Epidemiological studies suggest that mushroom intake is inversely correlated with gastric, gastrointestinal and breast cancers. We have recently demonstrated anticancer and anti-inflammatory activity ...of triterpene extract isolated from mushroom Ganoderma lucidum (GLT). The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether GLT prevents colitis-associated carcinogenesis in mice.
Colon carcinogenesis was induced by the food-borne carcinogen (2-Amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazol4,5-bpyridine PhIP) and inflammation (dextran sodium sulfate DSS) in mice. Mice were treated with 0, 100, 300 and 500 mg GLT/kg of body weight 3 times per week for 4 months. Cell proliferation, expression of cyclin D1 and COX-2 and macrophage infiltration was assessed by immunohistochemistry. The effect of GLT on XRE/AhR, PXR and rPXR was evaluated by the reporter gene assays. Expression of metabolizing enzymes CYP1A2, CYP3A1 and CYP3A4 in colon tissue was determined by immunohistochemistry. GLT treatment significantly suppressed focal hyperplasia, aberrant crypt foci (ACF) formation and tumor formation in mice exposed to PhIP/DSS. The anti-proliferative effects of GLT were further confirmed by the decreased staining with Ki-67 in colon tissues. PhIP/DSS-induced colon inflammation was demonstrated by the significant shortening of the large intestine and macrophage infiltrations, whereas GLT treatment prevented the shortening of colon lengths, and reduced infiltration of macrophages in colon tissue. GLT treatment also significantly down-regulated PhIP/DSS-dependent expression of cyclin D1, COX-2, CYP1A2 and CYP3A4 in colon tissue.
Our data suggest that GLT could be considered as an alternative dietary approach for the prevention of colitis-associated cancer.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Pachymic acid (PA) is a purified triterpene extracted from medicinal fungus Poria cocos. In this paper, we investigated the anticancer effect of PA on human chemotherapy resistant pancreatic cancer. ...PA triggered apoptosis in gemcitabine-resistant pancreatic cancer cells PANC-1 and MIA PaCa-2. Comparative gene expression array analysis demonstrated that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress was induced by PA through activation of heat shock response and unfolded protein response related genes. Induced ER stress was confirmed by increasing expression of XBP-1s, ATF4, Hsp70, CHOP and phospho-eIF2α. Moreover, ER stress inhibitor tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA) blocked PA induced apoptosis. In addition, 25 mg kg-1 of PA significantly suppressed MIA PaCa-2 tumor growth in vivo without toxicity, which correlated with induction of apoptosis and expression of ER stress related proteins in tumor tissues. Taken together, growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis by PA in gemcitabine-resistant pancreatic cancer cells were associated with ER stress activation both in vitro and in vivo. PA may be potentially exploited for the use in treatment of chemotherapy resistant pancreatic cancer.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The majority of women diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer eventually develop recurrence, which rapidly evolves into chemoresistant disease. Persistence of ovarian cancer stem cells (OCSC) at the ...end of therapy may be responsible for emergence of resistant tumors. In this study, we demonstrate that in OCSC, the tumor suppressor disabled homolog 2-interacting protein (DAB2IP) is silenced by EZH2-mediated H3K27 trimethylation of the DAB2IP promoter. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated deletion of DAB2IP in epithelial ovarian cancer cell lines upregulated expression of stemness-related genes and induced conversion of non-CSC to CSC, while enforced expression of DAB2IP suppressed CSC properties. Transcriptomic analysis showed that overexpression of DAB2IP in ovarian cancer significantly altered stemness-associated genes and bioinformatic analysis revealed WNT signaling as a dominant pathway mediating the CSC inhibitory effect of DAB2IP. Specifically, DAB2IP inhibited WNT signaling via downregulation of WNT5B, an important stemness inducer. Reverse phase protein array further demonstrated activation of noncanonical WNT signaling via C-JUN as a downstream target of WNT5B, which was blocked by inhibiting RAC1, a prominent regulator of C-JUN activation. Coadministration of EZH2 inhibitor GSK126 and RAC1 inhibitor NSC23766 suppressed OCSC survival
and inhibited tumor growth and increased platinum sensitivity
. Overall, these data establish that DAB2IP suppresses the cancer stem cell phenotype via inhibition of WNT5B-induced activation of C-JUN and can be epigenetically silenced by EZH2 in OCSC. Targeting the EZH2/DAB2IP/C-JUN axis therefore presents a promising strategy to prevent ovarian cancer recurrence and has potential for clinical translation. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings show that combining an epigenetic therapy with a noncanonical WNT signaling pathway inhibitor has the potential to eradicate ovarian cancer stem cells and to prevent ovarian cancer recurrence.
