A positive feedback loop of lncRNA-RMRP/ZNRF3 axis and Wnt/β-catenin signaling regulates the progression and temozolomide resistance in glioma

Drug resistance strikingly limits the therapeutic effect of temozolomide (TMZ) (a common drug for glioma). Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) RMRP has been found to be implicated in glioma progression. However, the effect of RMRP on TMZ resistance along with related molecular mechanisms is poorly defined in glioma. In the present study, RMRP, ZNRF3, and IGF2BP3 were screened out by bioinformatics analysis. The expression levels of lncRNAs and mRNAs were measured by RT-qPCR assay. Protein levels of genes were detected by western blot and immunofluorescence assays. ZNRF3 mRNA stability was analyzed using Actinomycin D assay. Cell proliferative ability and survival rate were determined by CCK-8 assay. Cell apoptotic pattern was estimated by flow cytometry. The effect of RMRP knockdown on the growth of TMZ-treated glioma xenograft tumors was explored in vivo. The relationships of IGF2BP3, RMRP, and ZNRF3 were explored by bioinformatics prediction analysis, RNA immunoprecipitation, luciferase, and RNA pull-down, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. The results showed that RMRP was highly expressed in glioma. RMRP knockdown curbed cell proliferation, facilitated cell apoptosis and reduced TMZ resistance in glioma cells, and hindered the growth of TMZ-treated glioma xenograft tumors. RMRP exerted its functions by down-regulating ZNRF3 in glioma cells. IGF2BP3 interacted with RMRP and ZNRF3 mRNA. IGF2BP3 knockdown weakened the interaction of Argonaute 2 (Ago2) and ZNRF3. RMRP reduced ZNRF3 expression and mRNA stability by IGF2BP3. RMRP knockdown inhibited β-catenin expression by up-regulating ZNRF3. The inhibition of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by XAV-939 weakened RMRP-mediated TMZ resistance in glioma cells. β-catenin promoted RMRP expression by TCF4 in glioma cells. In conclusion, RMRP/ZNRF3 axis and Wnt/β-catenin signaling formed a positive feedback loop to regulate TMZ resistance in glioma. The sustained activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling by RMRP might contribute to the better management of cancers.

HGG-21. MALIGNANT SYNAPTIC PLASTICITY IN PEDIATRIC HIGH-GRADE GLIOMAS

Pediatric high-grade gliomas (pHGG) are a devastating group of diseases that urgently require novel therapeutic options. We have previously demonstrated that pHGGs directly synapse onto neurons and the subsequent tumor cell depolarization, mediated by calcium-permeable AMPA channels, promotes their proliferation. The regulatory mechanisms governing these postsynaptic connections are unknown. Here, we investigated the role of BDNF-TrkB signaling in modulating the plasticity of the malignant synapse. BDNF ligand activation of its canonical receptor, TrkB (which is encoded for by the gene NTRK2), has been shown to be one important modulator of synaptic regulation in the normal setting. Electrophysiological recordings of glioma cell membrane properties, in response to acute neurotransmitter stimulation, demonstrate in an inward current resembling AMPA receptor (AMPAR) mediated excitatory neurotransmission. Extracellular BDNF increases the amplitude of this glutamate-induced tumor cell depolarization and this effect is abrogated in NTRK2 knockout glioma cells. Upon examining tumor cell excitability using in situ calcium imaging, we found that BDNF increases the intensity of glutamate-evoked calcium transients in GCaMP6s expressing glioma cells. Western blot analysis indicates the tumors AMPAR properties are altered downstream of BDNF induced TrkB activation in glioma. We find that BDNF-TrkB signaling promotes neuron-to-glioma synaptogenesis as measured by high-resolution confocal and electron microscopy in culture and tumor xenografts. Our analysis of published pHGG transcriptomic datasets, together with brain slice conditioned medium experiments in culture, indicate the tumor microenvironment as the chief source of BDNF ligand. Disruption of the BDNF-TrkB pathway in patient-derived orthotopic glioma xenograft models, both genetically and pharmacologically, results in an increased overall survival and reduced tumor proliferation rate. These findings suggest that gliomas leverage mechanisms of plasticity to modulate the excitatory channels involved in synaptic neurotransmission and they reveal the potential to target the regulatory components of glioma circuit dynamics as a therapeutic strategy for these lethal cancers.

