines and in a large fraction of patient tumor samples, which leads to chemoresistance. Therefore, new therapeutic approaches are needed to target SLFN11-deficient cancers. To that effect, we conducted a drug screen with the NCATS mechanistic drug library of 1978 compounds in isogenic SLFN11-knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) leukemia cell lines. Here we report that TAK-243, a first-in-class ubiquitin activating enzyme UBA1 inhibitor in clinical development, causes preferential cytotoxicity in SLFN11-KO cells; this effect is associated with claspin-mediated DNA replication inhibition by CHK1 independently of ATR. Additional analyses showed that SLFN11-KO cells exhibit consistently enhanced global protein ubiquitylation, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, unfolded protein response (UPR), and protein aggregation. TAK-243 suppressed global protein ubiquitylation and activated the UPR transducers PERK, phosphorylated eIF2alpha, phosphorylated IRE1, and ATF6 more effectively in SLFN11-KO cells than WT cells. Proteomic analysis using biotinylated mass spectrometry and RNAi screening also showed physical and functional interactions of SLFN11 with translation initiation complexes and protein folding machinery. These findings uncover a previously unknown function of SLFN11 as a regulator of protein quality control and attenuator of ER stress and UPR. Moreover, they suggest the potential value of TAK-243 in SLFN11-deficient tumors.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-2694
  55. J Biol Chem. 2021 Apr 09. pii: S0021-9258(21)00440-3. [Epub ahead of print] 100654
    The lysosomal protein ABCD4 can transport vitamin B12 across liposomal membranes in vitro.
    Katsuki Kitai, Kosuke Kawaguchi, Takenori Tomohiro, Masashi Morita, Takanori So, Tsuneo Imanaka.
      Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is an essential micronutrient for human health, and mutation and dysregulation of cobalamin metabolism are associated with serious diseases, such as methylmalonic aciduria and homocystinuria. Mutations in ABCD4 or LMBRD1, which encode the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter ABCD4 and lysosomal membrane protein LMBD1, respectively, lead to errors in cobalamin metabolism, with the phenotype of a failure to release cobalamin from lysosomes. However, the mechanism of transport of cobalamin across the lysosomal membrane remains unknown. We previously demonstrated that LMBD1 is required for the translocation of ABCD4 from the endoplasmic reticulum to lysosomes. This suggests that ABCD4 performs an important function in lysosomal membrane cobalamin transport. In this study, we expressed human ABCD4 and LMBD1 in methylotrophic yeast and purified them. We prepared ABCD4 and/or LMBD1 containing liposomes loaded with cobalamin, and then quantified the release of cobalamin from the liposomes by reverse-phase HPLC. We observed that ABCD4 was able to transport cobalamin from the inside to the outside of liposomes dependent on its ATPase activity, and that LMBD1 exhibited no cobalamin transport activity. These results suggest that ABCD4 may be capable of transporting cobalamin from the lysosomal lumen to the cytosol. Furthermore, we examined a series of ABCD4 missense mutations to understand how these alterations impair cobalamin transport. Our findings give insight into the molecular mechanism of cobalamin transport by which ABCD4 involves and its importance in cobalamin deficiency.
    Keywords:  ABC transporter; cobalamin; lysosome; methylotrophic yeast; protein purification; proteoliposome; recombinant protein expression
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbc.2021.100654
  56. Mol Cell Oncol. 2021 Mar 09. 8(2): 1890990
    p62/SQSTM1 droplets initiate autophagosome biogenesis and oxidative stress control.
    Eeva-Liisa Eskelinen, Shun Kageyama, Masaaki Komatsu.
      Selective autophagy contributes to the degradation of condensates, such as sequestosome 1-bodies, also called p62/SQSTM1-bodies. We showed that endogenous p62 forms gel-like structures, which serve as platforms for autophagosome formation and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) activation. Further, p62-mediated NRF2 activation is not cytotoxic, but combination of NRF2 activation with impaired bulk and selective autophagy causes liver injury.
    Keywords:  GABARAP; KEAP1; LC3; NRF2; autophagy; liquid-liquid phase separation; oxidative stress; p62/SQSTM1
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/23723556.2021.1890990
  57. Nat Commun. 2021 Apr 16. 12(1): 2286
    Deletion of Mfsd2b impairs thrombotic functions of platelets.
    Madhuvanthi Chandrakanthan, Toan Quoc Nguyen, Zafrul Hasan, Sneha Muralidharan, Thiet Minh Vu, Aaron Wei Liang Li, Uyen Thanh Nha Le, Hoa Thi Thuy Ha, Sang-Ha Baik, Sock Hwee Tan, Juat Chin Foo, Markus R Wenk, Amaury Cazenave-Gassiot, Federico Torta, Wei Yi Ong, Mark Yan Yee Chan, Long N Nguyen.
      We recently discovered that Mfsd2b, which is the S1P exporter found in blood cells. Here, we report that Mfsd2b is critical for the release of all S1P species in both resting and activated platelets. We show that resting platelets store S1P in the cytoplasm. After activation, this S1P pool is delivered to the plasma membrane, where Mfsd2b is predominantly localized for export. Employing knockout mice of Mfsd2b, we reveal that platelets contribute a minor amount of plasma S1P. Nevertheless, Mfsd2b deletion in whole body or platelets impairs platelet morphology and functions. In particular, Mfsd2b knockout mice show significantly reduced thrombus formation. We show that loss of Mfsd2b affects intrinsic platelet functions as part of remarkable sphingolipid accumulation. These findings indicate that accumulation of sphingolipids including S1P by deletion of Mfsd2b strongly impairs platelet functions, which suggests that the transporter may be a target for the prevention of thrombotic disorders.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22642-x
  58. Surg Oncol. 2021 Apr 02. pii: S0960-7404(21)00042-6. [Epub ahead of print]37 101553
    Outcomes following synchronous liver resection, cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for colorectal liver and peritoneal metastases: A bi-institutional study.
