Regulation of Renal Epithelial Tight Junctions by the von Hippel-Lindau Tumor Suppressor Gene Involves Occludin and Claudin 1 and Is Independent of E-Cadherin

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transitions (EMT) are important in renal development, fibrosis, and cancer. Loss of function of the tumor suppressor VHL leads to many features of EMT, and it has been hypothesized that the pivotal mediator is down-regulation of the adherens junction (AJ) protein E-cadherin. Here we show that VHL loss-of-function also has striking effects on the expression of the tight junction (TJ) components occludin and claudin 1 in vitro in VHL-defective clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) cells and in vivo in VHL-defective sporadic CCRCCs (compared with normal kidney). Occludin is also down-regulated in premalignant foci in kidneys from patients with germline VHL mutations, consistent with a contribution to CCRCC initiation. Reexpression of E-cadherin was sufficient to restore AJ but not TJ assembly, indicating that the TJ defect is independent of E-cadherin down-regulation. Additional experiments show that activation of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) contributes to both TJ and AJ abnormalities, thus the VHL/HIF pathway contributes to multiple aspects of the EMT phenotype that are not interdependent. Despite the independent nature of the defects, we show that treatment with the histone deacetylase inhibitor sodium butyrate, which suppresses HIF activation, provides a method for reversing EMT in the context of VHL inactivation.     

VHL Type 2B Mutations Retain VBC Complex Form and Function

Background

von Hippel-Lindau disease is characterized by a spectrum of hypervascular tumors, including renal cell carcinoma, hemangioblastoma, and pheochromocytoma, which occur with VHL genotype-specific differences in penetrance. VHL loss causes a failure to regulate the hypoxia inducible factors (HIF-1α and HIF-2α), resulting in accumulation of both factors to high levels. Although HIF dysregulation is critical to VHL disease-associated renal tumorigenesis, increasing evidence points toward gradations of HIF dysregulation contributing to the degree of predisposition to renal cell carcinoma and other manifestations of the disease.

Methodology/Principal Findings

This investigation examined the ability of disease-specific VHL missense mutations to support the assembly of the VBC complex and to promote the ubiquitylation of HIF. Our interaction analysis supported previous observations that VHL Type 2B mutations disrupt the interaction between pVHL and Elongin C but maintain partial regulation of HIF. We additionally demonstrated that Type 2B mutant pVHL forms a remnant VBC complex containing the active members ROC1 and Cullin-2 which retains the ability to ubiquitylate HIF-1α.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that subtypes of VHL mutations support an intermediate level of HIF regulation via a remnant VBC complex. These findings provide a mechanism for the graded HIF dysregulation and genetic predisposition for cancer development in VHL disease.     

Honokiol inhibits HIF pathway and hypoxia-induced expression of histone lysine demethylases

Hypoxia-inducible-factor (HIF)-mediated expression of pro-angiogenic genes under hypoxic conditions is the fundamental cause of pathological neovascularization in retinal ischemic diseases and cancers. Recent studies have shown that histone lysine demethylases (KDMs) play a key role in the amplification of HIF signaling and expression of pro-angiogenic genes. Thus, the inhibitors of the HIF pathway or KDMs can have profound therapeutic value for diseases caused by pathological neovascularization. Here, we show that hypoxia-mediated expression of KDMs is a conserved process across multiple cell lines. Moreover, we report that honokiol, a biphenolic phytochemical extracted from Magnolia genus which has been used for thousands of years in the traditional Japanese and Chinese medicine, is a potent inhibitor of the HIF pathway as well as hypoxia-induced expression of KDMs in a number of cancer and retinal pigment epithelial cell lines. Further, treating the cells with honokiol leads to inhibition of KDM-mediated induction of pro-angiogenic genes (adrenomedullin and growth differentiation factor 15) under hypoxic conditions. Our results provide an evidence-based scientific explanation for therapeutic benefits observed with honokiol and warrant its further clinical evaluation for the treatment of pathological neovascularization in retinal ischemic diseases and cancers.     

