ITGBL1 promotes migration, invasion and predicts a poor prognosis in colorectal cancer

Computational Identification of Migrating T cells in Spatial Transcriptomics Data

T cells are the central players in antitumor immunity, and effective tumor killing depends on their ability to infiltrate into the tumor microenvironment (TME) while maintaining normal cytotoxicity. However, late-stage tumors develop immunosuppressive mechanisms that impede T cell movement and induce exhaustion. Investigating T cell migration in human tumors in vivo could provide novel insights into tumor immune escape, although it remains a challenging task. In this study, we developed ReMiTT, a computational method that leverages spatial transcriptomics data to track T cell migration patterns within tumor tissue. Applying ReMiTT to ovarian tumor samples, we identified key genes and pathways that enriched on algorithm-identified T cell migration trails, including leukocyte chemotaxis, cell-cell adhesion, and ECM remodeling. We also characterized the phenotypes of T cells on the migrating trails, suggesting that regulatory T cells may accompany cytotoxic T cells during migration. Our findings provide a novel approach to studying T cell migration and interactions within the TME, offering new insights into tumor-immune dynamics.

Integrin beta-like 1 mediates fibroblast-cardiomyocyte crosstalk to promote cardiac fibrosis and hypertrophy

AIMS

Crosstalk between fibroblasts and cardiomyocytes (CMs) plays a critical role in cardiac remodelling during heart failure (HF); however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain obscure. Recently, a secretory protein, Integrin beta-like 1 (ITGBL1) was revealed to have detrimental effects on several diseases, such as tumours, pulmonary fibrosis, and hepatic fibrosis; whereas the effect of ITGBL1 on HF is unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate its contribution to volume overload-induced remodelling.

METHODS AND RESULTS

In this study, we identified ITGBL1 was highly expressed in varied heart diseases and validated in our TAC mice model, especially in fibroblasts. To investigate the role of ITGBL1 in in vitro cell experiments, neonatal rat fibroblasts (NRCFs) and cardiomyocytes (NRCMs) were performed for further study. We found that in comparison to NRCMs, NRCFs expressed high levels of ITGBL1. Meanwhile, ITGBL1 was upregulated in NRCFs, but not in NRCMs following angiotensin-II (AngII) or phenylephrine stimulation. Furthermore, ITGBL1 overexpression promoted NRCFs activation, whereas knockdown of ITGBL1 alleviated NRCFs activation under AngII treatment. Moreover, NRCFs-secreted ITGBL1 could induce NRCMs hypertrophy. Mechanically, ITGBL1-NME/NM23 nucleoside diphosphate kinase 1 (NME1)-TGF-β-Smad2/3 and Wnt signalling pathways were identified to mediate NRCFs activation and NRCMs hypertrophy, respectively. Finally, the knockdown of ITGBL1 in mice subjected to transverse aortic constriction (TAC) surgery recapitulated the in vitro findings, demonstrating blunted cardiac fibrosis, hypertrophy, and improved cardiac function.

CONCLUSIONS

ITGBL1 is an important functional mediator between fibroblast-cardiomyocyte crosstalk and could be an effective target for cardiac remodelling in HF patients.

Malignant function of nuclear factor-kappaB axis in prostate cancer: Molecular interactions and regulation by non-coding RNAs

Prostate carcinoma is a malignant situation that arises from genomic alterations in the prostate, leading to changes in tumorigenesis. The NF-κB pathway modulates various biological mechanisms, including inflammation and immune responses. Dysregulation of NF-κB promotes carcinogenesis, including increased proliferation, invasion, and therapy resistance. As an incurable disease globally, prostate cancer is a significant health concern, and research into genetic mutations and NF-κB function has the efficacy to facilitate the introduction of novel therapies. NF-κB upregulation is observed during prostate cancer progression, resulting in increased cell cycle progression and proliferation rates. Additionally, NF-κB endorses resistance to cell death and enhances the capacity for metastasis, particularly bone metastasis. Overexpression of NF-κB triggers chemoresistance and radio-resistance, and inhibition of NF-κB by anti-tumor compounds can reduce cancer progression. Interestingly, non-coding RNA transcripts can regulate NF-κB level and its nuclear transfer, offering a potential avenue for modulating prostate cancer progression.