miR-548ac Inhibit Wnt5a Expression and Promotes Proliferation of Glioma Cells through the AKT/ERK Pathway

Background Glioma is one of the most frequently occurring and lethal primary malignant tumors. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a newly identified modulator involved in the formation and progression of glioma. Methods Stable knockdown or over-expression of miR-548ac in U87 glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cells was used to explore the function of miR-548ac in the expression of Wnt5a. Luciferase reporter constructs were used to investigate the correlation between Wnt5a expression and miR-548ac. Cell Counting Kit-8 assays, Transwell assays, colony formation assays and flow cytometry were used to investigate the functions of Wnt5a and miR-548ac in glioma. Xenograft experiments were used to evaluate tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Western blotting was used to assess the function of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Results miR-548ac overexpression down-regulated the proliferation, migration and invasion of GBM cells. In addition, knockdown of miR-548ac promoted expression of Wat5a, a direct target of miR-548ac, which plays an oncogenic role in glioblastoma stem cells. Reduced Wan5a expression partially rescued the miR-548ac-induced enhancement of GBM cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Kaplan–Meier curve analysis revealed that high miR-548ac expression was associated with poor prognosis of patients with GBM. Conclusions miR-548ac suppresses GBM progression by targeting Wan5a. The miR-548ac/Wnt5a axis may be a new potential strategy for glioma therapy.

A Positive Feedback Loop of lncRNA-RMRP/ZNRF3 axis and Wnt/β-catenin Signaling Regulates Temozolomide Resistance in Glioma

Background: Drug resistance strikingly limits the therapeutic effect of temozolomide (TMZ) (a common drug for glioma). Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) RMRP was found to be implicated in glioma progression. However, the effects of RMRP on TMZ resistance along with related molecular mechanisms are poor defined in glioma. Methods: RMRP, ZNRF3, and IGF2BP3 were screened out by bioinformatics analysis. The expression levels of lncRNAs and mRNAs were measured by RT-qPCR assay. Protein levels of genes were detected by western blot and immunofluorescence assays. ZNRF3 mRNA stability was analyzed using Actinomycin D assay. Cell proliferative ability and survival rate were determined by CCK-8 assay. Cell apoptotic patterns were estimated by flow cytometry. The effects of RMRP knockdown on the growth of TMZ-treated glioma xenograft tumors were explored in vivo. The relationships among IGF2BP3, RMRP and ZNRF3 were explored by bioinformatics prediction analysis, RNA immunoprecipitation and RNA pull-down assays. Results: RMRP was highly expressed in glioma. RMRP knockdown curbed cell proliferation, facilitated cell apoptosis and reduced TMZ resistance in glioma cells and hindered the growth of TMZ-treated glioma xenograft tumors. RMRP exerted its functions by down-regulating ZNRF3 in glioma cells. IGF2BP3 interacted with RMRP and ZNRF3 mRNA. RMRP reduced ZNRF3 expression and mRNA stability by IGF2BP3. RMRP knockdown inhibited β-catenin expression by up-regulating ZNRF3 and β-catenin promoted RMRP expression in glioma cells. Conclusion: RMRP/ZNRF3 axis and Wnt/β-catenin signaling formed a positive feedback loop to regulate TMZ resistance in glioma. The sustained activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling by RMRP contributes the better management of cancers.

