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Chaudhary S, Siddiqui JA, Pothuraju R, Bhatia R. Ribosome biogenesis, altered metabolism and ribotoxic stress response in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumor microenvironment. Cancer Lett 2025; 612:217484. [PMID: 39842499 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2025.217484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2024] [Revised: 01/17/2025] [Accepted: 01/18/2025] [Indexed: 01/24/2025]
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal malignancy with a poor overall survival rate. Cellular stress response pathways promoting cancer cell fitness in harsh tumor microenvironment (TME) play a critical role in cancer growth and survival. The influence of oncogenic Kras, multi-functional heterogeneous cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), and immunosuppressive TME on cancer cells makes the disease more complex and difficult to treat. The desmoplastic reaction by CAFs comprises approximately 90 % of the tumor, with only 10 % of cancer cells making things even more complicated, resulting in therapy resistance. Consistently increasing fibrosis creates a hypoxic environment and elevated interstitial fluid pressure inside the tumor constraining vascular supply. Stress conditions in TME alter translation efficiency and metabolism to fulfill the energy requirements of rapidly growing cancer cells. Extensive research has been conducted on multiple molecular and metabolic regulators in PDAC TME. However, the role of TME in influencing translation programs, a prerequisite for cell cycle progression and functional/growth requirements for cancer cells, remains elusive. This review highlights the recent advancements in understanding altered translational programs in PDAC TME. We emphasize the role of ribosome biogenesis, ribosome-induced stress response, and the concept of specialized ribosomes and their probable role in mutationally rewiring the pancreatic TME.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanjib Chaudhary
- Jyoti and Bhupat Mehta School of Health Sciences and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, 781039, Guwahati, Assam, India
| | - Jawed Akhtar Siddiqui
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA; Cancer Center Research Institute, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA
| | - Ramesh Pothuraju
- Cancer Research Program, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Poojappura, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
| | - Rakesh Bhatia
- Amity School of Biological Sciences, Amity University Punjab, 82A, Mohali, Punjab, 140306, India.
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Jansen J, Bohnsack KE, Böhlken-Fascher S, Bohnsack MT, Dobbelstein M. The ribosomal protein L22 binds the MDM4 pre-mRNA and promotes exon skipping to activate p53 upon nucleolar stress. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114610. [PMID: 39116201 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Revised: 05/09/2024] [Accepted: 07/24/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The tumor suppressor p53 and its antagonists MDM2 and MDM4 integrate stress signaling. For instance, dysbalanced assembly of ribosomes in nucleoli induces p53. Here, we show that the ribosomal protein L22 (RPL22; eL22), under conditions of ribosomal and nucleolar stress, promotes the skipping of MDM4 exon 6. Upon L22 depletion, more full-length MDM4 is maintained, leading to diminished p53 activity and enhanced cellular proliferation. L22 binds to specific RNA elements within intron 6 of MDM4 that correspond to a stem-loop consensus, leading to exon 6 skipping. Targeted deletion of these intronic elements largely abolishes L22-mediated exon skipping and re-enables cell proliferation, despite nucleolar stress. L22 also governs alternative splicing of the L22L1 (RPL22L1) and UBAP2L mRNAs. Thus, L22 serves as a signaling intermediate that integrates different layers of gene expression. Defects in ribosome synthesis lead to specific alternative splicing, ultimately triggering p53-mediated transcription and arresting cell proliferation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Jansen
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Katherine E Bohnsack
- Department of Molecular Biology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Humboldtallee 23, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Susanne Böhlken-Fascher
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Markus T Bohnsack
- Department of Molecular Biology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Humboldtallee 23, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Matthias Dobbelstein
- Department of Molecular Oncology, Göttingen Center of Molecular Biosciences (GZMB), University Medical Center Göttingen, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