    Michael P Flood, Peadar S Waters, Michael E Kelly, Conor Shields, John Conneely, Robert Ramsay, Michael Michael, Benjamin Loveday, Satish K Warrier, Jurgen Mulsow, Alexander G Heriot.
       PURPOSE: Synchronous liver resection, cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) for colorectal liver (CRLM) and peritoneal metastases (CRPM) has traditionally been contraindicated. However, latest practice promotes specialist, multidisciplinary-led consideration for select patients. This study aimed to evaluate the perioperative and oncological outcomes of synchronous resection in the management of CRLM and CRPM from two tertiary referral centres.
    METHOD: This bi-institutional, retrospective, cohort study included patients undergoing simultaneous liver resection, CRS and HIPEC for metastatic colorectal cancer from 2013 to 2020. Patients treated with ablative liver techniques, staged operative approaches and extra abdominal disease were excluded. Overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) rates were assessed. Univariate and multivariate analyses identified variables associated with survival and major morbidity (Clavien-Dindo grade III/IV).
    RESULTS: Twenty-three patients were included. The median peritoneal carcinomatosis index (PCI) was 9 (range 0-22). There were two major liver resections and 21 minor resections. CC-0 resections were achieved in all patients. Major morbidity occurred in 7 patients. There were no deaths at 90 days. PCI was independently associated with morbidity (p = 0.04). PCI >10 (p = 0.069), major morbidity (p = 0.083) and presence of KRAS mutation (p = 0.052) approached significance for poor OS. Median follow up was 21 months (4-54 months). Median OS was 37 months, 3-year survival 54%, and median DFS 18 months.
    CONCLUSION: Synchronous liver resection, cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC is feasible in selected patients with low-volume CRPM and CRLM. Increasing PCI is associated with postoperative major morbidity, and should be considered during operative planning.
    Keywords:  Colorectal liver metastases; Colorectal peritoneal metastases; Cytoreductive surgery; HIPEC; Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy; Liver resection
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.suronc.2021.101553
  59. Nat Commun. 2021 04 13. 12(1): 2229
    Tissue-specific cell-free DNA degradation quantifies circulating tumor DNA burden.
    Guanhua Zhu, Yu A Guo, Danliang Ho, Polly Poon, Zhong Wee Poh, Pui Mun Wong, Anna Gan, Mei Mei Chang, Dimitrios Kleftogiannis, Yi Ting Lau, Brenda Tay, Wan Jun Lim, Clarinda Chua, Tira J Tan, Si-Lin Koo, Dawn Q Chong, Yoon Sim Yap, Iain Tan, Sarah Ng, Anders J Skanderup.
      Profiling of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) may offer a non-invasive approach to monitor disease progression. Here, we develop a quantitative method, exploiting local tissue-specific cell-free DNA (cfDNA) degradation patterns, that accurately estimates ctDNA burden independent of genomic aberrations. Nucleosome-dependent cfDNA degradation at promoters and first exon-intron junctions is strongly associated with differential transcriptional activity in tumors and blood. A quantitative model, based on just 6 regulatory regions, could accurately predict ctDNA levels in colorectal cancer patients. Strikingly, a model restricted to blood-specific regulatory regions could predict ctDNA levels across both colorectal and breast cancer patients. Using compact targeted sequencing (<25 kb) of predictive regions, we demonstrate how the approach could enable quantitative low-cost tracking of ctDNA dynamics and disease progression.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22463-y
  60. Geroscience. 2021 Apr 17.
    An energetics perspective on geroscience: mitochondrial protonmotive force and aging.
    Brandon J Berry, Matt Kaeberlein.
      Mitochondria are organelles that provide energy to cells through ATP production. Mitochondrial dysfunction has long been postulated to mediate cellular declines that drive biological aging. Many well-characterized hallmarks of aging may involve underlying energetic defects that stem from loss of mitochondrial function with age. Why and how mitochondrial function declines with age is an open question and one that has been difficult to answer. Mitochondria are powered by an electrochemical gradient across the inner mitochondrial membrane known as the protonmotive force (PMF). This gradient decreases with age in several experimental models. However, it is unclear if a diminished PMF is a cause or a consequence of aging. Herein, we briefly review and define mitochondrial function, we summarize how PMF changes with age in several models, and we highlight recent studies that implicate PMF in aging biology. We also identify barriers that must be addressed for the field to progress. Emerging technology permits more precise in vivo study of mitochondria that will allow better understanding of cause and effect in metabolic models of aging. Once cause and effect can be discerned more precisely, energetics approaches to combat aging may be developed to prevent or reverse functional decline.
    Keywords:  AMPK; Autophagy; Membrane potential; Metabolism; mTOR
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-021-00365-7
  61. Cell Rep. 2021 Apr 13. pii: S2211-1247(21)00261-8. [Epub ahead of print]35(2): 108947
    Mitochondrial membrane tension governs fission.
    Dora Mahecic, Lina Carlini, Tatjana Kleele, Adai Colom, Antoine Goujon, Stefan Matile, Aurélien Roux, Suliana Manley.
