MAPK/ERK kinases transmit signals from many growth factors/kinase receptors during normal cell growth/differentiation, and their dysregulation is a hallmark of diverse types of cancers. A plethora of ...drugs were developed to block this kinase pathway for clinical application. With the exception of a recently identified agent, EQW, most of these inhibitors target upstream factors but not ERK1/2; no activator of ERK1/2 is currently available.
A library of compounds isolated from medicinal plants of China was screened for anti-cancer activities. Three limonoid compounds, termed A1541-43, originally isolated from the plant Melia azedarach, exhibiting strong anti-leukemic activity. The anti-neoplastic activity and the biological target of these compounds were explored using various methods, including western blotting, flow cytometry, molecular docking and animal model for leukemia.
Compounds A1541-43, exhibiting potent anti-leukemic activity, was shown to induce ERK1/2 phosphorylation. In contrast, the natural product Cedrelone, which shares structural similarities with A1541-43, functions as a potent inhibitor of ERK1/2. We provided evidence that A1541-43 and Cedrelone specifically target ERK1/2, but not the upstream MAPK/ERK pathway. Computational docking analysis predicts that compounds A1541-43 bind a region in ERK1/2 that is distinct from that to which Cedrelone and EQW bind. Interestingly, both A1541-43, which act as ERK1/2 agonists, and Cedrelone, which inhibit these kinases, exerted strong anti-proliferative activity against multiple leukemic cell lines, and induced robust apoptosis as well as erythroid and megakaryocytic differentiation in erythroleukemic cell lines. These compounds also suppressed tumor progression in a mouse model of erythroleukemia.
This study identifies for the first time activators of ERK1/2 with therapeutic potential for the treatment of cancers driven by dysregulation of the MAPK/ERK pathway and possibly for other disorders.
The ETS transcription factor Fli-1 controls the expression of genes involved in hematopoiesis including cell proliferation, survival, and differentiation. Dysregulation of Fli-1 induces hematopoietic ...and solid tumors, rendering it an important target for therapeutic intervention. Through high content screens of a library of chemicals isolated from medicinal plants in China for inhibitors of a Fli-1 transcriptional reporter cells, we hereby report the identification of diterpenoid-like compounds that strongly inhibit Fli-1 transcriptional activity. These agents suppressed the growth of erythroleukemic cells by inducing apoptosis and differentiation. They also inhibited survival and proliferation of B-cell leukemic cell lines as well as primary B-cell lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) isolated from 7 patients. Moreover, these inhibitors blocked leukemogenesis in a mouse model of erythroleukemia, in which Fli-1 is the driver of tumor initiation. Computational docking analysis revealed that the diterpenoid-like compounds bind with high affinity to nucleotide residues in a pocket near the major groove within the DNA-binding sites of Fli-1. Functional inhibition of Fli-1 by these compounds triggered its further downregulation through miR-145, whose promoter is normally repressed by Fli-1. These results uncover the importance of Fli-1 in leukemogenesis, a Fli-1-miR145 autoregulatory loop and new anti-Fli-1 diterpenoid agents for the treatment of diverse hematological malignancies overexpressing this transcription factor.
A variety of human malignancies, including breast cancer, are thought to be organized in a hierarchy, whereby a relatively minor population of tumor initiating cells (TIC) is responsible for tumor ...growth and the vast majority of remaining cells is nontumorigenic. Analysis of TICs in model systems of breast cancer would offer uniform and accessible source of tumor cells and the power of mouse genetics to dissect these rare cells. The HER2/Neu proto-oncogene is overexpressed in an aggressive form of human breast cancer. Mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV)-Neu transgenic mice develop mammary tumors that mimic human HER2 subtype breast cancer. Here, we report on the functional identification of mouse HER2/Neu TICs that can induce tumors after transplantation into the mammary gland of recipient mice. Secondary tumors formed after injecting MMTV-Neu TICs resemble primary tumors in the original transgenic mice and are organized in a hierarchy containing TICs as well as their nontumorigenic descendants. To study MMTV-Neu TICs in vitro, we grew tumorspheres under nonadherent culture conditions. Tumorsphere forming units (TFU) capable of producing tumorspheres retained tumorigenic potential and were indistinguishable by several criteria from TICs. Interestingly, MMTV-Neu TICs and TFUs were committed to the luminal cell fate when induced to differentiate in vitro. Our data define reproducible characteristics of the MMTV-Neu TIC and TFU, which help to explain marker expression profiles of HER2-positive breast cancer. In addition, the similarity between TICs and TFUs in this system provides a rationale for TFU-based screens to target tumor-initiating cells in HER2(+) breast cancer.
