Targeting INHBA in Ovarian Cancer Cells Suppresses Cancer Xenograft Growth by Attenuating Stromal Fibroblast Activation.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Li X
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6885285 | biostudies-literature | 2019
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:Multiple evidence shows that metformin serves as a potential agent for Colorectal Cancer (CRC) treatment, while its molecular mechanisms still require detailed investigation. Here, we revealed that metformin specifically suppressed the proliferation of CRC cells by causing G1/S arrest, and INHBA is a potential target for metformin to play an anti-proliferation effect in CRC. We verified the oncogene role of INHBA by knocking down and overexpressing INHBA in CRC cells. Silencing INHBA abrogated the cell growth, while overexpression INHBA promotes the proliferation of CRC cells. As an oncogene, INHBA was aberrant overexpression in CRC tissues and closely related to the poor prognosis of CRC patients. In mechanism, INHBA is an important ligand of TGF-β signaling and metformin blocked the activation of TGF-β signaling by targeting INHBA, and then down-regulated the activity of PI3K/Akt pathway, leading to the reduction of cyclinD1 and cell cycle arrest. Together, these findings indicate that metformin down-regulates the expression of INHBA, then attenuating TGF-β/PI3K/Akt signaling transduction, thus inhibiting the proliferation of CRC. Our study elucidated a novel molecular mechanism for the anti-proliferation effect of metformin, providing a theoretical basis for the application of metformin in CRC therapy.
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Project description:Effective targeting of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) is hindered by the lack of specific biomarkers and a poor understanding of the mechanisms by which different populations of CAFs contribute to cancer progression. While the role of TGFβ in CAFs is well-studied, less attention has been focused on a structurally and functionally similar protein, Activin A (encoded by INHBA). Here, we identified INHBA(+) CAFs as key players in tumor promotion and immunosuppression. Spatiotemporal analyses of patient-matched primary, metastatic, and recurrent ovarian carcinomas revealed that aggressive metastatic tumors enriched in INHBA(+) CAFs were also enriched in regulatory T cells (Tregs). In ovarian cancer mouse models, intraperitoneal injection of the Activin A neutralizing antibody attenuated tumor progression and infiltration with pro-tumorigenic subsets of myofibroblasts and macrophages. Downregulation of INHBA in human ovarian CAFs inhibited pro-tumorigenic CAF functions. Co-culture of human ovarian CAFs and T cells revealed the dependence of Treg differentiation on direct contact with INHBA(+) CAFs. Mechanistically, INHBA/recombinant Activin A in CAFs induced the autocrine expression of PD-L1 through SMAD2-dependent signaling, which promoted Treg differentiation. Collectively, our study identified an INHBA(+) subset of immunomodulatory pro-tumoral CAFs as a potential therapeutic target in advanced ovarian cancers which typically show a poor response to immunotherapy.
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Project description:The arginine methyltransferase CARM1 exhibits high expression levels in several human cancers, with the trend also observed in ovarian cancer. However, therapeutic approaches targeting tumors that overexpress CARM1 have not been explored. Cancer cells exploit metabolic reprogramming such as fatty acids for their survival. Here we report that CARM1 promotes monounsaturated fatty acid synthesis and fatty acid reprogramming represents a metabolic vulnerability for CARM1-expressing ovarian cancer. CARM1 promotes the expression of genes encoding rate-limiting enzymes of de novo fatty acid metabolism such as acetyl-CoA carboxylase 1 (ACC1) and fatty acid synthase (FASN). In addition, CARM1 upregulates stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) that produces monounsaturated fatty acid by desaturation. Thus, CARM1 enhances de novo fatty acids synthesis which was subsequently utilized for synthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids. Consequently, inhibition of SCD1 suppresses the growth of ovarian cancer cells in a CARM1 status-dependent manner, which was rescued by the addition of monounsaturated fatty acids. Consistently, CARM1-expressing cells were more tolerant to the addition of saturated fatty acids. Indeed, SCD1 inhibition demonstrated efficacy against ovarian cancer in both orthotopic xenograft and syngeneic mouse models in a CARM1-dependent manner. In summary, our data show that CARM1 reprograms fatty acid metabolism and targeting SCD1 through pharmacological inhibition can serve as a potent therapeutic approach for CARM1-expressing ovarian cancers.SignificanceCARM1 reprograms fatty acid metabolism transcriptionally to support ovarian cancer growth by producing monounsaturated fatty acids, supporting SCD1 inhibition as a rational strategy for treating CARM1-expressing ovarian cancer.
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Project description:CARM1 is often overexpressed in human cancers including in ovarian cancer. However, therapeutic approaches based on CARM1 expression remain to be an unmet need. Cancer cells exploit adaptive responses such as the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response for their survival through activating pathways such as the IRE1α/XBP1s pathway. Here, we report that CARM1-expressing ovarian cancer cells are selectively sensitive to inhibition of the IRE1α/XBP1s pathway. CARM1 regulates XBP1s target gene expression and directly interacts with XBP1s during ER stress response. Inhibition of the IRE1α/XBP1s pathway was effective against ovarian cancer in a CARM1-dependent manner both in vitro and in vivo in orthotopic and patient-derived xenograft models. In addition, IRE1α inhibitor B-I09 synergizes with immune checkpoint blockade anti-PD1 antibody in an immunocompetent CARM1-expressing ovarian cancer model. Our data show that pharmacological inhibition of the IRE1α/XBP1s pathway alone or in combination with immune checkpoint blockade represents a therapeutic strategy for CARM1-expressing cancers.
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