Ryo Koyama-Nasu

5-Hydroxymethylcytosine Plays a Critical Role in Glioblastomagenesis by Recruiting the CHTOP-Methylosome Complex

The development of cancer is driven not only by genetic mutations but also by epigenetic alterations. Here, we show that TET1-mediated production of 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) is required for the tumorigenicity of glioblastoma cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate that chromatin target of PRMT1 (CHTOP) binds to 5hmC. We found that CHTOP is associated with an arginine methyltransferase complex, termed the methylosome, and that this promotes the PRMT1-mediated methylation of arginine 3 of histone H4 (H4R3) in genes involved in glioblastomagenesis, including EGFR, AKT3, CDK6, CCND2, and BRAF. Moreover, we found that CHTOP and PRMT1 are essential for the expression of these genes and that CHTOP is required for the tumorigenicity of glioblastoma cells. These results suggest that 5hmC plays a critical role in glioblastomagenesis by recruiting the CHTOP-methylosome complex to selective sites on the chromosome, where it methylates H4R3 and activates the transcription of cancer-related genes.

The critical role of cyclin D2 in cell cycle progression and tumorigenicity of glioblastoma stem cells.

Cancer stem cells are believed to be responsible for tumor initiation and development. Much current research on human brain tumors is focused on the stem-like properties of glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs). However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of cell cycle regulation that discriminate between GSCs and differentiated glioblastoma cells. Here we show that cyclin D2 is the cyclin that is predominantly expressed in GSCs and suppression of its expression by RNA interference causes G1 arrest in vitro and growth retardation of GSCs xenografted into immunocompromised mice in vivo. We also demonstrate that the expression of cyclin D2 is suppressed upon serum-induced differentiation similar to what was observed for the cancer stem cell marker CD133. Taken together, our results demonstrate that cyclin D2 has a critical role in cell cycle progression and the tumorigenicity of GSCs.

Phosphoproteome of human glioblastoma initiating cells reveals novel signaling regulators encoded by the transcriptome.

Background Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive tumors with poor prognosis. Although various studies have been performed so far, there are not effective treatments for patients with glioblastoma. Methodology/Principal Findings In order to systematically elucidate the aberrant signaling machinery activated in this malignant brain tumor, we investigated phosphoproteome dynamics of glioblastoma initiating cells using high-resolution nanoflow LC-MS/MS system in combination with SILAC technology. Through phosphopeptide enrichment by titanium dioxide beads, a total of 6,073 phosphopeptides from 2,282 phosphorylated proteins were identified based on the two peptide fragmentation methodologies of collision induced dissociation and higher-energy C-trap dissociation. The SILAC-based quantification described 516 up-regulated and 275 down-regulated phosphorylation sites upon epidermal growth factor stimulation, including the comprehensive status of the phosphorylation sites on stem cell markers such as nestin. Very intriguingly, our in-depth phosphoproteome analysis led to identification of novel phosphorylated molecules encoded by the undefined sequence regions of the human transcripts, one of which was regulated upon external stimulation in human glioblastoma initiating cells. Conclusions/Significance Our result unveils an expanded diversity of the regulatory phosphoproteome defined by the human transcriptome.

The pleiotrophin-ALK axis is required for tumorigenicity of glioblastoma stem cells.

Increasing evidence suggests that brain tumors arise from the transformation of neural stem/precursor/progenitor cells. Much current research on human brain tumors is focused on the stem-like properties of glioblastoma. Here we show that anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and its ligand pleiotrophin are required for the self-renewal and tumorigenicity of glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs). Furthermore, we demonstrate that pleiotrophin is transactivated directly by SOX2, a transcription factor essential for the maintenance of both neural stem cells and GSCs. We speculate that the pleiotrophin-ALK axis may be a promising target for the therapy of glioblastoma.

SOX9-mediated upregulation of LGR5 is important for glioblastoma tumorigenicity

LGR5 plays an important role in the self-renewal of stem cells and is used as a marker identifying self-renewing stem cells in small intestine and hair follicles. Moreover, LGR5 has been reported to be overexpressed in several cancers. SOX9 is a transcription factor that plays a key role in development, differentiation and lineage commitment in various tissues. It has also been reported that SOX9 is overexpressed in a variety of cancers and contributes to their malignant phenotype. Here we show that LGR5 is required for the tumorigenicity of glioblastoma cells. We further show that SOX9 is upregulated in glioblastoma cells and directly enhances the expression of LGR5. We also demonstrate that knockdown of SOX9 suppresses the proliferation and tumorigenicity of glioblastoma cells. These results suggest that SOX9-mediated transcriptional regulation of LGR5 is critical for the tumorigenicity of glioblastoma cells. We speculate that the SOX9-LGR5 pathway could be a potentially promising target for the therapy of glioblastoma.

