Project description:Abberant expression and protein localization of ESM1 were found in prostate cancer. The high expression of ESM1 is associated with prostate cancer stemness and progression. Thus, ESM1 is clinically relevant to poor overall survival and metastasis. However, the molecular mechanisms by which ESM1 contribute to prostate cancer is not yet understood. To discover the role of ESM1 mislocalization in prostate cancer, RNA-seq analysis was performed on 22Rv1 cells overexpressing with different ESM1. Our study demonstrate that nuclear ESM1 may support prostate cancer stemness by interacting with the ARM domain of β-catenin to stabilize β-catenin-Tcf4 complex and facilitate the transactivation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling targets. Our results establish the significance of ESM1 in driving metastasis in prostate cancer by coordinating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, with implication for its potential use as a diagnostic or prognostic biomarker and as a candidate therapeutic target in prostate cancer.
Project description:Canonical Wnt/B-catenin signaling is frequently dysregulated in myeloid leukemias and is implicated in leukemogenesis. Nuclear-localized β-catenin is indicative of active Wnt signaling and is frequently observed in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients; however, some patients exhibit little or no β-catenin nuclear-localization even where cytosolic B-catenin is abundant. Differential propensity for nuclear-localized β-catenin is also observed in cell lines. To investigate the factors mediating the nuclear-localization of B-catenin we carried out a nuclear/cytoplasmic proteomic analysis of the B-catenin interactome in myeloid leukemia cells. From this we identified hundreds of putative novel B-catenin-interactors. Comparison of interacting factors between Wnt-responsive cells (high nuclear B-catenin, K562/HEL) versus Wnt-unresponsive cells (low nuclear B-catenin, ML1) suggested the established interactor, LEF1, is a key factor mediating the nuclear-localization of B-catenin in myeloid leukemia. The relative levels of nuclear LEF1 and B-catenin were tightly correlated in both cell lines and in primary AML blasts. Furthermore, LEF1 knockdown inhibited B-catenin nuclear-localization and transcriptional activation in Wnt-responsive cells. Conversely, LEF1 overexpression was able to promote both nuclear-localization and B-catenin-dependent transcriptional responses in previously Wnt-unresponsive cells. This study is the first to present a B-catenin interactome in hematopoietic cells and reveals LEF1 as a critical regulator of canonical Wnt signaling in myeloid leukemia.
Project description:The mechanism governing the transition of human embryonic stem cells towards differentiated cells is only partially understood. To explore this transition, the activity and expression of the ubiquitous phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K α and β) were modulated. This study reports a pathway that dismantles the repression imposed by the EZH2 polycomb repressor on an essential stemness gene, NODAL, and on transcription factors required at differentiation to trigger primitive streak formation. The primitive streak is the site where gastrulation begins to give rise to the three embryonic cell layers from which all human tissues derive. The pathway involves an essential PI3Kβ-non-catalytic action for control of active-RAC1 levels, c-Jun-Nterminal-kinase activation and nuclear β-CATENIN accumulation. β-CATENIN deposition at promoters triggers the release of EZH2 repressor permitting both stemness maintenance (through control of NODAL) and correct differentiation, by allowing primitive streak master genes expression. PI3Kβ -mediated epigenetic control of EZH2/β-CATENIN might be modulated to direct stem cell differentiation.
Project description:Androgen receptor (AR) is the major therapeutic target in aggressive prostate cancer. However, targeting AR alone can result in drug resistance and disease recurrence. Therefore, simultaneous targeting of multiple pathways could in principle be an effective new approach to treating prostate cancer. Here we provide proof-of-concept that a small molecule inhibitor of nuclear β-catenin activity (called C3) can inhibit both the AR and β-catenin signaling pathways that are often misregulated in prostate cancer. Treatment with C3 ablated prostate cancer cell growth by disruption of both β-catenin/TCF and β-catenin/AR protein interaction, reflecting the fact that TCF and AR have overlapping binding sites on β-catenin. Given that AR interacts with, and is transcriptionally regulated by β-catenin, C3 treatment also resulted in decreased occupancy of β-catenin on the AR promoter and diminished AR and AR/β-catenin target gene expression. Interestingly, C3 treatment resulted in decreased AR binding to target genes accompanied by decreased recruitment of an AR and β-catenin cofactor, CARM1, providing new insight into the unrecognized function of β-catenin in prostate cancer. Importantly, C3 inhibited tumor growth in an in vivo xenograft model, and blocked renewal of bicalutamide-resistant sphere forming cells, indicating the therapeutic potential of this approach. Compare and contrast the expression profile of prostate cancer cells treated with a Wnt inhibitor (C3) with respect to β-catenin and AR knockdown (all samples in duplicates).