A comprehensive analysis of potential gastric cancer prognostic biomarker ITGBL1 associated with immune infiltration and epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Background

Integrin, beta-like 1 (ITGBL1) is involved in a variety of human malignancies. However, the information on the involvement of ITGBL1 in gastric carcinoma (GC) is limited. Hence, this study aimed further to explore the functions and mechanisms of ITGBL1 in GC.

Methods

First, multiple bioinformatics databases, including Oncomine, Tumor Immune Estimation Resource, UALCAN, and Kaplan–Meier Plotter, were used to predict the expression level and prognostic value of ITGBL1, as well as its association with immune infiltration and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in GC. Quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemical analysis were used to detect the expression of ITGBL1 in both GC tissues and cells. Then, targeted silencing of ITGBL1 in GC cells was further used to examine the biological functions of ITGBL1.

Results

These databases revealed that ITGBL1 was overexpressed and affected the overall survival in GC. Besides, the expression of ITGBL1 positively correlated with immune-infiltrating cells and EMT-related markers. Subsequently, molecular biology experiments verified these predictions. In GC tissues and cells, ITGBL1 was notably overexpressed. Loss-of-function studies showed that the knockdown of ITGBL1 significantly suppressed migration and invasion but promoted apoptosis in MGC803 GC cells. Furthermore, the inhibition of ITGBL1 resulted in remarkably increased protein expression levels of cadherin 1, while the expression of Vimentin, Snail, and transforming growth factor-β1 was downregulated, indicating the initiation and progression of GC caused by ITGBL1 partly via inducing EMT.

Conclusions

To sum up, the findings indicated that ITGBL1 acted as a valuable oncogenic factor in GC.

Establishment of a novel prognostic signature based on an identified expression profile of integrin superfamily to predict overall survival of patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma

The abnormal expression of integrin superfamily members commonly related to kinds of malignancies. However, the role of integrins in predicting the prognosis of cancers is still little known, especially for colorectal cancer that is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death. RNA-seq data and clinical features of colorectal adenocarcinoma (COAD) patients were derived from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), used to analyze the expression pattern and genomic alterations of integrin genes in the COAD cohort. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering divided COAD patients into two clusters (clusters 1 & 2), and we observed that patients in cluster 2 with high expressions of most integrin genes had worse clinical features and shorter overall survival (a median OS: 67.25 months vs 99.93 months, p = 0.012), compared to those in cluster 1. Combined with univariate Cox regression analysis, Pearson Correlation Coefficients (PCC), and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), an integrin-related signature was established, including ITGA1, ITGA5, ITGA7, ITGA11, ITGAX, ITGAM, ITGB1, and ITGB5. And the AUC values for OS at 1, 3, and 5 years was 0.61, 0.59, and 0.56, further demonstrating the predicting capacity of our signature. Furthermore, overexpression of which also significantly correlated with poorer prognosis of colon cancer patients in a separate validation cohort, GSE17536 (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the AUC values for OS in the validation cohort at 1, 3, and 5 years was 0.62, 0.59, and 0.59. Additionally, enrichment analysis indicated significant differences between cluster 1 and cluster 2 in the biological processes of cell adhesion, signal transduction, extracellular matrix, immune system, and in tumor microenvironment (TME), which were crucial to the progression of tumor. The findings supplied compelling evidence that our signature could be a novel prognostic biomarker for COAD patients, and these genes had the potential to be therapeutic targets.

Cytoplasmic RAD23B interacts with CORO1C to synergistically promote colorectal cancer progression and metastasis

