Oncology
Abstract
B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) is the most common childhood cancer. As predicated by its prenatal origin, infant B-ALL (iB-ALL) shows an exceptionally silent DNA mutational landscape, suggesting that alternative epigenetic mechanisms may substantially contribute to its leukemogenesis. Here, we have integrated genome-wide DNA methylome and transcriptome data from 69 patients with de novo MLL-rearranged (MLLr) and non-MLLr iB-ALL leukemias uniformly treated according to Interfant-99/06 protocol. iB-ALL methylome signatures display a plethora of common and specific alterations associated with chromatin states related to enhancer and transcriptional control in normal hematopoietic cells. DNA methylation, gene expression and gene co-expression network analyses segregated MLLr away from non-MLLr iB-ALL and identified a coordinated and enriched expression of the AP-1 complex members FOS and JUN and RUNX factors in MLLr iB-ALL, consistent with the significant enrichment of hypomethylated CpGs in these genes. Integrative methylome-transcriptome analysis identified consistent cancer-cell vulnerabilities, revealed a robust iB-ALL-specific gene expression-correlating dmCpG signature and confirmed an epigenetic control of AP-1 and RUNX members in reshaping the molecular network of MLLr iB-ALL. Finally, pharmacological inhibition or functional ablation of AP-1 dramatically impaired MLLr-leukemic growth in vitro and in vivo using MLLr-iB-ALL patient-derived xenografts, providing rationale for new therapeutic avenues in MLLr-iB-ALL.
Authors
J. Ramon Tejedor, Clara Bueno, Meritxell Vinyoles, Paolo Petazzi, Antonio Agraz-Doblas, Isabel Cobo, Raúl Torres-Ruiz, Gustavo F. Bayón, Raúl F. Pérez, Sara López-Tamargo, Francisco Gutierrez-Agüera, Pablo Santamarina-Ojeda, Manuel Ramírez-Orellana, Michela Bardini, Giovanni Cazzaniga, Paola Ballerini, Pauline Schneider, Ronald W. Stam, Ignacio Varela, Mario F. Fraga, Agustín F. Fernández, Pablo Menéndez
Abstract
Melanoma dedifferentiation has been reported as a state of cellular resistance to targeted therapies and immunotherapies as cancer cells revert to a more primitive cellular phenotype. Here we show that, counterintuitively, the biopsies of patient tumors that respond to anti-programmed cell death receptor 1 (PD-1) therapy decreased expression of melanocytic markers and increased neural crest markers, suggesting treatment-induced dedifferentiation. When modeling the effects in vitro, we documented that melanoma cell lines that were originally melanocytic differentiated underwent a process of neural crest dedifferentiation when continuously exposed to interferon gamma, through global chromatin landscape changes leading to enrichment in specific hyperaccessible chromatin regions. The interferon gamma-induced dedifferentiation signature corresponded with improved outcomes in patients with melanoma, challenging the notion that neural crest dedifferentiation is entirely an adverse phenotype.
Authors
Yeon Joo Kim, Katherine M. Sheu, Jennifer Tsoi, Gabriel Abril-Rodriguez, Egmidio Medina, Catherine S. Grasso, Davis Y. Torrejon, Ameya S. Champhekar, Kevin Litchfield, Charles Swanton, Daniel E. Speiser, Philip O. Scumpia, Alexander Hoffmann, Thomas G. Graeber, Cristina Puig-Saus, Antoni Ribas
HIF-2α activation potentiates oxidative cell death in colorectal cancers by increasing cellular iron
Abstract
Hypoxia is a hallmark of solid tumors that promotes cell growth, survival, metastasis and confers resistance to chemo and radiotherapies. Hypoxic responses are largely mediated by the transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α and HIF-2α. Our work demonstrates that HIF-2α is essential for colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. However, targeting hypoxic cells is difficult and tumors rapidly acquire resistance to recently developed inhibitors of HIF-2α. To overcome this limitation, we performed a small molecule screen to identify HIF-2α dependent vulnerabilities. Several known ferroptosis activators and dimethyl fumarate (DMF), a cell permeable mitochondrial metabolite derivative, led to selective synthetic lethality in HIF-2α expressing tumor enteroids. Our work demonstrates that HIF-2α integrates two independent forms of cell death via regulation of cellular iron and oxidation. First, activation of HIF-2α upreguated lipid and iron regulatory genes in colon cancer cells and colon tumors in mice and led to a ferroptosis-susceptible cell state. Secondly, via an iron dependent, lipid peroxidation-independent pathway, HIF-2α activation potentiated ROS, via irreversible cysteine oxidation and enhanced cell death. Inhibition or knockdown of HIF-2α decreased ROS and resistance to oxidative cell death in vitro and in vivo. Our results demonstrate a mechanistic vulnerability in cancer cells that were the dependent on HIF-2α that can be leveraged for colon cancer treatment.