Project description:Wnt/β-catenin signaling is essential for intestinal stem cell homeostasis and aberrant activation of this signaling leads to tumorigenesis. Here we report a function of YTHDF1, an mRNA m6A reader, in mediating β-catenin hyperactivation. Wnt signaling promotes YTHDF1 expression at the translational level. YTHDF1 is dispensable for normal intestinal development in mice while essential for intestinal regeneration. Ythdf1 knockout reduces the stemness of intestinal stem cells, which blocks Wnt-driven tumorigenesis. Genome-wide analysis identifies a subset of Wnt signaling components regulated by YTHDF1 in an m6A-dependent manner. Moreover, we demonstrate that YTHDF1 promotes the translation of TCF7L2/TCF4 to augment β-catenin activation. Targeting YTHDF1 in the established tumors leads to tumor shrinkage and prolonged survival. Together, our studies uncover YTHDF1 as an integral regulator of Wnt signaling at the translational level during intestinal tumorigenesis, which might serve as a promising target for colorectal cancer therapy.
Project description:Medulloblastoma is the most frequent malignant pediatric brain tumor. Considerable efforts are dedicated to identify markers that help to refine treatment strategies. The activation of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway occurs in 10-15% of medulloblastomas and has been recently described as a marker for favorable patient outcome. We report a series of 72 pediatric medulloblastomas evaluated for beta-catenin immunostaining, CTNNB1 mutations, and studied by comparative genomic hybridization. Gene expression profiles were also available in a subset of 40 cases. Immunostaining of beta-catenin showed extensive nuclear staining (>50% of the tumor cells) in 6 cases and focal nuclear staining (<10% of cells) in 3 cases. The other cases exhibited either a signal strictly limited to the cytoplasm (58 cases) or were negative (5 cases). CTNNB1 mutations were detected in all beta-catenin extensively nucleopositive cases. The expression profiles of these cases documented a strong activation of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway. Remarkably, 5 out of these 6 tumors showed a complete loss of chromosome 6. In contrast, cases with focal nuclear beta-catenin staining, as well as tumors with negative or cytoplasmic staining, never demonstrated CTNNB1 mutation, Wnt/beta-catenin pathway activation or chromosome 6 loss. Patients with extensive nuclear staining were significantly older at diagnosis and were in continuous complete remission after a mean follow-up of 75.7 months (range 27.5-121.2) from diagnosis. All three patients with a focal nuclear staining of beta-catenin died within 36 months from diagnosis. Altogether, these data confirm and extend previous observations that CTNNB1-mutated tumors represent a distinct molecular subgroup of medulloblastomas with favorable outcome, indicating that therapy de-escalation should be considered. Yet, international consensus on the definition criteria of this distinct medulloblastoma subgroup should be achieved. A series of 72 pediatric medulloblastoma tumors has been studied at the genomic level (array-CGH), screened for CTNNB1 mutations and beta-catenin expression (immunohistochemistry). A subset of 40 tumor samples has been analyzed at the RNA expression level (Affymetrix HG U133 Plus 2.0). Correlations between the genomic data, the expression data, the mutational screening, the pathological classification and clinical data is presented in the study. note: aCGH data not submitted to GEO
Project description:Transformation of post-myeloproliferative neoplasms into secondary (s) AML exhibit poor clinical outcome. In addition to increased JAK-STAT and PI3K-AKT signaling, post-MPN sAML blast progenitor cells (BPCs) demonstrate increased nuclear β-catenin levels and TCF7L2 (TCF4) transcriptional activity. Knockdown of β-catenin or treatment with BC2059 that disrupts binding of β-catenin to TBL1X (TBL1) depleted nuclear β-catenin levels. This induced apoptosis of not only JAKi-sensitive but also JAKi-persister/resistant post-MPN sAML BPCs, associated with attenuation of TCF4 transcriptional targets MYC, BCL-2 and Survivin. Co-targeting of β-catenin and JAK1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib (rux) synergistically induced lethality in post-MPN sAML BPCs and improved survival of mice engrafted with human sAML BPCs. Notably, co-treatment with BET protein degrader ARV-771 and BC2059 also synergistically induced apoptosis and improved survival of mice engrafted with JAKi-sensitive or JAKi-persister/resistant post-MPN sAML cells. These preclinical findings highlight potentially promising anti-post-MPN sAML activity of combination of β-catenin and BETP antagonists against post-MPN sAML BPCs.