      During mitochondrial fission, key molecular and cellular factors assemble on the outer mitochondrial membrane, where they coordinate to generate constriction. Constriction sites can eventually divide or reverse upon disassembly of the machinery. However, a role for membrane tension in mitochondrial fission, although speculated, has remained undefined. We capture the dynamics of constricting mitochondria in mammalian cells using live-cell structured illumination microscopy (SIM). By analyzing the diameters of tubules that emerge from mitochondria and implementing a fluorescence lifetime-based mitochondrial membrane tension sensor, we discover that mitochondria are indeed under tension. Under perturbations that reduce mitochondrial tension, constrictions initiate at the same rate, but are less likely to divide. We propose a model based on our estimates of mitochondrial membrane tension and bending energy in living cells which accounts for the observed probability distribution for mitochondrial constrictions to divide.
    Keywords:  fluorescence lifetime; fluorescent tension sensor; membrane tension; microtubules; mitochondrial division; mitochondrial dynamics; super-resolution microscopy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108947
  62. Oncogene. 2021 Apr 12.
    Schlafen 5 as a novel therapeutic target in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
    Mariafausta Fischietti, Frank Eckerdt, Gavin T Blyth, Ahmet D Arslan, William M Mati, Chidera V Oku, Ricardo E Perez, Catalina Lee-Chang, Ewa M Kosciuczuk, Diana Saleiro, Elspeth M Beauchamp, Maciej S Lesniak, Daniela Verzella, Leyu Sun, Eleanor N Fish, Guang-Yu Yang, Wenan Qiang, Leonidas C Platanias.
      We provide evidence that a member of the human Schlafen (SLFN) family of proteins, SLFN5, is overexpressed in human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Targeted deletion of SLFN5 results in decreased PDAC cell proliferation and suppresses PDAC tumorigenesis in in vivo PDAC models. Importantly, high expression levels of SLFN5 correlate with worse outcomes in PDAC patients, implicating SLFN5 in the pathophysiology of PDAC that leads to poor outcomes. Our studies establish novel regulatory effects of SLFN5 on cell cycle progression through binding/blocking of the transcriptional repressor E2F7, promoting transcription of key genes that stimulate S phase progression. Together, our studies suggest an essential role for SLFN5 in PDAC and support the potential for developing new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of pancreatic cancer through SLFN5 targeting.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-021-01761-1
  63. Aging (Albany NY). 2021 Apr 11.
    VOCs profile can discriminate biological age.
    Maria Conte, Giuseppe Conte, Stefano Salvioli.
      
    Keywords:  VOCs; biological age; diagnostic biomarkers; metabolism; volatilome
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.202959
  64. Nat Genet. 2021 Apr 15.
    A genome-wide atlas of co-essential modules assigns function to uncharacterized genes.
    Michael Wainberg, Roarke A Kamber, Akshay Balsubramani, Robin M Meyers, Nasa Sinnott-Armstrong, Daniel Hornburg, Lihua Jiang, Joanne Chan, Ruiqi Jian, Mingxin Gu, Anna Shcherbina, Michael M Dubreuil, Kaitlyn Spees, Wouter Meuleman, Michael P Snyder, Michael C Bassik, Anshul Kundaje.
      A central question in the post-genomic era is how genes interact to form biological pathways. Measurements of gene dependency across hundreds of cell lines have been used to cluster genes into 'co-essential' pathways, but this approach has been limited by ubiquitous false positives. In the present study, we develop a statistical method that enables robust identification of gene co-essentiality and yields a genome-wide set of functional modules. This atlas recapitulates diverse pathways and protein complexes, and predicts the functions of 108 uncharacterized genes. Validating top predictions, we show that TMEM189 encodes plasmanylethanolamine desaturase, a key enzyme for plasmalogen synthesis. We also show that C15orf57 encodes a protein that binds the AP2 complex, localizes to clathrin-coated pits and enables efficient transferrin uptake. Finally, we provide an interactive webtool for the community to explore our results, which establish co-essentiality profiling as a powerful resource for biological pathway identification and discovery of new gene functions.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-021-00840-z
  65. Cell. 2021 Apr 05. pii: S0092-8674(21)00292-0. [Epub ahead of print]
    Programmable protein circuit design.
    Zibo Chen, Michael B Elowitz.
      A fundamental challenge in synthetic biology is to create molecular circuits that can program complex cellular functions. Because proteins can bind, cleave, and chemically modify one another and interface directly and rapidly with endogenous pathways, they could extend the capabilities of synthetic circuits beyond what is possible with gene regulation alone. However, the very diversity that makes proteins so powerful also complicates efforts to harness them as well-controlled synthetic circuit components. Recent work has begun to address this challenge, focusing on principles such as orthogonality and composability that permit construction of diverse circuit-level functions from a limited set of engineered protein components. These approaches are now enabling the engineering of circuits that can sense, transmit, and process information; dynamically control cellular behaviors; and enable new therapeutic strategies, establishing a powerful paradigm for programming biology.
    Keywords:  ▪▪▪
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.03.007
  66. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Apr 20. pii: e2101562118. [Epub ahead of print]118(16):
    A model for a partnership of lipid transfer proteins and scramblases in membrane expansion and organelle biogenesis.
    Alireza Ghanbarpour, Diana P Valverde, Thomas J Melia, Karin M Reinisch.
