Mechanisms and clinical significance of TGF-ß in hepatocellular cancer progression.

Despite progress in treating or preventing viral hepatitis, a leading cause of liver cancer, hepatocellular cancer (HCC) continues to be a major cause of cancer-related deaths globally. HCC is a highly heterogeneous cancer with many genetic alterations common within a patient's tumor and between different patients. This complicates therapeutic strategies. In this review, we highlight the critical role that the Smad-mediated transforming growth factor ß (TGF-ß) pathway plays both in liver homeostasis and in the development and progression of HCC. We summarize the mouse models that have enabled the exploration of the dual nature of this pathway as both a tumor suppressor and a tumor promoter. Finally, we highlight how the insights gained from evaluating pathway activity using transcriptional profiling can be used to stratify HCC patients toward rational therapeutic regimens based on the differences in patients with early or late TGF-ß pathway activity or activated, normal, or inactivated profiles of this key pathway.

Using quantitative immunohistochemistry in patients at high risk for hepatocellular cancer.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the primary form of liver cancer and a major cause of cancer death worldwide. Early detection is key to effective treatment. Yet, early diagnosis is challenging, especially in patients with cirrhosis, who are at high risk of developing HCC. Dysfunction or loss of function of the transforming growth factor ß (TGF-ß) pathway is associated with HCC. Here, using quantitative immunohistochemistry analysis of samples from a multi-institutional repository, we evaluated if differences in TGF-ß receptor abundance were present in tissue from patients with only cirrhosis compared with those with HCC in the context of cirrhosis. We determined that TGFBR2, not TGFBR1, was significantly reduced in HCC tissue compared with cirrhotic tissue. We developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-based process that correctly identified cirrhotic and HCC tissue and confirmed the significant reduction in TGFBR2 in HCC tissue compared with cirrhotic tissue. Thus, we propose that a reduction in TGFBR2 abundance represents a useful biomarker for detecting HCC in the context of cirrhosis and that incorporating this biomarker into an AI-based automated imaging pipeline could reduce variability in diagnosing HCC from biopsy tissue.

Impaired reciprocal regulation between SIRT6 and TGF-ß signaling in fatty liver.

Dysregulated transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-ß) signaling contributes to fibrotic liver disease and hepatocellular cancer (HCC), both of which are associated with fatty liver disease. SIRT6 limits fibrosis by inhibiting TGF-ß signaling through deacetylating SMAD2 and SMAD3 and limits lipogenesis by inhibiting SREBP1 and SREBP2 activity. Here, we showed that, compared to wild-type mice, high-fat diet-induced fatty liver is worse in TGF-ß signaling-deficient mice (SPTBN1+/- ) and the mutant mice had reduced SIRT6 abundance in the liver. Therefore, we hypothesized that altered reciprocal regulation between TGF-ß signaling and SIRT6 contributes to these liver pathologies. We found that deficiency in SMAD3 or SPTBN1 reduced SIRT6 mRNA and protein abundance and impaired TGF-ß induction of SIRT6 transcripts, and that SMAD3 bound to the SIRT6 promoter, suggesting that an SMAD3-SPTBN1 pathway mediated the induction of SIRT6 in response to TGF-ß. Overexpression of SIRT6 in HCC cells reduced the expression of TGF-ß-induced genes, consistent with the suppressive role of SIRT6 on TGF-ß signaling. Manipulation of SIRT6 abundance in HCC cells altered sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) activity and overexpression of SIRT6 reduced the amount of acetylated SPTBN1 and the abundance of both SMAD3 and SPTBN1. Furthermore, induction of SREBP target genes in response to SIRT6 overexpression was impaired in SPTBN1 heterozygous cells. Thus, we identified a regulatory loop between SIRT6 and SPTBN1 that represents a potential mechanism for susceptibility to fatty liver in the presence of dysfunctional TGF-ß signaling.

TGF-ß Signaling in Liver, Pancreas, and Gastrointestinal Diseases and Cancer.

Genetic alterations affecting transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) signaling are exceptionally common in diseases and cancers of the gastrointestinal system. As a regulator of tissue renewal, TGF-ß signaling and the downstream SMAD-dependent transcriptional events play complex roles in the transition from a noncancerous disease state to cancer in the gastrointestinal tract, liver, and pancreas. Furthermore, this pathway also regulates the stromal cells and the immune system, which may contribute to evasion of the tumors from immune-mediated elimination. Here, we review the involvement of the TGF-ß pathway mediated by the transcriptional regulators SMADs in disease progression to cancer in the digestive system. The review integrates human genomic studies with animal models that provide clues toward understanding and managing the complexity of the pathway in disease and cancer.

Targeting the E3 Ubiquitin Ligase PJA1 Enhances Tumor-Suppressing TGFß Signaling.

