PDGF-D promotes cell growth, aggressiveness, angiogenesis and EMT transformation of colorectal cancer by activation of Notch1/Twist1 pathway

LINCRNA00273 promotes cancer metastasis and its G-Quadruplex promoter can serve as a novel target to inhibit cancer invasiveness

Discovery of anti-metastatic drugs is of immense clinical significance as metastasis is responsible for 90% of all cancer deaths. Here we report the inhibitory effect of a bis schiff base (M2) on cancer cell migration and invasion in vitro and in vivo. M2 has shown good solubility and permeability across the intestinal cell wall and hence can be classified as BCS (Biopharmaceutical classification system) class I. Microarray studies identified a long non coding intergenic RNA, LINC00273 as a novel molecular target of M2. We report that LINC00273 harbors a unique (4n-1) parallel G-Quadruplex structure in its promoter as validated by DMS footprint. M2 is proposed to stabilize this G-quadruplex structure resulting in the down-regulation of LINC00273 expression. Dual Luciferase reporter assay also suggests inhibition of LINC00273 promoter activity by M2. Involvement of this linc in metastasis is proven by siRNA and shRNA mediated knock down of LINC00273 in vitro and in vivo in nude mice which significantly decelerates cancer cell migration and invasion and also makes the cells unresponsive to TGF-β's pro-metastatic effects. Furthermore, the real time expression of LINC00273 in thirty seven human clinical samples is found to be positively correlated with the histopathological staging of metastasis.

Identification of zinc finger protein of the cerebellum 5 as a survival factor of prostate and colorectal cancer cells

Identification of specific drug targets is very important for cancer therapy. We recently identified zinc finger protein of the cerebellum 5 (ZIC5) as a factor that promotes melanoma aggressiveness by platelet-derived growth factor D (PDGFD) expression. However, its roles in other cancer types remain largely unknown. Here we determined the roles of ZIC5 in prostate cancer (PCa) and colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Results showed that ZIC5 was highly expressed in CRC and dedifferentiated PCa tissues, whereas little expression was observed in relevant normal tissues. Knockdown of ZIC5 decreased proliferation of several PCa and CRC cell lines with induction of cell death. ZIC5 knockdown significantly suppressed PDGFD expression transcriptionally, and PDGFD suppression also decreased proliferation of PCa and CRC cell lines. In addition, suppression of ZIC5 or PDGFD expression decreased levels of phosphorylated focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) which are associated with PCa and CRC aggressiveness. Furthermore, knockdown of ZIC5 or PDGFD enhanced death of PCa and CRC cells induced by the anti-cancer drugs docetaxel or oxaliplatin, respectively. These results suggest that ZIC5 and PDGFD promote survival of PCa and CRC cells by enhancing FAK and STAT3 activity, and that the roles of ZIC5 are consistent across several cancer types.

Far infrared promotes wound healing through activation of Notch1 signaling

The Notch signaling pathway is critically involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, development, and homeostasis. Far infrared (FIR) has an effect that promotes wound healing. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. In the present study, we employed in vivo and HaCaT (a human skin keratinocyte cell line) models to elucidate the role of Notch1 signaling in FIR-promoted wound healing. We found that FIR enhanced keratinocyte migration and proliferation. FIR induced the Notch1 signaling pathway in HaCaT cells and in a microarray dataset from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. We next determined the mRNA levels of NOTCH1 in paired normal and wound skin tissues derived from clinical patients using the microarray dataset and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software. The result indicated that the Notch1/Twist1 axis plays important roles in wound healing and tissue repair. In addition, inhibiting Notch1 signaling decreased the FIR-enhanced proliferation and migration. In a full-thickness wound model in rats, the wounds healed more rapidly and the scar size was smaller in the FIR group than in the light group. Moreover, FIR could increase Notch1 and Delta1 in skin tissues. The activation of Notch1 signaling may be considered as a possible mechanism for the promoting effect of FIR on wound healing. FIR stimulates keratinocyte migration and proliferation. Notch1 in keratinocytes has an essential role in FIR-induced migration and proliferation. NOTCH1 promotes TWIST1-mediated gene expression to assist wound healing. FIR might promote skin wound healing in a rat model.

KEY MESSAGES

FIR stimulates keratinocyte migration and proliferation. Notch1 in keratinocytes has an essential role in FIR-induced migration and proliferation. NOTCH1 promotes TWIST1-mediated gene expression to assist wound healing. FIR might promote skin wound healing in a rat model.

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, circulating tumor cells and cancer metastasis: Mechanisms and clinical applications

Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) endows epithelial cells with enhanced motility and invasiveness, allowing them to participate in many physiological and pathological processes. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition contributes to the generation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in epithelial cancers because it increases tumor cell invasiveness, promotes tumor cell intravasation and ensures tumor cell survival in the peripheral system. Although the contribution of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition to tumor cell invasiveness has been confirmed, the role epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition plays in metastasis remains debated. As a favorable material for a “liquid biopsy”, circulating tumor cells have been shown to have promising values in the clinical management of tumors. Furthermore, an increasing number of studies have begun to explore the value of CTC-related biomarkers, and some studies have found that the expression of EMT and stemness markers in circulating tumor cells, in addition to CTC detection, can provide more information on tumor diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and research.

Ezrin/NF-kB activation regulates epithelial- mesenchymal transition induced by EGF and promotes metastasis of colorectal cancer

There is growing evidence that epithelial mesenchymal-transition (EMT) plays significant roles in terms of tumor metastasis. There are a lot of cytokines inducing EMT of tumor cells, EGF is one of the important cytokines.Ezrin is a connexin between the cytoskeleton and the cell membrane, which is closely related to the morphological movement and metastasis of tumor cells.EGF can activate Ezrin and affects cell motility. In recent years, many studies have shown that NF-kB acts as an important transcription factor, involving in the process of EMT. However, does Ezrin participate in the regulation of EGF-induced EMT through the NF-kB pathway? This question needs us to discuss.In the present study, we found that EGF could induce colorectal cancer cells to develop EMT,enhance their ability to invade and migrate and promotes phosphorylation of Ezrin Tyr353.On the other hand, inhibition of Ezrin could reverse EGF-induced EMT and inhibit NF-kB P65 translocating into the nucleus. Finally, knockout of Ezrin inhibited EGF-induced lung metastasis of colorectal cancer xenografts and abnormal activation of Ezrin and NF-kB were related with colorectal cancer metastasis and poor prognosis. Our present results suggest that Ezrin/NF-kB pathway may provide experimental evidence for new targeted drugs for colorectal cancer metastasis.