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The oncoprotein transcription factor MYC is overexpressed in the majority of cancers. Key to its oncogenic activity is the ability of MYC to regulate gene expression patterns that drive and maintain the malignant state. MYC is also considered a validated anticancer target, but efforts to pharmacologically inhibit MYC have failed. The dependence of MYC on cofactors creates opportunities for therapeutic intervention, but for any cofactor this requires structural understanding of how the cofactor interacts with MYC, knowledge of the role it plays in MYC function, and demonstration that disrupting the cofactor interaction will cause existing cancers to regress. One cofactor for which structural information is available is WDR5, which interacts with MYC to facilitate its recruitment to chromatin. To explore whether disruption of the MYC-WDR5 interaction could potentially become a viable anticancer strategy, we developed a Burkitt's lymphoma system that allows replacement of wild-type MYC for mutants that are defective for WDR5 binding or all known nuclear MYC functions. Using this system, we show that WDR5 recruits MYC to chromatin to control the expression of genes linked to biomass accumulation. We further show that disrupting the MYC-WDR5 interaction within the context of an existing cancer promotes rapid and comprehensive tumor regression in vivo. These observations connect WDR5 to a core tumorigenic function of MYC and establish that, if a therapeutic window can be established, MYC-WDR5 inhibitors could be developed as anticancer agents.
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Linfoma de Burkitt/metabolismo , Cromatina/metabolismo , Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intracelular/metabolismo , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-myc/metabolismo , Animais , Linfoma de Burkitt/genética , Carcinogênese , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Cromatina/genética , Humanos , Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intracelular/genética , Camundongos , Camundongos Nus , Ligação Proteica , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-myc/genéticaRESUMO
Over a lifetime, hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) are forced to repeatedly proliferate to maintain hematopoiesis, increasing their susceptibility to DNA damaging replication stress. However, the proteins that mitigate this stress, protect HSPC replication, and prevent aging-driven dysregulation are unknown. We report two evolutionarily conserved, ubiquitously expressed chromatin remodeling enzymes with similar DNA replication fork reversal biochemical functions, Zranb3 and Smarcal1, have surprisingly specialized roles in distinct HSPC populations. While both proteins actively mitigate replication stress and prevent DNA damage and breaks during lifelong hematopoiesis, the loss of either resulted in distinct biochemical and biological consequences. Notably, defective long-term HSC function, revealed with bone marrow transplantation, caused hematopoiesis abnormalities in young mice lacking Zranb3. Aging significantly worsened these hematopoiesis defects in Zranb3-deficient mice, including accelerating the onset of myeloid-biased hematopoietic dysregulation to early in life. Such Zranb3-deficient HSPC abnormalities with age were driven by accumulated DNA damage and replication stress. Conversely, Smarcal1 loss primarily negatively affected progenitor cell functions that were exacerbated with aging, resulting in a lymphoid bias. Simultaneous loss of both Zranb3 and Smarcal1 compounded HSPC defects. Additionally, HSPC DNA replication fork dynamics had unanticipated HSPC type and age plasticity that depended on the stress and Zranb3 and/or Smarcal1. Our data reveal both Zranb3 and Smarcal1 have essential HSPC cell intrinsic functions in lifelong hematopoiesis that protect HSPCs from replication stress and DNA damage in unexpected, unique ways.
