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Full-Text Articles in Medical Molecular Biology

Glial Cell Adhesion Molecule (Glialcam) Determines Proliferative Versus Invasive Cell States In Glioblastoma, Arpan De, John M Lattier, John E Morales, Jack R Kelly, Xiaofeng Zheng, Zhihua Chen, Sumod Sebastian, Zahra Nassiri Toosi, Jason T Huse, Frederick F Lang, Joseph H Mccarty Nov 2023

Glial Cell Adhesion Molecule (Glialcam) Determines Proliferative Versus Invasive Cell States In Glioblastoma, Arpan De, John M Lattier, John E Morales, Jack R Kelly, Xiaofeng Zheng, Zhihua Chen, Sumod Sebastian, Zahra Nassiri Toosi, Jason T Huse, Frederick F Lang, Joseph H Mccarty

Student and Faculty Publications

The malignant brain cancer glioblastoma (GBM) contains groups of highly invasive cells that drive tumor progression as well as recurrence after surgery and chemotherapy. The molecular mechanisms that enable these GBM cells to exit the primary mass and disperse throughout the brain remain largely unknown. Here we report using human tumor specimens and primary spheroids from male and female patients that glial cell adhesion molecule (GlialCAM), which has normal roles in brain astrocytes and is mutated in the developmental brain disorder megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts (MLC), is differentially expressed in subpopulations of GBM cells. High levels of GlialCAM promote …


High-Fat Diet, But Not Duration Of Lactation, Increases Mammary Gland Lymphatic Vessel Function And Subsequent Growth Of Inflammatory Breast Cancer Cells, Wintana Balema, Janelle Morton, Richard A Larson, Li Li, Fred Christian Velasquez, Natalie W Fowlkes, Savitri Krishnamurthy, Bisrat G Debeb, Eva Sevick-Muraca, Wendy A Woodward Oct 2023

High-Fat Diet, But Not Duration Of Lactation, Increases Mammary Gland Lymphatic Vessel Function And Subsequent Growth Of Inflammatory Breast Cancer Cells, Wintana Balema, Janelle Morton, Richard A Larson, Li Li, Fred Christian Velasquez, Natalie W Fowlkes, Savitri Krishnamurthy, Bisrat G Debeb, Eva Sevick-Muraca, Wendy A Woodward

Student and Faculty Publications

Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) presents as rapid-onset swelling and breast skin changes caused by tumor emboli in the breast and breast skin lymphatics. IBC has been linked with obesity and duration of breastfeeding, but how these factors affect IBC tumor progression is not clear. We modeled the simultaneous effects of diet and weaning in mice on in vivo lymphatic function; on IBC tumor growth; and on aspects of the mammary gland microenvironment before and after IBC (SUM149) xenograft inoculation. We hypothesized that weaning status and diet would have synergistic effects on lymphatic function and the breast microenvironment to enhance IBC …


Differential Effects Of Pancreatic Cancer-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Driving A Suppressive Environment, Anurag Purushothaman, Jacqueline Oliva-Ramírez, Warapen Treekitkarnmongkol, Deivendran Sankaran, Mark W Hurd, Nagireddy Putluri, Anirban Maitra, Cara Haymaker, Subrata Sen Sep 2023

Differential Effects Of Pancreatic Cancer-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Driving A Suppressive Environment, Anurag Purushothaman, Jacqueline Oliva-Ramírez, Warapen Treekitkarnmongkol, Deivendran Sankaran, Mark W Hurd, Nagireddy Putluri, Anirban Maitra, Cara Haymaker, Subrata Sen

Student and Faculty Publications

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells display extensive crosstalk with their surrounding environment to regulate tumor growth, immune evasion, and metastasis. Recent advances have attributed many of these interactions to intercellular communication mediated by small extracellular vesicles (sEVs), involving cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF). To explore the impact of sEVs on monocyte lineage transition as well as the expression of checkpoint receptors and activation markers, peripheral blood monocytes from healthy subjects were exposed to PDAC-derived sEVs. Additionally, to analyze the role of sEV-associated HA in immune regulation and tissue-resident fibroblasts, monocytes and pancreatic stellate cells were cultured in the presence of PDAC sEVs …


Unfolding The Secrets Of Small Cell Lung Cancer Progression: Novel Approaches And Insights Through Rapid Autopsies, Zsolt Megyesfalvi, Simon Heeke, Benjamin J Drapkin, Anna Solta, Ildiko Kovacs, Kristiina Boettiger, Lilla Horvath, Busra Ernhofer, Janos Fillinger, Ferenc Renyi-Vamos, Clemens Aigner, Karin Schelch, Christian Lang, Gyorgy Marko-Varga, Carl M Gay, Lauren A Byers, Benjamin B Morris, John V Heymach, Peter Van Loo, Fred R Hirsch, Balazs Dome Sep 2023

Unfolding The Secrets Of Small Cell Lung Cancer Progression: Novel Approaches And Insights Through Rapid Autopsies, Zsolt Megyesfalvi, Simon Heeke, Benjamin J Drapkin, Anna Solta, Ildiko Kovacs, Kristiina Boettiger, Lilla Horvath, Busra Ernhofer, Janos Fillinger, Ferenc Renyi-Vamos, Clemens Aigner, Karin Schelch, Christian Lang, Gyorgy Marko-Varga, Carl M Gay, Lauren A Byers, Benjamin B Morris, John V Heymach, Peter Van Loo, Fred R Hirsch, Balazs Dome

Student and Faculty Publications

The understanding of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) biology has increased dramatically in recent years, but the processes that allow SCLC to progress rapidly remain poorly understood. Here, we advocate the integration of rapid autopsies and preclinical models into SCLC research as a comprehensive strategy with the potential to revolutionize current treatment paradigms.