Colorectal cancers (CRCs) are characterized by diffuse infiltration of tumor cells into the regional lymph nodes and metastasis to distant organs, and its highly invasive nature contributes to disease recurrence and poor outcomes. The molecular mechanisms underlying CRC cell invasion remain incompletely understood. Here, we identified the upregulation of DNA damage repair-related protein RAD23B in CRC cells and tissues and showed that it associates with coronin 1C or coronin 3 (CORO1C) to facilitate invasion. We found that knockdown of RAD23B expression significantly inhibited the proliferation, invasion, and migration abilities of CRC cells both in vitro and in vivo, and suppressed the talin1/2/integrin/FAK/RhoA/Rac1/CORO1C signaling pathways. Interestingly, RAD23B interacted and co-localized with CORO1C, and CORO1C aggregated toward the margin of cancer cells in both CRC cells and tissues when RAD23B overexpressed. Mechanistically, overexpression of RAD23B and/or CORO1C further increased invadopodia formation and matrix degradation in SW480 and HCT8 CRC cells. Conversely, silencing of RAD23B expression suppressed tumorigenesis and liver metastasis in xenotransplant murine models. Furthermore, we found that RAD23B was significantly overexpressed in tumor tissues (n = 720) compared to adjacent non-tumor tissues (n = 694) of patients with CRC. Finally, we identified a strong correlation between higher levels of cytoplasmic expression of RAD23B, and poor prognosis and liver metastasis in CRC patients. Taken together, our data highlight a novel RAD23B-CORO1C signaling axis in CRC cell invasion and metastasis that may be of clinical significance.

Serum Levels of ITGBL1 as an Early Diagnostic Biomarker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Hepatitis B Virus Infection

Purpose

Early diagnostic biomarkers of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are needed to distinguish hepatitis B virus (HBV) associated HCC (HBV-HCC) patients from at-risk patients. We assessed the diagnostic values of serum Integrin beta-like 1 (ITGBL1) for early-stage HBV-HCC.

Patients and Methods

We recruited 716 participators including 299 in the training and 417 in the validation stage, (HBV-HCC, chronic hepatitis B (CHB), HBV‐related liver cirrhosis (HBV-LC), and healthy controls) between 2017 and 2020 from three centers. Serum ITGBL1 was measured by ELISA. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) was used to calculate diagnostic accuracy.

Results

The serum levels of ITGBL1 in HBV-HCC patients were significantly lower than those in CHB and HBV-LC patients. This result was confirmed in the follow-up patients who progressed from HBV-LC to HCC. The optimum diagnostic cutoff value of serum ITGBL1 was 47.93ng/mL for detection of early-stage HBV-HCC. The serum ITGBL1 has higher diagnostic accuracy than AFP20 in differentiating the early-stage HBV-HCC from the at-risk patients (area under curve [AUC] 0.787 vs 0.638, p<0.05). For AFP-negative (<20ng/mL) HBV-HCC patients, serum ITGBL1 maintained diagnostic accuracy (training cohort: AUC 0.756, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.683–0.819, sensitivity 68.18%, and specificity 68.85%; validation cohort: 0.744, 0.686–0.796, 81.13%, and 55.88%). Combination ITGBL1 with AFP20 significantly increased diagnostic accuracy in differentiating the HBV-HCC from at-risk patients (AUC 0.840; 0.868) than ITGBL1 (AUC 0.773, p<0.05; 0.732, p<0.0001) or AFP20 (AUC 0.705, p<0.0001; 0.773, p<0.0001) alone.

Conclusion

The serum level of ITGBL1 improved identification of AFP-negative HBV-HCC patients, and increased diagnostic accuracy with AFP20 together in the early detection of HBV-HCC.

Exploration of an Integrative Prognostic Model of Radiogenomics Features With Underlying Gene Expression Patterns in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

Background

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is one of the most common malignancies in urinary system, and radiomics has been adopted in tumor staging and prognostic evaluation in renal carcinomas. This study aimed to integrate image features of contrast-enhanced CT and underlying genomics features to predict the overall survival (OS) of ccRCC patients.

Method

We extracted 107 radiomics features out of 205 patients with available CT images obtained from TCIA database and corresponding clinical and genetic information from TCGA database. LASSO-COX and SVM-RFE were employed independently as machine-learning algorithms to select prognosis-related imaging features (PRIF). Afterwards, we identified prognosis-related gene signature through WGCNA. The random forest (RF) algorithm was then applied to integrate PRIF and the genes into a combined imaging-genomics prognostic factors (IGPF) model. Furthermore, we constructed a nomogram incorporating IGPF and clinical predictors as the integrative prognostic model for ccRCC patients.

