Issues associated with the use of phosphospecific antibodies to localise active and inactive pools of GSK-3 in cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is a ubiquitously expressed serine/threonine (Ser/Thr) kinase comprising two isoforms, GSK-3α and GSK-3β. Both enzymes are similarly inactivated by serine phosphorylation (GSK-3α at Ser21 and GSK-3β at Ser9) and activated by tyrosine phosphorylation (GSK-3α at Tyr279 and GSK-3β at Tyr216). Antibodies raised to phosphopeptides containing the sequences around these phosphorylation sites are frequently used to provide an indication of the activation state of GSK-3 in cell and tissue extracts. These antibodies have further been used to determine the subcellular localisation of active and inactive forms of GSK-3, and the results of those studies support roles for GSK-3 phosphorylation in diverse cellular processes. However, the specificity of these antibodies in immunocytochemistry has not been addressed in any detail.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Taking advantage of gene silencing technology, we examined the specificity of several commercially available anti-phosphorylated GSK-3 antibodies. We show that antibodies raised to peptides containing the phosphorylated Ser21/9 epitope crossreact with unidentified antigens that are highly expressed by mitotic cells and that mainly localise to spindle poles. In addition, two antibodies raised to peptides containing the phosphorylated Tyr279/216 epitope recognise an unidentified protein at focal contacts, and a third antibody recognises a protein found in Ki-67-positive cell nuclei. While the phosphorylated Ser9/21 GSK-3 antibodies also recognise other proteins whose levels increase in mitotic cells in western blots, the phosphorylated Tyr279/216 antibodies appear to be specific in western blotting. However, we cannot rule out the posssibility that they recognise very large or very small proteins that might not be detected using a standard western blotting approach.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings indicate that care should be taken when examining the subcellular localisation of active or inactive GSK-3 and, furthermore, suggest that the role of GSK-3 phosphorylation in some cellular processes be reassessed.</p> <p>Reviewers</p> <p>Dr. David Kaplan, Dr. Robert Murphy and Dr. Cara Gottardi (nominated by Dr Avinash Bhandoola.)</p

CRISPR-Mediated Reactivation of DKK3 Expression Attenuates TGF-β Signaling in Prostate Cancer

The DKK3 gene encodes a secreted protein, Dkk-3, that inhibits prostate tumor growth and metastasis. DKK3 is downregulated by promoter methylation in many types of cancer, including prostate cancer. Gene silencing studies have shown that Dkk-3 maintains normal prostate epithelial cell homeostasis by limiting TGF-β/Smad signaling. While ectopic expression of Dkk-3 leads to prostate cancer cell apoptosis, it is unclear if Dkk-3 has a physiological role in cancer cells. Here, we show that treatment of PC3 prostate cancer cells with the DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) inhibitor decitabine demethylates the DKK3 promoter, induces DKK3 expression, and inhibits TGF-β/Smad-dependent transcriptional activity. Direct induction of DKK3 expression using CRISPR-dCas9-VPR also inhibited TGF-β/Smad-dependent transcription and attenuated PC3 cell migration and proliferation. These effects were not observed in C4-2B cells, which do not respond to TGF-β. TGF-β signals can regulate gene expression directly via SMAD proteins and indirectly by increasing DNMT expression, leading to promoter methylation. Analysis of genes downregulated by promoter methylation and predicted to be regulated by TGF-β found that DKK3 induction increased expression of PTGS2, which encodes cyclooxygenase-2. Together, these observations provide support for using CRISPR-mediated induction of DKK3 as a potential therapeutic approach for prostate cancer and highlight complexities in Dkk-3 regulation of TGF-β signaling

A screen for transcription factor targets of glycogen synthase kinase-3 highlights an inverse correlation of NFκB and androgen receptor signaling in prostate cancer

