Exosomes of invasive urothelial carcinoma cells are characterized by a specific miRNA expression signature.

Muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) represents a highly aggressive tumor type compared to non-muscle-invasive tumors. MIBC is characterized by specific molecular alterations, which may also modulate extracellular tumorigenic effects. Tumor-associated exosomes, especially exosomal miRNAs, are important regulators in the interaction between tumor cells and tumor microenvironment by affecting tumor-promoting processes in target cells. It is important to analyze whether their exosomal patterns also reflect the specific molecular characteristics of MIBC. The aim of this study was to compare the miRNA expression in secreted exosomes from urinary bladder cancer cells (UBC) with different degrees of invasiveness. By electron microscopy, nanotracking analysis and western blot we proofed a high quality of isolated exosomes. Microarray analysis identified an invasion-associated signature of 15 miRNAs, which is significantly altered in exosomes of invasive UBC compared to non-invasive counterparts. Therefrom, 9 miRNAs are consistent differently expressed in both, invasive cells and their secreted exosomes. The remaining 6 exosome-specific miRNAs are only deregulated in exosomes but not in their parental cells. MiRNA alterations were verified by qPCR in cell culture and urinary exosomes. In conclusion, we showed that exosomes from invasive UBC cells are characterized by a specific miRNA signature. Further analyses have to clarify the functional relevance of exosomal miRNAs secreted by invasive bladder cancer cells for modification of the tumor microenvironment and their putative role as molecular markers in liquid biopsies.

Profiling of long non-coding RNAs identifies LINC00958 and LINC01296 as candidate oncogenes in bladder cancer.

Aberrant expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been regarded as a critical component in bladder cancer (BC) and lncRNAs have been associated with BC development and progression although their overall expression and functional significance is still unclear. The aim of our study was to identify novel lncRNAs with a functional role in BC carcinogenesis. RNA-sequencing was used to identify aberrantly expressed lncRNAs in 8 normal and 72 BC samples. We identified 89 lncRNAs that were significantly dys-regulated in BC. Five lncRNAs; LINC00958, LINC01296, LINC00355, LNC-CMC1-1 and LNC-ALX1-2 were selected for further analyses. Silencing of LINC00958 or LINC01296 in vitro reduced both cell viability and migration. Knock-down of LINC00958 also affected invasion and resistance to anoikis. These cellular effects could be linked to direct/indirect regulation of protein coding mRNAs involved in cell death/survival, proliferation and cellular movement. Finally, we showed that LINC00958 binds proteins involved in regulation and initiation of translation and in post-transcriptional modification of RNA, including Metadherin, which has previously been associated with BC. Our analyses identified novel lncRNAs in BC that likely act as oncogenic drivers contributing to an aggressive cancerous phenotype likely through interaction with proteins involved in initiation of translation and/or post-transcriptional modification of RNA.

miRNA profiling of circulating EpCAM(+) extracellular vesicles: promising biomarkers of colorectal cancer.

Cancer cells secrete small membranous extracellular vesicles (EVs) into their microenvironment and circulation. These contain biomolecules, including proteins and microRNAs (miRNAs). Both circulating EVs and miRNAs have received much attention as biomarker candidates for non-invasive diagnostics. Here we describe a sensitive analytical method for isolation and subsequent miRNA profiling of epithelial-derived EVs from blood samples of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). The epithelial-derived EVs were isolated by immunoaffinity-capture using the epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) as marker. This approach mitigates some of the specificity issues observed in earlier studies of circulating miRNAs, in particular the negative influence of miRNAs released by erythrocytes, platelets and non-epithelial cells. By applying this method to 2 small-scale patient cohorts, we showed that blood plasma isolated from CRC patients prior to surgery contained elevated levels of 13 EpCAM(+)-EV miRNAs compared with healthy individuals. Upon surgical tumour removal, the plasma levels of 8 of these were reduced (miR-16-5p, miR-23a-3p, miR-23b-3p, miR-27a-3p, miR-27b-3p, miR-30b-5p, miR-30c-5p and miR-222-3p). These findings indicate that the miRNAs are of tumour origin and may have potential as non-invasive biomarkers for detection of CRC. This work describes a non-invasive blood-based method for sensitive detection of cancer with potential for clinical use in relation to diagnosis and screening. We used the method to study CRC; however, it is not restricted to this disease. It may in principle be used to study any cancer that release epithelial-derived EVs into circulation.

Tumour exosomes display differential mechanical and complement activation properties dependent on malignant state: implications in endothelial leakiness.

