Search

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive hematological cancer that frequently occurs in children and adolescents, which results from the transformation of immature T-cell progenitors. Aberrant cell growth and proliferation of T-ALL lymphoblasts are sustained by activation of strong oncogenic drivers. Mounting evidence highlights the critical role of the NOTCH1-MYC highway toward the initiation and progression of T-ALL. MYC has been emphasized as a primary NOTCH1 transcriptional target impinging in leukemia-initiating cell activity particularly responsible for disease onset and relapse. These findings lay a foundation of T-ALL as an ideal disease model for studying MYC-mediated cancer. The biology of MYC deregulation in T-ALL supports innovative strategies for therapeutic targeting of MYC. To summarize the relevant literature and data in recent years, we here provide a comprehensive overview of the functional importance of MYC in T-ALL development, and the molecular mechanisms underlying MYC deregulation in T-ALL. Finally, we illustrate the innovative MYC-targeted approaches that have been evaluated in pre-clinical models and shown significant efficacy. Given the complexity of T-ALL molecular pathogenesis, we propose that a combination of anti-MYC strategies with conventional chemotherapies or other targeted/immunotherapies may provide the most durable response, especially for those patients with relapsed and refractory T-ALL.

Recombination activating genes 1 (Rag1) and Rag2 are expressed in immature lymphocytes and essential for generating the vast repertoire of antigen receptors. Yet, the mechanisms governing the transcription of Rag1 and Rag2 remain to be fully determined, particularly in thymocytes. Combining cDNA microarray and ChIP-seq analysis, we identify Rag1 and Rag2 as novel Notch1 transcriptional targets in acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) cells. We further demonstrate that Notch1 transcriptional complexes directly bind the Rag1 and Rag2 locus in not only T-ALL but also primary double negative (DN) T-cell progenitors. Specifically, dimeric Notch1 transcriptional complexes activate Rag1 and Rag2 through a novel cis-element bearing a sequence-paired site (SPS). In T-ALL and DN cells, dimerization-defective Notch1 causes compromised Rag1 and Rag2 expression; conversely, dimerization-competent Notch1 achieves optimal upregulation of both. Collectively, these results reveal Notch1 dimerization-mediated transcription as one of the mechanisms for activating Rag1 and Rag2 expression in both primary and transformed thymocytes. Our data suggest a new role of Notch1 dimerization in compelling efficient TCRβ rearrangements in DN progenitors during T-cell development.

The MYC family oncoproteins are deregulated in more than 50 % of human cancers through a variety of mechanisms, such as gene amplification or translocation, super-enhancer activation, aberrant upstream signaling, and altered protein stability. As one of the major drivers in tumorigenesis, MYC regulates the expression of a large number of noncoding genes involved in multiple oncogenic processes. Noncoding RNAs, including miRNA, lncRNA, circRNA, rRNA and tRNA, are also deeply involved in the oncogenic MYC network by functioning as MYC regulators/effectors. In this review, we summarize representative studies depicting the crosstalk between oncogenic MYC and noncoding RNAs in carcinogenesis with the aim of providing potential implications for both basic science and clinical applications.

Cancer cells must rewire cellular metabolism to satisfy the demands of unbridled growth and proliferation. As such, most human cancers differ from normal counterpart tissues by a plethora of energetic and metabolic reprogramming. Transcription factors of the MYC family are deregulated in up to 70% of all human cancers through a variety of mechanisms. Oncogenic levels of MYC regulates almost every aspect of cellular metabolism, a recently revisited hallmark of cancer development. Meanwhile, unrestrained growth in response to oncogenic MYC expression creates dependency on MYC-driven metabolic pathways, which in principle provides novel targets for development of effective cancer therapeutics. In the current review, we summarize the significant progress made toward understanding how MYC deregulation fuels metabolic rewiring in malignant transformation.

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a heterogeneous group of hematological tumors composed of distinct subtypes that vary in their genetic abnormalities. In the past decade, large-scale genomic analysis has shed new light on providing potentially important oncogenic or tumor suppressive candidates involved in the disease progression. Following in silico analysis, functional studies are usually performed to vigorously investigate the biological roles of candidate genes. For this purpose, animal models faithfully recapitulating the human disease are widely applied to decipher the mechanism underlying T-cell transformation. Conversely, an increased understanding of T-ALL biology, including identification of oncogene NOTCH1, TAL1 and MYC as well as tumor suppressor phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), has significantly improved the development of T-ALL animal models. These progresses have opened opportunities for development of new therapeutic strategy to benefit T-ALL patients. In this review, we particularly summarize the mouse and zebrafish models used in T-ALL research and also the most recent advances from these in vivo studies. Key words: hematopoietic stem cell transplant; T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia; transgenetic mice; transgenic zebrafish; xenograft

The MYC family oncogene is deregulated in >50% of human cancers, and this deregulation is frequently associated with poor prognosis and unfavorable patient survival. Myc has a central role in almost every aspect of the oncogenic process, orchestrating proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, and metabolism. Although Myc inhibition would be a powerful approach for the treatment of many types of cancers, direct targeting of Myc has been a challenge for decades owing to its “undruggable” protein structure. Hence, alternatives to Myc blockade have been widely explored to achieve desirable anti-tumor effects, including Myc/Max complex disruption, MYC transcription and/or translation inhibition, and Myc destabilization as well as the synthetic lethality associated with Myc overexpression. In this review, we summarize the latest advances in targeting oncogenic Myc, particularly for cancer therapeutic purposes., Cancer: Therapeutic strategies target myc from all directions The cancer gene myc is the subject of a variety of research strategies aimed at developing anti-cancer therapies. Myc, which regulates at least 15% of all genes including those involved in cell development and survival, is mutated and overexpressed in many cancer types. While inhibiting myc is an obvious anti-cancer strategy, directly targeting myc has proved difficult. Dr Guoliang Qing and colleagues from Wuhan University have reviewed advances in myc-targeting strategies as potential cancer therapies. Current strategies include indirectly targeting myc by inhibiting its regulation and stability, and interaction with its partner Max, which is necessary for its regulation of gene expression. Other strategies involve inducing a mutation in a gene that interacts with myc to kill cancer cells. These and future innovative approaches provide promise for effective therapeutics against myc-dependent cancers.

Aggressive NK-cell leukemia (ANKL) is a rare form of NK cell neoplasm that is more prevalent among people from Asia and Central and South America. Patients usually die within days to months, even after receiving prompt therapeutic management. Here we performed the first comprehensive study of ANKL by integrating whole genome, transcriptome and targeted sequencing, cytokine array as well as functional assays. Mutations in the JAK-STAT pathway were identified in 48% (14/29) of ANKL patients, while the extracellular STAT3 stimulator IL10 was elevated by an average of 56-fold (P < 0.0001) in the plasma of all patients examined. Additional frequently mutated genes included TP53 (34%), TET2 (28%), CREBBP (21%) and MLL2 (21%). Patient NK leukemia cells showed prominent activation of STAT3 phosphorylation, MYC expression and transcriptional activities in multiple metabolic pathways. Functionally, STAT3 activation and MYC expression were critical for the proliferation and survival of ANKL cells. STAT signaling regulated the MYC transcription program, and both STAT signaling and MYC transcription were required to maintain the activation of nucleotide synthesis and glycolysis. Collectively, the JAK-STAT pathway represents a major target for genomic alterations and IL10 stimulation in ANKL. This newly discovered JAK/STAT-MYC-biosynthesis axis may provide opportunities for the development of novel therapeutic strategies in treating this subtype of leukemia.

