Fatty Acid Oxidation Supports Lymph Node Metastasis of Cervical Cancer via Acetyl-CoA-Mediated Stemness.

Accumulating evidence indicates that metabolic reprogramming of cancer cells supports the energy and metabolic demands during tumor metastasis. However, the metabolic alterations underlying lymph node metastasis (LNM) of cervical cancer (CCa) have not been well recognized. In the present study, it is found that lymphatic metastatic CCa cells have reduced dependency on glucose and glycolysis but increased fatty acid oxidation (FAO). Inhibition of carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1A (CPT1A) significantly compromises palmitate-induced cell stemness. Mechanistically, FAO-derived acetyl-CoA enhances H3K27 acetylation (H3K27Ac) modification level in the promoter of stemness genes, increasing stemness and nodal metastasis in the lipid-rich nodal environment. Genetic and pharmacological loss of CPT1A function markedly suppresses the metastatic colonization of CCa cells in tumor-draining lymph nodes. Together, these findings propose an effective method of cancer therapy by targeting FAO in patients with CCa and lymph node metastasis.

Tyrosine catabolism enhances genotoxic chemotherapy by suppressing translesion DNA synthesis in epithelial ovarian cancer.

Amino acid metabolism has been actively investigated as a potential target for antitumor therapy, but how it may alter the response to genotoxic chemotherapy remains largely unknown. Here, we report that the depletion of fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH), an enzyme that catalyzes the final step of tyrosine catabolism, reduced chemosensitivity in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). The expression level of FAH correlated significantly with chemotherapy efficacy in patients with EOC. Mechanistically, under genotoxic chemotherapy, FAH is oxidized at Met308 and translocates to the nucleus, where FAH-mediated tyrosine catabolism predominantly supplies fumarate. FAH-produced fumarate binds directly to REV1, resulting in the suppression of translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) and improved chemosensitivity. Furthermore, in vivo tyrosine supplementation improves sensitivity to genotoxic chemotherapeutics and reduces the occurrence of therapy resistance. Our findings reveal a unique role for tyrosine-derived fumarate in the regulation of TLS and may be exploited to improve genotoxic chemotherapy through dietary tyrosine supplementation.

Succinyl-CoA ligase ADP-forming subunit beta promotes stress granule assembly to regulate redox and drive cancer metastasis.

Although recent studies demonstrate active mitochondrial metabolism in cancers, the precise mechanisms through which mitochondrial factors contribute to cancer metastasis remain elusive. Through a customized mitochondrion RNAi screen, we identified succinyl-CoA ligase ADP-forming subunit beta (SUCLA2) as a critical anoikis resistance and metastasis driver in human cancers. Mechanistically, SUCLA2, but not the alpha subunit of its enzyme complex, relocates from mitochondria to the cytosol upon cell detachment where SUCLA2 then binds to and promotes the formation of stress granules. SUCLA2-mediated stress granules facilitate the protein translation of antioxidant enzymes including catalase, which mitigates oxidative stress and renders cancer cells resistant to anoikis. We provide clinical evidence that SUCLA2 expression correlates with catalase levels as well as metastatic potential in lung and breast cancer patients. These findings not only implicate SUCLA2 as an anticancer target, but also provide insight into a unique, noncanonical function of SUCLA2 that cancer cells co-opt to metastasize.

CircVPRBP inhibits nodal metastasis of cervical cancer by impeding RACK1 O-GlcNAcylation and stability.

Lymph node (LN) metastasis is one of the most malignant clinical features in patients with cervical cancer (CCa). Understanding the mechanism of lymph node metastasis will provide treatment strategies for patients with CCa. Circular RNAs (circRNA) play a critical role in the development of human cancers. However, the role and mechanism of circRNAs in lymph node metastasis remain largely unknown. Here, it is reported that loss expression of circRNA circVPRBP was closely associated with LN metastasis and poor survival of CCa patients. In vitro and in vivo assays showed that circVPRBP overexpression notably inhibited lymphangiogenesis and LN metastasis, whereas RfxCas13d mediated silencing of circVPRBP promoted lymphangiogenesis and the ability of the cervical cancer cells to metastasize to the LNs. Mechanistically, circVPRBP could bind to RACK1 and shield the S122 O-GlcNAcylation site to promote RACK1 degradation, resulting in inhibition of Galectin-1 mediated lymphangiogenesis and LN metastasis in CCa. Taken together, the results demonstrate that circVPRBP is a potential prognostic biomarker and a novel therapeutic target for LN metastasis in CCa patients.

