Ovarian cancer is a leading cause of death among of gynecological cancers. Current therapies are ineffective with a poor 5-year survival of only ~25%. p70 S6 kinase (p70 S6K) is a downstream target of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway and is frequently activated in human ovarian cancer. However, the molecular targets and signaling pathways by which p70 S6K may affect tumor development and progression are poorly understood. Interestingly, in the laboratory, Mdm2, an important negative regulator of the p53 tumor suppressor, was identified in a yeast two hybrid screening of potential interacting partners for p70 S6K. In this study, I aimed to investigate the specific interaction of p70 S6K and Mdm2 and determine how this may contribute to ovarian tumorigenesis. Using a co-immunoprecipitation assay, the in vivo interaction of p70 S6K and Mdm2 in human ovarian cancer cells was confirmed. Upon UV-induced genotoxic stress, p70 S6K activation was associated with Mdm2 phosphorylation on S166 and subsequent p53 accumulation. This could be reversed by the use of rapamycin and p70 S6K siRNA to inhibit its kinase activity and expression respectively, confirming that the effect was p70 S6K specific. Conversely, ectopic expression of wildtype p70 S6K or a constitutively active mutant of p70 S6K, D3E-E389 (D3E) was sufficient to induce phosphorylation of Mdm2. Moreover, the p70 S6K mediated activation of Mdm2 was independent of p53 mutations. Similar results were observed upon other stress challenges such as hypoxia using hypoxia mimicking agent desferrioxamine (DFX). These findings identify Mdm2 as a new target of p70 S6K and reveal that p70 S6K intervenes the Mdm2-p53 regulatory loop in ovarian cancer, which may provide a survival advantage to cancer cells under stress conditions. / published_or_final_version / Biological Sciences / Master / Master of Philosophy

 Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a group of heterogeneous diseases characterized by an abnormal increase in myeloblasts. Despite intensive chemotherapy and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, the treatment outcome of AML remains unsatisfactory, with a cure rate of only about 30%. Therefore, novel therapeutic strategies targeting the pathogenetic pathways of leukemia initiation and progression are needed. Using intracellular phospho-flow analysis with normal bone marrow as reference, we detected an increase in phosphorylated-STAT5 (pSTAT5) in three leukemic cell lines (K562, KG-1 and ML-2) and 15 primary AML samples. Treatment with specific JAK2 inhibitor TG101209 and JAK2/3 inhibitor AG490 significantly reduced pSTAT5 level and leukemia cell growth associated with an increase in apoptosis and decrease in cellular proliferation. The clonogenic activities of these leukemia cell lines were also significantly reduced. Furthermore, treatment with these inhibitors in K562 and KG-1 also significantly reduced the WNT signaling activity, as enumerated by the TOP/FLASH luciferase assay. In addition, genes associated with oncogenic potential and anti-apoptosis were significantly reduced, consistent with the pathogenetic role of JAK-STAT pathway. In summary, the present study highlighted the importance of the JAK2-STAT5 signaling pathway in sustaining AML. The results may open up a new avenue whereby new therapeutic strategies targeting AML can be designed. / published_or_final_version / Medicine / Master / Master of Philosophy

Liver kinase B1 (LKB1), a serine/threonine kinase, is responsible for the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), the master regulator of energy metabolism. LKB1/AMPK signaling pathway possesses a wide range of biological functions in regulating cell cycle progression, cell polarity, senescence and inflammation. In cultured endothelial cells, the pro-senescence function of LKB1/AMPK signaling pathway has been observed. However, the mechanisms by which LKB1 is regulated in endothelial cells remain largely uncharacterized. Furthermore, little is known about the effects of activated endothelial LKB1/AMPK signaling pathway on vascular and energy homeostasis. The present study aimed to investigate the upstream molecular mechanisms regulating LKB1 protein stability during endothelial senescence and the downstream pathophysiological effects of hyperactivated AMPK signaling in endothelial cells. In cultured model of cellular senescence, the lysine (K) 64 residue of LKB1 was found to be crucial for mediating its pro-senescence activities. The protein stability and intracellular localization of LKB1 mutant with K64 replaced by arginine (R) was different from the wild type protein. K64R exhibited enhanced effects on promoting endothelial senescence. Moreover, mutation of this residue attenuated the binding to HERC2, a newly identified E3 ubiquitin ligase for LKB1, in turn preventing its ubiquitination and degradation. Using a transgenic mouse model that selectively over-expresses a constitutively active AMPK α1 subunit (EC-AMPK) in endothelial cells, the influence of hyperactivated AMPK signaling on metabolic and vascular functions was investigated. Under standard chow condition, the metabolic phenotypes were similar between wild type and EC-AMPK mice; under high fat diet condition, EC-AMPK mice showed more severe obesity-induced fatty liver injury. Selective activation of AMPK in endothelial cells caused vascular and hepatic inflammation. