Investigating differences between tamoxifen resistant and sensitive breast cancer cells with flow cytometry.

The active metabolite of tamoxifen, 4-hydroxytamoxifen, functions as an anti-estrogen in breast cancer cells and thus inhibits proliferation. While tamoxifen continues to be successfully used to treat estrogen-dependent breast cancer, most patients receiving treatment will develop chemoresistance over time. Two commonly reported biomarkers of tamoxifen resistance are decreased expression of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) and increased expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). In prior work we have shown that these receptors facilitate chemoresistance and have unique regulatory functions measurable in resistant cell lines compared with nonresistant. Thus, we hypothesized that these receptors and a newly identified biomarker, integrin ß1, may be used to search for the presence of resistant breast cancer cells within a population of cells that are sensitive to tamoxifen therapy. We tested this by designing a straightforward cell-labeling approach to measure differences in the receptor expression of resistant vs. sensitive cells cytometrically. Our results show that separation is possible when observing the expression of IGF-1R as well as integrin ß1. Interestingly, we found no detectable difference in EGFR expression between tamoxifen resistant and -sensitive cells when measured with cytometry despite the fact that EGFR is upregulated in resistant cells. Our long-term goal is to utilize sorting to isolate tamoxifen resistant subpopulations of cells by receptor expression level. Isolating rare resistant cells that reside within a population of drug-sensitive cells will offer new insights into why chemoresistance occurs.

Fluorescence lifetime shifts of NAD(P)H during apoptosis measured by time-resolved flow cytometry.

Autofluorescence from the intracellular metabolite, NAD(P)H, is a biomarker that is widely used and known to reliably screen and report metabolic activity as well as metabolic fluctuations within cells. As a ubiquitous endogenous fluorophore, NAD(P)H has a unique rate of fluorescence decay that is altered when bound to coenzymes. In this work we measure the shift in the fluorescence decay, or average fluorescence lifetime (1-3 ns), of NAD(P)H and correlate this shift to changes in metabolism that cells undergo during apoptosis. Our measurements are made with a flow cytometer designed specifically for fluorescence lifetime acquisition within the ultraviolet to violet spectrum. Our methods involved culture, treatment, and preparation of cells for cytometry and microscopy measurements. The evaluation we performed included observations and quantification of the changes in endogenous emission owing to the induction of apoptosis as well as changes in the decay kinetics of the emission measured by flow cytometry. Shifts in NAD(P)H fluorescence lifetime were observed as early as 15 min post-treatment with an apoptosis inducing agent. Results also include a phasor analysis to evaluate free to bound ratios of NAD(P)H at different time points. We defined the free to bound ratios as the ratio of 'short-to-long' (S/L) fluorescence lifetime, where S/L was found to consistently decrease with an increase in apoptosis. With a quantitative framework such as phasor analysis, the short and long lifetime components of NAD(P)H can be used to map the cycling of free and bound NAD(P)H during the early-to-late stages of apoptosis. The combination of lifetime screening and phasor analyses provides the first step in high throughput metabolic profiling of single cells and can be leveraged for screening and sorting for a range of applications in biomedicine. © 2018 The Authors. Cytometry Part A published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.

Fluorescence lifetime excitation cytometry by kinetic dithering.

