bims-tucedo Biomed News
on Tumor cell dormancy
Issue of 2021–06–27
twenty-six papers selected by
Isabel Puig Borreil, Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology
  1. RASAL2 confers collateral MEK/EGFR dependency in chemoresistant triple-negative breast cancer.
  2. Stepwise evolution of therapy resistance in AML.
  3. Msi1 promotes breast cancer metastasis by regulating invadopodia-mediated extracellular matrix degradation via the Timp3-Mmp9 pathway.
  4. Lineage tracing reveals metastatic dynamics.
  5. Co-evolution of matrisome and adaptive adhesion dynamics drives ovarian cancer chemoresistance.
  6. Melanoma Engages Genetic and Nongenetic Drug Resistance Trajectories.
  7. Circular RNA circRHOBTB3 represses metastasis by regulating the HuR-mediated mRNA stability of PTBP1 in colorectal cancer.
  8. MAP3K7-IKK inflammatory signaling modulates AR protein degradation and prostate cancer progression.
  9. The AML microenvironment catalyzes a stepwise evolution to gilteritinib resistance.
  10. HIF-1-induced mitochondrial ribosome protein L52: a mechanism for breast cancer cellular adaptation and metastatic initiation in response to hypoxia.
  11. Multi-omic analysis of lung tumors defines pathways activated in neuroendocrine transformation.
  12. Protocol to establish a lung adenocarcinoma immunotherapy allograft mouse model with FACS and immunofluorescence-based analysis of tumor response.
  13. Evolution of fibroblasts in the lung metastatic microenvironment is driven by stage-specific transcriptional plasticity.
  14. Hepatic stellate cells and NK cells in switch from dormancy to liver metastasis.
  15. KEAP1 deficiency drives glucose dependency and sensitizes lung cancer cells and tumors to GLUT inhibition.
  16. SOX9 is a critical regulator of TSPAN8-mediated metastasis in pancreatic cancer.
  17. A drug to block fat intake and combat cancer spread.
  18. Circ3823 contributes to growth, metastasis and angiogenesis of colorectal cancer: involvement of miR-30c-5p/TCF7 axis.
  19. Genotoxic therapy and resistance mechanism in gliomas.
  20. Tissue-Resident Macrophages Help Early-Stage Lung Tumors Develop.
  21. Tumor-associated hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells positively linked to glioblastoma progression.
  22. Acquired Resistance to KRASG12C Inhibition in Cancer.
  23. Harnessing the power of antibodies to fight bone metastasis.
  24. Metastatic and sentinel lymph node mapping using intravenously delivered Panitumumab-IRDye800CW.
  25. Notch signaling and efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in relapsed small cell lung cancer.
  26. Transcriptional super-enhancers control cancer stemness and metastasis genes in squamous cell carcinoma.
  1. Clin Cancer Res. 2021 Jun 24. pii: clincanres.0714.2021. [Epub ahead of print]
    RASAL2 confers collateral MEK/EGFR dependency in chemoresistant triple-negative breast cancer.
    Siang-Boon Koh, Kenneth Ross, Steven J Isakoff, Nsan Melkonjan, Lei He, Karina J Matissek, Andrew Schultz, Erica L Mayer, Tiffany A Traina, Lisa A Carey, Hope S Rugo, Minetta C Liu, Vered Stearns, Adam Langenbucher, Srinivas Vinod Saladi, Sridhar Ramaswamy, Michael S Lawrence, Leif W Ellisen.
       PURPOSE: While chemotherapy remains the standard treatment for TNBC, identifying and managing chemoresistant tumors has proven elusive. We sought to discover hallmarks and therapeutically actionable features of refractory TNBC through molecular analysis of primary chemoresistant TNBC specimens.
    EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: We performed transcriptional profiling of tumors from a Phase 2 clinical trial of platinum chemotherapy for advanced TNBC (TBCRC-009), revealing a gene expression signature that identified de novo chemorefractory tumors. We then employed pharmacogenomic data mining, proteomic and other molecular studies to define the therapeutic vulnerabilities of these tumors.
    RESULTS: We reveal the RAS-GTPase activating protein (RAS-GAP) RASAL2 as an upregulated factor that mediates chemotherapy resistance but also an exquisite collateral sensitivity to combination MAP kinase kinase (MEK1/2) and EGFR inhibitors in TNBC. Mechanistically, RASAL2 GAP activity is required to confer kinase inhibitor sensitivity, as RASAL2-high TNBCs sustain basal RAS activity through suppression of negative feedback regulators SPRY1/2, together with EGFR upregulation. Consequently, RASAL2 expression results in failed feedback compensation upon co-inhibition of MEK1/2 and EGFR that induces synergistic apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. In TNBC patients, high RASAL2 levels predict clinical chemotherapy response and long-term outcomes, and are associated via direct transcriptional regulation with activated oncogenic YAP. Accordingly, chemorefractory patient-derived TNBC models exhibit YAP activation, high RASAL2 expression, and tumor regression in response to MEK/EGFR inhibitor combinations despite well-tolerated intermittent dosing.
    CONCLUSIONS: These findings identify RASAL2 as a mediator of TNBC chemoresistance that rewires MAPK feedback and cross-talk to confer profound collateral sensitivity to combination MEK1/2 and EGFR inhibitors.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-21-0714
  2. Cancer Cell. 2021 Jun 19. pii: S1535-6108(21)00321-4. [Epub ahead of print]
    Stepwise evolution of therapy resistance in AML.
