scholarly journals Molecular Chaperone GRP94/GP96 in Cancers: Oncogenesis and Therapeutic Target

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaofeng Duan ◽  
Stephen Iwanowycz ◽  
Soo Ngoi ◽  
Megan Hill ◽  
Qiang Zhao ◽  
...  

During tumor development and progression, intrinsic and extrinsic factors trigger endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and the unfolded protein response, resulting in the increased expression of molecular chaperones to cope with the stress and maintain tumor cell survival. Heat shock protein (HSP) GRP94, also known as GP96, is an ER paralog of HSP90 and has been shown to promote survival signaling during tumor-induced stress and modulate the immune response through its multiple clients, including TLRs, integrins, LRP6, GARP, IGF, and HER2. Clinically, elevated expression of GRP94 correlates with an aggressive phenotype and poor clinical outcome in a variety of cancers. Thus, GRP94 is a potential molecular marker and therapeutic target in malignancies. In this review, we will undergo deep molecular profiling of GRP94 in tumor development and summarize the individual roles of GRP94 in common cancers, including breast cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, multiple myeloma, and others. Finally, we will briefly review the therapeutic potential of selectively targeting GRP94 for the treatment of cancers.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 2567
Author(s):  
Yann S. Gallot ◽  
Kyle R. Bohnert

Skeletal muscle is an essential organ, responsible for many physiological functions such as breathing, locomotion, postural maintenance, thermoregulation, and metabolism. Interestingly, skeletal muscle is a highly plastic tissue, capable of adapting to anabolic and catabolic stimuli. Skeletal muscle contains a specialized smooth endoplasmic reticulum (ER), known as the sarcoplasmic reticulum, composed of an extensive network of tubules. In addition to the role of folding and trafficking proteins within the cell, this specialized organelle is responsible for the regulated release of calcium ions (Ca2+) into the cytoplasm to trigger a muscle contraction. Under various stimuli, such as exercise, hypoxia, imbalances in calcium levels, ER homeostasis is disturbed and the amount of misfolded and/or unfolded proteins accumulates in the ER. This accumulation of misfolded/unfolded protein causes ER stress and leads to the activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR). Interestingly, the role of the UPR in skeletal muscle has only just begun to be elucidated. Accumulating evidence suggests that ER stress and UPR markers are drastically induced in various catabolic stimuli including cachexia, denervation, nutrient deprivation, aging, and disease. Evidence indicates some of these molecules appear to be aiding the skeletal muscle in regaining homeostasis whereas others demonstrate the ability to drive the atrophy. Continued investigations into the individual molecules of this complex pathway are necessary to fully understand the mechanisms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 167 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Chamberlain ◽  
Vikas Anathy

Abstract Protein folding within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) exists in a delicate balance; perturbations of this balance can overload the folding capacity of the ER and disruptions of ER homoeostasis is implicated in numerous diseases. The unfolded protein response (UPR), a complex adaptive stress response, attempts to restore normal proteostasis, in part, through the up-regulation of various foldases and chaperone proteins including redox-active protein disulphide isomerases (PDIs). There are currently over 20 members of the PDI family each consisting of varying numbers of thioredoxin-like domains which, generally, assist in oxidative folding and disulphide bond rearrangement of peptides. While there is a large amount of redundancy in client proteins of the various PDIs, the size of the family would indicate more nuanced roles for the individual PDIs. However, the role of individual PDIs in disease pathogenesis remains uncertain. The following review briefly discusses recent findings of ER stress, the UPR and the role of individual PDIs in various respiratory disease states.


