1
|
Fite EL, Makary MS. Transarterial Chemoembolization Treatment Paradigms for Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:2430. [PMID: 39001491 PMCID: PMC11240648 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16132430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2024] [Revised: 06/27/2024] [Accepted: 06/27/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 90% of liver cancer cases worldwide and is currently the most quickly increasing cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. The 5-year survival rate for primary liver cancer is estimated to be below 20%, and HCC mortality is expected to increase by 41% by 2040. Currently, surgical resection is the first-line approach to definitive treatment of early-stage HCC. However, the majority of patients present with late-stage, unresectable disease due to the asymptomatic nature of early HCC. For patients who present with unresectable HCC, locoregional therapies such as transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) represent an alternative approach to HCC treatment. TACE is a minimally invasive, catheter-based technique that allows for targeted delivery of chemotherapy to tumor sites while occluding tumor-feeding blood vessels. In appropriately selected patients, outcomes for TACE therapy have been shown to be more favorable than supportive care or conservative management. The increasing incidence and mortality of HCC, in addition to the late-stage presentation of most HCC patients, demonstrates the need to expand the role of locoregional therapies in the treatment of HCC. TACE represents an appealing approach to HCC management, including disease control, palliation, and potentially curative-intent strategies. In this review, we will describe the current utility of TACE in the treatment of HCC, characterize the outcomes of patients treated with TACE across different HCC stages, and outline future applications of TACE in the treatment paradigm.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elliott L Fite
- College of Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Mina S Makary
- Department of Radiology, The Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Cong T, Yang C, Cao Q, Ren J, Luo Y, Yuan P, Zheng B, Liu Y, Yang H, Kang W, Ou A, Li X. The Role of GNMT and MMP12 Expression in Determining TACE Efficacy: Validation at Transcription and Protein Levels. J Hepatocell Carcinoma 2024; 11:95-111. [PMID: 38250306 PMCID: PMC10800115 DOI: 10.2147/jhc.s441179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Purpose Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) represents a significant therapeutic modality for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to develop a gene signature to accurately predict patient TACE response and explore the underlying mechanisms. Methods Three independent datasets were utilized, including GSE104580, GSE14520 and external validation from the Cancer Hospital Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. GSE104580 was randomly partitioned into a training set and a validation set, whereas GSE14520 was categorized into a resection group and a TACE group. Logistic regression was used to develop a TACE effectiveness model. Immunohistochemistry is utilized to confirm the protein expression trends of the signature genes. Immune infiltration and functional enrichment analyses were conducted to investigate the potential underlying mechanisms. Results A 2-gene signature consisting of glycine N-methyltransferase (GNMT) and matrix metalloproteinase-12 (MMP12) was constructed, and based on this, all the patients were assigned TACE effectiveness scores and categorized into high effectiveness (HE) and low effectiveness (LE) groups. The HE group exhibited a better prognosis than the LE group in the various cohorts (p < 0.05). In the external validation set, immunohistochemistry confirmed the expression of the signature genes exhibiting an upregulated trend of GNMT in the HE group and MMP12 in the LE group, the LE group also exhibited a poorer prognosis [for overall survival (OS), HE group: 881 days vs LE group: 273 days (p < 0.05), and for progression-free survival (PFS), HE group: 458 days vs LE group: 136 days (p < 0.05)]. Multivariate analysis in all the datasets identified LE status as an independent risk factor for OS, disease-free survival (DFS) and PFS. The infiltration level of M0 macrophages and activated mast cells in the LE group was significantly higher than in the HE group. The hypoxia signaling pathway and glycolysis pathway were significantly enriched in the LE group. Conclusion The loss of GNMT and the overexpression of MMP12 may be critical factors influencing TACE efficacy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tianhao Cong
- Department of Interventional Therapy, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Chao Yang
- Department of Interventional Therapy, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Qi Cao
- Department of Pathology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jinrui Ren
- Department of Interventional Therapy, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yingen Luo
- Department of Interventional Therapy, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Pei Yuan
- Department of Pathology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Bo Zheng
- Department of Pathology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yu Liu
- Department of Interventional Therapy, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Hongcai Yang
- Department of Interventional Therapy, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Wendi Kang
- Department of Interventional Therapy, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Aixin Ou
- Department of Interventional Therapy, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiao Li
- Department of Interventional Therapy, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Xu Q, Ren N, Ren L, Yang Y, Pan J, Shang H. RNA m6A methylation regulators in liver cancer. Cancer Cell Int 2024; 24:1. [PMID: 38166832 PMCID: PMC10763310 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-023-03197-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Liver cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and a primary cause of cancer-related death. In recent years, despite the great development of diagnostic methods and targeted therapies for liver cancer, the incidence and mortality of liver cancer are still on the rise. As a universal post-transcriptional modification, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification accomplishes a dynamic and reversible m6A modification process, which is executed by three types of regulators, methyltransferases (called writers), demethylases (called erasers) and m6A-binding proteins (called readers). Many studies have shown that m6A RNA methylation has an important impact on RNA metabolism, whereas its regulation exception is bound up with the occurrence of human malignant tumors. Aberrant methylation of m6A RNA and the expression of related regulatory factors may be of the essence in the pathogenesis and progression of liver cancer, yet the precise molecular mechanism remains unclear. In this paper, we review the current research situations of m6A methylation in liver cancer. Among the rest, we detail the mechanism by which methyltransferases, demethylases and m6A binding proteins regulate the occurrence and development of liver cancer by modifying mRNA. As well as the potential effect of m6A regulators in hepatocarcinogenesis and progression. New ideas and approaches will be given to the prevention and treatment of liver cancer through the following relevant research results.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qiaoping Xu
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Key Laboratory of Clinical Cancer Pharmacology and Toxicology Research of Zhejiang Province, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Cancer Center, Westlake University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310006, China
| | - Ning Ren
- Fourth Clinical Medical College of Zhejiang, Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310051, Zhejiang, China
| | - Lanqi Ren
- Fourth Clinical Medical College of Zhejiang, Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310051, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yibei Yang
- Fourth Clinical Medical College of Zhejiang, Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310051, Zhejiang, China
| | - Junjie Pan
- Fourth Clinical Medical College of Zhejiang, Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, 310051, Zhejiang, China
| | - Hongkai Shang
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Key Laboratory of Clinical Cancer Pharmacology and Toxicology Research of Zhejiang Province, Affiliated Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Cancer Center, Westlake University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310006, China.
- The Fourth School of Clinical Medicine, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
- Department of the Fourth Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
- Department of Gynecology, Hangzhou First People's Hospital, Hangzhou, China.
- Department of Gynecology, Westlake University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Brown AJ, Won JJ, Wolfisberg R, Fahnøe U, Catanzaro N, West A, Moreira FR, Nogueira Batista M, Ferris MT, Linnertz CL, Leist SR, Nguyen C, De la Cruz G, Midkiff BR, Xia Y, Evangelista MD, Montgomery SA, Billerbeck E, Bukh J, Scheel TK, Rice CM, Sheahan TP. Host genetic variation guides hepacivirus clearance, chronicity, and liver fibrosis in mice. Hepatology 2024; 79:183-197. [PMID: 37540195 PMCID: PMC10718216 DOI: 10.1097/hep.0000000000000547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AIMS Human genetic variation is thought to guide the outcome of HCV infection, but model systems within which to dissect these host genetic mechanisms are limited. Norway rat hepacivirus, closely related to HCV, causes chronic liver infection in rats but causes acute self-limiting hepatitis in typical strains of laboratory mice, which resolves in 2 weeks. The Collaborative Cross (CC) is a robust mouse genetics resource comprised of a panel of recombinant inbred strains, which model the complexity of the human genome and provide a system within which to understand diseases driven by complex allelic variation. APPROACH RESULTS We infected a panel of CC strains with Norway rat hepacivirus and identified several that failed to clear the virus after 4 weeks. Strains displayed an array of virologic phenotypes ranging from delayed clearance (CC046) to chronicity (CC071, CC080) with viremia for at least 10 months. Body weight loss, hepatocyte infection frequency, viral evolution, T-cell recruitment to the liver, liver inflammation, and the capacity to develop liver fibrosis varied among infected CC strains. CONCLUSIONS These models recapitulate many aspects of HCV infection in humans and demonstrate that host genetic variation affects a multitude of viruses and host phenotypes. These models can be used to better understand the molecular mechanisms that drive hepacivirus clearance and chronicity, the virus and host interactions that promote chronic disease manifestations like liver fibrosis, therapeutic and vaccine performance, and how these factors are affected by host genetic variation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ariane J. Brown
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - John J. Won
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Raphael Wolfisberg
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Ulrik Fahnøe
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Nicholas Catanzaro
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Ande West
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Fernando R. Moreira
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Mariana Nogueira Batista
- Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Martin T. Ferris
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Colton L. Linnertz
- Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Sarah R. Leist
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Cameron Nguyen
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Gabriela De la Cruz
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Bentley R. Midkiff
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Yongjuan Xia
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Mia D. Evangelista
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Stephanie A. Montgomery
- Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Eva Billerbeck
- Department of Medicine and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Division of Hepatology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
| | - Jens Bukh
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Troels K.H. Scheel
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen Hepatitis C Program (CO-HEP), Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre and Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Charles M. Rice
- Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Timothy P. Sheahan
- Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Li XY, Cui X, Xie CQ, Wu Y, Song T, He JD, Feng J, Cui QR, Bin JL, Li QY, Xiao C, Deng JH, Lu GD, Zhou J. Andrographolide causes p53-independent HCC cell death through p62 accumulation and impaired DNA damage repair. PHYTOMEDICINE : INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PHYTOTHERAPY AND PHYTOPHARMACOLOGY 2023; 121:155089. [PMID: 37738908 DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2023.155089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly lethal cancer characterized by dominant driver mutations, including p53. Consequently, there is an urgent need to search for novel therapeutic agents to treat HCC. Andrographolide (Andro), a clinically available anti-inflammatory phytochemical agent, has shown inhibitory effects against various types of cancer, including HCC. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of its action remain poorly understood. PURPOSE This study aims to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which p53 and p62 collectively affect Andro-induced HCC cell death, using both in vitro and in vivo models. METHODS In vitro cellular experiments were conducted to examine the effects of Andro on cell viability and elucidate its mechanisms of action. In vivo xenograft experiments further validated the anti-cancer effects of Andro. RESULTS Andro induced dose- and time-dependent HCC cell death while sparing normal HL-7702 hepatocytes. Furthermore, Andro caused DNA damage through the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), a critical event leading to cell death. Notably, HCC cells expressing p53 exhibited greater resistance to Andro-induced cell death compared to p53-deficient cells, likely due to the ability of p53 to induce G2/M cell cycle arrest. Additionally, Andro-induced p62 aggregation led to the proteasomal degradation of RAD51 and 53BP1, two key proteins involved in DNA damage repair. Consequently, silencing or knocking out p62 facilitated DNA damage repair and protected HCC cells. Importantly, disruption of either p53 or p62 did not affect the expression of the other protein. These findings were further supported by the observation that xenograft tumors formed by p62-knockout HCC cells displayed increased resistance to Andro treatment. CONCLUSION This study elucidates the mechanistic basis of Andro-induced HCC cell death. It provides valuable insights for repurposing Andro for the treatment of HCC, regardless of the presence of functional p53.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xin-Yu Li
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021
| | - Xuan Cui
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021
| | - Chang-Quan Xie
- Department of Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital & Guangxi Cancer Institute, Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021
| | - Yong Wu
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021
| | - Tang Song
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021
| | - Jin-Di He
- Department of Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital & Guangxi Cancer Institute, Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021
| | - Ji Feng
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021
| | - Qian-Ru Cui
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021
| | - Jin-Lian Bin
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021
| | - Qiu-Yun Li
- Department of Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital & Guangxi Cancer Institute, Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021
| | - Cheng Xiao
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China, 100029
| | - Jing-Huan Deng
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021
| | - Guo-Dong Lu
- Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021; Department of Toxicology, School of the Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China, 200032; Key Laboratory of Early Prevention and Treatment for Regional High Frequency Tumor (Guangxi Medical University), Ministry of Education, Guangxi Key laboratory of High-Incidence-Tumor Prevention & Treatment (Guangxi Medical University), Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021.
