Deep PIM kinase substrate profiling reveals new rational co-therapeutic strategies for acute myeloid leukemia.

Provirus integration site for Moloney murine leukemia virus (PIM) family serine/threonine kinases perform pro-tumorigenic functions in hematologic malignancies and solid tumors by phosphorylating substrates involved in tumor metabolism, cell survival, metastasis, inflammation, and immune cell invasion. However, a comprehensive understanding of PIM kinase functions is currently lacking. Multiple small molecule PIM kinase inhibitors are currently being evaluated as co-therapeutics in cancer patients. To further illuminate PIM kinase functions in cancer, we deeply profiled PIM1 substrates using the reverse in-gel kinase assay to identify downstream cellular processes targetable with small molecules. Pathway analyses of putative PIM substrates nominated RNA splicing and rRNA processing as PIM-regulated cellular processes. PIM inhibition elicited reproducible splicing changes in PIM-inhibitor-responsive acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines. PIM inhibitors synergized with splicing modulators targeting splicing factor 3b subunit 1 (SF3B1) and serine-arginine protein kinase 1 (SRPK1) to kill AML cells. PIM inhibition also altered rRNA processing, and PIM inhibitors synergized with an RNA polymerase I inhibitor to kill AML cells and block AML tumor growth. These data demonstrate that deep kinase substrate knowledge can illuminate unappreciated kinase functions, nominating synergistic co-therapeutic strategies. This approach may expand the co-therapeutic armamentarium to overcome kinase-inhibitor resistant disease that limits durable responses in malignant disease.

Convergent alterations in the tumor microenvironment of MYC-driven human and murine prostate cancer.

The tissue microenvironment in prostate cancer is profoundly altered. While such alterations have been implicated in driving prostate cancer initiation and progression to aggressive disease, how prostate cancer cells and their precursors mediate those changes is unclear, in part due to the inability to longitudinally study the disease evolution in human tissues. To overcome this limitation, we performed extensive single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) and rigorous molecular pathology of the comparative biology between human prostate cancer and key time points in the disease evolution of a genetically engineered mouse model (GEMM) of prostate cancer. Our studies of human tissues, with validation in a large external data set, revealed that cancer cell-intrinsic activation of MYC signaling was the top up-regulated pathway in human cancers, representing a common denominator across the well-known molecular and pathological heterogeneity of human prostate cancer. Likewise, numerous non-malignant cell states in the tumor microenvironment (TME), including non-cancerous epithelial, immune, and fibroblast cell compartments, were conserved across individuals, raising the possibility that these cell types may be a sequelae of the convergent MYC activation in the cancer cells. To test this hypothesis, we employed a GEMM of prostate epithelial cell-specific MYC activation in two mouse strains. Cell communication network and pathway analyses suggested that MYC oncogene-expressing neoplastic cells, directly and indirectly, reprogrammed the TME during carcinogenesis, leading to the emergence of cascading cell state alterations in neighboring epithelial, immune, and fibroblast cell types that paralleled key findings in human prostate cancer. Importantly, among these changes, the progression from a precursor-enriched to invasive-cancer-enriched state was accompanied by a cell-intrinsic switch from pro-immunogenic to immunosuppressive transcriptional programs with coinciding enrichment of immunosuppressive myeloid and Treg cells in the immune microenvironment. These findings implicate activation of MYC signaling in reshaping convergent aspects of the TME of prostate cancer as a common denominator across the otherwise well-documented molecular heterogeneity of human prostate cancer.

Polyamine Depletion Strategies in Cancer: Remodeling the Tumor Immune Microenvironment to Enhance Anti-Tumor Responses.

Polyamine biosynthesis is frequently dysregulated in cancers, and enhanced flux increases intracellular polyamines necessary for promoting cell growth, proliferation, and function. Polyamine depletion strategies demonstrate efficacy in reducing tumor growth and increasing survival in animal models of cancer; however, mechanistically, the cell-intrinsic and cell-extrinsic alterations within the tumor microenvironment underlying positive treatment outcomes are not well understood. Recently, investigators have demonstrated that co-targeting polyamine biosynthesis and transport alters the immune landscape. Although the polyamine synthesis-targeting drug 2-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) is well tolerated in humans and is FDA-approved for African trypanosomiasis, its clinical benefit in treating established cancers has not yet been fully realized; however, combination therapies targeting compensatory mechanisms have shown tolerability and efficacy in animal models and are currently being tested in clinical trials. As demonstrated in pre-clinical models, polyamine blocking therapy (PBT) reduces immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment and enhances the therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). Thus, DFMO may sensitize tumors to other therapeutics, including immunotherapies and chemotherapies.

