Targeting newly identified ERß/TGF-ß1/SMAD3 signals with the FDA-approved anti-estrogen Faslodex or an ERß selective antagonist in renal cell carcinoma.

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has the third highest mortality rate among urological tumors, and 20-30% of RCC patients present with metastatic RCC at the time of diagnosis. Although recent studies have indicated that estrogen receptor ß (ERß) could play promoting roles in RCC progression, the detailed mechanisms remain to be clarified. In the present study, we found that expression of ERß, but not ERα, increases with tumor stage and grade, and also observed that modification of ERß signals using estrogens/anti-estrogens, shRNA knockdown of ERß and overexpression of ERß using ectopic cDNA affects RCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Mechanism analysis revealed that ERß can promote RCC cell invasion via an increase in transforming growth factor ß1 (TGF-ß1)/SMAD3 signals, and interrupting TGF-ß1/SMAD3 signals with a TGFßR1 inhibitor can reverse/block ERß-increased RCC cell migration. Importantly, preclinical analyses using in vivo mouse models of RCC revealed that targeting of this newly identified ERß/TGF-ß1/SMAD3 pathway with either the FDA-approved anti-estrogen ICI182,780 (Faslodex) or a selective ERß antagonist 4-[2-phenyl-5,7 bis(trifluoromethyl)pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-3-yl]phenol can significantly reduce RCC tumor growth and invasion, which may be suitable as the basis for novel therapies to more effectively suppress metastatic RCC.

Protein kinase D inhibitor CRT0066101 suppresses bladder cancer growth in vitro and xenografts via blockade of the cell cycle at G2/M.

The protein kinase D (PKD) family of proteins are important regulators of tumor growth, development, and progression. CRT0066101, an inhibitor of PKD, has antitumor activity in multiple types of carcinomas. However, the effect and mechanism of CRT0066101 in bladder cancer are not understood. In the present study, we show that CRT0066101 suppressed the proliferation and migration of four bladder cancer cell lines in vitro. We also demonstrate that CRT0066101 blocked tumor growth in a mouse flank xenograft model of bladder cancer. To further assess the role of PKD in bladder carcinoma, we examined the three PKD isoforms and found that PKD2 was highly expressed in eight bladder cancer cell lines and in urothelial carcinoma tissues from the TCGA database, and that short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated knockdown of PKD2 dramatically reduced bladder cancer growth and invasion in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that the effect of the compound in bladder cancer is mediated through inhibition of PKD2. This notion was corroborated by demonstrating that the levels of phospho-PKD2 were markedly decreased in CRT0066101-treated bladder tumor explants. Furthermore, our cell cycle analysis by flow cytometry revealed that CRT0066101 treatment or PKD2 silencing arrested bladder cancer cells at the G2/M phase, the arrest being accompanied by decreases in the levels of cyclin B1, CDK1 and phospho-CDK1 (Thr161) and increases in the levels of p27Kip1 and phospho-CDK1 (Thr14/Tyr15). Moreover, CRT0066101 downregulated the expression of Cdc25C, which dephosphorylates/activates CDK1, but enhanced the activity of the checkpoint kinase Chk1, which inhibits CDK1 by phosphorylating/inactivating Cdc25C. Finally, CRT0066101 was found to elevate the levels of Myt1, Wee1, phospho-Cdc25C (Ser216), Gadd45α, and 14-3-3 proteins, all of which reduce the CDK1-cyclin B1 complex activity. These novel findings suggest that CRT0066101 suppresses bladder cancer growth by inhibiting PKD2 through induction of G2/M cell cycle arrest, leading to the blockade of cell cycle progression.

Targeting estrogen/estrogen receptor alpha enhances Bacillus Calmette-Guérin efficacy in bladder cancer.