| | - Jing Zhou
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021; Key Laboratory of Basic Research on Regional Diseases (Guangxi Medical University), Ministry of Education, Nanning, Guangxi, China, 530021.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Pei R, Zhao L, Ding Y, Su Z, Li D, Zhu S, Xu L, Zhao W, Zhou W. JMJD6-BRD4 complex stimulates lncRNA HOTAIR transcription by binding to the promoter region of HOTAIR and induces radioresistance in liver cancer stem cells. J Transl Med 2023; 21:752. [PMID: 37880710 PMCID: PMC10599021 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04394-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) HOTAIR acts importantly in liver cancer development, but its effect on radioresistance remains poorly understood. Here, our study probed into the possible impact of HOTAIR in radioresistance in liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) and to elucidate its molecular basis. METHODS Following sorting of stem and non-stem liver cancer cells, LCSCs were identified and subjected to RNA-seq analysis for selecting differentially expressed genes. Expression of HOTAIR was determined in liver cancer tissues and CSCs. The stemness, proliferation, apoptosis and radioresistance of LCSCs were then detected in response to altered expression of HOTAIR-LSD1-JMJD6-BRD4. RESULTS Ectopic HOTAIR expression was found to promote radioresistance of LCSCs by maintaining its stemness. Mechanistic investigations indicated that HOTAIR recruited LSD1 to the MAPK1 promoter region and reduced the level of H3K9me2 in the promoter region, thus elevating ERK2 (MAPK1) expression. JMJD6-BRD4 complex promoted HOTAIR transcription by forming a complex and positively regulated ERK2 (MAPK1) expression, maintaining the stemness of LCSCs, and ultimately promoting their radioresistance in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSION Collectively, our work highlights the promoting effect of the JMJD6-BRD4 complex on the radioresistance of LCSCs through a HOTAIR-dependent mechanism.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ruifeng Pei
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Xuzhou Cancer Hospital, Gulou District, No. 131, Huancheng Road, Xuzhou, 221005, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Le Zhao
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Xuzhou Cancer Hospital, Gulou District, No. 131, Huancheng Road, Xuzhou, 221005, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Yiren Ding
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Xuzhou Cancer Hospital, Gulou District, No. 131, Huancheng Road, Xuzhou, 221005, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhan Su
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Xuzhou Cancer Hospital, Gulou District, No. 131, Huancheng Road, Xuzhou, 221005, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Deqiang Li
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Xuzhou Cancer Hospital, Gulou District, No. 131, Huancheng Road, Xuzhou, 221005, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuo Zhu
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Xuzhou Cancer Hospital, Gulou District, No. 131, Huancheng Road, Xuzhou, 221005, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Lu Xu
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Xuzhou Cancer Hospital, Gulou District, No. 131, Huancheng Road, Xuzhou, 221005, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei Zhao
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Xuzhou Cancer Hospital, Gulou District, No. 131, Huancheng Road, Xuzhou, 221005, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
| | - Wuyuan Zhou
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, Xuzhou Cancer Hospital, Gulou District, No. 131, Huancheng Road, Xuzhou, 221005, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Fernandez-Checa JC, Torres S, Garcia-Ruiz C. Hilpda, A New Player In Nash-Driven Hcc, Links Hypoxia Signaling With Ceramide Synthesis. J Hepatol 2023:S0168-8278(23)00337-9. [PMID: 37207912 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2023.05.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jose C Fernandez-Checa
- Department of Cell Death and Proliferation, Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB), CSIC, Barcelona, Spain; Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic I Provincial de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi I Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona; CIBEREHD, Madrid, Spain; Department of Medicine, Keck School of Division of Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease,Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
| | - Sandra Torres
- Department of Cell Death and Proliferation, Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB), CSIC, Barcelona, Spain; Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi I Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona; CIBEREHD, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carmen Garcia-Ruiz
- Department of Cell Death and Proliferation, Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB), CSIC, Barcelona, Spain; Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic I Provincial de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi I Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona; CIBEREHD, Madrid, Spain; Department of Medicine, Keck School of Division of Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease,Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Hamza RA, Mostafa I, Mohamed YS, Dora GA, Ateya AM, Abdelaal M, Fantoukh OI, Alqahtani A, Attia RA. Bioguided isolation of potential antitumor agents from the aerial parts of cultivated cardoon ( Cynara cardunculus var. altilis). Saudi Pharm J 2023; 31:125-134. [PMID: 36685304 PMCID: PMC9845127 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsps.2022.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide; therefore, searching for an effective treatment for this illness is of great importance. In the present work, in vitro cytotoxic activity of the ethanol extract of the aerial parts of Cynara cardunculus L. against human liver carcinoma cells (Hep G2) was tested. Additionally, the antitumor activity of the extract was confirmed using chemically induced rat liver carcinogenesis with diethylnitrosamine (DEN). Moreover, bioguided fractionation and column chromatographic separation of the active compounds were carried out. The extract of C. cardunculus showed a promising cytotoxic activity according to the protocols of the National Cancer Institute. Bioguided chromatographic separation of the ethanol extract of C. cardunculus led to the isolation of seven secondary metabolites including two sesquiterpene lactones as the principal active components of the methylene chloride soluble fraction, grosheimin (IC50 = 7.49 µg/mL) and cynaropicrin (IC50 = 13.9 µg/mL). The compounds were characterized by different spectroscopic techniques such as EI-MS, IR and NMR. Additionally, in silico analysis of the two active compounds revealed their ability to bind with caspase-3 via hydrogen bonds interactions to initiate apoptosis of cancer cells. The results shed the light on the significance of C. cardunculus as a potential source of antitumor agents.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rasha A. Hamza
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, 44519 Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Islam Mostafa
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, 44519 Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Yasmin S. Mohamed
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Gamal A. Dora
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, 44519 Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Abdel-Monem Ateya
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, 44519 Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Mahmoud Abdelaal
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, 44519 Zagazig, Egypt
| | - Omer I. Fantoukh
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia,Corresponding authors.
| | - Abdulaziz Alqahtani
- Department of Pharmacognosy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rasha A. Attia
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Zagazig University, 44519 Zagazig, Egypt,Corresponding authors.
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Zhou J, Feng J, Wu Y, Dai HQ, Zhu GZ, Chen PH, Wang LM, Lu G, Liao XW, Lu PZ, Su WJ, Hooi SC, Ye XP, Shen HM, Peng T, Lu GD. Simultaneous treatment with sorafenib and glucose restriction inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo by impairing SIAH1-mediated mitophagy. Exp Mol Med 2022; 54:2007-2021. [PMID: 36385558 PMCID: PMC9723179 DOI: 10.1038/s12276-022-00878-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2022] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the first-line treatment for unresectable intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It is of high clinical significance to explore the synergistic effect of TACE with antiangiogenic inhibitors and the molecular mechanisms involved. This study determined that glucose, but not other analyzed nutrients, offered significant protection against cell death induced by sorafenib, as indicated by glucose deprivation sensitizing cells to sorafenib-induced cell death. Next, this synergistic effect was found to be specific to sorafenib, not to lenvatinib or the chemotherapeutic drugs cisplatin and doxorubicin. Mechanistically, sorafenib-induced mitophagy, as indicated by PINK1 accumulation, increased the phospho-poly-ubiquitination modification, accelerated mitochondrial membrane protein and mitochondrial DNA degradation, and increased the amount of mitochondrion-localized mKeima-Red engulfed by lysosomes. Among several E3 ubiquitin ligases tested, SIAH1 was found to be essential for inducing mitophagy; that is, SIAH1 silencing markedly repressed mitophagy and sensitized cells to sorafenib-induced death. Notably, the combined treatment of glucose restriction and sorafenib abolished ATP generation and mitophagy, which led to a high cell death rate. Oligomycin and antimycin, inhibitors of electron transport chain complexes, mimicked the synergistic effect of sorafenib with glucose restriction to promote cell death mediated via mitophagy inhibition. Finally, inhibition of the glucose transporter by canagliflozin (a clinically available drug used for type-II diabetes) effectively synergized with sorafenib to induce HCC cell death in vitro and to inhibit xenograft tumor growth in vivo. This study demonstrates that simultaneous treatment with sorafenib and glucose restriction is an effective approach to treat HCC, suggesting a promising combination strategy such as transarterial sorafenib-embolization (TASE) for the treatment of unresectable HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jing Zhou
- grid.256607.00000 0004 1798 2653Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangxi Medical University, 530021 Nanning, Guangxi Province P. R. China ,grid.4280.e0000 0001 2180 6431Department of Physiology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117593 Singapore
| | - Ji Feng
- grid.256607.00000 0004 1798 2653Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, 530021 Nanning, Guangxi Province P. R. China
| | - Yong Wu
- grid.256607.00000 0004 1798 2653Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, 530021 Nanning, Guangxi Province P. R. China
| | - Hui-Qi Dai
- grid.4280.e0000 0001 2180 6431Department of Physiology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117593 Singapore ,grid.256607.00000 0004 1798 2653Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, 530021 Nanning, Guangxi Province P. R. China
| | - Guang-Zhi Zhu
- grid.412594.f0000 0004 1757 2961Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, 530021 Nanning, Guangxi Province P. R. China
| | - Pan-Hong Chen
- grid.256607.00000 0004 1798 2653Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Guangxi Medical University, 530021 Nanning, Guangxi Province P. R. China
| | - Li-Ming Wang
- grid.4280.e0000 0001 2180 6431Department of Physiology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117593 Singapore
| | - Guang Lu
- grid.4280.e0000 0001 2180 6431Department of Physiology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117593 Singapore
| | - Xi-Wen Liao
- grid.412594.f0000 0004 1757 2961Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, 530021 Nanning, Guangxi Province P. R. China
| | - Pei-Zhi Lu
- grid.256607.00000 0004 1798 2653Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, 530021 Nanning, Guangxi Province P. R. China
| | - Wen-Jing Su
- grid.256607.00000 0004 1798 2653Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, 530021 Nanning, Guangxi Province P. R. China
| | - Shing Chuan Hooi
- grid.4280.e0000 0001 2180 6431Department of Physiology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117593 Singapore
| | - Xin-Pin Ye
- grid.412594.f0000 0004 1757 2961Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, 530021 Nanning, Guangxi Province P. R. China
| | - Han-Ming Shen
- grid.4280.e0000 0001 2180 6431Department of Physiology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117593 Singapore ,grid.437123.00000 0004 1794 8068Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macau, P. R. China
| | - Tao Peng
- grid.412594.f0000 0004 1757 2961Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, 530021 Nanning, Guangxi Province P. R. China ,grid.256607.00000 0004 1798 2653Key Laboratory of Early Prevention and Treatment for Regional High Frequency Tumor (Guangxi Medical University), Ministry of Education; Guangxi Key laboratory of High-Incidence-Tumor Prevention & Treatment (Guangxi Medical University), 530021 Nanning, Guangxi Province P. R. China
| | - Guo-Dong Lu
- grid.256607.00000 0004 1798 2653Department of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, 530021 Nanning, Guangxi Province P. R. China ,grid.256607.00000 0004 1798 2653Key Laboratory of Early Prevention and Treatment for Regional High Frequency Tumor (Guangxi Medical University), Ministry of Education; Guangxi Key laboratory of High-Incidence-Tumor Prevention & Treatment (Guangxi Medical University), 530021 Nanning, Guangxi Province P. R. China
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
circRanGAP1/miR-27b-3p/NRAS Axis may promote the progression of hepatocellular Carcinoma. Exp Hematol Oncol 2022; 11:92. [PMID: 36348379 PMCID: PMC9644583 DOI: 10.1186/s40164-022-00342-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Though circular RNAs (circRNAs) are the key regulators in tumor carcinogenesis, they remain largely unexplored in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods The expression of RanGAP1-derived circRNAs (circ_0063531, circ_0063534, circ_0063513, circ_0063518, circ_0063507, circ_0063723) were evaluated in eight paired HCC and normal tissues, and the correlation between circRanGAP1 (circ_0063531) expression and clinicopathological characteristics in 40 HCC patients was determined. The association between miR-27b-3p and circRanGAP1 or NRAS was predicted using bioinformatics analysis. The expression of circRanGAP1, miR-27b-3p, and NRAS were detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The potential oncogenic role of circ-RanGAP1 was assessed using CCK-8, colony formation, transwell assays in vitro, subcutaneous tumor mouse model, vein tail metastatic model, and orthotopically implanted intrahepatic HCC model in vivo. Luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assays were used to explore the binding site between miR-27b-3p and circ-RanGAP1 or NRAS. Protein expression was detected using western blotting. The localization of miR-27b-3p and circ-RanGAP1 was investigated using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The level of immune infiltration was assessed by bioinformatics analysis, flow cytometry, and orthotopically implanted intrahepatic HCC models. Results Here, we found elevated circRanGAP1 in the cells and clinical tissues of patients with HCC. Increased circRanGAP1 levels are associated with enlarged tumors and the advanced stage of TNM. CircRanGAP1 promotes the growth, migration, and HCC cell invasion, concurrently with the growth and metastasis of tumors in-vivo. Moreover, circRanGAP1 is mainly located inside the cytoplasm. Mechanistically, circRanGAP1 as an oncogene promotes HCC progression by miR-27b-3p/NRAS/ERK axis, furthermore, affects the infiltration level of tumor-associated macrophages probably by sponging miR-27b-3p. Immune infiltration analysis shows that NRAS is positively correlated with the levels of CD68+ tumor-associated macrophages in HCC samples and that NRAS and CD68 are related to the poor outcome of HCC. Conclusion These results reveal that circRanGAP1 is a HCC oncogene that function by the miR-27b-3p/NRAS/ERK axis and regulates the infiltration levels of tumor-associated macrophages by sponging miR-27b-3p. Therefore, circRANGAP1/ NRAS axis may be an important potential treatment target against HCC. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40164-022-00342-6.
