Yongjoon Suh

Claudin-1 induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition through activation of the c-Abl-ERK signaling pathway in human liver cells

Claudins (CLDNs) are a family of integral membrane proteins central to the formation of tight junctions, structures that are involved in paracellular transport and cellular growth and differentiation, and are critical for the maintenance of cellular polarity. Recent studies have provided evidence that CLDNs are aberrantly expressed in diverse types of human cancers, including hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). However, little is known about how CLDN expression is involved in cancer progression. In this study, we show that CLDN1 has a causal role in the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in human liver cells, and that the c-Abl-Ras-Raf-1-ERK1/2 signaling axis is critical for the induction of malignant progression by CLDN1. Overexpression of CLDN1 induced expression of the EMT-regulating transcription factors Slug and Zeb1, and thereby led to repression of E-cadherin, β-catenin expression, enhanced expression of N-cadherin and Vimentin, a loss of cell adhesion, and increased cell motility in normal liver cells and HCC cells. In line with these findings, inhibition of either c-Abl or ERK clearly attenuated CLDN1-induced EMT, as evidenced by a reversal of N-cadherin and E-cadherin expression patterns, and restored normal motility. Collectively, these results indicate that CLDN1 is necessary for the induction of EMT in human liver cells, and that activation of the c-Abl-Ras-Raf-1-ERK1/2 signaling pathway is required for CLDN1-induced acquisition of the malignant phenotype. The present observations suggest that CLDN1 could be exploited as a biomarker for liver cancer metastasis and might provide a pivotal point for therapeutic intervention in HCC.

C-Jun N-terminal kinase has a pivotal role in the maintenance of self-renewal and tumorigenicity in glioma stem-like cells

Uncovering the mechanisms that govern the maintenance of stem-like cancer cells is critical for developing therapeutic strategies for targeting these cells. Constitutive activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) has been reported in gliomas and correlates with histological grade. Here, we found that JNK signaling is crucial for the maintenance of ‘stemness’ in glioma cells. Sphere-cultured glioma cells showed more phosphorylation of JNK compared with serum-containing monolayer cultures. Importantly, blockade of JNK signaling with SP600125 or small interfering RNAs targeting JNK1 or JNK2 significantly reduced the CD133+/Nestin+ population and suppressed sphere formation, colony formation in soft agar, and expression of stem cell markers in sphere-cultured glioma cells. Intriguingly, sphere-cultured glioma cells exhibited enhanced expression of Notch-2, but not Notch-1, -3 or -4, and JNK inhibition almost completely abrogated this increase. Blocking the phosphoinoside 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway with LY294002 or si-Akt also suppressed the self-renewal of sphere-cultured glioma cells. PI3K, but not Akt, had a role as an upstream kinase in JNK1/2 activation. In addition, treatment with si-JNK greatly increased etoposide- and ionizing radiation (IR)-induced cell death in glioma spheres. Consistent with glioma cell lines, glioma stem-like cells isolated from primary patient glioma cells also had a higher activity of JNK and Notch-2 expression. Importantly, inhibition of JNK2 led to a decrease of Notch-2 expression and suppressed the CD133+/Nestin+ cell population in patient-derived primary glioma cells. Finally, downregulation of JNK2 almost completely suppressed intracranial tumor formation by glioma cells in nude mice. Taken together, these data demonstrate that JNK signaling is crucial for the maintenance of self-renewal and tumorigenicity of glioma stem-like cells and drug/IR resistance, and can be considered a promising target for eliminating stem-like cancer cells in gliomas.

PTTG1 Oncogene Promotes Tumor Malignancy via Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition and Expansion of Cancer Stem Cell Population

Background: PTTG1 is an oncogene with its expression levels correlating with tumor development and metastasis. Results: Modulation of PTTG1 expression levels revealed that PTTG1 promotes invasive and migratory properties and expansion of CD44high CD24low cell population via AKT activation in breast cancer cells. Conclusion: PTTG1 induces EMT and promotes cancer stem cells via activation of AKT. Significance: PTTG1 represents a potential target for therapeutic intervention against the spread of breast cancer. The prognosis of breast cancer patients is related to the degree of metastasis. However, the mechanisms by which epithelial tumor cells escape from the primary tumor and colonize at a distant site are not entirely understood. Here, we analyzed expression levels of pituitary tumor-transforming gene-1 (PTTG1), a relatively uncharacterized oncoprotein, in patient-derived breast cancer tissues with corresponding normal breast tissues. We found that PTTG1 is highly expressed in breast cancer patients, compared with normal tissues. Also, PTTG1 expression levels were correlated with the degree of malignancy in breast cancer cell lines; the more migratory and invasive cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231 and BT549 displayed the higher expression levels of PTTG1 than the less migratory and invasive MCF7 and SK-BR3 and normal MCF10A cell lines. By modulating PTTG1 expression levels, we found that PTTG1 enhances the migratory and invasive properties of breast cancer cells by inducing epithelial to mesenchymal transition, as evidenced by altered morphology and epithelial/mesenchymal cell marker expression patterns and up-regulation of the transcription factor Snail. Notably, down-regulation of PTTG1 also suppressed cancer stem cell population in BT549 cells by decreasing self-renewing ability and tumorigenic capacity, accompanying decreasing CD44high CD24low cells and Sox2 expression. Up-regulation of PTTG1 had the opposite effects, increasing sphere-forming ability and Sox2 expression. Importantly, PTTG1-mediated malignant tumor properties were due, at least in part, to activation of AKT, known to be a key regulator of both EMT and stemness in cancer cells. Collectively, these results suggest that PTTG1 may represent a new therapeutic target for malignant breast cancer.

