Dataset Information

Transforming Growth Factor-? Signaling in Fibrotic Diseases and Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts.

ABSTRACT: Transforming growth factor-? (TGF-?) signaling is essential in embryo development and maintaining normal homeostasis. Extensive evidence shows that TGF-? activation acts on several cell types, including epithelial cells, fibroblasts, and immune cells, to form a pro-fibrotic environment, ultimately leading to fibrotic diseases. TGF-? is stored in the matrix in a latent form; once activated, it promotes a fibroblast to myofibroblast transition and regulates extracellular matrix (ECM) formation and remodeling in fibrosis. TGF-? signaling can also promote cancer progression through its effects on the tumor microenvironment. In cancer, TGF-? contributes to the generation of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) that have different molecular and cellular properties from activated or fibrotic fibroblasts. CAFs promote tumor progression and chronic tumor fibrosis via TGF-? signaling. Fibrosis and CAF-mediated cancer progression share several common traits and are closely related. In this review, we consider how TGF-? promotes fibrosis and CAF-mediated cancer progression. We also discuss recent evidence suggesting TGF-? inhibition as a defense against fibrotic disorders or CAF-mediated cancer progression to highlight the potential implications of TGF-?-targeted therapies for fibrosis and cancer.

SUBMITTER: Shi X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7763058 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Transforming Growth Factor-β Signaling in Fibrotic Diseases and Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts.

Shi Xueke X Young Christian D CD Zhou Hongmei H Wang Xiaojing X

Biomolecules 20201212 12

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling is essential in embryo development and maintaining normal homeostasis. Extensive evidence shows that TGF-β activation acts on several cell types, including epithelial cells, fibroblasts, and immune cells, to form a pro-fibrotic environment, ultimately leading to fibrotic diseases. TGF-β is stored in the matrix in a latent form; once activated, it promotes a fibroblast to myofibroblast transition and regulates extracellular matrix (ECM) formation and ...[more]

PMID: 33322749

Similar Datasets

Project description:Variations in the Toll-interacting protein (TOLLIP) gene have been identified in genome-wide association studies to correlate with risk of disease, mortality, and response to N-acetylcysteine therapy in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Although TOLLIP is known to modulate innate immune responses, its relevance in organ fibrogenesis remains unknown. Prior work in the literature suggests TOLLIP dampens transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) signaling in human cell lines. In this study, we examined the role of TOLLIP in mouse lung fibroblast (MLF) responses to TGFβ and in the bleomycin model of experimental lung fibrosis using Tollip-/- mice. We hypothesize that if TOLLIP negatively regulates TGFβ signaling, then Tollip-/- mouse lung fibroblasts (MLFs) would have enhanced response to TGFβ treatment, and Tollip-/- mice would develop increased fibrosis following bleomycin challenge. Primary MLFs were stimulated with TGFβ (1 ng/mL) for 24 h. RNA was obtained to assess global transcriptional responses by RNA-seq and markers of myofibroblast transition by qPCR. Functional assessment of TGFβ-stimulated MLFs included cell migration by scratch assay, cell proliferation, and matrix invasion through Matrigel. In the in vivo model of lung fibrosis, Tollip-/- mice and wild-type (WT) littermates were administered bleomycin intratracheally and assessed for fibrosis. We further examined TGFβ signaling in vivo after bleomycin injury by SMAD2, ERK1/2, and TGFβR1 Western blot. In response to TGFβ treatment, both WT and Tollip-/- MLFs exhibited global transcriptional changes consistent with myofibroblast differentiation. However, Tollip-/- MLFs showed greater number of differentially expressed genes compared to WT MLFs and greater upregulation of Acta2 by qPCR. Functionally, Tollip-/- MLFs also exhibited increased migration and Matrigel invasiveness compared to WT. We found evidence of enhanced TGFβ signaling in Tollip-/- through SMAD2 in vitro and in vivo. Tollip-/- mice experienced lower survival using a standard weight-adjusted dosing without evidence of differences in fibrosis at Day 21. With adjustment of dosing for sex, no differences were observed in fibrosis at Day 21. However, Tollip-/- mice had greater weight loss and increased bronchoalveolar lavage fluid total protein during early resolution at Day 14 compared to WT without evidence of differences in acute lung injury at Day 7, suggesting impaired resolution of lung injury.

