Lung-resident alveolar macrophages regulate the timing of breast cancer metastasis.

Breast disseminated cancer cells (DCCs) can remain dormant in the lungs for extended periods, but the mechanisms limiting their expansion are not well understood. Research indicates that tissue-resident alveolar macrophages suppress breast cancer metastasis in lung alveoli by inducing dormancy. Through ligand-receptor mapping and intravital imaging, it was found that alveolar macrophages express transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß2. This expression, along with persistent macrophage-cancer cell interactions via the TGF-ßRIII receptor, maintains cancer cells in a dormant state. Depleting alveolar macrophages or losing the TGF-ß2 receptor in cancer cells triggers metastatic awakening. Aggressive breast cancer cells are either suppressed by alveolar macrophages or evade this suppression by avoiding interaction and downregulating the TGF-ß2 receptor. Restoring TGF-ßRIII in aggressive cells reinstates TGF-ß2-mediated macrophage growth suppression. Thus, alveolar macrophages act as a metastasis immune barrier, and downregulation of TGF-ß2 signaling allows cancer cells to overcome macrophage-mediated growth suppression.

Stromal changes in the aged lung induce an emergence from melanoma dormancy.

Disseminated cancer cells from primary tumours can seed in distal tissues, but may take several years to form overt metastases, a phenomenon that is termed tumour dormancy. Despite its importance in metastasis and residual disease, few studies have been able to successfully characterize dormancy within melanoma. Here we show that the aged lung microenvironment facilitates a permissive niche for efficient outgrowth of dormant disseminated cancer cells-in contrast to the aged skin, in which age-related changes suppress melanoma growth but drive dissemination. These microenvironmental complexities can be explained by the phenotype switching model, which argues that melanoma cells switch between a proliferative cell state and a slower-cycling, invasive state1-3. It was previously shown that dermal fibroblasts promote phenotype switching in melanoma during ageing4-8. We now identify WNT5A as an activator of dormancy in melanoma disseminated cancer cells within the lung, which initially enables the efficient dissemination and seeding of melanoma cells in metastatic niches. Age-induced reprogramming of lung fibroblasts increases their secretion of the soluble WNT antagonist sFRP1, which inhibits WNT5A in melanoma cells and thereby enables efficient metastatic outgrowth. We also identify the tyrosine kinase receptors AXL and MER as promoting a dormancy-to-reactivation axis within melanoma cells. Overall, we find that age-induced changes in distal metastatic microenvironments promote the efficient reactivation of dormant melanoma cells in the lung.

Tissue-resident macrophages provide a pro-tumorigenic niche to early NSCLC cells.

Macrophages have a key role in shaping the tumour microenvironment (TME), tumour immunity and response to immunotherapy, which makes them an important target for cancer treatment1,2. However, modulating macrophages has proved extremely difficult, as we still lack a complete understanding of the molecular and functional diversity of the tumour macrophage compartment. Macrophages arise from two distinct lineages. Tissue-resident macrophages self-renew locally, independent of adult haematopoiesis3-5, whereas short-lived monocyte-derived macrophages arise from adult haematopoietic stem cells, and accumulate mostly in inflamed lesions1. How these macrophage lineages contribute to the TME and cancer progression remains unclear. To explore the diversity of the macrophage compartment in human non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) lesions, here we performed single-cell RNA sequencing of tumour-associated leukocytes. We identified distinct populations of macrophages that were enriched in human and mouse lung tumours. Using lineage tracing, we discovered that these macrophage populations differ in origin and have a distinct temporal and spatial distribution in the TME. Tissue-resident macrophages accumulate close to tumour cells early during tumour formation to promote epithelial-mesenchymal transition and invasiveness in tumour cells, and they also induce a potent regulatory T cell response that protects tumour cells from adaptive immunity. Depletion of tissue-resident macrophages reduced the numbers and altered the phenotype of regulatory T cells, promoted the accumulation of CD8+ T cells and reduced tumour invasiveness and growth. During tumour growth, tissue-resident macrophages became redistributed at the periphery of the TME, which becomes dominated by monocyte-derived macrophages in both mouse and human NSCLC. This study identifies the contribution of tissue-resident macrophages to early lung cancer and establishes them as a target for the prevention and treatment of early lung cancer lesions.

