p53 status determines the role of autophagy in pancreatic tumour development.

Macroautophagy (hereafter referred to as autophagy) is a process in which organelles termed autophagosomes deliver cytoplasmic constituents to lysosomes for degradation. Autophagy has a major role in cellular homeostasis and has been implicated in various forms of human disease. The role of autophagy in cancer seems to be complex, with reports indicating both pro-tumorigenic and tumour-suppressive roles. Here we show, in a humanized genetically-modified mouse model of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), that autophagy's role in tumour development is intrinsically connected to the status of the tumour suppressor p53. Mice with pancreases containing an activated oncogenic allele of Kras (also called Ki-Ras)--the most common mutational event in PDAC--develop a small number of pre-cancerous lesions that stochastically develop into PDAC over time. However, mice also lacking the essential autophagy genes Atg5 or Atg7 accumulate low-grade, pre-malignant pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia lesions, but progression to high-grade pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasias and PDAC is blocked. In marked contrast, in mice containing oncogenic Kras and lacking p53, loss of autophagy no longer blocks tumour progression, but actually accelerates tumour onset, with metabolic analysis revealing enhanced glucose uptake and enrichment of anabolic pathways, which can fuel tumour growth. These findings provide considerable insight into the role of autophagy in cancer and have important implications for autophagy inhibition in cancer therapy. In this regard, we also show that treatment of mice with the autophagy inhibitor hydroxychloroquine, which is currently being used in several clinical trials, significantly accelerates tumour formation in mice containing oncogenic Kras but lacking p53.

USP28 controls SREBP2 and the mevalonate pathway to drive tumour growth in squamous cancer.

SREBP2 is a master regulator of the mevalonate pathway (MVP), a biosynthetic process that drives the synthesis of dolichol, heme A, ubiquinone and cholesterol and also provides substrates for protein prenylation. Here, we identify SREBP2 as a novel substrate for USP28, a deubiquitinating enzyme that is frequently upregulated in squamous cancers. Our results show that silencing of USP28 reduces expression of MVP enzymes and lowers metabolic flux into this pathway. We also show that USP28 binds to mature SREBP2, leading to its deubiquitination and stabilisation. USP28 depletion rendered cancer cells highly sensitive to MVP inhibition by statins, which was rescued by the addition of geranyl-geranyl pyrophosphate. Analysis of human tissue microarrays revealed elevated expression of USP28, SREBP2 and MVP enzymes in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) compared to lung adenocarcinoma (LADC). Moreover, CRISPR/Cas-mediated deletion of SREBP2 selectively attenuated tumour growth in a KRas/p53/LKB1 mutant mouse model of lung cancer. Finally, we demonstrate that statins synergise with a dual USP28/25 inhibitor to reduce viability of SCC cells. Our findings suggest that combinatorial targeting of MVP and USP28 could be a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of squamous cell carcinomas.

Autophagy Blockage Reduces the Incidence of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma in the Context of Mutant Trp53.

Macroautophagy (hereafter referred to as autophagy) is a homeostatic process that preserves cellular integrity. In mice, autophagy regulates pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) development in a manner dependent on the status of the tumor suppressor gene Trp53. Studies published so far have investigated the impact of autophagy blockage in tumors arising from Trp53-hemizygous or -homozygous tissue. In contrast, in human PDACs the tumor suppressor gene TP53 is mutated rather than allelically lost, and TP53 mutants retain pathobiological functions that differ from complete allelic loss. In order to better represent the patient situation, we have investigated PDAC development in a well-characterized genetically engineered mouse model (GEMM) of PDAC with mutant Trp53 (Trp53 R172H ) and deletion of the essential autophagy gene Atg7. Autophagy blockage reduced PDAC incidence but had no impact on survival time in the subset of animals that formed a tumor. In the absence of Atg7, non-tumor-bearing mice reached a similar age as animals with malignant disease. However, the architecture of autophagy-deficient, tumor-free pancreata was effaced, normal acinar tissue was largely replaced with low-grade pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasias (PanINs) and insulin expressing islet ß-cells were reduced. Our data add further complexity to the interplay between Atg7 inhibition and Trp53 status in tumorigenesis.

RNA polymerase I inhibition induces terminal differentiation, growth arrest, and vulnerability to senolytics in colorectal cancer cells.

