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Anyin Y, Jianping L, Mengru L, Hong Z, Xulei Z, Lianping W. Integrating bioinformatics and machine learning methods to analyze diagnostic biomarkers for HBV-induced hepatocellular carcinoma. Diagn Pathol 2024; 19:105. [PMID: 39095799 PMCID: PMC11295615 DOI: 10.1186/s13000-024-01528-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2024] [Accepted: 07/21/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor. It is estimated that approximately 50-80% of HCC cases worldwide are caused by hepatitis b virus (HBV) infection, and other pathogenic factors have been shown to promote the development of HCC when coexisting with HBV. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of HBV-induced hepatocellular carcinoma (HBV-HCC) is crucial for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease. In this study, we analyzed the molecular mechanisms of HBV-induced HCC by combining bioinformatics and deep learning methods. Firstly, we collected a gene set related to HBV-HCC from the GEO database, performed differential analysis and WGCNA analysis to identify genes with abnormal expression in tumors and high relevance to tumors. We used three deep learning methods, Lasso, random forest, and SVM, to identify key genes RACGAP1, ECT2, and NDC80. By establishing a diagnostic model, we determined the accuracy of key genes in diagnosing HBV-HCC. In the training set, RACGAP1(AUC:0.976), ECT2(AUC:0.969), and NDC80 (AUC: 0.976) showed high accuracy. They also exhibited good accuracy in the validation set: RACGAP1(AUC:0.878), ECT2(AUC:0.731), and NDC80(AUC:0.915). The key genes were found to be highly expressed in liver cancer tissues compared to normal liver tissues, and survival analysis indicated that high expression of key genes was associated with poor prognosis in liver cancer patients. This suggests a close relationship between key genes RACGAP1, ECT2, and NDC80 and the occurrence and progression of HBV-HCC. Molecular docking results showed that the key genes could spontaneously bind to the anti-hepatocellular carcinoma drugs Lenvatinib, Regorafenib, and Sorafenib with strong binding activity. Therefore, ECT2, NDC80, and RACGAP1 may serve as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of HBV-HCC and as targets for the development of targeted therapeutic drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Anyin
- Department of Pharmacy, Gaochun People's Hospital, Gaochun Hospital Affiliated to Jiangsu University, Nanjing, 211300, China
| | - Liu Jianping
- Department of Pharmacy, Gaochun People's Hospital, Gaochun Hospital Affiliated to Jiangsu University, Nanjing, 211300, China
| | - Li Mengru
- Department of Hospital Infection Management Section, Gaochun People's Hospital, Gaochun Hospital Affiliated to Jiangsu University, Nanjing, 211300, China
| | - Zhang Hong
- Department of Pharmacy, Gaochun People's Hospital, Gaochun Hospital Affiliated to Jiangsu University, Nanjing, 211300, China
| | - Zhang Xulei
- Department of Liver Disease, Gaochun People's Hospital, Gaochun Hospital Affiliated to Jiangsu University, Nanjing, 211300, China.
| | - Wu Lianping
- Department of Pharmacy, Gaochun People's Hospital, Gaochun Hospital Affiliated to Jiangsu University, Nanjing, 211300, China.
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Soltan MA, Eldeen MA, Sajer BH, Abdelhameed RFA, Al-Salmi FA, Fayad E, Jafri I, Ahmed HEM, Eid RA, Hassan HM, Al-Shraim M, Negm A, Noreldin AE, Darwish KM. Integration of Chemoinformatics and Multi-Omics Analysis Defines ECT2 as a Potential Target for Cancer Drug Therapy. BIOLOGY 2023; 12:biology12040613. [PMID: 37106813 PMCID: PMC10135641 DOI: 10.3390/biology12040613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 03/15/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023]
Abstract
Epithelial cell transforming 2 (ECT2) is a potential oncogene and a number of recent studies have correlated it with the progression of several human cancers. Despite this elevated attention for ECT2 in oncology-related reports, there is no collective study to combine and integrate the expression and oncogenic behavior of ECT2 in a panel of human cancers. The current study started with a differential expression analysis of ECT2 in cancerous versus normal tissue. Following that, the study asked for the correlation between ECT2 upregulation and tumor stage, grade, and metastasis, along with its effect on patient survival. Moreover, the methylation and phosphorylation status of ECT2 in tumor versus normal tissue was assessed, in addition to the investigation of the ECT2 effect on the immune cell infiltration in the tumor microenvironment. The current study revealed that ECT2 was upregulated as mRNA and protein levels in a list of human tumors, a feature that allowed for the increased filtration of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) and decreased the level of natural killer T (NKT) cells, which ultimately led to a poor prognosis survival. Lastly, we screened for several drugs that could inhibit ECT2 and act as antitumor agents. Collectively, this study nominated ECT2 as a prognostic and immunological biomarker, with reported inhibitors that represent potential antitumor drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed A Soltan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sinai University, Ismailia 41611, Egypt
| | - Muhammad Alaa Eldeen
- Cell Biology, Histology & Genetics Division, Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
| | - Bayan H Sajer
- Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 80200, Saudi Arabia
| | - Reda F A Abdelhameed
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Galala University, New Galala 43713, Egypt
