Promotive effect of Talin-1 protein on gastric cancer progression through PTK2-PXN-VCL-E-Cadherin-CAPN2-MAPK1 signaling axis

Clinical Significance of Talin-1 and HER-2 Status in Different Types of Gastric Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Talin-1 (TLN1) is crucial in cell migration, metastasis, and cancer development. This study evaluated Talin-1 expression and its clinical significance in gastric cancer (GC), along with human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) expression and its correlation with Talin-1.

METHODS

Bioinformatics analysis assessed the potential prognostic value of Talin-1 and HER-2 in GC patients. The study included 223 GC patients (Signet Ring Cells and Intestinal subtypes) and 29 non-malignant tissue samples. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) on tissue microarray slides evaluated Talin-1 and HER-2 expression and clinical significance. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves assessed their diagnostic value.

RESULTS

Bioinformatics identified Talin-1 as a potential prognostic factor and HER-2 as an oncogene in GC. Talin-1 and HER-2 expression increased in SRC-type GC samples compared to non-malignant tissues. High cytoplasmic Talin-1 expression inversely correlated with tumor expansion and invasion in SRC-type GC. Increased HER-2 expression positively correlated with metastasis. ROC curves showed significant diagnostic values for both proteins.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher cytoplasmic Talin-1 expression is associated with less invasive tumor behavior, while increased membranous HER-2 expression is associated with metastasis in SRC-type GC. These findings suggest potential use in assessing diagnosis and screening high-risk cancer patients, particularly those with SRC-type GC.

Higher Expression of Talin-1 is Associated With Less Aggressive Tumor Behavior in Pancreatic Cancer

Talin-1 is one of the major scaffold proteins in focal adhesions playing a vital role in cell migration, metastasis, and cancer progression. Although studies regarding the importance of Talin-1 in cancer have rapidly developed, its prognostic and diagnostic value still remain unsatisfying in pancreatic cancer (PC). Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the expression, clinical significance, as well as the prognostic and diagnostic value of Talin-1 in different types of PC. Bioinformatic analysis was applied to determine the clinical importance and biological role of Talin-1 expression in PC tumors and the normal adjacent samples. The expression patterns, clinical significance, prognosis, and diagnosis value of Talin-1 were evaluated in tissue microarrays (TMAs) of 190 PC samples including 170 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and 20 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNET), along with 24 adjacent normal tissues using immunohistochemistry (IHC). The results indicated that the expression of Talin-1 was upregulated in tumor cells compared with adjacent normal tissues. A statistically significant association was observed between the higher cytoplasmic expression of Talin-1 and lower histologic grade (P<0.001) in PDAC samples. Further, our findings indicated an inverse significant correlation between cytoplasmic expression of Talin-1 and recurrence (P=0.014) in PNET samples. No significant association was observed between the cytoplasmic expression of Talin-1 and survival outcomes as well as diagnostic accuracy. In conclusion, our observations demonstrated that a higher cytoplasmic level of Talin-1 protein was significantly associated with less aggressive tumor behaviors in PC samples. Nevertheless, further investigations are required to explore the prognostic plus diagnostic value, and mechanism of action of Talin-1 in pancreatic cancer.

Talin1 promotes HCC progression by regulating NRG1/PI3K/AKT pathway

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) stands as the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally. Metastasis, responsible for treatment failures, underscores the urgency to comprehend molecular drivers of invasion and migration. Central to the invasive and migratory processes underlying metastasis is the protein Talin1. However, the role and underlying mechanisms governing Talin1's involvement in HCC have remained elusive.

METHODS

A total of 100 HCC specimens were collected from patients who underwent hepatectomy in our center. The expression level of talin1 was measured to evaluate the correlationship of talin1 and the development of HCC. In vitro and in vivo experiments were conducted to verify the characteristic of talin1 in HCC. RNA-seq and bioinformatics analysis were performed to identify the downstream signal pathway of talin1 and their impact on HCC development.

RESULTS

Here, we reported elevated levels of Talin1 mRNA and protein in HCC tissues. Meanwhile, downregulation of Talin1 significantly reduced the HCC cell proliferation and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, elevating NRG-1, a downstream target of Talin1, enhanced metastasis of HCC cells. More importantly, attenuation of Talin1 inhibited HCC progression through decreasing the stabilization of NRG1 mRNA, consequently regulating the expression of NRG1 and its involvement in mediating the PI3K/AKT pathway.