    Philippe Gui, Trever G Bivona.
      Relapse of AML patients to FLT3i treatment is the result of a long-term and stepwise process leading to resistance, whereby residual cancer cells initially survive and subsequently expand. Here, Joshi et al. use a multifaceted approach to characterize how microenvironment-driven early resistance to gilteritinib evolves into mutation-driven late resistance.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2021.06.004
  3. Oncogene. 2021 Jun 21.
    Msi1 promotes breast cancer metastasis by regulating invadopodia-mediated extracellular matrix degradation via the Timp3-Mmp9 pathway.
    Xueyun Bi, Pengbo Lou, Yongli Song, Xiaole Sheng, Ruiqi Liu, Min Deng, Xu Yang, Guilin Li, Shukai Yuan, Honglei Zhang, Baowei Jiao, Bing Zhang, Lixiang Xue, Zhihua Liu, Maksim V Plikus, Fazheng Ren, Shan Gao, Li Zhao, Zhengquan Yu.
      Metastasis is the main cause of death in breast cancer patients. The initial step of metastasis is invadopodia-mediated extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation, which enables local breast tumor cells to invade surrounding tissues. However, the molecular mechanism underlying invadopodia-mediated metastasis remains largely unknown. Here we found that the RNA-binding protein Musashi1 (Msi1) exhibited elevated expression in invasive breast tumors and promoted lung metastasis of mammary cancer cells. Suppression of Msi1 reduced invadopodia formation in mammary cancer cells. Furthermore, Msi1 deficiency decreased the expression and activity of Mmp9, an important enzyme in ECM degradation. Mechanistically, Msi1 directly suppressed Timp3, an endogenous inhibitor of Mmp9. In clinical breast cancer specimens, TIMP3 and MSI1 levels were significantly inversely correlated both in normal breast tissue and breast cancer tissues and associated with overall survival in breast cancer patients. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that the MSI1-TIMP3-MMP9 cascade is critical for invadopodia-mediated onset of metastasis in breast cancer, providing novel insights into a promising therapeutic strategy for breast cancer metastasis.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-021-01873-8
  4. Cancer Cell. 2021 Jun 19. pii: S1535-6108(21)00326-3. [Epub ahead of print]
    Lineage tracing reveals metastatic dynamics.
    Eunmi Lee, Yibin Kang.
      Combining single-cell lineage tracing with RNA sequencing has provided unprecedented opportunities to prospectively explore metastatic dynamics in vivo. In this issue of Cancer Cell, Simeonov et al. developed the macsGESTALT lineage recording system to reveal that hybrid EMT states and S100 expression are associated with elevated metastatic abilities in a pancreatic cancer model.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2021.06.005
  5. Nat Commun. 2021 06 23. 12(1): 3904
    Co-evolution of matrisome and adaptive adhesion dynamics drives ovarian cancer chemoresistance.
    Elina A Pietilä, Jordi Gonzalez-Molina, Lidia Moyano-Galceran, Sanaz Jamalzadeh, Kaiyang Zhang, Laura Lehtinen, S Pauliina Turunen, Tomás A Martins, Okan Gultekin, Tarja Lamminen, Katja Kaipio, Ulrika Joneborg, Johanna Hynninen, Sakari Hietanen, Seija Grénman, Rainer Lehtonen, Sampsa Hautaniemi, Olli Carpén, Joseph W Carlson, Kaisa Lehti.
      Due to its dynamic nature, the evolution of cancer cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) crosstalk, critically affecting metastasis and treatment resistance, remains elusive. Our results show that platinum-chemotherapy itself enhances resistance by progressively changing the cancer cell-intrinsic adhesion signaling and cell-surrounding ECM. Examining ovarian high-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) transcriptome and histology, we describe the fibrotic ECM heterogeneity at primary tumors and distinct metastatic sites, prior and after chemotherapy. Using cell models from systematic ECM screen to collagen-based 2D and 3D cultures, we demonstrate that both specific ECM substrates and stiffness increase resistance to platinum-mediated, apoptosis-inducing DNA damage via FAK and β1 integrin-pMLC-YAP signaling. Among such substrates around metastatic HGSCs, COL6 was upregulated by chemotherapy and enhanced the resistance of relapse, but not treatment-naïve, HGSC organoids. These results identify matrix adhesion as an adaptive response, driving HGSC aggressiveness via co-evolving ECM composition and sensing, suggesting stromal and tumor strategies for ECM pathway targeting.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24009-8
  6. Cancer Discov. 2021 Jun 25.
    Melanoma Engages Genetic and Nongenetic Drug Resistance Trajectories.
      Melanoma cells exploit both genetic and nongenetic mechanisms of resistance to MAPK inhibition.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-RW2021-088
  7. Theranostics. 2021 ;11(15): 7507-7526
    Circular RNA circRHOBTB3 represses metastasis by regulating the HuR-mediated mRNA stability of PTBP1 in colorectal cancer.
    Jiaxin Chen, Yizheng Wu, Xin Luo, Dongai Jin, Wei Zhou, Zhenyu Ju, Di Wang, Qing Meng, Huijuan Wang, Xiaotian Fu, Jianbin Xu, Zhangfa Song.