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) was found to be the mediator for the pro-inflammatory functions of AMPK in vascular endothelial cells and facilitated to the development of obesity-induced fatty liver injury in EC-AMPK mice. Evaluation using isolated arteries revealed an increased systolic blood pressure and abnormal endothelial function in EC-AMPK miceunder high fat diet. AMPK activation in endothelium of the blood vessel could not block vascular remodeling associated with dietary obesity. Taken in conjunction, the above findings suggest that continuous activation of LKB1/AMPK signaling elicits adverse effects on both energy and vascular homeostasis. / published_or_final_version / Pharmacology and Pharmacy / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Despite major advances in diagnosis and prevention of coronary artery disease (CAD), the development of therapies to regenerate functional cardiomyocytes after myocardial infarction (MI) is very challenging. Studies have demonstrated that bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) secrete a panel of growth factors and anti-inflammatory cytokines to activate resident cardiomyocytes and cardiac stem cells in myocardial repair after MI. However, the mechanisms of modulating BM-MSC secretions are not well understood. Recently, molecular candidates in regulating BM-MSCs paracrine secretion to improve cardiac protection have been explored. Amongst the molecular candidates, Nuclear casein kinase and cyclin-dependent kinase substrate 1 (Nucks1) is suggested as a regulatory protein in nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway by interacting with TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1). TBK1 is a non-canonical I kappa B (IκB) kinase that can activate the NF-κB transcription factor and its transcriptional response. NF-κB signaling pathway controls many cellular responses such as cell survival, proliferation and cytokine productions. We hypothesizes Nucks1 may have potential roles in regulating mouse BM-MSCs secretion of growth factors and cytokine profiles in heart repairs after MI. To test our hypothesis, the cardiac protection efficacy of acute infarcted mouse myocardium was measured after the transplantation of WT versus Nucks1 KO BM-MSCs. To this end, we developed a mouse model of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) induced by ligation of left descendant coronary artery. Acute infarcted mouse myocardium receiving WT or Nuck1 KO BM-MSCs transplantation, demonstrated a significant improvement of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), ESP, +dP/dt, ESPVR and vessel density, and reduced infarction size in comparison with PBS control group post-4 weeks of transplantation. Furthermore, acute infarcted mouse myocardium receiving Nucks1 KO BM-MSCs transplantation provided better cardioprotective effects than those receiving WT BM-MSCs transplantation. Immunostaining disclosed CD31 and smooth muscle actin (SMA) expression in acute infarcted mouse myocardium receiving Nucks1 KO BM-MSCs were relatively higher than those receiving WT BM-MSCs transplantation. Additionally, a distinct secretion profile of growth factors and cytokines between Nucks1 KO BM-MSCs versus WT BM-MSCs under in vitro ischemia was studied. Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor alpha (VEGFα) in Nucks1 KO BM-MSCs under hypoxia/ serum deprivation was significantly higher than that of WT BMMSCs. Taken together, our data suggested BM-MSCs provide cardiac protection in acute infarcted myocardium. Transplantation of Nucks1 KO BMMSCs may further enhance the cardiac repair of the acute infracted myocardium through an induction of VEGFα. / published_or_final_version / Medicine / Master / Master of Philosophy

