Abstract: The common γ-chain receptor cytokines coordinate the proliferation and function of immune cell populations. One of these cytokines, interleukin (IL)-2, has potential as a therapy in autoimmune disease but is limited in effectiveness by its modest specificity toward regulatory T cells (Tregs). Engineering Treg-selective IL-2 has primarily focused on retaining binding to the high-affinity receptor, expressed more highly on Tregs, while reducing binding to the lower affinity receptor with broader expression. However, other parameters, such as the orientation and valency of Fc fusion, have signaling effects that have never been systematically explored. Here, we systematically profiled the signaling responses to a panel of wild type and mutein IL-2-Fc fusions across time, cell types, and concentrations. Exploring these responses, we found that dimeric muteins have unique specificity for Tregs through binding avidity. A mechanistic model of receptor interactions could capture these effects and directed the design of tetravalent IL-2-Fc fusions with greater Treg specificity than possible with current design strategies. Exploration of other surface targets on Tregs revealed that there are no other binding moieties that could be fused to IL-2 for greater selectivity. Instead, IL2Rα itself is a maximally unique surface target for Tregs, and so avidity is likely the only route to more selective Treg interaction. However, the binding model revealed that asymmetrical, multivalent IL-2 fusions can bias avidity effects toward IL2Rα for even further enhanced Treg selectivity. These findings present a comprehensive analysis of how ligand properties and their effects on surface receptor-ligand interactions translate to selective activation of immune cell populations, and consequently reveals two new routes toward therapeutic cytokines with superior Treg selectivity that can be exploited for designing selective therapies in many other contexts.

Abstract: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia is a common, life-threatening infection that imposes up to 30% mortality even when appropriate therapy is used. Despite in vitro efficacy, antibiotics often fail to resolve the infection in vivo, resulting in persistent MRSA bacteremia. Recently, several genetic, epigenetic, and proteomic correlates of persistent outcomes have been identified. However, the extent to which single variables or composite patterns operate as independent predictors of outcome or reflect shared underlying mechanisms of persistence is unknown. To explore this question, we employed a tensor-based integration of host transcriptional and proteomic data across a well-characterized cohort of patients with persistent and resolving MRSA bacteremia outcomes. Tensor-based data integration yielded high correlative accuracy with persistence and revealed immunologic signatures shared across both the transcriptomic and proteomic datasets. We find that elevated proliferation of mature granulocytes associates with resolving bacteremia outcomes. In contrast, patients with persistent bacteremia heterogeneously exhibit correlates of granulocyte dysfunction or immature granulocyte proliferation. Collectively, these results suggest that transcriptional and proteomic correlates of persistent versus resolving bacteremia outcomes are complex and may not be disclosed by conventional modeling. However, a tensor-based integration approach can help to reveal consensus molecular mechanisms in an interpretable manner.

Abstract: Individual cells can assume a variety of molecular and phenotypic states and recent studies indicate that cells can rapidly adapt in response to therapeutic stress. Such phenotypic plasticity may confer resistance, but also presents opportunities to identify molecular programs that could be targeted for therapeutic benefit. Approaches to quantify tumor-drug responses typically focus on snapshot, population-level measurements. While informative, these methods lack lineage and temporal information, which are particularly critical for understanding dynamic processes such as cell state switching. As new technologies have become available to measure lineage relationships, modeling approaches will be needed to identify the forms of cell-to-cell heterogeneity present in these data. Here we apply a lineage tree-based adaptation of a hidden Markov model that employs single cell lineages as input to learn the characteristic patterns of phenotypic heterogeneity and state transitions. In benchmarking studies, we demonstrated that the model successfully classifies cells within experimentally-tractable dataset sizes. As an application, we analyzed experimental measurements in cancer and non-cancer cell populations under various treatments. We find evidence of multiple phenotypically distinct states, with considerable heterogeneity and unique drug responses. In total, this framework allows for the flexible modeling of single cell heterogeneity across lineages to quantify, understand, and control cell state switching.

Abstract: Cancer drug response is heavily influenced by the extracellular matrix (ECM) environment. Despite a clear appreciation that the ECM influences cancer drug response and progression, a unified view of how, where, and when environment-mediated drug resistance contributes to cancer progression has not coalesced. Here, we survey some specific ways in which the ECM contributes to cancer resistance with a focus on how materials development can coincide with systems biology approaches to better understand and perturb this contribution. We argue that part of the reason that environment-mediated resistance remains a perplexing problem is our lack of a wholistic view of the entire range of environments and their impacts on cell behavior. We cover a series of recent experimental and computational tools that will aid exploration of ECM reactions space, and how they might be synergistically integrated.

