Stat3 mediates expression of autotaxin in breast cancer.

We determined that signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) is tyrosine phosphorylated in 37% of primary breast tumors and 63% of paired metastatic axillary lymph nodes. Examination of the distribution of tyrosine phosphorylated (pStat3) in primary tumors revealed heterogenous expression within the tumor with the highest levels found in cells on the edge of tumors with relatively lower levels in the central portion of tumors. In order to determine Stat3 target genes that may be involved in migration and metastasis, we identified those genes that were differentially expressed in primary breast cancer samples as a function of pStat3 levels. In addition to known Stat3 transcriptional targets (Twist, Snail, Tenascin-C and IL-8), we identified ENPP2 as a novel Stat3 regulated gene, which encodes autotaxin (ATX), a secreted lysophospholipase which mediates mammary tumorigenesis and cancer cell migration. A positive correlation between nuclear pStat3 and ATX was determined by immunohistochemical analysis of primary breast cancer samples and matched axillary lymph nodes and in several breast cancer derived cell lines. Inhibition of pStat3 or reducing Stat3 expression led to a decrease in ATX levels and cell migration. An association between Stat3 and the ATX promoter, which contains a number of putative Stat3 binding sites, was determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation. These observations suggest that activated Stat3 may regulate the migration of breast cancer cells through the regulation of ATX.

Constitutively activated Stat3 induces tumorigenesis and enhances cell motility of prostate epithelial cells through integrin beta 6.

The persistent activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) is a common feature of prostate cancer. However, little is known about the Stat3 targets that may mediate prostate tumorigenesis. The introduction of an activating mutant form of Stat3 (Stat3-C) into immortalized prostate epithelial cells resulted in tumorigenesis. Stat3-C-expressing cells had decreased E-cadherin levels, increased numbers of lamellipodia and stress fibers, and enhanced migratory capacities compared to vector control-expressing cells, with a concomitant increase in the expression of integrin beta6 and its ligand, fibronectin (FN). Exogenously added FN increased cellular migration, with a concomitant loss of E-cadherin expression. The blockade of integrin alphavbeta6 in Stat3-C-expressing cells inhibited migration, increased E-cadherin levels, and reduced colony formation in soft agar. These results demonstrate the sufficiency of constitutively activated Stat3 in mediating prostate tumorigenesis and identify novel Stat3 targets that are involved in promoting cell migration and transformation.

Pyridone 6, a pan-Janus-activated kinase inhibitor, induces growth inhibition of multiple myeloma cells.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the subsequent Janus-activated kinase (JAK)-dependent signaling pathways play a critical role in the pathogenesis of multiple myeloma. Here, we compared the sensitivity and specificity of a novel pan-JAK inhibitor, tetracyclic pyridone 6 (P6), with that of AG490 in a panel of myeloma-derived cell lines. P6 induced growth arrest and subsequent apoptosis of the IL-6-dependent hybridoma and myeloma-derived cell lines (B9 and INA-6) grown either in IL-6-containing medium or in the presence of bone marrow-derived stromal cells (BMSC) using much lower concentrations of drug and with significantly faster kinetics than AG490. Myeloma-derived cell lines, which either express constitutively activated JAK/signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) 3 (U266) or are IL-6 growth stimulated (KMS11), are partially growth inhibited by P6. However, P6 does not inhibit the growth of myeloma-derived cell lines lacking activated JAKs/STATs nor does it inhibit mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) kinase activity compared with AG490, which led to activation of ERK and induced robust apoptosis of all the examined cell lines. Finally, P6 inhibited the growth of primary myeloma patient samples grown in the presence of BMSCs. Thus, P6 is a more sensitive and specific inhibitor of JAK-STAT3 activity compared with AG490 and potently inhibited the growth of primary myeloma cells and myeloma-derived cell lines grown on BMSCs.

Cyclin D1 is transcriptionally regulated by and required for transformation by activated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3.

Signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcription factor that is aberrantly activated in many cancer cells. Constitutively activated STAT3 is oncogenic, presumably as a consequence of the genes that it differentially regulates. Activated STAT3 correlated with elevated cyclin D1 protein in primary breast tumors and breast cancer-derived cell lines. Cyclin D1 mRNA levels were increased in primary rat-, mouse-, and human-derived cell lines expressing either the oncogenic variant of STAT3 (STAT3-C) or vSrc, which constitutively phosphorylates STAT3. Mutagenesis of STAT3 binding sites within the cyclin D1 promoter and chromatin immunoprecipitation studies showed an association between STAT3 and the transcriptional regulation of the human cyclin D1 gene. Introduction of STAT3-C and vSrc into immortalized cyclin D1(-/-) and cyclin D1(-/+) fibroblasts led to anchorage-independent growth of only cyclin D1(-/+) cells. Furthermore, knockdown of cyclin D1 in breast carcinoma cells led to a reduction in anchorage-independent growth. Phosphorylation of the retinoblastoma (Rb) protein [a target of the cyclin D1/cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (cdk4/6) holoenzyme] was delayed in the cyclin D1(-/-) cells relative to cyclin D1(-/+) cells. The E7 oncogene, whose activity includes degradation of Rb and dissociation of Rb from E2F, did not confer anchorage-independent growth to the cyclin D1(-/-) cells but, in conjunction with vSrc, resulted in robust growth in soft agar. These results suggest both a cdk-dependent and cdk-independent role for cyclin D1 in modulating transformation by different oncogenes.

Redundancy of biological regulation as the basis of emergence of multidrug resistance.

Active efflux of xenobiotics is a major mechanism of cell adaptation to environmental stress. The ATP-dependent transmembrane transporter P-glycoprotein (Pgp) confers long-term cell survival in the presence of different toxins, including anticancer drugs (this concept is referred to as multidrug resistance, or MDR). The vital importance of this mechanism for cell survival dictates the reliability and promptness of its acquisition. To fulfill this requirement, the MDR1 gene that encodes Pgp in humans must be readily upregulated in cells that express low to null levels of MDR1 mRNA prior to stress. The MDR1 gene and a stable MDR phenotype can be induced after short-term exposure of cells to a variety of cues. This effect is implemented by activation of MDR1 transcription and mRNA stabilization. The MDR1 message abundance is regulated by mechanisms generally involved in stress response, namely activation of phospholipase C, protein kinase C and mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades, mobilization of intracellular Ca2+, and nuclear factor kappa B activation. Furthermore, the proximal MDR1 promoter sites critical for induction are not unique for the MDR1 gene; they are common regulatory elements in eukaryotic promoters. Moreover, MDR1 induction can result from activation of (an) intermediate gene(s) whose product(s), in turn, directly activate(s) the MDR1 promoter and/or cause(s) mRNA stabilization. Redundancy of signal transduction and transcriptional mechanisms is the basis for the virtually ubiquitous inducibility of the MDR1 gene. Thus, the complex network of MDR1 regulation ensures rapid emergence of pleiotropic resistance in cells.