Fibronectin Contributes To A Braf Inhibitor-Driven Invasive Phenotype In Thyroid Cancer Through Egr1, Which Can Be Blocked By Inhibition Of Erk1/2, Hannah M Hicks, Nikita Pozdeyev, Sharon B Sams, Umarani Pugazhenthi, Elise S Bales, Marie-Claude Hofmann, Logan R Mckenna, Rebecca E Schweppe Sep 2023

Fibronectin Contributes To A Braf Inhibitor-Driven Invasive Phenotype In Thyroid Cancer Through Egr1, Which Can Be Blocked By Inhibition Of Erk1/2, Hannah M Hicks, Nikita Pozdeyev, Sharon B Sams, Umarani Pugazhenthi, Elise S Bales, Marie-Claude Hofmann, Logan R Mckenna, Rebecca E Schweppe

Student and Faculty Publications

Mutations in BRAF are common in advanced papillary and anaplastic thyroid cancer (PTC and ATC). However, patients with BRAF-mutant PTC currently lack therapies targeting this pathway. Despite the approved combination of BRAF and MEK1/2 inhibition for patients with BRAF-mutant ATC, these patients often progress. Thus, we screened a panel of BRAF-mutant thyroid cancer cell lines to identify new therapeutic strategies. We showed that thyroid cancer cells resistant to BRAF inhibition (BRAFi) exhibit an increase in invasion and a proinvasive secretome in response to BRAFi. Using reverse-phase protein array (RPPA), we identified a nearly 2-fold increase in expression of the extracellular …


Carm1 Arginine Methyltransferase As A Therapeutic Target For Cancer, Margarida Santos, Jee Won Hwang, Mark T Bedford Sep 2023

Carm1 Arginine Methyltransferase As A Therapeutic Target For Cancer, Margarida Santos, Jee Won Hwang, Mark T Bedford

Student and Faculty Publications

Coactivator-associated arginine methyltransferase 1 (CARM1) is an arginine methyltransferase that posttranslationally modifies proteins that regulate multiple levels of RNA production and processing. Its substrates include histones, transcription factors, coregulators of transcription, and splicing factors. CARM1 is overexpressed in many different cancer types, and often promotes transcription factor programs that are co-opted as drivers of the transformed cell state, a process known as transcription factor addiction. Targeting these oncogenic transcription factor pathways is difficult but could be addressed by removing the activity of the key coactivators on which they rely. CARM1 is ubiquitously expressed, and its KO is less detrimental in …


Facs-Based Genome-Wide Crispr Screens Define Key Regulators Of Dna Damage Signaling Pathways, Min Huang, Fuwen Yao, Litong Nie, Chao Wang, Dan Su, Huimin Zhang, Siting Li, Mengfan Tang, Xu Feng, Bin Yu, Zhen Chen, Shimin Wang, Ling Yin, Lisha Mou, Traver Hart, Junjie Chen Aug 2023

Facs-Based Genome-Wide Crispr Screens Define Key Regulators Of Dna Damage Signaling Pathways, Min Huang, Fuwen Yao, Litong Nie, Chao Wang, Dan Su, Huimin Zhang, Siting Li, Mengfan Tang, Xu Feng, Bin Yu, Zhen Chen, Shimin Wang, Ling Yin, Lisha Mou, Traver Hart, Junjie Chen

Student and Faculty Publications

DNA damage-activated signaling pathways are critical for coordinating multiple cellular processes, which must be tightly regulated to maintain genome stability. To provide a comprehensive and unbiased perspective of DNA damage response (DDR) signaling pathways, we performed 30 fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)-based genome-wide CRISPR screens in human cell lines with antibodies recognizing distinct endogenous DNA damage signaling proteins to identify critical regulators involved in DDR. We discovered that proteasome-mediated processing is an early and prerequisite event for cells to trigger camptothecin- and etoposide-induced DDR signaling. Furthermore, we identified PRMT1 and PRMT5 as modulators that regulate ATM protein level. Moreover, we discovered …


Alternative Splicing Of Ceacam1 By Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1Α Enhances Tolerance To Hepatic Ischemia In Mice And Humans, Kenneth J Dery, Hidenobu Kojima, Shoichi Kageyama, Kentaro Kadono, Hirofumi Hirao, Brian Cheng, Yuan Zhai, Douglas G Farmer, Fady M Kaldas, Xiaoyi Yuan, Holger K Eltzschig, Jerzy W Kupiec-Weglinski Aug 2023

Alternative Splicing Of Ceacam1 By Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1Α Enhances Tolerance To Hepatic Ischemia In Mice And Humans, Kenneth J Dery, Hidenobu Kojima, Shoichi Kageyama, Kentaro Kadono, Hirofumi Hirao, Brian Cheng, Yuan Zhai, Douglas G Farmer, Fady M Kaldas, Xiaoyi Yuan, Holger K Eltzschig, Jerzy W Kupiec-Weglinski

Student and Faculty Publications

Although alternative splicing (AS) drives transcriptional responses and cellular adaptation to environmental stresses, its contributions in organ transplantation have not been appreciated. We have shown that carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule (Ceacam1; CD66a), a transmembrane biliary glycoprotein expressed in epithelial, endothelial, and immune cells, determines donor liver transplant quality. Here, we studied how AS of Ceacam1 affects ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in mouse and human livers. We found that the short cytoplasmic isoform Ceacam1-S increased during early acute and late resolution phases of warm IRI injury in mice. Transfection of Ceacam1-deficient mouse hepatocytes with adenoviral Ceacam1-S mitigated hypoxia-induced loss of …