Recent studies showed the potential linkage of estrogen/estrogen receptor signaling with bladder tumorigenesis, yet detailed mechanisms remain elusive. Here we found a new potential therapy with the combination of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and the anti-estrogen ICI 182,780 led to better suppression of bladder cancer (BCa) than BCG alone. Mechanism dissection found ICI 182,780 could promote BCG attachment/internalization to the BCa cells through increased integrin-α5ß1 expression and IL-6 release, which may enhance BCG-induced suppression of BCa cell growth via recruiting more monocytes/macrophages to BCa cells and increased TNF-α release. Consistently, in vivo studies found ICI 182,780 could potentiate the anti-BCa effects of BCG in the carcinogen-induced mouse BCa models. Together, these in vitro and in vivo results suggest that combining BCG with anti-estrogen may become a new therapeutic approach with better efficacy to suppress BCa progression and recurrence.

Histone deacetylase inhibitor-induced cell death in bladder cancer is associated with chromatin modification and modifying protein expression: A proteomic approach.

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) project recently identified the importance of mutations in chromatin remodeling genes in human carcinomas. These findings imply that epigenetic modulators might have a therapeutic role in urothelial cancers. To exploit histone deacetylases (HDACs) as targets for cancer therapy, we investigated the HDAC inhibitors (HDACIs) romidepsin, trichostatin A, and vorinostat as potential chemotherapeutic agents for bladder cancer. We demonstrate that the three HDACIs suppressed cell growth and induced cell death in the bladder cancer cell line 5637. To identify potential mechanisms associated with the anti-proliferative and cytotoxic effects of the HDACIs, we used quantitative proteomics to determine the proteins potentially involved in these processes. Our proteome studies identified a total of 6003 unique proteins. Of these, 2472 proteins were upregulated and 2049 proteins were downregulated in response to HDACI exposure compared to the untreated controls (P<0.05). Bioinformatic analysis further revealed that those differentially expressed proteins were involved in multiple biological functions and enzyme-regulated pathways, including cell cycle progression, apoptosis, autophagy, free radical generation and DNA damage repair. HDACIs also altered the acetylation status of histones and non-histone proteins, as well as the levels of chromatin modification proteins, suggesting that HDACIs exert multiple cytotoxic actions in bladder cancer cells by inhibiting HDAC activity or altering the structure of chromatin. We conclude that HDACIs are effective in the inhibition of cell proliferation and the induction of apoptosis in the 5637 bladder cancer cells through multiple cell death-associated pathways. These observations support the notion that HDACIs provide new therapeutic options for bladder cancer treatment and thus warrant further preclinical exploration.

Estrogen receptor α in cancer associated fibroblasts suppresses prostate cancer invasion via reducing CCL5, IL6 and macrophage infiltration in the tumor microenvironment.

BACKGROUND: Cancer associated fibroblasts (CAF) play important roles in tumor growth that involves inflammation and epithelial cell differentiation. Early studies suggested that estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) was expressed in stromal cells in normal prostates and prostate cancer (PCa), but the detailed functions of stromal ERα in the PCa remain to be further elucidated. METHODS: Migration and invasion assays demonstrated the presence of high levels of ERα in CAF cells (CAF.ERα(+)) suppressed PCa invasion via influencing the infiltration of tumor associated macrophages. ERα decreased CAF CCL5 secretion via suppressing the CCL5 promoter activity was examined by luciferase assay. ERα decreased CCL5 and IL-6 expression in conditioned media that was collected from CAF cell only or CAF cell co-cultured with macrophages as measured by ELISA assay. RESULTS: Both in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated CAF.ERα(+) led to a reduced macrophage migration toward PCa via inhibiting CAF cells secreted chemokine CCL5. This CAF.ERα(+) suppressed macrophage infiltration affected the neighboring PCa cells invasion and the reduced invasiveness of PCa cells are at least partly due to reduced IL6 expression in the macrophages and CAF. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that CAF ERα could be applied as a prognostic marker to predict cancer progression, and targeting CCL5 and IL6 may be applied as an alternative therapeutic approach to reduce M2 type macrophages and PCa invasion in PCa patients with low or little ERα expression in CAF cells.

Fibroblast ERα promotes bladder cancer invasion via increasing the CCL1 and IL-6 signals in the tumor microenvironment.

