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TLR4 activates the β-catenin pathway to cause intestinal neoplasia.

ABSTRACT: Colonic bacteria have been implicated in the development of colon cancer. We have previously demonstrated that toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), the receptor for bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), is over-expressed in humans with colitis-associated cancer. Genetic epidemiologic data support a role for TLR4 in sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC) as well, with over-expression favoring more aggressive disease. The goal of our study was to determine whether TLR4 played a role as a tumor promoter in sporadic colon cancer. Using immunofluorescence directed to TLR4, we found that a third of sporadic human colorectal cancers over-express this marker. To mechanistically investigate this observation, we used a mouse model that over-expresses TLR4 in the intestinal epithelium (villin-TLR4 mice). We found that these transgenic mice had increased epithelial proliferation as measured by BrdU labeling, longer colonic crypts and an expansion of Lgr5+ crypt cells at baseline. In addition, villin-TLR4 mice developed spontaneous duodenal dysplasia with age, a feature that is not seen in any wild-type (WT) mice. To model human sporadic CRC, we administered the genotoxic agent azoxymethane (AOM) to villin-TLR4 and WT mice. We found that villin-TLR4 mice showed an increased number of colonic tumors compared to WT mice as well as increased β-catenin activation in non-dysplastic areas. Biochemical studies in colonic epithelial cell lines revealed that TLR4 activates β-catenin in a PI3K-dependent manner, increasing phosphorylation of β-catenin(Ser552), a phenomenon associated with activation of the canonical Wnt pathway. Our results suggest that TLR4 can trigger a neoplastic program through activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Our studies highlight a previously unexplored link between innate immune signaling and activation of oncogenic pathways, which may be targeted to prevent or treat CRC.

SUBMITTER: Santaolalla R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3653932 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Salmonella infections can become chronic and increase the risk of cancer. The mechanisms by which specific Salmonella organisms contribute to cancer, however, are still unknown. Live and attenuated Salmonella are used as vectors to target cancer cells, but there have been no systematic studies of the oncogenic potential of chronic Salmonella infections in cancer models. AvrA, a pathogenic product of Salmonella, is inserted into host cells during infection and influences eukaryotic cell pathways. In the current study, we colonized mice with Salmonella AvrA-sufficient or AvrA-deficient Salmonella typhimirium strains and induced inflammation-associated colon cancer by azoxymethane/dextran sulfate sodium (AOM/DSS). We confirmed Salmonella persisted in the colon for up to 45 weeks. Salmonella was identified not only in epithelial cells on the colonic luminal surface and base of the crypts but also in invading tumors. Tumor incidence in the AvrA+infected group was 100% compared with 51.4% in the AOM/DSS group without bacterial gavage and 56.3% in mice infected with the AvrA- strain. Infection with AvrA+ strain also altered tumor distribution from the distal to proximal colon that might reflect changes in the microbiome. AvrA-expressing bacteria also upregulated beta-catenin signaling as assessed by decreased beta-catenin ubiquitination, increased nuclear beta-catenin and increased phosphorylated-beta-catenin (Ser552), a marker of proliferating stem-progenitor cells. Other β-catenin targets increased by AvrA included Bmi1, a cancer stem cell marker, matrix metalloproteinase-7, and cyclin D1. In summary, AvrA-expressing Salmonella infection activates β-catenin signals and enhances colonic tumorigenesis. Our findings provide important new mechanistic insights into how a bacterial protein targets proliferating stem-progenitor cells and contributes to cancer development. Our observations also raise a note of caution regarding the use of mutant Salmonella organisms as vectors for anti-cancer therapy. Finally, these studies could suggest biomarkers (such as AvrA level in gut) to assess cancer risk in susceptible individuals and infection-related dysregulation of β-catenin signaling in cancer.

Project description:Estradiol may fulfill a plethora of functions in neurons, in which much of its activity is associated with its capacity to directly bind and dimerize estrogen receptors. This hormone-protein complex can either bind directly to estrogen response elements (ERE's) in gene promoters, or it may act as a cofactor at non-ERE sites interacting with other DNA-binding elements such as AP-1 or c-Jun. Many of the neuroprotective effects described for estrogen have been associated with this mode of action. However, recent evidence suggests that in addition to these "genomic effects", estrogen may also act as a more general "trophic factor" triggering cytoplasmic signals and extending the potential activity of this hormone. We demonstrated that estrogen receptor alpha associates with beta-catenin and glycogen synthase kinase 3 in the brain and in neurons, which has since been confirmed by others. Here, we show that the action of estradiol activates beta-catenin transcription in neuroblastoma cells and in primary cortical neurons. This activation is time and concentration-dependent, and it may be abolished by the estrogen receptor antagonist ICI 182780. The transcriptional activation of beta-catenin is dependent on lymphoid enhancer binding factor-1 (LEF-1) and a truncated-mutant of LEF-1 almost completely blocks estradiol TCF-mediated transcription. Transcription of a TCF-reporter in a transgenic mouse model is enhanced by estradiol in a similar fashion to that produced by Wnt3a. In addition, activation of a luciferase reporter driven by the engrailed promoter with three LEF-1 repeats was mediated by estradiol. We established a cell line that constitutively expresses a dominant-negative LEF-1 and it was used in a gene expression microarray analysis. In this way, genes that respond to estradiol or Wnt3a, sensitive to LEF-1, could be identified and validated. Together, these data demonstrate the existence of a new signaling pathway controlled by estradiol in neurons. This pathway shares some elements of the insulin-like growth factor-1/Insulin and Wnt signaling pathways, however, our data strongly suggest that it is different from that of both these ligands. These findings may reveal a set of new physiological roles for estrogens, at least in the Central Nervous System (CNS).

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TLR4 activates the β-catenin pathway to cause intestinal neoplasia.

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