LATS2 as a poor prognostic marker regulates non-small cell lung cancer invasion by modulating MMPs expression

CircAGFG1 Promotes Osteosarcoma Progression and Stemness by Competing with miR-302a-3p to Upregulate the Expression of LATS2

This study aimed to investigate the effect of circRNA (circAGFG1) on the proliferation, migration, invasion, and cell stemness of osteosarcoma cells by targeting miR-302a to regulate LATS2. The expression of circAGFG1 in osteosarcoma cells and normal osteoblasts was detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Cell proliferation, clone formation, and invasion were detected by CCK-8, clone formation, and cell invasion assays. In vivo tumor formation assay was used to detect the effect of circAGFG1 on tumor growth. The expression level of circAGFG1 was upregulated in osteosarcoma cells. The downregulation of circAGFG1 inhibited the proliferation, invasion, and migration of osteosarcoma cells. The overexpression of circAGFG1 enhanced the stemness of osteosarcoma cells. CircAGFG1 was specifically bound to miR-302a to regulate the expression activity of miR-302a. MiR-302a specifically bound to the 3'UTR of LATS2 and inhibited the expression of LATS2. The overexpression of miR-302a reversed the effect of circAGFG1 on the proliferation, invasion, and migration of osteosarcoma cells. CircAGFG1 regulated the expression of LATS2 by miR-302a, thereby regulating the proliferation, migration, and invasion of osteosarcoma cells.

Identification and Validation of a GPX4-Related Immune Prognostic Signature for Lung Adenocarcinoma

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a commonly occurring histological subtype of lung cancer. Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) is an important regulatory factor of ferroptosis and is involved in the development of many cancers, but its prognostic significance has not been systematically described in LUAD. In this study, we focused on developing a robust GPX4-related prognostic signature (GPS) for LUAD. Data for the training cohort was extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas, and that for the validation cohort was sourced from the GSE72094 dataset including 863 LUAD patients. GPX4-related genes were screened out by weighted gene coexpression network analysis and Spearman’s correlation analysis. Then, Cox regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analyses were employed to construct a GPS. The ESTIMATE algorithm, single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA), and GSEA were utilized to evaluate the relationship between GPS and the tumor microenvironment (TME). We constructed and validated a GPS premised on four GPX4-related genes (KIF14, LATS2, PRKCE, and TM6SF1), which could classify LUAD patients into low- and high-score cohorts. The high-risk cohort presented noticeably poorer overall survival (OS) as opposed to the low-risk cohort, meaning that the GPS may be utilized as an independent predictor of the OS of LUAD. The GPS was also adversely correlated with multiple tumor-infiltrating immune cells and immune-related processes and pathways in TME. Furthermore, greater sensitivity to erlotinib and lapatinib were identified in the low-risk cohort based on the GDSC database. Our findings suggest that the GPS can effectively forecast the prognosis of LUAD patients and may possibly regulate the TME of LUAD.

Hippo Pathway Core Genes Based Prognostic Signature and Immune Infiltration Patterns in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

We investigated the prognostic effects and their patterns of immune infiltration of hippo pathway core genes in lung squamous cell carcinoma, in order to find some clues for underlying mechanisms of LUSC tumorigenesis and help developing new therapeutic methods.

METHODS

The mutational data, transcriptome data and corresponding clinical medical information of LUSC patients were extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Differential expression genes (DEGs) and Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were explored. Survival analysis for the hippo core genes and the prognostic model were performed. Immune infiltration was estimated by CIBERSORT algorithm and some immune checkpoints-related genes were further investigated.