      Background: Tumor metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC) is the main cause of death in most patients and the major difficulty in comprehensive CRC treatment. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) affect many biological functions in solid tumors. However, their mechanisms in CRC metastasis remain unclear. Methods: RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and quantitative real-time PCR were performed to screen differentially expressed circRNAs between CRC tissues and adjacent normal tissues. CCK-8, cell migration and wound healing assays were performed to determine the functions of circRHOBTB3 in cell proliferation and metastasis. RNA pulldown and RNA immunoprecipitation assays were performed to verify the interaction between circRHOBTB3 and the HuR (ELAVL1) protein. Further RNA-seq and rescue experiments were applied to search for the downstream target. We also conducted a mouse xenograft model to elucidate the effect of circRHOBTB3 on cancer metastasis in vivo. Results: We identified circRHOBTB3 which is markedly downregulated in CRC tissues and cell lines. Furthermore, lower circRHOBTB3 levels were significantly associated with advanced clinical stages and greater risk of metastases. Overexpression of circRHOBTB3 suppresses tumor metastasis in CRC cells. Mechanistically, circRHOBTB3 binds to HuR, which is a ubiquitously expressed and functional RNA-binding protein (RBP) in CRC development, and promotes β-Trcp1-mediated ubiquitination of HuR. Normally, HuR binds to the 3'UTR of target mRNAs to facilitate their stabilization, whereas the interaction between circRHOBTB3 and HuR degrades HuR to reduce the expression level of the downstream target PTBP1. Furthermore, overexpressed circRHOBTB3 suppresses lung metastases in vivo, and this effect can be partly reversed by PTBP1 overexpression. In addition, the transcription of circRHOBTB3 can be improved by both FUS and ADARB2 in CRC cells. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that circRHOBTB3 exerts suppressive effects on CRC aggressiveness through the HuR/PTBP1 axis.
    Keywords:  ADARB2; FUS; HuR; PTBP1; cancer metastasis; circRHOBTB3; colorectal cancer
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7150/thno.59546
  8. Cancer Res. 2021 Jun 22. pii: canres.4194.2020. [Epub ahead of print]
    MAP3K7-IKK inflammatory signaling modulates AR protein degradation and prostate cancer progression.
    Zhenlin Huang, Bo Tang, Yinhui Yang, Zhaogang Yang, Lei Shi, Yang Bai, Binyuan Yan, R Jeffrey Karnes, Jun Zhang, Rafael Jimenez, Liguo Wang, Qiang Wei, Jinjian Yang, Wanhai Xu, Zhankui Jia, Haojie Huang.
      Androgen receptor (AR) is a major survival factor for prostate cancer (PCa). Inflammation is implicated in many cancer types including PCa. Activation of MAP3K7 (also termed TAK1) and downstream IκB kinase β (IKKβ) by pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNFα stimulates NF-κB survival pathways. Paradoxically, MAP3K7 is often deleted in human PCa. Here we demonstrate that AR protein expression is lower in inflammatory tumor areas compared to non-inflammatory tissues in PCa patients. Map3k7 knockout increased AR protein levels and activity in the mouse prostate, and MAP3K7 and AR protein levels were inversely correlated in PCa patient specimens. TNFα treatment increased AR protein ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Mechanistically, activation of IKKβ by TNFα induced phosphorylation and TRCP1/2 E3 ligase-mediated polyubiquitination and degradation of AR protein. TNFα suppressed prostate cancer proliferation, which could be rescued by blockade of AR degradation. These findings reveal a previously unrecognized tumor suppressive function of the inflammation-activated MAP3K7-IKKβ axis in degrading AR protein. Moreover, they suggest that aberrant elevation of AR protein could be a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for MAP3K7-deficient PCa.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-4194
  9. Cancer Cell. 2021 Jun 23. pii: S1535-6108(21)00286-5. [Epub ahead of print]
    The AML microenvironment catalyzes a stepwise evolution to gilteritinib resistance.
    Sunil K Joshi, Tamilla Nechiporuk, Daniel Bottomly, Paul D Piehowski, Julie A Reisz, Janét Pittsenbarger, Andy Kaempf, Sara J C Gosline, Yi-Ting Wang, Joshua R Hansen, Marina A Gritsenko, Chelsea Hutchinson, Karl K Weitz, Jamie Moon, Francesca Cendali, Thomas L Fillmore, Chia-Feng Tsai, Athena A Schepmoes, Tujin Shi, Osama A Arshad, Jason E McDermott, Ozgun Babur, Kevin Watanabe-Smith, Emek Demir, Angelo D'Alessandro, Tao Liu, Cristina E Tognon, Jeffrey W Tyner, Shannon K McWeeney, Karin D Rodland, Brian J Druker, Elie Traer.
      Our study details the stepwise evolution of gilteritinib resistance in FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Early resistance is mediated by the bone marrow microenvironment, which protects residual leukemia cells. Over time, leukemia cells evolve intrinsic mechanisms of resistance, or late resistance. We mechanistically define both early and late resistance by integrating whole-exome sequencing, CRISPR-Cas9, metabolomics, proteomics, and pharmacologic approaches. Early resistant cells undergo metabolic reprogramming, grow more slowly, and are dependent upon Aurora kinase B (AURKB). Late resistant cells are characterized by expansion of pre-existing NRAS mutant subclones and continued metabolic reprogramming. Our model closely mirrors the timing and mutations of AML patients treated with gilteritinib. Pharmacological inhibition of AURKB resensitizes both early resistant cell cultures and primary leukemia cells from gilteritinib-treated AML patients. These findings support a combinatorial strategy to target early resistant AML cells with AURKB inhibitors and gilteritinib before the expansion of pre-existing resistance mutations occurs.