T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive hematologic malignancy with complicated heterogeneity. Although expression profiling reveals common elevated genes in distinct T-ALL subtypes, little is known about their functional role(s) and regulatory mechanism(s). We here show that SHQ1, an H/ACA snoRNP assembly factor involved in snRNA pseudouridylation, is highly expressed in T-ALL. Mechanistically, oncogenic NOTCH1 directly binds to the SHQ1 promoter and activates its transcription. SHQ1 depletion induces T-ALL cell death in vitro and prolongs animal survival in murine T-ALL models. RNA-Seq reveals that SHQ1 depletion impairs widespread RNA splicing, and MYC is one of the most prominently downregulated genes due to inefficient splicing. MYC overexpression significantly rescues T-ALL cell death resulted from SHQ1 inactivation. We herein report a mechanism of NOTCH1–SHQ1–MYC axis in T-cell leukemogenesis. These findings not only shed light on the role of SHQ1 in RNA splicing and tumorigenesis, but also provide additional insight into MYC regulation., T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia is an aggressive cancer. Here the authors provide insights into the functional role of SHQ1, an H/ACA snoRNP assembly factor involved in snRNA pseudouridylation, in T-lymphoblastic leukemia cell survival through regulating the maturation of MYC mRNA.

Aberrant activation of Wnt signaling pathway is crucial for the onset and progression of human colorectal cancer (CRC). Owing to the persistent dependence on Wnt signaling for growth and survival, inhibition of this pathway is an attractive approach for new therapies. 11α, 12α-epoxyleukamenin E (EPLE) is a novel ent-kaurane diterpenoid that we previously isolated from Salvia cavaleriei, exhibiting antitumor activities in a variety of cancer cells. Herein, we found that whereas sparing normal human colon mucosal epithelial cells, EPLE selectively inhibited the proliferation of CRC cell lines as well as primary tumor cells. Mechanistically, we demonstrated EPLE exerted its function through suppressing Wnt signaling pathway, as evidenced by EPLE-mediated downregulation of Wnt target genes such as c-Myc, Axin2 and Survivin. Consistently, luciferase reporter assays showed that the EPLE directly blocked Wnt/β-catenin-mediated transcriptional activation. In combination of co-immunoprecipitation and protein structure-based analyses, we determined that the EPLE entered the interface of β-catenin/TCF4 complexes and blocked their interaction that is required for β-catenin-mediated transcriptional activation. Moreover, overexpression of β-catenin alleviated the cytotoxicity of EPLE in CRC cells, supporting Wnt signaling is a major and specific target of EPLE. Combined treatments of EPLE and 5-fluorouracil, the first-line chemotherapy for CRC patients, achieved a synergistic effect. More importantly, EPLE hampered tumor development in a CRC xenograft model. Our data thus establish EPLE as a novel inhibitor of Wnt signaling that holds great promise as a potential candidate for further preclinical evaluation for CRC treatments.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive and lethal disease with a high rate of metastasis. Numerous signaling events have been implicated in the molecular pathogenesis of this neoplasm. Aberrantly high expression of JAGGED2, one of the NOTCH ligands, often occurs in human PDAC. However, what role JAGGED2 plays in the disease development and whether JAGGED2 executes its function through activating NOTCH signaling remain to be determined. We report here that JAGGED2 plays a critical role in promoting PDAC metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Depletion of JAGGED2, but not its homolog JAGGED1, profoundly inhibited both migration and invasion without influencing cell proliferation. Furthermore, reconstitution of JAGGED2 expression rescued the migratory defect. Surprisingly, neither pharmacologic nor genetic inhibition of NOTCH downstream signaling resulted in obvious defect in metastasis. Instead, depletion of NOTCH1 expression per se gave rise to migratory defects similar to JAGGED2 ablation. Moreover, blockade of ligand–receptor interaction by a specific JAGGED2-Fc fusion protein dramatically inhibited PDAC cell migration, suggesting that tumor metastasis relies on physical interactions of JAGGED2-NOTCH1 but not Notch downstream signaling activation. Taken together, our data reveal a novel role of NOTCH in regulation of PDAC metastasis, and identify JAGGED2 as a critical mediator in this event. These findings also provide rationale for developing small molecules or biologic agents targeting JAGGED2 for therapeutic intervention. Mol Cancer Ther; 14(1); 289–97. ©2014 AACR.

Over-expression of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, a large family of integral membrane proteins that decrease cellular drug uptake and accumulation by active extrusion, is one of the major causes of cancer multi-drug resistance (MDR) that frequently leads to failure of chemotherapy. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-based drug delivery devices hold great promise in enhancing the efficacy of cancer chemotherapy. However, CNTs' effects on the ABC transporters remain under-investigated. In this study, we found that multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) reduced transport activity and expression of ABC transporters including ABCB1/Pgp and ABCC4/MRP4 in human colon adenocarcinoma Caco-2 cells. Proto-oncogene c-Myc, which directly regulates ABC gene expression, was concurrently decreased in MWCNT-treated cells and forced over-expression of c-Myc reversed MWCNTs' inhibitory effects on ABCB1 and ABCC4 expression. MWCNT-cell membrane interaction and cell membrane oxidative damage were observed. However, antioxidants such as vitamin C, β-mecaptoethanol and dimethylthiourea failed to antagonize MWCNTs' down-regulation of ABC transporters. These data suggest that MWCNTs may act on c-Myc, but not through oxidative stress, to down-regulate ABC transporter expression. Our findings thus shed light on CNTs' novel cellular effects that may be utilized to develop CNTs-based drug delivery devices to overcome ABC transporter-mediated cancer chemoresistance.

Notch transcription complexes (NTCs) drive target gene expression by binding to two distinct types of genomic response elements, NTC monomer–binding sites and sequence-paired sites (SPSs) that bind NTC dimers. SPSs are conserved and have been linked to the Notch responsiveness of a few genes. To assess the overall contribution of SPSs to Notch-dependent gene regulation, we determined the DNA sequence requirements for NTC dimerization using a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) assay and applied insights from these in vitro studies to Notch-“addicted” T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) cells. We found that SPSs contributed to the regulation of about a third of direct Notch target genes. Although originally described in promoters, SPSs are present mainly in long-range enhancers, including an enhancer containing a newly described SPS that regulates HES5 expression. Our work provides a general method for identifying SPSs in genome-wide data sets and highlights the widespread role of NTC dimerization in Notch-transformed leukemia cells.

