Browsing by Subject "Hypoxia"

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Open Access
Identifying and targeting coding/non-coding molecular switches regulating drug resistance and metastasis in breast cancer
(2017-09) Raza, Umar
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer associated deaths in women worldwide. Despite the availability of large number and various types of therapy agents which are effective in limiting tumor burden at initial stages, cancer cells still manage to resist to therapy treatment and exhibit re-growth of existing tumor or metastasize to distant organs. Therefore, there is a dire need to identify underlying molecular mechanisms to enhance therapy response and to block metastasis. In addition to coding genome, non-coding RNAs have also play active role in controlling proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and drug resistance in cancer. Therefore, I aimed to identify novel coding/non-coding molecular switches regulating drug resistance and metastasis in breast cancer. In the first part of this dissertation, I identified miR-644a as a novel tumor suppressor inhibiting both cell survival and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) whereby acting as pleiotropic therapy-sensitizer in breast cancer. Both miR-644a expression and its gene signature are associated with tumor progression and distant metastasis-free survival. Mechanistically, miR-644a directly targets the transcriptional co-repressor C-terminal binding protein 1 (CTBP1) whose knock-outs by the CRISPR-Cas9 system inhibit tumor growth, metastasis, and drug resistance, mimicking the phenotypes induced by miR-644a. Furthermore, miR-644a/CTBP1-mediated upregulation of wild type- or mutant-p53 acts as a ‘molecular switch’ between G1-arrest and apoptosis by inducing p21 or Noxa, respectively. Interestingly, an increase in mutant-p53 by either overexpression of miR- 644a or downregulation of CTBP1 was enough to shift the balance between cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in favor of apoptosis through the upregulation of Noxa. Notably, p53-mutant patients, but not p53-wild type ones, with high CTBP1 level have a shorter survival suggesting that CTBP1 could be a potential prognostic factor for breast cancer patients with p53 mutations. Overall, modulation of the miR-644a/CTBP1/p53 axis may represent a new strategy for overcoming both therapy resistance and metastasis. In the second part of this dissertation, I performed whole transcriptome sequencing with downstream pathway analysis in the chemoresistant triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) tumors we developed in vivo. This suggested a potential role of integrins and hypoxia in chemoresistance. Mechanistically, we showed that our candidate gene is hypoxia-induced and is overexpressed in resistant tumors, and activates integrin subunit alpha 5 (ITGA5). In the meantime, hypoxia-mediated downregulation of a miRNA targeting our candidate gene, leads to further activation of the ITGA5. This culminates in the activation of FAK/Src signaling thereby mediating resistance. Importantly, higher expression of our candidate gene, or lower expression of miRNA was associated with poorer relapse-free survival only in chemotherapy-treated TNBC patients. Finally, inhibition of candidate gene increased the efficacy of chemotherapy in highly aggressive TNBC models in vivo providing pre-clinical evidence for testing inhibitors against our candidate gene to overcome chemoresistance in TNBC patients.
Open Access
miRNA-mRNA interaction network regulating chemotherapy resistance in triple negative breast cancer
(2019-06) Assidicky, Ridho
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive breast cancer subtype, lacking the expression of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2). Compared to other subtypes, which can be treated with targeted therapies, chemotherapy is the major regimen used to treat TNBCs. Moreover, TNBC patients have better response rate to chemotherapy compared to other breast cancer (BC) subtypes. However, patients develop resistance rapidly, which in turn significantly increases the mortality rate. Therefore, there is urgent unmet need for elucidating the mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance in TNBC and identifying novel targets that can overcome resistance or potentiate the efficacy of chemotherapy. In this line, we developed an in vivo chemoresistant TNBC xenograft model, performed whole transcriptome sequencing of these tumors, and built a miRNA-mRNA interaction network regulating TNBC chemoresistance. We identified an ECM glycoprotein (“EG”) as the central chemoresistance driver gene, and a candidate potential tumor suppressor miRNA (“TSM”) sensitizing cells to EG-induced chemoresistance. Mechanistically, TSM was downregulated by hypoxia in chemoresistant tumor microenvironment that, in turn, led to upregulation of an integrin family protein (“IFP”), which encodes a subunit of receptor recognizing EG. We further showed that TSM directly binds the 3’-UTR of IFP, represses its expression, and inhibits FAK/Src signaling, PI3K signaling and MAPK signaling pathways, which constitute the major pathways in cell survival. Importantly, overexpression of TSM or inhibition of the IFP overcame EG-driven chemotherapy resistance in vitro and potentiated the efficacy of chemotherapy in vivo. Overall, we built the first miRNA-mRNA interaction network of TNBC chemoresistance and identified a hypoxia-regulated novel tumor suppressor miRNA, TSM, or its target IFP as potential targets overcoming chemoresistance or potentiating the efficacy of chemotherapy in TNBCs.