Autophagic Inhibition via Lysosomal Integrity Dysfunction Leads to Antitumor Activity in Glioma Treatment

Manipulating autophagy is a promising strategy for treating cancer as several autophagy inhibitors are shown to induce autophagic cell death. One of these, autophagonizer (APZ), induces apoptosis-independent cell death by binding an unknown target via an unknown mechanism. To identify APZ targets, we used a label-free drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS) approach with a liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) readout. Of 35 protein interactors, we identified Hsp70 as a key target protein of unmodified APZ in autophagy. Either APZ treatment or Hsp70 inhibition attenuates integrity of lysosomes, which leads to autophagic cell death exhibiting an excellent synergism with a clinical drug, temozolomide, in vitro, in vivo, and orthotropic glioma xenograft model. These findings demonstrate the potential of APZ to induce autophagic cell death and its development to combinational chemotherapeutic agent for glioma treatment. Collectively, our study demonstrated that APZ, a new autophagy inhibitor, can be used as a potent antitumor drug candidate to get over unassailable glioma and revealed a novel function of Hsp70 in lysosomal integrity regulation of autophagy.

Autophagic Inhibition via Lysosomal Integrity Dysfunction Leads to Antitumor Activity in Glioma Treatment

Manipulating autophagy is a promising strategy for treating cancer as several autophagy inhibitors shown to induce autophagic cell death. One of these, autophagonizer (APZ), induces apoptosis-independent cell death by binding an unknown target via an unknown mechanism. To identify APZ targets we used a label-free drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS) approach with a liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) readout. Of 35 protein interactors, we identified Hsp70 as a key target protein of unmodified APZ in autophagy. Either APZ treatment or Hsp70 inhibition attenuates integrity of lysosomes, which leads to autophagic cell death exhibiting an excellent synergism with a clinical drug, temozolomide, in vitro, in vivo, and orthotropic glioma xenograft model. These findings demonstrate the potential of APZ to induce autophagic cell death and its development to combinational chemotherapeutic agent for glioma treatment. Collectively, our study demonstrated that APZ, a new autophagy inhibitor, can be used as a potent antitumor drug candidate to get over unassailable glioma and revealed a novel function of Hsp70 in lysosomal integrity regulation of autophagy.

ET-05 PRECLINICAL STUDY OF AN ANTI-HUMAN TISSUE FACTOR ANTIBODY-DRUG CONJUGATE IN A MALIGNANT GLIOMA XENOGRAFT MODEL

Whereas macromolecules such as antibody hardly extravasate from normal blood vessels compared with low molecular agents, macromolecules leak from tumor vasculature because of the enhanced permeability. As a result, macromolecules selectively accumulate at tumor sites. We apply this phenomenon, known as the enhanced permeability and retention effect (EPR effect), to drug delivery for cancer therapy. Drug delivery system (DDS) based on the EPR effect is called the passive targeting. On the other hand, DDS based on antigen-antibody or ligand-receptor interaction is the active targeting. Antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), antibody conjugated with antitumor agents, retains both of the passive and active targeting functions. Tissue factor (TF), an initiator in the extrinsic pathway of blood coagulation, is overexpressed in various cancers including malignant glioma. To target the molecule in tumor sites, we have produced several anti-TF monoclonal antibodies. Previously, we evaluated tumor accumulation of an indium-111-labeled anti-TF antibody in an orthotopic glioma xenograft model with high expression of TF by single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT). The imaging study showed that anti-TF antibody significantly accumulated in the tumor compared with control antibody (P < 0.01). The finding suggests that blood-brain barrier in brain tumors is broken and antibodies accumulate in tumors by utilizing both of the passive and active targeting. In this study, to prepare anti-TF ADC, we conjugated monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), a microtubule inhibitor, to humanized anti-TF antibody. The anti-TF ADC recognized TF expressed in glioma cells and showed potent cytocidal activity against human glioma cell lines depending on TF expression. In addition, we evaluated in vivo antitumor effect of the ADC in a mouse model subcutaneously inoculated with TF-overexpressing glioma cells. Anti-TF ADC showed a significant higher antitumor effect compared with control ADC (P = 0.015).