Overexpression of Nedd9 is a prognostic marker of human gastric cancer

Combined high NEDD9 expression and E-cadherin loss correlate with poor clinical outcome in gastric cancer

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Neural precursor cell expressed developmentally downregulated 9 (NEDD9) is a member of the Cas family. Previous studies have revealed that NEDD9 coordinates the focal adhesion kinase and Src signaling cascades that are involved in integrin-dependent adhesion and migration, invasion, cell apoptosis and life cycle, and survival, which may play a role in epithelial-mesenchymal transformation. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of NEDD9 and E-cadherin in gastric cancer (GC) and evaluate their clinical significance.

METHODS

NEDD9 and E-cadherin expression was analyzed with immunohistochemistry using tissue microarray technique in 435 GC patients who underwent gastrectomy. The NEDD9 expression level was defined by the combination score, which was determined by multiplying the staining intensity score and the proportion score (≥5; NEDD9-high, <5; NEDD9-low). E-cadherin loss was defined as a total loss of staining. The clinicopathologic parameters, overall survival, and disease-free survival rates were analyzed according to the NEDD9 and E-cadherin expression status.

RESULTS

The combined NEDD9 and E-cadherin expression status correlated with lymphatic invasion (P = 0.001), vascular invasion (P = 0.020), and T stage (P = 0.001). Combined high NEDD9 expression and loss of E-cadherin expression status had a worse overall survival rate (P < 0.001) and served as a poor prognostic factor (Hazard ratio 2.49, 95% CI 1.25-5, P = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Immunohistochemical staining for NEDD9 and E-cadherin may function as a candidate prognostic marker for gastric cancer in everyday practice, especially when applied in combination.

miR-4735-3p inhibits cell migration and invasion of gastric cancer by downregulating NEDD9

Gastric cancer (GC) comprises the 3rd cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Increased expression of neural precursor cell expressed, developmentally downregulated 9 (NEDD9) is commonly observed in GC, however, its underlying molecular mechanism in GC remains unknown. The potential interaction between miR-4735-3p and NEDD9 was predicted by TargetScan 7.1. Expression profiles of miR-4735-3p and NEDD9 were examined between GC tissues and normal tissues by reverse transcription-quantitative (RT-q) PCR. The relationship between miR-4735-3p and NEDD9 was validated by RT-qPCR, western blotting, dual luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation assay. Biological relationship between miR-4735-3p and NEDD9 was evidenced by the cell invasion and cell migration assays. NEDD9 level was negatively associated with miR-4735-3p level in GC tissues. miR-4735-3p suppressed NEDD9 levels in GC cells. NEDD9 was revealed to be a target gene of miR-4735-3p. miR-4735-3p overexpression suppressed cell migration and invasion of GC cells, which were antagonized by overexpression of NEDD9. Moreover, miR-4735-3p mimic decreased the levels of matrix metalloproteinases 2/9, increased the level of E-cadherin, which were reversed by overexpression of NEDD9. Collectively, the present study provided a potential mechanism for the tumor suppressor role of miR-4735-3p in GC by targeting NEDD9.

Prognostic Significances of NEDD-9 and FOXL-1 Expression in Intestinal Type Gastric Carcinoma: an Immunohistochemical Study

BACKGROUND

Gastric cancer (GC) is mostly diagnosed at advanced stage, so prognosis is poor. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the molecular mechanism of GC development to design new targeted treatment to improve the prognosis of gastric cancer patients.

AIM OF THE WORK

To assess the prognostic value of NEDD-9 and FOXL-1 expression in intestinal type gastric cancer patients, as well as their relationship to clinicopathologic features of the disease and patients outcome.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This is a retrospective study; we included 50 sections from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples which included intestinal type GC and adjacent non-neoplastic gastric mucosa in the same block that were subjected to immunohistochemistry with anti-NEDD-9 and anti-FOXL-1 antibody. Patients were retrospectively followed up for about 5 years for assessment of tumor progression and survival in relation to marker expression.

