Cell Signaling Analysis Research Articles

Maintenance of hematopoietic stem cell niche homeostasis requires gap junction-mediated calcium signaling.

Regulation of stem cells requires coordination of the cells that make up the stem cell niche. Here, we describe a mechanism that allows communication between niche cells to coordinate their activity and shape the signaling environment surrounding resident stem cells. Using the Drosophila hematopoietic organ, the lymph gland, we show that cells of the hematopoietic niche, the posterior signaling center (PSC), communicate using gap junctions (GJs) and form a signaling network. This network allows PSC cells to exchange Ca2+ signals repetitively which regulate the hematopoietic niche. Disruption of Ca2+ signaling in the PSC or the GJ-mediated network connecting niche cells causes dysregulation of the PSC and blood progenitor differentiation. Analysis of PSC-derived cell signaling shows that the Hedgehog pathway acts downstream of GJ-mediated Ca2+ signaling to modulate the niche microenvironment. These data show that GJ-mediated communication between hematopoietic niche cells maintains their homeostasis and consequently controls blood progenitor behavior.

Multiplex interrogation of the NK cell signalome reveals global downregulation of CD16 signaling during lentivirus infection through an IL-18/ADAM17-dependent mechanism.

Despite their importance, natural killer (NK) cell responses are frequently dysfunctional during human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infections, even irrespective of antiretroviral therapies, with poorly understood underlying mechanisms. NK cell surface receptor modulation in lentivirus infection has been extensively studied, but a deeper interrogation of complex cell signaling is mostly absent, largely due to the absence of any comprehensive NK cell signaling assay. To fill this knowledge gap, we developed a novel multiplex signaling analysis to broadly assess NK cell signaling. Using this assay, we elucidated that NK cells exhibit global signaling reduction from CD16 both in people living with HIV-1 (PLWH) and SIV-infected rhesus macaques. Intriguingly, antiretroviral treatment did not fully restore diminished CD16 signaling in NK cells from PLWH. As a putative mechanism, we demonstrated that NK cells increased surface ADAM17 expression via elevated plasma IL-18 levels during HIV-1 infection, which in turn reduced surface CD16 downregulation. We also illustrated that CD16 expression and signaling can be restored by ADAM17 perturbation. In summary, our multiplex NK cell signaling analysis delineated unique NK cell signaling perturbations specific to lentiviral infections, resulting in their dysfunction. Our analysis also provides mechanisms that will inform the restoration of dysregulated NK cell functions, offering potential insights for the development of new NK cell-based immunotherapeutics for HIV-1 disease.

Protein kinase B (Akt) blockade inhibits LH/hCG-mediated 17,20-lyase, but not 17α-hydroxylase activity of Cyp17a1 in mouse Leydig cell steroidogenesis

Androgens are produced by adrenal and gonadal cells thanks to the action of specific enzymes. We investigated the role of protein kinase B (Akt) in the modulation of Δ4 steroidogenic enzymes' activity, in the mouse Leydig tumor cell line mLTC1. Cells were treated for 0–24 h with the 3 × 50% effective concentration of human luteinizing hormone (LH) and choriogonadotropin (hCG), in the presence and in the absence of the specific Akt inhibitor 3CAI. Cell signaling analysis was performed by bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) and Western blotting, while the expression of key target genes was investigated by real-time PCR. The synthesis of progesterone, 17α-hydroxy (OH)-progesterone and testosterone was measured by immunoassay. Control experiments for cell viability and caspase 3 activation were performed as well. We found that both hormones activated cAMP and downstream effectors, such as extracellularly-regulated kinase 1/2 (Erk1/2) and cAMP response element-binding protein (Creb), as well as Akt, and the transcription of Stard1, Hsd3b1, Cyp17a1 and Hsd17b3 genes, boosting the Δ4 steroidogenic pathway. Interestingly, Akt blockade decreased selectively Cyp17a1 expression levels, inhibiting its 17,20-lyase, but not the 17-hydroxylase activity. This effect is consistent with lower Cyp17a1 affinity to 17α-OH-progesterone than progesterone. As a result, cell treatment with 3CAI resulted in 17α-OH-progesterone accumulation at 16–24 h and decreased testosterone levels after 24 h. In conclusion, in the mouse Leydig cell line mLTC1, we found substantial Akt dependence of the 17,20-lyase activity and testosterone synthesis. Our results indicate that different intracellular pathways modulate selectively the dual activity of Cyp17a1.