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Clinical trials with single-agent venetoclax/ABT-199 (anti-apoptotic BCL2 inhibitor) revealed that diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is not solely dependent on BCL2 for survival. Gaining insight into pathways/proteins that increase venetoclax sensitivity or unique vulnerabilities in venetoclax-resistant DLBCL would provide new potential treatment avenues. Therefore, we generated acquired venetoclax-resistant DLBCL cells and evaluated these together with intrinsically venetoclax-resistant and -sensitive DLBCL lines. We identified resistance mechanisms, including alterations in BCL2 family members that differed between intrinsic and acquired venetoclax resistance and increased dependencies on specific pathways. Although combination treatments with BCL2 family member inhibitors may overcome venetoclax resistance, RNA-sequencing and drug/compound screens revealed that venetoclax-resistant DLBCL cells, including those with TP53 mutation, had a preferential dependency on oxidative phosphorylation. Mitochondrial electron transport chain complex I inhibition induced venetoclax-resistant, but not venetoclax-sensitive, DLBCL cell death. Inhibition of IDH2 (mitochondrial redox regulator) synergistically overcame venetoclax resistance. Additionally, both acquired and intrinsic venetoclax-resistant DLBCL cells were similarly sensitive to inhibitors of transcription, B-cell receptor signaling, and class I histone deacetylases. These approaches were also effective in DLBCL, follicular, and marginal zone lymphoma patient samples. Our results reveal there are multiple ways to circumvent or overcome the diverse venetoclax resistance mechanisms in DLBCL and other B-cell lymphomas and identify critical targetable pathways for future clinical investigations.
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Despite long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) emerging as key contributors to malignancies, their transcriptional regulation, tissue-type expression under different conditions, and functions remain largely unknown. Developing a combined computational and experimental framework, which integrates pan-cancer RNAi/CRISPR screens, and genomic, epigenetic, and expression profiles (including single-cell RNA sequencing), we report across multiple cancers, core p53-transcriptionally regulated lncRNAs, which were thought to be primarily cell/tissue-specific. These lncRNAs were consistently directly transactivated by p53 with different cellular stresses in multiple cell types and associated with pan-cancer cell survival/growth suppression and patient survival. Our prediction results were verified through independent validation datasets, our own patient cohort, and cancer cell experiments. Moreover, a top predicted p53-effector tumor-suppressive lncRNA (we termed PTSL) inhibited cell proliferation and colony formation by modulating the G2 regulatory network, causing G2 cell-cycle arrest. Therefore, our results elucidated previously unreported, high-confidence core p53-targeted lncRNAs that suppress tumorigenesis across cell types and stresses. Significance: Identification of pan-cancer suppressive lncRNAs transcriptionally regulated by p53 across different cellular stresses by integrating multilayered high-throughput molecular profiles. This study provides critical new insights into the p53 tumor suppressor by revealing the lncRNAs in the p53 cell-cycle regulatory network and their impact on cancer cell growth and patient survival.
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Neoplasias , RNA Longo não Codificante , Humanos , RNA Longo não Codificante/genética , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/genética , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica/genética , Neoplasias/genética , Carcinogênese/genética , Transformação Celular Neoplásica/genéticaRESUMO
Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) frequently inactivate p53, increasing their aggressiveness and therapy resistance. We identified an unexpected protein vulnerability in p53-inactivated TNBC and designed a new PROteolysis TArgeting Chimera (PROTAC) to target it. Our PROTAC selectively targets MDM2 for proteasome-mediated degradation with high-affinity binding and VHL recruitment. MDM2 loss in p53 mutant/deleted TNBC cells in two-dimensional/three-dimensional culture and TNBC patient explants, including relapsed tumors, causes apoptosis while sparing normal cells. Our MDM2-PROTAC is stable in vivo, and treatment of TNBC xenograft-bearing mice demonstrates tumor on-target efficacy with no toxicity to normal cells, significantly extending survival. Transcriptomic analyses revealed upregulation of p53 family target genes. Investigations showed activation and a required role for TAp73 to mediate MDM2-PROTAC-induced apoptosis. Our data, challenging the current MDM2/p53 paradigm, show MDM2 is required for p53-inactivated TNBC cell survival, and PROTAC-targeted MDM2 degradation is an innovative potential therapeutic strategy for TNBC and superior to existing MDM2 inhibitors. SIGNIFICANCE: p53-inactivated TNBC is an aggressive, therapy-resistant, and lethal breast cancer subtype. We designed a new compound targeting an unexpected vulnerability we identified in TNBC. Our MDM2-targeted degrader kills p53-inactivated TNBC cells, highlighting the requirement for MDM2 in TNBC cell survival and as a new therapeutic target for this disease. See related commentary by Peuget and Selivanova, p. 1043. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1027.
