Drug-Resistance Biomarkers in Patient-Derived Colorectal Cancer Organoid and Fibroblast Co-Culture System.

Colorectal cancer, the third most commonly occurring tumor worldwide, poses challenges owing to its high mortality rate and persistent drug resistance in metastatic cases. We investigated the tumor microenvironment, emphasizing the role of cancer-associated fibroblasts in the progression and chemoresistance of colorectal cancer. We used an indirect co-culture system comprising colorectal cancer organoids and cancer-associated fibroblasts to simulate the tumor microenvironment. Immunofluorescence staining validated the characteristics of both organoids and fibroblasts, showing high expression of epithelial cell markers (EPCAM), colon cancer markers (CK20), proliferation markers (KI67), and fibroblast markers (VIM, SMA). Transcriptome profiling was conducted after treatment with anticancer drugs, such as 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin, to identify chemoresistance-related genes. Changes in gene expression in the co-cultured colorectal cancer organoids following anticancer drug treatment, compared to monocultured organoids, particularly in pathways related to interferon-alpha/beta signaling and major histocompatibility complex class II protein complex assembly, were identified. These two gene groups potentially mediate drug resistance associated with JAK/STAT signaling. The interaction between colorectal cancer organoids and fibroblasts crucially modulates the expression of genes related to drug resistance. These findings suggest that the interaction between colorectal cancer organoids and fibroblasts significantly influences gene expression related to drug resistance, highlighting potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for overcoming chemoresistance. Enhanced understanding of the interactions between cancer cells and their microenvironment can lead to advancements in personalized medical research..

SLC3A2 and SLC7A2 Mediate the Exogenous Putrescine-Induced Adipocyte Differentiation.

Exogenous polyamines are able to induce life span and improve glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity. However, the effects of exogenous polyamines on adipocyte differentiation and which polyamine transporters mediate them have not been elucidated yet. Here, we identified for the first time that exogenous polyamines can clearly stimulate adipocyte differentiation through polyamine transporters, solute carrier family 3 member A2 (SLC3A2) and SLC7A1. Exogenous polyamines markedly promote 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation by increasing the intracellular lipid accumulation and the expression of both adipogenic and lipogenic genes in a concentration-dependent manner. In particular, exogenous putrescine mainly regulates adipocyte differentiation in the early and intermediate stages. Moreover, we have assessed the expression of polyamine transporter genes in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and adipocytes. Interestingly, the putrescine-induced adipocyte differentiation was found to be significantly suppressed in response to a treatment with a polyamine transporter inhibitor (AMXT-1501). Furthermore, knockdown experiments using siRNA that specifically targeted SLC3A2 or SLC7A2, revealed that both SLC3A2 and SLC7A2 act as important transporters in the cellular importing of exogenous putrescine. Thus, the exogenous putrescine entering the adipocytes via cellular transporters is involved in adipogenesis through a modulation of both the mitotic clonal expansion and the expression of master transcription factors. Taken together, these results suggest that exogenous polyamines (such as putrescine) entering the adipocytes through polyamine transporters, can stimulate adipogenesis.

Cell-line dependency in cerebral organoid induction: cautionary observations in Alzheimer's disease patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells.

The cerebral organoid (CO) model has been used in the study of various neurodegenerative diseases owing to its physiological implications. However, the CO model may only be representative of certain clinical findings in affected patients, while some features are not recapitulated. In this study, we found that neurons in the CO model from patients with Alzheimer's disease were less responsive to depolarization, in contrast to previous reports. This difference may be partly attributed to the variations in brain spatial identity depending on the genetic background of the induced pluripotent stem cells. Our current observation raises concerns that the phenotypes observed in the CO model need to be carefully evaluated for their clinical implications.

Ablation of Rassf2 induces bone defects and subsequent haematopoietic anomalies in mice.

RASSF2 belongs to the Ras-association domain family (RASSF) of proteins, which may be involved in the Hippo signalling pathway. However, the role of RASSF2 in vivo is unknown. Here, we show that Rassf2 knockout mice manifest a multisystemic phenotype including haematopoietic anomalies and defects in bone remodelling. Bone marrow (BM) transplantation showed that Rassf2(-/-) BM cells had a normal haematopoietic reconstitution activity, indicating no intrinsic haematopoietic defects. Notably, in vitro differentiation studies revealed that ablation of Rassf2 suppressed osteoblastogenesis but promoted osteoclastogenesis. Co-culture experiments showed that an intrinsic defect in osteoblast differentiation from Rassf2(-/-) osteoblast precursors likely leads to both haematopoiesis and osteoclast defects in Rassf2(-/-) mice. Moreover, Rassf2 deficiency resulted in hyperactivation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB during both osteoclast and osteoblast differentiation. RASSF2 associated with IκB kinase (IKK) α and ß forms, and suppressed IKK activity. Introduction of either RASSF2 or a dominant-negative form of IKK into Rassf2(-/-) osteoclast or osteoblast precursors inhibited NF-κB hyperactivation and normalized osteoclast and osteoblast differentiation. These observations indicate that RASSF2 regulates osteoblast and osteoclast differentiation by inhibiting NF-κB signalling.

