Die Regulation des Zelltods ist ein kritischer Schritt in der Embryonalentwicklung, der Gewebehomöostase und bei der Abwehr eindringender Krankheitserreger. Hierbei spielt Caspase-8 (Casp8) eine entscheidende Rolle, indem das Enzym extrinsische Apoptose induziert. Außerdem hemmt Casp8 Nekroptose und sichert so die embryonale Entwicklung. Wir zeigen hier, dass eine weitere wichtige Funktion der enzymatische Aktivität von Casp8 die Hemmung der Pyroptose ist. Um die spezifische Rolle der enzymatischen Aktivität von Casp8 zu untersuchen, haben wir eine Mauslinie etabliert, welche eine Punktmutation in der Substratbindetasche von Casp8 (Mutation des katalytischen Cysteins 362 zu Serin) aufweist. Diese Mutation führt zum Verlust der enzymatischer Aktivität von Casp8 C362S. Die Expression von katalytisch inaktiver Casp8 C362S resultiert in eine embryonale Letalität bei E10,5 aufgrund von kardiovaskulären Defekten, ähnlich zu Casp8-/-Mäusen. Die Blockade von Nekroptose durch zusätzliche Deletion von MLKL verhinderte den kardiovaskulären Phänotyp, verursachte jedoch unerwartet die perinatale Letalität von Casp8 C362S/C362S Mäusen. Dies deutet darauf hin, dass der Verlust der enzymatischen Aktivität von Casp8 die perinatale Entwicklung durch zusätzliche, Nekroptose-unabhängigen Funktionen beeinträchtigt. Der spezifische Verlust der katalytischen Aktivität von Casp8 in Darmepithelzellen (IECs) führte zu einer Darmentzündung ähnlich zu Casp8 IEC-KO Mäusen. Eine zusätzliche Deletion von MLKL verschlimmerte die Entzündung des Darms und verursachte ein vorzeitiges Versterben von Casp8 C362S/IEC-/Mlkl-/-Mäusen durch die Induktion des pyroptischen Zelltods. In diesem Zusammenhang konnten Prozesse, welche charakteristisch für Pyroptose sind, wie die Bildung von ASC-Specks, die Aktivierung von Casp1 sowie die Produktion von IL-1β beobachtet werden. Unsere Zellkulturanalysen zeigen, dass katalytisch inaktive Casp8 mit ASC kolokalisiert, sowie ASC-Nukleation und Casp1-Aktivierung induziert. Dementsprechend verhinderte die Deletion von ASC oder Casp1 die Entzündung des Darms und den vorzeitigen Tod von Casp8 C362S/C362S /Mlkl-/-Mäusen. Diese Ergebnisse zeigen eine noch unbekannte und unerwartete Rolle für Casp8 als Proteingerüst eines Signalkomplexes, welcher unter Gegebenheiten bei denen Apoptose und Nekroptose blockiert sind, gebildet wird.

Clinical resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibition in lung cancer has been linked to the emergence of the EGFR T790M resistance mutation or amplification of MET. Additional mechanisms contributing to EGFR inhibitor resistance remain elusive. By applying combined analyses of gene expression, copy number, and biochemical analyses of EGFR inhibitor responsiveness, we identified homozygous loss of PTEN to segregate EGFRdependent and EGFR-independent cells. We show that in EGFR-dependent cells, PTEN loss partially uncouples mutant EGFR from downstream signaling and activates EGFR, thereby contributing to erlotinib resistance. The clinical relevance of our findings is supported by the observation of PTEN loss in 1 out of 24 primary EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumors. These results suggest a novel resistance mechanism in EGFR-mutant NSCLC involving PTEN loss.

Key Points• B-cell-specific expression of Myd88 p.L252P leads to the development of DLBCL in mice.• The Myd88 p.L252P mutation cooperates with BCL2 amplifications in ABC-DLBCL lymphomagenesis in vivo.The adaptor protein MYD88 is critical for relaying activation of Toll-like receptor signaling to NF-kB activation. MYD88 mutations, particularly the p.L265P mutation, have been described in numerous distinct B-cell malignancies, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Twenty-nine percent of activated B-cell-type DLBCL (ABC-DLBCL), which is characterized by constitutive activation of the NF-kB pathway, carry the p.L265P mutation. In addition, ABC-DLBCL frequently displays focal copy number gains affecting BCL2. Here, we generated a novel mouse model in which Cre-mediated recombination, specifically in B cells, leads to the conditional expression of Myd88 p.L252P (the orthologous position of the human MYD88 p.L265P mutation) from the endogenous locus.These mice develop a lymphoproliferative disease and occasional transformation into clonal lymphomas. The clonal disease displays the morphologic and immunophenotypical characteristics of ABC-DLBCL. Lymphomagenesis can be accelerated by crossing in a further novel allele, which mediates conditional overexpression of BCL2. Cross-validation experiments in human DLBCL samples revealed that both MYD88 and CD79B mutations are substantially enriched in ABC-DLBCL compared with germinal center B-cell DLBCL. Furthermore, analyses of human DLBCL genome sequencing data confirmed that BCL2 amplifications frequently cooccurred with MYD88 mutations, further validating our approach. Finally, in silico experiments revealed that MYD88-mutant ABC-DLBCL cells in particular display an actionable addiction to BCL2. Altogether, we generated a novel autochthonous mouse model of ABC-DLBCL that could be used as a preclinical platform for the development and validation of novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of ABC-DLBCL. (Blood. 2016;127(22):2732-2741