Collapse
|
11
|
Motamedi Dehbarez F, Mahmoodi S. Production of a Novel Multi-Epitope Peptide Vaccine against Hepatocellular Carcinoma. IRANIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES 2022; 47:558-565. [PMID: 36380977 PMCID: PMC9652490 DOI: 10.30476/ijms.2021.90916.2199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Revised: 07/11/2021] [Accepted: 08/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the prevalent cancers in the world with a high recurrence rate. In recent years, different researches have focused on designing efficient multi-epitope peptide vaccines against HCC. In designing these vaccines, over-expressed antigens in HCC patients, such as α- fetoprotein (AFP) and glypican-3 (GPC-3), have been employed. In our previous study, a multi-epitope peptide vaccine for HCC was designed by in-silico methods. The designed vaccine construct included the AFP, GPC-3, and aspartyl-β-hydroxylase (ASPH) as CytoLoxic T cell Lymphocytes (CTL), one epitope from Tetanus Toxin Fragment C (TTFrC) as Helper T cell Lymphocytes (HTL), and a segment of microbial heat shock protein (HSP70) peptide407-426 as an adjuvant. All the mentioned parts were connected by appropriate linkers. The aim of this study is the production of the designed vaccine. METHODS This research is experimental and was carried out in Fasa, Iran, in 2017. The designed vaccine construct gene was transformed to the Escherchia coli BL21 (DE3) strain and expressed in different isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) concentrations (0.6 and 1 mM), times (4, 6, 8, 16 hours), and temperatures (25 and 37 °C). Then, the expressed protein was analyzed by Sodium dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and the Western blot methods. RESULTS The best conditions for protein expression were obtained in the Super Optimal Broth (SOB) medium at 37 °C after the induction of expression by 1 mM IPTG for six hour. CONCLUSION The recombinant HCC vaccine was produced with a proper concentration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Motamedi Dehbarez
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medicine, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
| | - Shirin Mahmoodi
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medicine, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Iran
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Comparison of Anatomic and Non-Anatomic Liver Resection for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Retrospective Cohort Study. MEDICINA (KAUNAS, LITHUANIA) 2022; 58:medicina58091305. [PMID: 36143982 PMCID: PMC9505104 DOI: 10.3390/medicina58091305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Revised: 09/09/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The survival benefit of anatomical liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma has not been elucidated yet. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of anatomic and non-anatomic liver resection on surgical outcomes in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients undergoing anatomic or non-anatomic resections due to hepatocellular carcinoma between March 2006 and October 2019 was conducted. Demographics, preoperative laboratory assessments, treatment strategies, and postoperative outcomes were analyzed. Results: The total cohort consisted of 94 patients, with a mean age of 63.1 ± 8.9 years, and 74.5% were male. A total of 41 patients underwent anatomic liver resection, and 53 patients underwent non-anatomic resection. The overall survival rates were found to be similar (5-year overall survival was 49.3% for anatomic resection and 44.5% for non-anatomic resection). Estimated median overall survival times were 58.5 months and 57.3 months, respectively (p = 0.777). Recurrence-free 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were found to be 73.6%, 39.1%, and 32.8% in the non-anatomic resection group and 48.8%, 22.7%, and 22.7% in the anatomic resection group, respectively. Grade three or higher complication rates were found to be similar among the groups. Conclusions: This study did not find a difference between two surgical methods, in terms of survival. A tailored selection of the resection method should be made, with the aim of complete removal of tumoral lesions and leaving a suitable functional liver reserve, according to the parenchymal quality and volume of the liver remnant.
Collapse
|
13
|
Gu CY, Lee TKW. CircTUBD1: A Novel Circular RNA Molecule as a Therapeutic Target in Radiation-induced Liver Fibrosis. J Clin Transl Hepatol 2022; 10:571-573. [PMID: 36062275 PMCID: PMC9396334 DOI: 10.14218/jcth.2022.00132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2022] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Yujia Gu
- Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Terence Kin Wah Lee
- Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
- Correspondence to: Terence KW Lee, Room 805, Block Y, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, Lee Shau Kee Building, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0682-322X. Tel: +852-3400-8799, Fax: +852-2364-9932, E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Liu X, Jin Y, Wan X, Liang X, Wang K, Liu J, Jiang J, Meng B, Han S, Zhou L, Cai S, Zou F. SALIS transcriptionally represses IGFBP3/Caspase-7-mediated apoptosis by associating with STAT5A to promote hepatocellular carcinoma. Cell Death Dis 2022; 13:642. [PMID: 35871161 PMCID: PMC9308799 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-022-05094-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common subtype of liver cancer and the second most fatal cancer in the world despite the great therapeutic advances in the past two decades, which reminds us of the gap in fully understanding the oncogenic mechanism of HCC. To explore the key factors contributing to the progression of HCC, we identified a LncRNA, termed SALIS (Suppression of Apoptosis by LINC01186 Interacting with STAT5A), functions in promoting the proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion while suppressing apoptosis in HCC cells. Mechanistic study indicated SALIS physically associates with transcription factor STAT5A and binds to the promoter regions of IGFBP3 and Caspase-7 to transcriptionally repress their expression and further inhibit apoptosis. Our findings identified SALIS as an oncogene to promote HCC by physically binding with STAT5A to inhibit the expression of pro-apoptotic IGFBP3 and Caspase-7, which suggests novel therapeutic targets for HCC treatments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xingyuan Liu
- grid.284723.80000 0000 8877 7471Department of Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yi Jin
- grid.284723.80000 0000 8877 7471Department of Toxicology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xuan Wan
- grid.284723.80000 0000 8877 7471Chronic Airways Diseases Laboratory, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoting Liang
- grid.284723.80000 0000 8877 7471Department of Toxicology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ke Wang
- grid.284723.80000 0000 8877 7471Department of Toxicology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jieyu Liu
- grid.284723.80000 0000 8877 7471Department of Toxicology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiale Jiang
- grid.284723.80000 0000 8877 7471Department of Toxicology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Bingyao Meng
- grid.284723.80000 0000 8877 7471Department of Toxicology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shuo Han
- grid.284723.80000 0000 8877 7471Department of Toxicology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Liang Zhou
- grid.284723.80000 0000 8877 7471Department of Toxicology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shaoxi Cai
- grid.284723.80000 0000 8877 7471Chronic Airways Diseases Laboratory, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Fei Zou
- grid.284723.80000 0000 8877 7471Department of Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Research, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Cai S, Lin X, Sun Y, Lin Z, Wang X, Lin N, Zhao X. Quantitative parameters obtained from gadobenate dimeglumine-enhanced MRI at the hepatobiliary phase can predict post-hepatectomy liver failure and overall survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Eur J Radiol 2022; 154:110449. [PMID: 35901599 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2022.110449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 07/03/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE To determine the value of the quantitative parameters obtained from gadobenate dimeglumine-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at the hepatobiliary phase for predicting post-hepatectomy liver failure and overall survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. METHOD This multicenter retrospective study included 307 patients who underwent gadobenate dimeglumine-enhanced MRI. The quantitative liver-to-portal vein contrast ratio (LPC) and liver-spleen contrast ratio (LSC) at the hepatobiliary phase were measured. Logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate risk factors for post-hepatectomy liver failure. The capacity of the LPC and LSC to predict post-hepatectomy liver failure was evaluated via receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The Cox proportional hazards regression was used to identify prognostic factors for overall survival (OS). RESULTS Post-hepatectomy liver failure was observed in 69 patients (22.5%). The LPC and LSC were independent risk factors for the development of post-hepatectomy liver failure, and the areas under the ROC curves of LPC and LSC were 0.882 and 0.782, respectively. The predictive performance of LPC for post-hepatectomy liver failure was superior to LSC. The LPC and LSC were also significant prognostic factors for OS. The cut-off values for the LPC and LSC were 1.07 and 0.89, respectively. The 5-year OS rate was higher in patients with LPC > 1.07 or LSC > 0.89 than in patients with LPC ≤ 1.07 or LSC ≤ 0.89. CONCLUSIONS The quantitative parameters obtained from gadobenate dimeglumine-enhanced MRI at the hepatobiliary phase were effective imaging biomarkers for predicting both post-hepatectomy liver failure and overall survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shuo Cai
- Department of Radiology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong Province, 250021, China
| | - Xiangtao Lin
- Department of Radiology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong Province, 250021, China
| | - Yan Sun
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong Province 250021, China
| | - Zhengyu Lin
- Department of Interventional Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province 350000, China
| | - Ximing Wang
- Department of Radiology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong Province, 250021, China
| | - Nan Lin
- Department of Medical Imaging, Shandong Public Health Clinical Center, Jinan, Shandong Province 250021, China.
| | - Xinya Zhao
- Department of Radiology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong Province, 250021, China.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Meng T, Li Y, Tian Y, Ma M, Shi K, Shang X, Yuan H, Hu F. A Hypoxia-Sensitive Drug Delivery System Constructed by Nitroimidazole and its Application in the Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. AAPS PharmSciTech 2022; 23:167. [PMID: 35711068 DOI: 10.1208/s12249-022-02316-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Hypoxia is an important pathological phenomenon, and it can induce many tumor microenvironment changes, such as accumulations of intracellular lactic acid, decrease of tumor microenvironment pH value, and regulate a series of physiological and pathological processes such as adhesion, metastasis, and immune escape. Hypoxic tumor cells act as a key target for treating tumor. In this research, we designed and prepared PEG-nitroimidazole grafts, PEG-NI, and FA-PEG-NI. We first explored their physical and chemical properties to serve as a drug carrier. Then, the hypoxia-sensitive properties such as particle size changes and drug release were investigated. Finally, the tumor targeting ability was studied in vitro and in vivo, and anti-tumor capacity was determined. Both grafts showed excellent property as a nanodrug carrier and showed favorable drug encapsulation ability of sorafenib with the help of the hydrophobic chain of 6-(BOC-amino) hexyl bromide. The micelles responded to the hypoxic tumor environment with chemical and spatial structure changes leading to sensitive and fast drug release. With the modification of folic acid, FA-PEG-NI gained tumor targeting ability in vivo. FA-PEG-NI graft proved a potential targeting drug delivery system in the treatment of hypoxic hepatocellular carcinoma.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tingting Meng
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Yinghong Li
- Zhejiang Institute for Food and Drug Control, NMPA Key Laboratory for Testing and Warning of Pharmceutical Microbiology, Key Laboratory of Drug Contacting Materials Quality Control of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying Tian
- Department of Pharmacy, Qingdao Fifth People's Hospital, Qingdao City, People's Republic of China
| | - Mingxing Ma
- Department of Pharmacy, Qingdao Fifth People's Hospital, Qingdao City, People's Republic of China
| | - Kequan Shi
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Xuwei Shang
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Hong Yuan
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Fuqiang Hu
- College of Pharmaceutical Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Zhang Q, Yu X, Zhang S, Guo W, He Y. Molecular characteristics of novel immune subtypes of HCC based on lncRNAs related to immune disorders. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8905. [PMID: 35618810 PMCID: PMC9135727 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-13013-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
As one of the most malignant cancers and despite various treatment breakthroughs, the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unsatisfactory. The immune status of the tumor microenvironment (TME) relates closely to HCC progression; however, the mechanism of immune cell infiltration in the TME remains unclear. In this study, we performed a new combination algorithm on lncRNA expression profile data from the TCGA-LIHC cohort to identify lncRNAs related to immune disorders. We identified 20 immune disorder-related lncRNAs and clustered HCC samples based on these lncRNAs. We identified four clusters with differences in immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint gene expression. We further analyzed differences between groups 1 and 3 and found that the poor prognosis of group 3 may be due to specific and non-specific immunosuppression of the TME, upregulation of immune checkpoint pathways, and activation of tumor proliferation and migration pathways in group 3. We also developed a prognostic model and verified that it has good stability, effectiveness, and prognostic power. This study provides a basis for further exploration of the immune cell infiltration mechanism in HCC, differential HCC prognosis, and improvement of the efficacy of ICIs for the treatment of HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qiyao Zhang
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.,Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.,Open and Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation at Henan Universities, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.,Henan Key Laboratory of Digestive Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
| | - Xiao Yu
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.,Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.,Open and Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation at Henan Universities, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.,Henan Key Laboratory of Digestive Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
| | - Shuijun Zhang
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.,Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.,Open and Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation at Henan Universities, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.,Henan Key Laboratory of Digestive Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
| | - Wenzhi Guo
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China. .,Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China. .,Open and Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation at Henan Universities, Zhengzhou, 450052, China. .,Henan Key Laboratory of Digestive Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.
| | - Yuting He
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China. .,Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation of Henan Province, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China. .,Open and Key Laboratory of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery and Digestive Organ Transplantation at Henan Universities, Zhengzhou, 450052, China. .,Henan Key Laboratory of Digestive Organ Transplantation, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Tseng TH, Wang CJ, Lee YJ, Shao YC, Shen CH, Lee KC, Tung SY, Kuo HC. Suppression of the Proliferation of Huh7 Hepatoma Cells Involving the Downregulation of Mutant p53 Protein and Inactivation of the STAT 3 Pathway with Ailanthoidol. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23095102. [PMID: 35563493 PMCID: PMC9099615 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23095102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Revised: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Ailanthoidol (ATD) has been isolated from the barks of Zanthoxylum ailanthoides and displays anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiadipogenic, and antitumor promotion activities. Recently, we found that ATD suppressed TGF-β1-induced migration and invasion of HepG2 cells. In this report, we found that ATD exhibited more potent cytotoxicity in Huh7 hepatoma cells (mutant p53: Y220C) than in HepG2 cells (wild-type p53). A trypan blue dye exclusion assay and colony assay showed ATD inhibited the growth of Huh7 cells. ATD also induced G1 arrest and reduced the expression of cyclin D1 and CDK2. Flow cytometry analysis with Annexin-V/PI staining demonstrated that ATD induced significant apoptosis in Huh7 cells. Moreover, ATD increased the expression of cleaved PARP and Bax and decreased the expression of procaspase 3/8 and Bcl-xL/Bcl-2. In addition, ATD decreased the expression of mutant p53 protein (mutp53), which is associated with cell proliferation with the exploration of p53 siRNA transfection. Furthermore, ATD suppressed the phosphorylation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and the expression of mevalonate kinase (MVK). Consistent with ATD, the administration of S3I201 (STAT 3 inhibitor) reduced the expression of Bcl-2/Bcl-xL, cyclin D1, mutp53, and MVK. These results demonstrated ATD’s selectivity against mutp53 hepatoma cells involving the downregulation of mutp53 and inactivation of STAT3.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tsui-Hwa Tseng
- Department of Medical Applied Chemistry, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 40201, Taiwan; (T.-H.T.); (Y.-C.S.)
- Department of Medical Education, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40201, Taiwan
| | - Chau-Jong Wang
- Department of Health Diet and Industry Management, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 40201, Taiwan;
- Department of Medical Research, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40201, Taiwan
| | - Yean-Jang Lee
- Department of Chemistry, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua 50007, Taiwan;
| | - Yi-Chia Shao
- Department of Medical Applied Chemistry, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 40201, Taiwan; (T.-H.T.); (Y.-C.S.)
| | - Chien-Heng Shen
- Department of Hepato-Gastroenterology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 61363, Taiwan;
| | - Ko-Chao Lee
- Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical Center, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 83301, Taiwan;
| | - Shui-Yi Tung
- Department of Hepato-Gastroenterology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 61363, Taiwan;
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Chiayi 61363, Taiwan
- Correspondence: (S.-Y.T.); (H.-C.K.)
| | - Hsing-Chun Kuo
- Division of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Chiayi 61363, Taiwan
- Research Fellow, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi 61363, Taiwan
- Research Center for Food and Cosmetic Safety, College of Human Ecology, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan 33303, Taiwan
- Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion Research Center, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Chiayi 61363, Taiwan
- Correspondence: (S.-Y.T.); (H.-C.K.)
