Cyr61 is up-regulated in prostate cancer and associated with the p53 gene status

The Potential of Extracellular Matrix- and Integrin Adhesion Complex-Related Molecules for Prostate Cancer Biomarker Discovery

Prostate cancer is among the top five cancer types according to incidence and mortality. One of the main obstacles in prostate cancer management is the inability to foresee its course, which ranges from slow growth throughout years that requires minimum or no intervention to highly aggressive disease that spreads quickly and resists treatment. Therefore, it is not surprising that numerous studies have attempted to find biomarkers of prostate cancer occurrence, risk stratification, therapy response, and patient outcome. However, only a few prostate cancer biomarkers are used in clinics, which shows how difficult it is to find a novel biomarker. Cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix (ECM) through integrins is among the essential processes that govern its fate. Upon activation and ligation, integrins form multi-protein intracellular structures called integrin adhesion complexes (IACs). In this review article, the focus is put on the biomarker potential of the ECM- and IAC-related molecules stemming from both body fluids and prostate cancer tissue. The processes that they are involved in, such as tumor stiffening, bone turnover, and communication via exosomes, and their biomarker potential are also reviewed.

Metformin suppresses interleukin-22 induced hepatocellular carcinoma by upregulating Hippo signaling pathway

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Epidemiological studies have shown direct associations between type 2 diabetes and the risk of cancers. Accumulating evidence indicates that metformin is profoundly implicated in preventing tumor development. However, the exact mechanism underlying the antitumor effects of metformin in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still not clear.

METHODS

In this study, we investigated the effects of metformin on a mouse HCC model and interleukin-22 (IL-22)-associated carcinogenesis in vitro.

RESULTS

We found that metformin significantly suppressed the incidence and tumor burden of HCC in the diethyl-nitrosamine-induced HCC mouse model. As expected, the expression of IL-22, an important factor involved in HCC progression, was markedly reduced by metformin. Treatment of HCC cells with metformin inhibited IL-22 induced cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and promoted cell apoptosis. Furthermore, ectopic expression of IL-22 makes HCC more aggressive, whereas metformin largely compromised it in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, the whole transcriptome analysis and functional analysis revealed that Hippo signaling pathway was involved in the antitumor ability of metformin. Consistent with this, metformin directly inhibited LATS1/2 and activated Mst1/2, phosphorylated YAP1 in vitro. After blocking the Hippo pathway by XMU-MP-1, the inhibitor of MST1/2, the inhibitory effects by metformin were dramatically attenuated as shown by in vitro study.

CONCLUSIONS

Collectively, our findings illuminate a new regulatory mechanism, metformin activates Hippo signaling pathway to regulate IL-22 mediated HCC progression and provide new insights into its tumor-suppressive roles.

The Matrix Revolution: Matricellular Proteins and Restructuring of the Cancer Microenvironment

The extracellular matrix (ECM) surrounding cells is indispensable for regulating their behavior. The dynamics of ECM signaling are tightly controlled throughout growth and development. During tissue remodeling, matricellular proteins (MCP) are secreted into the ECM. These factors do not serve classical structural roles, but rather regulate matrix proteins and cell-matrix interactions to influence normal cellular functions. In the tumor microenvironment, it is becoming increasingly clear that aberrantly expressed MCPs can support multiple hallmarks of carcinogenesis by interacting with various cellular components that are coupled to an array of downstream signals. Moreover, MCPs also reorganize the biomechanical properties of the ECM to accommodate metastasis and tumor colonization. This realization is stimulating new research on MCPs as reliable and accessible biomarkers in cancer, as well as effective and selective therapeutic targets.

Metal organic framework MIL-53(Fe) as an efficient artificial oxidase for colorimetric detection of cellular biothiols

Biothiols play critical roles in many biological processes and their aberrant is related to a variety of syndromes. A simple and reliable colorimetric method is developed in this work for biothiols detection based on an oxidase mimic, a metal organic framework (MOF) MIL-53(Fe), and a peroxidase substrate 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB). In this design, MIL-53(Fe) is utilized to catalyze the conversion of TMB to a blue colored 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine diimine, which can be read on a spectrophotometer at 652 nm. The oxidation-induced blue color generation can be efficiently inhibited by biothiols, thus a colorimetric analytical method is proposed for biothiols detection based on the above system. Under optimal conditions, a linear relationship in a range from 1 to 100 μM and a limit of detection (LOD) at 120 nM are achieved with Cys as a model target. The developed platform is further applied to evaluate cellular biothiols in normal (RWPE-1) and cancer (LNCap) cell lines, revealing that the overall biothiols level in LNCap is much higher than that in RWPE-1. This work renders a powerful tool for identifying cancer cells in a simple manner for biomedical diagnosis associated with biothiols.

