Zoledronic acid impairs stromal reactivity by inhibiting M2-macrophages polarization and prostate cancer-associated fibroblasts.

Zoledronic acid (ZA) is a biphosphonate used for osteoporosis treatment and also proved to be effective to reduce the pain induced by bone metastases when used as adjuvant therapy in solid cancers. However, it has been recently proposed that ZA could have direct anti-tumour effects, although the molecular mechanism is unknown. We herein unravel a novel anti-tumour activity of ZA in prostate cancer (PCa), by targeting the pro-tumorigenic properties of both stromal and immune cells. Particularly, we demonstrate that ZA impairs PCa-induced M2-macrophages polarization, reducing their pro-invasive effect on tumour cells and their pro-angiogenic features. Crucially, ZA administration reverts cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) activation by targeting the mevalonate pathway and RhoA geranyl-geranylation, thereby impairing smooth muscle actin-α fibers organization, a prerequisite of fibroblast activation. Moreover, ZA prevents the M2 macrophages-mediated activation of normal fibroblast, highlighting the broad efficacy of this drug on tumour microenvironment. These results are confirmed in a metastatic xenograft PCa mouse model in which ZA-induced stromal normalization impairs cancer-stromal cells crosstalk, resulting in a significant reduction of primary tumour growth and metastases. Overall these findings reinforce the efficacy of ZA as a potential therapeutic approach to reduce cancer aggressiveness, by abrogating the supportive role of tumour microenvironment

Targeting stromal-induced pyruvate kinase M2 nuclear translocation impairs OXPHOS and prostate cancer metastatic spread

Cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are key determinants of cancer progression. In prostate carcinoma (PCa), CAFs induce epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metabolic reprogramming of PCa cells towards oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), promoting tumor growth and metastatic dissemination. We herein establish a novel role for pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), an established effector of Warburg-like glycolytic behavior, in OXPHOS metabolism induced by CAFs. Indeed, CAFs promote PKM2 post-translational modifications, such as cysteine oxidation and Src-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation, allowing nuclear migration of PKM2 and the formation of a trimeric complex with hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and the transcriptional repressor Differentially Expressed in Chondrocytes-1 (DEC1). DEC1 recruitment is mandatory for downregulating miR205 expression, thereby fostering EMT execution and metabolic switch toward OXPHOS. Furthermore, the analysis of a cohort of PCa patients reveals a significant positive correlation between PKM2 nuclear localization and cancer aggressiveness, thereby validating our in vitro observations. Crucially, in vitro and in vivo pharmacological targeting of PKM2 nuclear translocation using DASA-58, as well as metformin, impairs metastatic dissemination of PCa cells in SCID mice. Our study indicates that impairing the metabolic tumor:stroma interplay by targeting the PKM2/OXPHOS axis, may be a valuable novel therapeutic approach in aggressive prostate carcinoma

Glucose Metabolic Reprogramming of ER Breast Cancer in Acquired Resistance to the CDK4/6 Inhibitor Palbociclib

The majority of breast cancers express the estrogen receptor (ER) and are dependent on estrogen for their growth and survival. Endocrine therapy (ET) is the standard of care for these tumors. However, a superior outcome is achieved in a subset of ER positive (ER+)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HER2−) metastatic breast cancer patients when ET is administrated in combination with a cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor, such as palbociclib. Moreover, CDK4/6 inhibitors are currently being tested in ER+/HER2+ breast cancer and reported encouraging results. Despite the clinical advances of a combinatorial therapy using ET plus CDK4/6 inhibitors, potential limitations (i.e., resistance) could emerge and the metabolic adaptations underlying such resistance warrant further elucidation. Here we investigate the glucose-dependent catabolism in a series of isogenic ER+ breast cancer cell lines sensitive to palbociclib and in their derivatives with acquired resistance to the drug. Importantly, ER+/HER2− and ER+/HER2+ cell lines show a different degree of glucose dependency. While ER+/HER2− breast cancer cells are characterized by enhanced aerobic glycolysis at the time of palbociclib sensitivity, ER+/HER2+ cells enhance their glycolytic catabolism at resistance. This metabolic phenotype was shown to have prognostic value and was targeted with multiple approaches offering a series of potential scenarios that could be of clinical relevance

Targeted DNA oxidation by LSD1–SMAD2/3 primes TGF-β1/ EMT genes for activation or repression

Abstract The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a complex transcriptional program induced by transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1). Histone lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) has been recognized as a key mediator of EMT in cancer cells, but the precise mechanism that underlies the activation and repression of EMT genes still remains elusive. Here, we characterized the early events induced by TGF-β1 during EMT initiation and establishment. TGF-β1 triggered, 30–90 min post-treatment, a nuclear oxidative wave throughout the genome, documented by confocal microscopy and mass spectrometry, mediated by LSD1. LSD1 was recruited with phosphorylated SMAD2/3 to the promoters of prototypic genes activated and repressed by TGF-β1. After 90 min, phospho-SMAD2/3 downregulation reduced the complex and LSD1 was then recruited with the newly synthesized SNAI1 and repressors, NCoR1 and HDAC3, to the promoters of TGF-β1-repressed genes such as the Wnt soluble inhibitor factor 1 gene (WIF1), a change that induced a late oxidative burst. However, TGF-β1 early (90 min) repression of transcription also required synchronous signaling by reactive oxygen species and the stress-activated kinase c-Jun N-terminal kinase. These data elucidate the early events elicited by TGF-β1 and the priming role of DNA oxidation that marks TGF-β1-induced and -repressed genes involved in the EMT

Time-dependent stabilization of hypoxia inducible factor-1α by different intracellular sources of reactive oxygen species.

Intratumoral hypoxia is a major obstacle in the development of effective cancer chemotherapy, decreasing the efficacy of anti-neoplastic drugs in several solid tumours. The hypoxic environment, through its master regulator hypoxia inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), is able to maintain an anti-apoptotic potential through activation of critical genes associated with drug resistance. Besides affecting metabolism and motility of tumour cells, hypoxia also paradoxically increases production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which contribute to stabilize HIF-1 through a redox-mediated inhibition of its proteolysis. Here we reported that 1% O(2) hypoxia increases the resistance of human metastatic melanoma cells to conventional chemotherapy with etoposide, and that the increase in chemoresistance strongly depends on ROS delivery due to hypoxia. We reported a biphasic redox-dependent role of HIF-1, involving mitochondrial complex III and NADPH oxidase as oxidants sources, synergising in enhancing survival to chemotherapy. The feed-forward loop engaged by hypoxia involves first an HIF-1-dependent vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) autocrine production and, in the later phase, activation of NADPH oxidase from VEGF/VEGFR2 interaction, finally leading to a further redox-dependent long lasting stabilization of HIF-1. We therefore identified a redox-dependent circuitry linking hypoxia-driven ROS to VEGF-A secretion and to enhanced melanoma cell survival to etoposide chemotherapy