BACKGROUND: Exosomes have been implicated in tumour progression and metastatic spread. Little is known of the effect of mechanical and innate immune interactions of malignant cell-derived exosomes on endothelial integrity, which may relate to increased extravasation of circulating tumour cells and, therefore, increased metastatic spread. METHODS: Exosomes isolated from non-malignant immortalized HCV-29 and isogenic malignant non-metastatic T24 and malignant metastatic FL3 bladder cells were characterized by nanoparticle tracking analysis and quantitative nanomechanical mapping atomic force microscopy (QNM AFM) to determine size and nanomechanical properties. Effect of HCV-29, T24 and FL3 exosomes on human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) monolayer integrity was determined by transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) measurements and transport was determined by flow cytometry. Complement activation studies in human serum of malignant and non-malignant cell-derived exosomes were performed. RESULTS: FL3, T24 and HCV-29 cells produced exosomes at similar concentration per cell (6.64, 6.61 and 6.46×10(4) exosomes per cell for FL3, T24 and HCV-29 cells, respectively) and of similar size (120.2 nm for FL3, 127.6 nm for T24 and 117.9 nm for HCV-29, respectively). T24 and FL3 cell-derived exosomes exhibited a markedly reduced stiffness, 95 MPa and 280 MPa, respectively, compared with 1,527 MPa with non-malignant HCV-29 cell-derived exosomes determined by QNM AFM. FL3 and T24 exosomes induced endothelial disruption as measured by a decrease in TEER in HUVEC monolayers, whereas no effect was observed for HCV-29 derived exosomes. FL3 and T24 exosomes traffic more readily (11.6 and 21.4% of applied exosomes, respectively) across HUVEC monolayers than HCV-29 derived exosomes (7.2% of applied exosomes). Malignant cell-derived exosomes activated complement through calcium-sensitive pathways in a concentration-dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS: Malignant (metastatic and non-metastatic) cell line exosomes display a markedly reduced stiffness and adhesion but an increased complement activation compared to non-malignant cell line exosomes, which may explain the observed increased endothelial monolayer disruption and transendothelial transport of these vesicles.

Cellular disposal of miR23b by RAB27-dependent exosome release is linked to acquisition of metastatic properties.

Exosomes are small secreted vesicles that can transfer their content to recipient cells. In cancer, exosome secretion has been implicated in tumor growth and metastatic spread. In this study, we explored the possibility that exosomal pathways might discard tumor-suppressor miRNA that restricts metastatic progression. Secreted miRNA characterized from isogenic bladder carcinoma cell lines with differing metastatic potential were uncoupled from binding to target transcripts or the AGO2-miRISC complex. In metastatic cells, we observed a relative increase in secretion of miRNA with tumor-suppressor functions, including miR23b, miR224, and miR921. Ectopic expression of miR23b inhibited invasion, anoikis, angiogenesis, and pulmonary metastasis. Silencing of the exocytotic RAB family members RAB27A or RAB27B halted miR23b and miR921 secretion and reduced cellular invasion. Clinically, elevated levels of RAB27B expression were linked to poor prognosis in two independent cohorts of patients with bladder cancer. Moreover, highly exocytosed miRNA from metastatic cells, such as miR23b, were reduced in lymph node metastases compared with patient-matched primary tumors and were correlated with increments in miRNA-targeted RNA. Taken together, our results suggested that exosome-mediated secretion of tumor-suppressor miRNA is selected during tumor progression as a mechanism to coordinate activation of a metastatic cascade.

Hypermethylation of the GABRE~miR-452~miR-224 promoter in prostate cancer predicts biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy.

PURPOSE: Available tools for prostate cancer diagnosis and prognosis are suboptimal and novel biomarkers are urgently needed. Here, we investigated the regulation and biomarker potential of the GABRE∼miR-452∼miR-224 genomic locus. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: GABRE/miR-452/miR-224 transcriptional expression was quantified in 80 nonmalignant and 281 prostate cancer tissue samples. GABRE∼miR-452∼miR-224 promoter methylation was determined by methylation-specific qPCR (MethyLight) in 35 nonmalignant, 293 prostate cancer [radical prostatectomy (RP) cohort 1] and 198 prostate cancer tissue samples (RP cohort 2). Diagnostic/prognostic biomarker potential of GABRE∼miR-452∼miR-224 methylation was evaluated by ROC, Kaplan-Meier, uni- and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Functional roles of miR-224 and miR-452 were investigated in PC3 and DU145 cells by viability, migration, and invasion assays and gene-set enrichment analysis (GSEA) of posttransfection transcriptional profiling data. RESULTS: GABRE∼miR-452∼miR-224 was significantly downregulated in prostate cancer compared with nonmalignant prostate tissue and had highly cancer-specific aberrant promoter hypermethylation (AUC = 0.98). Functional studies and GSEA suggested that miR-224 and miR-452 inhibit proliferation, migration, and invasion of PC3 and DU145 cells by direct/indirect regulation of pathways related to the cell cycle and cellular adhesion and motility. Finally, in uni- and multivariate analyses, high GABRE∼miR-452∼miR-224 promoter methylation was significantly associated with biochemical recurrence in RP cohort 1, which was successfully validated in RP cohort 2. CONCLUSION: The GABRE∼miR-452∼miR-224 locus is downregulated and hypermethylated in prostate cancer and is a new promising epigenetic candidate biomarker for prostate cancer diagnosis and prognosis. Tumor-suppressive functions of the intronic miR-224 and miR-452 were demonstrated in two prostate cancer cell lines, suggesting that epigenetic silencing of GABRE∼miR-452∼miR-224 may be selected for in prostate cancer.