Authors
Rashi Singhal, Sreedhar R. Mitta, Nupur K. Das, Samuel A. Kerk, Peter Sajjakulnukit, Sumeet Solanki, Anthony Andren, Roshan Kumar, Kenneth P. Olive, Ruma Banerjee, Costas A. Lyssiotis, Yatrik M. Shah
Abstract
Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) may exert tumor-promoting and tumor-suppressive functions, but the mechanisms underlying these opposing effects remain elusive. Here, we sought to understand these potentially opposing functions by interrogating functional relationships between CAF subtypes, their mediators, desmoplasia and tumor growth in wide range of tumor types metastasizing to the liver, the most common organ site for metastasis. Depletion of hepatic stellate cells (HSC), which represented main source of CAF in mice and patients in our study, or depletion of all CAF decreased tumor growth and mortality in desmoplastic colorectal and pancreatic metastasis, but not in non-desmoplastic metastatic tumors. Single cell RNA-sequencing in conjunction with CellPhoneDB ligand-receptor analysis, as well as studies in immune cell-depleted and HSC-selective knockout mice uncovered direct CAF-tumor interactions as tumor-promoting mechanism, mediated by myofibroblastic CAF (myCAF)-secreted hyaluronan and inflammatory CAF (iCAF)-secreted HGF. These effects were opposed by myCAF-expressed type-I collagen, which suppressed tumor growth by mechanically restraining tumor spread, overriding its own stiffness-induced mechanosignals. In summary, mechanical restriction by type-I collagen opposes the overall tumor-promoting effects of CAF, thus providing a mechanistic explanation for their dual functions in cancer. Therapeutic targeting of tumor-promoting CAF mediators while preserving type-I collagen may convert CAF from tumor-promoting to tumor-restricting.
Authors
Sonakshi Bhattacharjee, Florian Hamberger, Aashreya Ravichandra, Maximilian Miller, Ajay Nair, Silvia Affo, Aveline Filliol, LiKang Chin, Thomas M. Savage, Deqi Yin, Naita Maren Wirsik, Adam Mehal, Nicholas Arpaia, Ekihiro Seki, Matthias Mack, Di Zhu, Peter A. Sims, Ben Z. Stanger, Kenneth P. Olive, Thomas Schmidt, Rebecca G. Wells, Ingmar Mederacke, Robert F. Schwabe
Abstract
Rapidly growing tumors often experience hypoxia and nutrient (e.g., glucose) deficiency because of poor vascularization. Tumor cells respond to the cytotoxic effects of such stresses by inducing molecular adaptations that promote clonal selection of a more malignant tumor-initiating cell phenotype, especially in the innermost tumor regions. Here, we report a regulatory mechanism involving fucosylation by which glucose restriction promotes cancer stemness to drive drug resistance and tumor recurrence. Using hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as a model, we showed that restricted glucose availability enhanced the PERK-eIF2α-ATF4 signaling axis to drive fucosyltransferase-1 (FUT1) transcription via direct binding of ATF4 to the FUT1 promoter. FUT1 overexpression is a poor prognostic indicator for HCC. FUT1 inhibition could mitigate tumor initiation, self-renewal and drug resistance. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that CD147, ICAM-1, EGFR and EPHA2 are glycoprotein targets of FUT1, where such fucosylation would consequently converge on deregulated AKT-mTOR-4EBP1 signaling to drive cancer stemness. Treatment with an α-(1,2)-fucosylation inhibitor sensitized HCC tumors to sorafenib, a first-line molecular targeted drug used for advanced HCC patients, and reduced the tumor-initiating subset. FUT1 overexpression and/or CD147, ICAM-1, EGFR and EPHA2 fucosylation may be good prognostic markers and therapeutic targets for cancer patients.