    Keywords:  AML; Aurora kinase B; FLT3; NRAS; drug resistance; gilteritinib; lipid metabolism; quizartinib; tumor microenvironment; tyrosine kinase inhibitor
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ccell.2021.06.003
  10. Theranostics. 2021 ;11(15): 7337-7359
    HIF-1-induced mitochondrial ribosome protein L52: a mechanism for breast cancer cellular adaptation and metastatic initiation in response to hypoxia.
    Xinyan Li, Mengshen Wang, Su Li, Yuqiong Chen, Mozhi Wang, Zhonghua Wu, Xiangyu Sun, Litong Yao, Haoran Dong, Yongxi Song, Yingying Xu.
      Background: Hypoxia is a hallmark of the physical microenvironment of solid tumors. As a key factor that regulates tumor development and progression, hypoxia can reprogram the expression of multiple genes, whose biological function and molecular mechanism in cancer remain largely unclear. The mitochondrial ribosome protein family consists of nuclear-encoded mitochondrial proteins that are responsible for protein synthesis in the mitochondria. Methods: A high-throughput RNA sequencing assay was carried out to identify differentially expressed mRNAs between breast cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues as well as breast tumors with metastasis and those without metastasis. Our clinical samples and TCGA database were analyzed to observe the clinical value of mitochondrial ribosome protein L52 (MRPL52) in human breast cancer. Potent hypoxia response elements in the promoter region of MRPL52 were identified and validated by chromatin immunoprecipitation and luciferase reporter assays. Functional experiments were performed using breast cancer cell lines with MRPL52 ectopic expression and knockdown cultured in a 20% or 1% O2 environment. Results: MRPL52 expression was upregulated in human breast cancer and was significantly associated with aggressive clinicopathological characteristics and a higher metastatic risk of breast cancer patients. We found that the overexpression of MRPL52 in breast cancer is induced by hypoxia-inducible factor-1 in response to hypoxic exposure. The role of MRPL52 in suppressing apoptosis and promoting migration and invasion of hypoxic breast cancer cells was demonstrated by our experimental evidence. Mechanistically, MRPL52 promoted PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 /Parkin-dependent mitophagy to remove oxidatively damaged mitochondria and prevent uncontrolled reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, thus repressing activation of the mitochondrial apoptotic cascade. Additionally, MRPL52 augmented epithelial-mesenchymal transition, migration and invasion of hypoxic breast cancer cells by activating the ROS-Notch1-Snail signaling pathway. Benefited from this bidirectional regulatory mechanism, MRPL52 is responsible for maintaining ROS levels in a window that can induce tumorigenic signal transduction without causing cytotoxicity in hypoxic breast cancer cells. Conclusions: This work elucidates the molecular mechanism by which MRPL52 mediates hypoxia-induced apoptotic resistance and metastatic initiation of breast cancer, and provides new insights into the interplay between cancer and the tumor microenvironment.
    Keywords:  Breast cancer; Hypoxia; Metastasis; Mitochondrial ribosome; Mitophagy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7150/thno.57804
  11. Cancer Discov. 2021 Jun 21. pii: candisc.1863.2021. [Epub ahead of print]
    Multi-omic analysis of lung tumors defines pathways activated in neuroendocrine transformation.
    Alvaro Quintanal-Villalonga, Hirokazu Taniguchi, Yingqian A Zhan, Maysun M Hasan, Shweta S Chavan, Fanli Meng, Fathema Uddin, Parvathy Manoj, Mark T A Donoghue, Helen H Won, Joseph M Chan, Metamia Ciampricotti, Andrew Chow, Michael Offin, Jason C Chang, Jordana Ray-Kirton, Sam E Tischfield, Jacklynn Egger, Umesh K Bhanot, Irina Linkov, Marina Asher, Sonali Sinha, Joachim Silber, Christine A Iacobuzio-Donahue, Michael H Roehrl, Travis J Hollmann, Helena A Yu, Juan Qiu, Elisa de Stanchina, Marina K Baine, Natasha Rekhtman, John T Poirier, Brian Loomis, Richard P Koche, Charles M Rudin, Triparna Sen.
      Lineage plasticity is implicated in treatment resistance in multiple cancers. In lung adenocarcinomas (LUADs) amenable to targeted therapy, transformation to small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a recognized resistance mechanism. Defining molecular mechanisms of neuroendocrine (NE) transformation in lung cancer has been limited by a paucity of pre-/post-transformation clinical samples. Detailed genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, and protein characterization of combined LUAD/SCLC tumors, as well as pre-/post-transformation samples, support that NE transformation is primarily driven by transcriptional reprogramming rather than mutational events. We identify genomic contexts in which NE transformation is favored, including frequent loss of the 3p chromosome arm. We observed enhanced expression of genes involved in PRC2 complex and PI3K/AKT and NOTCH pathways. Pharmacological inhibition of the PI3K/AKT pathway delayed tumor growth and NE transformation in an EGFR-mutant patient-derived xenograft model. Our findings define a novel landscape of potential drivers and therapeutic vulnerabilities of neuroendocrine transformation in lung cancer.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-20-1863
  12. STAR Protoc. 2021 Jun 18. 2(2): 100595
    Protocol to establish a lung adenocarcinoma immunotherapy allograft mouse model with FACS and immunofluorescence-based analysis of tumor response.