Abstract: Low dose human interleukin-2 (hIL-2) treatment is used clinically to treat autoimmune disorders due to the cytokine’s preferential expansion of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells (TRegs). However, high toxicity, short serum half-life, and off-target immune cell activation limit the clinical potential of IL-2 treatment. Recent work showed that complexes comprising hIL-2 and the anti-hIL-2 antibody F5111 overcome these limitations by preferentially stimulating TRegs over immune effector cells. Although promising, therapeutic translation of this approach is complicated by the need to optimize dosing ratios and by the instability of the cytokine/antibody complex. We leveraged structural insights to engineer a single-chain hIL-2/F5111 antibody fusion protein, termed F5111 immunocytokine (IC), that potently and selectively activates and expands TRegs. F5111 IC conferred protection in mouse models of colitis and checkpoint inhibitor-induced diabetes mellitus. These results provide a roadmap for IC design and establish a TReg-biased immunotherapy that could be clinically translated for autoimmune disease treatment.

Abstract: Type I and III interferons (IFNs) induce powerful innate immune responses during viral infections, but they also have differential physiological functions. Epithelial cells at mucosal layers express both types of IFNs and their receptors, and activate an anti-viral response via the transcription factor, IFN-stimulated gene factor (ISGF3). Here, we show that a high dose of IFN-β also activates an inflammatory gene expression program that depends on a potentiated phase in ISGF3. Iterating between mathematical modeling and experimental analysis we show that ISGF3 engages a positive feedback loop with its constituents IRF9 and STAT2 to determine ISGF3 dynamics that are dependent on ligand, dose, and duration of exposure. These results reveal a previously underappreciated dynamics control of JAK-STAT/IRF signaling network and suggest that studies of type I IFN dysregulation and in turn therapeutic remedies, may focus on feedback regulators within it.

Abstract: The interleukin-4 (IL-4) cytokine plays a critical role in modulating immune homeostasis. Although there is great interest in harnessing this cytokine as a therapeutic in natural or engineered formats, the clinical potential of native IL-4 is limited by its instability and pleiotropic actions. Here, we design IL-4 cytokine mimetics (denoted Neo-4), based on a de novo engineered IL-2 mimetic scaffold and demonstrate that these cytokines can recapitulate physiological functions of IL-4 in cellular and animal models. In contrast with natural IL-4, Neo-4 is hyper-stable and signals exclusively through the type I IL-4 receptor complex, providing previously inaccessible insights into differential IL-4 signaling through type I versus type II receptors. Because of their hyper-stability, our computationally designed mimetics can directly incorporate into sophisticated biomaterials that require heat processing, such as 3D-printed scaffolds. Neo-4 should be broadly useful for interrogating IL-4 biology, and the design workflow will inform targeted cytokine therapeutic development.

Abstract: Cell signaling is orchestrated in part through a network of protein kinases and phosphatases. Dysregulation of kinase signaling is widespread in diseases such as cancer and is readily targetable through inhibitors. Mass spectrometry-based analysis can provide a global view of kinase regulation but mining these data is complicated by its stochastic coverage of the proteome, measurement of substrates rather than kinases, and the scale of the data. Here, we implement a Dual Data and Motif Clustering (DDMC) strategy that simultaneously clusters peptides into similarly regulated groups based on their variation and their sequence profile. We show that this can help to identify putative upstream kinases and supply more robust clustering. We apply this clustering to clinical proteomic profiling of lung cancer and identify conserved proteomic signatures of tumorigenicity, genetic mutations, and immune infiltration. We propose that DDMC provides a general and flexible clustering strategy for the analysis of phosphoproteomic data.

Abstract: To better understand the signaling complexity of AXL, a member of the TAM receptor tyrosine kinase family, we created a physical and functional map of AXL signaling interactions, phosphorylation events, and target-engagement of three AXL tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). We assessed AXL protein-complexes using BioID, effects of AXL TKI on global phosphoproteins using mass spectrometry, and target engagement of AXL TKI using activity-based protein profiling. BioID identifies AXL-interacting proteins that are mostly involved in cell adhesion/migration. Global phosphoproteomics show that AXL inhibition decreases phosphorylation of peptides involved in phosphatidylinositol-mediated signaling and cell adhesion/migration. Comparison of three AXL inhibitors reveals that TKI RXDX-106 inhibits pAXL, pAKT and migration/invasion of these cells without reducing their viability, while Bemcentinib exerts AXL-independent phenotypic effects on viability. Proteomic characterization of these TKIs demonstrates that they inhibit diverse targets in addition to AXL, with Bemcentinib having the most off-targets. AXL and EGFR TKI co-treatment did not reverse resistance in cell line models of Erlotinib-resistance. However, a unique vulnerability was identified in one resistant clone, wherein combination of Bemcentinib and Erlotinib inhibited cell viability and signaling. We also show that AXL is overexpressed in  30-40% of non-small but rarely in small-cell lung cancer. Cell lines have a wide range of AXL expression, with basal activation detected rarely.