High VHL Expression Reverses Warburg Phenotype and Enhances Immunogenicity in Kidney Tumor Cells

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma(ccRCC) is a frequently occurring renal cancer. The Von Hippel-Lindau disease tumor suppressor VHL, a known tumor suppressor gene, is frequently mutated in about 50% of patients with ccRCC. However, it is unclear whether VHL influences the progression of ccRCC tumors expressing wild-type VHL. In the present study, we found that higher expression of VHL was correlated with the better disease-free survival(DFS) in ccRCC patients using The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA) da...     

Comparative insight into expression of recombinant human VEGF111b,a newly identified anti-angiogenic isoform,in eukaryotic cell lines

VEGF-A is a critical growth factor in tumor growth and progression. Two families of VEGF-A isoforms are produced through alternative splicing including VEGFxxx pro-angiogenic and VEGFxxxb anti-angiogenic isoforms. VEGF111b is a new member of the VEGFxxxb family that is induced by mitomycin C and doesn't express in normal conditions. The potent anti-angiogenic properties of VEGF-111b and its remarkable resistance to proteolysis make it an interesting alternative candidate for therapeutic use in all types of cancers. Here, the recombinant VEGF-111b cDNA with insertion of intronic sequence was constructed by using a class IIs restriction enzyme-based method. The recombinant pBud-VEGF111b was transfected into CHO dhfr⁻ and HEK 293 cell lines which are currently the standard hosts for the production of candidate therapeutic proteins. Then, the VEGF-111b expression was evaluated in two cell lines using the Real-time PCR. The production of VEGF-111b protein was also investigated here by dot blotting. The VEGF expression was increased about 109 and 185-folds in transfected CHO-dhfr⁻ and HEK 293 cells, respectively, in comparison with the un-transfected cells. Dot blotting approach confirmed that both cell lines have successfully produced the VEGF-111b protein.     

Hypoxia inducible factor activates the transforming growth factor-alpha/epidermal growth factor receptor growth stimulatory pathway in VHL(-/-) renal cell carcinoma cells

Bi-allelic-inactivating mutations of the VHL tumor suppressor gene are found in the majority of clear cell renal cell carcinomas (VHL(-/-) RCC). VHL(-/-) RCC cells overproduce hypoxia-inducible genes as a consequence of constitutive, oxygen-independent activation of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF). While HIF activation explains the highly vascularized nature of VHL loss lesions, the relative role of HIF in oncogenesis and loss of growth control remains unknown. Here, we report that HIF plays a central role in promoting unregulated growth of VHL(-/-) RCC cells by activating the transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha)/epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) pathway. Dominant-negative HIF and enzymatic inhibition of EGF-R were equally efficient at abolishing EGF-R activation and serum-independent growth of VHL(-/-) RCC cells. TGF-alpha is the only known EGF-R ligand that has a VHL-dependent expression profile and its overexpression by VHL(-/-) RCC cells is a direct consequence of HIF activation. In contrast to TGF-alpha, other HIF targets, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), were unable to stimulate serum-independent growth of VHL(-/-) RCC cells. VHL(-/-) RCC cells expressing reintroduced type 2C mutants of VHL, and which retain the ability to degrade HIF, fail to overproduce TGF-alpha and proliferate in serum-free media. These data link HIF with the overproduction of a bona fide renal cell mitogen leading to activation of a pathway involved in growth of renal cancer cells. Moreover, our results suggest that HIF might be involved in oncogenesis to a much higher extent than previously appreciated.     

VHL综合征遗传学研究

VHL综合征(von Hippel-Lindau syndrome,VHL;MIM 193300)是一种常染色体显性遗传的多系统肿瘤综合征,最常见临床表现是视网膜或中枢神经系统(central nervous system,CNS)血管母细胞瘤.CNS血管母细胞瘤和肾细胞癌(renal cell carcinoma,RCC)的并发症是VHL患者最主要的死因.VHL综合征主要因VHL基因(the vonHipple-Lindau gene,VHL)突变所致,细胞周期素D1基因(the cyclin D1 gene,CCND1)突变和蛋白异常也可能参与其发生.目前已建立了多个VHL基因缺陷动物模型.在此就VHL综合征的遗传学研究进展作一概述.     

Proteomic Analysis of Signaling Network Regulation in Renal Cell Carcinomas with Differential Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-2α Expression

Background

The loss of von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) protein function leads to highly vascular renal tumors characterized by an aggressive course of disease and refractoriness to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Loss of VHL in renal tumors also differs from tumors of other organs in that the oncogenic cascade is mediated by an increase in the levels of hypoxia-inducible factor-2α (HIF2α) instead of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF1α).

