Extracellular Matrix Collagen I Differentially Regulates the Metabolic Plasticity of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Parenchymal Cell and Cancer Stem Cell.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a 5-year survival rate of less than 10 percent largely due to the intense fibrotic desmoplastic reaction, characterized by high levels of extracellular matrix (ECM) collagen I that constitutes a niche for a subset of cancer cells, the cancer stem cells (CSCs). Cancer cells undergo a complex metabolic adaptation characterized by changes in metabolic pathways and biosynthetic processes. The use of the 3D organotypic model in this study allowed us to manipulate the ECM constituents and mimic the progression of PDAC from an early tumor to an ever more advanced tumor stage. To understand the role of desmoplasia on the metabolism of PDAC parenchymal (CPC) and CSC populations, we studied their basic metabolic parameters in organotypic cultures of increasing collagen content to mimic in vivo conditions. We further measured the ability of the bioenergetic modulators (BMs), 2-deoxyglucose, dichloroacetate and phenformin, to modify their metabolic dependence and the therapeutic activity of paclitaxel albumin nanoparticles (NAB-PTX). While all the BMs decreased cell viability and increased cell death in all ECM types, a distinct, collagen I-dependent profile was observed in CSCs. As ECM collagen I content increased (e.g., more aggressive conditions), the CSCs switched from glucose to mostly glutamine metabolism. All three BMs synergistically potentiated the cytotoxicity of NAB-PTX in both cell lines, which, in CSCs, was collagen I-dependent and the strongest when treated with phenformin + NAB-PTX. Metabolic disruption in PDAC can be useful both as monotherapy or combined with conventional drugs to more efficiently block tumor growth.

ECM Composition Differentially Regulates Intracellular and Extracellular pH in Normal and Cancer Pancreatic Duct Epithelial Cells.

Intracellular pH (pHi) regulation is a challenge for the exocrine pancreas, where the luminal secretion of bicarbonate-rich fluid is accompanied by interstitial flows of acid. This acid-base transport requires a plethora of ion transporters, including bicarbonate transporters and the Na+/H+ exchanger isoform 1 (NHE1), which are dysregulated in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC). PDAC progression is favored by a Collagen-I rich extracellular matrix (ECM) which exacerbates the physiological interstitial acidosis. In organotypic cultures of normal human pancreatic cells (HPDE), parenchymal cancer cells (CPCs) and cancer stem cells (CSCs) growing on matrices reproducing ECM changes during progression, we studied resting pHi, the pHi response to fluxes of NaHCO3 and acidosis and the role of NHE1 in pHi regulation. Our findings show that: (i) on the physiological ECM, HPDE cells have the most alkaline pHi, followed by CSCs and CPCs, while a Collagen I-rich ECM reverses the acid-base balance in cancer cells compared to normal cells; (ii) both resting pHi and pHi recovery from an acid load are reduced by extracellular NaHCO3, especially in HPDE cells on a normal ECM; (iii) cancer cell NHE1 activity is less affected by NaHCO3. We conclude that ECM composition and the fluctuations of pHe cooperate to predispose pHi homeostasis towards the presence of NaHCO3 gradients similar to that expected in the tumor.

Cancer Associated Fibroblast (CAF) Regulation of PDAC Parenchymal (CPC) and CSC Phenotypes Is Modulated by ECM Composition.

BACKGROUND: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the deadliest of all cancers, having one of the lowest five-year survival rates. One of its hallmarks is a dense desmoplastic stroma consisting in the abnormal accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) components, especially Collagen I. This highly fibrotic stroma embeds the bulk cancer (parenchymal) cells (CPCs), cancer stem cells (CSCs) and the main producers of the stromal reaction, the Cancer Associated Fibroblasts (CAFs). Little is known about the role of the acellular ECM in the interplay of the CAFs with the different tumor cell types in determining their phenotypic plasticity and eventual cell fate. METHODS: Here, we analyzed the role of ECM collagen I in modulating the effect of CAF-derived signals by incubating PDAC CPCs and CSCs grown on ECM mimicking early (low collagen I levels) and late (high collagen I levels) stage PDAC stroma with conditioned medium from primary cultured CAFs derived from patients with PDAC in a previously described three-dimensional (3D) organotypic model of PDAC. RESULTS: We found that CAFs (1) reduced CPC growth while favoring CSC growth independently of the ECM; (2) increased the invasive capacity of only CPCs on the ECM mimicking the early tumor; and (3) favored vasculogenic mimicry (VM) especially of the CSCs on the ECM mimicking an early tumor. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the CAFs and acellular stromal components interact to modulate the tumor behaviors of the PDAC CPC and CSC cell types and drive metastatic progression by stimulating the phenotypic characteristics of each tumor cell type that contribute to metastasis.

Integrin-Linked Kinase Links Integrin Activation to Invadopodia Function and Invasion via the p(T567)-Ezrin/NHERF1/NHE1 Pathway.