Role of the CCN protein family in cancer

The CCN protein family is composed of six matricellular proteins, which serve regulatory roles rather than structural roles in the extracellular matrix. First identified as secreted proteins which are induced by oncogenes, the acronym CCN came from the names of the first three members: CYR61, CTGF, and NOV. All six members of the CCN family consist of four cysteine-rich modular domains. CCN proteins are known to regulate cell adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. In addition, CCN proteins are associated with cardiovascular and skeletal development, injury repair, inflammation, and cancer. They function either through binding to integrin receptors or by regulating the expression and activity of growth factors and cytokines. Given their diverse roles related to the pathology of certain diseases such as fibrosis, arthritis, atherosclerosis, diabetic nephropathy, retinopathy, and cancer, there are many emerging studies targeting CCN protein signaling pathways in attempts to elucidate their potentials as therapeutic targets. [BMB Reports 2018; 51(10): 486-493].

Nuclear retention of mRNAs - quality control, gene regulation and human disease

Nuclear retention of incompletely spliced or mature mRNAs emerges as a novel, previously underappreciated layer of gene regulation, which enables the cell to rapidly respond to stress, viral infection, differentiation cues or changing environmental conditions. Focusing on mammalian cells, we discuss recent insights into the mechanisms and functions of nuclear retention, describe retention-promoting features in protein-coding transcripts and propose mechanisms for their regulated release into the cytoplasm. Moreover, we discuss examples of how aberrant nuclear retention of mRNAs may lead to human diseases.

Targeting strategies of adenovirus‑mediated gene therapy and virotherapy for prostate cancer (Review)

Prostate cancer (PCa) poses a high risk to older men and it is the second most common type of male malignant tumor in western developed countries. Additionally, there is a lack of effective therapies for PCa at advanced stages. Novel treatment strategies such as adenovirus-mediated gene therapy and virotherapy involve the expression of a specific therapeutic gene to induce death in cancer cells, however, wild-type adenoviruses are also able to infect normal human cells, which leads to undesirable toxicity. Various PCa-targeting strategies in adenovirus-mediated therapy have been developed to improve tumor-targeting effects and human safety. The present review summarizes the relevant knowledge regarding available adenoviruses and PCa-targeting strategies. In addition, future directions in this area are also discussed. In conclusion, although they remain in the early stages of basic research, adenovirus-mediated gene therapy and virotherapy are expected to become important therapies for tumors in the future due to their potential targeting strategies.

Differential expression of CCN family members CYR611, CTGF and NOV in gastric cancer and their association with disease progression

CCN is an acronym for cysteine-rich protein 61 (CYR61), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and nephroblastoma overexpressed (NOV). Aberrations of certain CCN members including CYR61, CTGF, Wnt1-inducible signalling pathway protein (WISP)-1 and -3 have been reported in gastric cancer. The present study aimed to examine the clinical relevance of NOV along with CYR61 and CTGF in gastric cancer by analysing their transcript levels. CYR61, CTGF and NOV transcript expression in 324 gastric cancer samples with paired adjacent normal gastric tissues were determined using real-time quantitative PCR and the results were statistically analysed against patient clinicopathological data using SPSS software. NOV mRNA levels in gastric cancer tissues were significantly elevated when compared with levels in their paired adjacent non-cancerous tissues. Local advanced tumours with invasive expansion (T3 and T4) expressed higher levels of NOV (p=0.013) compared with the less invasive tumours (T1 and T2). CYR61 transcript levels were also significantly increased in gastric cancers compared with levels in the adjacent non-cancerous tissues. Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed that patients with CYR61-low transcript levels had longer overall survival (OS) (p=0.018) and disease-free survival (DFS) (p=0.015). NOV overexpression promoted the in vitro proliferation of AGS cells while the knockdown resulted in a reduced proliferation of HGC27 cells. A similar effect was observed for the invasion of these two gastric cancer cell lines. NOV expression was increased in gastric cancer which was associated with local invasion and distant metastases. Taken together, the expression of NOV and CYR61 was increased in gastric cancer. The elevated expression of CYR61 was associated with poorer survival. NOV promoted proliferation and invasion of gastric cancer cells. Further investigations may highlight their predictive and therapeutic potential in gastric cancer.

