Chemically induced neurite-like outgrowth reveals a multicellular network function in patient-derived glioblastoma cells.

Tumor stem cells and malignant multicellular networks have been separately implicated in the therapeutic resistance of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive type of brain cancer in adults. Here, we show that small-molecule inhibition of RHO-associated serine/threonine kinase proteins (ROCKi) significantly promoted the outgrowth of neurite-like cell projections in cultures of heterogeneous patient-derived GBM stem-like cells. These projections formed de novo-induced cellular network (iNet) 'webs', which regressed after withdrawal of ROCKi. Connected cells within the iNet web exhibited long range Ca2+ signal transmission, and significant lysosomal and mitochondrial trafficking. In contrast to their less-connected vehicle control counterparts, iNet cells remained viable and proliferative after high-dose radiation. These findings demonstrate a link between ROCKi-regulated cell projection dynamics and the formation of radiation-resistant multicellular networks. Our study identifies means to reversibly induce iNet webs ex vivo, and may thereby accelerate future studies into the biology of GBM cellular networks.

KHS101 disrupts energy metabolism in human glioblastoma cells and reduces tumor growth in mice.

Pharmacological inhibition of uncontrolled cell growth with small-molecule inhibitors is a potential strategy for treating glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most malignant primary brain cancer. We showed that the synthetic small-molecule KHS101 promoted tumor cell death in diverse GBM cell models, independent of their tumor subtype, and without affecting the viability of noncancerous brain cell lines. KHS101 exerted cytotoxic effects by disrupting the mitochondrial chaperone heat shock protein family D member 1 (HSPD1). In GBM cells, KHS101 promoted aggregation of proteins regulating mitochondrial integrity and energy metabolism. Mitochondrial bioenergetic capacity and glycolytic activity were selectively impaired in KHS101-treated GBM cells. In two intracranial patient-derived xenograft tumor models in mice, systemic administration of KHS101 reduced tumor growth and increased survival without discernible side effects. These findings suggest that targeting of HSPD1-dependent metabolic pathways might be an effective strategy for treating GBM.

Spontaneous Glioblastoma Spheroid Infiltration of Early-Stage Cerebral Organoids Models Brain Tumor Invasion.

Organoid methodology provides a platform for the ex vivo investigation of the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying brain development and disease. The high-grade brain tumor glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is considered a cancer of unmet clinical need, in part due to GBM cell infiltration into healthy brain parenchyma, making complete surgical resection improbable. Modeling the process of GBM invasion in real time is challenging as it requires both tumor and neural tissue compartments. Here, we demonstrate that human GBM spheroids possess the ability to spontaneously infiltrate early-stage cerebral organoids (eCOs). The resulting formation of hybrid organoids demonstrated an invasive tumor phenotype that was distinct from noncancerous adult neural progenitor (NP) spheroid incorporation into eCOs. These findings provide a basis for the modeling and quantification of the GBM infiltration process using a stem-cell-based organoid approach, and may be used for the identification of anti-GBM invasion strategies.

Intravenous delivery of oncolytic reovirus to brain tumor patients immunologically primes for subsequent checkpoint blockade.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors, including those targeting programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), are reshaping cancer therapeutic strategies. Evidence suggests, however, that tumor response and patient survival are determined by tumor programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression. We hypothesized that preconditioning of the tumor immune microenvironment using targeted, virus-mediated interferon (IFN) stimulation would up-regulate tumor PD-L1 protein expression and increase cytotoxic T cell infiltration, improving the efficacy of subsequent checkpoint blockade. Oncolytic viruses (OVs) represent a promising form of cancer immunotherapy. For brain tumors, almost all studies to date have used direct intralesional injection of OV, because of the largely untested belief that intravenous administration will not deliver virus to this site. We show, in a window-of-opportunity clinical study, that intravenous infusion of oncolytic human Orthoreovirus (referred to herein as reovirus) leads to infection of tumor cells subsequently resected as part of standard clinical care, both in high-grade glioma and in brain metastases, and increases cytotoxic T cell tumor infiltration relative to patients not treated with virus. We further show that reovirus up-regulates IFN-regulated gene expression, as well as the PD-1/PD-L1 axis in tumors, via an IFN-mediated mechanism. Finally, we show that addition of PD-1 blockade to reovirus enhances systemic therapy in a preclinical glioma model. These results support the development of combined systemic immunovirotherapy strategies for the treatment of both primary and secondary tumors in the brain.