Amplification of the MYCN gene in human neuroblastoma predicts poor prognosis and resistance to therapy. We previously showed that MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cells constantly require large amounts of glutamine to support their unabated growth. However, the identity and regulation of the transporter(s) that capture glutamine in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cells and the clinical significance of the transporter(s) in neuroblastoma diagnosis remain largely unknown. Here, we performed a systemic glutamine influx analysis and identified that MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cells predominantly rely on activation of ASCT2 (solute carrier family 1 member 5, SLC1A5) to maintain sufficient levels of glutamine essential for the TCA cycle anaplerosis. Consequently, ASCT2 depletion profoundly inhibited glutaminolysis, concomitant with a substantial decrease in cell proliferation and viability in vitro and inhibition of tumourigenesis in vivo. Mechanistically, we identified ATF4 as a novel regulator which coordinates with N-Myc to directly activate ASCT2 expression. Of note, ASCT2 expression, which correlates with that of N-Myc and ATF4, is markedly elevated in high-stage neuroblastoma tumour samples compared with low-stage ones. More importantly, high ASCT2 expression is significantly associated with poor prognosis and survival of neuroblastoma patients. In aggregate, these findings elucidate a novel mechanism depicting how cell autonomous insults (MYCN amplification) and microenvironmental stresses (ATF4 induction) in concert coordinate ASCT2 activation to promote aggressive neuroblastoma progression, and establish ASCT2 as a novel biomarker in patient prognosis and stratification.

// Chong Li 1,2 , Ji Wang 3 , Hong Zhang 3 , Mingao Zhu 3 , Feifei Chen 3 , Yufeng Hu 4 , Hudan Liu 4 and Hong Zhu 1 1 Department of Oncology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China 2 CAS Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, China 3 Department of Oncology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China 4 School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China Correspondence: Hong Zhu, email: // Keywords : ISG15, HCC, Metastasis, Tumorigenesis Received : June 04, 2014 Accepted : August 05, 2014 Published : August 06, 2014 Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide with poor prognosis. IFN-stimulated genes 15 (ISG15) is an ubiquitin-like molecule that is strongly upregulated by type I interferons as a primary response to diverse microbial and cellular stress stimuli. However, the role of ISG15 in HCC remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the function of ISG15 during HCC progression and related mechanism using clinicopathological data, cell line and xenograft model. Our results indicated that ISG15 is highly expressed in HCC tissues and multiple HCC cell lines. ISG15 expression is significantly associated with the differentiation grade, metastatic of tumor and survival of HCC patients. However, the expression of ISG15 is not affected by HBV infection. ISG15 promotes the proliferation and migration of hepatocarcinoma cells through maintaining Survivin protein stabilization via sequestering XIAP from interacting with Survivin. Knowing down ISG15 with SiRNA inhibited the xenografted tumor growth and prolonged the lifespan of tumor-bearing mice. All these results support that ISG15 high expression is an intrinsic feature for HCC and a trigger for tumorigenesis and metastasis. ISG15 may be a prognostic biomarker and the inhibition of ISG15 could provide a therapeutic advantage for HCC patients over-expressing ISG15.

The aberrant activation of oncogene MYC (also termed c-MYC) is one of the most common features in human cancer. The unleashed MYC oncogene frequently produces abundant MYC protein, which mediates a transcriptional response involved in a variety of biological processes, contributing to almost every aspect of tumorigenesis. The significance of MYC deregulation has been recognized in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), a life-threatening hematological malignancy with dismal outcome due to disease relapse and drug resistance. Therapeutic efforts aimed at inhibiting MYC expression or activity should have an important clinical relevance. However, attempts to directly disrupt MYC function have met with limited success, in part due to its "undruggable" protein structure. Aurora kinases, a multi-genic family of serine/threonine kinases, consist Aurora A (AURKA), Aurora B (AURKB) and Aurora C (AURKC). They are known to play an integral role in the regulation of cell division and chromosomal segregation. Amplification or overexpression of Aurora kinases is frequently found in human cancers with clear evidence of oncogenic potential, implicating Aurora kinases as rational anti-tumor targets. AURKB is the catalytic subunit of the chromosomal passenger protein complex (CPPC) which regulates multiple facets of cell division. Overexpression of AURKB has been reported in a variety of cancers and predicts poor overall survival. AZD1152 is a highly potent and selective inhibitor of Aurora B; preclinical evidence of anti-tumor efficacy with AZD1152 has extended to the clinical setting with tolerable toxicity. Despite considerable study, it remains largely unclear how expression of AURKB is elevated and, in particular, how elevated levels of AURKB reprogram cells to promote the cancer progression. We identified AURKB as a novel MYC binding partner using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. To assess the potential role of AURKB in regulating MYC, we inhibited AURKB in multiple T-ALL cell lines and found that MYC protein expression was diminished significantly. Notably, depletion of AURKB failed to downregulate MYC mRNA, suggesting a post-transcriptional regulation of the MYC protein. We then assessed MYC protein decay in the presence or absence of AURKB expression. Time course experiments revealed that knockdown of AURKB significantly shortened the half-life of endogenous MYC in T-ALL cells. Consistently, AURKB depletion resulted in significant downregulation of MYC-induced gene expression programs, corroborating an essential role of AURKB in sustaining MYC transcriptional activities. Regulation of MYC degradation by ubiquitin-proteasome system is dependent on MYC phosphorylation. Initiation of MYC turnover requires GSK3b-mediated phosphorylation of threonine 58 (p-T58). Time-course analysis showed that treatment with AZD1152 in T-ALL cells resulted in a notable increase in MYC p-T58. We performed in vitro kinase assays and found that MYC is phosphorylated directly by AURKB. This phosphorylation counteracted GSK3b-directed Thr58 phosphorylation and subsequent FBW7-mediated proteasomal degradation and enhanced the MYC protein stability. The AURKB mRNA and protein are generally more abundant in human T-ALL than normal thymocytes. We demonstrated that MYC, in concert with TAL1, directly binds to the AURKB promoter and activates its transcription, thus constituting a reciprocal regulation between MYC and AURKB. In order to clarify the biological significance of the AURKB-MYC circuit, we co-injected the one-cell-stage zebrafish embryos with the rag2:EGFP-Myc construct alone or together with rag2:AURKB followed by fluorescent microscopy analysis. Our results demonstrate that AURKB phosphorylation of MYC is functionally important for T cell leukemogenesis in vivo. Moreover, inhibition of AURKB elicits dramatic MYC degradation in association with robust apoptosis in wild type-FBW7 T-ALL cells, suggesting that FBW7 mutational status may serve as a genetic predictor of sensitivity to AURKB inhibitors. In this study, we unravel a non-mitotic role of AURKB in promoting MYC stabilization via direct MYC phosphorylation at an unconventional site. Our findings decipher a previously unsuspected mechanism involved in MYC deregulation and highlight disruption of the AURKB-MYC signaling circuit as a promising T-ALL therapeutic strategy. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Aberrant activation of the NOTCH signaling pathway is crucial for the onset and progression of T cell leukemia. Yet recent studies also suggest a tumor suppressive role of NOTCH signaling in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and reactivation of this pathway offers an attractive opportunity for anti-AML therapies. N-methylhemeanthidine chloride (NMHC) is a novel Amaryllidaceae alkaloid that we previously isolated from Zephyranthes candida, exhibiting inhibitory activities in a variety of cancer cells, particularly those from AML. Here, we report NMHC not only selectively inhibits AML cell proliferation in vitro but also hampers tumor development in a human AML xenograft model. Genome-wide gene expression profiling reveals that NMHC activates the NOTCH signaling. Combination of NMHC and recombinant human NOTCH ligand DLL4 achieves a remarkable synergistic effect on NOTCH activation. Moreover, pre-inhibition of NOTCH by overexpression of dominant negative MAML alleviates NMHC-mediated cytotoxicity in AML. Further mechanistic analysis using structure-based molecular modeling as well as biochemical assays demonstrates that NMHC docks in the hydrophobic cavity within the NOTCH1 negative regulatory region (NRR), thus promoting NOTCH1 proteolytic cleavage. Our findings thus establish NMHC as a potential NOTCH agonist that holds great promises for future development as a novel agent beneficial to patients with AML.