Epidemiological studies indicate that women have a higher chance of developing muscle invasive bladder cancer (BCa) than men, suggesting that estrogen and estrogen receptors (ERs) may play critical roles in BCa progression. However, the ERs roles in the bladder tumor microenvironment and impacts on BCa progression remain largely unclear. Using IHC staining in human BCa samples, we found that higher ERα expression in the stromal compartment of BCa may be correlated with unfavorable clinical outcomes. Results from cell line studies revealed that co-culturing with fibroblasts could promote BCa T24, UMUC3 and 5637 cells invasion. Importantly, addition of ERα in fibroblasts further enhanced the BCa cell invasion and knock-down of ERα in fibroblasts could then partially reduce the fibroblasts-enhanced BCa invasion. Mechanism dissection suggested that ERα could function through modulating the CCL cytokines expression in fibroblasts to increase the BCa IL-6 expression. An interruption approach using IL-6 neutralizing antibody then reversed the fibroblast ERα-enhanced BCa cell invasion. Together, these data suggest that the higher expression of ERα in fibroblasts may be the result of modulating the CCL1 expression in fibroblasts and/or IL-6 production in BCa cells to enhance BCa cells invasion. Targeting these individual molecules in this newly identified ERα-stimulated CCL1 and IL-6 signal pathways may become an alternative therapy to better suppress the BCa cell invasion.

Estrogen receptor alpha prevents bladder cancer via INPP4B inhibited akt pathway in vitro and in vivo.

Clinical reports show males have a higher bladder cancer (BCa) incidence than females. The sexual difference of BCa occurrence suggests that estrogen and its receptors may affect BCa development. Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) is the classic receptor to convey estrogen signaling, however, the function of ERα in BCa development remains largely unknown. To understand the in vivo role of ERα in BCa development, we generated total and urothelial specific ERα knockout mice (ERαKO) and used the pre- carcinogen BBN to induce BCa. Earlier reports showed that ERα promotes breast and ovarian cancers in females. Surprisingly and of clinical importance, our results showed that ERα inhibits BCa development and loss of the ERα gene results in an earlier onset and higher incidence of BBN-induced in vivo mouse BCa. Supportively, carcinogen induced malignant transformation ability was reduced in ERα expressing urothelial cells as compared to ERα negative cells. Mechanism studies suggest that ERα could control the expression of INPP4B to reduce AKT activity and consequently reduce BCa cell growth. In addition, IHC staining of clinical sample analyses show that INPP4B expression, in correlation with reduced ERα, is significantly reduced in human BCa specimens. Together, this is the first report using the in vivo cre-loxP gene knockout mouse model to characterize ERα roles in BCa development. Our studies provide multiple in vitro cell studies and in vivo animal model data as well as human BCa tissue analyses to prove ERα plays a protective role in BCa initiation and growth at least partly via modulating the INPP4B/Akt pathway.

Suppression of ERß signaling via ERß knockout or antagonist protects against bladder cancer development.

Epidemiological studies showed that women have a lower bladder cancer (BCa) incidence, yet higher muscle-invasive rates than men, suggesting that estrogen and the estrogen receptors, estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) and estrogen receptor beta (ERß), may play critical roles in BCa progression. Using in vitro cell lines and an in vivo carcinogen N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl) nitrosamine (BBN)-induced mouse BCa model, we found that ERß plays a positive role in promoting BCa progression. Knockdown of ERß with ERß-shRNA in ERß-positive human BCa J82, 647v and T24 cell lines led to suppressed cell growth and invasion. Mice lacking ERß have less cancer incidence with reduced expression of the proliferation marker Ki67 in BBN-induced BCa. Consistently, our results show that non-malignant urothelial cells with ERß knockdown are more resistant to carcinogen-induced malignant transformation. Mechanism dissection found that targeting ERß suppressed the expression of minichromosome maintenance complex component 5 (MCM5), a DNA replication licensing factor that is involved in tumor cell growth. Restoring MCM5 expression can partially reverse ERß knockdown-mediated growth reduction. Supportively, treating cells with the ERß-specific antagonist, 4-[2-Phenyl-5,7-bis(trifluoromethyl) pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-3-yl]phenol (PHTPP), reduced BCa cell growth and invasion, as well as MCM5 expression. Furthermore, we provide the first evidence that BCa burden and mortality can be controlled by PHTPP treatment in the carcinogen-induced BCa model. Together, these results demonstrate that ERß could play positive roles in promoting BCa progression via MCM5 regulation. Targeting ERß through ERß-shRNA, PHTPP or via downstream targets, such as MCM5, could serve as potential therapeutic approaches to battle BCa.

