Background
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), one of the most devastating and lethal forms of human cancer, has a median survival rate of only about 15 months [
1]. In recent years, so-called cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been isolated from human tumors [
2]. These cells normally constitute a minority population and are proposed to be the cells from which tumors are derived and maintained. The corollary of the existence of CSCs is that tumors are not homogeneous but rather, are comprised of a heterogeneous assortment of abnormally differentiated cells derived from an abnormal clonal stem cell pool [
3]. The glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) have been identified in GBM and are likely responsible for the failure of treatment and high recurrence rates [
4]. GSCs are capable of self-renewal and differentiation, and de novo tumor formation when implanted in xenograft models [
5,
6]. Furthermore, GSCs possess unique surface markers, such as CD133, SSEA-1, Nestin and OLIG2 [
5,
7‐
9], some of which modulate characteristic signaling pathways and play key roles in GBM vascular formation [
10,
11].
It has been well established that Wnt/β-catenin pathway contributes to cancer development since the discovery that Wnt1 was capable of promoting breast cancer 30 years ago [
12]. This recognition has been largely strengthened by the findings that intracellular components of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling cascade such as
APC,
Axin, and
β-
Catenin (CTNNB1), are mutated in a large variety of human cancers [
13]. Besides the numerous mutations found in the pathway components, the contribution of various family members of Wnt ligand has also been recognized in human cancers [
14]. Notably, therapeutic agents, which target the binding process of Wnt ligands, have been shown to suppress tumor growth in various xenograft models [
15‐
19]. For instance, OMP-18R5 (vantictumab), an antibody that blocks Wnt binding to 5 out of the 10 human Frizzled receptors, inhibits the growth of a wide range of human cancers [
17], indicating that extracellular Wnt signals play an essential role in cancer development. Compared to other cancers, the role of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in GBM is less clear. While aberrant activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling has been involved in the pathogenesis of GBM [
20,
21] and β-catenin is a predictive marker of short survival in GBM patients [
22], most GBM do not harbor driver mutations in the canonical Wnt signaling pathway. Thus, it is conceivable that other regulatory mechanisms that trigger the over-activation of β-catenin-mediated signaling are involved in the pathogenesis of GBM [
23,
24].
The R-spondin (Rspos) thrombospondin type 1 repeat (TSR1)-containing protein superfamily contains four secreted proteins Rspo1–4 [
25], which are emerged as important stroma-derived growth factors driving the renewal of epithelial stem cells in many adult vertebrate tissues [
26]. Lgr4–6 are selectively expressed in various tissue stem cells [
27] and are the primary high-affinity receptors for Rspos [
28]. Mechanistically, Rspos markedly amplify target cell sensitivity to Wnt ligands by neutralizing two transmembrane E3 ubiquitin ligases, Znrf3 and Rnf43, which reduce cell-surface levels of Wnt receptors from internalization and degradation [
29,
30]. Of note, Rspos have been emerging as important regulators of cancer development in recent years.
Rspo2 and
Rspo3 were firstly identified as sites of integration for MMTV-induced mammary tumors in mice, which suggest a role of
Rspos as breast cancer oncogenes [
31]. Subsequently, genomic rearrangements that result in elevated RSPO expression have been identified in human colon cancers and demonstrated to activate Wnt signaling and tumorigenesis [
32,
33]. More interestingly, it was shown recently that Rspos promoted CSC traits [
34], whereas therapeutic targeting on Rspos induced stem cell differentiation [
35,
36]. However, it should be noted that contradictory findings have also been reported by various studies. In colon cancer, R-spondin 1 and R-spondin 2 have been demonstrated to suppress CRC tumorigenesis and progression via Wnt-dependent or-independent mechanisms [
37,
38]. Taken together, while Rspos have been identified as Wnt enhancers and implicated in cancer development, the exact role of Rspos in cancer development is still controversial.
Given that aberrant activation of Wnt/β-catenin pathway has been implicated in GBM development, we hypothesized that Rspos might modify canonical Wnt signaling in GBM cells, and be indicative of cancer stemness trait regulation. We undertook the present study in two different human isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-wildtype subtype glioblastoma cell lines, U251 and U87, to determine the role of Rspo family members in GBM.
