Interestingly, amyloid fibrils were found specifically enriched not only in metastatic melanoma cell lines but also in vivo in human melanoma biopsies. Mechanistically, we showed that amyloid fibrils, and in particular the PMEL M fragment, impact on Rifamdin YAP (Yes Associated Protein) transcriptional activity thus Rabbit Polyclonal to JAK2 sustaining melanoma proliferation. noticed a reduction in brain metastases formation in a melanoma mouse model. In the same study, they also use a dual BACE1/2 inhibitor to block the production of A in vivo, demonstrating the efficacy of this kind of treatment in reducing the number of brain metastases and tumor burden and suggesting BACE1/2 inhibition as new therapy against melanoma progression [69]. Recently, the BACE2 processing of amyloidogenic proteins, has also been suggested to affect tumor proliferation in a cell autonomous fashion [44]. In particular, a study from our laboratory identified proteins differentially secreted between primary and metastatic melanoma cells observing an enrichment of amyloidogenic proteins known to be BACE1/2 targets, such as APP, APLP2 and PMEL, in the metastatic secretome. Interestingly, amyloid fibrils were found specifically enriched not only in metastatic melanoma cell lines but also in vivo in human melanoma biopsies. Mechanistically, we showed that amyloid fibrils, and in particular the PMEL M fragment, impact on YAP (Yes Associated Protein) transcriptional activity thus sustaining melanoma proliferation. Moreover, we hypothesized that, amyloids, through their exceptional rigidity [70], might be able to modulate the ECM stiffness activating mechanotransduction (Fig.?5b). Further, we demonstrated that BACE2 activity is required not only to produce amyloid fibrils but it also affects melanoma cells sensitivity to chemotherapy [44]. Coherently, it has also been observed that APP knock down in melanoma cells Rifamdin [71] and in pancreatic cancer [72] enhanced the cytotoxicity of different chemotherapeutic agents, indicating that the presence of amyloid fibrils can indeed modulate response to drugs. Another study that describes the activity of BACE in TME, found that Verubecestat, a BACE1/2 inhibitor [73] promotes an increase in glioma phagocytosis mediated by macrophages, thus hampering tumor growth. In details, Zhai et al. found that BACE1 is overexpressed in glioma infiltrating tumor associated macrophages (TAM) compared to normal macrophages. They also demonstrated that BACE1 induces a pro-tumoral phenotype of TAM through the shedding of sIL6R (soluble IL-6 receptor) that forms a complex with IL-6, in the extracellular space, driving STAT3 activation, a crucial pathway for macrophages pro-tumoral activation. On the other hand, BACE1 inhibition promotes a switch from pro-tumoral macrophages (pTAM) to tumor suppressive macrophages (sTAM). In addition, they showed that low dose radiation is able to increase TAMs infiltration and that a concomitant Verubecestat administration converts pTAM in sTAM, reducing tumor growth and demonstrating that low dose radiation therapy synergizes with BACE inhibition [73]. The role of BACE2 in cancer through intracellular pathways Beside the role in processing and shedding proteins that modify the TME, -secretases activity has also been shown to have a pro-tumorigenic function by modulating intracellular pathways. For instance, the pro-tumoral effect of BACE2 has been observed in glioma [45, 46] and ocular melanoma [74]. In glioma, BACE2 has been shown to increase migration and invasion by inducing an epithelial to mesenchymal transition. Actually, it has been observed that BACE2 silencing results in a downregulation of epithelial markers and in an upregulation of mesenchymal markers. Moreover, BACE2 hyperactivates NF-B (nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells) pathway, through a series of Rifamdin phosphorylation cascade of different member of this pathway, such as p65, IKK (inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B kinase subunit beta) and IKB (nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor, alpha), increasing tumor growth [46]. Further, BACE2 silencing in glioma was shown to decrease tumor volume in mice and to increase the effect of radiation therapy [45]. Another remark of the connection between BACE2 activity and modulation of intracellular pathways to support cancer growth comes from a study on ocular melanoma. In this disease, BACE2 has been linked to an increased expression of TMEM38B (Trimeric intracellular cation channel 38b), a calcium channel, leading to Ca2+ intracellular accumulation and activation of the Rifamdin PI3K (Phosphoinositide 3-kinase) pathway that sustain tumor proliferation [74]. Taking together all these observations, it is becoming more and more evident that BACE2 plays a crucial role in promoting cancer growth and progression, either via modulation of the microenvironment