A signature of six genes highlights defects on cell growth and specific metabolic pathways in murine and human hepatocellular carcinoma

Regucalcin downregulation in human cancer

Regucalcin is a unique calcium-binding protein first discovered in rat liver in 1978. Regucalcin has multiple functions as an inhibitor of various cellular signaling pathways that regulate cell activity. The expression of the regucalcin gene can be altered by various physiological and pathological factors such as diet (nutrients), hormones, diabetes, alcohol and drugs. Several transcription factors have been identified on the regucalcin gene, including AP-1, NF1-A1, RGPR-p117, β-catenin, NF-κB, STAT3 and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α). Notably, regucalcin plays an important role in the development of several cancers by controlling cell growth. Clinically, many studies have reported that the expression of the regucalcin gene is downregulated in various human cancers. In addition, higher expression of regucalcin in tumor tissue has been associated with longer patient survival, suggesting that regucalcin may act as a potential suppressor of various types of human cancer. Regucalcin may offer a novel therapeutic strategy and diagnostic tool for cancer treatment. However, the underlying mechanism by which regucalcin expression is reduced in human cancer is still unclear. A deeper understanding of regucalcin reduction and function in cancer is needed to discover potential resistance mechanisms and biomarkers, and to improve regucalcin-targeting agents. We review recent findings on regucalcin gene expression in cancer. We discuss the possible mechanisms by which regucalcin expression is downregulated in cancer cells to facilitate understanding of how regucalcin regulates cell growth function. This mini-review may lead to better therapeutic targets with regucalcin.

A Molecular Hepatocellular Carcinoma Prognostic Score System Precisely Predicts Overall Survival of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

With high rates of recurrence post-treatment, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide and the major cause of cancer death. To improve the overall survival of HCC patients, identification of a reliable biomarker and precise early diagnosis of HCC remain major unsolved problems.

METHODS

We initially screened data from the Cancer Genome Atlas liver cancer cohort to identify potential prognosis-related genes. Then, a meta-analysis of five international HCC cohorts was implemented to validate such genes. Subsequently, artificial intelligence models (random forest and neural network) were trained to predict prognosis accurately, and a log-rank test was performed for validation. Finally, the correlation between the molecular hepatocellular carcinoma prognostic score (mHPS) and the stromal and immune scoring in HCC were explored.

RESULTS

A comprehensive list of 65 prognosis-related genes was obtained, most of which have been not extensively studied thus far. A universal HCC mHPS system depending on the expression pattern of only 23 genes was established. The mHPS system had general applicability to HCC patients (log-rank p<0.05) in a platform-independent manner (RNA sequencing or microarray). The mHPS was also correlated with the stromal and immune scoring in HCC, reflecting the status of the tumor immune microenvironment.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the mHPS is an easy and cost-effective prognosis predicting system, which can disclose previously uncovered heterogeneity among patient subpopulations. The mHPS system can further stratify patients who are at the same clinical stage and should be valuable for precise treatment. Moreover, the prognosis-related genes recognized in this study have potential in targeted and immune therapy.

Fermentable fiber-induced hepatocellular carcinoma in mice recapitulates gene signatures found in human liver cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most malignant form of primary liver cancer, is the fourth most prevalent cause of cancer mortality globally. It was recently discovered that the dietary fermentable fiber, inulin, can reprogram the murine liver to favor HCC development in a gut microbiota-dependent manner. Determining the molecular pathways that are either over expressed or repressed during inulin-induced HCC would provide a platform of potential therapeutic targets. In the present study, we have combined analysis of the novel inulin-induced HCC murine model and human HCC samples to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in hepatocarcinogenesis. Hepatic transcriptome profiling revealed that there were 674 DEGs in HCC mice compared to mice safeguarded from HCC. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis uncovered enrichment in ECM-receptor interaction, steroid hormone biosynthesis, PPAR signaling pathway, focal adhesion and protein digestion and absorption during inulin-induced HCC. Tandem mass tag based quantitative, multiplexed proteomic analysis delineated 57 differentially expressed proteins, where the over-expressed proteins were associated with cell adhesion molecules, valine, leucine and isoleucine degradation and ECM-receptor interaction. After obtaining the human orthologs of the mouse genes, we did a comparison analysis to level 3 RNA-seq data found in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, corresponding to human HCC (n = 361) and healthy liver (n = 50) samples. Out of the 549 up-regulated and 68 down-regulated human orthologs identified, 142 genes (137 significantly over-expressed and 5 significantly under-expressed) were associated with human HCC. Using univariate survival analysis, we found 27 over-expressed genes involved in cell-cell adhesion and cell division that were associated with poor HCC patient survival. Overall, the genetic and proteomics signatures highlight potential underlying mechanisms in inulin-induced HCC and support that this murine HCC model is human relevant.

