Mammalian-enabled (MENA) protein enhances oncogenic potential and cancer stem cell-like phenotype in hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Insights into the Interaction Landscape of the EVH1 Domain of Mena

The Enabled/VASP homology 1 (EVH1) domain is a small module that interacts with proline-rich stretches in its ligands and is found in various signaling and scaffolding proteins. Mena, the mammalian homologue of Ena, is involved in diverse actin-associated events, such as membrane dynamics, bacterial motility, and tumor intravasation and extravasation. Two-dimensional (2D) 1H-15N HSQC NMR was used to study Mena EVH1 binding properties, defining the amino acids involved in ligand recognition for the physiological ligands ActA and PCARE, and a synthetic polyproline-inspired small molecule (hereafter inhibitor 6c). Chemical shift perturbations indicated that proline-rich segments bind in the conserved EVH1 hydrophobic cleft. The PCARE-derived peptide elicited more perturbations compared to the ActA-derived peptide, consistent with a previous report of a structural alteration in the solvent-exposed β7-β8 loop. Unexpectedly, EVH1 and the proline-rich segment of PTP1B did not exhibit NMR chemical shift perturbations; however, the high-resolution crystal structure implicated the conserved EVH1 hydrophobic cleft in ligand recognition. Intrinsic steady-state fluorescence and fluorescence polarization assays indicate that residues outside the proline-rich segment enhance the ligand affinity for EVH1 (Kd = 3-8 μM). Inhibitor 6c displayed tighter binding (Kd ∼ 0.3 μM) and occupies the same EVH1 cleft as physiological ligands. These studies revealed that the EVH1 domain enhances ligand affinity through recognition of residues flanking the proline-rich segments. Additionally, a synthetic inhibitor binds more tightly to the EVH1 domain than natural ligands, occupying the same hydrophobic cleft.

Biological Basis of Breast Cancer-Related Disparities in Precision Oncology Era

Precision oncology is based on deep knowledge of the molecular profile of tumors, allowing for more accurate and personalized therapy for specific groups of patients who are different in disease susceptibility as well as treatment response. Thus, onco-breastomics is able to discover novel biomarkers that have been found to have racial and ethnic differences, among other types of disparities such as chronological or biological age-, sex/gender- or environmental-related ones. Usually, evidence suggests that breast cancer (BC) disparities are due to ethnicity, aging rate, socioeconomic position, environmental or chemical exposures, psycho-social stressors, comorbidities, Western lifestyle, poverty and rurality, or organizational and health care system factors or access. The aim of this review was to deepen the understanding of BC-related disparities, mainly from a biomedical perspective, which includes genomic-based differences, disparities in breast tumor biology and developmental biology, differences in breast tumors' immune and metabolic landscapes, ecological factors involved in these disparities as well as microbiomics- and metagenomics-based disparities in BC. We can conclude that onco-breastomics, in principle, based on genomics, proteomics, epigenomics, hormonomics, metabolomics and exposomics data, is able to characterize the multiple biological processes and molecular pathways involved in BC disparities, clarifying the differences in incidence, mortality and treatment response for different groups of BC patients.

Study on the expression of testin in the testes of dogs

Introduction

Testin is a protein involved in cell mobility, adhesion and colony formation. In rats, testin presence has been reported in the testes, and its possible role in spermatogenesis has been suggested. Studies in humans also suggest a possible role of testin as a cancer suppressor protein. In the dog, which represents both an important pet species and a good animal model for studying biological and pathological testicular processes, the presence of testin has never been reported.

Material and Methods

In the present study, the expression of testin in foetal, prepubertal, adult and aged canine testes was investigated. Testes from 5 adult and 3 aged dogs, from 2 one-month-old puppies and from 2 foetuses miscarried at the end of pregnancy were immunohistochemically examined with a commercial antibody against testin.

Results

Testin was intensely expressed in Sertoli cells in every testis examined. Spermatids were also positive for testin in mature dogs and in the testicular areas of the aged ones which were not atrophic. Weak expression of testin was also detected in all testes examined.

Conclusion

The present study, the first demonstrating the presence of testin in canine testes, provides the basis for further dog-human comparative research and for studies on the role of this protein in canine physiology, reproduction and testicular pathologies.

