記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）  

BACKGROUND: Entrectinib is an effective drug for treating solid tumors with NTRK gene rearrangement and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with ROS1 gene rearrangement. However, its efficacy is limited by tolerance and acquired resistance, the mechanisms of which are not fully understood. The growth factors produced by the tumor microenvironment, including hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) produced by tumor-associated fibroblasts, critically affect the sensitivity to targeted drugs. METHODS: We investigated whether growth factors that can be produced by the microenvironment affect sensitivity of NTRK1-rearranged colon cancer KM12SM cells and ROS1-rearranged NSCLC HCC78 cells to entrectinib both in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: Among the growth factors assessed, HGF most potently induced entrectinib resistance in KM12SM and HCC78 cells by activating its receptor MET. HGF-induced entrectinib resistance was reversed by the active-HGF-specific macrocyclic peptide HiP-8 and the MET kinase inhibitor capmatinib in vitro. In addition, HGF-producing fibroblasts promoted entrectinib resistance in vitro (culture model) and in vivo (subcutaneous tumor model). The use of capmatinib circumvented entrectinib resistance in a subcutaneous tumor model inoculated with KM12SM and HGF-producing fibroblasts. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that growth factors in the tumor microenvironment, such as HGF, may induce resistance to entrectinib in tumors with NTRK1 or ROS1 rearrangements. Our results further suggest that optimally co-administering inhibitors of resistance-inducing growth factors may maximize the therapeutic efficacy of entrectinib.

DOI： 10.1002/cam4.5342

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）  

DOI： 10.1038/s41551-022-00955-6

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）  

NK1, a splicing variant of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), binds to and activates Met receptor by forming an NK1 dimer and 2:2 complex with Met. Although the structural mechanism underlying Met activation by HGF remains incompletely resolved, it has been proposed that the NK1 dimer structure participates in this activation. We investigated the NK1 dimer interface's role in Met activation by HGF. Because N127, V140, and K144 are closely involved in the head-to-tail NK1 dimer formation, mutant NK1 proteins with replacement of these residues by alanine were prepared. In Met tyrosine phosphorylation assays, N127-NK1, V140-NK1, and K144-NK1 showed 8.3%, 23.8%, and 52.2% activity, respectively, compared with wild-type NK1. Although wild-type NK1 promoted cell migration and scattering, N127-NK1, V140-NK1, and K144-NK1 hardly or marginally promoted them, indicating loss of activity of these mutant NK1 proteins to activate Met. In contrast, mutant HGFs (N127-HGF, V140-HGF, and K144-HGF) with the same amino acid replacements as in NK1 induced Met tyrosine phosphorylation and biological responses at levels comparable to those of wild-type HGF. These results indicate that the structural basis responsible for NK1-dependent Met dimer formation and activation differs from, or is at least distinguishable from, the structural basis responsible for HGF-dependent Met activation.

DOI： 10.3390/ijms22179240

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担当区分：筆頭著者   記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）   出版者・発行元：MDPI AG  

Using a random non-standard peptide integrated discovery system, we obtained cyclic peptides that bind to hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) or mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor. (MET) HGF-inhibitory peptide-8 (HiP-8) selectively bound to two-chain active HGF, but not to single-chain precursor HGF. HGF showed a dynamic change in its molecular shape in atomic force microscopy, but HiP-8 inhibited dynamic change in the molecular shape into a static status. The inhibition of the molecular dynamics of HGF by HiP-8 was associated with the loss of the ability to bind MET. HiP-8 could selectively detect active HGF in cancer tissues, and active HGF probed by HiP-8 showed co-localization with activated MET. Using HiP-8, cancer tissues with active HGF could be detected by positron emission tomography. HiP-8 seems to be applicable for the diagnosis and treatment of cancers. In contrast, based on the receptor dimerization as an essential process for activation, the cross-linking of the cyclic peptides that bind to the extracellular region of MET successfully generated an artificial ligand to MET. The synthetic MET agonists activated MET and exhibited biological activities which were indistinguishable from the effects of HGF. MET agonists composed of cyclic peptides can be manufactured by chemical synthesis but not recombinant protein expression, and thus are expected to be new biologics that are applicable to therapeutics and regenerative medicine.