Flow cytometers are powerful high-throughput devices that capture spectroscopic information from individual particles or cells. These instruments provide a means of multi-parametric analyses for various cellular biomarkers or labeled organelles and cellular proteins. However, the spectral overlap of fluorophores limits the number of fluorophores that can be used simultaneously during experimentation. Time-resolved parameters enable the quantification of fluorescence decay kinetics, thus circumventing common issues associated with intensity-based measurements. This contribution introduces fluorescence lifetime excitation cytometry by kinetic dithering (FLECKD) as a method to capture multiple fluorescence lifetimes using a hybrid time-domain approach. The FLECKD approach excites fluorophores by delivering short pulses of light to cells or particles by rapid dithering and facilitates measurement of complex fluorescence decay kinetics by flow cytometry. Our simulations demonstrated a resolvable fluorescence lifetime value as low as 1.8 ns (±0.3 ns) with less than 20% absolute error. Using the FLECKD instrument, we measured the shortest average fluorescence lifetime value of 2.4 ns and found the system measurement error to be ±0.3 ns (SEM), from hundreds of monodisperse and chemically stable fluorescent microspheres. Additionally, we demonstrate the ability to detect two distinct excited state lifetimes from fluorophores in single cells using FLECKD. This approach presents a new ability to resolve multiple fluorescence lifetimes while retaining the fluidic throughput of a cytometry system. The ability to discriminate more than one average fluorescence lifetime expands the current capabilities of high-throughput and intensity-based cytometry assays as the need to tag one single cell with multiple fluorophores is now widespread.

AMPK-mediated phosphorylation of murine p27 at T197 promotes binding of 14-3-3 proteins and increases p27 stability.

The tuberous sclerosis complex 2 (Tsc2) gene product, tuberin, acts as a negative regulator of mTOR signaling, and loss of tuberin function leads to tumors of the brain, skin, kidney, heart, and lungs. Previous studies have shown that loss of tuberin function affects the stability and subcellular localization of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (CKI) p27, although the mechanism(s) by which tuberin modulates p27 stability has/have not been elucidated. Previous studies have also shown that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which functions in an energy-sensing pathway in the cell, becomes activated in the absence of tuberin. Here we show that in Tsc2-null tumors and cell lines, AMPK activation correlates with an increase in p27 levels, and inhibition of AMPK signaling decreases p27 levels in these cells. In addition, activation of AMPK led to phosphorylation of p27 at the conserved terminal threonine residue of murine p27 (T197) in both in vitro kinase assays and in cells. Phosphorylation of p27 at T197 led to increased interaction between p27 and 14-3-3 proteins and increased the protein stability of p27. Furthermore, activation of AMPK signaling promoted the interaction between p27 and 14-3-3 proteins and increased the stability of the p27 protein in a manner that was dependent on T197. These data identify a conserved mechanism for the regulation of p27 stability via phosphorylation at the terminal threonine (mT197/hT198) and binding of 14-3-3 proteins, which when AMPK is activated results in stabilization of the p27 protein.

IGFBP-1 Expression Promotes Tamoxifen Resistance in Breast Cancer Cells via Erk Pathway Activation.

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system plays a significant role in many cellular processes, including proliferation, and survival. In estrogen receptor positive breast cancer, the level of circulating IGF-1 is positively associated with the incidence and at least 50% of cases have elevated IGF-1R signaling. Tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator and antagonist for estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) in breast tissue, is a commonly prescribed adjuvant treatment for patients presenting with ERα-positive breast cancer. Unfortunately, tamoxifen resistance is a frequent occurrence in patients receiving treatment and the molecular mechanisms that underlie tamoxifen resistance not adequately defined. It has recently been reported that the inhibition of IGF-1R activation and the proliferation of breast cancer cells upon tamoxifen treatment is mediated by the accumulation of extracellular insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1 (IGFBP-1). Elevated IGFBP-1 expression was observed in tamoxifen-resistant (TamR) MCF-7 and T-47D cells lines suggesting that the tamoxifen-resistant state is associated with IGFBP-1 accumulation. MCF-7 and T-47D breast cancer cells stably transfected with and IGFBP-1 expression vector were generated (MCF7-BP1 and T47D-BP1) to determine the impact of breast cancer cell culture in the presence of increased IGFBP-1 expression. In these cells, the expression of IGF-1R was significantly reduced compared to controls and was similar to our observations in tamoxifen-resistant MCF-7 and T-47D cells. Also similar to TamR breast cancer cells, MCF7-BP1 and T47D-BP1 were resistant to tamoxifen treatment, had elevated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression, increased phospho-EGFR (pEGFR), and phospho-Erk (pErk). Furthermore, tamoxifen sensitivity was restored in the MCF7-BP1 and T47D-BP1 upon inhibition of Erk phosphorylation. Lastly, the transient knockdown of IGFBP-1 in MCF7-BP1 and T47D-BP1 inhibited pErk accumulation and increased tamoxifen sensitivity. Taken together, these data support the conclusion that IGFBP-1 is a key component of the development of tamoxifen resistance in breast cancer cells.