Targeting the Hippo Signaling Pathway for Tissue Regeneration and Cancer Therapy

The Hippo signaling pathway is a highly-conserved developmental pathway that plays an essential role in organ size control, tumor suppression, tissue regeneration and stem cell self-renewal. The YES-associated protein (YAP) and the transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) are two important transcriptional co-activators that are negatively regulated by the Hippo signaling pathway. By binding to transcription factors, especially the TEA domain transcription factors (TEADs), YAP and TAZ induce the expression of growth-promoting genes, which can promote organ regeneration after injury. Therefore, controlled activation of YAP and TAZ can be useful for regenerative medicine. However, aberrant activation of YAP and TAZ due to deregulation of the Hippo pathway or overexpression of YAP/TAZ and TEADs can promote cancer development. Hence, pharmacological inhibition of YAP and TAZ may be a useful approach to treat tumors with high YAP and/or TAZ activity. In this review, we present the mechanisms regulating the Hippo pathway, the role of the Hippo pathway in tissue repair and cancer, as well as a detailed analysis of the different strategies to target the Hippo signaling pathway and the genes regulated by YAP and TAZ for regenerative medicine and cancer therapy.

Therapy of prostate cancer using a novel cancer terminator virus and a small molecule BH-3 mimetic

Despite recent advances, treatment options for advanced prostate cancer (CaP) remain limited. We are pioneering approaches to treat advanced CaP that employ conditionally replication-competent oncolytic adenoviruses that simultaneously produce a systemically active cancer-specific therapeutic cytokine, mda-7/IL-24, Cancer Terminator Viruses (CTV). A truncated version of the CCN1/CYR61 gene promoter, tCCN1-Prom, was more active than progression elevated gene-3 promoter (PEG-Prom) in regulating transformation-selective transgene expression in CaP and oncogene-transformed rat embryo cells. Accordingly, we developed a new CTV, Ad.tCCN1-CTV-m7, which displayed dose-dependent killing of CaP without harming normal prostate epithelial cells in vitro with significant anti-cancer activity in vivo in both nude mouse CaP xenograft and transgenic Hi-Myc mice (using ultrasound-targeted microbubble (MB)-destruction, UTMD, with decorated MBs). Resistance to mda-7/IL-24-induced cell deathcorrelated with overexpression of Bcl-2 family proteins. Inhibiting Mcl-1 using an enhanced BH3 mimetic, BI-97D6, sensitized CaP cell lines to mda-7/IL-24-induced apoptosis. Combining BI-97D6 with Ads expressing mda-7/IL-24promoted ER stress, decreased anti-apoptotic Mcl-1 expression and enhanced mda-7/IL-24expression through mRNA stabilization selectively in CaP cells. In Hi-myc mice, the combination induced enhanced apoptosis and tumor growth suppression. These studies highlight therapeutic efficacy of combining a BH3 mimetic with a novel CTV, supporting potential clinical applications for treating advanced CaP.

Emerging role of CCN family proteins in tumorigenesis and cancer metastasis (Review)

The CCN family of proteins comprises the members CCN1, CCN2, CCN3, CCN4, CCN5 and CCN6. They share four evolutionarily conserved functional domains, and usually interact with various cytokines to elicit different biological functions including cell proliferation, adhesion, invasion, migration, embryonic development, angiogenesis, wound healing, fibrosis and inflammation through a variety of signalling pathways. In the past two decades, emerging functions for the CCN proteins (CCNs) have been identified in various types of cancer. Perturbed expression of CCNs has been observed in a variety of malignancies. The aberrant expression of certain CCNs is associated with disease progression and poor prognosis. Insight into the detailed mechanisms involved in CCN-mediated regulation may be useful in understanding their roles and functions in tumorigenesis and cancer metastasis. In this review, we briefly introduced the functions of CCNs, especially in cancer.

Microarray and quantitative PCR analysis of gene expression profiles in response to treatment with tomato leaf extract in mcf-7 breast cancer cells

We previously found cytotoxic effects of tomato leaf extract (TLE) on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. The aim of this study was to ascertain the molecular mechanisms associated with the usage of TLE as an anticancer agent by microarray analysis using mRNA from MCF-7 breast cancer cells after treatment with TLE for 1 hr and 48 hrs. Approximately 991 genes out of the 30,000 genes in the human genome were significantly (p<0.05) changed after the treatment. Within this gene set, 88 were significantly changed between the TLE treated cells and the untreated MCF-7 cells (control cells) with a cut-off fold change >2.00. In order to focus on genes that were involved in cancer cell growth, only twenty-nine genes were selected, either down-regulated or up-regulated after treatment with TLE. Microarray assay results were confirmed by analyzing 10 of the most up and down regulated genes related to cancer cells progression using real-time PCR. Treatment with TLE induced significant up-regulation in the expression of the CRYAB, PIM1, BTG1, CYR61, HIF1-α and CEBP-β genes after 1 hr and 48 hrs, whereas the TXNIP and THBS1 genes were up-regulated after 1 hr of treatment but down-regulated after 48 hrs. In addition both the HMG1L1 and HIST2H3D genes were down-regulated after 1 hr and 48 hrs of treatment. These results demonstrate the potent activity of TLE as an anticancer agent.