Ribosomal biogenesis and protein synthesis are deregulated in most cancers, suggesting that interfering with translation machinery may hold significant therapeutic potential. Here, we show that loss of the tumor suppressor adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), which constitutes the initiating event in the adenoma carcinoma sequence for colorectal cancer (CRC), induces the expression of RNA polymerase I (RNAPOL1) transcription machinery, and subsequently upregulates ribosomal DNA (rDNA) transcription. Targeting RNAPOL1 with a specific inhibitor, CX5461, disrupts nucleolar integrity, and induces a disbalance of ribosomal proteins. Surprisingly, CX5461-induced growth arrest is irreversible and exhibits features of senescence and terminal differentiation. Mechanistically, CX5461 promotes differentiation in an MYC-interacting zinc-finger protein 1 (MIZ1)- and retinoblastoma protein (Rb)-dependent manner. In addition, the inhibition of RNAPOL1 renders CRC cells vulnerable towards senolytic agents. We validated this therapeutic effect of CX5461 in murine- and patient-derived organoids, and in a xenograft mouse model. These results show that targeting ribosomal biogenesis together with targeting the consecutive, senescent phenotype using approved drugs is a new therapeutic approach, which can rapidly be transferred from bench to bedside.

Acute systemic knockdown of Atg7 is lethal and causes pancreatic destruction in shRNA transgenic mice.

The notion that macroautophagy/autophagy is a potentially attractive therapeutic target for a variety of diseases, including cancer, largely stems from pre-clinical mouse studies. Most of these examine the effects of irreversible and organ confined autophagy deletion using site specific Cre-loxP recombination of the essential autophagy regulating genes Atg7 or Atg5. Model systems with the ability to impair autophagy systemically and reversibly at all disease stages would allow a more realistic approach to evaluate the consequences of authophagy inhibition as a therapeutic concept and its potential side effects. Here, we present shRNA transgenic mice that via doxycycline (DOX) regulable expression of a highly efficient miR30-E-based shRNA enabled knockdown of Atg7 simultaneously in the majority of organs, with the brain and spleen being noteable exceptions. Induced animals deteriorated rapidly and experienced profound destruction of the exocrine pancreas, severe hypoglycemia and depletion of hepatic glycogen storages. Cessation of DOX application restored apparent health, glucose homeostasis and pancreatic integrity. In a similar Atg5 knockdown model we neither observed loss of pancreatic integrity nor diminished survival after DOX treatment, but identified histological changes consistent with steatohepatitis and hepatic fibrosis in the recovery period after termination of DOX. Regulable Atg7-shRNA mice are valuable tools that will enable further studies on the role of autophagy impairment at various disease stages and thereby help to evaluate the consequences of acute autophagy inhibition as a therapeutic concept.Abbreviations: ACTB: actin, beta; AMY: amylase complex; ATG4B: autophagy related 4B, cysteine peptidase; ATG5: autophagy related 5; ATG7: autophagy related 7; Cag: CMV early enhancer/chicken ACTB promoter; Col1a1: collagen, type I, alpha 1; Cre: cre recombinase; DOX: doxycycline; GCG: glucagon; GFP: green fluorescent protein; INS: insulin; LC3: microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3; miR30-E: optimized microRNA backbone; NAFLD: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; NASH: non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; PNLIP: pancreatic lipase; rtTA: reverse tetracycline transactivator protein; SQSTM1/p62: sequestome 1; TRE: tetracycline responsive element.

The multiple roles of autophagy in cancer.

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved, catabolic process that involves the entrapment of cytoplasmic components within characteristic vesicles for their delivery to and degradation within lysosomes. Autophagy is regulated via a group of genes called AuTophaGy-related genes and is executed at basal levels in virtually all cells as a homeostatic mechanism for maintaining cellular integrity. The levels and cargos of autophagy can be modulated in response to a variety of intra- and extracellular cues to bring about specific and selective events. Autophagy is a multifaceted process and alterations in autophagic signalling pathways are frequently found in cancer and many other diseases. During tumour development and in cancer therapy, autophagy has paradoxically been reported to have roles in promoting both cell survival and cell death. In addition, autophagy has been reported to control other processes relevant to the aetiology of malignant disease, including oxidative stress, inflammation and both innate and acquired immunity. It is the aim of this review to describe the molecular basis and the signalling events that control autophagy in mammalian cells and to summarize the cellular functions that contribute to tumourigenesis when autophagy is perturbed.