      The autophagy protein ATG2, proposed to transfer bulk lipid from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) during autophagosome biogenesis, interacts with ER residents TMEM41B and VMP1 and with ATG9, in Golgi-derived vesicles that initiate autophagosome formation. In vitro assays reveal TMEM41B, VMP1, and ATG9 as scramblases. We propose a model wherein membrane expansion results from the partnership of a lipid transfer protein, moving lipids between the cytosolic leaflets of apposed organelles, and scramblases that reequilibrate the leaflets of donor and acceptor organelle membranes as lipids are depleted or augmented. TMEM41B and VMP1 are implicated broadly in lipid homeostasis and membrane dynamics processes in which their scrambling activities likely are key.
    Keywords:  ATG9A; TMEM41B; VMP1; scramblase
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2101562118
  67. EBioMedicine. 2021 Apr 13. pii: S2352-3964(21)00120-1. [Epub ahead of print]66 103327
    A genetically defined signature of responsiveness to erlotinib in early-stage pancreatic cancer patients: Results from the CONKO-005 trial.
    K Hoyer, R Hablesreiter, Y Inoue, K Yoshida, F Briest, F Christen, N Kakiuchi, T Yoshizato, Y Shiozawa, Y Shiraishi, J K Striefler, S Bischoff, P Lohneis, H Putter, O Blau, U Keilholz, L Bullinger, U Pelzer, M Hummel, H Riess, S Ogawa, M Sinn, F Damm.
       BACKGROUND: high recurrence rates of up to 75% within 2 years in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients resected for cure indicate a high medical need for clinical prediction tools and patient specific treatment approaches. Addition of the EGFR inhibitor erlotinib to adjuvant chemotherapy failed to improve outcome but its efficacy in some patients warrants predictors of responsiveness.
    PATIENTS AND METHODS: we analysed tumour samples from 293 R0-resected patients from the randomized, multicentre phase III CONKO-005 trial (gemcitabine ± erlotinib) with targeted sequencing, copy number, and RNA expression analyses.
    FINDINGS: a total of 1086 mutations and 4157 copy-number aberrations (CNAs) with a mean of 17.9 /tumour were identified. Main pathways affected by genetic aberrations were the MAPK-pathway (99%), cell cycle control (92%), TGFβ signalling (77%), chromatin remodelling (71%), and the PI3K/AKT pathway (65%). Based on genetic signatures extracted with non-negative matrix factorization we could define five patient clusters, which differed in mutation patterns, gene expression profiles, and survival. In multivariable Cox regression analysis, SMAD4 aberrations were identified as a negative prognostic marker in the gemcitabine arm, an effect that was counteracted when treated with erlotinib (DFS: HR=1.59, p = 0.016, and OS: HR = 1.67, p = 0.014). Integration of differential gene expression analysis established SMAD4 alterations with low MAPK9 expression (n = 91) as a predictive biomarker for longer DFS (HR=0.49; test for interaction, p = 0.02) and OS (HR = 0.32; test for interaction, p = 0.001).
    INTERPRETATION: this study identified five biologically distinct patient clusters with different actionable lesions and unravelled a previously unappreciated association of SMAD4 alteration status with erlotinib effectiveness. Confirmatory studies and mechanistic experiments are warranted to challenge the hypothesis that SMAD4 status might guide addition of erlotinib treatment in early-stage PDAC patients.
    Keywords:  Erlotinib; MAPK9; Pancreatic cancer; Precision medicine; SMAD4
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103327
  68. Cell Death Discov. 2021 Apr 14. 7(1): 80
    Targeting K-Ras and apoptosis-driven cellular transformation in cancer.
    Isha Godwin, Nikhil Ponnoor Anto, Smitha V Bava, Mani Shankar Babu, Goodwin G Jinesh.
      Cellular transformation is a major event that helps cells to evade apoptosis, genomic instability checkpoints, and immune surveillance to initiate tumorigenesis and to promote progression by cancer stem cell expansion. However, the key molecular players that govern cellular transformation and ways to target cellular transformation for therapy are poorly understood to date. Here we draw key evidences from the literature on K-Ras-driven cellular transformation in the context of apoptosis to shed light on the key players that are required for cellular transformation and explain how aiming p53 could be useful to target cellular transformation. The defects in key apoptosis regulators such as p53, Bax, and Bak lead to apoptosis evasion, cellular transformation, and genomic instability to further lead to stemness, tumorigenesis, and metastasis via c-Myc-dependent transcription. Therefore enabling key apoptotic checkpoints in combination with K-Ras inhibitors will be a promising therapeutic target in cancer therapy.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41420-021-00457-5
  69. RNA. 2021 Apr 12. pii: rna.078671.120. [Epub ahead of print]
    An optimized fixation method containing glyoxal and paraformaldehyde for imaging nuclear bodies.
    Run-Wen Yao, Peng-Fei Luan, Ling-Ling Chen.
      Mammalian cell nucleus contains different types of membrane-less nuclear bodies (NBs) consisting of proteins and RNAs. Microscopic imaging has been widely applied to study the organization and structure of NBs. However, current fixation methods are not optimized for such imaging: when a fixation method is chosen to maximize the quality of the RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), it often limits the labeling efficiency of proteins or affects the ultrastructure of NBs. Here, we report that addition of glyoxal (GO) into the classical paraformaldehyde (PFA) fixation step not only improves FISH signals for RNAs in NBs via augmented permeability of the fixed nucleus and enhanced accessibility of probes, but also largely preserves protein fluorescent signals during fixation and immunostaining. We also show that GO/PFA fixation enables the co-visualization of different types of nuclear bodies with minimal impact on their ultrastructures under super-resolution microscopy.
