Publications

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) exhibits disparate responses to anti-angiogenic therapies between its two major histologic subtypes, lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC), suggesting a histotype-dependent angiogenesis regulation. Tumor-associated fibroblasts (TAFs) exhibit an activated/myofibroblast-like phenotype in NSCLC, and are emerging as major regulators of tumor progression; yet, their role in controlling angiogenesis in NSCLC remains undefined. Here we analyzed angiogenesis/hypoxia markers in NSCLC, and combined transcriptomics (bulk RNA-seq, scRNA-seq), angiogenesis arrays, genetic perturbations and functional in vitro and in vivo assays to dissect the histotype-dependent production of pro-angiogenic factors in TAFs. We observed greater angiogenesis and reduced necrosis/hypoxia in LUAD compared to LUSC across multiple patient cohorts. The LUAD-TAF secretome was primed for angiogenesis through SMAD3-dependent overproduction of key regulators, particularly TIMP-1 and VEGF-A. We also uncovered a novel function for TIMP-1 in promoting endothelial cell hyperbranching over basal VEGF signaling. Conversely, LUSC-TAFs displayed diminished angiogenic effects despite upregulating HIF-1 alpha and a hypoxia-associated transcriptional signature, owing to their lower SMAD3 and compensatory increase in SMAD2. Our study unveils the critical influence of TAFs in shaping the distinct angiogenic landscapes in LUAD and LUSC through the opposing SMAD2/3 regulation of TIMP-1, VEGF-A and hypoxia signaling. These results also highlight the therapeutic potential of targeting stromal SMAD3/TIMP-1 in LUAD or microenvironmental stressors such as hypoxia and acidosis in LUSC. In addition, these findings provide a biological framework for understanding the histotype-dependent patterns of dissemination, immune evasion, and response to anti-angiogenic therapies in NSCLC.

JTD Keywords: Activation, Adenocarcinoma, Cells, Expression, Fibroblasts, Growth, Metastasis, Nintedanib, Prognosis, Tissue inhibitor

Fibrillar collagens are the most abundant extracellular matrix components in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the potential of collagen fiber descriptors as a source of clinically relevant biomarkers in NSCLC is largely unknown. Similarly, our understanding of the aberrant collagen organization and associated tumor-promoting effects is very scarce. To address these limitations, we identified a digital pathology approach that can be easily implemented in pa-thology units based on CT-FIRE software (version 2; https://loci.wisc.edu/software/ctfire) analysis of Picrosirius red (PSR) stains of fibrillar collagens imaged with polarized light (PL). CT-FIRE set-tings were pre-optimized to assess a panel of collagen fiber descriptors in PSR-PL images of tissue microarrays from surgical NSCLC patients (106 adenocarcinomas [ADC] and 89 squamous cell carcinomas [SCC]). Using this approach, we identified straightness as the single high-accuracy diagnostic collagen fiber descriptor (average area under the curve 1/4 0.92) and fiber density as the single descriptor consistently associated with a poor prognosis in both ADC and SCC inde-pendently of the gold standard based on the TNM staging (hazard ratio, 2.69; 95% CI, 1.55-4.66; P < .001). Moreover, we found that collagen fibers were markedly straighter, longer, and more aligned in tumor samples compared to paired samples from uninvolved pulmonary tissue, particularly in ADC, which is indicative of increased tumor stiffening. Consistently, we observed an increase in a panel of stiffness-associated processes in the high collagen fiber density patient group selectively in ADC, including venous/lymphatic invasion, fibroblast activation (a-smooth muscle actin), and immune evasion (programmed death-ligand 1). Similarly, a transcriptional correlation analysis supported the potential involvement of the major YAP/TAZ pathway in ADC. Our results provide a proof-of-principle to use CT-FIRE analysis of PSR-PL images to assess new collagen fiber-based diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in pathology units, which may improve the clinical management of patients with surgical NSCLC. Our findings also unveil an aberrant stiff micro -environment in lung ADC that may foster immune evasion and dissemination, encouraging future work to identify therapeutic opportunities. (c) 2023 THE AUTHORS. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the United States & Canadian Academy of Pathology. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommo ns.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

JTD Keywords: biomarkers, collagen, ct-fire, lung cancer, mechanobiology, Adenocarcinoma, Association, Biomarkers, Collagen, Ct-fire, Differentiation, Expression, Extracellular-matrix, I collagen, Invasion, Lung cancer, Mechanobiology, Microenvironment, Signature, Survival, Tumor microenvironment

Most morphogenetic and pathological processes are driven by cells responding to the surrounding matrix, such as its composition, architecture, and mechanical properties. Despite increasing evidence for the role of extracellular matrix (ECM) in tissue and disease development, many in vitro substitutes still fail to effectively mimic the native microenvironment. We established a novel method to produce macroscale (>1 cm) mesenchymal cell-derived matrices (CDMs) aimed to mimic the fibrotic tumor microenvironment surrounding epithelial cancer cells. CDMs are produced by human adipose mesenchymal stem cells cultured in sacrificial 3D scaffold templates of fibronectin-coated poly-lactic acid microcarriers (MCs) in the presence of macromolecular crowders. We showed that decellularized CDMs closely mimic the fibrillar protein composition, architecture, and mechanical properties of human fibrotic ECM from cancer masses. CDMs had highly reproducible composition made of collagen types I and III and fibronectin ECM with tunable mechanical properties. Moreover, decellularized and MC-free CDMs were successfully repopulated with cancer cells throughout their 3D structure, and following chemotherapeutic treatment, cancer cells showed greater doxorubicin resistance compared to 3D culture in collagen hydrogels. Collectively, these results support the use of CDMs as a reproducible and tunable tool for developing 3D in vitro cancer models.

JTD Keywords: 3d cell-derived matrices, adipose mesenchymal stem cells, collagen matrix, colorectal adenocarcinoma, cytotoxicity assay, deposition, expansion, extracellular microenvironment, extracellular-matrix, fibronectin, growth, macromolecular crowders, microcarriers, scaffolds, tissue, 3d cell-derived matrices, Adipose mesenchymal stem cells, Antineoplastic agents, Cell culture techniques, three dimensional, Cell line, tumor, Cell survival, Cytotoxicity assay, Decellularized extracellular matrix, Doxorubicin, Drug resistance, neoplasm, Extracellular microenvironment, Humans, Macromolecular crowders, Mesenchymal stem cells, Mesenchymal stem-cells, Microcarriers, Models, biological, Proof of concept study, Tissue scaffolds, Tumor microenvironment