Glucose-dependent GPER1 expression modulates tamoxifen-induced IGFBP-1 accumulation.

G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER1) is a seven-transmembrane receptor that mediates rapid cell signaling events stimulated by estrogens. While the role that GPER1 has in the modulation of E2-responsive tissues and cancers is well documented, the molecular mechanisms that regulate GPER1 expression are currently not well defined. The recently identified GPER1-dependent mechanism of tamoxifen action in breast cancer cells underscores the importance of identifying mechanisms that regulate GPER1 expression in this cell type. We hypothesized that GPER1 expression in breast cancer cells is sensitive to [D-glucose] and provide data showing increased GPER1 expression when cells were cultured in low [D-glucose]. To determine if the observed accumulation of GPER1 was AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-dependent, small molecule stimulation or inhibition of AMPK was performed. AMPK inhibition decreased GPER1 accumulation in cells grown in low [D-glucose] while the AMPK-activating compound AICAR increased GPER1 accumulation in cells grown in high [D-glucose] media. Additionally, transfection of cells with a plasmid expressing constitutively active AMPK resulted in increased GPER1 accumulation. To determine if [D-glucose]-dependent GPER1 accumulation altered breast cancer cell response to tamoxifen, cells grown in the presence of decreasing [D-glucose] were co-treated with tamoxifen and IGFBP-1 transcription was measured. The results from these experiments reveal that D-glucose deprivation increased GPER1-mediated and tamoxifen-induced IGFBP-1 transcription suggesting that [D-glucose] may increase breast cancer cell sensitivity to tamoxifen. Taken together, these results identify a previously unknown mechanism that regulates GPER1 expression that modifies one aspect tamoxifen action in breast cancer cells.

IGF-1 Receptor Modulates FoxO1-Mediated Tamoxifen Response in Breast Cancer Cells.

Tamoxifen is a common adjuvant treatment for estrogen receptor (ER)α-positive patients with breast cancer; however, acquired resistance abrogates the efficacy of this therapeutic approach. We recently demonstrated that G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER1) mediates tamoxifen action in breast cancer cells by inducing insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) to inhibit IGF-1-dependent signaling. To determine whether dysregulation of IGFBP-1 induction is associated with tamoxifen resistance, IGFBP-1 transcription was measured in tamoxifen-resistant MCF-7 cells (TamR) after tamoxifen (Tam) treatment. IGFBP-1 transcription was not stimulated in tamoxifen-treated TamR cells whereas decreased expression of FoxO1, a known modulator of IGFBP-1, was observed. Exogenous expression of FoxO1 rescued the ability of tamoxifen to induce IGFBP-1 transcription in TamR cells. As decreased IGF-1R expression is observed in tamoxifen-resistant cells, the requirement for IGF-1R expression on tamoxifen-stimulated IGFBP-1 transcription was investigated. In TamR and SK-BR-3 cells, both characterized by low IGF-1R levels, exogenous IGF-1R expression increased FoxO1 levels and IGFBP-1 expression, whereas IGF-1R knockdown in MCF-7 cells decreased tamoxifen-stimulated IGFBP-1 transcription. Interestingly, both 17ß-estradiol (E2)-stimulated ERα phosphorylation and progesterone receptor (PR) expression were altered in TamR. PR is a transcription factor known to modulate FoxO1 transcription. In addition, IGF-1R knockdown decreased FoxO1 protein levels in MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, IGF-1R or FoxO1 knockdown inhibited the ability of tamoxifen to induce IGFBP-1 transcription and tamoxifen sensitivity in MCF-7 cells. These data provide a molecular mechanistic connection between IGF-1R expression and the FoxO1-mediated mechanism of tamoxifen action in breast cancer cells.Implications: Loss of IGF-1R expression is associated with decreased tamoxifen efficacy in patients with breast cancer and the development of tamoxifen resistance. This contribution identifies potential molecular mechanisms of altered tamoxifen sensitivity in breast cancer cells resulting from decreased IGF-1R expression. Mol Cancer Res; 15(4); 489-97. ©2017 AACR.

