BTB/POZ domain-containing protein 7 is inversely associated with fibronectin expression in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma

Unraveling the Role of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of the Salivary Glands: A Comprehensive Review

Salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC) is considered a challenging malignancy; it is characterized by a slow-growing nature, yet a high risk of recurrence and distant metastasis, presenting significant hurdles in its treatment and management. At present, there are no approved targeted agents available for the management of SACC and systemic chemotherapy protocols that have demonstrated efficacy remain to be elucidated. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a complex process that is closely associated with tumor progression and metastasis, enabling epithelial cells to acquire mesenchymal properties, including increased mobility and invasiveness. Several molecular signaling pathways have been implicated in the regulation of EMT in SACC, and understanding these mechanisms is crucial to identifying new therapeutic targets and developing more effective treatment approaches. This manuscript aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest research on the role of EMT in SACC, including the molecular pathways and biomarkers involved in EMT regulation. By highlighting the most recent findings, this review offers insights into potential new therapeutic strategies that could improve the management of SACC patients, especially those with recurrent or metastatic disease.

The Role of BTBD7 in Normal Development and Tumor Progression

BTB/POZ domain-containing protein 7 (BTBD7) has a relative molecular weight of 126KD and contains two conserved BTB/POZ protein sequences. BTBD7 has been shown to play an essential role in normal human development, precancerous lesions, heat-stress response, and tumor progression. BTBD7 promotes branching morphogenesis during development and participates in the salivary gland, lung, and tooth formation. Furthermore, many studies have shown that aberrant expression of BTBD7 promotes heat stress response and the progression of precancerous lesions. BTBD7 has also been found to play an important role in cancer. High expression of BTBD7 affects tumor progression by regulating multiple pathways. Therefore, a complete understanding of BTBD7 is crucial for exploring human development and tumor progression. This paper reviews the research progress of BTBD7, which lays a foundation for the application of BTBD7 in regenerative medicine and as a biomarker for tumor prediction or potential therapeutic target.

Potential neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, and carcinogenicity induced by metribuzin and tebuconazole exposure in earthworms (Eisenia fetida) revealed by transcriptome analysis

Metribuzin and tebuconazole have been widely used in agriculture for several decades. Apart from endocrine disruption, little is known about their toxicological effects on organisms without thyroid organs, at the transcriptional level. To explore this toxicity, model earthworm species Eisenia fetida, hatched from the same cocoon and cultured under identical environmental conditions, were independently exposed to the two chemicals at non-lethal concentrations in OECD artificial soil for 48 h after exposure. RNA-seq technology was used to analyze and compare the gene expression profiles of earthworms exposed to metribuzin and tebuconazole. The functions of differentially expressed genes and their standard response patterns of upregulated and downregulated expression for both pesticides were verified. The findings demonstrated that metribuzin and tebuconazole are both potentially toxic to earthworms. Toxicological effects mainly involved the nervous system, immune system, and tumors, at the transcriptional level, as well as the induction of cytochrome P450-dependent detoxification and oxidative stress. In addition, the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase gene was identified as a biomarker, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway was verified to be a part of the adverse outcome pathway of metribuzin and tebuconazole and their structural analogs.

Lnc-CPLC promotes the progression of colorectal cancer via regulating ZBTB34 by competitively binding miR-4319

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been considered as regulatory molecules that play crucial roles in diverse biological processes, including the regulation of tumor progression. However, in colorectal cancer (CRC), due to the complex regulatory relationships involved in lncRNAs, the details of the specific mechanism still need to be elucidated. To discover the key regulatory role of lncRNA in CRC, we used bioinformatics analysis methods for preliminary screening. Through the combination of in vitro and in vivo verification, we further comprehensively analyzed the specific regulation of the key gene and the related key lncRNA in CRC. We found that ZBTB34 and lnc-CPLC (CRC progression-associated lncRNA) had a strong correlation, which plays a key role in the regulation of CRC. Furthermore, by exerting the "sponge" function, lnc-CPLC could bind to miR4319 and release its binding to the 3'UTR of ZBTB34 mRNA. Our results reveal the mechanism of the lnc-CPLC/miR-4319/ZBTB34 signal axis in CRC and provide evidence for elucidating the complex molecular mechanisms in tumors.