CONCLUSION

Taken together, Talin1 regulates cellular proliferation, metastasis, and invasiveness by modulating NRG1/PI3K/AKT axis, suggesting that Talin1 emerges as a promising candidate for treating HCC.

High expression of Talin-1 is associated with tumor progression and recurrence in melanoma skin cancer patients

BACKGROUND

Talin-1 as a component of multi-protein adhesion complexes plays a role in tumor formation and migration in various malignancies. This study investigated Talin-1 in protein levels as a potential prognosis biomarker in skin tumors.

METHODS

Talin-1 was evaluated in 106 skin cancer (33 melanomas and 73 non-melanomas skin cancer (NMSC)) and 11 normal skin formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples using immunohistochemical technique on tissue microarrays (TMAs). The association between the expression of Talin-1 and clinicopathological parameters, as well as survival outcomes, were assessed.

RESULTS

Our findings from data minings through bioinformatics tools indicated dysregulation of Talin-1 in mRNA levels for skin cancer samples. In addition, there was a statistically significant difference in Talin-1 expression in terms of intensity of staining, percentage of positive tumor cells, and H-score in melanoma tissues compared to NMSC (P = 0.001, P < 0.001, and P < 0.001, respectively). Moreover, high cytoplasmic expression of Talin-1 was found to be associated with significantly advanced stages (P = 0.024), lymphovascular invasion (P = 0.023), and recurrence (P = 0.006) in melanoma cancer tissues. Our results on NMSC showed a statistically significant association between high intensity of staining and the poor differentiation (P = 0.044). No significant associations were observed between Talin-1 expression levels and survival outcomes of melanoma and NMSC patients.

CONCLUSION

Our observations showed that higher expression of Talin1 in protein level may be significantly associated with more aggressive tumor behavior and advanced disease in patients with skin cancer. However, further studies are required to find the mechanism of action of Talin-1 in skin cancers.

ptk2 and mt2a Genes Expression in Gastritis and Gastric Cancer Patients with Helicobacter pylori Infection

BACKGROUND

ptk2 and mt2a genes contribute to the cell cycle during proliferation and apoptosis, respectively. Designing a case-control study including gastric adenocarcinoma and gastritis patients with and without Helicobacter pylori infection would lead to determinate of the correlations between ptk2 and mt2a genes expression with H. pylori infection in gastric antral epithelial cells.

METHODS

Overall, 50 and 30 gastric antral biopsy samples of gastric cancer (case group) and gastritis (control group) patients were included into study, respectively. All biopsy samples were collected considering the exclusion criteria including patients with a history of consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and anti-H. pylori drugs. Each patient group is divided into with and without H. pylori infection to detect cDNA fold changes of ptk2 and mt2a genes by using Real Time RT PCR. Furthermore, the presence of H. pylori virulence genes was detected directly by using specific primers and simple PCR on cDNA synthesized from total RNA of gastric antral biopsy samples.

RESULTS

A negative correlation was revealed between age and clinical manifestations with the ΔCt value of the ptk2 gene (P < 0.05). The H. pylori iceA1/2 and cagE genes revealed positive and negative correlations with the ΔCt value of the ptk2 gene (P < 0.05), respectively. Furthermore, a weak correlation was detectable between H. pylori babA2/B, oipA, and cagY genes and the ΔCt value of the mt2a gene in gastric antral epithelial cells of patients (P < 0.1).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of the current study opened a view for more investigation on the stunning roles of H. pylori infection in clinical outcomes through mt2a and ptk2 gene expression in gastric antral epithelial cells.

Jolkinolide B inhibits proliferation or migration and promotes apoptosis of MCF-7 or BT-474 breast cancer cells by downregulating the PI3K-Akt pathway

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

The diterpenoids extracted from Euphorbia kansui S.L. Liou ex S.B.Ho, Euphorbia fischeriana Steud. have good antitumor effects. Jolkinolide B has anti-breast cancer effect, but it is unclear whether it has different therapeutic effects between luminal A subtype and luminal B subtype breast cancer.