Abstract: A critical property of many therapies is their selective binding to target populations. Exceptional specificity can arise from high-affinity binding to surface targets expressed exclusively on target cell types. In many cases, however, therapeutic targets are only expressed at subtly different levels relative to off-target cells. More complex binding strategies have been developed to overcome this limitation, including multi-specific and multivalent molecules, creating a combinatorial explosion of design possibilities. Guiding strategies for developing cell-specific binding are critical to employ these tools. Here, we employ a uniquely general multivalent binding model to dissect multi-ligand and multi-receptor interactions. This model allows us to analyze and explore a series of mechanisms to engineer cell selectivity, including mixtures of molecules, affinity adjustments, valency changes, multi-specific molecules, and ligand competition. Each of these strategies can optimize selectivity in distinct cases, leading to enhanced selectivity when employed together. The proposed model, therefore, provides a comprehensive toolkit for the model-driven design of selectively binding therapies.

Abstract: Systems serology provides a broad view of humoral immunity by profiling both the antigen-binding and Fc properties of antibodies. These studies contain structured biophysical profiling across disease-relevant antigen targets, alongside additional measurements made for single antigens or in an antigen-generic manner. Identifying patterns in these measurements helps guide vaccine and therapeutic antibody development, improve our understanding of diseases, and discover conserved regulatory mechanisms. Here, we report that coupled matrix-tensor factorization (CMTF) can reduce these data into consistent patterns by recognizing the intrinsic structure of these data. We use measurements from two previous studies of HIV- and SARS-CoV-2-infected subjects as examples. CMTF outperforms standard methods like principal components analysis in the extent of data reduction while maintaining equivalent prediction of immune functional responses and disease status. Under CMTF, model interpretation improves through effective data reduction, separation of the Fc and antigen-binding effects, and recognition of consistent patterns across individual measurements. Data reduction also helps make prediction models more replicable. Therefore, we propose that CMTF is an effective general strategy for data exploration in systems serology.

Abstract: The γ-chain receptor dimerizes with complexes of the cytokines interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-4, IL-7, IL-9, IL-15, and IL-21 and their corresponding “private” receptors. These cytokines have existing uses and future potential as immune therapies because of their ability to regulate the abundance and function of specific immune cell populations. Here, we build a binding reaction model for the ligand-receptor interactions of common γ-chain cytokines, which includes receptor trafficking dynamics, enabling quantitative predictions of cell-type-specific response to natural and engineered cytokines. We then show that tensor factorization is a powerful tool to visualize changes in the input-output behavior of the family across time, cell types, ligands, and concentrations. These results present a more accurate model of ligand response validated across a panel of immune cell types as well as a general approach for generating interpretable guidelines for manipulation of cell-type-specific targeting of engineered ligands.

Abstract: A major challenge to improving outcomes for patients with cancer is the identification of effective therapeutic strategies that can prevent tumor cell proliferation. Here we sought to gain a deeper understanding of how anti-cancer agents modulate cell cycle progression in HER2+ breast cancer, a disease subtype that accounts for 20% of all breast cancers. We treated HER2+ breast cancer cells with a panel of drugs and tracked changes in cell number and cell cycle phase, which revealed drug-specific cell cycle effects that varied across time. This suggested that a computational model that could account for cell cycle phase durations would provide a framework to explore drug-induced changes in cell cycle changes. Toward that goal, we developed a linear chain trick (LCT) computational model, in which the cell cycle is partitioned into subphases that faithfully captured drug-induced dynamic responses. The model inferred phase-specific drug effects and independent modulation of cell cycle phases, which we confirmed experimentally. We then used our LCT model to predict the effect of unseen drug combinations that target cells in different cell cycle phases. Experimental testing confirmed several model predictions and identified combination treatment strategies that may improve therapeutic response in patients with HER2+ breast cancer. Overall, this integrated experimental and modeling approach opens new avenues for assessing drug responses, predicting effective drug combinations, and identifying optimal drug sequencing strategies.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.

Abstract: Multivalent cell surface receptor binding is a ubiquitous biological phenomenon with functional and therapeutic significance. Predicting the amount of ligand binding for a cell remains an important question in computational biology as it can provide great insight into cell-to-cell communication and rational drug design toward specific targets. In this study, we extend a mechanistic, two-step multivalent binding model. This model predicts the behavior of a mixture of different multivalent ligand complexes binding to cells expressing various types of receptors. It accounts for the combinatorially large number of interactions between multiple ligands and receptors, optionally allowing a mixture of complexes with different valencies and complexes that contain heterogeneous ligand units. We derive the macroscopic predictions and demonstrate how this model enables large-scale predictions on mixture binding and the binding space of a ligand. This model thus provides an elegant and computationally efficient framework for analyzing multivalent binding.