High BTBD7 expression positive is correlated with SLUG-predicted poor prognosis in hormone receptor-negative breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Hormone receptor-negative breast cancer (HRNBC), which includes triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER-2) overexpressing breast cancer, is prone to metastasis and has a poor prognosis. BTB/POZ domain-containing protein 7 (Btbd7) is thought to regulate SLUG and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. However, the role of Btbd7 in HRNBC is unclear.

METHODS

Expression of BTBD7 and SLUG in HRNBC tumor tissue and normal adjacent tissue (NAT) as well as breast cancer cells were characterized by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. MDA-MA-231 cells was transfected with BTBD7 siRNA and detected by qRT-PCR and western blot. Expression levels of Slug and EMT related proteins were detected western blot analysis. cell invasion assays were used to analyse cell invasion ability of MDA-MA-231. GO and KEGG analyses was used to analysis the gene function.

RESULTS

The total positive rate of BTBD7 expression in HRNBC tumor tissue was 66.7%, which was higher than that in NAT (52.1%) and benign breast lesion tissues (20%). Co-expression of SLUG and BTBD7 proteins could be found in HRNBC tissue and MDA-MA-231 cells. BTBD7 silencing significantly up-regulated the epithelial marker E-cadherin, down-regulated the mesenchymal markers α-SMA and SLUG and suppressed the invasion abilities of MDA-MA-231 cells. GO and KEGG analyses based on 322 DEGs showed that BTBD7 may be associated with generic transcription in breast cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

The study data indicated that BTBD7 was inversely associated with SLUG expression. Higher BTBD7 was associated with poor clinicopathologic features and prognosis in HRNBC patients. BTBD7 silencing inhibited EMT through regulation of SLUG expression. BTBD7 might act as a potential molecular target for gene therapy in HRNBC patients.

Immunophenotypical alterations with impact on the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process in salivary gland adenoid cystic carcinomas

Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is one of the most common malignant salivary glands neoplasms with an indolent clinical course, slow-growing but locally aggressive and quite often with delayed recurrence and distant metastasis. In order to elucidate this tumoral behavior, we conducted an immunohistochemical study investigating the alterations of epithelial phenotype with anti-cytokeratin (CK) AE1/AE3 and anti-E-cadherin antibodies, and the acquisition of mesenchymal phenotype with vimentin, fibronectin, N-cadherin and P-cadherin in salivary ACCs. Thus, we recorded a reduction of CK AE1/AE3, E-cadherin, P-cadherin and fibronectin reactivity in the solid variant and especially in the cells from the periphery of invasive neoplastic proliferations, regardless histological type. These phenotypical alterations suggest the involvement of the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) process in the progression of salivary ACCs.

TAF1A and ZBTB41 serve as novel key genes in cervical cancer identified by integrated approaches

Cervical cancer (CC) is the second most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer mortality in women. Numerous studies have found that the development of CC was associated with multiple genes. However, the mechanisms on gene level are enigmatic, hindering the understanding of its functional roles. This study sought to identify prognostic biomarkers of CC, and explore their biological functions. Here we conducted an integrated analysis to screen potential vital genes. Candidate genes were further tested by experiments in clinical specimens and cancer cell line. Then, molecular modeling was used to predict the three-dimensional structure of candidate genes’ proteins, and the interaction pattern was analyzed by docking simulation technique. Among the potential genes identified, we found that TAF1A and ZBTB41 were highly correlated. Furthermore, there was a definite interaction between the proteins of TAF1A and ZBTB41, which was affected by the activity of the p53 signaling pathway. In conclusion, our findings identified TAF1A and ZBTB41 could serve as biomarkers of CC. We confirmed their biological function and deciphered their interaction for the first time, which may be helpful for developing further researches.

Extracellular Vesicles and Post-Translational Protein Deimination Signatures in Mollusca-The Blue Mussel (Mytilus edulis), Soft Shell Clam (Mya arenaria), Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) and Atlantic Jacknife Clam (Ensis leei)

Simple Summary

Oysters and clams form an important component of the food chain and food security and are of considerable commercial value worldwide. They are affected by pollution and climate change, as well as a range of infections, some of which are opportunistic. For aquaculture purposes they are furthermore of great commercial value and changes in their immune responses can also serve as indicators of changes in ocean environments. Therefore, studies into understanding new factors in their immune systems may aid new biomarker discovery and are of considerable value. This study assessed new biomarkers relating to changes in protein function in four economically important marine molluscs, the blue mussel, soft shell clam, Eastern oyster, and Atlantic jacknife clam. These findings indicate novel regulatory mechanisms of important metabolic and immunology related pathways in these mollusks. The findings provide new understanding to how these pathways function in diverse ways in different animal species as well as aiding new biomarker discovery for Mollusca aquaculture.