or by a cell autonomous mechanism, reinforcing the idea of exploiting BACE1/2 as a new target for cancer therapy. Discussion BACE1 and BACE2 are two aspartic proteases involved in ectodomain shedding of different substrates. Despite their high grade of homology, they have distinct functions depending on the cellular context. BACE1 plays a role mostly in the central nervous system while BACE2 is mainly involved in -cells maintenance and melanocytes pigmentation [2]. These distinct roles reflect their tissue distribution, as BACE1 is highly expressed in different regions of the nervous system and BACE2 is broadly distributed in.In addition, they showed that low dose radiation is able to increase TAMs infiltration and that a concomitant Verubecestat administration converts pTAM in sTAM, reducing tumor growth and demonstrating that low dose radiation therapy synergizes with BACE inhibition [73]. The role of BACE2 in cancer through intracellular pathways Beside the role in processing and shedding proteins that modify the TME, -secretases activity has also been shown to have a pro-tumorigenic function by modulating intracellular pathways. For instance, Rifamdin the pro-tumoral effect of BACE2 has been observed in glioma [45, 46] and ocular melanoma [74]. amyloidogenic proteins, has also been suggested to affect tumor proliferation in a cell autonomous fashion [44]. In particular, a study from our laboratory identified proteins differentially secreted between primary and metastatic melanoma cells observing an enrichment of amyloidogenic proteins known to be BACE1/2 targets, such as APP, APLP2 and PMEL, in the metastatic secretome. Interestingly, amyloid fibrils were found specifically enriched not only in metastatic melanoma cell lines but also in vivo in human melanoma biopsies. Mechanistically, we showed that amyloid fibrils, and in particular the PMEL M fragment, impact on YAP (Yes Associated Protein) transcriptional activity thus sustaining melanoma proliferation. Moreover, we hypothesized that, amyloids, through their exceptional rigidity [70], might be able to modulate the ECM stiffness activating mechanotransduction (Fig.?5b). Further, we demonstrated that BACE2 activity is required not only to produce amyloid fibrils but it also affects melanoma cells sensitivity to chemotherapy [44]. Coherently, it has also been observed that APP knock down in melanoma cells [71] and in pancreatic cancer [72] enhanced the cytotoxicity of different chemotherapeutic agents, indicating that the presence of amyloid fibrils can indeed modulate response to drugs. Another study that describes the activity of BACE in TME, found that Verubecestat, a BACE1/2 inhibitor [73] promotes an increase in glioma phagocytosis mediated by macrophages, thus hampering tumor growth. In details, Zhai et al. found that BACE1 is overexpressed in glioma infiltrating tumor associated macrophages (TAM) compared to normal macrophages. They also demonstrated that BACE1 induces a pro-tumoral phenotype of TAM through the shedding of sIL6R (soluble IL-6 receptor) that forms a complex with IL-6, in the extracellular space, driving STAT3 activation, a crucial pathway for macrophages pro-tumoral activation. On the other hand, BACE1 inhibition promotes a switch from pro-tumoral macrophages (pTAM) to tumor suppressive macrophages (sTAM). In addition, they showed that low dose radiation is able to increase TAMs infiltration and that a concomitant Verubecestat administration converts pTAM in sTAM, reducing tumor growth and demonstrating that low dose radiation therapy synergizes with BACE inhibition [73]. The role of BACE2 in cancer through intracellular pathways Beside the role in processing and shedding proteins that modify the TME, -secretases activity has also been shown to have a pro-tumorigenic function by modulating intracellular pathways. For instance, the pro-tumoral effect of BACE2 has been observed in glioma [45, 46] and ocular melanoma [74]. In glioma, BACE2 has been shown to increase migration and invasion by inducing an epithelial to mesenchymal transition. Actually, it has been observed that BACE2 silencing results in a downregulation of epithelial markers and in an upregulation of mesenchymal markers. Moreover, BACE2 hyperactivates NF-B (nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells) pathway, through a series of phosphorylation cascade of different member of this pathway, such as p65, IKK (inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa-B kinase subunit beta) and IKB (nuclear factor of kappa light polypeptide gene enhancer in B-cells inhibitor, alpha), increasing tumor growth [46]. Further, BACE2 silencing in glioma was shown to decrease tumor volume in mice and to increase the effect of radiation therapy [45]. Another remark of the connection between BACE2 activity and modulation of intracellular pathways to support cancer growth originates from a report on ocular melanoma..