Nanoparticle Delivery in Prostate Tumors Implanted in Mice Facilitated by Either Local or Whole-Body Heating.

This work discusses in vivo experiments that were performed to evaluate whether local or whole-body heating to 40 °C reduced interstitial fluid pressures (IFPs) and enhanced nanoparticle delivery to subcutaneous PC3 human prostate cancer xenograft tumors in mice. After heating, 0.2 mL of a previously developed nanofluid containing gold nanoparticles (10 mg Au/mL) was injected via the tail vein. The induced whole-body hyperthermia led to increases in tumor and mouse body blood perfusion rates of more than 50% and 25%, respectively, while the increases were much smaller in the local heating group. In the whole-body hyperthermia groups, the IFP reduction from the baseline at the tumor center immediately after heating was found to be statistically significant when compared to the control group. The 1 h of local heating group showed IFP reductions at the tumor center, while the IFPs increased in the periphery of the tumor. The intratumoral gold nanoparticle accumulation was quantified using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Compared to the control group, 1 h or 4 h of experiencing whole-body hyperthermia resulted in an average increase of 51% or 67% in the gold deposition in tumors, respectively. In the 1 h of local heating group, the increase in the gold deposition was 34%. Our results suggest that 1 h of mild whole-body hyperthermia may be a cost-effective and readily implementable strategy for facilitating nanoparticle delivery to PC3 tumors in mice.

Getting to the Core of It All: Nanocapsules to Mitigate Infusion Reactions Can Promote Hemostasis and Be a Platform for Intravenous Therapies.

One of the significant challenges to translation of intravenously administered nanomaterials has been complement-mediated infusion reactions which can be lethal. Slow infusions can reduce infusion reactions, but slow infusions are not always possible in applications like controlling bleeding following trauma. Thus, avoiding complement activation and infusion responses is essential to manage bleeding. We identified nanocapsules based on polyurethane as candidates that did not activate C5a and explored their PEGylation and functionalization with the GRGDS peptide to create a new class of hemostatic nanomaterials. Using the clinically relevant rotational thromboelastography (ROTEM), we determined that nanocapsules promote faster clotting than controls and maintain the maximum clot firmness, which is critical for reducing bleeding. Excitingly, these polyurethane-based nanocapsules did not activate complement or the major pro-inflammatory cytokines. This work provides critical evidence for the role of modulating the core material in developing safer nanomedicines for intravenous applications.

Reactivation of the tumor suppressor PTEN by mRNA nanoparticles enhances antitumor immunity in preclinical models.

Increasing clinical evidence has demonstrated that the deletion or mutation of tumor suppressor genes such as the gene-encoding phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) in cancer cells may correlate with an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) and poor response or resistance to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. It is largely unknown whether the restoration of functional PTEN may modulate the TME and improve the tumor's sensitivity to ICB therapy. Here, we demonstrate that mRNA delivery by polymeric nanoparticles can effectively induce expression of PTEN in Pten-mutated melanoma cells and Pten-null prostate cancer cells, which in turn induces autophagy and triggers cell death-associated immune activation via release of damage-associated molecular patterns. In vivo results illustrated that PTEN mRNA nanoparticles can reverse the immunosuppressive TME by promoting CD8+ T cell infiltration of the tumor tissue, enhancing the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-12, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interferon-γ, and reducing regulatory T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells. The combination of PTEN mRNA nanoparticles with an immune checkpoint inhibitor, anti-programmed death-1 antibody, results in a highly potent antitumor effect in a subcutaneous model of Pten-mutated melanoma and an orthotopic model of Pten-null prostate cancer. Moreover, the combinatorial treatment elicits immunological memory in the Pten-null prostate cancer model.

Castration-mediated IL-8 promotes myeloid infiltration and prostate cancer progression.