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
| | - Fawziah A Al-Salmi
- Biology Department, College of Sciences, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
| | - Eman Fayad
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Sciences, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ibrahim Jafri
- Department of Biotechnology, College of Sciences, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia
| | | | - Refaat A Eid
- Pathology Department, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 62529, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hesham M Hassan
- Pathology Department, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 62529, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt
| | - Mubarak Al-Shraim
- Pathology Department, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 62529, Abha 61421, Saudi Arabia
| | - Amr Negm
- Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
- Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
| | - Ahmed E Noreldin
- Department of Histology and Cytology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Damanhour University, Damanhour 22516, Egypt
| | - Khaled M Darwish
- Medicinal Chemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
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Hadianamrei R, Wang J, Brown S, Zhao X. Rationally designed cationic amphiphilic peptides for selective gene delivery to cancer cells. Int J Pharm 2022; 617:121619. [PMID: 35218898 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2022.121619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/21/2022] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Gene therapy has gained increasing attention as an alternative to pharmacotherapy for treatment of various diseases. The extracellular and intracellular barriers to gene delivery necessitate the use of gene vectors which has led to the development of myriads of gene delivery systems. However, many of these gene delivery systems have pitfalls such as low biocompatibility, low loading efficiency, low transfection efficiency, lack of tissue selectivity and high production costs. Herein, we report the development of a new series of short cationic amphiphilic peptides with anticancer activity for selective delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) and antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) to cancer cells. The peptides consist of alternating dyads of hydrophobic (isoleucine (I) or leucine (L)) and hydrophilic (arginine (R) or lysine (L)) amino acids. The peptides exhibited higher preference for transfection of HCT 116 colorectal cancer cells compared to human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) and induced higher level of gene silencing in the cancer cells. The nucleic acid complexation and transfection efficiency of the peptides was a function of their secondary structure, their hydrophobicity and their C-terminal amino acid. The peptides containing L in their hydrophobic domain formed stronger complexes with siRNA and successfully delivered it to the cancer cells but were unable to release their cargo inside the cells and therefore could not induce any gene silencing. On the contrary, the peptides containing I in their hydrophobic domain were able to release their associated siRNA and induce considerable gene silencing in cancer cells. The peptides exhibited higher selectivity for colorectal cancer cells and induced less gene silencing in fibroblasts compared to the lipid-based commercial transfection reagent DharmaFECT™ 1. The results from this study can serve as a tool for rational design of new peptide-based gene vectors for high selective gene delivery to cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roja Hadianamrei
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK
| | - Jiqian Wang
- Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266555, China
| | - Stephen Brown
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Xiubo Zhao
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK; School of Pharmacy, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China.
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Upregulation of ECT2 Predicts Adverse Clinical Outcomes and Increases 5-Fluorouracil Resistance in Gastric Cancer Patients. JOURNAL OF ONCOLOGY 2021; 2021:2102890. [PMID: 34367280 PMCID: PMC8337122 DOI: 10.1155/2021/2102890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Background The abnormal expression and prognosis prediction of epithelial cell transforming sequence 2 (ECT2) in gastric cancer (GC) has been reported. However, the effect of ECT2 on 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) resistance in GC is unclear. This research aims to solve the abovementioned problems. Methods Gene expression was detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot analysis. Cell viability was evaluated by the colony formation assay, MTT assay, and flow cytometric analysis. Transwell and wound healing assays were used to detect cell metastasis. Results Upregulation of ECT2 was found in stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) and GC tissues. In addition, high ECT2 expression can predict adverse clinical outcomes in GC patients. More importantly, ECT2 knockdown weakened the resistance of 5-FU in GC cells. ECT2 silencing reduced the cell migratory and invasive abilities of GC cells treated with 5-FU. We also found that downregulation of ECT2 increased 5-FU sensitivity in GC cells by downregulating P-gp, MRP1, and Bcl-2. Conclusion Upregulation of ECT2 can predict adverse clinical outcomes and increase 5-FU resistance in GC patients.