Materials and methods
GBM cell culture and reagents
Both of U87 and U251 cell lines are IDH-wildtype subtype of glioblastoma (GBM-IDH-wt) according to the recent change in classification of gliomas. U87 and U251 were purchased from ATCC (Manassas, VA, USA). The authentication of the U251 and U87 cell lines have been tested by short tandem repeat (str) profiling by Department of Pathology, the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2016 and 2017. Cells were cultured in DMEM medium (Gibco Invitrogen, Grand Island, New York, USA) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (Gibco) and 1% penicillin–streptomycin, at 37 °C and 5% CO2. Cells were maintained in T75 flasks or T25 flasks, and passaged every 2–3 days when reached 70–80% confluence. Recombinant Murine Wnt3A, human R-spondin 2 and R-spondin 3 were purchased from PeproTech (Rocky Hill, NJ).
GSC culture
The following GSC culture medium was applied to enrich GSCs: DMEM/F12 medium (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Grand Island, NY) supplemented with 1 × B-27™ Supplement, serum free (Gibco, 17504044), 20 ng/ml Animal-Free Recombinant Human EGF (PeproTech, AF-100-15), 20 ng/ml Recombinant Human FGF-basic (154 a.a.) (PeproTech, 100-18B), and 1× penicillin–streptomycin. Cells were seeded in Costar® 24 Well Clear Flat Bottom Ultra Low Attachment plates (Corning, NY) at 1000 cells/ml. Spheres were carefully aspired into 15 ml tube, and spin down at 1000 rpm for 3 min. Subsequently, 1 ml warm trypsin was used to digest spheres at room temperature for 3 min. The reaction was stopped by adding 10 ml GSC culture media, then single cells were spin down and re-plated.
Lentiviral transduction
7TGP vector was purchased from Addgene (#24305). This is a lentiviral GFP-coupled Wnt reporter construct constrains a GFP gene under the control of 7 TCF responsive element, which yields expression of GFP only in cells with activated Wnt/β-catenin signaling (Additional file
1: Fig S1C). In brief, 5 × 10
6 293T cells were seeded in 10-cm dishes 1 day before transfection. For each dish, 8 μg of 7TGP lentiviral vector were mixed with 3 μg of the VSV-G envelope plasmid (pMD2.VSVG) and 6 μg of the packaging plasmid (pCMVDR8.74). The solution was topped up to 250 μl with water and mixed with 250 μl 0.5 M CaCl
2. The precipitate was formed by adding 500 μl of 2 × HEPES-buffered saline (280 mM NaCl, 10 mM KCl, 1.5 mM Na
2HPO
4, 12 mM dextrose, 50 mM HEPES, pH7.2) drop-wise while vortexing and added directly to the cells. The medium was replaced after 16 h and conditioned twice for 24 h.
Analysis of Wnt/β-catenin activity and isolation of Wnthigh and Wntlow cell population
U251 cells were transduced with 7TGP and selected by 2 µg/ml puromycin for 1 week. The cells were then cultured in serum-free DMEM medium for 24 h. Then, the cells were treated with serum-free DMEM medium supplemented with different WNT ligands for another 24 h. Cells were washed by PBS and then trypsinized into single cells, analyzed by Flow Cytometer (BD LSRFortessa Cell Analyzer). To enrich Wnthigh or Wntlow cells in response to WNT3A, cells were treated in serum-free DMEM medium supplemented with 20 ng/ml WNT3A for 24 h. After 24 h, cells were washed by PBS and sorted by Flow Cytometer (BD FACSAria II Cell sorter) in FITC channel. Wnthigh cells were sorted from the highest 5% GFP+ cells and Wntlow cells were sorted from the lowest 5% GFP+ cells. After sorting, cells were changed back to normal GBM medium, and allowed to grow for another two passages. Afterward, the sorting was repeated for 4–5 times.
MTT assay
3000–6000 cells were seeded in 200 µl medium in a well of a 96-well plate. Cells were cultured to 60% confluence in normal medium, then medium was changed to serum-free DMEM medium 24 h before experiment began. After that, cells were cultured in serum-free DMEM medium containing different Wnt ligands (all at 20 ng/ml). MTT assay were performed according to the protocol recommended by the Vendor.
Holoclone assay
Cells were trypsinized into single cells and seeded at 100–500 cells per well in 6-well plate. Cells were cultured for 14 days, and medium was changed every 3 days. At the end of the experiment, cells were fixed by methanol at room temperature and stained with 0.5% Crystal Violet for 5 min at room temperature. Colonies were classified into holoclones, meraclones and paraclones according to their morphology.
