RESUMO
The use of digital pathology for the histomorphologic profiling of pathological specimens is expanding the precision and specificity of quantitative tissue analysis at an unprecedented scale; thus, enabling the discovery of new and functionally relevant histological features of both predictive and prognostic significance. In this study, we apply quantitative automated image processing and computational methods to profile the subcellular distribution of the multi-functional transcriptional regulator, Kaiso (ZBTB33), in the tumors of a large racially diverse breast cancer cohort from a designated health disparities region in the United States. Multiplex multivariate analysis of the association of Kaiso's subcellular distribution with other breast cancer biomarkers reveals novel functional and predictive linkages between Kaiso and the autophagy-related proteins, LC3A/B, that are associated with features of the tumor immune microenvironment, survival, and race. These findings identify effective modalities of Kaiso biomarker assessment and uncover unanticipated insights into Kaiso's role in breast cancer progression.
Assuntos
Neoplasias da Mama/metabolismo , Proteínas Associadas aos Microtúbulos/metabolismo , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismo , Microambiente Tumoral , Automação Laboratorial , Neoplasias da Mama/genética , Neoplasias da Mama/mortalidade , Neoplasias da Mama/patologia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Feminino , Imunofluorescência , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Interpretação de Imagem Assistida por Computador , Microscopia de Fluorescência , Proteínas Associadas aos Microtúbulos/genética , Prognóstico , Estudos Retrospectivos , Medição de Risco , Fatores de Risco , Transdução de Sinais , Fatores de Tempo , Análise Serial de Tecidos , Fatores de Transcrição/genética , Evasão Tumoral , Estados Unidos/epidemiologiaRESUMO
The C-terminal binding protein (CtBP) is an NADH-dependent dimeric family of nuclear proteins that scaffold interactions between transcriptional regulators and chromatin-modifying complexes. Its association with poor survival in several cancers implicates CtBP as a promising target for pharmacological intervention. We employed computer-assisted drug design to search for CtBP inhibitors, using quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) modeling and docking. Functional screening of these drugs identified 4 compounds with low toxicity and high water solubility. Micro molar concentrations of these CtBP inhibitors produces significant de-repression of epigenetically silenced pro-epithelial genes, preferentially in the triple-negative breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-231. This epigenetic reprogramming occurs through eviction of CtBP from gene promoters; disrupted recruitment of chromatin-modifying protein complexes containing LSD1, and HDAC1; and re-wiring of activating histone marks at targeted genes. In functional assays, CtBP inhibition disrupts CtBP dimerization, decreases cell migration, abolishes cellular invasion, and improves DNA repair. Combinatorial use of CtBP inhibitors with the LSD1 inhibitor pargyline has synergistic influence. Finally, integrated correlation of gene expression in breast cancer patients with nuclear levels of CtBP1 and LSD1, reveals new potential therapeutic vulnerabilities. These findings implicate a broad role for this class of compounds in strategies for epigenetically targeted therapeutic intervention.