Tumor matrix stiffness provides fertile soil for cancer stem cells

Matrix stiffness is a mechanical characteristic of the extracellular matrix (ECM) that increases from the tumor core to the tumor periphery in a gradient pattern in a variety of solid tumors and can promote proliferation, invasion, metastasis, drug resistance, and recurrence. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a rare subpopulation of tumor cells with self-renewal, asymmetric cell division, and differentiation capabilities. CSCs are thought to be responsible for metastasis, tumor recurrence, chemotherapy resistance, and consequently poor clinical outcomes. Evidence suggests that matrix stiffness can activate receptors and mechanosensor/mechanoregulator proteins such as integrin, FAK, and YAP, modulating the characteristics of tumor cells as well as CSCs through different molecular signaling pathways. A deeper understanding of the effect of matrix stiffness on CSCs characteristics could lead to development of innovative cancer therapies. In this review, we discuss how the stiffness of the ECM is sensed by the cells and how the cells respond to this environmental change as well as the effect of matrix stiffness on CSCs characteristics and also the key malignant processes such as proliferation and EMT. Then, we specifically focus on how increased matrix stiffness affects CSCs in breast, lung, liver, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers. We also discuss how the molecules responsible for increased matrix stiffness and the signaling pathways activated by the enhanced stiffness can be manipulated as a therapeutic strategy for cancer.

Overexpression of Mena is associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma via EMT

Background

Mena, a cytoskeletal regulatory protein, is involved in actin-based regulation of cell motility and adhesion, and contributes to tumor invasion and metastasis. However, the role of Mena in oral squamous cell carcinoma remains unclear. This is the first research focusing on the prognostic value of Mena in OSCC. In this study, we aimed to investigate the correlation between Mena expression and clinicopathological significance, as well as prognostic value in OSCC.

Methods

Mena gene expression profiles of OSCC and normal tissues were collected from Oncomine, TCGA, and GEO databases. Biological function was analyzed through GO, KEGG and GSEA enrichment. Further, the expression level of Mena and tumor-related markers in 151 OSCC specimens was examined by IHC staining based on tissue microarray. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to assess the prognostic performance of Mena in OSCC.

Result

Mena was generally upregulation in various malignancies, especially OSCC. The functional analyses indicated that Mena was involved in the assembly and regulation of actin, cell movement, and EMT. IHC staining revealed that high expression of Mena in OSCC was correlated with Lymphatic metastasis, TNM stage, E-cadherin, Vimentin, and MMP-2, but insignificantly Ki67. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated that elevated expression of Mena was significantly associated with poor overall survival and disease-free survival of OSCC patients.

Conclusion

Mena could be a novel biomarker for predicting the prognosis of OSCC patients, which supports a theoretical basis for developing molecular target therapy.

The identification and preliminary study of lncRNA TUG1 and its related genes in hepatocellular carcinoma

INTRODUCTION

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant tumour of the digestive system, which is a threat to public health. The purpose of this study was to investigate the featured genes and pathways of HCC from a bioinformatics database, and verify their correlation with diagnosis and prognosis of HCC.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

We downloaded the gene expression profile on HCC from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), and software R was used to identify differentially expressed lncRNA (DEL). The target genes of the lncRNA were further predicted by using a cluster database and molecular interaction database. Subsequently, a combined interaction network of target genes was constructed using the Cytoscape platform with preliminary verification at the level of different databases, cell lines, and tissues. Finally, we explored the effectiveness of TUG1 and its target genes on the diagnosis and prognosis of HCC by univariate Cox analysis and survival analysis.

RESULTS

A total of four DELs were identified and the most remarkably up-regulated lncRNA was TUG1, which included 12 high-confidence target genes. Moreover, we found that the expression changes of TUG1 and its target genes in different databases, cell lines, and liver cancer tissues were consistent with the prediction. The high expression of TUG1 and its target genes could significantly predict the shorter survival time of HCC patients, among which NCAPG, MCM6, PIGC, PEA15, and RACGAP1 have significant diagnostic value for HCC (AUC > 0.9).

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides a starting point for the screening of therapeutically relevant targets in HCC. Further experiment should be conducted to verify our findings.