Soft agar assay
The lower layer of agar was mixed by equal volume of 2× DMEM medium containing 1.2% agar solution. This mixture was added into each well of a 6-well plate immediately. The upper layer of agar was carefully mixed by adding equal volume of 2× DMEM medium and 0.6% agar solution, as well as 3000–8000 cells. 1.5 ml normal glioma medium was then added in each well, and medium was changed every 3 days for 10–14 days. At the end of experiment, cells were fixed by methanol at room temperature and stained with 0.5% Crystal Violet for 5 min. The plate was scanned, from which colony numbers were counted.
2000–3000 single cells were cultured in GSC medium in one well of an ultra-low attachment 6-well plate. Medium was changed every 3 days by centrifuging spheres at 1000 rpm for 2 min. Spheres were counted after 10–14 day culture. To determine the self-renewal ability, spheres were trypsinized and replated at the concentration of 1000 cells/ml for another 10 days. After that, spheres were fixed by 70% ethanol, both sphere numbers and diameters were calculated.
Transwell cell migration assay
Cells were allowed to grow to 70–80% confluence, then treated with serum-free DMEM medium for 24 h. Then, cells were trypsinized into single cells and counted. 2 × 104 cells were seeded in the upper chamber whereas 0.5 ml DMEM medium with 10% FBS, or Wnt ligands was added in the lower chamber. Cells were allowed to migrate into the lower well for 24 h. After 24 h, upper wells were fixed in methanol for 5–10 min at room temperature, and then stained with 0.5% Crystal Violet for 5 min. In each group, triplicates were used.
RA induced neural differentiation
3000 GSCs were allowed to form neurospheres for 10 days (GSC medium was changed every 3 days), then the spheres were seeded in DMEM serum-free medium containing 10 µm RA in the presence or absence of Wnt ligands for 24–48 h. In addition, one group without RA was used as control representing undifferentiated state.
FACS analysis of CD133 expression
In brief, cells were digested with either trypsin (for adhesive cells) or Cell Dissociation Buffer (enzyme-free, Thermo Fisher, for suspended cells). Then, 1:20 CD133-APC conjugated antibody was dissolved in binding buffer. Up to 1 × 106 cells were suspended with antibody in 200 µl binding buffer at 4 °C for 15 min in dark. After antibody incubation, cells were washed twice by PBS at 1000 rpm for 3 min. Then the cells were analyzed by Flow Cytometer in APC channel. Mouse IgG-APC was used as negative control.
Quantitative real-time PCR
TRIzol Reagent (Thermo Fisher Scientific) was used to extract total RNA. High-Capacity cDNA Reverse Transcription Kit (Invitrogen) was used to synthesize cDNA from 2 μg RNAs per reaction (20 μl), according to manufacturer’s instruction. For real-time assay, miScript SYBR Green PCR Kit (Qiagen, Germantown, MD) was strictly applied according to manufacturer’s instruction. ABI QuantStudio 7 (QS7) Flex Real Time PCR System (384-well) was used for amplification. Real-time data was analyzed by ABI QuantStudio 7 (QS7) Flex Real Time PCR System Station. Primer used were summarized in Additional file
2: Table S1.
Western blot
Protein samples were extracted by RIPA buffer, and 60 μg was separated on a 10% SDS–PAGE gel which subsequently transferred onto a PVDF membrane (Sigma-Aldrich). After blocking with 4% milk at room temperature for 1 h, the membrane was incubated with primary antibody overnight at 4 °C on a horizontal rotor. Membrane was washed three times with TBST and incubated with secondary antibodies at room temperature for 1 h. Later, the blot was subjected to chemiluminescent detection with ECL Detection Reagent (Amersham GE Care), and was scanned for analysis. Antibodies used were summarized in Additional file
3: Table S2.