PGM5 is a promising biomarker and may predict the prognosis of colorectal cancer patients

Background

Phosphoglucomutase (PGM), a key enzyme in the metabolism of glucose-1-phosphate and glucose-6-phosphate, has been found to be associated with proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of cancer. However, the expression and function of PGM5 in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unknown.

Methods

We tested PGM5 mRNA and protein expression levels in 79 CRC tissue and their matched adjacent tissue samples by qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Overall survival (OS) was estimated with the Kaplan-Meier method and compared between groups with the log-rank test. We performed multivariable Cox regression analyses to identify factors associated with CRC risk. The cell proliferation, migration and invasion abilities of CRC cells were detected by using CCK-8, Transwell migration and invasion assays, respectively.

Results

The PGM5 protein levels expression in CRC tissues were significantly lower than those in the adjacent tissues (t = 5.035, P < 0.001), and Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that low PGM5 expression were significantly associated with poor overall survival (P = 0.0069). Univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that PGM5 was an independent risk factor for overall survival (hazard ratio = 0.3951, P = 0.014). PGM5 overexpression significantly inhibited the proliferation, invasion and migration abilities of CRC cells. On the contrary, knockdown of PGM5 promotes the invasion and migration of CRC cells.

Conclusions

PMG5 regulates proliferation, invasion, and migration in the CRC and decreased PGM5 is associated with poor prognosis. Therefore, PGM5 is a promising biomarker in CRC and decreased PGM5 may predict poor overall survival in patients with CRC.

Phosphoglucomutase 1 inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma progression by regulating glucose trafficking

Glycogen metabolism commonly altered in cancer is just beginning to be understood. Phosphoglucomutase 1 (PGM1), the first enzyme in glycogenesis that catalyzes the reversible conversion between glucose 1-phosphate (G-1-P) and glucose 6-phosphate (G-6-P), participates in both the breakdown and synthesis of glycogen. Here, we show that PGM1 is down-regulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is associated with the malignancy and poor prognosis of HCC. Decreased PGM1 expression obstructed glycogenesis pathway, which leads to the increased flow of glucose into glycolysis, thereby promoting tumor cell proliferation and HCC development. The loss of forkhead box protein J2 (FOXJ2), at least partly due to low genomic copy number in HCC, releases cellular nucleic acid-binding protein (CNBP), a nucleic acid chaperon, to bind to and promote G-quadruplex formation in PGM1 promoter and therefore decreases PGM1 expression. In addition, integrated analyses of PGM1 and FOXJ2 expression provide a better prediction for the malignance and prognosis of HCC. This study establishes a tumor-suppressive role of PGM1 by regulating glucose trafficking and uncovers a novel regulatory mechanism of PGM1 expression.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer in adults. Sorafenib is the only clinically approved systemic drug for patients with advanced HCC. Identification of novel targets and biomarkers will provide new therapeutic strategies for advanced HCC and better prognostic prediction. Phosphoglucomutase (PGM) is an evolutionarily conserved enzyme that regulates one of the most important pathways in glucose metabolis—catalyzing the bidirectional interconversion of glucose 1-phosphate (G-1-P) and glucose 6-phosphate (G-6-P). In this study, we identify PGM1 as a metabolic tumor suppressor. Its expression allocates more glucose to glycogenesis, which reduces the glycolytic intermediates for biosynthesis, thereby impairing HCC progression. We delineate the mechanism of PGM1 down-regulation in HCC, finding that forkhead box protein J2 (FOXJ2) loss releases cellular nucleic acid-binding protein (CNBP) to bind to and modify the DNA structure of PGM1 promoter, thereby inhibiting PGM1 expression. Immunohistochemical analyses of human HCC tumors indicate that low FOXJ2 and PGM1 expression correlates with the malignancy and poor progression of human HCC. These results also suggest that the activation of residual PGM1 may impair HCC development through switching glycolysis to glycogenesis.