Implementation of CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing to Generate Murine Lung Cancer Models That Depict the Mutational Landscape of Human Disease.

Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women. Despite the development of novel therapeutic interventions, the 5-year survival rate for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients remains low, demonstrating the necessity for novel treatments. One strategy to improve translational research is the development of surrogate models reflecting somatic mutations identified in lung cancer patients as these impact treatment responses. With the advent of CRISPR-mediated genome editing, gene deletion as well as site-directed integration of point mutations enabled us to model human malignancies in more detail than ever before. Here, we report that by using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated targeting of Trp53 and KRas, we recapitulated the classic murine NSCLC model Trp53 fl/fl :lsl-KRas G12D/wt . Developing tumors were indistinguishable from Trp53 fl/fl :lsl-KRas G12D/ wt -derived tumors with regard to morphology, marker expression, and transcriptional profiles. We demonstrate the applicability of CRISPR for tumor modeling in vivo and ameliorating the need to use conventional genetically engineered mouse models. Furthermore, tumor onset was not only achieved in constitutive Cas9 expression but also in wild-type animals via infection of lung epithelial cells with two discrete AAVs encoding different parts of the CRISPR machinery. While conventional mouse models require extensive husbandry to integrate new genetic features allowing for gene targeting, basic molecular methods suffice to inflict the desired genetic alterations in vivo. Utilizing the CRISPR toolbox, in vivo cancer research and modeling is rapidly evolving and enables researchers to swiftly develop new, clinically relevant surrogate models for translational research.

MYC- and MIZ1-Dependent Vesicular Transport of Double-Strand RNA Controls Immune Evasion in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.

Deregulated expression of the MYC oncoprotein enables tumor cells to evade immune surveillance, but the mechanisms underlying this surveillance are poorly understood. We show here that endogenous MYC protects pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) driven by KRASG12D and TP53R172H from eradication by the immune system. Deletion of TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) bypassed the requirement for high MYC expression. TBK1 was active due to the accumulation of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), which was derived from inverted repetitive elements localized in introns of nuclear genes. Nuclear-derived dsRNA is packaged into extracellular vesicles and subsequently recognized by toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) to activate TBK1 and downstream MHC class I expression in an autocrine or paracrine manner before being degraded in lysosomes. MYC suppressed loading of dsRNA onto TLR3 and its subsequent degradation via association with MIZ1. Collectively, these findings suggest that MYC and MIZ1 suppress a surveillance pathway that signals perturbances in mRNA processing to the immune system, which facilitates immune evasion in PDAC. SIGNIFICANCE: This study identifies a TBK1-dependent pathway that links dsRNA metabolism to antitumor immunity and shows that suppression of TBK1 is a critical function of MYC in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

LXRα activation and Raf inhibition trigger lethal lipotoxicity in liver cancer.

The success of molecular therapies targeting specific metabolic pathways in cancer is often limited by the plasticity and adaptability of metabolic networks. Here we show that pharmacologically induced lipotoxicity represents a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). LXRα-induced liponeogenesis and Raf-1 inhibition are synthetic lethal in HCC owing to a toxic accumulation of saturated fatty acids. Raf-1 was found to bind and activate SCD1, and conformation-changing DFG-out Raf inhibitors could disrupt this interaction, thereby blocking fatty acid desaturation and inducing lethal lipotoxicity. Studies in genetically engineered and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-induced HCC mouse models and xenograft models of human HCC revealed that therapies comprising LXR agonists and Raf inhibitors were well tolerated and capable of overcoming therapy resistance in HCC. Conceptually, our study suggests pharmacologically induced lipotoxicity as a new mode for metabolic targeting of liver cancer.

Mevalonate Pathway Provides Ubiquinone to Maintain Pyrimidine Synthesis and Survival in p53-Deficient Cancer Cells Exposed to Metabolic Stress.