RESULTS

Overall, 551 LUSC samples were included in our study, consisting of 502 LUSC tumor samples and 49 adjacent normal samples, respectively. There were 1910 up-regulated DEGs and 2253 down-regulated DEGs were finally identified. The top five mutational hippo pathway core genes were LATS1 (4%), WWC1 (2%), TAOK1 (2%), TAOK3 (2%), and TAOK2 (2%), respectively. the mutation of LATS2 was highly associated with co-mutational NF2 (P <0.05) and TAOK1 (P <0.05). In survival analyses, we found only WWC1 (log-rank p = 0.046, HR = 1.32, 95% CI = 1-1.73) and LATS2 (log-rank p = 0.013, HR = 1.41, 95%CI = 1.08-1.86) had significant prognostic roles. After getting the three subgroups according to the subtyping results, we demonstrated that T cell gamma delta (p = 5.78e-6), B cell memory (p = 4.61e-4) and T cell CD4+ memory resting (p = 2.65e-5) had significant differences among the three groups. SIGLEC15 (P <0.01) and CD274 (P <0.05) also had statistical differences among the three subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study verified the prognostic roles of WWC1 and LATS2 in LUSC patients. Immune checkpoints-related genes SIGLEC15 and CD274 had statistical differences among the three subgroups, which may provide new perceptions on the molecular mechanisms in LUSC and maybe helpful for precisely selecting specific LUSC patients with potential immunotherapy benefits.

Seven interferon gamma response genes serve as a prognostic risk signature that correlates with immune infiltration in lung adenocarcinoma

Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) plays a complex role in modulating tumor microenvironment during lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) development. In order to define the role of IFN-γ response genes in LUAD progression, we characterized the gene expression, mutation profile, protein-protein interaction of 24 IFN-γ response genes, which exhibited significant hazard ratio in overall survival. Two subgroups of LUAD from the TCGA cohort, which showed significant difference in the survival rate, were identified based on the expression of these genes. Furthermore, LASSO penalized cox regression model was used to derive a risk signature comprising seven IFN-γ response genes, including CD74, CSF2RB, PTPN6, MT2A, NMI, LATS2, and PFKP, which can serve as an independent prognostic predictor of LUAD. The risk signature was validated in an independent LUAD cohort. The high risk group is enriched with genes regulating cell cycle and DNA replication, as well as a high level of pro-tumor immune cells. In addition, the risk score is negatively correlated with the expression of immune metagenes, but positively correlated with DNA damage repair genes. Our findings reveal that seven-gene risk signature can be a valuable prognostic predictor for LUAD, and they are crucial participants in tumor microenvironment of LUAD.

The novel long non-coding RNA LATS2-AS1-001 inhibits gastric cancer progression by regulating the LATS2/YAP1 signaling pathway via binding to EZH2

Background

To explore the expression pattern and role of the novel long non-coding RNA LATS2 antisense transcript 1 (LATS2-AS1-001) in gastric cancer (GC).

Methods

qRT-PCR was applied to evaluate LATS2-AS1-001 expression and correlation with LATS2 in GC. In vitro experiments were performed to investigate the role of LATS2-AS1-001 in GC cells. RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) was performed to assess the interaction between EZH2 and LATS2-AS1-001. LATS2/YAP1 signaling pathway proteins were detected by immunoblot. Oncomine and KMPLOT data analysis was conducted to assess the prognostic value of YAP1 in GC.

Results

Decreased expression levels of LATS2-AS1-001 and LATS2 were confirmed in 357 GC tissues compared with the normal mucosa. A strong positive correlation between LATS2-AS1-001 and LATS mRNA expression was found in Pearson Correlation analysis (r = 0.719, P < 0.001). Furthermore, ROC curve analysis revealed areas under the curves for LATS2-AS1-001 and LATS2 of 0.7274 and 0.6865, respectively (P < 0.001), which indicated that LATS2-AS1-001 and LATS could be used as diagnostic indicators in GC. Moreover, ectopic expression of LATS2-AS1-001 decreased cell viability, induced G0/G1 phase arrest, and inhibited cell migration and invasion in GC cells. Mechanistically, overexpressing LATS2-AS1-001 upregulated LATS2 and induced YAP1 phosphorylation via binding to EZH2. Oncomine and KMPLOT database analysis demonstrated YAP1 was highly expressed in human GC samples, and high YAP1 expression predicted poor patient prognosis in GC.