RESULTS

High NEDD-9 and low FOXL-1 expression were found in intestinal type GC more than adjacent non-neoplastic mucosa (p < 0.001). NEDD-9 high expression and FOXL-1 low expression were associated with presence of helicobacter pylori gastritis (p = 0.010, 0.049), high grade (p = 0.007, 0.004), high stage (p < 0.001), presence of distant metastases (p = 0.029, 0.021), poor DFS (p = 0.003), and OS rates (< 0.001).

CONCLUSION

NEDD-9 overexpression and FOXL-1 deficiency in intestinal type GC can help in prediction of tumor prognosis and it can guide the selection of patients for future therapies in gastric carcinoma.

POSITIVE EXPRESSION OF NEDD9 IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER IS RELATED TO BETTER SURVIVAL PERIOD

The aim was to determine immunohistochemical expression of NEDD9 protein in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and the possible relation of its expression with primary tumor size (T), regional lymph node status (N), stage of disease (TNM) and survival period. A total of 131 patients with primary tumor localization in the area of oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx, monitored for at least 5 years after initial surgical treatment were analyzed. The study included 128 male and three female patients, median age 62.0 (range 53.0-68.0) years. Of these, 105 (95%) patients showed positive NEDD9 expressed by dyed cytoplasm. There were no significant differences in NEDD9 expression according to TNM tumor status. Patients with positive NEDD9 expression had a significantly higher median (IQR) survival time 51.0 (15.0-60.0) months as compared to 22.5 (9.0-55.0) months in patients with negative NEDD9 expression (p=0.048). NEDD9 negative expression, controlled for the influence of other variables included in the Cox’s proportional hazards model, had a significant hazard ratio (HR) of 2.10 (95% CI: 1.23-3.58; p=0.006). The results of our study showed that NEDD9 expression might be an independent prognostic marker in patients with HNSCC regarding data on overall survival and mortality.

NEDD9 overexpression predicts poor prognosis in solid cancers: a meta-analysis

Background: The oncogenicity of neural precursor cell-expressed developmentally down-regulated 9 (NEDD9) has been demonstrated in multiple cancer types. However, the prognostic value of NEDD9 in some solid cancers remains controversial. Thus, this meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between NEDD9 expression survival rates in solid tumors.

Method: Our meta-analysis included studies searched from various search engines with specific inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria. Combined HRs for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) or progression-free survival (PFS) or recurrence-free survival (RFS) or cancer-specific survival (CSS) were assessed using fixed-effects and random-effects models. The source of heterogeneity was identified by subgroup analysis. Additionally, publication bias was assessed using funnel plot and Egger’s regression asymmetry test.

Result: Eighteen studies with a total of 2,476 patients were retrieved for analysis. Pooled HRs and 95% CIs were calculated. Both OS (HR=1.82; 95% CI: 1.43–2.31) and DFS/PFS/RFS/CSS (HR=2.54; 95% CI: 1.93–3.33) indicated that NEDD9 overexpression is associated with poor OS in cancer patients with solid tumors.

Conclusion: NEDD9 overexpression might be a potential marker to predict prognosis in solid cancer patients.

Identification of Bone Metastasis-associated Genes of Gastric Cancer by Genome-wide Transcriptional Profiling

Background:

Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Genome-wide transcriptional profiling has provided valuable insights into the molecular basis underlying processes involved in gastric cancer initiation and progression. </P><P> Objective: To understand the pathological and biological mechanisms of gastric cancer metastasis in a genome-wide context. </P><P> Method: In this study, we constructed libraries from blood of gastric cancer patients with, and without, bone metastasis. High-throughput sequencing combined with differential expression analysis was used to investigate transcriptional changes.

Results:

We identified a total of 425 significantly differentially expressed genes. Protein-protein interaction network analysis suggested that most of these genes are involved in DNA replication, DNA damage response, collagen homeostasis and cell adhesion. Furthermore, our data suggested that NFkappaB and DNA damage response pathways were the key regulators of the bone metastasis associated with gastric cancer. Finally, most of these target genes were involved in pathways such as extracellular matrix organization and extracellular structure organization as revealed by gene set enrichment assay.

