Vascular dimorphism ensured by regulated proteoglycan dynamics favors rapid umbilical artery closure at birth.

The umbilical artery lumen closes rapidly at birth, preventing neonatal blood loss, whereas the umbilical vein remains patent longer. Here, analysis of umbilical cords from humans and other mammals identified differential arterial-venous proteoglycan dynamics as a determinant of these contrasting vascular responses. The umbilical artery, but not the vein, has an inner layer enriched in the hydrated proteoglycan aggrecan, external to which lie contraction-primed smooth muscle cells (SMC). At birth, SMC contraction drives inner layer buckling and centripetal displacement to occlude the arterial lumen, a mechanism revealed by biomechanical observations and confirmed by computational analyses. This vascular dimorphism arises from spatially regulated proteoglycan expression and breakdown. Mice lacking aggrecan or the metalloprotease ADAMTS1, which degrades proteoglycans, demonstrate their opposing roles in umbilical vascular dimorphism, including effects on SMC differentiation. Umbilical vessel dimorphism is conserved in mammals, suggesting that differential proteoglycan dynamics and inner layer buckling were positively selected during evolution.

Gain of interaction with IRS1 by p110α-helical domain mutants is crucial for their oncogenic functions.

PIK3CA, which encodes the p110α catalytic subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase α, is frequently mutated in human cancers. Most of these mutations occur at two hot-spots: E545K and H1047R located in the helical domain and the kinase domain, respectively. Here, we report that p110α E545K, but not p110α H1047R, gains the ability to associate with IRS1 independent of the p85 regulatory subunit, thereby rewiring this oncogenic signaling pathway. Disruption of the IRS1-p110α E545K interaction destabilizes the p110α protein, reduces AKT phosphorylation, and slows xenograft tumor growth of a cancer cell line expressing p110α E545K. Moreover, a hydrocarbon-stapled peptide that disrupts this interaction inhibits the growth of tumors expressing p110α E545K.

Cross-talk between phospho-STAT3 and PLCγ1 plays a critical role in colorectal tumorigenesis.

Hyperphosphorylation at the Y705 residue of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is implicated in tumorigenesis of leukemia and some solid tumors. However, its role in the development of colorectal cancer is not well defined. To rigorously test the impact of this phosphorylation on colorectal tumorigenesis, we engineered a STAT3 Y705F knock-in to interrupt STAT3 activity in HCT116 and RKO colorectal cancer cells. These STAT3 Y705F mutant cells fail to respond to cytokine stimulation and grow slower than parental cells. These mutant cells are also greatly diminished in their abilities to form colonies in culture, to exhibit anchorage-independent growth in soft agar, and to grow as xenografts in nude mice. These observations strongly support the premise that STAT3 Y705 phosphorylation is crucial in colorectal tumorigenesis. Although it is generally believed that STAT3 functions as a transcription factor, recent studies indicate that transcription-independent functions of STAT3 also play an important role in tumorigenesis. We show here that wild-type STAT3, but not STAT3 Y705F mutant protein, associates with phospholipase Cγ1 (PLCγ1). PLCγ1 is a central signal transducer of growth factor and cytokine signaling pathways that are involved in tumorigenesis. In STAT3 Y705F mutant colorectal cancer cells, PLCγ1 activity is reduced. Moreover, overexpression of a constitutively active form of PLCγ1 rescues the transformation defect of STAT3 Y705F mutant cells. In aggregate, our study identifies previously unknown cross-talk between STAT3 and the PLCγ signaling pathways that may play a critical role in colorectal tumorigenesis.

DNMT1 stability is regulated by proteins coordinating deubiquitination and acetylation-driven ubiquitination.

DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) is the primary enzyme that maintains DNA methylation. We describe a previously unknown mode of regulation of DNMT1 protein stability through the coordinated action of an array of DNMT1-associated proteins. DNMT1 was destabilized by acetylation by the acetyltransferase Tip60, which triggered ubiquitination by the E3 ligase UHRF1, thereby targeting DNMT1 for proteasomal degradation. In contrast, DNMT1 was stabilized by histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) and the deubiquitinase HAUSP (herpes virus-associated ubiquitin-specific protease). Analysis of the abundance of DNMT1 and Tip60, as well as the association between HAUSP and DNMT1, suggested that during the cell cycle the initiation of DNMT1 degradation was coordinated with the end of DNA replication and the need for DNMT activity. In human colon cancers, the abundance of DNMT1 correlated with that of HAUSP. HAUSP knockdown rendered colon cancer cells more sensitive to killing by HDAC inhibitors both in tissue culture and in tumor xenograft models. Thus, these studies provide a mechanism-based rationale for the development of HDAC and HAUSP inhibitors for combined use in cancer therapy.

DNA mismatch repair (MMR)-dependent 5-fluorouracil cytotoxicity and the potential for new therapeutic targets.

The metabolism and efficacy of 5-fluorouracil (FUra) and other fluorinated pyrimidine (FP) derivatives have been intensively investigated for over fifty years. FUra and its antimetabolites can be incorporated at RNA- and DNA-levels, with RNA level incorporation provoking toxic responses in human normal tissue, and DNA-level antimetabolite formation and incorporation believed primarily responsible for tumour-selective responses. Attempts to direct FUra into DNA-level antimetabolites, based on mechanism-of-action studies, have led to gradual improvements in tumour therapy. These include the use of leukovorin to stabilize the inhibitory thymidylate synthase-5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine 5' monophoshate (FdUMP)-5,10-methylene tetrahydrofolate (5,10-CH(2)FH(4)) trimeric complex. FUra incorporated into DNA also contributes to antitumour activity in preclinical and clinical studies. This review examines our current state of knowledge regarding the mechanistic aspects of FUra:Gua lesion detection by DNA mismatch repair (MMR) machinery that ultimately results in lethality. MMR-dependent direct cell death signalling or futile cycle responses will be discussed. As 10-30% of sporadic colon and endometrial tumours display MMR defects as a result of human MutL homologue-1 (hMLH1) promoter hypermethylation, we discuss the use and manipulation of the hypomethylating agent, 5-fluorodeoxycytidine (FdCyd), and our ability to manipulate its metabolism using the cytidine or deoxycytidylate (dCMP) deaminase inhibitors, tetrahydrouridine or deoxytetrahydrouridine, respectively, as a method for re-expression of hMLH1 and re-sensitization of tumours to FP therapy.