The RB1 gene was cloned because its inactivation causes the childhood ocular tumor, retinoblastoma. It is widely expressed, inactivated in most human malignancies, and present in diverse organisms ...from mammals to plants. Initially, retinoblastoma protein (pRB) was linked to cell cycle regulation, but it also regulates senescence, apoptosis, autophagy, differentiation, genome stability, immunity, telomere function, stem cell biology, and embryonic development. In the 23 years since the gene was cloned, a formal international symposium focused on the RB pathway has not been held. The "First International RB Tumor Suppressor Meeting" (Toronto, Canada, November 19-21, 2009) established a biennial event to bring experts in the field together to discuss how the RB family ("pocket proteins"), as well as its regulators and effectors, influence biology and human disease. We summarize major new breakthroughs and emerging trends presented at the meeting.
Multi-gene prognostic signatures derived from primary tumor biopsies can guide clinicians in designing an appropriate course of treatment. Identifying genes and pathways most essential to a signature ...performance may facilitate clinical application, provide insights into cancer progression, and uncover potentially new therapeutic targets. We previously developed a 17-gene prognostic signature (HTICS) for HER2+:ERα- breast cancer patients, using genes that are differentially expressed in tumor initiating cells (TICs) versus non-TICs from MMTV-Her2/neu mammary tumors. Here we probed the pathways and genes that underlie the prognostic power of HTICS.
We used Leave-One Out, Data Combination Test, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), Correlation and Substitution analyses together with Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis to identify critical biological pathways within HTICS. Publically available cohorts with gene expression and clinical outcome were used to assess prognosis. NanoString technology was used to detect gene expression in formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissues.
We show that three major biological pathways: cell proliferation, immune response, and cell migration, drive the prognostic power of HTICS, which is further tuned by Homeostatic and Glycan metabolic signalling. A 6-gene minimal Core that retained a significant prognostic power, albeit less than HTICS, also comprised the proliferation/immune/migration pathways. Finally, we developed NanoString probes that could detect expression of HTICS genes and their substitutions in FFPE samples.
Our results demonstrate that the prognostic power of a signature is driven by the biological processes it monitors, identify cell proliferation, immune response and cell migration as critical pathways for HER2+:ERα- cancer progression, and defines substitutes and Core genes that should facilitate clinical application of HTICS.
The tumor suppressors Pten and p53 are frequently lost in breast cancer, yet the consequences of their combined inactivation are poorly understood. Here, we show that mammary‐specific deletion of ...Pten via WAP‐Cre, which targets alveolar progenitors, induced tumors with shortened latency compared to those induced by MMTV‐Cre, which targets basal/luminal progenitors. Combined Pten‐p53 mutations accelerated formation of claudin‐low, triple‐negative‐like breast cancer (TNBC) that exhibited hyper‐activated AKT signaling and more mesenchymal features relative to Pten or p53 single‐mutant tumors. Twenty‐four genes that were significantly and differentially expressed between WAP‐Cre:Pten/p53 and MMTV‐Cre:Pten/p53 tumors predicted poor survival for claudin‐low patients. Kinome screens identified eukaryotic elongation factor‐2 kinase (eEF2K) inhibitors as more potent than PI3K/AKT/mTOR inhibitors on both mouse and human Pten/p53‐deficient TNBC cells. Sensitivity to eEF2K inhibition correlated with AKT pathway activity. eEF2K monotherapy suppressed growth of Pten/p53‐deficient TNBC xenografts in vivo and cooperated with doxorubicin to efficiently kill tumor cells in vitro. Our results identify a prognostic signature for claudin‐low patients and provide a rationale for using eEF2K inhibitors for treatment of TNBC with elevated AKT signaling.