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.Expression of Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 (GSK-3) is elevated in prostate cancer and its inhibition reduces prostate cancer cell proliferation, in part by reducing androgen receptor (AR) signaling. However, GSK-3 inhibition can also activate signals that promote cell proliferation and survival, which may preclude the use of GSK-3 inhibitors in the clinic. To identify such signals in prostate cancer, we screened for changes in transcription factor target DNA binding activity in GSK-3-silenced cells. Among the alterations was a reduction in AR DNA target binding, as predicted from previous studies, and an increase in NFκB DNA target binding. Consistent with the latter, gene silencing of GSK-3 or inhibition using the GSK-3 inhibitor CHIR99021 increased basal NFκB transcriptional activity. Activation of NFκB was accompanied by an increase in the level of the NFκB family member RelB. Conversely, silencing RelB reduced activation of NFκB by CHIR99021. Furthermore, the reduction of prostate cancer cell proliferation by CHIR99021 was potentiated by inhibition of NFκB signaling using the IKK inhibitor PS1145. Finally, stratification of human prostate tumor gene expression data for GSK3 revealed an inverse correlation between NFκB-dependent and androgen-dependent gene expression, consistent with the results from the transcription factor target DNA binding screen. In addition, there was a correlation between expression of androgen-repressed NFκB target genes and reduced survival of patients with metastatic prostate cancer. These findings highlight an association between GSK-3/AR and NFκB signaling and its potential clinical importance in metastatic prostate cancer.This study was funded by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (SAF 2008-00768; SAF2011-30494), the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation (now PCUK) and the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade (Etortek) and Department of Innovation Technology of the Government of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country.Peer Reviewe

Wnt-11 promotes neuroendocrine-like differentiation, survival and migration of prostate cancer cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Wnt-11 is a secreted protein that modulates cell growth, differentiation and morphogenesis during development. We previously reported that Wnt-11 expression is elevated in hormone-independent prostate cancer and that the progression of prostate cancer from androgen-dependent to androgen-independent proliferation correlates with a loss of mutual inhibition between Wnt-11- and androgen receptor-dependent signals. However, the prevalence of increased expression of Wnt-11 in patient tumours and the functions of Wnt-11 in prostate cancer cells were not known.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Wnt-11 protein levels in prostate tumours were determined by immunohistochemical analysis of prostate tumour tissue arrays. Wnt-11 protein was elevated in 77/117 of tumours when compared with 27 benign prostatic hypertrophy specimens and was present in 4/4 bone metastases. In addition, there was a positive correlation between Wnt-11 expression and PSA levels above 10 ng/ml. Androgen-depleted LNCaP prostate cancer cells form neurites and express genes associated with neuroendocrine-like differentiation (NED), a feature of prostate tumours that have a poor prognosis. Since androgen-depletion increases expression of Wnt-11, we examined the role of Wnt-11 in NED. Ectopic expression of Wnt-11 induced expression of NSE and ASCL1, which are markers of NED, and this was prevented by inhibitors of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, consistent with the known role of this kinase in NED. In contrast, Wnt-11 did not induce NSE expression in RWPE-1 cells, which are derived from benign prostate, suggesting that the role of Wnt-11 in NED is specific to prostate cancer. In addition, silencing of Wnt-11 expression in androgen-depleted LNCaP cells prevented NED and resulted in apoptosis. Silencing of Wnt-11 gene expression in androgen-independent PC3 cells also reduced expression of NSE and increased apoptosis. Finally, silencing of Wnt-11 reduced PC3 cell migration and ectopic expression of Wnt-11 promoted LNCaP cell invasion.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These observations suggest that the increased level of Wnt-11 found in prostate cancer contributes to tumour progression by promoting NED, tumour cell survival and cell migration/invasion, and may provide an opportunity for novel therapy in prostate cancer.</p

A screen for transcription factor targets of glycogen synthase kinase-3 highlights an inverse correlation of NFκB and androgen receptor signaling in prostate cancer

Expression of Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 (GSK-3) is elevated in prostate cancer and its inhibition reduces prostate cancer cell proliferation, in part by reducing androgen receptor (AR) signaling. However, GSK-3 inhibition can also activate signals that promote cell proliferation and survival, which may preclude the use of GSK-3 inhibitors in the clinic. To identify such signals in prostate cancer, we screened for changes in transcription factor target DNA binding activity in GSK-3-silenced cells. Among the alterations was a reduction in AR DNA target binding, as predicted from previous studies, and an increase in NFκB DNA target binding. Consistent with the latter, gene silencing of GSK-3 or inhibition using the GSK-3 inhibitor CHIR99021 increased basal NFκB transcriptional activity. Activation of NFκB was accompanied by an increase in the level of the NFκB family member RelB. Conversely, silencing RelB reduced activation of NFκB by CHIR99021. Furthermore, the reduction of prostate cancer cell proliferation by CHIR99021 was potentiated by inhibition of NFκB signaling using the IKK inhibitor PS1145. Finally, stratification of human prostate tumor gene expression data for GSK3 revealed an inverse correlation between NFκB-dependent and androgen-dependent gene expression, consistent with the results from the transcription factor target DNA binding screen. In addition, there was a correlation between expression of androgen-repressed NFκB target genes and reduced survival of patients with metastatic prostate cancer. These findings highlight an association between GSK-3/AR and NFκB signaling and its potential clinical importance in metastatic prostate cancer

