EMBO/soda-nel huggingface dataset:
USP17 is required for peripheral trafficking of lysosomes (2021)
Figure 5

Figure 5: USP17 is necessary for peripheral trafficking of early endosomes.

A HeLa cells were transfected with constructs for EEA1-GFP and RAB5-GFP in addition to non-targeting scrambled (NT) shRNA, USP17 shRNA1 or USP17 shRNA2. 72 hours post transfection the cells were stained with DAPI. The scale bar represents 25μm.

B The distribution of at least 400 EEA1 or RAB5 positive vesicles from a number of cells (n) from a series of confocal images across three separate experiments was plotted as vesicle relative position (mean value is red bar). Error bars represent standard error and **** indicates a p-values less than 0.0001. One way ANOVA used to determine if statistically significant differences between groups.

Expanded View Figure legends
LRH-1/NR5A2 interacts with the glucocorticoid receptor to regulate glucocorticoid resistance (2022)
Figure 3

Figure 3: GR, LRH-1 and GC resistance in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells.

(A) Cell count-based comparison of cellular proliferation of T-ALL cells after treatment with dexamethasone (Dexa). Individual and mean values of three biological replicates ± SD analyzed by two-way ANOVA are shown.

(B) Flow cytometric analysis of cell death by AnnexinV staining in T-ALL cell lines upon treatment with indicated Dexa concentrations. Cell death is represented by the number of AnnexinV positive (AnnexinV+), apoptotic cells as a percentage (%) of total cells. Mean values of n≥4 biological replicates ± SD are shown.

(C) Expression levels of human GRα and LRH-1 mRNA in human T-ALL cell lines were determined by probe-based real-time quantitative PCR, calculated as relative expression compared to beta-actin and used to determine the GR:LRH-1 ratio (right). Individual and mean values of four biological replicates ± SD are shown and statistically significant differences between CEM-C7 and GC-resistant cell lines were determined by one-way ANOVA.

(D) Immunoblots of GR, BimEL, BimL and BimS and Tubulin from T-ALL cells treated for 24 h with 20 µM 3d2 or 30 µM Dexa. Representative results from n=2 biological replicates are shown.

(E) Immunoblots of GR, PARP (nuclear loading control) and Tubulin (cytoplasmatic loading control) from cytoplasmic (CP) and nucleoplasmic (NP) lysates of T-ALL cells treated with Dexa. Note: Nuclear extracts were more highly concentrated (approx. 6-fold) than cytosolic fractions. Representative results from two biological replicates are shown.

(F)/(G) GR and LRH-1 activity in human T-ALL cells transfected with a control luciferase reporter plasmid (pGL3) and either (F) GR responsive (GRE) or (G) LRH-1 responsive (5xRE) luciferase reporter and treated with 3d2 and/or Dexa. β-galactosidase (bGal) was co-transfected as an internal transfection control. Luciferase reporter activity was normalized to bGal activity and calculated as relative to the DMSO-treated pGL3 control. Individual and mean values analyzed by two-way ANOVA of three biological replicates ± SD are shown for Jurkat and CEM-C7 whereas technical triplicates ± SD of a representative experiment (n=3 biological replicates) are shown for MOLT-4.

(H) Flow cytometry-based quantification of BiFC in Jurkat cells transiently co-transfected with YFP1-LRH-1 and GR-YFP2 and treated for indicated time periods with Dexa. YFP+ cells are shown as a percentage (%) of viable cells. Individual and mean values ± SD of three biological replicates analyzed by one-way ANOVA are shown.

Data information: For all displayed experiments dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO; represented by Ø or 0h) was used as a solvent control. ns = not significant, * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.
LRH-1/NR5A2 interacts with the glucocorticoid receptor to regulate glucocorticoid resistance (2022)
Figure 4

Figure 4: LRH-1 is a critical regulator of T-ALL proliferation and survival.

(A)/(B) Daily cell counting-based comparison of cellular proliferation of T-ALL cells after (A) treatment with 3d2 and (B) small hairpin RNA-mediated LRH-1 knockdown (shLRH-1). Individual and mean values of technical triplicates of one representative experiment (n=3 biological replicates) ± SD anlyzed by two-way ANOVA are shown.