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Chen S, Zhu X, Zheng J, Xu T, Xu Y, Chen F. miR-30a-5p Regulates Viability, Migration, and Invasion of Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells via Targeting ECT2. COMPUTATIONAL AND MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN MEDICINE 2021; 2021:6241469. [PMID: 34306175 PMCID: PMC8279846 DOI: 10.1155/2021/6241469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The abnormal expression of epithelial cell transforming sequence 2 (ECT2) is often considered the driving factor for the growth and invasion of tumors. This study was performed to investigate the regulatory effect of miR-30a-5p and ECT2 on lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), which provides a basis for the effective clinical treatment of LUAD. METHODS The mature miRNAs, expression data of mRNAs, and clinical data of LUAD were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The expression levels of ECT2 mRNA and miR-30a-5p in cancer cell lines were detected by qRT-PCR. Western blot was performed to test the expression of ECT2 protein. The targeting relationship between miR-30a-5p and ECT2 was verified by dual-luciferase assay. The CCK-8 method and Transwell assay were conducted to test the viability, migratory, and invasive abilities of cells. RESULTS ECT2 expression was upregulated in LUAD and was significantly correlated with the LUAD clinical stage and pathologic T stage, and the expression of its upstream regulatory gene miR-30a-5p was downregulated. miR-30a-5p targeted ECT2 in LUAD. Downregulation of ECT2 could inhibit the viability, migration, and invasion of LUAD cells, which could be reversed by simultaneously suppressing the expression of miR-30a-5p. CONCLUSION Our results suggested that miR-30a-5p repressed the malignant progression of LUAD via downregulating ECT2. miR-30a-5p and ECT2 may be effective targets for LUAD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sangsang Chen
- Department of Pharmacy, The Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Hangzhou 310000, China
| | - Xuqing Zhu
- Department of Gastroenterology, Taizhou Municipal Hospital, Taizhou 318000, China
| | - Jing Zheng
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Taizhou Municipal Hospital, Taizhou 318000, China
| | - Tingting Xu
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Taizhou Municipal Hospital, Taizhou 318000, China
| | - Yinmin Xu
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Shaoxing University, Shaoxing 312000, China
| | - Feng Chen
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, Taizhou Municipal Hospital, Taizhou 318000, China
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Li C, Peng Z, Wang Y, Lam G, Nissen N, Tang J, Yuan X, Lewis M, Greene MI, Pandol SJ, Wang Q. Epithelial cell transforming 2 is regulated by Yes-associated protein 1 and mediates pancreatic cancer progression and metastasis. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 2021; 320:G380-G395. [PMID: 33501895 PMCID: PMC8202240 DOI: 10.1152/ajpgi.00185.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is highly metastatic and represents one of the deadliest forms of human cancers. Previous studies showed that activation of Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) plays a key role in malignant transformation in the pancreas. In this study, we found that YAP1 regulates the expression of epithelial cell transforming 2 (ECT2), a guanine nucleotide exchange factor for Rho-like GTPases. By immunohistochemistry analysis of human tissues, we show that ECT2 is highly expressed in primary PDAC and liver metastasis but not in normal pancreas. These correlations were also observed in a mouse model of PDAC, where pancreatic transformation is driven by mutants of Kras and Trp53. Notably, nuclear ECT2 is upregulated in the transition from preneoplastic lesions to PDAC. High levels of YAP1 or ECT2 expression correlates with the poor overall survival rate of patients with PDAC. We further demonstrate that ECT2 is required for pancreatic cancer cell proliferation and migration in vitro. Finally, using a syngeneic orthotopic xenograft mouse model for pancreatic cancer, we found that ablation of ECT2 expression reduces pancreatic cancer growth and dissemination to the liver. These findings highlight the critical role of ECT2 in promoting pancreatic cancer growth and metastasis and provides insights into the development of novel methods for early detection and treatment.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is one of the deadliest forms of human cancers. In this study, we identified a novel signaling mechanism involved in PDAC progression and metastasis. Yes-associated protein 1 mediates the expression of epithelial cell transforming 2, which is elevated in PDAC and correlates with poor survival. Epithelial cell transforming 2 is required for PDAC growth and metastasis. This study provides insights into the development of novel methods for early detection and treatment of PDAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ce Li
- 1Department of Medical Oncology, First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China,2Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
| | - Zhenzi Peng
- 2Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California,3Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Yizhou Wang
- 4Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
| | - Gloria Lam
- 2Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
| | - Nicholas Nissen
- 5Comprehensive Transplant Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
| | - Jie Tang
- 4Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
| | - Xiaopu Yuan
- 6Department of Pathology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
| | - Michael Lewis
- 7Department of Pathology, Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, Los Angeles, California
| | - Mark I. Greene
- 8Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Stephen J. Pandol
- 2Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
| | - Qiang Wang
- 2Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
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Gong DY, Chen X, Yang TL, Wang Y, Guo Y, Zeng JH, Chen SZ. Upregulation of ECT2 is associated with transcriptional program of cancer stem cells and predicts poor clinical outcome in gastric cancer. Oncol Lett 2020; 20:54. [PMID: 32788941 PMCID: PMC7416382 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2020.11915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2019] [Accepted: 07/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Gastric cancer remains the third leading cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. The identification of prognostic indicators that are associated with clinical characteristics is urgently required. The aim of the present study was to determine the involvement of epithelial cell transforming 2 (ECT2) in gastric cancer. The results of the present study demonstrated that ECT2 expression was upregulated in human gastric cancer samples. Furthermore, high ECT2 expression was associated with advanced Tumor-Node-Metastasis stage and deeper tumor invasion. ECT2 upregulation was further confirmed in several independent publicly available clinical cohorts from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. In addition, patients with gastric cancer, with high ECT2 expression exhibited a significantly shorter overall survival time than those with low ECT2 expression, and Cox regression analysis demonstrated that ECT2 expression was an independent prognostic marker for overall survival time. Characterization of the transcriptome profiles of ECT2 upregulated gastric tumors indicated that ECT2 upregulation may be associated with transcriptional features of cancer stem cells (CSCs). Additionally, BUB1 mitotic checkpoint serine/threonine kinase and E2F transcription factor 7, two genes previously reported to account for the functionality of CSCs, were strongly enriched in ECT2High gastric cancer samples. Taken together, the results of the present study suggest that ECT2 may serve as a novel marker for CSCs and may be a potential prognostic indicator in gastric cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dao-Yin Gong
