Restoration of TRAIL-induced apoptosis in resistant human pancreatic cancer cells by a novel FAK inhibitor, PH11

Long noncoding RNA LINC00518 contributes to proliferation and metastasis in lung adenocarcinoma via the miR-335-3p/CTHRC1 Axis

Long intergenic nonprotein coding RNA 518 (LINC00518) is recognized to impart cancer proliferation and metastasis in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). However, the study about the relationship between LINC00518 and LUAD is shallow so far. In our work, LINC00518 was predicted to be a negative regulator in LUAD based on the TCGA database. It was further verified that the cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion of LUAD could be obviously inhibited by the knockdown of LINC00518. Moreover, miR-335-3p/CTHRC1 axis was intensively possible to be a critical regulator in the effect of LINC00518 on LUAD via visual ceRNA network. Importantly the progress of LUAD was relevant to the active CTHRC1 which was realized by the target of LINC00518 to miR-335-3p. Furthermore, the knockdown of LINC00518 exhibited a synergistic effect with VS6063, an inhibitor of FAK protein, in the suppression of LUAD indicating that miR-335-3p/CTHRC1 axis was potentially exploitable as a targeted intervention to integrin β3/FAK signal pathway in LUAD. All the collective results demonstrated that LINC00518 could be a promising biomarker of the prognosis of LUAD and possibly a therapeutic target via miR-335-3p/CTHRC1 axis.

Novel imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole-based anticancer agents as potential focal adhesion kinase inhibitors: Synthesis, in silico and in vitro evaluation

The purpose of this study was to synthesize imidazo[2,1-b]thiazole derivatives, characterize them with spectroscopical techniques and investigate for cytotoxic and apoptotic effects on glioma C6 cancer cell line. The in vitro anticancer activities were also investigated against focal adhesion kinase. Most of the compounds, particularly the derivatives carrying 3-oxo-1-tiya-4-azaspiro[4.5]decane moiety, exhibited higher or comparable activities in comparison with the reference drug, cisplatin. Compounds with methyl, propyl, phenyl moieties at the eighth and second position of the spirothiazolidinone ring showed high FAK inhibitory activities. In addition, molecular docking studies shed light on the binding modes of the synthesized compounds. The critical interactions with amino acid residues located in the active site were revealed. The results obtained from both biological assay data and computational results might provide insight into developing new inhibitors against focal adhesion kinase.

The Role of CTHRC1 in Regulation of Multiple Signaling and Tumor Progression and Metastasis

Collagen triple helix repeat containing-1 (CTHRC1) has been identified as cancer-related protein. CTHRC1 expresses mainly in adventitial fibroblasts and neointimal smooth muscle cells of balloon-injured vessels and promotes cell migration and tissue repair in response to injury. CTHRC1 plays a pivotal role in some pathophysiological processes, including increasing bone mass, preventing myelination, and reversing collagen synthesis in many tumor cells. The ascended expression of CTHRC1 is related to tumorigenesis, proliferation, invasion, and metastasis in various human malignancies, including gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, keloid, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, epithelial ovarian cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, cervical cancer, non-small-cell lung carcinoma, and melanoma. And molecules that regulate the expression of CTHRC1 include miRNAs, lncRNAs, WAIF1, and DPAGT1. Many reports have pointed that CTHRC1 could exert different effects through several signaling pathways such as TGF-β, Wnt, integrin β/FAK, Src/FAK, MEK/ERK, PI3K/AKT/ERK, HIF-1α, and PKC-δ/ERK signaling pathways. As a participant in tissue remodeling or immune response, CTHRC1 may promote early-stage cancer. Several recent studies have identified CTHRC1 as an effectual prognostic biomarker for predicting tumor recurrence or metastasis. It is worth noting that CTHRC1 has different cellular localization and mechanisms of action in different cells and different microenvironments. In this article, we focus on the advances in the signaling pathways mediated by CTHRC1 in tumors.

Screening differentially expressed genes of pancreatic cancer between Mongolian and Han people using bioinformatics technology

BACKGROUND

To screen and analyze differentially expressed genes in pancreatic carcinoma tissues taken from Mongolian and Han patients by Affymetrix Genechip.