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Quimera de Direcionamento de Proteólise , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-mdm2 , Neoplasias de Mama Triplo Negativas , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53 , Humanos , Animais , Camundongos , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-mdm2/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-mdm2/metabolismo , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/genética , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/metabolismo , Neoplasias de Mama Triplo Negativas/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias de Mama Triplo Negativas/fisiopatologia , Antineoplásicos/química , Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Antineoplásicos/uso terapêutico , Quimera de Direcionamento de Proteólise/química , Quimera de Direcionamento de Proteólise/farmacologia , Quimera de Direcionamento de Proteólise/uso terapêutico , Regulação para Cima/efeitos dos fármacos , Análise de Sobrevida , Apoptose/efeitos dos fármacos , Proteína Tumoral p73/metabolismo , Xenoenxertos , Proteólise/efeitos dos fármacos , FemininoRESUMO
Anticancer nucleosides are effective against solid tumors and hematological malignancies, but typically are prone to nucleoside metabolism resistance mechanisms. Using a nucleoside-specific multiplexed high-throughput screening approach, we discovered 4'-ethynyl-2'-deoxycytidine (EdC) as a third-generation anticancer nucleoside prodrug with preferential activity against diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). EdC requires deoxycytidine kinase (DCK) phosphorylation for its activity and induced replication fork arrest and accumulation of cells in S-phase, indicating it acts as a chain terminator. A 2.1Å co-crystal structure of DCK bound to EdC and UDP reveals how the rigid 4'-alkyne of EdC fits within the active site of DCK. Remarkably, EdC was resistant to cytidine deamination and SAMHD1 metabolism mechanisms and exhibited higher potency against ALL compared to FDA approved nelarabine. Finally, EdC was highly effective against DLBCL tumors and B-ALL in vivo. These data characterize EdC as a pre-clinical nucleoside prodrug candidate for DLBCL and ALL.
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Quantification of gene dependency across hundreds of cell lines using genome-scale CRISPR screens has revealed co-essential pathways/modules and critical functions of uncharacterized genes. In contrast to protein-coding genes, robust CRISPR-based loss-of-function screens are lacking for long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are key regulators of many cellular processes, leaving many essential lncRNAs unidentified and uninvestigated. Integrating copy number, epigenetic, and transcriptomic data of >800 cancer cell lines with CRISPR-derived co-essential pathways, our method recapitulates known essential lncRNAs and predicts proliferation/growth dependency of 289 poorly characterized lncRNAs. Analyzing lncRNA dependencies across 10 cancer types and their expression alteration by diverse growth inhibitors across cell types, we prioritize 30 high-confidence pan-cancer proliferation/growth-regulating lncRNAs. Further evaluating two previously uncharacterized top proliferation-suppressive lncRNAs (PSLR-1, PSLR-2) showed they are transcriptionally regulated by p53, induced by multiple cancer treatments, and significantly correlate to increased cancer patient survival. These lncRNAs modulate G2 cell cycle-regulating genes within the FOXM1 transcriptional network, inducing a G2 arrest and inhibiting proliferation and colony formation. Collectively, our results serve as a powerful resource for exploring lncRNA-mediated regulation of cellular fitness in cancer, circumventing current limitations in lncRNA research.