Comutations And Krasg12c Inhibitor Efficacy In Advanced Nsclc, Marcelo V Negrao, Haniel A Araujo, Giuseppe Lamberti, Alissa J Cooper, Neal S Akhave, Teng Zhou, Lukas Delasos, J Kevin Hicks, Mihaela Aldea, Gabriele Minuti, Jacobi Hines, Jacqueline V Aredo, Michael J Dennis, Turja Chakrabarti, Susan C Scott, Paolo Bironzo, Matthias Scheffler, Petros Christopoulos, Albrecht Stenzinger, Jonathan W Riess, So Yeon Kim, Sarah B Goldberg, Mingjia Li, Qi Wang, Yun Qing, Ying Ni, Minh Truong Do, Richard Lee, Biagio Ricciuti, Joao Victor Alessi, Jing Wang, Blerina Resuli, Lorenza Landi, Shu-Chi Tseng, Mizuki Nishino, Subba R Digumarthy, Waree Rinsurongkawong, Vadeerat Rinsurongkawong, Ara A Vaporciyan, George R Blumenschein, Jianjun Zhang, Dwight H Owen, Collin M Blakely, Giannis Mountzios, Catherine A Shu, Christine M Bestvina, Marina Chiara Garassino, Kristen A Marrone, Jhanelle E Gray, Sandip Pravin Patel, Amy L Cummings, Heather A Wakelee, Juergen Wolf, Giorgio Vittorio Scagliotti, Federico Cappuzzo, Fabrice Barlesi, Pradnya D Patil, Leylah Drusbosky, Don L Gibbons, Funda Meric-Bernstam, J Jack Lee, John V Heymach, David S Hong, Rebecca S Heist, Mark M Awad, Ferdinandos Skoulidis Jul 2023

Comutations And Krasg12c Inhibitor Efficacy In Advanced Nsclc, Marcelo V Negrao, Haniel A Araujo, Giuseppe Lamberti, Alissa J Cooper, Neal S Akhave, Teng Zhou, Lukas Delasos, J Kevin Hicks, Mihaela Aldea, Gabriele Minuti, Jacobi Hines, Jacqueline V Aredo, Michael J Dennis, Turja Chakrabarti, Susan C Scott, Paolo Bironzo, Matthias Scheffler, Petros Christopoulos, Albrecht Stenzinger, Jonathan W Riess, So Yeon Kim, Sarah B Goldberg, Mingjia Li, Qi Wang, Yun Qing, Ying Ni, Minh Truong Do, Richard Lee, Biagio Ricciuti, Joao Victor Alessi, Jing Wang, Blerina Resuli, Lorenza Landi, Shu-Chi Tseng, Mizuki Nishino, Subba R Digumarthy, Waree Rinsurongkawong, Vadeerat Rinsurongkawong, Ara A Vaporciyan, George R Blumenschein, Jianjun Zhang, Dwight H Owen, Collin M Blakely, Giannis Mountzios, Catherine A Shu, Christine M Bestvina, Marina Chiara Garassino, Kristen A Marrone, Jhanelle E Gray, Sandip Pravin Patel, Amy L Cummings, Heather A Wakelee, Juergen Wolf, Giorgio Vittorio Scagliotti, Federico Cappuzzo, Fabrice Barlesi, Pradnya D Patil, Leylah Drusbosky, Don L Gibbons, Funda Meric-Bernstam, J Jack Lee, John V Heymach, David S Hong, Rebecca S Heist, Mark M Awad, Ferdinandos Skoulidis

Student and Faculty Publications

Molecular modifiers of KRASG12C inhibitor (KRASG12Ci) efficacy in advanced KRASG12C-mutant NSCLC are poorly defined. In a large unbiased clinicogenomic analysis of 424 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we identified and validated coalterations in KEAP1, SMARCA4, and CDKN2A as major independent determinants of inferior clinical outcomes with KRASG12Ci monotherapy. Collectively, comutations in these three tumor suppressor genes segregated patients into distinct prognostic subgroups and captured ∼50% of those with early disease progression (progression-free survival ≤3 months) with KRASG12Ci. Pathway-level integration of less prevalent coalterations in functionally related genes nominated PI3K/AKT/MTOR pathway and additional baseline RAS gene alterations, including amplifications, …


Redox-Dependent Activation Of Lung Epithelial Stat3 Is Required For Inducible Protection Against Bacterial Pneumonia, Vikram V Kulkarni, Yongxing Wang, Jezreel Pantaleon Garcia, Scott E Evans Jun 2023

Redox-Dependent Activation Of Lung Epithelial Stat3 Is Required For Inducible Protection Against Bacterial Pneumonia, Vikram V Kulkarni, Yongxing Wang, Jezreel Pantaleon Garcia, Scott E Evans

Student and Faculty Publications

The lung epithelium is dynamic, capable of considerable structural and functional plasticity in response to pathogen challenges. Our laboratory has demonstrated that an inhaled combination of a Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2/6 agonist and a TLR9 agonist (Pam2ODN) results in robust protection against otherwise lethal pneumonias. We have previously shown that intact epithelial TLR signaling and generation of multisource epithelial reactive oxygen species (ROS) are required for inducible protection. Further investigating the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon of inducible resistance, reverse-phase protein array analysis demonstrated robust STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) phosphorylation following treatment of lung epithelial cells. We …


Kras-Dependency In Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Mechanisms Of Escaping In Resistance To Kras Inhibitors And Perspectives Of Therapy, Enrico Gurreri, Giannicola Genovese, Luigi Perelli, Antonio Agostini, Geny Piro, Carmine Carbone, Giampaolo Tortora May 2023

Kras-Dependency In Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Mechanisms Of Escaping In Resistance To Kras Inhibitors And Perspectives Of Therapy, Enrico Gurreri, Giannicola Genovese, Luigi Perelli, Antonio Agostini, Geny Piro, Carmine Carbone, Giampaolo Tortora