Esophageal cancer is the third most common digestive tract malignancy. Along with surgery, genotoxic drugs (e.g. cisplatin) and radiotherapy are the mainstays of treatment for this disease. Environmental factors and environmental stress-induced responses contribute to esophageal tumorigenesis and chemoresistance. Studying key molecules in stress-induced signal pathway can help unravel the underlying mechanisms and discover rational therapeutic targets. Cyclin D1 is DNA damage response protein. Genotoxic stress induces rapid cyclin D1 degradation and the molecules mediating this response are cell-type dependent. The first part of this study investigated the changes of cyclin D1 expression in response to genotoxic stress in immortalized esophageal epithelial cells, which are experimental models commonly used to study the early events of cancer development. The results showed that cyclin D1 underwent rapid proteasomal degradation before p53-induced p21 accumulation, which substantiates that cyclin D1 plays a role in eliciting cell cycle arrest very early in the DNA damage response. FBXO31 and FBX4, two F-box proteins previously reported to mediate cyclin D1 degradation, were found to be accumulated and unchanged, respectively, after ionizing irradiation in immortalized esophageal epithelial cells and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cell lines. Yet, knockdown of FBXO31 did not rescue rapid cyclin D1 degradation upon UV or ionizing irradiation. This led to the hypothesis that accumulation of FBXO31 may have novel functions beyond mediating cyclin D1 degradation in cells responding to genotoxic stress. The second part of this study explored the function of FBXO31 in genotoxic stress response. The accumulation of FBXO31 in cancer cells after exposure to various genotoxic stresses was found to coincide with p38 deactivation, giving the clue that FBXO31 may negatively regulate this important pathway. Further studies revealed that knockdown of FBXO31 resulted in sustained activation of stress-activated MAPKs (SAPKs) p38 and JNK, as well as increase in UV-induced cell apoptosis, whereas overexpression of FBXO31 had opposite effects. The inhibitory role of FBXO31 on SAPK activation and apoptosis was confirmed by shRNA rescue experiments. Consistent with the observed anti-apoptotic effect, soft agar, colony formation and in vivo xenograft experiments showed that FBXO31 had oncogenic function in ESCC. Moreover, in vitro and in vivo results showed that knockdown of FBXO31 could sensitize ESCC cells to cisplatin treatment. The mechanism underlying the inhibition of SAPKs by FBXO31 was investigated in the third part of this study. Co-immunoprecipitation results showed that FBXO31 could interact with MKK6 (a p38 activator), but not p38, JNK1, or other MAP2Ks. FBXO31 was found to be co-localized with MKK6 in the cytoplasm. Mapping of interaction domains of FBXO31 revealed that aa 115-240 and aa 351-475 were responsible for binding to MKK6. Further study found that binding of FBXO31 to MKK6 could facilitate the K48-linked polyubiquitination and degradation of MKK6. Taken together, the results of this study showed that FBXO31 accumulation upon genotoxic stress can promote the degradation of MKK6 via K48-linked ubiquitination, thereby inhibiting SAPK activation and protecting cancer cells from genotoxic stress-induced apoptosis. FBXO31 may be a potentially useful therapeutic target to overcome chemoresistance in cancer therapy. / published_or_final_version / Anatomy / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the seventh most prevalent cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally. Metastasis is a major cause of mortality. HCC is also highly chemoresistant which limits treatment options to patients. Understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in these two events is of crucial significance. Deregulation of Rho/ROCK signaling is common in HCC and regulates different cellular events including cell invasion and survival. In this study, we aimed to further investigate how members of the Rho/ROCK pathway regulate HCC cell invasion and chemoresistance. By screening 71 pairs of human HCC samples using real-time qPCR, we identified that RhoE was frequently downregulated in human HCC. RhoE serves as an antagonist of the Rho/ROCK pathway. Clinicopathologically, downregulation of RhoE associated with shorter patient disease-free survival. In virto assays showed that stable knockdown of RhoE enhanced both HCC cell migration and invasion. In vivo mouse models also demonstrated that knockdown of RhoE promoted HCC invasiveness and intra-hepatic metastasis. Mechanically, knockdown of RhoE increased ROCK activity By screening 71 pairs of human HCC samples using real-time qPCR, we identified that RhoE was frequently downregulated in human HCC. RhoE serves as an antagonist of the Rho/ROCK pathway. Clinicopathologically, downregulation of RhoE associated with shorter patient disease-free survival. In virto assays showed that stable knockdown of RhoE enhanced both HCC cell migration and invasion. In vivo mouse models also demonstrated that knockdown of RhoE promoted HCC invasiveness and intra-hepatic metastasis. Mechanically, knockdown of RhoE increased ROCK activity and inhibition of ROCK reversed the effect of RhoE knockdown on cell migration. RhoE overexpression induced disassembly of stress fibers while knockdown of RhoE enhanced formation of plasma membrane blebs. These findings suggested that RhoE acts as a metastatic suppressor in HCC via inhibiting Rho/ROCK signaling. Downregulation of RhoE