(C) Cell cycle distribution of T-ALL cells treated for 24 h with indicated concentrations of 3d2 as measured by propidium iodide flow cytometry. Representative results from n=3 biological replicates are shown. Stacked bars represent the mean of technical triplicates ± SD.

(D) Simultaneous flow cytometric analysis of cell cycle distribution by EdU/DAPI staining and cell death by AnnexinV staining in MOLT-4 cells upon treatment with 3d2. Dead cells are represented by the number of AnnexinV positive (AnnexinV+), apoptotic cells as a percentage (%) of total cells and cell cycle phase distribution as % of viable, AnnexinV negative (AnnexinV-) cells. Representative results from three biological replicates are shown. Bars represent the mean of technical triplicates ± SD and differences in AnnexinV+ cells were analyzed by one-way ANOVA.

(E) Flow cytometric analysis of cell death by AnnexinV staining in T-ALL cell lines upon treatment with indicated 3d2 concentrations. Mean values of n=4 biological replicates ± SD are shown.

(F) Flow cytometric analysis of 3d2-induced cell death by AnnexinV staining in wild-type (WT), Bcl-2 overexpressing (Bcl-2) and Z-VAD-FMK (zVAD)-treated CEM-C1. Mean values of technical triplicates of one representative experiment (n=3 biological replicates) ± SD analyzed by two-way ANOVA are shown.

(G) Immunoblots of full-length and cleaved (cl.) PARP, P-p38, c-Myc, Caspase 3 (Casp. 3), cl. Casp. 3, BimEL, BimL and BimS and Tubulin from MOLT-4 cells treated with 40 µM 3d2 for indicated time periods. Representative results from two biological replicates are shown.

Data information: For all displayed experiments dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO; represented by Ø or 0h) was used as a solvent control. ns = not significant, * p < 0.05, *** p < 0.001.
LRH-1/NR5A2 interacts with the glucocorticoid receptor to regulate glucocorticoid resistance (2022)
Figure 6

Figure 6 Sensitization to GC-induced cell death by 3d2 is mediated by improved upregulation of Bim.

(A) Immunoblots of full-length and cleaved (cl.) PARP, BimEL, BimL and BimS and Tubulin from MOLT-4 cells treated for 24 h with 10 µM dexamethasone (Dexa) and 3d2. Representative results from three biological replicates are shown.

(B) Flow cytometric analysis of cell death by AnnexinV staining in MOLT-4 cells treated with 3d2, 30 µM Dexa and/or 50 µM pan caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK (zVAD). Individual and mean values of technical triplicates of one representative out of n=3 biological replicates ± SD are shown.

(C) Flow cytometric analysis of cell death by AnnexinV staining in control or Bim knockout (Bim KO) CEM-C7 cells treated with 3d2 and 30 µM Dexa. Mean values of technical triplicates of one representative of n=4 biological replicates ± SD are shown.

(D) Immunoblots of BimEL, BimL and BimS, Bcl-2 and Tubulin from MOLT-4 expressing a non- (shcontrol) or LRH-1- (shLRH-1) targeting small hairpin RNA construct.

(E) Flow cytometric analysis of cell death by AnnexinV staining in control or glucocorticoid receptor knockout (GR KO) MOLT-4 cells treated with 3d2 and 30 µM Dexa. Mean values of n=3 biological replicates ± SD are shown.

(F/G) mRNA expression levels of human GR (F) and Bim (G) in shcontrol and shLRH-1 CEM-C1 cells were determined by real-time quantitative PCR after treatment with 1 µM Dexa for indicated times. Fold induction relative to the untreated shcontrol sample (0h) was calculated after normalization to beta-actin. Individual values of technical triplicates of one representative of two biological replicates ± SD are shown.

(H) Immunoblots of full-length and cleaved (cl.) PARP, GR and phospho-AMPK (P-AMPK), c-Myc, full-length and cl. Caspase 3, BimEL, BimL and BimS and Tubulin from MOLT-4 cells treated with 40 µM 3d2 and/or 10 µM Dexa. Representative results from two biological replicates are shown.

