IP3R2 levels dictate the apoptotic sensitivity of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cells to an IP3R-derived peptide targeting the BH4 domain of Bcl-2.

Disrupting inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptor (IP3R)/B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) complexes using a cell-permeable peptide (stabilized TAT-fused IP3R-derived peptide (TAT-IDP(S))) that selectively targets the BH4 domain of Bcl-2 but not that of B-cell lymphoma 2-extra large (Bcl-Xl) potentiated pro-apoptotic Ca(2+) signaling in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells. However, the molecular mechanisms rendering cancer cells but not normal cells particularly sensitive to disrupting IP3R/Bcl-2 complexes are poorly understood. Therefore, we studied the effect of TAT-IDP(S) in a more heterogeneous Bcl-2-dependent cancer model using a set of 'primed to death' diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DL-BCL) cell lines containing elevated Bcl-2 levels. We discovered a large heterogeneity in the apoptotic responses of these cells to TAT-IDP(S) with SU-DHL-4 being most sensitive and OCI-LY-1 being most resistant. This sensitivity strongly correlated with the ability of TAT-IDP(S) to promote IP3R-mediated Ca(2+) release. Although total IP3R-expression levels were very similar among SU-DHL-4 and OCI-LY-1, we discovered that the IP3R2-protein level was the highest for SU-DHL-4 and the lowest for OCI-LY-1. Strikingly, TAT-IDP(S)-induced Ca(2+) rise and apoptosis in the different DL-BCL cell lines strongly correlated with their IP3R2-protein level, but not with IP3R1-, IP3R3- or total IP3R-expression levels. Inhibiting or knocking down IP3R2 activity in SU-DHL-4-reduced TAT-IDP(S)-induced apoptosis, which is compatible with its ability to dissociate Bcl-2 from IP3R2 and to promote IP3-induced pro-apoptotic Ca(2+) signaling. Thus, certain chronically activated B-cell lymphoma cells are addicted to high Bcl-2 levels for their survival not only to neutralize pro-apoptotic Bcl-2-family members but also to suppress IP3R hyperactivity. In particular, cancer cells expressing high levels of IP3R2 are addicted to IP3R/Bcl-2 complex formation and disruption of these complexes using peptide tools results in pro-apoptotic Ca(2+) signaling and cell death.

TMBIM3/GRINA is a novel unfolded protein response (UPR) target gene that controls apoptosis through the modulation of ER calcium homeostasis.

Transmembrane BAX inhibitor motif-containing (TMBIM)-6, also known as BAX-inhibitor 1 (BI-1), is an anti-apoptotic protein that belongs to a putative family of highly conserved and poorly characterized genes. Here we report the function of TMBIM3/GRINA in the control of cell death by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Tmbim3 mRNA levels are strongly upregulated in cellular and animal models of ER stress, controlled by the PERK signaling branch of the unfolded protein response. TMBIM3/GRINA synergies with TMBIM6/BI-1 in the modulation of ER calcium homeostasis and apoptosis, associated with physical interactions with inositol trisphosphate receptors. Loss-of-function studies in D. melanogaster demonstrated that TMBIM3/GRINA and TMBIM6/BI-1 have synergistic activities against ER stress in vivo. Similarly, manipulation of TMBIM3/GRINA levels in zebrafish embryos revealed an essential role in the control of apoptosis during neuronal development and in experimental models of ER stress. These findings suggest the existence of a conserved group of functionally related cell death regulators across species beyond the BCL-2 family of proteins operating at the ER membrane.

HES6 gene is selectively overexpressed in glioma and represents an important transcriptional regulator of glioma proliferation.

Malignant glioma is the most common brain tumor with 16,000 new cases diagnosed annually in the United States. We performed a systematic large-scale transcriptomics data mining study of 9783 tissue samples from the GeneSapiens database to systematically identify genes that are most glioma-specific. We searched for genes that were highly expressed in 322 glioblastoma multiforme tissue samples and 66 anaplastic astrocytomas as compared with 425 samples from histologically normal central nervous system. Transcription cofactor HES6 (hairy and enhancer of split 6) emerged as the most glioma-specific gene. Immunostaining of a tissue microarray showed HES6 expression in 335 (98.8%) out of the 339 glioma samples. HES6 was expressed in endothelial cells of the normal brain and glioma tissue. Recurrent grade 2 astrocytomas and grade 2 or 3 oligodendrogliomas showed higher levels of HES6 immunoreactivity than the corresponding primary tumors. High HES6 mRNA expression correlated with the proneural subtype that generally has a favorable outcome but is prone to recur. Functional studies suggested an important role for HES6 in supporting survival of glioma cells, as evidenced by reduction of cancer cell proliferation and migration after HES6 silencing. The biological role and consequences of HES6 silencing and overexpression was explored with genome-wide analyses, which implicated a role for HES6 in p53, c-myc and nuclear factor-κB transcriptional networks. We conclude that HES6 is important for glioma cell proliferation and migration, and may have a role in angiogenesis.

Vimentin regulates EMT induction by Slug and oncogenic H-Ras and migration by governing Axl expression in breast cancer.

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical event in the progression toward cancer metastasis. The intermediate filament protein vimentin is an important marker of EMT and a requisite regulator of mesenchymal cell migration. However, it is not known how vimentin functionally contributes to cancer cell invasion. Here, we report that ectopic expression of oncogenic H-Ras-V12G and Slug induces vimentin expression and migration in pre-malignant breast epithelial cells. Conversely, vimentin expression is necessary for Slug- or H-Ras-V12G-induced EMT-associated migration. Furthermore, silencing of vimentin in breast epithelial cells results in specific changes in invasiveness-related gene expression including upregulation of RAB25 (small GTPase Rab25) and downregulation of AXL (receptor tyrosine kinase Axl), PLAU (plasminogen activator, urokinase) and ITGB4 (integrin ß4-subunit). Importantly, gene expression profiling analyses reveal that vimentin expression correlates positively/negatively with these genes also in multiple breast cancer cell lines and breast cancer patient samples. Focusing on the tyrosine kinase Axl, we show that induction of vimentin by EMT is associated with upregulation of Axl expression and that Axl enhances the migratory activity of pre-malignant breast epithelial cells. Using null and knock-down cells and overexpression models, we also show that regulation of breast cancer cell migration in two- and three-dimensional matrices by vimentin is Axl- dependent and that Axl functionally contributes to lung extravasation of breast cancer cells in mice. In conclusion, our data show that vimentin functionally contributes to EMT and is required for induction of Axl expression. Moreover, these results provide a molecular explanation for vimentin-dependent cancer cell migration during EMT by identifying Axl as a key proximal component in this process.