Glucose and cell confluency regulation of HDGF and beta-catenin nuclear localization

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the seventh leading cause of death in the US and diabetic kidney disease (DKD)is the cause of nearly 50% of individuals receiving dialysis. Kidney proximal tubule (PT) cells are sensitive to injury under diabetic conditions of high glucose. Maladaptive repair can cause fibrosis and loss of PT function contributing to end-stage renal disease. PT cell proliferation re-establishes the monolayer responsible for PT functionality. Preliminary lab findings showed increased abundance and nuclear localization of Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF), known to regulate proliferation, in cells grown at low (<40%) confluency in high glucose supplemented growth media. This change associated with altered nuclear co-localization with β-catenin (ß-Cat), involved in renal fibrosis, suggesting crosstalk between both factors may be involved in PT cell responses in DKD. Hypothesis: Cell confluency and glucose concentrations regulate the spatial and absolute abundance/degradation of HDGF altering cell signaling pathways in PT cells. Methods: Cultured human kidney PT cells (HK-11 cell line) were grown to low and high confluency under normal (5mM) and high (25mM) glucose conditions. RNA was collected via column purification for analysis of cell signaling. RNASeq and bioinformatic analysis. revealed transcript abundances and respective statistical significances between normal and high glucose conditions grown to low confluency. MetaCore and STRING were utilized to examine fold change differences of the transcriptome and affected pathways. To determine regulation of protein abundance, HK-11 cells were cultured in normal glucose media to 80-90% confluency and treated with no agent (control), DMSO, MG132 (proteasome inhibitor), and chloroquine (lysosome inhibitor), and abundance of HDGF and β-Cat activation analyzed by immunoblot. Results: HDGF transcripts from conditions of normal and high glucose grown to low confluency were found in relatively equal abundance (q ≤ 1). Pathway analyses revealed genes associated with multiple pathways including nuclear signaling, ER stress, proliferation and ubiquitination exhibited differential transcript abundance at statistically significant values. Immunoblot analysis suggested that HDGF is degraded via the lysosome. Conclusions: HDGF regulation by diabetes-like high glucose does not occur at the level of transcription and but through lysosomal degradation. ß-Cat nuclear localization is increased under conditions of high glucose and low cellular confluency. To confirm HDGF degradation and ß-Cat activation, more replicates are needed for statistical analysis. Future studies will determine the role of β-cat activation on HDGF abundance and nuclear localization. NIH T35-DK072923, P20-GM103436, NIH P20 GM113226, P50 AA024337, P30 ES030283 This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Quantitative Cell Proteomic Atlas: Pathway-Scale Targeted Mass Spectrometry for High-Resolution Functional Profiling of Cell Signaling.

In spite of extensive studies of cellular signaling, many fundamental processes such as pathway integration, cross-talk, and feedback remain poorly understood. To enable integrated and quantitative measurements of cellular biochemical activities, we have developed the Quantitative Cell Proteomics Atlas (QCPA). QCPA consists of panels of targeted mass spectrometry assays to determine the abundance and stoichiometry of regulatory post-translational modifications of sentinel proteins from most known physiologic and pathogenic signaling pathways in human cells. QCPA currently profiles 1 913 peptides from 469 effectors of cell surface signaling, apoptosis, stress response, gene expression, quiescence, and proliferation. For each protein, QCPA includes triplets of isotopically labeled peptides covering known post-translational regulatory sites to determine their stoichiometries and unmodified protein regions to measure total protein abundance. The QCPA framework incorporates analytes to control for technical variability of sample preparation and mass spectrometric analysis, including TrypQuant, a synthetic substrate for accurate quantification of proteolysis efficiency for proteins containing chemically modified residues. The ability to precisely and accurately quantify most known signaling pathways should enable improved chemoproteomic approaches for the comprehensive analysis of cell signaling and clinical proteomics of diagnostic specimens. QCPA is openly available at https://qcpa.mskcc.org.

