Project description:While blocking tumor growth by targeting autophagy is well established, its role on the infiltration of natural killer (NK) cells into tumors remains unknown. Here, we investigate the impact of targeting autophagy gene Beclin1 (BECN1) on the infiltration of NK cells into melanomas. We show that, in addition to inhibiting tumor growth, targeting BECN1 increased the infiltration of functional NK cells into melanoma tumors. We provide evidence that driving NK cells to the tumor bed relied on the ability of autophagy-defective tumors to transcriptionally overexpress the chemokine gene CCL5 Such infiltration and tumor regression were abrogated by silencing CCL5 in BECN1-defective tumors. Mechanistically, we show that the up-regulated expression of CCL5 occurred through the activation of its transcription factor c-Jun by a mechanism involving the impairment of phosphatase PP2A catalytic activity and the subsequent activation of JNK. Similar to BECN1, targeting other autophagy genes, such as ATG5, p62/SQSTM1, or inhibiting autophagy pharmacologically by chloroquine, also induced the expression of CCL5 in melanoma cells. Clinically, a positive correlation between CCL5 and NK cell marker NKp46 expression was found in melanoma patients, and a high expression level of CCL5 was correlated with a significant improvement of melanoma patients' survival. We believe that this study highlights the impact of targeting autophagy on the tumor infiltration by NK cells and its benefit as a novel therapeutic approach to improve NK-based immunotherapy.
Project description:Aberrant regulation of WNT/β-catenin signaling has a crucial role in the onset and progression of cancers, where the effects are not always predictable depending on tumor context. In melanoma, for example, models of the disease predict differing effects of the WNT/β-catenin pathway on metastatic progression. Understanding the processes that underpin the highly context-dependent nature of WNT/β-catenin signaling in tumors is essential to achieve maximal therapeutic benefit from WNT inhibitory compounds. In this study, we have found that expression of the tumor suppressor, phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN), alters the invasive potential of melanoma cells in response to WNT/β-catenin signaling, correlating with differing metabolic profiles. This alters the bioenergetic potential and mitochondrial activity of melanoma cells, triggered through regulation of pro-survival autophagy. Thus, WNT/β-catenin signaling is a regulator of catabolic processes in cancer cells, which varies depending on the metabolic requirements of tumors.
Project description:Static mechanical compression is a biomechanical factor that affects the progression of melanoma cells. However, little is known about how dynamic mechanical compression affects the progression of melanoma cells. In the present study, we show that mechanical intermittent compression affects the progression rate of malignant melanoma cells in a cycle period-dependent manner. Our results suggest that intermittent compression with a cycle of 2 h on/2 h off could suppress the progression rate of melanoma cells by suppressing the elongation of F-actin filaments and mRNA expression levels related to collagen degradation. In contrast, intermittent compression with a cycle of 4 h on/4 h off could promote the progression rate of melanoma cells by promoting cell proliferation and mRNA expression levels related to collagen degradation. Mechanical intermittent compression could therefore affect the progression rate of malignant melanoma cells in a cycle period-dependent manner. Our results contribute to a deeper understanding of the physiological responses of melanoma cells to dynamic mechanical compression.
Project description:The development of targeted inhibitors, vemurafenib and dabrafenib, has led to improved clinical outcome for melanoma patients with BRAFV600E mutations. Although the initial response to these inhibitors can be dramatic, sometimes causing complete tumor regression, the majority of melanomas eventually become resistant. Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) mutations are found in primary melanomas and frequently reported in BRAF melanomas that develop resistance to targeted therapy; however, melanoma is a molecularly heterogeneous cancer, and which mutations are drivers and which are passengers remains to be determined. In this study, we demonstrate that in BRAFV600E melanoma cell lines, activating MEK mutations drive resistance and contribute to suboptimal growth of melanoma cells following the withdrawal of BRAF inhibition. In this manner, the cells are drug-addicted, suggesting that melanoma cells evolve a 'just right' level of mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling and the additive effects of MEK and BRAF mutations are counterproductive. We also used a novel mouse model of melanoma to demonstrate that several of these MEK mutants promote the development, growth and maintenance of melanoma in vivo in the context of Cdkn2a and Pten loss. By utilizing a genetic approach to control mutant MEK expression in vivo, we were able to induce tumor regression and significantly increase survival; however, after a long latency, all tumors subsequently became resistant. These data suggest that resistance to BRAF or MEK inhibitors is probably inevitable, and novel therapeutic approaches are needed to target dormant tumors.
