PPARD and Interferon Gamma Promote Transformation of Gastric Progenitor Cells and Tumorigenesis in Mice.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARD) regulates cell metabolism, proliferation, and inflammation and has been associated with gastric and other cancers. Villin-positive epithelial cells are a small population of quiescent gastric progenitor cells. We expressed PPARD from a villin promoter to investigate the role of these cells and PPARD in development of gastric cancer. METHODS: We analyzed gastric tissues from mice that express the Ppard (PPARD1 and PPARD2 mice) from a villin promoter, and mice that did not carry this transgene (controls), by histology and immunohistochemistry. We performed cell lineage-tracing experiments and analyzed the microbiomes, chemokine and cytokine production, and immune cells and transcriptomes of stomachs of these mice. We also performed immunohistochemical analysis of PPARD levels in 2 sets of human gastric tissue microarrays. RESULTS: Thirty-eight percent of PPARD mice developed spontaneous, invasive gastric adenocarcinomas, with severe chronic inflammation. Levels of PPARD were increased in human gastric cancer tissues, compared with nontumor tissues, and associated with gastric cancer stage and grade. We found an inverse correlation between level of PPARD in tumor tissue and patient survival time. Gastric microbiomes from PPARD and control mice did not differ significantly. Lineage-tracing experiments identified villin-expressing gastric progenitor cells (VGPCs) as the origin of gastric tumors in PPARD mice. In these mice, PPARD up-regulated CCL20 and CXCL1, which increased infiltration of the gastric mucosa by immune cells. Immune cell production of inflammatory cytokines promoted chronic gastric inflammation and expansion and transformation of VGPCs, leading to tumorigenesis. We identified a positive-feedback loop between PPARD and interferon gamma signaling that sustained gastric inflammation to induce VGPC transformation and gastric carcinogenesis. CONCLUSIONS: We found PPARD overexpression in VPGCs to result in inflammation, dysplasia, and tumor formation. PPARD and VGPCs might be therapeutic targets for stomach cancer.

Pleiotropic Effects of PPARD Accelerate Colorectal Tumorigenesis, Progression, and Invasion.

APC mutations activate aberrant ß-catenin signaling to drive initiation of colorectal cancer; however, colorectal cancer progression requires additional molecular mechanisms. PPAR-delta (PPARD), a downstream target of ß-catenin, is upregulated in colorectal cancer. However, promotion of intestinal tumorigenesis following deletion of PPARD in Apcmin mice has raised questions about the effects of PPARD on aberrant ß-catenin activation and colorectal cancer. In this study, we used mouse models of PPARD overexpression or deletion combined with APC mutation (ApcΔ580 ) in intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) to elucidate the contributions of PPARD in colorectal cancer. Overexpression or deletion of PPARD in IEC augmented or suppressed ß-catenin activation via up- or downregulation of BMP7/TAK1 signaling and strongly promoted or suppressed colorectal cancer, respectively. Depletion of PPARD in human colorectal cancer organoid cells inhibited BMP7/ß-catenin signaling and suppressed organoid self-renewal. Treatment with PPARD agonist GW501516 enhanced colorectal cancer tumorigenesis in ApcΔ580 mice, whereas treatment with PPARD antagonist GSK3787 suppressed tumorigenesis. PPARD expression was significantly higher in human colorectal cancer-invasive fronts versus their paired tumor centers and adenomas. Reverse-phase protein microarray and validation studies identified PPARD-mediated upregulation of other proinvasive pathways: connexin 43, PDGFRß, AKT1, EIF4G1, and CDK1. Our data demonstrate that PPARD strongly potentiates multiple tumorigenic pathways to promote colorectal cancer progression and invasiveness. SIGNIFICANCE: These findings address long-standing, important, and unresolved questions related to the potential role of PPARD in APC mutation-dependent colorectal tumorigenesis by showing PPARD activation enhances APC mutation-dependent tumorigenesis.