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Mohd Abas MD, Mohd Asri MF, Yusafawi NAS, Rosman NAZ, Baharudin NAZ, Taher M, Susanti D, Khotib J. Advancements of gene therapy in cancer treatment: A comprehensive review. Pathol Res Pract 2024; 261:155509. [PMID: 39121791 DOI: 10.1016/j.prp.2024.155509] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2024] [Revised: 07/23/2024] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/12/2024]
Abstract
Cancer is the main contributor for mortality in the world. Conventional therapy that available as the treatment options are chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery. However, these treatments are hardly cell-specific most of the time. Nowadays, extensive research and investigations are made to develop cell-specific approaches prior to cancer treatment. Some of them are photodynamic therapy, hyperthermia, immunotherapy, stem cell transplantation and targeted therapy. This review article will be focusing on the development of gene therapy in cancer. The objective of gene therapy is to correct specific mutant genes causing the excessive proliferation of the cell that leads to cancer. There are lots of explorations in the approach to modify the gene. The delivery of this therapy plays a big role in its success. If the inserted gene does not find its way to the target, the therapy is considered a failure. Hence, vectors are needed and the common vectors used are viral, non viral or synthetic, polymer based and lipid based vectors. The advancement of gene therapy in cancer treatment will be focussing on the top three cancer cases in the world which are breast, lung and colon cancer. In breast cancer, the discussed therapy are CRISPR/Cas9, siRNA and gene silencing whereas in colon cancer miRNA and suicide gene therapy and in lung cancer, replacement of tumor suppressor gene, CRISPR/Cas9 and miRNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Dhiyauddin Mohd Abas
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Kuantan, Pahang 25200, Malaysia
| | - Muhammad Fareez Mohd Asri
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Kuantan, Pahang 25200, Malaysia
| | - Nur Anis Suffiah Yusafawi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Kuantan, Pahang 25200, Malaysia
| | - Nur Anis Zahra Rosman
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Kuantan, Pahang 25200, Malaysia
| | - Nur Arifah Zahidah Baharudin
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Kuantan, Pahang 25200, Malaysia
| | - Muhammad Taher
- Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Kuantan, Pahang 25200, Malaysia.
| | - Deny Susanti
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, International Islamic University Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, Kuantan, Pahang 25200, Malaysia.
| | - Junaidi Khotib
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Airlangga University, Surabaya 60115, Indonesia.
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Mohamed MR, Osman SA, Hassan AA, Raafat AI, Refaat MM, Fathy SA. Gemcitabine and synthesized silver nanoparticles impact on chemically induced hepatocellular carcinoma in male rats. Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol 2024; 38:3946320241263352. [PMID: 39046434 PMCID: PMC11271163 DOI: 10.1177/03946320241263352] [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: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Objective: Gemcitabine (GEM) is a deoxycytidine analog chemotherapeutic drug widely used to treat many cancers. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are important nanomaterials used to treat many diseases. Using gamma radiation in nanoparticle preparation is a new eco-friendly method. This study aims to evaluate the efficiency of co-treating gemcitabine and silver nanoparticles in treating hepatocellular carcinoma. Method: The AgNPs were characterized using UV-visible spectroscopy, XRD, TEM, and EDX. The MTT cytotoxicity in vitro assay of gemcitabine, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide was assessed against Wi38 normal fibroblast and HepG2 HCC cell lines. After HCC development, rats received (10 µg/g b.wt.) of AgNPs three times a week for 4 weeks and/or GEM (5 mg/kg b.wt.) twice weekly for 4 weeks. Liver function enzymes were investigated. Cytochrome P450 and miR-21 genes were studied. Apoptosis was determined by using flow cytometry, and apoptotic modifications in signaling pathways were evaluated via Bcl-2, Bax, Caspase-9, and SMAD-4. Results: The co-treatment of GEM and AgNPs increased apoptosis by upregulating Bax and caspase 9 while diminishing Bcl2 and SMAD4. It also improved cytochrome P450 m-RNA relative expression. The results also proved the cooperation between GEM and AgNPs in deactivating miR21. The impact of AgNPs as an adjuvant treatment with GEM was recognized. Conclusions: The study showed that co-treating AgNPs and GEM can improve the efficiency of GEM alone in treating HCC. This is achieved by enhancing intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways while diminishing some drawbacks of using GEM alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed R Mohamed
- Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Soheir A Osman
- Radiation Biology Department, National Centre for Radiation Research and Technology, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Asmaa A Hassan
- Radiation Biology Department, National Centre for Radiation Research and Technology, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Amany I Raafat
- Polymer Chemistry Department, National Centre for Radiation Research and Technology, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Mahmoud M Refaat
- Radiation Biology Department, National Centre for Radiation Research and Technology, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Shadia A Fathy
- Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