RING-finger E3 ligases are instrumental in the regulation of inflammatory cascades, apoptosis, and cancer. However, their roles are relatively unknown in TGFß/SMAD signaling. SMAD3 and its adaptors, such as ß2SP, are important mediators of TGFß signaling and regulate gene expression to suppress stem cell-like phenotypes in diverse cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, PJA1, an E3 ligase, promoted ubiquitination and degradation of phosphorylated SMAD3 and impaired a SMAD3/ß2SP-dependent tumor-suppressing pathway in multiple HCC cell lines. In mice deficient for SMAD3 (Smad3 +/-), PJA1 overexpression promoted the transformation of liver stem cells. Analysis of genes regulated by PJA1 knockdown and TGFß1 signaling revealed 1,584 co-upregulated genes and 1,280 co-downregulated genes, including many implicated in cancer. The E3 ligase inhibitor RTA405 enhanced SMAD3-regulated gene expression and reduced growth of HCC cells in culture and xenografts of HCC tumors, suggesting that inhibition of PJA1 may be beneficial in treating HCC or preventing HCC development in at-risk patients.Significance: These findings provide a novel mechanism regulating the tumor suppressor function of TGFß in liver carcinogenesis.

Secretome profiling identifies neuron-derived neurotrophic factor as a tumor-suppressive factor in lung cancer.

Clinical and preclinical studies show tissue-specific differences in tumorigenesis. Tissue specificity is controlled by differential gene expression. We prioritized genes that encode secreted proteins according to their preferential expression in normal lungs to identify candidates associated with lung cancer. Indeed, most of the lung-enriched genes identified in our analysis have known or suspected roles in lung cancer. We focused on the gene encoding neuron-derived neurotrophic factor (NDNF), which had not yet been associated with lung cancer. We determined that NDNF was preferentially expressed in the normal adult lung and that its expression was decreased in human lung adenocarcinoma and a mouse model of this cancer. Higher expression of NDNF was associated with better clinical outcome of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. Purified NDNF inhibited proliferation of lung cancer cells, whereas silencing NDNF promoted tumor cell growth in culture and in xenograft models. We determined that NDNF is downregulated through DNA hypermethylation near CpG island shores in human lung adenocarcinoma. Furthermore, the lung cancer-related DNA hypermethylation sites corresponded to the methylation sites that occurred in tissues with low NDNF expression. Thus, by analyzing the tissue-specific secretome, we identified a tumor-suppressive factor, NDNF, which is associated with patient outcomes in lung adenocarcinoma.

A Pan-Cancer Analysis Reveals High-Frequency Genetic Alterations in Mediators of Signaling by the TGF-ß Superfamily.

We present an integromic analysis of gene alterations that modulate transforming growth factor ß (TGF-ß)-Smad-mediated signaling in 9,125 tumor samples across 33 cancer types in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Focusing on genes that encode mediators and regulators of TGF-ß signaling, we found at least one genomic alteration (mutation, homozygous deletion, or amplification) in 39% of samples, with highest frequencies in gastrointestinal cancers. We identified mutation hotspots in genes that encode TGF-ß ligands (BMP5), receptors (TGFBR2, AVCR2A, and BMPR2), and Smads (SMAD2 and SMAD4). Alterations in the TGF-ß superfamily correlated positively with expression of metastasis-associated genes and with decreased survival. Correlation analyses showed the contributions of mutation, amplification, deletion, DNA methylation, and miRNA expression to transcriptional activity of TGF-ß signaling in each cancer type. This study provides a broad molecular perspective relevant for future functional and therapeutic studies of the diverse cancer pathways mediated by the TGF-ß superfamily.

Focus Issue: Cancer-Beyond tumor genetics to protein landscapes.

The proteins that regulate cell proliferation, metastatic potential, survival in circulation, and immune evasion represent most of the targets for therapeutic intervention in cancer. Furthermore, genomic profiling of just the cancer cells leaves critical information about the tumor microenvironment in the dark. The articles highlighted in this Focus Issue describe efforts to translate genomic data into knowledge of aberrant signaling that can be therapeutically targeted and strategies to explore not only the changes that occur in the protein landscape of the tumors but also in the protein profiles of the tumor microenvironment.

Daily oxygen rhythms.

The hypoxia response system and circadian clock system are interconnected.

Pseudophosphatase as E3 ubiquitin ligase inhibitor.

The pseudophosphatase STYX prevents the substrate recognition subunit FBXW7 from binding the catalytic E3 ubiquitin ligase complex.

Translational complex for differentiation.

NAT1 interacts with a subset of eukaryotic translation initiation factors to enable expression of transcripts required for stem cell differentiation signals.

Lysosomes get into the action.

Activity-dependent lysosomal fusion with the plasma membrane stimulates dendrite remodeling.

Tumors block pain with CXCL12.

The chemokine CXCL12 released from early stage pancreatic cancer recruits Schwann cells and suppresses pain signaling.

New connections: NHERF gates activity.

The NHERF molecular adaptors serve as gates for TRPC4 and TRPC5 regulation by diacylglycerol and recognition of CFTR by the quality control checkpoint.

Emerging roles for organelles in cellular regulation.

This Editorial Guide describes the emerging confluence of cellular regulation and organelle biology. The signals and molecular machineries that regulate organelle function, dynamics, and replication and the signals produced by organelles are beginning to be discovered.

Unveiling the molecular details of plant signaling.

This Editorial Guide describes emerging areas of signaling research for plants. Advances in this area are key to preserving nature and maintaining the planet's health while feeding a growing human population.

Signaling proteins in the spotlight.

The molecular side of signaling still has many secrets to reveal. This Editorial Guide describes areas of particular interest with regard to understanding cellular regulation at the level of individual molecules and macromolecular complexes. Advances in technology and the accumulation of proteomic and genomic data reveal previously unknown components of signaling networks, the spatial organization of macromolecular complexes, and how information flows through the networks to produce specific cellular responses.