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Dash S, Lamb MC, Lange JJ, McKinney MC, Tsuchiya D, Guo F, Zhao X, Corbin TJ, Kirkman M, Delventhal K, Moore EL, McKinney S, Shiang R, Trainor PA. rRNA transcription is integral to phase separation and maintenance of nucleolar structure. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010854. [PMID: 37639467 PMCID: PMC10513380 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Transcription of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) by RNA Polymerase (Pol) I in the nucleolus is necessary for ribosome biogenesis, which is intimately tied to cell growth and proliferation. Perturbation of ribosome biogenesis results in tissue specific disorders termed ribosomopathies in association with alterations in nucleolar structure. However, how rRNA transcription and ribosome biogenesis regulate nucleolar structure during normal development and in the pathogenesis of disease remains poorly understood. Here we show that homozygous null mutations in Pol I subunits required for rRNA transcription and ribosome biogenesis lead to preimplantation lethality. Moreover, we discovered that Polr1a-/-, Polr1b-/-, Polr1c-/- and Polr1d-/- mutants exhibit defects in the structure of their nucleoli, as evidenced by a decrease in number of nucleolar precursor bodies and a concomitant increase in nucleolar volume, which results in a single condensed nucleolus. Pharmacological inhibition of Pol I in preimplantation and midgestation embryos, as well as in hiPSCs, similarly results in a single condensed nucleolus or fragmented nucleoli. We find that when Pol I function and rRNA transcription is inhibited, the viscosity of the granular compartment of the nucleolus increases, which disrupts its phase separation properties, leading to a single condensed nucleolus. However, if a cell progresses through mitosis, the absence of rRNA transcription prevents reassembly of the nucleolus and manifests as fragmented nucleoli. Taken together, our data suggests that Pol I function and rRNA transcription are required for maintaining nucleolar structure and integrity during development and in the pathogenesis of disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soma Dash
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Maureen C. Lamb
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Jeffrey J. Lange
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Mary C. McKinney
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Dai Tsuchiya
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Fengli Guo
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Xia Zhao
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Timothy J. Corbin
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - MaryEllen Kirkman
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Kym Delventhal
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Emma L. Moore
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Sean McKinney
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Rita Shiang
- Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, United States of America
| | - Paul A. Trainor
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, Missouri, United States of America
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, United States of America
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Castillo Duque de Estrada NM, Thoms M, Flemming D, Hammaren HM, Buschauer R, Ameismeier M, Baßler J, Beck M, Beckmann R, Hurt E. Structure of nascent 5S RNPs at the crossroad between ribosome assembly and MDM2-p53 pathways. Nat Struct Mol Biol 2023; 30:1119-1131. [PMID: 37291423 PMCID: PMC10442235 DOI: 10.1038/s41594-023-01006-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The 5S ribonucleoprotein (RNP) is assembled from its three components (5S rRNA, Rpl5/uL18 and Rpl11/uL5) before being incorporated into the pre-60S subunit. However, when ribosome synthesis is disturbed, a free 5S RNP can enter the MDM2-p53 pathway to regulate cell cycle and apoptotic signaling. Here we reconstitute and determine the cryo-electron microscopy structure of the conserved hexameric 5S RNP with fungal or human factors. This reveals how the nascent 5S rRNA associates with the initial nuclear import complex Syo1-uL18-uL5 and, upon further recruitment of the nucleolar factors Rpf2 and Rrs1, develops into the 5S RNP precursor that can assemble into the pre-ribosome. In addition, we elucidate the structure of another 5S RNP intermediate, carrying the human ubiquitin ligase Mdm2, which unravels how this enzyme can be sequestered from its target substrate p53. Our data provide molecular insight into how the 5S RNP can mediate between ribosome biogenesis and cell proliferation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matthias Thoms
- Gene Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Dirk Flemming
- Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center (BZH), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Henrik M Hammaren
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg, Germany
- Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Robert Buschauer
- Gene Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | | | - Jochen Baßler
- Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center (BZH), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Martin Beck
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg, Germany
- Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Roland Beckmann
- Gene Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
| | - Ed Hurt
- Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center (BZH), Heidelberg, Germany.