Overexpression of the androgen receptor in human hepatoma cells and its effect on fatty acid metabolism

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a predominantly male disease in which the androgen receptor (AR) serves an important pathogenic role in hepatocarcinogenesis. Fatty acid metabolism also contributes to hepatocarcinogenesis and is associated with the prognosis of cancer. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of the AR on fatty acid metabolism-associated gene expression in human hepatoma cell lines. AR-expression plasmids or control plasmids were transiently transfected into the human HCC cell lines Huh7 and HepG2. After 48 h, cellular protein and RNA were extracted and the expression of AR was confirmed by western blotting. Complementary DNA was synthesized and subjected to a quantitative polymerase chain reaction-based array to examine the expression of 84 fatty acid metabolism-associated genes. Overexpression of AR significantly downregulated the expression of 11 fatty acid metabolism-associated genes in Huh7 cells and 35 in HepG2 cells. The overexpression of AR also resulted in the upregulation of 6 fatty acid metabolism genes in HepG2 cells; however, it had no effect in Huh7 cells. Acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) thioesterase 7 and acyl-CoA oxidase 3 were downregulated in both cell lines. In conclusion, upregulation of AR via overexpression led to the disturbance of fatty acid metabolism-associated gene expression in human HCC cells. Therefore, the AR may serve a role in hepatocarcinogenesis via the regulation of hepatocellular fatty acid metabolism.

The Oncogene PDRG1 Is an Interaction Target of Methionine Adenosyltransferases

Methionine adenosyltransferases MAT I and MAT III (encoded by Mat1a) catalyze S-adenosylmethionine synthesis in normal liver. Major hepatic diseases concur with reduced levels of this essential methyl donor, which are primarily due to an expression switch from Mat1a towards Mat2a. Additional changes in the association state and even in subcellular localization of these isoenzymes are also detected. All these alterations result in a reduced content of the moderate (MAT I) and high Vmax (MAT III) isoenzymes, whereas the low Vmax (MAT II) isoenzyme increases and nuclear accumulation of MAT I is observed. These changes derive in a reduced availability of cytoplasmic S-adenosylmethionine, together with an effort to meet its needs in the nucleus of damaged cells, rendering enhanced levels of certain epigenetic modifications. In this context, the putative role of protein-protein interactions in the control of S-adenosylmethionine synthesis has been scarcely studied. Using yeast two hybrid and a rat liver library we identified PDRG1 as an interaction target for MATα1 (catalytic subunit of MAT I and MAT III), further confirmation being obtained by immunoprecipitation and pull-down assays. Nuclear MATα interacts physically and functionally with the PDRG1 oncogene, resulting in reduced DNA methylation levels. Increased Pdrg1 expression is detected in acute liver injury and hepatoma cells, together with decreased Mat1a expression and nuclear accumulation of MATα1. Silencing of Pdrg1 expression in hepatoma cells alters their steady-state expression profile on microarrays, downregulating genes associated with tumor progression according to GO pathway analysis. Altogether, the results unveil the role of PDRG1 in the control of the nuclear methylation status through methionine adenosyltransferase binding and its putative collaboration in the progression of hepatic diseases.