Corrigendum: Mechanism of early dissemination and metastasis in Her2+ mammary cancer.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/nature20609.

Mechanism of early dissemination and metastasis in Her2+ mammary cancer.

Metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths; metastatic lesions develop from disseminated cancer cells (DCCs) that can remain dormant. Metastasis-initiating cells are thought to originate from a subpopulation present in progressed, invasive tumours. However, DCCs detected in patients before the manifestation of breast-cancer metastasis contain fewer genetic abnormalities than primary tumours or than DCCs from patients with metastases. These findings, and those in pancreatic cancer and melanoma models, indicate that dissemination might occur during the early stages of tumour evolution. However, the mechanisms that might allow early disseminated cancer cells (eDCCs) to complete all steps of metastasis are unknown. Here we show that, in early lesions in mice and before any apparent primary tumour masses are detected, there is a sub-population of Her2+p-p38lop-Atf2loTwist1hiE-cadlo early cancer cells that is invasive and can spread to target organs. Intra-vital imaging and organoid studies of early lesions showed that Her2+ eDCC precursors invaded locally, intravasated and lodged in target organs. Her2+ eDCCs activated a Wnt-dependent epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like dissemination program but without complete loss of the epithelial phenotype, which was reversed by Her2 or Wnt inhibition. Notably, although the majority of eDCCs were Twist1hiE-cadlo and dormant, they eventually initiated metastasis. Our work identifies a mechanism for early dissemination in which Her2 aberrantly activates a program similar to mammary ductal branching that generates eDCCs that are capable of forming metastasis after a dormancy phase.

Early dissemination seeds metastasis in breast cancer.

Accumulating data suggest that metastatic dissemination often occurs early during tumour formation, but the mechanisms of early metastatic spread have not yet been addressed. Here, by studying metastasis in a HER2-driven mouse breast cancer model, we show that progesterone-induced signalling triggers migration of cancer cells from early lesions shortly after HER2 activation, but promotes proliferation in advanced primary tumour cells. The switch from migration to proliferation was regulated by increased HER2 expression and tumour-cell density involving microRNA-mediated progesterone receptor downregulation, and was reversible. Cells from early, low-density lesions displayed more stemness features, migrated more and founded more metastases than cells from dense, advanced tumours. Notably, we found that at least 80% of metastases were derived from early disseminated cancer cells. Karyotypic and phenotypic analysis of human disseminated cancer cells and primary tumours corroborated the relevance of these findings for human metastatic dissemination.

Immobilization rapidly selects for chemoresistant ovarian cancer cells with enhanced ability to enter dormancy.

Around 20-30% of ovarian cancer patients exhibit chemoresistance, but there are currently no methods to predict whether a patient will respond to chemotherapy. Here, we discovered that chemoresistant ovarian cancer cells exhibit enhanced survival in a quiescent state upon experiencing the stress of physical confinement. When immobilized in stiff silica gels, most ovarian cancer cells die within days, but surviving cells exhibit hallmarks of single-cell dormancy. Upon extraction from gels, the cells resume proliferation but demonstrate enhanced viability upon reimmobilization, indicating that initial immobilization selects for cells with a higher propensity to enter dormancy. RNA-seq analysis of the extracted cells shows they have signaling responses similar to cells surviving cisplatin treatment, and in comparison to chemoresistant patient cohorts, they share differentially expressed genes that are associated with platinum-resistance pathways. Furthermore, these extracted cells demonstrate greater resistance to cisplatin and paclitaxel, despite being proliferative. In contrast, serum starvation and hypoxia could not effectively select for chemoresistant cells upon removal of the environmental stress. These findings demonstrate that ovarian cancer chemoresistance and the ability to enter dormancy are linked, and immobilization rapidly distinguishes chemoresistant cells. This platform could be suitable for mechanistic studies, drug development, or as a clinical diagnostic tool.