Open Access
Targeting HIF1-alpha/miR-326/ITGA5 axis potentiates chemotherapy response in triple-negative breast cancer
(Springer New York LLC, 2022-03-25) Tokat, Unal Metin; Tarman, Ibrahim Oguzhan; Ersan, Pelin Gulizar; Raza, Umar; Saatci, O.; Sahin, O.; Ogul, H.; Riazalhosseini, Y.; Can, T.; Assidicky, Ridho
Purpose Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive subtype of breast cancer that is frequently treated with chemotherapy. However, many patients exhibit either de novo chemoresistance or ultimately develop resistance to chemotherapy, leading to significantly high mortality rates. Therefore, increasing the efficacy of chemotherapy has potential to improve patient outcomes. Methods Here, we performed whole transcriptome sequencing (both RNA and small RNA-sequencing), coupled with network simulations and patient survival data analyses to build a novel miRNA-mRNA interaction network governing chemoresistance in TNBC. We performed cell proliferation assay, Western blotting, RNAi/miRNA mimic experiments, FN coating, 3D cultures, and ChIP assays to validate the interactions in the network, and their functional roles in chemoresistance. We developed xenograft models to test the therapeutic potential of the identified key miRNA/proteins in potentiating chemoresponse in vivo. We also analyzed several patient datasets to evaluate the clinical relevance of our findings. Results We identified fibronectin (FN1) as a central chemoresistance driver gene. Overexpressing miR-326 reversed FN1-driven chemoresistance by targeting FN1 receptor, ITGA5. miR-326 was downregulated by increased hypoxia/HIF1A and ECM stiffness in chemoresistant tumors, leading to upregulation of ITGA5 and activation of the downstream FAK/Src signaling pathways. Overexpression of miR-326 or inhibition of ITGA5 overcame FN1-driven chemotherapy resistance in vitro by inhibiting FAK/Src pathway and potentiated the efficacy of chemotherapy in vivo. Importantly, lower expression of miR-326 or higher levels of predicted miR-326 target genes was significantly associated with worse overall survival in chemotherapy-treated TNBC patients. Conclusion FN1 is central in chemoresistance. In chemoresistant tumors, hypoxia and resulting ECM stiffness repress the expression of the tumor suppressor miRNA, miR-326. Hence, re-expression of miR-326 or inhibition of its target ITGA5 reverses FN1-driven chemoresistance making them attractive therapeutic approaches to enhance chemotherapy response in TNBCs.
Open Access
Towards therapeutic automata and hypoxia activated singlet oxygen generators
(2019-08) Ayan, Seylan
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment modality depends on the efficient generation of singlet oxygen (1O2) through excitation of a particular chromophore (sensitizer) followed by an energy transfer to the dissolved oxygen in tumor tissues. Cytotoxic singlet oxygen and other secondary products (reactive oxygen species, ROS) are responsible for the apoptotic and necrotic deaths of the tumor cells. We present a molecular 1:2 demultiplexer (DEMUX) which acts as a "terminator" automaton: once powered up by photoexcitation, the agent releases singlet oxygen to kill cancer cells. Once the cancer cells start apoptosis, the agent interacts with the exposed phosphatidylserines on the external leaflet, and autonomously switches to the signaling mode, turning on a bright emission signal, and turning off singlet oxygen generation. So, the output can switch between singlet oxygen and a confirmatory fluorescence emission for apoptosis, which are mutually exclusive in this design. The automaton that we present here, is based on logic gate considerations and a sound photophysical understanding of the system, and should be a very convincing case of molecular logic with a clear path of progress towards practicality. In another project, we are very much interested in transforming PDT into a more manageable and broadly applicable therapeutic protocol. Our approach to achieve that is to separate photosensitization event from the delivery of singlet oxygen, which is the primary cytotoxic agent of PDT. Thus, a storage compound (endoperoxide) for singlet oxygen has to be designed, which can react with molecular oxygen under typical photosensitization conditions, and then the metastable compound has to be transferred to the tumor site which would release its cargo in response to a chemical or enzymatic cue. This approach assumes that singlet oxygen produced stoichiometrically (as opposed to catalytically through photosensitization) by the chemical transformation of the carrier molecule, would be enough to trigger apoptotic response in cancer cells.