MYCN amplification in human cancers predicts poor prognosis and resistance to therapy. However, pharmacological strategies that directly target N-Myc, the protein encoded by MYCN, remain elusive. Here, we identify a molecular mechanism responsible for reciprocal activation between Polo-like kinase-1 (PLK1) and N-Myc. PLK1 specifically binds to the SCFFbw7 ubiquitin ligase, phosphorylates it, and promotes its autopolyubiquitination and proteasomal degradation, counteracting Fbw7-mediated degradation of N-Myc and additional substrates, including cyclin E and Mcl1. Stabilized N-Myc in turn directly activates PLK1 transcription, constituting a positive feedforward regulatory loop that reinforces Myc-regulated oncogenic programs. Inhibitors of PLK1 preferentially induce potent apoptosis of MYCN-amplified tumor cells from neuroblastoma and small cell lung cancer and synergistically potentiate the therapeutic efficacies of Bcl2 antagonists. These findings reveal a PLK1-Fbw7-Myc signaling circuit that underlies tumorigenesis and validate PLK1 inhibitors, alone or with Bcl2 antagonists, as potential effective therapeutics for MYC-overexpressing cancers.

Notch signaling regulates myriad cellular functions by activating transcription, yet how Notch selectively activates different transcriptional targets is poorly understood. The core Notch transcriptional activation complex can bind DNA as a monomer, but it can also dimerize on DNA-binding sites that are properly oriented and spaced. However, the significance of Notch dimerization is unknown. Here, we show that dimeric Notch transcriptional complexes are required for T-cell maturation and leukemic transformation but are dispensable for T-cell fate specification from a multipotential precursor. The varying requirements for Notch dimerization result from the differential sensitivity of specific Notch target genes. In particular, c-Myc and pre-T-cell antigen receptor α (Ptcra) are dimerization-dependent targets, whereas Hey1 and CD25 are not. These findings identify functionally important differences in the responsiveness among Notch target genes attributable to the formation of higher-order complexes. Consequently, it may be possible to develop a new class of Notch inhibitors that selectively block outcomes that depend on Notch dimerization (e.g., leukemogenesis).

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous single-stranded RNA molecules of about 21 nucleotides in length that are fundamental post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. Although the transcriptional and processing events involved in the generation of miRNAs have been extensively studied, very little is known pertaining to components that regulate the stability of individual miRNAs. All RNAs have distinct inherent half-lives that dictate their level of accumulation and miRNAs would be expected to follow a similar principle. Here we demonstrate that although most miRNA appear to be stable, like mRNAs, miRNAs possess differential stability in human cells. In particular, we found that miR-382, a miRNA that contributes to HIV-1 provirus latency, is unstable in cells. To determine the region of miR-382 responsible for its rapid decay, we developed a cell-free system that recapitulated the observed cell-based-regulated miR-382 turnover. The system utilizes in vitro-processed mature miRNA derived from pre-miRNA and follows the decay of the processed miRNA. Using this system, we demonstrate that instability of miR-382 is driven by sequences outside its seed region and required the 3′ terminal seven nucleotides where mutations in this region increased the stability of the RNA. Moreover, the exosome 3′–5′ exoribonuclease complex was identified as the primary nuclease involved in miR-382 decay with a more modest contribution by the Xrn1 and no detectable contribution by Xrn2. These studies provide evidence for an miRNA element essential for rapid miRNA decay and implicate the exosome in this process. The development of a biochemically amendable system to analyze the mechanism of differential miRNA stability provides an important step in efforts to regulate gene expression by modulating miRNA stability.

Contains fulltext : 88453.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Somatic activating mutations in Notch1 contribute to the pathogenesis of T cell acute lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-ALL), but how activated Notch1 signaling exerts this oncogenic effect is not completely understood. Here we identify HIV-1 Rev-binding protein (Hrb), a component of the clathrin-mediated endocytosis machinery, as a critical mediator of Notch-induced T-ALL development in mice. Hrb was found to be a direct transcriptional target of Notch1, and Hrb loss reduced the incidence or delayed the onset of T-ALL in mouse models in which activated Notch1 signaling either contributes to or drives leukemogenesis. Consistent with this observation, Hrb supported survival and proliferation of hematopoietic and T cell precursor cells in vitro. We demonstrated that Hrb accelerated the uptake of transferrin, which was required for upregulation of the T cell protooncogene p21. Indeed, iron-deficient mice developed Notch1-induced T-ALL substantially more slowly than control mice, further supporting a critical role for iron uptake during leukemogenesis. Taken together, these results reveal that Hrb is a critical Notch target gene that mediates lymphoblast transformation and disease progression via its ability to satisfy the enhanced demands of transformed lymphoblasts for iron. Further, our data suggest that Hrb may be targeted to improve current treatment or design novel therapies for human T-ALL patients.

The human scavenger decapping enzyme, DcpS, functions to hydrolyze the resulting cap structure following cytoplasmic mRNA decay yet is, surprisingly, a nuclear protein by immunofluorescence. Here, we show that DcpS is a nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein that contains separable nuclear import and Crm-1-dependent export signals. We postulated that the presence of DcpS in both cellular compartments and its ability to hydrolyze cap structure may impact other cellular events dependent on cap-binding proteins. An shRNA-engineered cell line with markedly diminished DcpS levels led to a corresponding reduction in cap-proximal intron splicing of a reporter minigene and endogenous genes. The impaired cap catabolism and resultant imbalanced cap concentrations were postulated to sequester the cap-binding complex (CBC) from its normal splicing function. In support of this explanation, DcpS efficiently displaced the nuclear cap-binding protein Cbp20 from cap structure, and complementation with Cbp20 reversed the reduced splicing, indicating that modulation of splicing by DcpS is mediated through Cbp20. Our studies demonstrate that the significance of DcpS extends beyond its well-characterized role in mRNA decay and involves a broader range of functions in RNA processing including nuclear pre-mRNA splicing.

Aberrant activation of NOTCH1 signaling plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Yet the molecular events downstream of NOTCH1 that drive T-cell leukemogenesis remain incompletely understood. Starting from genome-wide gene-expression profiling to seek important NOTCH1 transcriptional targets, we identified DEP-domain containing mTOR-interacting protein (DEPTOR), which was previously shown to be important in multiple myeloma but remains functionally unclear in other hematological malignancies. Mechanistically, we demonstrated NOTCH1 directly bound to and activated the human DEPTOR promoter in T-ALL cells. DEPTOR depletion abolished cellular proliferation, attenuated glycolytic metabolism and enhanced cell death, while ectopically expressed DEPTOR significantly promoted cell growth and glycolysis. We further showed that DEPTOR depletion inhibited while its overexpression enhanced AKT activation in T-ALL cells. Importantly, AKT inhibition completely abrogated DEPTOR-mediated cell growth advantages. Moreover, DEPTOR depletion in a human T-ALL xenograft model significantly delayed T-ALL onset and caused a substantial decrease of AKT activation in leukemic blasts. We thus reveal a novel mechanism involved in NOTCH1-driven leukemogenesis, identifying the transcriptional control of DEPTOR and its regulation of AKT as additional key elements of the leukemogenic program activated by NOTCH1.