Abstract: Cancer cell sensitivity or resistance is almost universally quantified through a direct or surrogate measure of cell number. However, compound responses can occur through many distinct phenotypic outcomes, including changes in cell growth, apoptosis, and non-apoptotic cell death. These outcomes have divergent effects on the tumor microenvironment, immune response, and resistance mechanisms. Here, we show that quantifying cell viability alone is insufficient to distinguish between these compound responses. Using an alternative assay and drug-response analysis amenable to high-throughput measurement, we find that compounds with identical viability outcomes can have very different effects on cell growth and death. Moreover, additive compound pairs with distinct growth/death effects can appear synergistic when only assessed by viability. Overall, these results demonstrate an approach to incorporating measurements of cell death when characterizing a pharmacologic response.

Abstract: The pharmacokinetic properties of antibodies are largely dictated by the pH-dependent binding of the IgG fragment crystallizable (Fc) domain to the human neonatal Fc receptor (hFcRn). Engineered Fc domains that confer a longer circulation half-life by virtue of more favorable pH-dependent binding to hFcRn are of great therapeutic interest. Here we developed a pH Toggle switch Fc variant containing the L309D/Q311H/N434S (DHS) substitutions, which exhibits markedly improved pharmacokinetics relative to both native IgG1 and widely used half-life extension variants, both in conventional hFcRn transgenic mice and in new knock-in mouse strains. engineered specifically to recapitulate all the key processes relevant to human antibody persistence in circulation, namely: (i) physiological expression of hFcRn, (ii) the impact of hFcγRs on antibody clearance and (iii) the role of competing endogenous IgG. DHS-IgG retains intact effector functions, which are important for the clearance of target pathogenic cells and also has favorable developability.

Abstract: The recent wide-spread adoption of single cell profiling technologies has revealed that individual cancers are not homogenous collections of deregulated cells, but instead are comprised of multiple genetically and phenotypically distinct cell subpopulations that exhibit a wide range of responses to extracellular signals and therapeutic insult. Such observations point to the urgent need to understand cancer as a complex, adaptive system. Cancer systems biology studies seek to develop the experimental and theoretical methods required to understand how biological components work together to determine how cancer cells function. Ultimately, such approaches will lead to improvements in how cancer is managed and treated. In this review, we discuss recent advances in cancer systems biology approaches to quantify, model, and elucidate mechanisms of heterogeneity.

Abstract: Conjugating certain types of lentiviral vectors with targeting ligands can redirect the vectors to specifically transduce desired cell types. However, extensive genetic and/or biochemical manipulations are required for conjugation, which hinders applications for targeting lentiviral vectors for broader research fields. We developed envelope proteins fused with biotin-binding molecules to conjugate the pseudotyped vectors with biotinylated targeting molecules by simply mixing them. The envelope proteins fused with the monomeric, but not tetrameric, biotin-binding molecules can pseudotype lentiviral vectors and be conjugated with biotinylated targeting ligands. The conjugation is stable enough to redirect lentiviral transduction in the presence of serum, indicating their potential in in vivo . When a signaling molecule is conjugated with the vector, the conjugation facilitates transduction and signaling in a receptor-specific manner. This simple method of ligand conjugation and ease of obtaining various types of biotinylated ligands will make targeted lentiviral transduction easily applicable to broad fields of research.

Abstract: Targeted cancer therapeutics have demonstrated more limited clinical efficacy than anticipated, due to both intrinsic and acquired drug resistance. Underlying mechanisms have been largely attributed to genetic changes, but a substantial proportion of resistance observations remain unexplained by genomic properties. Emerging evidence shows that receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) reprogramming is a major alternative process causing targeted drug resistance, separate from genetic alterations. Hence, the contributions of mechanisms leading to this process need to be more rigorously assessed.

Abstract: Maternal Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy is recognized as the cause of an epidemic of microcephaly and other neurological anomalies in human fetuses. It remains unclear how ZIKV accesses the highly vulnerable population of neural progenitors of the fetal central nervous system (CNS), and which cell types of the CNS may be viral reservoirs. In contrast, the related dengue virus (DENV) does not elicit teratogenicity. To model viral interaction with cells of the fetal CNS in vitro, we investigated the tropism of ZIKV and DENV for different induced pluripotent stem cell-derived human cells, with a particular focus on microglia-like cells. We show that ZIKV infected isogenic neural progenitors, astrocytes, and microglia-like cells (pMGLs), but was only cytotoxic to neural progenitors. Infected glial cells propagated ZIKV and maintained ZIKV load over time, leading to viral spread to susceptible cells. DENV triggered stronger immune responses and could be cleared by neural and glial cells more efficiently. pMGLs, when cocultured with neural spheroids, invaded the tissue and, when infected with ZIKV, initiated neural infection. Since microglia derive from primitive macrophages originating in proximity to the maternal vasculature, they may act as a viral reservoir for ZIKV and establish infection of the fetal brain. Infection of immature neural stem cells by invading microglia may occur in the early stages of pregnancy, before angiogenesis in the brain rudiments. Our data are also consistent with ZIKV and DENV affecting the integrity of the blood–brain barrier, thus allowing infection of the brain later in life.

