Fanconi anemia (FA) is a human genetic disease characterized by a DNA repair defect and progressive bone marrow failure. Central events in the FA pathway are the monoubiquitination of the Fancd2 protein and the removal of ubiquitin by the deubiquitinating enzyme, Usp1. Here, we have investigated the role of Fancd2 and Usp1 in the maintenance and function of murine hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Bone marrow from Fancd22/2 mice and Usp12/2 mice exhibited marked hematopoietic defects. A decreased frequency of the HSC populations including Lin-Sca-11Kit1 cells and cells enriched for dormant HSCs expressing signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM) markers, was observed in the bone marrow of Fancd2-deficient mice. In addition, bone marrow from Fancd22/2 mice contained significantly reduced frequencies of late-developing cobblestone area-forming cell activity in vitro compared to the bone marrow from wild-type mice. Furthermore, Fancd2-deficient and Usp1-deficient bone marrow had defective long-term in vivo repopulating ability. Collectively, our data reveal novel functions of Fancd2 and Usp1 in maintaining the bone marrow HSC compartment and suggest that FA pathway disruption may account for bone marrow failure in FA patients.
The available evidence suggests that the lethality of glioblastoma is driven by small subpopulations of cells that self-renew and exhibit tumorigenicity. It remains unclear whether tumorigenicity exists as a static property of a few cells or as a dynamically acquired property. We used tumor-sphere and xenograft formation as assays for tumorigenicity and examined subclones isolated from established and primary glioblastoma lines. Our results indicate that glioblastoma tumorigenicity is largely deterministic, yet the property can be acquired spontaneously at low frequencies. Further, these dynamic transitions are governed by epigenetic reprogramming through the lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1). LSD depletion increases trimethylation of histone 3 lysine 4 at the avian myelocytomatosis viral oncogene homolog (MYC) locus, which elevates MYC expression. MYC, in turn, regulates oligodendrocyte lineage transcription factor 2 (OLIG2), SRY (sex determining region Y)-box 2 (SOX2), and POU class 3 homeobox 2 (POU3F2), a core set of transcription factors required for reprogramming glioblastoma cells into stem-like states. Our model suggests epigenetic regulation of key transcription factors governs transitions between tumorigenic states and provides a framework for glioblastoma therapeutic development.epigenomics | glioblastoma | neoplastic stem cells G lioblastoma is the most common primary brain cancer and remains one of the deadliest of malignancies despite contemporary treatment strategies (1), with near-uniform fatality within 2 y of diagnosis (2, 3). There is growing evidence that the lethality of this tumor is driven by subpopulations of cells with properties of self-renewal and tumorigenicity (4)-that is, the capacity to generate phenocopies of the original tumor when transplanted (5, 6). How glioblastoma cells retain or gain tumorigenicity while the bulk of the tumor does not remains a fundamental question. Conceptualization of this phenomenon includes the elite and stochastic models (7). The elite model states that restricted cell subpopulations harbor intrinsic tumorigenic properties that cannot be acquired once lost. The stochastic model, on the other hand, presupposes that all cells within a population are intrinsically comparable in their ability to spontaneously acquire or lose tumorigenicity.Epigenetic alterations are stable, long-term changes in cellular phenotype that are not due to variations in DNA sequence (8). One means by which epigenetic alterations impact cell phenotype involves modulation of transcriptional activity via histone modification (9). Here we demonstrate that glioblastoma tumorigenicity is best conceptualized by a hybrid elite-stochastic model governed by histone modification through the lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1; aka KDM1A) (10). This modification, in turn, influences the expression of key transcription factors required to reprogram glioblastoma cells into a stem-like state, including avian myelocytomatosis viral oncogene homolog (MYC) (11), oligodendrocyte lineage transcri...
Despite optimal radiation therapy (RT), chemotherapy and/or surgery, a majority of patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) fail treatment. To identify novel gene targets for improved tumor control, we performed whole genome RNAi screens to identify knockdowns that most reproducibly increase NSCLC cytotoxicity. These screens identified several proteasome subunits among top hits, including the topmost hit PSMA1, a component of the core 20 S proteasome. Radiation and proteasome inhibition showed synergistic effects. Proteasome inhibition resulted in an 80–90% decrease in homologous recombination (HR), a 50% decrease in expression of NF-κB-inducible HR genes BRCA1 and FANCD2, and a reduction of BRCA1, FANCD2 and RAD51 ionizing radiation-induced foci. IκBα RNAi knockdown rescued NSCLC radioresistance. Irradiation of mice with NCI-H460 xenografts after inducible PSMA1 shRNA knockdown markedly increased murine survival compared to either treatment alone. Proteasome inhibition is a promising strategy for NSCLC radiosensitization via inhibition of NF-κB-mediated expression of Fanconi Anemia/HR DNA repair genes.
Identification of safe, effective treatment strategies to mitigate toxicity after extensive radiation exposure has proven challenging. Only a limited number of candidate approaches have emerged, and the Federal Drug Administration has yet to approve any agent for a mass-casualty radiation disaster indication. As preparative treatments for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) produce toxicities similar to such radiation exposures, we studied patients early after myeloablative HSCT to identify new approaches to this problem. Patients rapidly developed endotoxemia and reduced plasma bactericidal/permeability-increasing protein (BPI), a potent endotoxin-neutralizing protein, in association with neutropenia. We hypothesized that a treatment supplying similar endotoxin-neutralizing activity might replace the BPI deficit and mitigate radiation toxicity. We tested this idea in mice. A single 7 Gy radiation dose, which was 95% lethal by 30 days, was followed 24 hours later by twice daily subcutaneous injections of the recombinant BPI fragment rBPI21 or vehicle alone for 14 or 30 days, with or without an oral fluoroquinolone antibiotic with broad-spectrum anti-bacterial activity including that against endotoxin-bearing Gram-negative bacteria. Compared to either fluoroquinolone alone or vehicle/fluoroquinolone, combined rBPI21/fluoroquinolone treatment improved survival, accelerated hematopoietic recovery and promoted expansion of stem and progenitor cells. The observed efficacy of rBPI21 and fluoroquinolones initiated 24 hours after lethal irradiation, combined with their favorable bioactivity and safety profiles in critically-ill humans, suggest the potential clinical utility of this radiation mitigation strategy and support its further evaluation.
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