The vulnerable primed cancer stem cells in disguise: demystifying the role of Maspin.

Epithelial-specific Maspin is widely known as a tumor suppressor. However, while the level of maspin expression is inversely correlated with tumor grade and stage, emerging clinical evidence shows a correlation between seemingly better differentiated tumor cells that express Maspin in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm, (n + c)Maspin, with a poor prognosis of many types of cancer. Biological studies demonstrate that Maspin plays an essential role in stem cell differentiation. In light of the recently established characterization of primed stem cells (P-SCs) in development, we propose, for the first time, that cancer stem cells (CSCs) also need to undergo priming (P-CSCs) before their transition to various progeny phenotypes. We envisage major differences in the steady state kinetics between P-SCs and P-CSCs. We further propose that P-CSCs of carcinoma are both marked and regulated by (n + c)Maspin. The concept of P-CSCs helps explain the apparent dichotomous relationships of (n + c)Maspin expression with cancer diagnosis and prognosis, and is supported by the evidence from mechanistic studies. We believe that the potential utility of (n + c)Maspin as a molecular marker of P-CSCs may significantly accelerate the advancement in our understanding of the genesis of tumor phenotypic plasticity in response to changes of tumor microenvironments (TME) or drug treatments. The vulnerabilities of the cellular state of (n + c)Maspin-expressing P-CSCs are also discussed as the rationale for future development of P-CSC-targeted chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic strategies.

Tackling tumor heterogeneity and phenotypic plasticity in cancer precision medicine: our experience and a literature review.

The predominant cause of cancer mortality is metastasis. The major impediment to cancer cure is the intrinsic or acquired resistance to currently available therapies. Cancer is heterogeneous at the genetic, epigenetic, and metabolic levels. And, while a molecular-targeted drug may be pathway-precise, it can still fail to achieve wholesome cancer-precise toxicity. In the current review, we discuss the strategic differences between targeting the strengths of cancer cells in phenotypic plasticity and heterogeneity and targeting shared vulnerabilities of cancer cells such as the compromised integrity of membranous organelles. To better recapitulate subpopulations of cancer cells in different phenotypic and functional states, we developed a schematic combination of 2-dimensional culture (2D), 3-dimmensional culture in collagen I (3D), and mammosphere culture for stem cells (mammosphere), designated as Scheme 2D/3D/mammosphere. We investigated how the tumor suppressor maspin may limit carcinoma cell plasticity and affect their context-dependent response to drugs of different mechanisms including docetaxel, histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor MS-275, and ionophore antibiotic salinomycin. We showed that tumor cell phenotypic plasticity is not an exclusive attribute to cancer stem cells. Nonetheless, three subpopulations of prostate cancer cells, enriched through Scheme 2D/3D/mammosphere, show qualitatively different drug responses. Interestingly, salinomycin was the only drug that effectively killed all three cancer cell subpopulations, irrespective of their capacity of stemness. Further, Scheme 2D/3D/mammosphere may be a useful model to accelerate the screening for curative cancer drugs while avoiding costly characterization of compounds that may have only selective toxicity to some, but not all, cancer cell subpopulations.

The Opportunity of Precision Medicine for Breast Cancer With Context-Sensitive Tumor Suppressor Maspin.

To improve the precision of molecular diagnosis and to develop and guide targeted therapies of breast cancer, it is essential to determine the mechanisms that underlie the specific tumor phenotypes. To this end, the application of a snapshot of gene expression profile for breast cancer diagnosis and prognosis is fundamentally challenged since the tissue-based data are derived from heterogonous cell types and are not likely to reflect the dynamics of context-dependent tumor progression and drug sensitivity. The intricate network of epithelial differentiation program can be concertedly controlled by tumor suppressor maspin, a homologue of clade B serine protease inhibitors (serpin), through its multifaceted molecular interactions in multiple subcellular localizations. Unlike most other serpins that are expressed in multiple cell types, maspin is epithelial specific and has distinct roles in luminal and myoepithelial cells. Endogenously expressed maspin has been found in the nucleus and cytoplasm, and detected on the surface of cell membrane. It is also secreted free and as an exosomal cargo protein. Research in the field has led to the identification of the maspin targets and maspin-associated molecules, as well as the structural determinants of its suppressive functions. The current review discusses the possibility for maspin to serve as a cell type-specific and context-sensitive marker to improve the precision of breast cancer diagnosis and prognosis. These advancements further suggest a new window of opportunity for designing novel maspin-based chemotherapeutic agents with improved anti-cancer potency. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 1639-1647, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A phase II trial of ganetespib, a heat shock protein 90 Hsp90) inhibitor, in patients with docetaxel-pretreated metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC)-a prostate cancer clinical trials consortium (PCCTC) study.

