The MYC oncogene is frequently mutated and overexpressed in human renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, there have been no studies on the causative role of MYC or any other oncogene in the initiation or maintenance of kidney tumorigenesis. Here, we show through a conditional transgenic mouse model that the MYC oncogene, but not the RAS oncogene, initiates and maintains RCC. Desorption electrospray ionization-mass-spectrometric imaging was used to obtain chemical maps of metabolites and lipids in the mouse RCC samples. Gene expression analysis revealed that the mouse tumors mimicked human RCC. The data suggested that MYC-induced RCC up-regulated the glutaminolytic pathway instead of the glycolytic pathway. The pharmacologic inhibition of glutamine metabolism with bis-2-(5-phenylacetamido-1,2,4-thiadiazol-2-yl) ethyl sulfide impeded MYC-mediated RCC tumor progression. Our studies demonstrate that MYC overexpression causes RCC and points to the inhibition of glutamine metabolism as a potential therapeutic approach for the treatment of this disease.MYC oncogene | renal cell carcinoma | desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry imaging | glutamine metabolism R enal cell adenocarcinoma (RCC) is a kidney cancer that originates in the lining of the proximal convoluted tubule, a part of the very small tubes in the kidney that transport waste molecules from the blood to the urine. Most patients who present with advanced RCC have a dismal prognosis because RCC easily metastasizes and advances in therapy have been limited (1-3). A lack of transgenic models of RCC has made it difficult to identify and test new therapeutic modalities.The MYC pathway is activated in most cases of human RCC (4), genomically amplified in 5-10% of patients, overexpressed in 20% (5), and associated with a hereditary RCC syndrome (6) suggesting a causal role in the pathogenesis, but this has never been examined. Here, we report the development of a conditional transgenic mouse model for MYC-deregulated human RCC. The MYC oncogene contributes to tumorigenesis of many types of cancer through various mechanisms (7-10), including the regulation of proliferation and growth, protein and ribosomal biogenesis, changes in metabolism, lipid synthesis, and induction of angiogenesis (11)(12)(13)(14). MYC reprogramming can result in tumors that are addicted to glucose and/or glutamine for their energy metabolism (15-19). MYC directly regulates specific genes of the glycolytic and glutaminolytic pathways (15,17,20,21), including lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA), glucose transporter 1 (Glut1), hexokinase 2 (HK2), phosphofructokinase-M 1 (PFKM1), and enolase 1 (Eno1) (21-23). Also, MYC coordinates genes involved in glutamine catabolism (SI MYC and Glutamine Catabolism). However, there has been no evidence to show that MYC overexpression directly drives and maintains RCC or how this occurs.Through our new transgenic mouse model, we showed that transgenic MYC, but not mutant RAS, overexpression in vivo rapidly initiates a highly aggressive RCC that histologi...

Pigment epithelial-derived factor (PEDF), an angiogenesis inhibitor with neurotrophic properties, balances angiogenesis in the eye and blocks tumor progression. Its neurotrophic function and the ability to block vascular leakage is replicated by the PEDF 44-mer peptide (residues 58-101). We analyzed PEDFs' three-dimensional structure and identified a potential receptor-binding surface. Seeking PEDF-based antiangiogenic agents we generated and tested peptides representing the middle and lower regions of this surface. We identified previously unknown antiangiogenic epitopes consisting of the 34-mer (residues 24-57) and a shorter proximal peptide (TGA, residues 16-26) with the critical stretch L 19 VEEED 24 and a fragment within the 44-mer (ERT, residues 78-94), which retained neurotrophic activity. The 34-mer and TGA, but not the 44-mer reproduced PEDF angioinhibitory signals hinged on c-jun-NH 2 -kinase-dependent nuclear factor of activated T cell deactivation and caused apoptosis. Conversely, the ERT, but not the 34-mer/TGA induced neuronal differentiation. For the 44-mer/ERT, we showed a novel ability to cause neuroendocrine differentiation in prostate cancer cells. PEDF and the peptides bound endothelial and PC-3 prostate cancer cells. Bound peptides were displaced by PEDF, but not by each other, suggesting multiple receptors. PEDF and its active fragments blocked tumor formation when conditionally expressed by PC-3 cells. The 34-and 44-mer used distinct mechanisms: the 34-mer acted on endothelial cells, blocked angiogenesis, and induced apoptosis whereas 44-mer prompted neuroendocrine differentiation in cancer cells. Our results map active regions for the two PEDF functions, signaling via distinct receptors, identify candidate peptides, and provide their mechanism of action for future development of PEDFbased tumor therapies. (Cancer Res 2005; 65(12): 5144-52)