DOI： 10.3390/ijms21217977

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記述言語：英語   出版者・発行元：(一社)日本癌学会  

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記述言語：日本語   出版者・発行元：日本分子イメージング学会  

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）  

DOI： 10.1111/cas.14142

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記述言語：英語   出版者・発行元：日本癌学会  

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記述言語：英語   出版者・発行元：(一社)日本癌学会  

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記述言語：日本語   出版者・発行元：(公社)日本生化学会  

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記述言語：日本語   出版者・発行元：(公社)日本生化学会  

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）  

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is secreted as an inactive single-chain HGF (scHGF); however, only proteolytically processed two-chain HGF (tcHGF) can activate the MET receptor. We investigated the localization of tcHGF and activated/phosphorylated MET (pMET) using a tcHGF-specific antibody. In day 16.5 mouse embryos, total HGF (scHGF + tcHGF) was mainly localized in smooth muscle cells close to, but separate from, MET-positive epithelial cells in endodermal organs, including the stomach. In the adult stomach, total HGF was localized in smooth muscle cells, and tcHGF was mainly localized in the glandular base region. Immunostaining for pMET and Lgr5-driven green fluorescent protein (GFP) indicated that pMET localization overlapped with Lgr5+ gastric stem cells. HGF promoted organoid formation similar to EGF, indicating the potential for HGF to promote the survival and growth of gastric stem cells. pMET and tcHGF localizations changed during regeneration following gastric injury. These results indicate that MET is constantly activated in gastric stem cells and that the localization of pMET differs from the primary localization of precursor HGF but has a close relationship to tcHGF. Our results suggest the importance of the microenvironmental generation of tcHGF in the regulation of development, regeneration, and stem cell behavior.

DOI： 10.3390/ijms20122955

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）   出版者・発行元：NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP  

Activation of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) by proteolytic processing is triggered in cancer microenvironments, and subsequent signaling through the MET receptor is involved in cancer progression. However, the structure of HGF remains elusive, and few small/medium-sized molecules can modulate HGF. Here, we identified HiP-8, a macrocyclic peptide consisting of 12 amino acids, which selectively recognizes active HGF. Biochemical analysis and real-time single-molecule imaging by high-speed atomic force microscopy demonstrated that HiP-8 restricted the dynamic domains of HGF into static closed conformations, resulting in allosteric inhibition. Positron emission tomography using HiP-8 as a radiotracer enabled noninvasive visualization and simultaneous inhibition of HGF-MET activation status in tumors in a mouse model. Our results illustrate the conformational change in proteolytic activation of HGF and its detection and inhibition by a macrocyclic peptide, which may be useful for diagnosis and treatment of cancers.

DOI： 10.1038/s41589-019-0285-7

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記述言語：英語   出版者・発行元：WILEY  

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記述言語：英語   出版者・発行元：WILEY  

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記述言語：英語  

DOI： 10.18632/oncotarget.17900

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）  

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）  

DOI： 10.1111/cas.13089

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）  

A dynamic phenotypic change contributes to the metastatic progression and drug resistance in malignant melanoma. Nevertheless, mechanisms for a phenotypic change have remained to be addressed. Here, we show that Met receptor expression changes in a cell-autonomous manner and can distinguish phenotypical differences in growth, as well as in metastatic and drug-resistant characteristics. In metastatic melanoma, the cells are composed of Met-low and Met-high populations. Met-low populations have stem-like gene expression profiles, are resistant to chemotherapeutic agents, and have shown abundant angiogenesis and rapid tumor growth in subcutaneous inoculation. Met-high populations have a differentiated phenotype, are relatively resistant to B-RAF inhibitor, and are highly metastatic to the lungs. Met plays a definitive role in lung metastasis because the lung metastasis of Met-high cells requires Met, and treatment of mice with the Met-containing exosomes from Met-high cells facilitates lung metastasis by Met-low cells. Clonal cell fate analysis showed the hierarchical phenotypical changes from Met-low to Met-high populations. Met-low cells either showed self-renewal or changed into Met-high cells, whereas Met-high cells remained Met-high. Clonal transition from Met-low to Met-high cells accompanied changes in the gene expression profile, in tumor growth, and in metastasis that were similar to those in Met-high cells. These findings indicate that malignant melanoma has the ability to undergo phenotypic change by a cell-intrinsic/autonomous mechanism that can be characterized by Met expression.