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Sun J, Liu C, Wang N, Jiang D, Zhang F, Shi J, Cheng S. All-Trans-Retinoic Acid Plus Oxaliplatin/Fluorouracil/Leucovorin for Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Pulmonary Metastasis: A Multicenter Retrospective Study. Cancer Manag Res 2022; 14:1663-1670. [PMID: 35547598 PMCID: PMC9084908 DOI: 10.2147/cmar.s354170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Aim To study the impact of All-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) plus FOLFOX4 compared to FOLFOX4 alone in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with pulmonary metastasis. Methods The data of patients with advanced HCC who underwent systemic chemotherapy using FOLFOX4 or ATRA plus FOLFOX4 at the Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, First Hospital of Jilin University, Zhejiang Sian International Hospital and Fujian Cancer Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. The survival outcomes in the 2 groups were compared. Results From May 2014 to July 2020, 66 patients were suitable to enter into this study. The median survival (14.0 vs 8.0 months, p=0.012), and the median time to progression in the ATRA plus FOLFOX4 group were both significantly longer than those in the FOLFOX4 group (8.7 vs 3.2 months, p=0.002). The 6 month-, 1 year- and 2 year- overall survival rates were also significantly better in the ATRA plus FOLFOX4 group (100.0%, 64.7% and 20.5%; respectively) than the FOLFOX4 group (59.4%, 21.9%, and 12.5%, respectively; p<0.001). Leukocytopenia, fatigue, anorexia, nausea, were the most common acute toxicities, but these were mostly NCI CTCAE Grade 1 or 2. There was no significant difference in adverse events between the two groups. Conclusion ATRA plus FOLFOX4 significantly improved the survival outcomes in patients with advanced HCC with pulmonary metastasis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Juxian Sun
- Department of Hepatic Surgery VIa, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
| | - Chang Liu
- Department of Hepatic Surgery VIa, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
| | - Nanya Wang
- Department of Oncology, First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, People’s Republic of China
| | - Dafeng Jiang
- Department of Oncology, Zhejiang Sian International Hospital, Jiaxing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Fan Zhang
- Department of General Surgery, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jie Shi
- Department of Hepatic Surgery VIb, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
| | - Shuqun Cheng
- Department of Hepatic Surgery VIa, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, The Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
- Correspondence: Shuqun Cheng; Jie Shi, Department of Hepatic Surgery VIa, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Changhai Road 168, Yangpu District, Shanghai, 200433, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-211-3901746; +86-211-3816768296, Fax +86-218-1875251; +86-218-1875252, Email ;
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Novel CDK9 inhibitor oroxylin A promotes wild-type P53 stability and prevents hepatocellular carcinoma progression by disrupting both MDM2 and SIRT1 signaling. Acta Pharmacol Sin 2022; 43:1033-1045. [PMID: 34188177 DOI: 10.1038/s41401-021-00708-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most lethal tumours worldwide. However, the effects of first-line sorafenib treatment in advanced HCC fail to prolong patients' survival due to the highly heterogeneous characteristics of HCC etiology. Cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) is an important target in the continuous development of cancer therapy. Here, we demonstrate that CDK9 is closely associated with the progression of HCC and can serve as an HCC therapeutic target by modulating the recovery of wild-type p53 (wt-p53) function. We prove that mouse double minute 2 homologue (MDM2) and Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) are phosphorylated by CDK9 at Ser166 and Ser47, respectively. Inhibition of CDK9 not only reduces the MDM2-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of wt-p53 but also increases wt-p53 stability by suppressing deacetylase activity of SIRT1. Thus, inhibition of CDK9 promotes the wt-p53 stabilization and prevents HCC progression. However, excessive inhibition by high concentrations of specific CDK9 inhibitors counteracts the promotion of p53 stability and reduces their anti-HCC activity because of extreme general transcription repression. The effects of a novel CDK9 inhibitor named oroxylin A (OA) from Scutellaria baicalensis are explored, with the results indicating that OA shows moderate and controlled inhibition of CDK9 activity and expression, and stabilizes wt-p53 by inhibiting CDK9-regulated MDM2 and SIRT1 signaling. These outcomes indicate the high therapeutic potential of OA against HCC and its low toxicity in normal tissue. This study demonstrates a novel mechanism for the regulation of wt-p53 by CDK9 and indicates that OA is a potential candidate for HCC therapy.
Collapse
|
21
|
Feng X, Chen X, Dong C, Liu Y, Liu Z, Ding R, Huang Q. Multi-scale information with attention integration for classification of liver fibrosis in B-mode US image. COMPUTER METHODS AND PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICINE 2022; 215:106598. [PMID: 34986432 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2021.106598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Revised: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is one of the most common liver diseases in the world, which threats a lot to people's usual life. The increased deposition of fibrotic tissues in livers for patients with CHB may lead to the development of liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, or even liver failure. Accurate fibrosis staging is very important for the targeted treatment of liver fibrosis and its recovery. METHODS In this paper, we propose a new deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) with functions of multi-scale information extraction and attention integration for more accurate liver fibrosis classification from ultrasound (US) images. The proposed network uses two pyramid-structured CNN elements to extract multi-scale features from US images. Such a design significantly enlarges the receptive field of the convolution layer, such that more useful information can be explored by the neural network to associate with the final classification. Based on this, a new feature distillation method is also proposed to enhance the ability of deep features derived from multi-scale information. The proposed distillation method employs attention maps to automatically extract class-related features from multi-scale information, which effectively suppress the influence of potential distractors. RESULTS Experimental results on the US liver fibrosis dataset collected from 286 participants show that the proposed deep framework achieves promising classification performance. The proposed method achieves a classification accuracy of 95.66% on the test dataset. CONCLUSION Our proposed framework could stage liver fibrosis highly accurately. It might provide effective suggestions for the clinical treatment of liver fibrosis that can facilitate its recovery.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiangfei Feng
- School of Electronic and Information Engineering, South China University of Technology, 510640, China
| | - Xin Chen
- National-Regional Key Technology Engineering Laboratory for Medical Ultrasound, Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Changfeng Dong
- Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen Institute of Hepatology, Shenzhen 518020, China
| | - Yingxia Liu
- Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen Institute of Hepatology, Shenzhen 518020, China
| | - Zhong Liu
- National-Regional Key Technology Engineering Laboratory for Medical Ultrasound, Guangdong Key Laboratory for Biomedical Measurements and Ultrasound Imaging, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Ruixin Ding
- Guangzhou Institute of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510075, China
| | - Qinghua Huang
- School of Artificial Intelligence, Optics and Electronics (iOPEN), Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China.
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Guégan JP, Lapouge M, Voisin L, Saba-El-Leil MK, Tanguay PL, Lévesque K, Brégeon J, Mes-Masson AM, Lamarre D, Haibe-Kains B, Trinh VQ, Soucy G, Bilodeau M, Meloche S. Signaling by the tyrosine kinase Yes promotes liver cancer development. Sci Signal 2022; 15:eabj4743. [PMID: 35041461 DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.abj4743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Most patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are diagnosed at a late stage and have few therapeutic options and a poor prognosis. This is due to the lack of clearly defined underlying mechanisms or a dominant oncogene that can be targeted pharmacologically, unlike in other cancer types. Here, we report the identification of a previously uncharacterized oncogenic signaling pathway in HCC that is mediated by the tyrosine kinase Yes. Using genetic and pharmacological interventions in cellular and mouse models of HCC, we showed that Yes activity was necessary for HCC cell proliferation. Transgenic expression of activated Yes in mouse hepatocytes was sufficient to induce liver tumorigenesis. Yes phosphorylated the transcriptional coactivators YAP and TAZ (YAP/TAZ), promoting their nuclear accumulation and transcriptional activity in HCC cells and liver tumors. We also showed that YAP/TAZ were effectors of the Yes-dependent oncogenic transformation of hepatocytes. Src family kinase activation correlated with the tyrosine phosphorylation and nuclear localization of YAP in human HCC and was associated with increased tumor burden in mice. Specifically, high Yes activity predicted shorter overall survival in patients with HCC. Thus, our findings identify Yes as a potential therapeutic target in HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Marjorie Lapouge
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Molecular Biology Program, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Laure Voisin
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | | | - Pierre-Luc Tanguay
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Kim Lévesque
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jérémy Brégeon
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Anne-Marie Mes-Masson
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) Research Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Daniel Lamarre
- Molecular Biology Program, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) Research Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Benjamin Haibe-Kains
- Departments of Medical Biophysiscs and Computer Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Ontario Institute of Cancer Research, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Vincent Q Trinh
- Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) Research Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Geneviève Soucy
- Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) Research Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Marc Bilodeau
- Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) Research Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Sylvain Meloche
- Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Molecular Biology Program, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Da BB, Luo S, Huang M, Song F, Ding R, Xiao Y, Fu Y, Yang YS, Wang HL. Prediction of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Prognosis and Immune Cell Infiltration Using Gene Signature Associated with Inflammatory Response. COMPUTATIONAL AND MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN MEDICINE 2022; 2022:2415129. [PMID: 35035517 PMCID: PMC8759924 DOI: 10.1155/2022/2415129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2021] [Revised: 12/05/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
It has been demonstrated that the inflammatory response influences cancer development and can be used as a prognostic biomarker in various tumors. However, the relevance of genes associated with inflammatory responses in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was analyzed using weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) and differential analysis to discover essential inflammatory response-related genes (IFRGs). Cox regression studies, both univariate and multivariate, were employed to develop a prognostic IFRGs signature. Additionally, Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was used to deduce the biological function of the IFRGs signature. Finally, we estimated immune cell infiltration using a single sample GSEA (ssGSEA) and x-cell. Our results revealed that, among the major HCC IFRGs, two (DNASE1L3 and KLKB1) were employed to create a predictive IFRG signature. The IFRG signature could correctly predict overall survival (O.S) as per Kaplan-Meier time-dependent roc curves analysis. It was also linked to pathological tumor stage and T stage and might be used as a prognostic predictor in HCC. GSEA analysis concluded that the IFRG signature might influence the immune response in HCC. Immunological cell infiltration and immune checkpoint molecule expression differed in the high-risk and low-risk groups. As a result of our findings, DNASILE may play a role in the tumor microenvironment. However, more research is necessary to confirm the role of DNASE1L3 and KLKB1.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bin-Bin Da
- Department of Minimally Invasive Interventional Medicine Yunnan Cancer Hospital, Kunming 650118, China
| | - Shuai Luo
- Department of Minimally Invasive Interventional Medicine Yunnan Cancer Hospital, Kunming 650118, China
| | - Ming Huang
- Department of Minimally Invasive Interventional Medicine Yunnan Cancer Hospital, Kunming 650118, China
| | - Fei Song
- Department of Minimally Invasive Interventional Medicine Yunnan Cancer Hospital, Kunming 650118, China
| | - Rong Ding
- Department of Minimally Invasive Interventional Medicine Yunnan Cancer Hospital, Kunming 650118, China
| | - Yao Xiao
- Department of Minimally Invasive Interventional Medicine Yunnan Cancer Hospital, Kunming 650118, China
| | - Yang Fu
- CT Room, Kunming First People's Hospital, Kunming 650000, China
| | - Yin-Shan Yang
- Department of Minimally Invasive Interventional Medicine Yunnan Cancer Hospital, Kunming 650118, China
| | - Hai-Lei Wang
- Hepatobiliary Pancreatic Vascular Surgery, Kunming First People's Hospital, Kunming 650031, China
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Liu F, Zhu XT, Li Y, Wang CJ, Fu JL, Hui J, Xiao Y, Liu L, Yan R, Li XF, Liu Y. Magnesium demethylcantharidate inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma cell invasion and metastasis via activation transcription factor FOXO1. Eur J Pharmacol 2021; 911:174558. [PMID: 34634308 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2021.174558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world, develops rapidly and has a high mortality rate. Relapsed metastasis is the most important factor affecting prognosis and is also the main cause of death for patients with HCC. Cantharidin is a kind of folk medicine for malignant tumors in China. Because of its cytotoxicity, the application of cantharidin is very limited. Magnesium demethylcantharidate (MDC) is a derivative of cantharidin independently developed by our laboratory. Our results show that MDC has anticancer activity and exhibited lower toxicity than cantharidin. However, whether MDC affects the invasion and metastasis of HCC cells and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain obscure. Transwell and Matrigel assays showed that MDC could effectively inhibit the invasion and metastasis of the HCC cell lines SMMC-7721 and SK-Hep1 in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, MDC significantly inhibited the expression of invasion and metastasis related proteins MMP-2 and MMP-9. In addition, our study found that MDC inhibited the invasion and metastasis of HCC cell lines SMMC-7721 and SK-Hep1 by activating transcription factor FOXO1. Interestingly, the combination of MDC and sorafenib significantly inhibited the invasion and metastasis of HCC cell lines SMMC-7721 and SK-Hep1 compared with the single drug treatment via the activated transcription factor FOXO1. Our work revealed that MDC obviously inhibited the invasion and metastasis of HCC cells, and suggested that MDC could be a potential candidate molecule against the invasion and metastasis of HCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fang Liu
- College of Basic Medicine, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, 563000, China
| | - Xin-Ting Zhu
- College of Basic Medicine, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, 563000, China; Guizhou Provincial College-based Key Lab for Tumor Prevention and Treatment with Distinctive Medicines, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, 563000, China
| | - Yi Li
- College of Basic Medicine, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, 563000, China
| | - Chen-Jing Wang
- College of Basic Medicine, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, 563000, China
| | - Jia-Li Fu
- College of Basic Medicine, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, 563000, China
| | - Jing Hui
- Guizhou Provincial College-based Key Lab for Tumor Prevention and Treatment with Distinctive Medicines, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, 563000, China; Life Sciences Institute, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, 563000, China
| | - Yi Xiao
- Guizhou Provincial College-based Key Lab for Tumor Prevention and Treatment with Distinctive Medicines, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, 563000, China; Life Sciences Institute, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, 563000, China
| | - Liu Liu
- College of Basic Medicine, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, 563000, China
| | - Rong Yan
- College of Basic Medicine, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, 563000, China
| | - Xiao-Fei Li
- College of Basic Medicine, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, 563000, China
| | - Yun Liu
- College of Basic Medicine, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, 563000, China; Guizhou Provincial College-based Key Lab for Tumor Prevention and Treatment with Distinctive Medicines, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, 563000, China; Life Sciences Institute, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, 563000, China.