INTRODUCTION: Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) has been studied as a therapeutic target in many cancers. In preclinical trials, the Hsp90 ATPase inhibitor ganetespib demonstrated potent inhibition of solid tumor growth, with superior potency than prior Hsp90 inhibitors. Given the promising preclinical outcome and favorable pharmacologic properties of ganetespib, we conducted a phase II trial of single-agent ganetespib in patients with metastatic, castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The primary objective of the study was to determine the 6-month progression-free survival (PFS) rate. METHODS: Patients with mCRPC who had been previously treated with docetaxel were enrolled after meeting eligibility criteria. All patients received ganetespib at 200 mg/m(2) on days 1, 8, and 15 of every 28 days (one cycle). Subjects who tolerated therapy were continued on ganetespib until disease progression. Considering that Hsp90 acetylation may confer insensitivity to Hsp90 inhibitors and maspin inhibits protein deacetylation, maspin-associated molecular markers were evaluated. RESULTS: Eighteen patients were recruited into the trial; most were Caucasian, had performance status 1, had received prior docetaxel, and were heavily pretreated. Of the 17 patients who were treated, none attained 6-month PFS. Only 2 patients achieved PFS > 4 months. The median PFS was 1.9 months. As per the study design, the trial was terminated after the interim analysis. The most frequent types of Grade 3 toxicity were dehydration, diarrhea, and fatigue. Molecular markers provided little additional insight regarding drug activity. CONCLUSIONS: Ganetespib demonstrated minimal clinical activity in men with mCRPC. The true 6-month PFS rate was, at most, 0.20. Possible reasons for this include selection of a heavily pretreated patient population and lack of agent potency in patients with mCRPC.

Maspin expression patterns differ in the invasive versus lepidic growth pattern of pulmonary adenocarcinoma.

AIMS: To test whether changes in the subcellular localization of maspin parallel morphological progression in pulmonary adenocarcinoma, we compared its expression between lepidic and invasive growth patterns. METHODS: Applying immunohistochemistry, we compared maspin expression in lepidic and invasive growth patterns occurring in different tumours (series #1, n = 86) as well as within the same tumour and in the same section (series #2, n = 29). RESULTS: In both series, the lepidic growth pattern (n = 45) was significantly associated with nuclear maspin, while the invasive (n = 70) with combined nuclear and cytoplasmic maspin (P < 0.05). In the second series, transition from a lepidic to an invasive pattern in the same tumour was associated predominantly with a shift respectively from a nuclear to a combined nuclear and cytoplasmic maspin (15/29) or preservation of nuclear expression (8/29). A shift from nuclear maspin to negative expression (3/29) or other patterns (3/29) were also observed. CONCLUSIONS: Nuclear maspin is a typical but not exclusive feature of the lepidic growth pattern of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, whereas combined nuclear and cytoplasmic maspin characterizes invasion. These data show that changes of expression and subcellular localization of maspin may constitute an important biological end point of tumour progression and aid in the classification of lung adenocarcinoma.

Tumor suppressor maspin as a rheostat in HDAC regulation to achieve the fine-tuning of epithelial homeostasis.