Results

A total of four PRIF and four genes were identified as IGPF and were represented by corresponding risk score in RF model. The integrative IGPF model presented a better prediction performance than the PRIF model alone (average AUCs for 1-, 3-, and 5-year were 0.814 vs. 0.837, 0.74 vs. 0.806, and 0.689 vs. 0.751 in test set). Clinical characteristics including gender, TNM stage and IGPF were independent risk factors. The nomogram integrating clinical predictors and IGPF provided the best net benefit among the three models.

Conclusion

In this study we established an integrative prognosis-related nomogram model incorporating imaging-genomic features and clinical indicators. The results indicated that IGPF may contribute to a comprehensive prognosis assessment for ccRCC patients.

Circular RNA CircCOL5A1 Sponges the MiR-7-5p/Epac1 Axis to Promote the Progression of Keloids Through Regulating PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway

Keloids, as a result of abnormal wound healing in susceptible individuals, are characterized by the hyper-proliferation of fibroblasts and exaggerated deposition of extracellular matrix. Current surgical and therapeutic modalities provide limited satisfactory results. Growing evidence has highlighted the roles of circRNAs in acting as miRNA sponges. However, up to date, the regulatory mechanism of circRNAs in the pathological process of keloids has rarely been reported. In this study, cell proliferation, cell migration, flow cytometry, western blotting, fluorescence in situ hybridization, dual-luciferase activity, and immunohistochemistry assays were applied to explore the roles and mechanisms of the circCOL5A1/miR-7-5p/Epac1 axis in the keloid. The therapeutic potential of circCOL5A1 was investigated by establishing keloid implantation models. The RT-qPCR result revealed that circCOL5A1 expression was obviously higher in keloid tissues and keloid fibroblasts. Subsequent cellular experiments demonstrated that circCOL5A1 knockdown repressed the proliferation, migration, extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, whereas promoted cell apoptosis, through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Furthermore, RNA-fluorescence in situ hybridization (RNA-FISH) illustrated that both circCOL5A1 and miR-7-5p were located in the cytoplasm. The luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed that exact binding sites were present between circCOL5A1 and miR-7-5p, as well as between miR-7-5p and Epac1. Collectively, the present study revealed that circCOL5A1 functioned as competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) by adsorbing miR-7-5p to release Epac1, which contributed to pathological hyperplasia of keloids through activating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Our data indicated that circCOL5A1 might serve as a novel promising therapeutic target and represent a new avenue to understand underlying pathogenesis for keloids.

ITGBL1 is a new immunomodulator that favors development of melanoma tumors by inhibiting natural killer cells cytotoxicity

Resistances to immunotherapies remains a major hurdle towards a cure for melanoma in numerous patients. An increase in the mesenchymal phenotype and a loss of differentiation have been clearly associated with resistance to targeted therapies. Similar phenotypes have been more recently also linked to resistance to immune checkpoint therapies. We demonstrated here that the loss of MIcrophthalmia associated Transcription Factor (MITF), a pivotal player in melanocyte differentiation, favors the escape of melanoma cells from the immune system. We identified Integrin beta-like protein 1 (ITGBL1), a secreted protein, upregulated in anti-PD1 resistant patients and in MITFlow melanoma cells, as the key immunomodulator. ITGBL1 inhibited immune cell cytotoxicity against melanoma cells by inhibiting NK cells cytotoxicity and counteracting beneficial effects of anti-PD1 treatment, both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, MITF inhibited RUNX2, an activator of ITGBL1 transcription. Interestingly, VitaminD3, an inhibitor of RUNX2, improved melanoma cells to death by immune cells. In conclusion, our data suggest that inhibition of ITGBL1 might improve melanoma response to immunotherapies.

The Crosstalk between FAK and Wnt Signaling Pathways in Cancer and Its Therapeutic Implication