Authors
Jane H.C. Loong, Tin-Lok Wong, Man Tong, Rakesh Sharma, Lei Zhou, Kai-Yu Ng, Hua-Jian Yu, Chi Han Li, Kwan Man, Chung-Mau Lo, Xin-Yuan Guan, Terence K. Lee, Jing-Ping Yun, Stephanie Kwai Yee Ma
Abstract
The ability to adapt to low-nutrient microenvironments is essential for tumor-cell survival and progression in solid cancers, such as colorectal carcinoma (CRC). Signaling by the NF-κB transcription-factor pathway associates with advanced disease stages and shorter survival in CRC patients. NF-κB has been shown to drive tumor-promoting inflammation, cancer-cell survival and intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) dedifferentiation in mouse models of CRC. However, whether NF-κB affects the metabolic adaptations that fuel aggressive disease in CRC patients is unknown. Here, we identified carboxylesterase 1 (CES1) as an essential NF-κB-regulated lipase linking obesity-associated inflammation with fat metabolism and adaptation to energy stress in aggressive CRC. CES1 promoted CRC-cell survival via cell-autonomous mechanisms that fuel fatty-acid oxidation (FAO) and prevent the toxic build-up of triacylglycerols. We found that elevated CES1 expression correlated with worse outcomes in overweight CRC patients. Accordingly, NF-κB drove CES1 expression in CRC consensus molecular subtype (CMS)4, associated with obesity, stemness and inflammation. CES1 was also upregulated by gene amplifications of its transcriptional regulator, HNF4A, in CMS2 tumors, reinforcing its clinical relevance as a driver of CRC. This subtype-based distribution and unfavourable prognostic correlation distinguished CES1 from other intracellular triacylglycerol lipases and suggest CES1 could provide a route to treat aggressive CRC.
Authors
Daria Capece, Daniel D'Andrea, Federica Begalli, Laura Goracci, Laura Tornatore, James L. Alexander, Alessandra Di Veroli, Shi-Chi Leow, Thamil S. Vaiyapuri, James K. Ellis, Daniela Verzella, Jason Bennett, Luca Savino, Yue Ma, James S. McKenzie, Maria Luisa Doria, Sam E. Mason, Kern Rei Chng, Hector C. Keun, Gary Frost, Vinay Tergaonkar, Katarzyna Broniowska, Walter Stunkel, Zoltan Takats, James M. Kinross, Gabriele Cruciani, Guido Franzoso
TYRO3 induces anti–PD-1/PD-L1 therapy resistance by limiting innate immunity and tumoral ferroptosis
Abstract
Immune checkpoint blockade therapy has demonstrated promising clinical outcomes for multiple cancer types. However, the emergence of resistance as well as inadequate biomarkers for patient stratification have largely limited the clinical benefits. Here, we showed that tumors with high TYRO3 expression exhibited anti–programmed cell death protein 1/programmed death ligand 1 (anti–PD-1/PD-L1) resistance in a syngeneic mouse model and in patients who received anti–PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. Mechanistically, TYRO3 inhibited tumor cell ferroptosis triggered by anti–PD-1/PD-L1 and facilitated the development of a protumor microenvironment by reducing the M1/M2 macrophage ratio, resulting in resistance to anti–PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. Inhibition of TYRO3 promoted tumor ferroptosis and sensitized resistant tumors to anti–PD-1 therapy. Collectively, our findings suggest that TYRO3 could serve as a predictive biomarker for patient selection and a promising therapeutic target to overcome anti–PD-1/PD-L1 resistance.
Authors
Zhou Jiang, Seung-Oe Lim, Meisi Yan, Jennifer L. Hsu, Jun Yao, Yongkun Wei, Shih-Shin Chang, Hirohito Yamaguchi, Heng-Huan Lee, Baozhen Ke, Jung-Mao Hsu, Li-Chuan Chan, Gabriel N. Hortobagyi, Liuqing Yang, Chunru Lin, Dihua Yu, Mien-Chie Hung
Abstract
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.