Maspin, a class II tumor suppressor, is often downregulated during tumor progression and its depletion from the nucleus is associated with poor prognosis. Recently, we reported that reintroduction of maspin is sufficient for redifferentiation of prostate cancer cells to epithelial phenotype, a reversal of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. We have linked this effect of maspin with its ability to directly inhibit HDAC1, thereby influencing the acetylation state of transcription factors and other proteins. Maspin overexpression leads to changes in the expression level of a large number of proteins and these changes are often microenvironment specific. In this review, we summarize the epigenetic effects of maspin and provide comprehensive bioinformatic analysis of microarray-derived gene expression changes caused by maspin in different microenvironments. The analysis was performed on multiple levels, including identification of statistically enriched gene ontology groups, detection of overreprepresented transcription factors binding sites in promoters of differentially expressed genes, followed by searching for key nodes of regulatory networks controlling these transcription factors. The results are consistent with our hypothesis that maspin serves as an endogenous regulator of HDAC activity and suggest that the effect of maspin is primarily mediated by TGFß, ß-catenin/E-cadherin pathways, and network key nodes such as Abl kinase, p62, IL1, and caspases 6 and 8.

Metastasis and AKT activation.

Metastasis, responsible for 90% of cancer patient deaths, is an inefficient process because many tumor cells die. The survival of metastatic tumor cells should be considered as a critical therapeutic target. This review provides a new perspective regarding the role of AKT in tumor survival, and the rationale to target AKT in anti-metastasis therapies.

Nuclear, compared with combined nuclear and cytoplasmic expression of maspin, is linked in lung adenocarcinoma to reduced VEGF-A levels and in Stage I, improved survival.

AIMS: To evaluate whether there is a correlation between the subcellular localization of maspin and the histological, molecular and biological features of pulmonary adenocarcinoma, particularly addressing the hypothesis that the tumour inhibitor properties of maspin may be linked to a nuclear, compared with a combined nuclear and cytoplasmic expression pattern. METHODS AND RESULTS: The subcellular expression of maspin was determined in 80 resected pulmonary adenocarcinomas (Stage I, 46; Stage II, 10; Stage III, 20; Stage IV, 4) and correlated with histological grade, proliferative rate, p53 expression, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A levels, and prognosis (mean follow-up of 41.5 months). Cases with nuclear (N) maspin (n = 47), compared with the [N + cytoplasmic (C)] group (n = 28), showed lower (P

A phase II trial of 17-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin in patients with hormone-refractory metastatic prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: 17-Allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin (17-AAG) is a benzoquinone ansamycin antibiotic with antiproliferative activity in several mouse xenograft models, including prostate cancer models. A two-stage phase II study was conducted to assess the activity and toxicity profile of 17-AAG administered to patients with metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: Patients with at least one prior systemic therapy and a rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) were eligible. Patients received 17-AAG at a dose of 300 mg/m2 i.v. weekly for 3 of 4 weeks. The primary objective was to assess the PSA response. Secondary objectives were to determine overall survival, to assess toxicity, and to measure interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and maspin levels and quality of life. RESULTS: Fifteen eligible patients were enrolled. The median age was 68 years and the median PSA was 261 ng/mL. Patients received 17-AAG for a median number of two cycles. Severe adverse events included grade 3 fatigue (four patients), grade 3 lymphopenia (two patients), and grade 3 back pain (two patients). The median PSA progression-free survival was 1.8 months (95% confidence interval, 1.3-3.4 months). The 6-month overall survival was 71% (95% confidence interval, 52-100%). CONCLUSIONS: 17-AAG did not show any activity with regard to PSA response. Due to insufficient PSA response, enrollment was stopped at the end of first stage per study design. The most significant severe toxicity was grade 3 fatigue. Further evaluation of 17-AAG at a dose of 300 mg/m2 i.v. weekly as a single agent in patients with metastatic, hormone-refractory prostate cancer who received at least one prior systemic therapy is not warranted.

Clioquinol, a therapeutic agent for Alzheimer's disease, has proteasome-inhibitory, androgen receptor-suppressing, apoptosis-inducing, and antitumor activities in human prostate cancer cells and xenografts.