NR2F1 stratifies dormant disseminated tumor cells in breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: The presence of disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) in bone marrow (BM) is an independent prognostic factor in early breast cancer but does not uniformly predict outcome. Tumor cells can persist in a quiescent state over time, but clinical studies of markers predicting the awakening potential of DTCs are lacking. Recently, experiments have shown that NR2F1 (COUP-TF1) plays a key role in dormancy signaling. METHODS: We analyzed the NR2F1 expression in DTCs by double immunofluorescence (DIF) staining of extra cytospins prepared from 114 BM samples from 86 selected DTC-positive breast cancer patients. Samples collected at two or more time points were available for 24 patients. Fifteen samples were also analyzed for the proliferation marker Ki67. RESULTS: Of the patients with detectable DTCs by DIF, 27% had ≥ 50% NR2F1high DTCs, chosen a priori as the cut-off for "dormant profile" classification. All patients with systemic relapse within 12 months after BM aspiration carried ≤ 1% NR2F1high DTCs, including patients who transitioned from having NR2F1high-expressing DTCs in previous BM samples. Of the patients with serial samples, half of those with no relapse at follow-up had ≥ 50% NR2F1high DTCs in the last BM aspiration analyzed. Among the 18 relapse-free patients at the time of the last DTC-positive BM aspiration with no subsequent BM analysis performed, distant disease-free intervals were favorable for patients carrying ≥ 50% NR2F1high DTCs compared with those with predominantly NR2F1low DTCs (p = 0.007, log-rank). No survival difference was observed by classification according to Ki67-expressing DTCs (p = 0.520). CONCLUSIONS: Our study translates findings from basic biological analysis of DTC dormancy to the clinical situation and supports further clinical studies of NR2F1 as a marker of dormancy.

Time-lapsed, large-volume, high-resolution intravital imaging for tissue-wide analysis of single cell dynamics.

Pathologists rely on microscopy to diagnose disease states in tissues and organs. They utilize both high-resolution, high-magnification images to interpret the staining and morphology of individual cells, as well as low-magnification overviews to give context and location to these cells. Intravital imaging is a powerful technique for studying cells and tissues in their native, live environment and can yield sub-cellular resolution images similar to those used by pathologists. However, technical limitations prevent the straightforward acquisition of low-magnification images during intravital imaging, and they are hence not typically captured. The serial acquisition, mosaicking, and stitching together of many high-resolution, high-magnification fields of view is a technique that overcomes these limitations in fixed and ex vivo tissues. The technique however, has not to date been widely applied to intravital imaging as movements caused by the living animal induce image distortions that are difficult to compensate for computationally. To address this, we have developed techniques for the stabilization of numerous tissues, including extremely compliant tissues, that have traditionally been extremely difficult to image. We present a novel combination of these stabilization techniques with mosaicked and stitched intravital imaging, resulting in a process we call Large-Volume High-Resolution Intravital Imaging (LVHR-IVI). The techniques we present are validated and make large volume intravital imaging accessible to any lab with a multiphoton microscope.

Mer Tyrosine Kinase Regulates Disseminated Prostate Cancer Cellular Dormancy.

Many prostate cancer (PCa) recurrences are thought to be due to reactivation of disseminated tumor cells (DTCs). We previously found a role of the TAM family of receptor tyrosine kinases TYRO3, AXL, and MERTK in PCa dormancy regulation. However, the mechanism and contributions of the individual TAM receptors is largely unknown. Knockdown of MERTK, but not AXL or TYRO3 by shRNA in PCa cells induced a decreased ratio of P-Erk1/2 to P-p38, increased expression of p27, NR2F1, SOX2, and NANOG, induced higher levels of histone H3K9me3 and H3K27me3, and induced a G1/G0 arrest, all of which are associated with dormancy. Similar effects were also observed with siRNA. Most importantly, knockdown of MERTK in PCa cells increased metastasis free survival in an intra-cardiac injection mouse xenograft model. MERTK knockdown also failed to inhibit PCa growth in vitro and subcutaneous growth in vivo, which suggests that MERTK has specificity for dormancy regulation or requires a signal from the PCa microenvironment. The effects of MERTK on the cell cycle and histone methylation were reversed by p38 inhibitor SB203580, which indicates the importance of MAP kinases for MERTK dormancy regulation. Overall, this study shows that MERTK stimulates PCa dormancy escape through a MAP kinase dependent mechanism, also involving p27, pluripotency transcription factors, and histone methylation. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 891-902, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Identification of markers that functionally define a quiescent multiple myeloma cell sub-population surviving bortezomib treatment.