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Wang J, Tan Y, Jia QY, Tang FQ. Transcriptional factor III A promotes colorectal cancer progression by upregulating cystatin A. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2022; 14:1918-1932. [PMID: 36310710 PMCID: PMC9611429 DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v14.i10.1918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2022] [Revised: 07/23/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) generally has poor outcomes and high mortality rates. Clarifying the molecular mechanisms underlying CRC progression is necessary to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to improve CRC outcome and decrease mortality. Transcriptional factor III A (GTF3A), an RNA polymerase III transcriptional factor, is a critical driver of tumorgenesis and aggravates CRC cell growth.
AIM To confirm whether GTF3A promotes CRC progression by regulating the expression of cystatin A (Csta) gene and investigate whether GTF3A can serve as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for patients with CRC.
METHODS Human tissue microarrays containing 90 pairs of CRC tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues, and human tissue microarrays containing 20 pairs of CRC tissues, adjacent non-tumor tissues, and metastatic tissues were examined for GTF3A expression using immunohistochemistry. The survival rates of patients were analyzed. Short hairpin GTF3As and CSTAs were designed and packaged into the virus to block the expression of Gtf3a and Csta genes, respectively. In vivo tumor growth assays were performed to confirm whether GTF3A promotes CRC cell proliferation in vivo. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay and fluorescence in situ hybridization assay were used to detect the interaction of GTF3A with Csta, whereas luciferase activity assay was used to evaluate the expression of the Gtf3a and Csta genes. RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) and data analyses were used to screen for target genes of GTF3A.
RESULTS The expression of GTF3A was higher in CRC tissues and lymph node metastatic tissues than in the adjacent normal tissues. GTF3A was associated with CRC prognosis, and knockdown of the Gtf3a gene impaired CRC cell proliferation, invasion, and motility in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, RNA-Seq analysis revealed that GTF3A might upregulate the expression of Csta, whereas the luciferase activity assay showed that GTF3A bound to the promoter of Csta gene and increased Csta transcription. Furthermore, CSTA regulated the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers.
CONCLUSION GTF3A increases CSTA expression by binding to the Csta promoter, and increased CSTA level promotes CRC progression by regulating the EMT. Inhibition of GTF3A prevents CRC progression. Therefore, GTF3A is a potential novel therapeutic target and biomarker for CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Wang
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Oncotarget Gene, Hunan Cancer Hospital & The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China
| | - Yuan Tan
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Oncotarget Gene, Hunan Cancer Hospital & The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China
| | - Qun-Ying Jia
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Oncotarget Gene, Hunan Cancer Hospital & The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China
| | - Fa-Qin Tang
- Hunan Key Laboratory of Oncotarget Gene, Hunan Cancer Hospital & The Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China
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Ribosome Biogenesis and Cancer: Overview on Ribosomal Proteins. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22115496. [PMID: 34071057 PMCID: PMC8197113 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22115496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2021] [Revised: 05/16/2021] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Cytosolic ribosomes (cytoribosomes) are macromolecular ribonucleoprotein complexes that are assembled from ribosomal RNA and ribosomal proteins, which are essential for protein biosynthesis. Mitochondrial ribosomes (mitoribosomes) perform translation of the proteins essential for the oxidative phosphorylation system. The biogenesis of cytoribosomes and mitoribosomes includes ribosomal RNA processing, modification and binding to ribosomal proteins and is assisted by numerous biogenesis factors. This is a major energy-consuming process in the cell and, therefore, is highly coordinated and sensitive to several cellular stressors. In mitochondria, the regulation of mitoribosome biogenesis is essential for cellular respiration, a process linked to cell growth and proliferation. This review briefly overviews the key stages of cytosolic and mitochondrial ribosome biogenesis; summarizes the main steps of ribosome biogenesis alterations occurring during tumorigenesis, highlighting the changes in the expression level of cytosolic ribosomal proteins (CRPs) and mitochondrial ribosomal proteins (MRPs) in different types of tumors; focuses on the currently available information regarding the extra-ribosomal functions of CRPs and MRPs correlated to cancer; and discusses the role of CRPs and MRPs as biomarkers and/or molecular targets in cancer treatment.
