Suppression of cancer relapse and metastasis by inhibiting cancer stemness.

Partial or even complete cancer regression can be achieved in some patients with current cancer treatments. However, such initial responses are almost always followed by relapse, with the recurrent cancer being resistant to further treatments. The discovery of therapeutic approaches that counteract relapse is, therefore, essential for advancing cancer medicine. Cancer cells are extremely heterogeneous, even in each individual patient, in terms of their malignant potential, drug sensitivity, and their potential to metastasize and cause relapse. Indeed, hypermalignant cancer cells, termed cancer stem cells or stemness-high cancer cells, that are highly tumorigenic and metastatic have been isolated from cancer patients with a variety of tumor types. Moreover, such stemness-high cancer cells are resistant to conventional chemotherapy and radiation. Here we show that BBI608, a small molecule identified by its ability to inhibit gene transcription driven by Stat3 and cancer stemness properties, can inhibit stemness gene expression and block spherogenesis of or kill stemness-high cancer cells isolated from a variety of cancer types. Moreover, cancer relapse and metastasis were effectively blocked by BBI608 in mice. These data demonstrate targeting cancer stemness as a novel approach to develop the next generation of cancer therapeutics to suppress cancer relapse and metastasis.

Implications of reactive oxygen species on cancer formation and its treatment.

Elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) are a hallmark of cancer. Although increased ROS concentrations play important roles in cancer formation and progression, levels above a cytotoxic threshold cause cancer cell death. Cancer cells adapt to high concentrations of ROS via antioxidant production and reprogrammed cellular metabolism (eg, the Warburg effect). Because some widely used anticancer therapies such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy rely on ROS accumulation as a mechanism to induce cancer cell death, a cancer cell's ability to control ROS levels is a driver of treatment resistance and a critical consideration for successful cancer treatment. The necessity for cancer cells to adapt to elevated levels of ROS to survive may represent an Achilles heel for some malignancies, as therapies designed to interfere with this adaptation would be expected to kill cancer cells. In this review, we provide an overview of the implications of ROS on cancer formation and anticancer treatment strategies, with a focus on treatment-resistant disease.

Asymmetric shorter-duplex siRNA structures trigger efficient gene silencing with reduced nonspecific effects.

Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are short, double-stranded RNAs that mediate efficient gene silencing in a sequence-specific manner by utilizing the endogenous RNA interference (RNAi) pathway. The current standard synthetic siRNA structure harbors a 19-base-pair duplex region with 3' overhangs of 2 nucleotides (the so-called 19+2 form). However, the synthetic 19+2 siRNA structure exhibits several sequence-independent, nonspecific effects, which has posed challenges to the development of RNAi therapeutics and specific silencing of genes in research. In this study, we report on the identification of truncated siRNA backbone structures with duplex regions shorter than 19 bp (referred to as asymmetric shorter-duplex siRNAs or asiRNAs) that can efficiently trigger gene silencing in human cell lines. Importantly, this asiRNA structure significantly reduces nonspecific effects triggered by conventional 19+2 siRNA scaffold, such as sense-strand-mediated off-target gene silencing and saturation of the cellular RNAi machinery. Our results suggest that this asiRNA structure is an important alternative to conventional siRNAs for both functional genomics studies and therapeutic applications.

Evaluation of Tumor Cell-Tumor Microenvironment Component Interactions as Potential Predictors of Patient Response to Napabucasin.

Napabucasin is an NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1)-bioactivatable small molecule hypothesized to affect multiple oncogenic pathways. In a prespecified, retrospective analysis of the napabucasin phase III CO.23 study, overall survival was longer for napabucasin versus placebo in patients expressing phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3) in tumor cells and cells of the tumor microenvironment (TME). We hypothesized that a connection may exist between NQO1 expression in cancer cells and pSTAT3 in tumor cells and the TME. In 3D spheroid cocultures of cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts, the antitumor activity of napabucasin was NQO1 dependent. The levels of cytokines such as IL6, CXCL10, and GM-CSF were higher in NQO1-positive versus NQO1-deleted cocultures. These differentially secreted cytokines promoted STAT3 phosphorylation in tumor cells and the TME. NQO1-expressing, napabucasin-sensitive tumor cells can modify tumor cells and the TME to promote STAT3 phosphorylation, suggesting that pSTAT3 may be used to identify a subpopulation of patients who would likely respond to napabucasin. IMPLICATIONS: pSTAT3 is a potential biomarker for patient response to the anticancer drug napabucasin.Visual Overview: http://mcr.aacrjournals.org/content/molcanres/17/7/1429/F1.large.jpg.