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and Wnt signaling pathways are important contributors to tumorigenesis in several cancers. While most results come from studies investigating these pathways individually, there is increasing evidence of a functional crosstalk between both signaling pathways during development and tumor progression. A number of FAK-Wnt interactions are described, suggesting an intricate, context-specific, and cell type-dependent relationship. During development for instance, FAK acts mainly upstream of Wnt signaling; and although in intestinal homeostasis and mucosal regeneration Wnt seems to function upstream of FAK signaling, FAK activates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway during APC-driven intestinal tumorigenesis. In breast, lung, and pancreatic cancers, FAK is reported to modulate the Wnt signaling pathway, while in prostate cancer, FAK is downstream of Wnt. In malignant mesothelioma, FAK and Wnt show an antagonistic relationship: Inhibiting FAK signaling activates the Wnt pathway and vice versa. As the identification of effective Wnt inhibitors to translate in the clinical setting remains an outstanding challenge, further understanding of the functional interaction between Wnt and FAK could reveal new therapeutic opportunities and approaches greatly needed in clinical oncology. In this review, we summarize some of the most relevant interactions between FAK and Wnt in different cancers, address the current landscape of Wnt- and FAK-targeted therapies in different clinical trials, and discuss the rationale for targeting the FAK-Wnt crosstalk, along with the possible translational implications.

Evaluation of the Role of ITGBL1 in Ovarian Cancer

In our previous microarray study we identified two subgroups of high-grade serous ovarian cancers with distinct gene expression and survival. Among differentially expressed genes was an Integrin beta-like 1 (ITGBL1), coding for a poorly characterized protein comprised of ten EGF-like repeats. Here, we have analyzed the influence of ITGBL1 on the phenotype of ovarian cancer (OC) cells. We analyzed expression of four putative ITGBL1 mRNA isoforms in five OC cell lines. OAW42 and SKOV3, having the lowest level of any ITGBL1 mRNA, were chosen to produce ITGBL1-overexpressing variants. In these cells, abundant ITGBL1 mRNA expression could be detected by RT-PCR. Immunodetection was successful only in the culture media, suggesting that ITGBL1 is efficiently secreted. We found that ITGBL1 overexpression affected cellular adhesion, migration and invasiveness, while it had no effect on proliferation rate and the cell cycle. ITGBL1-overexpressing cells were significantly more resistant to cisplatin and paclitaxel, major drugs used in OC treatment. Global gene expression analysis revealed that signaling pathways affected by ITGBL1 overexpression were mostly those related to extracellular matrix organization and function, integrin signaling, focal adhesion, cellular communication and motility; these results were consistent with the findings of our functional studies. Overall, our results indicate that higher expression of ITGBL1 in OC is associated with features that may worsen clinical course of the disease.

Downregulation of Epac Reduces Fibrosis and Induces Apoptosis Through Akt Signaling in Human Keloid Fibroblasts

BACKGROUND

A keloid is a type of pathological scar often caused by abnormal tissue repair after a skin injury and is more common in genetically susceptible individuals. cAMP is a universal second messenger and regulates critical physiological processes, including calcium homeostasis, secretion, cell fate, and gene transcription, by affecting the expression of the exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (Epac). Epac has two isoforms, Epac1 (cAMP-GEF-1) and Epac2 (cAMP-GEF-II), which show varying expression levels depending on the tissue and cell type. The expression of Epac1 in keloids has not yet been investigated.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Keloid tissue and normal dermal skin tissue were analyzed by hematoxylin and eosin staining and immunofluorescence. Primary human keloid fibroblasts (HKFs) and human normal dermal fibroblasts were studied using immunofluorescence, wound healing tests, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and western blot analysis with different concentrations of the Epac1 inhibitor ESI-09.

RESULTS

Downregulation of Epac was performed using ESI-09, a specific Epac inhibitor. The proliferation and migration capacities of HKFs and human normal dermal fibroblasts showed an ESI-09 concentration-dependent decrease. Furthermore, the apoptosis rates were significantly different between fibroblasts treated with ESI-09 and control fibroblasts. In addition, the phosphorylation level of Akt was significantly decreased, indicating that ESI-09 reduces fibrosis and induces apoptosis through Akt signaling in HKFs.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results illustrate the role of Epac1 in regulating fibroblast function during keloid pathogenesis and indicate that Epac1 may be a potential therapeutic target in keloid treatment.