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Neoplasias , RNA Longo não Codificante , Redes Reguladoras de Genes , Humanos , Neoplasias/genética , RNA Longo não Codificante/genética , TranscriptomaRESUMO
The oncoprotein transcription factor MYC is a major driver of malignancy and a highly validated but challenging target for the development of anticancer therapies. Novel strategies to inhibit MYC may come from understanding the co-factors it uses to drive pro-tumorigenic gene expression programs, providing their role in MYC activity is understood. Here we interrogate how one MYC co-factor, host cell factor (HCF)-1, contributes to MYC activity in a human Burkitt lymphoma setting. We identify genes connected to mitochondrial function and ribosome biogenesis as direct MYC/HCF-1 targets and demonstrate how modulation of the MYC-HCF-1 interaction influences cell growth, metabolite profiles, global gene expression patterns, and tumor growth in vivo. This work defines HCF-1 as a critical MYC co-factor, places the MYC-HCF-1 interaction in biological context, and highlights HCF-1 as a focal point for development of novel anti-MYC therapies.
Tumours form when cells lose control of their growth. Usually, cells produce signals that control how much and how often they divide. But if these signals become faulty, cells may grow too quickly or multiply too often. For example, a group of proteins known as MYC proteins activate growth genes in a cell, but too much of these proteins causes cells to grow uncontrollably. With one third of all cancer deaths linked to excess MYC proteins, these molecules could be key targets for anti-cancer drugs. However, current treatments fail to target these proteins. One option for treating cancers linked to MYC proteins could be to target proteins that work alongside MYC proteins, such as the protein HCF-1, which can attach to MYC proteins. To test if HCF-1 could be a potential drug target, Popay et al. first studied how HCF-1 and MYC proteins interacted using specific cancer cells grown in the laboratory. This revealed that when the two proteins connected, they activated genes that trigger rapid cell growth. When these cancer cells were then injected into mice, tumours quickly grew. However, when the MYC and HCF-1 attachments in the cancer cells were disrupted, the tumours shrunk. This suggests that if anti-cancer drugs were able to target HCF-1 proteins, they could potentially reduce or even reverse the growth of tumours. While further research is needed to identify drug candidates, these findings reveal a promising target for treating tumours that stem from over-abundant MYC proteins.
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Expressão Gênica , Genes Mitocondriais , Fator C1 de Célula Hospedeira/genética , Biogênese de Organelas , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-myc/genética , Ribossomos/fisiologia , Animais , Linfoma de Burkitt , Feminino , Fator C1 de Célula Hospedeira/metabolismo , Humanos , Camundongos , Camundongos Nus , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-myc/metabolismoRESUMO
Recently, both 5p and 3p miRNA strands are being recognized as functional instead of only one, leaving many miRNA strands uninvestigated. To determine whether both miRNA strands, which have different mRNA-targeting sequences, cooperate to regulate pathways/functions across cancer types, we evaluate genomic, epigenetic, and molecular profiles of >5200 patient samples from 14 different cancers, and RNA interference and CRISPR screens in 290 cancer cell lines. We identify concordantly dysregulated miRNA 5p/3p pairs that coordinately modulate oncogenic pathways and/or cell survival/growth across cancers. Down-regulation of both strands of miR-30a and miR-145 recurrently increased cell cycle pathway genes and significantly reduced patient survival in multiple cancers. Forced expression of all four strands show cooperativity, reducing cell cycle pathways and inhibiting lung cancer cell proliferation and migration. Therefore, we identify miRNA whose 5p/3p strands function together to regulate core tumorigenic processes/pathways and reveal a previously unknown pan-cancer miRNA signature with patient prognostic power.
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Carcinogênese/genética , MicroRNAs/genética , Neoplasias/genética , Carcinogênese/metabolismo , Ciclo Celular/genética , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Movimento Celular/genética , Proliferação de Células/genética , Repetições Palindrômicas Curtas Agrupadas e Regularmente Espaçadas , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/genética , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , MicroRNAs/metabolismo , Neoplasias/metabolismo , Neoplasias/patologia , Prognóstico , Interferência de RNARESUMO
The oncoprotein transcription factor MYC is overexpressed in most cancers and is responsible for hundreds of thousands of cancer deaths worldwide every year. MYC is also a highly validated - but currently undruggable - anti-cancer target. We recently showed that breaking the interaction of MYC with its chromatin co-factor WD repeat-containing protein 5 (WDR5) promotes tumor regression in mouse xenografts, laying the foundation for a new strategy to inhibit MYC in the clinic.