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He J, Wu F, Li J, Deng Q, Chen J, Li P, Jiang X, Yang K, Xu S, Jiang Z, Li X, Jiang Z. Tumor suppressor CLCA1 inhibits angiogenesis via TGFB1/SMAD/VEGF cascade and sensitizes hepatocellular carcinoma cells to Sorafenib. Dig Liver Dis 2024; 56:176-186. [PMID: 37230858 DOI: 10.1016/j.dld.2023.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly vascularized tumor with a poor prognosis. Novel vascular-related therapeutic targets and prognostic markers remain urgently needed. AIMS To investigate the role and mechanism of CLCA1 in hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODS Immunofluorescence, Co-immunoprecipitation and rescue experiment were used to determine the specific mechanisms of CLCA1. Chemosensitivity assay was used to measure the impact of CLCA1 on Sorafenib. RESULTS CLCA1 was dramatically downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines and tissues. Ectopic expression of CLCA1 induced cell apoptosis and G0/G1 phase arrest while suppressed cell growth, inhibited migration and invasion, reversal of epithelial mesenchymal transition in vitro and reduced xenograft tumor growth in vivo. Mechanistically, CLCA1 could co-localize and interact with TGFB1, thereby suppressing HCC angiogenesis through the TGFB1/SMAD/VEGF signaling cascade in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, CLCA1 also enhanced the sensitivity of HCC cells to the first-line targeted therapy, Sorafenib. CONCLUSION CLCA1 sensitizes HCC cells to Sorafenib and suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma angiogenesis through downregulating TGFB1 signaling cascade. This newly identified CLCA1 signaling pathway may help guide the anti-angiogenesis therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma. We also support the possibility of CLCA1 being a prognostic biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin He
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
| | - Fan Wu
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
| | - Junfeng Li
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
| | - Qianxi Deng
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
| | - Jun Chen
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
| | - Pengtao Li
- Department of Neurosurgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Xianyao Jiang
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Hainan General Hospital, Haikou 570100, China
| | - Kun Yang
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
| | - Shuman Xu
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
| | - Zhongxiang Jiang
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
| | - Xiaoqing Li
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
| | - Zheng Jiang
- Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China.
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Liu Q, Qi J, Li W, Tian X, Zhang J, Liu F, Lu X, Zang H, Liu C, Ma C, Yu Y, Jiang S. Therapeutic effect and transcriptome-methylome characteristics of METTL3 inhibition in liver hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancer Cell Int 2023; 23:298. [PMID: 38012755 PMCID: PMC10683134 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-023-03096-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) is the key subunit of methyltransferase complex responsible for catalyzing N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification on mRNA, which is the most prevalent post-transcriptional modification in eukaryotes. In this study, we utilized online databases to analyze the association between METTL3 expression and various aspects of tumorigenesis, including gene methylation, immunity, and prognosis. Our investigation revealed that METTL3 serves as a prognostic marker and therapeutic target for liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC). Through experimental studies, we observed frequent upregulation of METTL3 in LIHC tumor tissue and cells. Subsequent inhibition of METTL3 using a novel small molecule inhibitor, STM2457, significantly impeded tumor growth in LIHC cell lines, spheroids, and xenograft tumor model. Further, transcriptome and m6A sequencing of xenograft bodies unveiled that inhibition of METTL3-m6A altered genes enriched in SMAD and MAPK signaling pathways that are critical for tumorigenesis. These findings suggest that targeting METTL3 represents a promising therapeutic strategy for LIHC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingbin Liu
- Clinical Medical Laboratory Center, Jining First People's Hospital, Shandong First Medical University, Jining, 272000, People's Republic of China
- Cisen Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, Jining, 272000, China
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, Shandong, China
| | - Jingjing Qi
- Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040, Linz, Austria
| | - Weiyang Li
- School of Biological Science, Jining Medical University, Rizhao, Shandong, China
| | - Xinchen Tian
- Clinical Medical Laboratory Center, Jining First People's Hospital, Shandong First Medical University, Jining, 272000, People's Republic of China
| | - Jiaqi Zhang
- Clinical Medical Laboratory Center, Jining First People's Hospital, Shandong First Medical University, Jining, 272000, People's Republic of China
| | - Fen Liu
- Clinical Medical Laboratory Center, Jining First People's Hospital, Shandong First Medical University, Jining, 272000, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiulian Lu
- Cisen Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, Jining, 272000, China
| | - Hengchang Zang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, Shandong, China
| | - Chenqiao Liu
- Hepatobiliary Surgery Department, Jining First People's Hospital, Shandong First Medical University, Jining, 272000, China
| | - Changlin Ma
- Hepatobiliary Surgery Department, Jining First People's Hospital, Shandong First Medical University, Jining, 272000, China.
| | - Yong Yu
- Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Strasse 69, 4040, Linz, Austria.
| | - Shulong Jiang
- Clinical Medical Laboratory Center, Jining First People's Hospital, Shandong First Medical University, Jining, 272000, People's Republic of China.