Data information: For all displayed experiments dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO; represented by 0 or Ø) was used as a solvent control. Two-way ANOVA (B, C, E); ns = not significant, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001.
LRH-1/NR5A2 interacts with the glucocorticoid receptor to regulate glucocorticoid resistance (2022)
Figure 7

Figure 7 Synergistic cell death induction by 3d2 and dexamethasone in patient-derived human T-ALL.

(A) Ex vivo response of human T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) patient-derived xenografts (PDX), co-cultured on hTERT-immortalized primary bone marrow MSCs, to treatment with indicated concentrations of 3d2 and/or dexamethasone (Sample 1, 3 and 4: 1 nM; Sample 2: 0.1 nM). Cell viability was quantified by fluorescent live cell staining using CyQuant combined with automated image analysis (Frismantas et al., 2017) and calculated as percentage (%) of the dimethyl sulfoxide treated control.

(B) Synergy scores (Z-scores) between 3d2 and dexamethasone of human T-ALL patient-derived xenografts (PDX) were calculated from the viability curves of PDX samples treated with increasing concentrations of 3d2 and/or dexamethasone using SynergyFinder tool. Z-scores ≥ 0 indicate additivity or synergism and < 0 antagonism.

(C) Expression levels of human GRα, LRH-1 and Bim mRNA in human human PDX were determined by real-time quantitative PCR, calculated as relative expression compared to beta-actin and used to determine the GR:LRH-1 ratio (right).

(D) Pearson correlation coefficients (r) calculated between Z-scores shown in (B) and the GR:LRH-1 expression ratio as well as Bim mRNA levels from (C).

(E) In vivo leukemia progression of human T-ALL PDX transplanted into NSG mice treated for 3 weeks with vehicle (PBS control), 40 mg/kg 3d2 and or 10 mg/kg Dexamethasone starting 3 days post transplantation. Engraftment was calculated as % of human vs total (human+mouse) CD45 positive (CD45+) cells as assessed by flow cytometric analysis of peripheral blood.

Data information: All displayed experiments display one biological replicate.

Expanded View Figure Legends
Pharmacological eEF2K activation promotes cell death and inhibits cancer progression (2016)
Figure 1

Figure 1. Resistance to Nelfinavir triggers eEF2K down-regulation.

A Molecular structure of the HIV-PI Nelfinavir (NFR) and schematic representation of the protocol used to generate NFR resistant clones. HeLa cells were maintained with 10μM NFR. After 15 days, few clones proliferating in the constant presence of 10µM NFR in the culture medium were selected and expended for further analysis.

B Dose response curves for viability of parental cells (in red) or selected clones (in black) upon treatment with NFR for 48h. The green dashed box highlight concentration in the physiologically relevant range. Curves are mean ± s.e.m. of 3 independent experiments performed in triplicate. P values were calculated using 2way ANOVA analysis of variance between parental cells and each individual clone. Bar graph represents the EC50 (half maximal effective concentration) of the dose responses. Data are mean ± s.e.m. of 3 independent experiments performed in triplicate. P values were calculated using 1way ANOVA analysis of variance (P value in red) followed by Dunnett’s multiple comparison tests. *P value ≤ 0.05, ** P value ≤ 0.01.

C The parental population and the NFR resistant clones were analyzed for eEF2K mRNA expression by real-time PCR relative to β-actin (mean and s.e.m. from 3 independent batches of cells are shown). P values were calculated using 1way ANOVA analysis of variance followed by Dunnett’s multiple comparison tests. *P value ≤ 0.05, ** P value ≤ 0.01, *** P value ≤ 0.001.

D The parental population and representative NFR resistant clones were analyzed by WB for eFF2K total protein level. Tubulin is used as loading control. Histogram represents mean and s.e.m of relative eEF2K level quantified from WB of 4 different batches of cells collected at different dates (see also source data). P values were calculated using 1way ANOVA analysis of variance followed by Dunnett’s multiple comparison tests. *** P value ≤ 0.001.
Pharmacological eEF2K activation promotes cell death and inhibits cancer progression (2016)
Figure 2

Figure 2. HIV-PIs induces eEF2K dependent eEF2 phosphorylation.

