AGENT-BASED GENETIC MULTICELLULAR 3D MODELLING OF STEM-CELL SPHEROIDS(GENESPHERE)

International audienc

Survival and self-renewing capacity of breast cancer initiating cells during fractionated radiation treatment

Abstract Introduction Recent data indicate a hierarchical organization of many solid cancers, including breast cancer, with a small number of cancer initiating cells (CICs) that have the ability to self-renew and exhibit multi-lineage potency. We, and others, have demonstrated that CICs in breast cancer and glioma are relatively resistant to ionizing radiation if compared to their non-tumorigenic counterparts. However, the extent of the remaining self-renewing capacity of CICs after fractions of radiation is currently unknown. We hypothesized that CICs, in contrast to their non-tumorigenic counterparts, not only survive fractions of ionizing radiation but also retain the CIC phenotype as defined by operational means. Methods We used two marker systems to identify breast CICs (CD24-/low/CD44high, or lack of proteasome activity) and performed sphere-forming assays after multiple clinical fractions of radiation. Lineage tracking was performed by membrane staining. Cell cycle distribution and RNA content were assessed by flow cytometry and senescence was assessed via β-galactosidase staining. Results We demonstrated that irradiated CICs survived and retained their self-renewal capacity for at least four generations. We show that fractionated radiation not only spared CICs but also mobilized them from a quiescent/G0 phase of the cell cycle into actively cycling cells, while the surviving non-tumorigenic cells were driven into senescence. Conclusions The breast CIC population retains increased self-renewal capacity over several generations and therefore, we conclude that increases in the number of CICs after sublethal doses of radiation have potential clinical importance. Prevention of this process may lead to improved clinical outcome

Oxygen Levels Do Not Determine Radiation Survival of Breast Cancer Stem Cells

For more than a century oxygen has been known to be one of the most powerful radiosensitizers. However, despite decades of preclinical and clinical research aimed at overcoming tumor hypoxia, little clinical progress has been made so far. Ionizing radiation damages DNA through generation of free radicals. In the presence of oxygen these lesions are chemically modified, and thus harder to repair while hypoxia protects cells from radiation (Oxygen enhancement ratio (OER)). Breast cancer stem cells (BSCSs) are protected from radiation by high levels of free radical scavengers even in the presence of oxygen. This led us to hypothesize that BCSCs exhibit an OER of 1. Using four established breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, T47D, MDA-MB-231, SUM159PT) and primary breast cancer samples, we determined the number of BCSCs using cancer stem cell markers (ALDH1, low proteasome activity), compared radiation clonogenic survival and mammosphere formation under normoxic and hypoxic conditions, and correlated these results to the expression levels of key members of the free radical scavenging systems. The number of BCSCs increased with increased aggressiveness of the cancer. This correlated with increased radioresistance (SF8Gy), and decreasing OERs. When cultured as mammospheres, breast cancer cell lines and primary samples were highly radioresistant and not further protected by hypoxia (OER∼1)

Direct interaction of TrkA/CD44v3 is essential for NGF-promoted aggressiveness of breast cancer cells

Background CD44 is a multifunctional membrane glycoprotein. Through its heparan sulfate chain, CD44 presents growth factors to their receptors. We have shown that CD44 and Tropomyosin kinase A (TrkA) form a complex following nerve growth factor (NGF) induction. Our study aimed to understand how CD44 and TrkA interact and the consequences of inhibiting this interaction regarding the pro-tumoral effect of NGF in breast cancer. Methods After determining which CD44 isoforms (variants) are involved in forming the TrkA/CD44 complex using proximity ligation assays, we investigated the molecular determinants of this interaction. By molecular modeling, we isolated the amino acids involved and confirmed their involvement using mutations. A CD44v3 mimetic peptide was then synthesized to block the TrkA/CD44v3 interaction. The effects of this peptide on the growth, migration and invasion of xenografted triple-negative breast cancer cells were assessed. Finally, we investigated the correlations between the expression of the TrkA/CD44v3 complex in tumors and histo-pronostic parameters. Results We demonstrated that isoform v3 (CD44v3), but not v6, binds to TrkA in response to NGF stimulation. The final 10 amino acids of exon v3 and the TrkA H112 residue are necessary for the association of CD44v3 with TrkA. Functionally, the CD44v3 mimetic peptide impairs not only NGF-induced RhoA activation, clonogenicity, and migration/invasion of breast cancer cells in vitro but also tumor growth and metastasis in a xenograft mouse model. We also detected TrkA/CD44v3 only in cancerous cells, not in normal adjacent tissues. Conclusion Collectively, our results suggest that blocking the CD44v3/TrkA interaction can be a new therapeutic option for triple-negative breast cancers

Catch-22: does breast cancer radiotherapy have negative impacts too?

