Project description:S4, a sulfonamide drug, has been confirmed to induce apoptosis and autophagy in cancer cells. Immunogenic cell death is a special cell death type which is closely related to apoptosis and autophagy. We performed RNA-seq to determine the impact of S4 on global gene expression profile in LN229 cells. Our results show that S4 induces immunogenic cell death via the response to endoplasmic reticulum stress.
Project description:We tracked the gene expression events following treatment of maize seedlings with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress agent tunicamycin. ER stress elicits the unfolded protein response (UPR) and when plants are faced with persistent stress, the UPR transitions from an adaptive or cell survival phase to programmed cell death.
Project description:Protein homeostasis in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) has recently emerged as a therapeutic target for cancer treatment. Disruption of ER homeostasis results in ER stress, which is a major cause of cell death for cells exposed to the proteasome inhibitor Bortezomib, an anti-cancer drug approved for treatment of multiple myeloma and Mantle cell lymphoma. We recently reported that the ERAD inhibitor Eeyarestatin I (EerI) also disturbs ER homeostasis and has anti-cancer activities resembling that of Bortezomib. Our findings reveal a class of bifunctional chemical agents that can preferentially inhibit membrane-bound p97 to disrupt ER homeostasis and induce tumor cell death. These results also suggest that the AAA ATPase p97 may be a potential drug target for cancer therapy. Cells were treated with EerI, CBU-028, or 5-NA each at 10uM in duplicates for 10h
Project description:Cuproptosis is characterized by the aggregation of lipoylated components of the tricarboxylic acid cycle and subsequent loss of iron-sulfur cluster proteins as a unique copper-dependent form of regulated cell death. Dysregulation of copper homeostasis and resulting cuproptosis induction is an emerging area of interest for cancer therapy. However, mechanisms of cancer cell evasion of cuproptosis are not well understood. Here, we found that the cuproptosis process is accompanied by activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Mechanistically, copper binds to PDK1 and promotes its interaction with AKT, resulting in activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and cancer stem cell (CSC) properties. Notably, aberrant activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling conferred resistance of CSCs to cuproptosis. Further studies showed that the β-catenin/TCF4 transcriptional complex directly binds to the promoter region of ATP7B, a protein responsible for the efflux of copper ions from the cell, inducing its expression and reducing intracellular copper accumulation, thereby inhibiting cuproptosis. Knockdown of TCF4 or pharmacological blockade of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway increased the sensitivity of CSCs to elesclomol-Cu-induced cuproptosis. These findings reveal a link between copper homeostasis regulated by the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and cuproptosis sensitivity, and may provide a precision medicine strategy for cancer treatment by selectively inducing cuproptosis
Project description:Cuproptosis is characterized by the aggregation of lipoylated components of the tricarboxylic acid cycle and subsequent loss of iron-sulfur cluster proteins as a unique copper-dependent form of regulated cell death. Dysregulation of copper homeostasis and resulting cuproptosis induction is an emerging area of interest for cancer therapy. However, mechanisms of cancer cell evasion of cuproptosis are not well understood. Here, we found that the cuproptosis process is accompanied by activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Mechanistically, copper binds to PDK1 and promotes its interaction with AKT, resulting in activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and cancer stem cell (CSC) properties. Notably, aberrant activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling conferred resistance of CSCs to cuproptosis. Further studies showed that the β-catenin/TCF4 transcriptional complex directly binds to the promoter region of ATP7B, a protein responsible for the efflux of copper ions from the cell, inducing its expression and reducing intracellular copper accumulation, thereby inhibiting cuproptosis. Knockdown of TCF4 or pharmacological blockade of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway increased the sensitivity of CSCs to elesclomol-Cu-induced cuproptosis. These findings reveal a link between copper homeostasis regulated by the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and cuproptosis sensitivity, and may provide a precision medicine strategy for cancer treatment by selectively inducing cuproptosis
Project description:Endoplasmic reticulum oxidoreductase 1 alpha (ERO1α) is an endoplasmic reticulum stress–related gene, which improves cell perseverance against challenges of high levels of protein misfolding during endoplasmic reticulum stress by retaining good activity of oxidative protein folding. Numerous studies have shown abnormal expression of ERo1α in various diseases, but its downstream target are not fully understood. Our work will help in the elucidation of the downstream molecular mechanism of ERO1α.
Project description:Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), an autosomal dominant disorder caused by mutations in either TSC1 or TSC2, exhibits white matter abnormalities including CNS myelin deficits. however, underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Here we find that, unexpectedly, constitutive activation of mTOR signaling caused by Tsc1 deletion in the oligodendrocyte lineage results in severe myelination defects and oligodendrocyte cell death. Expression profiling analysis reveals that Tsc1 ablation induces prominent endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress responses through the PERKâeIF2α dependent signaling axis and activates Fas-JNK apoptotic pathways. Our studies suggest that TSC1-mTOR signaling acts as an important checkpoint for maintaining oligodendrocyte homeostasis. Gene expression profiling of optic nerve from P12 control and Tsc1cKO mice