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Yang X, Guo J, Li W, Li C, Zhu X, Liu Y, Wu X. PPM1H is down-regulated by ATF6 and dephosphorylates p-RPS6KB1 to inhibit progression of hepatocellular carcinoma. MOLECULAR THERAPY. NUCLEIC ACIDS 2023; 33:164-179. [PMID: 37456776 PMCID: PMC10345229 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2023.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
We have shown previously that polymorphism of activating transcription factor 6 (ATF6) is associated with susceptibility to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Therefore, genes down-regulated by ATF6 might play a tumor-suppressing role. In the present study, we identified that expression of protein phosphatase magnesium- or manganous-dependent 1H (PPM1H) mRNA and protein can be inhibited by ATF6 in hepatoma cells and mice with liver Atf6 knockdown. Tumor tissues from 134 HCC patients were analyzed by immunohistochemistry, and PPM1H exhibited higher expression levels in adjacent para-cancer tissues than in HCC tissues. Therefore, patients with higher expression of PPM1H had a better prognosis. PPM1H inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion of hepatoma cells. In addition, PPM1H inhibited induced HCC nodule formation as well as tumor xenograft growth in diethylnitrosamine/CCl4-induced HCC mouse model and nude mouse tumorigenicity assay, respectively. A 3D model of PPM1H was obtained by homology multi-template modeling, and ribosomal protein S6 kinase B1 (RPS6KB1) in the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)/transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) pathway was screened out as the potential substrate of PPM1H by Rosetta. PPM1H could directly dephosphorylate p-RPS6KB1. To conclude, we discovered RPS6KB1 as a new PPM1H dephosphorylation substrate. PPM1H exhibited a suppressive effect on HCC progression by dephosphorylating p-RPS6KB1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoshuang Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100005, P.R. China
- School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100005, P.R. China
| | - Jianting Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100005, P.R. China
- School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100005, P.R. China
| | - Wei Li
- Department of Interventional Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Shandong 266003, P.R. China
| | - Chunrui Li
- Beijing Cloud Computing Key Technique and Application Key Laboratory, Beijing Computing Center, Beijing 100094, P.R. China
| | - Xilin Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100005, P.R. China
- School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100005, P.R. China
| | - Ying Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100005, P.R. China
- School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100005, P.R. China
| | - Xiaopan Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100005, P.R. China
- School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100005, P.R. China
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6
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Wei M, Yan X, Xin X, Chen H, Hou L, Zhang J. Hepatocyte-Specific Smad4 Deficiency Alleviates Liver Fibrosis via the p38/p65 Pathway. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms231911696. [PMID: 36232998 PMCID: PMC9570188 DOI: 10.3390/ijms231911696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2022] [Revised: 09/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Liver fibrosis is a wound-healing response caused by the abnormal accumulation of extracellular matrix, which is produced by activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Most studies have focused on the activated HSCs themselves in liver fibrosis, and whether hepatocytes can modulate the process of fibrosis is still unclear. Sma mothers against decapentaplegic homologue 4 (Smad4) is a key intracellular transcription mediator of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) during the development and progression of liver fibrosis. However, the role of hepatocyte Smad4 in the development of fibrosis is poorly elucidated. Here, to explore the functional role of hepatocyte Smad4 and the molecular mechanism in liver fibrosis, a CCl4-induced liver fibrosis model was established in mice with hepatocyte-specific Smad4 deletion (Smad4Δhep). We found that hepatocyte-specific Smad4 deficiency reduced liver inflammation and fibrosis, alleviated epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and inhibited hepatocyte proliferation and migration. Molecularly, Smad4 deletion in hepatocytes suppressed the expression of inhibitor of differentiation 1 (ID1) and the secretion of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) of hepatocytes, which subsequently activated the p38 and p65 signaling pathways of HSCs in an epidermal growth factor receptor-dependent manner. Taken together, our results clearly demonstrate that the Smad4 expression in hepatocytes plays an important role in promoting liver fibrosis and could therefore be a promising target for future anti-fibrotic therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miaomiao Wei
- The College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Xinlong Yan
- Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
| | - Xin Xin
- The College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Haiqiang Chen
- The College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Lingling Hou
- The College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Jinhua Zhang
- The College of Life Science and Bioengineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
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7
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Fang Y, Yan D, Wang L, Zhang J, He Q. Circulating microRNAs (miR-16, miR-22, miR-122) expression and early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma. J Clin Lab Anal 2022; 36:e24541. [PMID: 35666610 PMCID: PMC9279946 DOI: 10.1002/jcla.24541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Circulating microRNA (miRNA) has been reported to have diagnostic value in multiple tumors. To identify serum miRNAs for early diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we analyzed the differential miRNA expression between HCC patients and controls. Methods Real‐time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) was carried out to detect serum miR‐16, miR‐22, and miR‐122 expression in 100 HCC patients and 100 controls (including hepatitis B, liver cirrhosis, liver metastases, hepatic hemangioma, health group, and each of them had 20 subjects). The miRNA expression results were combined with alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy in HCC through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. And the target genes were predicted through bioinformatics methods. Results Compared with controls, the expression of miR‐16 and miR‐122 significantly increased in early‐stage HCC patients, while no significant changes were detected in miR‐22. The ROC curve analysis demonstrated that miR‐16 and miR‐122 had a high diagnostic efficacy (AUC 0.798 and 0.759), and it was improved when combined with AFP (AUC 0.862). When compared with each of the five groups in the controls, the results showed that miR‐16 of HCC was significantly higher than liver cirrhosis (AUC 0.936), liver metastases, and health; miR‐122 was significantly higher than liver metastases, hepatitis B, and health. Moreover, 175 and 101 potential target genes were regulated by miR‐16 and miR‐122, respectively. And most of the target genes were enriched in the PI3K, MAPK, FoxO signaling pathways, and pathways in cancer. Conclusion Our findings illustrate that both circulating miR‐16 and miR‐122 can provide value for early diagnosis of HCC and they are potential biomarkers for the early‐stage HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujia Fang
- Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hang Zhou, China
| | - Dong Yan
- State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lixin Wang
- Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hang Zhou, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hang Zhou, China
| | - Qingfang He
- Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hang Zhou, China
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8
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Identification of the somatic mutations of SMAD4 among HCC Egyptian patients using NGS. GENE REPORTS 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.genrep.2021.101478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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9
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Dai CJ, Cao YT, Huang F, Wang YG. Multiple roles of mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 4 in tumorigenesis, stem cells, drug resistance, and cancer therapy. World J Stem Cells 2022; 14:41-53. [PMID: 35126827 PMCID: PMC8788178 DOI: 10.4252/wjsc.v14.i1.41] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling pathway controls many cellular processes, including proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Abnormalities in the TGF-β signaling pathway and its components are closely related to the occurrence of many human diseases, including cancer. Mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 4 (Smad4), also known as deleted in pancreatic cancer locus 4, is a typical tumor suppressor candidate gene locating at q21.1 of human chromosome 18 and the common mediator of the TGF-β/Smad and bone morphogenetic protein/Smad signaling pathways. It is believed that Smad4 inactivation correlates with the development of tumors and stem cell fate decisions. Smad4 also interacts with cytokines, miRNAs, and other signaling pathways, jointly regulating cell behavior. However, the regulatory function of Smad4 in tumorigenesis, stem cells, and drug resistance is currently controversial. In addition, Smad4 represents an attractive therapeutic target for cancer. Elucidating the specific role of Smad4 is important for understanding the mechanism of tumorigenesis and cancer treatment. Here, we review the identification and characterization of Smad4, the canonical TGF-β/Smad pathway, as well as the multiple roles of Smad4 in tumorigenesis, stem cells, and drug resistance. Furthermore, we provide novel insights into the prospects of Smad4-targeted cancer therapy and the challenges that it will face in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuan-Jing Dai
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Yu-Ting Cao
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Fang Huang
- Department of Pathology, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital of Hangzhou Medical University, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Yi-Gang Wang
- College of Life Sciences and Medicine, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, Zhejiang Province, China
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10
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Xu P, Luo A, Xiong C, Ren H, Yan L, Luo Q. SCUBE3 downregulation modulates hepatocellular carcinoma by inhibiting CCNE1 via TGFβ/PI3K/AKT/GSK3β pathway. Cancer Cell Int 2022; 22:1. [PMID: 34980127 PMCID: PMC8725472 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-021-02402-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We aimed to verify the role of signal peptide-CUB-EGF-like domain-containing protein3 (SCUBE3) in the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression. METHODS The role of SCUBE3 in HCC cell proliferation, apoptosis, and cell cycle in vitro were detected using MTT assay, colony formation assay, 5-ethynyl-2´-deoxyuridine assay (EDU), Celigo cell counting assay, Caspase3/7 activity assay, and flow cytometry. The effect of SCUBE3 on HCC cell proliferation in vivo was inspected by a xenograft tumour model in nude mice. The related mechanisms were further studied. RESULTS The level of SCUBE3 was upregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of SCUBE3 inhibited proliferation, promoted apoptosis, and induced cell cycle arrest in HCC cell lines in vitro and in vivo. Screening of cell cycle-related proteins revealed that CCNL2, CDK6, CCNE1, and CCND1 exhibited a significantly different expression profile. We found that SCUBE3 may promote the proliferation of HCC cells by regulating CCNE1 expression. The pathway enrichment analysis showed that the TGFβ signalling pathway and the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway were significantly altered. Co-immunoprecipitation results showed that SCUBE3 binds to the TGFβRII receptor. SCUBE3 knockdown inhibited the PI3K/AKT signalling pathway and the phosphorylation of GSK3β to inhibit its kinase activity. CONCLUSIONS SCUBE3 promotes HCC development by regulating CCNE1 via TGFβ/PI3K/AKT/GSK3β pathway. In addition, SCUBE3 may be a new molecular target for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pan Xu
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases (Ministry of Education), Institute for Viral Hepatitis, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Aoran Luo
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases (Ministry of Education), Institute for Viral Hepatitis, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Chuan Xiong
- Biotechnology and Nuclear Technology Research Institute, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu, 610061, People's Republic of China
| | - Hong Ren
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases (Ministry of Education), Institute for Viral Hepatitis, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Liang Yan
- Clinical Laboratory Department, Chongqing Hygeia Cancer Hospital, 200 SiXian Road, Chongqing, 401332, People's Republic of China.
