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Carotti S, Zingariello M, Francesconi M, D'Andrea L, Latasa MU, Colyn L, Fernandez-Barrena MG, Flammia RS, Falchi M, Righi D, Pedini G, Pantano F, Bagni C, Perrone G, Rana RA, Avila MA, Morini S, Zalfa F. Fragile X mental retardation protein in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: regulating the cancer cell behavior plasticity at the leading edge. Oncogene 2021; 40:4033-4049. [PMID: 34017076 PMCID: PMC8195741 DOI: 10.1038/s41388-021-01824-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2019] [Revised: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is a rare malignancy of the intrahepatic biliary tract with a very poor prognosis. Although some clinicopathological parameters can be prognostic factors for iCCA, the molecular prognostic markers and potential mechanisms of iCCA have not been well investigated. Here, we report that the Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), a RNA binding protein functionally absent in patients with the Fragile X syndrome (FXS) and also involved in several types of cancers, is overexpressed in human iCCA and its expression is significantly increased in iCCA metastatic tissues. The silencing of FMRP in metastatic iCCA cell lines affects cell migration and invasion, suggesting a role of FMRP in iCCA progression. Moreover, we show evidence that FMRP is localized at the invasive front of human iCCA neoplastic nests and in pseudopodia and invadopodia protrusions of migrating and invading iCCA cancer cells. Here FMRP binds several mRNAs encoding key proteins involved in the formation and/or function of these protrusions. In particular, we find that FMRP binds to and regulates the expression of Cortactin, a critical regulator of invadopodia formation. Altogether, our findings suggest that FMRP could promote cell invasiveness modulating membrane plasticity and invadopodia formation at the leading edges of invading iCCA cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Carotti
- Research Unit of Microscopic and Ultrastructural Anatomy, Department of Medicine, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy
- Predictive Molecular Diagnostic Unit, Department of Pathology, Campus Bio-Medico University Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Zingariello
- Research Unit of Microscopic and Ultrastructural Anatomy, Department of Medicine, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Francesconi
- Research Unit of Microscopic and Ultrastructural Anatomy, Department of Medicine, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy
| | - Laura D'Andrea
- Research Unit of Microscopic and Ultrastructural Anatomy, Department of Medicine, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy
| | - M Ujue Latasa
- Hepatology Program, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra and IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Leticia Colyn
- Hepatology Program, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra and IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
| | - Maite G Fernandez-Barrena
- Hepatology Program, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra and IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red, Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Madrid, Spain
| | - Rocco Simone Flammia
- Research Unit of Microscopic and Ultrastructural Anatomy, Department of Medicine, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy
| | - Mario Falchi
- National AIDS Center, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Daniela Righi
- Predictive Molecular Diagnostic Unit, Department of Pathology, Campus Bio-Medico University Hospital, Rome, Italy
| | - Giorgia Pedini
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesco Pantano
- Medical Oncology Department, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy
| | - Claudia Bagni
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
- Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Giuseppe Perrone
- Predictive Molecular Diagnostic Unit, Department of Pathology, Campus Bio-Medico University Hospital, Rome, Italy
- Research Unit of Pathology, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy
| | - Rosa Alba Rana
- Medicine and Aging Science Department, University G. D'Annunzio, Chieti-Pescara, Italy
| | - Matias A Avila
- Hepatology Program, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra and IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red, Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Madrid, Spain
| | - Sergio Morini
- Research Unit of Microscopic and Ultrastructural Anatomy, Department of Medicine, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy.
| | - Francesca Zalfa
- Research Unit of Microscopic and Ultrastructural Anatomy, Department of Medicine, Campus Bio-Medico University, Rome, Italy.
- Predictive Molecular Diagnostic Unit, Department of Pathology, Campus Bio-Medico University Hospital, Rome, Italy.
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