Abstract: Many immune receptors transduce activation across the plasma membrane through their clustering. With Fcγ receptors (FcγRs), this clustering is driven by binding to antibodies of differing affinities that are in turn bound to multivalent antigen. As a consequence of this activation mechanism, accounting for and rationally manipulating immunoglobulin (Ig)G effector function is complicated by, among other factors, differing affinities between FcγR species and changes in the valency of antigen binding. In this study, we show that a model of multivalent receptor-ligand binding can effectively account for the contribution of IgG-FcγR affinity and immune complex valency. This model in turn enables us to make specific predictions about the effect of immune complexes of defined composition. In total, these results enable both rational immune complex design for a desired IgG effector function and the deconvolution of effector function by immune complexes.

Abstract: Metastases are a major cause of cancer mortality. AXL, a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) aberrantly expressed in many tumors, is a potent oncogenic driver of metastatic cell motility and has been identified as broadly relevant in cancer drug resistance. Despite its frequent association with changes in cancer phenotypes, the precise mechanism leading to AXL activation is incompletely understood. In addition to its ligand growth arrest specific-6 (Gas6), activation of AXL requires the lipid moiety phosphatidylserine (PS). PS is only available to mediate AXL activation when it is externalized on cell membranes, an event that occurs during certain physiologic processes such as apoptosis. Here it is reported that exposure of cancer cells to PS-containing vesicles, including synthetic liposomes and apoptotic bodies, contributes to enhanced migration of tumor cells via a PS-Gas6-AXL signaling axis. These findings suggest that anti-cancer treatments that induce fractional cell killing enhance the motility of surviving cells in AXL-expressing tumors, which may explain the widespread role of AXL in limiting therapeutic efficacy. Implications: This study demonstrates that motility behavior of AXL-expressing tumor cells can be elicited by Gas6-bearing apoptotic bodies generated from tumor treatment with therapeutics that produce killing of a portion of the tumor cells present but not all, hence generating potentially problematic invasive and metastatic behavior of the surviving tumor cells.

Abstract: Traditional drug screening methods lack features of the tumor microenvironment that can contribute to resistance. There remains a gap in whether extracellular signals, such as stiffness, dimensionality, and cell-cell contacts act independently, or are integrated within a cell, to affect drug sensitizations or resistance. This is critically important, as adaptive resistance is mediated, at least in part, by the extracellular matrix (ECM) of the tumor microenvironment. We developed an approach to screen drug responses in cells cultured on 2D and in 3D biomaterial environments to explore how key features of ECM mediate drug response. This approach uncovered that cells on 2D hydrogels and as spheroids encapsulated in 3D hydrogels were less responsive to receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK)-targeting drugs sorafenib and lapatinib, but not cytotoxic drugs, compared to single cells in hydrogels and cells on plastic. Transcriptomic differences between these in vitro models and tumor xenografts did not reveal mechanisms of ECM-mediated resistance. However, a systems biology analysis of phospho-kinome data suggested that MEK phosphorylation was associated with RTK-targeted drug resistance. Using sorafenib as a model drug, we found that co-administration with a MEK inhibitor decreased ECM-mediated resistance in vitro and reduced in vivo tumor burden compared to sorafenib alone. In sum, we provide a novel strategy for identifying and overcoming ECM-mediated resistance mechanisms by performing drug screening, phospho-kinome analysis, and systems biology across multiple biomaterial environments.

Abstract: Cancer systems biology aims to understand cancer as an integrated system of genes, proteins, networks, and interactions rather than an entity of isolated molecular and cellular components. The inaugural Systems Approaches to Cancer Biology Conference, cosponsored by the Association of Early Career Cancer Systems Biologists and the National Cancer Institute of the NIH, focused on the interdisciplinary field of cancer systems biology and the challenging cancer questions that are best addressed through the combination of experimental and computational analyses. Attendees found that elucidating the many molecular features of cancer inevitably reveals new forms of complexity and concluded that ensuring the reproducibility and impact of cancer systems biology studies will require widespread method and data sharing and, ultimately, the translation of important findings to the clinic.

Abstract: Resistance limits the effectiveness of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK)-targeted therapies. Combination therapies targeting resistance mechanisms can considerably improve response, but will require an improved understanding of when particular combinations will be effective. One common form of resistance is bypass signaling, wherein RTKs not targeted by an inhibitor can direct reactivation of pathways essential for survival. Although this mechanism of resistance is well appreciated, it is unclear which downstream signaling events are responsible. Here, we apply a combined experimental- and statistical modeling-based approach to identify a set of pathway reactivation essential for RTK-mediated bypass resistance. Differences in the downstream pathway activation provided by particular RTKs lead to qualitative differences in the capacity of each receptor to drive therapeutic resistance. We identify and validate that the JNK pathway is activated during and strongly modulates bypass resistance. These results identify effective therapeutic combinations that block bypass-mediated resistance and provide a basic understanding of this network-level change in kinase dependence that will inform the design of prognostic assays for identifying effective therapeutic combinations in individual patients.