Unlike several other tumor types, prostate cancer rarely responds to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). To define tumor cell intrinsic factors that contribute to prostate cancer progression and resistance to ICB, we analyzed prostate cancer epithelial cells from castration-sensitive and -resistant samples using implanted tumors, cell lines, transgenic models and human tissue. We found that castration resulted in increased expression of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and its probable murine homolog Cxcl15 in prostate epithelial cells. We showed that these chemokines drove subsequent intratumoral infiltration of tumor-promoting polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSCs), which was largely abrogated when IL-8 signaling was blocked genetically or pharmacologically. Targeting IL-8 signaling in combination with ICB delayed the onset of castration resistance and increased the density of polyfunctional CD8 T cells in tumors. Our findings establish a novel mechanism by which castration mediates IL-8 secretion and subsequent PMN-MDSC infiltration, and highlight blockade of the IL-8/CXCR2 axis as a potential therapeutic intervention.

Quantitative proteomic analysis of a genetically induced prostate inflammation mouse model via custom 4-plex DiLeu isobaric labeling.

Inflammation is involved in many prostate pathologies including infection, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and prostate cancer. Preclinical models are critical to our understanding of disease mechanisms, yet few models are genetically tractable. Here, we present a comparative quantitative proteomic analysis of urine from mice with and without prostate-specific inflammation induced by conditional prostate epithelial IL-1ß expression. Relative quantification and sample multiplexing was achieved using custom 4-plex N,N-dimethyl leucine (DiLeu) isobaric tags and nanoflow ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Each set of 4-plex DiLeu reagents allows four urine samples to be analyzed simultaneously, providing high-throughput and accurate quantification of urinary proteins. Proteins involved in the acute phase response, including haptoglobin, inter-α-trypsin inhibitor, and α1-antitrypsin 1-1, were differentially represented in the urine of mice with prostate inflammation. Mass spectrometry-based quantitative urinary proteomics represents a promising bioanalytical strategy for biomarker discovery and the elucidation of molecular mechanisms in urological research.

Consequences of interleukin 1ß-triggered chronic inflammation in the mouse prostate gland: Altered architecture associated with prolonged CD4+ infiltration mimics human proliferative inflammatory atrophy.

BACKGROUND: Elevated expression of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß) has been observed in expressed prostatic secretions of patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome, and genetic polymorphisms associated with the IL1B gene are linked to increased risk for aggressive prostate cancer. METHODS: To study the role of IL-1ß expression in prostate inflammation, we examined IL1B expression in human prostatic proliferative inflammatory atrophy (PIA) lesions and developed a tetracycline-regulated human IL1B transgene in the mouse prostate. RESULTS: Here, we demonstrate that IL1B expression is a common finding in human PIA lesions, which harbored focal IL1B expression in epithelial and stromal compartments. Human IL1B expression in the mouse prostate elicited acute and chronic inflammation. Penetrance and expressivity were variable and tunable by altering transgene dosage and the presence of an exogenous inducible marker antigen (green fluorescent protein). Inflammation was characterized by infiltration of CD4+ T cells, demonstrating an adaptive immune response. Chronic inflammation persisted after doxycycline (Dox) withdrawal. Reactive epithelia increased expression of downstream cytokines, and altered glandular architecture was observed upon sustained induction of IL1B. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed a higher proliferative index and decreased Nkx3.1 expression in inflamed mouse prostates. CONCLUSIONS: These data implicate IL-1ß in human prostate pathology and this model provides a versatile platform to interrogate molecular mechanisms of inflammation-associated prostate pathologies associated with episodic or sustained IL-1ß expression.

If this is true, what does it imply? How end-user antibody validation facilitates insights into biology and disease.