METHODS

Pancreatic ductal cell carcinoma tissues were collected from the Mongolian and Han patients undergoing resection in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from March 2015 to May 2018 and the total RNA was extracted. Differentially expressed genes were selected from the total RNA qualified by Nanodrop 2000 and Agilent 2100 using Affymetrix and a cartogram was drawn; The gene ontology (GO) analysis and Pathway analysis were used for the collection and analysis of biological information of these differentially expressed genes. Finally, some differentially expressed genes were verified by real-time PCR.

RESULTS

Through the microarray analysis of gene expression, 970 differentially expressed genes were detected by comparing pancreatic cancer tissue samples between Mongolian and Han patients. A total of 257 genes were significantly up-regulated in pancreatic cancer tissue samples in Mongolian patients; while a total of 713 genes were down-regulated. In the Gene Ontology database, 815 differentially expressed genes were identified with clear GO classification, and CPB1 gene showed the highest increase in expression level (multiple difference: 31.76). The pathway analysis detected 28 signaling pathways that included these differentially expressed genes, involving a total of 178 genes. Among these pathways, the enrichment of differentially expressed genes in the FAK signaling pathway was the strongest and COL11A1 gene showed the highest multiple difference (multiple difference: 5.02). The expression of differentially expressed genes CPB1, COL11A1、ITGA4、BIRC3、PAK4、CPA1、CLPS、PIK3CG and HLA-DPA1 determined by real-time PCR were consistent with the results of gene microarray analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of microarray analysis of gene expression profiles showed that there are a large number of differentially expressed genes in pancreatic cancer tissue samples comparing Mongolian and Han population. These genes are closely related to the cell proliferation, differentiation, invasion, metastasis and multi-drug resistance in pancreatic cancer. They are also involved in the regulation of multiple important signaling pathways in organisms.

Soluble TRAIL Armed Human MSC As Gene Therapy For Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is still one of the most aggressive adult cancers with an unacceptable prognosis. For this reason novel therapies accounting for PDAC peculiarities, such as the relevant stromal reaction, are urgently needed. Here adipose mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (AD-MSC) have been armed to constantly release a soluble trimeric and multimeric variant of the known anti-cancer TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (sTRAIL). This cancer gene therapy strategy was in vitro challenged demonstrating that sTRAIL was thermally stable and able to induce apoptosis in the PDAC lines BxPC-3, MIA PaCa-2 and against primary PDAC cells. sTRAIL released by AD-MSC relocated into the tumor stroma was able to significantly counteract tumor growth in vivo with a significant reduction in tumor size, in cytokeratin-7+ cells and by an anti-angiogenic effect. In parallel, histology on PDAC specimens form patients (n = 19) was performed to investigate the levels of TRAIL DR4, DR5 and OPG receptors generating promising insights on the possible clinical translation of our approach. These results indicate that adipose MSC can very efficiently vehicle a novel TRAIL variant opening unexplored opportunities for PDAC treatment.

Anti-Tumorigenic Effects of Resveratrol in Lung Cancer Cells Through Modulation of c-FLIP

BACKGROUND

Resveratrol has been shown to have antioxidant and anti-proliferative properties in multiple cancer types. Here we demonstrate that H460 lung cancer cells are more susceptible to resveratrol treatment in comparison to human bronchial epithelial Beas-2B cells. Resveratrol decreases cell viability and proliferation, and induces significant apoptosis in H460 cells. The apoptosis observed was accompanied by an increase in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production, Bid, PARP and caspase 8 activation, and downregulation of pEGFR, pAkt, c-FLIP and NFkB protein expression. Furthermore, treatment with HH2O2 scavenger catalase significantly inhibited resveratrol-induced c-FLIP downregulation, caspase-8 activation and apoptosis. Overexpression of c-FLIP in H460 cells (FLIP cells) resulted in the inhibition of resveratrol-induced HH2O2 production, and a significant increase in resveratrolinduced apoptosis in comparison to H460 cells. In FLIP cells, catalase treatment did not rescue cells from a decrease in cell viability and apoptosis induction by resveratrol as compared to H460 cells. Resveratrol treatment also led to VEGF downregulation in FLIP cells. Furthermore, inhibition of pEGFR or pAkt using erlotinib and LY294002 respectively, enhanced the negative effect of resveratrol on FLIP cell viability and apoptosis. The reverse was observed when FLIP cells were supplemented with EGF, or transfected with WT-AKT plasmid; resulting in a 20% decrease in resveratrol-induced apoptosis. In addition, transfection with WT-AKT plasmid resulted in the inhibition of pro-apoptotic protein activation, and c-FLIP and pAkt downregulation.