Immunohistochemistry staining
Tumor tissues were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde PBS solution at 4 °C for 24 h and then embedded in paraffin. Tissues were cut into 6 μm sections and de-paraffined three times in xylene and rehydrated in gradient alcohols. Endogenous peroxidase activity was quenched with 3% H2O2 in PBS for 30 min at room temperature, and sections were washed in PBS 5 min for three times. The sections were heated by microwave at 98 °C for 20 min in 10 mM citrate buffer (pH 6.0) for antigen retrieval (PT Module, Thermo). Sections were blocked with 5% horse serum for 30 min at room temperature and incubated with primary antibodies at 4 °C overnight. Later, radish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibodies (rabbit or mouse, Santa Cruz) were incubated at room temperature for 1 h. Sections were developed with diaminobenzidine and counterstained with hematoxylin using standard protocol.
Nude mice were provided by the Laboratory Animal Service Center of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. They were maintained in an air-conditioned room with controlled temperature of 24 ± 2 °C and humidity of 55 ± 15%, in a 12 h light/darkness cycle regulation and were fed laboratory chow and water ad libitum. All animal experiments were conducted in accordance with the University Laboratory Animals Service Center’s guidelines on animal experimentation with approval from the Animal Ethnics Committee of the University. Female nude mice between 4 and 6 week-old were used in the experiments. 100 µl PBS containing different cell numbers (from 1 × 104 to 1 × 106) was injected at the flanks of the mice. After inoculation, the condition of nude mice was checked on a daily basis, and tumor volume was recorded using formula V = (a × b2)/2, where a represents the longest side of tumor and b represents the width of tumor. Mice with tumor volume larger than 1.5 cm3 or sign of suffer were sacrificed immediately. At the end of the experiment, mice were sacrificed by CO2, and tumors were carefully dissected. Tumor samples were collected for RNA extraction, protein extraction or frozen section.
Statistical analysis
For in vivo tumor growth curve, one-way ANOVA was used to compare changes in different groups along time. Two-tailed Student’s t test was used to compare differences between experimental groups. In each group, data were triplicated or indicated elsewhere, and each bar represents mean ± SD. Stars on each bar represents statistical significance compared to control group, and additional comparisons were indicated with line segments (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001, ns for no significant difference).
Discussion
Taken together, our study has unveiled a previously undefined role of Rspos in potentiating canonical Wnt signaling in GBM, which promotes cancer stemness trait.
In the current study, we have found that Rspo2 maintains GSC traits via potentiating Wnt. Wnt3A/Rspo2 promotes the self-renewal capacity of GSCs and prevents them from RA-or growth factor deprivation-induced differentiation (Fig.
4b–d, Additional file
1: Fig S4). These results clearly indicate that the stem-like characteristics of GSCs can be effectively maintained by the synergistic effect of Rspo2 and Wnt3A, while Rspo2 or Wnt3A alone is not sufficient. Our finding is consistent with the previous study showing that the Wnt–Lgr5–Rspo axis is crucial for maintaining colonic and pancreatic CSCs for long-term in vitro expansion and self-renewal [
32,
34]. On the other hand, one recent study using lineage tracing clearly revealed that Wnt ligands had qualitatively distinct, non-interchangeable roles in intestinal stem cells (ISC) [
42]. i.e. Wnt proteins themselves were unable to induce ISC self-renewal, but instead conferred a basal competency by enabling Rspo ligands to actively drive and specify the extent of stem-cell expansion. This functionally non-equivalent yet cooperative interaction mode between Wnt and Rspo may explain the synergistic effect of Wnt3A and Rspo2 on GSCs. Indeed, fine-tuning of Wnt/β-catenin activity by Wnt ligands is essential to optimally maintain neoplastic cells and the level of Wnt activation required for this effect is likely to be tissue and cell type specific [
43]. It should be noted that GSCs are endowed with intrinsic high activity of Wnt-Lgr-Rspo signaling. In particular, the upregulation of Rspo/Lgr axis is prominent, i.e. Rspo2 and Lgr5 are upregulated more than 200- and 500fold respectively in U251 GSCs compared to parental cells (Fig.
3a–c). It is plausible that Rspo2 amplifies Wnt/β-catenin signaling and ensures a high and stable Wnt environment surrounding GSCs. Indeed, previous study has revealed that Rspo/Lgr signaling in ISCs is essential for establishing a Wnt gradient in the ISC niche [
44].