Student and Faculty Publications

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is still one of the deadliest cancers in oncology because of its increasing incidence and poor survival rate. More than 90% of PDAC patients are KRAS mutated (KRASmu), with KRASG12D and KRASG12V being the most common mutations. Despite this critical role, its characteristics have made direct targeting of the RAS protein extremely difficult. KRAS regulates development, cell growth, epigenetically dysregulated differentiation, and survival in PDAC through activation of key downstream pathways, such as MAPK-ERK and PI3K-AKT-mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, in a KRAS-dependent manner. KRASmu induces the occurrence of acinar-to-ductal metaplasia (ADM) and pancreatic intraepithelial …


Functional Neuronal Circuits Promote Disease Progression In Cancer, Anthony C Restaino, Austin Walz, Samuel J Vermeer, Jeffrey Barr, Attila Kovács, Robin R Fettig, Daniel W Vermeer, Hunter Reavis, Caitlin S Williamson, Christopher T Lucido, Tuany Eichwald, Dalia K Omran, Euihye Jung, Lauren E Schwartz, Maria Bell, Desirae M Muirhead, Jody E Hooper, William C Spanos, Ronny Drapkin, Sebastien Talbot, Paola D Vermeer May 2023

Functional Neuronal Circuits Promote Disease Progression In Cancer, Anthony C Restaino, Austin Walz, Samuel J Vermeer, Jeffrey Barr, Attila Kovács, Robin R Fettig, Daniel W Vermeer, Hunter Reavis, Caitlin S Williamson, Christopher T Lucido, Tuany Eichwald, Dalia K Omran, Euihye Jung, Lauren E Schwartz, Maria Bell, Desirae M Muirhead, Jody E Hooper, William C Spanos, Ronny Drapkin, Sebastien Talbot, Paola D Vermeer

Student and Faculty Publications

The molecular and functional contributions of intratumoral nerves to disease remain largely unknown. We localized synaptic markers within tumors suggesting that these nerves form functional connections. Consistent with this, electrophysiological analysis shows that malignancies harbor significantly higher electrical activity than benign disease or normal tissues. We also demonstrate pharmacologic silencing of tumoral electrical activity. Tumors implanted in transgenic animals lacking nociceptor neurons show reduced electrical activity. These data suggest that intratumoral nerves remain functional at the tumor bed. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrates the presence of the neuropeptide, Substance P (SP), within the tumor space. We show that tumor cells express the …


Polymorphisms Within Autophagy-Related Genes As Susceptibility Biomarkers For Multiple Myeloma: A Meta-Analysis Of Three Large Cohorts And Functional Characterization, Esther Clavero, José Manuel Sanchez-Maldonado, Angelica Macauda, Rob Ter Horst, Belém Sampaio-Marques, Artur Jurczyszyn, Alyssa Clay-Gilmour, Angelika Stein, Michelle A T Hildebrandt, Niels Weinhold, Gabriele Buda, Ramón García-Sanz, Waldemar Tomczak, Ulla Vogel, Andrés Jerez, Daria Zawirska, Marzena Wątek, Jonathan N Hofmann, Stefano Landi, John J Spinelli, Aleksandra Butrym, Abhishek Kumar, Joaquín Martínez-López, Sara Galimberti, María Eugenia Sarasquete, Edyta Subocz, Elzbieta Iskierka-Jażdżewska, Graham G Giles, Malwina Rybicka-Ramos, Marcin Kruszewski, Niels Abildgaard, Francisco García Verdejo, Pedro Sánchez Rovira, Miguel Inacio Da Silva Filho, Katalin Kadar, Małgorzata Razny, Wendy Cozen, Matteo Pelosini, Manuel Jurado, Parveen Bhatti, Marek Dudzinski, Agnieszka Druzd-Sitek, Enrico Orciuolo, Yang Li, Aaron D Norman, Jan Maciej Zaucha, Rui Manuel Reis, Miroslaw Markiewicz, Juan José Rodríguez Sevilla, Vibeke Andersen, Krzysztof Jamroziak, Kari Hemminki, Sonja I Berndt, Vicent Rajkumar, Grzegorz Mazur, Shaji K Kumar, Paula Ludovico, Arnon Nagler, Stephen J Chanock, Charles Dumontet, Mitchell J Machiela, Judit Varkonyi, Nicola J Camp, Elad Ziv, Annette Juul Vangsted, Elizabeth E Brown, Daniele Campa, Celine M Vachon, Mihai G Netea, Federico Canzian, Asta Försti, Juan Sainz May 2023

Polymorphisms Within Autophagy-Related Genes As Susceptibility Biomarkers For Multiple Myeloma: A Meta-Analysis Of Three Large Cohorts And Functional Characterization, Esther Clavero, José Manuel Sanchez-Maldonado, Angelica Macauda, Rob Ter Horst, Belém Sampaio-Marques, Artur Jurczyszyn, Alyssa Clay-Gilmour, Angelika Stein, Michelle A T Hildebrandt, Niels Weinhold, Gabriele Buda, Ramón García-Sanz, Waldemar Tomczak, Ulla Vogel, Andrés Jerez, Daria Zawirska, Marzena Wątek, Jonathan N Hofmann, Stefano Landi, John J Spinelli, Aleksandra Butrym, Abhishek Kumar, Joaquín Martínez-López, Sara Galimberti, María Eugenia Sarasquete, Edyta Subocz, Elzbieta Iskierka-Jażdżewska, Graham G Giles, Malwina Rybicka-Ramos, Marcin Kruszewski, Niels Abildgaard, Francisco García Verdejo, Pedro Sánchez Rovira, Miguel Inacio Da Silva Filho, Katalin Kadar, Małgorzata Razny, Wendy Cozen, Matteo Pelosini, Manuel Jurado, Parveen Bhatti, Marek Dudzinski, Agnieszka Druzd-Sitek, Enrico Orciuolo, Yang Li, Aaron D Norman, Jan Maciej Zaucha, Rui Manuel Reis, Miroslaw Markiewicz, Juan José Rodríguez Sevilla, Vibeke Andersen, Krzysztof Jamroziak, Kari Hemminki, Sonja I Berndt, Vicent Rajkumar, Grzegorz Mazur, Shaji K Kumar, Paula Ludovico, Arnon Nagler, Stephen J Chanock, Charles Dumontet, Mitchell J Machiela, Judit Varkonyi, Nicola J Camp, Elad Ziv, Annette Juul Vangsted, Elizabeth E Brown, Daniele Campa, Celine M Vachon, Mihai G Netea, Federico Canzian, Asta Försti, Juan Sainz