Deamidation of glutamine to glutamate by glutaminase 1 (GLS1, also called GLS) and GLS2 is an essential step in both glutaminolysis and glutathione (GSH) biosynthesis. However, mechanisms whereby cancer cells regulate glutamine catabolism remains largely unknown. We report here that N-Myc, an essential Myc family member, promotes conversion of glutamine to glutamate in MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cells by directly activating GLS2, but not GLS1, transcription. Abrogation of GLS2 function profoundly inhibited glutaminolysis, which resulted in feedback inhibition of aerobic glycolysis likely due to thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) activation, dramatically decreasing cell proliferation and survival in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, elevated GLS2 expression is significantly elevated in MYCN-amplified neuroblastomas in comparison with non-amplified ones, correlating with unfavorable patient survival. In aggregate, these results reveal a novel mechanism deciphering context-dependent regulation of metabolic heterogeneities, uncovering a previously unsuspected link between Myc, GLS2 and tumor metabolism.

Successful expansion of hematopoietic stem cells would benefit the use of hematopoietic stem cell transplants in the clinic. Several angiopoietin-like proteins, including angiopoietin-like 7, can support the activity of hematopoietic stem cells. However, effects of ANGPTL7 on human hematopoietic stem cells and the downstream signaling cascade activated by ANGPTL7 are poorly understood. Here, we established a human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell-supportive mouse fetal liver cell line that specifically expressed the Angptl7 protein. Furthermore, we found ANGPTL7 is capable of stimulating human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell expansion and increasing the repopulation activities of human hematopoietic progenitors in xenografts. RNA-sequencing analysis showed that ANGPTL7 activated the expression of CXCR4, HOXB4 and Wnt downstream targets in human hematopoietic progenitors. In addition, chemical manipulation of Wnt signaling diminished the effects of ANGPTL7 on human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in culture. In summary, we identify the secreted growth factor ANGPTL7 as a regulator of both human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell expansion and regeneration.

A unique characteristic of eukaryotic mRNA is the N7-methylated guanosine cap structure that is cotranscriptionally added to the 5′ terminus of nascent RNA (40). The cap serves to protect the 5′ end of the mRNA from exoribonucleolytic degradation (49). It also functions in the transport of mature mRNA from the nucleus to the cytoplasm (18, 20), in translation initiation (12), and in pre-mRNA splicing (24). The cap is bound by distinct cap-binding proteins in each cellular compartment. A heterodimeric complex of CBC20 and CBC80 binds the cap in the nucleus (19), while eIF4E, the translation initiation factor, associates with the cap in the cytoplasm (12). In addition to these major cap binding proteins, several other factors have also been demonstrated to bind the mRNA cap, including the mammalian poly(A)-binding protein (22), the cold shock protein YB-1 (10), and the scavenger decapping protein (28, 37). Decay of mRNA is not a randomized process and proceeds through at least two major decay pathways, both of which are initiated by removal of the poly(A) tail (31). Following deadenylation, the mRNA is decapped and degraded by a 5′ to 3′ exonucleolytic activity in the 5′ decay pathway. In the 3′ decay pathway, the mRNA is continuously degraded from the 3′ end following deadenylation, generating an m7GpppN cap dinucleotide that is hydrolyzed by a scavenger decapping activity (27, 48). Each mRNA decay pathway utilizes a unique decapping activity with a distinct substrate specificity (7). In the 5′ pathway, both the yeast and human Dcp2 proteins utilize capped mRNA as a substrate and hydrolyze the cap structure to generate m7GDP and RNA with a monophosphate at its 5′ end (29, 41, 43, 47). The exposed 5′ end of the RNA is degraded by Xrn1p, the 5′ to 3′ exoribonuclease, leading to rapid degradation of the RNA body (4, 17, 25). A scavenger decapping activity termed DcpS in mammals and Dcs1p in budding yeast functions in the final step of the 3′ decay pathway. This activity hydrolyzes the residual cap structure following 3′ to 5′ exonucleolytic decay by the exosome complex to release m7GMP and nucleotide diphosphate (27, 48). Characterization of scavenger decapping activity indicates its strong preference for binding and hydrolyzing cap structure linked to an RNA of less than 10 nucleotides in mammals and 3 nucleotides in Caenorhabditis elegans (6, 27, 28). Recent structural analysis of DcpS reveals that it can form either an asymmetric dimer bound to two cap dinucleotides (13) or a symmetric dimer in the ligand-free protein (5). The dimers contain distinct amino-terminal and carboxyl-terminal domains separated by a hinge region (13). The structure indicates that the N terminus can flip back and forth, alternating on each side from a productive closed to a nonproductive open conformation (13). An interesting property of DcpS is its almost exclusive utilization of the residual cap dinucleotide following 3′ exonucleolytic decay of the RNA (27, 28). This substrate specificity is due in part to a higher affinity of DcpS for the cap structure (28) and more significantly to both entropic and steric constraints in the formation of a closed decapping-competent complex in the presence of an mRNA moiety on the cap (13). Saccharomyces cerevisiae contains two proteins termed Dcs1p and Dcs2p that are equally homologous to the human DcpS. Curiously, only Dcs1p possesses intrinsic decapping activity analogous to that of DcpS (27). The enzymatic activity and substrate specificity for Dcs2p remain unknown, although its ability to heterodimerize with Dcs1p suggests that it might be a modulator of Dcs1p decapping activity (30). Dcs1p is a member of the histidine triad (HIT) family of nucleotide binding proteins and contains the characteristic HIT motif (His-X-His-X-His-X, where X is a hydrophobic amino acid) which is required for its cap hydrolysis activity (27). By virtue of its ability to hydrolyze the cap dinucleotide (27), DcpS and Dcs1p are postulated to function during the terminal phase of mRNA decay. Here we demonstrate that Dcs1p also functions to impact the 5′ mRNA decay pathway.

Eukaryotic cells primarily utilize exoribonucleases and decapping enzymes to degrade their mRNA. Two major decapping enzymes have been identified. The hDcp2 protein catalyzes hydrolysis of the 5′ cap linked to an RNA moiety, whereas the scavenger decapping enzyme, DcpS, functions on a cap structure lacking the RNA moiety. DcpS is a member of the histidine triad (HIT) family of hydrolases and catalyzes the cleavage of m7GpppN. HIT proteins are homodimeric and contain two conserved 100-aminoacid HIT fold domains with independent active sites that are each sufficient to bind and hydrolyze cognate substrates. We carried out a functional characterization of the DcpS enzyme and demonstrate that unlike previously described HIT proteins, DcpS is a modular protein that requires both the core HIT fold at the carboxylterminus and sequences at the amino-terminus of the protein for cap binding and hydrolysis. Interestingly, DcpS can efficiently compete for and hydrolyze the cap structure even in the presence of excess eIF4E, implying that DcpS could function to alleviate the accumulation of complexes between eIF4E and cap structure that would otherwise accumulate following mRNA decay. Using immunofluorescence microscopy, we demonstrate that DcpS is predominantly a nuclear protein, with low levels of detected protein in the cytoplasm. Furthermore, analysis of the endogenous hDcp2 protein reveals that in addition to the cytoplasmic foci, it is also present in the nucleus. These data reveal that both decapping enzymes are contained in the nuclear compartment, indicating that they may fulfill a greater function in the nucleus than previously appreciated.