Conclusion:

Our study provides a comprehensive analysis of the transcriptional alterations involved in gastric cancer bone metastasis, which provides greater insights into the complexity of regulatory changes during tumorigenesis and offers novel diagnostic as well as therapeutic avenues.

DIMT1 overexpression correlates with progression and prognosis in gastric carcinoma

We investigated the expression of dimethyladenosine transferase 1 homolog (DIMT1) in human gastric carcinoma (GC) tissues, pericarcinoma histologically normal tissues, and normal gastric tissues and explored its clinical significance. Immunohistochemistry staining was used to detect the expression of DIMT1, and the findings were compared with clinicopathological features of patients with GC. The result also was ascertained by Western blotting. The Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used to compare the overall survival rate and time in the DIMT1 low-level and high-level expression groups. Immunohistochemical staining indicated that the expression of DIMT1 in GC tissues (65/75; 86.7%) was significantly more common (P<.001) than that in pericarcinoma histologically normal tissues (14/75; 18.7%) and normal gastric tissues (2/12; 16.7%). High expression of DIMT1 correlated closely with differentiation (P=.023), invasion (P=.042), lymph node metastasis (P=.008), distant metastasis (P=.006), and TNM stage (P=.013). Western blotting showed that DIMT1 expression correlated positively with TNM stage and implied that more advanced TNM stage was accompanied by higher expression of DIMT1 (P<.001). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that high DIMT1 expression correlated significantly (P<.001) with a poor prognosis. Our data suggest that DIMT1 is a useful molecular biomarker to predict tumor progression and prognosis in patients with GC.

Prognostic Value of Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) in Human Solid Carcinomas: A Meta-Analysis

Background

Recently, the number of reports on focal adhesion kinase (FAK) as a vital therapeutic target in solid carcinomas has increased; however, the prognostic role of FAK status remains poorly understood. This study aims to evaluate the prognostic effect of FAK by means of a meta-analysis.

Methods

We performed a systematic literature search in order to examine the correlation between expression of FAK and overall survival(OS). The hazard ratio (HR) of OS was used to measure survival. A random-effects model was used to pool study statistics. Sensitivity and publication bias analyses were also conducted.

Results

Thirty eligible studies involving 4702 patients were included. The median expression rate of FAK was 54%. Meta-analysis of the HRs demonstrated that high FAK expression was associated with worse OS (average HR = 2.073, 95%confidence interval[CI]:1.712–2.510, p = 0.000). Regarding cancer type, FAK was associated with worse OS in gastric cancer (HR = 2.646,95% CI:1.743–4.017, p = 0.000), hepatocellular carcinoma (HR = 1.788,95% CI:1.228–2.602, p = 0.002), ovarian cancer (HR = 1.815, 95% CI: 1.193–2.762, p = 0.005), endometrial cancer (HR = 4.149, 95% CI:2.832–6.079, p = 0.000), gliomas (HR = 2.650, 95% CI: 1.205–5.829, p = 0.015), and squamous cell carcinoma (HR = 1,696, 95% CI: 1.030–2.793, p = 0.038). No association was found between HR and disease staging according to our meta-regression analysis.

Conclusions

Our study shows that high expression of FAK is associated with a worse OS in patients with carcinomas, but the association between FAK and prognosis varies according to cancer type. The value of FAK status in clinical prognosis in cancer needs further research.