Abstract: Kinase inhibitor resistance often involves upregulation of poorly understood “bypass” signaling pathways. Here, we show that extracellular proteomic adaptation is one path to bypass signaling and drug resistance. Proteolytic shedding of surface receptors, which can provide negative feedback on signaling activity, is blocked by kinase inhibitor treatment and enhances bypass signaling. In particular, MEK inhibition broadly decreases shedding of multiple receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK), including HER4, MET, and most prominently AXL, an ADAM10 and ADAM17 substrate, thus increasing surface RTK levels and mitogenic signaling. Progression-free survival of patients with melanoma treated with clinical BRAF/MEK inhibitors inversely correlates with RTK shedding reduction following treatment, as measured noninvasively in blood plasma. Disrupting protease inhibition by neutralizing TIMP1 improves MAPK inhibitor efficacy, and combined MAPK/AXL inhibition synergistically reduces tumor growth and metastasis in xenograft models. Altogether, extracellular proteomic rewiring through reduced RTK shedding represents a surprising mechanism for bypass signaling in cancer drug resistance.

Abstract: Axons navigate long distances through complex 3D environments to interconnect the nervous system during development. Although the precise spatiotemporal effects of most axon guidance cues remain poorly characterized, a prevailing model posits that attractive guidance cues stimulate actin polymerization in neuronal growth cones whereas repulsive cues induce actin disassembly. Contrary to this model, we find that the repulsive guidance cue Slit stimulates the formation and elongation of actin-based filopodia from mouse dorsal root ganglion growth cones. Surprisingly, filopodia form and elongate toward sources of Slit, a response that we find is required for subsequent axonal repulsion away from Slit. Mechanistically, Slit evokes changes in filopodium dynamics by increasing direct binding of its receptor, Robo, to members of the actin-regulatory Ena/VASP family. Perturbing filopodium dynamics pharmacologically or genetically disrupts Slit-mediated repulsion and produces severe axon guidance defects in vivo. Thus, Slit locally stimulates directional filopodial extension, a process that is required for subsequent axonal repulsion downstream of the Robo receptor.

Abstract: The members of the actin regulatory family of Ena/VASP proteins form stable tetramers. The vertebrate members of the Ena/VASP family, VASP, Mena, and EVL, have many overlapping properties and expression patterns, but functional and regulatory differences between paralogs have been observed. The formation of mixed oligomers may serve a regulatory role to refine Ena/VASP activity. While it has been assumed that family members can form mixed oligomers, this possibility has not been investigated systematically. Using cells expressing controlled combinations of VASP, Mena, and EVL, we evaluated the composition of Ena/VASP oligomers and found that VASP forms oligomers without apparent bias with itself, Mena, or EVL. However, Mena and EVL showed only weak hetero-oligomerization, suggesting specificity in the association of Ena/VASP family members. Co-expression of VASP increased the ability of Mena and EVL to form mixed oligomers. Additionally, we found that the tetramerization domain at the C-termini of Ena/VASP proteins conferred the observed selectivity. Finally, we demonstrate that replacement of the TD with a synthetic tetramerizing coiled-coil sequence supports homo-oligomerization and normal VASP subcellular localization.

Abstract: Dysregulation of ErbB-family signaling underlies numerous pathologies and has been therapeutically targeted through inhibiting ErbB-receptors themselves or their cognate ligands. For the latter, “decoy” antibodies have been developed to sequester ligands including heparin-binding epidermal growth factor (HB-EGF); however, demonstrating sufficient efficacy has been difficult. Here, we hypothesized that this strategy depends on properties such as ligand-receptor binding affinity, which varies widely across the known ErbB-family ligands. Guided by computational modeling, we found that high-affinity ligands such as HB-EGF are more difficult to target with decoy antibodies compared to low-affinity ligands such as amphiregulin (AREG). To address this issue, we developed an alternative method for inhibiting HB-EGF activity by targeting its cleavage from the cell surface. In a model of the invasive disease endometriosis, we identified A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase 12 (ADAM12) as a protease implicated in HB-EGF shedding. We designed a specific inhibitor of ADAM12 based on its recombinant prodomain (PA12), which selectively inhibits ADAM12 but not ADAM10 or ADAM17. In endometriotic cells, PA12 significantly reduced HB-EGF shedding and resultant cellular migration. Overall, specific inhibition of ligand shedding represents a possible alternative to decoy antibodies, especially for ligands such as HB-EGF that exhibit high binding affinity and localized signaling.