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The cellular DNA replication stress response functions to stabilize DNA replication forks and inhibits genome instability and tumorigenesis induced by oncogenes. However, the specific proteins required for resolving oncogenic stress remain poorly understood. Here we report that Smarcal1 and Zranb3, closely related replication fork-remodeling proteins, have nonredundant functions in resolving Myc-induced DNA replication stress. In Myc-overexpressing primary cells, significant differences in replication fork stalling, collapse, and DNA damage were detected between cells deficient in Smarcal1 or Zranb3, leading to changes in proliferation and apoptosis. These differences were also reflected in Myc-induced lymphoma development; haploinsufficiency of Smarcal1 resulted in accelerated lymphomagenesis, whereas haploinsufficiency of Zranb3 inhibited lymphoma development. Complete loss of either protein resulted in disparate survival outcomes. Our results reveal that endogenous replication stress from Myc in primary cells requires both alleles of Smarcal1 and Zranb3 and demonstrate the requirement of both proteins to stabilize replication forks upon Myc dysregulation in a nonredundant manner. SIGNIFICANCE: Smarcal1 and Zranb3 are essential, but nonredundant, for responding to DNA replication stress and stabilizing replication forks following Myc overexpression.See related commentary by Sotiriou and Halazonetis, p. 1297.
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DNA Helicases/genética , Replicação do DNA , DNA/genética , Dano ao DNA , Instabilidade Genômica , HumanosRESUMO
Metastatic lung cancer is common in patients with lung adenocarcinoma, but the molecular mechanisms of metastasis remain incompletely resolved. miRNA regulate gene expression and contribute to cancer development and progression. This report identifies miR-576-3p and its mechanism of action in lung cancer progression. miR-576-3p was determined to be significantly decreased in clinical specimens of late-stage lung adenocarcinoma. Overexpression of miR-576-3p in lung adenocarcinoma cells decreased mesenchymal marker expression and inhibited migration and invasion. Inhibition of miR-576-3p in nonmalignant lung epithelial cells increased migration and invasion as well as mesenchymal markers. Serum/glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 (SGK1) was a direct target of miR-576-3p, and modulation of miR-576-3p levels led to alterations in SGK1 protein and mRNA as well as changes in activation of its downstream target linked to metastasis, N-myc downstream regulated 1 (NDRG1). Loss of the ability of miR-576-3p to bind the 3'-UTR of SGK1 rescued the inhibition in migration and invasion observed with miR-576-3p overexpression. In addition, increased SGK1 levels were detected in lung adenocarcinoma patient samples expressing mesenchymal markers, and pharmacologic inhibition of SGK1 resulted in a similar inhibition of migration and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma cells as observed with miR-576-3p overexpression. Together, these results reveal miR-576-3p downregulation is selected for in late-stage lung adenocarcinoma due to its ability to inhibit migration and invasion by targeting SGK1. Furthermore, these results also support targeting SGK1 as a potential therapeutic for lung adenocarcinoma. IMPLICATIONS: This study reveals SGK1 inhibition with miR-576-3p or pharmacologically inhibits migration and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma, providing mechanistic insights into late-stage lung adenocarcinoma and a potential new treatment avenue.