- Department of Pathology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 610072, P.R. China
| | - Xian Chen
- Department of Pathology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 610072, P.R. China
| | - Tian-Lin Yang
- Department of Pathology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 610072, P.R. China
| | - Yi Wang
- Department of Pathology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 610072, P.R. China
| | - Yu Guo
- Geriatric Department, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 610072, P.R. China
| | - Jin-Hao Zeng
- Geriatric Department, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan 610072, P.R. China
| | - Shan-Ze Chen
- Department of Pathyphysiology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences and Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, P.R. China
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Liu J, Zhou M, Ouyang Y, Du L, Xu L, Li H. Identification of potential biomarkers and their clinical significance in gastric cancer using bioinformatics analysis methods. PeerJ 2020; 8:e9174. [PMID: 33062405 PMCID: PMC7527772 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.9174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Alternative splicing (AS) is an important mechanism for regulating gene expression and proteome diversity. Tumor-alternative splicing can reveal a large class of new splicing-associated potential new antigens that may affect the immune response and can be used for immunotherapy. Methods The RNA-seq transcriptome data and clinical information of stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) cohort were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database data portal, and data of splicing events were obtained from the SpliceSeq database. Predicting genes were validated by Asian cancer research group (ACRG) cohort and Oncomine database. RT-qPCR was used to analysis the expression of ECT2 in STAD. Results A total of 32,166 AS events were identified, among which 2,042 AS events were significantly associated with patients survival. Biological pathway analysis indicated that these genes play an important role in regulating gastric cancer-related processes such as GTPase activity and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. Next, we derived a risk signature, using alternate acceptor, that is an independent prognostic marker. Moreover, high ECT2 expression was associated with poorer prognosis in STAD. Multivariate survival analysis demonstrated that high ECT2 expression was an independent risk factor for overall survival. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that high ECT2 expression was enriched for hallmarks of malignant tumors. The ACRG cohort and Oncomine also showed that high ECT2 expression was associated with poorer prognosis in gastric cancer patients. Finally, RT-qPCR showed ECT2 expression was higher in STAD compared to the normal tissues. Conclusion This study excavated the alternative splicing events in gastric cancer, and found ECT2 might be a biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Liu
- Gastroenterology, Jining No.1 People's Hospital, Jining, China
| | - Miao Zhou
- Gastroenterology, Jining No.1 People's Hospital, Jining, China
| | - Yangyang Ouyang
- Gastroenterology, Jining No.1 People's Hospital, Jining, China
| | - Laifeng Du
- General Medicine, Jining Prison Hospital, Jining, China
| | - Lingbo Xu
- Obstetrical, Jining No.1 People's Hospital, Jining, China
| | - Hongyun Li
- Gastroenterology, Jining No.1 People's Hospital, Jining, China
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Maldonado MDM, Medina JI, Velazquez L, Dharmawardhane S. Targeting Rac and Cdc42 GEFs in Metastatic Cancer. Front Cell Dev Biol 2020; 8:201. [PMID: 32322580 PMCID: PMC7156542 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2020.00201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The Rho family GTPases Rho, Rac, and Cdc42 have emerged as key players in cancer metastasis, due to their essential roles in regulating cell division and actin cytoskeletal rearrangements; and thus, cell growth, migration/invasion, polarity, and adhesion. This review will focus on the close homologs Rac and Cdc42, which have been established as drivers of metastasis and therapy resistance in multiple cancer types. Rac and Cdc42 are often dysregulated in cancer due to hyperactivation by guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs), belonging to both the diffuse B-cell lymphoma (Dbl) and dedicator of cytokinesis (DOCK) families. Rac/Cdc42 GEFs are activated by a myriad of oncogenic cell surface receptors, such as growth factor receptors, G-protein coupled receptors, cytokine receptors, and integrins; consequently, a number of Rac/Cdc42 GEFs have been implicated in metastatic cancer. Hence, inhibiting GEF-mediated Rac/Cdc42 activation represents a promising strategy for targeted metastatic cancer therapy. Herein, we focus on the role of oncogenic Rac/Cdc42 GEFs and discuss the recent advancements in the development of Rac and Cdc42 GEF-interacting inhibitors as targeted therapy for metastatic cancer, as well as their potential for overcoming cancer therapy resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Del Mar Maldonado
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
| | - Julia Isabel Medina
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
| | - Luis Velazquez
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
| | - Suranganie Dharmawardhane
- Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
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Li B, Lin JP, Li Z, Yin C, Yang JB, Meng YQ. Clinicopathological and prognostic significance of epithelial cell transforming sequence 2 expression in cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis. ARTIFICIAL CELLS NANOMEDICINE AND BIOTECHNOLOGY 2019; 47:4139-4148. [PMID: 31698961 DOI: 10.1080/21691401.2019.1687503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Numerous studies have investigated the prognostic significance of ECT2 (epithelial cell transforming sequence 2) expression in patients with cancer. Nevertheless, conflicting results have been obtained. We thus performed a meta-analysis to systematically assess the prognostic significance of ECT2 in cancer. Electronic databases (PubMed and EMBASE) were searched for eligible studies. Hazard ratios (HR) and odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate effect sizes. A total of 5,305 patients from 19 articles and 21 studies were included. The pooled results revealed that high ECT2 expression was correlated with advanced TNM stage (OR = 2.17; 95% CI: 1.42-3.32), positive lymph node metastasis (OR = 2.98; 95% CI: 2.28-3.89), distant metastasis (OR = 2.25; 95% CI: 1.03-4.92), and poor tumour differentiation (OR = 2.25; 95% CI: 1.03-4.92). More importantly, high ECT2 expression was significantly associated with poor overall survival (HR = 2.26; 95% CI, 1.84-2.78) and recurrence-free survival (HR = 1.52; 95% CI, 1.24-1.86). Our results suggested that ECT2 is a promising prognostic indicator and therapeutic target for cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bin Li