| | - Qiang Luo
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Infectious Diseases (Ministry of Education), Institute for Viral Hepatitis, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.
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11
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Wu MZ, Yuan YC, Huang BY, Chen JX, Li BK, Fang JH, Zhuang SM. Identification of a TGF-β/SMAD/lnc-UTGF positive feedback loop and its role in hepatoma metastasis. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2021; 6:395. [PMID: 34785655 PMCID: PMC8595887 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-021-00781-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Aberrant activation of the TGF-β/SMAD signaling pathway is often observed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Whether lncRNA regulates the TGF-β/SMAD signaling remains largely unknown. Here, we identified an oncogenic lncRNA that was upregulated in HCC and was transcriptionally induced by TGF-β (named lnc-UTGF, lncRNA upregulated by TGF-β). Upon TGF-β stimulation, SMAD2/3 bound to the lnc-UTGF promoter and activated lnc-UTGF expression. In turn, the TGF-β/SMAD signaling was augmented by overexpressing lnc-UTGF, but was inhibited by silencing lnc-UTGF. Mechanism investigations revealed that lnc-UTGF interacted with the mRNAs of SMAD2 and SMAD4 via complementary base-pairing, resulting in enhanced stability of SMAD2/4 mRNAs. These data suggest a novel TGF-β/SMAD/lnc-UTGF positive feedback circuitry. Subsequent gain- and loss-of-function analyses disclosed that lnc-UTGF promoted the migration and invasion of hepatoma cells, and this effect of lnc-UTGF was attenuated by repressing SMAD2/4 expression or by mutating the SMAD2/4-binding sites in lnc-UTGF. Studies using mouse models further confirmed that in vivo metastasis of hepatoma xenografts was inhibited by silencing lnc-UTGF, but was enhanced by ectopic expression of lnc-UTGF. The lnc-UTGF level was positively correlated with the SMAD2/4 levels in xenografts. Consistently, we detected an association of lnc-UTGF upregulation with increase of SMAD2, SMAD4, and their metastasis effector SNAIL1 in human HCC. And high lnc-UTGF level was also significantly associated with enhanced metastasis potential, advanced TNM stages, and worse recurrence-free survival. Conclusion: there exists a lnc-UTGF-mediated positive feedback loop of the TGF-β signaling and its deregulation promotes hepatoma metastasis. These findings may provide a new therapeutic target for HCC metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng-Zhi Wu
- MOE Key Laboratory of Gene Function and Regulation, School of Life Sciences, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Xin Gang Xi Road 135#, Guangzhou, 510275, P. R. China
| | - Yi-Chuan Yuan
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Dong Feng Road East 651#, Guangzhou, 510060, P. R. China
| | - Bi-Yu Huang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Gene Function and Regulation, School of Life Sciences, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Xin Gang Xi Road 135#, Guangzhou, 510275, P. R. China
| | - Jin-Xi Chen
- MOE Key Laboratory of Gene Function and Regulation, School of Life Sciences, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Xin Gang Xi Road 135#, Guangzhou, 510275, P. R. China
| | - Bin-Kui Li
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Dong Feng Road East 651#, Guangzhou, 510060, P. R. China
| | - Jian-Hong Fang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Gene Function and Regulation, School of Life Sciences, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Xin Gang Xi Road 135#, Guangzhou, 510275, P. R. China.
| | - Shi-Mei Zhuang
- MOE Key Laboratory of Gene Function and Regulation, School of Life Sciences, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Xin Gang Xi Road 135#, Guangzhou, 510275, P. R. China.