CONCLUSION

Overall, resveratrol induced apoptosis in H460 lung cancer cells by specifically targeting pAkt and c-FLIP dowregulation by proteasomal degradation in a EGFR-dependent manner.

Synergistic effect of TRAIL and irradiation in elimination of glioblastoma stem-like cells

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common malignancy in central nervous system. A small subpopulation of GBM cells known as GBM stem-like cells (GSLCs) were supposed to be the most malignant cells among GBM cells as they are resistant to multiple therapies including radiotherapy. In this study, we set up two GSLCs cell lines from the two parental U87 and U251 glioma cell lines, and studied the expression of apoptosis-related genes alteration in GSLCs before and after irradiation. We found that one of the receptors of TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), DR5, was dramatically up-regulated in GSLCs after irradiation (IR). Although GSLCs are resistant to both TRAIL and radiation treatment alone, the combined treatment with TRAIL and irradiation achieved maximum killing effect of GSLCs due to inducing the expression of DR5 and inhibiting the expression of cFLIP. Therefore, TRAIL and IR combined treatment would be a simple but practical therapeutic strategy for clinical application.

FAK and paxillin, two potential targets in pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a devastating cancer in large part due to late diagnosis and a lack of effective screening tests. In spite of recent progress in imaging, surgery and new therapeutic options for pancreatic cancer, the overall five-year survival still remains unacceptably low. Numerous studies have shown that focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is activated in many cancers including PDAC and promotes cancer progression and metastasis. Paxillin, an intracellular adaptor protein that plays a key role in cytoskeletal organization, connects integrins to FAK and plays a key role in assembly and disassembly of focal adhesions. Here, we have reviewed evidence in support of FAK as a potential therapeutic target and summarized related combinatorial therapies.

Collagen triple helix repeat containing 1 (CTHRC1) activates Integrin β3/FAK signaling and promotes metastasis in ovarian cancer

BACKGROUND

Metastasis is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), however the mechanisms that underline this process are poorly understood. Collagen triple helix repeat containing-1 (CTHRC1) is a 28-kDa secreted protein reported to be involved in vascular remodeling, bone formation and morphogenesis. This study aimed to investigate the role of CTHRC1 in promoting the metastasis of EOC and to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms.

METHODS

The biologic functions of CTHRC1 in metastasis were validated both in vivo and in vitro experiments. The phosphor-antibody microarray analysis and Co-immunoprecipitation were performed to detect and identify the integrin β3/FAK signaling pathway that mediated the function of CTHRC1. Seventy two EOC samples were analyzed for association between CTHRC1/integrin β3 expression and patient clinicopathological features.

RESULTS

We demonstrated that CTHRC1 enhances the biological behavior of EOC including cell migration, invasion, as well as its adhesion capability to cell-extracellular matrix in vitro. Additionally, CTHRC1 promoted metastatic spread of EOC cells in an i.p. ovarian xenograft model and this phenotype was primarily ascribed to the activation of integrin/FAK signaling. Mechanistically, we determined that FAK were phosphorylated on Tyr397, and were activated by integrin β3, which is important for the CTHRC1-mediated migratory and invasive ability of EOC cells in vitro and i.p. metastasis. In addition, we found that attenuated CTHRC1/integrin β3 expression predicted a poor prognostic phenotype and advanced clinical stage of EOC.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that CTHRC1, a newly identified regulator of i.p. metastasis through activation of integrin β3/FAK signaling in EOC, may represent a potential therapeutic target for ovarian cancer.