ODF2L acts as a synthetic lethal partner with WEE1 inhibition in epithelial ovarian cancer models.

WEE1 has emerged as an attractive target in epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), but how EOC cells may alter their sensitivity to WEE1 inhibition remains unclear. Here, through a cell cycle machinery-related gene RNAi screen, we found that targeting outer dense fiber of sperm tails 2-like (ODF2L) was a synthetic lethal partner with WEE1 kinase inhibition in EOC cells. Knockdown of ODF2L robustly sensitized cells to treatment with the WEE1 inhibitor AZD1775 in EOC cell lines in vitro as well as in xenografts in vivo. Mechanistically, the increased sensitivity to WEE1 inhibition upon ODF2L loss was accompanied by accumulated DNA damage. ODF2L licensed the recruitment of PKMYT1, a functionally redundant kinase of WEE1, to the CDK1-cyclin B complex and thus restricted the activity of CDK1 when WEE1 was inhibited. Clinically, upregulation of ODF2L correlated with CDK1 activity, DNA damage levels, and sensitivity to WEE1 inhibition in patient-derived EOC cells. Moreover, ODF2L levels predicted the response to WEE1 inhibition in an EOC patient-derived xenograft model. Combination treatment with tumor-targeted lipid nanoparticles that packaged ODF2L siRNA and AZD1775 led to the synergistic attenuation of tumor growth in the ID8 ovarian cancer syngeneic mouse model. These data suggest that WEE1 inhibition is a promising precision therapeutic strategy for EOC cells expressing low levels of ODF2L.

Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer Is Vulnerable to the cJUN-XRCC4 Pathway Inhibition.

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) caused by platinum drugs are dangerous lesions that kill cancer cells in chemotherapy. Repair of DSB by homologous recombination (HR) and nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) is frequently associated with platinum resistance in ovarian cancer. While the role of the HR pathway and HR-targeting strategy in platinum resistance is well studied, dissecting and targeting NHEJ machinery to overcome platinum resistance in ovarian cancer remain largely unexplored. Here, through an NHEJ pathway-focused gene RNAi screen, we found that the knockdown of XRCC4 significantly sensitized cisplatin treatment in the platinum-resistant ovarian cancer cell lines. Moreover, upregulation of XRCC4 is observed in a panel of platinum-resistant cell lines relative to the parental cell lines, as well as in ovarian cancer patients with poor progression-free survival. Mechanistically, the increased sensitivity to cisplatin upon XRCC4 knockdown was caused by accumulated DNA damage. In cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer, the JNK-cJUN complex, activated by cisplatin, translocated into the nucleus and promoted the transcription of XRCC4 to confer cisplatin resistance. Knockdown of XRCC4 or treatment of the JNK inhibitor led to the attenuation of cisplatin-resistant tumor growth in the xenograft mouse models. These data suggest targeting XRCC4 is a potential strategy for ovarian cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer.

EGFR-phosphorylated GDH1 harmonizes with RSK2 to drive CREB activation and tumor metastasis in EGFR-activated lung cancer.

The cancer metastasis process involves dysregulated oncogenic kinase signaling, but how this orchestrates metabolic networks and signal cascades to promote metastasis is largely unclear. Here we report that inhibition of glutamate dehydrogenase 1 (GDH1) and ribosomal S6 kinase 2 (RSK2) synergistically attenuates cell invasion, anoikis resistance, and immune escape in lung cancer and more evidently in tumors harboring epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-activating or EGFR inhibitor-resistant mutations. Mechanistically, GDH1 is activated by EGFR through phosphorylation at tyrosine 135 and, together with RSK2, enhances the cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) activity via CaMKIV signaling, thereby promoting metastasis. Co-targeting RSK2 and GDH1 leads to enhanced intratumoral CD8 T cell infiltration. Moreover, GDH1, RSK2, and CREB phosphorylation positively correlate with EGFR mutation and activation in lung cancer patient tumors. Our findings reveal a crosstalk between kinase, metabolic, and transcription machinery in metastasis and offer an alternative combinatorial therapeutic strategy to target metastatic cancers with activated EGFRs that are often EGFR therapy resistant.

Qiangli Wuhu mixture alleviates LPS-induced pneumonia by inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway: a study based on network pharmacology.