Abstract: The AXL receptor is a TAM (Tyro3, AXL, MerTK) receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) important in physiological inflammatory processes such as blood clotting, viral infection, and innate immune-mediated cell clearance. Overexpression of the receptor in a number of solid tumors is increasingly appreciated as a key drug resistance and tumor dissemination mechanism. Although the ligand-receptor (Gas6-AXL) complex structure is known, literature reports on ligand-mediated signaling have provided conflicting conclusions regarding the influence of other factors such as phosphatidylserine binding, and a detailed, mechanistic picture of AXL activation has not emerged. Integrating quantitative experiments with mathematical modeling, we show here that AXL operates to sense local spatial heterogeneity in ligand concentration, a feature consistent with its physiological role in inflammatory cell responses. This effect arises as a result of an intricate reaction-diffusion interaction. Our results demonstrate that AXL functions distinctly from other RTK families, a vital insight for the envisioned design of AXL-targeted therapeutic intervention.

Abstract: The relationship between drug resistance, changes in signaling, and emergence of an invasive phenotype is well appreciated, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Using machine learning analysis applied to the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia database, we identified expression of AXL, the gene that encodes the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-associated receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) AXL, as exceptionally predictive of lack of response to ErbB family receptor-targeted inhibitors. Activation of EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) transactivated AXL, and this ligand-independent AXL activity diversified EGFR-induced signaling into additional downstream pathways beyond those triggered by EGFR alone. AXL-mediated signaling diversification was required for EGF (epidermal growth factor)-elicited motility responses in AXL-positive TNBC (triple-negative breast cancer) cells. Using cross-linking coimmunoprecipitation assays, we determined that AXL associated with EGFR, other ErbB receptor family members, MET (hepatocyte growth factor receptor), and PDGFR (platelet-derived growth factor receptor) but not IGF1R (insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor) or INSR (insulin receptor). From these AXL interaction data, we predicted AXL-mediated signaling synergy for additional RTKs and validated these predictions in cells. This alternative mechanism of receptor activation limits the use of ligand-blocking therapies and indicates against therapy withdrawal after acquired resistance. Further, subadditive interaction between EGFR- and AXL-targeted inhibitors across all AXL-positive TNBC cell lines may indicate that increased abundance of EGFR is principally a means to transactivation-mediated signaling.

Abstract: A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinases (ADAMs) are the principal enzymes for shedding receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) ectodomains and ligands from the cell surface. Multiple layers of activity regulation, feedback, and catalytic promiscuity impede our understanding of context-dependent ADAM "sheddase" function and our ability to predictably target that function in disease. This study uses combined measurement and computational modeling to examine how various growth factor environments influence sheddase activity and cell migration in the invasive disease of endometriosis. We find that ADAM-10 and -17 dynamically integrate numerous signaling pathways to direct cell motility. Data-driven modeling reveals that induced cell migration is a quantitative function of positive feedback through EGF ligand release and negative feedback through RTK shedding. Although sheddase inhibition prevents autocrine ligand shedding and resultant EGF receptor transactivation, it also leads to an accumulation of phosphorylated receptors (HER2, HER4, and MET) on the cell surface, which subsequently enhances Jnk/p38 signaling. Jnk/p38 inhibition reduces cell migration by blocking sheddase activity while additionally preventing the compensatory signaling from accumulated RTKs. In contrast, Mek inhibition reduces ADAM-10 and -17 activities but fails to inhibit compensatory signaling from accumulated RTKs, which actually enhances cell motility in some contexts. Thus, here we present a sheddase-based mechanism of rapidly acquired resistance to Mek inhibition through reduced RTK shedding that can be overcome with rationally directed combination inhibitor treatment. We investigate the clinical relevance of these findings using targeted proteomics of peritoneal fluid from endometriosis patients and find growth-factor-driven ADAM-10 activity and MET shedding are jointly dysregulated with disease.

Abstract: Growth factor–induced migration is a critical step in the dissemination and metastasis of solid tumors. Although differences in properties characterizing cell migration on two-dimensional (2D) substrata versus within three-dimensional (3D) matrices have been noted for particular growth factor stimuli, the 2D approach remains in more common use as an efficient surrogate, especially for high-throughput experiments. We therefore were motivated to investigate which migration properties measured in various 2D assays might be reflective of 3D migratory behavioral responses. We used human triple-negative breast cancer lines stimulated by a panel of receptor tyrosine kinase ligands relevant to mammary carcinoma progression. Whereas 2D migration properties did not correlate well with 3D behavior across multiple growth factors, we found that increased membrane protrusion elicited by growth factor stimulation did relate robustly to enhanced 3D migration properties of the MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-157 lines. Interestingly, we observed this to be a more reliable relationship than cognate receptor expression or activation levels across these and two additional mammary tumor lines.

