JUN mediates the senescence associated secretory phenotype and immune cell recruitment to prevent prostate cancer progression.

BACKGROUND: Prostate cancer develops through malignant transformation of the prostate epithelium in a stepwise, mutation-driven process. Although activator protein-1 transcription factors such as JUN have been implicated as potential oncogenic drivers, the molecular programs contributing to prostate cancer progression are not fully understood. METHODS: We analyzed JUN expression in clinical prostate cancer samples across different stages and investigated its functional role in a Pten-deficient mouse model. We performed histopathological examinations, transcriptomic analyses and explored the senescence-associated secretory phenotype in the tumor microenvironment. RESULTS: Elevated JUN levels characterized early-stage prostate cancer and predicted improved survival in human and murine samples. Immune-phenotyping of Pten-deficient prostates revealed high accumulation of tumor-infiltrating leukocytes, particularly innate immune cells, neutrophils and macrophages as well as high levels of STAT3 activation and IL-1ß production. Jun depletion in a Pten-deficient background prevented immune cell attraction which was accompanied by significant reduction of active STAT3 and IL-1ß and accelerated prostate tumor growth. Comparative transcriptome profiling of prostate epithelial cells revealed a senescence-associated gene signature, upregulation of pro-inflammatory processes involved in immune cell attraction and of chemokines such as IL-1ß, TNF-α, CCL3 and CCL8 in Pten-deficient prostates. Strikingly, JUN depletion reversed both the senescence-associated secretory phenotype and senescence-associated immune cell infiltration but had no impact on cell cycle arrest. As a result, JUN depletion in Pten-deficient prostates interfered with the senescence-associated immune clearance and accelerated tumor growth. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that JUN acts as tumor-suppressor and decelerates the progression of prostate cancer by transcriptional regulation of senescence- and inflammation-associated genes. This study opens avenues for novel treatment strategies that could impede disease progression and improve patient outcomes.

STAT3/LKB1 controls metastatic prostate cancer by regulating mTORC1/CREB pathway.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is a common and fatal type of cancer in men. Metastatic PCa (mPCa) is a major factor contributing to its lethality, although the mechanisms remain poorly understood. PTEN is one of the most frequently deleted genes in mPCa. Here we show a frequent genomic co-deletion of PTEN and STAT3 in liquid biopsies of patients with mPCa. Loss of Stat3 in a Pten-null mouse prostate model leads to a reduction of LKB1/pAMPK with simultaneous activation of mTOR/CREB, resulting in metastatic disease. However, constitutive activation of Stat3 led to high LKB1/pAMPK levels and suppressed mTORC1/CREB pathway, preventing mPCa development. Metformin, one of the most widely prescribed therapeutics against type 2 diabetes, inhibits mTORC1 in liver and requires LKB1 to mediate glucose homeostasis. We find that metformin treatment of STAT3/AR-expressing PCa xenografts resulted in significantly reduced tumor growth accompanied by diminished mTORC1/CREB, AR and PSA levels. PCa xenografts with deletion of STAT3/AR nearly completely abrogated mTORC1/CREB inhibition mediated by metformin. Moreover, metformin treatment of PCa patients with high Gleason grade and type 2 diabetes resulted in undetectable mTORC1 levels and upregulated STAT3 expression. Furthermore, PCa patients with high CREB expression have worse clinical outcomes and a significantly increased risk of PCa relapse and metastatic recurrence. In summary, we have shown that STAT3 controls mPCa via LKB1/pAMPK/mTORC1/CREB signaling, which we have identified as a promising novel downstream target for the treatment of lethal mPCa.

