Bladder cancer is a current clinical and social problem. At diagnosis, most patients present with nonmuscle-invasive tumors, characterized by a high recurrence rate, which could progress to ...muscle-invasive disease and metastasis. Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-dependent signaling arising from stromal bladder tissue mediates urothelial homeostasis by promoting urothelial cell differentiation. However, the possible role of BMP ligands in bladder cancer is still unclear.
Tumor and normal tissue from 68 patients with urothelial cancer were prospectively collected and analyzed for expression of BMP and macrophage markers. The mechanism of action was assessed
by experiments with bladder cancer cell lines and peripheral blood monocyte-derived macrophages.
We observed
expression is associated and favored type II macrophage differentiation.
experiments showed that both recombinant BMP4 and BMP4-containing conditioned media from bladder cancer cell lines favored monocyte/macrophage polarization toward M2 phenotype macrophages, as shown by the expression and secretion of IL10. Using a series of human bladder cancer patient samples, we also observed increased expression of
in advanced and undifferentiated tumors in close correlation with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, the p-Smad 1,5,8 staining in tumors showing EMT signs was reduced, due to the increased miR-21 expression leading to reduced
expression.
These findings suggest that BMP4 secretion by bladder cancer cells provides the M2 signal necessary for a protumoral immune environment. In addition, the repression of
by miR-21 makes the tumor cells refractory to the prodifferentiating actions mediated by BMP ligands, favoring tumor growth.
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Currently, bladder cancer (BC) represents a challenging problem in the field of Oncology. The high incidence, prevalence, and progression of BC have led to the exploration of new avenues in its ...management, in particular in advanced metastatic stages. The recent inclusion of immune checkpoint blockade inhibitors as a therapeutic option for BC represents an unprecedented advance in BC management. However, although some patients show durable responses, the fraction of patients showing benefit is still limited. Notwithstanding, cell-based therapies, initially developed for the management of hematological cancers by infusing immune or trained immune cells or after the engineering of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) expressing cells, are promising tools to control, or even cure, solid tumors. In this review, we summarize recent cell-based immunotherapy studies, with a special focus on BC.
Bladder cancer is lethal in its advanced, muscle-invasive phase with very limited therapeutic advances
. Recent molecular characterization has defined new (epi)genetic drivers and potential targets ...for bladder cancer
. The immune checkpoint inhibitors have shown remarkable efficacy but only in a limited fraction of bladder cancer patients
. Here, we show that high G9a (EHMT2) expression is associated with poor clinical outcome in bladder cancer and that targeting G9a/DNMT methyltransferase activity with a novel inhibitor (CM-272) induces apoptosis and immunogenic cell death. Using an immunocompetent quadruple-knockout (Pten
; Trp53
; Rb1
; Rbl1
) transgenic mouse model of aggressive metastatic, muscle-invasive bladder cancer, we demonstrate that CM-272 + cisplatin treatment results in statistically significant regression of established tumors and metastases. The antitumor effect is significantly improved when CM-272 is combined with anti-programmed cell death ligand 1, even in the absence of cisplatin. These effects are associated with an endogenous antitumor immune response and immunogenic cell death with the conversion of a cold immune tumor into a hot tumor. Finally, increased G9a expression was associated with resistance to programmed cell death protein 1 inhibition in a cohort of patients with bladder cancer. In summary, these findings support new and promising opportunities for the treatment of bladder cancer using a combination of epigenetic inhibitors and immune checkpoint blockade.
The activation of the Hippo pathway effector Yes-associated protein (YAP) is modulated by different upstream cues. Phosphorylated YAP accumulates in the cytosol where it is targeted for degradation. ...In its active form, YAP translocates to the nucleus and acts as a transcriptional co-activator, binding to different transcription factors such as the TEA-domain transcription factor family (TEADs) to activate the transcription of tumour promoting genes. In the context of head and neck cancer, YAP activation is associated to malignant transformation, poor overall survival and disease free survival, resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and potential resistance to immunotherapy.
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•The Hippo-YAP is a relevant oncogenic signalling pathway in HNSCC.•YAP is a transcriptional co-activator of genes involved in growth and tumorigenesis.•YAP associates with poor prognosis and resistance to chemo and radiotherapy.•Hippo-YAP pathway components are novel druggable targets in HNSCC.
The Hippo-YAP (Yes-associated protein) pathway is a key regulator of tissue growth, organ size and stem cell function. More recently, a fundamental role for this pathway has emerged in stem cell function and tumorigenesis. Activation of the transcriptional co-activator YAP promotes cell-contact independent proliferation, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), cancer stem cell features and drug resistance. In this review, we describe the main components of the pathway, the microenvironment and the cell-intrinsic cues governing its activation, the downstream players of the pathway and the biological implications of their activation in the context of cancer. We will focus on the existing knowledge of this pathway in head and neck squamous carcinoma (HNSCC), its clinical value in this type of cancer as a marker of poor prognosis and resistance to therapy, as well as the most encouraging therapeutic strategies targeting the pathway.
EZH2 in Bladder Cancer, a Promising Therapeutic Target Martínez-Fernández, Mónica; Rubio, Carolina; Segovia, Cristina ...
International Journal of Molecular Sciences,
11/2015, Letnik:
16, Številka:
11
Journal Article, Book Review
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Bladder Cancer (BC) represents a current clinical and social challenge. The recent studies aimed to describe the genomic landscape of BC have underscored the relevance of epigenetic alterations in ...the pathogenesis of these tumors. Among the epigenetic alterations, histone modifications occupied a central role not only in cancer, but also in normal organism homeostasis and development. EZH2 (Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2) belongs to the Polycomb repressive complex 2 as its catalytic subunit, which through the trimethylation of H3 (Histone 3) on K27 (Lysine 27), produces gene silencing. EZH2 is frequently overexpressed in multiple tumor types, including BC, and plays multiple roles besides the well-recognized histone mark generation. In this review, we summarize the present knowledge on the oncogenic roles of EZH2 and its potential use as a therapeutic target, with special emphasis on BC pathogenesis and management.