Author(s):  
Giuseppina Amodio ◽  
Valentina Pagliara ◽  
Ornella Moltedo ◽  
Paolo Remondelli

In the last decades, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) has emerged as a key coordinator of cellular homeostasis, thanks to its physical interconnection to almost all intracellular organelles. In particular, an intense and mutual crosstalk between the ER and mitochondria occurs at the mitochondria–ER contacts (MERCs). MERCs ensure a fine-tuned regulation of fundamental cellular processes, involving cell fate decision, mitochondria dynamics, metabolism, and proteostasis, which plays a pivotal role in the tumorigenesis and therapeutic response of cancer cells. Intriguingly, recent studies have shown that different components of the unfolded protein response (UPR) machinery, including PERK, IRE1α, and ER chaperones, localize at MERCs. These proteins appear to exhibit multifaceted roles that expand beyond protein folding and UPR transduction and are often related to the control of calcium fluxes to the mitochondria, thus acquiring relevance to cell survival and death. In this review, we highlight the novel functions played by PERK, IRE1α, and ER chaperones at MERCs focusing on their impact on tumor development.


Author(s):  
Dries A.M. Feyen ◽  
Isaac Perea-Gil ◽  
Renee G.C. Maas ◽  
Magdalena Harakalova ◽  
Alexandra A. Gavidia ◽  
...  

Background: Phospholamban (PLN) is a critical regulator of calcium cycling and contractility in the heart. The loss of arginine at position 14 in PLN (R14del) is associated with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) with a high prevalence of ventricular arrhythmias. How the R14 deletion causes DCM is poorly understood and there are no disease-specific therapies. Methods: We used single-cell RNA sequencing to uncover PLN R14del disease-mechanisms in human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC-CMs). We utilized both 2D and 3D functional contractility assays to evaluate the impact of modulating disease relevant pathways in PLN R14del hiPSC-CMs. Results: Modeling of the PLN R14del cardiomyopathy with isogenic pairs of hiPSC-CMs recapitulated the contractile deficit associated with the disease in vitro . Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed the induction of the unfolded protein response pathway (UPR) in PLN R14del compared to isogenic control hiPSC-CMs. The activation of UPR was also evident in the hearts from PLN R14del patients. Silencing of each of the three main UPR signaling branches (IRE1, ATF6, or PERK) by siRNA exacerbated the contractile dysfunction of PLN R14del hiPSC-CMs. We explored the therapeutic potential of activating the UPR with a small molecule activator, BiP protein Inducer X (BiX). PLN R14del hiPSC-CMs treated with BiX showed a dose-dependent amelioration of the contractility deficit of in both 2D cultures and 3D engineered heart tissues without affecting calcium homeostasis. Conclusions: Together, these findings suggest that the UPR exerts a protective effect in the setting of PLN R14del cardiomyopathy and that modulation of the UPR might be exploited therapeutically.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dimitrios Doultsinos ◽  
Mari McMahon ◽  
Konstantinos Voutetakis ◽  
Joanna Obacz ◽  
Raphael Pineau ◽  
...  

AbstractEndoplasmic Reticulum (ER) proteostasis control and the Unfolded Protein Response (UPRER) have been shown to contribute to tumor development and aggressiveness. As such, the UPRER sensor IRE1α (referred to as IRE1 hereafter) is a major regulator of glioblastoma (GBM) development and is an appealing therapeutic target. To document IRE1 suitability as an antineoplastic pharmacological target, we investigated how this protein contributed to GBM cell reprogramming, a property involved in treatment resistance and disease recurrence. Probing the IRE1 activity molecular signature on transcriptome datasets of human tumors, showed that high IRE1 activity correlated with low expression of the main GBM stemness transcription factors SOX2, SALL2, POU3F2 and OLIG2. Henceforth, this phenotype was pharmacologically and genetically recapitulated in immortalized and primary GBM cell lines as well as in mouse models. We demonstrated that constitutive activation of the IRE1/XBP1/miR148a signaling axis repressed the expression of SOX2 and led to maintenance of a differentiation phenotype in GBM cells. Our results describe a novel role for IRE1 signaling in maintaining differentiated tumor cell state and highlight opportunities of informed IRE1 modulation utility in GBM therapy.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 67-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Dejeans ◽  
Kim Barroso ◽  
Martin E. Fernandez-Zapico ◽  
Afshin Samali ◽  
Eric Chevet

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