Nestin positively regulates the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and the proliferation, survival and invasiveness of breast cancer stem cells

Up-regulated expression of scavenger receptor class B type 1 (SR-B1) is associated with malignant behaviors and poor prognosis of breast cancer

Scavenger receptor class B type 1 (SR-B1) is an integral membrane protein that is expressed in numerous cells and tissue types. The primary role of SR-B1 is to facilitate uptake of cholesteryl esters from high-density lipoproteins (HDL) in the liver. Altered SR-B1 expression contributes to human diseases. This study assessed association of SR-B1 expression in breast tissue specimens with breast cancer development and prognosis. Tissue specimens from 30 cases of adjacent normal breast tissues, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and invasive ductal breast cancer (IDCA) were subjected to Western blot analysis, and 135 cases of DCIS and IDCA were used for quantitative immunohistochemical analysis of SR-B1 expression. The data showed that SR-B1 was significantly overexpressed in IDCA tissues compared to normal breast and DCIS tissues. SR-B1 expression was associated with pre-menopausal status, tumor size, and worse overall survival of patients. The data from this ex vivo study suggests that up-regulated SR-B1 protein expression is associated with malignant behaviors of breast cancer and that SR-B1 is an independent predictor for poor survival in breast cancer patients.

Expression and clinicopathological significance of FSIP1 in breast cancer

Aim

To investigate the clinicopathological significance of the expression of fibrous sheath interacting protein 1 (FSIP1) in breast cancer, serum samples, and wound fluid from patients with breast cancer.

Methods

Wound fluid and serum samples from female patients with primary breast cancer, recurrent and metastatic breast cancer, and benign tumors were analyzed for FSIP1 expression using ELISA. 286 paraffin-embedded surgical specimens from breast cancer patients with at least 5 years of follow-up were included for FSIP1 expression assay using immunohistochemistry.

Results

Expression of FSIP1 protein was significantly higher in breast cancer tissues compared to tumor-adjacent tissues (p = 0.001). Strong correlation was observed between FSIP1 expression and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her-2) or Ki67 expression in breast cancer (p = 0.027 and 0.002, respectively). Similarly, serum level of FSIP1 was higher in patients with recurrent and metastatic breast cancer compared to that of primary breast cancer (7, 713 ± 3, 065 vs. 4, 713 ± 3, 065 pg/ml, p = 0.003). Finally, patients with high FSIP1 expression showed a worse post-operative disease-specific survival (p = 0.024).

Conclusion

FSIP1 may play an important role in the tumorigenesis and invasion of breast cancer and is a potential biomarker for breast cancer diagnosis or prognosis.

Tumor-associated macrophage or chemokine ligand CCL17 positively regulates the tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma

Alternatively activated macrophages (M2) can secrete chemokines, such as chemokine ligand 17 (CCL17), and are associated with promoting tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed at investigating the potential role of M2 and CCL17 in progression of HCC. The levels of CCL17 expression in 90 HCC samples were characterized by tissue microarray and stratified for the postsurgical survival. MHCC97L cells were co-cultured with classically activated M1, M2 or CCL17-silencing M2(ccl17mute) or treated with conditional medium (CM) from these cells or CCL17 in vitro. The wound healing, invasion, viability and apoptosis of MHCC97L cells in vitro and tumor growth in vivo were determined. The stemness of MHCC97L cells was examined by sphere formation, flow cytometry and Western blot. The relative expression levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) factors and the Wnt/β-catenin signaling were determined. Higher levels of intratumoral CCL17 expression were significantly associated with clinical pathological characteristics of HCC and with poorer overall survival rates in HCC patients (P < 0.05). High levels of CCR4 were detected in MHCC97L cells. Treatment with the CM from M2 or with CCL17 significantly enhanced the wound healing process, invasion and proliferation of MHCC97L cells in vitro. Co-implantation MHCC97L cells with M2 significantly promoted the growth of MHCC97L tumors in vivo. Co-culture with M2 or treatment with CCL17 enhanced the stemness, EMT process, the TGF-β1 and Wnt/β-catenin signaling in MHCC97L cells. CCL17 promotes the tumorigenesis of HCC and may be a potential biomarker and target for HCC prognosis and therapy.

