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Activated ALK Cooperates with N-Myc via Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling to Induce Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer.

ABSTRACT: Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) is an aggressive subtype of prostate cancer with poor prognosis, and there is a critical need for novel therapeutic approaches. NEPC is associated with molecular perturbation of several pathways, including amplification of MYCN. Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) is a receptor tyrosine kinase involved in the pathogenesis of neuroblastoma and other malignancies where it cooperates with N-Myc. We previously identified the first case of ALK F1174C-activating mutation in a patient with de novo NEPC who responded to the ALK inhibitor, alectinib. Here, we show that coactivation of ALK and N-Myc (ALK F1174C/N-Myc) is sufficient to transform mouse prostate basal stem cells into aggressive prostate cancer with neuroendocrine differentiation in a tissue recombination model. A novel gene signature from the ALK F1174C/N-Myc tumors was associated with poor outcome in multiple human prostate cancer datasets. ALK F1174C and ALK F1174C/N-Myc tumors displayed activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Chemical and genetic ALK inhibition suppressed Wnt/β-catenin signaling and tumor growth in vitro in NEPC and neuroblastoma cells. ALK inhibition cooperated with Wnt inhibition to suppress NEPC and neuroblastoma proliferation in vitro and tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. These findings point to a role for ALK signaling in NEPC and the potential of cotargeting the ALK and Wnt/β-catenin pathways in ALK-driven tumors. Activated ALK and N-Myc are well known drivers in neuroblastoma development, suggesting potential similarities and opportunities to elucidate mechanisms and therapeutic targets in NEPC and vice versa. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings demonstrate that coactivation of ALK and N-Myc induces NEPC by stimulating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, which can be targeted therapeutically.

SUBMITTER: Unno K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8137566 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Osteoarthritis (OA) is an autoimmune disease associated with increasing age. Typically, chondrocyte senescence is believed to serve an important role in the development and progression of OA. However, the specific mechanisms underlying chondrocyte senescence have not been fully addressed. The present study hypothesized that the Wnt/β-catenin signaling may represent a major regulator of chondrocyte senescence. In addition, the acetylated levels of p53 and sirtuin-1 (SIRT-1) were examined as putative markers for chondrocyte senescence, since activation of p53 is considered an important step in the regulation of senescence. The Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was activated using LiCl and inhibited using the Wnt signaling pathway inhibitor, dickkopf-1 (DKK1) in order to evaluate the role of this pathway in the development of OA. Senescent cells were detected using the senescence-associated indicator acidic senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal). The effects of p53 and p16 on chondrocyte senescence were assessed via activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling using Wnt-1. In addition, β-catenin was transfected into chondrocytes to induce activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Finally, a rabbit model of OA was used to assess whether the observed effects on the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and the induction of chondrocyte senescence were perpetuated. Activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling increased the expression levels of SA-β-gal, p53, p16 and acetylated p53. Transfection of β-catenin in chondrocytes increased the expression levels of acetylated p53 and decreased the expression levels of SIRT-1, which in turn deacetylated p53 and modulated its activity. Finally, the role of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway was confirmed in the development of OA using a rabbit model with this condition. The present study suggested that activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway promoted chondrocyte senescence, through downregulation of SIRT-1 and increased the expression of acetylated p53.

Project description:Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most prevalent type of adult brain tumor, and one of the deadliest tumors known to mankind. The genetic understanding of GBM is, however, limited, and the molecular mechanisms which facilitate GBM cell survival and growth within the tumor microenvironment are largely unknown. We applied digital karyotyping and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays to screen for copy number changes in GBM samples and found that the most frequently amplified region is at chromosome 7p11.2. The high resolution of digital karyotyping and SNP arrays permits the precise delineation of amplicon boundaries and has enabled identification of the minimal region of amplification at 7p11.2, which contains two genes, EGFR and SEC61γ. SEC61γ encodes a subunit of a heterotrimeric protein channel located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In addition to its high frequency of gene amplification in GBMs, SEC61γ is also remarkably overexpressed in 77% of GBMs, but not in lower-grade gliomas. The siRNA-mediated knockdown of SEC61γ expression in tumor cells led to growth suppression and apoptosis. Furthermore, we showed that pharmacological ER stress agents induce SEC61γ expression in GBM cells. Together, these results indicate that aberrant expression of SEC61γ serves significant roles in GBM cell survival, likely via a mechanism that is involved in the cytoprotective ER stress-adaptive response to the tumor microenvironment. hSETD1A was silenced in HCT116 cells using retrovirus harboring shRNA specifically against the hSETD1A gene. 10μg RNA was reverse transcribed to cDNA using the Applied Biosystems High Capacity cDNA Reverse Transcription kit according to the manufacturer’s instructions (Applied Biosystems). cDNA products were treated with 100ng RNaseA and then purified using the Qiagen PCR purification kit according to the manufacturer’s instructions. NimbleGen Human Gene Expression array was purchased from Roche Applied Sciences. cDNA samples were labeled, Cy3 hybridized, and processed at the FSU NimbleGen Microarray Facility at Florida State University.

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Activated ALK Cooperates with N-Myc via Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling to Induce Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer.

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