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12
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Li J, Li MH, Wang TT, Liu XN, Zhu XT, Dai YZ, Zhai KC, Liu YD, Lin JL, Ge RL, Sun SH, Wang F, Yuan JH. SLC38A4 functions as a tumour suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma through modulating Wnt/β-catenin/MYC/HMGCS2 axis. Br J Cancer 2021; 125:865-876. [PMID: 34274945 DOI: 10.1038/s41416-021-01490-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many molecular alterations are shared by embryonic liver development and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Identifying the common molecular events would provide a novel prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC. METHODS Expression levels and clinical relevancies of SLC38A4 and HMGCS2 were investigated by qRT-PCR, western blot, TCGA and GEO datasets. The biological roles of SLC38A4 were investigated by functional assays. The downstream signalling pathway of SLC38A4 was investigated by qRT-PCR, western blot, immunofluorescence, luciferase reporter assay, TCGA and GEO datasets. RESULTS SLC38A4 silencing was identified as an oncofetal molecular event. DNA hypermethylation contributed to the downregulations of Slc38a4/SLC38A4 in the foetal liver and HCC. Low expression of SLC38A4 was associated with poor prognosis of HCC patients. Functional assays demonstrated that SLC38A4 depletion promoted HCC cellular proliferation, stemness and migration, and inhibited HCC cellular apoptosis in vitro, and further repressed HCC tumorigenesis in vivo. HMGCS2 was identified as a critical downstream target of SLC38A4. SLC38A4 increased HMGCS2 expression via upregulating AXIN1 and repressing Wnt/β-catenin/MYC axis. Functional rescue assays showed that HMGCS2 overexpression reversed the oncogenic roles of SLC38A4 depletion in HCC. CONCLUSIONS SLC38A4 downregulation was identified as a novel oncofetal event, and SLC38A4 was identified as a novel tumour suppressor in HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Li
- Department of Medical Genetics, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ming-Han Li
- Department of Medical Genetics, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Tian-Tian Wang
- Department of Medical Genetics, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiao-Ning Liu
- Core Facility of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiao-Ting Zhu
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Yun-Zhang Dai
- Department of Medical Genetics, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ke-Chao Zhai
- Department of Medical Genetics, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yong-da Liu
- Department of Medical Genetics, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jia-Li Lin
- Department of Medical Genetics, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Rui-Liang Ge
- The Second Department of Liver Surgery, Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shu-Han Sun
- Department of Medical Genetics, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China
| | - Fang Wang
- Department of Medical Genetics, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Ji-Hang Yuan
- Department of Medical Genetics, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China.
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13
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Matboli M, Gadallah SH, Rashed WM, Hasanin AH, Essawy N, Ghanem HM, Eissa S. mRNA-miRNA-lncRNA Regulatory Network in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22136770. [PMID: 34202571 PMCID: PMC8269036 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22136770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
AIM we aimed to construct a bioinformatics-based co-regulatory network of mRNAs and non coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which is implicated in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), followed by its validation in a NAFLD animal model. MATERIALS AND METHODS The mRNAs-miRNAs-lncRNAs regulatory network involved in NAFLD was retrieved and constructed utilizing bioinformatics tools. Then, we validated this network using an NAFLD animal model, high sucrose and high fat diet (HSHF)-fed rats. Finally, the expression level of the network players was assessed in the liver tissues using reverse transcriptase real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS in-silico constructed network revealed six mRNAs (YAP1, FOXA2, AMOTL2, TEAD2, SMAD4 and NF2), two miRNAs (miR-650 and miR-1205), and two lncRNAs (RPARP-AS1 and SRD5A3-AS1) that play important roles as a co-regulatory network in NAFLD pathogenesis. Moreover, the expression level of these constructed network-players was significantly different between NAFLD and normal control. Conclusion and future perspectives: this study provides new insight into the molecular mechanism of NAFLD pathogenesis and valuable clues for the potential use of the constructed RNA network in effective diagnostic or management strategies of NAFLD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marwa Matboli
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11382, Egypt
- Correspondence: (M.M.); (S.E.)
| | - Shaimaa H. Gadallah
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11382, Egypt; (S.H.G.); (H.M.G.)
| | - Wafaa M. Rashed
- Department of Research, Children’s Cancer Hospital-57357, Cairo 11382, Egypt;
| | - Amany Helmy Hasanin
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11382, Egypt;
| | - Nada Essawy
- Institut Pasteur, CEDEX 15, 75724 Paris, France;
| | - Hala M. Ghanem
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11382, Egypt; (S.H.G.); (H.M.G.)
| | - Sanaa Eissa
- Department of Medical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo 11382, Egypt
- Correspondence: (M.M.); (S.E.)