Quantitative proteomics of fractionated membrane and lumen exosome proteins from isogenic metastatic and nonmetastatic bladder cancer cells reveal differential expression of EMT factors.

Cancer cells secrete soluble factors and various extracellular vesicles, including exosomes, into their tissue microenvironment. The secretion of exosomes is speculated to facilitate local invasion and metastatic spread. Here, we used an in vivo metastasis model of human bladder carcinoma cell line T24 without metastatic capacity and its two isogenic derivate cell lines SLT4 and FL3, which form metastases in the lungs and liver of mice, respectively. Cultivation in CLAD1000 bioreactors rather than conventional culture flasks resulted in a 13- to 16-fold increased exosome yield and facilitated quantitative proteomics of fractionated exosomes. Exosomes from T24, SLT4, and FL3 cells were partitioned into membrane and luminal fractions and changes in protein abundance related to the gain of metastatic capacity were identified by quantitative iTRAQ proteomics. We identified several proteins linked to epithelial-mesenchymal transition, including increased abundance of vimentin and hepatoma-derived growth factor in the membrane, and casein kinase II α and annexin A2 in the lumen of exosomes, respectively, from metastatic cells. The change in exosome protein abundance correlated little, although significant for FL3 versus T24, with changes in cellular mRNA expression. Our proteomic approach may help identification of proteins in the membrane and lumen of exosomes potentially involved in the metastatic process.

miRNAs associated with chemo-sensitivity in cell lines and in advanced bladder cancer.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNA is a naturally occurring class of non-coding RNA molecules that mediate posttranscriptional gene regulation and are strongly implicated in cellular processes such as cell proliferation, carcinogenesis, cell survival and apoptosis. Consequently there is increasing focus on miRNA expression as prognostic factors for outcome and chemotherapy response. Only approximately 50% of patients with bladder cancer respond to chemotherapy. Therefore, predictive markers, such as miRNAs, that can identify subgroups of patients who will benefit from chemotherapy will have great value for treatment guidance. METHODS: We profiled the expression of 671 miRNAs in formalin fixed paraffin embedded tumors from patients with advanced bladder cancer treated with cisplatin based chemotherapy. We delineated differentially expressed miRNAs in tumors from patients with complete response vs. patients with progressive disease and in tumors form patients with short and long overall survival time. Furthermore, we studied the effect of up- and down regulation of key miRNAs on the cisplatin sensitivity in eight bladder cancer cell lines with different sensitivities to cisplatin. RESULTS: miRNA expression profiling identified 15 miRNAs that correlated with response to chemotherapy and 5 miRNAs that correlated with survival time. Three miRNAs were associated with both response and survival (886-3p, 923, 944). By changing the cellular level of the response-identified miRNAs in eight bladder cell lines with different cisplatin sensitivity we found that down-regulation of miR-27a, miR296-5p and miR-642 generally reduced the cell viability, whereas up-regulation of miR-138 and miR-886-3p reduced the viability of more than half of the cell lines. Decreasing miR-138 increased the cisplatin sensitivity in half of the cell lines and increasing miR-27a and miR-642 generally increased cisplatin sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: MiRNAs seem to be involved in cisplatin based chemo response and may form a new target for therapy and serve as biomarkers for treatment response.

Anti-cancer agent siramesine is a lysosomotropic detergent that induces cytoprotective autophagosome accumulation.

A sigma-2 receptor ligand siramesine induces lysosomal leakage and cathepsin-dependent death of cancer cells in vitro and displays potent anti-cancer activity in vivo. The mechanism by which siramesine destabilizes lysosomes is, however, unknown. Here, we show that siramesine induces a rapid rise in the lysosomal pH that is followed by lysosomal leakage and dysfunction. The rapid accumulation of siramesine into cancer cell lysosomes, its ability to destabilize isolated lysosomes, and its chemical structure as an amphiphilic amine indicate that it is a lysosomotropic detergent. Notably, siramesine triggers also a substantial Atg6- and Atg7-dependent accumulation of autophagosomes that is associated with a rapid and sustained inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1; an inhibitor of autophagy). Siramesine fails, however, to increase the degradation rate of long-lived proteins. Thus, the massive accumulation of autophagosomes is likely to be due to a combined effect of activation of autophagy signaling and decreased autophagosome turnover. Importantly, pharmacological and RNA interference-based inhibition of autophagosome formation further sensitizes cancer cells to siramesine-induced cytotoxicity. These data identify siramesine as a lysosomotropic detergent that triggers cell death via a direct destabilization of lysosomes and cytoprotection by inducing the accumulation of autophagosomes. Threrefore, the combination of siramesine with inhibitors of autophagosome formation appears as a promising approach for future cancer therapy.