    Zhengxin Peng, Man Yu, Jiaming Lin, Tianqi Dong, Xiao Zhang, Mingjun Shi, Min Qin, Shasha Li, Wencong Guo, Huixia Zhang, Shuguo Sun.
      Anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy shows long-term effects in many cancer types, but resistance and relapse remain the main limitations of this therapy. Here, we describe a protocol to evaluate the tumor response to immunotherapy in a mouse lung cancer model. The protocol includes the establishment of the lung cancer mouse model, anti-PD-1 treatment, tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte isolation, immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry analysis. This protocol can also be applied to other cancer types and immunotherapies. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Yu et al. (2021).
    Keywords:  Cancer; Cell biology; Cell culture; Cell isolation; Flow cytometry/mass cytometry; Immunology; Microscopy; Model organisms
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xpro.2021.100595
  13. Elife. 2021 Jun 25. pii: e60745. [Epub ahead of print]10
    Evolution of fibroblasts in the lung metastatic microenvironment is driven by stage-specific transcriptional plasticity.
    Ophir Shani, Yael Raz, Lea Monteran, Ye'ela Scharff, Oshrat Levi-Galibov, Or Megides, Hila Shacham, Noam Cohen, Dana Silverbush, Camilla Avivi, Roded Sharan, Asaf Madi, Ruth Scherz-Shouval, Iris Barshack, Ilan Tsarfaty, Neta Erez.
      Mortality from breast cancer is almost exclusively a result of tumor metastasis, and lungs are one of the main metastatic sites. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are prominent players in the microenvironment of breast cancer. However, their role in the metastatic niche is largely unknown. In this study, we profiled the transcriptional co-evolution of lung fibroblasts isolated from transgenic mice at defined stage-specific time points of metastases formation. Employing multiple knowledge-based platforms of data analysis provided powerful insights on functional and temporal regulation of the transcriptome of fibroblasts. We demonstrate that fibroblasts in lung metastases are transcriptionally dynamic and plastic, and reveal stage-specific gene signatures that imply functional tasks, including extracellular matrix remodeling, stress response and shaping the inflammatory microenvironment. Furthermore, we identified Myc as a central regulator of fibroblast rewiring and found that stromal upregulation of Myc transcriptional networks is associated with disease progression in human breast cancer.
    Keywords:  cancer biology; mouse
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.60745
  14. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021 Jun 22.
    Hepatic stellate cells and NK cells in switch from dormancy to liver metastasis.
    Jordan Hindson.
      
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-021-00485-7
  15. iScience. 2021 Jun 25. 24(6): 102649
    KEAP1 deficiency drives glucose dependency and sensitizes lung cancer cells and tumors to GLUT inhibition.
    Pranavi Koppula, Kellen Olszewski, Yilei Zhang, Lavanya Kondiparthi, Xiaoguang Liu, Guang Lei, Molina Das, Bingliang Fang, Masha V Poyurovsky, Boyi Gan.
      Metabolic reprogramming in cancer cells can create metabolic liabilities. KEAP1-mutant lung cancer is refractory to most current therapies. Here we show that KEAP1 deficiency promotes glucose dependency in lung cancer cells, and KEAP1-mutant/deficient lung cancer cells are more vulnerable to glucose deprivation than their WT counterparts. Mechanistically, KEAP1 inactivation in lung cancer cells induces constitutive activation of NRF2 transcription factor and aberrant expression of NRF2 target cystine transporter SLC7A11; under glucose limitation, high cystine uptake in KEAP1-inactivated lung cancer cells stimulates toxic intracellular disulfide buildup, NADPH depletion, and cell death, which can be rescued by genetic ablation of NRF2-SLC7A11 axis or treatments inhibiting disulfide accumulation. Finally, we show that KEAP1-inactivated lung cancer cells or xenograft tumors are sensitive to glucose transporter inhibitor. Together, our results reveal that KEAP1 deficiency induces glucose dependency in lung cancer cells and uncover a therapeutically relevant metabolic liability.
    Keywords:  cancer; cell biology; physiology
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2021.102649
  16. Oncogene. 2021 Jun 23.
    SOX9 is a critical regulator of TSPAN8-mediated metastasis in pancreatic cancer.
    Junjian Li, Xiaoliang Chen, Liqun Zhu, Zhenghong Lao, Tianhao Zhou, Lijuan Zang, Weiyu Ge, Mengyi Jiang, Jingxuan Xu, Yuan Cao, Shaoqian Du, Yue Yu, Guangjian Fan, Hongxia Wang.
      Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the deadliest cancer mainly owing to its proclivity to early metastasis and the lack of effective targeted therapeutic drugs. Hence, understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying early invasion and metastasis by PDAC is imperative for improving patient outcomes. The present study identified that upregulation of TSPAN8 expression in PDAC facilitates metastasis in vivo and in vitro. We found SOX9 as a key transcriptional regulator of TSPAN8 expression in response to EGF stimulation. SOX9 modulation was sufficient to positively regulate endogenous expression of TSPAN8, with concomitant in vitro phenotypic changes such as loss of cell-matrix adherence and increased invasion. Moreover, increased SOX9 and TSPAN8 levels were shown to correlate in human pancreatic cancer specimens and downregulated in vitro by EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. High expression of SOX9 and TSPAN8 has been associated with tumor stage, poor prognosis and poor patient survival in PDAC. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of the EGF-SOX9-TSPAN8 signaling cascade in the control of PDAC invasion and implies that TSPAN8 may be a promising novel therapeutic target for the treatment of PDAC.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41388-021-01864-9
  17. Nature. 2021 Jun 24.
    A drug to block fat intake and combat cancer spread.