    Keywords:  RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization; glyoxal; immunofluorescence; nuclear body; paraformaldehyde
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1261/rna.078671.120
  70. Metabolism. 2021 Apr 12. pii: S0026-0495(21)00075-5. [Epub ahead of print] 154775
    Laminins in metabolic tissues.
    Anna Goddi, Liesl Schroedl, Eric M Brey, Ronald N Cohen.
      Laminins are extracellular matrix proteins that reside in the basement membrane and provide structural support in addition to promoting cellular adhesion and migration. Through interactions with cell surface receptors, laminins stimulate intracellular signaling cascades which direct specific survival and differentiation outcomes. In metabolic tissues such as the pancreas, adipose, muscle, and liver, laminin isoforms are expressed in discrete temporal and spatial patterns suggesting that certain isoforms may support the development and function of particular metabolic cell types. This review focuses on the research to date detailing the expression of laminin isoforms, their potential function, as well as known pathways involved in laminin signaling in metabolic tissues. We will also discuss the current biomedical therapies involving laminins in these tissues in addition to prospective applications, with the goal being to encourage future investigation of laminins in the context of metabolic disease.
    Keywords:  BAT; ECM; Laminins; WAT; adipose tissue; basement membrane; brown adipose tissue; diabetes; extracellular matrix; insulin resistance; liver; metabolic disease; metabolism; obesity; pancreas; pancreatic islets; signaling; skeletal muscle; stem cells; white adipose tissue
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.metabol.2021.154775
  71. Elife. 2021 04 13. pii: e68271. [Epub ahead of print]10
    Exploring risk factors at the molecular level.
    Martina Rudnicki, Tara L Haas.
      Risk factors for cardiovascular diseases trigger molecular changes that harm the endothelial cells in the heart, but exercise can suppress these effects.
    Keywords:  aging; chromosomes; endothelium; exercise; gene expression; heart; human; medicine; mouse; obesity
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.68271
  72. J Cell Commun Signal. 2021 Apr 16.
    Metastases from metastases: comparative metastatic potential of human cancer cell lines originated from primary tumors or metastases in various tissues.
    Caglar Berkel, Ercan Cacan.
      Although metastases from original (primary) tumors are highly studied, metastases from metastatic sites (secondary tumors) are far less studied. Here, using data from metastasis map (MetMap) project reported in a recent study (Jin et al. in Nature 588(7837): 331-336. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2969-2 , 2020), we found that human cancer cell lines isolated from metastatic sites have higher potential to metastasize to another site in mice, compared to human cancer cell lines isolated from primary sites, for certain types of cancer including liver, lung and pancreas cancer. In contrast, for cancer types such as ovarian and skin cancer, human cancer cell lines originated from primary tumors have increased metastatic potential in mice, compared to human cancer cell lines originated from metastatic sites. This preliminary analysis points that the potential of metastases to further metastasize compared to that of primary tumors might be cancer type-dependent, and further research is needed to understand why certain cancer cell lines isolated from metastatic sites are more likely to spread to other organs.
    Keywords:  Cancer; Cancer cell lines; Liver cancer; Metastasis; Metastatic potential; Primary tumor
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s12079-021-00617-3
  73. Nat Commun. 2021 04 12. 12(1): 2148
    Inositol treatment inhibits medulloblastoma through suppression of epigenetic-driven metabolic adaptation.
    Sara Badodi, Nicola Pomella, Xinyu Zhang, Gabriel Rosser, John Whittingham, Maria Victoria Niklison-Chirou, Yau Mun Lim, Sebastian Brandner, Gillian Morrison, Steven M Pollard, Christopher D Bennett, Steven C Clifford, Andrew Peet, M Albert Basson, Silvia Marino.
      Deregulation of chromatin modifiers plays an essential role in the pathogenesis of medulloblastoma, the most common paediatric malignant brain tumour. Here, we identify a BMI1-dependent sensitivity to deregulation of inositol metabolism in a proportion of medulloblastoma. We demonstrate mTOR pathway activation and metabolic adaptation specifically in medulloblastoma of the molecular subgroup G4 characterised by a BMI1High;CHD7Low signature and show this can be counteracted by IP6 treatment. Finally, we demonstrate that IP6 synergises with cisplatin to enhance its cytotoxicity in vitro and extends survival in a pre-clinical BMI1High;CHD7Low xenograft model.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22379-7
  74. Genome Med. 2021 Apr 14. 13(1): 58
    PRMT1-mediated H4R3me2a recruits SMARCA4 to promote colorectal cancer progression by enhancing EGFR signaling.
    Bing Yao, Tao Gui, Xiangwei Zeng, Yexuan Deng, Zhi Wang, Ying Wang, Dongjun Yang, Qixiang Li, Peipei Xu, Ruifeng Hu, Xinyu Li, Bing Chen, Jin Wang, Ke Zen, Haitao Li, Melissa J Davis, Marco J Herold, Hua-Feng Pan, Zhi-Wei Jiang, David C S Huang, Ming Liu, Junyi Ju, Quan Zhao.
       BACKGROUND: Aberrant changes in epigenetic mechanisms such as histone modifications play an important role in cancer progression. PRMT1 which triggers asymmetric dimethylation of histone H4 on arginine 3 (H4R3me2a) is upregulated in human colorectal cancer (CRC) and is essential for cell proliferation. However, how this dysregulated modification might contribute to malignant transitions of CRC remains poorly understood.