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou University Second Clinical Medical College, Lanzhou, China
| | - Jun-Ping Lin
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou University Second Clinical Medical College, Lanzhou, China
| | - Zheng Li
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou University Second Clinical Medical College, Lanzhou, China
| | - Ci Yin
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou University Second Clinical Medical College, Lanzhou, China
| | - Jian-Bao Yang
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou University Second Clinical Medical College, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yu-Qi Meng
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou University Second Clinical Medical College, Lanzhou, China
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Yin N, Liu Y, Murray NR, Fields AP. Oncogenic protein kinase Cι signaling mechanisms in lung cancer: Implications for improved therapeutic strategies. Adv Biol Regul 2019; 75:100656. [PMID: 31623973 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbior.2019.100656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2019] [Revised: 09/19/2019] [Accepted: 09/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Protein Kinase Cι (PKCι) is a major oncogene involved in the initiation, maintenance and progression of numerous forms of human cancer. In the lung, PKCι is necessary for the maintenance of the transformed phenotype of the two major forms of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), lung adenocarcinoma (LADC) and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). In addition, PKCι is necessary for both LADC and LSCC tumorigenesis by establishing and maintaining a highly aggressive stem-like, tumor-initiating cell phenotype. Interestingly however, while PKCι signaling in these two major lung cancer subtypes shares some common elements, it also drives distinct, sub-type specific pathways. Furthermore, recent analysis has revealed both PKCι-dependent and PKCι-independent pathways to LADC development. Herein, we discussion our current knowledge of oncogenic PKCι signaling in LADC and LSCC, and discuss these findings in the context of how they may inform strategies for improved therapeutic intervention in these deadly diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ning Yin
- From the Department of Cancer Cell Biology, Mayo Clinic Florida, Jacksonville, FL, 32224, USA
| | - Yi Liu
- From the Department of Cancer Cell Biology, Mayo Clinic Florida, Jacksonville, FL, 32224, USA
| | - Nicole R Murray
- From the Department of Cancer Cell Biology, Mayo Clinic Florida, Jacksonville, FL, 32224, USA
| | - Alan P Fields
- From the Department of Cancer Cell Biology, Mayo Clinic Florida, Jacksonville, FL, 32224, USA.
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12
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Zhu L, Qin G, Ye L, Jiang LZ, Zhou TJ, Luo B, Wen TY, Liu YL, Chen HY. Epithelial cell transforming sequence 2 expression is associated with the progression of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Oncol Lett 2019; 17:5699-5704. [PMID: 31186795 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2019.10226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2018] [Accepted: 02/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Epithelial cell transforming sequence 2 (ECT2) is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor and its expression is associated with the development of malignant tumor types. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no information on the role of ECT2 in the development and progression of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). The present study aimed at investigating the expression pattern and potential role of ECT2 in the development and progression of LSCC. The expression of ECT2 in 81 pairs of LSCC and adjacent non-tumor tissues was characterized by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. ECT2 expression was upregulated in LSCC tissues and associated significantly with poor differentiation, higher stages, lymph node metastasis and poor survival in the sample population. The relative expression levels of ECT2 mRNA transcripts were correlated with the intensity of anti-ECT2 staining in 25 ECT2+LSCC specimens selected randomly. These results indicated that ECT2 expression was crucial for the progression of LSCC and may serve as a biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of LSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Zhu
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, P.R. China.,Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, P.R. China
| | - Gang Qin
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, P.R. China
| | - Lin Ye
- Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, P.R. China
| | - Li-Zhu Jiang
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, P.R. China
| | - Tie-Jun Zhou
- Department of Pathology, The Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, P.R. China
| | - Bo Luo
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute for Cancer Research, School of Preclinical Medical Sciences, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan 646000, P.R. China
| | - Tao-Yu Wen
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, P.R. China
| | - Ya-Lan Liu
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, P.R. China
| | - Hong-Yan Chen
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, P.R. China
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13
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Xiu Y, Liu W, Wang T, Liu Y, Ha M. Overexpression of ECT2 is a strong poor prognostic factor in ER(+) breast cancer. Mol Clin Oncol 2019; 10:497-505. [PMID: 30967944 PMCID: PMC6449927 DOI: 10.3892/mco.2019.1832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Epithelial cell transforming sequence 2 (ECT2) is a guanine nucleotide exchange factor encoded by the ECT2 gene, which is located on the 3q26.31 chromosomal region and is directly associated with the occurrence of cancers. The aim of the present study was to examine the expression and prognostic importance of ECT2 in various breast cancer subtypes using the online tools, Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis, Kaplan-Meier-plotter and bc-GenExMiner. ECT2 mRNA expression was significantly different in oestrogen receptor ER(+) breast cancer; overexpression of ECT2 was associated with poor prognosis in ER+ breast cancer. The mRNA expression levels of ECT2 were increased in basal-like breast cancer and triple negative breast cancer, but were not significant for prognostic prediction. We identified ECT2-correlated genes and their corresponding Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment terms. The results revealed that GO: 0005524 (protein binding) had the greatest number of correlated genes and also contained ECT2. This suggested that overexpression of ECT2 may be a significant prognostic factor for poor outcome in ER+ breast cancer; however, the precise role of ECT2 in breast cancer requires further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingying Xiu
