Catalase Overexpression Drives an Aggressive Phenotype in Glioblastoma

Glioblastoma remains the deadliest form of brain cancer, largely because these tumors become resistant to standard of care treatment with radiation and chemotherapy. Intracellular production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is necessary for chemo- and radiotherapy-induced cytotoxicity. Here, we assessed whether antioxidant catalase (CAT) affects glioma cell sensitivity to temozolomide and radiation. Using The Cancer Genome Atlas database, we found that CAT mRNA expression is upregulated in glioma tumor tissue compared with non-tumor tissue, and the level of expression negatively correlates with the overall survival of patients with high-grade glioma. In U251 glioma cells, CAT overexpression substantially decreased the basal level of hydrogen peroxide, enhanced anchorage-independent cell growth, and facilitated resistance to the chemotherapeutic drug temozolomide and ionizing radiation. Importantly, pharmacological inhibition of CAT activity reduced the proliferation of glioma cells isolated from patient biopsy samples. Moreover, U251 cells overexpressing CAT formed neurospheres in neurobasal medium, whereas control cells did not, suggesting that the radio- and chemoresistance conferred by CAT may be due in part to the enrichment of glioma stem cell populations. Finally, CAT overexpression significantly decreased survival in an orthotopic mouse model of glioma. These results demonstrate that CAT regulates chemo- and radioresistance in human glioma.

Chronic AMPK inactivation slows SHH medulloblastoma progression by inhibiting mTORC1 signaling and depleting tumor stem cell populations

We show that inactivating AMPK in vivo in a genetic model of medulloblastoma depletes tumor stem cell populations and slows tumor progression. Medulloblastoma, the most common malignant pediatric brain tumor, grows as heterogenous communities comprising diverse types of tumor and stromal cells. We have previously shown that different types of cells in medulloblastomas show different sensitivities to specific targeted therapies. To determine if specific populations depend on AMPK, we analyzed mice with AMPK-inactivated medulloblastomas. We engineered mice with brain-wide, conditional deletion of the AMPK catalytic subunits Prkaa1 and Prkaa2 and conditional expression SmoM2, an oncogenic Smo allele that hyperactivates Sonic Hedgehog (SHH) signaling. We compared the medulloblastomas that formed in these mice to tumors that form in AMPK-intact mice with conditional SmoM2 expression. AMPK-inactivated tumors progressed more slowly, allowing longer event-free survival. AMPK inactivation altered the cellular heterogeneity, determined by scRNA-seq, increasing differentiation, decreasing tumor stem cell populations and reducing glio-neuronal multipotency. Mechanistically, AMPK inactivation altered glycolytic gene expression and decreased mTORC1 pathway activation. Hk2-deletion reproduced key aspects of the AMPK-inactivation phenotype, implicating altered glycolysis in the tumor suppressive effect of AMPK inactivation. Our results show that AMPK inactivation impairs tumor growth through mechanisms that disproportionately affect tumor stem cell populations. As stem cells are intrinsically resistant to current cytotoxic therapy that drives recurrence, finding ways to target these populations may prevent treatment failure. Our data suggest that targeted AMPK inactivation may produce therapeutic effects in tumor stem cell populations refractory to other therapeutic approaches.

A multi-stem cell basis for craniosynostosis and calvarial mineralization

Craniosynostosis is a group of disorders of premature calvarial sutural fusion. An incomplete understanding of the calvarial stem cells (CSCs) that produce fusion-driving osteoblasts has limited the development of non-surgical therapeutic approaches for craniosynostosis. Here we show that both physiologic calvarial mineralization and pathologic calvarial fusion in craniosynostosis reflect the interaction of two separate stem cell lineages; a recently reported CathepsinK (CTSK) lineage CSC (CTSK+ CSC)1 and a separate Discoidin domain-containing receptor 2 (DDR2) lineage stem cell (DDR2+ CSC) identified in this study. Deletion of Twist1, a gene associated with human craniosynostosis2,3, solely in CTSK+ CSCs is sufficient to drive craniosynostosis, however the sites destined to fuse surprisingly display a marked depletion of CTSK+ CSCs and a corresponding expansion of DDR2+ CSCs. This DDR2+ CSC expansion is a direct maladaptive response to CTSK+ CSC depletion, as partial suture fusion occurred after genetic ablation of CTSK+ CSCs. This DDR2+ CSC is a specific fraction of DDR2+ lineage cells that displayed full stemness features, establishing the presence of two distinct stem cell lineages in the sutures, with each population contributing to physiologic calvarial mineralization. DDR2+ CSCs mediate a distinct form of endochondral ossification where an initial cartilage template is formed but the recruitment of hematopoietic marrow is absent. Direct implantation of DDR2+ CSCs into suture sites was sufficient to induce fusion, and this phenotype was prevented by co-transplantation of CTSK+ CSCs. Lastly, the human counterparts of DDR2+ CSCs and CTSK+ CSCs are present in calvarial surgical specimens and display conserved functional properties in xenograft assays. The interaction between these two stem cell populations provides a new biologic interface to modulate calvarial mineralization and suture patency.

Regrow or Repair: An Update on Potential Regenerative Therapies for the Kidney

Fifteen years ago, this journal published a review outlining future options for regenerating the kidney. At that time, stem cell populations were being identified in multiple tissues, the concept of stem cell recruitment to a site of injury was of great interest, and the possibility of postnatal renal stem cells was growing in momentum. Since that time, we have seen the advent of human induced pluripotent stem cells, substantial advances in our capacity to both sequence and edit the genome, global and spatial transcriptional analysis down to the single-cell level, and a pandemic that has challenged our delivery of health care to all. This article will look back over this period of time to see how our view of kidney development, disease, repair, and regeneration has changed and envision a future for kidney regeneration and repair over the next 15 years.

Thyroid Hormone Receptor Beta as Tumor Suppressor: Untapped Potential in Treatment and Diagnostics in Solid Tumors

There is compelling evidence that the nuclear receptor TRβ, a member of the thyroid hormone receptor (TR) family, is a tumor suppressor in thyroid, breast and other solid tumors. Cell-based and animal studies reveal that the liganded TRβ induces apoptosis, reduces an aggressive phenotype, decreases stem cell populations, and slows tumor growth through modulation of a complex interplay of transcriptional networks. TRβ-driven tumor suppressive transcriptomic signatures include repression of known drivers of proliferation such as PI3K/Akt pathway and activation of novel signaling (JAK1/STAT1) and metabolic reprogramming in both thyroid and breast cancers. The presence of TRβ is also correlated with a positive prognosis and response to therapeutics in BRCA+ and triple-negative breast cancers respectively. Ligand activation of TRβ enhances sensitivity to chemotherapeutics. TRβ co-regulators and bromodomain-containing chromatin remodeling proteins are emergent therapeutic targets. This review considers TRβ as a potential biomolecular diagnostic and therapeutic target.