Project description:BackgroundPTEN is a tumor suppressor that is often mutated and nonfunctional in many types of cancer. The high heterogeneity of PTEN function between tumor types makes new Pten knockout models necessary to assess its impact on cancer progression and/or treatment outcomes.MethodsWe aimed to show the effect of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated Pten knockout on murine melanoma (B16 F10) and kidney cancer (Renca) cells. We evaluated the effect of PTEN deregulation on tumor progression in vivo and in vitro, as well as on the effectiveness of drug treatment in vitro. In addition, we studied the molecular changes induced by Pten knockout.ResultsIn both models, Pten mutation did not cause significant changes in cell proliferation in vitro or in vivo. Cells with Pten knockout differed in sensitivity to cisplatin treatment: in B16 F10 cells, the lack of PTEN induced sensitivity and, in Renca cells, resistance to drug treatment. Accumulation of pAKT was observed in both cell lines, but only Renca cells showed upregulation of the p53 level after Pten knockout. PTEN deregulation also varied in the way that it altered PAI-1 secretion in the tested models, showing a decrease in PAI-1 in B16 F10 Pten/KO and an increase in Renca Pten/KO cells. In kidney cancer cells, Pten knockout caused changes in epithelial to mesenchymal transition marker expression, with downregulation of E-cadherin and upregulation of Snail, Mmp9, and Acta2 (α-SMA).ConclusionsThe results confirmed heterogenous cell responses to PTEN loss, which may lead to a better understanding of the role of PTEN in particular types of tumors and points to PTEN as a therapeutic target for personalized medicine.
Project description:Autophagy is a catabolic process required for maintaining intracellular energy homeostasis. It eliminates harmful proteins and recycles functional macromolecules back into the cell via cargo breakdown. Autophagy is generally suppressed under fed conditions and induced by serum starvation; therefore, it is considered to be a nutrient-sensing mechanism. Cilia, finger-like organelles harboring multiple receptors along their surface, are energy-sensing structures that are also triggered by serum deprivation. Herein, we verified the effect of autophagy alterations on cilia assembly and the specific underlying mechanisms. Autophagy flux altered either by drugs or autophagy-targeting siRNAs strongly inhibited ciliogenesis, and this inhibition was affected by p62, an autophagy regulator, via Pten/Dvl2/AurKA signaling.
Project description:Vitamin A (VA) and retinoid derivatives are known morphogens controlling vertebrate development. Despite the research effort conducted during the last decade, the precise mechanism of how VA induces post-natal bone changes, and particularly those operating through crosstalk with the thyroid hormones (THs) remain to be fully understood. Since effects and mechanisms seem to be dose and time-dependent, flatfish are an interesting study model as they undergo a characteristic process of metamorphosis driven by THs that can be followed by external appearance. Here, we studied the effects of VA imbalance that might determine Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) skeletogenetic phenotype through development of thyroid follicles, THs homeostasis and signaling when a dietary VA excess was specifically provided during pre-, pro- or post-metamorphic stages using enriched rotifers and Artemia as carriers. The increased VA content in enriched live prey was associated to a higher VA content in fish at all developmental stages. Dietary VA content clearly affected thyroid follicle development, T3 and T4 immunoreactive staining, skeletogenesis and mineralization in a dose and time-dependent fashion. Gene expression analysis showed that VA levels modified the mRNA abundance of VA- and TH-specific nuclear receptors at specific developmental stages. Present results provide new and key knowledge to better understand how VA and TH pathways interact at tissue, cellular and nuclear level at different developmental periods in Senegalese sole, unveiling how dietary modulation might determine juvenile phenotype and physiology.