    Elie Dolgin.
      
    Keywords:  Cancer; Drug discovery; Therapeutics
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01667-8
  18. Mol Cancer. 2021 Jun 25. 20(1): 93
    Circ3823 contributes to growth, metastasis and angiogenesis of colorectal cancer: involvement of miR-30c-5p/TCF7 axis.
    Yaxin Guo, Yuying Guo, Chen Chen, Dandan Fan, Xiaoke Wu, Luyang Zhao, Bo Shao, Zhenqiang Sun, Zhenyu Ji.
       BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignant tumours. The recurrence and metastasis of CRC seriously affect the survival rate of patients. Angiogenesis is an extremely important cause of tumour growth and metastasis. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been emerged as vital regulators for tumour progression. However, the regulatory role, clinical significance and underlying mechanisms still remain largely unknown.
    METHODS: High-throughput sequencing was used to analyse differential circRNAs expression in tumour and non-tumour tissues of CRC. In situ hybridization (ISH) and qRT-PCR were used to determine the level of circ3823 in CRC tissues and serum samples. Then, functional experiments in vitro and in vivo were performed to investigate the effects of circ3823 on tumour growth, metastasis and angiogenesis in CRC. Sanger sequencing, RNase R and Actinomycin D assay were used to verify the ring structure of circ3823. Mechanistically, dual luciferase reporter assay, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and RNA pull-down experiments were performed to confirm the underlying mechanisms of circ3823.
    RESULTS: Circ3823 was evidently highly expressed in CRC and high circ3823 expression predicted a worse prognosis of CRC patients. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROCs) indicated that the expression of circ3823 in serum showed high sensitivity and specificity for detecting CRC which means circ3823 have the potential to be used as diagnostic biomarkers. Functional experiments in vitro and in vivo indicated that circ3823 promote CRC cell proliferation, metastasis and angiogenesis. Mechanism analysis showed that circ3823 act as a competing endogenous RNA of miR-30c-5p to relieve the repressive effect of miR-30c-5p on its target TCF7 which upregulates MYC and CCND1, and finally facilitates CRC progression. In addition, we found that N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification exists on circ3823. And the m6A modification is involved in regulating the degradation of circ3823.
    CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that circ3823 promotes CRC growth, metastasis and angiogenesis through circ3823/miR-30c-5p/TCF7 axis and it may serve as a new diagnostic marker or target for treatment of CRC patients. In addition, m6A modification is involved in regulating the degradation of circ3823.
    Keywords:  Angiogenesis; Colorectal cancer (CRC); N6-methyladenosine (m6A); Tumour progression; circ3823
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1186/s12943-021-01372-0
  19. Pharmacol Ther. 2021 Jun 22. pii: S0163-7258(21)00124-8. [Epub ahead of print] 107922
    Genotoxic therapy and resistance mechanism in gliomas.
    Fengchao Lang, Yang Liu, Fu-Ju Chou, Chunzhang Yang.
      Glioma is one of the most common and lethal brain tumors. Surgical resection followed by radiotherapy plus chemotherapy is the current standard of care for patients with glioma. The existence of resistance to genotoxic therapy, as well as the nature of tumor heterogeneity greatly limits the efficacy of glioma therapy. DNA damage repair pathways play essential roles in many aspects of glioma biology such as cancer progression, therapy resistance, and tumor relapse. O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) repairs the cytotoxic DNA lesion generated by temozolomide (TMZ), considered as the main mechanism of drug resistance. In addition, mismatch repair, base excision repair, and homologous recombination DNA repair also play pivotal roles in treatment resistance as well. Furthermore, cellular mechanisms, such as cancer stem cells, evasion from apoptosis, and metabolic reprogramming, also contribute to TMZ resistance in gliomas. Investigations over the past two decades have revealed comprehensive mechanisms of glioma therapy resistance, which has led to the development of novel therapeutic strategies and targeting molecules.
    Keywords:  Cancer; Genotoxic therapy; Glioma; Therapy resistance
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2021.107922
  20. Cancer Discov. 2021 Jun 25.
    Tissue-Resident Macrophages Help Early-Stage Lung Tumors Develop.
      Macrophage embryonic lineage contributes to invasiveness and immune evasion at the onset of tumorigenesis.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-RW2021-089
  21. Nat Commun. 2021 06 23. 12(1): 3895
    Tumor-associated hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells positively linked to glioblastoma progression.
    I-Na Lu, Celia Dobersalske, Laurèl Rauschenbach, Sarah Teuber-Hanselmann, Anita Steinbach, Vivien Ullrich, Shruthi Prasad, Tobias Blau, Sied Kebir, Jens T Siveke, Jürgen C Becker, Ulrich Sure, Martin Glas, Björn Scheffler, Igor Cima.