Antibodies are employed ubiquitously in biomedical sciences, including for diagnostics and therapeutics. One of the most important uses is for immunohistochemical (IHC) staining, a process that has been improving and evolving over decades. IHC is useful when properly employed, yet misuse of the method is widespread and contributes to the "reproducibility crisis" in science. We report some of the common problems encountered with IHC assays, and direct readers to a wealth of literature documenting and providing some solutions to this problem. We also describe a series of vignettes that include our approach to analytical validation of antibodies and IHC assays that have facilitated a number of biological insights into prostate cancer and the refutation of a controversial association of a viral etiology in gliomas. We postulate that a great deal of the problem with lack of accuracy in IHC assays stems from the lack of awareness by researchers for the critical necessity for end-users to validate IHC antibodies and assays in their laboratories, regardless of manufacturer claims or past publications. We suggest that one reason for the pervasive lack of end-user validation for research antibodies is that researchers fail to realize that there are two general classes of antibodies employed in IHC. First, there are antibodies that are "clinical grade" reagents used by pathologists to help render diagnoses that influence patient treatment. Such diagnostic antibodies, which tend to be highly validated prior to clinical implementation, are in the vast minority (e.g. < 500). The other main class of antibodies are "research grade" antibodies (now numbering >3 800 000), which are often not extensively validated prior to commercialization. Given increased awareness of the problem, both the United States, National Institutes of Health and some journals are requiring investigators to provide evidence of specificity of their antibody-based assays.

Redox-Responsive Nanoparticle-Mediated Systemic RNAi for Effective Cancer Therapy.

Biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) have demonstrated significant potential to improve the systemic delivery of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, such as small interfering RNA (siRNA), for cancer therapy. However, the slow and inefficient siRNA release inside tumor cells generally observed for most biodegradable polymeric NPs may result in compromised gene silencing efficacy. Herein, a biodegradable and redox-responsive NP platform, composed of a solid poly(disulfide amide) (PDSA)/cationic lipid core and a lipid-poly(ethylene glycol) (lipid-PEG) shell for systemic siRNA delivery to tumor cells, is developed. This newly generated NP platform can efficiently encapsulate siRNA under extracellular environments and can respond to the highly concentrated glutathione (GSH) in the cytoplasm to induce fast intracellular siRNA release. By screening a library of PDSA polymers with different structures and chain lengths, the optimized NP platform shows the unique features of i) long blood circulation, ii) high tumor accumulation, iii) fast GSH-triggered intracellular siRNA release, and iv) exceptionally effective gene silencing. Together with the facile polymer synthesis technique and robust NP formulation enabling scale-up, this new redox-responsive NP platform may become an effective tool for RNAi-based cancer therapy.

Characterization of novel cell lines derived from a MYC-driven murine model of lethal metastatic adenocarcinoma of the prostate.

BACKGROUND: Loss or mutation of PTEN alleles at 10q23 in combination with 8q24 amplification (encompassing MYC) are common findings in aggressive, human prostate cancer. Our group recently developed a transgenic murine model of prostate cancer involving prostate-specific Pten deletion and forced expression of MYC under the control of the Hoxb13 promoter. MYC overexpression cooperated with Pten loss to recapitulate lethal, human prostate cancer. METHOD: We now report on the generation of two mouse prostate cancer cell lines, BMPC1 and BMPC2, derived from a lymph node, and liver metastasis, respectively. RESULTS: Both cell lines demonstrate a phenotype consistent with adenocarcinoma and grew under standard tissue culture conditions. Androgen receptor (AR) protein expression is minimal (BMPC1) or absent (BMPC2) consistent with AR loss observed in the BMPC mouse model of invasive adenocarcinoma. Growth in media containing charcoal-stripped serum resulted in an increase in AR mRNA in BMPC1 cells with no effect on protein expression, unless androgens were added, in which case AR protein was stabilized, and showed nuclear localization. AR expression in BMPC2 cells was not effected by growth media or treatment with androgens. Treatment with an anti-androgen/castration or androgen supplemented media did not affect in vitro or in vivo growth of either cell line, irrespective of nuclear AR detection. DISCUSSION: These cell lines are a novel model of androgen-insensitive prostatic adenocarcinoma driven by MYC over-expression and Pten loss.

Comprehensive urinary metabolomic characterization of a genetically induced mouse model of prostatic inflammation.

