Controversy over the role of antioxidants in cancer has persisted for decades. Here, we demonstrate that synthesis of the antioxidant glutathione (GSH), driven by GCLM, is required for cancer ...initiation. Genetic loss of Gclm prevents a tumor’s ability to drive malignant transformation. Intriguingly, these findings can be replicated using an inhibitor of GSH synthesis, but only if delivered prior to cancer onset, suggesting that at later stages of tumor progression GSH becomes dispensable potentially due to compensation from alternative antioxidant pathways. Remarkably, combined inhibition of GSH and thioredoxin antioxidant pathways leads to a synergistic cancer cell death in vitro and in vivo, demonstrating the importance of these two antioxidants to tumor progression and as potential targets for therapeutic intervention.
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•The GSH antioxidant pathway is required for cancer initiation•After cancer initiation, GSH is dispensable due to alternative antioxidant pathways•The TXN antioxidant pathway is upregulated in tumors•Inhibition of both GSH and TXN pathways causes synergistic cancer cell death
Harris et al. show that the antioxidant glutathione (GSH) is required for cancer initiation but not for established tumors partly due to upregulation of the thioredoxin (TXN) antioxidant pathway in the latter. Consequently, blocking both GSH and TXN pathways synergistically inhibits tumor growth.
Mutations in the isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 gene (IDH1) are common drivers of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) but their mechanism is not fully understood. It is thought that IDH1 mutants act by ...inhibiting TET2 to alter DNA methylation, but there are significant unexplained clinical differences between IDH1- and TET2-mutant diseases. We have discovered that mice expressing endogenous mutant IDH1 have reduced numbers of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), in contrast to Tet2 knockout (TET2-KO) mice. Mutant IDH1 downregulates the DNA damage (DD) sensor ATM by altering histone methylation, leading to impaired DNA repair, increased sensitivity to DD, and reduced HSC self-renewal, independent of TET2. ATM expression is also decreased in human IDH1-mutated AML. These findings may have implications for treatment of IDH-mutant leukemia.
•Mutant IDH1 decreases hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) number and impairs self-renewal•Mutant IDH1 causes TET2-independent downregulation of ATM via methylation of H3K9•Mutant IDH1 causes accumulation of DNA damage and impairs DNA repair in HSCs•Mutant IDH1 increases HSC sensitivity to radiation and daunorubicin
Although strong evidence supports that IDH1 mutants act by inhibiting TET2 in hematological malignancies, there are clear clinical differences between mutations of these genes. Inoue et al. show that mutant IDH1 decreases ATM independent of TET2, leading to impaired DNA repair and reduced hematopoietic stem cells.
Mutations in the tumor suppressor BRCA1 predispose women to breast and ovarian cancers. The mechanism underlying the tissue-specific nature of BRCA1's tumor suppression is obscure. We previously ...showed that the antioxidant pathway regulated by the transcription factor NRF2 is defective in BRCA1-deficient cells. Reactivation of NRF2 through silencing of its negative regulator KEAP1 permitted the survival of BRCA1-null cells. Here we show that estrogen (E2) increases the expression of NRF2-dependent antioxidant genes in various E2-responsive cell types. Like NRF2 accumulation triggered by oxidative stress, E2-induced NRF2 accumulation depends on phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase–AKT activation. Pretreatment of mammary epithelial cells (MECs) with the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor BKM120 abolishes the capacity of E2 to increase NRF2 protein and transcriptional activity. In vivo the survival defect of BRCA1-deficient MECs is rescued by the rise in E2 levels associated with pregnancy. Furthermore, exogenous E2 administration stimulates the growth of BRCA1-deficient mammary tumors in the fat pads of male mice. Our work elucidates the basis of the tissue specificity of BRCA1-related tumor predisposition, and explains why oophorectomy significantly reduces breast cancer risk and recurrence in women carrying BRCA1 mutations.
Significance Current genomic and biochemical analysis revealed mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase ( IDH ) genes associated with several neoplasms and a novel enzymatic activity of IDH mutations to ...catalyze α-ketoglutarate to d -2-hydroxyglutarate, contributing to tumorigenesis. We identified a broad range of IDH1 mutations, including a previously unidentified IDH1 -R132Q mutation, in cartilage tumors. Cartilage-specific Col2a1-Cre/ERT2;Idh1-R132 mutant knock-in mice developed multiple enchondroma-like lesions. These data show that mutant Idh in growth-plate cells causes persistence of chondrocytes, giving rise to enchondromas adjacent to the growth cartilage in bone.
Enchondromas are benign cartilage tumors and precursors to malignant chondrosarcomas. Somatic mutations in the isocitrate dehydrogenase genes ( IDH1 and IDH2 ) are present in the majority of these tumor types. How these mutations cause enchondromas is unclear. Here, we identified the spectrum of IDH mutations in human enchondromas and chondrosarcomas and studied their effects in mice. A broad range of mutations was identified, including the previously unreported IDH1 -R132Q mutation. These mutations harbored enzymatic activity to catalyze α-ketoglutarate to d -2-hydroxyglutarate ( d -2HG). Mice expressing Idh1 -R132Q in one allele in cells expressing type 2 collagen showed a disordered growth plate, with persistence of type X-expressing chondrocytes. Chondrocyte cell cultures from these animals or controls showed that there was an increase in proliferation and expression of genes characteristic of hypertrophic chondrocytes with expression of Idh1 -R132Q or 2HG treatment. Col2a1-Cre; Idh1 -R132Q mutant knock-in mice (mutant allele expressed in chondrocytes) did not survive after the neonatal stage. Col2a1-Cre/ERT2;Idh1-R132 mutant conditional knock-in mice, in which Cre was induced by tamoxifen after weaning, developed multiple enchondroma-like lesions. Taken together, these data show that mutant IDH or d -2HG causes persistence of chondrocytes, giving rise to rests of growth-plate cells that persist in the bone as enchondromas.
