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Project description:Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a rare pediatric brain tumor with a median survival of 10-15 months. Histone H3 is mutated in 80% of DIPGs, dictating tumor location, onset, and outcome. Therapeutic resistance remains a major obstacle to preventing tumor recurrence and is in part driven by cancer stem cells (CSCs), which exhibit self-renewal properties and tumorigenic potential. In previous studies, we have identified these proliferative and tumorigenic features in aldehyde dehydrogenase positive (ALDH+) CSCs in H3K27M mutant DIPG. We hypothesize that ALDH-mediated cancer stemness and resistance may in part be driven by H3K27M. Histone H3 K27 acetylation was assayed by chromatin immunoprecipitation and sequencing (ChIP-seq).
2023-08-30 | GSE216180 | GEO
Project description:Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a rare pediatric brain tumor with a median survival of 10-15 months. Histone H3 is mutated in 80% of DIPGs, dictating tumor location, onset, and outcome. Therapeutic resistance remains a major obstacle to preventing tumor recurrence and is in part driven by cancer stem cells (CSCs), which exhibit self-renewal properties and tumorigenic potential. In previous studies, we have identified these proliferative and tumorigenic features in aldehyde dehydrogenase positive (ALDH+) CSCs in H3K27M mutant DIPG. We hypothesize that ALDH-mediated cancer stemness and resistance may in part be driven by H3K27M. ALDH1A3 expression was reduced in CRISPR-edited DIPG cells (SU-DIPG-XIII) where the H3K27M mutation had been removed (H3K27M-KO). Furthermore, these gained differentiation characteristics and lost their neurosphere-forming potential. The parental (H3K27M) and H3K27M-KO cells were also subjected to ionizing radiation to identify genes responsible for radioresistance in histone-mutated DIPG radioresistance. Nascent transcriptomes were obtained from these cells using bromouridine labeling and capture followed by sequencing (Bru-seq).
2023-08-30 | GSE211833 | GEO
Project description:Therapeutic resistance remains a major obstacle to preventing progression of H3K27M-altered Diffuse Midline Glioma (DMG). Resistance is driven in part by ALDH-positive cancer stem cells (CSC), with high ALDH1A3 expression observed in H3K27M-mutant DMG biopsies. We hypothesized that ALDH-mediated stemness and resistance may in part be driven by the oncohistone itself. Upon deletion of H3K27M, ALDH1A3 expression decreased dramatically and was accompanied by a gain in astrocytic marker expression and a loss of neurosphere forming potential, indicative of differentiation. Here we show that the oncohistone regulates histone acetylation through ALDH1A3 in a Wnt-dependent manner and that loss of H3K27M expression results in sensitization of DMGs to radiotherapy. The observed elevated Wnt signaling in H3K27M-altered DMG likely stems from a dramatic suppression of mRNA and protein expression of the Wnt inhibitor EYA4 driven by the oncohistone. Thus, our findings identify EYA4 as a bona fide tumor suppressor in DMG that upon suppression, results in aberrant Wnt signaling to orchestrate stemness and differentiation. Future studies will explore whether overexpression of EYA4 in DMG can impede growth and invasion. In summary, we have gained mechanistic insight into H3K27M-mediated regulation of cancer stemness and differentiation, which provides rationale for exploring new therapeutic targets for DMG.