Methods and Principal Findings

We used renal carcinoma cell lines that recapitulate the differences between mutant VHL and wild-type VHL genotypes. Utilizing a method relying on extracted peptide intensities as a label-free approach for quantitation by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, our proteomics study revealed regulation of key proteins important for cancer cell survival, proliferation and stress-resistance, and implicated differential regulation of signaling networks in VHL-mutant renal cell carcinoma. We also observed upregulation of cellular energy pathway enzymes and the stress-responsive mitochondrial 60-kDa heat shock protein. Finding reliance on glutaminolysis in VHL-mutant renal cell carcinoma was of particular significance, given the generally predominant dependence of tumors on glycolysis. The data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD000335.

Conclusions and Significance

Pathway analyses provided corroborative evidence for differential regulation of molecular and cellular functions influencing cancer energetics, metabolism and cell proliferation in renal cell carcinoma with distinct VHL genotype. Collectively, the differentially regulated proteome characterized by this study can potentially guide translational research specifically aimed at effective clinical interventions for advanced VHL-mutant, HIF2α-over-expressing tumors.     

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1-mediated human GATA1 induction promotes erythroid differentiation under hypoxic conditions

Hypoxia-inducible factor promotes erythropoiesis through coordinated cell type-specific hypoxia responses. GATA1 is essential to normal erythropoiesis and plays a crucial role in erythroid differentiation. In this study, we show that hypoxia-induced GATA1 expression is mediated by HIF1 in erythroid cells. Under hypoxic conditions, significantly increased GATA1 mRNA and protein levels were detected in K562 cells and erythroid induction cultures of CD34(+) haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Enforced HIF1α expression increased GATA1 expression, while HIF1α knockdown by RNA interference decreased GATA1 expression. In silico analysis revealed one potential hypoxia response element (HRE). The results from reporter gene and mutation analysis suggested that this element is necessary for hypoxic response. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-PCR showed that the putative HRE was recognized and bound by HIF1 in vivo. These results demonstrate that the up-regulation of GATA1 during hypoxia is directly mediated by HIF1.The mRNA expression of some erythroid differentiation markers was increased under hypoxic conditions, but decreased with RNA interference of HIF1α or GATA1. Flow cytometry analysis also indicated that hypoxia, desferrioxamine or CoCl(2) induced expression of erythroid surface markers CD71 and CD235a, while expression repression of HIF1α or GATA1 by RNA interference led to a decreased expression of CD235a. These results suggested that HIF1-mediated GATA1 up-regulation promotes erythropoiesis in order to satisfy the needs of an organism under hypoxic conditions.     

PBRM1 deficiency oncogenic addiction is associated with activated AKT–mTOR signalling and aerobic glycolysis in clear cell renal cell carcinoma cells

The PBRM1 (PB1) gene which encodes the specific subunit BAF180 of the PBAF SWI/SNF complex, is highly mutated (~ 40%) in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). However, its functions and impact on cell signalling are still not fully understood. Aerobic glycolysis, also known as the ‘Warburg Effect’, is a hallmark of cancer, whether PB1 is involved in this metabolic shift in clear cell renal cell carcinoma remains unclear. Here, with established stable knockdown PB1 cell lines, we performed functional assays to access the effects on 786‐O and SN12C cells. Based on the RNA‐seq data, we selected some genes encoding key glycolytic enzymes, including PFKP, ENO1, PKM and LDHA, and examined the expression levels. The AKT–mTOR signalling pathway activity and expression of HIF1α were also analysed. Our data demonstrate that PB1 deficiency promotes the proliferation, migration, Xenograft growth of 786‐O and SN12C cells. Notably, knockdown of PB1 activates AKT–mTOR signalling and increases the expression of key glycolytic enzymes at both mRNA and protein levels. Furthermore, we provide evidence that deficient PB1 and hypoxic conditions exert a synergistic effect on HIF 1α expression and lactate production. Thus, our study provides novel insights into the roles of tumour suppressor PB1 and suggests that the AKT–mTOR signalling pathway, as well as glycolysis, is a potential drug target for ccRCC patients with deficient PB1.