The Cancer Stem Cell Marker CD133 Interacts with Plakoglobin and Controls Desmoglein-2 Protein Levels

The pentaspan membrane glycoprotein CD133 (also known as prominin-1) has been widely used as a marker for both cancer and normal stem cells. However, the function of CD133 has not been elucidated. Here we describe a cancer stem cell line established from clear cell carcinoma of the ovary (CCC) and show that CD133 interacts with plakoglobin (also known as γ-catenin), a desmosomal linker protein. We further demonstrate that knockdown of CD133 by RNA interference (RNAi) results in the downregulation of desmoglein-2, a desmosomal cadherin, and abrogates cell-cell adhesion and tumorigenicity of CCC stem cells. We speculate that CD133 may be a promising target for cancer chemotherapy.

PCDH10 is required for the tumorigenicity of glioblastoma cells

Protocadherin10 (PCDH10)/OL-protocadherin is a cadherin-related transmembrane protein that has multiple roles in the brain, including facilitating specific cell-cell connections, cell migration and axon guidance. It has recently been reported that PCDH10 functions as a tumor suppressor and that its overexpression inhibits proliferation or invasion of multiple tumor cells. However, the function of PCDH10 in glioblastoma cells has not been elucidated. In contrast to previous reports on other tumors, we show here that suppression of the expression of PCDH10 by RNA interference (RNAi) induces the growth arrest and apoptosis of glioblastoma cells in vitro. Furthermore, we demonstrate that knockdown of PCDH10 inhibits the growth of glioblastoma cells xenografted into immunocompromised mice. These results suggest that PCDH10 is required for the proliferation and tumorigenicity of glioblastoma cells. We speculate that PCDH10 may be a promising target for the therapy of glioblastoma.

Integrative Network Analysis Combined with Quantitative Phosphoproteomics Reveals Transforming Growth Factor-beta Receptor type-2 (TGFBR2) as a Novel Regulator of Glioblastoma Stem Cell Properties

Glioblastoma is one of the most malignant brain tumors with poor prognosis and their development and progression are known to be driven by glioblastoma stem cells. Although glioblastoma stem cells lose their cancer stem cell properties during cultivation in serum-containing medium, little is known about the molecular mechanisms regulating signaling alteration in relation to reduction of stem cell-like characteristics. To elucidate the global phosphorylation-related signaling events, we performed a SILAC-based quantitative phosphoproteome analysis of serum-induced dynamics in glioblastoma stem cells established from the tumor tissues of the patient. Among a total of 2876 phosphorylation sites on 1584 proteins identified in our analysis, 732 phosphorylation sites on 419 proteins were regulated through the alteration of stem cell-like characteristics. The integrative computational analyses based on the quantified phosphoproteome data revealed the relevant changes of phosphorylation levels regarding the proteins associated with cytoskeleton reorganization such as Rho family GTPase and Intermediate filament signaling, in addition to transforming growth factor-β receptor type-2 (TGFBR2) as a prominent upstream regulator involved in the serum-induced phosphoproteome regulation. The functional association of transforming growth factor-β receptor type-2 with stem cell-like properties was experimentally validated through signaling perturbation using the corresponding inhibitors, which indicated that transforming growth factor-β receptor type-2 could play an important role as a novel cell fate determinant in glioblastoma stem cell regulation.

Thr160 of Axin1 is critical for the formation and function of the β-catenin destruction complex.

Upon binding of a Wnt ligand to the frizzled (FZD)-low density lipoprotein receptor related protein 5/6 (LRP5/6) receptor complex, the β-catenin destruction complex, composed of Axin1, adenomatous polyposis coli (APC), glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) and casein kinase 1 (CK1), is immediately inactivated, which causes β-catenin stabilization. However, the molecular mechanism of signal transduction from the receptor complex to the β-catenin destruction complex is controversial. Here we show that Wnt3a treatment promotes the dissociation of the Axin1-APC complex in glioblastoma cells cultured in serum-free medium. Experiments with the GSK3 inhibitor BIO suggest that Axin1-APC dissociation was controlled by phosphorylation. Introduction of a phosphomimetic mutation into Thr160 of Axin1, located in the APC-binding region RGS, abrogated the interaction of Axin1 with APC. Consistent with these observations, the Axin1 phosphomimetic mutant lost the ability to reduce β-catenin stability and to repress β-catenin/TCF-dependent transcription. Taken together, our results suggest a novel mechanism of Wnt signaling through the dissociation of the β-catenin destruction complex by Axin1 Thr160 modification.

SIRT2‐mediated inactivation of p73 is required for glioblastoma tumorigenicity

Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive forms of cancers and has a poor prognosis. Genomewide analyses have revealed that a set of core signaling pathways, the p53, RB, and RTK pathways, are commonly deregulated in glioblastomas. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the tumorigenicity of glioblastoma are not fully understood. Here, we show that the lysine deacetylase SIRT2 is required for the proliferation and tumorigenicity of glioblastoma cells, including glioblastoma stem cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate that SIRT2 regulates p73 transcriptional activity by deacetylation of its C‐terminal lysine residues. Our results suggest that SIRT2‐mediated inactivation of p73 is critical for the proliferation and tumorigenicity of glioblastoma cells and that SIRT2 may be a promising molecular target for the therapy of glioblastoma.