Sox2 promotes tamoxifen resistance in breast cancer cells

Development of resistance to therapy continues to be a serious clinical problem in breast cancer management. Cancer stem/progenitor cells have been shown to play roles in resistance to chemo- and radiotherapy. Here, we examined their role in the development of resistance to the oestrogen receptor antagonist tamoxifen. Tamoxifen-resistant cells were enriched for stem/progenitors and expressed high levels of the stem cell marker Sox2. Silencing of the SOX2 gene reduced the size of the stem/progenitor cell population and restored sensitivity to tamoxifen. Conversely, ectopic expression of Sox2 reduced tamoxifen sensitivity in vitro and in vivo. Gene expression profiling revealed activation of the Wnt signalling pathway in Sox2-expressing cells, and inhibition of Wnt signalling sensitized resistant cells to tamoxifen. Examination of patient tumours indicated that Sox2 levels are higher in patients after endocrine therapy failure, and also in the primary tumours of these patients, compared to those of responders. Together, these results suggest that development of tamoxifen resistance is driven by Sox2-dependent activation of Wnt signalling in cancer stem/progenitor cells

Proteomic Studies Reveal Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1 as a Player in Both Neurodevelopment and Synaptic Function

A balanced chromosomal translocation disrupting DISC1 (Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1) gene has been linked to psychiatric diseases, such as major depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Since the discovery of this translocation, many studies have focused on understating the role of the truncated isoform of DISC1, hypothesizing that the gain of function of this protein could be behind the neurobiology of mental conditions, but not so many studies have focused in the mechanisms impaired due to its loss of function. For that reason, we performed an analysis on the cellular proteome of primary neurons in which DISC1 was knocked down with the goal of identifying relevant pathways directly affected by DISC1 loss of function. Using an unbiased proteomic approach, we found that the expression of 31 proteins related to neurodevelopment (e.g., CRMP-2, stathmin) and synaptic function (e.g., MUNC-18, NCS-1) is altered by DISC1 in primary mouse neurons. Hence, this study reinforces the idea that DISC1 is a unifying regulator of both neurodevelopment and synaptic function, thereby providing a link between these two key anatomical and cellular circuitries.This research was funded by ERANET-NEURON, grant DISCover (National funding institution grants: ISCIII PI09/2688 and BMBF 01EW1003, respectively, to J.R.R. and C.K.), and grants from the DFG (Ko1679/3-1), NARSAD 2013 Independent Investigator Award #20350 and EU-FP MC-ITN "IN-SENS" #607616) (C.K.); The Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (SAF2011-30494 and BFU2017-86692-P, partially funded by European Union regional funds (FRDER)); the Departments of Industry, Tourism and Trade (Etortek) and Innovation Technology of the Government of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country (R.M.K. and I.G-E.); and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SAF2013-45014-R, A.G., SAF2011-30494 (R.M.K. and I.G-E.))S

Protective effect of stromal Dickkopf-3 in prostate cancer: opposing roles for TGFBI and ECM-1

Aberrant transforming growth factor–β (TGF-β) signaling is a hallmark of the stromal microenvironment in cancer. Dickkopf-3 (Dkk-3), shown to inhibit TGF-β signaling, is downregulated in prostate cancer and upregulated in the stroma in benign prostatic hyperplasia, but the function of stromal Dkk-3 is unclear. Here we show that DKK3 silencing in WPMY-1 prostate stromal cells increases TGF-β signaling activity and that stromal cell-conditioned media inhibit prostate cancer cell invasion in a Dkk-3-dependent manner. DKK3 silencing increased the level of the cell-adhesion regulator TGF-β–induced protein (TGFBI) in stromal and epithelial cell-conditioned media, and recombinant TGFBI increased prostate cancer cell invasion. Reduced expression of Dkk-3 in patient tumors was associated with increased expression of TGFBI. DKK3 silencing reduced the level of extracellular matrix protein-1 (ECM-1) in prostate stromal cell-conditioned media but increased it in epithelial cell-conditioned media, and recombinant ECM-1 inhibited TGFBI-induced prostate cancer cell invasion. Increased ECM1 and DKK3 mRNA expression in prostate tumors was associated with increased relapse-free survival. These observations are consistent with a model in which the loss of Dkk-3 in prostate cancer leads to increased secretion of TGFBI and ECM-1, which have tumor-promoting and tumor-protective roles, respectively. Determining how the balance between the opposing roles of extracellular factors influences prostate carcinogenesis will be key to developing therapies that target the tumor microenvironment