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Adenocarcinoma de Pulmão/genética , Proteínas Imediatamente Precoces/antagonistas & inibidores , Neoplasias Pulmonares/genética , MicroRNAs/metabolismo , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/antagonistas & inibidores , Adenocarcinoma de Pulmão/metabolismo , Adenocarcinoma de Pulmão/patologia , Movimento Celular/fisiologia , Humanos , Proteínas Imediatamente Precoces/genética , Proteínas Imediatamente Precoces/metabolismo , Neoplasias Pulmonares/metabolismo , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , MicroRNAs/genética , Invasividade Neoplásica , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/genética , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/metabolismo , TransfecçãoRESUMO
PURPOSE: Radiation therapy is an essential intervention used in the treatment of more than half of cancer patients. With the increasing use of hypofractionated radiation regimens, concurrent use of radiation and chemotherapy, targeted agents and immunotherapy, the risk of radiation-induced toxicities is increased. However, much remains unknown about the molecular underpinnings responsible for radiation-induced toxicity. MicroRNA (miRNA) are small, non-coding RNA involved in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. miR-21 is an oncomiR that is dysregulated in a significant fraction of human malignancies, and its overexpression is linked to poor overall survival, chemoresistance, and radioresistance in several human cancers. However, the contribution of miR-21 in governing radiation sensitivity in normal, untransformed cells, and the impact of silencing this miRNA in normal tissues remains largely unexplored. MATERIALS AND METHODS: miR-21 levels were evaluated in tissues by qRT-PCR without and after total body irradiation (TBI). Mice lacking miR-21 were genetically engineered, subjected to TBI, and monitored for survival. Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) numbers and function were assessed using flow cytometry, histology, complete blood cell counts, and bone marrow transplantation. RESULTS: miR-21 expression was increased in radiosensitive tissues, but not in radioinsensitive tissues following TBI in wild-type mice, suggesting it may have a critical function in the normal tissue response to irradiation. Compared to wild-type mice, mice lacking one or both alleles of miR-21 showed reduced numbers of HSPCs and increased sensitivity to an LD50/30 dose of TBI with evidence of bone marrow failure. Transplantation of wild-type bone marrow into irradiated miR-21-deficient mice rescued the mice from death. CONCLUSIONS: Our data identify miR-21 as a critical component of HSPC viability and essential for bone marrow recovery following irradiation. Further investigation is warranted to determine whether miR-21 can be used to stratify patients at risk for hematopoietic toxicity following irradiation.
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Sobrevivência Celular/efeitos da radiação , Células-Tronco Hematopoéticas/efeitos da radiação , MicroRNAs/metabolismo , Tolerância a Radiação , Animais , Causas de Morte , Feminino , Engenharia Genética , Transplante de Células-Tronco Hematopoéticas , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Knockout , MicroRNAs/genética , Exposição à Radiação , Regulação para Cima , Irradiação Corporal TotalRESUMO
Although lymphoma is a very heterogeneous group of biologically complex malignancies, tumor cells across all B cell lymphoma subtypes share a set of underlying traits that promote the development and sustain malignant B cells. One of these traits, the ability to evade apoptosis, is essential for lymphoma development. Alterations in the Bcl-2 family of proteins, the key regulators of apoptosis, is a hallmark of B cell lymphoma. Significant efforts have been made over the last 30 years to advance knowledge of the biology, molecular mechanisms, and therapeutic potential of targeting Bcl-2 family members. In this review, we will highlight the complexities of the Bcl-2 family, including our recent discovery of overexpression of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member Bcl-w in lymphomas, and describe recent advances in the field that include the development of inhibitors of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members for the treatment of B cell lymphomas and their performance in clinical trials.