Student and Faculty Publications

Multiple myeloma (MM) arises following malignant proliferation of plasma cells in the bone marrow, that secrete high amounts of specific monoclonal immunoglobulins or light chains, resulting in the massive production of unfolded or misfolded proteins. Autophagy can have a dual role in tumorigenesis, by eliminating these abnormal proteins to avoid cancer development, but also ensuring MM cell survival and promoting resistance to treatments. To date no studies have determined the impact of genetic variation in autophagy-related genes on MM risk. We performed meta-analysis of germline genetic data on 234 autophagy-related genes from three independent study populations including 13,387 subjects of …


Loss Of Lgr5 Through Therapy-Induced Downregulation Or Gene Ablation Is Associated With Resistance And Enhanced Met-Stat3 Signaling In Colorectal Cancer Cells, Tressie A Posey, Joan Jacob, Ashlyn Parkhurst, Shraddha Subramanian, Liezl E Francisco, Zhengdong Liang, Kendra S Carmon May 2023

Loss Of Lgr5 Through Therapy-Induced Downregulation Or Gene Ablation Is Associated With Resistance And Enhanced Met-Stat3 Signaling In Colorectal Cancer Cells, Tressie A Posey, Joan Jacob, Ashlyn Parkhurst, Shraddha Subramanian, Liezl E Francisco, Zhengdong Liang, Kendra S Carmon

Student and Faculty Publications

Leucine-rich repeat-containing, G protein-coupled receptor 5 (LGR5) is highly expressed in colorectal cancer and cancer stem cells (CSCs) that play important roles in tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis. Loss of LGR5 has been shown to enhance therapy resistance. However, the molecular mechanisms that mediate this resistance remain elusive. In this study, we demonstrate conversion of LGR5+ colorectal cancer cells to an LGR5- state in response to chemotherapy, LGR5- targeted antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), or LGR5 gene ablation led to activation of STAT3. Further investigation revealed increased STAT3 activation occurred as a result of increased mesenchymal epithelial transition (MET) factor receptor activity. …


Comparative Tumor Microenvironment Analysis Of Primary And Recurrent Ovarian Granulosa Cell Tumors, Eleonora Khlebus, Veena K Vuttaradhi, Thomas Welte, Namrata Khurana, Joseph Celestino, Hannah C Beird, Curtis Gumbs, Latasha Little, Alejandra Flores Legarreta, Bryan M Fellman, Tri Nguyen, Barrett Lawson, Sammy Ferri-Borgogno, Samuel C Mok, Russell R Broaddus, David M Gershenson, P Andrew Futreal, R Tyler Hillman May 2023

Comparative Tumor Microenvironment Analysis Of Primary And Recurrent Ovarian Granulosa Cell Tumors, Eleonora Khlebus, Veena K Vuttaradhi, Thomas Welte, Namrata Khurana, Joseph Celestino, Hannah C Beird, Curtis Gumbs, Latasha Little, Alejandra Flores Legarreta, Bryan M Fellman, Tri Nguyen, Barrett Lawson, Sammy Ferri-Borgogno, Samuel C Mok, Russell R Broaddus, David M Gershenson, P Andrew Futreal, R Tyler Hillman

Student and Faculty Publications

Adult-type granulosa cell tumors (aGCT) are rare ovarian sex cord tumors with few effective treatments for recurrent disease. The objective of this study was to characterize the tumor microenvironment (TME) of primary and recurrent aGCTs and to identify correlates of disease recurrence. Total RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed on 24 pathologically confirmed, cryopreserved aGCT samples, including 8 primary and 16 recurrent tumors. After read alignment and quality-control filtering, DESeq2 was used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEG) between primary and recurrent tumors. Functional enrichment pathway analysis and gene set enrichment analysis was performed using “clusterProfiler” and “GSVA” R packages. TME …


Mechanisms Of Chromosomal Instability (Cin) Tolerance In Aggressive Tumors: Surviving The Genomic Chaos, Brittiny Dhital, Veronica Rodriguez-Bravo Apr 2023

Mechanisms Of Chromosomal Instability (Cin) Tolerance In Aggressive Tumors: Surviving The Genomic Chaos, Brittiny Dhital, Veronica Rodriguez-Bravo

Student Papers, Posters & Projects

Chromosomal instability (CIN) is a pervasive feature of human cancers involved in tumor initiation and progression and which is found elevated in metastatic stages. CIN can provide survival and adaptation advantages to human cancers. However, too much of a good thing may come at a high cost for tumor cells as excessive degree of CIN-induced chromosomal aberrations can be detrimental for cancer cell survival and proliferation. Thus, aggressive tumors adapt to cope with ongoing CIN and most likely develop unique susceptibilities that can be their Achilles' heel. Determining the differences between the tumor-promoting and tumor-suppressing effects of CIN at the …