Comprehensive analysis of the transcriptome-wide m6A methylome in colorectal cancer by MeRIP sequencing

Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that N6-methyladenosine (m6A) plays important roles in various cancers, making it essential to profile m6A modifications at a transcriptome-wide scale in colorectal cancer (CRC). In the present study, we performed high-throughput sequencing to determine the m6A methylome in CRC. We obtained six pairs of CRC samples and tumour-adjacent normal tissues from Peking University People's Hospital. We used MeRIP-seq to determine that compared to the tumour-adjacent normal tissues, the CRC samples had 1343 dysregulated m6A peaks, and 625 m6A peaks were significantly upregulated and 718 m6A peaks were significantly downregulated. Genes with altered m6A peaks play critical roles in regulating glucose metabolism, RNA metabolism, and cancer stem cells. Furthermore, we identified 297 hypermethylated m6A peaks and 328 hypomethylated m6A peaks in mRNAs through conjoint analyses of MeRIP-seq and RNA-seq data. After analysing these genes with differentially methylated m6A peaks and synchronously differential expression, we identified four genes (WDR72, SPTBN2, MORC2, and PARM1) that were associated with prognosis of colorectal cancer patients by searching The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Our study suggests that m6A modifications play important roles in tumour progression and survival of CRC patients. The results also indicate that modulating m6A modifications may represent an alternative strategy to predict the survival of cancer patients and interfere with tumour progression in the future.

ITGBL1 promotes cell migration and invasion through stimulating the TGF-β signalling pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma

Objectives

Integrin beta‐like 1 (ITGBL1) is involved in the migration and invasion of several cancers; however, its roles in the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain largely unknown.

Materials and methods

Immunohistochemistry staining was used to investigate the expression pattern of ITGBL1 and its prognostic values in HCC patients. The transwell, wound‐healing assays, xenograft and orthotopic mouse models were employed to determine the effects of ITGBL1 on HCC cell migration and invasion in vitro and in vivo. The biological mechanisms involved in cell migration and invasion caused by ITGBL1 were determined with Western blotting and RT‐PCR methods.

Results

ITGBL1 expression was significantly increased in HCC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Patients with higher ITGBL1 expression were associated with more reduced overall survival. ITGBL1 overexpression promoted migration and invasion in SMMC‐7721 and HepG2 cells in vitro and in vivo, whereas knockdown or knockout ITGBL1 in CSQT‐2 cells significantly reduced cell migration and invasion abilities. In SMMC‐7721 cells, ITGBL1 overexpression stimulated TGF‐β/Smads signalling pathway, along with the KRT17 and genes involved in the epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT). In contrast, ITGBL1 knockout inhibited the TGF‐β/Smads signalling pathway in CSQT‐2 cells.

Conclusions

These findings suggested that ITGBL1 promoted migration and invasion in HCC cells by stimulating the TGF‐β/Smads signalling pathway. ITGBL1 could be a promising prognostic biomarker, as well as a potential therapeutic target in HCC.

Upregulation of ITGBL1 predicts poor prognosis and promotes chemoresistance in ovarian cancer

BACKGROUND

Ovarian cancer remains one of the most lethal malignancies in women and the unfavorable prognosis and frequent recurrence are mainly due to the chemoresistance. However, the main mechanism underlying chemoresistance is still elusive.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the role and biological function of ITGBL1 in ovarian cancer chemoresistance.

METHODS

Immunohistochemical staining was used to determine the expression of ITGBL1 in ovarian cancer tissues. The association between ITGBL1 expression and clinicopathological features and survival was determined. Functional analysis including cell viability, apoptosis assays were performed after chemo drugs treatment to confirm the role of ITGBL1 in chemoresistance. In vivo tumor growth assay was used to detect the chemosensitivity of tumor cells. Western blot was used to detect the expression of indicated proteins.

RESULTS

We noticed that ITGBL1 expression was significantly upregulated in ovarian cancer tissues compared to that in adjacent non-cancer tissues and high expression of ITGBL1 was significantly associated with lymph node invasion and advanced FIGO stage. More importantly, high ITGBL1 was an independent prognostic factor of ovarian cancer. Further experiments demonstrated that ITGBL1 promoted tumor cell resistant to chemo drugs both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanically, we found that ITGBL1 could activate PI3K/Akt signaling and using PI3K/Akt inhibitor could abrogate ITGBL1 induced chemoresistance.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate that upregulation of ITGBL1 has important clinical significance and drives chemoresistance in ovarian cancer. Detection and depletion of ITGBL1 might be the potential approaches for diagnosis and therapy for ovarian cancer patients.