Tumor growth and metastasis depend on angiogenesis that requires the cofactor copper. Consistently, high levels of copper have been found in many types of human cancers, including prostate, breast, colon, and lung. Recent studies suggest that copper could be used as a novel selective target for cancer therapies. Clioquinol is capable of forming stable complexes with copper and currently used in clinics for treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Most recently, it has been reported that clioquinol possesses antitumor effects. However, the underlying molecular mechanism is unclear. We report here that after binding to copper, clioquinol can inhibit the proteasomal chymotrypsin-like activity, repress androgen receptor (AR) protein expression, and induce apoptotic cell death in human prostate cancer LNCaP and C4-2B cells. In addition, clioquinol alone exhibits similar effects in prostate cancer cell lines with elevated copper at concentrations similar to those found in patients. Addition of dihydrotestosterone did not affect clioquinol-mediated proteasome inhibition in both prostate cancer cell lines. However, dihydrotestosterone partially inhibited clioquinol-induced AR suppression and apoptosis only in androgen-dependent LNCaP cells. Animal studies show that clioquinol treatment significantly inhibits the growth of human prostate tumor C4-2B xenografts (by 66%), associated with in vivo proteasome inhibition, AR protein repression, angiogenesis suppression, and apoptosis induction. Our study provides strong evidence that clioquinol is able to target tumor proteasome in vivo in a copper-dependent manner, resulting in formation of an active AR inhibitor and apoptosis inducer that is responsible for its observed antiprostate tumor effect.

Maspin differential expression patterns as a potential marker for targeted screening of esophageal adenocarcinoma/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

AIM: Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a predisposing factor of esophageal adenocarcinoma/gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma (ECA/GEJ Aca). BE patients are stratified and subsequently monitored according to the risk of malignant progression by the combination of endoscopy and biopsy. This study is to evaluate the maspin expression patterns as early diagnostic markers of malignancy in BE patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was performed on 62 archival core biopsies from 35 patients, including BE without dysplasia (intestinal metaplasia, IM), BE with low grade dysplasia, BE with high grade dysplasia, carcinoma in situ, and well to poorly differentiated ECA/GEJ Aca (PD-ECA/GEJ Aca). The intensity and the subcellular distribution of immunoreactivity were evaluated microscopically. Statistical analysis was performed using the χ2 and Fisher exact tests. RESULTS: The level of epithelial-specific tumor suppressor maspin protein inversely correlated with the progression from IM to PD-ECA/GEJ Aca. Lesions of each pathological grade could be divided into subtypes that exhibited distinct maspin subcellular distribution patterns, including nuclear only (Nuc), combined nuclear and cytoplasmic (Nuc+Cyt), cytoplasmic only (Cyt) and overall negligible (Neg). The Cyt subtype, which was minor in both IM and dysplasia (approximately 10%), was predominant in ECA/GEJ Aca as early as well-differentiated lesions (more than 50%: p = 0.0092). In comparison, nuclear staining of the tumor suppressor TP53 was heterogeneous in dysplasia, and did not correlate with the differentiation grades of ECA/GEJ Aca. CONCLUSION: The Cyt subtype of maspin expression pattern in core biopsies of BE patients may serve as a molecular marker for early diagnosis of ECA/GEJ Aca.

Calpain-mediated androgen receptor breakdown in apoptotic prostate cancer cells.

Since androgen receptor (AR) plays an important role in prostate cancer development and progression, androgen-ablation has been the frontline therapy for treatment of advanced prostate cancer even though it is rarely curative. A curative strategy should involve functional and structural elimination of AR from prostate cancer cells. We have previously reported that apoptosis induced by medicinal proteasome-inhibitory compound celastrol is associated with a decrease in AR protein levels. However celastrol-stimulated events contributing to this AR decrease have not been elucidated. Here, we report that a variety of chemotherapeutic agents, including proteasome inhibitors, a topoisomerase inhibitor, DNA-damaging agents and docetaxel that cause cell death, decrease AR levels in LNCaP prostate cancer cells. This decrease in AR protein levels was not due to the suppression of AR mRNA expression in these cells. We observed that a proteolytic activity residing in cytosol of prostate cancer cells is responsible for AR breakdown and that this proteolytic activity was stimulated upon induction of apoptosis. Interestingly, proteasome inhibitor celastrol- and chemotherapeutic drug VP-16-stimulated AR breakdown was attenuated by calpain inhibitors calpastatin and N-acetyl-L-leucyl-L-leucyl-L-methioninal. Furthermore, AR proteolytic activity pulled down by calmodulin-agarose beads from celastrol-treated PC-3 cells showed immunoreactivity to a calpain antibody. Taken together, these results demonstrate calpain involvement in proteasome inhibitor-induced AR breakdown, and suggest that AR degradation is intrinsic to the induction of apoptosis in prostate cancer cells.