Vincristine induces dramatic lysosomal changes and sensitizes cancer cells to lysosome-destabilizing siramesine.

Vincristine is a microtubule-destabilizing antimitotic drug that has been used in cancer therapy for over 40 years. However, the knowledge on vincristine-induced cell death pathways is still sparse. Here, we show that vincristine induces dramatic changes in the lysosomal compartment and sensitizes cells to lysosomal membrane permeabilization. In HeLa cervix carcinoma cells, vincristine induced mitotic arrest and massive cell death associated with an early increase in the lysosomal volume and lysosomal leakage followed by the activation of the intrinsic apoptosis program. In contrast, the majority of vincristine-treated MCF-7 breast carcinoma cells resisted apoptosis. Instead, they adapted to the spindle assembly checkpoint and escaped the mitotic arrest as micronucleated and senescent cells with an increase in the volume and the activity of their lysosomal compartment. Consistent with its substantial effects on the lysosomes, vincristine greatly sensitized cultured cancer cells as well as orthotopic breast cancer xenografts in mice to the cytotoxicity induced by siramesine, a sigma-2 receptor ligand that kills cancer cells by destabilizing their lysosomes. Importantly, the combination of nontoxic concentrations of vincristine and siramesine resulted in massive cell death even in MCF-7 cells that were capable of escaping vincristine-induced spindle assembly checkpoint and cell death. Similar synergism was observed when siramesine was combined with a semisynthetic vincristine analogue, vinorelbine, or with microtubule-stabilizing paclitaxel. These data strongly suggest that combination therapies consisting of microtubule-disturbing and lysosome-destabilizing drugs may prove useful in the treatment of otherwise therapy-resistant human cancers.

Lens epithelium-derived growth factor is an Hsp70-2 regulated guardian of lysosomal stability in human cancer.

Heat shock protein 70-2 (Hsp70-2) is a chaperone protein essential for the growth of spermatocytes and cancer cells. Here, we show that Hsp70-2 depletion triggers lysosomal membrane permeabilization and cathepsin-dependent cell death and identify lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF) as an Hsp70-2-regulated guardian of lysosomal stability in human cancer. Knockdown of LEDGF in cancer cells induces destabilization of lysosomal membranes followed by caspase-independent and Bcl-2-resistant cell death. Accordingly, ectopic LEDGF stabilizes lysosomes and protects cancer cells against cytotoxicity induced by anticancer agents that trigger the lysosomal cell death pathway. Remarkably, ectopic LEDGF also increases the tumorigenic potential of human cancer cells in immunodeficient mice, and LEDGF expression is increased in human breast and bladder carcinomas correlating with that of Hsp70-2 in invasive bladder cancer. Taken together, these data reveal LEDGF as an oncogenic protein that controls a caspase-independent lysosomal cell death pathway.

Effective tumor cell death by sigma-2 receptor ligand siramesine involves lysosomal leakage and oxidative stress.

Acquired resistance to classic caspase-mediated apoptosis is a common problem for the treatment of human cancer. Here, we show that siramesine, a novel sigma-2 receptor ligand, effectively induces caspase-independent programmed cell death in immortalized and transformed cells of various origins. Siramesine-treated tumor cells displayed increased levels of reactive oxygen species, lysosomal membrane permeabilization, chromatin condensation, and shrinkage and detachment of cells. Lipid antioxidants (alpha-tocopherol and gamma-tocopherol), but not other tested antioxidants (butylated hydroxyanisol or N-acetyl cysteine), effectively inhibited siramesine-induced morphologic changes and cell death. Cathepsin B inhibitors (CA-074-Me and R-2525) conferred similar, but less pronounced protection, whereas ectopic expression of antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2, lack of wild-type p53 as well as pharmacologic inhibitors of caspases (zVAD-fmk, DEVD-CHO, and LEHD-CHO), calpains (PD150606), and serine proteases (N-tosyl-L-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone and pefabloc) failed to protect cells against siramesine-induced death. Importantly, transformation of murine embryonic fibroblasts with activated c-src or v-Ha-ras oncogenes greatly sensitized them to siramesine-induced cytotoxicity. Furthermore, p.o. administration of well-tolerated doses of siramesine had a significant antitumorigenic effect in orthotopic breast cancer and s.c. fibrosarcoma models in mice. These results present siramesine as a promising new drug for the treatment of tumors resistant to traditional therapies.