Establishment of an Extracellular Acidic pH Culture System

Conditions of the tumor microenvironment, such as hypoxia or nutrient starvation, play critical roles in cancer progression and malignancy. However, the ...

The University of Tokyo

the university of tokyo

Antiangiogenic strategies can be effective for cancer therapy, but like all therapies resistance poses a major clinical challenge. Hypoxia and nutrient starvation select for aggressive qualities that may render tumors resistant to antiangiogenic attack. Here, we show that hypoxia and nutrient starvation cooperate to drive tumor aggressiveness through epigenetic regulation of the histone demethylase JMJD1A (JHDM2A; KDM3A). In cancer cells rendered resistant to long-term hypoxia and nutrient starvation, we documented a stimulation of AKT phosphorylation, cell morphologic changes, cell migration, invasion, and anchorage-independent growth in culture. These qualities associated in vivo with increased angiogenesis and infiltration of macrophages into tumor tissues. Through expression microarray analysis, we identified a cluster of functional drivers such as VEGFA, FGF18, and JMJD1A, the latter which was upregulated in vitro under conditions of hypoxia and nutrient starvation and in vivo before activation of the angiogenic switch or the prerefractory phase of antiangiogenic therapy. JMJD1A inhibition suppressed tumor growth by downregulating angiogenesis and macrophage infiltration, by suppressing expression of FGF2, HGF, and ANG2. Notably, JMJD1A inhibition enhanced the antitumor effects of the anti-VEGF compound bevacizumab and the VEGFR/KDR inhibitor sunitinib. Our results form the foundation of a strategy to attack hypoxia- and nutrient starvation-resistant cancer cells as an approach to leverage antiangiogenic treatments and limit resistance to them.

Inhibition of histone demethylase JMJD1A improves anti-angiogenic therapy and reduces tumor-associated macrophages.

Targeting cancer cells resistant to hypoxia and nutrient starvation to improve anti-angiogeneic therapy.

The premetastatic niche is a predetermined site of metastases, awaiting the influx of tumor cells. However, the regulation of the angiogenic switch at these sites has not been examined. Here, we demonstrate that the calcineurin and nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) pathway is activated specifically in lung endothelium prior to the detection of tumor cells that preferentially metastasize to the lung. Upregulation of the calcineurin pathway via deletion of its endogenous inhibitor Dscr1 leads to a significant increase in lung metastases due to increased expression of a newly identified NFAT target, Angiopoietin-2 (ANG2). Increased VEGF levels specifically in the lung, and not other organ microenvironments, trigger a threshold of calcineurin-NFAT signaling that transactivates Ang2 in lung endothelium. Further, we demonstrate that overexpression of DSCR1 or the ANG2 receptor, soluble TIE2, prevents the activation of lung endothelium, inhibiting lung metastases in our mouse models. Our studies provide insights into mechanisms underlying angiogenesis in the premetastatic niche and offer targets for lung metastases.

The calcineurin-NFAT-angiopoietin-2 signaling axis in lung endothelium is critical for the establishment of lung metastases.

Conditions of the tumor microenvironment, such as hypoxia and nutrient starvation, play critical roles in cancer progression. However, the role of acidic extracellular pH in cancer progression is not studied as extensively as that of hypoxia. Here, we show that extracellular acidic pH (pH 6.8) triggered activation of sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 (SREBP2) by stimulating nuclear translocation and promoter binding to its targets, along with intracellular acidification. Interestingly, inhibition of SREBP2, but not SREBP1, suppressed the upregulation of low pH-induced cholesterol biosynthesis-related genes. Moreover, acyl-CoA synthetase short-chain family member 2 (ACSS2), a direct SREBP2 target, provided a growth advantage to cancer cells under acidic pH. Furthermore, acidic pH-responsive SREBP2 target genes were associated with reduced overall survival of cancer patients. Thus, our findings show that SREBP2 is a key transcriptional regulator of metabolic genes and progression of cancer cells, partly in response to extracellular acidification.

Extracellular Acidic pH Activates the Sterol Regulatory Element-Binding Protein 2 to Promote Tumor Progression.