VEGF signals induce trailblazer cell identity that drives neural crest migration

Embryonic neural crest cells travel in discrete streams to precise locations throughout the head and body. We previously showed that cranial neural crest cells respond chemotactically to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and that cells within the migratory front have distinct behaviors and gene expression. We proposed a cell-induced gradient model in which lead neural crest cells read out directional information from a chemoattractant profile and instruct trailers to follow. In this study, we show that migrating chick neural crest cells do not display distinct lead and trailer gene expression profiles in culture. However, exposure to VEGF in vitro results in the upregulation of a small subset of genes associated with an in vivo lead cell signature. Timed addition and removal of VEGF in culture reveals the changes in neural crest cell gene expression are rapid. A computational model incorporating an integrate-and-switch mechanism between cellular phenotypes predicts migration efficiency is influenced by the timescale of cell behavior switching. To test the model hypothesis that neural crest cellular phenotypes respond to changes in the VEGF chemoattractant profile, we presented ectopic sources of VEGF to the trailer neural crest cell subpopulation and show diverted cell trajectories and stream alterations consistent with model predictions. Gene profiling of trailer cells that diverted and encountered VEGF revealed upregulation of a subset of 'lead' genes. Injection of neuropilin1 (Np1)-Fc into the trailer subpopulation or electroporation of VEGF morpholino to reduce VEGF signaling failed to alter trailer neural crest cell trajectories, suggesting trailers do not require VEGF to maintain coordinated migration. These results indicate that VEGF is one of the signals that establishes lead cell identity and its chemoattractant profile is critical to neural crest cell migration.

Serum neural precursor cell-expressed, developmentally down regulated 9 (NEDD9) level may have a prognostic role in patients with gastric cancer

BACKGROUND

Neural precursor cell-expressed, developmentally down regulated 9 (NEDD9), a member of Crk-associated substrate (CAS) family, is highly expressed in multiple cancer types and involved in cancer cell adhesion, migration and invasion. The prognostic value of NEDD9 has been evaluated before and its expression is a predictor of poor prognosis in cancer patients. The objective of this study was to determine the clinical significance of the serum levels of NEDD9 in gastric cancer (GC) patients.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 68 patients with a pathologically confirmed diagnosis of GC were enrolled into this study. Serum NEDD9 concentrations were determined by the solid-phase sandwich (ELISA) method. Twenty-eight healthy age- and sex-matched controls were included into the analysis.

RESULTS

The median age at diagnosis was 60years, range 21 to 84years. Forty-nine (72%) patients were male and cardia was the most common tumor localization (n=37, 77%) in GC patients. The most frequent histologic subtype was adenocarcinoma (n=45, 66%). Liver was the most common metastatic site in 32 patients with metastasis (n=14, 44%). Sixty-one percent of 23 metastatic patients who received palliative chemotherapy (CTx) were CTx-responsive. The median follow-up time was 8months (range 1 to 23months). At the end of the observation period, 17 patients (25%) experienced disease progression and 28 of the remaining patients (41%) died. Median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of the whole group were 4.0±0.7months [95% confidence interval (CI)=3-5months] and 14.6±1.2months (95% CI=12-17months), respectively. One-year and 2-year OS rates were 54.4% (95% CI=41.3-67.5) and 51.2% (95% CI=37.3-65.1), respectively. The median serum NEDD9 levels of GC patients were significantly higher than controls (1339.51 vs. 1187.91pg/mL, P=0.02). There was no significant difference according to known disease-related clinicopathological or laboratory parameters (P>0.05). Serum NEDD9 levels had a significant impact on PFS (P=0.04). On the other hand, serum NEDD9 levels showed no significantly adverse effect on OS (P=0.50).

CONCLUSION

Serum NEDD9 level may be a diagnostic marker for GC patients. Moreover, our study results showed that it was elevated in GC patients and had an unfavorable prognostic effect. However, it has no predictive role on CTx response.

Elevated expression of NEDD9 is associated with metastatic activity in gastric cancer

Objective

To investigate the protein and mRNA expression of NEDD9 in gastric cancer (GC) tissues, adjacent atypical hyperplasia tissues, and normal gastric mucosa tissues, and analyze its relationship with the pathological features and prognosis of GC.

Methods

Forty cases of GC tissues, 20 cases of adjacent atypical hyperplasia tissues, and 40 cases of normal gastric mucous tissues were collected. Immunohistochemistry and Western blot were used to examine the expression of NEDD9 protein in various tissues. Situ hybridization and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction were applied to detect the expression of NEDD9 mRNA in various tissues. The correlation of NEDD9 expression with invasion and metastasis of GC was analyzed.