Tumor cell invasion depends largely on degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) by protease-rich structures called invadopodia, whose formation and activity requires the convergence of signaling pathways engaged in cell adhesion, actin assembly, membrane regulation and ECM proteolysis. It is known that ß1-integrin stimulates invadopodia function through an invadopodial p(T567)-ezrin/NHERF1/NHE1 signal complex that regulates NHE1-driven invadopodia proteolytic activity and invasion. However, the link between ß1-integrin and this signaling complex is unknown. In this study, in metastatic breast (MDA-MB-231) and prostate (PC-3) cancer cells, we report that integrin-linked kinase (ILK) integrates ß1-integrin with this signaling complex to regulate invadopodia activity and invasion. Proximity ligation assay experiments demonstrate that, in invadopodia, ILK associates with ß1-integrin, NHE1 and the scaffold proteins p(T567)-ezrin and NHERF1. Activation of ß1-integrin increased both invasion and invadopodia activity, which were specifically blocked by inhibition of either NHE1 or ILK. We conclude that ILK integrates ß1-integrin with the ECM proteolytic/invasion signal module to induce NHE1-driven invadopodial ECM proteolysis and cell invasion.

The Role of Sodium Hydrogen Exchanger 1 in Dysregulation of Proton Dynamics and Reprogramming of Cancer Metabolism as a Sequela

Cancer cells have an unusual regulation of hydrogen ion dynamics that are driven by poor vascularity perfusion, regional hypoxia, and increased glycolysis. All these forces synergize/orchestrate together to create extracellular acidity and intracellular alkalinity. Precisely, they lead to extracellular pH (pHe) values as low as 6.2 and intracellular pH values as high as 8. This unique pH gradient (∆pHi to ∆pHe) across the cell membrane increases as the tumor progresses, and is markedly displaced from the electrochemical equilibrium of protons. These unusual pH dynamics influence cancer cell biology, including proliferation, metastasis, and metabolic adaptation. Warburg metabolism with increased glycolysis, even in the presence of Oxygen with the subsequent reduction in Krebs' cycle, is a common feature of most cancers. This metabolic reprogramming confers evolutionary advantages to cancer cells by enhancing their resistance to hypoxia, to chemotherapy or radiotherapy, allowing rapid production of biological building blocks that support cellular proliferation, and shielding against damaging mitochondrial free radicals. In this article, we highlight the interconnected roles of dysregulated pH dynamics in cancer initiation, progression, adaptation, and in determining the programming and re-programming of tumor cell metabolism.

Phosphorylation of NHERF1 S279 and S301 differentially regulates breast cancer cell phenotype and metastatic organotropism.

Metastatic cancer cells are highly plastic for the expression of different tumor phenotype hallmarks and organotropism. This plasticity is highly regulated but the dynamics of the signaling processes orchestrating the shift from one cell phenotype and metastatic organ pattern to another are still largely unknown. The scaffolding protein NHERF1 has been shown to regulate the expression of different neoplastic phenotypes through its PDZ domains, which forms the mechanistic basis for metastatic organotropism. This reprogramming activity was postulated to be dependent on its differential phosphorylation patterns. Here, we show that NHERF1 phosphorylation on S279/S301 dictates several tumor phenotypes such as in vivo invasion, NHE1-mediated matrix digestion, growth and vasculogenic mimicry. Remarkably, injecting mice with cells having differential NHERF1 expression and phosphorylation drove a shift from the predominantly lung colonization (WT NHERF1) to predominately bone colonization (double S279A/S301A mutant), indicating that NHERF1 phosphorylation also acts as a signaling switch in metastatic organotropism.

Extracellular matrix composition modulates PDAC parenchymal and stem cell plasticity and behavior through the secretome.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal cancers. Its aggressiveness is driven by an intense fibrotic desmoplastic reaction in which the increasingly collagen I-rich extracellular matrix (ECM) and several cell types, including cancer stem cells (CSCs), create a tumor-supportive environment. However, how ECM composition regulates CSC dynamics and their relationship with the principle parenchymal tumor population to promote early invasive growth is not yet characterized. For this, we utilized a platform of 3D organotypic cultures composed of laminin-rich Matrigel, representative of an early tumor, plus increasing concentrations of collagen I to simulate malignant stroma progression. As ECM collagen I increases, CSCs progress from a rapidly growing, vascular phenotype to a slower growing, avascular phase, while maintaining their endothelial-like gene signatures. This transition is supported autocrinically by the CSCs and paracrinically by the parenchymal cells via their ECM-dependent secretomes. Indeed, when growing on an early tumor ECM, the CSCs are dedicated toward the preparation of a vascular niche by (a) activating their growth program, (b) secreting high levels of proangiogenic factors which stimulate both angiogenesis and vasculogenic mimicry, and (c) overexpressing VEGFR-2, which is activated by VEGF secreted by both the CSC and parenchymal cells. On Matrigel, the more differentiated parenchymal tumor cell population had reduced growth but a high invasive capacity. This concerted high local invasion of parenchymal cells into the CSC-derived vascular network suggests that a symbiotic relationship between the parenchymal cells and the CSCs underlies the initiation and maintenance of early PDAC infiltration and metastasis.