The generation of viable sperm proceeds through a series of coordinated steps, including germ cell self-renewal, meiotic recombination, and terminal differentiation into functional spermatozoa. The ...p53 family of transcription factors, including p53, p63, and p73, are critical for many physiological processes, including female fertility, but little is known about their functions in spermatogenesis. Here, we report that deficiency of the TAp73 isoform, but not p53 or ΔNp73, results in male infertility because of severe impairment of spermatogenesis. Mice lacking TAp73 exhibited increased DNA damage and cell death in spermatogonia, disorganized apical ectoplasmic specialization, malformed spermatids, and marked hyperspermia. We demonstrated that TAp73 regulates the mRNA levels of crucial genes involved in germ stem/progenitor cells (CDKN2B), spermatid maturation/spermiogenesis (metalloproteinase and serine proteinase inhibitors), and steroidogenesis (CYP21A2 and progesterone receptor). These alterations of testicular histology and gene expression patterns were specific to TAp73 null mice and not features of mice lacking p53. Our work provides previously unidentified in vivo evidence that TAp73 has a unique role in spermatogenesis that ensures the maintenance of mitotic cells and normal spermiogenesis. These results may have implications for the diagnosis and management of human male infertility.
Mutations in the IDH1 and IDH2 genes encoding isocitrate dehydrogenases are frequently found in human glioblastomas and cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukaemias (AML). These alterations are ...gain-of-function mutations in that they drive the synthesis of the ‘oncometabolite’ R-2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG). It remains unclear how IDH1 and IDH2 mutations modify myeloid cell development and promote leukaemogenesis. Here we report the characterization of conditional knock-in (KI) mice in which the most common IDH1 mutation, IDH1(R132H), is inserted into the endogenous murine Idh1 locus and is expressed in all haematopoietic cells (Vav-KI mice) or specifically in cells of the myeloid lineage (LysM-KI mice). These mutants show increased numbers of early haematopoietic progenitors and develop splenomegaly and anaemia with extramedullary haematopoiesis, suggesting a dysfunctional bone marrow niche. Furthermore, LysM-KI cells have hypermethylated histones and changes to DNA methylation similar to those observed in human IDH1- or IDH2-mutant AML. To our knowledge, our study is the first to describe the generation and characterization of conditional IDH1(R132H)-KI mice, and also the first report to demonstrate the induction of a leukaemic DNA methylation signature in a mouse model. Our report thus sheds light on the mechanistic links between IDH1 mutation and human AML.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Tumorigenesis results from dysregulation of oncogenes and tumor suppressors that influence cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and/or senescence. Many gene products involved in these ...processes are substrates of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Mule/Huwe1/Arf-BP1 (Mule), but whether Mule acts as an oncogene or tumor suppressor in vivo remains controversial. We generated K14Cre;Mule(flox/flox(y)) (Mule kKO) mice and subjected them to DMBA/PMA-induced skin carcinogenesis, which depends on oncogenic Ras signaling. Mule deficiency resulted in increased penetrance, number, and severity of skin tumors, which could be reversed by concomitant genetic knockout of c-Myc but not by knockout of p53 or p19Arf. Notably, in the absence of Mule, c-Myc/Miz1 transcriptional complexes accumulated, and levels of p21CDKN1A (p21) and p15INK4B (p15) were down-regulated. In vitro, Mule-deficient primary keratinocytes exhibited increased proliferation that could be reversed by Miz1 knockdown. Transfer of Mule-deficient transformed cells to nude mice resulted in enhanced tumor growth that again could be abrogated by Miz1 knockdown. Our data demonstrate in vivo that Mule suppresses Ras-mediated tumorigenesis by preventing an accumulation of c-Myc/Miz1 complexes that mediates p21 and p15 down-regulation.
Myeloid cells contribute to tumor progression, but how the constellation of receptors they express regulates their functions within the tumor microenvironment (TME) is unclear. We demonstrate that ...Fcmr (Toso), the putative receptor for soluble IgM, modulates myeloid cell responses to cancer. In a syngeneic melanoma model, Fcmr ablation in myeloid cells suppressed tumor growth and extended mouse survival. Fcmr deficiency increased myeloid cell population density in this malignancy and enhanced anti-tumor immunity. Single-cell RNA sequencing of Fcmr-deficient tumor-associated mononuclear phagocytes revealed a unique subset with enhanced antigen processing/presenting properties. Conversely, Fcmr activity negatively regulated the activation and migratory capacity of myeloid cells in vivo, and T cell activation by bone marrow-derived dendritic cells in vitro. Therapeutic targeting of Fcmr during oncogenesis decreased tumor growth when used as a single agent or in combination with anti-PD-1. Thus, Fcmr regulates myeloid cell activation within the TME and may be a potential therapeutic target.
T-cell proliferation is regulated by ubiquitination but the underlying molecular mechanism remains obscure. Here we report that Lys-48-linked ubiquitination of the transcription factor KLF4 mediated ...by the E3 ligase Mule promotes T-cell entry into S phase. Mule is elevated in T cells upon TCR engagement, and Mule deficiency in T cells blocks proliferation because KLF4 accumulates and drives upregulation of its transcriptional targets E2F2 and the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors p21 and p27. T-cell-specific Mule knockout (TMKO) mice develop exacerbated experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), show impaired generation of antigen-specific CD8
T cells with reduced cytokine production, and fail to clear LCMV infections. Thus, Mule-mediated ubiquitination of the novel substrate KLF4 regulates T-cell proliferation, autoimmunity and antiviral immune responses in vivo.
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