Endogenous inhibition of histone deacetylase 1 by tumor-suppressive maspin.

Maspin, a noninhibitory serine protease inhibitor, exerts multifaceted tumor-suppressive effects. Maspin expression is associated with better differentiated phenotypes, better cancer prognosis, and better drug sensitivity. Consistently, maspin also correlates with increased expression of Bax and p21WAF1/CIP1. Interestingly, histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1), a major HDAC responsible for histone deacetylation, was shown to interact with maspin in a yeast two-hybrid screening. In this study, we confirmed the maspin/HDAC1 interaction in human prostate tissues, in prostate cancer cell lines, and with purified maspin. We produced several lines of evidence that support an inhibitory effect of maspin on HDAC1 through direct molecular interaction, which was detected in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Both endogenously expressed maspin and purified maspin inhibited HDAC1. In contrast, small interfering RNA (siRNA) silencing of maspin in PC3 cells increased HDAC activity. Accordingly, maspin-transfected DU145 cells exhibited increased expression of HDAC1 target genes Bax, cytokeratin 18 (CK18), and p21(WAF1/CIP1), whereas maspin siRNA decreased CK18 expression in PC3 cells. The maspin effect on HDAC1 correlated with an increased sensitivity to cytotoxic HDAC inhibitor M344. Interestingly, glutathione S-transferase (GST, another maspin partner) was detected in the maspin/HDAC1 complex. Furthermore, a COOH-terminally truncated maspin mutant, which bound to HDAC1 but not GST, did not increase histone acetylation. Although HDACs, especially the highly expressed HDAC1, are promising therapeutic targets in cancer intervention, our data raise a novel hypothesis that the endogenous inhibitory effect of maspin on HDAC1 is coupled with glutathione-based protein modification, and provide new leads toward future developments of specific HDAC1-targeting strategies.

Maspin retards cell detachment via a novel interaction with the urokinase-type plasminogen activator/urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor system.

It is well documented that tumor suppressive maspin inhibits tumor cell invasion and extracellular matrix remodeling. Maspin is a cytosolic, cell surface-associated, and secreted protein in the serine protease inhibitor superfamily. Although several molecules have been identified as candidate intracellular maspin targets, the extracellular maspin target(s) remains elusive. Although maspin does not directly inhibit urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) activity, we have shown evidence that maspin may block the pericellular proteolysis mediated by cell surface-associated uPA. In the current study, maspin significantly inhibited the Ca2+ reduction-induced detachment of DU145 cells. This maspin effect was associated with increased and sustained levels of mature focal adhesion contacts (FAC). We noted that maspin (a) colocalized with uPA and uPA receptor (uPAR), (b) enhanced the interaction between uPAR and low-density lipoprotein receptor related protein, and (c) induced rapid internalization of uPA and uPAR. The maspin effects on surface-associated uPA and uPAR required the interaction between uPA and uPAR. Further biochemical and biophysical analyses revealed that maspin specifically bound to pro-uPA with a deduced K(d) of 270 nmol/L and inhibited the plasmin-mediated pro-uPA cleavage. Interestingly, substitution of maspin p1' site Arg340 in the reactive site loop (RSL) with alanine not only abolished the binding to pro-uPA but also diminished the maspin effects on pro-uPA cleavage and cell detachment. These data show an important role of maspin RSL in regulating the uPA/uPAR-dependent cell detachment. Together, our data led to a new hypothesis that maspin may stabilize mature FACs by quenching localized uPA/uPAR complex before uPA activation.

Molecular Theory of Hydration at Different Temperatures.