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14
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Sufleţel RT, Melincovici CS, Gheban BA, Toader Z, Mihu CM. Hepatic stellate cells - from past till present: morphology, human markers, human cell lines, behavior in normal and liver pathology. ROMANIAN JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY AND EMBRYOLOGY 2021; 61:615-642. [PMID: 33817704 PMCID: PMC8112759 DOI: 10.47162/rjme.61.3.01] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Hepatic stellate cell (HSC), initially analyzed by von Kupffer, in 1876, revealed to be an extraordinary mesenchymal cell, essential for both hepatocellular function and lesions, being the hallmark of hepatic fibrogenesis and carcinogenesis. Apart from their implications in hepatic injury, HSCs play a vital role in liver development and regeneration, xenobiotic response, intermediate metabolism, and regulation of immune response. In this review, we discuss the current state of knowledge regarding HSCs morphology, human HSCs markers and human HSC cell lines. We also summarize the latest findings concerning their roles in normal and liver pathology, focusing on their impact in fibrogenesis, chronic viral hepatitis and liver tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rada Teodora Sufleţel
- Discipline of Histology, Department of Morphological Sciences, Iuliu Haţieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
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15
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Kumar R, Kumar R, Tanwar P. Structural based screening of potential inhibitors of SMAD4: a step towards personalized medicine for gall bladder and other associated cancers. Mol Divers 2021; 25:1945-1961. [PMID: 33751339 DOI: 10.1007/s11030-021-10210-w] [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: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 03/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Gall bladder cancer (GBC) is an aggressive and most common malignancy of biliary tract lacking effective treatment due to unavailability of suitable biomarkers and therapeutics. SMAD4 is an essential mediator of transforming growth factor-β pathway involved in various cellular processes like growth, differentiation and apoptosis and also recognized as therapeutic target for GBC and other gastrointestinal tract cancers. In the present study, 3D structure of SMAD4 mutants was optimized through molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) along with wildtype. Furthermore, binding site of protein was predicted through hybrid approach and structural based virtual screening against two drug libraries was performed followed by docking. MDS of top docking score protein-ligand complexes were carried, and binding free energy was rescored. Two potential inhibitors, namely ZINC2098840 and ZINC8789167, were screened that displayed higher binding affinity towards mutant proteins compared with wildtype and both hydrophilic as well as hydrophobic interactions play a crucial role during protein-ligand binding. Current study identified novel and potent inhibitors of SMAD4 mutant that could be used as a drug candidate for the development of personalized medicine for gall bladder and other associated cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rakesh Kumar
- Dr.B.R.A.-Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110029, India
| | - Rahul Kumar
- Dr.B.R.A.-Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110029, India
| | - Pranay Tanwar
- Dr.B.R.A.-Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110029, India.
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16
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Moldogazieva NT, Mokhosoev IM, Zavadskiy SP, Terentiev AA. Proteomic Profiling and Artificial Intelligence for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Translational Medicine. Biomedicines 2021; 9:biomedicines9020159. [PMID: 33562077 PMCID: PMC7914649 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines9020159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary cancer of the liver with high morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. Since 1963, when alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was discovered as a first HCC serum biomarker, several other protein biomarkers have been identified and introduced into clinical practice. However, insufficient specificity and sensitivity of these biomarkers dictate the necessity of novel biomarker discovery. Remarkable advancements in integrated multiomics technologies for the identification of gene expression and protein or metabolite distribution patterns can facilitate rising to this challenge. Current multiomics technologies lead to the accumulation of a huge amount of data, which requires clustering and finding correlations between various datasets and developing predictive models for data filtering, pre-processing, and reducing dimensionality. Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have an enormous potential to overcome accelerated data growth, complexity, and heterogeneity within and across data sources. Our review focuses on the recent progress in integrative proteomic profiling strategies and their usage in combination with machine learning and deep learning technologies for the discovery of novel biomarker candidates for HCC early diagnosis and prognosis. We discuss conventional and promising proteomic biomarkers of HCC such as AFP, lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA)-reactive L3 glycoform of AFP (AFP-L3), des-gamma-carboxyprothrombin (DCP), osteopontin (OPN), glypican-3 (GPC3), dickkopf-1 (DKK1), midkine (MDK), and squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) and highlight their functional significance including the involvement in cell signaling such as Wnt/β-catenin, PI3K/Akt, integrin αvβ3/NF-κB/HIF-1α, JAK/STAT3 and MAPK/ERK-mediated pathways dysregulated in HCC. We show that currently available computational platforms for big data analysis and AI technologies can both enhance proteomic profiling and improve imaging techniques to enhance the translational application of proteomics data into precision medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nurbubu T. Moldogazieva
- Laboratory of Bioinformatics, Institute of Translational Medicine and Biotechnology, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), 119991 Moscow, Russia
- Correspondence: or
| | - Innokenty M. Mokhosoev
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, N.I. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, 117997 Moscow, Russia; (I.M.M.); (A.A.T.)
| | - Sergey P. Zavadskiy
- Department of Pharmacology, A.P. Nelyubin Institute of Pharmacy, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University), 119991 Moscow, Russia;
| | - Alexander A. Terentiev
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, N.I. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, 117997 Moscow, Russia; (I.M.M.); (A.A.T.)