Abstract

Oysters and clams are important for food security and of commercial value worldwide. They are affected by anthropogenic changes and opportunistic pathogens and can be indicators of changes in ocean environments. Therefore, studies into biomarker discovery are of considerable value. This study aimed at assessing extracellular vesicle (EV) signatures and post-translational protein deimination profiles of hemolymph from four commercially valuable Mollusca species, the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis), soft shell clam (Mya arenaria), Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica), and Atlantic jacknife clam (Ensis leei). EVs form part of cellular communication by transporting protein and genetic cargo and play roles in immunity and host–pathogen interactions. Protein deimination is a post-translational modification caused by peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs), and can facilitate protein moonlighting in health and disease. The current study identified hemolymph-EV profiles in the four Mollusca species, revealing some species differences. Deiminated protein candidates differed in hemolymph between the species, with some common targets between all four species (e.g., histone H3 and H4, actin, and GAPDH), while other hits were species-specific; in blue mussel these included heavy metal binding protein, heat shock proteins 60 and 90, 2-phospho-D-glycerate hydrolyase, GTP cyclohydrolase feedback regulatory protein, sodium/potassium-transporting ATPase, and fibrinogen domain containing protein. In soft shell clam specific deimination hits included dynein, MCM3-associated protein, and SCRN. In Eastern oyster specific deimination hits included muscle LIM protein, beta-1,3-glucan-binding protein, myosin heavy chain, thaumatin-like protein, vWFA domain-containing protein, BTB domain-containing protein, amylase, and beta-catenin. Deiminated proteins specific to Atlantic jackknife clam included nacre c1q domain-containing protein and PDZ domain-containing protein In addition, some proteins were common as deiminated targets between two or three of the Bivalvia species under study (e.g., EP protein, C1q domain containing protein, histone H2B, tubulin, elongation factor 1-alpha, dominin, extracellular superoxide dismutase). Protein interaction network analysis for the deiminated protein hits revealed major pathways relevant for immunity and metabolism, providing novel insights into post-translational regulation via deimination. The study contributes to EV characterization in diverse taxa and understanding of roles for PAD-mediated regulation of immune and metabolic pathways throughout phylogeny.

BTB domain-containing 7 predicts low recurrence and suppresses tumor progression by deactivating Notch1 signaling in breast cancer

PURPOSE

BTB domain-containing 7 (BTBD7) has been found to regulate epithelial tissue remodeling and branched organ formation and has been reported to modulate the biological behavior of several cancers. However, its role in breast cancer has not been identified. This study investigated the biological role and prognostic value of BTBD7 in breast cancer.

METHODS

We identified the BTBD7 expression pattern using the GENT2 database and assessed its expression in breast cancer tissue and cell lines using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, western blot, and immunohistochemistry. We conducted a clinical relevance and survival analysis on a cohort of 121 breast cancer cases from our follow-up and validated it in a Kaplan-Meier plotter. The gain-loss effect of BTBD7 on cell proliferation, invasion, and migration was detected in vitro. We employed a xenograft mouse metastatic model for in vivo validation and performed a Cignal Finder Cancer 10-Pathway Reporter Array, western blot, immunofluorescence, Cell Counting Kit-8, and transwell invasion/migration assays to analyze the potential mechanism.

RESULTS

BTBD7 was downregulated in human breast cancer cell lines and tissues. Decreased BTBD7 expression correlated with a positive lymph node status, lymphovascular invasion, and TNM stage, while high BTBD7 expression correlated with low breast cancer recurrence. BTBD7 suppressed cell proliferation, invasion/migration, and tumor metastasis in breast cancer. The mechanism studied suggested that the inhibitory role of BTBD7 was through the deactivation of Notch1 signaling in breast cancer.

CONCLUSION

BTBD7 suppresses tumor progression, and its high expression correlates with low recurrence in breast cancer.