Project description:Background: Interaction between key signaling mechanisms is important to generate the diversity in signaling output required for proper control of cellular differentiation and function, although the molecular manifestations of such cross-talk are only partially understood. Notch signaling and the cellular response to hypoxia intersect at different points in the signaling cascades, and in this report we analyze the consequences of this cross-talk at the transcriptome level. Results: Mouse ES cells were subjected to various combinations of hypoxia and/or activated Notch signaling, and the transcriptome changes could be grouped into different categories, reflecting various modes of hypoxia and Notch signaling integration. Two principal categories of novel Notch- and hypoxia-induced genes were identified: i) a larger set of genes induced by one pathway and not significantly affected by the activity status of the other pathway; and ii) a smaller set of genes co-regulated by Notch and hypoxia. In the latter category, we identified genes that were induced by hypoxia and the expression of which was enhanced by active Notch signaling. In addition, a number of genes were induced by Notch and hypoxia independently, and a final category of genes required simultaneous activation of Notch and hypoxia to be significantly induced. Several of the hypoxia- and Notch-induced genes were found to be upregulated in various forms of cancer. Conclusions: We identify novel Notch and hypoxia downstream genes and genes co-regulated by the two pathways, providing a molecular platform to better understand the intersection between the two signaling cascades in normal development and cancer.
Project description:Melanoma is one of the most serious forms of skin cancer, and its increasing incidence coupled with non-lasting therapeutic options for metastatic disease highlight the need for additional novel approaches for its management. In this study, we determined the potential interactions between polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1, a serine/threonine kinase involved in mitotic regulation) and NOTCH1 (a type I transmembrane protein deciding cell fate during development) in melanoma. Employing an in-house human melanoma tissue microarray (TMA) containing multiple cases of melanomas and benign nevi, coupled with high-throughput, multispectral quantitative fluorescence imaging analysis, we found a positive correlation between PLK1 and NOTCH1 in melanoma. Further, TCGA database analysis of melanoma patients showed an association of higher mRNA levels of PLK1 and NOTCH1 with poor overall as well as disease-free survival. Next, utilizing small-molecule inhibitors of PLK1 and NOTCH (BI 6727 and MK-0752, respectively), we found a synergistic anti-proliferative response of combined treatment in multiple human melanoma cells. To determine the molecular targets of the overall and synergistic responses of combined PLK1-NOTCH inhibition, we conducted RNA-sequencing analysis employing a unique regression model with interaction terms. We identified the modulations of several key genes relevant to melanoma progression/metastasis, including MAPK, PI3K, and RAS, as well as some new genes such as Apobec3G, BTK and FCER1G which have not been well-studied in melanoma. In conclusion, our study demonstrated a synergistic anti-proliferative response of a concomitant targeting of PLK1 and NOTCH in melanoma, unravelling a potential novel therapeutic approach for detailed preclinical/clinical evaluation.
Project description:Glucocorticoids are an essential component of the treatment of lymphoid malignancies and resistance to glucocorticoid therapy constitutes a prominent clinical problem in relapsed and refractory lymphoblastic leukemias. Constitutively active NOTCH signaling is involved in the pathogenesis of over 50% of T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) which harbor activating mutations in the NOTCH1 gene. Aberrant NOTCH1 signaling has been shown to protect normal thymocytes from glucocorticoid induced cell death. Here we analyzed the interaction of glucocorticoid therapy with inhibition of NOTCH signaling in the treatment of T-ALL. Gamma-secretase inhibitors (GSI), which block the activation of NOTCH receptors, amplified the transcriptional changes induced by glucocorticoid treatment, including glucocorticoid receptor autoinduction and restored sensitivity to dexamethasone in glucocorticoid-resistant T-ALL cells. Apoptosis induction upon inhibition of NOTCH signaling and activation of the glucocorticoid receptor was dependent on transcriptional upregulation of BIM and subsequent activation of the mitochondrial/intrinsic cell death pathway. Finally, we used a mouse xenograft model of T-ALL to demonstrate that combined treatment with dexamethasone and a GSI results in improved antileukemic effects in vivo. These studies provide insight in the mechanisms of glucocorticoid resistance and serve as rationale for the use of glucocorticoid and GSIs in combination in the treatment of T-ALL. Keywords: Drug response
Project description:Glucocorticoids are an essential component of the treatment of lymphoid malignancies and resistance to glucocorticoid therapy constitutes a prominent clinical problem in relapsed and refractory lymphoblastic leukemias. Constitutively active NOTCH signaling is involved in the pathogenesis of over 50% of T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) which harbor activating mutations in the NOTCH1 gene. Aberrant NOTCH1 signaling has been shown to protect normal thymocytes from glucocorticoid induced cell death. Here we analyzed the interaction of glucocorticoid therapy with inhibition of NOTCH signaling in the treatment of T-ALL. Gamma-secretase inhibitors (GSI), which block the activation of NOTCH receptors, amplified the transcriptional changes induced by glucocorticoid treatment, including glucocorticoid receptor autoinduction and restored sensitivity to dexamethasone in glucocorticoid-resistant T-ALL cells. Apoptosis induction upon inhibition of NOTCH signaling and activation of the glucocorticoid receptor was dependent on transcriptional upregulation of BIM and subsequent activation of the mitochondrial/intrinsic cell death pathway. Finally, we used a mouse xenograft model of T-ALL to demonstrate that combined treatment with dexamethasone and a GSI results in improved antileukemic effects in vivo. These studies provide insight in the mechanisms of glucocorticoid resistance and serve as rationale for the use of glucocorticoid and GSIs in combination in the treatment of T-ALL. Experiment Overall Design: Duplicate samples (biologic replicas) from CUTLL1 cells were treated for 24 hours with vehicle only (DMSO), dexamethasone (1microM), a gamma-secretase inhibitor (CompE 100nM) and a combination of dexamethasome plus gamma secretase inhibitor at the same concentrations indicated before. Gene expression profiling was analyzed to identify gene expression signatures assocuated with glucocorticoid treatment (dexamethasone), inhibition of NOTCH1 by gamma secretase inhibitor (CompE) or the combination of both treatments.
