Biology subjects

Puzanov, I.

Publications and source records attributed to Puzanov, I..

6 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Cell-resolved high-dimensional imaging analysis, therapeutic modeling, and a Phase Ib clinical study validate BCL-2 as a target across heterogeneous CRPC subtypes

BCL-2 has been implicated in prostate cancer (PCa) progression and development of castration-resistant disease (CRPC). However, it remains unclear how the BCL-2- and AR-expressing PCa cell populations evolve across the PCa continuum, how AR molecularly regulates BCL-2 and whether BCL-2 represents a common therapeutic target in heterogeneous CRPC. Importantly, BCL-2 inhibitors have yet to be approved for treating PCa patients. Here we first show the selective induction of BCL-2 by AR pathway inhibitors (ARPIs) in both patient specimens and xenograft models. Vectra-based quantitative multiplex immunofluorescence (qmIF) and image mass cytometry (IMC) analyses with single-cell resolution reveal markedly expanded BCL-2+ (AR+ or AR-) PCa cell populations in CRPC. Mechanistically, AR represses BCL-2 transcription through genomic binding via several AR binding sites and ARPIs relieve this repression, leading to BCL-2 upregulation. Comprehensive therapeutic studies in cells, organoids and xenografts establish that castration-induced BCL-2 is not merely associated with resistance but represents a shared and actionable vulnerability as the BCL-2 inhibitor ABT-199 potently suppressed the growth of multiple subtypes of CRPC. A Phase Ib clinical trial (NCT03751436) combining enzalutamide and BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax demonstrated reduced circulating tumor cells in responding patients. Together, our findings elucidate the AR+/-BCL-2+/- PCa cell subpopulation dynamics during PCa progression, reveal a direct mechanistic link between AR inhibition and BCL-2-mediated resistance, and provide a strong rationale for targeting BCL-2 from the outset to eliminate emerging resistant subpopulations, inhibit treatment-induced cellular heterogeneity and plasticity, and improve therapeutic outcomes in CRPC.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Increasing Stemness Drives Prostate Cancer Progression, Plasticity, Therapy Resistance and Poor Patient Survival

BackgroundCancer progression is often accompanied by dedifferentiation and acquisition of stem cell-like properties (stemness). In prostate cancer (PCa), lineage plasticity and therapy resistance remain major clinical challenges, yet a unified quantitative transcriptomic framework connecting stemness, androgen receptor (AR) signaling, castration resistance, and disease progression across the PCa continuum is lacking. MethodsWe integrated 87,339 transcriptomic profiles from 33 preclinical and clinical datasets spanning the PCa continuum from normal prostate and treatment-naive primary PCa (Pri-PCa) to PCa treated with neoadjuvant ADT (nADT) and metastatic castration-resistant PCa (mCRPC), with single-cell RNA-seq analyses encompassing 115,197 cells. Cancer stemness was quantified using a transcriptome-derived mRNA-based Stemness Index (mRNAsi; hereafter Stemness), and a 12-gene PCa-Stem signature was developed to capture PCa-specific stemness. Stemness, PCa-Stem, canonical AR activity (c_AR-A), castration-reprogrammed AR activity (cr_AR-A), RB1-loss, PTEN-loss, and MYC activity signatures were quantified across cohorts. Functional validation included MYC inhibition and representative PCa-Stem signature gene depletion in PCa models. Clinical prognostic significance was evaluated in independent patient cohorts. ResultsThe Stemness score and c_AR-A increased concordantly during early prostate tumorigenesis but diverged with PCa progression: as Gleason grade increased, c_AR-A declined while Stemness continually increased. mCRPC exhibited the highest Stemness and lowest c_AR-A, a pattern recapitulated in Pten/Rb1/Trp53-deficient mouse models. Global Stemness increased progressively across the PCa continuum, was enriched in aggressive PAM50-LumB and PCS1 subtypes, associated with proliferative and lineage plasticity programs, and predicted poor patient survival. The newly derived 12-gene PCa-Stem signature provided a PCa-specific molecular representation of Stemness and tracked disease progression and poor patient survival. Network analyses identified a coordinated mitotic regulatory program linking MYC activity, RB1-loss, cr_AR-A, and the PCa-Stem signature. Spatial and single-cell transcriptomic analyses localized the PCa-Stem program to lineage plasticity-related epithelial cells and demonstrated progressive expansion of PCa-Stem epithelial cells during PCa progression. Functional perturbation of representative PCa-Stem signature genes, as well as genetic and pharmacological MYC inhibition, consistently suppressed Stemness-associated phenotypes in diverse PCa models. ConclusionsCancer Stemness quantitatively captures PCa aggressiveness, lineage plasticity, treatment resistance, disease progression, and poor patient survival. cr_AR-A, RB1 loss, and MYC activation cooperate to reinforce the high-Stemness state and therapy resistance in mCRPC. Collectively, our work establishes a trajectory-integrated transcriptomic framework defining cancer Stemness as a quantifiable molecular and clinical determinant of PCa aggressiveness, lineage plasticity, disease progression, therapy resistance and patient survival.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2024

Differences in systemic immune parameters in individuals with lung cancer according to race