Results

The protein expression level of NEDD9 was significantly higher in GC tissues than in adjacent atypical hyperplasia tissues and normal gastric mucous tissues (P<0.05). The protein expression level of NEDD9 was positively related to the invasion depth of carcinoma and tumor lymph node metastasis (P<0.05), but unrelated to age, sex, tumor size, and clinical classification of cancer (P<0.05). The mRNA expression level of NEDD9 was also significantly higher in GC tissues than in adjacent atypical hyperplasia tissues and normal gastric mucous tissues (P<0.05), and positively related with the tumor lymph node metastasis and invasion depth of carcinoma (P<0.05).

Conclusion

NEDD9 is involved in the occurrence and development of GC, and it may be an important biological marker of GC metastasis and infiltration.

Involvement of NEDD9 in the invasion and migration of gastric cancer

Recent studies have demonstrated that neural precursor cell expressed, developmentally downregulated 9 (NEDD9) is highly expressed in various tumor tissues and cell lines. However, research on the role of NEDD9 in gastric cancer (GC) is rare, and the potential mechanism in tumor progression has not yet been explored. In this study, we investigated the role and mechanism of NEDD9 in GC. The expression of NEDD9 in GC tissues and cell lines was measured by immunohistochemistry, qRT-PCR, and Western blot, respectively. Inhibiting NEDD9 expression was carried out by siRNA transfection, and upregulating of NEDD9 was via NEDD9 overexpression plasmid. The ability of proliferation, migration, and invasion was detected by MTT assay, scratch wound assay, and transwell assay, respectively. The expression of vimentin, E-cadherin, Zeb1, and Zeb2 was measured by Western blot and qRT-PCR. We found that NEDD9 expression was dramatically increased both in GC tissues and cell lines, and the expression was significantly related to GC development. Knockdown of NEDD9 in SGC-7901 strongly inhibited its malignant capacity in vitro. Meanwhile, upregulation of NEDD9 in GES-1 increased the malignant capacity. In addition, the expression of vimentin, Zeb1, and Zeb2 was positively correlated with NEDD9, while E-cadherin was opposite. Collectively, our findings suggest that NEDD9 acts as an oncogene and promotes GC metastasis via EMT.

Nedd4-1 is an exceptional prognostic biomarker for gastric cardia adenocarcinoma and functionally associated with metastasis

Background

Gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA) is the most aggressive subtype of gastric carcinoma. New molecular markers and therapeutic targets are needed for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of GCA. This study is to establish the E3 ubiquitin ligase Nedd4-1 as a prognostic biomarker to predict the survival and guide the treatment of GCA patients.

Methods

Expression of Nedd4-1 in 214 GCA tumor samples was detected by immunohistochemistry staining (IHC) using tissue microarray assay (TMA). Association of Nedd4-1 with cumulative survival of the TNM stages I-III patients and clinicopathological characteristics was statistically analyzed. The role of Nedd4-1 in gastric cancer cell migration and invasion were determined by transwell and wound healing assays.

Results

Nedd4-1 is overexpressed in 83% of the GCA tumors. The 5-year survival rate in Nedd4-1 negative GCA patients is as high as 96%. Log-rank analysis indicated that overexpression of Nedd4-1 is inversely correlated with cumulative survival (χ² = 21.885, p <0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that overexpression of Nedd4-1 is associated with an extremely low GCA survival rate with a hazard ratio (HR) = 0.068 (p = 0.008) in TNM stages I-III patients. Statistical analysis of association of Nedd4-1 overexpression with clinicopathological characteristics revealed that overexpression of Nedd4-1 is tightly associated with TNM stage (p < 0.001). Knockdown of Nedd4-1 in gastric cancer cell lines AGS and N87 dramatically inhibited the gastric cancer cell migration and invasion.

Conclusions

Our results indicate that Nedd4-1 is an exceptional prognostic biomarker for GCA and suggest that Nedd4-1 may play an essential role in GCA metastasis.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1476-4598-13-248) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.