Project description:Androgen receptor (AR) is the major therapeutic target in aggressive prostate cancer. However, targeting AR alone can result in drug resistance and disease recurrence. Therefore, simultaneous targeting of multiple pathways could in principle be an effective new approach to treating prostate cancer. Here we provide proof-of-concept that a small molecule inhibitor of nuclear β-catenin activity (called C3) can inhibit both the AR and β-catenin signaling pathways that are often misregulated in prostate cancer. Treatment with C3 ablated prostate cancer cell growth by disruption of both β-catenin/TCF and β-catenin/AR protein interaction, reflecting the fact that TCF and AR have overlapping binding sites on β-catenin. Given that AR interacts with, and is transcriptionally regulated by β-catenin, C3 treatment also resulted in decreased occupancy of β-catenin on the AR promoter and diminished AR and AR/β-catenin target gene expression. Interestingly, C3 treatment resulted in decreased AR binding to target genes accompanied by decreased recruitment of an AR and β-catenin cofactor, CARM1, providing new insight into the unrecognized function of β-catenin in prostate cancer. Importantly, C3 inhibited tumor growth in an in vivo xenograft model, and blocked renewal of bicalutamide-resistant sphere forming cells, indicating the therapeutic potential of this approach.
Project description:β-catenin signaling can be both a physiological and an oncogenic pathway in the liver. It controls compartmentalized gene expression, allowing the liver to ensure its essential metabolic function. It is activated by mutations in 20 to 40% of hepatocellular carcinomas with specific metabolic features. We decipher the molecular determinants of β-catenin-dependent zonal transcription using mice with β-catenin-activated or -inactivated hepatocytes, characterizing in vivo their chromatin occupancy by Tcf4 and β-catenin, their transcriptome and their metabolome. We find that Tcf4 DNA-bindings depend on β-catenin. Tcf4/β-catenin binds Wnt-responsive elements preferentially around β-catenin-induced genes. In contrast, genes repressed by β-catenin bind Tcf4 on Hnf4-responsive elements. β-catenin, Tcf4 and Hnf4α interact, dictating β-catenin transcription which is antagonistic to that elicited by Hnf4α. Finally, we find the drug/bile metabolism pathway to be the one most heavily targeted by β-catenin, partly through xenobiotic nuclear receptors. We conclude that β-catenin patterns the zonal liver together with Tcf4, Hnf4α and xenobiotic nuclear receptors. This network represses lipid metabolism, and exacerbates glutamine, drug and bile metabolism, mirroring hepatocellular carcinomas with β-catenin mutational activation. In vivo liver samples in 4 conditions: Betacat activated (WCE, Tcf4 chipseq, Betacat chipseq, mRNAseq with 2 replicates), Betacat null (WCE, Tcf4 chipseq, mRNAseq with 2 replicates), Betacat control (mRNAseq with 2 replicates), Wild type (mRNAseq with 2 replicates)