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Bioinformatics analysis identifies DYNC1I1 as prognosis marker in male patients with liver hepatocellular carcinoma. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0258797. [PMID: 34679093 PMCID: PMC8535175 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) is one of the most common malignant tumors. However, the etiology and exact molecular mechanism of LIHC are still not fully understood, which makes it urgent for us to further study the molecular events behind. Methods In this study, differences in mRNA expression between LIHC samples and normal adjacent samples were found through analyzing the TCGA database, and key targets were sought. We analyzed 371 LIHC samples and 50 normal adjacent samples according to P <0.01 and logFC>2.5, a total of 1092 genes were identified differentially expressed, including 995 up-regulated genes and 97 down-regulated genes. We predicted the interactions of these differentially expressed mRNAs, and used Cyto-Hubba to locate the hub gene-dynein cytoplasmic 1 intermediate chain 1 (DYNC1I1). Results Survival analysis showed that DYNC1I1 was a prognostic factor for LIHC male patients. Functional enrichment indicated that DYNC1I1 and differentially expressed interacting proteins were involved in the cell cycle. Conclusion In conclusion, this study discovers that DYNC1I1 can be used as a prognostic marker for LIHC male patients.
Collapse
|
26
|
Wei S, Li C, Li M, Xiong Y, Jiang Y, Sun H, Qiu B, Lin CJ, Wang J. Radioactive Iodine-125 in Tumor Therapy: Advances and Future Directions. Front Oncol 2021; 11:717180. [PMID: 34660280 PMCID: PMC8514864 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.717180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Radioactive iodine-125 (I-125) is the most widely used radioactive sealed source for interstitial permanent brachytherapy (BT). BT has the exceptional ability to deliver extremely high doses that external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) could never achieve within treated lesions, with the added benefit that doses drop off rapidly outside the target lesion by minimizing the exposure of uninvolved surrounding normal tissue. Spurred by multiple biological and technological advances, BT application has experienced substantial alteration over the past few decades. The procedure of I-125 radioactive seed implantation evolved from ultrasound guidance to computed tomography guidance. Compellingly, the creative introduction of 3D-printed individual templates, BT treatment planning systems, and artificial intelligence navigator systems remarkably increased the accuracy of I-125 BT and individualized I-125 ablative radiotherapy. Of note, utilizing I-125 to treat carcinoma in hollow cavity organs was enabled by the utility of self-expandable metal stents (SEMSs). Initially, I-125 BT was only used in the treatment of rare tumors. However, an increasing number of clinical trials upheld the efficacy and safety of I-125 BT in almost all tumors. Therefore, this study aims to summarize the recent advances of I-125 BT in cancer therapy, which cover experimental research to clinical investigations, including the development of novel techniques. This review also raises unanswered questions that may prompt future clinical trials and experimental work.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shuhua Wei
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University 3rd Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Chunxiao Li
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University 3rd Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Mengyuan Li
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University 3rd Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Yan Xiong
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University 3rd Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Yuliang Jiang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University 3rd Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Haitao Sun
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University 3rd Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Bin Qiu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University 3rd Hospital, Beijing, China
| | | | - Junjie Wang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Peking University 3rd Hospital, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Feng R, Li J, Xuan W, Liu H, Cheng D, Wang G. An Autophagy-Related Gene-Based Prognostic Risk Signature for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Construction and Validation. COMPUTATIONAL AND MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN MEDICINE 2021; 2021:5770228. [PMID: 34691238 PMCID: PMC8529386 DOI: 10.1155/2021/5770228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a prevalent primary liver cancer. Treatment is dramatically difficult due to its high complexity and poor prognosis. Due to the disclosed dual functions of autophagy in cancer development, understanding autophagy-related genes devotes into novel biomarkers for HCC. METHODS Differential expression of genes in normal and tumor groups was analyzed to acquire autophagy-related genes in HCC. These genes were subjected to GO and KEGG pathway analyses. Genes were then screened by univariate regression analysis. The screened genes were subjected to multivariate Cox regression analysis to build a prognostic model. The model was validated by the ICGC validation set. RESULTS To sum up, 42 differential genes relevant to autophagy were screened by differential expression analysis. Enrichment analysis showed that they were mainly enriched in pathways including regulation of autophagy and cell apoptosis. Genes were screened by univariate analysis and multivariate Cox regression analysis to build a prognostic model. The model constituted 6 feature genes: EIF2S1, BIRC5, SQSTM1, ATG7, HDAC1, and FKBP1A. Validation confirmed the accuracy and independence of this model in predicting the HCC patient's prognosis. CONCLUSION A total of 6 feature genes were identified to build a prognostic risk model. This model is conducive to investigating interplay between autophagy-related genes and HCC prognosis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rui Feng
- Department of International Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province 310000, China
| | - Jian Li
- Department of Interventional Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao City, Shandong Province 266000, China
| | - Weiling Xuan
- Department of Radiology, Xixi Hospital of Hangzhou, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province 310000, China
| | - Hanbo Liu
- Department of Vascular Surgery-Center for Vascular Intervention, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province 310000, China
| | - Dexin Cheng
- Department of Vascular Surgery-Center for Vascular Intervention, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, People's Hospital of Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province 310000, China
| | - Guowei Wang
- Department of Radiology, Xixi Hospital of Hangzhou, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province 310000, China
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Conde de la Rosa L, Garcia-Ruiz C, Vallejo C, Baulies A, Nuñez S, Monte MJ, Marin JJG, Baila-Rueda L, Cenarro A, Civeira F, Fuster J, Garcia-Valdecasas JC, Ferrer J, Karin M, Ribas V, Fernandez-Checa JC. STARD1 promotes NASH-driven HCC by sustaining the generation of bile acids through the alternative mitochondrial pathway. J Hepatol 2021; 74:1429-1441. [PMID: 33515644 PMCID: PMC8573791 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhep.2021.01.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Revised: 01/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND & AIMS Besides their physiological role in bile formation and fat digestion, bile acids (BAs) synthesised from cholesterol in hepatocytes act as signalling molecules that modulate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Trafficking of cholesterol to mitochondria through steroidogenic acute regulatory protein 1 (STARD1) is the rate-limiting step in the alternative pathway of BA generation, the physiological relevance of which is not well understood. Moreover, the specific contribution of the STARD1-dependent BA synthesis pathway to HCC has not been previously explored. METHODS STARD1 expression was analyzed in a cohort of human non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-derived HCC specimens. Experimental NASH-driven HCC models included MUP-uPA mice fed a high-fat high-cholesterol (HFHC) diet and diethylnitrosamine (DEN) treatment in wild-type (WT) mice fed a HFHC diet. Molecular species of BAs and oxysterols were analyzed by mass spectrometry. Effects of NASH-derived BA profiles were investigated in tumour-initiated stem-like cells (TICs) and primary mouse hepatocytes (PMHs). RESULTS Patients with NASH-associated HCC exhibited increased hepatic expression of STARD1 and an enhanced BA pool. Using NASH-driven HCC models, STARD1 overexpression in WT mice increased liver tumour multiplicity, whereas hepatocyte-specific STARD1 deletion (Stard1ΔHep) in WT or MUP-uPA mice reduced tumour burden. These findings mirrored the levels of unconjugated primary BAs, β-muricholic acid and cholic acid, and their tauroconjugates in STARD1-overexpressing and Stard1ΔHep mice. Incubation of TICs or PMHs with a mix of BAs mimicking this profile stimulated expression of genes involved in pluripotency, stemness and inflammation. CONCLUSIONS The study reveals a previously unrecognised role of STARD1 in HCC pathogenesis, wherein it promotes the synthesis of primary BAs through the mitochondrial pathway, the products of which act in TICs to stimulate self-renewal, stemness and inflammation. LAY SUMMARY Effective therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is limited because of our incomplete understanding of its pathogenesis. The contribution of the alternative pathway of bile acid (BA) synthesis to HCC development is unknown. We uncover a key role for steroidogenic acute regulatory protein 1 (STARD1) in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis-driven HCC, wherein it stimulates the generation of BAs in the mitochondrial acidic pathway, the products of which stimulate hepatocyte pluripotency and self-renewal, as well as inflammation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Conde de la Rosa
- Department of Cell Death and Proliferation, Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB), CSIC, Barcelona, Spain; Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic I Provincial de Barcelona, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Center for the Study of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases (CIBERehd), Carlos III National Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carmen Garcia-Ruiz
- Department of Cell Death and Proliferation, Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB), CSIC, Barcelona, Spain; Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic I Provincial de Barcelona, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Center for the Study of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases (CIBERehd), Carlos III National Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain; Center for ALPD, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Carmen Vallejo
- Department of Cell Death and Proliferation, Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB), CSIC, Barcelona, Spain; Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic I Provincial de Barcelona, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Center for the Study of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases (CIBERehd), Carlos III National Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain
| | - Anna Baulies
- Department of Cell Death and Proliferation, Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB), CSIC, Barcelona, Spain; Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic I Provincial de Barcelona, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Center for the Study of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases (CIBERehd), Carlos III National Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain
| | - Susana Nuñez
- Department of Cell Death and Proliferation, Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB), CSIC, Barcelona, Spain; Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic I Provincial de Barcelona, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Center for the Study of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases (CIBERehd), Carlos III National Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain
| | - Maria J Monte
- Center for the Study of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases (CIBERehd), Carlos III National Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain; Experimental Hepatology and Drug Targeting (HEVEFARM), Institute of Biomedical Research of Salamanca (IBSAL), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Jose J G Marin
- Center for the Study of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases (CIBERehd), Carlos III National Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain; Experimental Hepatology and Drug Targeting (HEVEFARM), Institute of Biomedical Research of Salamanca (IBSAL), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Lucia Baila-Rueda
- Instituto Investigación Sanitaria Aragón, Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet, Zaragoza, Spain; CIBERCV, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ana Cenarro
- Instituto Investigación Sanitaria Aragón, Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet, Zaragoza, Spain; CIBERCV, Madrid, Spain
| | - Fernando Civeira
- Instituto Investigación Sanitaria Aragón, Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet, Zaragoza, Spain; CIBERCV, Madrid, Spain
| | - Josep Fuster
- HepatoBilioPancreatic Surgery and Liver and Pancreatic Transplantation Unit, Department of Surgery, ICMDiM, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Juan C Garcia-Valdecasas
- HepatoBilioPancreatic Surgery and Liver and Pancreatic Transplantation Unit, Department of Surgery, ICMDiM, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Joana Ferrer
- HepatoBilioPancreatic Surgery and Liver and Pancreatic Transplantation Unit, Department of Surgery, ICMDiM, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Michael Karin
- Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction, Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Vicent Ribas
- Department of Cell Death and Proliferation, Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB), CSIC, Barcelona, Spain; Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic I Provincial de Barcelona, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Center for the Study of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases (CIBERehd), Carlos III National Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Jose C Fernandez-Checa
- Department of Cell Death and Proliferation, Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB), CSIC, Barcelona, Spain; Liver Unit, Hospital Clinic I Provincial de Barcelona, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Barcelona, Spain; Center for the Study of Liver and Gastrointestinal Diseases (CIBERehd), Carlos III National Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain; Center for ALPD, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Monocytic MDSC mobilization promotes tumor recurrence after liver transplantation via CXCL10/TLR4/MMP14 signaling. Cell Death Dis 2021; 12:489. [PMID: 33990548 PMCID: PMC8121858 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-021-03788-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Tumor recurrence is the major obstacle for pushing the envelope of liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. The inflammatory cascades activated by acute liver graft injury promote tumor recurrence. We aimed to explore the role and mechanism of myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) mobilization induced by liver graft injury on tumor recurrence. By analyzing 331 HCC patients who received liver transplantation, the patients with graft weight ratio (GWR, the weight of liver graft divided by the estimated standard liver weight of recipient) <60% had higher tumor recurrence than GWR ≥60% ones. MDSCs and CXCL10/TLR4 levels were significantly increased in patients with GWR <60% or tumor recurrence. These findings were further validated in our rat orthotopic liver transplantation model. In CXCL10−/− and TLR4−/− mice of hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury plus major hepatectomy (IRH) model, monocytic MDSCs, instead of granulocytic MDSCs, were significantly decreased. Importantly, CXCL10 deficiency reduced the accumulation of TLR4+ monocytic MDSCs, and CXCL10 increased MDSC mobilization in the presence of TLR4. Moreover, MMP14 was identified as the key molecule bridging CXCL10/TLR4 signaling and MDSC mobilization. Knockout or inhibition of CXCL10/TLR4 signaling significantly reduced the tumor growth with decreased monocytic MDSCs and MMP14 in the mouse tumor recurrent model. Our data indicated that monocytic MDSCs were mobilized and recruited to liver graft during acute phase injury, and to promote HCC recurrence after transplantation. Targeting MDSC mobilization via CXCL10/TLR4/MMP14 signaling may represent the therapeutic potential in decreasing post-transplant liver tumor recurrence.