Bladder Cancer (BC) represents a clinical and social challenge due to its high incidence and recurrence rates, as well as the limited advances in effective disease management. Currently, a ...combination of cytology and cystoscopy is the routinely used methodology for diagnosis, prognosis and disease surveillance. However, both the poor sensitivity of cytology tests as well as the high invasiveness and big variation in tumour stage and grade interpretation using cystoscopy, emphasizes the urgent need for improvements in BC clinical guidance. Liquid biopsy represents a new non-invasive approach that has been extensively studied over the last decade and holds great promise. Even though its clinical use is still compromised, multiple studies have recently focused on the potential application of biomarkers in liquid biopsies for BC, including circulating tumour cells and DNA, RNAs, proteins and peptides, metabolites and extracellular vesicles. In this review, we summarize the present knowledge on the different types of biomarkers, their potential use in liquid biopsy and clinical applications in BC.
Bladder cancer (BC) is the tenth most frequent cancer worldwide and is associated with high mortality when diagnosed in its most aggressive form, which is not reverted by the current treatment ...options. Thus, the development of new therapeutic strategies, either alternative or complementary to the current ones, is of major importance. The disruption of normal epigenetic mechanisms, namely, DNA methylation, is a known early event in cancer development. Consequently, DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) inhibitors constitute a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of BC. Although these inhibitors, mainly nucleoside analogues such as 5-azacytidine (5-aza) and decitabine (DAC), cause re-expression of tumor suppressor genes, inhibition of tumor cell growth, and increased apoptosis in BC experimental models and clinical trials, they also show important drawbacks that prevent their use as a valuable option for the treatment of BC. However, their combination with chemotherapy and/or immune-checkpoint inhibitors could aid in their implementation in the clinical practice. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the studies exploring the effects of DNA methylation inhibition using DNMTs inhibitors in BC, from in vitro and in vivo studies to clinical trials.
RAS genes are mutated in 20% of human tumors, but these mutations are very rare in breast cancer. Here, we used a mouse model to generate tumors upon activation of a mutagenic T2Onc2 transposon via ...expression of a transposase driven by the keratin K5 promoter in a p53
background. These animals mainly developed mammary tumors, most of which had transposon insertions in one of two RASGAP genes, neurofibromin1 (
) and RAS p21 protein activator (
). Immunohistochemical analysis of a collection of human breast tumors confirmed that low expression of RASA1 is frequent in basal (triple-negative) and estrogen receptor negative tumors. Bioinformatic analysis of human breast tumors in The Cancer Genome Atlas database showed that although
mutations are rare, allelic loss is frequent, particularly in basal tumors (80%) and in association with
mutation. Inactivation of
in MCF10A cells resulted in the appearance of a malignant phenotype in the context of mutated p53. Our results suggest that alterations in the Ras pathway due to the loss of negative regulators of RAS may be a common event in basal breast cancer.
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The catalytic activity of GDP/GTP exchange factors (GEFs) is considered critical to maintain the typically high activity of Rho GTPases found in cancer cells. However, the large number of them has ...made it difficult to pinpoint those playing proactive, nonredundant roles in tumors. In this work, we have investigated whether GEFs of the Vav subfamily exert such specific roles in skin cancer. Using genetically engineered mice, we show here that Vav2 and Vav3 favor cooperatively the initiation and promotion phases of skin tumors. Transcriptomal profiling and signaling experiments indicate such function is linked to the engagement of, and subsequent participation in, keratinocyte-based autocrine/paracrine programs that promote epidermal proliferation and recruitment of pro-inflammatory cells. This is a pathology-restricted mechanism because the loss of Vav proteins does not cause alterations in epidermal homeostasis. These results reveal a previously unknown Rho GEF-dependent pro-tumorigenic mechanism that influences the biology of cancer cells and their microenvironment. They also suggest that anti-Vav therapies may be of potential interest in skin tumor prevention and/or treatment.
Epigenetic alterations are known contributors to cancer development and aggressiveness. Additional to alterations in cancer cells, aberrant epigenetic marks are present in cells of the tumor ...microenvironment, including lymphocytes and tumor-associated macrophages, which are often overlooked but known to be a contributing factor to a favorable environment for tumor growth. Therefore, the main aim of this review is to give an overview of the epigenetic alterations affecting immune cells in the tumor microenvironment to provoke an immunosuppressive function and contribute to cancer development. Moreover, immunotherapy is briefly discussed in the context of epigenetics, describing both its combination with epigenetic drugs and the need for epigenetic biomarkers to predict response to immune checkpoint blockage.
Combining both topics, epigenetic machinery plays a central role in generating an immunosuppressive environment for cancer growth, which creates a barrier for immunotherapy to be successful. Furthermore, epigenetic-directed compounds may not only affect cancer cells but also immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, which could be beneficial for the clinical response to immunotherapy.
Thus, modulating epigenetics in combination with immunotherapy might be a promising therapeutic option to improve the success of this therapy. Further studies are necessary to (1) understand in depth the impact of the epigenetic machinery in the tumor microenvironment; (2) how the epigenetic machinery can be modulated according to tumor type to increase response to immunotherapy and (3) find reliable biomarkers for a better selection of patients eligible to immunotherapy.
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