Pub Date : 2025-07-04DOI: 10.1038/s41422-025-01139-y
Liang Xiong, Ying Xu, Zhaoya Gao, Jingyi Shi, Yunfan Wang, Xiaodong Wang, Wensheng Huang, Ming Li, Longteng Wang, Jun Xu, Cheng Li, Jin Gu, Hongkui Deng, Molong Qu
Phenotypic plasticity is a hallmark feature driving cancer progression, metastasis, and therapy resistance. Fetal-like transcriptional programs have been increasingly implicated in promoting plastic cell states, yet their roles remain difficult to study due to limitations of existing culture models. Here, we establish a chemically defined patient-derived organoid system that enables long-term expansion of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells while preserving fetal-like features associated with phenotypic plasticity. Using this model, we identify an oncofetal state (OnFS) that is enriched in advanced tumors and linked to key features of plasticity, including epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity, as well as increased metastasis and treatment resistance. Mechanistically, we show that FGF2-AP-1 signaling maintains the OnFS program and associated phenotypic plasticity in CRC. This model offers a powerful platform for studying the fetal-like features underlying cancer cell plasticity and their role in tumor progression and treatment resistance in CRC.
{"title":"A patient-derived organoid model captures fetal-like plasticity in colorectal cancer","authors":"Liang Xiong, Ying Xu, Zhaoya Gao, Jingyi Shi, Yunfan Wang, Xiaodong Wang, Wensheng Huang, Ming Li, Longteng Wang, Jun Xu, Cheng Li, Jin Gu, Hongkui Deng, Molong Qu","doi":"10.1038/s41422-025-01139-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41422-025-01139-y","url":null,"abstract":"Phenotypic plasticity is a hallmark feature driving cancer progression, metastasis, and therapy resistance. Fetal-like transcriptional programs have been increasingly implicated in promoting plastic cell states, yet their roles remain difficult to study due to limitations of existing culture models. Here, we establish a chemically defined patient-derived organoid system that enables long-term expansion of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells while preserving fetal-like features associated with phenotypic plasticity. Using this model, we identify an oncofetal state (OnFS) that is enriched in advanced tumors and linked to key features of plasticity, including epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity, as well as increased metastasis and treatment resistance. Mechanistically, we show that FGF2-AP-1 signaling maintains the OnFS program and associated phenotypic plasticity in CRC. This model offers a powerful platform for studying the fetal-like features underlying cancer cell plasticity and their role in tumor progression and treatment resistance in CRC.","PeriodicalId":9926,"journal":{"name":"Cell Research","volume":"35 9","pages":"642-655"},"PeriodicalIF":25.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144564631","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-07-03DOI: 10.1038/s41422-025-01140-5
Yuxin Yi, Wenjie Xu, Pengcheng Mi, Siliang Ye, Li Chen, Neal M. Alto, Zixu Liu
Transcriptional control is crucial for the regulation of inflammation. While it is well-established that inducible transcriptional repressors are synthesized de novo through signal-dependent transcriptional upregulation, it remains unclear whether post-translational modification mechanisms, such as deubiquitination, also contribute to this process. We previously identified developmentally silenced sine oculis (SIX) transcription factors that are reactivated to control inflammatory gene transcription in differentiated immune cells under chronic microbial infections. However, the molecular mechanisms by which this transcriptional silencing process is regulated remain unclear. Here, we report that USP2, a deubiquitinase localized in the nucleus and induced by inflammatory signals, stabilizes SIX proteins through deubiquitination under inflammatory conditions. Consequently, the USP2-SIX complex acts in concert to control NF-κB-mediated inflammatory gene transcription by directly targeting gene promoters. Supporting this mechanism, Usp2−/− mice exhibit higher mortality during H1N1 infections, which phenocopies Six1−/− mice, attributed to elevated levels of life-threatening inflammatory mediators and exacerbated pathology. This study establishes a deubiquitinase-dependent transcriptional control of the inflammatory response to prevent immunopathology, offering new therapeutic avenues for combating infectious diseases.