It has been demonstrated that vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) induction of angiogenesis requires activation of the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT). We show that NFATc2 is also activated by basic fibroblast growth factor and blocked by the inhibitor of angiogenesis pigment epithelial–derived factor (PEDF). This suggests a pivotal role for this transcription factor as a convergence point between stimulatory and inhibitory signals in the regulation of angiogenesis.We identified c-Jun NH2-terminal kinases (JNKs) as essential upstream regulators of NFAT activity in angiogenesis. We distinguished JNK-2 as responsible for NFATc2 cytoplasmic retention by PEDF and JNK-1 and JNK-2 as mediators of PEDF-driven NFAT nuclear export.We identified a novel NFAT target, caspase-8 inhibitor cellular Fas-associated death domain–like interleukin 1β–converting enzyme inhibitory protein (c-FLIP), whose expression was coregulated by VEGF and PEDF. Chromatin immunoprecipitation showed VEGF-dependent increase of NFATc2 binding to the c-FLIP promoter in vivo, which was attenuated by PEDF. We propose that one possible mechanism of concerted angiogenesis regulation by activators and inhibitors may be modulation of the endothelial cell apoptosis via c-FLIP controlled by NFAT and its upstream regulator JNK.

KRAS mutant lung cancers are generally refractory to chemotherapy as well targeted agents. To date, the identification of drugs to therapeutically inhibit K-RAS have been unsuccessful, suggesting that other approaches are required. We demonstrate in both a novel transgenic mutant Kras lung cancer mouse model and in human lung tumors that the inhibition of Twist1 restores a senescence program inducing the loss of a neoplastic phenotype. The Twist1 gene encodes for a transcription factor that is essential during embryogenesis. Twist1 has been suggested to play an important role during tumor progression. However, there is no in vivo evidence that Twist1 plays a role in autochthonous tumorigenesis. Through two novel transgenic mouse models, we show that Twist1 cooperates with KrasG12D to markedly accelerate lung tumorigenesis by abrogating cellular senescence programs and promoting the progression from benign adenomas to adenocarcinomas. Moreover, the suppression of Twist1 to physiological levels is sufficient to cause Kras mutant lung tumors to undergo senescence and lose their neoplastic features. Finally, we analyzed more than 500 human tumors to demonstrate that TWIST1 is frequently overexpressed in primary human lung tumors. The suppression of TWIST1 in human lung cancer cells also induced cellular senescence. Hence, TWIST1 is a critical regulator of cellular senescence programs, and the suppression of TWIST1 in human tumors may be an effective example of pro-senescence therapy.

Nitric oxide (NO) activates the intrinsic apoptotic pathway to induce cell death. However, the mechanism by which this pathway is activated in cells exposed to NO is not known. Here we report that BAX and BAK are activated by NO and that cytochrome c is released from the mitochondria. Cells deficient in Bax and Bak or Caspase-9 are completely protected from NO-induced cell death. The individual loss of the BH3-only proteins, Bim, Bid, Puma, Bad or Noxa, or Bid knockdown in Bim−/−/Puma−/− MEFs, does not prevent NO-induced cell death. Our data show that the anti-apoptotic protein MCL-1 undergoes ASK1-JNK1 mediated degradation upon exposure to NO, and that cells deficient in either Ask1 or Jnk1 are protected against NO-induced cell death. NO can inhibit the mitochondrial electron transport chain resulting in an increase in superoxide generation and peroxynitrite formation. However, scavengers of ROS or peroxynitrite do not prevent NO-induced cell death. Collectively, these data indicate that NO degrades MCL-1 through the ASK1-JNK1 axis to induce BAX/BAK-dependent cell death.