Dysfunction of the lower urinary tract commonly afflicts the middle-aged and aging male population. The etiology of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) is multifactorial. Benign prostate hyperplasia, fibrosis, smooth muscle contractility, and inflammation likely contribute. Here we aim to characterize the urinary metabolomic profile associated with prostatic inflammation, which could inform future personalized diagnosis or treatment, as well as mechanistic research. Quantitative urinary metabolomics was conducted to examine molecular changes following induction of inflammation via conditional Interleukin-1ß expression in prostate epithelia using a novel transgenic mouse strain. To advance method development for urinary metabolomics, we also compared different urine normalization methods and found that normalizing urine samples based on osmolality prior to LC-MS most completely separated urinary metabolite profiles of mice with and without prostate inflammation via principal component analysis. Global metabolomics was combined with advanced machine learning feature selection and classification for data analysis. Key dysregulated metabolites and pathways were identified and were relevant to prostatic inflammation, some of which overlapped with our previous study of human LUTS patients. A binary classification model was established via the support vector machine algorithm to accurately differentiate control and inflammation groups, with an area-under-the-curve value of the receiver operating characteristic of 0.81, sensitivity of 0.974 and specificity of 0.995, respectively. This study generated molecular profiles of non-bacterial prostatic inflammation, which could assist future efforts to stratify LUTS patients and develop new therapies.

Erratum: ETS Related Gene mediated Androgen Receptor Aggregation and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Prostate Cancer Development.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML version of this paper. The error has not been fixed in the paper.

ETS Related Gene mediated Androgen Receptor Aggregation and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Prostate Cancer Development.

Mechanistic studies of deregulated ERG in prostate cancer and other cancers continue to enhance its role in cancer biology and its utility as a biomarker and therapeutic target. Here, we show that ERG, through its physical interaction with androgen receptor, induces AR aggregation and endoplasmic reticulum stress in the prostate glands of ERG transgenic mice. Histomorphological alterations and the expression of ER stress sensors Atf6, Ire1α, Perk, their downstream effectors Grp78/BiP and eIF2α in ERG transgenic mouse prostate glands indicate the presence of chronic ER stress. Transient activation of apoptotic cell death during early age correlated well with the differential regulation of ER stress sensors, in particular Perk. Epithelial cells derived from ERG transgenic mouse prostates have increased prostasphere formation with resistance to radiation induced cell death. Continued activation of cell survival factors, Atf6 and Ire1α during chronic ER stress due to presence of ERG in prostate epithelium induces survival pathways and provides a selection pressure in the continuum of ERG dependent neoplastic process. These novel insights will enhance the understanding of the mechanistic functions of ERG in prostate tumor biology and towards development of early targeted therapeutic strategies for prostate cancer.

Quantifying Kinase-Specific Phosphorylation Stoichiometry Using Stable Isotope Labeling In a Reverse In-Gel Kinase Assay.

Despite recent advancements in large-scale phosphoproteomics, methods to quantify kinase-specific phosphorylation stoichiometry of protein substrates are lacking. We developed a method to quantify kinase-specific phosphorylation stoichiometry by combining the reverse in-gel kinase assay (RIKA) with high-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Beginning with predetermined ratios of phosphorylated to nonphosphorylated protein kinase CK2 (CK2) substrate molecules, we employed 18O-labeled adenosine triphosphate (18O-ATP) as the phosphate donor in a RIKA, then quantified the ratio of 18O- versus 16O-labeled tryptic phosphopeptide using high mass accuracy mass spectrometry (MS). We demonstrate that the phosphorylation stoichiometry determined by this method across a broad percent phosphorylation range correlated extremely well with the predicted value (correlation coefficient = 0.99). This approach provides a quantitative alternative to antibody-based methods of determining the extent of phosphorylation of a substrate pool.

Regulating NKX3.1 stability and function: Post-translational modifications and structural determinants.

BACKGROUND: The androgen-regulated homeodomain transcription factor NKX3.1 plays roles in early prostate development and functions as a prostate-specific tumor suppressor. Decreased expression of NKX3.1 protein is common in primary prostate cancer. Discordance between NKX3.1 mRNA and protein levels during prostate carcinogenesis suggested a key role for post-transcriptional modifications in regulating NKX3.1 protein levels in prostate epithelial cells. Subsequent studies revealed NKX3.1 to be modified post-translationally at multiple sites. METHODS: We reviewed published literature to identify and summarize post-translational modifications and structural elements critical in regulating NKX3.1 stability and levels in prostate epithelial cells. RESULTS: NKX3.1 is modified post-translationally at multiple sites by different protein kinases. These modifications together with several structural determinants were identified to play an important role in NKX3.1 stability and biology. CONCLUSIONS: In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the known post-translational modifications and structural features that impact NKX3.1. Defining factors that regulate NKX3.1 in prostate epithelial cells will extend our understanding of molecular changes that may contribute to prostate cancer initiation and progression.