Dna Damage Response-Related Proteins Are Prognostic For Outcome In Both Adult And Pediatric Acute Myelogenous Leukemia Patients: Samples From Adults And From Children Enrolled In A Children's Oncology Group Study, Stefan E Hubner, Eduardo S De Camargo Magalhães, Fieke W Hoff, Brandon D Brown, Yihua Qiu, Terzah M Horton, Steven M Kornblau Mar 2023

Dna Damage Response-Related Proteins Are Prognostic For Outcome In Both Adult And Pediatric Acute Myelogenous Leukemia Patients: Samples From Adults And From Children Enrolled In A Children's Oncology Group Study, Stefan E Hubner, Eduardo S De Camargo Magalhães, Fieke W Hoff, Brandon D Brown, Yihua Qiu, Terzah M Horton, Steven M Kornblau

Student and Faculty Publications

The survival of malignant leukemic cells is dependent on DNA damage repair (DDR) signaling. Reverse Phase Protein Array (RPPA) data sets were assembled using diagnostic samples from 810 adult and 500 pediatric acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) patients and were probed with 412 and 296 strictly validated antibodies, respectively, including those detecting the expression of proteins directly involved in DDR. Unbiased hierarchical clustering identified strong recurrent DDR protein expression patterns in both adult and pediatric AML. Globally, DDR expression was associated with gene mutational statuses and was prognostic for outcomes including overall survival (OS), relapse rate, and remission duration (RD). In …


Reverse Phase Protein Array Profiling Identifies Recurrent Protein Expression Patterns Of Dna Damage-Related Proteins Across Acute And Chronic Leukemia: Samples From Adults And The Children's Oncology Group, Fieke W Hoff, Ti'ara L Griffen, Brandon D Brown, Terzah M Horton, Jan Burger, William Wierda, Stefan E Hubner, Yihua Qiu, Steven M Kornblau Mar 2023

Reverse Phase Protein Array Profiling Identifies Recurrent Protein Expression Patterns Of Dna Damage-Related Proteins Across Acute And Chronic Leukemia: Samples From Adults And The Children's Oncology Group, Fieke W Hoff, Ti'ara L Griffen, Brandon D Brown, Terzah M Horton, Jan Burger, William Wierda, Stefan E Hubner, Yihua Qiu, Steven M Kornblau

Student and Faculty Publications

DNA damage response (DNADR) recognition and repair (DDR) pathways affect carcinogenesis and therapy responsiveness in cancers, including leukemia. We measured protein expression levels of 16 DNADR and DDR proteins using the Reverse Phase Protein Array methodology in acute myeloid (AML) (n = 1310), T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) (n = 361) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (n = 795) cases. Clustering analysis identified five protein expression clusters; three were unique compared to normal CD34+ cells. Individual protein expression differed by disease for 14/16 proteins, with five highest in CLL and nine in T-ALL, and by age in …


Prognostication Of Dna Damage Response Protein Expression Patterns In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Ti'ara L Griffen, Fieke W Hoff, Yihua Qiu, Jan Burger, William Wierda, Steven M Kornblau Mar 2023

Prognostication Of Dna Damage Response Protein Expression Patterns In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Ti'ara L Griffen, Fieke W Hoff, Yihua Qiu, Jan Burger, William Wierda, Steven M Kornblau

Student and Faculty Publications

Proteomic DNA Damage Repair (DDR) expression patterns in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia were characterized by quantifying and clustering 24 total and phosphorylated DDR proteins. Overall, three protein expression patterns (C1-C3) were identified and were associated as an independent predictor of distinct patient overall survival outcomes. Patients within clusters C1 and C2 had poorer survival outcomes and responses to fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituxan chemotherapy compared to patients within cluster C3. However, DDR protein expression patterns were not prognostic in more modern therapies with BCL2 inhibitors or a BTK/PI3K inhibitor. Individually, nine of the DDR proteins were prognostic for predicting overall survival and/or …


Differential Regulation Of H3k9/H3k14 Acetylation By Small Molecules Drives Neuron-Fate-Induction Of Glioma Cell, Xincheng Liu, Cui Guo, Tiandong Leng, Zhen Fan, Jialuo Mai, Jiehong Chen, Jinhai Xu, Qianyi Li, Bin Jiang, Ke Sai, Wenzhuo Yang, Jiayu Gu, Jingyi Wang, Shuxin Sun, Zhijie Chen, Yingqian Zhong, Xuanming Liang, Chaoxin Chen, Jing Cai, Yuan Lin, Jiankai Liang, Jun Hu, Guangmei Yan, Wenbo Zhu, Wei Yin Feb 2023

Differential Regulation Of H3k9/H3k14 Acetylation By Small Molecules Drives Neuron-Fate-Induction Of Glioma Cell, Xincheng Liu, Cui Guo, Tiandong Leng, Zhen Fan, Jialuo Mai, Jiehong Chen, Jinhai Xu, Qianyi Li, Bin Jiang, Ke Sai, Wenzhuo Yang, Jiayu Gu, Jingyi Wang, Shuxin Sun, Zhijie Chen, Yingqian Zhong, Xuanming Liang, Chaoxin Chen, Jing Cai, Yuan Lin, Jiankai Liang, Jun Hu, Guangmei Yan, Wenbo Zhu, Wei Yin

Student and Faculty Publications

Differentiation therapy using small molecules is a promising strategy for improving the prognosis of glioblastoma (GBM). Histone acetylation plays an important role in cell fate determination. Nevertheless, whether histone acetylation in specific sites determines GBM cells fate remains to be explored. Through screening from a 349 small molecule-library, we identified that histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) MS-275 synergized with 8-CPT-cAMP was able to transdifferentiate U87MG GBM cells into neuron-like cells, which were characterized by cell cycle arrest, rich neuron biomarkers, and typical neuron electrophysiology. Intriguingly, acetylation tags of histone 3 at lysine 9 (H3K9ac) were decreased in the promoter of multiple …