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Purpose: B-cell lymphomas must acquire resistance to apoptosis during their development. We recently discovered BCLW, an antiapoptotic BCL2 family member thought only to contribute to spermatogenesis, was overexpressed in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and Burkitt lymphoma. To gain insight into the contribution of BCLW to B-cell lymphomas and its potential to confer resistance to BCL2 inhibitors, we investigated the expression of BCLW and the other antiapoptotic BCL2 family members in six different B-cell lymphomas.Experimental Design: We performed a large-scale gene expression analysis of datasets comprising approximately 2,300 lymphoma patient samples, including non-Hodgkin and Hodgkin lymphomas as well as indolent and aggressive lymphomas. Data were validated experimentally with qRT-PCR and IHC.Results: We report BCLW is significantly overexpressed in aggressive and indolent lymphomas, including DLBCL, Burkitt, follicular, mantle cell, marginal zone, and Hodgkin lymphomas. Notably, BCLW was preferentially overexpressed over that of BCL2 and negatively correlated with BCL2 in specific lymphomas. Unexpectedly, BCLW was overexpressed as frequently as BCL2 in follicular lymphoma. Evaluation of all five antiapoptotic BCL2 family members in six types of B-cell lymphoma revealed that BCL2, BCLW, and BCLX were consistently overexpressed, whereas MCL1 and A1 were not. In addition, individual lymphomas frequently overexpressed more than one antiapoptotic BCL2 family member.Conclusions: Our comprehensive analysis indicates B-cell lymphomas commonly select for BCLW overexpression in combination with or instead of other antiapoptotic BCL2 family members. Our results suggest BCLW may be equally as important in lymphomagenesis as BCL2 and that targeting BCLW in lymphomas should be considered. Clin Cancer Res; 23(22); 7119-29. ©2017 AACR.
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Expressão Gênica , Doença de Hodgkin/genética , Linfoma não Hodgkin/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-bcl-2/genética , Apoptose/genética , Linfócitos B/metabolismo , Linfócitos B/patologia , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Doença de Hodgkin/diagnóstico , Doença de Hodgkin/mortalidade , Humanos , Linfoma Difuso de Grandes Células B/genética , Linfoma Difuso de Grandes Células B/mortalidade , Linfoma Difuso de Grandes Células B/patologia , Linfoma não Hodgkin/diagnóstico , Linfoma não Hodgkin/mortalidade , PrognósticoRESUMO
p53 deletion prevents the embryonic lethality of normal tissues lacking Mdm2, suggesting that cells can survive without Mdm2 if p53 is also absent. Here we report evidence challenging this view, with implications for therapeutically targeting Mdm2. Deletion of Mdm2 in T-cell lymphomas or sarcomas lacking p53 induced apoptosis and G2 cell-cycle arrest, prolonging survival of mice with these tumors. p53-/- fibroblasts showed similar results, indicating that the effects of Mdm2 loss extend to premalignant cells. Mdm2 deletion in p53-/- cells upregulated p53 transcriptional target genes that induce apoptosis and cell-cycle arrest. Mdm2 deletion also increased levels of p73, a p53 family member. RNAi-mediated attenuation of p73 rescued the transcriptional and biological effects of Mdm2 loss, indicating that p73 mediates the consequences of Mdm2 deletion. In addition, Mdm2 deletion differed from blocking Mdm2 interaction with p53 family members, as Nutlin-3 induced G1 arrest but did not activate apoptosis in p53-/- sarcoma cells. Our results indicate that, in contrast to current dogma, Mdm2 expression is required for cell survival even in the absence of p53. Moreover, our results suggest that p73 compensates for loss of p53 and that targeting Mdm2 in p53-deficient cancers has therapeutic potential. Cancer Res; 77(14); 3823-33. ©2017 AACR.
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Linfoma de Células T/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-mdm2/genética , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/deficiência , Proteína Supressora de Tumor p53/genética , Animais , Pontos de Checagem do Ciclo Celular , Proliferação de Células/efeitos dos fármacos , Feminino , Linfoma de Células T/patologia , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Camundongos Knockout , Células Tumorais CultivadasRESUMO
Compromised apoptotic signaling is a prerequisite for tumorigenesis. The design of effective therapies for cancer treatment depends on a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms that govern cell survival. The antiapoptotic proteins of the BCL-2 family are key regulators of cell survival and are frequently overexpressed in malignancies, leading to increased cancer cell survival. Unlike BCL-2 and BCL-XL, the closest antiapoptotic relative BCL-W is required for spermatogenesis, but was considered dispensable for all other cell types. Here, however, we have exposed a critical role for BCL-W in B cell survival and lymphomagenesis. Loss of Bcl-w conferred sensitivity to growth factor deprivation-induced B cell apoptosis. Moreover, Bcl-w loss profoundly delayed MYC-mediated B cell lymphoma development due to increased MYC-induced B cell apoptosis. We also determined that MYC regulates BCL-W expression through its transcriptional regulation of specific miR. BCL-W expression was highly selected for in patient samples of Burkitt lymphoma (BL), with 88.5% expressing BCL-W. BCL-W knockdown in BL cell lines induced apoptosis, and its overexpression conferred resistance to BCL-2 family-targeting BH3 mimetics. Additionally, BCL-W was overexpressed in diffuse large B cell lymphoma and correlated with decreased patient survival. Collectively, our results reveal that BCL-W profoundly contributes to B cell lymphoma, and its expression could serve as a biomarker for diagnosis and aid in the development of better targeted therapies.
