Stapley et al. generated a conditional mouse model to assess the role of Schlafen 14 (SLFN14) in platelets and megakaryocytes (MKs) and to better understand the molecular mechanisms driving the bleeding phenotype in humans with SLFN14 mutations. The cover shows a transmission electron micrograph of enlarged platelets from a murine model with a platelet- and MK-specific Slfn14 deletion.
The E3 ligase SPOP plays a context-dependent role in cancer by targeting specific cellular proteins for degradation, thereby influencing cell behavior. However, its role in tumor immunity remains largely unexplored. In this study, we revealed that SPOP targeted the innate immune sensor STING for degradation in a CK1γ phosphorylation-dependent manner to promote melanoma growth. Stabilization of STING by escaping SPOP-mediated degradation enhanced anti-tumor immunity by increasing IFNβ production and ISG expression. Notably, small-molecule SPOP inhibitors not only blocked STING recognition by SPOP, but also acted as molecular glues, redirecting SPOP to target neo-substrates such as CBX4 for degradation. This CBX4 degradation led to increased DNA damage, which in turn activated STING and amplified innate immune responses. In a xenografted melanoma B16 tumor model, single-cell RNA-seq analysis demonstrated that SPOP inhibition induced the infiltration of immune cells associated with anti-PD1 responses. Consequently, SPOP inhibitors synergized with immune checkpoint blockade to suppress B16 tumor growth in syngeneic murine models and enhanced the efficacy of CD19-CAR-T therapy. Our findings highlight a molecular glue degrader property of SPOP inhibitors, with potential implications for other E3 ligase-targeting small molecules designed to disrupt protein-protein interactions.
Zhichuan Zhu, Xin Zhou, Max Xu, Jianfeng Chen, Kevin C. Robertson, Gatphan N. Atassi, Mark G. Woodcock, Allie C. Mills, Laura E. Herring, Gianpietro Dotti, Pengda Liu
Obesity is a major driver of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and related metabolic disorders, characterized by chronic inflammation and adipocyte dysfunction. However, the molecular triggers initiating these processes remain poorly understood. We identify FAM20C, a serine/threonine kinase, as an early obesity-induced mediator of adipocyte dysfunction. Fam20c expression is substantially upregulated in adipocytes in response to obesity, correlating with a proinflammatory transcriptional signature. Forced expression of Fam20c in adipocytes promotes robust upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines and induces insulin resistance that is dependent on its kinase activity. Conversely, deletion of adipocyte Fam20c after established obesity and hyperglycemia improves glucose tolerance, augments insulin sensitivity, and reduces visceral adiposity, without altering body weight. Phosphoproteomic studies reveal that FAM20C regulates phosphorylation of intracellular and secreted proteins, modulating pathways critical to inflammation, metabolism, and extracellular matrix remodeling. We identify FAM20C-dependent substrates, such as CNPY4, whose phosphorylation contributes to proinflammatory adipocyte signaling. Of translational relevance, we show that in humans visceral adipose FAM20C expression positively correlates with insulin resistance. Our findings establish FAM20C as an early regulator of obesity-induced adipocyte dysfunction and systemic metabolic impairment. Our studies provide proof of concept that inhibition of FAM20C may serve as a potential therapy for T2D by restoring adipocyte health.
Ankit Gilani, Benjamin D. Stein, Anne Hoffmann, Renan Pereira de Lima, Elizabeth E. Ha, Edwin A. Homan, Lunkun Ma, Alfonso Rubio-Navarro, Tint Tha Ra Wun, Gabriel Jose Ayala Carrascal, Bhavneet Bhinder, Adhideb Ghosh, Falko J. Noé, Olivier Elemento, Christian Wolfrum, Matthias Blüher, James C. Lo
Liver metastases are relatively resistant to checkpoint blockade immunotherapy. The hepatic tissue has distinctive features including high numbers of NK cells. It was therefore important to conduct in depth single-cell analysis of NK cells in colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLMs) with the effort to dissect their diversity and to identify candidate therapeutic targets. By combining unbiased single-cell transcriptomic with multiparametric flow cytometry analysis, we identified an abundant family of intrahepatic CD56Bright NK cells in CRLMs endowed with anti-tumor functions resulting from specific transcriptional liver programs. Intrahepatic CD56Bright and CD56Dim NK lymphocytes expressed unique transcription factors (IRF8, TOX2), high level of chemokines, and targetable immune checkpoints (ICs), including CXCR4 and the IL-1 receptor family member IL-1R8. CXCR4 pharmacological blocking and an anti-IL-1R8 mAb enhanced the effector function of CRLM NK cells. Targeting the diversity of liver NK cells and their distinct immune-checkpoint repertoires is key to optimize the current immune-therapy protocols in CRLM.
