Toll-Like Receptor 3 Overexpression Induces Invasion of Prostate Cancer Cells, whereas Its Activation Triggers Apoptosis.

Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) is an endosomal receptor expressed in several immune and epithelial cells. Recent studies have highlighted its expression also in solid tumors, including prostate cancer (PCa), and have described its role primarily in the proinflammatory response and induction of apoptosis. It is up-regulated in some castration-resistant prostate cancers. However, the role of TLR3 in prostate cancer progression remains largely unknown. The current study experimentally demonstrated that exogenous TLR3 activation in PCa cell lines leads to a significant induction of secretion of the cytokines IL-6, IL-8, and interferon-ß, depending on the model and chemoresistance status. Transcriptomic analysis of TLR3-overexpressing cells revealed a functional program that is enriched for genes involved in the regulation of cell motility, migration, and tumor invasiveness. Increased motility, migration, and invasion in TLR3-overexpressing cell line were confirmed by several in vitro assays and using an orthotopic prostate xenograft model in vivo. Furthermore, TLR3-ligand induced apoptosis via cleavage of caspase-3/7 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, predominantly in TLR3-overexpressing cells. These results indicate that TLR3 may be involved in prostate cancer progression and metastasis; however, it might also represent an Achilles heel of PCa, which can be exploited for targeted therapy.

Skp2 and Slug Are Coexpressed in Aggressive Prostate Cancer and Inhibited by Neddylation Blockade.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men in Western countries, and there is still an urgent need for a better understanding of PCa progression to inspire new treatment strategies. Skp2 is a substrate-recruiting component of the E3 ubiquitin ligase complex, whose activity is regulated through neddylation. Slug is a transcriptional repressor involved in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, which may contribute to therapy resistance. Although Skp2 has previously been associated with a mesenchymal phenotype and prostate cancer progression, the relationship with Slug deserves further elucidation. We have previously shown that a high Gleason score (≥8) is associated with higher Skp2 and lower E-cadherin expression. In this study, significantly increased expression of Skp2, AR, and Slug, along with E-cadherin downregulation, was observed in primary prostate cancer in patients who already had lymph node metastases. Skp2 was slightly correlated with Slug and AR in the whole cohort (Rs 0.32 and 0.37, respectively), which was enhanced for both proteins in patients with high Gleason scores (Rs 0.56 and 0.53, respectively) and, in the case of Slug, also in patients with metastasis to lymph nodes (Rs 0.56). Coexpression of Skp2 and Slug was confirmed in prostate cancer tissues by multiplex immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy. The same relationship between these two proteins was observed in three sets of prostate epithelial cell lines (PC3, DU145, and E2) and their mesenchymal counterparts. Chemical inhibition of Skp2, but not RNA interference, modestly decreased Slug protein in PC3 and its docetaxel-resistant subline PC3 DR12. Importantly, chemical inhibition of Skp2 by MLN4924 upregulated p27 and decreased Slug expression in PC3, PC3 DR12, and LAPC4 cells. Novel treatment strategies targeting Skp2 and Slug by the neddylation blockade may be promising in advanced prostate cancer, as recently documented for other aggressive solid tumors.

Discovery of Two Highly Selective Structurally Orthogonal Chemical Probes for Activin Receptor-like Kinases 1 and 2.

Activin receptor-like kinases 1-7 (ALK1-7) regulate a complex network of SMAD-independent as well as SMAD-dependent signaling pathways. One of the widely used inhibitors for functional investigations of these processes, in particular for bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, is LDN-193189. However, LDN-193189 has insufficient kinome-wide selectivity complicating its use in cellular target validation assays. Herein, we report the identification and comprehensive characterization of two chemically distinct highly selective inhibitors of ALK1 and ALK2, M4K2234 and MU1700, along with their negative controls. We show that both MU1700 and M4K2234 efficiently block the BMP pathway via selective in cellulo inhibition of ALK1/2 kinases and exhibit favorable in vivo profiles in mice. MU1700 is highly brain penetrant and shows remarkably high accumulation in the brain. These high-quality orthogonal chemical probes offer the selectivity required to become widely used tools for in vitro and in vivo investigation of BMP signaling.