A Immunoblot analysis of eEF2 Thr56 phosphorylation (P-eEF2) in HeLa cells treated for 6h with increasing doses of NFR, and compared with 10 μg/ml tunicamycin (TM), 200 nM rapamycin (Rapa.) or 1h starvation (Starv.). Tubulin is used as loading control.

B eEF2K WT and KO MEF treated for 6h with indicated concentration of NFR, 200 nM rapamycin (Rapa.), 1h starvation (Starv.) or 1 mM of the AMPK activator AICAR, were analyzed by immunoblot with antibodies directed against total or phosphorylated eEF2 (Thr56).

C Three representative NFR-resistant HeLa clones were analyzed by Immunoblot for eEF2K expression level and eEF2 phosphorylation upon NFR and compared to parental HeLa cells. For treatments, medium was replaced for 6h with medium containing DMSO (Mock), increasing doses of NFR or 10 μg/ml tunicamycin (TM), or for 1h with PBS for starvation (Starv.). Tubulin is used as loading control.

D Immunoblot analysis of eEF2 Thr56 phosphorylation in HeLa cells treated for 6h with increasing doses of different HIV-PIs as indicated or the NFR metabolite M8 (hydroxy-tert-butylamide). Molecular structures of the different HIV-PIs used are indicated. Each panel is representative of at least 3 independent experiments.
Pharmacological eEF2K activation promotes cell death and inhibits cancer progression (2016)
Figure 3

Figure 3. NFR-mediated eEF2 phosphorylation is AMPK and mTOR independent.

A Schematic representation of signaling pathways targeted by the inhibitors used in this study.

B eEF2K WT and KO MEF treated for 6h with indicated concentration of NFR, Rapamycin (Rapa), AICAR or starved for indicated time in PBS (Starv.), were analyzed by immunoblot using indicated antibodies. Tubulin is used as loading control.

C A potent mTOR inhibition does not impair NFR-mediated eEF2 phosphorylation. WT MEFs were treated with the indicated concentrations of Rapamycin or with vehicle (Mock). After 30 minutes, indicated doses of NFR were added and cells were incubated for additional 6h and analyzed for phosphorylated S6R and eEF2. Tubulin is used as loading control.

D NFR-mediated eEF2 phosphorylation is not affected in AMPKα1α2 dKO. AMPKα1α2 WT and dKO MEF treated for 6h with indicated concentration of NFR, Rapamycin (Rapa), AICAR or starved for 1h in PBS (Starv.), were analyzed by immuoblot with indicated antibodies. * anti-total AMPKα antibody give an unspecific band with a slightly higher molecular weight in dKO cells. Tubulin is used as loading control. Each panel is representative of at least 3 independent experiments.
Pharmacological eEF2K activation promotes cell death and inhibits cancer progression (2016)
Figure 4

Figure 4. NFR regulates translation rates by phosphorylating eEF2.

A-B EEF2K contributes to the decreased translation observed with NFR without impacting translation in presence of TM. A. Quantification of newly synthesized proteins at 0, 2, 4 and 6h after 20 μM NFR (left panels) or 10 μg/ml TM (right panels) treatment in MEF eEF2K +/+ and eEF2K-/-. Treated cells were labeled for 15 minutes with 35S-methionine and visualized by SDS PAGE and subsequent autoradiography. Autoradiographies from four different experiments (see also source data) were quantified and results show percentage of translation compared to untreated cells. The mean and s.e.m of four independent metabolic labeling experiments are shown. *P value ≤ 0.05, ** P value ≤ 0.01, *** P value ≤ 0.001 obtained using 2way ANOVA analysis of variance (in red) followed by Bonferroni posttest (in black). B. eEF2K+/+, eEF2K-/-, eIF2αWT and eIF2αS51A MEFs were treated for 6h with indicated doses of NFR, 200 nM rapamycin, or 10 μg/ml TM, or for 30 min with 10 μg/ml CHX. 35S-methionine incorporation was measured by liquid scintillation counting. Data are shown as the percentage of translation compared to untreated cells. *P value ≤ 0.05, ** P value ≤ 0.01, *** P value ≤ 0.001 obtained using 2way ANOVA analysis of variance followed by Bonferroni posttest.