Authors
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
Abstract
One of the primary mechanisms of tumor cell immune evasion is the loss of antigenicity, which arises due to lack of immunogenic tumor antigens as well as dysregulation of the antigen processing machinery. In a screen for small-molecule compounds from herbal medicine that potentiate T cell-mediated cytotoxicity, we identified atractylenolide I (ATT-I) that significantly promotes tumor antigen presentation of both human and mouse colorectal cancer (CRC) cells and thereby enhances the cytotoxic response of CD8+ T cells. Cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA) with multiplexed quantitative mass spectrometry identified the proteasome 26S subunit non-ATPase 4 (PSMD4), an essential component of the immunoproteasome complex, as a primary target protein of ATT-I. Binding of ATT-I with PSMD4 augments the antigen-processing activity of immunoproteasome, leading to enhanced major histocompatibility class I (MHC-I)-mediated antigen presentation on cancer cells. In syngeneic mouse CRC models and human patient-derived CRC organoid models, ATT-I treatment promotes the cytotoxicity of CD8+ T cells and thus profoundly enhances the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade therapy. Collectively, we show here that targeting the function of immunoproteasome with ATT-I promotes tumor antigen presentation, empowers T-cell cytotoxicity, and thus elevates the tumor response to immunotherapy.
Authors
Hanchen Xu, Kevin Van der Jeught, Zhuolong Zhou, Lu Zhang, Tao Yu, Yifan Sun, Yujing Li, Changlin Wan, Kaman So, Degang Liu, Michael Frieden, Yuanzhang Fang, Amber L. Mosley, Xiaoming He, Xinna Zhang, George E. Sandusky, Yunlong Liu, Samy O. Meroueh, Chi Zhang, Aruna B. Wijeratne, Cheng Huang, Guang Ji, Xiongbin Lu
Abstract
BACKGROUND. Current clinical management of patients with pulmonary nodules involves either repeated LDCT/CT scans or invasive procedures yet causes significant patient misclassification. An accurate non-invasive test is needed to identify malignant nodules and reduce unnecessary invasive tests. METHOD. We developed a diagnostic model based on targeted DNA methylation sequencing of 389 pulmonary nodule patients’ plasma samples, and then validated in 140 plasma samples independently. We tested the model in different stages and subtypes of pulmonary nodules. RESULTS. A 100-feature model was developed and validated for pulmonary nodule diagnosis: the model achieved a ROC-AUC of 0.843 on 140 independent validation samples with an accuracy of 0.800. The performance was well maintained in, 1) 6-20 mm size subgroup (N=100), with a sensitivity of 1.000 and adjusted NPV of 1.000 at 10% prevalence; 2) stage I malignancy (N=90), with a sensitivity of 0.971; 3) different nodule types - solid nodules (N=78) with a sensitivity of 1.000 and adjusted NPV of 1.000, part-solid nodules (N=75) with a sensitivity of 0.947 and adjusted NPV of 0.983, and ground-glass nodules (N=67) with a sensitivity of 0.964 and adjusted NPV of 0.989 at 10% prevalence. This methylation test, called PulmoSeek, outperformed PET-CT and two clinical prediction models (Mayo and Veterans Affairs) in discriminating malignant pulmonary nodules from benign ones. CONCLUSION. This study suggests that the blood-based DNA methylation model may provide a better test for classifying pulmonary nodules, which could help facilitate the accurate diagnosis of early-stage lung cancer from pulmonary nodule patients and guide clinical decisions. FUNDING. The National Key Research and Development Program of China; Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province; The National Natural Science Foundation of China National.
Authors
Wenhua Liang, Zhiwei Chen, Caichen Li, Jun Liu, Jinsheng Tao, Xin Liu, Dezhi Zhao, Weiqiang Yin, Hanzhang Chen, Chao Cheng, Fenglei Yu, Chunfang Zhang, Lunxu Liu, Hui Tian, Kaican Cai, Xiang Liu, Zheng Wang, Ning Xu, Qing Dong, Liang Chen, Yue Yang, Xiuyi Zhi, Hui Li, Xixiang Tu, Xiangrui Cai, Zeyu Jiang, Hua Ji, Lili Mo, Jiaxuan Wang, Jian-Bing Fan, Jianxing He
Copyright © 2021 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)