| S-EPMC10474232 | biostudies-literature
Project description:PurposeRadiotherapy (RT) has long been and remains the only treatment option for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). However, all patients show evidence of disease progression within months of completing RT. No further clinical benefit has been achieved using alternative radiation strategies. Here, we tested the hypothesis that histone demethylase inhibition by GSK-J4 enhances radiation-induced DNA damage, making it a potential radiosensitizer in the treatment of DIPG.Experimental Design: We evaluated the effects of GSK-J4 on genes associated with DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair in DIPG cells by RNA sequence, ATAC sequence, and quantitative real-time PCR. Radiation-induced DNA DSB repair was analyzed by immunocytochemistry of DSB markers γH2AX and 53BP1, DNA-repair assay, and cell-cycle distribution. Clonogenic survival assay was used to determine the effect of GSK-J4 on radiation response of DIPG cells. In vivo response to radiation monotherapy and combination therapy of RT and GSK-J4 was evaluated in patient-derived DIPG xenografts.ResultsGSK-J4 significantly reduced the expression of DNA DSB repair genes and DNA accessibility in DIPG cells. GSK-J4 sustained high levels of γH2AX and 53BP1 in irradiated DIPG cells, thereby inhibiting DNA DSB repair through homologous recombination pathway. GSK-J4 reduced clonogenic survival and enhanced radiation effect in DIPG cells. In vivo studies revealed increased survival of animals treated with combination therapy of RT and GSK-J4 compared with either monotherapy.ConclusionsTogether, these results highlight GSK-J4 as a potential radiosensitizer and provide a rationale for developing combination therapy with radiation in the treatment of DIPG.
| S-EPMC6744979 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Abstract Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a highly aggressive, childhood brainstem cancer with a median overall survival of 10 months post diagnosis. Remarkably, 80–90% of patients harbor recurring point mutation in histone H3, which induces a lysine for methionine substitution at amino acid 27 (H3K27M) in either H3.1 (HIST1H3B ~25%) or H3.3 (H3F3A ~65%) variants. Using the blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeable DRD2 antagonist, ONC201 (in clinical trials for DIPG and H3K27M-mutant gliomas – NCT03416530), we hypothesized that DRD2 antagonism would induce TRAIL expression via indirect inhibition of AKT and ERK signaling, to drive apoptosis in both H3.1K27M and H3.3K27M patient-derived DIPG cell lines alike. For the first time, we reveal that ONC201 shows efficacy in 100% of WT-H3 and H3.1K27M mutant DIPG cell lines (n=5), compared to 50% of H3.3K27M mutant DIPGs (n=6). Investigations to identify the mechanisms of resistance to ONC201, revealed that cell lines with decreased sensitivity upregulated the PI3K/AKT/MTOR signaling axis to drive phosphorylation of AKT and increase metabolic activity. Combined administration of ONC201 and the BBB-permeable PI3K/AKT inhibitor, paxalisib (previously GDC-0084, in clinical trials for newly diagnosed DIPG – NCT03696355), showed synergistic cytotoxicity, reduced PI3K/AKT signaling and metabolic reprogramming to drive apoptosis in all DIPG cell lines tested. This combination was used to treat a 3-year-old DIPG patient, commencing 14 weeks post disease progression, completing 40 weeks of therapy prior to her passing, December 2019. These studies highlight the potential of combined administration of two safe, BBB penetrant, oral targeted therapies and supports testing under clinical trial conditions.
| S-EPMC7715600 | biostudies-literature
Project description:As a highly aggressive pediatric brainstem tumor, diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) accounts for 10% to 20% of childhood brain tumors. The survival rate for DIPG remains very low, with a median survival time as less than one year even under radiotherapy, the current standard treatment. Moreover, over than 250 clinical trials have failed when trying to improve the survival compared to radiotherapy. The sphingolipid metabolism and related signaling pathways have been found closely related to cancer cell survival; however, the sphingolipid metabolism targeted therapies have never been investigated in DIPG. In the current study, the anti-DIPG activity of ABC294640, the only first-in-class orally available Sphingosine kinase (SphK) inhibitor was explored. Treatment with ABC294640 significantly repressed DIPG cell growth by inducing intracellular pro-apoptotic ceramides production and cell apoptosis. We also profiled ABC294640-induced changes in gene expression within DIPG cells and identified many new genes tightly controlled by sphingolipid metabolism, such as IFITM1 and KAL1. These genes are required for DIPG cell survival and display clinical relevance in DIPG patients' samples. Together, our findings in this study indicate that targeting sphingolipid metabolism may represent a promising strategy to improve DIPG treatment.
