Research Programs Unit/Translational Cancer Medicine Research Program and Medicum, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Pathology Department, North Estonia Medical Centre, Tallinn, Estonia.
Mol Oncol. 2024 Mar;18(3):547-561. doi: 10.1002/1878-0261.13545. Epub 2023 Nov 13.
Hepsin, a type II transmembrane serine protease, is commonly overexpressed in prostate and breast cancer. The hepsin protein is stabilized by the Ras-MAPK pathway, and, downstream, this protease regulates the degradation of extracellular matrix components and activates growth factor pathways, such as the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) pathway. However, how exactly active hepsin promotes cell proliferation machinery to sustain tumor growth is not fully understood. Here, we show that genetic deletion of the gene encoding hepsin (Hpn) in a WAP-Myc model of aggressive MYC-driven breast cancer inhibits tumor growth in the primary syngrafted sites and the growth of disseminated tumors in the lungs. The suppression of tumor growth upon loss of hepsin was accompanied by downregulation of TGFβ and EGFR signaling together with a reduction in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) protein levels. We further demonstrate in 3D cultures of patient-derived breast cancer explants that both basal TGFβ signaling and EGFR protein expression are inhibited by neutralizing antibodies or small-molecule inhibitors of hepsin. The study demonstrates a role for hepsin as a regulator of cell proliferation and tumor growth through TGFβ and EGFR pathways, warranting consideration of hepsin as a potential indirect upstream target for therapeutic inhibition of TGFβ and EGFR pathways in cancer.
组织蛋白酶 H,一种 II 型跨膜丝氨酸蛋白酶,通常在前列腺癌和乳腺癌中过度表达。组织蛋白酶 H 蛋白被 Ras-MAPK 途径稳定,在下游,这种蛋白酶调节细胞外基质成分的降解,并激活生长因子途径,如肝细胞生长因子 (HGF) 和转化生长因子β (TGFβ) 途径。然而,活性组织蛋白酶 H 如何促进细胞增殖机制来维持肿瘤生长尚不完全清楚。在这里,我们表明在侵袭性 MYC 驱动的乳腺癌的 WAP-Myc 模型中,组织蛋白酶 H (Hpn) 基因的缺失会抑制原发性同基因移植部位的肿瘤生长和肺部播散性肿瘤的生长。组织蛋白酶 H 缺失后肿瘤生长的抑制伴随着 TGFβ 和 EGFR 信号的下调以及表皮生长因子受体 (EGFR) 蛋白水平的降低。我们进一步在患者来源的乳腺癌外植体的 3D 培养中证明,中和抗体或组织蛋白酶 H 的小分子抑制剂均可抑制基础 TGFβ 信号和 EGFR 蛋白表达。该研究表明组织蛋白酶 H 通过 TGFβ 和 EGFR 途径作为细胞增殖和肿瘤生长的调节剂发挥作用,这使得组织蛋白酶 H 成为癌症中 TGFβ 和 EGFR 途径治疗抑制的潜在间接上游靶点。
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