CONTEXT: Qiangli Wuhu (QLWH) mixture is a concoction approved and registered by Ningxia Medical Products Administration. It has therapeutic effects on various types of pneumonia. OBJECTIVE: To clarify the mechanisms of QLWH in treating pneumonia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The potential targets of QLWH in the treatment of pneumonia were predicted by network pharmacology. Male, Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mice were randomly divided into five groups of 12 mice, control, vehicle, QLWH (10 and 20 mg/kg) and dexamethasone (DXM), and orally treated twice daily with normal saline, QLWH or DXM. The pneumonia model was established by tracheal instillation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). After treatment five days, ELISA, H&E staining and Western blot were used to investigate protective effects of QLWH. RESULTS: Nine hundred and ninety-four active ingredients were found through network pharmacology, corresponding to 135 targets for the treatment of pneumonia; compared to the vehicle group, QLWH (10 and 20 mg/kg) significantly decreased the levels of TNF-α (14.3% and 28.8%), IL-1ß (23.9% and 42.8%) and IL-6 (13.2% and 16.1%), increased the levels of IL-10 (134.3% and 172.9%); in terms of mechanism, QLWH down-regulated TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 axis related proteins in lung tissue of pneumonia model mice (p < 0.05). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: This study combined network pharmacology and animal experiments, providing effective evidence for the clinical promotion of QLWH. Meanwhile, it is of significance for further development.

ROS-regulated phosphorylation of ITPKB by CAMK2G drives cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer.

Platinum resistance accounts for much of the high mortality and morbidity associated with ovarian cancer. Identification of targets with significant clinical translational potential remains an unmet challenge. Through a high-throughput synthetical lethal screening for clinically relevant targets using 290 kinase inhibitors, we identify calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II gamma (CAMK2G) as a critical vulnerability in cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cells. Pharmacologic inhibition of CAMK2G significantly sensitizes ovarian cancer cells to cisplatin treatment in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, CAMK2G directly senses ROS, both basal and cisplatin-induced, to control the phosphorylation of ITPKB at serine 174, which directly regulates ITPKB activity to modulate cisplatin-induced ROS stress. Thereby, CAMK2G facilitates the adaptive redox homeostasis upon cisplatin treatment and drives cisplatin resistance. Clinically, upregulation of CAMK2G activity and ITPKB pS174 correlates with cisplatin resistance in human ovarian cancers. This study reveals a key kinase network consisting of CAMK2G and ITPKB for ROS sense and scavenging in ovarian cancer cells to maintain redox homeostasis, offering a potential strategy for cisplatin resistance treatment.

Extracellular vesicle-mediated communication between hepatocytes and natural killer cells promotes hepatocellular tumorigenesis.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is frequently characterized by metabolic and immune remodeling in the tumor microenvironment. We previously discovered that liver-specific deletion of fructose-1, 6-bisphosphatase 1 (FBP1), a gluconeogenic enzyme ubiquitously suppressed in HCC tissues, promotes liver tumorigenesis and induces metabolic and immune perturbations closely resembling human HCC. However, the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Here, we reported that FBP1-deficient livers exhibit diminished amounts of natural killer (NK) cells and accelerated tumorigenesis. Using the diethylnitrosamine-induced HCC mouse model, we analyzed potential changes in the immune cell populations purified from control and FBP1-depleted livers and found that NK cells were strongly suppressed. Mechanistically, FBP1 attenuation in hepatocytes derepresses an zeste homolog 2 (EZH2)-dependent transcriptional program to inhibit PKLR expression. This leads to reduced levels of PKLR cargo proteins sorted into hepatocyte-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs), dampened activity of EV-targeted NK cells, and accelerated liver tumorigenesis. Our study demonstrated that hepatic FBP1 depletion promotes HCC-associated immune remodeling, partly through the transfer of hepatocyte-secreted, PKLR-attenuated EVs to NK cells.

Circular RNA hsa_circ_0043280 inhibits cervical cancer tumor growth and metastasis via miR-203a-3p/PAQR3 axis.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are known to act as key regulators in a variety of malignancies. However, the role of circRNAs in cervical cancer (CCa) remains largely unknown. Herein, we demonstrated that a circRNA derived from the TADA2A gene (hsa_circ_0043280) was significantly downregulated in CCa and that this reduction in expression was correlated with a poor prognosis. Furthermore, our results demonstrated that hsa_circ_0043280 functions as a tumor suppressor to inhibit tumor growth and metastasis in CCa. Mechanistically, hsa_circ_0043280 competitively sponges miR-203a-3p and prevents miR-203a-3p from reducing the levels of PAQR3. Collectively, our results demonstrate that hsa_circ_0043280 plays a pivotal role in the development and metastasis of CCa, thus suggesting that hsa_circ_0043280 has significant potential as a prognostic biomarker and a therapeutic target for CCa.