BACKGROUND: The mechanisms allowing residual multiple myeloma (MM) cells to persist after bortezomib (Bz) treatment remain unclear. We hypothesized that studying the biology of bortezomib-surviving cells may reveal markers to identify these cells and survival signals to target and kill residual MM cells. METHODS: We used H2B-GFP label retention, biochemical tools and in vitro and in vivo experiments to characterize growth arrest and the unfolded protein responses in quiescent Bz-surviving cells. We also tested the effect of a demethylating agent, 5-Azacytidine, on Bz-induced quiescence and whether inhibiting the chaperone GRP78/BiP (henceforth GRP78) with a specific toxin induced apoptosis in Bz-surviving cells. Finally, we used MM patient samples to test whether GRP78 levels might associate with disease progression. Statistical analysis employed t-test and Mann-Whitney tests at a 95% confidence. RESULTS: We report that Bz-surviving MM cells in vitro and in vivo enter quiescence characterized by p21(CIP1) upregulation. Bz-surviving MM cells also downregulated CDK6, Ki67 and P-Rb. H2B-GFP label retention showed that Bz-surviving MM cells are either slow-cycling or deeply quiescent. The Bz-induced quiescence was stabilized by low dose (500nM) of 5-azacytidine (Aza) pre-treatment, which also potentiated the initial Bz-induced apoptosis. We also found that expression of GRP78, an unfolded protein response (UPR) survival factor, persisted in MM quiescent cells. Importantly, GRP78 downregulation using a specific SubAB bacterial toxin killed Bz-surviving MM cells. Finally, quantification of Grp78(high)/CD138+ MM cells from patients suggested that high levels correlated with progressive disease. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that Bz-surviving MM cells display a GRP78(HIGH)/p21(HIGH)/CDK6(LOW)/P-Rb(LOW) profile, and these markers may identify quiescent MM cells capable of fueling recurrences. We further conclude that Aza + Bz treatment of MM may represent a novel strategy to delay recurrences by enhancing Bz-induced apoptosis and quiescence stability.

Immune evasion by dormant disseminated cancer cells: A Fermi paradox?

Rare disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) can persist after treatment in patients for years, and the immune system does not eliminate them. Goddard et al. propose that immune evasion by rare dormant DTCs is due to an improbability of contact imposed by large distances separating effector T cells and DTCs.

How can we integrate the biology of breast cancer cell dormancy into clinical practice?

Clinical practice and clinical research heavily rely on primary tumors, circulating tumor DNA, and/or overt metastases as sources of material for predicting or investigating breast cancer metastatic relapses. However, these approaches do not consider emerging fundamentals in the biology of metastatic dormancy and relapse. Conversely, the field of metastatic dormancy often discounts key clinical factors influencing relapse dynamics (e.g., patient's age and overall health condition). Here, we delineate these disparities into four gaps and propose a framework to bridge them.

Targeting the dependence on PIK3C3-mTORC1 signaling in dormancy-prone breast cancer cells blunts metastasis initiation.

Halting breast cancer metastatic relapses following primary tumor removal and the clinical dormant phase, remains challenging, due to a lack of specific vulnerabilities to target during dormancy. To address this, we conducted genome-wide CRISPR screens on two breast cancer cell lines with distinct dormancy properties: 4T1 (short-term dormancy) and 4T07 (prolonged dormancy). We discovered that loss of class-III PI3K, Pik3c3, revealed a unique vulnerability in 4T07 cells. Surprisingly, dormancy-prone 4T07 cells exhibited higher mTORC1 activity than 4T1 cells, due to lysosome-dependent signaling occurring at the cell periphery. Pharmacological inhibition of Pik3c3 counteracted this phenotype in 4T07 cells, and selectively reduced metastasis burden only in the 4T07 dormancy-prone model. This mechanism was also detected in human breast cancer cell lines in addition to a breast cancer patient-derived xenograft supporting that it may be relevant in humans. Our findings suggest dormant cancer cell-initiated metastasis may be prevented in patients carrying tumor cells that display PIK3C3-peripheral lysosomal signaling to mTORC1. Statement of Significance: We reveal that dormancy-prone breast cancer cells depend on the class III PI3K to mediate a constant peripheral lysosomal positioning and mTORC1 hyperactivity. Targeting this pathway might blunt breast cancer metastasis.

