Thrombomodulin mediates the migration of cervical cancer cells through the regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition biomarkers

Neutrophils as promising therapeutic targets in pancreatic cancer liver metastasis

Pancreatic cancer is characterized by an extremely poor prognosis and presents significant treatment challenges. Liver metastasis is the leading cause of death in patients with pancreatic cancer. Recent studies have highlighted the significant impact of neutrophils on tumor occurrence and progression, as well as their crucial role in the pancreatic cancer tumor microenvironment. Neutrophil infiltration plays a critical role in the progression and prognosis of pancreatic cancer. Neutrophils contribute to pancreatic cancer liver metastasis through various mechanisms, including angiogenesis, immune suppression, immune evasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Therefore, targeting neutrophils holds promise as an important therapeutic strategy for inhibiting pancreatic cancer liver metastasis. This article provides a summary of research findings on the involvement of neutrophils in pancreatic cancer liver metastasis and analyzes their potential as therapeutic targets. This research may provide new insights for the treatment of pancreatic cancer and improve the prognosis of patients with this disease.

Thrombomodulin Expression in Bladder Cancer Tissue and Its Association with Prognosis and Patient Survival

Background

Decreased expression of thrombomodulin (TM) in bladder cancer tissue has been shown to be associated with cell proliferation, increased malignancy and a poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the immunoexpression of TM in bladder tissue cores by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and the relationship between TM score and patient survival for the following pathologies: transitional cell papillary carcinoma (TCPC), transitional cell carcinoma (non-papillary) (TCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), adenocarcinoma, and sarcoma. TM immunoexpression was also evaluated in normal adjacent bladder tissue cores.

Methods

TM immunoexpression was assessed in n=185 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) bladder tissue cores from n=98 patients by IHC. Tissue cores included TCPC (n=29), TCC (n=85), SCC (n=21), adenocarcinoma (n=12), sarcoma (n=4), and normal tissue cores (n=34).

Results

TM immunoexpression scores are stronger in TCPC, TCC and SCC bladder cancer tissue cores with respect to adenocarcinoma and sarcoma (mean TM immunoexpression scores: 3.04, 2.57, 2.55, 1.55 and 1.19, respectively) (Kruskal–Wallis p<0.001). TM immunoexpression scores significantly decreased in bladder cancer tissue cores across both stage (p<0.001) and grade (p<0.001) (Kruskal–Wallis). Survival data were available for n=45 bladder cancer patients (mean follow-up of 34 months). Applying a TM immunoexpression cut-off score of 3.0 demonstrated that patients with bladder cancer who had a TM immunoexpression score <3.0 had lower survival rates (median survival 23.5 months). In contrast, patients with TM immunoexpression scores ≥3.0 had longer survival rates (median survival 40 months) (log-rank; p=0.045).

Conclusion

TM immunoexpression in bladder cancer tissue may be a clinically relevant predictor of tumor progression and survival. Low expression of TM in bladder cancer biopsies or in recurrent bladder cancer may be indicative of a poor prognosis. TM immunoexpression could be used to guide clinical decision making.

C-type lectin domain group 14 proteins in vascular biology, cancer and inflammation

The C‐type lectin domain (CTLD) group 14 family of transmembrane glycoproteins consist of thrombomodulin, CD93, CLEC14A and CD248 (endosialin or tumour endothelial marker‐1). These cell surface proteins exhibit similar ectodomain architecture and yet mediate a diverse range of cellular functions, including but not restricted to angiogenesis, inflammation and cell adhesion. Thrombomodulin, CD93 and CLEC14A can be expressed by endothelial cells, whereas CD248 is expressed by vasculature associated pericytes, activated fibroblasts and tumour cells among other cell types. In this article, we review the current literature of these family members including their expression profiles, interacting partners, as well as established and speculated functions. We focus primarily on their roles in the vasculature and inflammation as well as their contributions to tumour immunology. The CTLD group 14 family shares several characteristic features including their ability to be proteolytically cleaved and engagement of some shared extracellular matrix ligands. Each family member has strong links to tumour development and in particular CD93, CLEC14A and CD248 have been proposed as attractive candidate targets for cancer therapy.

Exploring traditional and nontraditional roles for thrombomodulin

Thrombomodulin (TM) is an integral component of a multimolecular system, localized primarily to the vascular endothelium, that integrates crucial biological processes and biochemical pathways, including those related to coagulation, innate immunity, inflammation, and cell proliferation. These are designed to protect the host from injury and promote healing. The “traditional” role of TM in hemostasis was determined with its discovery in the 1980s as a ligand for thrombin and a critical cofactor for the major natural anticoagulant protein C system and subsequently for thrombin-mediated activation of the thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (also known as procarboxypeptidase B2). Studies in the past 2 decades are redefining TM as a molecule with many properties, exhibited via its multiple domains, through its interacting partners, complex regulated expression, and synthesis by cells other than the endothelium. In this report, we review some of the recently reported diverse properties of TM and how these may impact on our understanding of the pathogenesis of several diseases.

Thrombomodulin reduces tumorigenic and metastatic potential of lung cancer cells by up-regulation of E-cadherin and down-regulation of N-cadherin expression

Thrombomodulin (TM) is an endothelial cell membrane protein and plays critical roles in anti-thrombosis, anti-inflammation, vascular endothelial protection, and is traditionally regarded as a "vascular protection god". In recent years, although TM has been reported to be down-regulated in a variety of malignant tumors including lung cancer, the role and mechanism of TM in lung cancer are enigmatic. In this study, we found that induction of TM overexpression by cholesterol-reducing drug atorvastatin significantly diminished the tumorigenic capability of the lung cancer cells. Moreover, we demonstrated that TM overexpression caused G0/G1 phase arrest and markedly reduced the colony forming capability of the cells. Furthermore, overexpression of TM inhibited cell migration and invasion. Consistently, depletion of TM promoted cell growth, reduced the cell population at the G0/G1 phase, and enhanced cell migratory ability. Mechanistic study revealed that TM up-regulated E-cadherin but down-regulated N-cadherin expression, resulting in reversal of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in the lung cancer cells. Moreover, silencing TM expression led to decreased E-cadherin and increased N-cadherin. Taken together, our study suggests that TM functions as a tumor suppressive protein, providing a conceptual framework for inducing TM overexpression as a sensible strategy and approach for novel anti-lung cancer drug discovery.