Cancer cells amplify the expression of ASC amino acid transporter 2 (ASCT2, also called SLC1A5), a high-affinity glutamine carrier protein, to coordinate metabolic reprogramming and malignant transformation. Yet genetic and/or epigenetic mechanisms underlying the control of ASCT2-mediated glutamine metabolism remain to be clarified. Combined in-silico algorithms with systemic experimental screening, we herein identify the tumor suppressor miR-137 as an essential regulator that targets ASCT2 mRNA and cancer cell glutamine metabolism. Metabolic analysis shows that miR-137 derepression, similar to ASCT2 inactivation, significantly inhibits glutamine consumption and TCA cycle anaplerosis. Mechanistically, methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) and DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) cooperate to promote active methylation of the miR-137 promoter and its decreased transcription, which conversely enhances ASCT2 expression and glutamine metabolism. As such, expression between miR-137 and ASCT2 is inversely correlated in multiple human cancer types, including colorectal carcinomas, glioblastomas, prostate and pancreatic cancers. These findings thus elucidate a universal mechanism responsible for ASCT2 deregulation in human cancers, revealing a molecular link between miR-137, ASCT2 and tumor metabolism. Citation Format: Xiao Daibiao, Junli Dong, Zihan Zhao, Ping Ren, Cong Li, Yufeng Hu, Jianguo Shi, Hexiu Su, Zhaojing Wang, Hudan Liu, Bo Li, Peng Gao, Guoliang Qing. Epigenetic silencing of microRNA-137 enhances ASCT2 expression and tumor glutamine metabolism [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1474. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1474

We previously reported the isolation of a novel Amaryllidaceae alkaloid, N-methylhemeanthidine chloride (NMHC), from Zephyranthes candida, which exhibits potent cytotoxicity in a spectrum of tumor cells. However, the mechanism of action remains unclear. Using multiple cell lines derived from human pancreatic cancer, one of the most mortal and refractory human malignancies, we further studied the NMHC-mediated cytotoxicity and found that it induced drastic cytotoxicity in pancreatic cancer cells whereas an insignificant effect on a noncancerous cell line. The NMHC-mediated growth inhibition was more severe than the first-line chemotherapeutic agent gemcitabine, leading to cell cycle arrest, apoptotic death and decreased glycolysis. NMHC exerted its function through down-regulating AKT activation, and the ectopic expression of activated AKT rescued the growth inhibition. Consistently, NMHC injections in a pancreatic cancer xenograft model manifested the anti-tumor effect in vivo. Engrafted tumor cells underwent AKT attenuation and apoptotic death upon treatments. As such, we here demonstrate the AKT inhibition may be one of the mechanisms by which NMHC decreases tumor cell survival rate in vitro and in vivo. Our data thereby suggest that NMHC holds great promise as a potent chemotherapeutic agent against pancreatic cancer and sheds new light on obtaining such agents from natural products toward therapeutic purposes.

T-acute lymphoblastic leukemias (T-ALLs) are aggressive hematologic tumors resulting from the malignant transformation of T cell progenitors. In this context, constitutive activation of NOTCH1 signaling is the most prominent oncogenic pathway in T cell transformation. Yet functional role(s) of NOTCH1 in T-ALL pathogenesis and precise mechanism(s) of action remain to be fully determined. SHQ1 is an essential assembly factor for H/ACA ribonucleoproteins which are required for spliceosomal small nuclear RNA (snRNA) maturation. We here identify SHQ1 as a NOTCH1 downstream target that plays a pivotal role in maintaining MYC splicing fidelity and promoting T-ALL cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. We identified SHQ1 as a NOTCH1-regulated gene from multiple human T-ALL genome-wide expression studies. To validate this finding, we analyzed SHQ1 expression in a spectrum of human T-ALL cells upon NOTCH1 pathway inhibition. NOTCH1 inactivation caused a marked downregulation of SHQ1 in all T-ALL cell lines tested. We further demonstrated NOTCH1 bound to the canonical CSL binding sites in the SHQ1 promoter and directly activated the transcription. We next systematically analyzed the SHQ1 expression in 174 T-ALL primary samples and found that SHQ1 expression was significantly elevated in T-ALL compared with normal peripheral blood. To explore the functional role of SHQ1, we knocked it down in T-ALL using specific shRNAs. SHQ1 depletion profoundly inhibited T-ALL cell proliferation and induced massive apoptotic cell death. Consistent with these in vitro findings, SHQ1 depletion in a human T-ALL xenograft significantly delayed leukemia onset and prolonged survival. To decipher the molecular mechanism whereby SHQ1 contributes to T cell leukemogenesis, we performed genome-wide RNA-Seq and analyzed alternative splicing across the genome. Approximately 70% of genes exhibited abnormal intron retention upon SHQ1 depletion. Among those whose expression levels and mRNA splicing were prominently altered by SHQ1, MYC gained our attention because of its vital role in T-ALL. Depletion of SHQ1 resulted in marked downregulation of mature MYC mRNA and protein. Endogenous mRNA analysis and mini-gene experiments showed aberrant accumulation of MYC pre-mRNA in SHQ1-depleted cells. Expectedly, SHQ1 knockdown had minimal effects on T-ALL cells constitutively expressing a human MYC protein. In addition to the well-documented transcriptional control of MYC by NOTCH1, we herein report a previously unsuspected mechanism in which NOTCH1 modulates MYC splicing by activation of SHQ1. Our findings not only shed new insights in the molecular pathology of NOTCH1-induced T-ALL but also provide a new layer of regulation of oncogene MYC at the post-transcriptional level, mechanism of which may apply to other MYC involved tumors. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

NOTCH1 plays a central role in T-cell development and, when aberrantly activated, in acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). As a transmembrane receptor that is ultimately converted into a transcription factor, NOTCH1 directly activates a spectrum of target genes, which function to mediate NOTCH1 signaling in normal or transformed T cells. During physiologic T-cell development, NOTCH1 has important functions in cell fate determination, proliferation, survival and metabolism. Activating NOTCH1 mutations occur in more than half of human patients with T-ALL, suggesting an important role for aberrant NOTCH1 signaling in the pathogenesis of this disease. Inhibiting NOTCH1 signaling in patient-derived cell lines and murine T-ALLs leads to growth arrest and/or apoptosis suggesting that NOTCH1 inhibitors can improve T-ALL treatment. However, there are challenges to translate NOTCH1 inhibitors to the clinic because of toxicity and resistance. This review focuses on molecular mechanisms of oncogenic NOTCH1 signaling, molecular and functional analysis of NOTCH1 transcriptional targets in T-ALL, and recent advances in therapeutic targeting of NOTCH1.