Role of oestrogen receptors in bladder cancer development.

Early studies documented the existence of sexual dimorphism in bladder cancer occurrence and progression, with a greater bladder cancer incidence in males than females. However, the progression of bladder cancer after diagnosis is much quicker in females than males. These findings can be explained by the effects of female hormones (predominantly oestrogens) and their binding receptors, including oestrogen receptor 1 (ESR1; also known as ERα), oestrogen receptor 2 (ESR2; also known as ERß), and GPR30 protein on bladder cancer incidence and progression. Results from studies using various in vitro cell lines and in vivo mouse models demonstrate differential roles of oestrogen receptors in cancer initiation and progression. ERα suppresses bladder cancer initiation and invasion, whereas ERß promotes bladder cancer initiation and progression. Mechanistic studies suggest that ERα and ERß exert these effects via modulation of the AKT pathway and DNA replication complex, respectively. Targeting these signalling pathways--for example, with ERα agonists, ERß antagonists, or selective oestrogen receptor modulators such as 4-[2-phenyl-5,7-bis(trifluoromethyl)pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidin-3-yl]phenol (also known as PHTPP)--could lead to the development of new therapeutic approaches for controlling bladder cancer progression.

Decreased tumorigenesis and mortality from bladder cancer in mice lacking urothelial androgen receptor.

Much fewer mice lacking androgen receptor (AR) in the entire body develop bladder cancer (BCa). However, the role of urothelial AR (Uro-AR) in BCa development remains unclear. In the present study, we generated mice that lacked only Uro-AR (Uro-AR(-/y)) to develop BCa by using the carcinogen BBN [N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)-nitrosamine] and found that Uro-AR(-/y) mice had a lower incidence of BCa and a higher survival rate than did their wild-type (WT; Uro-AR(+/y)) littermates. In vitro assay also demonstrated that Uro-AR facilitates the neoplastic transformation of normal urothelial cells to carcinoma. IHC staining exhibited less DNA damage, with much higher expression of p53 and its downstream target protein PNCA in Uro-AR(-/y) than that found in WT urothelium, which suggests that Uro-AR may modulate bladder tumorigenesis through p53-PCNA DNA repair signaling. Indeed, Uro-AR(-/y) mice with the transgene, simian vacuolating virus 40 T (SV40T), in the urothelium (Uro-SV40T-AR(-/y)) had a similar incidence of BCa as did their WT littermates (Uro-SV40T-AR(+/y)), and p53 was inactivated by SV40T in both genotypes. Use of the AR degradation enhancer ASC-J9 led to suppression of bladder tumorigenesis, with few adverse effects in the BBN-induced BCa mouse model. Together, these results provide the first direct in vivo evidence that Uro-AR has an important role in promoting bladder tumorigenesis and BCa progression. Targeting AR with ASC-J9 may provide a novel approach to suppress BCa initiation.

Distinct function of estrogen receptor α in smooth muscle and fibroblast cells in prostate development.

Estrogen signaling, through estrogen receptor (ER)α, has been shown to cause hypertrophy in the prostate. Our recent report has shown that epithelial ERα knockout (KO) will not affect the normal prostate development or homeostasis. However, it remains unclear whether ERα in different types of stromal cells has distinct roles in prostate development. This study proposed to elucidate how KO of ERα in the stromal smooth muscle or fibroblast cells may interrupt cross talk between prostate stromal and epithelial cells. Smooth muscle ERαKO (smERαKO) mice showed decreased glandular infolding with the proximal area exhibiting a significant decrease. Fibroblast ERαKO mouse prostates did not exhibit this phenotype but showed a decrease in the number of ductal tips. Additionally, the amount of collagen observed in the basement membrane was reduced in smERαKO prostates. Interestingly, these phenotypes were found to be mutually exclusive among smERαKO or fibroblast ERαKO mice. Compound KO of ERα in both fibroblast and smooth muscle showed combined phenotypes from each of the single KO. Further mechanistic studies showed that IGF-I and epidermal growth factor were down-regulated in prostate smooth muscle PS-1 cells lacking ERα. Together, our results indicate the distinct functions of fibroblast vs. smERα in prostate development.

