scholarly journals Targeting all transforming growth factor-β isoforms with an Fc chimeric receptor impairs tumor growth and angiogenesis of oral squamous cell cancer

2020 ◽  
Vol 295 (36) ◽  
pp. 12559-12572
Author(s):  
Kazuki Takahashi ◽  
Yuichi Akatsu ◽  
Katarzyna A. Podyma-Inoue ◽  
Takehisa Matsumoto ◽  
Hitomi Takahashi ◽  
...  

Tumor progression is governed by various growth factors and cytokines in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Among these, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is secreted by various cell types residing in the TME and promotes tumor progression by inducing the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of cancer cells and tumor angiogenesis. TGF-β comprises three isoforms, TGF-β1, -β2, and -β3, and transduces intracellular signals via TGF-β type I receptor (TβRI) and TGF-β type II receptor (TβRII). For the purpose of designing ligand traps that reduce oncogenic signaling in the TME, chimeric proteins comprising the ligand-interacting ectodomains of receptors fused with the Fc portion of immunoglobulin are often used. For example, chimeric soluble TβRII (TβRII-Fc) has been developed as an effective therapeutic strategy for targeting TGF-β ligands, but several lines of evidence indicate that TβRII-Fc more effectively traps TGF-β1 and TGF-β3 than TGF-β2, whose expression is elevated in multiple cancer types. In the present study, we developed a chimeric TGF-β receptor containing both TβRI and TβRII (TβRI-TβRII-Fc) and found that TβRI-TβRII-Fc trapped all TGF-β isoforms, leading to inhibition of both the TGF-β signal and TGF-β–induced EMT of oral cancer cells, whereas TβRII-Fc failed to trap TGF-β2. Furthermore, we found that TβRI-TβRII-Fc suppresses tumor growth and angiogenesis more effectively than TβRII-Fc in a subcutaneous xenograft model of oral cancer cells with high TGF-β expression. These results suggest that TβRI-TβRII-Fc may be a promising tool for targeting all TGF-β isoforms in the TME.

Circulation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 130 (suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lai-Ming Yung ◽  
Samuel D Paskin-Flerlage ◽  
Ivana Nikolic ◽  
Scott Pearsall ◽  
Ravindra Kumar ◽  
...  

Introduction: Excessive Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) signaling has been implicated in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), based on activation of TGF-β effectors and transcriptional targets in affected lungs and the ability of TGF-β type I receptor (ALK5) inhibitors to improve experimental PAH. However, clinical use of ALK5 inhibitors has been limited by cardiovascular toxicity. Hypothesis: We tested whether or not selective blockade of TGF-β and Growth Differentiation Factor (GDF) ligands using a recombinant TGFβ type II receptor extracellular domain Fc fusion protein (TGFBRII-Fc) could impact experimental PAH. Methods: Male SD rats were injected with monocrotaline (MCT) and received vehicle or TGFBRII-Fc (15 mg/kg, twice per week, i.p.). C57BL/6 mice were treated with SU-5416 and hypoxia (SUGEN-HX) and received vehicle or TGFBRII-Fc. RNA-Seq was used to profile transcriptional changes in lungs of MCT rats. Circulating levels of GDF-15 were measured in 241 PAH patients and 41 healthy controls. Human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells were used to examine signaling in vitro . Results: TGFBRII-Fc is a selective ligand trap, inhibiting the ability of GDF-15, TGF-β1, TGF-β3, but not TGF-β2 to activate SMAD2/3 in vitro . In MCT rats, prophylactic treatment with TGFBRII-Fc normalized expression of TGF-β transcriptional target PAI-1, attenuated PAH and vascular remodeling. Delayed administration of TGFBRII-Fc in rats with established PAH at 2.5 weeks led to improved survival, decreased PAH and remodeling at 5 weeks. Similar findings were observed in SUGEN-HX mice. No valvular abnormalities were found with TGFBRII-Fc treatment. RNA-Seq revealed GDF-15 to be the most highly upregulated TGF-β ligand in the lungs of MCT rats, with only modest increases in TGF-β1 and no change in TGF-β2/3 observed, suggesting a dominant role of GDF-15 in the pathophysiology of this model. Plasma levels of GDF-15 were significantly increased in patients with diverse etiologies of WHO Group I PAH. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that a selective TGF-β/GDF-15 trap attenuates experimental PAH, remodeling and mortality, without causing valvulopathy. These data highlight the potential role of GDF-15 as a pathogenic molecule and therapeutic target in PAH.


Author(s):  
Jie Song ◽  
Maréne Landström

Transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) is a multifunctional cytokine with potent regulatory effects on cell fate during embryogenesis, in the normal adult organism, and in cancer cells. In normal cells, the signal from the TGFβ ligand is transduced from the extracellular space to the cell nucleus by transmembrane serine–threonine kinase receptors in a highly specific manner. The dimeric ligand binding to the TGFβ Type II receptor (TβRII) initiates the signal and then recruits the TGFβ Type I receptor (TβRI) into the complex, which activates TβRI. This causes phosphorylation of receptor-activated Smad proteins Smad2 and Smad3 and promotes their nuclear translocation and transcriptional activity in complex with context-dependent transcription factors. In several of our most common forms of cancer, this pathway is instead regulated by polyubiquitination of TβRI by the E3 ubiquitin ligase TRAF6, which is associated with TβRI. The activation of TRAF6 promotes the proteolytic cleavage of TβRI, liberating its intracellular domain (TβRI-ICD). TβRI-ICD enters the cancer cell nucleus in a manner dependent on the endosomal adaptor proteins APPL1/APPL2. Nuclear TβRI-ICD promotes invasion by cancer cells and is recognized as acting distinctly and differently from the canonical TGFβ-Smad signaling pathway occurring in normal cells.