Oncogene activation and loss of tumor suppressor function changes the metabolic activity of cancer cells to drive unrestricted proliferation. Moreover, cancer cells adapt their metabolism to sustain growth and survival when access to oxygen and nutrients is restricted, such as in poorly vascularized tumor areas. We show here that p53-deficient colon cancer cells exposed to tumor-like metabolic stress in spheroid culture activated the mevalonate pathway to promote the synthesis of ubiquinone. This was essential to maintain mitochondrial electron transport for respiration and pyrimidine synthesis in metabolically compromised environments. Induction of mevalonate pathway enzyme expression in the absence of p53 was mediated by accumulation and stabilization of mature SREBP2. Mevalonate pathway inhibition by statins blocked pyrimidine nucleotide biosynthesis and induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in p53-deficient cancer cells in spheroid culture. Moreover, ubiquinone produced by the mevalonate pathway was essential for the growth of p53-deficient tumor organoids. In contrast, inhibition of intestinal hyperproliferation by statins in an Apc/KrasG12D-mutant mouse model was independent of de novo pyrimidine synthesis. Our results highlight the importance of the mevalonate pathway for maintaining mitochondrial electron transfer and biosynthetic activity in cancer cells exposed to metabolic stress. They also demonstrate that the metabolic output of this pathway depends on both genetic and environmental context. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings suggest that p53-deficient cancer cells activate the mevalonate pathway via SREBP2 and promote the synthesis of ubiquinone that plays an essential role in reducing oxidative stress and supports the synthesis of pyrimidine nucleotide.

The role of autophagy in tumour development and cancer therapy.

Autophagy is a catabolic membrane-trafficking process that leads to sequestration and degradation of intracellular material within lysosomes. It is executed at basal levels in every cell and promotes cellular homeostasis by regulating organelle and protein turnover. In response to various forms of cellular stress, however, the levels and cargoes of autophagy can be modulated. In nutrient-deprived states, for example, autophagy can be activated to degrade cargoes for cell-autonomous energy production to promote cell survival. In other contexts, in contrast, autophagy has been shown to contribute to cell death. Given these dual effects in regulating cell viability, it is no surprise that autophagy has implications in both the genesis and treatment of malignant disease. In this review, we provide a comprehensive appraisal of the way in which oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes regulate autophagy. In addition, we address the current evidence from human cancer and animal models that has aided our understanding of the role of autophagy in tumour progression. Finally, the potential for targeting autophagy therapeutically is discussed in light of the functions of autophagy at different stages of tumour progression and in normal tissues.

Autophagy and cancer - insights from mouse models.

(Macro-)autophagy is an evolutionary conserved 'self-digestion program' that serves to maintain cellular metabolism and is implicated in many pathological processes such as cancer. In recent years, an increasing number of studies in murine cancer models have provided a plethora of sometimes conflicting results about the role of autophagy in cancer biology. This review summarizes these studies and raises awareness that there are situations in which autophagy blockage might indeed reduce tumor growth, but that sometimes the exact opposite is the case. It is therefore vital to mimic patient conditions in preclinical mouse experiments as thoroughly as possible before commencing clinical trials.

CD20-Targeting Immunotherapy Promotes Cellular Senescence in B-Cell Lymphoma.

The CD20-targeting monoclonal antibody rituximab is an established component of immunochemotherapeutic regimens against B-cell lymphomas, where its coadministration with conventional anticancer agents has significantly improved long-term outcome. However, the cellular mechanisms by which rituximab exerts its antilymphoma activity are only partially understood. We show here that rituximab induces typical features of cellular senescence, a long-term growth arrest of viable cells with distinct biologic properties, in established B-cell lymphoma cell lines as well as primary transformed B cells. In addition, rituximab-based immunotherapy sensitized lymphoma cells to senescence induction by the chemotherapeutic compound adriamycin (a.k.a. doxorubicin), and, to a lesser extent, by the antimicrotubule agent vincristine. Anti-CD20 treatment further enhanced secretion of senescence-associated cytokines, and augmented the DNA damage response signaling cascade triggered by adriamycin. As the underlying prosenescence mechanism, we found intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels to be elevated in response to rituximab, and, in turn, the ROS scavenger N-acetylcysteine to largely abrogate rituximab-mediated senescence. Our results, further supported by gene set enrichment analyses in a clinical data set of chronic lymphocytic leukemia patient samples exposed to a rituximab-containing treatment regimen, provide important mechanistic insights into the biologic complexity of anti-CD20-evoked tumor responses, and unveil cellular senescence as a hitherto unrecognized effector principle of the antibody component in lymphoma immunochemotherapy. Mol Cancer Ther; 15(5); 1074-81. ©2016 AACR.