Anti-Cancer Activity of Solanum nigrum (AESN) through Suppression of Mitochondrial Function and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) in Breast Cancer Cells

Chemotherapy is the main approach for treating advanced and recurrent carcinoma, but the clinical performance of chemotherapy is limited by relatively low response rates, drug resistance, and adverse effects that severely affect the quality of life of patients. An association between epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and chemotherapy resistance has been investigated in recent studies. Our recent studies have found that the aqueous extract of Solanum nigrum (AESN) is a crucial ingredient in some traditional Chinese medicine formulas for treating various types of cancer patients and exhibits antitumor effects. We evaluated the suppression of EMT in MCF-7 breast cancer cells treated with AESN. The mitochondrial morphology was investigated using Mitotracker Deep-Red FM stain. Our results indicated that AESN markedly inhibited cell viability of MCF-7 breast cancer cells through apoptosis induction and cell cycle arrest mediated by activation of caspase-3 and production of reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, mitochondrial fission was observed in MCF-7 breast cancer cells treated with AESN. In addition to elevation of E-cadherin, downregulations of ZEB1, N-cadherin, and vimentin were found in AESN-treated MCF-7 breast cancer cells. These results suggested that AESN could inhibit EMT of MCF-7 breast cancer cells mediated by attenuation of mitochondrial function. AESN could be potentially beneficial in treating breast cancer cells, and may be of interest for future studies in developing integrative cancer therapy against proliferation, metastasis, and migration of breast cancer cells.

Assessing the carcinogenic potential of low-dose exposures to chemical mixtures in the environment: focus on the cancer hallmark of tumor angiogenesis

One of the important 'hallmarks' of cancer is angiogenesis, which is the process of formation of new blood vessels that are necessary for tumor expansion, invasion and metastasis. Under normal physiological conditions, angiogenesis is well balanced and controlled by endogenous proangiogenic factors and antiangiogenic factors. However, factors produced by cancer cells, cancer stem cells and other cell types in the tumor stroma can disrupt the balance so that the tumor microenvironment favors tumor angiogenesis. These factors include vascular endothelial growth factor, endothelial tissue factor and other membrane bound receptors that mediate multiple intracellular signaling pathways that contribute to tumor angiogenesis. Though environmental exposures to certain chemicals have been found to initiate and promote tumor development, the role of these exposures (particularly to low doses of multiple substances), is largely unknown in relation to tumor angiogenesis. This review summarizes the evidence of the role of environmental chemical bioactivity and exposure in tumor angiogenesis and carcinogenesis. We identify a number of ubiquitous (prototypical) chemicals with disruptive potential that may warrant further investigation given their selectivity for high-throughput screening assay targets associated with proangiogenic pathways. We also consider the cross-hallmark relationships of a number of important angiogenic pathway targets with other cancer hallmarks and we make recommendations for future research. Understanding of the role of low-dose exposure of chemicals with disruptive potential could help us refine our approach to cancer risk assessment, and may ultimately aid in preventing cancer by reducing or eliminating exposures to synergistic mixtures of chemicals with carcinogenic potential.

Role of epithelial to mesenchymal transition proteins in gynecological cancers: pathological and therapeutic perspectives

Gynecorelogic cancers like ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancers are among the major threats to modern life, especially to female health. Like some other types of cancers, all of these gynecological cancers have found to be associated with the developmental stage epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). More specifically, the aberrant expression of major EMT markers, such as lower expressions of E-cadherin and alpha-catenin, and overexpressions of N-cadherin, beta-catenin, vimentin, and matrix metalloproteinases, have been reported in ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancers. The transcription factors, such as Twist, Snail, Slug, and Zeb, which regulate these EMT mediators, are also reported to be overexpressed in gynecological cancers. In addition to the over/lower expression, the promoter methylation of some of these genes has been identified too. In the era of target-specific cancer therapeutics, some promising studies showed that targeting EMT markers might be an interesting and successful tool in future cancer therapy. In this study, we have reviewed the recent development in the research on the association of EMT markers with three major gynecological cancers in the perspectives of carcinogenesis and therapeutics.

Transcription regulation of E-cadherin by zinc finger E-box binding homeobox proteins in solid tumors

Downregulation of E-cadherin in solid tumors with regional migration and systematic metastasis is well recognized. In view of its significance in tumorigenesis and solid cancer progression, studies on the regulatory mechanisms are important for the development of target treatment and prediction of clinical behavior for cancer patients. The vertebrate zinc finger E-box binding homeobox (ZEB) protein family comprises 2 major members: ZEB1 and ZEB2. Both contain the motif for specific binding to multiple enhancer boxes (E-boxes) located within the short-range transcription regulatory regions of the E-cadherin gene. Binding of ZEB1 and ZEB2 to the spaced E-cadherin E-boxes has been implicated in the regulation of E-cadherin expression in multiple human cancers. The widespread functions of ZEB proteins in human malignancies indicate their significance. Given the significance of E-cadherin in the solid tumors, a deeper understanding of the functional role of ZEB proteins in solid tumors could provide insights in the design of target therapy against the migratory nature of solid cancers.