Collapse
|
30
|
Zhan H, Zhao X, Lu Z, Yao Y, Zhang X. Correlation and Survival Analysis of Distant Metastasis Site and Prognosis in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Front Oncol 2021; 11:652768. [PMID: 34041022 PMCID: PMC8141638 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.652768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose To investigate the prognostic factors and survival analysis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma with distant metastasis. Methods The clinical data of 3,126 patients with distant metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma from 2010 to 2015 were extracted from SEER database, and the correlation between the location of distant metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma and prognosis was retrospectively analyzed. Patients were grouped according to different metastatic sites. The clinical characteristics of each group were compared by chi-square test, the survival curve was drawn by Kaplan-Meier method, Log-rank test was used for univariate analysis, and Cox regression for multivariate analysis. And use propensity score matching (PSM) to reduce differences in baseline characteristics. Results Before PSM, the prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma with lung metastasis is worse than that of patients without lung metastasis. And there was no statistically significant difference with or without bone metastases.Patients with one type of organ metastasis had better prognosis than those with multiple organ metastasis. Among patients with organ metastasis, bone metastasis has a better prognosis than patients with lung metastasis. After PSM, patients with HCC with bone metastases had a worse prognosis than those without bone metastases (P<0.05). Univariate analysis showed that the degree of tumor differentiation, T stage, N stage, primary tumor and metastatic surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, tumor size, single organ metastasis, the number of metastatic organs, and the combination of metastatic organs were related to the prognosis of patients with distant metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (P < 0.05). Multiariate analysis showed that age ≥52 years old, male, low degree of tumor differentiation, N1 stage, no primary surgery, no chemoradiotherapy, tumor size > 6cm, and multi-organ metastasis were independent influencing factors for poor prognosis in patients with metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma. Conclusion The lung is the most common site of distant metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma. Single organ metastasis has better prognosis than multiple organ metastasis. Age ≥52 years old, male, low degree of tumor differentiation, N1 stage, no primary surgery, no chemoradiotherapy, tumor size > 6cm, and multi-organ metastasis were independent influencing factors for poor overall survival and cancer-specific survival prognosis in patients with metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hao Zhan
- School of Clinical, Graduate School of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
| | - Xue Zhao
- School of Clinical, Graduate School of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
| | - Zhaoxue Lu
- School of Clinical, Graduate School of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
| | - Yuanhu Yao
- School of Clinical, Graduate School of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China
| | - Xuguang Zhang
- School of Clinical, Graduate School of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, China.,Department of Radiotherapy, Xuzhou Cancer Hospital, Xuzhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Sun M, Wang W, Liu X, Wang Y, Cui H, Liu S, Cao L. Total cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase and the risk of primary liver cancer: A population-based prospective study. Medicine (Baltimore) 2021; 100:e25746. [PMID: 33950959 PMCID: PMC8104288 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000025746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that serum total cholesterol (TC) and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) are associated with liver cancer risk. However, the common contribution of TC and normal-high ALT to primary liver cancer (PLC) has not been reported. We aim to assess the separate and joint effect of low TC level and normal-high ALT level on the risk of PLC, a large prospective cohort was conducted in our study.The participants were divided into 4 groups via the cross-matching method according to TC [low level (-)/non-low level (+)] and ALT [normal level (-)/normal-high level(+)] status, and using the lower quartile value of TC and the upper quartile value of ALT as a threshold, respectively. Incident PLC was confirmed by review of medical records. Cox proportional hazards regression models and interactive additive models were used to evaluate whether the joint effect of low TC level and normal-high ALT level is associated with the risk of PLC.During 1,248,895 person-years follow-up, 298 participants were diagnosed with PLC among 114,972 subjects. In male population, TC < 4.24 mmol/L was group "TC (-)"; TC ≥ 4.24 mmol/L was group "TC (+)"; ALT < 23 U/L was group "ALT (-)": 33 U/L ≥ ALT ≥ 23 U/L was group "ALT (+)". Compared with the group "TC (+)", group "ALT (-)", respectively, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (95%CI) for PLC risk was 1.74 (1.36-2.25) in group "TC (-)" and 1.49 (1.15-1.94) in group "ALT (+)". In combinatorial analysis, compared with group "TC (+) and ALT (-)", the significant increased risk of PLC were observed in group "TC (+) and ALT (+)" (HR = 1.41; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.02-1.95), group "TC (-) and ALT (-)" (HR = 1.67; 95%CI: 1.24-2.27) and group "TC (-) and ALT (+)" (HR = 2.72; 95%CI: 1.81-4.09), respectively. However, no statistical significance was found among female.The separate and joint effect of low TC level and normal-high ALT level was observed for PLC risk in males. When combined, individuals with coexistence of low TC level and normal-high ALT level significantly increase the risk of PLC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Miaomiao Sun
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Kailuan General Hospital Affiliated to North China University of Science and Technology
- Department of Graduate School, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, Hebei, China
| | - Wanchao Wang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Kailuan General Hospital Affiliated to North China University of Science and Technology
| | - Xining Liu
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Kailuan General Hospital Affiliated to North China University of Science and Technology
| | - Yiming Wang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Kailuan General Hospital Affiliated to North China University of Science and Technology
| | - Haozhe Cui
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Kailuan General Hospital Affiliated to North China University of Science and Technology
- Department of Graduate School, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, Hebei, China
| | - Siqing Liu
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Kailuan General Hospital Affiliated to North China University of Science and Technology
| | - Liying Cao
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Kailuan General Hospital Affiliated to North China University of Science and Technology
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Hemistepsin a Induces Apoptosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells by Downregulating STAT3. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22094743. [PMID: 33947048 PMCID: PMC8125382 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22094743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Hemistepta lyrata (Bunge) Bunge is a biennial medicinal plant possessing beneficial effects including anti-inflammation, and hemistepsin A (HsA) isolated from H. lyrata has been known as a hepatoprotective sesquiterpene lactone. In this report, we explored the cytotoxic effects of H. lyrata on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and investigated the associated bioactive compounds and their relevant mechanisms. From the viability results of HCC cells treated with various H. lyrata extracts, HsA was identified as the major compound contributing to the H. lyrata-mediated cytotoxicity. HsA increased expression of cleaved PARP and cells with Sub-G1 phase, Annexin V binding, and TUNEL staining, which imply HsA induces apoptosis. In addition, HsA provoked oxidative stress by decreasing the reduced glutathione/oxidized glutathione ratio and accumulating reactive oxygen species and glutathione-protein adducts. Moreover, HsA inhibited the transactivation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) by its dephosphorylation at Y705 and glutathione conjugation. Stable expression of a constitutive active mutant of STAT3 prevented the reduction of cell viability by HsA. Finally, HsA enhanced the sensitivity of sorafenib-mediated cytotoxicity by exaggerating oxidative stress and Y705 dephosphorylation of STAT3. Therefore, HsA will be a promising candidate to induce apoptosis of HCC cells via downregulating STAT3 and sensitizing conventional chemotherapeutic agents.
Collapse
|
33
|
Zheng X, Wu Q, Wu H, Leung KS, Wong MH, Liu X, Cheng L. Evaluating the Consistency of Gene Methylation in Liver Cancer Using Bisulfite Sequencing Data. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:671302. [PMID: 33996828 PMCID: PMC8116545 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.671302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Bisulfite sequencing is considered as the gold standard approach for measuring DNA methylation, which acts as a pivotal part in regulating a variety of biological processes without changes in DNA sequences. In this study, we introduced the most prevalent methods for processing bisulfite sequencing data and evaluated the consistency of the data acquired from different measurements in liver cancer. Firstly, we introduced three commonly used bisulfite sequencing assays, i.e., reduced-representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS), whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS), and targeted bisulfite sequencing (targeted BS). Next, we discussed the principles and compared different methods for alignment, quality assessment, methylation level scoring, and differentially methylated region identification. After that, we screened differential methylated genes in liver cancer through the three bisulfite sequencing assays and evaluated the consistency of their results. Ultimately, we compared bisulfite sequencing to 450 k beadchip and assessed the statistical similarity and functional association of differentially methylated genes (DMGs) among the four assays. Our results demonstrated that the DMGs measured by WGBS, RRBS, targeted BS and 450 k beadchip are consistently hypo-methylated in liver cancer with high functional similarity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xubin Zheng
- Department of Critical Medicine, Shenzhen People's Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Second Clinical Medicine College of Jinan University, Shenzhen, China.,Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Qiong Wu
- Department of Critical Medicine, Shenzhen People's Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Second Clinical Medicine College of Jinan University, Shenzhen, China.,School of Biomedical Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Haonan Wu
- Department of Critical Medicine, Shenzhen People's Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Second Clinical Medicine College of Jinan University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Kwong-Sak Leung
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Man-Hon Wong
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xueyan Liu
- Department of Critical Medicine, Shenzhen People's Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Second Clinical Medicine College of Jinan University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Lixin Cheng
- Department of Critical Medicine, Shenzhen People's Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Second Clinical Medicine College of Jinan University, Shenzhen, China
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Wei X, Zhao L, Ren R, Ji F, Xue S, Zhang J, Liu Z, Ma Z, Wang XW, Wong L, Liu N, Shi J, Guo X, Roessler S, Zheng X, Ji J. MiR-125b Loss Activated HIF1α/pAKT Loop, Leading to Transarterial Chemoembolization Resistance in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Hepatology 2021; 73:1381-1398. [PMID: 32609900 PMCID: PMC9258000 DOI: 10.1002/hep.31448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Revised: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 06/04/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is a standard locoregional therapy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with a variable overall response in efficacy. We aimed to identify key molecular signatures and related pathways leading to HCC resistance to TACE, with the hope of developing effective approaches in preselecting patients with survival benefit from TACE. APPROACH AND RESULTS Four independent HCC cohorts with 680 patients were used. MicroRNA (miRNA) transcriptome analysis in patients with HCC revealed a 41-miRNA signature related to HCC recurrence after adjuvant TACE, and miR-125b was the top reduced miRNA in patients with HCC recurrence. Consistently, patients with HCC with low miR-125b expression in tumor had significantly shorter time to recurrence following adjuvant TACE in two independent cohorts. Loss of miR-125b in HCC noticeably activated the hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha subunit (HIF1α)/pAKT loop in vitro and in vivo. miR-125b directly attenuated HIF1α translation through binding to HIF1A internal ribosome entry site region and targeting YB-1, and blocked an autocrine HIF1α/platelet-derived growth factor β (PDGFβ)/pAKT/HIF1α loop of HIF1α translation by targeting the PDGFβ receptor. The miR-125b-loss/HIF1α axis induced the expression of CD24 and erythropoietin (EPO) and enriched a TACE-resistant CD24-positive cancer stem cell population. Consistently, patients with high CD24 or EPO in HCC had poor prognosis following adjuvant TACE therapy. Additionally, in patients with HCC having TACE as their first-line therapy, high EPO in blood before TACE was also noticeably related to poor response to TACE. CONCLUSIONS MiR-125b loss activated the HIF1α/pAKT loop, contributing to HCC resistance to TACE and the key nodes in this axis hold the potential in assisting patients with HCC to choose TACE therapy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiyang Wei
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lei Zhao
- Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong Cancer Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
| | - Ruizhe Ren
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Fubo Ji
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shuting Xue
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jianjuan Zhang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhaogang Liu
- Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong Cancer Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
| | - Zhao Ma
- Shandong Cancer Hospital and Institute, Shandong Cancer Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
| | - Xin W. Wang
- Liver Cancer Program and Laboratory of Human Carcinogenesis, Cancer for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD
| | - Linda Wong
- University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI
| | - Niya Liu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jiong Shi
- Department of Pathology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Xing Guo
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Stephanie Roessler
- Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | | | - Junfang Ji
- MOE Key Laboratory of Biosystems Homeostasis & Protection, Life Sciences Institute, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Brunner TB, Bettinger D, Schultheiss M, Maruschke L, Sturm L, Bartl N, Koundurdjieva I, Kirste S, Neeff HP, Goetz C, Nicolay NH, Ihorst G, Bamberg F, Thimme R, Grosu AL, Gkika E. Efficacy of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy in Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma Not Suitable for Transarterial Chemoembolization (HERACLES: HEpatocellular Carcinoma Stereotactic RAdiotherapy CLinical Efficacy Study). Front Oncol 2021; 11:653141. [PMID: 33816309 PMCID: PMC8017336 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.653141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The aim of this prospective observational trial was to evaluate the efficacy, toxicity and quality of life after stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to assess the results of this treatment in comparison to trans-arterial chemoembolization (TACE). Patients with HCC, treated with TACE or SBRT, over a period of 12 months, enrolled in the study. The primary endpoint was feasibility; secondary endpoints were toxicity, quality of life (QOL), local progression (LP) and overall survival (OS). Between 06/2016 and 06/2017, 19 patients received TACE and 20 SBRT, 2 of whom were excluded due to progression. The median follow-up was 31 months. The QOL remained stable before and after treatment and was comparable in both treatment groups. Five patients developed grade ≥ 3 toxicities in the TACE group and 3 in the SBRT group. The cumulative incidence of LP after 1-, 2- and 3-years was 6, 6, 6% in the SBRT group and 28, 39, and 65% in the TACE group (p = 0.02). The 1- and 2- years OS rates were 84% and 47% in the TACE group and 44% and 39% in the SBRT group (p = 0.20). In conclusion, SBRT is a well-tolerated local treatment with a high local control rates and can be safely delivered, while preserving the QOL of HCC patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas B. Brunner
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Dominik Bettinger
- Berta-Ottenstein-Programme, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Department of Medicine II, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Michael Schultheiss
- Department of Medicine II, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Lars Maruschke
- Department of Radiology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Lukas Sturm
- Department of Medicine II, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Nico Bartl
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ivana Koundurdjieva
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Simon Kirste
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Hannes P. Neeff
- Department of General and Visceral Surgery, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Christian Goetz
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Nils Henrik Nicolay
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) Partner Site Freiburg, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Gabriele Ihorst