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning 121001, P.R. China.,Cancer Center, Key Laboratory of Brain and Spinal Cord Injury of Liaoning Province, and Animal Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning 121001, P.R. China
| | - Wei Liu
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning 121001, P.R. China
| | - Tianyi Wang
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning 121001, P.R. China
| | - Yi Liu
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning 121001, P.R. China
| | - Minwen Ha
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning 121001, P.R. China
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Gökmen-Polar Y, True JD, Vieth E, Gu Y, Gu X, Qi GD, Mosley AL, Badve SS. Quantitative phosphoproteomic analysis identifies novel functional pathways of tumor suppressor DLC1 in estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0204658. [PMID: 30278072 PMCID: PMC6168143 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2018] [Accepted: 09/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Deleted in Liver Cancer-1 (DLC1), a member of the RhoGAP family of proteins, functions as a tumor suppressor in several cancers including breast cancer. However, its clinical relevance is unclear in breast cancer. In this study, expression of DLC1 was correlated with prognosis using publicly available breast cancer gene expression datasets and quantitative Reverse Transcription PCR in cohorts of Estrogen Receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer. Low expression of DLC1 correlates with poor prognosis in patients with ER+ breast cancer with further decrease in metastatic lesions. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data showed that down regulation of DLC1 is not due to methylation or mutations. To seek further insights in understanding the role of DLC1 in ER+ breast cancer, we stably overexpressed DLC1-full-length (DLC1-FL) in T-47D breast cancer cells; this inhibited cell colony formation significantly in vitro compared to its control counterpart. Label-free global proteomic and TiO2 phosphopeptide enrichment assays (ProteomeXchange identifier PXD008220) showed that 205 and 122 phosphopeptides were unique to DLC1-FL cells and T-47D-control cells, respectively, whereas 6,726 were quantified by phosphoproteomics analysis in both conditions. The top three significant clusters of differentially phosphopeptides identified by DAVID pathway analysis represent cell-cell adhesion, mRNA processing and splicing, and transcription regulation. Phosphoproteomics analysis documented an inverse relation between DLC1 expression and several phosphopeptides including epithelial cell transforming sequence 2 (ECT2). Decreased phosphorylation of ECT2 at the residue T359, critical for its active conformational change, was validated by western blot. In addition, the ECT2 T359-containing phosphopeptide was detected in both basal and luminal patient-derived breast cancers breast cancer phosphoproteomics data on the Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium (CPTAC) Assay portal. Together, for the first time, this implicates ECT2 phosphorylation in breast cancer, which has been proposed as a therapeutic target in lung cancer. In conclusion, this data suggests that low expression of DLC1 is associated with poor prognosis. Targeting ECT2 phosphopeptides could provide a promising mechanism for controlling poor prognosis seen in DLC1low ER+ breast cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yesim Gökmen-Polar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Jason D. True
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States of America
| | - Edyta Vieth
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States of America
| | - Yuan Gu
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States of America
| | - Xiaoping Gu
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States of America
| | - Guihong D. Qi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States of America
| | - Amber L. Mosley
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States of America
| | - Sunil S. Badve
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States of America
- Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, United States of America
- Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, Indianapolis, IN, United States of America
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15
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Wang HK, Liang JF, Zheng HX, Xiao H. Expression and prognostic significance of ECT2 in invasive breast cancer. J Clin Pathol 2017; 71:442-445. [DOI: 10.1136/jclinpath-2017-204569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2017] [Revised: 10/02/2017] [Accepted: 10/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
AimsTo investigate the expression of epithelial cell transforming sequence 2 (ECT2) in invasive breast cancer and its prognostic significance.MethodsECT2 immunohistochemical detection was performed in 165 breast cancer specimens and 100 normal control tissues. Univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression model analysis was used to confirm independent prognostic factors. The PHREG procedure linear hypotheses testing method was used to analyse survival data.ResultsExpression of ECT2 in breast cancer was significantly higher than that of the normal control group (p<0.001), and it was related to tumour grade, the status of lymph node metastasis, TNM staging, recurrence status, menopausal status, and the Ki-67 proliferation index (p<0.05), and not related to age, tumour size, tumour type, expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and human epidermal growth factor 2, and triple-negative disease (p>0.05). Univariable analysis showed that expression of ECT2, the status of lymph node metastasis, triple-negative disease and Ki-67 proliferation index were related to the overall survival of patients with breast cancer (p<0.001, p=0.006, p=0.001, p=0.041, respectively). PHREG procedure linear hypotheses testing results for overall survival revealed that high expression of ECT2, lymph node metastasis, triple-negative disease and high Ki-67 proliferation index predicted lower overall survival rates. Multivariable Cox regression indicated that high expression of ECT2 and triple-negative disease were independent prognostic factors for patients with breast cancer (p<0.001, p=0.004, respectively).ConclusionsExpression of ECT2 may be one of the main causes of the occurrence and development of breast cancer, and high expression of ECT2 as an independent prognostic factor predicts a poor prognosis. ECT2 could also be a potential molecular target for designing therapeutic strategies for breast cancer.