Solvation plays an important role in diverse chemical processes ranging from reaction kinetics to molecular recognition, solubility, and phase separations. Despite a long-history of theoretical exploration, quantitative prediction of solvation remains a theoretical challenge without relying on the macroscopic properties of the solvent as an input. Here we present a molecular density functional theory that provides a self-consistent description of the solvation structure and thermodynamic properties of small organic molecules in liquid water at different temperatures. Based on the solute configuration and force-field parameters generated from first-principles calculations, the theoretical predictions are found in good agreement with experimental data for the hydration free energies of 197 organic molecules in a temperature range from 0 to 40 °C. In addition to calibration with experimental results, the theoretical predictions are compared with recent molecular dynamics simulations for the hydration of five highly explosive nitrotoluenes. This work demonstrates the potential of the classical density functional theory for high-throughput prediction of solvation properties over a broad range of temperatures.

SMYD5 Controls Heterochromatin and Chromosome Integrity during Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation.

Epigenetic regulation of chromatin states is thought to control gene expression programs during lineage specification. However, the roles of repressive histone modifications, such as trimethylated histone lysine 20 (H4K20me3), in development and genome stability are largely unknown. Here, we show that depletion of SET and MYND domain-containing protein 5 (SMYD5), which mediates H4K20me3, leads to genome-wide decreases in H4K20me3 and H3K9me3 levels and derepression of endogenous LTR- and LINE-repetitive DNA elements during differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells. SMYD5 depletion resulted in chromosomal aberrations and the formation of transformed cells that exhibited decreased H4K20me3 and H3K9me3 levels and an expression signature consistent with multiple human cancers. Moreover, dysregulated gene expression in SMYD5 cancer cells was associated with LTR and endogenous retrovirus elements and decreased H4K20me3. In addition, depletion of SMYD5 in human colon and lung cancer cells results in increased tumor growth and upregulation of genes overexpressed in colon and lung cancers, respectively. These findings implicate an important role for SMYD5 in maintaining chromosome integrity by regulating heterochromatin and repressing endogenous repetitive DNA elements during differentiation. Cancer Res; 77(23); 6729-45. ©2017 AACR.

The secretion and biological function of tumor suppressor maspin as an exosome cargo protein.

Maspin is an epithelial-specific tumor suppressor shown to exert its biological effects as an intracellular, cell membrane-associated, and secreted free molecule. A recent study suggests that upon DNA-damaging g-irradiation, tumor cells can secrete maspin as an exosome-associated protein. To date, the biological significance of exosomal secretion of maspin is unknown. The current study aims at addressing whether maspin is spontaneously secreted as an exosomal protein to regulate tumor/stromal interactions. We prepared exosomes along with cell extracts and vesicle-depleted conditioned media (VDCM) from normal epithelial (CRL2221, MCF-10A and BEAS-2B) and cancer (LNCaP, PC3 and SUM149) cell lines. Atomic force microscopy and dynamic light scattering analysis revealed similar size distribution patterns and surface zeta potentials between the normal cells-derived and tumor cells-derived exosomes. Electron microscopy revealed that maspin was encapsulated by the exosomal membrane as a cargo protein. While western blotting revealed that the level of exosomal maspin from tumor cell lines was disproportionally lower relative to the levels of corresponding intracellular and VDCM maspin, as compared to that from normal cell lines, maspin knockdown in MCF-10A cells led to maspin-devoid exosomes, which exhibited significantly reduced suppressive effects on the chemotaxis activity of recipient NIH3T3 fibroblast cells. These data are the first to demonstrate the potential of maspin delivered by exosomes to block tumor-induced stromal response, and support the clinical application of exosomal maspin in cancer diagnosis and treatment.

An Essential Role of Maspin in Embryogenesis and Tumor Suppression.

