ALBERT

Beschreibung: GLI1 is a Hedgehog (Hh) related transcription factor originally discovered as an amplified product in gliomas. Inappropriate activation of the GLI1 has been shown in many cancers including diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL). We previously showed that GLI1 mediated canonical Hh signaling is constitutive active in DLBCL and contributes to cell survival, proliferation and enhances chemotolerance. Although the importance of GLI1 in tumor development is well recognized, the molecular mechanisms controlling the transcriptional activity of GLI1 are poorly characterized. To identify regulatory components that participate in the transcriptional activity of GLI1, we explored GLI1 putative interacting proteins by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry following immunoprecipitation of endogenous GLI1. We detected that the inhibitor of NF-KB kinase, IKKβ, is one of the proteins associated with GLI1 transcription factor. Here we investigate the regulatory role of IKKβ in the transcriptional activity of GLI1. We show that IKKβ regulates the transcriptional activity of GLI1 by phosphorylating GLI1 in C-terminal region and modulating its protein stability. Short stimulation of SUDHL4 and DOHH2 cells with TNF-α (20ng/mL) resulted in increased GLI1 protein levels. Similar results were observed in 293T cells transiently transfected with GLI1 and IKKβ kinase constructs. Moreover, silencing of IKKβ using siRNA and shRNAs led to decreased GLI1 protein levels and its transcriptional activity in DLBCL cell lines with constitutive activation of the NF-KB. Next, we characterized nine probable IKKβ dependent GLI1 phosphorylation sites (S543-S548, S1070, S1071 and S1074 identified by nanospray ion trap mass spectrometry) using mutational and deletions studies. We show that IKKβ phosphorylates GLI1 at Thr1074 and decreases binding between GLI1 and HECT-type E3 ubiquitin ligase (ITCH) resulting in reduced GLI1 polyubiquitination and degradation. Point mutation of Threonine 1074 to Alanine prevents IKKβ-mediated GLI1 phosphorylation and facilitates GLI1-ITCH interaction, polyubiquitination and degradation of GLI1 in the proteasome. Collectively, our data links IKKβ-mediated NF-kB signaling to the transcriptional activity of GLI1 and illustrates a novel cross talk between these two pathways. This is of clinical interest because activation of the NF-kB pathway is frequent in DLBCL and the connection between Hh and NF-kB pathways may open novel therapeutic avenues for DLBCL. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Beschreibung: Background: Constitutive activation of NF-κB signaling is a hallmark of DLBCL. Activation of NF-κB is a multifactorial process resulting from oncogenic mutations (CARD11, MYD88…), chromosomal abnormalities, chronic activation of B-cell receptor signaling (BCR) as well as stimuli from the microenvironment. Chronic activation of BCR is not only the result of gene mutations (e.g.CD79B) but also is the result of stimuli generated from the lymphoma microenvironment. We previously found that smoothened (SMO), transducer of hedgehog (Hh) signaling, enhanced NF-κB activation in lymphoma cells, independently of the presence of oncogenic mutations (Changju et al., Blood 2013). Hh ligands are provided by the lymphoma microenvironment (e.g. stromal cells) to activate SMO in the lymphoma cells. Activated SMO, recruits and activates trimeric-G-coupled proteins to activate PKCβ/CARMA1/TRAF6/NEMO axis, followed by assembling of the CARMA1/BCL10/MALT1/TRAF6 complex to SMO resulting in NF-κB activation. Now, we reveal an additional mechanism by which SMO further contributes to the activation of NF-κB in DLBCL. Summary of results: We explored if recombinant Hh ligand can activate NF-κB signaling in the presence of the BTK inhibitor (PCI-32765). Hh stimulation resulted in phosphorylation of PLCg2 (downstream of BTK) and partially rescued the inhibitory effect of the BTK inhibitor on phosphorylation of PLCg2 suggesting a crosstalk between SMO and BCR receptor signaling. We identified that SMO forms a complex with TRAF-6 and PLCg2 using immunoprecipitation and Duolink in situ proximity ligation assays. We found that SMO stabilizes and protects TRAF-6 from proteosomal degradation. SMO-dependent TRAF6 stabilization is mediated by the ubiquitin-specific protease-8 (USP-8) by removing ubiquitin from K48-linked lysine of TRAF6. Conclusions: Collectively, our data reveals multilayer crosstalk between Hh and BCR/NF-κB pathways and provide significant insights into how SMO contributes to chemotolerance and progression of DLBCL. We expect that our results will delineate novel molecular mechanisms involved in the pathobiology of DLBCL that may serve as therapeutic targets. Disclosures Vega: Seatle Genetics: Honoraria; NIH: Research Funding.