Dicer is a multi-domain protein responsible for the generation of short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) from long double-stranded RNAs during RNA interference. It is also involved in the maturation of ...microRNAs, some of which are transcriptional regulators of developmental timing in nematodes. To assess the role of Dicer in mammals, we generated Dicerex1/2 mice with a deletion of the amino acid sequences corresponding to the first and second exons of the dicer gene via homologous recombination. We found that Dicerex1/2 homozygous embryos displayed a retarded phenotype and died between days 12.5 and 14.5 of gestation. Thus, these results show that dicerex1/2 is severely hypomorphic and that Dicer is essential for normal mouse development. Interestingly, we also found that blood vessel formation/maintenance in dicerex1/2 embryos and yolk sacs were severely compromised, suggesting a possible role for Dicer in angiogenesis. This finding is consistent with the altered expression of vegf, flt1, kdr, and tie1 in the mutant embryos. Taken together, the results of this study indicate that Dicer exerts its function on mouse embryonic angiogenesis probably through its role in the processing of microRNAs that regulate the expression levels of some critical angiogenic regulators in the cell.
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), which substantially 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 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 and empowers T cell cytotoxicity, thus elevating the tumor response to immunotherapy.
Cigarette smoke (CS) contains hundreds of carcinogens and is a potent inducer of oxidative and bulky DNA damage, which when insufficiently repaired leads to activation of DNA damage response and ...possibly mutations. The DNA repair protein xeroderma pigmentosum group C (XPC) is primed to play an important role in CS-induced DNA damage because of its function in initiating repair of both bulky oxidative DNA damage. We hypothesized that loss of XPC function will increase susceptibility to developing CS- and carcinogen-induced lung cancer through impaired repair of oxidative DNA damage. Mice deficient in XPC (XPC-/-) exposed to chronic CS developed lung tumors whereas their wild-type littermates (XPC+/+) did not. XPC-/- mice treated with the CS-carcinogen urethane developed lung adenocarcinomas representing progressive stages of tumor development, with lung tumor number increased 17-fold compared with XPC+/+ mice. Mice heterozygous for XPC (XPC+/-) demonstrated a gene-dose effect, developing an intermediate number of lung tumors with urethane treatment. Treatment of XPC-/- mice with the carcinogen 3-methylcholanthrene followed by the proliferative agent butylated hydroxytoluene resulted in a 2-fold increase in lung adenocarcinoma development. Finally, tumor number decreased 7-fold in the lungs of XPC-/- mice by concurrent treatment with the antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine. Altogether, this supports a mechanism by which decreased XPC expression promotes lung adenocarcinoma development in response to CS-carcinogen exposure, due in part to impaired oxidative DNA damage repair.
Characterized by the accumulation of somatic mutations in blood cell lineages, clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is frequent in aging and involves the expansion of mutated ...hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSC/Ps) that leads to an increased risk of hematologic malignancy. However, the risk factors that contribute to CHIP-associated clonal hematopoiesis (CH) are poorly understood. Obesity induces a proinflammatory state and fatty bone marrow (FBM), which may influence CHIP-associated pathologies. We analyzed exome sequencing and clinical data for 47,466 individuals with validated CHIP in the UK Biobank. CHIP was present in 5.8% of the study population and was associated with a significant increase in the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Mouse models of obesity and CHIP driven by heterozygosity of Tet2, Dnmt3a, Asxl1, and Jak2 resulted in exacerbated expansion of mutant HSC/Ps due in part to excessive inflammation. Our results show that obesity is highly associated with CHIP and that a proinflammatory state could potentiate the progression of CHIP to more significant hematologic neoplasia. The calcium channel blockers nifedipine and SKF-96365, either alone or in combination with metformin, MCC950, or anakinra (IL-1 receptor antagonist), suppressed the growth of mutant CHIP cells and partially restored normal hematopoiesis. Targeting CHIP-mutant cells with these drugs could be a potential therapeutic approach to treat CH and its associated abnormalities in individuals with obesity.