Heterogeneous responsiveness to Wnt/β-catenin signaling has been observed in various cancers, such as colon cancer and breast cancer [
45,
46]. Reciprocally, tumor cells with high β-catenin activity within a tumor mass appear to undergo EMT and acquire cancer stem cell property [
47]. On the other hand, CSC properties can be altered by environmental cues, such as hypoxia and growth factor exposure. Interestingly, in the current study, we have shown that GBM cells exhibit distinctive Wnt ligand responsiveness. Wnt
high responders are more susceptible to extrinsic Wnt stimulation with both Wnt protein and Wnt enhancer. Treatment with Rspo2 alone or in combination with Wnt3A has mild effects on β-catenin targets in low-responder cells, whereas high-responders react boldly to Wnt3A, Rspo2, and to their combination (Additional file
1: Fig S6A). In addition, we have clearly demonstrated that Wnt
high responders exhibit a more aggressive malignant phenotype with stem cell traits than Wnt
low responders. First, the Wnt
high population expresses higher stemness genes and EMT markers compared to Wnt
low population. Second, Wnt
high cells show growth advantage in sphere formation assay and soft agar assay, indicating their enhanced stemness. Third, Wnt
high cells exhibit stronger migratory ability, suggesting a more aggressive phenotype. Finally, Wnt
high cells show enhanced tumorigenicity and grow faster than Wnt
low cells in vivo. In addition, Wnt
high xenografts are more malignant than Wnt
low xenografts. Altogether, these results clearly indicate that not only the baseline level of Wnt/β-catenin, but also the functional response and adaptability to contextual Wnt signals is of great importance for GBM stemness. In fact, the interaction between tumor cells and the surrounding microenvironment can locally affect the intracellular levels of canonical Wnt signaling, which triggers stemness, cell proliferation, EMT and invasive behavior. For instance, Rspo1, which is hormonally regulated in luminal epithelial cells by estrogen and progesterone, acts in concert with Wnt4 to expand mammary stem cells [
48]. In addition, Rspo2 was reported to enhance Wnt signaling and stemness in Wnt responsive pancreatic cancer cells [
34]. These findings indicate that both intrinsic and extrinsic factors are likely to play critical roles in cancer stemness, local invasion and metastasis by differentially modulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling. In our study, RSPO2 protein is found to be overexpressed in Wnt
high GBM xenografts (Fig.
6a–c), which confirms that Rspo2 plays a major role in regulating Wnt signaling in susceptible GBM cells. Nevertheless, it should be noted that RSPO2 and LGR4 are not globally expressed in all tumor cells in the Wnt
high GBM xenografts (Fig.
6d), suggesting heterogeneous property of GBM cells and their distinctive of β-catenin activity. Future investigation focusing on the link between the heterogeneous expression of RSPO/LGR and cancer stemness in primary GBM tissues is necessary.
During development,
Rspo2 is prominently expressed in the apical ectodermal ridge (AER) of the limb bud, and more expression has been detected in the developing lungs, brain, pharynx, teeth, long bones, craniofacial bones, and vertebrae [
49]. The major phenotypes associated with the global loss of
Rspo 2 during development are limb and craniofacial malformations and hypomorphic lungs, which result in perinatal death [
50,
51]. Rspo3 is highly expressed in the primitive streak during very early development and is also expressed in the developing neural tube, brain, limb bud, heart, kidney, and small intestine. However, embryonic death around E10 limits the investigation of further effects of
Rspo3 deficiency [
52]. In our study, we observed that the mRNA expression levels of
RSPO2 and its receptors are relatively high in brain samples compared to that in GBM cell lines (Fig.
1a). The protein Atlas data in human cerebral cortex illustrates that RSPO2 is mostly expressed at the neurophil area that forms a synaptically dense region containing mostly unmyelinated axons, dendrites and glial cell processes with a relatively low number of cell bodies in the brain (
https://www.proteinatlas.org). Noticeably, RSPO2 is almost undetectable in glial cells, which are the cell of origin of glioma. Thus, compared to the normal glial cells, RSPO2 is highly expressed in GBM cell lines. Given the well-established role of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in neural stem cell function and brain development, the regulatory effects of Rspos in neural stem cells warrant further investigation.
Authors’ contributions
SL: Experimental design and preformation, collection and/or assembly of data, data analysis and interpretation, manuscript writing. KPU, JZ, LLT, JH: Experimental preformation, collection and/or assembly of data, data analysis and interpretation. SPT: Discussion and interpretation of the data. XJ: Conception and experimental design, financial support, provision of study material, data analysis and interpretation, manuscript writing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.