IntroductionRacial and ethnic disparities in the presentation and outcomes of lung cancer are widely known. To evaluate potential factors contributing to these observations, we measured systemic immune parameters in Black and White patients with lung cancer. MethodsPatients scheduled to receive cancer immunotherapy were enrolled in a multi-institutional prospective biospecimen collection registry. Clinical and demographic information were obtained from electronic medical records. Pre-treatment peripheral blood samples were collected and analyzed for cytokines using a multiplex panel and for immune cell populations using mass cytometry. Differences between Black and White patients were determined and corrected for multiple comparisons. ResultsA total of 187 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (Black, 19; White, 168) were included in the analysis. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between Black and White patients. Compared to White patients, Black patients had significantly lower levels of CCL23 and CCL27, and significantly higher levels of CCL8, CXCL1, CCL26, CCL25, CCL1, IL-1 b, CXCL16, and IFN-{gamma} (all P<0.05, FDR<0.1). Black patients also exhibited greater populations of non-classical CD16+ monocytes, NKT-like cells, CD4+ cells, CD38+ monocytes, and CD57+ gamma delta T cells (all P<0.05). ConclusionsBlack and White patients with lung cancer exhibit several differences in immune parameters, with Black patients exhibiting greater levels of numerous pro-inflammatory cytokines and cell populations. The etiology and clinical significance of these differences warrant further evaluation.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Developing folate-conjugated miR-34a therapeutic for prostate cancer treatment: Challenges and promises

Prostate cancer (PCa) remains a common cancer with high mortality in men due to its heterogeneity and the emergence of drug resistance. A critical factor contributing to its lethality is the presence of prostate cancer stem cells (PCSCs), which can self-renew, long-term propagate tumors and mediate treatment resistance. MicroRNA-34a (miR-34a) has shown promise as an anti-PCSC therapeutic by targeting critical molecules involved in cancer stem cell (CSC) survival and functions. Despite extensive efforts, the development of miR-34a therapeutics still faces challenges, including non-specific delivery and delivery-associated toxicity. One emerging delivery approach is ligand-mediated conjugation, aiming to achieve specific delivery of miR-34a to cancer cells, thereby enhancing efficacy while minimizing toxicity. Folate-conjugated miR-34a (folate-miR-34a) has demonstrated promising anti-tumor efficacy in breast and lung cancers by targeting folate receptor (FOLR1). Here, we first show that miR-34a, a TP53 transcriptional target, is reduced in PCa that harbors TP53 loss or mutations and that miR-34a mimic, when transfected into PCa cells, downregulated multiple miR-34a targets and inhibited cell growth. When exploring the therapeutic potential of folate-miR-34a, we found that folate-miR-34a exhibited impressive inhibitory effects on breast, ovarian and cervical cancer cells but showed minimal effects on and targeted delivery to PCa cells due to a lack of appreciable expression of FOLR1 in PCa cells. Folate-miR-34a also did not display any apparent effect on PCa cells expressing prostate-specific membrane antigen (PMSA) despite the reported folates binding capability to PSMA. These results highlight challenges in specific delivery of folate-miR-34a to PCa due to lack of target (receptor) expression. Our study offers novel insights on the challenges and promises within the field and cast light on the development of ligand-conjugated miR-34a therapeutics for PCa.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Integrated single-cell analysis defines the epigenetic basis of castration-resistant prostate luminal cells

Understanding prostate response to castration and androgen receptor signaling inhibitors (ARSI) is critical to improving long-term prostate cancer (PCa) patient survival. Here we use a multi-omics approach on 229,794 single cells to create a mouse single-cell reference atlas better suited to interpreting mouse prostate biology and castration response. Our reference atlas refines single-cell annotations and provides chromatin context, which, when coupled with mouse lineage tracing demonstrates that the castration-resistant luminal cells are distinct from the pre-existent urethra- proximal stem/progenitor cells. Molecular pathway analysis and therapeutic studies further implicate JUN/FOS, WNT/{beta}-Catenin, FOXQ1, NF{kappa}B, and JAK/STAT pathways as the major drivers of castration- resistant luminal populations with high relevance to human PCa. Importantly, we demonstrate the utility of our datasets, which can be explored through an interactive portal (https://visportal.roswellpark.org/data/tang/), to aid in developing novel combination treatments with ARSI for advanced PCa patients. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=164 HEIGHT=200 SRC="FIGDIR/small/530998v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (62K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@8bd384org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1ebc004org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@8b4dbforg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@19d7052_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2020

A circulating T-cell differentiation marker to predict response to immune checkpoint inhibitors

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have revolutionized treatment for various cancers; however, durable response is limited to only a subset of patients. Discovery of blood-based biomarkers that reflect dynamic change of the tumor microenvironment, and predict response to ICI will markedly improve current treatment regimens. Here, we investigated a role of CX3C chemokine receptor 1 (CX3CR1), a marker of T-cell differentiation, in predicting response to ICI therapy. Successful treatment of tumor-bearing mice with ICI increased the frequency and T-cell receptor clonality of the peripheral CX3CR1+CD8+ T-cell subset that included an enriched repertoire of tumor-specific and tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells. Furthermore, an increase in the frequency of the CX3CR1+ subset in circulating CD8+ T cells early after initiation of anti-PD-1 therapy correlated with response and survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Taken together, these data support T-cell CX3CR1 expression as a blood-based dynamic biomarker to predict response to ICI therapy.

immunology↗