Maspin (SerpinB5) is an epithelial-specific tumor suppressor gene product that displays context-dependent cellular functions. Maspin-deficient mouse models created to date have not definitively established maspin functions critical for cancer suppression. In this study, we generated a mouse strain in which exon 4 of the Maspin gene was deleted, confirming its essential role in development but also enabling a breeding scheme to bypass embryonic lethality. Phenotypic characterization of this viable strain established that maspin deficiency was associated with a reduction in maximum body weight and a variety of context-dependent epithelial abnormalities. Specifically, maspin-deficient mice exhibited pulmonary adenocarcinoma, myoepithelial hyperplasia of the mammary gland, hyperplasia of luminal cells of dorsolateral and anterior prostate, and atrophy of luminal cells of ventral prostate and stratum spinosum of epidermis. These cancer phenotypes were accompanied by increased inflammatory stroma. These mice also displayed the autoimmune disorder alopecia aerate. Overall, our findings defined context-specific tumor suppressor roles for maspin in a clinically relevant model to study maspin functions in cancer and other pathologies. Cancer Res; 77(4); 886-96. ©2017 AACR.

Maspin sensitizes prostate cancer cells to doxazosin-induced apoptosis.

Maspin is a mammary serine protease inhibitor or serpin with tumor suppressive and antiangiogenic activity that inhibits tumor motility, invasion and metastasis, at least by its actions on cell membrane and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. Previous studies documented that the quinazoline-derived alpha1-adrenoceptor antagonist doxazosin affects the attachment and migration of prostate cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of maspin overexpression on the apoptotic/antiadhesion response of prostate cancer cells to doxazosin. The response of maspin-overexpressing clones of human prostate cancer cells DU-145 to doxazosin was evaluated by determining cell viability, apoptosis and cell proliferation on the basis of the trypan blue exclusion assay/methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, Hoechst staining and caspase-3 activation, and [(3)H]thymidine incorporation assay. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), transforming growth factor betaRII (TGFbetaRII), Smad4 (a TGFbeta intracellular effector) and bax expression was evaluated at the mRNA and protein level using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting, respectively. The effect of doxazosin on cell attachment of maspin-expressing prostate cancer cells was evaluated on collagen- and fibronectin-coated plates. Cell migration was assessed using the wounding assay. In response to tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand, DU-145-maspin expressing cells undergo apoptosis, via poly(ADP-ribose) polymerasecleavage and caspase-3 activation. DU-145-maspin cells exhibited higher sensitivity to doxazosin and an earlier temporal activation of caspase-3. The number of apoptotic cells detected in response to doxazosin was significantly higher compared to the neo control (P<0.0001). Doxazosin resulted in dramatic downregulation of the 189 isoform of VEGF in maspin transfectants, while a fivefold induction of Smad4 mRNA expression was detected in those cells after 24 h of treatment. Maspin overexpression in prostate cancer cells resulted in an increased ability to attach to ECM-coated plates, and doxazosin treatment considerably antagonized this effect by decreasing the attachment potential to collagen and fibronectin. The present study supports the ability of maspin to enhance the apoptotic threshold of prostate cancer cells to the quinazoline-based alpha1-adrenoceptor antagonist doxazosin. These findings may have therapeutic significance in the development of antiangiogenic targeting by doxazosin and derivative agents for advanced prostate cancer.

Maspin nuclear localization is linked to favorable morphological features in pulmonary adenocarcinoma.

Maspin, a mammary homologue of Serine Protease Inhibitors, has been shown to inhibit tumor progression and metastasis. Recently, its biological functions have been linked to its subcellular localization. Specifically, a nuclear, opposed to a combined nuclear and cytoplasmic localization has been associated with increased survival in human malignancies, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, it is not known whether transformation affects maspin expression during lung carcinogenesis, and whether its subcellular localization correlates with the morphological features of NSCLC. To address these questions, we studied maspin expression in a model of transformation of bronchial epithelial cells and in resected NSCLC. We found that decreased maspin accompanied chemical transformation of normal immortalized bronchial epithelial cells BEAS 2B. Immunohistochemistry revealed maspin expression to be virtually universal in NSCLC, occurring in 72/77 Adenocarcinoma (ACa), and 46/46 squamous cell carcinoma (SqCCa). SqCCa showed almost exclusively a combined nuclear-cytosolic stain. In contrast, nuclear maspin, but not combined nuclear-cytoplasmic maspin significantly correlated with low histological grade, lower proliferative rate, absence of invasion, and negative p53 stain in ACa. These data support the hypothesis that nuclear localization of maspin may stratify subtypes of NSCLC with favorable clinical-pathological features.