Identification Of And Mechanistic Insights Into Sars-Cov-2 Main Protease Non-Covalent Inhibitors: An In-Silico Study, Jian-Xin Shen, Wen-Wen Du, Yuan-Ling Xia, Zhi-Bi Zhang, Ze-Fen Yu, Yun-Xin Fu, Shu-Qun Liu Feb 2023

Identification Of And Mechanistic Insights Into Sars-Cov-2 Main Protease Non-Covalent Inhibitors: An In-Silico Study, Jian-Xin Shen, Wen-Wen Du, Yuan-Ling Xia, Zhi-Bi Zhang, Ze-Fen Yu, Yun-Xin Fu, Shu-Qun Liu

Student and Faculty Publications

The indispensable role of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) in the viral replication cycle and its dissimilarity to human proteases make Mpro a promising drug target. In order to identify the non-covalent Mpro inhibitors, we performed a comprehensive study using a combined computational strategy. We first screened the ZINC purchasable compound database using the pharmacophore model generated from the reference crystal structure of Mpro complexed with the inhibitor ML188. The hit compounds were then filtered by molecular docking and predicted parameters of drug-likeness and pharmacokinetics. The final molecular dynamics (MD) simulations identified three effective candidate inhibitors (ECIs) capable of maintaining …


Harnessing Transcriptionally Driven Chromosomal Instability Adaptation To Target Therapy-Refractory Lethal Prostate Cancer., Brittiny Dhital, Sandra Santasusagna, Perumalraja Kirthika, Michael Xu, Peiyao Li, Marc Carceles-Cordon, Rajesh K. Soni, Zhuoning Li, Ronald C. Hendrickson, Matthew J. Schiewer, William K. Kelly, Cora N. Sternberg, Jun Luo, Amaia Lujambio, Carlos Cordon-Cardo, Monica Alvarez-Fernandez, Marcos Malumbres, Haojie Huang, Adam Ertel, Josep Domingo-Domenech, Veronica Rodriguez-Bravo Feb 2023

Harnessing Transcriptionally Driven Chromosomal Instability Adaptation To Target Therapy-Refractory Lethal Prostate Cancer., Brittiny Dhital, Sandra Santasusagna, Perumalraja Kirthika, Michael Xu, Peiyao Li, Marc Carceles-Cordon, Rajesh K. Soni, Zhuoning Li, Ronald C. Hendrickson, Matthew J. Schiewer, William K. Kelly, Cora N. Sternberg, Jun Luo, Amaia Lujambio, Carlos Cordon-Cardo, Monica Alvarez-Fernandez, Marcos Malumbres, Haojie Huang, Adam Ertel, Josep Domingo-Domenech, Veronica Rodriguez-Bravo

Kimmel Cancer Center Papers, Presentations, and Grand Rounds

Metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) inevitably acquires resistance to standard therapy preceding lethality. Here, we unveil a chromosomal instability (CIN) tolerance mechanism as a therapeutic vulnerability of therapy-refractory lethal PCa. Through genomic and transcriptomic analysis of patient datasets, we find that castration and chemotherapy-resistant tumors display the highest CIN and mitotic kinase levels. Functional genomics screening coupled with quantitative phosphoproteomics identify MASTL kinase as a survival vulnerability specific of chemotherapy-resistant PCa cells. Mechanistically, MASTL upregulation is driven by transcriptional rewiring mechanisms involving the non-canonical transcription factors androgen receptor splice variant 7 and E2F7 in a circuitry that restrains deleterious CIN and …


Inhibition Of Colorectal Cancer Tumorigenesis By Ursolic Acid And Doxorubicin Is Mediated By Targeting The Akt Signaling Pathway And Activating The Hippo Signaling Pathway, Dan Hu, Ruo Yu Meng, Thi Van Nguyen, Ok Hee Chai, Byung Hyun Park, Ju-Seog Lee, Soo Mi Kim Jan 2023

Inhibition Of Colorectal Cancer Tumorigenesis By Ursolic Acid And Doxorubicin Is Mediated By Targeting The Akt Signaling Pathway And Activating The Hippo Signaling Pathway, Dan Hu, Ruo Yu Meng, Thi Van Nguyen, Ok Hee Chai, Byung Hyun Park, Ju-Seog Lee, Soo Mi Kim

Student and Faculty Publications

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the deadliest malignant tumors worldwide and its prevalence is increasing in South Korea. The efficacy of combined treatment with natural product‑derived and chemotherapy agents including curcumin combined with 5‑fluorouracil, resveratrol combined with cisplatin and epigallocatechin‑3‑gallate (EGCG) combined with cisplatin in preventing cancer progression and killing cancer cells has emerged. The Akt and Hippo signaling pathways serve a key role in colorectal tumor growth; however, the exact role of the crosstalk between Akt and Hippo signaling pathways in CRC remains poorly elucidated. The combined effect of UA and DOX on the cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration …


Clonal Hematopoiesis And Risk Of Prostate Cancer In Large Samples Of European Ancestry Men, Anqi Wang, Yili Xu, Yao Yu, Kevin T Nead, Taebeom Kim, Keren Xu, Tokhir Dadaev, Ed Saunders, Xin Sheng, Peggy Wan, Loreall Pooler, Lucy Y Xia, Stephen Chanock, Sonja I Berndt, Susan M Gapstur, Victoria Stevens, Demetrius Albanes, Stephanie J Weinstein, Vincent Gnanapragasam, Graham G Giles, Tu Nguyen-Dumont, Roger L Milne, Mark M Pomerantz, Julie A Schmidt, Konrad H Stopsack, Lorelei A Mucci, William J Catalona, Kurt N Hetrick, Kimberly F Doheny, Robert J Macinnis, Melissa C Southey, Rosalind A Eeles, Fredrik Wiklund, Zsofia Kote-Jarai, Adam J De Smith, David V Conti, Chad Huff, Christopher A Haiman, Burcu F Darst Jan 2023

