Viral oncogene expression is insufficient for neoplastic transformation of human cells, so HPV-associated cancers will also rely upon mutations in cellular oncogenes and tumor suppressors. However, it has been difficult so far to distinguish incidental mutations without phenotypic impact from causal mutations that drive the development of HPV-associated cancers. In this study, we addressed this issue by conducting a functional screen for genes that facilitate the formation of HPV E6/E7-induced squamous cell cancers in mice using a transposon-mediated insertional mutagenesis protocol. Overall, we identified 39 candidate driver genes including Notch1, which unexpectedly was scored by gain or loss of function mutations that were capable of promoting squamous cell carcinogenesis. Autochthonous HPV-positive oral tumors possessing an activated Notch1 allele exhibited high rates of cell proliferation and tumor growth. Conversely, Notch1 loss could accelerate the growth of invasive tumors in manner associated with increased expression of matrix metalloproteinases and other pro-invasive genes. HPV oncogenes clearly cooperated with loss of Notch1, insofar as its haploinsufficiency accelerated tumor growth only in HPV-positive tumors. In clinical specimens of various human cancers, there was a consistent pattern of NOTCH1 expression that correlated with invasive character, in support of our observations in mice. While Notch1 acts as a tumor suppressor in mouse skin, we found that oncogenes enabling any perturbation in Notch1 expression promoted tumor growth, albeit via distinct pathways. Our findings suggest caution in interpreting the meaning of putative driver gene mutations in cancer, and therefore therapeutic efforts to target them, given the significant contextual differences in which such mutations may arise, including in virus-associated tumors.

Hypoxia is a hallmark of solid tumors that drives malignant progression by altering epigenetic controls. In breast tumors, aberrant DNA methylation is a prevalent epigenetic feature associated with increased risk of metastasis and poor prognosis. However, the mechanism by which hypoxia alters DNA methylation or other epigenetic controls that promote breast malignancy remains poorly understood. We discovered that hypoxia deregulates TET1 and TET3, the enzymes that catalyze conversion of 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), thereby leading to breast tumor initiating cell (BTIC) properties. TET1/3 and 5hmC levels were closely associated with tumor hypoxia, tumor malignancy and poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. Mechanistic investigations showed that hypoxia leads to genome-wide changes in DNA hydroxymethylation associated with upregulation of TNFα expression and activation of its downstream p38-MAPK effector pathway. Coordinate functions of TET1 and TET3 were also required to activate TNFα-p38-MAPK signaling as a response to hypoxia. Our results reveal how signal transduction through the TET-TNFα-p38-MAPK signaling axis is required for the acquisition of BTIC characteristics and tumorigenicity in vitro and in vivo, with potential implications for how to eradicate BTIC as a therapeutic strategy.

Prostate cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in men due to the subset of cancers that progress to metastasis. Prostate cancers are thought to be hardwired to androgen receptor (AR) signaling, but AR-regulated changes in the prostate that facilitate metastasis remain poorly understood. We previously noted a marked reduction in Secreted protein, acidic and rich in cysteine-like 1 (SPARCL1) expression during invasive phases of androgen-induced prostate growth, suggesting that this may be a novel invasive program governed by AR. Herein, we show that SPARCL1 loss occurs concurrently with AR amplification or overexpression in patient based data. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that SPARCL1 expression is directly suppressed by androgen-induced AR activation and binding at the SPARCL1 locus via an epigenetic mechanism, and these events can be pharmacologically attenuated with either AR antagonists or HDAC inhibitors. We establish using the Hi-Myc model of prostate cancer that in Hi-Myc/Sparcl1-/- mice, SPARCL1 functions to suppress cancer formation. Moreover, metastatic progression of Myc-CaP orthotopic allografts is restricted by SPARCL1 in the tumor microenvironment. Specifically, we show that SPARCL1 both tethers to collagen in the extracellular matrix (ECM) and binds to the cell’s cytoskeleton. SPARCL1 directly inhibits the assembly of focal adhesions thereby constraining the transmission of cell traction forces. Our findings establish a new insight into AR-regulated prostate epithelial movement and provide a novel framework whereby, SPARCL1 in the ECM microenvironment restricts tumor progression by regulating the initiation of the network of physical forces that may be required for metastatic-invasion of prostate cancer.

Neuronal pentraxins (NPTX) and their corresponding receptors (NPTXR) have been studied as synapse-associated proteins in the nervous system, but their role in cancer is largely unknown. By applying a multidisciplinary, high-throughput proteomic approach, we have recently identified a peptide ligand motif for targeted drug delivery to neuroblastoma. Here, we report the sequence similarity between this peptide and a conserved portion of the pentraxin domain that is involved in the homo- and hetero-oligomerization of NPTX2 and NPTXR. We show that, in comparison with normal tissues, NPTX2 and NPTXR are overexpressed in vivo in mouse models, as well as in human Schwannian stroma-poor, stage IV neuroblastoma. Both proteins are concentrated in the vicinity of tumor blood vessels, with NPTXR also present on neuroblastic tumor cells. In vivo targeting of NPTX2 and NPTXR with the selected peptide or with specific antibodies reduces tumor burden in orthotopic mouse models of human neuroblastoma. In vitro interference with this ligand/receptor system inhibits the organization of neuroblastoma cells in tumor-like masses in close contact with vascular cells, as well as their adhesion to normal microenvironment-derived cells, suggesting a role in the cross-talk between tumor and normal cells in the early steps of neuroblastoma development. Finally, we show that NPTX2 is a marker of poor prognosis for neuroblastoma patients. Cancer Res; 1–7. ©2015 AACR.

Neuronal pentraxins (NPTX) and their corresponding receptors (NPTXR) have been studied as synapse-associated proteins in the nervous system, but their role in cancer is largely unknown. By applying a multidisciplinary, high-throughput proteomic approach, we have recently identified a peptide ligand motif for targeted drug delivery to neuroblastoma. Here we report the sequence similarity between this peptide and a conserved portion of the pentraxin domain that is involved in the homo- and hetero-oligomerization of NPTX2 and NPTXR. We show that, in comparison to normal tissues, NPTX2 and NPTXR are overexpressed in vivo in mouse models, as well as in human Schwannian stroma-poor, stage IV neuroblastoma. Both proteins are concentrated in the vicinity of tumor blood vessels, with NPTXR also present on neuroblastic tumor cells. In vivo targeting of NPTX2 and NPTXR with the selected peptide or with specific antibodies reduces tumor burden in orthotopic mouse models of human neuroblastoma. In vitro interference with this ligand/receptor system inhibits the organization of neuroblastoma cells in tumor-like masses in close contact with vascular cells, as well as their adhesion to normal microenvironment-derived cells, suggesting a role in the crosstalk between tumor and normal cells in the early steps of neuroblastoma development. Finally, we show that NPTX2 is a marker of poor prognosis for neuroblastoma patients.