Conclusion

This study revealed that lncRNA LATS2-AS1-001 might serve as a potential diagnostic index in GC and act as a suppressor of GC progression.

Sevoflurane induces apoptosis and inhibits the growth and motility of colon cancer in vitro and in vivo via inactivating Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK signaling

AIMS

To investigate the effects of sevoflurane on proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, autophagy, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of colon cancer cell line SW480, and to explore its possible mechanism.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

SW480 and SW620 cells were treated with a mixture of 95% O₂+5% CO₂ containing different concentrations of sevoflurane (1.7% SAV, 3.4% SAV and 5.1% SAV) for 6 h. Meanwhile, we performed a rescue experiment by treating cells with the ERK pathway activator LM22B-10 prior to treatment of cells with 5.1% sevoflurane。 KEY FINDINGS: High concentration (5.1%) of sevoflurane significantly inhibited the proliferation and invasion of cells, causing G0/G1 phase arrest and promoted apoptosis and autophagy. 5.1% sevoflurane can participate in the regulation of EMT by regulating the expression of E-cadherin, Vimentin and N-cadherin proteins. LM22B-10 promoted proliferation and invasion of cancer cells and inhibited apoptosis and autophagy, while 5.1% sevoflurane could reverse the effect of LM22B-10 on the biological characteristics of cells. Sevoflurane can significantly inhibit tumor growth in SW480 cells transplanted nude mice. Moreover, 5.1% sevoflurane significantly increased the expression of p-Raf, p-MEK1/2, and p-ERK1/2 in SW480 cells and tumor tissues without affecting p-JNK and p-p38 proteins, meanwhile, 5.1% sevoflurane can inhibit the activation of ERK signaling pathway by LM22B-10 in vitro and in vivo.

SIGNIFICANCE

Sevoflurane can inhibit the proliferation and invasion of colon cancer cells, induce apoptosis and autophagy, and participate in the regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition, which may be related to its inhibition of the ERK signaling pathway.

Matrix metalloproteinase 2 contributes to aggressive phenotype, epithelial-mesenchymal transition and poor outcome in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Background

Though matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) involvement in tumor aggressiveness and invasion is well-known, its prognostic impacts still remain largely controversial. Furthermore, the correlations between MMP-2 and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) have not been directly established in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Materials and methods

The purpose of this study was to investigate MMP-2 expression in NPC. Tissue microarrays from 144 patients with NPC and 45 non-cancerous pharynx tissues were analyzed for MMP-2 expression by immunohistochemistry. MMP-2 expression in relation to clinicopathological characteristics and EMT were assessed in NPC. Tumor-invasive potential affected by exogenous expression of MMP-2 in NPC cells was also detected in vitro.

Results

Compared to normal nasopharyngeal epithelium, high expression of tumoral MMP-2 was detected in 47.9% of NPC samples. Significant association was found between MMP-2 expression and various aggressive features including T classification, M classification and tumor stage (P<0.05). Of note, high expression of MMP-2 was prominently observed at tumor invasive front, neoplastic spindle cells migrating into the stroma and vessel invasion. Importantly, high MMP-2 expression predicted worse survival in patients with stage III-IV (P=0.039). Overexpression of MMP-2 could decrease cell-cell adhesion, promote tumor invasion and EMT including downregulation of E-cadherin and upregulation of N-cadherin, Fibronectin and Slug of NPC cells.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate that MMP-2 expression contributes to tumor aggressiveness and poor prognosis, and induces the occurrence of EMT in NPC.

