Project description:Changes of genome-wide mRNA transcription levels of human ciliary smooth muscle (hCSM) cells were determined by treating hCSM cells in culture with 200 nM of either an prostaglandin E2 receptor subtype EP2 or subtype EP4 selective agonist for 6 hours in comparison to untreated controls. This was followed by competitive hybridization of fluorescent Cy3 or Cy5 labeled cRNA probes derived from the treated versus untreated control total RNA samples onto an Agilent Human Whole Genome Expression oligonucleotide microarray. Log 2 (LN) of the intra-slide ratios (RATIO, PRE_VALUE) of treated versus untreated samples was reported as VALUE in the sample files. Keywords: prostaglandin E2 receptor agonists, subtype EP2, subtype EP4, hCSM
Project description:While the role of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in promoting malignant progression is well-established, how to optimally block the activity of PGE2 signaling remains to be demonstrated. Clinical trials with prostaglandin pathway targeted agents have shown activity but without sufficient significance or dose-limiting toxicities that have prevented approval. PGE2 signals through four receptors (EP1-4) to modulate tumor progression. EP2 and EP4 signaling exacerbates tumor pathology and is immunosuppressive through potentiating cAMP production. EP1 and EP3 signaling has the opposite effect through increasing IP3 and decreasing cAMP. Using available small molecule antagonists of single EP receptors, the COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib, or a novel dual EP2/EP4 antagonist generated in this investigation, we tested which approach to block PGE2 signaling optimally restored immunologic activity in mouse and human immune cells and antitumor activity in syngeneic, spontaneous and xenograft tumor models. We found that dual antagonism of EP2 and EP4 together significantly enhanced the activation of PGE2-suppressed mouse and human monocytes and CD8+ T cells in vitro as compared to single EP antagonists. CD8+ T cell activation was dampened by single EP1 and EP3 antagonists. Dual EP2/EP4 PGE2 receptor antagonists increased TME lymphocyte infiltration and significantly reduced disease burden in multiple tumor models, including in the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC)min+/- spontaneous colorectal tumor model, compared to celecoxib. These results support a hypothesis that redundancy of EP2 and EP4 receptor signaling necessitates a therapeutic strategy of dual blockade of EP2 and EP4. Here we describe TPST-1495, a first-in-class orally available small molecule dual EP2/EP4 antagonist.
Project description:Changes of genome-wide mRNA transcription levels of human ciliary smooth muscle (hCSM) cells were determined by treating hCSM cells in culture with 200 nM of either an prostaglandin E2 receptor subtype EP2 or subtype EP4 selective agonist for 6 hours in comparison to untreated controls. This was followed by competitive hybridization of fluorescent Cy3 or Cy5 labeled cRNA probes derived from the treated versus untreated control total RNA samples onto an Agilent Human Whole Genome Expression oligonucleotide microarray. Log 2 (LN) of the intra-slide ratios (RATIO, PRE_VALUE) of treated versus untreated samples was reported as VALUE in the sample files. Experiment Overall Design: Human Ciliary Smooth Muscle Cell Culture: Experiment Overall Design: Human ciliary smooth muscle (hCSM) cells were isolated from a female donor, received from the San Diego Eye Bank® (San Diego, CA) and cultured in DMEM with 10% fetal bovine serum and 0.5% penicillin/streptomycin according to the method reported previously by Woldemussie et al. Experiment Overall Design: For transcriptome analysis, cells were used for experiments starting at passage 4. Three independent experiments at consecutive cell passages were performed. For each experiment 0.6 x 106 cells were plated onto 15 cm dishes in MEM D-Valine medium (PromoCell, Germany) supplemented with 10% FCS, L-glutamine and antibiotics/antimycotics. Cells were grown to ~80% confluency for 6 days, followed by starvation in absence of FCS and presence of 100 nM of the cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin, 20 µg/ml fatty acid-free BSA and 4 µg/ml transferrin for 17 hours. Cells were then exposed for 6 hours to 200 nM of either the EP2 agonist AGN210937 or the EP4 agonist AGN202280 (Allergan, Irvine, CA) or the corresponding amount of DMSO in the absence of FCS and presence of transferrin. Experiment Overall Design: Total RNA Extraction: Experiment Overall Design: Total RNA was isolated using a RNA isolation kit (RNAqueous; Ambion, USA) which was followed by DNase I treatment (Turbo DNA-free; Ambion) and purification, according to the manufacturerâ??s protocols. RNA was quantitated using a spectrophotometer ND-1000 (Nanodrop Technologies, USA). RNA quality was assessed regarding purity and stability using a Bioanalyser 2100 (Agilent Technologies, USA). Extracted total RNA aliquots were snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -800C for single use. Experiment Overall Design: cRNA Labelling and Oligonucleotide Microarray Hybridization: Experiment Overall Design: Total RNA was linearly amplified and labelled with Cy3 or Cy5 using a low RNA input Fluor Linear Amp Kit (Agilent Technologies, USA). Internal RNA controls from Agilentâ??s RNA Spike-in Kit were included, comprised of mixtures of 11 in vitro synthesized transcripts derived from the Adenovirus E1A transcriptome at various ratios. The final