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Potapova TA, Gerton JL. Ribosomal DNA and the nucleolus in the context of genome organization. Chromosome Res 2019; 27:109-127. [PMID: 30656516 DOI: 10.1007/s10577-018-9600-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2018] [Revised: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 12/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The nucleolus constitutes a prominent nuclear compartment, a membraneless organelle that was first documented in the 1830s. The fact that specific chromosomal regions were present in the nucleolus was recognized by Barbara McClintock in the 1930s, and these regions were termed nucleolar organizing regions, or NORs. The primary function of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) is to produce RNA components of ribosomes. Yet, ribosomal DNA also plays a pivotal role in nuclear organization by assembling the nucleolus. This review is focused on the rDNA and associated proteins in the context of genome organization. Recent advances in understanding chromatin organization suggest that chromosomes are organized into topological domains by a DNA loop extrusion process. We discuss the perspective that rDNA may also be organized in topological domains constrained by structural maintenance of chromosome protein complexes such as cohesin and condensin. Moreover, biophysical studies indicate that the nucleolar compartment may be formed by active processes as well as phase separation, a perspective that lends further insight into nucleolar organization. The application of the latest perspectives and technologies to this organelle help further elucidate its role in nuclear structure and function.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jennifer L Gerton
- Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas City, MO, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA
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Abstract
Ribosomes, which synthesize the proteins of a cell, comprise ribosomal RNA and ribosomal proteins, which coassemble hierarchically during a process termed ribosome biogenesis. Historically, biochemical and molecular biology approaches have revealed how preribosomal particles form and mature in consecutive steps, starting in the nucleolus and terminating after nuclear export into the cytoplasm. However, only recently, due to the revolution in cryo-electron microscopy, could pseudoatomic structures of different preribosomal particles be obtained. Together with in vitro maturation assays, these findings shed light on how nascent ribosomes progress stepwise along a dynamic biogenesis pathway. Preribosomes assemble gradually, chaperoned by a myriad of assembly factors and small nucleolar RNAs, before they reach maturity and enter translation. This information will lead to a better understanding of how ribosome synthesis is linked to other cellular pathways in humans and how it can cause diseases, including cancer, if disturbed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jochen Baßler
- Biochemistry Center, University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; ,
| | - Ed Hurt
- Biochemistry Center, University of Heidelberg, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; ,
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Derenzini E, Rossi A, Treré D. Treating hematological malignancies with drugs inhibiting ribosome biogenesis: when and why. J Hematol Oncol 2018; 11:75. [PMID: 29855342 PMCID: PMC5984324 DOI: 10.1186/s13045-018-0609-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2018] [Accepted: 04/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
It is well known that chemotherapy can cure only some cancers in advanced stage, mostly those with an intact p53 pathway. Hematological cancers such as lymphoma and certain forms of leukemia are paradigmatic examples of such scenario. Recent evidence indicates that the efficacy of many of the alkylating and intercalating agents, antimetabolites, topoisomerase, and kinase inhibitors used in cancer therapy is largely due to p53 stabilization and activation consequent to the inhibition of ribosome biogenesis. In this context, innovative drugs specifically hindering ribosome biogenesis showed preclinical activity and are currently in early clinical development in hematological malignancies. The mechanism of p53 stabilization after ribosome biogenesis inhibition is a multistep process, depending on specific factors that can be altered in tumor cells, which can affect the antitumor efficacy of ribosome biogenesis inhibitors (RiBi). In the present review, the basic mechanisms underlying the anticancer activity of RiBi are discussed based on the evidence deriving from available preclinical and clinical studies, with the purpose of defining when and why the treatment with drugs inhibiting ribosomal biogenesis could be highly effective in hematological malignancies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrico Derenzini
- European Institute of Oncology, Via Ripamonti 435, 20141, Milan, Italy.
| | - Alessandra Rossi
- European Institute of Oncology, Via Ripamonti 435, 20141, Milan, Italy
| | - Davide Treré
- DIMES, Università di Bologna, Via Massarenti 9, Bologna, Italy.
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