Giuseppina Claps

Suppressing ATF2 or supplementing the diet with fucose impairs growth and metastasis of melanoma in mice.

The resistance of melanoma to current treatment modalities represents a major obstacle for durable therapeutic response, and thus the elucidation of mechanisms of resistance is urgently needed. The crucial functions of activating transcription factor-2 (ATF2) in the development and therapeutic resistance of melanoma have been previously reported, although the precise underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we report a protein kinase C-ɛ (PKCɛ)- and ATF2-mediated mechanism that facilitates resistance by transcriptionally repressing the expression of interferon-β1 (IFNβ1) and downstream type-I IFN signaling that is otherwise induced upon exposure to chemotherapy. Treatment of early-stage melanomas expressing low levels of PKCɛ with chemotherapies relieves ATF2-mediated transcriptional repression of IFNβ1, resulting in impaired S-phase progression, a senescence-like phenotype and increased cell death. This response is lost in late-stage metastatic melanomas expressing high levels of PKCɛ. Notably, nuclear ATF2 and low expression of IFNβ1 in melanoma tumor samples correlates with poor patient responsiveness to biochemotherapy or neoadjuvant IFN-α2a. Conversely, cytosolic ATF2 and induction of IFNβ1 coincides with therapeutic responsiveness. Collectively, we identify an IFNβ1-dependent, cell-autonomous mechanism that contributes to the therapeutic resistance of melanoma via the PKCɛ–ATF2 regulatory axis.

Changes in cell adhesion and polarity are closely associated with epithelial cell transformation and metastatic capacity. The tumor suppressor protein ASPP (Apoptosis-Stimulating Proteins of p53) 2 has been implicated in control of cell adhesion and polarity through its effect on the PAR complex. Here we demonstrate that under hypoxic conditions, the ubiquitin ligase Siah (seven in absentia homolog)2 controls ASPP2 availability, with concomitant effect on epithelial cell polarity. LC-MS/MS analysis identified ASPP2 and ASPP1 as Siah2-interacting proteins. Biochemical analysis confirmed this interaction and mapped degron motifs within ASPP2, which are required for Siah2-mediated ubiquitination and proteasomal-dependent degradation. Inhibition of Siah2 expression increases ASPP2 levels and enhances ASPP2-dependent maintenance of tight junction (TJ) integrity, and polarized architecture in three dimensional (3D) organotypic culture. Conversely, increase of Siah2 expression under hypoxia decreases ASPP2 levels and the formation of apical polarity in 3D culture. In all, our studies demonstrate the role of Siah2 in regulation of TJ integrity and cell polarity under hypoxia, through its regulation of ASPP2 stability.

Meiosis is a crucial process for the production of functional gametes. However, the biological significance of many genes expressed during the meiotic phase remains poorly understood, mainly because of the lethal phenotypes of the knockout mice. Functional analysis of such genes using the conditional knockout approach is hindered by the lack of suitable Cre transgenic lines. We describe here the generation of transgenic mice expressing Cre recombinase under the control of the meiotic Spo11 gene. Using LacZ-R26^loxP and EYFP-R26^loxP reporter mice, we show the specific expression and activity of Cre during meiosis in males and females. Spo11^Cre mice were then crossed with floxed Nbs1 and JAM-C mice to produce conditional knockouts. A strong reduction of Nbs1 and JAM-C protein levels was found in the testis. Although Nbs1-deleted mice developed minor gonadal abnormalities, JAM-C-knockout mice showed a spermiogenetic arrest, as previously described for the null mice. These results provide strong evidence that Spo11^Cre transgenic mice represent a powerful tool for deleting genes of interest specifically in meiotic and/or in postmeiotic germ cells.

A critical step of spermatogenesis is the entry of mitotic spermatogonia into meiosis. Progresses on these topics are hampered by the lack of an in vitro culture system allowing mouse spermatogonia differentiation and entry into meiosis. Previous studies have shown that mouse pachytene spermatocytes cultured in simulated microgravity (SM) undergo a spontaneous meiotic progression. Here we report that mouse mitotic spermatogonia cultured under SM with a rotary cell culture system (RCCS) enter into meiosis in the absence of any added exogenous factor or contact with somatic cells. We found that isolated Kit-positive spermatogonia under the RCCS condition enter into the prophase of the first meiotic division (leptotene stage), as monitored by chromosomal organization of the synaptonemal complex 3 protein (Scp3) and up-regulation of several pro-meiotic genes. SM was found to activate the phosphatidyl inositol 3 kinase (PI3K) pathway and to induce in Kit-positive spermatogonia the last round of DNA replication, typical of the preleptotene stage. A PI3K inhibitor abolished Scp3 induction and meiotic entry stimulated by RCCS conditions. A positive effect of SM on germ cell differentiation was also observed in undifferentiated (Kit-negative) spermatogonia, in which RCCS conditions stimulate the expression of Kit and Stra8. In conclusion, SM is an artificial environmental condition which promotes postnatal male germ cell differentiation and might provide a tool to study the molecular mechanisms underlying the switch from mitosis to meiosis in mammals.