Project description:Detection of the abnormal phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho) metabolism in EOC by analysis of magnetic resonance profile (MRS), showed a significant increase of PCho content in EOC cells as compared with non tumoral counterparts associated with activation of choline kinase (ChoK), the enzyme responsible for PCho production following choline phosphorylation in the PtdCho biosynthetic pathway (Kennedy’s pathway). The α-isoform of ChoK has an essential role in growth control and signal transduction and it has been implicated in the carcinogenic process. Aim of the study is the evaluation of the biological relevance of ChoK expression and activity to define its possible role as a non-invasively detectable EOC biomarker and druggable target. We specifically silenced ChoKα expression by transient RNA interference in two different EOC cell lines and evaluated the biological effects related to metabolic profiles, cell proliferation, cell cycle regulation and alteration of global gene expression to possibly identify new pathways implicated in altered choline metabolism. Following ChoKα silencing we observed a 70% reduction of mRNA and protein expression with a similar reduction in PCho accumulation as assessed by HMRS analysis. The ChoKα silencing was accompanied by 20% inhibition of cell growth and similar percentage of cells blocked in the G1-phase of cell cycle. No alteration in cell morphology and modulation of the main survival signaling pathways (PI3K and MAPK-related signaling) were observed. By gene expression analysis we found 476 differentially expressed genes (p< 0.01; FDR 25%) in silenced cells. By transcriptome analysis of CHKA silenced cells as compared to controls, among the most relevant co-repressed genes we found CyclinA, related to regulation of cell cycle progression, and cytokines genes (IL-6 and IL-8) related to inflammation and EOC aggressiveness. Acyl-CoA synthetase medium-chain family member 3 (ACSM3), phosphatidic acid phosphatase type 2 (PPAP2A) and Osteoprotegerin were among the most up-regulated genes. All co-modulated genes have been validated by RTqPCR also in independent biological replicates. Ingenuity System Pathways Analysis (IPA) identified a network of molecules most significantly affected by CHKA silencing whose main functions is related to cell morphology cellular assembly and organization, cellular function and maintenance. Also, the cellular functions predicted to be mostly affected by silencing were cellular movement and cell death that are expected to be respectively decreased and increased in silenced cells. a total of 12 samples were analyzed: Two EOC cell line SKOV3 and INTOV11 were transiently silenced with unrelated or CHKA-specific siRNA pool. Three independent experiment were run for each cell line.

Project description:Detection of the abnormal phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho) metabolism in EOC by analysis of magnetic resonance profile (MRS), showed a significant increase of PCho content in EOC cells as compared with non tumoral counterparts associated with activation of choline kinase (ChoK), the enzyme responsible for PCho production following choline phosphorylation in the PtdCho biosynthetic pathway (Kennedy’s pathway). The α-isoform of ChoK has an essential role in growth control and signal transduction and it has been implicated in the carcinogenic process. Aim of the study is the evaluation of the biological relevance of ChoK expression and activity to define its possible role as a non-invasively detectable EOC biomarker and druggable target. We specifically silenced ChoKα expression by transient RNA interference in two different EOC cell lines and evaluated the biological effects related to metabolic profiles, cell proliferation, cell cycle regulation and alteration of global gene expression to possibly identify new pathways implicated in altered choline metabolism. Following ChoKα silencing we observed a 70% reduction of mRNA and protein expression with a similar reduction in PCho accumulation as assessed by HMRS analysis. The ChoKα silencing was accompanied by 20% inhibition of cell growth and similar percentage of cells blocked in the G1-phase of cell cycle. No alteration in cell morphology and modulation of the main survival signaling pathways (PI3K and MAPK-related signaling) were observed. By gene expression analysis we found 476 differentially expressed genes (p< 0.01; FDR 25%) in silenced cells. By transcriptome analysis of CHKA silenced cells as compared to controls, among the most relevant co-repressed genes we found CyclinA, related to regulation of cell cycle progression, and cytokines genes (IL-6 and IL-8) related to inflammation and EOC aggressiveness. Acyl-CoA synthetase medium-chain family member 3 (ACSM3), phosphatidic acid phosphatase type 2 (PPAP2A) and Osteoprotegerin were among the most up-regulated genes. All co-modulated genes have been validated by RTqPCR also in independent biological replicates. Ingenuity System Pathways Analysis (IPA) identified a network of molecules most significantly affected by CHKA silencing whose main functions is related to cell morphology cellular assembly and organization, cellular function and maintenance. Also, the cellular functions predicted to be mostly affected by silencing were cellular movement and cell death that are expected to be respectively decreased and increased in silenced cells.

Project description:Proteins controlling mitochondrial fission have been recognized as essential regulators of mitochondrial functions, mitochondrial quality control and cell apoptosis. In the present study, we identified the critical B cell survival regulator TRAF3 as a novel binding partner of the key mitochondrial fission factor, MFF, in B lymphocytes. Elicited by our unexpected finding that the majority of cytoplasmic TRAF3 proteins were localized at the mitochondria in resting splenic B cells after ex vivo culture for 2 days, we found that TRAF3 specifically interacted with MFF as demonstrated by co-immunoprecipitation and GST pull-down assays. We further found that in the absence of stimulation, increased protein levels of mitochondrial TRAF3 were associated with altered mitochondrial morphology, decreased mitochondrial respiration, increased mitochondrial ROS production and membrane permeabilization, which eventually culminated in mitochondria-dependent apoptosis in resting B cells. Loss of TRAF3 had the opposite effects on the morphology and function of mitochondria as well as mitochondria-dependent apoptosis in resting B cells. Interestingly, co-expression of TRAF3 and MFF resulted in decreased phosphorylation and ubiquitination of MFF as well as decreased ubiquitination of TRAF3. Moreover, lentivirus-mediated overexpression of MFF restored mitochondria-dependent apoptosis in TRAF3-deficient malignant B cells. Taken together, our findings provide novel insights into the apoptosis-inducing mechanisms of TRAF3 in B cells: as a result of survival factor deprivation or under other types of stress, TRAF3 is mobilized to the mitochondria through its interaction with MFF, where it triggers mitochondria-dependent apoptosis. This new role of TRAF3 in controlling mitochondrial homeostasis might have key implications in TRAF3-mediated regulation of B cell transformation in different cellular contexts. Our findings also suggest that mitochondrial fission is an actionable therapeutic target in human B cell malignancies, including those with TRAF3 deletion or relevant mutations.

Dataset Information

Elevated Choline Kinase ?-Mediated Choline Metabolism Supports the Prolonged Survival of TRAF3-Deficient B Lymphocytes.

Publications

Elevated Choline Kinase α-Mediated Choline Metabolism Supports the Prolonged Survival of TRAF3-Deficient B Lymphocytes.

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