The protease inhibitor, elafin, induces p53-dependent apoptosis in human melanoma cells.

Expression of the protease inhibitor elafin is deregulated in several human cancers. However, functions of the protein in cancer are yet to be established. Here, we show that elafin elicits pro-apoptotic effects in melanoma cells but not in normal melanocytes. Elafin triggered the intrinsic apoptotic pathway as evidenced by the increased caspase 9 activity and unaltered caspase 8 activity. Caspase 9-specific siRNA, but not caspase 8-specific siRNA, dramatically abrogated elafin-induced apoptosis. Elevated level of p53 was observed, resulting in increased transcriptional activation and consequent expression of downstream effector molecules (Bax, Puma, Noxa, p21). Moreover, the apoptotic effect of elafin was inhibited by p53-specific siRNA and the p53 inhibitor pifithrin-alpha. Elafin treatment of xenograft mice of melanoma cells led to significantly smaller tumor sizes compared with those of untreated control mice. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed decreased elafin expression in melanoma tissue specimens. Western blot and reverse transcription analyses indicated transcriptional repression of the elafin gene in melanoma cells. Our results collectively indicate that elafin induces apoptosis in melanoma cells through a p53-dependent intrinsic apoptotic pathway, and that repression of elafin expression in melanoma may contribute to disease progression.

Mst1-FoxO signaling protects Naïve T lymphocytes from cellular oxidative stress in mice.

BACKGROUND: The Ste-20 family kinase Hippo restricts cell proliferation and promotes apoptosis for proper organ development in Drosophila. In C. elegans, Hippo homolog also regulates longevity. The mammalian Ste20-like protein kinase, Mst1, plays a role in apoptosis induced by various types of apoptotic stress. Mst1 also regulates peripheral naïve T cell trafficking and proliferation in mice. However, its functions in mammals are not fully understood. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we report that the Mst1-FoxO signaling pathway plays a crucial role in survival, but not apoptosis, of naïve T cells. In Mst1(-/-) mice, peripheral T cells showed impaired FoxO1/3 activation and decreased FoxO protein levels. Consistently, the FoxO targets, Sod2 and catalase, were significantly down-regulated in Mst1(-/-) T cells, thereby resulting in elevated levels of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and induction of apoptosis. Expression of constitutively active FoxO3a restored Mst1(-/-) T cell survival. Crossing Mst1 transgenic mice (Mst1 Tg) with Mst1(-/-) mice reduced ROS levels and restored normal numbers of peripheral naïve T cells in Mst1 Tg;Mst1(-/-) progeny. Interestingly, peripheral T cells from Mst1(-/-) mice were hypersensitive to gamma-irradiation and paraquat-induced oxidative stresses, whereas those from Mst1 Tg mice were resistant. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These data support the hypothesis that tolerance to increased levels of intracellular ROS provided by the Mst1-FoxOs signaling pathway is crucial for the maintenance of naïve T cell homeostasis in the periphery.

A quantitative trait locus on chromosome 4 affects cycling of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells through regulation of TGF-beta 2 responsiveness.

The hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) compartment is subject to extensive quantitative genetic variation. We have previously shown that TGF-beta2 at low concentrations enhances flt3 ligand-induced growth of HSPCs, while it is potently antiproliferative at higher concentrations. This in vitro enhancing effect was subject to quantitative genetic variation, for which a quantitative trait locus (QTL) was tentatively mapped to chromosome 4 (chr.4). Tgfb2(+/-) mice have a smaller and more slowly cycling HSPC compartment, which has a decreased serial repopulation capacity, and are less susceptible to the lethal effect of high doses of 5-fluorouracil. To unequivocally demonstrate that these phenotypes can be attributed to the enhancing effect of TGF-beta2 on HSPC proliferation observed in vitro and are therefore subject to mouse strain-dependent variation as well, we generated congenic mice where the telomeric region of chr.4 was introgressed from DBA/2 into C57BL/6 mice. In these mice, the enhancing effect of TGF-beta2 on flt3 signaling, but not the generic antiproliferative effect of high concentrations of TGF-beta2, was abrogated, confirming the location of this QTL, which we named tb2r1, on chr.4. These mice shared a smaller and more slowly cycling HSPC compartment and increased 5-fluorouracil resistance but not a decreased serial repopulation capacity with Tgfb2(+/-) mice. The concordance of phenotypes between Tgfb2(+/-) and congenic mice indicates that HSPC frequency and cycling are regulated by tb2r1, while an additional QTL in the telomeric region of chr.4 may regulate the serial repopulation capacity of hematopoietic stem cells.

T-type calcium channel trigger p21ras signaling pathway to ERK in Cav3.1-expressed HEK293 cells.