The cancer cell adhesion resistome: mechanisms, targeting and translational approaches

Cell adhesion-mediated resistance limits the success of cancer therapies and is a great obstacle to overcome in the clinic. Since the 1990s, where it became clear that adhesion of tumor cells to the extracellular matrix is an important mediator of therapy resistance, a lot of work has been conducted to understand the fundamental underlying mechanisms and two paradigms were deduced: cell adhesion-mediated radioresistance (CAM-RR) and cell adhesion-mediated drug resistance (CAM-DR). Preclinical work has evidently demonstrated that targeting of integrins, adapter proteins and associated kinases comprising the cell adhesion resistome is a promising strategy to sensitize cancer cells to both radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Moreover, the cell adhesion resistome fundamentally contributes to adaptation mechanisms induced by radiochemotherapy as well as molecular drugs to secure a balanced homeostasis of cancer cells for survival and growth. Intriguingly, this phenomenon provides a basis for synthetic lethal targeted therapies simultaneously administered to standard radiochemotherapy. In this review, we summarize current knowledge about the cell adhesion resistome and highlight targeting strategies to override CAM-RR and CAM-DR.

Daurinol blocks breast and lung cancer metastasis and development by inhibition of focal adhesion kinase (FAK)

FAK overexpression has been reported in diverse primary and metastatic tumor tissues, supporting its pro-tumorigenic and pro-metastatic roles. Therefore, we have developed a neo-treatment strategy using daurinol to effectively treat cancer metastasis. Daurinol blocked cancer cell migration and invasion in vitro and exhibited anti-metastatic activity in an experimental metastasis model of breast and lung cancer. Daurinol selectively inhibited phosphorylation of FAK at Tyr925, Tyr576/577, and Tyr397 sites in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Daurinol effectively suppressed migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 and A549 cancer cells. These data were associated with inhibition of expression and secretion of invasion factors, including matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 2, MMP9, and urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA). Consistent with these in vitro results, daurinol (10 mg/kg; Oral gavage) effectively inhibited breast and lung cancer metastasis in a mouse model. In addition, daurinol showed strong suppressive activity of cell survival as revealed by colony formation assays. Analysis of cellular phenotypes revealed that inhibition of FAK phosphorylation in cancer cells limited colony formation, cell migration, and invasion, thereby reducing the cell proliferation rate. Furthermore, daurinol significantly reduced tumor development in 4-(methylnitrosoamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK)/benzo(a)pyrene (BaP)-treated A/J mice. Our results suggest that daurinol suppresses lung metastasis through inhibition of migration and survival via blockade of FAK activity.

Correlation between Polymorphism of TRAIL Gene and Condition of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

Background

Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) has been suggested to be related with the pathogenesis and progression of osteoarticular degenerations. This study therefore aimed to investigate the relationship between the polymorphism of the TRAIL gene and the pathogenesis and severity of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) via detection of serum TRAIL expression levels.

Material/Methods

A total of 100 IDD patients in our hospital were recruited in the experimental group, while another cohort of 100 healthy individuals was employed as the control group. Blood samples collected from all people were quantified for TRAIL level using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), in addition to allele and genotype frequency analysis via fluorescent PCR for TRAIL gene.

Results

At loci 1525 and 1529 in 3′-untranslated region (UTR) of 5^th exon of TRAIL gene, 3 different genotypes were identified: experimental group had higher frequency of 1525CG/1595CC, 1525G and 1595C alleles, compared to the control group (p<0.05). Patients under Schneiderman grade IV had significantly higher allele frequency compared to those at grade II or III. Serum TRAIL level was also higher in the experimental group compared to the control group, and in grade IV patients compared to grade II or III patients (p<0.05).

Conclusions

The G/C mutation at loci 1525/1595 of TRAIL gene may induce the progression of IDD, as the down-regulation of TRAIL can aggravate the severity of the disease.