WITHDRAWN: MicroRNA-505 modulates cancer proliferation and migration in human non-small cell lung cancer through inverse regulation of FZD4

Wnt/β-catenin signaling in cancers and targeted therapies

Wnt/β-catenin signaling has been broadly implicated in human cancers and experimental cancer models of animals. Aberrant activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling is tightly linked with the increment of prevalence, advancement of malignant progression, development of poor prognostics, and even ascendence of the cancer-associated mortality. Early experimental investigations have proposed the theoretical potential that efficient repression of this signaling might provide promising therapeutic choices in managing various types of cancers. Up to date, many therapies targeting Wnt/β-catenin signaling in cancers have been developed, which is assumed to endow clinicians with new opportunities of developing more satisfactory and precise remedies for cancer patients with aberrant Wnt/β-catenin signaling. However, current facts indicate that the clinical translations of Wnt/β-catenin signaling-dependent targeted therapies have faced un-neglectable crises and challenges. Therefore, in this study, we systematically reviewed the most updated knowledge of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in cancers and relatively targeted therapies to generate a clearer and more accurate awareness of both the developmental stage and underlying limitations of Wnt/β-catenin-targeted therapies in cancers. Insights of this study will help readers better understand the roles of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in cancers and provide insights to acknowledge the current opportunities and challenges of targeting this signaling in cancers.

Establishment and characterization of a patient-derived circulating lung tumor cell line in vitro and in vivo

BACKGROUND

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have been described as a population of cells that may seed metastasis, which is a reliable target for the prevention of metastases in lung cancer patients at the early stage. The culturing of CTCs in vitro can be used to study the mechanism of lung cancer metastasis and to screen antimetastasis drugs. This study aims to establish CTC cell line in vitro and explore the potential mechanism of its metastasis.

METHODS

A mixture of EpCAM- and EGFR-coated immunomagnetic microbeads in microfluidic Herringbone-Chip was used to capture CTCs. The CTCs, 95-D and A549 cells was evaluated by cell proliferation assays, clonal formation assays, migration assays and drug resistance. Flow cytometry and cytokine protein chip were used to detect the difference in phenotype and cytokine secretion between CTCs, 95-D and A549 cells. The NOD/SCID mice were used to study tumorigenicity, lung organ colonization and metastasis of CTCs. The H&E staining, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence assay were used to detect the pathological status of CTCs.

RESULTS

The number of EpCAM(+)/EGFR(+)/CK(+)/CD45(-) lung CTCs showed a weak negative correlation with clinical stages in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In a phase IIa lung cancer patient, we successfully establish a permanent CTC cell line, named CTC-TJH-01. In vitro studies showed the CTC-TJH-01 cells were in the intermediate stage of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), had stem cell characteristics and were drug resistant. In vivo studies showed that CTC-TJH-01 cells can induce tumorigenesis, lung organ colonization and metastasis after xenografting in immunodeficient mice. In addition, the low expression level of CX3CL1 and high expression level of CXCL5 in the CTC-TJH-01 cells may be an important mechanism for their metastasis.

CONCLUSIONS

We successfully established a permanent CTC cell line with metastatic ability, which can be used to screen antimetastatic drugs and study the mechanism of lung cancer metastasis.