Thiosemicarbazones and selected tyrosine kinase inhibitors synergize in pediatric solid tumors: NDRG1 upregulation and impaired prosurvival signaling in neuroblastoma cells.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are frequently used in combined therapy to enhance treatment efficacy and overcome drug resistance. The present study analyzed the effects of three inhibitors, sunitinib, gefitinib, and lapatinib, combined with iron-chelating agents, di-2-pyridylketone-4,4-dimethyl-3-thiosemicarbazone (Dp44mT) or di-2-pyridylketone-4-cyclohexyl-4-methyl-3-thiosemicarbazone (DpC). Simultaneous administration of the drugs consistently resulted in synergistic and/or additive activities against the cell lines derived from the most frequent types of pediatric solid tumors. The results of a detailed analysis of cell signaling in the neuroblastoma cell lines revealed that TKIs inhibited the phosphorylation of the corresponding receptor tyrosine kinases, and thiosemicarbazones downregulated the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor, platelet-derived growth factor receptor, and insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor, leading to a strong induction of apoptosis. Marked upregulation of the metastasis suppressor N-myc downstream regulated gene-1 (NDRG1), which is known to be activated and upregulated by thiosemicarbazones in adult cancers, was also detected in thiosemicarbazone-treated neuroblastoma cells. Importantly, these effects were more pronounced in the cells treated with drug combinations, especially with the combinations of lapatinib with thiosemicarbazones. Therefore, these results provide a rationale for novel strategies combining iron-chelating agents with TKIs in therapy of pediatric solid tumors.

DURIAN: an integrative deconvolution and imputation method for robust signaling analysis of single-cell transcriptomics data.

Single-cell RNA sequencing trades read-depth for dimensionality, often leading to loss of critical signaling gene information that is typically present in bulk data sets. We introduce DURIAN (Deconvolution and mUltitask-Regression-based ImputAtioN), an integrative method for recovery of gene expression in single-cell data. Through systematic benchmarking, we demonstrate the accuracy, robustness and empirical convergence of DURIAN using both synthetic and published data sets. We show that use of DURIAN improves single-cell clustering, low-dimensional embedding, and recovery of intercellular signaling networks. Our study resolves several inconsistent results of cell-cell communication analysis using single-cell or bulk data independently. The method has broad application in biomarker discovery and cell signaling analysis using single-cell transcriptomics data sets.

Abstract 210: Development and characterization of a novel immunocompetent mouse model of radioresistant lung cancer