Joanna Mikulak, Domenico Supino, Paolo Marzano, Sara Terzoli, Roberta Carriero, Valentina Cazzetta, Rocco Piazza, Elena Bruni, Paolo Kunderfranco, Alessia Donato, Sarah Natalia Mapelli, Roberto Garuti, Silvia Carnevale, Francesco Scavello, Elena Magrini, Jelena Zeleznjak, Clelia Peano, Matteo Donadon, Guido Costa, Guido Torzilli, Alberto Mantovani, Cecilia Garlanda, Domenico Mavilio
Infiltration of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) into the meninges worsens prognosis, underscoring the need to understand mechanisms driving meningeal involvement. Here, we show that T-ALL cells expressing CXCR3 exploit normal T-cell function to infiltrate the inflamed meninges. CXCR3 deletion hampered disease progression and extramedullary dissemination by reducing leukemic cell proliferation and migration. Conversely, forced expression of CXCR3 facilitated T-ALL trafficking to the meninges. We identified the ubiquitin-specific protease 7 as a key regulator of CXCR3 protein stability in T-ALL. Furthermore, we discovered elevated levels of CXCL10, a CXCR3 ligand, in the cerebrospinal fluid from T-ALL patients and leukemia-bearing mice. Our studies demonstrate that meningeal stromal cells, specifically pericytes and fibroblasts, induce CXCL10 expression in response to leukemia, and that loss of CXCL10 attenuated T-ALL influx into the meninges. Moreover, we report that leukemia-derived proinflammatory cytokines, TNFα, IL27 and IFNγ, induced CXCL10 in the meningeal stroma. Pharmacological inhibition or deletion of CXCR3 or CXCL10 reduced T-ALL cell migration and adhesion to meningeal stromal cells. Finally, we reveal that CXCR3 and CXCL10 upregulated VLA-4/VCAM-1 signaling, promoting cell-cell adhesion and thus T-ALL retention in the meninges. Our findings highlight the pivotal role of CXCR3-CXCL10 signaling in T-ALL progression and meningeal colonization.
Nitesh D. Sharma, Esra'a Keewan, Wojciech Ornatowski, Silpita Paul, Monique Nysus, Christopher C. Barnett, Julie Wolfson, Quiteria Jacquez, Bianca L. Myers, Huining Kang, Katherine E. Zychowski, Stuart S. Winter, Mignon L. Loh, Stephen P. Hunger, Eliseo F. Castillo, Tom Taghon, Christina Halsey, Tou Yia Vue, Nicholas Jones, Panagiotis Ntziachristos, Ksenia Matlawska-Wasowska
There is an urgent need to find targeted agents for T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). NOTCH1 is the most frequently mutated oncogene in T-ALL, but clinical trials showed that pan-Notch inhibitors caused dose-limiting toxicities. Thus, we shifted our focus to ETS1, which is one of the transcription factors that most frequently co-bind Notch-occupied regulatory elements in the T-ALL context. To identify the most essential enhancers, we performed a genome-wide CRISPR interference screen of the strongest ETS1-dependent regulatory elements. The #1-ranked element is located in an intron of AHI1 that interacts with the MYB promoter and is amplified with MYB in ~8.5% of T-ALL patients. Using mouse models, we showed that this enhancer promotes self-renewal of hematopoietic stem cells and T-cell leukemogenesis, maintains early T-cell precursors, and restrains myeloid expansion with aging. We named this enhancer the hematopoietic stem cell MYB enhancer (H-Me). The H-Me shows limited activity and function in committed T-cell progenitors but is accessed during leukemogenesis. In one T-ALL context, ETS1 binds the ETS motif in the H-Me to recruit cBAF to promote chromatin accessibility and activation. ETS1 or cBAF degraders impaired H-Me function. Thus, we identified a targetable stem cell element that is co-opted for T-cell transformation.
Carea Mullin, Karena Lin, Elizabeth Choe, Cher Sha, Zeel Shukla, Koral Campbell, Anna C. McCarter, Annie Wang, Jannaldo Nieves-Salva, Sarah Khan, Theresa M. Keeley, Shannon Liang, Qing Wang, Ashley F. Melnick, Pearl Evans, Alexander C. Monovich, Ashwin Iyer, Rohan Kodgule, Yamei Deng, Felipe da Veiga Leprevost, Kelly R. Barnett, Petri Pölönen, Rami Khoriaty, Daniel Savic, David T. Teachey, Charles G. Mullighan, Marcin Cieslik, Alexey I. Nesvizhskii, Linda C. Samuelson, Morgan Jones, Qing Li, Russell J.H. Ryan, Mark Y. Chiang
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has among the poorest prognosis and highest refractory rates of all tumor types. The reviews in this series, by Dr. Ben Z. Stanger, bring together experts across multiple disciplines to explore what makes PDAC and other pancreatic cancers so distinctively challenging and provide an update on recent multipronged approaches aimed at improving early diagnosis and treatment.
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