Enhanced substrate stress relaxation promotes filopodia-mediated cell migration

Cell migration on two-dimensional substrates is typically characterized by lamellipodia at the leading edge, mature focal adhesions and spread morphologies. These observations result from adherent cell migration studies on stiff, elastic substrates, because most cells do not migrate on soft, elastic substrates. However, many biological tissues are soft and viscoelastic, exhibiting stress relaxation over time in response to a deformation. Here, we have systematically investigated the impact of substrate stress relaxation on cell migration on soft substrates. We observed that cells migrate minimally on substrates with an elastic modulus of 2 kPa that are elastic or exhibit slow stress relaxation, but migrate robustly on 2-kPa substrates that exhibit fast stress relaxation. Strikingly, migrating cells were not spread out and did not extend lamellipodial protrusions, but were instead rounded, with filopodia protrusions extending at the leading edge, and exhibited small nascent adhesions. Computational models of cell migration based on a motor-clutch framework predict the observed impact of substrate stress relaxation on cell migration and filopodia dynamics. Our findings establish substrate stress relaxation as a key requirement for robust cell migration on soft substrates and uncover a mode of two-dimensional cell migration marked by round morphologies, filopodia protrusions and weak adhesions.

Emerging Regulatory Mechanisms Involved in Liver Cancer Stem Cell Properties in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the predominant form of primary liver cancer and one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. A growing body of evidence supports the hypothesis that HCC is driven by a population of cells called liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs). LCSCs have been proposed to contribute to malignant HCC progression, including promoting tumor occurrence and growth, mediating tumor metastasis, and treatment resistance, but the regulatory mechanism of LCSCs in HCC remains unclear. Understanding the signaling pathways responsible for LCSC maintenance and survival may provide opportunities to improve patient outcomes. Here, we review the current literature about the origin of LCSCs and the niche composition, describe the current evidence of signaling pathways that mediate LCSC stemness, then highlight several mechanisms that modulate LCSC properties in HCC progression, and finally, summarize the new developments in therapeutic strategies targeting LCSCs markers and regulatory pathways.

Cancer stem cells of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a malignant tumor arising from hepatocytes. The hepatocellular carcinoma is dictated by a subset of cells with stem cell-like features. These cells are apoptosis-resistant and have particular biomarkers, which serve as seeds in different stages of tumorigenesis including initiation, progression, metastasis, and relapse of hepatocellular carcinoma. Signaling pathways of cancer stem cells are novel targets for the radical intervention of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Scorpion inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most malignant diseases worldwide. The unfavorable clinical outcome and poor prognosis are due to high rates of recurrence and metastasis after treatments. Some scholars of traditional Chinese medicine suggested that endogenous wind-evil had played an important role in metastasis of malignant tumor. Therefore, the drug of dispelling wind-evil could be used to prevent cancer metastasis and improve the poor prognosis. So we wondered whether Scorpion, one of the most important wind calming drugs, has antitumor effect especially in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastasis of HCC in this research. We found that Scorpion-medicated serum could inhibit proliferation, induce apoptosis, and decrease migration and invasion capacity of Hepa1-6 cells in vitro. Meanwhile, we observed that water decoction of Scorpion restrained tumor growth and metastasis in nude mouse of HCC metastasis models. Further experiments showed that Scorpion could suppress EMT, which is characterized by increased epithelial marker E-cadherin expression and decreased mesenchymal markers N-cadherin and Snail expression following Scorpion treatment both in vitro and in vivo. These results suggested that the Scorpion could inhibit Hepa1-6 cells' invasion and metastasis in part by reversing EMT and providing a possible potential approach for preventing HCC metastasis. Impact statement The unfavorable clinical outcome and poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are due to high rates of recurrence and metastasis after treatments. Here we found Scorpion, one of the most important wind calming drugs, has antitumor effect. Scorpion-medicated serum inhibited the proliferation, induced apoptosis, and decreased migration and invasion capacity of Hepa1-6 cells in vitro. Water decoction of Scorpion restrained tumor growth and metastasis in nude mouse of HCC metastasis models. Further experiments showed that Scorpion could suppress EMT of HCC both in vitro and in vivo. Our results suggested that the Scorpion could inhibit Hepa1-6 cells' invasion and metastasis in part by reversing EMT and providing a possible potential approach for preventing HCC metastasis.