Abstract Standard treatment for inoperable or unresectable stage I-III NSCLC includes stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) and concurrent chemo and radiotherapy, but locoregional recurrence occurs in 10%-30% of the patients. In the absence of distant metastasis, re-irradiation is the main curative-intent treatment option available for these patients, but the risk of severe adverse effects and tumor resistance of heavily irradiated patients are challenges to this therapy. On the other hand, the combination between re-irradiation with chemotherapy or immunotherapy is a scenario not extensively studied in the literature. Current existing models have been developed in immunodeficient mice, where the effect of immunotherapy cannot be assessed. To address this issue, we have developed and characterized a lung cancer model of radiation resistance, which can be used in syngeneic mice with fully functional immune system. To this aim, we have generated a mouse adenocarcinoma radioresistant cell line (Lacun3 RR) from previously characterized Lacun3 adenocarcinoma cells. This radioresistant cell line was generated after several rounds of radiation (8 Gy) administered to the parental Lacun3 cells in vitro. Clonogenic and apoptotic assays confirmed that Lacun3 RR were more resistant to radiotherapy than the parental cell line, within the 2-4 Gy range. In addition, in vivo assays performed by subcutaneous injection of these cells showed that Lacun3 RR were completely refractory to 10 Gy irradiation, whereas a significant reduction in tumor volume (~60%) was found for parental Lacun3-derived tumors. Phenotypic characterization of these cells showed that Lacun3 RR cells had increased properties of cancer stem cells (CSC), with significantly higher ability to form tumorspheres. Lacun3 RR cells also showed increased CSC markers (ALDH1, NOTCH1) and slightly lower proliferation rates in vitro than Lacun3 cells. Cell signaling analysis revealed an increase in phosphorylated (p)p38 MAPK and pAKT basal and post-irradiation levels, and lower pH2AX (suggesting less DNA damage) in Lacun3 RR cells. RNAseq and DNAseq (Whole Exome Sequencing) were performed in both cell lines. As expected, we found that a substantial number of genes differentially expressed were significantly related to DNA repair, cell cycle regulation and spindle formation. Mutational burden was estimated from the DNAseq, revealing a similar global tumor mutational burden for both cell lines. However, some mutations were exclusively found in Lacun3 RR cells. The tumor microenvironment and tumor immune populations are currently being investigated in this model. In conclusion, we have developed a mouse model to study radiation resistance in a context of complete immunity, which could be highly valuable to study possible synergistic effects of radiotherapy and immunotherapy of re-irradiated NSCLC patients. Citation Format: Sergio León, Diego Serrano, Esther Redín, Jennifer Barranco, Maeva Houry, Francisco Expósito, Ibón Tamayo, Luis Montuenga, Alfonso Calvo, Jose Javier Aristu. Development and characterization of a novel immunocompetent mouse model of radioresistant lung cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 210.

Biphasic Effect of Pirfenidone on Angiogenesis.

Pirfenidone (PFD), a synthetic arsenic compound, has been found to inhibit angiogenesis at high concentrations. However, the biphasic effects of different PFD concentrations on angiogenesis have not yet been elucidated, and the present study used an in vitro model to explore the mechanisms underlying this biphasic response. The effect of PFD on the initial angiogenesis of vascular endothelial cells was investigated through a Matrigel tube formation assay, and the impact of PFD on endothelial cell migration was evaluated through scratch and transwell migration experiments. Moreover, the expression of key migration cytokines, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9, was examined. Finally, the biphasic mechanism of PFD on angiogenesis was explored through cell signaling and apoptosis analyses. The results showed that 10–100 μM PFD has a significant and dose-dependent inhibitory effect on tube formation and migration, while 10 nM–1 μM PFD significantly promoted tube formation and migration, with 100 nM PFD having the strongest effect. Additionally, we found that a high concentration of PFD could significantly inhibit MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression, while low concentrations of PFD significantly promoted their expression. Finally, we found that high concentrations of PFD inhibited EA.hy926 cell tube formation by promoting apoptosis, while low concentrations of PFD promoted tube formation by increasing MMP-2 and MMP-9 protein expression predominantly via the EGFR/p-p38 pathway. Overall, PFD elicits a biphasic effect on angiogenesis through different mechanisms, could be used as a new potential drug for the treatment of vascular diseases.

RAGE拮抗薬azeliragonはヒト前立腺がん由来LNCaP細胞の生存・増殖を抑制する：影響をうける細胞シグナルの解析

RAGE拮抗薬azeliragonはヒト前立腺がん由来LNCaP細胞の生存・増殖を抑制する：影響をうける細胞シグナルの解析

Establishment of Stable Cell Lines Representing Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia with SHP2 Mutations

Protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 encoded by PTPN11 is a key regulator in growth factor and cytokine signaling. Overwhelming evidence suggests its vital role in hematopoietic stem cell function and hematopoiesis. As a bona fide proto-oncogene product, gain-of-function mutations of SHP2 cause hematological malignancies, most notably juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) which bear somatic SHP2 mutations in 35% of cases. Numerous studies have utilized murine models to investigate the role of mutant SHP2 in hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis and successfully produced resembling myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) and even full-blown leukemia in recipient animals. However, mutant SHP2-transformed cell lines have not been generated. In the present study, we established oncogenic mutant SHP2-transformed cell lines from erythropoietin (EPO)-dependent HCD-57 erythroid leukemia cells. First, we generated recombinant retroviruses expressing SHP2-D61Y and SHP2-E76K, the two most common SHP2 mutants found in individuals with JMML, by using the pMSCV-IRES-GFP vector. We then infected HCD-57 cells with the recombinant retroviruses. Unlike the parent HCD-57 cells, the infected cells were able to grow in the absence of EPO as demonstrated by viable GFP-positive cells. We further performed semi-solid methylcellulose colony cultures and isolated single clones of EPO-independent HCD57 cells. The isolated clonal cells overexpressed mutant SHP2 and proliferate rapidly in the absence of EPO. In contrast, HCD57 cells infected with retroviruses expressing wild type SHP2 failed to survive in the absence of EPO, indicating only gain-of-function mutant forms of SHP2 have the cell-transformation capability. We also carried out parallel experiments with the pro-B Ba/F3 cell line that require interleukin 3 (IL3) for survival. Interestingly, over-expression of SHP2-D61Y and SHP2-E76K was not sufficient to give rise to IL3-indepdent Ba/F3 cells, suggesting that HCD57 cells have some unique properties making them susceptible for transformation by oncogenic SHP2 mutants. We further performed in vitro and in vivo characterization of transformed HCD57 cells. Cell signaling analyses revealed that both HCD57-SHP2-D61Y and HCD57-SHP2-E76Kcells exhibited aberrantly elevated levels of pERK and pAKT in the absence of cytokine stimulation, which was consistent with the notion that gain-of-function SHP2 mutants perturb growth control through deregulation of the Ras signaling pathway. Upon intravenous injection into immunodeficient mice, the SHP2 mutant-transformed HCD57 cells caused acute leukemia with markedly increased spleen. Finally, we screened a small molecule inhibitor library to identify compounds that may specifically target the SHP2 mutants. We found several tyrosine kinase inhibitors including dasatinib and trametinib potently inhibited HCD57-SHP2-D61Y and HCD57-SHP2-E76Kcells but not the parent HCD57 cells. At sub-micromolar concentrations, dasatinib and trametinib abolished elevated ERK and Akt activation caused by the SHP2 mutants. This study not only proves that gain-of function mutations of SHP2 are capable of fully transforming cells but also provides a unique cell system to study pathogenesis of SHP2 mutants and to identify specific inhibitors for drug development. DisclosuresNo relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Abstract 114: Loss of BMPR1a in fibroblasts restricts breast cancer progression and alters the immune tumor microenvironment

Abstract The Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) pathway is a member of the TGFβ signaling family and has complex roles in cancer. The dichotomous role of BMPs as both tumor promoters and suppressors appears to be largely context based in both the cancer cell and the surrounding microenvironment. Fibroblasts who are activated in the tumor microenvironment to become cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) also carry out diverse functions to support tumor progression, including matrix generation and remodeling as well as angiogenesis and immune cell regulation. We found that conditional deletion of the BMP signaling receptor BMPR1a in mammary fat pad derived fibroblasts (via FSP-Cre) restricts tumor progression in a C57BL/6 syngeneic mammary fat pad MMTV-PyMT breast cancer mouse model. Specific changes in the architecture of collagen were found in the tumors with loss of BMPR1a signaling in CAFs. We analyzed these mammary fat pad tumors using Vectra multiplexed immunohistochemistry (mIHC) to evaluate differential cell phenotypes, spatial distribution, and high-dimensional cell clustering dependent on BMP signaling in CAFs. Vectra mIHC panels were designed to perform tumor and stromal cell classification, immune cell profiling, immune cell function, cell signaling and vascular analysis. Based on Vectra mIHC, changes in myeloid cell populations and immune cell interactions in the tumors were observed with differential BMPR1a expression in CAFs. We profiled the secretome of mammary fat pad fibroblasts and found distinct chemokine and cytokine secretion was altered related on BMPR1a loss. These results indicate a unique necessity for BMP signaling in fibroblasts during tumor progression to influence the stroma, matrix, and immune components of the tumor microenvironment. Citation Format: Claire Louise Ihle, Meredith D. Provera, Parvanee A. Karimpour, Desiree M. Straign, Erin Smith, Philip Owens. Loss of BMPR1a in fibroblasts restricts breast cancer progression and alters the immune tumor microenvironment [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 114.