{"title":"Deubiquitinase-dependent transcriptional silencing controls inflammation","authors":"Yuxin Yi, Wenjie Xu, Pengcheng Mi, Siliang Ye, Li Chen, Neal M. Alto, Zixu Liu","doi":"10.1038/s41422-025-01140-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41422-025-01140-5","url":null,"abstract":"Transcriptional control is crucial for the regulation of inflammation. While it is well-established that inducible transcriptional repressors are synthesized de novo through signal-dependent transcriptional upregulation, it remains unclear whether post-translational modification mechanisms, such as deubiquitination, also contribute to this process. We previously identified developmentally silenced sine oculis (SIX) transcription factors that are reactivated to control inflammatory gene transcription in differentiated immune cells under chronic microbial infections. However, the molecular mechanisms by which this transcriptional silencing process is regulated remain unclear. Here, we report that USP2, a deubiquitinase localized in the nucleus and induced by inflammatory signals, stabilizes SIX proteins through deubiquitination under inflammatory conditions. Consequently, the USP2-SIX complex acts in concert to control NF-κB-mediated inflammatory gene transcription by directly targeting gene promoters. Supporting this mechanism, Usp2−/− mice exhibit higher mortality during H1N1 infections, which phenocopies Six1−/− mice, attributed to elevated levels of life-threatening inflammatory mediators and exacerbated pathology. This study establishes a deubiquitinase-dependent transcriptional control of the inflammatory response to prevent immunopathology, offering new therapeutic avenues for combating infectious diseases.","PeriodicalId":9926,"journal":{"name":"Cell Research","volume":"35 9","pages":"675-686"},"PeriodicalIF":25.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144547107","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-06-05DOI: 10.1038/s41422-025-01135-2
Yun Zhu, Tingting Lin, Guoliang Yin, Linhua Tai, Lianwan Chen, Jing Ma, Guoning Huang, Yi Lu, Zhiyong Zhang, Binbin Wang, Suren Chen, Fei Sun
The central apparatus (CA) within the sperm axoneme is vital for sperm motility, yet its molecular architecture and functional mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Combining cryo-electron tomography and AlphaFold2, we resolved the in-cell structure of mouse sperm CA at a subnanometer resolution and built a near-complete atomic model. Our analysis identified 39 CA-associated proteins, including eight previously unreported components. By presenting the full-length structures of CFAP47 and HYDIN, we elucidate their molecular roles in tethering the C1 and C2 microtubules within the CA. Specifically, HYDIN forms a semicircular chain that encircles C1 and C2, with its N-terminal half driving the C1–C2 connection and its C-terminal half providing axial support in C2. CFAP47, the core structural component of the bridge, binds C1 through its N-terminal domains, interacts with HYDIN via its central CFAP47-ring, and anchors to C2 through its C-terminal region. The significantly reduced sperm motility and impaired CA structure observed in Cfap47-knockout mice confirmed the important role of CFAP47. Furthermore, genetic analysis of infertile Chinese men with asthenozoospermia identified previously unreported mutations in the CFAP47. The CA structural model elucidates the pathogenic mechanisms of these mutations, establishing a direct link between CFAP47 dysfunction and impaired sperm motility. Therefore, our study provides mechanistic insights into CA-related fertility disorders.
{"title":"In situ structure of the mouse sperm central apparatus reveals mechanistic insights into asthenozoospermia","authors":"Yun Zhu, Tingting Lin, Guoliang Yin, Linhua Tai, Lianwan Chen, Jing Ma, Guoning Huang, Yi Lu, Zhiyong Zhang, Binbin Wang, Suren Chen, Fei Sun","doi":"10.1038/s41422-025-01135-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41422-025-01135-2","url":null,"abstract":"The central apparatus (CA) within the sperm axoneme is vital for sperm motility, yet its molecular architecture and functional mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Combining cryo-electron tomography and AlphaFold2, we resolved the in-cell structure of mouse sperm CA at a subnanometer resolution and built a near-complete atomic model. Our analysis identified 39 CA-associated proteins, including eight previously unreported components. By presenting the full-length structures of CFAP47 and HYDIN, we elucidate their molecular roles in tethering the C1 and C2 microtubules within the CA. Specifically, HYDIN forms a semicircular chain that encircles C1 and C2, with its N-terminal half driving the C1–C2 connection and its C-terminal half providing axial support in C2. CFAP47, the core structural component of the bridge, binds C1 through its N-terminal domains, interacts with HYDIN via its central CFAP47-ring, and anchors to C2 through its C-terminal region. The significantly reduced sperm motility and impaired CA structure observed in Cfap47-knockout mice confirmed the important role of CFAP47. Furthermore, genetic analysis of infertile Chinese men with asthenozoospermia identified previously unreported mutations in the CFAP47. The CA structural model elucidates the pathogenic mechanisms of these mutations, establishing a direct link between CFAP47 dysfunction and impaired sperm motility. Therefore, our study provides mechanistic insights into CA-related fertility disorders.","PeriodicalId":9926,"journal":{"name":"Cell Research","volume":"35 8","pages":"551-567"},"PeriodicalIF":25.9,"publicationDate":"2025-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12297659/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144233356","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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