Highlights d Mitochondrial apoptosis is not a silent cell death pathway d BAX/BAK-induced MOMP results in IL-1b maturation and lytic cell death d MOMP initiates intrinsic apoptosis and IAP depletion d This IAP depletion results in ripoptosome-caspase-8dependent IL-1b maturation

The BH3-only protein NOXA represents one of the critical mediators of DNA-damage-induced cell death. In particular, its involvement in cellular responses to cancer chemotherapy is increasingly evident. Here, we identify a strategy of cancer cells to escape genotoxic chemotherapy by increasing proteasomal degradation of NOXA. We show that the deubiquitylating enzyme UCH-L1 is a key regulator of NOXA turnover, which protects NOXA from proteasomal degradation by removing Lys(48)-linked polyubiquitin chains. In the majority of tumors from patients with melanoma or colorectal cancer suffering from high rates of chemoresistance, NOXA fails to accumulate because UCH-L1 expression is epigenetically silenced. Whereas UCH-L1/NOXA-positive tumor samples exhibit increased sensitivity to genotoxic chemotherapy, downregulation of UCH-L1 or inhibition of its deubiquitylase activity resulted in reduced NOXA stability and resistance to genotoxic chemotherapy in both human and C. elegans cells. Our data identify the UCH-L1/NOXA interaction as a therapeutic target for overcoming cancer chemoresistance.

In the normal quiescent vasculature, only 0.01% of endothelial cells (ECs) are proliferating. However, this proportion increases dramatically following the angiogenic switch during tumor growth or wound healing. Recent evidence suggests that this angiogenic switch is accompanied by a metabolic switch. Here, we show that proliferating ECs increasingly depend on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos) for their increased energy demand. Under growth conditions, ECs consume three times more oxygen than quiescent ECs and work close to their respiratory limit. The increased utilization of the proton motif force leads to a reduced mitochondrial membrane potential in proliferating ECs and sensitizes to mitochondrial uncoupling. The benzoquinone embelin is a weak mitochondrial uncoupler that prevents neoangiogenesis during tumor growth and wound healing by exhausting the low respiratory reserve of proliferating ECs without adversely affecting quiescent ECs. We demonstrate that this can be exploited therapeutically by attenuating tumor growth in syngenic and xenograft mouse models. This novel metabolic targeting approach might be clinically valuable in controlling pathological neoangiogenesis while sparing normal vasculature and complementing cytostatic drugs in cancer treatment.

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BackgroundImmune infiltration is implicated in the development of acquired resistance to anti-angiogenic cancer therapy. We therefore investigated the correlation between neutrophil infiltration in metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients and survival after treatment with bevacizumab. Our study identifies CD177+ tumour neutrophil infiltration as an adverse prognostic factor for bevacizumab treatment. We further demonstrate that a novel anti-VEGF/anti-Ang2 compound (BI-880) can overcome resistance to VEGF inhibition in experimental tumour models.MethodsA total of 85 metastatic CRC patients were stratified into cohorts that had either received chemotherapy alone (n = 39) or combined with bevacizumab (n = 46). Tumour CD177+ neutrophil infiltration was correlated to clinical outcome. The impact of neutrophil infiltration on anti-VEGF or anti-VEGF/anti-Ang2 therapy was studied in both xenograft and syngeneic tumour models by immunohistochemistry.ResultsThe survival of bevacizumab-treated CRC patients in the presence of CD177+ infiltrates was significantly reduced compared to patients harbouring CD177− metastases. BI-880 treatment reduced the development of hypoxia associated with bevacizumab treatment and improved vascular normalisation in xenografts. Furthermore, neutrophil depletion or BI-880 treatment restored treatment sensitivity in a syngeneic tumour model of anti-VEGF resistance.ConclusionsOur findings implicate CD177 as a biomarker for bevacizumab and suggest VEGF/Ang2 inhibition as a strategy to overcome neutrophil associated resistance to anti-angiogenic treatment.