Titanium dioxide induces apoptotic cell death through reactive oxygen species-mediated Fas upregulation and Bax activation

Background Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been widely used in many areas, including biomedicine, cosmetics, and environmental engineering. Recently, it has become evident that some TiO2 particles have a considerable cytotoxic effect in normal human cells. However, the molecular basis for the cytotoxicity of TiO2 has yet to be defined. Methods and results In this study, we demonstrated that combined treatment with TiO2 nanoparticles sized less than 100 nm and ultraviolet A irradiation induces apoptotic cell death through reactive oxygen species-dependent upregulation of Fas and conformational activation of Bax in normal human cells. Treatment with P25 TiO2 nanoparticles with a hydrodynamic size distribution centered around 70 nm (TiO2P25–70) together with ultraviolet A irradiation-induced caspase-dependent apoptotic cell death, accompanied by transcriptional upregulation of the death receptor, Fas, and conformational activation of Bax. In line with these results, knockdown of either Fas or Bax with specific siRNA significantly inhibited TiO2-induced apoptotic cell death. Moreover, inhibition of reactive oxygen species with an antioxidant, N-acetyl-L-cysteine, clearly suppressed upregulation of Fas, conformational activation of Bax, and subsequent apoptotic cell death in response to combination treatment using TiO2P25–70 and ultraviolet A irradiation. Conclusion These results indicate that sub-100 nm sized TiO2 treatment under ultraviolet A irradiation induces apoptotic cell death through reactive oxygen species-mediated upregulation of the death receptor, Fas, and activation of the preapoptotic protein, Bax. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which nanosized particles induce activation of cell death signaling pathways would be critical for the development of prevention strategies to minimize the cytotoxicity of nanomaterials.

The small GTPase Rac1 is involved in the maintenance of stemness and malignancies in glioma stem-like cells

A subpopulation of cancer cells with stem cell properties is responsible for tumor formation, maintenance, and malignant progression; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying the maintenance of cancer stem‐like cell properties have remained unclear. Here, we show that the Rho family GTPase Rac1 is involved in the glioma stem‐like cell (GSLC) maintenance and tumorigenicity in human glioma. The Rac1‐Pak signaling was markedly activated in GSLCs. Knockdown of Rac1 caused reduction of expression of GSLC markers, self‐renewal‐related proteins and neurosphere formation. Moreover, down‐regulation of Rac1 suppressed the migration, invasion, and malignant transformation in GSLCs. Furthermore, inhibition of Rac1 enhanced radiation sensitivity of GSLCs. These results indicate that the small GTPase Rac1 is involved in the maintenance of stemness and malignancies in GSLCs.

Novel signaling axis for ROS generation during K-Ras-induced cellular transformation.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are well known to be involved in oncogene-mediated cellular transformation. However, the regulatory mechanisms underlying ROS generation in oncogene-transformed cells are unclear. In the present study, we found that oncogenic K-Ras induces ROS generation through activation of NADPH oxidase 1 (NOX1), which is a critical regulator for the K-Ras-induced cellular transformation. NOX1 was activated by K-Ras-dependent translocation of p47phox, a subunit of NOX1 to plasma membrane. Of note, PKCδ, when it was activated by PDPK1, directly bound to the SH3-N domain of p47phox and catalyzed the phosphorylation on Ser348 and Ser473 residues of p47phox C-terminal in a K-Ras-dependent manner, finally leading to its membrane translocation. Notably, oncogenic K-Ras activated all MAPKs (JNK, ERK and p38); however, only p38 was involved in p47phox-NOX1-dependent ROS generation and consequent transformation. Importantly, K-Ras-induced activation of p38 led to an activation of PDPK1, which then signals through PKCδ, p47phox and NOX1. In agreement with the mechanism, inhibition of p38, PDPK1, PKCδ, p47phox or NOX1 effectively blocked K-Ras-induced ROS generation, anchorage-independent colony formation and tumor formation. Taken together, our findings demonstrated that oncogenic K-Ras activates the signaling cascade p38/PDPK1/PKCδ/p47phox/NOX1 for ROS generation and consequent malignant cellular transformation.

