PHGDH preserves one-carbon cycle to confer metabolic plasticity in chemoresistant gastric cancer during nutrient stress.

Molecular classification of gastric cancer (GC) identified a subgroup of patients showing chemoresistance and poor prognosis, termed SEM (Stem-like/Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition/Mesenchymal) type in this study. Here, we show that SEM-type GC exhibits a distinct metabolic profile characterized by high glutaminase (GLS) levels. Unexpectedly, SEM-type GC cells are resistant to glutaminolysis inhibition. We show that under glutamine starvation, SEM-type GC cells up-regulate the 3 phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDH)-mediated mitochondrial folate cycle pathway to produce NADPH as a reactive oxygen species scavenger for survival. This metabolic plasticity is associated with globally open chromatin structure in SEM-type GC cells, with ATF4/CEBPB identified as transcriptional drivers of the PHGDH-driven salvage pathway. Single-nucleus transcriptome analysis of patient-derived SEM-type GC organoids revealed intratumoral heterogeneity, with stemness-high subpopulations displaying high GLS expression, a resistance to GLS inhibition, and ATF4/CEBPB activation. Notably, coinhibition of GLS and PHGDH successfully eliminated stemness-high cancer cells. Together, these results provide insight into the metabolic plasticity of aggressive GC cells and suggest a treatment strategy for chemoresistant GC patients.

Sp1-Induced FNBP1 Drives Rigorous 3D Cell Motility in EMT-Type Gastric Cancer Cells.

Cancer is heterogeneous among patients, requiring a thorough understanding of molecular subtypes and the establishment of therapeutic strategies based on its behavior. Gastric cancer (GC) is adenocarcinoma with marked heterogeneity leading to different prognoses. As an effort, we previously identified a stem-like subtype, which is prone to metastasis, with the worst prognosis. Here, we propose FNBP1 as a key to high-level cell motility, present only in aggressive GC cells. FNBP1 is also up-regulated in both the GS subtype from the TCGA project and the EMT subtype from the ACRG study, which include high portions of diffuse histologic type. Ablation of FNBP1 in the EMT-type GC cell line brought changes in the cell periphery in transcriptomic analysis. Indeed, loss of FNBP1 resulted in the loss of invasive ability, especially in a three-dimensional culture system. Live imaging indicated active movement of actin in FNBP1-overexpressed cells cultured in an extracellular matrix dome. To find the transcription factor which drives FNBP1 expression in an EMT-type GC cell line, the FNBP1 promoter region and DNA binding motifs were analyzed. Interestingly, the Sp1 motif was abundant in the promoter, and pharmacological inhibition and knockdown of Sp1 down-regulated FNBP1 promoter activity and the transcription level, respectively. Taken together, our results propose Sp1-driven FNBP1 as a key molecule explaining aggressiveness in EMT-type GC cells.

Gene signature from cutaneous autoimmune diseases provides potential immunotherapy-relevant biomarkers in melanoma.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are promising agents for treating melanoma. Given that autoimmune skin diseases exhibit hyper immune reaction, investigation of immune cells from autoimmune skin disease is crucial to validate the effectiveness of ICIs in melanoma treatment. We employed multipanel markers to predict the response to immune checkpoint inhibitors by characterizing the gene expression signatures of skin immune cells in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), atopic dermatitis (AD), and psoriasis (PS). By analyzing single-cell RNA sequencing data from each dataset, T cell gene signatures from autoimmune skin diseases exhibit a complex immune response in tumors that responded to immunotherapy. Based on that CD86 and CD80 provide essential costimulatory signals for T cell activation, we observed that interaction of CD86 signaling has been enhanced in the T cells of patients with SLE, AD, and PS. Our analysis revealed a common increase in CD86 signals from dendritic cells (DCs) to T cells in patients with SLE, AD, and PS, confirming that dendritic cells produce pro-inflammatory cytokines to activate T cells. Thus, we hypothesize that T cell gene signatures from autoimmune skin diseases exhibit a pro-inflammatory response and have the potential to predict cancer immunotherapy. Our study demonstrated that T cell gene signatures derived from inflammatory skin diseases, particularly SLE and PS, hold promise as potential biomarkers for predicting the response to immune checkpoint blockade therapy in patients with melanoma. Our data provide an understanding of the immune-related characteristics and differential gene expression patterns in autoimmune skin diseases, which may represent promising targets for melanoma immunotherapy.

Caveolin-1 mediates the utilization of extracellular proteins for survival in refractory gastric cancer.

Despite advances in cancer therapy, the clinical outcome of patients with gastric cancer remains poor, largely due to tumor heterogeneity. Thus, finding a hidden vulnerability of clinically refractory subtypes of gastric cancer is crucial. Here, we report that chemoresistant gastric cancer cells rely heavily on endocytosis, facilitated by caveolin-1, for survival. caveolin-1 was highly upregulated in the most malignant stem-like/EMT/mesenchymal (SEM)-type gastric cancer cells, allowing caveolin-1-mediated endocytosis and utilization of extracellular proteins via lysosomal degradation. Downregulation of caveolin-1 alone was sufficient to induce cell death in SEM-type gastric cancer cells, emphasizing its importance as a survival mechanism. Consistently, chloroquine, a lysosomal inhibitor, successfully blocked caveolin-1-mediated endocytosis, leading to the marked suppression of tumor growth in chemorefractory gastric cancer cells in vitro, including patient-derived organoids, and in vivo. Together, our findings suggest that caveolin-1-mediated endocytosis is a key metabolic pathway for gastric cancer survival and a potential therapeutic target.