- Clinical Trials Unit Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Fabian Bamberg
- Department of Radiology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Robert Thimme
- Department of Medicine II, Medical Center-University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Anca-Ligia Grosu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) Partner Site Freiburg, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Eleni Gkika
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) Partner Site Freiburg, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Zhu W, Li J, Zhang Y, Zhu Z, Liu H, Lin Y, Hu A, Zhou J, Ren H, Shi X. Inhibition of HMGB1 Suppresses Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression via HIPK2-Mediated Autophagic Degradation of ZEB1. Front Oncol 2021; 11:599124. [PMID: 33747917 PMCID: PMC7969871 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2021.599124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Autophagy is a conserved catabolic process maintaining cellular homeostasis and reportedly plays a critical role in tumor progression. Accumulating data show that autophagic activity is inhibited in hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the underlying molecular basis of impaired autophagy in HCC remains unclear. In this study, we revealed that autophagic activity was suppressed by HMGB1 in a HIPK2-dependent way. Targeting HMGB1 could inhibit the degradation of HIPK2, as a result of which, autophagic degradation of ZEB1 was enhanced by reprogramming glucose metabolism/AMPK/mTOR axis. Moreover, we demonstrated that selectively degradation of ZEB1 was responsible for HCC growth inhibition in HMGB1 deficient cells. Lastly, we found the combination therapy of HMGB1 inhibitor and rapamycin achieved a better anti-HCC effect. These results demonstrate that impaired autophagy is controlled by HMGB1 and targeting HMGB1 could suppress HCC progression via HIPK2-mediated autophagic degradation of ZEB1.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Jun Li
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Yuheng Zhang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhengyi Zhu
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Hanyi Liu
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Yunzhen Lin
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Anyin Hu
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Jingchao Zhou
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Haozhen Ren
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| | - Xiaolei Shi
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing, China
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Shamaa MM. Sulfasalazine synergistically enhances the inhibitory effects of imatinib against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells by targeting NFκB, BCR/ABL, and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway-related proteins. FEBS Open Bio 2021; 11:588-597. [PMID: 33289342 PMCID: PMC7931239 DOI: 10.1002/2211-5463.13052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2020] [Revised: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related fatalities worldwide. Identification of second-line therapies for patients with progressive HCC is urgently required as the use of sorafenib and/or regorafenib remains unsatisfactory. Imatinib, a small-molecule kinase inhibitor, is used to treat certain types of cancer, and nuclear factor κB (NFκB) is a positive regulator of cancer cell expansion. The combined use of tyrosine kinase and NFκB inhibitors may have potential for treating HCC. The aim of this work was to assess the potential anticarcinogenic effects of imatinib and sulfasalazine alone or in combination on the human HCC cell lines HEPG2 and Huh-7. Both drugs were shown to affect the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B, phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of translation (p-STAT-3), breakpoint cluster region protein/Abelson proto-oncogene and NFκB pathways. At the transcriptional level, imatinib and sulfasalazine were found to synergistically down-regulate c-MET gene expression. When compared with the activities of either medication alone, combined use of imatinib and sulfasalazine enhanced inhibition of HCC cell proliferation and extended induction of apoptosis. In summary, the presented data suggest that sulfasalazine synergistically potentiates the antitumor effects of imatinib.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marium M. Shamaa
- Clinical and Biological Sciences (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) Department, College of PharmacyArab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime TransportAlexandriaEgypt
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Identification of miRNAs as diagnostic and prognostic markers in hepatocellular carcinoma. Aging (Albany NY) 2021; 13:6115-6133. [PMID: 33617479 PMCID: PMC7950227 DOI: 10.18632/aging.202606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The development of high-throughput technologies has yielded a large amount of data from molecular and epigenetic analysis that could be useful for identifying novel biomarkers of cancers. We analyzed Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) DataSet micro–ribonucleic acid (miRNA) profiling datasets to identify miRNAs that could have value as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We adopted several computing methods to identify the functional roles of these miRNAs. Ultimately, via integrated analysis of three GEO DataSets, three differential miRNAs were identified as valuable markers in HCC. Combining the results of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses and Kaplan–Meier Plotter (KM) survival analyses, we identified hsa-let-7e as a novel potential biomarker for HCC diagnosis and prognosis. Then, we found via quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) that let-7e was upregulated in HCC tissues and that such upregulation was significantly associated with poor prognosis in HCC. The results of functional analysis indicated that upregulated let-7e promoted tumor cell growth and proliferation. Additionally, via mechanistic analysis, we found that let-7e could regulate mitochondrial apoptosis and autophagy to adjust and control cancer cell proliferation. Therefore, the integrated results of our bioinformatics analyses of both clinical and experimental data showed that let-7e was a novel biomarker for HCC diagnosis and prognosis and might be a new treatment target.
Collapse
|
39
|
Tang Y, Jiang M, Jiang HM, Ye ZJ, Huang YS, Li XS, Qin BY, Zhou RS, Pan HF, Zheng DY. The Roles of circRNAs in Liver Cancer Immunity. Front Oncol 2021; 10:598464. [PMID: 33614486 PMCID: PMC7890029 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2020.598464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are stable covalently closed non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). Many studies indicate that circRNAs are involved in the pathological and physiological processes of liver cancer. However, the functions of circRNAs in liver cancer immunity are less known. In this review, we summarized the functions of circRNAs in liver cancer, including proliferative, metastasis and apoptosis, liver cancer stemness, cell cycle, immune evasion, glycolysis, angiogenesis, drug resistance/sensitizer, and senescence. Immune escape is considered to be one of the hallmarks of cancer development, and circRNA participates in the immune escape of liver cancer cells by regulating natural killer (NK) cell function. CircRNAs may provide new ideas for immunotherapy in liver cancer.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ying Tang
- Department of Oncology, Institute of Tumor, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Oncology, Lingnan Medical Research Center of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Oncology, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Mei Jiang
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hai-Mei Jiang
- Department of Oncology, Institute of Tumor, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Oncology, Lingnan Medical Research Center of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Oncology, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zeng Jie Ye
- Department of Oncology, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yu-Sheng Huang
- Department of Oncology, Lingnan Medical Research Center of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiu-Shen Li
- Department of Oncology, Institute of Tumor, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Oncology, Lingnan Medical Research Center of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Oncology, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Bin-Yu Qin
- Department of Oncology, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Rui-Sheng Zhou
- Department of Oncology, Institute of Tumor, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Oncology, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hua-Feng Pan
- Department of Oncology, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Da-Yong Zheng
- Department of Oncology, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary, Cancer Center, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Hepatology, TCM-Integrated Hospital of Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Artesunate synergizes with sorafenib to induce ferroptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma. Acta Pharmacol Sin 2021; 42:301-310. [PMID: 32699265 DOI: 10.1038/s41401-020-0478-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 156] [Impact Index Per Article: 52.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2020] [Accepted: 07/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Sorafenib is the first-line medication for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but it can only extend limited survival. It is imperative to find a combination strategy to increase sorafenib efficacy. Artesunate is such a preferred candidate, because artesunate is clinically well-tolerated and more importantly both drugs can induce ferroptosis through different mechanisms. In this study we investigated the combined effect of sorafenib and artesunate in inducing ferroptosis of HCC and elucidated the involved molecular mechanisms. We showed that artesunate greatly enhanced the anticancer effects of low dose of sorafenib against Huh7, SNU-449, and SNU-182 HCC cell lines in vitro and against Huh7 cell xenograft model in Balb/c nude mice. The combination index method confirmed that the combined effect of sorafenib and artesunate was synergistic. Compared with the treatment with artesunate or sorafenib alone, combined treatment induced significantly exacerbated lipid peroxidation and ferroptosis, which was blocked by N-acetyl cysteine and ferroptosis inhibitors liproxstatin-1 and deferoxamine mesylate, but not by inhibitors of other types of cell death (z-VAD, necrostatin-1 and belnacasan). In Huh7 cells, we demonstrated that the combined treatment induced oxidative stress and lysosome-mediated ferritinophagy, two essential aspects of ferroptosis. Sorafenib at low dose mainly caused oxidative stress through mitochondrial impairments and SLC7A11-invovled glutathione depletion. Artesunate-induced lysosome activation synergized with sorafenib-mediated pro-oxidative effects by promoting sequential reactions including lysosomal cathepsin B/L activation, ferritin degradation, lipid peroxidation, and consequent ferroptosis. Taken together, artesunate could be repurposed to sensitize sorafenib in HCC treatment. The combined treatment can be easily translated into clinical applications.
Collapse
|
41
|
Fishbein A, Hammock BD, Serhan CN, Panigrahy D. Carcinogenesis: Failure of resolution of inflammation? Pharmacol Ther 2021; 218:107670. [PMID: 32891711 PMCID: PMC7470770 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2020.107670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Inflammation in the tumor microenvironment is a hallmark of cancer and is recognized as a key characteristic of carcinogens. However, the failure of resolution of inflammation in cancer is only recently being understood. Products of arachidonic acid and related fatty acid metabolism called eicosanoids, including prostaglandins, leukotrienes, lipoxins, and epoxyeicosanoids, critically regulate inflammation, as well as its resolution. The resolution of inflammation is now appreciated to be an active biochemical process regulated by endogenous specialized pro-resolving lipid autacoid mediators which combat infections and stimulate tissue repair/regeneration. Environmental and chemical human carcinogens, including aflatoxins, asbestos, nitrosamines, alcohol, and tobacco, induce tumor-promoting inflammation and can disrupt the resolution of inflammation contributing to a devastating global cancer burden. While mechanisms of carcinogenesis have focused on genotoxic activity to induce mutations, nongenotoxic mechanisms such as inflammation and oxidative stress promote genotoxicity, proliferation, and mutations. Moreover, carcinogens initiate oxidative stress to synergize with inflammation and DNA damage to fuel a vicious feedback loop of cell death, tissue damage, and carcinogenesis. In contrast, stimulation of resolution of inflammation may prevent carcinogenesis by clearance of cellular debris via macrophage phagocytosis and inhibition of an eicosanoid/cytokine storm of pro-inflammatory mediators. Controlling the host inflammatory response and its resolution in carcinogen-induced cancers will be critical to reducing carcinogen-induced morbidity and mortality. Here we review the recent evidence that stimulation of resolution of inflammation, including pro-resolution lipid mediators and soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors, may be a new chemopreventive approach to prevent carcinogen-induced cancer that should be evaluated in humans.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Fishbein
- Center for Vascular Biology Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
| | - Bruce D. Hammock
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, and UCD Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Charles N. Serhan
- Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Reperfusion Injury, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Dipak Panigrahy
- Center for Vascular Biology Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA,Department of Pathology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Tumor-associated mesenchymal stem cells promote hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis via a DNM3OS/KDM6B/TIAM1 axis. Cancer Lett 2021; 503:19-31. [PMID: 33472090 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2021.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Revised: 12/12/2020] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Tumor-associated mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play a critical role in the growth and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the mechanism underlying the crosstalk between MSCs and HCC cells is not completely understood. Here, HCC cells were treated with or without conditioned medium of MSCs (CM-MSC), and examined for differential expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Knockdown and overexpression experiments were conducted to explore the function of the lncRNA DNM3OS in MSC-induced HCC growth and metastasis. CM-MSC treatment led to a concentration-dependent induction of DNM3OS in HCC cells. DNM3OS was significantly upregulated in HCC compared to adjacent liver tissues. High DNM3OS expression was associated with TNM stage, vascular invasion, and poor prognosis of HCC patients. Silencing of DNM3OS inhibited HCC cell proliferation and invasion in vitro and tumorigenesis and metastasis in vivo. Overexpression of DNM3OS enhanced HCC cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. Biochemically, DNM3OS was mainly localized in the nucleus and physically interacted with KDM6B. The association of DNM3OS with KDM6B induced the expression of TIAM1 through reduction of H3K27me3 at the TIAM1 promoter. TIAM1 overexpression restored the proliferation and invasion of DNM3OS-depleted HCC cells. Our data delineate a mechanism by which MSCs accelerate HCC growth and metastasis through a DNM3OS/KDM6B/TIAM1 axis.
Collapse
|
43
|
Ding J, Li HY, Zhang L, Zhou Y, Wu J. Hedgehog Signaling, a Critical Pathway Governing the Development and Progression of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Cells 2021; 10:cells10010123. [PMID: 33440657 PMCID: PMC7826706 DOI: 10.3390/cells10010123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Revised: 01/03/2021] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Hedgehog (Hh) signaling is a classic morphogen in controlling embryonic development and tissue repairing. Aberrant activation of Hh signaling has been well documented in liver cancer, including hepatoblastoma, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma. The present review aims to update the current understanding on how abnormal Hh signaling molecules modulate initiation, progression, drug resistance and metastasis of HCC. The latest relevant literature was reviewed with our recent findings to provide an overview regarding the molecular interplay and clinical relevance of the Hh signaling in HCC management. Hh signaling molecules are involved in the transformation of pre-carcinogenic lesions to malignant features in chronic liver injury, such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Activation of GLI target genes, such as ABCC1 and TAP1, is responsible for drug resistance in hepatoma cells, with a CD133−/EpCAM− surface molecular profile, and GLI1 and truncated GLI1 account for the metastatic feature of the hepatoma cells, with upregulation of matrix metalloproteinases. A novel bioassay for the Sonic Hh ligand in tissue specimens may assist HCC diagnosis with negative α-fetoprotein and predict early microvascular invasion. In-depth exploration of the Hh signaling deepens our understanding of its molecular modulation in HCC initiation, drug sensitivity and metastasis, and guides precise management of HCC on an individual basis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jia Ding
- Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Jing’an District Central Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200040, China;
| | - Hui-Yan Li
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, MOE/NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; (H.-Y.L.); (L.Z.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Li Zhang
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, MOE/NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; (H.-Y.L.); (L.Z.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Yuan Zhou
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, MOE/NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; (H.-Y.L.); (L.Z.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Jian Wu
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, MOE/NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; (H.-Y.L.); (L.Z.); (Y.Z.)