Alterations in the Kynurenine-Tryptophan Pathway and Lipid Dysregulation Are Preserved Features of COVID-19 in Hemodialysis.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-induced metabolic alterations have been proposed as a source for prognostic biomarkers and may harbor potential for therapeutic exploitation. However, the metabolic impact of COVID-19 in hemodialysis (HD), a setting of profound a priori alterations, remains unstudied. To evaluate potential COVID-19 biomarkers in end-stage kidney disease (CKD G5), we analyzed the plasma metabolites in different COVID-19 stages in patients with or without HD. We recruited 18 and 9 asymptomatic and mild, 11 and 11 moderate, 2 and 13 severely affected, and 10 and 6 uninfected HD and non-HD patients, respectively. Plasma samples were taken at the time of diagnosis and/or upon admission to the hospital and analyzed by targeted metabolomics and cytokine/chemokine profiling. Targeted metabolomics confirmed stage-dependent alterations of the metabolome in non-HD patients with COVID-19, which were less pronounced in HD patients. Elevated kynurenine levels and lipid dysregulation, shown by an increase in circulating free fatty acids and a decrease in lysophospholipids, could distinguish patients with moderate COVID-19 from non-infected individuals in both groups. Kynurenine and lipid alterations were also associated with ICAM-1 and IL-15 levels in HD and non-HD patients. Our findings support the kynurenine pathway and plasma lipids as universal biomarkers of moderate and severe COVID-19 independent of kidney function.

KMT2C methyltransferase domain regulated INK4A expression suppresses prostate cancer metastasis.

BACKGROUND: Frequent truncation mutations of the histone lysine N-methyltransferase KMT2C have been detected by whole exome sequencing studies in various cancers, including malignancies of the prostate. However, the biological consequences of these alterations in prostate cancer have not yet been elucidated. METHODS: To investigate the functional effects of these mutations, we deleted the C-terminal catalytic core motif of Kmt2c specifically in mouse prostate epithelium. We analysed the effect of Kmt2c SET domain deletion in a Pten-deficient PCa mouse model in vivo and of truncation mutations of KMT2C in a large number of prostate cancer patients. RESULTS: We show here for the first time that impaired KMT2C methyltransferase activity drives proliferation and PIN formation and, when combined with loss of the tumour suppressor PTEN, triggers loss of senescence, metastatic dissemination and dramatically reduces life expectancy. In Kmt2c-mutated tumours we show enrichment of proliferative MYC gene signatures and loss of expression of the cell cycle repressor p16INK4A. In addition, we observe a striking reduction in disease-free survival of patients with KMT2C-mutated prostate cancer. CONCLUSIONS: We identified truncating events of KMT2C as drivers of proliferation and PIN formation. Loss of PTEN and KMT2C in prostate cancer results in loss of senescence, metastatic dissemination and reduced life expectancy. Our data demonstrate the prognostic significance of KMT2C mutation status in prostate cancer patients. Inhibition of the MYC signalling axis may be a viable treatment option for patients with KMT2C truncations and therefore poor prognosis.

STAT3-dependent analysis reveals PDK4 as independent predictor of recurrence in prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer (PCa) has a broad spectrum of clinical behavior; hence, biomarkers are urgently needed for risk stratification. Here, we aim to find potential biomarkers for risk stratification, by utilizing a gene co-expression network of transcriptomics data in addition to laser-microdissected proteomics from human and murine prostate FFPE samples. We show up-regulation of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in PCa on the transcriptomic level and up-regulation of the TCA cycle/OXPHOS on the proteomic level, which is inversely correlated to STAT3 expression. We hereby identify gene expression of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4), a key regulator of the TCA cycle, as a promising independent prognostic marker in PCa. PDK4 predicts disease recurrence independent of diagnostic risk factors such as grading, staging, and PSA level. Therefore, low PDK4 is a promising marker for PCa with dismal prognosis.

The Implications of PDK1-4 on Tumor Energy Metabolism, Aggressiveness and Therapy Resistance.

A metabolic shift from oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) to glycolysis-known as the Warburg effect-is characteristic for many cancers. It gives the cancer cells a survival advantage in the hypoxic tumor microenvironment and protects them from cytotoxic effects of oxidative damage and apoptosis. The main regulators of this metabolic shift are the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) isoforms 1-4. PDK is known to be overexpressed in several cancers and is associated with bad prognosis and therapy resistance. Whereas the expression of PDK1-3 is tissue specific, PDK4 expression is dependent on the energetic state of the whole organism. In contrast to other PDK isoforms, not only oncogenic, but also tumor suppressive functions of PDK4 have been reported. In tumors that profit from high OXPHOS and high de novo fatty acid synthesis, PDK4 can have a protective effect. This is the case for prostate cancer, the most common cancer in men, and makes PDK4 an interesting therapeutic target. While most work is focused on PDK in tumors characterized by high glycolytic activity, little research is devoted to those cases where PDK4 acts protective and is therefore highly needed.