Expression of androgen and oestrogen receptors and its prognostic significance in urothelial neoplasm of the urinary bladder.

UNLABELLED: What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Steroid hormone receptor signals have been implicated in bladder tumourigenesis and tumour progression. The expression of androgen and/or oestrogen receptors has been assessed in bladder cancer, leading to conflicting data of expression levels and their relationship to histopathological characteristics of the tumours. We simultaneously analyze three receptors in non-neoplastic bladder tissues as well as in primary and metastatic bladder tumour specimens. Our data demonstrate that the expression status correlates with tumour grades/stages and patients' outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To assess the expression of the androgen receptor (AR) and oestrogen receptors (ERs) in bladder tumours because recent studies have shown conflicting results and the prognostic significance of their expression remains unclear. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We investigated the expression of AR, ERα and ERß in 188 bladder tumour specimens, as well as matched 141 non-neoplastic bladder and 14 lymph node metastasis tissues, by immunohistochemistry. We then evaluated the relationships between their expression and the clinicopathological features available for the present patient cohort. RESULTS: AR/ERα/ERß was positive in 80%/50%/89% of benign urothelium, 50%/67%/41% of benign stroma, 42%/27%/49% of primary tumours and 71%/64%/71% of metastatic tumours. Significantly lower expression of AR/ERα was found in high-grade tumours (36%/23%) and tumours invading muscularis propria (33%/19%) compared to low-grade tumours (55%; P= 0.0232/38%; P= 0.0483) and tumours not invading muscularis propria (51%; P= 0.0181/35%; P= 0.0139), respectively. Significantly higher expression of ERß was found in high-grade tumours (58%) and tumours invading muscularis propria (67%) compared to low-grade tumours (29%; P= 0.0002) and tumours not invading muscularis propria (34%; P < 0.0001), respectively. Kaplan-Meier and log-rank tests further showed that positivity of ERß (but not AR or ERα) was associated with the recurrence of low-grade tumours (P= 0.0072); the progression of low-grade tumours (P= 0.0005), high-grade tumours not invading muscularis propria (P= 0.0020) and tumours invading muscularis propria (P= 0.0010); or disease-specific mortality in patients with tumours invading muscularis propria (P= 0.0073). CONCLUSIONS: Compared to benign bladders, a significant decrease in the expression of AR, ERα or ERß in bladder cancer was seen. Loss of AR or ERα was strongly associated with higher grade/more invasive tumours, whereas ERß expression was increased in high-grade/invasive tumours and predicted a worse prognosis.

TRAP150 activates pre-mRNA splicing and promotes nuclear mRNA degradation.

TRAP150 has been identified as a subunit of the transcription regulatory complex TRAP/Mediator, and also a component of the spliceosome. The exact function of TRAP150, however, remains unclear. We recently identified TRAP150 by its association with the mRNA export factor TAP. TRAP150 contains an arginine/serine-rich domain and has sequence similarity with the cell death-promoting transcriptional repressor BCLAF1. We found that TRAP150 co-localizes with splicing factors in nuclear speckles, and is required for pre-mRNA splicing and activates splicing in vivo. TRAP150 remains associated with the spliced mRNA after splicing, and accordingly, it interacts with the integral exon junction complex. Unexpectedly, when tethered to a precursor mRNA, TRAP150 can trigger mRNA degradation in the nucleus. However, unlike nonsense-mediated decay, TRAP150-mediated mRNA decay is irrespective of the presence of upstream stop codons and occurs in the nucleus. Moreover, TRAP150 activates pre-mRNA splicing and induces mRNA degradation by its separable functional domains. Therefore, TRAP150 represents a multi-functional protein involved in nuclear mRNA metabolism.

Defects of prostate development and reproductive system in the estrogen receptor-alpha null male mice.