- Department of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
- Shanghai Institute of Liver Diseases, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-215-423-7705; Fax: +86-216-422-7201
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Zhu F, Chang Q, Duan S, Leng W. Efficacy and safety of radiofrequency ablation versus laparoscopic hepatectomy for small hepatocellular carcinoma: A protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Medicine (Baltimore) 2021; 100:e23678. [PMID: 33429736 PMCID: PMC7793421 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000023678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common type of malignant tumors in adults, and is the most common cause of death in people with cirrhosis. Both laparoscopic hepatectomy (LH) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) are radical treatments for small HCC. However, there is no international standard for the treatment of small HCC, and it is still controversial to choose LH or RFA in treating small HCC. We try to carry out a randomized, controlled, prospective study to compare the the short-term and long-term effects and safety of LH versus RFA in the treatment of small HCC. METHODS This study is a single-center, evaluator-blinded, randomized, controlled clinical trial (RCT). The patients will be randomly divided into RFA group and LH group in a 1:1 ratio according to a computer-generated randomization list. Postoperative complications rates, Alpha fetoprotein (AFP), hospital stay, 1, 2, 3-year overall survival (OS) rates, disease-free survival (DFS) rates and all possible adverse events will be recorded. Statistical analyses will be performed with SPSS v22.0 software. CONCLUSIONS The study will compare the the short-term and long-term effects and safety of LH versus RFA in the treatment of small HCC. OSF REGISTRATION NUMBER doi: 10.17605/OSF.IO/HNX2T.
Collapse
|
45
|
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an increasingly common disease with liver transplant (LT) the best long-term therapy for early stage disease. We will review the data for assessing risk and managing recurrence for patients undergoing LT for HCC. AREAS COVERED In this review, we will provide an overview of methods of patient risk stratification in the post-transplant period, the data around surveillance for HCC recurrence, and the evidence for and against post-LT adjuvant treatment strategies. Finally, we will provide data regarding treatment options for patients with HCC recurrence after LT. Using an extensive search of original papers and society guidelines, this paper provides a comprehensive review of the data for assessing risk and managing recurrence for patients undergoing LT for HCC. EXPERT OPINION The development of multiple post-transplant prognostic scoring systems have allowed for improved assessment of recurrence risk and stratification of patients. However, the ability to translate this information into surveillance and therapeutic strategies that improve patient outcomes still have to be fully demonstrated. Post-LT immunosuppression strategies have been implemented in order to attempt to reduce this risk. Evidence-based strategies for managing recurrent HCC are evolving. We expect that with further understanding of individual patient characteristics will allow for optimal therapeutic selection.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Hoffman
- Department of Surgery, University of California , San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Neil Mehta
- Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of California , San Francisco, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Zhang T, Wei Y, He X, Yuan Y, Yuan F, Ye Z, Li X, Tang H, Song B. Prediction of Remnant Liver Regeneration after Right Hepatectomy in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Using Preoperative CT Texture Analysis and Clinical Features. CONTRAST MEDIA & MOLECULAR IMAGING 2021; 2021:5572470. [PMID: 34220379 PMCID: PMC8213498 DOI: 10.1155/2021/5572470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2021] [Revised: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To predict the regenerative rate of liver in patients with HCCs after right hepatectomy using texture analysis on preoperative CT combined with clinical features. MATERIALS AND METHODS 88 patients with 90 HCCs who underwent right hepatectomy were retrospectively included. The future remnant liver was semiautomatically segmented, and the volume of future remnant liver on preoperative CT (LVpre) and the volume of remnant liver on following-up CT (LVfu) were measured. We calculated the regeneration index (RI) by the following equation: (LVfu - LVpre)/LVpre) × 100 (%). The support vector machine recursive method was used for the feature selection. The Naive Bayes classifier was used to predict liver RI, and 5-fold cross-validation was performed to adjust the parameters. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were calculated to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of the model. RESULTS The mean RI was 142.99 ± 92.17%. Of all clinical parameters and texture features, the AST, ALB, PT-INR, Perc.10%, and S(5, -5)Correlat were found to be statistically significant with RI. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the model in the training group were 0.902, 0.634, and 0.768, and the AUC value of the obtained model was 0.841. In the test group, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the model were 1.0, 0.429, and 0.778, respectively, and the AUC value was 0.844. CONCLUSION The use of texture analysis on preoperative CT combined with clinical features can be helpful in predicting the liver regeneration rate in patients with HCCs after right hepatectomy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tong Zhang
- 1Department of Radiology, Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China
| | - Yi Wei
- 1Department of Radiology, Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China
| | - Xiaopeng He
- 2Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou 646000, Sichuan Province, China
| | - Yuan Yuan
- 1Department of Radiology, Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China
| | - Fang Yuan
- 1Department of Radiology, Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China
| | - Zheng Ye
- 1Department of Radiology, Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China
| | - Xin Li
- 3GE Healthcare Research, Nanjing 210000, China
| | - Hehan Tang
- 1Department of Radiology, Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China
| | - Bin Song
- 1Department of Radiology, Sichuan University West China Hospital, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Ni S, Wei Q, Yang L. ADORA1 Promotes Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression via PI3K/AKT Pathway. Onco Targets Ther 2020; 13:12409-12419. [PMID: 33293832 PMCID: PMC7719345 DOI: 10.2147/ott.s272621] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignancy worldwide. Although the contradictory role of ADORA1 has been explored in certain types of cancers, its clinical significance and function in hepatocellular carcinoma cells are largely unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS The level of ADORA1 in HCC tissues and cells was evaluated by RT-PCR. The function of ADORA1 overexpression on HCC cell proliferation and invasion was assessed by MTS, transwell analysis, and colony formation assay. In addition, a mouse subcutaneous xenograft model was used to study in vivo effects. The efficacy of knockdown of ADORA1 sensitizes to chemotherapy was assessed by staining with Annexin V/propidium iodide followed with flow cytometry and nuclei fragmentation. RESULTS In this study, ADORA1 was identified to be up-regulated in HCC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissue. High ADORA1 mRNA expression predicted poor survival in hepatocellular carcinoma patients. Ectopic expression of ADORA1 increased hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation and invasion. ADORA1 knockdown inhibited HCC cell growth and sensitized to chemotherapy. Furthermore, ADORA1 activated PI3K/AKT oncogenic signaling pathways. Treatment with PI3K inhibitor LY294002 blocked the effects of ADORA1 on tumor growth in either ADORA1-overexpressing or -deficiency cells. Finally, overexpression of ADORA1 stimulates HCC tumor growth in vivo. Treatment of ADORA1 antagonist oppositely suppressed HCC xenograft tumor growth. CONCLUSION ADORA1 serves as an important oncoprotein and a promoter of cell proliferation through PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sheng Ni
- Department of Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region530021, People’s Republic of China
| | - Qian Wei
- Behavioral Style Construction Office, Guangxi Medical University Cancer Hospital, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region530021, People’s Republic of China
| | - Li Yang
- Department of Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine, School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region530021, People’s Republic of China
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Hashem S, ElHefnawi M, Habashy S, El-Adawy M, Esmat G, Elakel W, Abdelazziz AO, Nabeel MM, Abdelmaksoud AH, Elbaz TM, Shousha HI. Machine Learning Prediction Models for Diagnosing Hepatocellular Carcinoma with HCV-related Chronic Liver Disease. COMPUTER METHODS AND PROGRAMS IN BIOMEDICINE 2020; 196:105551. [PMID: 32580053 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2020.105551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2019] [Revised: 04/22/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Considered as one of the most recurrent types of liver malignancy, Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) needs to be assessed in a non-invasive way. The objective of the current study is to develop prediction models for Chronic Hepatitis C (CHC)-related HCC using machine learning techniques. METHODS A dataset, for 4423 CHC patients, was investigated to identify the significant parameters for predicting HCC presence. In this study, several machine learning techniques (Classification and regression tree, alternating decision tree, reduce pruning error tree and linear regression algorithm) were used to build HCC classification models for prediction of HCC presence. RESULTS Age, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), alkaline phosphate (ALP), albumin, and total bilirubin attributes were statistically found to be associated with HCC presence. Several HCC classification models were constructed using several machine learning algorithms. The proposed HCC classification models provide adequate area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and high accuracy of HCC diagnosis. AUROC ranges between 95.5% and 99%, plus overall accuracy between 93.2% and 95.6%. CONCLUSION Models with simplistic factors have the power to predict the existence of HCC with outstanding performance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Somaya Hashem
- Systems and Information Department, Engineering Research Division, National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt; Biomedical Informatics and Chemo-Informatics Group, Centre of Excellence for Medical Researches, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
| | - Mahmoud ElHefnawi
- Systems and Information Department, Engineering Research Division, National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt; Biomedical Informatics and Chemo-Informatics Group, Centre of Excellence for Medical Researches, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.
| | - Shahira Habashy
- Communications, Electronics and Computers Department, Faculty of Engineering, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Mohamed El-Adawy
- Communications, Electronics and Computers Department, Faculty of Engineering, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Gamal Esmat
- Diagnostic and interventional Radiology Department, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Wafaa Elakel
- Diagnostic and interventional Radiology Department, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Ashraf Omar Abdelazziz
- Endemic Hepatogastroenterology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Mohamed Mahmoud Nabeel
- Endemic Hepatogastroenterology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | | | - Tamer Mahmoud Elbaz
- Endemic Hepatogastroenterology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Hend Ibrahim Shousha
- Endemic Hepatogastroenterology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Jiang J, Zhang Y, Xu R, Ren L, Chen J, Lu H. PRIM1 promotes the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo. J Cancer 2020; 11:6601-6611. [PMID: 33046981 PMCID: PMC7545666 DOI: 10.7150/jca.47870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2020] [Accepted: 09/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
PRIM1 plays an important role during oncogenesis, however it has never been reported in liver cancer, and thus our objective is to explore the role of PRIM1 in liver cancer. We selected RNAseq data of 50 paired liver cancer samples from the Cancer Gene Atlas (TCGA), and then bioinformatics methods and Mann-Whitney U test were used to analyze the correlation between PRIM1 and the clinical pathological stage of liver cancer. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) was used to detect mRNA expression of PRIM1 in BEL-7404, BCL-7402, HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cell lines. LV-PRIM1-RNAi was transfected into BEL-7404 and SMMC-7721 cells by lentivirus, and then Celigo imaging cytometer, Caspase3/7 Assay, flow cytometry and MTT assay were used to detect the proliferation and apoptosis of BEL-7404 and SMMC-7721 cells with ≥50% gene reduction rate after lentivirus transfection detected by QPCR. BEL-7404 and SMMC-7721 carrying PRIM1 gene were used for oncogenesis in vitro to observe the weight and fluorescence intensity of the tumor. Bioinformatics method was used to obtain the information about PRIM1 gene, and the correlation between PRIM1 and clinical pathological stage of liver cancer was analyzed by Mann-Whitney U test. QPCR results showed that PRIM1 was expressed in BEL-7404, BCL-7402, HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cell lines, which was highest in BCL-7404 cell line. Celigo imaging cytometer, Caspase3/7 Assay, flow cytometry and MTT assay showed that the proliferative ability of BEL-7404 and SMMC-7721 were decreased after LV-PRIM1-RNAi transfection. Furthermore, the weight and the fluorescence intensity of the tumors in vitro formed by LV-PRIM1-RNAi cells on SCID mice were decreased. So, interference of PRIM1 expression can inhibit the proliferation of BEL-7404 and SMMC-7721 cells, as well as induce the apoptosis of liver cancer cells.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jinqun Jiang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, Yuebei People's Hospital, Shaoguan, Guangdong Province 512026 P.R. China
| | - YuZhu Zhang
- Department of Breast Disease, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510282 P.R. China
| | - Rui Xu
- Department of Breast Disease, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510282 P.R. China
| | - Liping Ren
- Department of Breast Disease, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510282 P.R. China
| | - Junqian Chen
- Department of Breast Disease, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510282 P.R. China
| | - Hai Lu
- The Second Affiliated Hospital of GuangZhou University of Chinese Medicine , Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510282 P.R. China.,The Second Clinical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510282 P.R. China
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Quantitative proteomics identifies a plasma multi-protein model for detection of hepatocellular carcinoma. Sci Rep 2020; 10:15552. [PMID: 32968147 PMCID: PMC7511324 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72510-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
More efficient biomarkers are needed to facilitate the early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to identify candidate biomarkers for HCC detection by proteomic analysis. First, we performed a global proteomic analysis of 10 paired HCC and non-tumor tissues. Then, we validated the top-ranked proteins by targeted proteomic analyses in another tissue cohort. At last, we used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to validate the candidate biomarkers in multiple serum cohorts including HCC cases (HCCs), cirrhosis cases (LCs), and normal controls (NCs). We identified and validated 33 up-regulated proteins in HCC tissues. Among them, eight secretory or membrane proteins were further evaluated in serum, revealing that aldo-keto reductase family 1 member B10 (AKR1B10) and cathepsin A (CTSA) can distinguish HCCs from LCs and NCs. The area under the curves (AUCs) were 0.891 and 0.894 for AKR1B10 and CTSA, respectively, greater than that of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP; 0.831). Notably, combining the three proteins reached an AUC of 0.969, which outperformed AFP alone (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the serum AKR1B10 levels dramatically decreased after surgery. AKR1B10 and CTSA are potential serum biomarkers for HCC detection. The combination of AKR1B10, CTSA, and AFP may improve the HCC diagnostic efficacy.
Collapse
|