NF-kappaB-inducing kinase (NIK) is required for NF-kappaB activation based on the processing of NF-kappaB2 p100. Here we report a novel mechanism of NIK regulation involving the chaperone 90 kDa heat shock protein (Hsp90) and autophagy. Functional inhibition of Hsp90 by the anti-tumor agent geldanamycin (GA) efficiently disrupts its interaction with NIK, resulting in NIK degradation and subsequent blockage of p100 processing. Surprisingly, GA-induced NIK degradation is mediated by autophagy, but largely independent of the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Hsp90 seems to be specifically involved in the folding/stabilization of NIK protein, because GA inhibition does not affect NIK mRNA transcription and translation. Furthermore, Hsp90 is not required for NIK-mediated recruitment of the alpha subunit of IkappaB kinase to p100, a key step in induction of p100 processing. These findings define an alternative mechanism for Hsp90 client degradation and identify a novel function of autophagy in NF-kappaB regulation. These findings also suggest a new therapeutic strategy for diseases associated with p100 processing.

DEP-Domain Containing mTOR-Interacting Protein (DEPTOR) is frequently overexpressed in multiple myelomas and required for cell survival. However, its implications in other hematological malignancies and the precise mechanisms of regulation remain largely undefined. Here, we systematically analyzed DEPTOR expression in human acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a hematological malignancy accounting for 80% of pediatric leukemia. Whereas substantially inhibited in B-ALLs, unexpectedly, expression of DEPTOR is significantly elevated in a subset of T-ALLs where NOTCH1 is aberrantly activated. Mechanistically, we show DEPTOR expression is dependent on NOTCH signaling in T-ALL cell lines and primary specimens, and demonstrate NOTCH1 directly binds to and activates human DEPTOR promoter. DEPTOR depletion in T-ALL cells abolishes proliferation, attenuates glucose metabolism, enhances apoptosis and sensitizes resistant cells to γ-secretase inhibitor or dexamethasone treatments. Conversely, ectopically expressed DEPTOR promotes proliferation and aerobic glycolysis, and confers dexamethasone resistance. DEPTOR functions through AKT-dependent mechanisms to sustain cell proliferation and drug resistance, while the AKT-independent roles of DEPTOR appear to promote glucose metabolism. We therefore define a novel mechanism that, in addition to the previously reported HES1/PTEN-mediated regulation of AKT, NOTCH1 alternatively activates AKT through inducing the downstream target gene DEPTOR. Our findings thereby highlight DEPTOR as a critical mediator in leukemogenesis and suggest DEPTOR expression may serve as a potential biomarker predicting glucocorticoid resistance and targeting DEPTOR may achieve better therapeutic benefits. Citation Format: Yufeng Hu, Hexiu Su, Qi Ye, Zhaojing Wang, Liang Huang, Qian Wang, Shuangyou Liu, Suning Chen, Jianfeng Zhou, Peng Li, Guoliang Qing, Hudan Liu. DEPTOR is a direct NOTCH1 target that regulates proliferation, metabolism and glucocorticoid resistance in T cell leukemia. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 2095. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-2095

Elevated glutamine metabolism is an essential feature for malignant transformation. Glutaminase-catalyzed deamidation of glutamine to glutamate is a key step in both glutaminolysis and synthesis of ROS-scavenging glutathione. Two predominant human isozymes of glutaminase, kidney-type GLS1 (also called GLS) and liver-type GLS2, are involved in regulation of glutaminolysis. It has been shown the Myc family member, c-Myc, specifically potentiates elevated expression of GLS1 and promotes the downstream utilization of glutamine carbon in anaplerosis in liver cancer, whereas p53 tumor suppressor specifically activates GLS2 to support cellular defense against oxidative stress, suggesting GLS1 promoted tumorigenesis whereas GLS2 may inhibited it. However, whether cancer cells of different origins use a common or unique signal pathways to regulate glutamine metabolism remains largely unexplored. Using MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma as a model system, we identified GLS2 expression dramatically increased while that of GLS1 substantially decreased in the tumorigenic process of N-Myc transformed neuroblastoma. GLS2 depletion profoundly inhibited glutaminolysis concomitant with a substantial decrease in cell proliferation and viability in vitro and inhibition of tumorigenesis in vivo. Mechanistically, N-Myc, but not p53, selectively activates GLS2 transcription by direct binding to a conserved Myc-binding site within GLS2 promoter. In support of this notion, we found significant elevation of GLS2 expression concomitant with considerable GLS1 down-regulation in primary tumors obtained from MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma patients (invariably with poor prognosis) in comparison with those from MYCN non-amplified patients. In aggregate, these studies suggest that the metabolic regulation of c-Myc induced liver tumors differs from that of N-Myc induced neuroblastoma tumors which is likely to depend on both the genotype and the tissues of origin and have implications regarding the design of selective therapies targeting tumor metabolism. Citation Format: Daibiao Xiao, Ping Ren, Hexiu Su, Ming Yue, Ruijuan Xiu, Lei Gan, Hudan Liu, Guoliang Qing. N-Myc promotes glutamine anaplerosis and aggressive tumor progression through direct GLS2 activation. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1134. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1134