| S-EPMC7330698 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Abstract PURPOSE: To correlate MR imaging findings with molecular analyses in DIPG. METHODS: Baseline MR imaging studies, including standard pre- and post-contrast MR sequences, were reviewed from patients included in our multi-institutional, IRB-approved DIPG trial NCT01182350. Prospectively acquired imaging data were analyzed after study closure, including FLAIR/T2 tumor volume; tumor volume enhancement and cyst/necrosis; median, mean, mode, skewness, and kurtosis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) tumor volume based on both FLAIR and enhancement at baseline. Whole-genome and RNA-sequencing identified histone mutations. We applied univariate Cox proportional-hazards regression modeling to test the association of imaging predictors with overall (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Wilcoxon rank-sum, Kruskal-Wallis, and Fisher’s exact tests compared imaging measures between groups. RESULTS: Fifty patients underwent biopsy and MRI. Median age at trial registration was 6 years (range,3.3–17.5 years); 52% of patients were female. Molecular subgroup study assignments for 48 patients’ tumors were as follows: 28 in MGMT-/EGFR-, 14 in MGMT-/EGFR+, 3 in MGMT+/EGFR-, and 3 in MGMT+/EGFR+. Further genetic testing identified mutations in histones, PDGFRA, ACVR1, TP53, EGFR, PPM1D, FGFR, and/or PI3K. Twenty-three tumors possessed histone mutations in H3F3A, 8 in HIST1H3B, and 3 in HISTH3C. Median follow-up time was 11 months (range,0.4–33 months). Poorer OS (p=0.01) and PFS (p=0.001) were significantly associated with increased enhancing tumor volume. Enhancing tumor volume also differed significantly across molecular subgroups (p=0.047). Tumor enhancement, mode, skewness, and kurtosis ADC-FLAIR differed significantly (p?0.048) between patients with H3F3A and HIST1H3B mutations. Tumor enhancement, median, mode, skewness, and kurtosis ADC-FLAIR also differed significantly (p?0.048) between patients with H3F3A and HIST1H3B or HISTH3C mutations. CONCLUSIONS: MR imaging features including enhancement and ADC histogram parameters correlate to molecular subgroups in DIPG. Further studies are required to verify and refine these findings in a larger cohort.
| S-EPMC6477421 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Histone H3 K27M mediated Regulation of Cancer Cell Stemness and Differentiation in Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG)
| PRJNA896267 | ENA
Project description:Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) is a childhood brainstem tumor that carries a universally fatal prognosis. Because surgical resection is not a viable treatment strategy and biopsy is not routinely performed, the availability of patient samples for research is limited. Consequently, efforts to study this disease have been challenged by a paucity of faithful disease models. To address this need, we describe here a protocol for the rapid processing of post-mortem autopsy tissue samples in order to generate durable patient-derived cell culture models that can be used in in vitro assays or in vivo orthotopic xenograft experiments. These models can be used to screen for potential drug targets and to study fundamental pathobiological processes within DIPG. This protocol can further be extended to analyze and isolate tumor and microenvironmental cells using Fluorescence-activated Cell Sorting (FACS), which enables subsequent analysis of gene expression, protein expression, or epigenetic modifications of DNA at the bulk cell or single cell level. Finally, this protocol can also be adapted to generate patient-derived cultures for other central nervous system tumors.
| S-EPMC5409295 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) is a highly aggressive pediatric brainstem tumor which accounts for about 10-20% of childhood brain tumors. The survival rate for DIPG remains very poor, with a median survival of less than 1 year. The dismal prognosis associated with DIPG has been exacerbated by the failure of a large number of clinical trials to meaningfully improve survival compared with radiotherapy, the current standard of care for DIPG. In the current study, we screened a natural product library and for the first time identified 6 natural compounds displaying inhibitory effects on DIPG proliferation and anchorage-independent growth through inducing tumor cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Subsequent RNA-Sequencing and functional validation revealed the molecular mechanisms of these compounds with anti-DIPG activities, and identified new cellular factors such as Fibronectin 1 (FN1) and Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 subunit C-like (EIF3CL), required for DIPG survival as potential therapeutic targets. Our study provides promising directions to fight against this deadly pediatric cancer.
| S-EPMC7260728 | biostudies-literature