Rôle de la cytokine Leukemia Inhibitory Factor (LIF) dans l'activation et le maintien des fibroblastes pro-invasifs lors de la carcinogénèse

Signaling crosstalk between tumor cells and fibroblasts confers proinvasive properties to the tumor microenvironment. We identify LIF as a tumor promoter that mediates proinvasive activation of stromal fibroblasts independent of alpha-smooth muscle actin expression. We demonstrate that a pulse of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) establishes stable proinvasive fibroblast activation by inducing LIF production in both fibroblasts and tumor cells. In fibroblasts, LIF mediates TGF-β-dependent actomyosin contractility and extracellular matrix remodeling, which results in collective carcinoma cell invasion. Indeed, pharmacological inhibition of JAK activity by counteracts fibroblast-dependent carcinoma cell invasion in vitro and in vivo. We next unveil that LIF initiates an epigenetic switch leading to the constitutive activation of JAK1/STAT3 signaling, which results in sustained pro-invasive activity of fibroblasts. The process is mediated by p300-histone acetyltransferase acetylation of STAT3, and DNA methyltransferase DNMT3b, which induce the hypermethylation of SHP1 phosphatase promoter and results in constitutive phosphorylation of JAK1. Sustained JAK1/STAT3 signaling is maintained by DNMT1. Accordingly, carcinomas display strong LIF upregulation, which correlates with dense collagen fiber organization, cancer cell collective invasion, and poor clinical outcome. Moreover, we show that STAT3 acetylation and phosphorylation are inversely correlated with SHP1 expression in tumors stroma. Combined inhibition of DNMT activities and JAK signaling results in long-term reversion of CAF-associated pro-invasive activity and restoration of the wild-type fibroblast phenotype.Le stroma inflammatoire joue un rôle primordial lors de la carcinogénèse. Dans ce contexte, nous montrons que la cytokine LIF est à l'origine d'une population de fibroblastes capable de remodeler la matrice extracellulaire de manière à la rendre permissive à l'invasion collective des cellules tumorales. En effet, nous montrons que la production de LIF par les cellules tumorales et fibroblastiques, après une stimulation au TGFβ, va réguler les capacités contractiles et pro-invasives de ces dernières via la régulation du cytosquelette d'acto-myosine et de manière indépendante de l'expression de α-SMA. En effet, l'inhibition pharmacologique des kinases JAKs permet de bloquer l'environnement fibrotique des tumeurs et d'ainsi bloquer l'invasion des cellules tumorales in vitro et in vivo. Nous montrons ensuite que LIF est à l'origine d'un switch épigénétique responsable de l'activation constitutive de la voie de signalisation JAK1/STAT3. Ce processus, régulé par la forme acétylée de STAT3, et son interaction avec l'ADN methyltransférase DNMT3b permet l'hypermethylation du promoter de la phosphatase SHP1 et donc la phosphorylation constitutive de JAK1. Une fois mis en place, ce nouveau profil de méthylation est maintenu par DNMT1. La surexpression de LIF dans les carcinomes humains corréle avec un environnement fibrotique, la présence de nodules invasifs et un mauvais pronostic clinique. De même, il existe une forte corrélation négative entre l'acétylation de STAT3 et l'expression de SHP1 dans le stroma tumoral. Nos résultats montrent qu'inhiber l'activité des DNMT et des kinases JAK permet de reprogrammer les capacités pro-invasive des fibroblastes associés aux carcinomes

Epigenetic switch drives the conversion of fibroblasts into proinvasive cancer-associated fibroblasts

Carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAF) mediate the onset of a proinvasive tumour microenvironment. The proinflammatory cytokine LIF reprograms fibroblasts into a proinvasive phenotype, which promotes extracellular matrix remodelling and collective invasion of cancer cells. Here we unveil that exposure to LIF initiates an epigenetic switch leading to the constitutive activation of JAK1/STAT3 signalling, which results in sustained proinvasive activity of CAF. Mechanistically, p300-histone acetyltransferase acetylates STAT3, which, in turn, upregulates and activates the DNMT3b DNA methyltransferase. DNMT3b methylates CpG sites of the SHP-1 phosphatase promoter, which abrogates SHP-1 expression, and results in constitutive phosphorylation of JAK1. Sustained JAK1/STAT3 signalling is maintained by DNA methyltransferase DNMT1. Consistently, in human lung and head and neck carcinomas, STAT3 acetylation and phosphorylation are inversely correlated with SHP-1 expression. Combined inhibition of DNMT activities and JAK signalling, in vitro and in vivo, results in long-term reversion of CAF-associated proinvasive activity and restoration of the wild-type fibroblast phenotype

Invasive dedifferentiated melanoma cells inhibit JAK1-STAT3-driven actomyosin contractility of human fibroblastic reticular cells of the lymph node