Shifts in the fluorescence lifetime of EGFP during bacterial phagocytosis measured by phase-sensitive flow cytometry.

Phase-sensitive flow cytometry (PSFC) is a technique in which fluorescence excited state decay times are measured as fluorescently labeled cells rapidly transit a finely focused, frequency-modulated laser beam. With PSFC the fluorescence lifetime is taken as a cytometric parameter to differentiate intracellular events that are challenging to distinguish with standard flow cytometry. For example PSFC can report changes in protein conformation, expression, interactions, and movement, as well as differences in intracellular microenvironments. This contribution focuses on the latter case by taking PSFC measurements of macrophage cells when inoculated with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP)-expressing E. coli. During progressive internalization of EGFP-E. coli, fluorescence lifetimes were acquired and compared to control groups. It was hypothesized that fluorescence lifetimes would correlate well with phagocytosis because phagosomes become acidified and the average fluorescence lifetime of EGFP is known to be affected by pH. We confirmed that average EGFP lifetimes consistently decreased (3 to 2 ns) with inoculation time. The broad significance of this work is the demonstration of how high-throughput fluorescence lifetime measurements correlate well to changes that are not easily tracked by intensity-only cytometry, which is affected by heterogeneous protein expression, cell-to-cell differences in phagosome formation, and number of bacterium engulfed.

Inhibition of proliferation and estrogen receptor signaling by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma ligands in uterine leiomyoma.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma is an important signaling molecule in cells of mesenchymal origin, inducing differentiation and regulating cell proliferation in several cell types such as vascular smooth muscle cells. Leiomyomas arise from smooth muscle cells of the uterine myometrium with an incidence rate as high as 70% in women of reproductive age. PPAR signaling has not been characterized in these tumors, although prostaglandins, natural PPAR ligands, are known effectors of key biological functions in the normal myometrium. Leiomyomas and tumor-derived cells isolated from a rat model for this disease were characterized by Western analysis and found to express all three PPAR isoforms, suggesting that signaling pathways mediated by these receptors were intact in this tumor type. In vitro experiments with a leiomyoma-derived cell line demonstrated that the pan-PPAR ligand cis-4,7,10,13,16,19-docosahexaenoic acid and PPARgamma-specific ligands 15-deoxy-delta(12,14)-prostaglandin J(2), troglitazone, and ciglitazone inhibited 17beta-estradiol-stimulated cell proliferation. This inhibitory effect was not observed with PPARalpha- or PPARbeta-specific ligands. Although both PPAR and estrogen receptor (ER) signaling pathways were intact in leiomyoma cells, in addition to growth inhibition, stimulation of PPARgamma signaling also inhibited ER-mediated gene expression. Human leiomyomas were also found to express all three PPAR isoforms, and primary cultures of these cells were sensitive to the inhibitory effects of PPARgamma ligands. These results suggest that in uterine leiomyomas PPARgamma activation is growth inhibitory and that this inhibition is mediated at least in part by negative cross-talk between ER and PPAR signaling pathways.

GPER1-mediated IGFBP-1 induction modulates IGF-1-dependent signaling in tamoxifen-treated breast cancer cells.

Tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator, is a commonly prescribed adjuvant therapy for estrogen receptor-α (ERα)-positive breast cancer patients. To determine if extracellular factors contribute to the modulation of IGF-1 signaling after tamoxifen treatment, MCF-7 cells were treated with IGF-1 in conditioned medium (CM) obtained from 4-OHT-treated MCF-7 cells and the accumulation of phospho-Akt (S473) was measured. CM inhibited IGF-1-dependent cell signaling and suggesting the involvement of extracellular factors (ie. IGFBPs). A significant increase in IGFBP-1 mRNA and extracellular IGFBP-1 protein was observed in 4-OHT-treated MCF-7 cells. Knockdown experiments demonstrated that both GPER1 and CREB mediate IGFBP-1 induction. Furthermore, experiments showed that 4-OHT-dependent IGFBP-1 transcription is downstream of GPER1-activation in breast cancer cells. Additionally, neutralization and knockdown experiments demonstrated a role for IGFBP-1 in the observed inhibition of IGF-1 signaling. These results suggested that 4-OHT inhibits IGF-1 signaling via GPER1 and CREB mediated extracellular IGFBP-1 accumulation in breast cancer cells.

Transdominant suppression of estrogen receptor signaling by progesterone receptor ligands in uterine leiomyoma cells.

Uterine leiomyomas develop in reproductive-age women with high frequency and are dependent on the production of ovarian hormones. While it is generally accepted that these tumors are estrogen (E(2))-responsive, the role of progesterone (P(4)) in modulating tumor growth is less clear. In the present study, an in vivo/in vitro rat model was used to characterize progesterone receptor (PR) isoform expression in uterine leiomyoma and investigate PR signaling using progestins and antiprogestins in the leiomyoma-derived cell line ELT-3. PR-A was the predominant isoform expressed in normal myometrium, leiomyomas and ELT3 cells. In the normal myometrium, PR-A and PR-B levels varied during the estrous cycle with low ratios of PR-A relative to PR-B (PR-A/PR-B) coinciding with times of cell proliferation. Although PR ligands had no effect on basal levels of uterine leiomyoma cell proliferation in vitro, both progestins and antiprogestins inhibited E(2)-stimulated cell proliferation. In addition, E(2)-stimulated transactivation of an estrogen-response-element reporter gene as well as E(2)-induced upregulation of the PR were also inhibited by PR ligands. These data indicate that PR ligands can transdominantly suppress estrogen receptor signaling and stimulation of uterine leiomyoma cell growth.

Uterine leiomyomas express myometrial contractile-associated proteins involved in pregnancy-related hormone signaling.

We used an animal model to study uterine leiomyoma in the context of pregnancy-associated changes in gene expression and to determine how they might modulate tumor growth. Spontaneous tumors and normal myometrium were collected from Eker rats and compared with myometrial samples from pregnant animals. A leiomyoma-derived cell line was also used to assess pregnancy-related changes in gene expression and to determine the impact of signaling by the oxytocin receptor. Eker rat leiomyomas expressed several pregnancy-related genes, including connexin 43, oxytocin receptor (OTR), and cyclooxygenase (COX)-1; however, the tumors did not express COX-2, which is expressed in the parturient myometrium. The leiomyoma-derived cell lines also expressed OTR, which responds to estrogen, binds to oxytocin, and exhibits a calcium flux when stimulated with oxytocin. The OTR signaling mediated by oxytocin inhibited estrogen-stimulated growth of leiomyoma cells. Leiomyoma cells expressed many genes of the parturient myometrium, including OTRs, but were deficient in COX-2 expression. Signaling via the OTR appears to inhibit estrogen-induced cell proliferation, suggesting that signaling by this receptor might help mediate the protective effect of pregnancy on this disease.

Subcellular localization-dependent changes in EGFP fluorescence lifetime measured by time-resolved flow cytometry.