Integration of genomic and proteomic data to identify candidate genes in HT-29 cells after incubation with Bifidobacterium bifidum ATCC 29521

As the predominant group inhabiting the human gastrointestinal tract, bifidobacteria play a vital role in human nutrition, therapeutics, and health by shaping and maintaining the gut ecosystem, reducing blood cholesterol, and promoting the supply of nutrients. The interaction between bacterial cells and human intestinal epithelial cell lines has been studied for decades in an attempt to understand the mechanisms of action. These studies, however, have been limited by lack of genomic and proteomic database to aid in achieving comprehensive understanding of these mechanisms at molecular levels. Microarray data (GSE: 74119) coupled with isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) were performed to detect differentially expressed genes and proteins in HT-29 cells after incubation with Bifidobacterium bifidum. Real-time quantitative PCR, gene ontology, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses were further conducted for mRNA validation, functional annotation, and pathway identification, respectively. According to the results of microarray, 1,717 differentially expressed genes, including 1,693 upregulated and 24 downregulated genes, were selected and classified by the gene ontology database. The iTRAQ analysis identified 43 differentially expressed proteins, where 29 proteins were upregulated and 14 proteins were downregulated. Eighty-two candidate genes showing consistent differences with microarray and iTRAQ were further validated in HT-29 and Caco-2 cells by real-time quantitative PCR. Nine of the top genes showing interesting results with high confidence were further investigated in vivo in mice intestine samples. Integration of genomic and proteomic data provides an approach to identify candidate genes that are more likely to function in ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, positive regulation of apoptosis, membrane proteins, and transferase catalysis. These findings might contribute to our understanding of molecular mechanisms regulating the interaction between probiotics and intestinal epithelial cell lines.

Involvement of regucalcin as a suppressor protein in human carcinogenesis: insight into the gene therapy

Regucalcin, which its gene is located on the X chromosome, plays a multifunctional role as a suppressor protein in cell signal transduction in various types of cells and tissues. The suppression of regucalcin gene expression has been shown to involve in carcinogenesis. Regucalcin gene expression was uniquely downregulated in carcinogenesis of rat liver in vivo, although the expression of other many genes was upregulated, indicating that endogenous regucalcin plays a suppressive role in the development of hepatocarcinogenesis. Overexpression of endogenous regucalcin was found to suppress proliferation of rat cloned hepatoma cells in vitro. Moreover, the regucalcin gene and its protein levels were demonstrated specifically to downregulate in human hepatocellular carcinoma by analysis with multiple gene expression profiles and proteomics. Regucalcin gene expression was also found to suppress in human tumor tissues including kidney, lung, brain, breast and prostate, suggesting that repressed regucalcin gene expression leads to the development of carcinogenesis in various tissues. Regucalcin may play a role as a suppressor protein in carcinogenesis. Overexpression of endogenous regucalcin is suggested to reveal preventive and therapeutic effects on carcinogenesis. Delivery of the regucalcin gene may be a novel useful tool in the gene therapy of carcinogenesis. This review will discuss regarding to an involvement of regucalcin as a suppressor protein in human carcinogenesis in insight into the gene therapy.

Inhibition of hepatocellular carcinoma growth using immunoliposomes for co-delivery of adriamycin and ribonucleotide reductase M2 siRNA

The chemotherapy combined with gene therapy has received great attention. We developed targeted LPD (liposome-polycation-DNA complex) conjugated with anti-EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) Fab' co-delivering adriamycin (ADR) and ribonucleotide reductase M2 (RRM2) siRNA (ADR-RRM2-TLPD), to achieve combined therapeutic effects in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) overexpressing EGFR. The antitumor activity and mechanisms of ADR-RRM2-TLPD were investigated. The results showed that RRM2 expression was higher in HCC than in non-HCC tissue, and RRM2 siRNA inhibited HCC cell proliferation, suggesting that RRM2 is a candidate target for HCC therapy. ADR-RRM2-TLPD delivered ADR and RRM2 siRNA to EGFR overexpressing HCC cells specifically and efficiently both in vitro and in vivo, resulting in enhanced therapeutic effects (cytotoxicity, apoptosis and senescence-inducing activity) compared with single-drug loaded or non-targeted controls, including ADR-NC-TLPD (targeted LPD co-delivering ADR and negative control siRNA), RRM2-TLPD (targeted LPD delivering RRM2 siRNA) and ADR-RRM2-NTLPD (non-targeted LPD co-delivering ADR and RRM2 siRNA). Mechanism studies showed that p21 is involved in the combined therapeutic effect of ADR-RRM2-TLPD. The average weight of the orthotopic HCC in mice treated with ADR-RRM2-TLPD was significantly lighter than that of mice treated with other controls. Thus, ADR-RRM2-TLPD represents a potential strategy for combined therapy of HCC overexpressing EGFR.