AIM OF THE STUDY

This study investigated the Jolkinolide B has different therapeutic, important targets and pathways effects between luminal A subtype and luminal B subtype breast cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We used bioinformatics to predict the biological process and molecular mechanism of Jolkinolide B in treating two types of breast cancer. Then, in vitro, cultured MCF-7 cells and BT-474 cells were divided into control group, PI3K inhibitor + control group, Jolkinolide B group and PI3K inhibitor + Jolkinolide B group. The CCK-8 assay, Flow cytometric analysis and Transwell cell migration assay was used to detect the cell proliferation, apoptosis, and migration in each group, respectively. ELISA was used to measure the content of Akt and phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) in cell lysis buffer.

RESULTS

Compared to luminal A breast cancer, Jolkinolide B had more targets, proliferation, migration processes and KEGG pathways when treating luminal B subtype breast cancer. Jolkinolide B significantly prolonged the survival time of luminal B subtype breast cancer patients. Compared to the control group, the cell proliferation absorbance value (A value) and migration number of the two kinds of breast cancer cells in the Jolkinolide B group were decreased (P < 0.01, n = 6), and the number of apoptotic cells was increased (P < 0.01, n = 6). Compared to the Jolkinolide B group, the A value and migration number of the two types of breast cancer cells were significantly decreased in the PI3K inhibitor + Jolkinolide B group (P < 0.01, n = 6), and the number of apoptotic cells was significantly increased (P < 0.01, n = 6). In addition, compared to MCF-7 cells, the A value and migration number of BT-474 cells stimulated with Jolkinolide B were significantly decreased (P < 0.01, n = 6), and the number of apoptotic cells was significantly increased (P < 0.01, n = 6). Akt and p-Akt protein levels in the two breast cancer cell lines in the Jolkinolide B group were all decreased (P < 0.01, n = 6), especially in BT-474 cells stimulated by Jolkinolide B.

CONCLUSION

Jolkinolide B regulates the luminal A and luminal B subtypes of breast cancer through PI3K-Akt, EGFR and other pathways. Jolkinolide B has more significant therapeutic effect on luminal B subtype breast cancer. In vitro, experiments verified that Jolkinolide B significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration activity of BT-474 breast cancer cells by downregulating the PI3K-Akt pathway.

Integrated Analysis of ceRNA Regulatory Network Associated With Tumor Stage in Cervical Cancer

Objective

To analyze the abnormally expressed genes involved in cervical cancer occurrence and development.

Materials and Methods

Integrated bioinformatics methods were used to analyze differentially expressed (DE) RNAs, including mRNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs), and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), in stage I, II, III, and IV cervical cancer patients from the TCGA database to fully reveal the dynamic changes caused by cervical cancer.

Results

First, DE RNAs in cervical cancer tissues from stage I, II, III, and IV patients and normal cervical tissues were identified and divided into different profiles. Several DE RNA profiles were down-regulated or up-regulated in stage I, III, and IV patients. GO and KEGG analysis of DE mRNA profile 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 22 which were significantly down-regulated or up-regulated showed that DE mRNAs are involved in cell division, DNA replication, cell adhesion, the positive and negative regulation of RNA polymerase ll promoter transcription. Besides, DE RNA profiles with significant differences in patient stages were analyzed to perform a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory network of lncRNA, miRNA, and mRNA. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of DE mRNAs in the ceRNA regulatory network was also constructed. The network had nine central genes (up-regulated genes: CDKN2A, GSK3B, BIRC5, CYCS, MAD2L1; down-regulated genes: PTEN, FOXO3, CCND2, TGFBR2). Survival analysis found that 5 lncRNAs, 9 mRNAs, and 4 miRNAs can be used as prognostic indicators of cervical cancer. Finally, combined with cluster analysis results, we further screened 2 DE RNAs (AMZ2P1 and HDAC5) using clinical samples, suggesting that AMZ2P1, and HDAC5 may act as diagnostic biomarkers for the development of cervical cancer.

Conclusion

This research provides new effective targets and reliable biological markers for the diagnosis and prognosis of cervical cancer.