      Brain tumors are typically immunosuppressive and refractory to immunotherapies for reasons that remain poorly understood. The unbiased profiling of immune cell types in the tumor microenvironment may reveal immunologic networks affecting therapy and course of disease. Here we identify and validate the presence of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) within glioblastoma tissues. Furthermore, we demonstrate a positive link of tumor-associated HSPCs with malignant and immunosuppressive phenotypes. Compared to the medullary hematopoietic compartment, tumor-associated HSPCs contain a higher fraction of immunophenotypically and transcriptomically immature, CD38- cells, such as hematopoietic stem cells and multipotent progenitors, express genes related to glioblastoma progression and display signatures of active cell cycle phases. When cultured ex vivo, tumor-associated HSPCs form myeloid colonies, suggesting potential in situ myelopoiesis. In experimental models, HSPCs promote tumor cell proliferation, expression of the immune checkpoint PD-L1 and secretion of tumor promoting cytokines such as IL-6, IL-8 and CCL2, indicating concomitant support of both malignancy and immunosuppression. In patients, the amount of tumor-associated HSPCs in tumor tissues is prognostic for patient survival and correlates with immunosuppressive phenotypes. These findings identify an important element in the complex landscape of glioblastoma that may serve as a target for brain tumor immunotherapies.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23995-z
  22. N Engl J Med. 2021 Jun 24. 384(25): 2382-2393
    Acquired Resistance to KRASG12C Inhibition in Cancer.
    Mark M Awad, Shengwu Liu, Igor I Rybkin, Kathryn C Arbour, Julien Dilly, Viola W Zhu, Melissa L Johnson, Rebecca S Heist, Tejas Patil, Gregory J Riely, Joseph O Jacobson, Xiaoping Yang, Nicole S Persky, David E Root, Kristen E Lowder, Hanrong Feng, Shannon S Zhang, Kevin M Haigis, Yin P Hung, Lynette M Sholl, Brian M Wolpin, Julie Wiese, Jason Christiansen, Jessica Lee, Alexa B Schrock, Lee P Lim, Kavita Garg, Mark Li, Lars D Engstrom, Laura Waters, J David Lawson, Peter Olson, Piro Lito, Sai-Hong I Ou, James G Christensen, Pasi A Jänne, Andrew J Aguirre.
       BACKGROUND: Clinical trials of the KRAS inhibitors adagrasib and sotorasib have shown promising activity in cancers harboring KRAS glycine-to-cysteine amino acid substitutions at codon 12 (KRASG12C). The mechanisms of acquired resistance to these therapies are currently unknown.
    METHODS: Among patients with KRASG12C -mutant cancers treated with adagrasib monotherapy, we performed genomic and histologic analyses that compared pretreatment samples with those obtained after the development of resistance. Cell-based experiments were conducted to study mutations that confer resistance to KRASG12C inhibitors.
    RESULTS: A total of 38 patients were included in this study: 27 with non-small-cell lung cancer, 10 with colorectal cancer, and 1 with appendiceal cancer. Putative mechanisms of resistance to adagrasib were detected in 17 patients (45% of the cohort), of whom 7 (18% of the cohort) had multiple coincident mechanisms. Acquired KRAS alterations included G12D/R/V/W, G13D, Q61H, R68S, H95D/Q/R, Y96C, and high-level amplification of the KRASG12C allele. Acquired bypass mechanisms of resistance included MET amplification; activating mutations in NRAS, BRAF, MAP2K1, and RET; oncogenic fusions involving ALK, RET, BRAF, RAF1, and FGFR3; and loss-of-function mutations in NF1 and PTEN. In two of nine patients with lung adenocarcinoma for whom paired tissue-biopsy samples were available, histologic transformation to squamous-cell carcinoma was observed without identification of any other resistance mechanisms. Using an in vitro deep mutational scanning screen, we systematically defined the landscape of KRAS mutations that confer resistance to KRASG12C inhibitors.
    CONCLUSIONS: Diverse genomic and histologic mechanisms impart resistance to covalent KRASG12C inhibitors, and new therapeutic strategies are required to delay and overcome this drug resistance in patients with cancer. (Funded by Mirati Therapeutics and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03785249.).
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2105281
  23. Sci Adv. 2021 Jun;pii: eabf2051. [Epub ahead of print]7(26):
    Harnessing the power of antibodies to fight bone metastasis.
    Zeru Tian, Ling Wu, Chenfei Yu, Yuda Chen, Zhan Xu, Igor Bado, Axel Loredo, Lushun Wang, Hai Wang, Kuan-Lin Wu, Weijie Zhang, Xiang H-F Zhang, Han Xiao.
      Antibody-based therapies have proved to be of great value in cancer treatment. Despite the clinical success of these biopharmaceuticals, reaching targets in the bone microenvironment has proved to be difficult due to the relatively low vascularization of bone tissue and the presence of physical barriers. Here, we have used an innovative bone-targeting (BonTarg) technology to generate a first-in-class bone-targeting antibody. Our strategy involves the use of pClick antibody conjugation technology to chemically couple the bone-targeting moiety bisphosphonate to therapeutic antibodies. Bisphosphonate modification of these antibodies results in the delivery of higher conjugate concentrations to the bone metastatic niche, relative to other tissues. In xenograft mice models, this strategy provides enhanced inhibition of bone metastases and multiorgan secondary metastases that arise from bone lesions. Specific delivery of therapeutic antibodies to the bone, therefore, represents a promising strategy for the treatment of bone metastatic cancers and other bone diseases.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abf2051
  24. Theranostics. 2021 ;11(15): 7188-7198
    Metastatic and sentinel lymph node mapping using intravenously delivered Panitumumab-IRDye800CW.
