Stimulation of hypothalamic oxytocin neurons suppresses colorectal cancer progression in mice
Abstract
Emerging evidence suggests that the nervous system is involved in tumor development in the periphery, however, the role of central nervous system remains largely unknown. Here, by combining genetic, chemogenetic, pharmacological and electrophysiological approaches, we show that hypothalamic oxytocin (Oxt)-producing neurons modulate colitis-associated cancer (CAC) progression in mice. Depletion or activation of Oxt neurons could augment or suppress CAC progression. Importantly, brain treatment with celastrol, a pentacyclic triterpenoid, excites Oxt neurons and inhibits CAC progression, and this anti-tumor effect was significantly attenuated in Oxt neuron-lesioned mice. Furthermore, brain treatment with celastrol suppresses sympathetic neuronal activity in the celiac-superior mesenteric ganglion (CG-SMG), and activation of β2 adrenergic receptor abolishes the anti-tumor effect of Oxt neuron activation or centrally administered celastrol. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that hypothalamic Oxt neurons regulate CAC progression by modulating the neuronal activity in the CG-SMG. Stimulation of Oxt neurons using chemicals, eg. celastrol, might be a novel strategy for colorectal cancer treatment.
Data availability
All data that support the findings of this study are included in this published article and its supplementary files. Source data files have been provided for Figures 1-7.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
National Natural Science Foundation of China (81573146)
- Guo Zhang
National Natural Science Foundation of China (91539125)
- Guo Zhang
National Natural Science Foundation of China (81972767)
- Mei Liu
National Natural Science Foundation of China (31871089)
- Yunyun Han
National Natural Science Foundation of China (31871028)
- Man Jiang
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Ethics
Animal experimentation: Animal procedures were approved by the IACUC at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (#2511).
Copyright
© 2021, Pan et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
Metrics
-
- 3,351
- views
-
- 547
- downloads
-
- 14
- citations
Views, downloads and citations are aggregated across all versions of this paper published by eLife.
Download links
Downloads (link to download the article as PDF)
Open citations (links to open the citations from this article in various online reference manager services)
Cite this article (links to download the citations from this article in formats compatible with various reference manager tools)
Further reading
-
- Cancer Biology
- Cell Biology
The canonical NF-κB transcription factor RELA is a master regulator of immune and stress responses and is upregulated in PDAC tumours. In this study, we characterised previously unexplored endogenous RELA-GFP dynamics in PDAC cell lines through live single cell imaging. Our observations revealed that TNFα stimulation induces rapid, sustained, and non-oscillatory nuclear translocation of RELA. Through Bayesian analysis of single cell datasets with variation in nuclear RELA, we predicted that RELA heterogeneity in PDAC cell lines is dependent on F-actin dynamics. RNA-seq analysis identified distinct clusters of RELA-regulated gene expression in PDAC cells, including TNFα-induced RELA upregulation of the actin regulators NUAK2 and ARHGAP31. Further, siRNA-mediated depletion of ARHGAP31 and NUAK2 altered TNFα-stimulated nuclear RELA dynamics in PDAC cells, establishing a novel negative feedback loop that regulates RELA activation by TNFα. Additionally, we characterised the NF-κB pathway in PDAC cells, identifying how NF-κB/IκB proteins genetically and physically interact with RELA in the absence or presence of TNFα. Taken together, we provide computational and experimental support for interdependence between the F-actin network and the NF-κB pathway with RELA translocation dynamics in PDAC.
-
- Cancer Biology
Diffuse midline gliomas (DMGs) are aggressive and fatal pediatric tumors of the central nervous system that are highly resistant to treatments. Lysine to methionine substitution of residue 27 on histone H3 (H3-K27M) is a driver mutation in DMGs, reshaping the epigenetic landscape of these cells to promote tumorigenesis. H3-K27M gliomas are characterized by deregulation of histone acetylation and methylation pathways, as well as the oncogenic MYC pathway. In search of effective treatment, we examined the therapeutic potential of dual targeting of histone deacetylases (HDACs) and MYC in these tumors. Treatment of H3-K27M patient-derived cells with Sulfopin, an inhibitor shown to block MYC-driven tumors in vivo, in combination with the HDAC inhibitor Vorinostat, resulted in substantial decrease in cell viability. Moreover, transcriptome and epigenome profiling revealed synergistic effect of this drug combination in downregulation of prominent oncogenic pathways such as mTOR. Finally, in vivo studies of patient-derived orthotopic xenograft models showed significant tumor growth reduction in mice treated with the drug combination. These results highlight the combined treatment with PIN1 and HDAC inhibitors as a promising therapeutic approach for these aggressive tumors.