The organomercurial 4-aminophenylmercuric acetate, independent of matrix metalloproteinases, induces dose-dependent activation/inhibition of platelet aggregation.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play an important role in many biological and pathological processes including tissue remodeling, wound healing, inflammation, atherosclerosis, and cancer. Numerous publications have supported the concept that activated MMP-2 enhances agonist-induced platelet aggregation and activated MMP-9 inhibits platelet aggregation. In this study, we demonstrated that the organomercurial compound, 4-aminophenyl mercuric acetate (APMA), which is routinely employed to activate latent MMPs at a concentration of 1000 microM, induces platelet aggregation at low concentration (5 microM) and inhibits agonist-induced platelet aggregation at concentrations >or= 50 microM. Activated MMP-2, MMP-1, and MMP-9, following removal of APMA by ultrafiltration through an anisotropic membrane, exert no independent effect on platelet aggregation. Acetylsalicylic acid and BAPTA inhibited APMA-induced platelet aggregation indicating that the APMA mediated pathway of platelet activation is dependent upon thromboxane and calcium signaling. Zinc chelation with 1,10-phenanthroline, which inhibits zinc-dependent proteins including metalloproteinases, also abrogated platelet functional responses to APMA. Additional studies will be required to clarify the mechanism of the biphasic effect of APMA on platelet aggregation.

Senescence sensitivity of breast cancer cells is defined by positive feedback loop between CIP2A and E2F1.

UNLABELLED: Senescence induction contributes to cancer therapy responses and is crucial for p53-mediated tumor suppression. However, whether p53 inactivation actively suppresses senescence induction has been unclear. Here, we show that E2F1 overexpression, due to p53 or p21 inactivation, promotes expression of human oncoprotein CIP2A, which in turn, by inhibiting PP2A activity, increases stabilizing serine 364 phosphorylation of E2F1. Several lines of evidence show that increased activity of E2F1-CIP2A feedback renders breast cancer cells resistant to senescence induction. Importantly, mammary tumorigenesis is impaired in a CIP2A-deficient mouse model, and CIP2A-deficient tumors display markers of senescence induction. Moreover, high CIP2A expression predicts for poor prognosis in a subgroup of patients with breast cancer treated with senescence-inducing chemotherapy. Together, these results implicate the E2F1-CIP2A feedback loop as a key determinant of breast cancer cell sensitivity to senescence induction. This feedback loop also constitutes a promising prosenescence target for therapy of cancers with an inactivated p53-p21 pathway. SIGNIFICANCE: It has been recently realized that most currently used chemotherapies exert their therapeutic effect at least partly by induction of terminal cell arrest, senescence. However, the mechanisms by which cell-intrinsic senescence sensitivity is determined are poorly understood. Results of this study identify the E2F1-CIP2A positive feedback loop as a key determinant of breast cancer cell sensitivity to senescence and growth arrest induction. Our data also indicate that this newly characterized interplay between 2 frequently overexpressed oncoproteins constitutes a promising prosenescence target for therapy of cancers with inactivated p53 and p21. Finally, these results may also facilitate novel stratification strategies for selection of patients to receive senescence-inducing cancer therapies.

Analysis of macroautophagy by immunohistochemistry.

(Macro)Autophagy is a phylogenetically conserved membrane-trafficking process that functions to deliver cytoplasmic cargoes to lysosomes for digestion. The process is a major mechanism for turnover of cellular constituents and is therefore critical for maintaining cellular homeostasis. Macroautophagy is characteristically distinct from other forms of autophagy due to the formation of double-membraned vesicles termed autophagosomes which encapsulate cargoes prior to fusion with lysosomes. Autophagosomes contain an integral membrane-bound form (LC3-II) of the microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 ß (MAP1LC3B), which has become a gold-standard marker to detect accumulation of autophagosomes and thereby changes in macroautophagy. Due to the role played by macroautophagy in various diseases, the detection of autophagosomes in tissue sections is frequently desired. To date, however, the detection of endogenous LC3-II on paraffin-embedded tissue sections has proved problematic. We report here a simple, optimized and validated method for the detection of LC3-II by immunohistochemistry in human and mouse tissue samples that we believe will be a useful resource for those wishing to study macroautophagy ex vivo.