Analyzing signaling activity and function in hematopoietic cells.

Cells constantly sense their environment, allowing the adaption of cell behavior to changing needs. Fine-tuned responses to complex inputs are computed by signaling pathways, which are wired in complex connected networks. Their activity is highly context-dependent, dynamic, and heterogeneous even between closely related individual cells. Despite lots of progress, our understanding of the precise implementation, relevance, and possible manipulation of cellular signaling in health and disease therefore remains limited. Here, we discuss the requirements, potential, and limitations of the different current technologies for the analysis of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell signaling and its effect on cell fates.

Improved cell signaling analysis by biofunctionalized nanospheres and imaging flow cytometry.

The analysis of immune cell signaling is critical for the understanding of the biology and pathology of the immune system, and thus a mandatory step for the development of efficient biomarkers and targeted therapies. Phosflow, which has progressively replaced the traditional western blot approach, relies on flow cytometry to analyze various signaling pathways at a single-cell level. This technique however suffers a lack of sensitivity largely due to the low signal/noise ratio that characterizes cell signaling analysis. In this study, we describe a new technique, which combines the use of biofunctionalized nanospheres (i.e., synthetic particulate antigens, SPAg) to stimulate the immune cells in suspension and imaging flow cytometry to identify homogenously-stimulated cells and quantify the activity of the chosen signaling pathway in selected subcellular regions of interest. Using BCR signaling as model, we demonstrate that SIBERIAN (SPAg-assIsted suB-cEllulaR sIgnaling ANalysis) allows assessing immune cell signaling with unprecedented sensitivity and specificity.

Intercellular Interactions of an Adipogenic CXCL12-Expressing Stromal Cell Subset in Murine Bone Marrow.

Bone marrow houses a multifunctional stromal cell population expressing C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12), termed CXCL12-abundant reticular (CAR) cells, that regulates osteogenesis and adipogenesis. The quiescent pre-adipocyte-like subset of CXCL12+ stromal cells ("Adipo-CAR" cells) is localized to sinusoidal surfaces and particularly enriched for hematopoiesis-supporting cytokines. However, detailed characteristics of these CXCL12+ pre-adipocyte-like stromal cells and how they contribute to marrow adipogenesis remain largely unknown. Here we highlight CXCL12-dependent physical coupling with hematopoietic cells as a potential mechanism regulating the adipogenic potential of CXCL12+ stromal cells. Single-cell computational analyses of RNA velocity and cell signaling reveal that Adipo-CAR cells exuberantly communicate with hematopoietic cells through CXCL12-CXCR4 ligand-receptor interactions but do not interconvert with Osteo-CAR cells. Consistent with this computational prediction, a substantial fraction of Cxcl12-creER+ pre-adipocyte-like cells intertwines with hematopoietic cells in vivo and in single-cell preparation in a protease-sensitive manner. Deletion of CXCL12 in these cells using Col2a1-cre leads to a reduction of stromal-hematopoietic coupling and extensive marrow adipogenesis in adult bone marrow, which appears to involve direct conversion of CXCL12+ cells to lipid-laden marrow adipocytes without altering mesenchymal progenitor cell fates. Therefore, these findings suggest that CXCL12+ pre-adipocyte-like marrow stromal cells prevent their premature differentiation by maintaining physical coupling with hematopoietic cells in a CXCL12-dependent manner, highlighting a possible cell-non-autonomous mechanism that regulates marrow adipogenesis. © 2021 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