The number of polyploid giant cancer cells and epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related proteins are associated with invasion and metastasis in human breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Previously, we reported that polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCCs) induced by cobalt chloride (CoCl2) could have generated daughter cells with strong invasiveness and migration capabilities via asymmetric divisions. This study compared the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins, including E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin, between PGCCs and their daughter cells, and control breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231. The clinicopathological significance of EMT-related protein expression in human breast cancer was analyzed.

METHODS

Western blot was used to compare the expression levels of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin in breast cancer lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, between PGCCs with budding daughter cells and control breast cancer cells. Furthermore, 167 paraffin-embedded breast tumor tissue samples were analyzed, including samples obtained from 52 patients with primary breast cancer with lymph node metastasis (group I) and their corresponding lymph node metastatic tumors (group II), 52 patients with primary breast cancer without metastasis (group III), and 11 patients with benign breast lesions (group IV). The number of PGCCs was compared among these four groups.

RESULTS

The number of PGCCs increased with the malignant grade of breast tumor. Group IIhad the highest number of PGCCs and the differences among group I, II, III and IV had statistically significance (P =0.000). In addition, the expression of E-cadherin (P = 0.000), N-cadherin (P = 0.000), and vimentin (P = 0.000) was significantly different among the four groups. Group II exhibited the highest expression levels of N-cadherin and vimentin and the lowest expression levels of E-cadherin.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that the number of PGCCs and the EMT-related proteins E-cadherin, N-cadherin, and vimentin may be valuable biomarkers to assess metastasis in patients with breast cancer.

Embryonal Tumor With Abundant Neuropil and True Rosettes: A Distinct Immunohistochemical Pattern

Embryonal tumors with abundant neuropil and true rosettes (ETANTR) are rare pediatric embryonal neoplasms that combine features of neuroblastoma and ependymoblastoma. We report a distinct immunohistochemical-staining pattern of ETANTR in a 12-month-old baby who presented with a supratentorial mass. The tumor exhibited a characteristic biphasic pattern of neuropil-rich areas and patchy cellular neuropil-poor areas. The neoplastic cells in neuropil-rich areas are diffusely immunoreactive to chromogranin A, synaptophysin, neurofilament, and CD56, but show no immunoreactivity to nestin, SOX2, WT-1, β-catenin, and vimentin. While the cells in neuropil-poor areas, including ependymoblastic and Flexner-Wintersteiner rosettes, are diffusely immunoreactive to nestin, SOX2, WT-1, β-catenin, and vimentin but show no immunoreactivity to chromogranin A, synaptophysin, neurofilament, and CD56. Ependymoblastic rosettes show luminal membranous immunoreactivity to EMA. We believe that ETANTR has a distinct histologic and immunohistochemical pattern supporting the embryonal origin of this tumor with divergent neuroblastic and primitive glial differentiation.

Incidence and relapse risk of intracranial metastases within the perihippocampal region in 314 patients with breast cancer

PURPOSE

The safe prerequisite of hippocampal-sparing whole brain radiotherapy (HS-WBRT) for patients with breast cancer is unclear. This study investigated the risk and relapse of perihippocampal (PH) metastases in breast cancer.

METHODS

Consecutive breast cancer patients with brain metastasis (BM) were reviewed. Metastases and hippocampi were contoured in cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The closest distance from metastasis to hippocampus was calculated. Clinical and radiographic variables were correlated with PH (in or within 5mm around the hippocampus) metastasis. The risk of post-treatment PH recurrence was estimated.

