Mismatch repair protein MLH1 suppresses replicative stress in BRCA2-deficient breast tumors.

Loss of BRCA2 (breast cancer 2) is lethal for normal cells. Yet it remains poorly understood how, in BRCA2 mutation carriers, cells undergoing loss of heterozygosity overcome the lethality and undergo tissue-specific neoplastic transformation. Here, we identified mismatch repair gene mutL homolog 1 (MLH1) as a genetic interactor of BRCA2 whose overexpression supports the viability of Brca2-null cells. Mechanistically, we showed that MLH1 interacts with Flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) and competes to process the RNA flaps of Okazaki fragments. Together, they restrained the DNA2 nuclease activity on the reversed forks of lagging strands, leading to replication fork (RF) stability in BRCA2-deficient cells. In these cells, MLH1 also attenuated R-loops, allowing the progression of stable RFs, which suppressed genomic instability and supported cell viability. We demonstrated the significance of their genetic interaction by the lethality of Brca2-mutant mice and inhibition of Brca2-deficient tumor growth in mice by Mlh1 loss. Furthermore, we described estrogen as inducing MLH1 expression through estrogen receptor α (ERα), which might explain why the majority of BRCA2 mutation carriers develop ER-positive breast cancer. Taken together, our findings reveal a role of MLH1 in relieving replicative stress and show how it may contribute to the establishment of BRCA2-deficient breast tumors.

Stabilization of E-cadherin adhesions by COX-2/GSK3ß signaling is a targetable pathway in metastatic breast cancer.

Metastatic progression of epithelial cancers can be associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) including transcriptional inhibition of E-cadherin (CDH1) expression. Recently, EM plasticity (EMP) and E-cadherin-mediated, cluster-based metastasis and treatment resistance have become more appreciated. However, the mechanisms that maintain E-cadherin expression in this context are less understood. Through studies of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) and a 3D tumor cell "emboli" culture paradigm, we discovered that cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2; PTGS2), a target gene of C/EBPδ (CEBPD), or its metabolite prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) promotes protein stability of E-cadherin, ß-catenin, and p120 catenin through inhibition of GSK3ß. The COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib downregulated E-cadherin complex proteins and caused cell death. Coexpression of E-cadherin and COX-2 was seen in breast cancer tissues from patients with poor outcome and, along with inhibitory GSK3ß phosphorylation, in patient-derived xenografts (PDX) including triple negative breast cancer (TNBC).Celecoxib alone decreased E-cadherin protein expression within xenograft tumors, though CDH1 mRNA levels increased, and reduced circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters. In combination with paclitaxel, celecoxib attenuated or regressed lung metastases. This study has uncovered a mechanism by which metastatic breast cancer cells can maintain E-cadherin-mediated cell-to-cell adhesions and cell survival, suggesting that some patients with COX-2+/E-cadherin+ breast cancer may benefit from targeting of the PGE2 signaling pathway.

Vav1 Regulates Mesenchymal Stem Cell Differentiation Decision Between Adipocyte and Chondrocyte via Sirt1.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stromal cells residing in the bone marrow. MSCs have the potential to differentiate to adipocytes, chondrocytes, and other types of cells. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanism that controls MSC cell fate decisions for differentiation. We found that Vav1, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Rho GTPase, was highly expressed in MSCs. Interestingly, loss of Vav1 in MSCs led to spontaneous adipogenic but impaired chondrogenic differentiation, and accordingly Vav1 null mice displayed an increase in fat content and a decrease in cartilage. Conversely, ectopic expression of Vav1 in MSCs reversed this phenotype, and led to enhanced MSC differentiation into chondrocyte but retarded adipogenesis. Mechanistically, loss of Vav1 reduced the level of Sirt1, which was responsible for an increase of acetylated PPARγ. As acetylation activates PPARγ, it increased C/EBPα expression and promoted adipogenesis. On the other hand, loss of Vav1 resulted in an increase of acetylated Sox9, a target of Sirt1. As acetylation represses Sox9 activity, it led to a dramatic reduction of collagen 2α1, a key regulator in chondrocyte differentiation. Finally, we found that Vav1 regulates Sirt1 in MSCs through Creb. Together this study reveals a novel function of Vav1 in regulating MSC cell fate decisions for differentiation through Sirt1. Sirt1 deacetylates PPARγ and Sox9, two key mediators that control adipocyte and chondrocyte differentiation. The acetylation status of PPARγ and Sox9 has opposite effects on its activity, thereby controlling cell fate decision. Stem Cells 2016;34:1934-1946.