Regulatory Mechanism of ITGBL1 in the Metastasis of Colorectal Cancer

Integrin, beta-like 1 (ITGBL1) protein is located in the extracellular matrix (ECM) and involved in the development and metastasis of many tumors. However, the regulatory mechanism of ITGBL1 in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear. This study was to analyze the expression profile of CRC and to identify the expression change of ITGBL1 gene at different stages of CRC. Survival analysis showed that ITGBL1 was related to the metastasis of CRC, and CRC patients with a high expression of ITGBL1 had earlier metastasis. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) indicated the relationship between ITGBL1 expression and molecular events of CRC. The results indicated that a high expression of ITGBL1 was linked to Wnt signaling pathway, cell polarity, and tissue development, while a low expression of ITGBL1 was related to cellular respiration, electron transfer chain, and oxidative phosphorylation. With the expression profiles from interstitial and parenchyma CRC tissues, a comparison was made to determine the difference between high/low expression of ITGBL1 and Wnt signaling pathway, respectively, and further confirmed the close relation between ITGBL1 and Wnt signaling pathway. To determine the relation, an interaction network of ITGBL1 and Wnt signaling proteins was constructed. It was found that β-catenin interacted with multiple extracellular Wnt signals and could bind to ITGBL1. As a result, the regulatory mechanism of ITGBL1 in CRC is related to extracellular Wnt signals and may affect extracellular Wnt signals via β-catenin.

ITGBL1 promotes EMT, invasion and migration by activating NF-κB signaling pathway in prostate cancer

Background: Integrin beta-like 1 (ITGBL1) was extensively demonstrated to contribute the metastasis and progression in a variety of cancers. However, its role of ITGBL1 in prostate cancer (PCa) is still not reported.

Methods: Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot were performed to detect ITGBL1 expression in PCa tissues and cell lines. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of ITGBL1 in 174 PCa tissues was performed. The influence of ITGL1 expression in PCa cells epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), migration and invasion was investigated. Notably, the possible mechanisms underlying the action of ITGBL1 in vivo and vitro assays were explored.

Results: We analyzed PCa dataset from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and found that ITGBL1 was upregulated in PCa tissues. Overexpression of ITGBL1 is positively associated with the progression and lymph node metastasis in PCa patients. Furthermore, upregulating ITGBL1 enhanced the invasion, migration abilities and EMT in PCa cells. Conversely, downregulating ITGBL1 exhibited an opposite effect. Our findings further demonstrated that ITGBL1 promoted invasion and migration via activating NF-κB signaling in PCa cells.

Conclusion: Therefore, our results identify a novel metastasis-related gene in PCa, which will help to develop a novel therapeutic strategy in metastatic PCa.

TGM2 interference regulates the angiogenesis and apoptosis of colorectal cancer via Wnt/β-catenin pathway

Angiogenesis and apoptosis are critical for the growth of colorectal cancer (CRC). The study aimed to investigate the effects of TGM2 in CRC. Forty-two patients were recruited and their TGM2 levels were detected by performing Realtime-qPCR (RT-qPCR), Western blot and immunohistochemistry , respectively. Levels of TGM2, MMP-2 and MMP-9 in four CRC cell lines and in normal cells were determined using RT-qPCR and Western blot. TGM2-siRNA was transfected into LoVo and HCT116 cells, respectively. TGM2 levels, cell viability, cell apoptosis, angiogenesis and related factors were determined. the tumorigenesis rates of mice were detected after TGM2-siRNA transfection. TGM2 were upregulated in patients with CRC. High TGM2 level of CRC patients had a lower survival rate. The levels of TGM2, MMP-2 and MMP-9 were upregulated in all detected CRC cell lines. Silencing TGM2 could inhibit cell viabilities, angiogenesis and suppress the expressions of MMP-2, MMP-9, Wnt3a, β-catenin and Cyclin D1 , whereas cell apoptosis and the expressions of Caspase-3 and TIMP-1 were promoted. Tumor weights and volumes were reduced by TGM2-siRNA interference. The effects of TGM2-siRNA interference might be related to Wnt/β-catenin Pathway. This might prove that TGM2 could be used as a molecular target in the treatment of CRC.