cRNA concentration of 500 ng total RNA used was typically 590-650 ng/μl and the Cy3- or Cy5-cytidine incorporation was 5.4 -6.0 pmol/μg cRNA as determined using the Nanodrop spectrophotometer ND-1000. Experiment Overall Design: 3.5 μg of Cy3 and Cy5 labeled cRNA (treated vs. untreated samples) were competitively hybridized to high-density DNA arrays from Agilent Technologies (Whole Human Genome Oligo Microarray 44K) for 17 hours at 650C according to the manufacturerâ??s protocol. Each set of three microarray experiments for triplicate analysis contained one dye swap experiment. All microarrays were scanned and the intensities normalized over background as well as to eliminate signal intensity-dependent bias from the ratio of the two channels (Lowess normalization) using a microarray scanner from Agilent Technologies including proprietary software. All microarray data sets were imported into the microarray data analysis software Genespring 7.3 (Agilent Technologies) followed by comparison of normalized intensities. Gene identities were updated according to Agilentâ??s latest list of gene annotations (G4112F, 07Feb07). Experiment Overall Design: Consistency of microarray data quality was assessed by monitoring performance of the spiked internal RNA controls (330 microarray spots/array) at various ratios (Supplementary Data, Fig. S1), by carrying out a global analysis of all absolute fluorescent intensity values, and by analysis of negative control spots (314 microarray spots/array) for determination of detection thresholds.
Project description:Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) heavily infiltrate malignant tumors and restrict anti-tumor immunity. These tumor-infiltrating Tregs (TI-Tregs) adopt a distinct phenotype by expressing a unique set of genes including those encoding various co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory molecules. This TI-Treg gene expression signature is conserved in TI-Tregs across species and the types and stages of tumors, suggesting the presence of a common inducing mechanism or mechanisms in tumor microenvironment (TME). However, identity of such a mechanism remains elusive. Here, we show that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) produced in TME directly acts on its receptor EP2/EP4 on Tregs to induce the TI-Treg phenotype. Indeed, PGE2 added to TCR-activated Tregs induces a set of genes, many of which are included in the reported TI-Treg signature genes, in both induced Tregs (iTregs) and naturally occurring Tregs (nTregs), in a manner dependent on EP2 and EP4 via cAMP-PKA pathway. This is not limited to phenotypic changes, as EP4 agonist-treated Tregs exhibit potent suppressive activity to CD8+ T cells and strongly inhibit their proliferation and survival. Consistently, selective loss of EP2 and EP4 in mouse Tregs and pharmacological inhibition of EP2 and EP4 reduce expression of those genes in Tregs infiltrating LLC1 mouse syngeneic tumor, and significantly delay the tumor progression. In human FOXP3+iTregs, the expression of Treg signature genes, FOXP3, CD25 and CTLA4 as well as a typical TI-Treg signature gene, 4-1BB are significantly upregulated by PGE2-EP4 signaling. Furthermore, analysis of scRNA-seq of nasopharyngeal cancer patients demonstrates preferential expression of the TI-Treg signature genes in Tregs infiltrating the PTGS2hi tumor group compared to the PTGS2lo tumor group. These findings suggest that PGE2-EP2/EP4 signaling is one of the molecular mechanisms inducing the TI-Treg phenotype in TME.
Project description:Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) heavily infiltrate malignant tumors and restrict anti-tumor immunity. These tumor-infiltrating Tregs (TI-Tregs) adopt a distinct phenotype by expressing a unique set of genes including those encoding various co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory molecules. This TI-Treg gene expression signature is conserved in TI-Tregs across species and the types and stages of tumors, suggesting the presence of a common inducing mechanism or mechanisms in tumor microenvironment (TME). However, identity of such a mechanism remains elusive. Here, we show that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) produced in TME directly acts on its receptor EP2/EP4 on Tregs to induce the TI-Treg phenotype. Indeed, PGE2 added to TCR-activated Tregs induces a set of genes, many of which are included in the reported TI-Treg signature genes, in both induced Tregs (iTregs) and naturally occurring Tregs (nTregs), in a manner dependent on EP2 and EP4 via cAMP-PKA pathway. This is not limited to phenotypic changes, as EP4 agonist-treated Tregs exhibit potent suppressive activity to CD8+ T cells and strongly inhibit their proliferation and survival. Consistently, selective loss of EP2 and EP4 in mouse Tregs and pharmacological inhibition of EP2 and EP4 reduce expression of those genes in Tregs infiltrating LLC1 mouse syngeneic tumor, and significantly delay the tumor progression. In human FOXP3+iTregs, the expression of Treg signature genes, FOXP3, CD25 and CTLA4 as well as a typical TI-Treg signature gene, 4-1BB are significantly upregulated by PGE2-EP4 signaling. Furthermore, analysis of scRNA-seq of nasopharyngeal cancer patients demonstrates preferential expression of the TI-Treg signature genes in Tregs infiltrating the PTGS2hi tumor group compared to the PTGS2lo tumor group. These findings suggest that PGE2-EP2/EP4 signaling is one of the molecular mechanisms inducing the TI-Treg phenotype in TME.