    METHODS: In this study, we integrated biochemical assays including protein interaction studies and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), cellular analysis including cell viability, proliferation, colony formation, and migration assays, clinical sample analysis, microarray experiments, and ChIP-Seq data to investigate the potential genomic recognition pattern of H4R3me2s in CRC cells and its effect on CRC progression.
    RESULTS: We show that PRMT1 and SMARCA4, an ATPase subunit of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex, act cooperatively to promote colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. We find that SMARCA4 is a novel effector molecule of PRMT1-mediated H4R3me2a. Mechanistically, we show that H4R3me2a directly recruited SMARCA4 to promote the proliferative, colony-formative, and migratory abilities of CRC cells by enhancing EGFR signaling. We found that EGFR and TNS4 were major direct downstream transcriptional targets of PRMT1 and SMARCA4 in colon cells, and acted in a PRMT1 methyltransferase activity-dependent manner to promote CRC cell proliferation. In vivo, knockdown or inhibition of PRMT1 profoundly attenuated the growth of CRC cells in the C57BL/6 J-ApcMin/+ CRC mice model. Importantly, elevated expression of PRMT1 or SMARCA4 in CRC patients were positively correlated with expression of EGFR and TNS4, and CRC patients had shorter overall survival. These findings reveal a critical interplay between epigenetic and transcriptional control during CRC progression, suggesting that SMARCA4 is a novel key epigenetic modulator of CRC. Our findings thus highlight PRMT1/SMARCA4 inhibition as a potential therapeutic intervention strategy for CRC.
    CONCLUSION: PRMT1-mediated H4R3me2a recruits SMARCA4, which promotes colorectal cancer progression by enhancing EGFR signaling.
    Keywords:  Colorectal Cancer; Epigenomics; H4R3me2s; PRMT1; SMARCA4; Transcription
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s13073-021-00871-5
  75. Nat Metab. 2021 Apr 12.
    Postprandial glycaemic dips predict appetite and energy intake in healthy individuals.
    Patrick Wyatt, Sarah E Berry, Graham Finlayson, Ruairi O'Driscoll, George Hadjigeorgiou, David A Drew, Haya Al Khatib, Long H Nguyen, Inbar Linenberg, Andrew T Chan, Tim D Spector, Paul W Franks, Jonathan Wolf, John Blundell, Ana M Valdes.
      Understanding how to modulate appetite in humans is key to developing successful weight loss interventions. Here, we showed that postprandial glucose dips 2-3 h after a meal are a better predictor of postprandial self-reported hunger and subsequent energy intake than peak glucose at 0-2 h and glucose incremental area under the blood glucose curve at 0-2 h. We explore the links among postprandial glucose, appetite and subsequent energy intake in 1,070 participants from a UK exploratory and US validation cohort, who consumed 8,624 standardized meals followed by 71,715 ad libitum meals, using continuous glucose monitors to record postprandial glycaemia. For participants eating each of the standardized meals, the average postprandial glucose dip at 2-3 h relative to baseline level predicted an increase in hunger at 2-3 h (r = 0.16, P < 0.001), shorter time until next meal (r = -0.14, P < 0.001), greater energy intake at 3-4 h (r = 0.19, P < 0.001) and greater energy intake at 24 h (r = 0.27, P < 0.001). Results were directionally consistent in the US validation cohort. These data provide a quantitative assessment of the relevance of postprandial glycaemia in appetite and energy intake modulation.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-021-00383-x
  76. Oncogene. 2021 Apr 16.
    The functional roles of TCA cycle metabolites in cancer.
    Joseph Eniafe, Shuai Jiang.
      The tricarboxylic acid cycle (TCA cycle) has been known for decades as a hub for generating cellular energy and precursors for biosynthetic pathways. Several cancers harbor mutations that affect the integrity of this cycle, mostly at the levels of isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH), succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), and fumarate hydratase (FH). This results in dysregulation in the production of TCA cycle metabolites and is probably implicated in cancer initiation. By modulating cellular activities, including metabolism and signaling, TCA cycle intermediates are able to impact the processes of cancer development and progression. In this review, we discuss the functional roles of the TCA cycle intermediates in suppressing or promoting the progression of cancers. A further understanding of TCA metabolites' roles and molecular mechanisms in oncogenesis would prompt developing novel metabolite-based cancer therapy in the future.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-020-01639-8
  77. Cancer Cell. 2021 Apr 12. pii: S1535-6108(21)00163-X. [Epub ahead of print]39(4): 463-465
    A large-scale snapshot of intratumor heterogeneity in human cancer.
    Young Seok Ju.
      Using sophisticated statistical analyses on population-scale cancer whole-genome sequences, a new study published in Cell characterizes the genomic architecture of intratumor heterogeneity (ITH). It results in an unprecedented snapshot of subclones in about 30 cancer types, generating a wealth of insight into the underlying mutational events, processes, and their selection.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2021.03.005
  78. Nature. 2021 Apr;592(7854): 386-391
    Liquid-induced topological transformations of cellular microstructures.
    Shucong Li, Bolei Deng, Alison Grinthal, Alyssha Schneider-Yamamura, Jinliang Kang, Reese S Martens, Cathy T Zhang, Jian Li, Siqin Yu, Katia Bertoldi, Joanna Aizenberg.
