0000000000021392
AUTHOR
Adonis Hazoumé
Targeting heat shock proteins in cancer
Heat shock proteins (HSPs) HSP27, HSP70 and HSP90 are powerful chaperones. Their expression is induced in response to a wide variety of physiological and environmental insults including anti-cancer chemotherapy, thus allowing the cell to survive to lethal conditions. Different functions of HSPs have been described to account for their cytoprotective function, including their role as molecular chaperones as they play a central role in the correct folding of misfolded proteins, but also their anti-apoptotic properties. HSPs are often overexpressed in cancer cells and this constitutive expression is necessary for cancer cells' survival. HSPs may have oncogene-like functions and likewise mediat…
Regulation of the proapoptotic functions of prostate apoptosis response-4 (Par-4) by casein kinase 2 in prostate cancer cells
International audience; The proapoptotic protein, prostate apoptosis response-4 (Par-4), acts as a tumor suppressor in prostate cancer cells. The serine/threonine kinase casein kinase 2 (CK2) has a well-reported role in prostate cancer resistance to apoptotic agents or anticancer drugs. However, the mechanistic understanding on how CK2 supports survival is far from complete. In this work, we demonstrate both in rat and humans that (i) Par-4 is a new substrate of the survival kinase CK2 and (ii) phosphorylation by CK2 impairs Par-4 proapoptotic functions. We also unravel different levels of CK2-dependent regulation of Par-4 between species. In rats, the phosphorylation by CK2 at the major si…
HSP27 controls GATA-1 protein level during erythroid cell differentiation.
AbstractHeat shock protein 27 (HSP27) is a chaperone whose cellular expression increases in response to various stresses and protects the cell either by inhibiting apoptotic cell death or by promoting the ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of specific proteins. Here, we show that globin transcription factor 1 (GATA-1) is a client protein of HSP27. In 2 models of erythroid differentiation; that is, in the human erythroleukemia cell line, K562 induced to differentiate into erythroid cells on hemin exposure and CD34+ human cells ex vivo driven to erythroid differentiation in liquid culture, depletion of HSP27 provokes an accumulation of GATA-1 and impairs terminal maturation. More spec…
HSP70 sequestration by free α-globin promotes ineffective erythropoiesis in β-thalassaemia
International audience; β-Thalassaemia major (β-TM) is an inherited haemoglobinopathy caused by a quantitative defect in the synthesis of β-globin chains of haemoglobin, leading to the accumulation of free α-globin chains that form toxic aggregates. Despite extensive knowledge of the molecular defects causing β-TM, little is known of the mechanisms responsible for the ineffective erythropoiesis observed in the condition, which is characterized by accelerated erythroid differentiation, maturation arrest and apoptosis at the polychromatophilic stage. We have previously demonstrated that normal human erythroid maturation requires a transient activation of caspase-3 at the later stages of matur…
Extracellular HSP27 mediates angiogenesis through Toll-like receptor 3.
The heat-shock protein 27 (HSP27) is up-regulated in tumor cells and released in their microenvironment. Here, we show that extracellular HSP27 has a proangiogenic effect evidenced on chick chorioallantoic membrane. To explore this effect, we test the recombinant human protein (rhHSP27) at physiopathological doses (0.1-10 μg/ml) onto human microvascular endothelial cells (HMECs) grown as monolayers or spheroids. When added onto HMECs, rhHSP27 dose-dependently accelerates cell migration (with a peak at 5 μg/ml) and favors spheroid sprouting within 12-24 h. rhHSP27 increases VEGF gene transcription and promotes secretion of VEGF-activating VEGF receptor type 2. Increased VEGF transcription is…
Dual regulation of SPI1/PU.1 transcription factor by heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) during macrophage differentiation of monocytes
International audience; : In addition to their cytoprotective role in stressful conditions, heat shock proteins (HSPs) are involved in specific differentiation pathways, e.g. we have identified a role for HSP90 in macrophage differentiation of human peripheral blood monocytes exposed to Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor (M-CSF). Here, we show that deletion of the main transcription factor involved in heat shock gene regulation, heat shock factor 1 (HSF1), affects M-CSF-driven differentiation of mouse bone marrow cells. HSF1 transiently accumulates in the nucleus of human monocytes undergoing macrophage differentiation, including M-CSF-treated peripheral blood monocytes and phorbol ester-…
Inhibition of HSP27 blocks fibrosis development and EMT features by promoting Snail degradation
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating disease characterized by myofibroblast proliferation. Transition of epithelial/mesothelial cells into myofibroblasts [epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)] occurs under the influence of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, with Snail being a major transcription factor. We study here the role of the heat-shock protein HSP27 in fibrogenesis and EMT. In vitro, we have up- and down-modulated HSP27 expression in mesothelial and epithelial cell lines and studied the expression of different EMT markers induced by TGF-β1. In vivo, we inhibited HSP27 with the antisense oligonucleotide OGX-427 (in phase II clinical trials as anticancer agent)…