Project description:Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) heavily infiltrate malignant tumors and restrict anti-tumor immunity. These tumor-infiltrating Tregs (TI-Tregs) adopt a distinct phenotype by expressing a unique set of genes including those encoding various co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory molecules. This TI-Treg gene expression signature is conserved in TI-Tregs across species and the types and stages of tumors, suggesting the presence of a common inducing mechanism or mechanisms in tumor microenvironment (TME). However, identity of such a mechanism remains elusive. Here, we show that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) produced in TME directly acts on its receptor EP2/EP4 on Tregs to induce the TI-Treg phenotype. Indeed, PGE2 added to TCR-activated Tregs induces a set of genes, many of which are included in the reported TI-Treg signature genes, in both induced Tregs (iTregs) and naturally occurring Tregs (nTregs), in a manner dependent on EP2 and EP4 via cAMP-PKA pathway. This is not limited to phenotypic changes, as EP4 agonist-treated Tregs exhibit potent suppressive activity to CD8+ T cells and strongly inhibit their proliferation and survival. Consistently, selective loss of EP2 and EP4 in mouse Tregs and pharmacological inhibition of EP2 and EP4 reduce expression of those genes in Tregs infiltrating LLC1 mouse syngeneic tumor, and significantly delay the tumor progression. In human FOXP3+iTregs, the expression of Treg signature genes, FOXP3, CD25 and CTLA4 as well as a typical TI-Treg signature gene, 4-1BB are significantly upregulated by PGE2-EP4 signaling. Furthermore, analysis of scRNA-seq of nasopharyngeal cancer patients demonstrates preferential expression of the TI-Treg signature genes in Tregs infiltrating the PTGShi tumor group compared to the PTGS2lo tumor group. These findings suggest that PGE2-EP2/EP4 signaling is one of the molecular mechanisms inducing the TI-Treg phenotype in TME.
Project description:Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) heavily infiltrate malignant tumors and restrict anti-tumor immunity. These tumor-infiltrating Tregs (TI-Tregs) adopt a distinct phenotype by expressing a unique set of genes including those encoding various co-stimulatory and co-inhibitory molecules. This TI-Treg gene expression signature is conserved in TI-Tregs across species and the types and stages of tumors, suggesting the presence of a common inducing mechanism or mechanisms in tumor microenvironment (TME). However, identity of such a mechanism remains elusive. Here, we show that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) produced in TME directly acts on its receptor EP2/EP4 on Tregs to induce the TI-Treg phenotype. Indeed, PGE2 added to TCR-activated Tregs induces a set of genes, many of which are included in the reported TI-Treg signature genes, in both induced Tregs (iTregs) and naturally occurring Tregs (nTregs), in a manner dependent on EP2 and EP4 via cAMP-PKA pathway. This is not limited to phenotypic changes, as EP4 agonist-treated Tregs exhibit potent suppressive activity to CD8+ T cells and strongly inhibit their proliferation and survival. Consistently, selective loss of EP2 and EP4 in mouse Tregs and pharmacological inhibition of EP2 and EP4 reduce expression of those genes in Tregs infiltrating LLC1 mouse syngeneic tumor, and significantly delay the tumor progression. In human FOXP3+iTregs, the expression of Treg signature genes, FOXP3, CD25 and CTLA4 as well as a typical TI-Treg signature gene, 4-1BB are significantly upregulated by PGE2-EP4 signaling. Furthermore, analysis of scRNA-seq of nasopharyngeal cancer patients demonstrates preferential expression of the TI-Treg signature genes in Tregs infiltrating the PTGS2hi tumor group compared to the PTGS2lo tumor group. These findings suggest that PGE2-EP2/EP4 signaling is one of the molecular mechanisms inducing the TI-Treg phenotype in TME.
Project description:The EP4 receptor is known to mediate the protective effect of prostaglandin (PG) E2 in the gastrointestinal tract; however, the exact role of epithelial EP4 in intestinal pathophysiology remains unknown. We investigated the role of epithelial EP4 in maintaining colonic homeostasis by characterizing the intestinal epithelial cell-specific EP4 knockout (EP4 cKO) mice. We found a significant enrichment of genes involved in apoptosis-related pathways in the EP4 cKO colons. Moreover, inflammation-associated pathways were highly enriched and revealed more than half of the top 20 pathways related to immune response.