Moonlighting functions of metabolic enzymes and metabolites in cancer.

The growing field of tumor metabolism has greatly expanded our knowledge of metabolic reprogramming in cancer. Apart from their established roles, various metabolic enzymes and metabolites harbor non-canonical ("moonlighting") functions to support malignant transformation. In this article, we intend to review the current understanding of moonlighting functions of metabolic enzymes and related metabolites broadly existing in cancer cells by dissecting each major metabolic pathway and its regulation of cellular behaviors. Understanding these non-canonical functions may broaden the horizon of the cancer metabolism field and uncover novel therapeutic vulnerabilities in cancer.

Fucoidan-Supplemented Diet Potentiates Immune Checkpoint Blockage by Enhancing Antitumor Immunity.

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapies such as PD-1 antibodies have produced significant clinical responses in treating a variety of human malignancies, yet only a subset of cancer patients benefit from such therapy. To improve the ICB efficacy, combinations with additional therapeutics were under intensive investigation. Recently, special dietary compositions that can lower the cancer risk or inhibit cancer progression have drawn significant attention, although few were reported to show synergistic effects with ICB therapies. Interestingly, Fucoidan is naturally derived from edible brown algae and exhibits antitumor and immunomodulatory activities. Here we discover that fucoidan-supplemented diet significantly improves the antitumor activities of PD-1 antibodies in vivo. Specifically, fucoidan as a dietary ingredient strongly inhibits tumor growth when co-administrated with PD-1 antibodies, which effects can be further strengthened when fucoidan is applied before PD-1 treatments. Immune analysis revealed that fucoidan consistently promotes the activation of tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells, which support the evident synergies with ICB therapies. RNAseq analysis suggested that the JAK-STAT pathway is critical for fucoidan to enhance the effector function of CD8+ T cells, which could be otherwise attenuated by disruption of the T-cell receptor (TCR)/CD3 complex on the cell surface. Mechanistically, fucoidan interacts with this complex and augments TCR-mediated signaling that cooperate with the JAK-STAT pathway to stimulate T cell activation. Taken together, we demonstrated that fucoidan is a promising dietary supplement combined with ICB therapies to treat malignancies, and dissected an underappreciated mechanism for fucoidan-elicited immunomodulatory effects in cancer.

Cisplatin-mediated activation of glucocorticoid receptor induces platinum resistance via MAST1.

Agonists of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) are frequently given to cancer patients with platinum-containing chemotherapy to reduce inflammation, but how GR influences tumor growth in response to platinum-based chemotherapy such as cisplatin through inflammation-independent signaling remains largely unclear. Combined genomics and transcription factor profiling reveal that MAST1, a critical platinum resistance factor that reprograms the MAPK pathway, is upregulated upon cisplatin exposure through activated transcription factor GR. Mechanistically, cisplatin binds to C622 in GR and recruits GR to the nucleus for its activation, which induces MAST1 expression and consequently reactivates MEK signaling. GR nuclear translocation and MAST1 upregulation coordinately occur in patient tumors collected after platinum treatment, and align with patient treatment resistance. Co-treatment with dexamethasone and cisplatin restores cisplatin-resistant tumor growth, whereas addition of the MAST1 inhibitor lestaurtinib abrogates tumor growth while preserving the inhibitory effect of dexamethasone on inflammation in vivo. These findings not only provide insights into the underlying mechanism of GR in cisplatin resistance but also offer an effective alternative therapeutic strategy to improve the clinical outcome of patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy with GR agonists.

MYCN mediates TFRC-dependent ferroptosis and reveals vulnerabilities in neuroblastoma.

MYCN amplification is tightly associated with the poor prognosis of pediatric neuroblastoma (NB). The regulation of NB cell death by MYCN represents an important aspect, as it directly contributes to tumor progression and therapeutic resistance. However, the relationship between MYCN and cell death remains elusive. Ferroptosis is a newly identified cell death mode featured by lipid peroxide accumulation that can be attenuated by GPX4, yet whether and how MYCN regulates ferroptosis are not fully understood. Here, we report that MYCN-amplified NB cells are sensitive to GPX4-targeting ferroptosis inducers. Mechanically, MYCN expression reprograms the cellular iron metabolism by upregulating the expression of TFRC, which encodes transferrin receptor 1 as a key iron transporter on the cell membrane. Further, the increased iron uptake promotes the accumulation of labile iron pool, leading to enhanced lipid peroxide production. Consistently, TFRC overexpression in NB cells also induces selective sensitivity to GPX4 inhibition and ferroptosis. Moreover, we found that MYCN fails to alter the general lipid metabolism and the amount of cystine imported by System Xc(-) for glutathione synthesis, both of which contribute to ferroptosis in alternative contexts. In conclusion, NB cells harboring MYCN amplification are prone to undergo ferroptosis conferred by TFRC upregulation, suggesting that GPX4-targeting ferroptosis inducers or TFRC agonists can be potential strategies in treating MYCN-amplified NB.