Bioactivation of Napabucasin Triggers Reactive Oxygen Species-Mediated Cancer Cell Death.

PURPOSE: Napabucasin (2-acetylfuro-1,4-naphthoquinone or BBI-608) is a small molecule currently being clinically evaluated in various cancer types. It has mostly been recognized for its ability to inhibit STAT3 signaling. However, based on its chemical structure, we hypothesized that napabucasin is a substrate for intracellular oxidoreductases and therefore may exert its anticancer effect through redox cycling, resulting in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and cell death. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Binding of napabucasin to NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase-1 (NQO1), and other oxidoreductases, was measured. Pancreatic cancer cell lines were treated with napabucasin, and cell survival, ROS generation, DNA damage, transcriptomic changes, and alterations in STAT3 activation were assayed in vitro and in vivo. Genetic knockout or pharmacologic inhibition with dicoumarol was used to evaluate the dependency on NQO1. RESULTS: Napabucasin was found to bind with high affinity to NQO1 and to a lesser degree to cytochrome P450 oxidoreductase (POR). Treatment resulted in marked induction of ROS and DNA damage with an NQO1- and ROS-dependent decrease in STAT3 phosphorylation. Differential cytotoxic effects were observed, where NQO1-expressing cells generating cytotoxic levels of ROS at low napabucasin concentrations were more sensitive. Cells with low or no baseline NQO1 expression also produced ROS in response to napabucasin, albeit to a lesser extent, through the one-electron reductase POR. CONCLUSIONS: Napabucasin is bioactivated by NQO1, and to a lesser degree by POR, resulting in futile redox cycling and ROS generation. The increased ROS levels result in DNA damage and multiple intracellular changes, one of which is a reduction in STAT3 phosphorylation.

E2F1 induces phosphorylation of p53 that is coincident with p53 accumulation and apoptosis.

It has been proposed that the E2F1 transcription factor serves as a link between the Rb/E2F proliferation pathway and the p53 apoptosis pathway by inducing the expression of p19ARF, a protein that regulates p53 stability. We find that although p19ARF contributes to p53 accumulation in response to E2F expression, p19ARF is not required for E2F1-mediated apoptosis. E2F1 can signal p53 phosphorylation in the absence of p19ARF, similar to the observed modifications to p53 in response to DNA damage. These modifications are not observed in the absence of p19ARF following expression of E2F2, an E2F family member that does not induce apoptosis in mouse embryo fibroblasts but can induce p19ARF and p53 protein expression. p53 modification is found to be crucial for E2F1-mediated apoptosis, and this apoptosis is compromised when E2F1 is coexpressed with a p53 mutant lacking many N- and C-terminal phosphorylation sites. Additionally, E2F1-mediated apoptosis is abolished in the presence of caffeine, an inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-related kinases that phosphorylate p53. These findings suggest that p53 phosphorylation is a key step in E2F1-mediated apoptosis and that this modification can occur in the absence of p19ARF.

Apoptosis associated with deregulated E2F activity is dependent on E2F1 and Atm/Nbs1/Chk2.

The retinoblastoma protein (Rb)/E2F pathway links cellular proliferation control to apoptosis and is critical for normal development and cancer prevention. Here we define a transcription-mediated pathway in which deregulation of E2F1 by ectopic E2F expression or Rb inactivation by E7 of human papillomavirus type 16 signals apoptosis by inducing the expression of Chk2, a component of the DNA damage response. E2F1- and E7-mediated apoptosis are compromised in cells from patients with the related disorders ataxia telangiectasia and Nijmegen breakage syndrome lacking functional Atm and Nbs1 gene products, respectively. Both Atm and Nbs1 contribute to Chk2 activation and p53 phosphorylation following deregulation of normal Rb growth control. E2F2, a related E2F family member that does not induce apoptosis, also activates Atm, resulting in phosphorylation of p53. However, we found that the key commitment step in apoptosis induction is the ability of E2F1, and not E2F2, to upregulate Chk2 expression. Our results suggest that E2F1 plays a central role in signaling disturbances in the Rb growth control pathway and, by upregulation of Chk2, may sensitize cells to undergo apoptosis.