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16
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Chen Z, Liu J, Zhang Y. Role of Epithelial Cell Transforming Sequence 2 (ECT2) in Predicting Prognosis of Osteosarcoma. Med Sci Monit 2017; 23:3861-3868. [PMID: 28794404 PMCID: PMC5562183 DOI: 10.12659/msm.905951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Osteosarcoma is a major bone malignancy in children and young adults, and it is highly heterogeneous. The clinical outcome of osteosarcoma is individual-dependent due to different genetic and pathological profiles. Although chemotherapy in combination with surgery has significantly improved the survival of localized disease, the prognostic improvement for metastatic patients is less marked. ECT2 (epithelial cell transforming sequence 2) is a transforming protein that can interact with Rho-like proteins of the Ras family and has been proven as an ontogenetic protein in cancer cell lines. We studied the clinical significance of ECT2 in osteosarcoma and explored its underlying oncogenic mechanisms. Material/Methods The protein expression pattern of ECT2 in osteosarcoma was investigated by immunohistochemical staining, and its association with clinicopathological characteristics was initially explored. The significance of ECT2 in predicting patient prognosis was verified by univariate and multivariate analyzes. Cellular experiments were conducted to explore underlying mechanisms of ECT2 in regulating osteosarcoma progression. Results High ECT2 expression was correlated with tumor metastasis and poor overall survival of osteosarcoma patients. ECT2 promotes cell invasion by modulating EMT process. Conclusions ECT2 is an independent prognostic factor for osteosarcoma and it can upregulate the metastatic capacity of osteosarcoma cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiguo Chen
- Department of Joint Surgery, Linyi People's Hospital, Linyi, Shandong, China (mainland)
| | - Jiatian Liu
- Department of Orthopedics, Linyi People's Hospital of Gaoxin District, Linyi, Shandong, China (mainland)
| | - Yihang Zhang
- Department of Orthopedics, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, Shandong, China (mainland)
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17
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Cairney CJ, Godwin LS, Bilsland AE, Burns S, Stevenson KH, McGarry L, Revie J, Moore JD, Wiggins CM, Collinson RS, Mudd C, Tsonou E, Sadaie M, Bennett DC, Narita M, Torrance CJ, Keith WN. A 'synthetic-sickness' screen for senescence re-engagement targets in mutant cancer backgrounds. PLoS Genet 2017; 13:e1006942. [PMID: 28806777 PMCID: PMC5570495 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2017] [Revised: 08/24/2017] [Accepted: 07/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Senescence is a universal barrier to immortalisation and tumorigenesis. As such, interest in the use of senescence-induction in a therapeutic context has been gaining momentum in the past few years; however, senescence and immortalisation remain underserved areas for drug discovery owing to a lack of robust senescence inducing agents and an incomplete understanding of the signalling events underlying this complex process. In order to address this issue we undertook a large-scale morphological siRNA screen for inducers of senescence phenotypes in the human melanoma cell line A375P. Following rescreen and validation in a second cancer cell line, HCT116 colorectal carcinoma, a panel of 16 of the most robust hits were selected for further validation based on significance and the potential to be targeted by drug-like molecules. Using secondary assays for detection of senescence biomarkers p21, 53BP1 and senescence associated beta-galactosidase (SAβGal) in a panel of HCT116 cell lines carrying cancer-relevant mutations, we show that partial senescence phenotypes can be induced to varying degrees in a context dependent manner, even in the absence of p21 or p53 expression. However, proliferation arrest varied among genetic backgrounds with predominantly toxic effects in p21 null cells, while cells lacking PI3K mutation failed to arrest. Furthermore, we show that the oncogene ECT2 induces partial senescence phenotypes in all mutant backgrounds tested, demonstrating a dependence on activating KRASG13D for growth suppression and a complete senescence response. These results suggest a potential mechanism to target mutant KRAS signalling through ECT2 in cancers that are reliant on activating KRAS mutations and remain refractory to current treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire J. Cairney
- Institute of Cancer Sciences, Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Lauren S. Godwin
- Molecular and Clinical Sciences Research Institute, St. George's, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alan E. Bilsland
- Institute of Cancer Sciences, Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Sharon Burns
- Institute of Cancer Sciences, Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Katrina H. Stevenson
- Institute of Cancer Sciences, Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Lynn McGarry
- RNAi Screening Facility, Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - John Revie
- Institute of Cancer Sciences, Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Jon D. Moore
- Horizon Discovery Ltd, Cambridge Research Park, Waterbeach, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Ceri M. Wiggins
- Horizon Discovery Ltd, Cambridge Research Park, Waterbeach, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Rebecca S. Collinson
- Molecular and Clinical Sciences Research Institute, St. George's, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Clare Mudd
- Horizon Discovery Ltd, Cambridge Research Park, Waterbeach, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Elpida Tsonou
- Horizon Discovery Ltd, Cambridge Research Park, Waterbeach, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Mahito Sadaie
- Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Dorothy C. Bennett
- Molecular and Clinical Sciences Research Institute, St. George's, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Masashi Narita
- Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | - W. Nicol Keith
- Institute of Cancer Sciences, Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
