Targeting protein homodimerization: A novel drug discovery system

AbstractTo identify a novel class of antibiotics, we have developed a high-throughput genetic system for targeting the homodimerization (HD system) of histidine kinase (HK), which is essential for a bacterial signal transduction system (two-component system, TCS). By using the HD system, we screened a chemical library and identified a compound, I-8-15 (1-dodecyl-2-isopropylimidazole), that specifically inhibited the dimerization of HK encoded by the YycG gene of Staphylococcus aureus and induced concomitant bacterial cell death. I-8-15 also showed antibacterial activity against MRSA (methicillin-resistant S. aureus) and VRE (vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis) with MICs at 25 and 50μg/ml, respectively

TGLI1 transcription factor mediates breast cancer brain metastasis via activating metastasis-initiating cancer stem cells and astrocytes in the tumor microenvironment

Mechanisms for breast cancer metastasis remain unclear. Whether truncated glioma-associated oncogene homolog 1 (TGLI1), a transcription factor known to promote angiogenesis, migration and invasion, plays any role in metastasis of any tumor type has never been investigated. In this study, results of two mouse models of breast cancer metastasis showed that ectopic expression of TGLI1, but not GLI1, promoted preferential metastasis to the brain. Conversely, selective TGLI1 knockdown using antisense oligonucleotides led to decreased breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM) in vivo. Immunohistochemical staining showed that TGLI1, but not GLI1, was increased in lymph node metastases compared to matched primary tumors, and that TGLI1 was expressed at higher levels in BCBM specimens compared to primary tumors. TGLI1 activation is associated with a shortened time to develop BCBM and enriched in HER2-enriched and triple-negative breast cancers. Radioresistant BCBM cell lines and specimens expressed higher levels of TGLI1, but not GLI1, than radiosensitive counterparts. Since cancer stem cells (CSCs) are radioresistant and metastasis-initiating cells, we examined TGLI1 for its involvement in breast CSCs and found TGLI1 to transcriptionally activate stemness genes CD44, Nanog, Sox2, and OCT4 leading to CSC renewal, and TGLI1 outcompetes with GLI1 for binding to target promoters. We next examined whether astrocyte-priming underlies TGLI1-mediated brain tropism and found that TGLI1-positive CSCs strongly activated and interacted with astrocytes in vitro and in vivo. These findings demonstrate, for the first time, that TGLI1 mediates breast cancer metastasis to the brain, in part, through promoting metastasis-initiating CSCs and activating astrocytes in BCBM microenvironment

The gain-of-function GLI1 transcription factor TGLI1 enhances expression of VEGF-C and TEM7 to promote glioblastoma angiogenesis

We recently discovered that truncated glioma-associated oncogene homolog 1 (TGLI1) is highly expressed in glioblastoma (GBM) and linked to increased GBM vascularity. The mechanisms underlying TGLI1-mediated angiogenesis are unclear. In this study, we compared TGLI1- with GLI1-expressing GBM xenografts for the expression profile of 84 angiogenesis-associated genes. The results showed that expression of six genes were upregulated and five were down-regulated in TGLI1-carrying tumors compared to those with GLI1. Vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) and tumor endothelial marker 7 (TEM7) were selected for further investigations because of their significant correlations with high vascularity in 135 patient GBMs. TGLI1 bound to both VEGF-C and TEM7 gene promoters. Conditioned medium from TGLI1-expressing GBM cells strongly induced tubule formation of brain microvascular endothelial cells, and the induction was prevented by VEGF-C/TEM7 knockdown. Immunohistochemical analysis of 122 gliomas showed that TGLI1 expression was positively correlated with VEGF-C, TEM7 and microvessel density. Analysis of NCBI Gene Expression Omnibus datasets with 161 malignant gliomas showed an inverse relationship between tumoral VEGF-C, TEM7 or microvessel density and patient survival. Together, our findings support an important role that TGLI1 plays in GBM angiogenesis and identify VEGF-C and TEM7 as novel TGLI1 target genes of importance to GBM vascularity

N-myc downstream regulated gene 1 modulates Wnt-β-catenin signalling and pleiotropically suppresses metastasis