Acute T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a malignant disorder of thymocyte progenitors, accounting for 10-15% of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The activation of NOTCH1 signaling in T-ALL, by either NOTCH1 (Weng A et al, Science, 2004) or FBW7 (Thompson BJ, J Exp Med, 2007) mutations, is one of the major events that contribute to disease development. DEPTOR emerges as an endogenous mTOR inhibitor, whose expression is low in most cancer cells but surprisingly high in multiple myeloma, resulting in activated AKT (Peterson TR et al, Cell, 2009). However, its implications in other hematological malignancies and the mechanism of regulation remains largely unknown. In this study, we present a novel NOTCH1-mediated transcriptional regulation of DEPTOR in T-ALL and show that DEPTOR is required for T-ALL cell proliferation and survival, and regulates T-ALL cell glucose metabolism via AKT activation. In T-ALL cells, gamma-secretase inhibitor (GSI) treatments resulted in an appreciable decrease of deptor mRNA (Figure 1A) and protein levels (Figure 1B). We then analyzed 174 T-ALL patient specimens (Haferlach J, J Clin Oncol, 2010) and found the expression level of deptor was highly correlated with notch1 and hes1 (Figure 1C). Sequence analyses within the deptor promoter revealed two CSL binding consensus sequences (Figure 1D) and the results from chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays indicated a strong physical interaction of ICN1 and the deptor promoter, which was abolished by gamma-secretase inhibition (Figure 1E). Taken together, our data demonstrate that NOTCH1 directly binds to the deptor promoter and activates transcription. To understand its functional role in T-ALL, we depleted DEPTOR in HPB-ALL cells and observed dramatic decrease of cell viability (Figure 2A and 2B) and noticeable enhancement of cell apoptotic death (Figure 2C). Moreover, DEPTOR knockdown significantly reduced glucose uptake and lactate release (Figure 2D), very likely, due to impaired AKT activation reflected by decreased AKT phosphorylation at the Ser473 and Thr308 sites (Figure 2E). These findings provide strong evidence suggesting that high expression of DEPTOR is essential for maintaining T-ALL cell metabolism and survival through promoting AKT activation. Our findings thus establish DEPTOR as a key regulator in mediating the crosstalk between NOTCH1 and AKT signaling pathways, two master oncogenic players in T-ALL. Furthermore, these data provide rationale of developing small molecules or biological agents targeting DEPTOR, in combination with current therapies, for T-ALL treatments. Figure 1 Deptor is a direct downstream target of NOTCH1 signaling. Compound E treatments decreased the mRNA (A) and protein expression (B) of deptor. (C) Analyses of 174 T-ALL patients revealed that mRNA expression of deptor is highly correlated with notch1 and hes1. (D) The schematic presentation of deptor promoter. Two CSL binding site sequences are shown. TIS, transcription initiation site. (E) ChIP assays revealed that NOTCH1 directly bound to the deptor promoter and Compound E treatments abolished the association. hes1 and actin promoters are shown as positive and negative controls. Figure 1. Deptor is a direct downstream target of NOTCH1 signaling. Compound E treatments decreased the mRNA (A) and protein expression (B) of deptor. (C) Analyses of 174 T-ALL patients revealed that mRNA expression of deptor is highly correlated with notch1 and hes1. (D) The schematic presentation of deptor promoter. Two CSL binding site sequences are shown. TIS, transcription initiation site. (E) ChIP assays revealed that NOTCH1 directly bound to the deptor promoter and Compound E treatments abolished the association. hes1 and actin promoters are shown as positive and negative controls. Figure 2 DEPTOR is required for T-ALL cell proliferation, survival and glucose metabolism. In HPB-ALL cells, DEPTORdepletion inhibited cell proliferation (A, B), enhanced cell apoptosis (C), reduced the rates of glucose metabolism (D) and attenuated AKT phosphorylation (E). Figure 2. DEPTOR is required for T-ALL cell proliferation, survival and glucose metabolism. In HPB-ALL cells, DEPTORdepletion inhibited cell proliferation (A, B), enhanced cell apoptosis (C), reduced the rates of glucose metabolism (D) and attenuated AKT phosphorylation (E). Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Complete removal of residual N-7 guanine cap from degraded messenger RNA is necessary to prevent accumulation of intermediates that might interfere with RNA processing, export, and translation. The human scavenger decapping enzyme, DcpS, catalyzes residual cap hydrolysis following mRNA degradation, releasing N-7 methyl guanosine monophosphate and 5′-diphosphate terminated cap or mRNA products. DcpS structures bound to m 7 GpppG or m 7 GpppA reveal an asymmetric DcpS dimer that simultaneously creates an open nonproductive DcpS-cap complex and a closed productive DcpS-cap complex that alternate via 30 A domain movements. Structural and biochemical analysis suggests an autoregulatory mechanism whereby premature decapping mRNA is prevented by blocking the conformational changes that are required to form a closed productive active site capable of cap hydrolysis.

We recently demonstrated that the major decapping activity in mammalian cells involves DcpS, a scavenger pyrophosphatase that hydrolyzes the residual cap structure following 3′ to 5′ decay of an mRNA. The association of DcpS with 3′ to 5′ exonuclease exosome components suggests that these two activities are linked and there is a coupled exonucleolytic decay‐dependent decapping pathway. We purified DcpS from mammalian cells and identified the cDNA encoding a novel 40 kDa protein possessing DcpS activity. Consistent with purified DcpS, the recombinant protein specifically hydrolyzed methylated cap analog but did not hydrolyze unmethylated cap analog nor did it function on intact capped RNA. Sequence alignments of DcpS from different organisms revealed the presence of a conserved hexapeptide, containing a histidine triad (HIT) sequence with three histidines separated by hydrophobic residues. Mutagenesis analysis revealed that the central histidine within the DcpS HIT motif is critical for decapping activity and defines the HIT motif as a new mRNA decapping domain, making DcpS the first member of the HIT family of proteins with a defined biological function.

The NOTCH transcriptional complex forms dimer in the nucleus on some target gene promoters/enhancers bearing sequence-paired sites (SPS) that are properly spaced and orientated. We previously reported that NOTCH1 dimerization is required for the pathogenesis of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL). Although NOTCH1 dimers are suggested to regulate only a subset of target genes, identification of these targets and analysis of their function to mediate NOTCH1-induced T-ALL are very limited. Based on a genome-wide microarray gene profiling to screen dimer-dependent targets in a murine T-ALL cell line T6E, we report here that both Rag1 and Rag2 are direct dimeric NOTCH1 transcriptional targets. We also defined a SPS in the upstream enhancer region of Rag2 locus, which bears a canonical strong binding site and a consensus-deviated weak binding site. Chromatin precipitation assay (Chip) suggests that intracellular NOTCH1 occupies the SPS-containing region in T6E. Mutagenesis of either binding site abrogates NOTCH1-mediated transcriptional activation using the luciferase reporter. In addition, only the expression of dimerization competent NOTCH1 in the HSC derived from RAG1 or RAG2 GFP-reporter mice is able to induce GFP level. Taken together, we have identified two novel NOTCH1 dimer-dependent targets Rag1 and Rag2. These results provide additional examples showing that one conventional and one cryptic CSL binding site can constitute a functional SPS. Together with the observation of gain-of-function NOTCH1 truncations identified in murine T-ALL, our data suggest an important role of NOTCH1-RAG1/2 axis to amplify oncogenic signal strength in murine T-ALL. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3075. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3075

Abstract 3647 Notch1 encodes an essential transmembrane receptor that is frequently mutated in T-ALL. Notch signaling regulates cell fate decisions, proliferation, survival and metabolism by activating transcription; yet the mechanism by which Notch selectively activates different transcriptional targets is poorly understood. After ligand-induced proteolysis, the intracellular part of Notch (ICN) generates signals by entering the nucleus and forming a transcriptional activation complex with the transcription factor CSL and the co-activator Mastermind (MAML). This complex can bind DNA as a monomer [1-3], however it can also dimerize on sites in which a pair of head-to-head CSL binding sites is properly spaced (so-called paired sites) [4, 5]. Whether Notch dimerization is physiologically important is unknown. Using T cell development and transformation as models, we now report that dimeric Notch transcriptional complexes are required for leukemic transformation but dispensable for T cell fate specification from a multipotential precursor. The varying requirements for Notch dimerization within the T cell lineage result from the differential sensitivity of specific Notch target genes. One particularly important dimerization-dependent target of Notch, required for both T cell maturation and leukemogenesis, is the proto-oncogene c-Myc, whereas other well-characterized target genes, such as Hey1, show no dimerization-dependence. These findings identify functionally important differences in the responsiveness among Notch target genes attributable to the formation of higher-order complexes. Our data suggest that it may be possible to develop a new class of Notch inhibitors, which selectively block outcomes that are dependent on Notch dimerization (e.g., leukemogenesis). References: 1. Nam, Y., et al., J Biol Chem, 2003. 278: 21232. 2. Nam, Y., et al., Cell, 2006. 124: 973. 3. Wilson, J.J. and R.A. Kovall, Cell, 2006. 124: 985. 4. Bailey, A.M. and J.W. Posakony, Genes Dev, 1995. 9: 2609. 5. Nam, Y., et al., Proc Natl Acad of Sci USA, 2007. 104: 2103. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.