Beschreibung: Aberrant epigenetics leading to changes in chromatin structure and patterns of gene expression is an important factor in cancer pathogenesis. Histone Deacetylase 9 (HDAC9) is a class IIa chromatin-modifying enzyme that, within the haematopoietic system, is preferentially expressed in the B-cell lineage. Mice that constitutively express human HDAC9 from early stages of B-cell development, under the control of the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) enhancer, develop lymphoproliferative disorders, including germinal center (GC) and post-GC lymphomas, demonstrating an oncogenic role for HDAC9 in B-cells and highlighting its importance as a therapeutic target. In order to examine the relationship between disease observed in the mouse model and human primary lymphoma, we have examined, using immunohistochemistry (IHC) the expression of full length HDAC9 isoform in a panel of various B-cell malignancies. The study group included 59 non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL), and 3 classical HL. Non-HL consisted of 34 diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), 9 follicular lymphoma (FL), 5 marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), 6 mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), and 2 small lymphocytic lymphomas (SLL). HDAC9 expression was assessed by IHC using tissue microarray and/or routine tissue sections. Protein expression was scored as negative (0), low (1), or high (2) depending on the staining signal intensity. Expression of HDAC9 in the nuclei of the tumor cells was compared with that seen in adenocarcinoma cells; if equal or higher, then expression of HDAC9 was considered high and if lower, then expression of HDAC9 was considered low. Five reactive lymph nodes were studied to assess the baseline expression of HDAC9. Rectal adenocarcinomas were used as positive controls. In reactive lymph nodes, HDAC9 was weakly expressed in a subset of germinal center cells, a subset of lymphoid cells in the paracortex as well as in endothelial cells. HDAC9 expression was detected in all subsets of B-cell lymphomas analyzed and in most cases with a level of expression higer than those seen in reactive lymph nodes. DLBCL and MCL tumors have the highest frequency of high HDAC9 expression among the B-cell lymphomas analyzed, 77 and 83% (Fisher’s exact test P=1,0), respectively. No differences in HDAC9 expression were detected in DLBCL of GC and non-GC type. In contrast, most (69%) of the low-grade B cell lymphomas show no or lower expression of HDAC9 (Fisher’s exact test P=0.004; as compared to DLBCL). Classical HL showed frequently low-expression of HDAC9 in the tumor cells. In summary, HDAC9 is frequently expressed in B-cell lymphomas with the highest level of expression found in the most aggressive lymphomas such as DLBCL and MCL. These findings support the biological role of HDAC9 in the pathobiology of aggressive B cell neoplasms. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Beschreibung: Although the number of vascular surgeries using vascular grafts is increasing, they are limited by vascular graft-related complications and size discrepancy. Current efforts to develop the ideal synthetic vascular graft for clinical application using tissue engineering or 3D printing are far from satisfactory. Therefore, we aimed to re-design the vascular graft with modified materials and 3D printing techniques and also demonstrated the improved applications of our new vascular graft clinically. We designed the 3D printed polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) templates according to the vessel size and shape, and these were dip-coated with salt-suspended thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). Next, the core template was removed to obtain a customized porous TPU graft. The mechanical testing and cytotoxicity studies of the new synthetic 3D templated vascular grafts (3DT) were more appropriate compared with commercially available polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts (ePTFE; standard graft, SG) for clinical use. Finally, we performed implantation of the 3DTs and SGs into the rat abdominal aorta as a patch technique. Four groups of the animal model (SG_7 days, SG_30 days, 3DT_7 days, and 3DT_30 days) were enrolled in this study. The abdominal aorta was surgically opened and sutured with SG or 3DT with 8/0 Prolene. The degree of endothelial cell activation, neovascularization, thrombus formation, calcification, inflammatory infiltrates, and fibrosis were analyzed histopathologically. There was significantly decreased thrombogenesis in the group treated with the 3DT for 30 days compared with the group treated with the SG for 7 and 30 days, and the 3DT for 7 days. In addition, the group treated with the 3DT for 30 days may also have shown increased postoperative endothelialization in the early stages. In conclusion, this study suggests the possibility of using the 3DT as an SG substitute in vascular surgery.