Mutant p53 in Cancer Progression and Targeted Therapies.

TP53 is the most frequently mutated tumor suppressor gene in human cancer. The majority of mutations of p53 are missense mutations, leading to the expression of the full length p53 mutant proteins. Mutant p53 (Mutp53) proteins not only lose wild-type p53-dependent tumor suppressive functions, but also frequently acquire oncogenic gain-of-functions (GOF) that promote tumorigenesis. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in our understanding of the oncogenic GOF of mutp53 and the potential therapies targeting mutp53 in human cancers. In particular, we discuss the promising drugs that are currently under clinical trials as well as the emerging therapeutic strategies, including CRISPR/Cas9 based genome edition of mutant TP53 allele, small peptide mediated restoration of wild-type p53 function, and immunotherapies that directly eliminate mutp53 expressing tumor cells.

DGKA Provides Platinum Resistance in Ovarian Cancer Through Activation of c-JUN-WEE1 Signaling.

PURPOSE: Although platinum compounds are the first-line treatment for ovarian cancer, the majority of patients relapse and develop resistance to treatment. However, the mechanism underlying resistance is unclear. The goal of our study is to decipher the mechanism by which a metabolic kinase, diacylglycerol kinase alpha (DGKA), confers platinum resistance in ovarian cancer. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Metabolic kinase RNAi synthetic lethal screening was used to identify a cisplatin resistance driver in ovarian cancer. DGKA variants were used to demonstrate the need for DGKA activity in cisplatin resistance. Phospho-proteomic and genomic screens were performed to identify downstream effectors of DGKA. Therapeutic efficacy of targeting DGKA was confirmed and clinical relevance of DGKA signaling was validated using ovarian cancer patient-derived tumors that had different responses to platinum-based therapy. RESULTS: We found that platinum resistance was mediated by DGKA and its product, phosphatidic acid (PA), in ovarian cancer. Proteomic and genomic screens revealed that DGKA activates the transcription factor c-JUN and consequently enhances expression of a cell-cycle regulator, WEE1. Mechanistically, PA facilitates c-JUN N-terminal kinase recruitment to c-JUN and its nuclear localization, leading to c-JUN activation upon cisplatin exposure. Pharmacologic inhibition of DGKA sensitized ovarian cancer cells to cisplatin treatment and DGKA-c-JUN-WEE1 signaling positively correlated with platinum resistance in tumors derived from patients with ovarian cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates how the DGKA-derived lipid messenger, PA, contributes to cisplatin resistance by intertwining with kinase and transcription networks, and provides preclinical evidence for targeting DGKA as a new strategy in ovarian cancer treatment to battle cisplatin resistance.

Hsp90B enhances MAST1-mediated cisplatin resistance by protecting MAST1 from proteosomal degradation.

Microtubule-associated serine/threonine kinase 1 (MAST1) is a central driver of cisplatin resistance in human cancers. However, the molecular mechanism regulating MAST1 levels in cisplatin-resistant tumors is unknown. Through a proteomics screen, we identified the heat shock protein 90 B (hsp90B) chaperone as a direct MAST1 binding partner essential for its stabilization. Targeting hsp90B sensitized cancer cells to cisplatin predominantly through MAST1 destabilization. Mechanistically, interaction of hsp90B with MAST1 blocked ubiquitination of MAST1 at lysines 317 and 545 by the E3 ubiquitin ligase CHIP and prevented proteasomal degradation. The hsp90B-MAST1-CHIP signaling axis and its relationship with cisplatin response were clinically validated in cancer patients. Furthermore, combined treatment with a hsp90 inhibitor and the MAST1 inhibitor lestaurtinib further abrogated MAST1 activity and consequently enhanced cisplatin-induced tumor growth arrest in a patient-derived xenograft model. Our study not only uncovers the regulatory mechanism of MAST1 in tumors but also suggests a promising combinatorial therapy to overcome cisplatin resistance in human cancers.