WISP1/CCN4: a potential target for inhibiting prostate cancer growth and spread to bone

Prostate cancer (PC) is a leading cause of death in men however the factors that regulate its progression and eventual metastasis to bone remain unclear. Here we show that WISP1/CCN4 expression in prostate cancer tissues was up-regulated in early stages of the disease and, further, that it correlated with increased circulating levels of WISP1 in the sera of patients at early stages of the disease. WISP1 was also elevated in the mouse prostate cancer model TRAMP in the hypoplastic diseased tissue that develops prior to advanced carcinoma formation. When the ability of anti-WISP1 antibodies to reduce the spread of PC3-Luc cells to distant sites was tested it showed that twice weekly injections of anti-WISP1 antibodies reduced the number and overall size of distant tumors developed after intracardiac (IC) injection of PC3-Luc cells in mice. The ability of antibodies against WISP1 to inhibit growth of PC3-Luc cancer cells in mice was also evaluated and showed that twice weekly injections of anti-WISP1 antibodies reduced local tumor growth when examined in xenografts. To better understand the mechanism of action, the migration of PC3-Luc cells through membranes with or without a Matrigel™ barrier showed the cells were attracted to WISP1, and that this attraction was inhibited by treatment with anti-WISP1 antibodies. We also show the expression of WISP1 at the bone-tumor interface and in the stroma of early grade cancers suggested WISP1 expression is well placed to play roles in both fostering growth of the cancer and its spread to bone. In summary, the up-regulation of WISP1 in the early stages of cancer development coupled with its ability to inhibit spread and growth of prostate cancer cells makes it both a potential target and an accessible diagnostic marker for prostate cancer.

CCN1/CYR61: the very model of a modern matricellular protein

CCN1 (CYR61) is a dynamically expressed, multifunctional matricellular protein that plays essential roles in cardiovascular development during embryogenesis, and regulates inflammation, wound healing and fibrogenesis in the adult. Aberrant CCN1 expression is associated with myriad pathologies, including various cancers and diseases associated with chronic inflammation. CCN1 promotes diverse and sometimes opposing cellular responses, which can be ascribed, as least in part, to disparate activities mediated through its direct binding to distinct integrins in different cell types and contexts. Accordingly, CCN1 promotes cell proliferation, survival and angiogenesis by binding to integrin α(v)β(3), and induces apoptosis and senescence through integrin α(6)β(1) and heparan sulfate proteoglycans. The ability of CCN1 to trigger the accumulation of a robust and sustained level of reactive oxygen species underlies some of its unique activities as a matrix cell-adhesion molecule. Emerging studies suggest that CCN1 might be useful as a biomarker or therapeutic target in certain diseases.

The CCN proteins: important signaling mediators in stem cell differentiation and tumorigenesis

The CCN proteins contain six members, namely CCN1 to CCN6, which are small secreted cysteine-rich proteins. The CCN proteins are modular proteins, containing up to four functional domains. Many of the CCN members are induced by growth factors, cytokines, or cellular stress. The CCNs show a wide and highly variable expression pattern in adult and in embryonic tissues. The CCN proteins can integrate and modulate the signals of integrins, BMPs, VEGF, Wnts, and Notch. The involvement of integrins in mediating CCN signaling may provide diverse context-dependent responses in distinct cell types. CCN1 and CCN2 play an important role in development, angiogenesis and cell adhesion, whereas CCN3 is critical to skeletal and cardiac development. CCN4, CCN5 and CCN6 usually inhibit cell growth. Mutations of Ccn6 are associated with the progressive pseudorheumatoid dysplasia and spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia tarda. In stem cell differentiation, CCN1, CCN2, and CCN3 play a principal role in osteogenesis, chondrogenesis, and angiogenesis. Elevated expression of CCN1 is associated with more aggressive phenotypes of human cancer, while the roles of CCN2 and CCN3 in tumorigenesis are tumor type-dependent. CCN4, CCN5 and CCN6 function as tumor suppressors. Although CCN proteins may play important roles in fine-tuning other major signaling pathways, the precise function and mechanism of action of these proteins remain undefined. Understanding of the biological functions of the CCN proteins would not only provide insight into their roles in numerous cellular processes but also offer opportunities for developing therapeutics by targeting CCN functions.