ADAM8 affects glioblastoma progression by regulating osteopontin-mediated angiogenesis.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive type of brain cancer with a median survival of only 15months. To complement standard treatments including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, it is essential to understand the contribution of the GBM tumor microenvironment. Brain macrophages and microglia particularly contribute to tumor angiogenesis, a major hallmark of GBM. ADAM8, a metalloprotease-disintegrin strongly expressed in tumor cells and associated immune cells of GBMs, is related to angiogenesis and correlates with poor clinical prognosis. However, the specific contribution of ADAM8 to GBM tumorigenesis remains elusive. Knockdown of ADAM8 in U87 glioma cells led to significantly decreased angiogenesis and tumor volumes of these cells after stereotactic injection into striate body of mice. We found that the angiogenic potential of ADAM8 in GBM cells and in primary macrophages is mediated by the regulation of osteopontin (OPN), an important inducer of tumor angiogenesis. By in vitro cell signaling analyses, we demonstrate that ADAM8 regulates OPN via JAK/STAT3 pathway in U87 cells and in primary macrophages. As ADAM8 is a dispensable protease for physiological homeostasis, we conclude that ADAM8 could be a tractable target to modulate angiogenesis in GBM with minor side-effects.

Multichannel Synchronous Hydrodynamic Gating Coupling with Concentration Gradient Generator for High-Throughput Probing Dynamic Signaling of Single Cells.

Cell signaling greatly affected by complicated and temporally dynamic extracellular microenvironments controls most of the physiological functions in vivo. To reconstruct or simulate such microenvironments in vitro represents a fundamental approach for revealing the underlying mechanisms of those sophisticated processes. Recent advances in microfluidics have added a new dimension to cell signaling analysis, for example, concentration gradient generators (amplitude aspect) or hydrodynamic gating strategy (frequency aspect), but it is still challengeable to capture single-cell dynamic signaling in response to a mimicked extracellular microenvironment with varied stimuli waveforms of different amplitude and frequency in a high-throughput manner. In this article, we proposed a novel microfluidic strategy coupling multichannel synchronous hydrodynamic gating with microfluidic concentration gradient generators (μMHG-CGG) to probe dynamic signaling of single cells with high throughput. The μMHG-CGG allows rapid delivery of dynamic chemical signals in both high frequency (as high as 670 mHz) and multiple amplitude domains at the same time and simultaneously high-throughput probing cell dynamics at single-cell resolution in real time. By applying the proposed system, the mechanisms for encoding/decoding systems (termed "frequency coding" or "amplitude coding") via GPCRs-mediated signaling pathways responding to histamine (HA) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in single HeLa cells were investigated. The optimal drug concentrations of single cells responses to HA and ATP individually or in combination were also successfully discussed, allowing us to obtain both single-cell heterogeneity and statistics from the cell population.

A polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-enriched environmental chemical mixture enhances AhR, antiapoptotic signaling and a proliferative phenotype in breast cancer cells.

Emerging evidence suggests the role of environmental chemicals, in particular endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), in progression of breast cancer and treatment resistance, which can impact survival outcomes. However, most research tends to focus on tumor etiology and the effect of single chemicals, offering little insight into the effects of realistic complex mixture exposures on tumor progression. Herein, we investigated the effect of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-enriched EDC mixture in a panel of normal and breast cancer cells and in a tumor organoid model. Cells or organoids in culture were treated with EDC mixture at doses estimated from US adult intake of the top four PAH compounds within the mixture from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database. We demonstrate that low-dose PAH mixture (6, 30 and 300 nM) increased aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) expression and CYP activity in estrogen receptor (ER) positive but not normal mammary or ER-negative breast cancer cells, and that upregulated AhR signaling corresponded with increased cell proliferation and expression of antiapoptotic and antioxidant proteins XIAP and SOD1. We employed a mathematical model to validate PAH-mediated increases in AhR and XIAP expression in the MCF-7 ER-positive cell line. Furthermore, the PAH mixture caused significant growth increases in ER-negative breast cancer cell derived 3D tumor organoids, providing further evidence for the role of a natural-derived PAH mixture in enhancing a tumor proliferative phenotype. Together, our integrated cell signaling, computational and phenotype analysis reveals the underlying mechanisms of EDC mixtures in breast cancer progression and survival.