Project description:we observed synergistic cytotoxic effects, preferentially reducing cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis in FLT3/ITD+ AML cell lines and in primary AML cells. Furthermore, the combination of FLT3-TKI and GSI eradicated leukemic cells and prolonged survival in a FLT3/ITD+ patient derived xenograft (PDX) AML model. Mechanistically, decreased expression of CXCR3 that lead to down-regulated ERK signaling was partially responsible for the observed synergy. Our findings suggest that combined therapies of FLT3-TKIs with GSI may be exploited as a potential therapeutic strategy to treat FLT3/ITD+ AML.
Project description:Activated Notch signaling is highly prevalent in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). But in clinical trials, pan-Notch inhibitors caused excessive toxicity. To find alternative ways to target Notch signals, we investigated Cell division cycle 73 (Cdc73), which is a component of the RNA polymerase-associated transcriptional machinery and has been previously described as a Notch cofactor. Emerging evidence also suggests that transcriptional machinery might be an attractive vulnerability in T-ALL. In this setting, we show that CDC73 co-binds a subset of Notch-occupied regulatory elements in an ETS1-dependent context. In mouse models, Cdc73 is important for Notch-induced T-cell development and maintenance of Notch-induced T-ALL. Mechanistically, Cdc73, Ets1, and Notch activate genes that promote DNA repair and oxidative phosphorylation. Cdc73 induces these pathways through canonical functions in mRNA synthesis rather than non-canonical functions in enhancer activation. Our study suggests that Cdc73 acts through context-dependent mechanisms to promote a gene expression program that mitigates the genotoxic and metabolic stress of supraphysiological Notch signaling. We also provide mechanistic support for testing inhibitors of DNA repair, oxidative phosphorylation, and transcriptional machinery as anti-leukemic therapy while highlighting strategies that disable pathways that intersect with Notch at chromatin to target Notch signals without directly targeting the Notch complex.
Project description:Hyperactivation of Notch signaling and the cellular hypoxic response are frequently observed in cancers, with increasing reports of connections to tumor initiation and progression. The two signaling mechanisms are known to intersect, but while it is well established that hypoxia regulates Notch signaling, less is known about whether Notch can regulate the cellular hypoxic response. We now report that Notch signaling specifically controls expression of HIF2a, a key mediator of the cellular hypoxic response. Transcriptional upregulation of HIF2a by Notch under normoxic conditions leads to elevated HIF2a protein levels in primary breast cancer cells as well as in human breast cancer, medulloblastoma and renal cell carcinoma cell lines. The elevated level of HIF2a protein was in certain tumor cell types accompanied by down-regulation of HIF1a protein levels, indicating that high Notch signaling may drive a HIF1a-to-HIF2a switch. At the transcriptome level, the presence of HIF2a was required for approximately 21% of all Notch-induced genes: among the 1062 genes that were upregulated by Notch in medulloblastoma cells during normoxia, upregulation was abrogated in 227 genes when HIF2a expression was knocked down by HIF2a siRNA. In conclusion, our data show that Notch signaling affects the hypoxic response via regulation of HIF2a, which may be important for future cancer therapies.
Project description:Fibro adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) promote satellite cell differentiation in adult skeletal muscle regeneration. However, in pathological conditions, FAPs are responsible for fibrosis and fatty infiltrations. Here we show that the NOTCH pathway negatively modulates FAP differentiation both in vitro and in vivo. However, FAPs isolated from young dystrophin- deficient mdx mice are insensitive to this control mechanism. An unbiased mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis of FAPs from muscles of wild type and mdx mice, suggest that the synergistic cooperation between NOTCH and inflammatory signals controls FAP differentiation. Remarkably, we demonstrated that factors released by hematopoietic cells restore the sensitivity to NOTCH adipogenic inhibition in mdx FAPs. These results offer a basis for rationalizing pathological ectopic fat infiltrations in skeletal muscle and may suggest new therapeutic strategies to mitigate the detrimental effects of fat depositions in muscles of dystrophic patients.