RESULTS

Three hundred and fourteen patients with 1678 metastases exhibited a median breast cancer-specific overall survival (OS) and OS after BM (BMOS) of 75.4 and 14.3 months, respectively. Hippocampal metastases were identified in 1.2% of metastases and 4.1% of patients. PH lesions comprised 3.5% of lesions in 11.1% of patients. The number and aggregated volume of BM were associated with PH disease probability (univariate). Only the number of BM significantly correlated with PH disease in the multivariate analysis. The patients with PH lesions exhibited more non-oligometastatic disease, increased tumor volume, and poor BMOS. One hundred and eleven patients without original PH lesions developed intracranial progression post-treatment. The risks of PH metastasis recurrence were 4.6% for WBRT and 6.8% for sub-therapeutic irradiation in the PH region. The increase in the absolute risk of PH recurrence with hippocampal-sparing irradiation was approximately 2%.

CONCLUSIONS

These novel findings indicate that BM from breast cancer exhibits low risks of metastases and relapse within the hippocampal avoidance region. Non-oligometastatic disease is associated with PH metastasis. Thus, HS-WBRT is considered safe and suitable for breast cancer.

Phage display screening identifies a novel peptide to suppress ovarian cancer cells in vitro and in vivo in mouse models

Background

Ovarian cancer is a possibly lethal gynecological malignancy and this study utilized phage display technology to screen and identify peptides that specifically bind to ovarian cancer cells and explored the effects of these peptides on ovarian cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

Methods

The phage displayed peptide library was used to isolate the peptides binding to and internalizing into the ovarian carcinoma cells. Positive phage clones were characterized with DNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis and then validated with immunofluorescence. Subsequently, the selected peptides were investigated for their cancer-related functions, including cell adhesion, spreading, motility, and invasion in vitro and in vivo.

Results

Peptide1 read as SWQIGGNwas the positive peptide and showed preferential binding to the target cells. Peptide 1 also inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion and adhesion of ovarian cancer HO8910 cells in vitro. In vivo, Peptide 1 led to a lower tumorigenicity of HO8910 cells, which was characterized by the inhibitory effect on tumor growth and metastasis of ovarian cells.

Conclusion

These studies demonstrate that the phage display-identified tumor cell-binding peptide was able to control ovarian cancer cell viability, migration, invasion, and adhesion capacity in vitro as well as tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Future studies will be aimed at evaluating the clinical efficacy of the peptide SWQIGGN in ovarian cancer patients.

Studying Nestin and its Interrelationship with Cdk5

Current research utilizes the specific expression pattern of intermediate filaments (IF) for identifying cellular state and origin, as well as for the purpose of disease diagnosis. Nestin is commonly utilized as a specific marker and driver for CNS progenitor cell types, but in addition, nestin can be found in several mesenchymal progenitor cells, and it is constitutively expressed in a few restricted locations, such as muscle neuromuscular junctions and kidney podocytes. Alike most other members of the IF protein family, nestin filaments are dynamic, constantly being remodeled through posttranslational modifications, which alter the solubility, protein levels, and signaling capacity of the nestin filaments. Through its interactions with kinases and other signaling executors, resulting in a complex and bidirectional regulation of cell signaling events, nestin has the potential to determine whether cells divide, differentiate, migrate, or stay in place. In this review, the broad and similar roles of IFs as dynamic signaling scaffolds, is exemplified by observations of nestin functions and its interaction with the cyclin- dependent kinase 5, the atypical kinase in the family of cyclin-dependent kinases.

