Biology subjects

Bioulac-Sage, P.

Publications and source records attributed to Bioulac-Sage, P..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Proteomic profiling of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma identifies predictive signatures of response to treatments

PurposeHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common form of liver cancer with a bad prognosis in case of advanced HCC, only eligible for palliative systemic therapies. After a decade of exclusive sorafenib monotherapy, with a response rate of <10%, the advent of immunotherapies represents a revolution in HCC. The combination of atezolizumab/bevacizumab is recommended as the first-line systemic treatment, with a response rate around 30%. However, there are currently no predictive factors for response to these treatment options. Experimental DesignWe profiled, by high-resolution mass spectrometry-based proteomics combined with machine learning analysis, a selected cohort of fixed biopsies of advanced HCC. We grouped subjects according to their objective response to treatments, corresponded to a tumor regression vs tumor progression at 4 months after treatment. ResultsWe generated a proteome database of 50 selected HCC samples. We compared the relative protein abundance between tumoral and non-tumoral liver tissues from advanced HCC patients treated. The clear distinction of these two groups for each treatment is based on deregulation for 141 protein or 87 for atezolizumab/bevacizumab and sorafenib treatment, respectively. These specific proteomic signatures were sufficient to predict the response to treatment, and revealed biological pathways involved in treatments resistance. Particularly, we validated a shift in tumor cell metabolism with an immunosuppressive environment involved in the resistance to atezolizumab/bevacizumab combination. ConclusionsWe performed an in-depth analysis of quantitative proteomic data from HCC biopsies to predict the treatment response to advanced HCC giving the ability to optimize patient management.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Repression of exosome secretion by mutated β-catenin contributes to immune escape in hepatocellular carcinoma

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have produced encouraging results in cancer patients. However, the majority of {beta}-catenin-mutated tumors have been described as lacking immune infiltrates and resistant to immunotherapy. The mechanisms by which oncogenic {beta}-catenin affects immune surveillance remain unclear. Herein, we highlighted the involvement of {beta}-catenin in the regulation of the exosomal pathway and, by extension, in immune/cancer cell communication in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We showed that mutated {beta}-catenin represses expression of SDC4 and RAB27A, two main actors in exosome biogenesis, in both liver cancer cell lines and HCC patient samples. Using nanoparticle tracking analysis and live-cell imaging, we further demonstrated that activated {beta}-catenin represses exosome release. Then, we demonstrated in 3D spheroid models that activation of {beta}-catenin promotes a decrease in immune cell infiltration through a defect in exosome secretion. Taken together, our results provide the first evidence that oncogenic {beta}-catenin plays a key role in exosome biogenesis. Our study gives new insight into the impact of {beta}-catenin mutations on tumor microenvironment remodeling, which could lead to the development of new strategies to enhance immunotherapeutic response.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2023

Loss of RND3/RHOE controls entosis through LAMP1 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma

Entosis is a process that leads to the formation of cell-in-cell structures commonly found in cancers. Here, we identified entosis in hepatocellular carcinoma and the loss of Rnd3 as an efficient inducer of this mechanism. We characterized the different stages and the molecular regulators of entosis induced after Rnd3 silencing. We demonstrated that this process depends on RhoA/ROCK pathway, but not on E-cadherin. The proteomic profiling of entotic cells allowed us to identify LAMP1 as a protein upregulated by Rnd3 silencing and implicated not only in the degradation final stage of entosis, but also in the full mechanism. Moreover, we found a positive correlation between the presence of entotic cells and the metastatic potential of tumors in human patient samples. Altogether, these data suggest the involvement of entosis in liver tumor progression and highlight a new perspective for entosis analysis in medicine research as a novel therapeutic target.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2021

The beta-catenin-target Fascin-1, altering hepatocyte differentiation, is a new marker of immature cells in hepatoblastomas

BACKGROUND & AIMS{beta}-catenin is a well-known effector of the Wnt pathway and a key player in cadherin-mediated cell adhesion. Oncogenic mutations of {beta}-catenin are highly frequent in pediatric liver primary tumors. Those mutations are mostly heterozygous allowing the co-expression of wild-type (WT) and mutated {beta}-catenins in tumor cells. We investigated the interplay between WT and mutated {beta}-catenins in liver tumor cells, and searched for new actors of the {beta}-catenin pathway. METHODSUsing an RNAi strategy in {beta}-catenin-mutated hepatoblastoma (HB) cells, we dissociated the structural and transcriptional activities of {beta}-catenin, carried mainly by, respectively, WT and mutated proteins. Their impact was characterized using transcriptomic and functional analyses. We studied mice that develop liver tumors upon activation of {beta}-catenin in hepatocytes (APCKO and {beta}-catenin{Delta}exon3 mice). We made use of transcriptomic data from mouse and human HB specimens and analyzed samples by immunohistochemistry. RESULTSWe highlighted an antagonist role of WT and mutated {beta}-catenins on hepatocyte differentiation as attested by alteration of hepatocyte markers expression and bile canaliculi formation. We characterized Fascin-1 as a target of {beta}-catenin involved in hepatocyte differentiation. Using mouse models that allow the formation of two phenotypically distinct tumors (differentiated or undifferentiated), we found that Fascin-1 expression is higher in undifferentiated tumors. Finally, we found that Fascin-1 is a specific marker of the embryonal component in human HBs. CONCLUSIONSIn mice and human, Fascin-1 expression is linked to loss of differentiation and polarity of hepatocytes. Thus, we highlighted Fascin-1 as a new player in the modulation of hepatocyte differentiation associated to {beta}-catenin pathway alteration in the liver. Data Transparency Statementstudy materials will be made available to other researchers upon request.

cancer biology↗