can increase ROCK activity which is reported to regulate cell survival. Therefore we investigated if the frequent downregulation of RhoE contributes to the high chemoresistance in HCC cells. Stable knockdown of RhoE suppressed cell death/apoptosis induced by chemotherapeutic agents such as cisplatin and doxorubicin. This effect could be reversed by addition of ROCK inhibitor. In vivo mouse model also confirmed that RhoE knockdown augmented HCC chemoresistance. We also observed that combined treatment of cisplatin and ROCK inhibitor profoundly inhibited tumor growth in nude mice. This part of our findings indicated that RhoE/ROCK played an important role in regulating chemoresistance in HCC. We further identified two downstream molecular pathways which were involved in Rho/ROCK-induced chemoresistance. We found that STAT3 and JAK2 were activated by RhoE knockdown but inhibited by addition of ROCK inhibitor. Upon ROCK inhibition, expression of IL-6 and IL-6 receptor were suppressed and the transcription activating activity of STAT3 was also repressed. Finally, ROCK inhibition attenuated Erk1/2 activation. Literature searching suggested nuclear PTEN as a potential candidate for inactivating Erk1/2. We demonstrated that inhibition of ROCK increased the population of nuclear PTEN while overexpressing ROCK2 decreased it. Overexpression of nuclear PTEN alone could already reduce Erk activation in HCC cells. Our findings indicated that RhoE/ROCK may exert their effects on chemoresistance in HCC via regulating the IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 and PTEN/Erk pathways. In conclusion, our study demonstrated the important role of RhoE in HCC. First, aberrant underexpression of RhoE promoted HCC invasion and intra-hepatic metastasis through upregulating the Rho/ROCK signaling. Second, downregulation of RhoE increased activity of the pro-survival IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 and Erk signalings to enhance chemoresistance in HCC cells. Our findings also suggested the Rho/ROCK signaling to be potential therapeutic target in anti-metastatic and chemo-sensitizing therapy. / published_or_final_version / Pathology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

G protein coupled receptor (GPCR) kinases (GRKs) phosphorylate activated heptahelical receptors, leading to their uncoupling from G proteins and downregulation. The desensitization of GPCRs is critical to render cells responsive to further stimuli and if not regulated can result in many pathophysiological processes including heart abnormalities and hypertension. How GRKs recognize and are activated by GPCRs are not known, in part because the critical N-terminus and the kinase C-terminal extension were not resolved in GRK2 and GRK6 structures. The long-term goal of this project was to address this question by structural analysis of rhodopsin kinase (also known as GRK1), which represents a model system for studying phosphorylation-dependent desensitization of activated GPCRs. Herein we report structures of GRK1 from six crystal forms that represent three distinct nucleotide-ligand binding states. One of the (Mg²⁺)₂·ADP·GRK1 structures is the most high-resolution structure (1.85 Å) of a GRK to date. In one (Mg²⁺)₂·ATP·GRK1 structure, almost the entire N-terminal region (residues 5-30) is observed. In addition, different segments of the kinase C-terminal extension are ordered in the various nucleotide-bound structures. Together, these two elements form a putative receptor-docking site adjacent to the hinge of the kinase domain. Based on these structures, a model is proposed for how GRK1 interacts with activated rhodopsin and how rhodopsin binding in turn could activate the kinase. Two novel phosphorylation sites were also identified at the N-terminus. The physiological role of phosphorylation sites and the extensive dimerization interface mediated by the regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) homology domain of GRK1 was assessed using site-directed mutagenesis. In addition to mediating interaction with activated GPCRs, the N-terminus of GRKs also forms a binding site for calcium sensing proteins. Although its physiological significance is debated, the structures of these complexes could lend further insights into the conformation of the N-terminus of GRKs. The second chapter deals with attempts to isolate Ca²⁺·recoverin·GRK1 and Ca²⁺·calmodulin·GRK6 complexes. Finally, the RH domain of GRK2 binds G[alpha subscript q], G[alpha]₁₁, and G[alpha]₁₄ subunits thereby blocking their interactions with the downstream effectors. The third chapter involves attempts to isolate a complex of GRK6 and G[alpha]₁₆, a member of G[alpha subscript q] family.

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published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Biochemistry / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Pharmacology / Master / Master of Philosophy