Synopsis
The tumor suppressors Pten and p53 are frequently lost in triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC). In double mouse KO, tumors identity changed to a sarcomatoid/mesenchymal subtype; molecular and bioinformatics analyses revealed eEF2K as a potential therapeutic target.
Disruption of Pten and p53 via MMTV‐Cre or WAP‐Cre accelerated formation of claudin‐low‐like TNBC.
A 24‐gene set that discriminates Pten/p53‐deficient tumors driven by MMTV‐Cre versus WAP‐Cre transgenes could predict clinical outcome for claudin‐low TNBC patients.
Kinome screen identified eEF2K inhibitors as most potent growth suppressors for both mouse and human Pten/p53‐deficient TNBC.
eEF2K inhibitors might represent a novel therapy for Pten/p53‐deficient TNBC with high AKT signaling.
The tumor suppressors Pten and p53 are frequently lost in triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC). In double mouse KO, tumors identity changed to a sarcomatoid/mesenchymal subtype; molecular and bioinformatics analyses revealed eEF2K as a potential therapeutic target.
PIK3CA, which codes for the p110α catalytic subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, is one of the most frequently mutated genes in human breast cancer. Here, we describe a mouse model for ...PIK3CA-induced breast cancer by using the ROSA26 (R26) knock-in system, in which targeted Pik3ca alleles can be activated through transgenic expression of Cre recombinase. We mated Pik3ca(H1047R) and Pik3ca(wt) knock-in lines with MMTV-Cre transgenics, which express Cre in mammary epithelium. Starting at approximately 5 months of age, female R26-Pik3ca(H1047R);MMTV-Cre mice, but not control R26-Pik3ca(wt);MMTV-Cre mice, developed mammary tumors, as well as lymphoid and skin malignancies. R26-Pik3ca(H1047R);MMTV-Cre mammary tumors were typically either adenosquamous carcinoma or adenomyoepithelioma. As p53 is the most commonly mutated gene in breast cancer, we tested for genetic interaction between Pik3ca(H1047R) and p53 loss-of-function mutations in R26-Pik3ca(H1047R);p53(loxP/+);MMTV-Cre mice. This led to decreased survival of double-mutant animals, which developed lymphoma and mammary tumors with rapid kinetics. Mammary tumors that formed in p53(loxP/+);MMTV-Cre conditional mutants were either poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma or spindle cell/EMT, whereas R26-Pik3ca(H1047R);p53(loxP/+);MMTV-Cre mammary tumors were mostly adenosquamous carcinoma or spindle cell/EMT indicating that double-mutant mice develop a distinct spectrum of mammary tumors. Thus, an oncogenic variant of PIK3CA implicated in multiple human breast cancer subtypes can induce a very diverse spectrum of mammary tumors in mice. Furthermore, Pik3ca(H1047R) shows cooperation with p53, which altered the specific tumors that formed. Thus, the two most frequently mutated genes in human breast cancer show cooperation in mammary tumor formation.