High-Throughput, Parallel Flow Cytometry Screening of Hundreds of Cell Surface Antigens Using Fluorescent Barcoding.

Multicolor flow cytometry allows for analysis of tens of cellular parameters in millions of cells at a single-cell resolution within minutes. The lack of technologies that would facilitate feasible and relatively cheap profiling of such a number of cells with an antibody-based approach led us to the development of a high-throughput cytometry-based platform for surface profiling. We coupled the fluorescent cell barcoding with preexisting, commercially available screening tools to analyze cell surface fingerprint at a large scale. This powerful approach will help to identify novel biomarkers and druggable targets and facilitate the discovery of new concepts in immunology, oncology, and developmental biology.

TACSTD2 upregulation is an early reaction to lung infection.

TACSTD2 encodes a transmembrane glycoprotein Trop2 commonly overexpressed in carcinomas. While the Trop2 protein was discovered already in 1981 and first antibody-drug conjugate targeting Trop2 were recently approved for cancer therapy, the physiological role of Trop2 is still not fully understood. In this article, we show that TACSTD2/Trop2 expression is evolutionarily conserved in lungs of various vertebrates. By analysis of publicly available transcriptomic data we demonstrate that TACSTD2 level consistently increases in lungs infected with miscellaneous, but mainly viral pathogens. Single cell and subpopulation based transcriptomic data revealed that the major source of TACSTD2 transcript are lung epithelial cells and their progenitors and that TACSTD2 is induced directly in lung epithelial cells following infection. Increase in TACSTD2 expression may represent a mechanism to maintain/restore epithelial barrier function and contribute to regeneration process in infected/damaged lungs.

A prolonged exposure of human lung carcinoma epithelial cells to benzo[a]pyrene induces p21-dependent epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like phenotype.

Deciphering the role of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) in lung cancer cells may help us to better understand the role of toxic AhR ligands in lung carcinogenesis, including cancer progression. We employed human lung carcinoma A549 cells to investigate their fate after continuous two-week exposure to model AhR agonists, genotoxic benzo[a]pyrene (BaP; 1 µM) and non-genotoxic 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD; 10 nM). While TCDD increased proliferative rate of A549 cells, exposure to BaP decreased cell proliferation and induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like phenotype, which was associated with enhanced cell migration, invasion, and altered cell morphology. Although TCDD also suppressed expression of E-cadherin and activated some genes linked to EMT, it did not induce the EMT-like phenotype. The results of transcriptomic analysis, and the opposite effects of BaP and TCDD on cell proliferation, indicated that a delay in cell cycle progression, together with a slight increase of senescence (when coupled with AhR activation), favors the induction of EMT-like phenotype. The shift towards EMT-like phenotype observed after simultaneous treatment with TCDD and mitomycin C (an inhibitor of cell proliferation) confirmed the hypothesis. Since BaP decreased cell proliferative rate via induction of p21 expression, we generated the A549 cell model with reduced p21 expression and exposed it to BaP for two weeks. The p21 knockdown suppressed the BaP-mediated EMT-like phenotype in A549 cells, thus confirming that a delayed cell cycle progression, together with p21-dependent induction of senescence-related chemokine CCL2, may contribute to induction of EMT-like cell phenotype in lung cells exposed to genotoxic AhR ligands.

TGF-ß regulates Sca-1 expression and plasticity of pre-neoplastic mammary epithelial stem cells.

The epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity, in tight association with stemness, contributes to the mammary gland homeostasis, evolution of early neoplastic lesions and cancer dissemination. Focused on cell surfaceome, we used mouse models of pre-neoplastic mammary epithelial and cancer stem cells to reveal the connection between cell surface markers and distinct cell phenotypes. We mechanistically dissected the TGF-ß family-driven regulation of Sca-1, one of the most commonly used adult stem cell markers. We further provided evidence that TGF-ß disrupts the lineage commitment and promotes the accumulation of tumor-initiating cells in pre-neoplastic cells.