Polyoxometalate inhibition of SOX2-mediated tamoxifen resistance in breast cancer

Background Increased cancer stem cell (CSC) content and SOX2 overexpression are common features in the development of resistance to therapy in hormone-dependent breast cancer, which remains an important clinical challenge. SOX2 has potential as biomarker of resistance to treatment and as therapeutic target, but targeting transcription factors is also challenging. Here, we examine the potential inhibitory effect of different polyoxometalate (POM) derivatives on SOX2 transcription factor in tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cells. Methods Various POM derivatives were synthesised and characterised by infrared spectra, powder X-ray diffraction pattern and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer cells, and their counterparts, which have developed resistance to the hormone therapy tamoxifen, were treated with POMs and their consequences assessed by gel retardation and chromatin immunoprecipitation to determine SOX2 binding to DNA. Effects on proliferation, migration, invasion and tumorigenicity were monitored and quantified using microscopy, clone formation, transwell, wound healing assays, flow cytometry and in vivo chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) models. Generation of lentiviral stable gene silencing and gene knock-out using CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing were applied to validate the inhibitory effects of the selected POM. Cancer stem cell subpopulations were quantified by mammosphere formation assays, ALDEFLUOR activity and CD44/CD24 stainings. Flow cytometry and western blotting were used to measure reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis. Results POMs blocked in vitro binding activity of endogenous SOX2. [P2W18O62]6− (PW) Wells-Dawson-type anion was the most effective at inhibiting proliferation in various cell line models of tamoxifen resistance. 10 µM PW also reduced cancer cell migration and invasion, as well as SNAI2 expression levels. Treatment of tamoxifen-resistant cells with PW impaired tumour formation by reducing CSC content, in a SOX2-dependent manner, which led to stem cell depletion in vivo. Mechanistically, PW induced formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inhibited Bcl-2, leading to the death of tamoxifen-resistant cells. PW-treated tamoxifen-resistant cells showed restored sensitivity to tamoxifen. Conclusions Together, these observations highlight the potential use of PW as a SOX2 inhibitor and the therapeutic relevance of targeting SOX2 to treat tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer.The authors thank grant support from the Basque Government (IT1722-22 and Elkartek KK-2022/00045) and Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICINN, grant PID2022-139530NB-I00) (JMGZ). This research was also funded by Elkartek (KK-2022/00045) by the Basque Government (MdMV), and by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation MCIN/AEI/https://doi.org/10.13039/501100011033 (to MdMV and RK: CEX2021-001136-S; PRE2018-087073 to IG; PID2020-118464RB-I00 to MdMV, and PID2020-117649RB-100 to RK)

Protective effect of stromal Dickkopf-3 in prostate cancer: opposing roles for TGFBI and ECM-1

Aberrant transforming growth factor–β (TGF-β) signaling is a hallmark of the stromal microenvironment in cancer. Dickkopf-3 (Dkk-3), shown to inhibit TGF-β signaling, is downregulated in prostate cancer and upregulated in the stroma in benign prostatic hyperplasia, but the function of stromal Dkk-3 is unclear. Here we show that DKK3 silencing in WPMY-1 prostate stromal cells increases TGF-β signaling activity and that stromal cellconditioned media inhibit prostate cancer cell invasion in a Dkk-3-dependent manner. DKK3 silencing increased the level of the cell-adhesion regulator TGF-β–induced protein (TGFBI) in stromal and epithelial cell-conditioned media, and recombinant TGFBI increased prostate cancer cell invasion. Reduced expression of Dkk-3 in patient tumors was associated with increased expression of TGFBI. DKK3 silencing reduced the level of extracellular matrix protein-1 (ECM-1) in prostate stromal cell-conditioned media but increased it in epithelial cell-conditioned media, and recombinant ECM-1 inhibited TGFBI-induced prostate cancer cell invasion. Increased ECM1 and DKK3 mRNA expression in prostate tumors was associated with increased relapse-free survival. These observations are consistent with a model in which the loss of Dkk-3 in prostate cancer leads to increased secretion of TGFBI and ECM-1, which have tumor-promoting and tumor-protective roles, respectively. Determining how the balance between the opposing roles of extracellular factors influences prostate carcinogenesis will be key to developing therapies that target the tumor microenvironment