Immune evasion is a pivotal event in tumor progression. To eliminate human cancer cells, current immune checkpoint therapy is set to boost CD8+ T cell-mediated cytotoxicity. However, this action is ...eventually dependent on the efficient recognition of tumor-specific antigens via T cell receptors. One primary mechanism by which tumor cells evade immune surveillance is to downregulate their antigen presentation. Little progress has been made toward harnessing potential therapeutic targets for enhancing antigen presentation on the tumor cell. Here, we identified MAL2 as a key player that determines the turnover of the antigen-loaded MHC-I complex and reduces the antigen presentation on tumor cells. MAL2 promotes the endocytosis of tumor antigens via direct interaction with the MHC-I complex and endosome-associated RAB proteins. In preclinical models, depletion of MAL2 in breast tumor cells profoundly enhanced the cytotoxicity of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells and suppressed breast tumor growth, suggesting that MAL2 is a potential therapeutic target for breast cancer immunotherapy.
Plexiform neurofibroma (PN) tumors are a hallmark manifestation of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) that arise in the Schwann cell (SC) lineage. NF1 is a common heritable cancer predisposition syndrome ...caused by germline mutations in the NF1 tumor suppressor, which encodes a GTPase-activating protein called neurofibromin that negatively regulates Ras proteins. Whereas most PN are clinically indolent, a subset progress to atypical neurofibromatous neoplasms of uncertain biologic potential (ANNUBP) and/or to malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs). In small clinical series, loss of 9p21.3, which includes the CDKN2A locus, has been associated with the genesis of ANNUBP. Here we show that the Cdkn2a alternate reading frame (Arf) serves as a gatekeeper tumor suppressor in mice that prevents PN progression by inducing senescence-mediated growth arrest in aberrantly proliferating Nf1-/- SC. Conditional ablation of Nf1 and Arf in the neural crest-derived SC lineage allows escape from senescence, resulting in tumors that accurately phenocopy human ANNUBP and progress to MPNST with high penetrance. This animal model will serve as a platform to study the clonal development of ANNUBP and MPNST and to identify new therapies to treat existing tumors and to prevent disease progression.
Fibroblast Growth Factor-21 Improves Pancreatic β-Cell Function and Survival by Activation of Extracellular Signal–Regulated
Kinase 1/2 and Akt Signaling Pathways
Wolf Wente 1 ,
Alexander M. Efanov 1 ...,
Martin Brenner 1 ,
Alexei Kharitonenkov 2 ,
Anja Köster 2 ,
George E. Sandusky 2 ,
Sabine Sewing 1 ,
Iris Treinies 1 ,
Heike Zitzer 1 and
Jesper Gromada 1
1 Lilly Research Laboratories, Hamburg, Germany
2 Lilly Research Laboratories, Division of Eli Lilly, Indianapolis, Indiana
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Alexander Efanov, Lilly Research Laboratories, Essener Bogen 7, D-22419
Hamburg, Germany. E-mail: efanov_alexander{at}lilly.com
Abstract
Fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF-21) is a recently discovered metabolic regulator. Here, we investigated the effects of FGF-21
in the pancreatic β-cell. In rat islets and INS-1E cells, FGF-21 activated extracellular signal–regulated kinase 1/2 and Akt
signaling pathways. In islets isolated from healthy rats, FGF-21 increased insulin mRNA and protein levels but did not potentiate
glucose-induced insulin secretion. Islets and INS-1E cells treated with FGF-21 were partially protected from glucolipotoxicity
and cytokine-induced apoptosis. In islets isolated from diabetic rodents, FGF-21 treatment increased islet insulin content
and glucose-induced insulin secretion. Short-term treatment of normal or db / db mice with FGF-21 lowered plasma levels of insulin and improved glucose clearance compared with vehicle after oral glucose
tolerance testing. Constant infusion of FGF-21 for 8 weeks in db / db mice nearly normalized fed blood glucose levels and increased plasma insulin levels. Immunohistochemistry of pancreata from
db / db mice showed a substantial increase in the intensity of insulin staining in islets from FGF-21–treated animals as well as
a higher number of islets per pancreas section and of insulin-positive cells per islet compared with control. No effect of
FGF-21 was observed on islet cell proliferation. In conclusion, preservation of β-cell function and survival by FGF-21 may
contribute to the beneficial effects of this protein on glucose homeostasis observed in diabetic animals.
BAD, Bcl-XL/Bcl-2–associated death promoter
ELISA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
ERK, extracellular signal–regulated kinase
FGF, fibroblast growth factor
FRS, FGF receptor substrate
GLP, glucagon-like peptide
p90RSK, 90-kDa ribosomal S6 kinase
PCNA, proliferating cellular nuclear antigen
Footnotes
J.G. is currently affiliated with Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore
be hereby marked “advertisement” in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
Accepted June 16, 2006.
Received November 3, 2005.
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