Project description:Piwi proteins are a subfamily of Argonaute proteins that maintain germ cells in eukaryotes. However, the role of their human homologues in cancer stem cells and more broadly in cancer is poorly understood. Here, we report that the Piwi-like family members, including Piwil1 (Hiwi), are overexpressed in glioblastoma (GBM), with Piwil1 levels most frequently elevated. Piwil1 is enriched in glioma stem cells (GSCs) and helps to maintain their self-renewal. GSCs were transduces with control non-targeting shRNAs (shNT) and shPiwil1 (#1 and #2) and global gene expression was analyzed to identify Piwil1 downscream singalings.
Project description:Increased fatty acid synthesis benefits glioblastoma malignancy. However, the coordinated regulation of cytosolic acetyl-CoA production, the exclusive substrate for fatty acid synthesis, remains unclear. Here, we show that proto-oncogene tyrosine kinase c-SRC is activated in glioblastoma and remodels cytosolic acetyl-CoA production for fatty acid synthesis. Firstly, acetate is an important substrate for fatty acid synthesis in glioblastoma. c-SRC phosphorylates acetyl-CoA synthetase ACSS2 at Tyr530 and Tyr562 to stimulate the conversion of acetate to acetyl-CoA in cytosol. Secondly, c-SRC inhibits citrate-derived acetyl-CoA synthesis by phosphorylating ATP-citrate lyase ACLY at Tyr682. ACLY phosphorylation shunts citrate to IDH1-catalyzed NADPH production to provide reducing equivalent for fatty acid synthesis. The c-SRC-unresponsive double-mutation of ACSS2 and ACLY significantly reduces fatty acid synthesis and hampers glioblastoma progression. In conclusion, this remodeling fulfills the dual needs of glioblastoma cells for both acetyl-CoA and NADPH in fatty acid synthesis and provides evidence for glioma treatment by c-SRC inhibition.
Project description:Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor with limited therapeutic options, possibly because of the highly tumorigenic subpopulations of stem cell-like cells. Mechanisms that sustain cancer stem cells are crucial to tumor progression. The polycomb group protein BMI1 (BMI1 proto-oncogene, polycomb ring finger) maintains cancer hallmarks including the glioblastoma stem-like cell (GSC) state. Ubiquitin-specific protease 22 (USP22) is highly expressed in and required for the maintenance of cancer stem cells (CSCs). Previously, we observed that forced expressed microRNA-218 in glioblastoma cells led to suppressed BMI1 expression. However, the pathways engaged by USP22 or driving BMI1 accumulation in GSCs remained elusive. Here, we found USP22 to be a novel deubiquitylase of BMI1. USP22 directly deubiquitylates and stabilizes BMI1. USP22 protein levels are elevated in tumor neurosphere. USP22 depletion induces BMI1 destabilization, and results in the inhibition of GSCs self-renewal by regulating a broad range of genes involved in glioma stemness and progression. Xenograft analyses using U87MG cells showed that both USP22 and BMI1 depletion attenuated tumor growth. Clinically, the expression levels of USP22 and BMI1 were positively correlated with those common targets like POSTN, HEY2, or PDGFRA and inversely correlated with ATF3 in human glioblastoma specimens. Taken together, our data reveals that USP22 functions as a novel deubiquitylase of BMI1 and inhibits self-renewal of GSCs by stabilizing BMI1. These findings also indicate that the USP22-BMI1 axis has a critical role in glioma tumorigenesis and that targeting the axis may provide a new therapeutic approach for human glioblastoma.
Project description:We compared a large panel of human glioblastoma stem-like (GS) cell lines, corresponding primary tumors and conventional glioma cell lines to identify cell lines that preserve the transcriptome of human glioblastomas most closely, thereby allowing identification of shared therapeutic targets. We used Affymetrix HG-U133 Plus 2.0 microarrays to compare human glioblastoma stem-like (GS) cell lines, corresponding primary tumors and conventional glioma cell lines. We extracted total RNA from 32 conventional glioma cell lines, 12 GS cell lines (8 in two different passages), 7 clonal sublines derived from two GS lines, 12 original tumors, and 4 monolayer cultures established from the same tumors as GS-lines using standard serum conditions.
Project description:We compared a large panel of human glioblastoma stem-like (GS) cell lines, corresponding primary tumors and conventional glioma cell lines to identify cell lines that preserve the transcriptome of human glioblastomas most closely, thereby allowing identification of shared therapeutic targets. We used Affymetrix HG-U133 Plus 2.0 microarrays to compare human glioblastoma stem-like (GS) cell lines, corresponding primary tumors and conventional glioma cell lines.
Project description:The discovery of the oncometabolite 2-hydroxyglutarate in isocitrate dehydrogenase 1-mutated (IDH1-mutated) tumor entities affirmed the role of metabolism in cancer. However, large databases with tissue metabolites that are modulated by IDH1 mutation remain an area of development. Here, we present an unprecedented and valuable resource for tissue metabolites in diffuse glioma and their modulations by IDH1 mutation, histology, and tumor treatments in 101 tissue samples from 73 diffuse glioma patients (24 astrocytoma, 17 oligodendroglioma, 32 glioblastoma), investigated by NMR-based metabolomics and supported by RNA-Seq. We discovered comparison-specific metabolites and pathways modulated by IDH1 (IDH1 mutation status cohort) and tumor entity. The Longitudinal investigation cohort provides metabolic profiles of untreated and corresponding treated glioma samples at first progression. Most interestingly, univariate and multivariate cox regressions and Kaplan-Meier analyses revealed that tissue metabolites correlate with progression-free and overall survival. Thus, this study introduces potentially novel candidate prognostic and surrogate metabolite biomarkers for future prospective clinical studies, aiming at further refining patient stratification in diffuse glioma. Furthermore, our data will facilitate the generation of so-far-unanticipated hypotheses for experimental studies to advance our molecular understanding of glioma biology.
Project description:Akt is a robust oncogene that plays key roles in the development and progression of many cancers, including glioma. We evaluated the differential propensities of the Akt isoforms toward progression in the well-characterized RCAs/Ntv-a mouse model of PDGFB-driven low grade glioma. A constitutively active myristoylated form of Akt1 did not induce high-grade glioma (HGG). In stark contrast, Akt2 and Akt3 showed strong progression potential with 78% and 97% of tumors diagnosed as HGG, respectively. We further revealed that significant variations in polarity and hydropathy values among the Akt isoforms in both the pleckstrin homology domain (P domain) and regulatory domain (R domain) were critical in mediating glioma progression. Gene expression profiles from representative Akt-derived tumors indicated dominant and distinct roles for Akt3, consisting primarily of DNA repair pathways. TCGA data from human GBM closely reflected the DNA repair function, as Akt3 was significantly correlated with a 76 gene signature DNA repair panel. Consistently, compared to Akt1 and Akt2 overexpression models, Akt3-expressing human GBM cells had enhanced activation of DNA repair proteins, leading to increased DNA repair and subsequent resistance to radiation and temozolomide. Given the wide range of Akt3-amplified cancers, Akt3 may represent a key resistance factor. 5 different experimental conditions were compared (including GFP, PDGFB, PDGFB in conjunciton with Akt1, Akt2, or Akt3) with 3 mice per treatment