Sprouty proteins are potent receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors that antagonize growth factor signaling and are involved in lung development. However, little is known about the regulation or targets of Sprouty-4 (Spry4) in lung cancer. Our study aimed to determine the role of Spry4 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We found that Spry4 mRNA expression was decreased in NSCLC cell lines and in dysplastic lung cell lines compared with a nontransformed cell line, suggesting that Spry4 has tumor-suppressing activity. When Spry4 was stably transfected into H157 and H2122 NSCLC cell lines, decreased migration and invasion were observed. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 activity was decreased, and the expression of matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors TIMP1 and CD82 were increased. Stable expression of Spry4 led to reduced cell growth and reduced anchorageindependent growth in NSCLC cell lines, along with upregulation of tumor suppressors p53 and p21. Changes in epithelial and mesenchymal markers indicated that Spry4 expression induces a reversal of the epithelial to mesenchymal transition characteristic of tumor cells. Treatment of a nontransformed lung epithelial cell line with short hairpin RNA to Spry4 led to the decreased expression of epithelial markers and increased cell growth, supporting the concept of Spry4 acting as a tumor suppressor. We showed that the activity of the Spry4 promoter is increased by Wnt7A/Fzd9 signaling through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ. These data present previously undescribed targets of Spry4 and suggest that Spry4 is a downstream target of Wnt7A/Fzd 9 signaling. Spry4 may have efficacy in the treatment of NSCLC. Mol Cancer Res; 8(6); 833-43. ©2010 AACR.

The goal of this study was to assess the ability of iloprost, an orally active prostacyclin analog, to inhibit transformed growth of human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to define the mechanism of iloprost's tumor suppressive effects. In a panel of NSCLC cell lines, the ability of iloprost to inhibit transformed cell growth was not correlated with the expression of the cell surface receptor for prostacyclin, but instead was correlated with the presence of Frizzled 9 (Fzd 9) and the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma). Silencing of Fzd 9 blocked PPARgamma activation by iloprost, and expression of Fzd 9 in cells lacking the protein resulted in iloprost's activation of PPARgamma and inhibition of transformed growth. Interestingly, soluble Frizzled-related protein-1, a well-known inhibitor of Wnt/Fzd signaling, also blocked the effects of iloprost and Fzd 9. Moreover, mice treated with iloprost had reduced lung tumors and increased Fzd 9 expression. These studies define a novel paradigm, linking the eicosanoid pathway and Wnt signaling. In addition, these data also suggest that prostacyclin analogs may represent a new class of therapeutic agents in the treatment of NSCLC where the restoration of noncanonical Wnt signaling maybe important for the inhibition of transformed cell growth.

Shiga toxin-producing

BackgroundInflammation underlies many forms of pulmonary hypertension (PH), including that resulting from Schistosoma infection, a major cause of PH worldwide. Schistosomiasis‐associated PH is proximately triggered by embolization of parasite eggs into the lungs, resulting in localized type 2 inflammation. However, the role of CD4+ T cells in this disease is not well defined.Methods and ResultsWe used a mouse model of schistosomiasis‐associated PH, induced by intraperitoneal egg sensitization followed by intravenous egg challenge, with outcomes including right ventricle systolic pressure measured by cardiac catheterization, and cell density and phenotype assessed by flow cytometry. We identified that embolization of Schistosoma eggs into lungs of egg‐sensitized mice increased the perivascular density of T‐helper 2 (Th2) CD4+ T cells by recruitment of cells from the circulation and triggered type 2 inflammation. Parabiosis confirmed that egg embolization is required for localized type 2 immunity. We found Th2 CD4+ T cells were necessary for Schistosoma‐induced PH, given that deletion of CD4+ T cells or inhibiting their Th2 function protected against type 2 inflammation and PH following Schistosoma exposure. We also observed that adoptive transfer of Schistosoma‐sensitized CD4+ Th2 cells was sufficient to drive type 2 inflammation and PH.ConclusionsTh2 CD4+ T cells are a necessary and sufficient component for the type 2 inflammation‐induced PH following Schistosoma exposure.

Altered metabolism in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (pASMcs) and endothelial cells (pAecs) contributes to the pathology of pulmonary hypertension (pH), but changes in substrate uptake and how substrates are utilized have not been fully characterized. We hypothesized stable isotope metabolomics would identify increased glucose, glutamine and fatty acid uptake and utilization in human pASMcs and pAecs from pH versus control specimens, and that tGf-β treatment would phenocopy these metabolic changes. We used 13 c-labeled glucose, glutamine or a long-chain fatty acid mixture added to cell culture media, and mass spectrometry-based metabolomics to detect and quantify 13 c-labeled metabolites. We found pH pASMcs had increased glucose uptake and utilization by glycolysis and the pentose shunt, but no changes in glutamine or fatty acid uptake or utilization. Diseased pAecs had increased proximate glycolysis pathway intermediates, less pentose shunt flux, increased anaplerosis from glutamine, and decreased fatty acid β-oxidation. tGf-β treatment increased glycolysis in pASMcs, but did not recapitulate the pAec disease phenotype. in tGf-β-treated pASMcs, glucose, glutamine and fatty acids all contributed carbons to the tcA cycle. in conclusion, pASMcs and pAecs collected from pH subjects have significant changes in metabolite uptake and utilization, partially recapitulated by TGF-β treatment. Changes in cellular metabolism are increasingly recognized as a hallmark of pulmonary hypertension (PH) pathobiology 1-4. Shifts in the uptake of metabolic substrates and how they are utilized downstream enables the disease phenotype of vascular cells in PH, including increased proliferation, apoptosis resistance, hypertrophy and vasoconstriction 3. One critical metabolic shift observed in PH is an increase in glycolysis, which is thought to occur in resident vascular wall cells including pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs), endothelial cells (PAECs) and fibroblasts 5-7. Increased glucose uptake can be demonstrated in vivo by increased uptake of the glucose analog 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose in the lung parenchyma of PH subjects 6,8. The concept that glycolysis in PH is detrimental has led to investigation of the potential utility of dichloroacetate (DCA), which by blocking pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase causes increased glucose flux into the TCA cycle, and less glycolysis 9. Glutamine uptake and metabolism by PAECs has also been shown to contribute to their disease phenotype 10. However, comprehensive assessment of substrate uptake and how the substrates are utilized by pulmonary vascular cells in PH is lacking. A potential driver of altered cellular metabolism is transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) signaling, which underlies many forms of heritable (through mutations in BMPR2 and other members of the TGF-β signaling superfamily) and idiopathic PAH, and PAH etiologies associated with other conditions such as autoimmune