CGB activates ERK and AKT kinases in cancer cells via LHCGR-independent mechanism

Unconventional Actions of Glycoprotein Hormone Subunits: A Comprehensive Review

The glycoprotein hormones (GPH) are heterodimers composed of a common α subunit and a specific β subunit. They act by activating specific leucine-rich repeat G protein-coupled receptors. However, individual subunits have been shown to elicit responses in cells devoid of the receptor for the dimeric hormones. The α subunit is involved in prolactin production from different tissues. The human chorionic gonadotropin β subunit (βhCG) plays determinant roles in placentation and in cancer development and metastasis. A truncated form of the thyrotropin (TSH) β subunit is also reported to have biological effects. The GPH α- and β subunits are derived from precursor genes (gpa and gpb, respectively), which are expressed in most invertebrate species and are still represented in vertebrates as GPH subunit paralogs (gpa2 and gpb5, respectively). No specific receptor has been found for the vertebrate GPA2 and GPB5 even if their heterodimeric form is able to activate the TSH receptor in mammals. Interestingly, GPA and GPB are phylogenetically and structurally related to cysteine-knot growth factors (CKGF) and particularly to a group of antagonists that act independently on any receptor. This review article summarizes the observed actions of individual GPH subunits and presents the current hypotheses of how these actions might be induced. New approaches are also proposed in light of the evolutionary relatedness with antagonists of the CKGF family of proteins.

β-hCG promotes epithelial ovarian cancer metastasis through ERK/MMP2 signaling pathway

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the most lethal gynecologic malignancy, with typically extensive intraperitoneal implantation leading to poor prognosis. Our previous study preliminarily demonstrated β-hCG can promote tumorigenesis in immortalized nontumorigenic ovarian epithelial cells. In this study, the roles and mechanisms of β-hCG in regulating EOC proliferation and metastasis were thoroughly explored. First, histologically, β-hCG was aberrantly overexpressed in human EOC metastatic tissues, and significantly correlated with FIGO stage, tumor size, differentiation, histologic grade and high grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) (P < 0.05). However, serologically, β-hCG expression showed no significant difference between EOC and nonmalignant ovarian patients. Second, β-hCG was confirmed to have no significant effects on EOC proliferation in vitro and in vivo, while β-hCG upregulation was proven to promote migration and invasion ability in ES-2 and OVCAR-3 cells in vitro (P < 0.05), and β-hCG downregulation in SKOV3 cells had the opposite effect. Moreover, more invadopodia protrusions, mitochondria accumulations and cytoskeletal rearrangements were observed in β-hCG-overexpressing ES-2 cells, while β-hCG-depleted SKOV3 cells produced the opposite effect. Furthermore, β-hCG was confirmed to clearly facilitate intraperitoneal metastasis in nude mouse orthotopic ovarian xenograft models. Importantly, these effects of β-hCG were mediated by activation of the ERK/MMP2 signaling pathway, independently of luteinizing hormone/chorionic gonadotropin receptor (LHCGR) presence, and inhibition the pathway with the p-ERK1/2 inhibitor SCH772984 significantly impaired the tumor-promoting effects induced by β-hCG. Collectively, these data provide new insight into the roles and mechanisms of β-hCG in regulating EOC metastasis through ERK/MMP2 signaling pathway and may become a new target for therapeutic intervention.

Two Hormones for One Receptor: Evolution, Biochemistry, Actions, and Pathophysiology of LH and hCG