NRF2 activates growth factor genes and downstream AKT signaling to induce mouse and human hepatomegaly

Hepatomegaly can be triggered by insulin and insulin-unrelated etiologies. Insulin acts via AKT, but how other challenges cause hepatomegaly is unknown. Since many hepatomegaly-inducing toxicants and stressors activate NRF2, we examined the effect of NRF2 activation on liver size and metabolism using a conditional allele encoding a constitutively active NRF2 variant to generate Nrf2Act-hep mice in which NRF2 is selectively activated in hepatocytes. We also used adenoviruses encoding variants of the autophagy adaptor p62/SQSTM1, which activates liver NRF2, as well as liver-specific ATG7-deficient mice (Atg7Δhep) and liver specimens from patients with hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (HSOS) and autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). RNA sequencing and cell signaling analyses were used to determine cellular consequences of NRF2 activation and diverse histological analyses were used to study effects of the different manipulations on liver and systemic pathophysiology. Hepatocyte-specific NRF2 activation, due to p62 accumulation or inhibition of KEAP1 binding, led to hepatomegaly associated with enhanced glycogenosis, steatosis and G2/M cell cycle arrest, fostering hyperplasia without cell division. Surprisingly, all manipulations that led to NRF2 activation also activated AKT, whose inhibition blocked NRF2-induced hepatomegaly and glycogenosis, but not NRF2-dependent antioxidant gene induction. AKT activation was linked to NRF2-mediated transcriptional induction of PDGF and EGF receptor ligands that signaled through their cognate receptors in an autocrine manner. Insulin and insulin-like growth factors were not involved. The NRF2-AKT signaling axis was also activated in human HSOS- and AIH-related hepatomegaly. NRF2, a transcription factor readily activated by xenobiotics, oxidative stress and autophagy disruptors, may be a common mediator of hepatomegaly; its effects on hepatic metabolism can be reversed by AKT/tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Hepatomegaly can be triggered by numerous etiological factors, including infections, liver cancer, metabolic disturbances, toxicant exposure, as well as alcohol abuse or drug-induced hepatitis. This study identified the oxidative stress response transcription factor NRF2 as a common mediator of hepatomegaly. NRF2 activation results in elevated expression ofseveral growth factors. These growth factors are made by hepatocytes and activate their receptors in an autocrine fashion to stimulate the accumulation of glycogen and lipids that lead to hepatocyte and liver enlargement. The protein kinase AKT plays a key role in this process and its inhibition leads to reversal of hepatomegaly.

SIRT6 Protects Against Liver Fibrosis by Deacetylation and Suppression of SMAD3 in Hepatic Stellate Cells.

Background & AimsNonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a chronic liver disease that is manifested clinically by an increase in hepatic triglycerides, inflammation, and fibrosis. The pathogenesis of NASH remains incompletely understood. Sirtuin 6 (Sirt6), a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide–dependent deacetylase, has been implicated in fatty liver disease; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms in the NASH pathogenesis are elusive. The aims of this study were to elucidate the role of hepatic Sirt6 in NASH.MethodsWild-type, liver-specific Sirt6 knockout (KO), hepatic stellate cell (HSC)-specific Sirt6 knockout (HSC-KO), and Sirt6 transgenic mice were subjected to a Western diet for 4 weeks. Hepatic phenotypes were characterized and underlying mechanisms were investigated.ResultsRemarkably, both the liver-KO and HSC-KO mice developed much worse NASH than the wild-type mice, whereas the transgenic mice were protected from the diet-induced NASH. Our cell signaling analysis showed that Sirt6 negatively regulates the transforming growth factor β–Smad family member 3 (Smad3) pathway. Biochemical analysis showed a physical interaction between Sirt6 and Smad3 in hepatic stellate cells. Moreover, our molecular data further showed that Sirt6 deacetylated Smad3 at key lysine residues K333 and K378, and attenuated its transcriptional activity induced by transforming growth factor β in hepatic stellate cells.ConclusionsOur data suggest that SIRT6 plays a critical role in the protection against NASH development and it may serve as a potential therapeutic target for NASH.