Hippo pathway affects survival of cancer patients: extensive analysis of TCGA data and review of literature

The disruption of the Hippo pathway occurs in many cancer types and is associated with cancer progression. Herein, we investigated the impact of 32 Hippo genes on overall survival (OS) of cancer patients, by both analysing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and reviewing the related literature. mRNA and protein expression data of all solid tumors except pure sarcomas were downloaded from TCGA database. Thirty-two Hippo genes were considered; for each gene, patients were dichotomized based on median expression value. Survival analyses were performed to identify independent predictors, taking into account the main clinical-pathological features affecting OS. Finally, independent predictors were correlated with YAP1 oncoprotein expression. At least one of the Hippo genes is an independent prognostic factor in 12 out of 13 considered tumor datasets. mRNA levels of the independent predictors coherently correlate with YAP1 in glioma, kidney renal clear cell, head and neck, and bladder cancer. Moreover, literature data revealed the association between YAP1 levels and OS in gastric, colorectal, hepatocellular, pancreatic, and lung cancer. Herein, we identified cancers in which Hippo pathway affects OS; these cancers should be candidates for YAP1 inhibitors development and testing.

LncRNA CCAT2 promoted osteosarcoma cell proliferation and invasion

Long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA) plays important roles in tumour progression. Accumulating studies demonstrated that lncRNA colon cancer‐associated transcript 2 (CCAT2) acted as an oncogene in many tumours. However, the role of CCAT2 in the development of osteosarcoma has not been elucidated. In our study, we indicated that CCAT2 expression was up‐regulated in osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines (SOSP‐9607, MG‐63, U2OS and SAOS‐2). In addition, osteosarcoma cases with higher CCAT2 expression had a poorer disease‐free survival and shorter the overall survival time compared to those with lower expression. Overexpression of CCAT2 promoted osteosarcoma cell proliferation, invasion and cell cycle. Furthermore, ectopic expression of CCAT2 increased the expression of mesenchymal markers N‐cadherin, vimentin and snail and reduced the expression of N‐cadherin marker E‐cadherin. CCAT2 overexpression promoted the LATS2 and c‐Myc expression in osteosarcoma cell. These data indicated that CCAT2 served as an oncogene in osteosarcoma and promoted osteosarcoma cell proliferation, cell cycle and invasion.

miR-372 promotes breast cancer cell proliferation by directly targeting LATS2

MicroRNAs (miRs) have previously been demonstrated to be important in the tumorigenesis and progression of breast cancer. miR-372 was previously revealed to be involved in various types of human cancer, however its function in breast cancer remains largely unknown. The present study demonstrated that miR-372 is frequently overexpressed in breast cancer cell lines and tissues. The downregulation of miR-372 markedly inhibited cell proliferation, arrested the cell cycle in the G1/S phase, and increased the apoptosis of breast cancer cells. Consistently, an in vivo xenograft study also demonstrated the suppressive effects of miR-372 knockdown on tumor growth. Further studies revealed that miR-372 modulated the expression of large tumor suppressor kinase 2 (LATS2) by directly targeting its 3′-untranslated region in breast cancer cells. Furthermore, silencing of LATS2 was able to rescue the effect of the miR-372 inhibitor. Overall, the results suggest that miR-372 functions as an oncogenic miRNA in breast cancer by targeting LATS2.

Hyaluronic acid enhances cell migration and invasion via the YAP1/TAZ-RHAMM axis in malignant pleural mesothelioma

Most malignant mesotheliomas (MPMs) frequently show activated forms of Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) and transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ), which transcriptionally regulates the receptor for hyaluronic acid-mediated motility (RHAMM). As RHAMM is involved in cell migration and invasion in various tumors, we speculated that hyaluronic acid (HA) in pleural fluid might affect the progression of mesothelioma by stimulating cell migration and invasion through RHAMM. The level of RHAMM expression was decreased by YAP1/TAZ knockdown, and conversely increased by forced expression of the active form of YAP1, suggesting that RHAMM was regulated by YAP1/TAZ in MPM cells. Cell migration and invasion were also decreased by YAP1/TAZ or RHAMM knockdown. Notably, HA treatment increased cell motility and invasion, and this was abolished by RHAMM knockdown, suggesting that HA may augment local progression of MPM cells via RHAMM. Furthermore, treatment with fluvastatin, which regulates RHAMM transcription by modulating YAP1/TAZ activity, decreased the motility and invasion of MPM cells. Collectively, these data suggest that HA is an “unfavorable” factor because it promotes malignancy in mesothelioma and that the YAP1/TAZ-RHAMM axis may have potential value as a therapeutic target for inhibition of disease progression in MPM.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts enhance metastatic potential of lung cancer cells through IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway

Recent studies indicate that cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are involved in tumor growth, invasion and metastasis, however, the underling mechanisms remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the role of CAFs on the metastatic potential of lung cancer cells. The stromal fibroblasts we isolated from lung cancer tissues presented CAFs characteristics with high levels of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and fibroblast-activating protein (FAP). Our data showed that the conditioned medium from cultured CAFs (CAF-CM) dramatically enhanced migration and invasion of lung cancer cells. CAF-CM induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by regulating the expression of EMT-associated markers E-cadherin and vimentin, and also modulated metastasis-related genes MMP-2 and VEGF both in vitro and in vivo. Further mechanistic studies demonstrated that CAFs enhanced the metastatic potential of lung cancer cells by secreting IL-6, subsequently activating of JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. Additionally, the inhibition of IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway by IL-6 neutralizing antibody or specific inhibitors of JAK2/STAT3 reversed CAF-CM induced EMT and migration of lung cancer cells. Taken together, these findings revealed a novel mechanism that CAFs induced EMT and promoted metastasis of lung cancer cells through the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway.

microRNA-605 promotes cell proliferation, migration and invasion in non-small cell lung cancer by directly targeting LATS2

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer- associated mortality for men and women worldwide. An increasing number of studies have reported that the abnormal expression of microRNAs contributes to the pathogenesis of the majority of human cancer types, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The present study aimed to measure microRNA-650 (miR-650) expression in NSCLC and evaluate its function in NSCLC cells. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to determine miR-650 expression in NSCLC tissue samples and cell lines. Assays for cell proliferation, migration and invasion were performed to investigate the roles of miR-650 on NSCLC progression. Furthermore, the mechanisms underlying the effects of miR-650 on NSCLC cell growth and metastasis were determined. In the current study, miR-650 was demonstrated to be highly expressed in NSCLC tissue samples and cell lines. Inhibition of expression of miR-650 suppressed NSCLC cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro. Additionally, large tumor suppressor kinase 2 (LATS2) was identified as a direct target gene of miR-650 in NSCLC. LATS2 was revealed to be significantly downregulated in NSCLC tissues and was negatively correlated with miR-650 expression. Notably, LATS2 re-expression decreased NSCLC cell proliferation, migration and invasion; similar to the effects induced by miR-650 underexpression. In conclusion, the results of the current study suggest that miR-650 may serve as an oncogene by direct targeting LATS2 in NSCLC formation and progression.

The clinical significance and biological function of large tumour suppressor 2 in hepatocellular carcinoma

OBJECTIVES

Present evidence has suggested that large tumour suppressor 2 (LATS2) is abnormally expressed in most human cancer. However, the clinical and prognostic value in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still unknown.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Large tumour suppressor 2 mRNA and protein expression levels in HCC tissues and cell lines were detected by qRT-PCR, immunohistochemistry or Western blot. The correlation between LATS2 expression and clinicopathological factors was analysed through immunohistochemistry. The function of LATS2 on HCC cell growth and mobility was explored through MTT, colony formation, Transwell migration and invasion assays. The molecular mechanism of LATS2 was screened and confirmed by qRT-PCR and Western blot.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

In this study, LATS2 mRNA and protein expressions were decreased in HCC tissues and cell lines compared with normal hepatic tissues and hepatic cell line. Low LATS2 expression was oppositely corrected with tumour stage, vascular invasion and metastasis. The univariate and multivariate analyses suggested that low LATS2 expression was an independent poor prognostic factor for HCC patients. The in vitro experiments showed that LATS2 regulated HCC cells migration and invasion, but had no effect on HCC cells proliferation. Meanwhile, LATS2 modulated metastasis-associated genes expression including E-cadherin, vimentin, snail, slug, MMP2 and MMP9. In conclusion, LATS2 is a prognostic biomarker and a tumour metastasis suppressor in HCC.