Conserved two-step regulatory mechanism of human epithelial differentiation.

Human epithelia are organized in a hierarchical structure, where stem cells generate terminally differentiated cells via intermediate progenitors. This two-step differentiation process is conserved in all tissues, but it is not known whether a common gene set contributes to its regulation. Here, we show that retinoic acid (RA) regulates early human prostate epithelial differentiation by activating a tightly coexpressed set of 80 genes (e.g., TMPRSS2). Response kinetics suggested that some of these genes could be direct RA targets, whereas others are probably responding indirectly to RA stimulation. Comparative bioinformatic analyses of published tissue-specific microarrays and a large-scale transcriptomic data set revealed that these 80 genes are not only RA responsive but also significantly coexpressed in many human cell systems. The same gene set preferentially responds to androgens during terminal prostate epithelial differentiation, implying a cell-type-dependent interplay between RA and tissue-specific transcription factor-mediated signaling in regulating the two steps of epithelial differentiation.

Monoallelic expression of TMPRSS2/ERG in prostate cancer stem cells.

While chromosomal translocations have a fundamental role in the development of several human leukaemias, their role in solid tumour development has been somewhat more controversial. Recently, it was shown that up to 80% of prostate tumours harbour at least one such gene fusion, and that the most common fusion event, between the prostate-specific TMPRSS2 gene and the ERG oncogene, is a critical, and probably early factor in prostate cancer development. Here we demonstrate the presence and expression of this significant chromosomal rearrangement in prostate cancer stem cells. Moreover, we show that in the prostate epithelial hierarchy from both normal and tumour tissues, TMPRSS2 transcription is subjected to tight monoallelic regulation, which is retained upon asymmetric division and relaxed during epithelial cell differentiation. The presence and expression of TMPRSS2/ERG in prostate stem cells would provide ERG-driven survival advantages, allowing maintenance of this mutated genotype.

Prostate cancer stem cells: do they have a basal or luminal phenotype?

The prostate is a luminal secretory tissue whose function is regulated by male sex hormones. Castration produces involution of the prostate to a reversible basal state, and as the majority of prostate cancers also have a luminal phenotype, drug-induced castration is a front line therapy. It has therefore been assumed that the tumor arises from transformation of a luminal progenitor cell. Here, we demonstrate that a minority basal "cancer stem cell" (CSC) population persists in primary human prostate cancers, as in normal prostate, serving as a reservoir for tumor recurrence after castration therapy. While the CSCs exhibit a degree of phenotypic fluidity from different patients, the tumor-initiating cells in immunocompromised mice express basal markers (such as p63), but do not express androgen receptor (AR) or markers of luminal differentiation (PSA, PAP) when freshly fractionated from human tissues or following culture in vitro. Estrogen receptors α and ß and AR are transcriptionally active in the transit amplifying (TA) cell (the progeny of SC). However, AR protein is consistently undetectable in TA cells. The prostate-specific TMPRSS2 gene, while upregulated by AR activity in luminal cells, is also transcribed in basal populations, confirming that AR acts as an expression modulator. Selected cells with basal phenotypes are tumor initiating, but the resultant tumors are phenotypically intermediate, with focal expression of AR, AMACR, and p63. In vitro differentiation experiments, employing lentivirally transduced SCs with a luminal (PSA-probasin) promoter regulating a fluorescent indicator gene, confirm that the basal SCs are the source of luminal progeny.