Unknown,Transcriptomics,Genomics,Proteomics

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Glioma stem cell treatment with MELK-signaling inhibitors

ABSTRACT: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly lethal brain tumor. Due to resistance to current therapies, patient prognosis remains poor and development of novel and effective GBM therapy is crucial. Glioma stem cells (GSCs) have gained attention as therapeutic target in GBM due to their relative resistance to current therapies and potent tumor-initiating ability. Recent studies including our own identified that the mitotic kinase, maternal embryonic leucine-zipper kinase (MELK), is highly expressed in GBM tissues, specifically in GSCs, and its expression is inversely correlated with the post-surgical survival period of GBM patients. In addition, patient-derived GSCs depend on MELK for their survival and growth both in vitro and in vivo. Here, we provide evidence that the kinase activity of MELK is essential for the action of MELK in GSCs and vital for GBM growth. We utilized in silico structure-based analysis for protein-compound interaction to predict that a recently identified small molecule, Compound 1 (C1), binds to the kinase-active site of MELK protein and eliminates MELK kinase activity in nanomolar concentrations. When treated with C1, GSCs undergo mitotic arrest and subsequent cellular apoptosis in vitro, a phenotype identical to that observed using MELK shRNA-mediated knockdown. C1 treatment strongly induces tumor cell apoptosis in slice cultures of GBM surgical specimens and attenuates growth of mouse intracranial tumors derived from GSCs in a dose-dependent manner. Lastly, C1 treatment sensitizes GSCs to radiation treatment. Collectively, these data indicate that targeting MELK kinase activity is a promising approach to attenuate GBM growth by eliminating GSCs in tumors. Microarray-based expression analysis of glioma stem cells treated with MELK-signaling inhibitors

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

SUBMITTER: Giovanni Coppola

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-50227 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress

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Project description:Glioblastomas (GBM) are poorly differentiated astrocytic tumors arising in the Central Nervous System (CNS), which despite aggressive treatments are still characterized by a fatal outcome. Several studies have shown the existence of a subpopulation of cells within glioma tumors displaying cancer stem cells properties. As the term âtumor initiating cellsâ (TICs) is frequentely used to describe cells as these with cancer stem cells capacity. Because TICs promotes the tumor chemo- and radio-resistance and angiogenesis it is conceivable that finding a mean to kill these cells would lead to a better therapy for GBM. The NOTCH gene has an important role during the CNS development, in the maintenance of dividing cells in promoting neural lineage entry of Embryonic Stem Cells and the differentiation of astroglia from the rat adult hippocampus-derived multipotent progenitors. The activation of the NOTCH signaling requires the proteolytic processing of this type I integral membrane protein by a two step process catalyzed first by a metalloprotease and then by the gamma-secretase. An increased activation of the NOTCH signaling has been implicated in several tumors types. Recently some studies showed that this pathway induces the survival/proliferation in GBM and glioma cells, and the expression of stem cell properties in glioma cells. Accordingly to these findings, the inhibition of this pathway leads to depletion of stem-like cells and blocks the engraftment in embryonal brain tumors. Furthermore, enhanced NOTCH signaling may lead to one of the tumor resistance mechanisms deployed by GBM. Targeting the NOTCH pathway specifically in GBM TICs appears therefore as a rational approach for exploring novel and hopefully more effective therapeutic strategies for the management of this malignancy. Several molecular tools are available for targeting the Notch pathway such as specific siRNAs, shRNAs or drugs such as gamma-secretase inhibitors. Among these tools, the latter are small peptides/molecules able to inhibit the gamma-secretase by distinct mechanisms. In this study we used two drugs known as gamma-secretase inhibitors, to investigate by gene expression profiling, their ability to interfere specifically with the proliferative properties of GBM TICs previously obtained in our laboratory. Our data show that one of these two drugs, LLNle, is effective in killing these cells in vitro by activating protein catabolic process mediated by the proteasome, suggesting that preclinical studies should definitely be carried on to evaluate whether LLNle is able to significantly improve the survival in hybrid human GBM-animal models. Gamma-secretase inhibitors have been proposed as drugs able to kill cancer cells by targeting the NOTCH pathway. In this study we employed two of such inhibitors, namely the z-Leu-leu-Nle-CHO (LLNle) and N-[N-(3,5-difluorophenacetyl)-L-alanyl]-S-phenylglycine t-butyl ester (DAPT), to verify whether they were effective in vitro in the killing of human GBM tumor initiating cells (TICs). We first established that of the two drugs only LLNle reduces the viability of GBM TICs obtained from three different patients in the low micromolar range. Cells were treated with 7.5 Î¼M LLNle or DAPT or vehicle alone (DMSO 0.1%) and kept in a humidified 5% CO2 atmosphere at 37Â°C for the indicated time period (24 or 48 hours). To establish which cellular processes are activated in GBM TICs by LLNle we generated and analyzed the gene expression profile after treatment with this compound and with DAPT and DMSO (vehicle). Our data show that LLNle induces upregulation of genes coding for proteasome subunits and subsequently mitotic arrest in these cells by repressing genes required for DNA synthesis and mitotic progression and by activation of genes acting as mitotic inhibitors. Our data are consistent with proteasome inhibition by LLNle, subsequent upregulation of proteasome activity and subsequent unleash of the apoptotic process in GBM TICs.

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Glioma stem cell treatment with MELK-signaling inhibitors

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