    Giri Krishnan, Nynke S van den Berg, Naoki Nishio, Georgina Juniper, Jaqueline Pei, Quan Zhou, Guolan Lu, Yu-Jin Lee, Kimberly Ramos, Andrei H Iagaru, Fred M Baik, Alexander D Colevas, Brock A Martin, Eben L Rosenthal.
      Rationale: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is a well-established minimally invasive staging procedure that maps the spread of tumour metastases from their primary site to the regional lymphatics. Currently, the procedure requires the local peri-tumoural injection of radiolabelled and/or optical agents, and is therefore operator dependent, disruptive to surgical workflow and restricted largely to a small subset of malignancies that can be readily accessed externally for local tracer injection. The present study set out to determine whether intravenous (IV) infusion of a tumor-targeted tracer could identify sentinel and metastatic lymph nodes (LNs) in order to overcome these limitations. Methods: We examined 27 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), 18 of whom were clinically node negative (cN0). Patients were infused intravenously with 50mg of Panitumumab-IRDye800CW prior to surgical resection of their primary tumour with neck dissection and/or SLNB. Lymphadenectomy specimens underwent fluorescence molecular imaging to evaluate tracer distribution to LNs. Results: A total of 960 LNs were analysed, of which 34 (3.5%) contained metastatic disease. Panitumumab-IRDye800CW preferentially localized to metastatic and sentinel LNs as evidenced by a higher fluorescent signal relative to other lymph nodes. The median MFI of metastatic LNs was significantly higher than the median MFI of benign LNs (0.06 versus 0.02, p < 0.05). Furthermore, selecting the highest five fluorescence intensity LNs from individual specimens resulted in 100% sensitivity, 85.8% specificity and 100% negative predictive value (NPV) for the detection of occult metastases and 100% accuracy for clinically staging the neck. In the cN+ cohort, assessment of the highest 5 fluorescence LNs per patient had 87.5% sensitivity, 93.2% specificity and 99.1% NPV for the detection of metastatic nodes. Conclusion: When intravenously infused, a tumour-targeted tracer localized to sentinel and metastatic lymph nodes. Further validation of an IV tumor-targeted tracer delivery approach for SLNB could dramatically change the practice of SLNB, allowing its application to other malignancies where the primary tumour is not accessible for local tracer injection.
    Keywords:  Fluorescent molecular imaging; Head and neck cancer; Oral squamous cell carcinoma; Translational science; sentinel lymph node biopsy
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.7150/thno.55389
  25. Nat Commun. 2021 06 23. 12(1): 3880
    Notch signaling and efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade in relapsed small cell lung cancer.
    Nitin Roper, Moises J Velez, Alberto Chiappori, Yoo Sun Kim, Jun S Wei, Sivasish Sindiri, Nobuyuki Takahashi, Deborah Mulford, Suresh Kumar, Kris Ylaya, Christopher Trindade, Irena Manukyan, Anna-Leigh Brown, Jane B Trepel, Jung-Min Lee, Stephen Hewitt, Javed Khan, Anish Thomas.
      Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) benefits only a small subset of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC), yet the mechanisms driving benefit are poorly understood. To identify predictors of clinical benefit to ICB, we performed immunogenomic profiling of tumor samples from patients with relapsed SCLC. Tumors of patients who derive clinical benefit from ICB exhibit cytotoxic T-cell infiltration, high expression of antigen processing and presentation machinery (APM) genes, and low neuroendocrine (NE) differentiation. However, elevated Notch signaling, which positively correlates with low NE differentiation, most significantly predicts clinical benefit to ICB. Activation of Notch signaling in a NE human SCLC cell line induces a low NE phenotype, marked by increased expression of APM genes, demonstrating a mechanistic link between Notch activation, low NE differentiation and increased intrinsic tumor immunity. Our findings suggest Notch signaling as a determinant of response to ICB in SCLC.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24164-y
  26. Nat Commun. 2021 Jun 25. 12(1): 3974
    Transcriptional super-enhancers control cancer stemness and metastasis genes in squamous cell carcinoma.
    Jiaqiang Dong, Jiong Li, Yang Li, Zhikun Ma, Yongxin Yu, Cun-Yu Wang.
      Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play a critical role in invasive growth and metastasis of human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Although significant progress has been made in understanding the self-renewal and pro-tumorigenic potentials of CSCs, a key challenge remains on how to eliminate CSCs and halt metastasis effectively. Here we show that super-enhancers (SEs) play a critical role in the transcription of cancer stemness genes as well as pro-metastatic genes, thereby controlling their tumorigenic potential and metastasis. Mechanistically, we find that bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) recruits Mediators and NF-κB p65 to form SEs at cancer stemness genes such as TP63, MET and FOSL1, in addition to oncogenic transcripts. In vivo lineage tracing reveals that disrupting SEs by BET inhibitors potently inhibited CSC self-renewal and eliminated CSCs in addition to elimination of proliferating non-stem tumor cells in a mouse model of HNSCC. Moreover, disrupting SEs also inhibits the invasive growth and lymph node metastasis of human CSCs isolated from human HNSCC. Taken together, our results suggest that targeting SEs may serve as an effective therapy for HNSCC by eliminating CSCs.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24137-1
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