Project description:Humans and other jawed vertebrates rely heavily on their craniofacial skeleton for eating, breathing, and communicating. As such, it is vital that the elements of the craniofacial skeleton develop properly during embryogenesis to ensure a high quality of life and evolutionary fitness. Indeed, craniofacial abnormalities, including cleft palate and craniosynostosis, represent some of the most common congenital abnormalities in newborns. Like many other organ systems, the development of the craniofacial skeleton is complex, relying on specification and migration of the neural crest, patterning of the pharyngeal arches, and morphogenesis of each skeletal element into its final form. These processes must be carefully coordinated and integrated. One way this is achieved is through the spatial and temporal deployment of cell signaling pathways. Recent studies conducted using the zebrafish model underscore the importance of the Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGF-β) and Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) pathways in craniofacial development. Although both pathways contain similar components, each pathway results in unique outcomes on a cellular level. In this review, we will cover studies conducted using zebrafish that show the necessity of these pathways in each stage of craniofacial development, starting with the induction of the neural crest, and ending with the morphogenesis of craniofacial elements. We will also cover human skeletal and craniofacial diseases and malformations caused by mutations in the components of these pathways (e.g., cleft palate, craniosynostosis, etc.) and the potential utility of zebrafish in studying the etiology of these diseases. We will also briefly cover the utility of the zebrafish model in joint development and biology and discuss the role of TGF-β/BMP signaling in these processes and the diseases that result from aberrancies in these pathways, including osteoarthritis and multiple synostoses syndrome. Overall, this review will demonstrate the critical roles of TGF-β/BMP signaling in craniofacial development and show the utility of the zebrafish model in development and disease.

Project description:Fibroblasts are major cellular components of the tumor microenvironment, regulating tumor cell behavior in part through secretion of extracellular matrix proteins, growth factors, and angiogenic factors. In previous studies, conditional deletion of the type II transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) receptor in fibroblasts (Tgfbr2FspKO) was shown to promote mammary tumor metastasis in fibroblast-epithelial cell cotransplantation studies in mice, correlating with increased expression of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Here, we advance our findings to show that Tgfbr2(FspKO) fibroblasts enhance HGF/c-Met and HGF/Ron signaling to promote scattering and invasion of mammary carcinoma cells. Blockade of c-Met and Ron by small interfering RNA silencing and pharmacologic inhibitors significantly reduced mammary carcinoma cell scattering and invasion caused by Tgfbr2FspKO fibroblasts. Moreover, neutralizing antibodies to c-Met and Ron significantly inhibited HGF-induced cell scattering and invasion, correlating with reduced Stat3 and p42/44MAPK phosphorylation. Investigation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways by pharmacologic inhibition and small interfering RNA silencing revealed a cooperative interaction between the two pathways to regulate HGF-induced invasion, scattering, and motility of mammary tumor cells. Furthermore, whereas c-Met was found to regulate both the Stat3 and MAPK signaling pathways, Ron was found to regulate Stat3 but not MAPK signaling in mammary carcinoma cells. These studies show a tumor-suppressive role for TGF-beta signaling in fibroblasts, in part by suppressing HGF signaling between mammary fibroblasts and epithelial cells. These studies characterize complex functional roles for HGF and TGF-beta signaling in mediating tumor-stromal interactions during mammary tumor cell scattering and invasion, with important implications in the metastatic process.

Project description:Lung cancer is the second most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Despite recent advances in the development of targeted therapies, patients with advanced disease remain incurable, mostly because metastatic non-small cell lung carcinomas (NSCLC) eventually become resistant to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Kinase inhibitors have the potential for target promiscuity because the kinase super family is the largest family of druggable genes that binds to a common substrate (ATP). As a result, TKIs often developed for a specific purpose have been found to act on other targets. Drug affinity chromatography has been used to show that dasatinib interacts with the TGFβ type I receptor (TβR-I), a serine-threonine kinase. To determine the potential biological relevance of this association, we studied the combined effects of dasatinib and TGFβ on lung cancer cell lines. We found that dasatinib treatment alone had very little effect; however, when NSCLC cell lines were treated with a combination of TGFβ and dasatinib, apoptosis was induced. Combined TGFβ-1 + dasatinib treatment had no effect on the activity of Smad2 or other non-canonical TGFβ intracellular mediators. Interestingly, combined TGFβ and dasatinib treatment resulted in a transient increase in p-Smad3 (seen after 3 hours). In addition, when NSCLC cells were treated with this combination, the pro-apoptotic protein BIM was up-regulated. Knockdown of the expression of Smad3 using Smad3 siRNA also resulted in a decrease in BIM protein, suggesting that TGFβ-1 + dasatinib-induced apoptosis is mediated by Smad3 regulation of BIM. Dasatinib is only effective in killing EGFR mutant cells, which is shown in only 10% of NSCLCs. Therefore, the observation that wild-type EGFR lung cancers can be manipulated to render them sensitive to killing by dasatinib could have important implications for devising innovative and potentially more efficacious treatment strategies for this disease.

Dataset Information

Transforming Growth Factor-? Signaling in Fibrotic Diseases and Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts.

Publications

Transforming Growth Factor-β Signaling in Fibrotic Diseases and Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets