Protein kinase A-dependent phosphorylation stimulates the transcriptional activity of hypoxia-inducible factor 1.

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) activates the transcription of genes encoding proteins that enable cells to adapt to reduced O2 availability. Proteins encoded by HIF-1 target genes play a central role in mediating physiological processes that are dysregulated in cancer and heart disease. These diseases are also characterized by increased production of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), the allosteric activator of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA). Using glutathione S-transferase pull-down, coimmunoprecipitation, and mass spectrometry analyses, we demonstrated that PKA interacts with HIF-1α in HeLa cervical carcinoma cells and rat cardiomyocytes. PKA phosphorylated Thr(63) and Ser(692) on HIF-1α in vitro and enhanced HIF transcriptional activity and target gene expression in HeLa cells and rat cardiomyocytes. PKA inhibited the proteasomal degradation of HIF-1α in an O2-independent manner that required the phosphorylation of Thr(63) and Ser(692) and was not affected by prolyl hydroxylation. PKA also stimulated the binding of the coactivator p300 to HIF-1α to enhance its transcriptional activity and counteracted the inhibitory effect of asparaginyl hydroxylation on the association of p300 with HIF-1α. Furthermore, increased cAMP concentrations enhanced the expression of HIF target genes encoding CD39 and CD73, which are enzymes that convert extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate to adenosine, a molecule that enhances tumor immunosuppression and reduces heart rate and contractility. These data link stimuli that promote cAMP signaling, HIF-1α-dependent changes in gene expression, and increased adenosine, all of which contribute to the pathophysiology of cancer and heart disease.

Hypoxia induces the breast cancer stem cell phenotype by HIF-dependent and ALKBH5-mediated m6A-demethylation of NANOG mRNA.

N(6)-methyladenosine (m(6)A) modification of mRNA plays a role in regulating embryonic stem cell pluripotency. However, the physiological signals that determine the balance between methylation and demethylation have not been described, nor have studies addressed the role of m(6)A in cancer stem cells. We report that exposure of breast cancer cells to hypoxia stimulated hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α- and HIF-2α-dependent expression of AlkB homolog 5 (ALKBH5), an m(6)A demethylase, which demethylated NANOG mRNA, which encodes a pluripotency factor, at an m(6)A residue in the 3'-UTR. Increased NANOG mRNA and protein expression, and the breast cancer stem cell (BCSC) phenotype, were induced by hypoxia in an HIF- and ALKBH5-dependent manner. Insertion of the NANOG 3'-UTR into a luciferase reporter gene led to regulation of luciferase activity by O2, HIFs, and ALKBH5, which was lost upon mutation of the methylated residue. ALKBH5 overexpression decreased NANOG mRNA methylation, increased NANOG levels, and increased the percentage of BCSCs, phenocopying the effect of hypoxia. Knockdown of ALKBH5 expression in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells significantly reduced their capacity for tumor initiation as a result of reduced numbers of BCSCs. Thus, HIF-dependent ALKBH5 expression mediates enrichment of BCSCs in the hypoxic tumor microenvironment.

HIF-1 regulates CD47 expression in breast cancer cells to promote evasion of phagocytosis and maintenance of cancer stem cells.

Increased expression of CD47 has been reported to enable cancer cells to evade phagocytosis by macrophages and to promote the cancer stem cell phenotype, but the molecular mechanisms regulating CD47 expression have not been determined. Here we report that hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) directly activates transcription of the CD47 gene in hypoxic breast cancer cells. Knockdown of HIF activity or CD47 expression increased the phagocytosis of breast cancer cells by bone marrow-derived macrophages. CD47 expression was increased in mammosphere cultures, which are enriched for cancer stem cells, and CD47 deficiency led to cancer stem cell depletion. Analysis of datasets derived from thousands of patients with breast cancer revealed that CD47 expression was correlated with HIF target gene expression and with patient mortality. Thus, CD47 expression contributes to the lethal breast cancer phenotype that is mediated by HIF-1.

Chemotherapy triggers HIF-1-dependent glutathione synthesis and copper chelation that induces the breast cancer stem cell phenotype.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) accounts for 10-15% of all breast cancer but is responsible for a disproportionate share of morbidity and mortality because of its aggressive characteristics and lack of targeted therapies. Chemotherapy induces enrichment of breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs), which are responsible for tumor recurrence and metastasis. Here, we demonstrate that chemotherapy induces the expression of the cystine transporter xCT and the regulatory subunit of glutamate-cysteine ligase (GCLM) in a hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1-dependent manner, leading to increased intracellular glutathione levels, which inhibit mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK) activity through copper chelation. Loss of MEK-ERK signaling causes FoxO3 nuclear translocation and transcriptional activation of the gene encoding the pluripotency factor Nanog, which is required for enrichment of BCSCs. Inhibition of xCT, GCLM, FoxO3, or Nanog blocks chemotherapy-induced enrichment of BCSCs and impairs tumor initiation. These results suggest that, in combination with chemotherapy, targeting BCSCs by inhibiting HIF-1-regulated glutathione synthesis may improve outcome in TNBC.

HIF-1α and TAZ serve as reciprocal co-activators in human breast cancer cells.

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) expression is a hallmark of intratumoral hypoxia that is associated with breast cancer metastasis and patient mortality. Previously, we demonstrated that HIF-1 stimulates the expression and activity of TAZ, which is a transcriptional effector of the Hippo signaling pathway, by increasing TAZ synthesis and nuclear localization. Here, we report that direct protein-protein interaction between HIF-1α and TAZ has reciprocal effects: HIF-1α stimulates transactivation mediated by TAZ and TAZ stimulates transactivation mediated by HIF-1α. Inhibition of TAZ expression impairs the hypoxic induction of HIF-1 target genes, such as PDK1, LDHA, BNIP3 and P4HA2 in response to hypoxia, whereas inhibition of HIF-1α expression impairs TAZ-mediated transactivation of the CTGF promoter. Taken together, these results complement our previous findings and establish bidirectional crosstalk between HIF-1α and TAZ that increases their transcriptional activities in hypoxic cells.

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 mediates TAZ expression and nuclear localization to induce the breast cancer stem cell phenotype.

Intratumoral hypoxia, which is associated with breast cancer metastasis and patient mortality, increases the percentage of breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) but the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been delineated. Here we report that hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) triggers the expression and activity of TAZ, a transcriptional co-activator that is required for BCSC maintenance, through two discrete mechanisms. First, HIF-1 binds directly to the WWTR1 gene and activates transcription of TAZ mRNA. Second, HIF-1 activates transcription of the SIAH1 gene, which encodes a ubiquitin protein ligase that is required for the hypoxia-induced ubiquitination and proteasome-dependent degradation of LATS2, a kinase that inhibits the nuclear localization of TAZ. Inhibition of HIF-1α, TAZ, or SIAH1 expression by short hairpin RNA blocked the enrichment of BCSCs in response to hypoxia. Human breast cancer database analysis revealed that increased expression (greater than the median) of both TAZ and HIF-1 target genes, but neither one alone, is associated with significantly increased patient mortality. Taken together, these results establish a molecular mechanism for induction of the BCSC phenotype in response to hypoxia.

Myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) protects neurons from acute toxicity using a ganglioside-dependent mechanism.

Myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG), a protein expressed on the innermost wrap of myelin, contributes to long-term axon stability as evidenced by progressive axon degeneration in Mag-null mice. Recently, MAG was also found to protect axons from acute toxic insults. In the current study, rat dorsal root ganglion neurons were cultured on control substrata and substrata adsorbed with myelin proteins. Neurons on myelin-adsorbed surfaces were resistant to acute degeneration of neurites induced by vincristine, a cancer chemotherapeutic agent with neuropathic side effects. Myelin-mediated protection was reversed by anti-MAG antibody and was absent when cells were cultured on extracts from Mag-null mouse myelin, confirming the protective role of MAG. Gangliosides (sialylated glycosphingolipids) are one functional class of axonal receptors for MAG. In the current studies, a direct role for gangliosides in mediating the acute protective effects of MAG was established. Treatment of neurons with sialidase, an enzyme that cleaves the terminal sialic acids required for MAG binding, reversed MAG's protective effect, as did treatment with (1R,2R)-1-phenyl-2-hexadecanoylamino-3-pyrrolidino-1-propanol, an inhibitor of glycosphingolipid biosynthesis. In contrast, treatment with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C, an enzyme that cleaves Nogo receptors (NgR, another class of MAG receptor), or with a peptide inhibitor of an NgR-associated signaling molecule p75(NTR), failed to diminish MAG-mediated protection. Inhibiting the Rho-associated protein kinase ROCK reversed protection. We conclude that MAG protects neurites from acute toxic insult via a ganglioside-mediated signaling pathway that involves activation of RhoA. Understanding MAG-mediated protection may provide opportunities to reduce axonal damage and loss.

Circulating resistin in lean, obese, and insulin-resistant mouse models: lack of association with insulinemia and glycemia.

Resistin is an adipocyte-secreted hormone proposed to link obesity with insulin resistance and diabetes, but no previous study has performed a joint quantitative evaluation of white adipose tissue (WAT) resistin mRNA expression and serum levels in relation to insulinemia and glycemia in mice. We have thus comparatively assessed WAT resistin mRNA expression and serum resistin levels in lean C57BL/6J mice and various mouse models of obesity, including diet-induced obese (DIO) C57BL/6J mice, high fat-fed TNF-alpha-/- mice, and brown adipose tissue (BAT)-deficient uncoupling protein-diphtheria toxin A chain (UCP1-DTA) mice. We also studied whether treatment with the weight-reducing and insulin-sensitizing compounds, MTII, an alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone analog, or CNTF(Ax15), a ciliary neurotrophic factor analog, alters resistin mRNA expression and/or circulating levels in lean and DIO C57BL/6J mice. We find that resistin mRNA expression is similar in DIO and lean C57BL/6J mice, as well as in TNF-alpha-/- and wild-type (WT) mice. Circulating resistin levels, however, are higher in DIO C57BL/6J, high fat-fed TNF-alpha-/-, and UCP1-DTA mice compared with lean controls. Moreover, although resistin mRNA expression is upregulated by MTII treatment for 24 h and downregulated by CNTF(Ax15) treatment for 3 or 7 days, circulating resistin levels are not altered by MTII or CNTF(Ax15) treatment. In addition, serum resistin levels, but not resistin mRNA expression levels, are correlated with body weight, and neither resistin mRNA expression nor serum resistin levels are correlated with serum insulin or glucose levels. We conclude that transcriptional regulation of resistin in WAT does not correlate with circulating resistin levels and that circulating resistin is unlikely to play a major endocrine role in insulin resistance or glycemia in mice.