Abstract: In bioprocess development, the 96-well plate format has been widely used for high-throughput screening of production cell line or culture conditions. However, suspension cell cultures in conventional 96-well plates often fail to reach high cell density under normal agitation presumably due to constraints in oxygen transfer. Although more vigorous agitation can improve gas transfer in 96-well plate format, it often requires specialized instruments. In this report, we employed Fluorinert, a biologically inert perfluorocarbon, to improve oxygen transfer in 96-well plate and to enable the growth of a Chinese Hamster Ovary cell line expressing a recombinant monoclonal antibody. When different amounts of Fluorinert were added to the cell culture medium, a dose-dependent improvement in cell growth was observed in both conventional and deep square 96-well plates. When sufficient Fluorinert was present in the culture, the cell growth rate, the peak cell density, and recombinant protein production levels achieved in deep square 96-wells were comparable to cultures in ventilated shake flasks. Although Fluorinert is known to dissolve gases such as oxygen and CO2, it does not dissolve nor extract medium components, such as glucose, lactate, or amino acids. We conclude that mixing Fluorinert with culture media is a suitable model for miniaturization of cell line development and process optimization. Proper cell growth and cellular productivity can be obtained with a standard shaker without the need for any additional aeration or vigorous agitation. \copyright 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2012

Abstract: Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), whether in developmental morphogenesis or malignant transformation, prominently involves modified cell motility behavior. While major advances have transpired in understanding the molecular pathways regulating the process of EMT induction per se by certain environmental stimuli, an important outstanding question is how the activities of signaling pathways governing motility yield the diverse movement behaviors characteristic of pre-induction versus post-induction states across a broad landscape of growth factor contexts. For the particular case of EMT induction in human mammary cells by ectopic expression of the transcription factor Twist, we found the migration responses to a panel of growth factors (EGF, HRG, IGF, HGF) dramatically disparate between confluent pre-Twist epithelial cells and sparsely distributed post-Twist mesenchymal cells - but that a computational model quantitatively integrating multiple key signaling node activities could nonetheless account for this full range of behavior. Moreover, motility in both conditions was successfully predicted a priori for an additional growth factor treatment (PDGF). While this signaling network state model could comprehend motility behavior globally, modulation of the network interactions underlying the altered pathway activities was identified by ascertaining differences in quantitative topological influences among the nodes between the two conditions.

Abstract: The concentration of biomarkers, such as DNA, prior to a subsequent detection step may facilitate the early detection of cancer, which could significantly increase chances for survival. In this study, the partitioning behavior of mammalian genomic DNA fragments in a two-phase aqueous micellar system was investigated using both experiment and theory. The micellar system was generated using the nonionic surfactant Triton X-114 and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). Partition coefficients were measured under a variety of conditions and compared with our theoretical predictions. With this comparison, we demonstrated that the partitioning behavior of DNA fragments in this system is primarily driven by repulsive, steric, excluded-volume interactions that operate between the micelles and the DNA fragments, but is limited by the entrainment of micelle-poor, DNA-rich domains in the macroscopic micelle-rich phase. Furthermore, the volume ratio, that is, the volume of the top, micelle-poor phase divided by that of the bottom, micelle-rich phase, was manipulated to concentrate DNA fragments in the top phase. Specifically, by decreasing the volume ratio from 1 to 1/10, we demonstrated proof-of-principle that the concentration of DNA fragments in the top phase could be increased two- to nine-fold in a predictive manner.

Abstract: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a leading cause of health expenditures, in part due to the expensive and lengthy diagnostic method that involves culturing bacteria. A new technique has been developed allowing for faster UTI diagnosis through an electrochemical chip to measure unique ribosomal RNA (rRNA) found in bacteria associated with UTIs. Although this technique has had success, concentrating the bacterial rRNA through the use of two-phase aqueous micellar systems in the urine sample prior to utilizing the chip may provide increased sensitivity. This approach is appealing because these systems are relatively inexpensive, easily scalable, and simple to use. In this study, we examined the partitioning behavior of bacterial RNA fragments, puri ed from Enteroccocus faecalis, in a two-phase micellar system comprised of the nonionic surfactant Triton X-114 and phosphate-buffered saline. Experimentally measured results were compared to theoretical values to determine the governing factors involved in RNA partitioning. We demonstrated that RNA fragments partition primarily due to steric, excluded-volume interactions that exist between the RNA and micelles. However, the presence of entrained micelle-poor, RNA-rich domains in the macroscopic micelle-rich, RNA-poor phase limits the extent of RNA partitioning in this system. Additionally, by manipulating the volume ratio, or the volume of the top, micelle-poor phase divided by that of the bottom, micelle-rich phase, we demonstrated that RNA fragments can be concentrated up to four-fold in a predictive manner. Concentrating the bacterial RNA with these two-phase micellar systems prior to detection with the UTI chip may facilitate the earlier detection of UTIs.