Mammary epithelial stem cells are fundamental to maintain tissue integrity. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are implicated in both treatment resistance and disease relapse, and the molecular bases of their malignant properties are still poorly understood. Here we show that both normal stem cells and CSCs of the breast are controlled by the prolyl-isomerase Pin1. Mechanistically, following interaction with Pin1, Notch1 and Notch4, key regulators of cell fate, escape from proteasomal degradation by their major ubiquitin-ligase Fbxw7α. Functionally, we show that Fbxw7α acts as an essential negative regulator of breast CSCs' expansion by restraining Notch activity, but the establishment of a Notch/Pin1 active circuitry opposes this effect, thus promoting breast CSCs self-renewal, tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. In human breast cancers, despite Fbxw7α expression, high levels of Pin1 sustain Notch signaling, which correlates with poor prognosis. Suppression of Pin1 holds promise in reverting aggressive phenotypes, through CSC exhaustion as well as recovered drug sensitivity carrying relevant implications for therapy of breast cancers.

The Hippo pathway is an oncosuppressor signalling cascade that plays a major role in the control of cell growth, tissue homoeostasis and organ size. Dysregulation of the Hippo pathway leads to aberrant activation of the transcription co-activator YAP (Yes-associated protein) that contributes to tumorigenesis in several tissues. Here we identify glucocorticoids (GCs) as hormonal activators of YAP. Stimulation of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) leads to increase of YAP protein levels, nuclear accumulation and transcriptional activity in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, we find that GCs increase expression and deposition of fibronectin leading to the focal adhesion-Src pathway stimulation, cytoskeleton-dependent YAP activation and expansion of chemoresistant cancer stem cells. GR activation correlates with YAP activity in human breast cancer and predicts bad prognosis in the basal-like subtype. Our results unveil a novel mechanism of YAP activation in cancer and open the possibility to target GR to prevent cancer stem cells self-renewal and chemoresistance.

The prolyl isomerase PIN1, a critical modifier of multiple signalling pathways, is overexpressed in the majority of cancers and its activity strongly contributes to tumour initiation and progression. Inactivation of PIN1 function conversely curbs tumour growth and cancer stem cell expansion, restores chemosensitivity and blocks metastatic spread, thus providing the rationale for a therapeutic strategy based on PIN1 inhibition. Notwithstanding, potent PIN1 inhibitors are still missing from the arsenal of anti-cancer drugs. By a mechanism-based screening, we have identified a novel covalent PIN1 inhibitor, KPT-6566, able to selectively inhibit PIN1 and target it for degradation. We demonstrate that KPT-6566 covalently binds to the catalytic site of PIN1. This interaction results in the release of a quinone-mimicking drug that generates reactive oxygen species and DNA damage, inducing cell death specifically in cancer cells. Accordingly, KPT-6566 treatment impairs PIN1-dependent cancer phenotypes in vitro and growth of lung metastasis in vivo.

Tumour-associated p53 missense mutants act as driver oncogenes affecting cancer progression, metastatic potential and drug resistance (gain-of-function) . Mutant p53 protein stabilization is a prerequisite for gain-of-function manifestation; however, it does not represent an intrinsic property of p53 mutants, but rather requires secondary events . Moreover, mutant p53 protein levels are often heterogeneous even within the same tumour, raising questions on the mechanisms that control local mutant p53 accumulation in some tumour cells but not in their neighbours . By investigating the cellular pathways that induce protection of mutant p53 from ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, we found that HDAC6/Hsp90-dependent mutant p53 accumulation is sustained by RhoA geranylgeranylation downstream of the mevalonate pathway, as well as by RhoA- and actin-dependent transduction of mechanical inputs, such as the stiffness of the extracellular environment. Our results provide evidence for an unpredicted layer of mutant p53 regulation that relies on metabolic and mechanical cues.

Sterol regulatory element binding proteins (SREBPs) are a family of transcription factors that regulate lipid biosynthesis and adipogenesis by controlling the expression of several enzymes required for cholesterol, fatty acid, triacylglycerol and phospholipid synthesis. In vertebrates, SREBP activation is mainly controlled by a complex and well-characterized feedback mechanism mediated by cholesterol, a crucial bio-product of the SREBP-activated mevalonate pathway. In this work, we identified acto-myosin contractility and mechanical forces imposed by the extracellular matrix (ECM) as SREBP1 regulators. SREBP1 control by mechanical cues depends on geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate, another key bio-product of the mevalonate pathway, and impacts on stem cell fate in mouse and on fat storage in Drosophila. Mechanistically, we show that activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) by ECM stiffening and geranylgeranylated RhoA-dependent acto-myosin contraction inhibits SREBP1 activation. Our results unveil an unpredicted and evolutionary conserved role of SREBP1 in rewiring cell metabolism in response to mechanical cues.

Targeted anticancer therapies represent the most effective pharmacological strategies in terms of clinical responses. In this context, genetic alteration of several oncogenes represents an optimal predictor of response to targeted therapy. Integration of large-scale molecular and pharmacological data from cancer cell lines promises to be effective in the discovery of new genetic markers of drug sensitivity and of clinically relevant anticancer compounds. To define novel pharmacogenomic dependencies in cancer, we created the Mutations and Drugs Portal (MDP, http://mdp.unimore.it), a web accessible database that combines the cell-based NCI60 screening of more than 50,000 compounds with genomic data extracted from the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia and the NCI60 DTP projects. MDP can be queried for drugs active in cancer cell lines carrying mutations in specific cancer genes or for genetic markers associated to sensitivity or resistance to a given compound. As proof of performance, we interrogated MDP to identify both known and novel pharmacogenomics associations and unveiled an unpredicted combination of two FDA-approved compounds, namely statins and Dasatinib, as an effective strategy to potently inhibit YAP/TAZ in cancer cells.

Mammary gland development, various stages of mammary tumorigenesis and breast cancer progression have the peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase PIN1 at their centerpiece, in virtue of the ability of this unique enzyme to fine-tune the dynamic crosstalk between multiple molecular pathways. PIN1 exerts its action by inducing conformational and functional changes on key cellular proteins, following proline-directed phosphorylation. Through this post-phosphorylation signal transduction mechanism, PIN1 controls the extent and direction of the cellular response to a variety of inputs, in physiology and disease. This review discusses PIN1's roles in normal mammary development and cancerous progression, as well as the clinical impact of targeting this enzyme in breast cancer patients.

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