Lineage commitment pathways epigenetically oppose oncogenic Gαq/11-YAP signaling in dormant disseminated uveal melanoma.

The mechanisms driving late relapse in uveal melanoma (UM) patients remains a medical mystery and major challenge. Clinically it is inferred that UM disseminated cancer cells (DCCs) persist asymptomatic for years-to-decades mainly in the liver before they manifest as symptomatic metastasis. Here we reveal using Gαq/11 mut /BAP wt human uveal melanoma models and human UM metastatic samples, that the neural crest lineage commitment nuclear receptor NR2F1 is a key regulator of spontaneous UM DCC dormancy in the liver. Using a quiescence reporter, RNA-seq and multiplex imaging we revealed that rare dormant UM DCCs upregulate NR2F1 expression and genes related to neural crest programs while repressing gene related to cell cycle progression. Gain and loss of function assays showed that NR2F1 silences YAP1/TEAD1 transcription downstream of Gαq/11 signaling and that NR2F1 expression can also be repressed by YAP1. YAP1 expression is repressed by NR2F1 binding to its promoter and changing the histone H3 tail activation marks to repress YAP1 transcription. In vivo CRISPR KO of NR2F1 led dormant UM DCCs to awaken and initiate relentless liver metastatic growth. Cut&Run and bulk RNA sequencing further confirmed that NR2F1 epigenetically stimulates neuron axon guidance and neural lineage programs, and it globally represses gene expression linked to G-protein signaling to drive dormancy. Pharmacological inhibition of Gαq/11 mut signaling resulted in NR2F1 upregulation and robust UM growth arrest, which was also achieved using a novel NR2F1 agonist. Our work sheds light on the molecular underpinnings of UM dormancy revealing that transcriptional programs driven by NR2F1 epigenetically short-circuit Gαq/11 signaling to its downstream target YAP1. Highlights: Quiescent solitary uveal melanoma (UM) DCCs in the liver up- and down-regulate neural crest and cell cycle progression programs, respectively.NR2F1 drives solitary UM DCC dormancy by antagonizing the Gαq/11-YAP1 pathway; small molecule Gαq/11 inhibition restores NR2F1 expression and quiescence. NR2F1 short-circuits oncogenic YAP1 and G-protein signaling via a chromatin remodeling program. Loss of function of NR2F1 in dormant UM DCCs leads to aggressive liver metastasis.

Slow proliferation of BAP1-deficient uveal melanoma cells is associated with reduced S6 signaling and resistance to nutrient stress.

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the deadliest form of eye cancer in adults. Inactivating mutations and/or loss of expression of the gene encoding BRCA1-associated protein 1 (BAP1) in UM tumors are associated with an increased risk of metastasis. To investigate the mechanisms underlying this risk, we explored the functional consequences of BAP1 deficiency. UM cell lines expressing mutant BAP1 grew more slowly than those expressing wild-type BAP1 in culture and in vivo. The ability of BAP1 reconstitution to restore cell proliferation in BAP1-deficient cells required its deubiquitylase activity. Proteomic analysis showed that BAP1-deficient cells had decreased phosphorylation of ribosomal S6 and its upstream regulator, p70S6K1, compared with both wild-type and BAP1 reconstituted cells. In turn, expression of p70S6K1 increased S6 phosphorylation and proliferation of BAP1-deficient UM cells. Consistent with these findings, BAP1 mutant primary UM tumors expressed lower amounts of p70S6K1 target genes, and S6 phosphorylation was decreased in BAP1 mutant patient-derived xenografts (PDXs), which grew more slowly than wild-type PDXs in the liver (the main metastatic site of UM) in mice. BAP1-deficient UM cells were also more resistant to amino acid starvation, which was associated with diminished phosphorylation of S6. These studies demonstrate that BAP1 deficiency slows the proliferation of UM cells through regulation of S6 phosphorylation. These characteristics may be associated with metastasis by ensuring survival during amino acid starvation.