Project description:Mutational activation of BRAF is the earliest and most common genetic alteration in human melanoma. To build a model of human melanoma, we generated mice with conditional melanocyte-specific expression of BRaf(V600E). Upon induction of BRaf(V600E) expression, mice developed benign melanocytic hyperplasias that failed to progress to melanoma over 15-20 months. By contrast, expression of BRaf(V600E) combined with Pten tumor suppressor gene silencing elicited development of melanoma with 100% penetrance, short latency and with metastases observed in lymph nodes and lungs. Melanoma was prevented by inhibitors of mTorc1 (rapamycin) or MEK1/2 (PD325901) but, upon cessation of drug administration, mice developed melanoma, indicating the presence of long-lived melanoma-initiating cells in this system. Notably, combined treatment with rapamycin and PD325901 led to shrinkage of established melanomas. These mice, engineered with a common genetic profile to human melanoma, provide a system to study melanoma's cardinal feature of metastasis and for preclinical evaluation of agents designed to prevent or treat metastatic disease.
Project description:Myosin VI (MVI) is a unique unconventional myosin ubiquitously expressed in metazoans. Its diverse cellular functions are mediated by interactions with a number of binding partners present in multi-protein complexes. MVI is proposed to play important roles in muscle function and myogenesis. Previously, we showed that MVI is present in striated muscles and myogenic cells, and MVI interacts with A-kinase anchoring protein 9 (AKAP9), a scaffold for PKA and its regulatory proteins. Since PKA directly phosphorylates the MVI cargo binding domain, we hypothesized that the cellular effects of MVI are mediated by the cAMP/PKA signaling pathway, known to play important roles in skeletal muscle metabolism and myogenesis. To elucidate the potential role of MVI in PKA signaling in hindlimb muscle function, we used mice lacking MVI (Snell's waltzer, SV), considered as natural MVI knockouts, and heterozygous littermates. We used muscles isolated from newborn (P0) as well as 3- and 12-month-old adult mice. We observed a significant increase in the muscle to body mass ratio, which was most evident for the soleus muscle, as well as changes in fiber size, indicating alterations in muscle metabolism. These observations were accompanied by age-dependent changes in the activity of PKA and cAMP/PKA-dependent transcriptional factor (CREB). Additionally, the levels of adenylate cyclase isoforms and phosphodiesterase (PDE4) were age-dependent. Also, cAMP levels were decreased in the muscle of P0 mice. Together, these observations indicate that lack of MVI impairs PKA signaling and results in the observed alterations in the SV muscle metabolism, in particular in newborn mice.
Project description:Phosphatase and Tensin Homologue (PTEN) is one of the most frequently lost tumor suppressors in cancer and the predominant negative regulator of the PI3K/AKT signaling axis. A growing body of evidence has highlighted the loss of PTEN with immuno-modulatory functions including the upregulation of the programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1), an altered tumor derived secretome that drives an immunosuppressive tumor immune microenvironment (TIME), and resistance to certain immunotherapies. Given their roles in immunosuppression and tumor growth, we examined whether the loss of PTEN would impact the biogenesis, cargo, and function of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in the context of the anti-tumor associated cytokine interferon-γ (IFN-γ). Through genetic and pharmacological approaches, we show that PD-L1 expression is regulated by JAK/STAT signaling, not PI3K signaling. Instead, we observe that PTEN loss positively upregulates cell surface levels of PD-L1 and enhances the biogenesis of EVs enriched with PD-L1 in a PI3K-dependent manner. We demonstrate that because of these changes, EVs derived from glioma cells lacking PTEN have a greater ability to suppress T cell receptor (TCR) signaling. Taken together, these findings provide important new insights into how the loss of PTEN can contribute to an immunosuppressive TIME, facilitate immune evasion, and highlight a novel role for PI3K signaling in the regulation of EV biogenesis and the cargo they contain.