Fractionated radiation-induced nitric oxide promotes expansion of glioma stem-like cells

Glioblastoma remains an incurable brain disease due to the prevalence of its recurrence. Considerable evidence suggests that glioma stem‐like cells are responsible for glioma relapse after treatment, which commonly involves ionizing radiation. Here, we found that fractionated ionizing radiation (2 Gy/day for 3 days) induced glioma stem‐like cell expansion and resistance to anticancer treatment such as cisplatin (50 μM) or taxol (500 nM), or by ionizing radiation (10 Gy) in both glioma cell lines (U87, U373) and patient‐derived glioma cells. Of note, concomitant increase of nitric oxide production occurred with the radiation‐induced increase of the glioma stem‐like cell population through upregulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). In line with this observation, downregulation of iNOS effectively reduced the glioma stem‐like cell population and decreased resistance to anticancer treatment. Collectively, our results suggest that targeting iNOS in combination with ionizing radiation might increase the efficacy of radiotherapy for glioma treatment.

Radiation promotes malignant progression of glioma cells through HIF-1alpha stabilization

Given its contribution to malignant phenotypes of cancer, tumor hypoxia has been considered as a potential therapeutic problem. In the stressful microenvironment condition, hypoxia inducible factor 1 (HIF1) is well known to mediate the transcriptional adaptation of cells to hypoxia and acts as a central player for the process of hypoxia-driven malignant cancer progression. Here, we found that irradiation causes the HIF1α protein to stabilize, even in normoxia condition through activation of p38 MAPK, thereby promoting angiogenesis in tumor microenvironment and infiltrative property of glioma cells. Notably, irradiation reduced hydroxylation of HIF1α through destabilization of prolyl hydroxylases (PHD)-2. Moreover, radiation also decreased the half-life of protein von Hippel-Lindau (pVHL), which is a specific E3 ligase for HIF1α. Of note, inhibition of p38 MAPK attenuated radiation-induced stabilization of HIF1α through destabilization of PHD-2 and pVHL. In agreement with these results, targeting of either p38 MAPK, HIF1α, pVHL or PHD-2 effectively mitigated the radiation-induced tube formation of human brain-derived micro-vessel endothelial cells (HB-MEC) and infiltration of glioma cells. Taken together, our findings suggest that targeting HIF1α in combination with ionizing radiation might increase the efficacy of radiotherapy for glioma treatment.

Importance of PKCδ signaling in fractionated-radiation-induced expansion of glioma-initiating cells and resistance to cancer treatment.

Brain tumors frequently recur or progress as focal masses after treatment with ionizing radiation. However, the mechanisms underlying the repopulation of tumor cells after radiation have remained unclear. In this study, we show that cellular signaling from Abelson murine leukemia viral oncogene homolog (Abl) to protein kinase Cδ (PKCδ) is crucial for fractionated-radiation-induced expansion of glioma-initiating cell populations and acquisition of resistance to anticancer treatments. Treatment of human glioma cells with fractionated radiation increased Abl and PKCδ activity, expanded the CD133-positive (CD133+) cell population that possesses tumor-initiating potential and induced expression of glioma stem cell markers and self-renewal-related proteins. Moreover, cells treated with fractionated radiation were resistant to anticancer treatments. Small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knockdown of PKCδ expression blocked fractionated-radiation-induced CD133+ cell expansion and suppressed expression of glioma stem cell markers and self-renewal-related proteins. It also suppressed resistance of glioma cells to anticancer treatments. Similarly, knockdown of Abl led to a decrease in CD133+ cell populations and restored chemotherapeutic sensitivity. It also attenuated fractionated-radiation-induced PKCδ activation, suggesting that Abl acts upstream of PKCδ. Collectively, these data indicate that fractionated radiation induces an increase in the glioma-initiating cell population, decreases cellular sensitivity to cancer treatment and implicates activation of Abl–PKCδ signaling in both events. These findings provide insights that might prove pivotal in the context of ionising-radiation-based therapeutic interventions for brain tumors.

Radiation promotes invasiveness of non-small-cell lung cancer cells through granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor.

Despite ionizing radiation (IR) is being widely used as a standard treatment for lung cancer, many evidences suggest that IR paradoxically promotes cancer malignancy. However, its molecular mechanisms underlying radiation-induced cancer progression remain obscure. Here, we report that exposure to fractionated radiation (2 Gy per day for 3 days) induces the secretion of granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) that has been commonly used in cancer therapies to ameliorate neutropenia. Intriguingly, radiation-induced G-CSF promoted the migratory and invasive properties by triggering the epithelial–mesenchymal cell transition (EMT) in non-small-cell lung cancer cells (NSCLCs). By irradiation, G-CSF was upregulated transcriptionally by β-catenin/TCF4 complex that binds to the promoter region of G-CSF as a transcription factor. Importantly, irradiation increased the stability of β-catenin through the activation of PI3K/AKT (phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT), thereby upregulating the expression of G-CSF. Radiation-induced G-CSF is recognized by G-CSFR and transduced its intracellular signaling JAK/STAT3 (Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription), thereby triggering EMT program in NSCLCs. Taken together, our findings suggest that the application of G-CSF in cancer therapies to ameliorate neutropenia should be reconsidered owing to its effect on cancer progression, and G-CSF could be a novel therapeutic target to mitigate the harmful effect of radiotherapy for the treatment of NSCLC.