DOI： 10.18632/oncotarget.12221

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）   出版者・発行元：NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP  

Various scalable three-dimensional culture systems for regenerative medicine using human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have been developed to date. However, stable production of hiPSCs with homogeneous qualities still remains a challenge. Here, we describe a novel and simple embryoid body (EB) formation system using unique microfabricated culture vessels. Furthermore, this culture system is useful for high throughput EB formation and rapid generation of differentiated cells such as neural stem cells (NSCs) from hiPSCs. The period of NSC differentiation was significantly shortened under high EB density culture conditions. Simultaneous mass production of a pure population of NSCs was possible within 4 days. These results indicate that the novel culture system might not only become a unique tool to obtain new insights into developmental biology based on human stem cells, but also provide an important tractable platform for efficient and stable production of NSCs for clinical applications.

DOI： 10.1038/srep31063

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）  

DOI： 10.1007/s10585-015-9705-6

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）  

DOI： 10.1016/j.yexcr.2014.04.009

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）   出版者・発行元：WILEY-BLACKWELL  

Angiomodulin (AGM) is a member of insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP) superfamily and often called IGFBP-rP1 or IGFBP-7. AGM was originally identified as a tumor-derived cell adhesion factor, which was highly accumulated in blood vessels of human cancer tissues. AGM is also overexpressed in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and activates fibroblasts. However, some studies have shown tumor-suppressing activity of AGM. To understand the roles of AGM in cancer progression, we here investigated the expression of AGM in benign and invasive breast cancers and its functions in cancer vasculature. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that AGM was highly expressed in cancer vasculature even in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) as compared to normal vasculature, while its expression in CAFs was more prominent in invasive carcinomas than DCIS. In vitro analyses showed that AGM was strongly induced by vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) in vascular endothelial cells. Although AGM stimulated neither the growth nor migration of endothelial cells, it supported efficient adhesion of endothelial cells. Integrin alpha v beta 3 was identified as a novel major receptor for AGM in vascular endothelial cells. AGM retracted endothelial cells by inducing actin stress fibers and loosened their VE-cadherin-mediated intercellular junction. Consequently, AGM increased vascular permeability both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, AGM and integrin alpha v beta 3 were highly expressed and colocalized in cancer vasculature. These results suggest that AGM cooperates with VEGF to induce the aberrant functions of cancer vasculature as a ligand of integrin alpha v beta 3.

DOI： 10.1002/cam4.216

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）   出版者・発行元：SPRINGER  

Macrophages infiltrating tumor tissues (tumor-associated macrophages, TAM) affect the malignant behaviors of tumor cells. We previously reported that monocytes were differentiated into TAM-like cells secreting matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 by co-culture with tumor cells, and that cell adhesion to extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins played a critical role in the differentiation. In this study, we found that the monocyte differentiation was promoted by laminin-332 (laminin-5), a major epithelial ECM component. We also demonstrated that the proteolytic processing of the gamma 2 chain of laminin-332 was essential for its activity but that the N-terminal short arm of the gamma 2 chain inhibited MMP-9 secretion. These results indicate that the activity of laminin-332 for monocyte differentiation is dynamically regulated by the proteolytic processing of the gamma 2 chain.

DOI： 10.1007/s10585-013-9627-0

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）   出版者・発行元：WILEY-BLACKWELL  

Laminin 2 (Lm2) chain, a subunit of laminin-332, is a typical molecular marker of invading cancer cells, and its expression correlates with poor prognosis of cancer patients. It was previously found that forced expression of Lm2 in cancer cells promotes their invasive growth in nude mice. However, the mechanism of the tumor-promoting activity of Lm2 remains unknown. Here we investigated the interaction between Lm2 and vascular endothelial cells. When treated with an N-terminal proteolytic fragment of 2 (2pf), HUVECs became markedly retracted or shrunken. The overexpression of Lm2 or treatment with 2pf stimulated T-24 bladder carcinoma cells to invade into the HUVEC monolayer and enhanced their transendothelial migration in vitro. Moreover, 2pf increased endothelial permeability in vitro and in vivo. As the possible mechanisms, 2pf activated ERK and p38 MAPK but inactivated Akt in HUVECs. Such effects of 2pf led to prominent actin stress fiber formation in HUVECs, which was blocked by a ROCK inhibitor. In addition, 2pf induced delocalization of VE-cadherin and -catenin from the intercellular junction. As possible receptors, 2pf interacted with heparan sulfate proteoglycans on the surface of HUVECs. Moreover, we localized the active site of 2pf to the N-terminal epidermal growth factor-like repeat. These data suggest that the interaction between 2pf and heparan sulfate proteoglycans induces cytoskeletal changes of endothelial cells, leading to the loss of endothelial barrier function and the enhanced transendothelial migration of cancer cells. These activities of Lm2 seem to support the aberrant growth of cancer cells.