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Incidence de la sur expression de TrkA sur la croissance des cellules cancéreuses de sein

Nous avions montré au laboratoire que la croissance des cellules cancéreuses de sein pouvait être stimulée par le NGF de manière autocrine via 2 récepteurs : TrkA impliqué dans la prolifération cellulaire et p75NTR intervenant dans la survie cellulaire. Afin de comprendre le rôle de TrkA dans le développement du cancer du sein, les cellules MDA-MB-231 ont été stablement transfectées avec un vecteur d'expression contenant la séquence de TrkA. Le phénotype des cellules surexprimant TrkA a alors éte étudié. On a observé une augmentation de la croissance, de la clonogénicité, de la migration et de l'invasion. La surexpression de TrkA diminue l'anoïkis et l'apoptose. De plus, la surexpression provoque une augmentation de la croissance tumorale et de la métastase dans des modèles de xénogreffes. Ces résultats suggèrent que TrkA a la capacité d'augmenter l'agressivité de cette pathologie. Nos résultats montrent également que les voies PI3K/Akt et ERK MAPK sont essentiels aux effets biologiques observés dans ces cellules. Nous avons ensuite montré que l'interaction entre TrkA et la protéine Ku70 est essentielle à la survie des cellules. D'autre part, une approche protéomique a permis d'identifier des cibles moléculaires de TrkA. Nous avons ainsi montré que la surexpression de TrkA induit une augmentation de l'expression de Ku86 globale. Cette augmentation de Ku86 est impliquée dans l'augmentation de la migration des cellules surexprimant TrkA. L'ensemble de ces résultats montrent que la surexpression de TrkA induit une augmentation de l'agressivité tumorale et que, dans ce contexte, le recherche d'inhibiteurs visant TrkA est pertinente dans le traitement du cancer de sein.LILLE1-BU (590092102) / SudocSudocFranceF

TrkA Co-Receptors: The Janus Face of TrkA?

Larotrectinib and Entrectinib are specific pan-Trk tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2018 for cancers with an NTRK fusion. Despite initial enthusiasm for these compounds, the French agency (HAS) recently reported their lack of efficacy. In addition, primary and secondary resistance to these TKIs has been observed in the absence of other mutations in cancers with an NTRK fusion. Furthermore, when TrkA is overexpressed, it promotes ligand-independent activation, bypassing the TKI. All of these clinical and experimental observations show that genetics does not explain all therapeutic failures. It is therefore necessary to explore new hypotheses to explain these failures. This review summarizes the current status of therapeutic strategies with TrkA inhibitors, focusing on the mechanisms potentially involved in these failures and more specifically on the role of TrkA

Role of GD3 Synthase ST8Sia I in Cancers

GD3 synthase controls the biosynthesis of complex gangliosides, bearing two or more sialic acid residues. Disialylated gangliosides GD3 and GD2 are tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACA) in neuro–ectoderm-derived cancers, and are directly involved in cell malignant properties, i.e., migration, invasion, stemness, and epithelial–mesenchymal transition. Since GD3 and GD2 levels are directly linked to GD3 synthase expression and activity, targeting GD3 synthase appears to be a promising strategy through which to interfere with ganglioside-associated malignant properties. We review here the current knowledge on GD3 synthase expression and regulation in cancers, and the consequences of complex ganglioside expression on cancer cell signaling and properties, highlighting the relationships between GD3 synthase expression and epithelial–mesenchymal transition and stemness. Different strategies were used to modulate GD3 synthase expression in cancer cells in vitro and in animal models, such as inhibitors or siRNA/lncRNA, which efficiently reduced cancer cell malignant properties and the proportion of GD2 positive cancer stem cells, which are associated with high metastatic properties, resistance to therapy, and cancer relapse. These data show the relevance of targeting GD3 synthase in association with conventional therapies, to decrease the number of cancer stem cells in tumors

Radiation response of differentiated cells.

<p>Clonogenic survival assays of established breast cancer cells lines and primary patient-derived breast cancer samples under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Data was fitted using a linear quadratic model.</p