2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (23) ◽  
pp. 8184-8198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian K. Law ◽  
Anna Chytil ◽  
Nancy Dumont ◽  
Elizabeth G. Hamilton ◽  
Mary E. Waltner-Law ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) induces cell cycle arrest of most nontransformed epithelial cell lines. In contrast, many human carcinomas are refractory to the growth-inhibitory effect of TGF-β. TGF-β overexpression inhibits tumorigenesis, and abolition of TGF-β signaling accelerates tumorigenesis, suggesting that TGF-β acts as a tumor suppressor in mouse models of cancer. A screen to identify agents that potentiate TGF-β-induced growth arrest demonstrated that the potential anticancer agent rapamycin cooperated with TGF-β to induce growth arrest in multiple cell lines. Rapamycin also augmented the ability of TGF-β to inhibit the proliferation of E2F1-, c-Myc-, and V12H-Ras-transformed cells, even though these cells were insensitive to TGF-β-mediated growth arrest in the absence of rapamycin. Rapamycin potentiation of TGF-β-induced growth arrest could not be explained by increases in TGF-β receptor levels or rapamycin-induced dissociation of FKBP12 from the TGF-β type I receptor. Significantly, TGF-β and rapamycin cooperated to induce growth inhibition of human carcinoma cells that are resistant to TGF-β-induced growth arrest, and arrest correlated with a suppression of Cdk2 kinase activity. Inhibition of Cdk2 activity was associated with increased binding of p21 and p27 to Cdk2 and decreased phosphorylation of Cdk2 on Thr160. Increased p21 and p27 binding to Cdk2 was accompanied by decreased p130, p107, and E2F4 binding to Cdk2. Together, these results indicate that rapamycin and TGF-β cooperate to inhibit the proliferation of nontransformed cells and cancer cells by acting in concert to inhibit Cdk2 activity.


2007 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 1878-1885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boniface Namangala ◽  
Chihiro Sugimoto ◽  
Noboru Inoue

ABSTRACT The socioeconomic implications of trypanosomosis in sub-Saharan Africa and the limitations of its current control regimes have stimulated research into alternative control methods. Considering the pro- and anti-inflammatory properties of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) and its potential to enhance immunity against protozoan parasites, we examined the effects of intraperitoneally delivered TGF-β1 in C57BL/6 mice infected with Trypanosoma congolense, the hemoprotozoan parasite causing nagana in cattle. A triple dose of 10 ng TGF-β1 significantly reduced the first parasitemic peak and delayed mortality of infected mice. Furthermore, exogenous TGF-β1 significantly decreased the development of trypanosome-induced anemia and splenomegaly. The apparent TGF-β1-induced antitrypanosome protection, occurring mainly during the early stage of infection, correlated with an enhanced parasite antigen-specific Th1 cell response characterized by a skewed type I cytokine response and a concomitant stronger antitrypanosome immunoglobulin G2a antibody response. Infected TGF-β1-pretreated mice exhibited a significant reduction in the trypanosome-induced hyperexpansion of B cells. Furthermore, evidence is provided herein that exogenous TGF-β1 activates macrophages that may contribute to parasite control. Collectively, these data indicate that exogenous TGF-β1 is immunostimulative, inducing partial protection against T. congolense infection, possibly through mechanisms involving innate immune responses.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Zhang ◽  
Lihua Gao ◽  
Chunsheng Shao ◽  
Mingsi Deng ◽  
Liangjian Chen

Chewing areca nut (betel quid) is strongly associated with oral submucous fibrosis (OSF), a pre-cancerous lesion. Among the areca alkaloids, arecoline is the main agent responsible for fibroblast proliferation; however, the specific molecular mechanism of arecoline affecting the OSF remains unclear. The present study revealed that arecoline treatment significantly enhanced Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-induced buccal mucosal fibroblast (BMF) activation and fibrotic changes. Arecoline interacts with phosphodiesterase 4A (PDE4A) to exert its effects through modulating PDE4A activity but not PDE4A expression. PDE4A silence reversed the effects of arecoline on TGF-β-induced BMFs activation and fibrotic changes. Moreover, the exchange protein directly activated by cAMP 1 (Epac1)-selective Cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cAMP) analog (8-Me-cAMP) but not the protein kinase A (PKA)-selective cAMP analog (N6-cAMP) remarkably suppressed α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA) and Collagen Type I Alpha 1 Chain (Col1A1) protein levels in response to TGF-β1 and arecoline co-treatment, indicating that cAMP-Epac1 but not cAMP-PKA signaling is involved in arecoline functions on TGF-β1-induced BMFs activation. In conclusion, arecoline promotes TGF-β1-induced BMFs activation through enhancing PDE4A activity and the cAMP-Epac1 signaling pathway during OSF. This novel mechanism might provide more powerful strategies for OSF treatment, requiring further in vivo and clinical investigation.


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