Evodiamine, a novel inhibitor of the Wnt pathway, inhibits the self-renewal of gastric cancer stem cells

Gastric cancer stem cells (GCSCs) have an important role in metastasis and recurrence of gastric cancer, and novel treatment strategies that target GCSCs are urgently required. Although evodiamine (Evo), a derivative of the traditional herbal medicine Evodia rutaecarpa, has been reported to have various biological effects, its effect on GCSCs remains unknown. In order to determine the effect of Evo on apoptosis of GCSCs, an MTS assay, flow cytometry and western blot analysis were performed. The effect of Evo on self‑renewal in GCSCs was measured by alterations in the sphere formation ability, the expression of induced‑pluripotent stem cell factors, expression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) factors and oxaliplatin resistance of gastric cancer cells (GCCs). Evo inhibited proliferation, promoted the Bax/B‑cell lymphoma 2 ratio and altered active caspase‑3 expression of GCSCs. In addition, Evo decreased the sphere formation ability, the expression of Sox2, KLF4, Bmi‑1 and Oct4, and oxaliplatin resistance in GCCs. Evo decreased the expression of Slug, Twist, Zeb1 and vimentin, suggesting an inhibitory effect on EMT. Furthermore, the expression of β‑catenin, c‑Myc and cyclin D1 was decreased in Evo‑treated spheroids from GCCs. In conclusion, Evo inhibited the Wnt/β‑catenin signaling pathway to inhibit proliferation and stem cell properties of GCSCs and repressed the EMT. The present findings highlight the prospect of Evo as a CSCs-targeted therapy in gastric cancer.

Oct-4 and Nanog promote the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of breast cancer stem cells and are associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients

Oct-4 and Nanog in regulating the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis of breast cancer has not been clarified. We found that both Oct-4 and Nanog expression were significantly associated with tumor pathology and poor prognosis in 126 breast cancer patients. Characterization of CD44+CD24-Cancer stem cell(CSC) derived from breast cancer cells indicated that CSC rapidly formed mammospheres and had potent tumorigenicity in vivo. Furthermore, TGF-β up-regulated the expression of Oct-4, Nanog, N-cadherin, vimentin, Slug, and Snail, but down-regulated E-cadherin and cytokeratin 18 expression, demonstrating that CSC underwent EMT. Knockdown of both Oct-4 and Nanog expression inhibited spontaneous changes in the expression of EMT-related genes, while induction of both Oct-4 and Nanog over-expression enhanced spontaneous changes in the expression of EMT-related genes in CSC. However, perturbing alternation of Oct-4 and Nanog expression also modulated TGF-β-induced EMT-related gene expression in CSC. Induction of Oct-4 and Nanog over-expression enhanced the invasiveness of CSC, but knockdown of both Oct-4 and Nanog inhibited the migration of CSC in vitro. Our data suggest that both Oct-4 and Nanog may serve as biomarkers for evaluating breast cancer prognosis. Our findings indicate that Oct-4 and Nanog positively regulate the EMT process, contributing to breast cancer metastasis.

miR-367 promotes proliferation and stem-like traits in medulloblastoma cells

In medulloblastoma, abnormal expression of pluripotency factors such as LIN28 and OCT4 has been correlated with poor patient survival. The miR-302/367 cluster has also been shown to control self-renewal and pluripotency in human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells, but there is limited, mostly correlational, information about these pluripotency-related miRNA in cancer. We evaluated whether aberrant expression of such miRNA could affect tumor cell behavior and stem-like traits, thereby contributing to the aggressiveness of medulloblastoma cells. Basal expression of primary and mature forms of miR-367 were detected in four human medulloblastoma cell lines and expression of the latter was found to be upregulated upon enforced expression of OCT4A. Transient overexpression of miR-367 significantly enhanced tumor features typically correlated with poor prognosis; namely, cell proliferation, 3-D tumor spheroid cell invasion and the ability to generate neurosphere-like structures enriched in CD133 expressing cells. A concurrent downregulation of the miR-367 cancer-related targets RYR3, ITGAV and RAB23, was also detected in miR-367-overexpressing cells. Overall, these findings support the pro-oncogenic activity of miR-367 in medulloblastoma and reveal a possible mechanism contributing to tumor aggressiveness, which could be further explored to improve patient stratification and treatment of this important type of pediatric brain cancer.