Intracellular protein transport and localization to subcellular regions are processes necessary for normal protein function. Fluorescent proteins can be fused to proteins of interest to track movement and determine localization within a cell. Currently, fluorescence microscopy combined with image processing is most often used to study protein movement and subcellular localization. In this contribution we evaluate a high-throughput time-resolved flow cytometry approach to correlate intracellular localization of human LC3 protein with the fluorescence lifetime of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). Subcellular LC3 localization to autophagosomes is a marker of the cellular process called autophagy. In breast cancer cells expressing native EGFP and EGFP-LC3 fusion proteins, we measured the fluorescence intensity and lifetime of (i) diffuse EGFP (ii) punctate EGFP-LC3 and (iii) diffuse EGFP-ΔLC3 after amino acid starvation to induce autophagy-dependent LC3 localization. We verify EGFP-LC3 localization with low-throughput confocal microscopy and compare to fluorescence intensity measured by standard flow cytometry. Our results demonstrate that time-resolved flow cytometry can be correlated to subcellular localization of EGFP fusion proteins by measuring changes in fluorescence lifetime.

The secreted Dictyostelium protein CfaD is a chalone.

Dictyostelium discoideum cells secrete CfaD, a protein that is similar to cathepsin proteases. Cells that lack cfaD proliferate faster and reach a higher stationary-phase density than wild-type cells, whereas cells that overexpress CfaD proliferate slowly and reach the stationary phase when at a low density. On a per-nucleus basis, CfaD affects proliferation but not growth. The drawback of not having CfaD is a reduced spore viability. Recombinant CfaD has no detectable protease activity but, when added to cells, inhibits the proliferation of wild-type and cfaD(-) cells. The secreted protein AprA also inhibits proliferation. AprA is necessary for the effect of CfaD on proliferation. Molecular-sieve chromatography indicates that in conditioned growth medium, the 60 kDa CfaD is part of a approximately 150 kDa complex, and both chromatography and pull-down assays suggest that CfaD interacts with AprA. These results suggest that two interacting proteins may function together as a chalone signal in a negative feedback loop that slows Dictyostelium cell proliferation.

AMP-activated protein kinase signaling results in cytoplasmic sequestration of p27.

Tuberin, the Tsc2 gene product, integrates the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/mitogen-activated protein kinase (mitogenic) and LKB1/AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK; energy) signaling pathways, and previous independent studies have shown that loss of tuberin is associated with elevated AMPK signaling and altered p27 function. In Tsc2-null tumors and tumor-derived cells from Eker rats, we observed elevated AMPK signaling and concordant cytoplasmic mislocalization of p27. Cytoplasmic localization of p27 in Tsc2-null cells was reversible pharmacologically using inhibitors of the LKB1/AMPK pathway, and localization of p27 to the cytoplasm could be induced directly by activating AMPK physiologically (glucose deprivation) or genetically (constitutively active AMPK) in Tsc2-proficient cells. Furthermore, AMPK phosphorylated p27 in vitro on at least three sites including T170 near the nuclear localization signal, and T170 was shown to determine p27 localization in response to AMPK signaling. p27 functions in the nucleus to suppress cyclin-dependent kinase-2 (Cdk2) activity and has been reported to mediate an antiapoptotic function when localized to the cytoplasm. We found that cells with elevated AMPK signaling and cytoplasmic p27 localization exhibited elevated Cdk2 activity, which could be suppressed by inhibiting AMPK signaling. In addition, cells with elevated AMPK signaling and cytoplasmic p27 localization were resistant to apoptosis, which could be overcome by inhibition of AMPK signaling and relocalization of p27 to the nucleus. These data show that AMPK signaling determines the subcellular localization of p27, and identifies loss of integration of pathways controlling energy balance, the cell cycle, and apoptosis due to aberrant AMPK and p27 function as a feature of cells that have lost the Tsc2 tumor suppressor gene.