      The fundamental topology of cellular structures-the location, number and connectivity of nodes and compartments-can profoundly affect their acoustic1-4, electrical5, chemical6,7, mechanical8-10 and optical11 properties, as well as heat1,12, fluid13,14 and particle transport15. Approaches that harness swelling16-18, electromagnetic actuation19,20 and mechanical instabilities21-23 in cellular materials have enabled a variety of interesting wall deformations and compartment shape alterations, but the resulting structures generally preserve the defining connectivity features of the initial topology. Achieving topological transformation presents a distinct challenge for existing strategies: it requires complex reorganization, repacking, and coordinated bending, stretching and folding, particularly around each node, where elastic resistance is highest owing to connectivity. Here we introduce a two-tiered dynamic strategy that achieves systematic reversible transformations of the fundamental topology of cellular microstructures, which can be applied to a wide range of materials and geometries. Our approach requires only exposing the structure to a selected liquid that is able to first infiltrate and plasticize the material at the molecular scale, and then, upon evaporation, form a network of localized capillary forces at the architectural scale that 'zip' the edges of the softened lattice into a new topological structure, which subsequently restiffens and remains kinetically trapped. Reversibility is induced by applying a mixture of liquids that act separately at the molecular and architectural scales (thus offering modular temporal control over the softening-evaporation-stiffening sequence) to restore the original topology or provide access to intermediate modes. Guided by a generalized theoretical model that connects cellular geometries, material stiffness and capillary forces, we demonstrate programmed reversible topological transformations of various lattice geometries and responsive materials that undergo fast global or localized deformations. We then harness dynamic topologies to develop active surfaces with information encryption, selective particle trapping and bubble release, as well as tunable mechanical, chemical and acoustic properties.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03404-7
  79. Cell Death Dis. 2021 Apr 12. 12(4): 388
    Cellular fate of intersex differentiation.
    Xin Wang, Fengling Lai, Dantong Shang, Yibin Cheng, Tian Lan, Hanhua Cheng, Rongjia Zhou.
      Infertile ovotestis (mixture of ovary and testis) often occurs in intersex individuals under certain pathological and physiological conditions. However, how ovotestis is formed remains largely unknown. Here, we report the first comprehensive single-cell developmental atlas of the model ovotestis. We provide an overview of cell identities and a roadmap of germline, niche, and stem cell development in ovotestis by cell lineage reconstruction and a uniform manifold approximation and projection. We identify common progenitors of germline stem cells with two states, which reveal their bipotential nature to differentiate into both spermatogonial stem cells and female germline stem cells. Moreover, we found that ovotestis infertility was caused by degradation of female germline cells via liquid-liquid phase separation of the proteasomes in the nucleus, and impaired histone-to-protamine replacement in spermatid differentiation. Notably, signaling pathways in gonadal niche cells and their interaction with germlines synergistically determined distinct cell fate of both male and female germlines. Overall, we reveal a cellular fate map of germline and niche cell development that shapes cell differentiation direction of ovotestis, and provide novel insights into ovotestis development.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-021-03676-x
  80. Mol Cell Oncol. 2021 ;8(2): 1877076
    P53 regulates cellular redox state, ferroptosis and metabolism.
    Julia I-Ju Leu, Maureen E Murphy, Donna L George.
      The tumor protein P53 (TP53, or p53) has complex and at times seemingly contradictory roles in the regulation of metabolism and ferroptosis sensitivity. We find that the actions of p53 influence the redox state, which can trigger changes in redox-sensitive proteins, thereby modifying metabolic processes and response to ferroptosis.
    Keywords:  Ferroptosis; cysteine modification; metabolism; p53; redox signaling
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1080/23723556.2021.1877076
  81. Matrix Biol. 2021 Apr 07. pii: S0945-053X(21)00040-8. [Epub ahead of print]
    A functional outside-in signaling network of proteoglycans and matrix molecules regulating autophagy.
    Thomas Neill, Aastha Kapoor, Christopher Xie, Simone Buraschi, Renato V Iozzo.
      Proteoglycans and selected extracellular matrix constituents are emerging as intrinsic and critical regulators of evolutionarily conversed, intracellular catabolic pathways. Often, these secreted molecules evoke sustained autophagy in a variety of cell types, tissues, and model systems. The unique properties of proteoglycans have ushered in a paradigmatic shift to broaden our understanding of matrix-mediated signaling cascades. The dynamic cellular pathway controlling autophagy is now linked to an equally dynamic and fluid signaling network embedded in a complex meshwork of matrix molecules. A rapidly emerging field of research encompasses multiple matrix-derived candidates, representing a menagerie of soluble matrix constituents including decorin, biglycan, endorepellin, endostatin, collagen VI and plasminogen kringle 5. These matrix constituents are pro-autophagic and simultaneously anti-angiogenic. In contrast, perlecan, laminin α2 chain, and lumican have anti-autophagic functions. Mechanistically, each matrix constituent linked to intracellular catabolic events engages a specific cell surface receptor that often converges on a common core of the autophagic machinery including AMPK, Peg3 and Beclin 1. We consider this matrix-evoked autophagy as non-canonical given that it occurs in an allosteric manner and is independent of nutrient availability or prevailing bioenergetics control. We propose that matrix-regulated autophagy is an important outside-in signaling mechanism for proper tissue homeostasis that could be therapeutically leveraged to combat a variety of diseases.