Transcript profiling identifies iqgap2(-/-) mouse as a model for advanced human hepatocellular carcinoma

It is broadly accepted that genetically engineered animal models do not always recapitulate human pathobiology. Therefore identifying best-fit mouse models of human cancers that truly reflect the corresponding human disease is of vital importance in elucidating molecular mechanisms of tumorigenesis and developing preventive and therapeutic approaches. A new hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) mouse model lacking a novel putative tumor suppressor IQGAP2 has been generated by our laboratory. The aim of this study was to obtain the molecular signature of Iqgap2^−/− HCC tumors and establish the relevance of this model to human disease. Here we report a comprehensive transcriptome analysis of Iqgap2^−/− livers and a cross-species comparison of human and Iqgap2^−/− HCC tumors using Significance Analysis of Microarray (SAM) and unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis. We identified the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway as the top canonical pathway dysregulated in Iqgap2^−/− livers. We also demonstrated that Iqgap2^−/− hepatic tumors shared genetic signatures with HCC tumors from patients with advanced disease as evidenced by a 78% mouse-to-human microarray data set concordance rate with 117 out of 151 identified ortholog genes having similar expression profiles across the two species. Collectively, these results indicate that the Iqgap2 knockout mouse model closely recapitulates human HCC at the molecular level and supports its further application for the study of this disease.

Meeting report of the International Liver Transplantation Society's 18th annual international congress: Hilton San Francisco Hotel, San Francisco, CA, May 16-19, 2012

From May 16-19, 2012, the International Liver Transplantation Society held its annual congress in San Francisco, CA. More than 1300 registrants attended the meeting, which included a premeeting conference entitled Balancing Risk in Liver Transplantation, focused topic sessions, and a variety of oral and poster presentations. This report is not all-inclusive and focuses on specific research abstracts on key topics in liver transplantation. As always, the new data herein are presented in the context of the published literature to further enhance knowledge in the field.

Prohibitin-1 deficiency promotes inflammation and increases sensitivity to liver injury

Liver diseases are the fifth cause of mortality in Western countries, and as opposed to other major causes of mortality, their incidence is increasing. Understanding the molecular background contributing to the progression of liver ailments will surely open new perspectives for the better management of patients. The aim of this study is to elucidate mechanisms underlying the progression of liver injury associated with deficient prohibitin 1, an essential protein to maintain mitochondrial homeostasis and gene expression. PHB1+/- mice developed a more severe steatohepatitis than WT littermates when exposed to a choline and methionine deficient diet. The increased sensitivity was mediated by mitochondrial dysfunction and metabolic impairment in PHB1+/- livers, including inactivation of AMP kinase, measured under a non-restricted diet. Moreover, pro-inflammatory challenges induced higher mortality and liver injury in PHB+/- mice. The increased proliferative capacity of PHB+/- splenocytes, resulting from constitutive defects in central molecular pathways as stated by deregulation of GSK3β, Erk, Akt or SHP-1, and the concomitant overproduction of pro-inflammatory mediators in Phb1 deficient mice, might account for these effects. In light of these results it might be concluded that Phb1 deficiency is a potential driver of chronic liver diseases by inducing hepatocyte damage and inflammation.

Role of epigenetic aberrations in the development and progression of human hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most lethal and prevalent cancers in humans. The molecular mechanisms leading to the development of HCC are extremely complicated and consist of prominent genetic, genomic, and epigenetic alterations. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the role of epigenetic aberrations, including changes in DNA methylation, histone modifications, and expression of microRNAs in the pathogenesis of HCC. It also emphasizes that identification of the underlying epigenetic alterations that drive cell transformation and promote development and progression of HCC is crucially important for understanding mechanisms of hepatocarcinogenesis, its detection, therapeutic intervention, and prevention.