We constructed a new cell line which stably expressed Cav3.1 and Kir2.1 subunits in HEK293 cells (HEK293/Cav3.1/Kir2.1) in order to investigate the unknown cellular signaling pathways of T-type voltage-dependent calcium channels. The new cell line has a stable resting membrane potential and can activate T-type Ca(2+) channels by KCl-mediated depolarization. We showed that Cav3.1 activation resulted in the level of p21(ras)-GTP in the cells being rapidly decreased during the first 2 min, and then recovering between 2 min and 15 min. The kinetics of ERK activation following Cav3.1 stimulation was also investigated. ERK activation was decreased from 2 min to 5 min after KCl stimulation, which means that Cav3.1 activation reduced ERK activity in the very early stages of activation. In addition, similar results for Cav3.1 activation were also shown in the case of Sos1, Grb2, and Shc, which means that Cav3.1 activation triggers p21(ras) and that this signal is transferred to ERK by Sos1, Grb2, and Shc.

The biochemical activation of T-type Ca2+ channels in HEK293 cells stably expressing alpha1G and Kir2.1 subunits.

In order to investigate the currently unknown cellular signaling pathways of T-type Ca(2+) channels, we decided to construct a new cell line which would stably express alpha(1G) and Kir2.1 subunits in HEK293 cells (HEK293/alpha(1G)/Kir2.1). Compared to cells which only expressed alpha(1G) (HEK293/alpha(1G)), HEK293/alpha(1G)/Kir2.1 cells produced an enormous inward rectifying current which was blocked by external Ba(2+) and Cs(+) in a concentration-dependent manner. The expression of Kir2.1 channels contributed significantly to the shift of membrane potential from -12.2+/-2.8 to -57.3+/-3.7mV. However, biophysical and pharmacological properties of alpha(1G)-mediated Ca(2+) channels remained unaffected by the expression of Kir2.1 subunits, except for the enlarging of the window current region. Biochemical activation of alpha(1G) channels using 150mM KCl brought about an increase in [Ca(2+)](i), which was blocked by mibefradil, the T-type Ca(2+) channel blocker. These data suggest that the HEK293/alpha(1G)/Kir2.1 cell line would have potential uses in the study of T-type Ca(2)(+) channel-mediated signaling pathways and possibly useful in the development of new therapeutic drugs associated with T-type Ca(2)(+) channels.

Molecular cloning and characterization of an NADPH quinone oxidoreductase from Kluyveromyces marxianus.

NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase is a ubiquitous enzyme that is known to directly reduce quinone substrates to hydroquinones by a two-electron reaction. We report the identification of NADPH quinone oxidoreductase from Kluyveromyces marxianus (KmQOR), which reduces quinone substrates directly to hydroquinones. The KmQOR gene was sequenced, expressed in Escherichia coli, purified, and characterized. The open-reading frame of the KmQOR gene consists of 1143 nucleotides, encoding a 380 amino acid polypeptide. The nucleotide sequence of the KmQOR gene was assigned to EMBL under accession number AY040868. The M(r) that was determined by SDS-PAGE for the protein subunit was about 42 kDa, and the molecular mass of the native KmQOR was 84 kDa, as determined by column calibration, indicating that the native protein is a homodimer. The KmQOR protein efficiently reduced 1,4-benzoquinone, whereas no activities were found for menadiones and methoxyquinones. These observations, and the result of an extended sequence analysis of known NADPH quinone oxidoreductase, suggest that KmQOR possesses a different action mechanism.

Association of hepatitis B virus polymerase with promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies mediated by the S100 family protein p11.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) polymerase (Pol) interacts with cellular chaperone proteins and thereby performs multiple functions necessary for viral replication. Yeast two-hybrid analysis was applied to identify additional cellular targets required for HBV Pol function. HBV Pol interacted with S100A10 (p11), a Ca(2+)-modulated protein previously shown to bind to annexin II. The interaction between HBV Pol and p11 was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation of the two proteins synthesized either in vitro or in transfected cells and by inhibition of the DNA polymerase activity of HBV Pol by p11. Immunofluorescence analysis of transfected human cell lines revealed that, although most HBV Pol and p11 was restricted to the cytoplasm, a small proportion of each protein colocalized as nuclear speckles; HBV Pol was not detected in the nucleus in the absence of p11. The HBV Pol-p11 nuclear speckles coincided with nuclear bodies containing the promyelocytic leukemia protein PML. Furthermore, the association of HBV Pol-p11 with PML was increased by exposure of cells to EGTA and inhibited by valinomycin. These results suggest a role for p11 in modulation of HBV Pol function and implicate PML nuclear bodies and intracellular Ca(2+) in viral replication.

Expression of the active human and duck hepatitis B virus polymerases in heterologous system of Pichia methanolica.

We expressed the Hepatitis B virus polymerase (HBV P protein) using a recently introduced yeast system, Pichia methanolica. HBV (1-680 amino acids) and Duck Hepatitis B virus (DHBV, 1-780 amino acids) polymerase were expressed and showed DNA dependent DNA polymerase (DDDP). The DHBV polymerase had RNA dependent DNA polymerase (RDDP) and RNase H activities. We present a new simplified way of obtaining active viral P protein using the yeast expression system. The viral P proteins proved to be stable and were not aggregated in the yeast system.