Combined MYC Activation and Pten Loss Are Sufficient to Create Genomic Instability and Lethal Metastatic Prostate Cancer.

Genetic instability, a hallmark feature of human cancers including prostatic adenocarcinomas, is considered a driver of metastasis. Somatic copy number alterations (CNA) are found in most aggressive primary human prostate cancers, and the overall number of such changes is increased in metastases. Chromosome 10q23 deletions, encompassing PTEN, and amplification of 8q24, harboring MYC, are frequently observed, and the presence of both together portends a high risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality. In extant genetically engineered mouse prostate cancer models (GEMM), isolated MYC overexpression or targeted Pten loss can each produce early prostate adenocarcinomas, but are not sufficient to induce genetic instability or metastases with high penetrance. Although a previous study showed that combining Pten loss with focal MYC overexpression in a small fraction of prostatic epithelial cells exhibits cooperativity in GEMMs, additional targeted Tp53 disruption was required for formation of metastases. We hypothesized that driving combined MYC overexpression and Pten loss using recently characterized Hoxb13 transcriptional control elements that are active in prostate luminal epithelial cells would induce the development of genomic instability and aggressive disease with metastatic potential. Neoplastic lesions that developed with either MYC activation alone (Hoxb13-MYC) or Pten loss alone (Hoxb13-Cre∣Pten(Fl/Fl)) failed to progress beyond prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and did not harbor genomic CNAs. By contrast, mice with both alterations (Hoxb13-MYC∣Hoxb13-Cre∣Pten(Fl/Fl), hereafter, BMPC mice) developed lethal adenocarcinoma with distant metastases and widespread genome CNAs that were independent of forced disruption of Tp53 and telomere shortening. BMPC cancers lacked neuroendocrine or sarcomatoid differentiation, features uncommon in human disease but common in other models of prostate cancer that metastasize. These data show that combined MYC activation and Pten loss driven by the Hoxb13 regulatory locus synergize to induce genomic instability and aggressive prostate cancer that phenocopies the human disease at the histologic and genomic levels.

Functional and molecular features of the Id4+ germline stem cell population in mouse testes.

The maintenance of cycling cell lineages relies on undifferentiated subpopulations consisting of stem and progenitor pools. Features that delineate these cell types are undefined for many lineages, including spermatogenesis, which is supported by an undifferentiated spermatogonial population. Here, we generated a transgenic mouse line in which spermatogonial stem cells are marked by expression of an inhibitor of differentiation 4 (Id4)-green fluorescent protein (Gfp) transgene. We found that Id4-Gfp(+) cells exist primarily as a subset of the type A(single) pool, and their frequency is greatest in neonatal development and then decreases in proportion during establishment of the spermatogenic lineage, eventually comprising ∼ 2% of the undifferentiated spermatogonial population in adulthood. RNA sequencing analysis revealed that expression of 11 and 25 genes is unique for the Id4-Gfp(+)/stem cell and Id4-Gfp(-)/progenitor fractions, respectively. Collectively, these findings provide the first definitive evidence that stem cells exist as a rare subset of the A(single) pool and reveal transcriptome features distinguishing stem cell and progenitor states within the mammalian male germline.

A targeting modality for destruction of RNA polymerase I that possesses anticancer activity.

We define the activity and mechanisms of action of a small molecule lead compound for cancer targeting. We show that the compound, BMH-21, has wide and potent antitumorigenic activity across NCI60 cancer cell lines and represses tumor growth in vivo. BMH-21 binds GC-rich sequences, which are present at a high frequency in ribosomal DNA genes, and potently and rapidly represses RNA polymerase I (Pol I) transcription. Strikingly, we find that BMH-21 causes proteasome-dependent destruction of RPA194, the large catalytic subunit protein of Pol I holocomplex, and this correlates with cancer cell killing. Our results show that Pol I activity is under proteasome-mediated control, which reveals an unexpected therapeutic opportunity.