C Representative polysome profiles of eEF2K WT and KO MEF treated 6h with NFR or TM. Area under curve for Sub-polysomes (S) and Polysomes (P) used to calculate the P/S ratio were indicated (see also raw data provided). Bar graph represents ratio normalized to untreated cells. OD254 nm is optical density at 254 nm. Data showed mean ±s.e.m. of P/S ratio calculated from 3 independent experiments. P values were calculated using 1way ANOVA analysis of variance followed by Bonferroni posttest; *P value ≤ 0.05, ** P value ≤ 0.01.

D The ribosome half-transit time in MEFs eEF2K+/+ and eEF2K-/- was determined as described in Materials and Methods. Incorporation of 35S-Methionine into total protein within the PMS and PRS was obtained by linear regression analysis. Presented graphs are representative of two (CHX 1 μg/ml for 30 min and Starvation 30 min in PBS in eEF2K+/+ cells) to four (NFR 20μM for 6h in eEF2K+/+ and eEF2K-/- cells) independent experiments. Indicated values represent the x displacement measurement (in time) between the PMS line at 300sec and the PRS line (see also raw data provided). Histogram represents mean and s.e.m. of the ribosome half transit time from four independent experiments. P values were calculated using two tails unpaired Student's T-tests; *P value ≤ 0.05.
Pharmacological eEF2K activation promotes cell death and inhibits cancer progression (2016)
Figure 5

Figure 5. NFR mediated eEF2K activation impairs cell proliferation and triggers cell death.

A MEF eEF2K WT, KO or KO reconstituted with human eFF2K (FlageEF2K) were analyzed for cell growth at indicated times. Fold change (means ± s.e.m of triplicate) of the cell number just before treatment are shown. Histogram shows percentage of growth inhibition after 72h of 10 μM NFR. P values are 1way ANOVA with Bonferroni posttest calculated from 3 independent experiments. *** P value ≤ 0.001.

B-F Dose response curves for cell viability after 48h NFR measured using MTS assay. Curves and bar graph for EC50 are mean ± s.e.m. of 3 independent experiments performed in triplicate. For curves, p values are 2way ANOVA analysis of variance. For bar graph, p values are two tails unpaired Student's T-tests (B, E), or 1way ANOVA with Bonferroni (C) or Dunnett’s multiple comparison posttests (D and F). *P value ≤ 0.05, ** P value ≤ 0.01, *** P value ≤ 0.001. (B,C) eEF2K -/- MEFs show a decrease susceptibly to NFR compared to eEF2K +/+ controls (B) whereas eEF2K reconstitution restores NFR sensitivity (C). (D-F), HeLa (D), A549 (E) and MCF7 (F) clones with CRISPR-Cas9 generated eEF2K deficiency (CrEEF2K) show a decrease susceptibly to NFR compare to control cells (CrLuci).

G NFR-mediated toxicity assessed using AnnexinV/PI staining and FACS analysis after 24h treatment. Histogram shows the percentage of dead cells (AV+/PI+). Data are mean ± s.e.m. of 3 independent experiments. P values are 2way ANOVA with Bonferroni posttest. *P value ≤ 0.05, ** P value ≤ 0.01, *** P value ≤ 0.001.
Pharmacological eEF2K activation promotes cell death and inhibits cancer progression (2016)
Figure 6

Figure 6. eEF2K is required for NFR-mediated antitumoral activity.

A Tumor volumes of eEF2K -/- and eEF2K +/+ RasV12 engraft implanted subcutaneously in AGR129 mice. Treatment with NFR or vehicle was initiated 6 days post-implantation. Data are mean of tumor volume ± s.e.m. (n = 8 per group). P values were calculated using 2way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni posttest comparing WT tumor with vehicle or NFR treatment and KO tumors with vehicle or NFR treatment; *P value ≤ 0.05, ** P value ≤ 0.01, *** P value ≤ 0.001. Experiment is representative of 2 performed in same conditions.