The androgen role in the maintenance of prostate epithelium is subject to conflicting opinions. While androgen ablation drives the regression of normal and cancerous prostate, testosterone may cause both proliferation and apoptosis. Several investigators note decreased proliferation and stronger response to chemotherapy of the prostate cancer cells stably expressing androgen receptor (AR), however no mechanistic explanation was offered. In this paper we demonstrate in vivo anti-tumor effect of the AR on prostate cancer growth and identify its molecular mediators. We analyzed the effect of AR on the tumorigenicity of prostate cancer cells. Unexpectedly, the AR-expressing cells formed tumors in male mice at a much lower rate than the AR-negative controls. Moreover, the AR-expressing tumors showed decreased vascularity and massive apoptosis. AR expression lowered the angiogenic potential of cancer cells, by increasing secretion of an anti-angiogenic protein, thrombospondin-1. AR activation caused a decrease in RelA, a subunit of the pro-survival transcription factor NFjB, reduced its nuclear localization and transcriptional activity. This, in turn, diminished the expression of its anti-apoptotic targets, Bcl-2 and IL-6. Increased apoptosis within AR-expressing tumors was likely due to the NFjB suppression, since it was restricted to the cells lacking nuclear (active) NFjB. Thus we for the first time identified combined decrease of NFjB and increased TSP1 as molecular events underlying the AR anti-tumor activity in vivo. Our data indicate that intermittent androgen ablation is preferable to continuous withdrawal, a standard treatment for early-stage prostate cancer. ' 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Senescence is a potential tumor-suppressing mechanism and a commonly used model of cellular aging. One current hypothesis to explain senescence, based in part on the correlation of oxygen with senescence, postulates that it is caused by oxidative damage from reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here, we further test this theory by determining the mechanisms of hyperoxia-induced senescence. Exposure to 70% O(2) led to stress-induced, telomere-independent senescence. Although hyperoxia elevated mitochondrial ROS production, overexpression of antioxidant proteins was not sufficient to prevent hyperoxia-induced senescence. Hyperoxia activated AMPK; however, overexpression of a kinase-dead mutant of LKB1, which prevented AMPK activation, did not prevent hyperoxia-induced senescence. Knocking down p21 via shRNA, or suppression of the p16/pRb pathway by either BMI1 or HPV16-E7 overexpression, was also insufficient to prevent hyperoxia-induced senescence. However, suppressing p53 function resulted in partial rescue from senescence, suggesting that hyperoxia-induced senescence involves p53. Suppressing both the p53 and pRb pathways resulted in almost complete protection, indicating that both pathways cooperate in hyperoxia-induced senescence. Collectively, these results indicate a ROS-independent but p53/pRb-dependent senescence mechanism during hyperoxia.

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is an assay for interrogating protein–DNA interactions that is increasingly being used for drug target discovery and screening applications. Currently the complexity of the protocol and the amount of hands-on time required for this assay limits its use to low throughput applications; furthermore, variability in antibody quality poses an additional obstacle in scaling up ChIP for large scale screening purposes. To address these challenges, we report HTChIP, an automated microfluidic-based platform for performing high-throughput ChIP screening measurements of 16 different targets simultaneously, with potential for further scale-up. From chromatin to analyzable PCR results only takes one day using HTChIP, as compared to several days up to one week for conventional protocols. HTChIP can also be used to test multiple antibodies and select the best performer for downstream ChIP applications, saving time and reagent costs of unsuccessful ChIP assays as a result of poor antibody quality. We performed a series of characterization assays to demonstrate that HTChIP can rapidly and accurately evaluate the epigenetic states of a cell, and that it is sensitive enough to detect the changes in the epigenetic state induced by a cytokine stimulant over a fine temporal resolution. With these results, we believe that HTChIP can introduce large improvements in routine ChIP, antibody screening, and drug screening efficiency, and further facilitate the use of ChIP as a valuable tool for research and discovery.