Dual induction of apoptosis and senescence in cancer cells by Chk2 activation: checkpoint activation as a strategy against cancer.

The human checkpoint kinase 2 (Chk2) plays a central role in regulation of the cellular response to DNA damage, resulting in cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, or apoptosis depending on severity of DNA damage and the cellular context. Chk2 inhibitors are being developed as sensitizers for chemotherapeutic agents. In contrast, here we report that direct activation of Chk2 alone (without chemotherapeutic agents) led to potent inhibition of cancer cell proliferation. In the absence of de novo DNA damage, checkpoint activation was achieved by increased Chk2 expression, as evidenced by its phosphorylation at Thr68, resulting in senescence and apoptosis of cancer cells (DLD1 and HeLa). The Chk2-induced apoptosis was p53 independent and was mediated by caspase activation triggered by loss of mitochondrial potential. The Chk2-induced senescence was also p53 independent and was associated with induction of p21. These results suggest that direct activation of checkpoint kinases may be a novel approach for cancer therapy.

Asymmetric RNA duplexes mediate RNA interference in mammalian cells.

RNA interference (RNAi) has become an indispensable technology for biomedical research and has demonstrated the potential to become a new class of therapeutic. Current RNAi technology in mammalian cells relies on short interfering RNA (siRNA) consisting of symmetrical duplexes of 19-21 base pairs (bp) with 3' overhangs. Here we report that asymmetric RNA duplexes with 3' and 5' antisense overhangs silence mammalian genes effectively. An asymmetric interfering RNA (aiRNA) of 15 bp was incorporated into the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) and mediated sequence-specific cleavage of the target mRNA between base 10 and 11 relative to the 5' end of the antisense strand. The gene silencing mediated by aiRNA was efficacious, durable and correlated with reduced off-target silencing by the sense strand. These results establish aiRNA as a scaffold structure for designing RNA duplexes to induce RNAi in mammalian cells.

Human cytomegalovirus IE1-72 activates ataxia telangiectasia mutated kinase and a p53/p21-mediated growth arrest response.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) encodes several proteins that can modulate components of the cell cycle machinery. The UL123 gene product, IE1-72, binds the Rb-related, p107 protein and relieves its repression of E2F-responsive promoters; however, it is unable to induce quiescent cells to enter S phase in wild-type (p53(+/+)) cells. IE1-72 also induces p53 accumulation through an unknown mechanism. We present here evidence suggesting that IE1-72 may activate the p53 pathway by increasing the levels of p19(Arf) and by inducing the phosphorylation of p53 at Ser15. Phosphorylation of this residue by IE1-72 expression alone or HCMV infection is found to be dependent on the ataxia-telangiectasia mutated kinase. IE2-86 expression leads to p53 phosphorylation and may contribute to this phenotype in HCMV-infected cells. We also found that IE1-72 promotes p53 nuclear accumulation by abrogating p53 nuclear shuttling. These events result in the stimulation of p53 activity, leading to a p53- and p21-dependent inhibition of cell cycle progression from G(1) to S phase in cells transiently expressing IE1-72. Thus, like many of the small DNA tumor viruses, the first protein expressed upon HCMV infection activates a p53 response by the host cell.

Life, death and E2F: linking proliferation control and DNA damage signaling via E2F1.

Proper regulation of cellular proliferation is critical for normal development and cancer prevention. Most, if not all, cancer cells contain mutations in the Rb/E2F pathway, which controls cellular proliferation. Inactivation of the retinoblastoma (Rb) family of proteins can occur through Rb loss, mutation, or inactivation by cellular or viral oncoproteins leading to unrestrained proliferation and, often times, results in apoptosis. The loss of growth control occurs primarily by derepression and activation of the E2F transcription factors. E2F1 in particular, serves as the primary link between loss of Rb function and activation of p53-dependent apoptosis. E2F1 function is crucial for responding to loss of proper Rb-mediated growth control to activate p53 and the apoptotic program. Recently, we described the requirement for the DNA damage response proteins Atm, Nbs1, and Chk2 in the E2F1 apoptosis pathway. These findings suggest that there may be a more intimate relationship between the apoptosis pathways resulting from loss of proper Rb-mediated growth control and apoptosis resulting from the accumulation of DNA damage.