Although studies of the differentiation from mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells to vascular endothelial cells (ECs) provide an excellent model for investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying vascular development, temporal dynamics of gene expression and chromatin modifications have not been well studied. Herein, using transcriptomic and epigenomic analyses based on H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 modifications at a genome-wide scale, we analysed the EC differentiation steps from ES cells and crucial epigenetic modifications unique to ECs. We determined that Gata2, Fli1, Sox7 and Sox18 are master regulators of EC that are induced following expression of the haemangioblast commitment pioneer factor, Etv2. These master regulator gene loci were repressed by H3K27me3 throughout the mesoderm period but rapidly transitioned to histone modification switching from H3K27me3 to H3K4me3 after treatment with vascular endothelial growth factor. SiRNA knockdown experiments indicated that these regulators are indispensable not only for proper EC differentiation but also for blocking the commitment to other closely aligned lineages. Collectively, our detailed epigenetic analysis may provide an advanced model for understanding temporal regulation of chromatin signatures and resulting gene expression profiles during EC commitment. These studies may inform the future development of methods to stimulate the vascular endothelium for regenerative medicine.

Dynamically and epigenetically coordinated GATA/ETS/SOX transcription factor expression is indispensable for endothelial cell differentiation.

Pericytes are believed to originate from either mesenchymal or neural crest cells. It has recently been reported that pericytes play important roles in the central nervous system (CNS) by regulating blood-brain barrier homeostasis and blood flow at the capillary level. However, the origin of CNS microvascular pericytes and the mechanism of their recruitment remain unknown. Here, we show a new source of cerebrovascular pericytes during neurogenesis. In the CNS of embryonic day 10.5 mouse embryos, CD31(+)F4/80(+) hematopoietic lineage cells were observed in the avascular region around the dorsal midline of the developing midbrain. These cells expressed additional macrophage markers such as CD206 and CD11b. Moreover, the CD31(+)F4/80(+) cells phagocytosed apoptotic cells as functionally matured macrophages, adhered to the newly formed subventricular vascular plexus, and then divided into daughter cells. Eventually, these CD31(+)F4/80(+) cells transdifferentiated into NG2/PDGFRβ/desmin-expressing cerebrovascular pericytes, enwrapping and associating with vascular endothelial cells. These data indicate that a subset of cerebrovascular pericytes derive from mature macrophages in the very early phase of CNS vascular development, which in turn are recruited from sites of embryonic hematopoiesis such as the yolk sac by way of blood flow.

A subset of cerebrovascular pericytes originates from mature macrophages in the very early phase of vascular development in CNS.

Long noncoding RNAs play a pivotal role in tumor progression, but their role in cancer cells in the nutrient-starved tumor microenvironment remains unknown. Here, we show that a nutrient starvation-responsive long noncoding RNA, JHDM1D antisense 1 (JHDM1D-AS1), promotes tumorigenesis by regulating angiogenesis in response to nutrient starvation. Expression of JHDM1D-AS1 was increased in cancer cells. In addition, expression of JHDM1D-AS1 was increased in clinical tumor samples compared to that in normal tissue. Stable expression of JHDM1D-AS1 in human pancreatic cancer (PANC-1 and AsPC-1) cells promoted cell growth in vitro Remarkably, these JHDM1D-AS1-expressing cells showed a significant increase in tumor growth in vivo that was associated with increased formation of CD31(+) blood vessels and elevated infiltration of CD11b(+) macrophage lineage cells into tumor tissues. Genome-wide analysis of tumor xenografts revealed that expression of genes for tumor-derived angiogenic factors such as hHGF and hFGF1 concomitant with host-derived inflammation-responsive genes such as mMmp3, mMmp9, mS100a8, and mS100a9 was increased in tumor xenografts of JHDM1D-AS1-expressing pancreatic cancer cells, leading to a poor prognosis. Our results provide evidence that increased JHDM1D-AS1 expression under nutrient starvation accelerates tumor growth by upregulating angiogenesis, thus laying the foundation for improved therapeutic strategies.

Tsuyoshi Osawa

Laboratory for Systems Biology and Medicine,
RCAST,
Laboratory for Systems Biology and Medicine, RCAST

The University of Tokyo

Establishment of an Extracellular Acidic pH Culture System

Tsuyoshi Osawa

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The University of Tokyo

Establishment of an Extracellular Acidic pH Culture System

Laboratory for Systems Biology and Medicine,
RCAST,
Laboratory for Systems Biology and Medicine, RCAST