Targeting a positive regulatory loop in the tumor-macrophage interaction impairs the progression of clear cell renal cell carcinoma
CELL DEATH AND DIFFERENTIATION
Authors: Wang, Chao; Wang, Yuning; Hong, Tianyu; Ye, Jianqing; Chu, Chuanmin; Zuo, Li; Zhang, Jing; Cui, Xingang
Abstract
Although the interaction between tumors and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) has been reported to facilitate the targeted drug resistance and progression of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), the related mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we report that SOX17 serves as a novel tumor suppressor in ccRCC and a positive regulatory loop, SOX17(low)/YAP/TEAD1/CCL5/CCR5/STAT3, facilitates the ccRCC-TAM interaction. SOX17 expression was commonly downregulated and negatively correlated with TAM infiltration in ccRCC specimens, and the integration of SOX17 and TAMs with the existing clinical indicators TNM stage or SSIGN score achieved better accuracy for predicting the prognosis of ccRCC patients. Mechanistically, SOX17 knockdown activated YAP signaling by promoting the transcription and nuclear distribution of YAP, which recruited TEAD1 to trigger CCL5 transcription. Then, CCL5 educated macrophages toward TAMs, which reciprocally enhanced ccRCC progression through CCL5/CCR5 and activated STAT3/SOX17(low)/YAP. However, SOX17 overexpression in ccRCC achieved the opposite effect. Thus, a positive regulatory loop, SOX17(low)/YAP/TEAD1/CCL5/CCR5/STAT3, was identified in the ccRCC-TAM interaction. Furthermore, targeting tumor-TAM interactions by blocking this positive regulatory network impaired the metastasis and targeted drug resistance of ccRCC in in vivo mouse models of lung metastasis and orthotopic ccRCC. These findings provide a new mechanism underlying the tumor-TAM interplay in ccRCC progression and present a potential target for inhibiting targeted drug resistance and metastasis in advanced ccRCC.
Unique molecular signature in mucolipidosis type IV microglia
JOURNAL OF NEUROINFLAMMATION
Authors: Cougnoux, Antony; Drummond, Rebecca A.; Fellmeth, Mason; Navid, Fatemeh; Collar, Amanda L.; Iben, James; Kulkarni, Ashok B.; Pickel, James; Schiffmann, Raphael; Wassif, Christopher A.; Cawley, Niamh X.; Lionakis, Michail S.; Porter, Forbes D.
Abstract
Background: Lysosomal storage diseases (LSD) are a large family of inherited disorders characterized by abnormal endolysosomal accumulation of cellular material due to catabolic enzyme and transporter deficiencies. Depending on the affected metabolic pathway, LSD manifest with somatic or central nervous system (CNS) signs and symptoms. Neuroinflammation is a hallmark feature of LSD with CNS involvement such as mucolipidosis type IV, but not of others like Fabry disease. Methods: We investigated the properties of microglia from LSD with and without major CNS involvement in 2-month-old mucolipidosis type IV (Mcoln1(-/-)) and Fabry disease (Gla(y/-)) mice, respectively, by using a combination of flow cytometric, RNA sequencing, biochemical, in vitro and immunofluorescence analyses. Results: We characterized microglia activation and transcriptome from mucolipidosis type IV and Fabry disease mice to determine if impaired lysosomal function is sufficient to prime these brain-resident immune cells. Consistent with the neurological pathology observed in mucolipidosis type IV, Mcoln1(-/-) microglia demonstrated an activation profile with a mixed neuroprotective/neurotoxic expression pattern similar to the one we previously observed in Niemann-Pick disease, type C1, another LSD with significant CNS involvement. In contrast, the Fabry disease microglia transcriptome revealed minimal alterations, consistent with the relative lack of CNS symptoms in this disease. The changes observed in Mcoln1(-/-) microglia showed significant overlap with alterations previously reported for other common neuroinflammatory disorders including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases. Indeed, our comparison of microglia transcriptomes from Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Niemann-Pick disease, type C1 and mucolipidosis type IV mouse models showed an enrichment in "disease-associated microglia" pattern among these diseases. Conclusions: The similarities in microglial transcriptomes and features of neuroinflammation and microglial activation in rare monogenic disorders where the primary metabolic disturbance is known may provide novel insights into the immunopathogenesis of other more common neuroinflammatory disorders.