CDH1 and PIK3CA are the two most frequently mutated genes in invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) of the breast. Transcription profiling has identified molecular subtypes for ILC, one of which, ...immune-related (IR), is associated with gene expression linked to lymphocyte and macrophage infiltration. Here, we report that deletion of Cdh1, together with activation of Pik3ca in mammary epithelium of genetically modified mice, leads to formation of IR-ILC-like tumors with immune cell infiltration, as well as gene expression linked to T-regulatory (Treg) cell signaling and activation of targetable immune checkpoint pathways. Interestingly, these tumors show enhanced Rac1- and Yap-dependent transcription and signaling, as well as sensitivity to PI3K, Rac1, and Yap inhibitors in culture. Finally, high-dimensional immunophenotyping in control mouse mammary gland and IR-ILC tumors by mass cytometry shows dramatic alterations in myeloid and lymphoid populations associated with immune suppression and exhaustion, highlighting the potential for therapeutic intervention via immune checkpoint regulators.
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•Development of mouse model for lobular BC with deletion of Cdh1 and Pik3ca activation•Mouse model shows gene expression signature akin to human immune-related lobular tumors•Tumors show enhanced Rac and Yap signaling, with tumorsphere sensitivity to inhibitors•Immune suppression and exhaustion in mouse model linked to myeloid and T cell anomalies
An et al. describe the development and characterization of a mouse model for invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) of the breast based on the two most mutated genes in human ILC. This model is analogous to immune-related ILC, shows myeloid and T cell alterations consistent with immune suppression and exhaustion, and represents a platform for therapeutics.
Inactivation of the tumor suppressor RB1 leads to cell proliferation, cell death and abortive differentiation in certain tissues and physiological contexts. Anti-apoptotic signals are thought to be ...the most important mechanism by which RB1-mutant cells escape cell death. Indeed, in the course of neoplastic transformation RB1 is often inactivated in conjunction with a mutation in the pro-apoptotic tumor suppressor p53. We have previously devised a biological framework to identify factors that maintain survival of differentiating Rb-deficient muscle fibers. We showed that differentiating Rb-deficient myoblasts fuse to form short myotubes that degenerate in a process associated with enhanced autophagy, and that degeneration was rescued by antagonists of apoptosis or autophagy, induction of mitochondrial-biogenesis or hypoxia-induced glycolytic shift, leading to long, twitching myotubes. Here, we also show that lithium slows the collapse of Rb-deficient myotubes and surprisingly, this is independent of autophagy, cyclin D3 and β-catenin. Thus, several distinct processes can suppress cell death induced by RB1 loss. We discuss these pathways and how they may cooperate with RB1 inactivation in the course of cancer initiation.
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) includes basal-like and claudin-low subtypes for which only chemotherapy and radiation therapy are currently available. The retinoblastoma (RB1) tumor suppressor ...is frequently lost in human TNBC. Knockdown of RB1 in luminal BC cells was shown to affect response to endocrine, radiation and several antineoplastic drugs. However, the effect of RB1 status on radiation and chemo-sensitivity in TNBC cells and whether RB1 status affects response to divergent or specific treatment are unknown. Using multiple basal-like and claudin-low cell lines, we hereby demonstrate that RB-negative TNBC cell lines are highly sensitive to gamma-irradiation, and moderately more sensitive to doxorubicin and methotrexate compared to RB-positive TNBC cell lines. In contrast, RB1 status did not affect sensitivity of TNBC cells to multiple other drugs including cisplatin (CDDP), 5-fluorouracil, idarubicin, epirubicin, PRIMA-1(met), fludarabine and PD-0332991, some of which are used to treat TNBC patients. Moreover, a non-biased screen of ∼3400 compounds, including FDA-approved drugs, revealed similar sensitivity of RB-proficient and -deficient TNBC cells. Finally, ESA(+)/CD24(-/low)/CD44(+) cancer stem cells from RB-negative TNBC lines were consistently more sensitive to gamma-irradiation than RB-positive lines, whereas the effect of chemotherapy on the cancer stem cell fraction varied irrespective of RB1 expression. Our results suggest that patients carrying RB-deficient TNBCs would benefit from gamma-irradiation as well as doxorubicin and methotrexate therapy, but not necessarily from many other anti-neoplastic drugs.
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