Abstract Fibroblastic reticular cells (FRC) are immunologically specialized fibroblasts controlling the size and microarchitecture of the lymph node (LN), partly through their contractile properties. Swelling is a hallmark of tumor-draining LN in lymphophilic cancers such as cutaneous melanoma, a very aggressive and heterogeneous tumor with high risk of early metastasis. Melanoma cells can dynamically switch between melanocytic proliferative and dedifferentiated mesenchymal-like invasive phenotypes, which are characterized by distinct transcriptional signatures. Melanoma secreted cues, such as extracellular vesicles, growth factors or proinflammatory cytokines, promote LN stroma remodeling and metastatic spreading. But how FRC integrate these pro-metastatic signals and modulate their contractile functions remains poorly characterized. Here, we show that factors secreted by dedifferentiated melanoma cells, but not by melanocytic cells, strongly inhibit FRC actomyosin-dependent contractile forces by decreasing the activity of the RHOA-ROCK pathway and the mechano-responsive transcriptional co-activator YAP, leading to a decrease in F-actin stress fibers and cell elongation. Transcriptional profiling and biochemical analyses indicate that FRC actomyosin cytoskeleton relaxation is driven by inhibition of JAK1 and its downstream transcription factor STAT3, and is associated with increased FRC proliferation and activation. Interestingly, dedifferentiated melanoma cells reduce FRC contractility in vitro independently of extracellular vesicle secretion. These data show that FRC are specifically modulated by proteins secreted by invasive dedifferentiated melanoma cells and suggest that melanoma-derived cues could modulate the biomechanical properties of distant LN before metastatic invasion. They also highlight that JAK1-STAT3 and YAP signaling pathways contribute to the maintenance of the spontaneous contractility of resting human FRC

Secretion of IL1 by Dedifferentiated Melanoma Cells Inhibits JAK1-STAT3-Driven Actomyosin Contractility of Lymph Node Fibroblastic Reticular Cells

International audienceFibroblastic reticular cells (FRC) are immunologically specialized myofibroblasts that control the elasticity of the lymph node, in part through their contractile properties. Swelling of tumor-draining lymph nodes is a hallmark of lymphophilic cancers such as cutaneous melanoma. Melanoma displays high intratumoral heterogeneity with the coexistence of melanoma cells with variable differentiation phenotypes from melanocytic to dedifferentiated states. Factors secreted by melanoma cells promote premetastatic lymph node reprograming and tumor spreading. Elucidating the impact of the melanoma secretome on FRC could help identify approaches to prevent metastasis. Here we show that melanocytic and dedifferentiated melanoma cells differentially impact the FRC contractile phenotype. Factors secreted by dedifferentiated cells, but not by melanocytic cells, strongly inhibited actomyosin-dependent contractile forces of FRC by decreasing the activity of the RHOA-RHO-kinase (ROCK) pathway and the mechano-responsive transcriptional coactivator Yes1 associated transcriptional regulator (YAP). Transcriptional profiling and biochemical analyses indicated that actomyosin cytoskeleton relaxation in FRC is driven by inhibition of the JAK1-STAT3 pathway. This FRC relaxation was associated with increased FRC proliferation and activation and with elevated tumor invasion in vitro. The secretome of dedifferentiated melanoma cells also modulated the biomechanical properties of distant lymph node in premetastatic mouse models. Finally, IL1 produced by dedifferentiated cells was involved in the inhibition of FRC contractility. These data highlight the role of the JAK1-STAT3 and YAP pathways in spontaneous contractility of resting FRC. They also suggest that dedifferentiated melanoma cells specifically target FRC biomechanical properties to favor tumor spreading in the premetastatic lymph node niche. Targeting this remote communication could be an effective strategy to prevent metastatic spread of the disease.Significance: Communication between dedifferentiated melanoma cells and lymph node fibroblasts reprograms the biomechanical properties of the premetastatic lymph node niche to promote tumor invasion. See related commentary by Lund, p. 1692

ROCK and JAK1 Signaling Cooperate to Control Actomyosin Contractility in Tumor Cells and Stroma

SummaryProinflammatory cytokines are frequently observed in the tumor microenvironment, and chronic inflammation is involved in cancer initiation and progression. We show that cytokine signaling through the receptor subunit GP130-IL6ST and the kinase JAK1 generates actomyosin contractility through Rho-kinase dependent signaling. This pathway generates contractile force in stromal fibroblasts to remodel the extracellular matrix to create tracks for collective migration of squamous carcinoma cells and provides the high levels of actomyosin contractility required for migration of individual melanoma cells in the rounded, “amoeboid” mode. Thus, cytokine signaling can generate actomyosin contractility in both stroma and tumor cells. Strikingly, actomyosin contractility itself positively modulates activity of the transcription factor STAT3 downstream of JAK1, demonstrating positive feedback within the signaling network

Neutrophil extracellular traps formed during chemotherapy confer treatment resistance via TGF-β activation

International audienceMetastasis is the major cause of cancer death, and the development of therapy resistance is common. The tumor microenvironment can confer chemotherapy resistance (chemoresistance), but little is known about how specific host cells influence therapy outcome. We show that chemotherapy induces neutrophil recruitment and neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation, which reduces therapy response in mouse models of breast cancer lung metastasis. We reveal that chemotherapy-treated cancer cells secrete IL-1β, which in turn triggers NET formation. Two NET-associated proteins are required to induce chemoresistance: integrin-αvβ1, which traps latent TGF-β, and matrix metalloproteinase 9, which cleaves and activates the trapped latent TGF-β. TGF-β activation causes cancer cells to undergo epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and correlates with chemoresistance. Our work demonstrates that NETs regulate the activities of neighboring cells by trapping and activating cytokines and suggests that chemoresistance in the metastatic setting can be reduced or prevented by targeting the IL-1β-NET-TGF-β axis