Wnt signalling has pivotal roles in tumour progression and metastasis; however, the exact molecular mechanism of Wnt signalling in the metastatic process is as yet poorly defined. Here we demonstrate that the tumour metastasis suppressor gene, NDRG1, interacts with the Wnt receptor, LRP6, followed by blocking of the Wnt signalling, and therefore, orchestrates a cellular network that impairs the metastatic progression of tumour cells. Importantly, restoring NDRG1 expression by a small molecule compound significantly suppressed the capability of otherwise highly metastatic tumour cells to thrive in circulation and distant organs in animal models. In addition, our analysis of clinical cohorts data indicate that Wnt+/NDRG−/LRP+ signature has a strong predictable value for recurrence-free survival of cancer patients. Collectively, we have identified NDRG1 as a novel negative master regulator of Wnt signalling during the metastatic progression, which opens an opportunity to define a potential therapeutic target for metastatic disease

Bone morphogenetic protein 7 in dormancy and metastasis of prostate cancer stem-like cells in bone

BMP7 released by bone marrow stromal cells induces reversible senescence of prostate cancer stem-like cells, and BMPR2 expression inversely correlates with bone metastasis and recurrence in prostate cancer patients

Multi-Omics Analysis of Brain Metastasis Outcomes Following Craniotomy

Background: The incidence of brain metastasis continues to increase as therapeutic strategies have improved for a number of solid tumors. The presence of brain metastasis is associated with worse prognosis but it is unclear if distinctive biomarkers can separate patients at risk for CNS related death. Methods: We executed a single institution retrospective collection of brain metastasis from patients who were diagnosed with lung, breast, and other primary tumors. The brain metastatic samples were sent for RNA sequencing, proteomic and metabolomic analysis of brain metastasis. The primary outcome was distant brain failure after definitive therapies that included craniotomy resection and radiation to surgical bed. Novel prognostic subtypes were discovered using transcriptomic data and sparse non-negative matrix factorization. Results: We discovered two molecular subtypes showing statistically significant differential prognosis irrespective of tumor subtype. The median survival time of the good and the poor prognostic subtypes were 7.89 and 42.27 months, respectively. Further integrated characterization and analysis of these two distinctive prognostic subtypes using transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic molecular profiles of patients identified key pathways and metabolites. The analysis suggested that immune microenvironment landscape as well as proliferation and migration signaling pathways may be responsible to the observed survival difference. Conclusion: A multi-omics approach to characterization of brain metastasis provides an opportunity to identify clinically impactful biomarkers and associated prognostic subtypes and generate provocative integrative understanding of disease

Adenosine A3 Receptor Suppresses Prostate Cancer Metastasis by Inhibiting NADPH Oxidase Activity12

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed and second most lethal malignancy in men, due mainly to a lack of effective treatment for the metastatic disease. A number of recent studies have shown that activation of the purine nucleoside receptor, adenosine A3 receptor (A3AR), attenuates proliferation of melanoma, colon, and prostate cancer cells. In the present study, we determined whether activation of the A3AR reduces the ability of prostate cancer cells to migrate in vitro and metastasize in vivo. Using severe combined immunodeficient mice, we show that proliferation and metastasis of AT6.1 rat prostate cancer cells were decreased by the administration of A3AR agonist N6-(3-iodobenzyl) adenosine-5′-N-methyluronamide. In vitro studies show that activation of A3AR decreased high basal nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase activity present in these cells, along with the expression of Rac1 and p47phox subunits of this enzyme. Inhibition of NADPH oxidase activity by the dominant-negative RacN17 or short interfering (si)RNA against p47phox reduced both the generation of reactive oxygen species and the invasion of these cells on Matrigel. In addition, we show that membrane association of p47phox and activation of NADPH oxidase is dependent on the activity of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)1/2 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. We also provide evidence that A3AR inhibits ERK1/2 activity in prostate cancer cells through inhibition of adenylyl cyclase and protein kinase A. We conclude that activation of the A3AR in prostate cancer cells reduces protein kinase A-mediated stimulation of ERK1/2, leading to reduced NADPH oxidase activity and cancer cell invasiveness