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Justilien V, Lewis KC, Murray NR, Fields AP. Oncogenic Ect2 signaling regulates rRNA synthesis in NSCLC. Small GTPases 2017; 10:388-394. [PMID: 28657426 DOI: 10.1080/21541248.2017.1335274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Rho GTPase family members Rac1, Cdc42 and RhoA play key contributory roles in the transformed phenotype of human cancers. Epithelial Cell Transforming Sequence 2 (Ect2), a guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for these Rho GTPases, has also been implicated in a variety of human cancers. We have shown that Ect2 is frequently overexpressed in both major forms of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), lung adenocarcinoma (LADC) and lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), which together make up approximately 70% of all lung cancer diagnoses. Furthermore, we have found that Ect2 is required for multiple aspects of the transformed phenotype of NSCLC cells including transformed growth and invasion in vitro and tumorigenesis in vivo. More recently, we showed that a major mechanism by which Ect2 drives KRAS-mediated LADC transformation is by regulating rRNA (rRNA) synthesis. However, it remains unclear whether Ect2 plays a similar role in ribosome biogenesis in LSCC. Here we demonstrate that Ect2 expression correlates positively with expression of ribosome biogenesis genes and with pre-ribosomal 45S RNA abundance in primary LSCC tumors. Furthermore, we demonstrate that Ect2 functionally regulates rRNA synthesis in LSCC cells. Based on these data, we propose that inhibition of Ect2-mediated nucleolar signaling holds promise as a potential therapeutic strategy for improved treatment of both LADC and LSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verline Justilien
- a Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center , Jacksonville , FL , USA
| | - Kayla C Lewis
- a Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center , Jacksonville , FL , USA
| | - Nicole R Murray
- a Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center , Jacksonville , FL , USA
| | - Alan P Fields
- a Department of Cancer Biology, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center , Jacksonville , FL , USA
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Chen Y, Tian P, Liu Y. P53 and Protein Phosphorylation Regulate the Oncogenic Role of Epithelial Cell Transforming 2 (ECT2). Med Sci Monit 2017; 23:3154-3160. [PMID: 28654632 PMCID: PMC5498131 DOI: 10.12659/msm.905388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Gastric cancer (GC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, but little progress has been achieved in the treatment of advanced or metastatic GC. GC is highly heterogeneous and more studies are needed to elucidate the metastatic mechanisms. Epithelial cell transforming 2 (ECT2) has been reported to be up-regulated in GC tissues, but its signaling mechanisms remain unclear. MATERIAL AND METHODS In this study, we used Western blot analysis to compare the expression level of ECT2 in 2 GC cell lines: MKN1 and MKN45. Mutagenesis and transfections were conducted to investigate the oncogenic mechanisms of ECT2 in GC cells. RESULTS ECT2 was expressed at higher levels in MKN1 than in MKN45. Immunoblotting results showed that MKN1 expression was suppressed by p53-WT but was enhanced by p53-mutant. In addition, in vitro experiments showed that ECT2 positively regulated the proliferation and invasion of GC cells. To better explore the mechanisms of ECT2 in promoting GC progression, we introduced site-directed mutants of ECT2, and found that the phosphor-mimic mutant T359D enhanced its oncogenic activity. In contrast, activation of RhoA was inhibited in cells transfected with ECT2 phosphor-deficient mutant T359A. We found that the epithelial cell biomarker E-cadherin was down-regulated by ECT2-T359D, highlighting the role of phosphorylation in regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition. CONCLUSIONS Our results identified p53 as a novel up-stream signaling molecule of ECT2 in GC cells, and the post-translational modifications of ECT2 play important roles in regulating cancer development and progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Chen
- Department of Gastroenterology, Yidu Central Hospital of Weifang, Weifang, Shandong, China (mainland)
| | - Ping Tian
- Department of Gastroenterology, Yidu Central Hospital of Weifang, Weifang, Shandong, China (mainland)
| | - Yi Liu
- Department of General Surgery, Qilu Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China (mainland)
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Elevated levels of epithelial cell transforming sequence 2 predicts poor prognosis for prostate cancer. Med Oncol 2016; 34:13. [PMID: 28012134 DOI: 10.1007/s12032-016-0872-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Epithelial cell transforming sequence 2 (Ect2) was originally reported as an oncogene that is involved in several types of human cancers. However, little is known about its expression and function in prostate cancer. Immunohistochemical staining for Ect2 was performed on a human tissue microarray. The staining intensity was analyzed in association with clinical pathological parameters such as Gleason score, pathological grade, clinical stage, tumor invasion, lymph node and distant metastasis. Furthermore, we repeated such analysis and investigated the prognostic value of Ect2 using the TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) Dataset. Our immunohistochemical results showed that the expression levels of Ect2 protein were enhanced in human prostate cancer tissues. There existed positive correlations between the expression levels of Ect2 and several clinicopathological parameters, including advanced clinical stage, enhanced tumor invasion and lymph node metastasis. Similarly, we found that the expression levels of Ect2 were positively related to Gleason score, tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis and high distant metastasis in the TCGA Dataset. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that lower levels of Ect2 mRNA predicted higher overall survivals and biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free survivals in all patients or non-metastatic patients. Multivariate analysis by Cox regression showed that the expression of Ect2 could be an independent prognostic marker of poor BCR-free survivals. Therefore, levels of Ect2 may serve as a novel marker for the diagnosis or prognosis of prostate cancer.
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