The estrogen receptor-alpha knockout (ERalphaKO, ERalpha-/-) mice were generated via the Cre-loxP system by mating floxed ERalpha mice with beta-actin (ACTB)-Cre mice. The impact of ERalpha gene deletion in the male reproductive system was investigated. The ACTB-Cre/ERalpha(-/-) male mice are infertile and have lost 90% of epididymal sperm when compared with wild-type mice. Serum testosterone levels in ACTB-Cre/ERalpha(-/-) male mice are 2-fold elevated. The ACTB-Cre/ERalpha(-/-) testes consist of atrophic and degenerating seminiferous tubules with less cellularity in the disorganized seminiferous epithelia. Furthermore, the ventral and dorsal-lateral prostates of ACTB-Cre/ERalpha(-/-) mice display reduced branching morphogenesis. Loss of ERalpha could also be responsible for the decreased fibroblast proliferation and changes in the stromal content. In addition, we found bone morphogenetic protein, a mesenchymal inhibitor of prostatic branching morphogenesis, is significantly up-regulated in the ACTB-Cre/ERalpha(-/-) prostates. Collectively, these results suggest that ERalpha is required for male fertility, acts through a paracrine mechanism to regulate prostatic branching morphogenesis, and is involved in the proliferation and differentiation of prostatic stromal compartment.

Phosphorylation of Y14 modulates its interaction with proteins involved in mRNA metabolism and influences its methylation.

The multicomponent exon junction complex (EJC) is deposited on the spliced mRNA during pre-mRNA splicing and is implicated in several post-splicing events, including mRNA export, nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD), and translation control. This report is the first to identify potential post-translational modifications of the EJC core component Y14. We demonstrate that Y14 is phosphorylated at its repeated arginine/serine (RS) dipeptides, likely by SR protein-specific kinases. Phosphorylation of Y14 abolished its interaction with EJC components as well as factors that function downstream of the EJC. A non-phosphorylatable Y14 mutant was equivalent to the wild-type protein with respect to its association with spliced mRNA and its ability in NMD activation, but the mutant sequestered EJC and NMD factors on ribosome-containing mRNA ribonucleoproteins (mRNPs). We therefore hypothesize that phosphorylation of Y14 occurs upon completion of mRNA surveillance, leading to dissociation of Y14 from ribosome-containing mRNPs. Moreover, we found that Y14 is possibly methylated at multiple arginine residues in the carboxyl-terminal domain and that methylation of Y14 was antagonized by phosphorylation of RS dipeptides. This study reveals antagonistic post-translational modifications of Y14 that may be involved in the remodeling of Y14-containing mRNPs.

Assembly of adherens junctions is required for sphingosine 1-phosphate-induced matriptase accumulation and activation at mammary epithelial cell-cell contacts.

Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), a bioactive phospholipid, simultaneously induces actin cytoskeletal rearrangements and activation of matriptase, a membrane-associated serine protease in human mammary epithelial cells. In this study, we used a monoclonal antibody selective for activated, two-chain matriptase to examine the functional relationship between these two S1P-induced events. Ten minutes after exposure of 184 A1N4 mammary epithelial cells to S1P, matriptase was observed to accumulate at cell-cell contacts. Activated matriptase first began to appear as small spots at cell-cell contacts, and then its deposits elongated along cell-cell contacts. Concomitantly, S1P induced assembly of adherens junctions and subcortical actin belts. Matriptase localization was observed to be coincident with markers of adherens junctions at cell-cell contacts but likely not to be incorporated into the tightly bound adhesion plaque. Disruption of subcortical actin belt formation and prevention of adherens junction assembly led to prevention of accumulation and activation of the protease at cell-cell contacts. These data suggest that S1P-induced accumulation and activation of matriptase depend on the S1P-induced adherens junction assembly. Although MAb M32, directed against one of the low-density lipoprotein receptor class A domains of matriptase, blocked S1P-induced activation of the enzyme, the antibody had no effect on S1P-induced actin cytoskeletal rearrangement. Together, these data indicate that actin cytoskeletal rearrangement is necessary but not sufficient for S1P-induced activation of matriptase at cell-cell contacts. The coupling of matriptase activation to adherens junction assembly and actin cytoskeletal rearrangement may serve to ensure tight control of matriptase activity, restricted to cell-cell junctions of mammary epithelial cells.