DOI： 10.1111/cas.12323

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）  

DOI： 10.1111/cas.12323

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記述言語：日本語   出版者・発行元：(公社)日本生化学会  

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記述言語：英語   出版者・発行元：AMER ASSOC CANCER RESEARCH  

DOI： 10.1158/1538-7445.TIM2013-B81

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）   出版者・発行元：PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE  

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a crucial event in tumor invasion and metastasis. However, most of past EMT studies have been conducted in the conventional two-dimensional (2D) monolayer culture. Therefore, it remains unclear what invasive phenotypes are acquired by EMT-induced cancer cells. To address this point, we attempted to characterize EMT cells in more physiological, three-dimensional (3D) collagen gel culture. EMT was induced by treating three human carcinoma cell lines (A549, Panc-1 and MKN-1) with TGF-beta. The TGF-beta treatment stimulated these cells to overexpress the invasion markers laminin gamma 2 and MT1-MMP in 2D culture, in addition to the induction of well-known morphological change and EMT marker expression. EMT induction enhanced cell motility and adhesiveness to fibronectin and collagen in 2D culture. Although EMT cells showed comparable cell growth to control cells in 2D culture, their growth rates were extremely suppressed in soft agar and collagen gel cultures. Most characteristically, EMT-induced cancer cells commonly and markedly extended invasive protrusions in collagen gel. These protrusions were mainly supported by microtubules rather than actin cytoskeleton. Snail-introduced, stable EMT cells showed similar protrusions in 3D conditions without TGF-beta. Moreover, these protrusions were suppressed by colchicine or inhibitors of heat shock protein 90 (HSP-90) and protein phosphatase 2A. However, MMP inhibitors did not suppress the protrusion formation. These data suggest that EMT enhances tumor cell infiltration into interstitial stroma by extending microtubule-based protrusions and suppressing cell growth. The elevated cell adhesion to fibronectin and collagen and high cell motility also seem important for the tumor invasion.

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0053209

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記述言語：英語   出版者・発行元：(一社)日本癌学会  

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記述言語：英語   掲載種別：研究論文（学術雑誌）   出版者・発行元：PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE  

Laminin-332 (alpha 3 beta 3c2) (Lm332) supports the stable anchoring of basal keratinocytes to the epidermal basement membrane, while it functions as a motility factor for wound healing and cancer invasion. To understand these contrasting activities of Lm332, we investigated Lm332 matrices deposited by normal human keratinocytes and other Lm332-expressing cell lines. All types of the cells efficiently deposited Lm332 on the culture plates in specific patterns. On the contrary, laminins containing laminin beta 1 and/or gamma 1 chains, such as Lm511 and Lm311, were not deposited on the culture plates even if secreted into culture medium. The Lm332 deposition was not inhibited by function-blocking antibodies to the alpha 3 and alpha 6 integrins but was inhibited by sodium selenate, suggesting that sulfated glycosaminoglycans on cell surface, e. g. heparan sulfate proteoglycans, might be involved in the process. HEK293 cells overexpressing exogenous Lm332 (Lm332-HEK) almost exclusively deposited Lm332 on the plates. The deposited Lm332 matrix showed a mesh-like network structure as analyzed by electron microscopy, suggesting that Lm332 was highly polymerized. When biological activity was analyzed, the Lm332 matrix rather suppressed the migration of keratinocytes as compared with purified Lm332, which highly promoted the cell migration. The Lm332 matrix supported adhesion of keratinocytes much more strongly and stably than purified Lm332. Integrin alpha 3 beta 1 bound to the Lm332 matrix at a three times higher level than purified Lm332. Normal keratinocytes prominently showed integrin alpha 6 beta 4-containing, hemidesmosome-like structures on the Lm332 matrix but not on the purified one. These results indicate that the polymerized Lm332 matrix supports stable cell adhesion by interacting with both integrin alpha 6 beta 4 and alpha 3 beta 1, whereas unassembled soluble Lm332 supports cell migration.

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0035546

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記述言語：日本語   会議種別：ポスター発表  

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