B Immunoblots for total and phosphorylated eEF2 of tumor engraftment from (A). (NS, Non-Specific signal.)

C Bar graph shows relative phosphorylation intensities of eEF2 compared with total eEF2 determined by densitometry analysis. Mean ± s.e.m. are shown (n=4). P values were calculated using 2way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni posttest ; **P value ≤ 0.01.
LETM1 couples mitochondrial DNA metabolism and nutrient preference (2018)
Figure 1

Figure 1: LETM1 is required for mitochondrial translation and respiration.

(A) Immunofluorescence analysis of HeLa cells transfected with either a non-target dsRNA (NT) or one of the three siRNAs targeting LETM1 (siR1, siR2 or siR3) and labeled with anti-TOM20 antibody. In siR1 treated cells, the mitochondria formed a 'honeycomb' of swollen distinct organelles; siR3 resulted in giant organelles with a central region distinguished by reduced TOM20; siR2, produced relatively little swelling and the mitochondrial network was generally well preserved. The pronounced swelling induced by siR1 significantly increased circularity (p = 2.32E-58) (ImageJ analysis), siR1 circularity = 0.683 ±0.012 compared with 0.414 ±0.008 for the NT; where 1 = a perfect circle. Over 150 mitochondria were quantified in each cell type; data are means ± SEM. Scale bar represents 12 µm in the main images and 4 µm in offset magnification.

(B) 35S labeling of de novo mitochondrial protein synthesis of HeLa cells transfected as in (A). Polypeptide assignments flank the gel images. Coomassie stained gels are used as loading controls and immunoblots indicate the efficiency of LETM1 knockdown.

(C) Quantification of the radiolabeled mitochondrial polypeptides in panel (B) and similar gels, expressed relative to protein synthesis of the NT. Data represent the mean ± standard error (SEM) of n=6 independent experiments; 1 or 2 rounds of transfection for siR1 and siR3, but exclusively 2 rounds in the case of siR2.

(D) Representative immunoblots for the OXPHOS proteins NDUFB8 and COII of HeLa cells transfected with NT or siLETM1 (siR1, siR2 or siR3). Vinculin and GAPDH are shown as loading controls. The mean relative abundances for respiratory subunits COII and NDUFB8 are shown beneath the blots. Data are expressed as mean ± SEM of n=8 independent experiments.

(E) Mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate (OCR) measured using a Seahorse flux analyzer before (basal) and after the addition (maximal) of the uncoupler FCCP, in HeLa cells treated with NT or siLETM1 (siR1 or siR2). Data are means ± SEM of n=5 experiments.

Data information: Unpaired t-test (panel A) and One-way ANOVA in panels B-E. P-values <0.05 were considered to be statistically significant and labeled as follows: *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001. NS, Not Statistically Significant.
LETM1 couples mitochondrial DNA metabolism and nutrient preference (2018)
Figure 3

Figure 3. LETM1 repression perturbs mtDNA and mtRNA organization.

(A) LETM1 expression was suppressed in HeLa cells by transfection with targeted siRNAs (siR1, siR2 or siR3). A non-target dsRNA (NT) served as control. Cells were fixed and immunolabeled with anti-DNA antibody (green). A higher magnification of selected mtDNA foci is shown beside each picture.

(B) Quantification of cells in (A) displaying mtDNA abnormalities. At least 50 cells per siRNA were counted from 4 (siR2) and 5 (siR1 or siR3) independent experiments. Data are expressed as means ± SEM. ***P<0.001 (One-way ANOVA).

(C) HeLa cells were labeled with bromouridine (BrU) for 60 mins, 144 h after transfection with NT or siR2 and stained with anti-BrdU (green) and anti-GRSF1 (red) antibodies. Cell nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue).

(D) HeLa cells were labeled with anti-DNA (green) and anti-GRSF1 (red) antibodies 144 h after transfection with NT or siR3. Cell nuclei were stained blue with DAPI.

Data information: Scale bars represent 12 µm in the main images and 4 µm in offset magnifications.