Nestin as a marker of cancer stem cells

The crucial role of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in the pathology of malignant diseases has been extensively studied during the last decade. Nestin, a class VI intermediate filament protein, was originally detected in neural stem cells during development. Its expression has also been reported in different tissues under various pathological conditions. Specifically, nestin has been shown to be expressed in transformed cells of various human malignancies, and a correlation between its expression and the clinical course of some diseases has been proved. Furthermore, the coexpression of nestin with other stem cell markers was described as a CSC phenotype that was subsequently verified using tumorigenicity assays. The primary aim of this review is to summarize the recent findings regarding nestin expression in CSCs, its possible role in CSC phenotypes, particularly with respect to capacity for self-renewal, and its utility as a putative marker of CSCs.

Nifuroxazide induces apoptosis and impairs pulmonary metastasis in breast cancer model

Breast carcinoma is the most common female cancer with considerable metastatic potential. Signal transducers and activators of the transcription 3 (Stat3) signaling pathway is constitutively activated in many cancers including breast cancer and has been validated as a novel potential anticancer target. Here, we reported our finding with nifuroxazide, an antidiarrheal agent identified as a potent inhibitor of Stat3. The potency of nifuroxazide on breast cancer was assessed in vitro and in vivo. In this investigation, we found that nifuroxazide decreased the viability of three breast cancer cell lines and induced apoptosis of cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, western blot analysis demonstrated that the occurrence of its apoptosis was associated with activation of cleaved caspases-3 and Bax, downregulation of Bcl-2. Moreover, nifuroxazide markedly blocked cancer cell migration and invasion, and the reduction of phosphorylated-Stat3^Tyr705, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression were also observed. Furthermore, in our animal experiments, intraperitoneal administration of 50 mg/kg/day nifuroxazide suppressed 4T1 tumor growth and blocked formation of pulmonary metastases without detectable toxicity. Meanwhile, histological and immunohistochemical analyses revealed a decrease in Ki-67-positive cells, MMP-9-positive cells and an increase in cleaved caspase-3-positive cells upon nifuroxazide. Notably, nifuroxazide reduced the number of myeloid-derived suppressor cell in the lung. Our data indicated that nifuroxazide may potentially be a therapeutic agent for growth and metastasis of breast cancer.

Intermediate filaments in cell migration and invasion: the unusual suspects

Cell migration is a multistep process which relies on the coordination of cytoskeletal structures in space and time. While the roles of actin and microtubules have been investigated in great details, the lack of inhibitors and visualizing tools and the large number of proteins forming intermediate filaments (IFs) have delayed the characterization of IF functions during migration. However, a large body of evidence has progressively pointed to changes in IF composition as an important parameter in the regulation of cell migratory properties both during development and tumor invasion. More recent in-depth analyses show that IFs are dynamically reorganized to participate, together with microfilaments and microtubules, to the key steps leading to cell migration.

Dialysis encephalopathy: precipitating factors and improvement in prognosis

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) contribute to the initiation, recurrence, and metastasis of cancer; however, there are still no drugs targeting CSCs in clinical application. There are several signaling pathways playing critical roles in CSC progression, such as the Wnt, Hedgehog, Notch, Hippo, and autophagy signaling pathways. Additionally, targeting the ferroptosis signaling pathway was recently shown to specifically kill CSCs. Therefore, targeting these pathways may suppress CSC progression. The structure of small-molecule drugs shows a good spatial dispersion, and its chemical properties determine its good druggability and pharmacokinetic properties. These characteristics make small-molecule drugs show a great advantage in drug development, which is increasingly popular in the market. Thus, in this review, we will summarize the current researches on the small-molecule compounds suppressing CSC progression, including inhibitors of Wnt, Notch, Hedgehog, and autophagy pathways, and activators of Hippo and ferroptosis pathways. These small-molecule compounds emphasize CSC importance in tumor progression and propose a new strategy to treat cancer in clinic via targeting CSCs.