    Keywords:  angiogenesis; cancer; endothelial cells; proteoglycans; receptor tyrosine kinases
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matbio.2021.04.001
  82. Cancer Res. 2021 Apr 16. pii: canres.0340.2021. [Epub ahead of print]
    Targeting adenosine with adenosine deaminase 2 to inhibit growth of solid tumors.
    Lin Wang, Luz M Londono, Jessica Cowell, Ozge Saatci, Mertkaya Aras, Pelin G Ersan, Sara Serra, Hong Pei, Renee Clift, Qiping Zhao, Kim B Phan, Lei Huang, Michael J LaBarre, Xiaoming Li, H Michael Shepard, Silvia Deaglio, Joel Linden, Christopher D Thanos, Ozgur Sahin, Caglar Cekic.
      Extracellular adenosine in tumors can suppress immune responses and promote tumor growth. Adenosine deaminase 2 (ADA2) converts adenosine into inosine. The role of ADA2 in cancer and whether it can target adenosine for cancer therapy has not been investigated. Here we show that increased ADA2 expression is associated with increased patient survival and enrichment of adaptive immune response pathways in several solid tumor types. Several ADA2 variants were created to improve catalytic efficiency, and PEGylation was used to prolong systemic exposure. In mice, PEGylated ADA2 (PEGADA2) inhibited tumor growth by targeting adenosine in an enzyme activity-dependent manner and thereby modulating immune responses. These findings introduce endogenous ADA2 expression as a prognostic factor and PEGADA2 as a novel immunotherapy for cancer.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-21-0340
  83. Methods Mol Biol. 2021 ;2227 191-203
    Complement Detection in Human Tumors by Immunohistochemistry and Immunofluorescence.
    Marie V Daugan, Margot Revel, Laetitia Lacroix, Catherine Sautès-Fridman, Wolf H Fridman, Lubka T Roumenina.
      Tumors contain a complement rich microenvironment in which all cell types (e.g., tumor cells and stromal cells) are able to produce different proteins. We developed immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays allowing to identify on paraffin embedded tumor sections, not only the complement producing cells but also the complement activation fragments which result from activation of complement cascade within the tumor. The local production of complement can be detected by cytoplasmic staining, whereas the activation fragments are localized at the surface of the cells. There is a high heterogeneity of the staining within tumors but also between patients. Semi-quantification of the staining in large cohorts of patients allows to investigate the prognostic impact of the local complement production and activation. Here we explain the staining process for C1q, C4, and C3 in human paraffin-embedded tumor sections by immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry.
    Keywords:  Activation; Complement; Immunofluorescence (IF); Immunohistochemistry (IHC); Production; Prognostic; Tumors
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1016-9_18
  84. J Cell Biol. 2021 May 03. pii: e201907183. [Epub ahead of print]220(5):
    FIT2 organizes lipid droplet biogenesis with ER tubule-forming proteins and septins.
    Fang Chen, Bing Yan, Jie Ren, Rui Lyu, Yanfang Wu, Yuting Guo, Dong Li, Hong Zhang, Junjie Hu.
      Lipid droplets (LDs) are critical for lipid storage and energy metabolism. LDs form in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). However, the molecular basis for LD biogenesis remains elusive. Here, we show that fat storage-inducing transmembrane protein 2 (FIT2) interacts with ER tubule-forming proteins Rtn4 and REEP5. The association is mainly transmembrane domain based and stimulated by oleic acid. Depletion of ER tubule-forming proteins decreases the number and size of LDs in cells and Caenorhabditis elegans, mimicking loss of FIT2. Through cytosolic loops, FIT2 binds to cytoskeletal protein septin 7, an interaction that is also required for normal LD biogenesis. Depletion of ER tubule-forming proteins or septins delays nascent LD formation. In addition, FIT2-interacting proteins are up-regulated during adipocyte differentiation, and ER tubule-forming proteins, septin 7, and FIT2 are transiently enriched at LD formation sites. Thus, FIT2-mediated nascent LD biogenesis is facilitated by ER tubule-forming proteins and septins.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201907183
  85. Nat Commun. 2021 04 15. 12(1): 2259
    SOD1 regulates ribosome biogenesis in KRAS mutant non-small cell lung cancer.
    Xiaowen Wang, Hong Zhang, Russell Sapio, Jun Yang, Justin Wong, Xin Zhang, Jessie Y Guo, Sharon Pine, Holly Van Remmen, Hong Li, Eileen White, Chen Liu, Megerditch Kiledjian, Dimitri G Pestov, X F Steven Zheng.
      SOD1 is known as the major cytoplasmic superoxide dismutase and an anticancer target. However, the role of SOD1 in cancer is not fully understood. Herein we describe the generation of an inducible Sod1 knockout in KRAS-driven NSCLC mouse model. Sod1 knockout markedly reduces tumor burden in vivo and blocks growth of KRAS mutant NSCLC cells in vitro. Intriguingly, SOD1 is enriched in the nucleus and notably in the nucleolus of NSCLC cells. The nuclear and nucleolar, not cytoplasmic, form of SOD1 is essential for lung cancer cell proliferation. Moreover, SOD1 interacts with PeBoW complex and controls its assembly necessary for pre-60S ribosomal subunit maturation. Mechanistically, SOD1 regulates co-localization of PeBoW with and processing of pre-rRNA, and maturation of cytoplasmic 60S ribosomal subunits in KRAS mutant lung cancer cells. Collectively, our study unravels a nuclear SOD1 function essential for ribosome biogenesis and proliferation in KRAS-driven lung cancer.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22480-x
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