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Apoptose , Linfócitos B/metabolismo , Linfoma de Burkitt/metabolismo , Transformação Celular Neoplásica/metabolismo , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Linfoma Difuso de Grandes Células B/metabolismo , Proteínas/metabolismo , Animais , Proteínas Reguladoras de Apoptose , Linfócitos B/patologia , Linfoma de Burkitt/diagnóstico , Linfoma de Burkitt/genética , Linfoma de Burkitt/patologia , Transformação Celular Neoplásica/genética , Humanos , Linfoma Difuso de Grandes Células B/diagnóstico , Linfoma Difuso de Grandes Células B/genética , Camundongos , Camundongos Knockout , Proteínas/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-myc/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-myc/metabolismoRESUMO
Alterations in the expression or function of histone deacetylases (HDAC) contribute to the development and progression of hematologic malignancies. Consequently, the development and implementation of HDAC inhibitors has proven to be therapeutically beneficial, particularly for hematologic malignancies. However, the molecular mechanisms by which HDAC inhibition (HDACi) induces tumor cell death remain unresolved. Here, we investigated the effects of HDACi in Myc-driven B-cell lymphoma and five other hematopoietic malignancies. We determined that Myc-mediated transcriptional repression of the miR-15 and let-7 families in malignant cells was relieved upon HDACi, and Myc was required for their upregulation. The miR-15 and let-7 families then targeted and downregulated the antiapoptotic genes Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, respectively, to induce HDACi-mediated apoptosis. Notably, Myc also transcriptionally upregulated these miRNA in untransformed cells, indicating that this Myc-induced miRNA-mediated apoptotic pathway is suppressed in malignant cells, but becomes reactivated upon HDACi. Taken together, our results reveal a previously unknown mechanism by which Myc induces apoptosis independent of the p53 pathway and as a response to HDACi in malignant hematopoietic cells.
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Neoplasias Hematológicas/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Hematológicas/genética , Inibidores de Histona Desacetilases/farmacologia , MicroRNAs/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-myc/genética , Animais , Apoptose/genética , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Neoplasias Hematológicas/enzimologia , Humanos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , TransfecçãoRESUMO
Despite ubiquitous activation in human cancer, essential downstream effector pathways of the MYC transcription factor have been difficult to define and target. Using a structure/function-based approach, we identified the mitochondrial RNA polymerase (POLRMT) locus as a critical downstream target of MYC. The multifunctional POLRMT enzyme controls mitochondrial gene expression, a process required both for mitochondrial function and mitochondrial biogenesis. We further demonstrate that inhibition of this newly defined MYC effector pathway causes robust and selective tumor cell apoptosis, via an acute, checkpoint-like mechanism linked to aberrant electron transport chain complex assembly and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Fortuitously, MYC-dependent tumor cell death can be induced by inhibiting the mitochondrial gene expression pathway using a variety of strategies, including treatment with FDA-approved antibiotics. In vivo studies using a mouse model of Burkitt's Lymphoma provide pre-clinical evidence that these antibiotics can successfully block progression of MYC-dependent tumors.