LH and chorionic gonadotropin (CG) are glycoproteins fundamental to sexual development and reproduction. Because they act on the same receptor (LHCGR), the general consensus has been that LH and human CG (hCG) are equivalent. However, separate evolution of LHβ and hCGβ subunits occurred in primates, resulting in two molecules sharing ~85% identity and regulating different physiological events. Pituitary, pulsatile LH production results in an ~90-minute half-life molecule targeting the gonads to regulate gametogenesis and androgen synthesis. Trophoblast hCG, the "pregnancy hormone," exists in several isoforms and glycosylation variants with long half-lives (hours) and angiogenic potential and acts on luteinized ovarian cells as progestational. The different molecular features of LH and hCG lead to hormone-specific LHCGR binding and intracellular signaling cascades. In ovarian cells, LH action is preferentially exerted through kinases, phosphorylated extracellular-regulated kinase 1/2 (pERK1/2) and phosphorylated AKT (also known as protein kinase B), resulting in irreplaceable proliferative/antiapoptotic signals and partial agonism on progesterone production in vitro. In contrast, hCG displays notable cAMP/protein kinase A (PKA)-mediated steroidogenic and proapoptotic potential, which is masked by estrogen action in vivo. In vitro data have been confirmed by a large data set from assisted reproduction, because the steroidogenic potential of hCG positively affects the number of retrieved oocytes, and LH affects the pregnancy rate (per oocyte number). Leydig cell in vitro exposure to hCG results in qualitatively similar cAMP/PKA and pERK1/2 activation compared with LH and testosterone. The supposed equivalence of LH and hCG has been disproved by such data, highlighting their sex-specific functions and thus deeming it an oversight caused by incomplete understanding of clinical data.

Evaluation of Anti-Metastatic Potential of the Combination of Fisetin with Paclitaxel on A549 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells

The identification and development of new agents with a therapeutic potential as well as novel drug combinations are gaining the attention of scientists and clinicians as a plausible approach to improve therapeutic regimens for chemoresistant tumors. We have recently reported that the flavonoid fisetin (FIS), at physiologically attainable concentrations, acts synergistically with clinically achievable doses of paclitaxel (PTX) to produce growth inhibitory and pro-death effects on A549 human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. To further investigate a potential therapeutic efficacy of the combination of fisetin with paclitaxel, we decided to assess its impact on metastatic capability of A549 cells as well as its toxicity toward normal human lung fibroblast. Cell viability, cell migration, and invasion were measured by thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, wound healing assay, and Transwell chamber assay, respectively. The expression of metastasis-related genes was assessed with quantitative reverse transcriptase real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Actin and vimentin filaments were examined under the fluorescence microscope. The combination of FIS and PTX significantly reduced cancer cell migration and invasion, at least partially, through a marked rearrangement of actin and vimentin cytoskeleton and the modulation of metastasis-related genes. Most of these effects of the combination treatment were significantly greater than those of individual agents. Paclitaxel alone was even more toxic to normal cells than the combination of this drug with the flavonoid, suggesting that FIS may provide some protection against PTX-mediated cytotoxicity. The combination of FIS and PTX is expected to have a synergistic anticancer efficacy and a significant potential for the treatment of NSCLC, however, further in vitro and in vivo studies are required to confirm this preliminary evidence.

Human chorionic gonadotropin β subunit affects the expression of apoptosis-regulating factors in ovarian cancer

Expression of human chorionic gonadotropin, especially its free β subunit (hCGβ) were shown to play an important role in cancer growth, invasion and metastasis. It is postulated that hCGβ is one of the factors determining cancer cell survival. To test this hypothesis, we applied two models: an in vitro model of ovarian cancer using OVCAR-3 and SKOV-3 cell lines transfected with the CGB5 gene and an in vivo model of ovarian cancer tissues. The material was tested against changes in expression level of genes encoding factors involved in apoptosis: BCL2, BAX and BIRC5. Overexpression of hCGβ was found to cause a decrease in expression of the analyzed genes in the transfected cells compared with the control cells. In ovarian cancer tissues, high expression of CGB was related to significantly lower BCL2 but higher BAX and BIRC5 transcript levels. Moreover, a low BCL2/BAX ratio, characteristic of advanced stages of ovarian cancer, was revealed. Since tumors were discriminated by a significantly lower LHCGR level than the level noted in healthy fallopian tubes and ovaries, it may be stated that the effect of hCGβ on changes in the expression of apoptosis-regulating agents observed in ovarian cancer is LHCGR-independent. The results of the study suggest that the biological effects evoked by hCGβ are related to apoptosis suppression.