Clonal Hematopoiesis And Risk Of Prostate Cancer In Large Samples Of European Ancestry Men, Anqi Wang, Yili Xu, Yao Yu, Kevin T Nead, Taebeom Kim, Keren Xu, Tokhir Dadaev, Ed Saunders, Xin Sheng, Peggy Wan, Loreall Pooler, Lucy Y Xia, Stephen Chanock, Sonja I Berndt, Susan M Gapstur, Victoria Stevens, Demetrius Albanes, Stephanie J Weinstein, Vincent Gnanapragasam, Graham G Giles, Tu Nguyen-Dumont, Roger L Milne, Mark M Pomerantz, Julie A Schmidt, Konrad H Stopsack, Lorelei A Mucci, William J Catalona, Kurt N Hetrick, Kimberly F Doheny, Robert J Macinnis, Melissa C Southey, Rosalind A Eeles, Fredrik Wiklund, Zsofia Kote-Jarai, Adam J De Smith, David V Conti, Chad Huff, Christopher A Haiman, Burcu F Darst

Student and Faculty Publications

Little is known regarding the potential relationship between clonal hematopoiesis (CH) of indeterminate potential (CHIP), which is the expansion of hematopoietic stem cells with somatic mutations, and risk of prostate cancer, the fifth leading cause of cancer death of men worldwide. We evaluated the association of age-related CHIP with overall and aggressive prostate cancer risk in two large whole-exome sequencing studies of 75 047 European ancestry men, including 7663 prostate cancer cases, 2770 of which had aggressive disease, and 3266 men carrying CHIP variants. We found that CHIP, defined by over 50 CHIP genes individually and in aggregate, was not …


A Molecular Switch Between Mammalian Mll Complexes Dictates Response To Menin-Mll Inhibition, Yadira M Soto-Feliciano, Francisco J Sánchez-Rivera, Florian Perner, Douglas W Barrows, Edward R Kastenhuber, Yu-Jui Ho, Thomas Carroll, Yijun Xiong, Disha Anand, Alexey A Soshnev, Leah Gates, Mary Clare Beytagh, David Cheon, Shengqing Gu, X Shirley Liu, Andrei V Krivtsov, Maximiliano Meneses, Elisa De Stanchina, Richard M Stone, Scott A Armstrong, Scott W Lowe, C David Allis Jan 2023

A Molecular Switch Between Mammalian Mll Complexes Dictates Response To Menin-Mll Inhibition, Yadira M Soto-Feliciano, Francisco J Sánchez-Rivera, Florian Perner, Douglas W Barrows, Edward R Kastenhuber, Yu-Jui Ho, Thomas Carroll, Yijun Xiong, Disha Anand, Alexey A Soshnev, Leah Gates, Mary Clare Beytagh, David Cheon, Shengqing Gu, X Shirley Liu, Andrei V Krivtsov, Maximiliano Meneses, Elisa De Stanchina, Richard M Stone, Scott A Armstrong, Scott W Lowe, C David Allis

Student and Faculty Publications

Menin interacts with oncogenic MLL1-fusion proteins, and small molecules that disrupt these associations are in clinical trials for leukemia treatment. By integrating chromatin-focused and genome-wide CRISPR screens with genetic, pharmacologic, and biochemical approaches, we discovered a conserved molecular switch between the MLL1-Menin and MLL3/4-UTX chromatin-modifying complexes that dictates response to Menin-MLL inhibitors. MLL1-Menin safeguards leukemia survival by impeding the binding of the MLL3/4-UTX complex at a subset of target gene promoters. Disrupting the Menin-MLL1 interaction triggers UTX-dependent transcriptional activation of a tumor-suppressive program that dictates therapeutic responses in murine and human leukemia. Therapeutic reactivation of this program using CDK4/6 inhibitors …


Subtype And Site Specific-Induced Metabolic Vulnerabilities In Prostate Cancer, Federica Mossa, Daniele Robesti, Ramachandran Sumankalai, Eva Corey, Mark Titus, Yuqi Kang, Jianhua Zhang, Alberto Briganti, Francesco Montorsi, Christopher P Vellano, Joseph R Marszalek, Daniel E Frigo, Christopher J Logothetis, Taranjit S Gujral, Eleonora Dondossola Jan 2023

Subtype And Site Specific-Induced Metabolic Vulnerabilities In Prostate Cancer, Federica Mossa, Daniele Robesti, Ramachandran Sumankalai, Eva Corey, Mark Titus, Yuqi Kang, Jianhua Zhang, Alberto Briganti, Francesco Montorsi, Christopher P Vellano, Joseph R Marszalek, Daniel E Frigo, Christopher J Logothetis, Taranjit S Gujral, Eleonora Dondossola

Student and Faculty Publications

Aberrant metabolic functions play a crucial role in prostate cancer progression and lethality. Currently, limited knowledge is available on subtype-specific metabolic features and their implications for treatment. We therefore investigated the metabolic determinants of the two major subtypes of castration-resistant prostate cancer [androgen receptor-expressing prostate cancer (ARPC) and aggressive variant prostate cancer (AVPC)]. Transcriptomic analyses revealed enrichment of gene sets involved in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in ARPC tumor samples compared with AVPC. Unbiased screening of metabolic signaling pathways in patient-derived xenograft models by proteomic analyses further supported an enrichment of OXPHOS in ARPC compared with AVPC, and a skewing toward …