Respiratory viral infection promotes the awakening and outgrowth of dormant metastatic breast cancer cells in lungs.

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer globally. Most deaths from breast cancer are due to metastatic disease which often follows long periods of clinical dormancy1. Understanding the mechanisms that disrupt the quiescence of dormant disseminated cancer cells (DCC) is crucial for addressing metastatic progression. Infection with respiratory viruses (e.g. influenza or SARS-CoV-2) is common and triggers an inflammatory response locally and systemically2,3. Here we show that influenza virus infection leads to loss of the pro-dormancy mesenchymal phenotype in breast DCC in the lung, causing DCC proliferation within days of infection, and a greater than 100-fold expansion of carcinoma cells into metastatic lesions within two weeks. Such DCC phenotypic change and expansion is interleukin-6 (IL-6)-dependent. We further show that CD4 T cells are required for the maintenance of pulmonary metastatic burden post-influenza virus infection, in part through attenuation of CD8 cell responses in the lungs. Single-cell RNA-seq analyses reveal DCC-dependent impairment of T-cell activation in the lungs of infected mice. SARS-CoV-2 infected mice also showed increased breast DCC expansion in lungs post-infection. Expanding our findings to human observational data, we observed that cancer survivors contracting a SARS-CoV-2 infection have substantially increased risks of lung metastatic progression and cancer-related death compared to cancer survivors who did not. These discoveries underscore the significant impact of respiratory viral infections on the resurgence of metastatic cancer, offering novel insights into the interconnection between infectious diseases and cancer metastasis.

p38α mediates cell survival in response to oxidative stress via induction of antioxidant genes: effect on the p70S6K pathway.

We reveal a novel pro-survival role for mammalian p38α in response to H(2)O(2), which involves an up-regulation of antioxidant defenses. The presence of p38α increases basal and H(2)O(2)-induced expression of the antioxidant enzymes: superoxide-dismutase 1 (SOD-1), SOD-2, and catalase through different mechanisms, which protects from reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and prevents cell death. p38α was found to regulate (i) H(2)O(2)-induced SOD-2 expression through a direct regulation of transcription mediated by activating transcription factor 2 (ATF-2) and (ii) H(2)O(2)-induced catalase expression through regulation of protein stability and mRNA expression and/or stabilization. As a consequence, SOD and catalase activities are higher in WT MEFs. We also found that this p38α-dependent antioxidant response allows WT cells to maintain an efficient activation of the mTOR/p70S6K pathway. Accordingly, the loss of p38α leads to ROS accumulation in response to H(2)O(2), which causes cell death and inactivation of mTOR/p70S6K signaling. This can be rescued by either p38α re-expression or treatment with the antioxidants, N-acetyl cysteine, or exogenously added catalase. Therefore, our results reveal a novel homeostatic role for p38α in response to oxidative stress, where ROS removal is favored by antioxidant enzymes up-regulation, allowing cell survival and mTOR/p70S6K activation.

Regulation of tumor cell dormancy by tissue microenvironments and autophagy.

The development of metastasis is the major cause of death in cancer patients. In certain instances, this occurs shortly after primary tumor detection and treatment, indicating these lesions were already expanding at the moment of diagnosis or initiated exponential growth shortly after. However, in many types of cancer, patients succumb to metastatic disease years and sometimes decades after being treated for a primary tumor. This has led to the notion that in these patients residual disease may remain in a dormant state. Tumor cell dormancy is a poorly understood phase of cancer progression and only recently have its underlying molecular mechanisms started to be revealed. Important questions that remain to be elucidated include not only which mechanisms prevent residual disease from proliferating but also which mechanisms critically maintain the long-term survival of these disseminated residual cells. Herein, we review recent evidence in support of genetic and epigenetic mechanisms driving dormancy. We also explore how therapy may cause the onset of dormancy in the surviving fraction of cells after treatment and how autophagy may be a mechanism that maintains the residual cells that are viable for prolonged periods.