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17
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Jiang L, Hu LG. Serpin peptidase inhibitor clade A member 1-overexpression in gastric cancer promotes tumor progression in vitro and is associated with poor prognosis. Oncol Lett 2020; 20:278. [PMID: 33014156 PMCID: PMC7520747 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2020.12141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Gastric cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-associated death in Asia. The incidence and mortality rates of gastric cancer have markedly increased in the past few decades. Therefore, the identification of novel gastric cancer biomarkers are needed to determine prognosis. The role of serpin peptidase inhibitor clade A member 1 (SERPINA1) has been studied in several types of cancer; however, little is known about its mechanism in gastric cancer. The present study aimed to evaluate SERPINA1 as a potential prognostic biomarker in gastric cancer and to identify the possible mechanisms underlying its action. The expression levels of SERPINA1 in several gastric cancer datasets were assessed, and it was identified that high expression of SERPINA1 was associated to poor clinical outcomes. Furthermore, using histochemical analysis, western blotting, apoptotic analysis, gap closure and invasion assays in cell lines, it was reported that silencing of SERPINA1 inhibited the formation of cellular pseudopodia and did not affect apoptosis, but promoted cell cycle S-phase entry. In addition, overexpression of SERPINA1 increased the migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells, whereas knockdown of SERPINA1 decreased these functions. Moreover, SERPINA1 overexpression increased the protein levels of SMAD4, which is a key regulator of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling pathway. Taken together, the present data demonstrated that SERPINA1 promotes gastric cancer progression through TGF-β signaling, and suggested that SERPINA1 may be a novel prognostic biomarker from tumor tissue biopsy in gastric cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Longchang Jiang
- Translational Safety and Bioanalytical Sciences, Amgen Research, Amgen Asia Research and Development Center, Shanghai 201210, P.R. China
| | - Liangbiao George Hu
- Translational Safety and Bioanalytical Sciences, Amgen Research, Amgen Asia Research and Development Center, Shanghai 201210, P.R. China
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18
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Vacca M, Leslie J, Virtue S, Lam BYH, Govaere O, Tiniakos D, Snow S, Davies S, Petkevicius K, Tong Z, Peirce V, Nielsen MJ, Ament Z, Li W, Kostrzewski T, Leeming DJ, Ratziu V, Allison MED, Anstee QM, Griffin JL, Oakley F, Vidal-Puig A. Bone morphogenetic protein 8B promotes the progression of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Nat Metab 2020; 2:514-531. [PMID: 32694734 DOI: 10.1038/s42255-020-0214-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is characterized by lipotoxicity, inflammation and fibrosis, ultimately leading to end-stage liver disease. The molecular mechanisms promoting NASH are poorly understood, and treatment options are limited. Here, we demonstrate that hepatic expression of bone morphogenetic protein 8B (BMP8B), a member of the transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ)-BMP superfamily, increases proportionally to disease stage in people and animal models with NASH. BMP8B signals via both SMAD2/3 and SMAD1/5/9 branches of the TGFβ-BMP pathway in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), promoting their proinflammatory phenotype. In vivo, the absence of BMP8B prevents HSC activation, reduces inflammation and affects the wound-healing responses, thereby limiting NASH progression. Evidence is featured in primary human 3D microtissues modelling NASH, when challenged with recombinant BMP8. Our data show that BMP8B is a major contributor to NASH progression. Owing to the near absence of BMP8B in healthy livers, inhibition of BMP8B may represent a promising new therapeutic avenue for NASH treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Vacca
- TVP Lab, WT/MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit - Metabolic Research Laboratories, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- Department of Biochemistry and Cambridge Systems Biology Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Jack Leslie
- Newcastle Fibrosis Research Group, Biosciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Samuel Virtue
- TVP Lab, WT/MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit - Metabolic Research Laboratories, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Brian Y H Lam
- Yeo Group and Genomics and Transcriptomics Core, WT/MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Olivier Govaere
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Dina Tiniakos
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Department of Pathology, Aretaieion Hospital, Medical School, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | | | - Susan Davies
- Liver Unit, Department of Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge University Hospitals, Cambridge, UK
| | - Kasparas Petkevicius
- TVP Lab, WT/MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit - Metabolic Research Laboratories, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Zhen Tong
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Vivian Peirce
- TVP Lab, WT/MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit - Metabolic Research Laboratories, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Zsuzsanna Ament
- Department of Biochemistry and Cambridge Systems Biology Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Wei Li
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | | | - Vlad Ratziu
- Sorbonne Université, Institute for Cardiometabolism and Nutrition (ICAN), Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Michael E D Allison
- Liver Unit, Department of Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Cambridge University Hospitals, Cambridge, UK
| | - Quentin M Anstee
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
- Newcastle NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Julian L Griffin
- Department of Biochemistry and Cambridge Systems Biology Centre, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Biomolecular Medicine, Systems Medicine, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Fiona Oakley
- Newcastle Fibrosis Research Group, Biosciences Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
| | - Antonio Vidal-Puig
- TVP Lab, WT/MRC Institute of Metabolic Science, MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit - Metabolic Research Laboratories, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- Welcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, UK.
- Cambridge University Nanjing Centre of Technology and Innovation, Jiangbei Area, Nanjing, P R China.
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19
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Yao Y, Zhang Z, Kong F, Mao Z, Niu Z, Li C, Chen A. Smad4 induces cell death in HO-8910 and SKOV3 ovarian carcinoma cell lines via PI3K-mTOR involvement. Exp Biol Med (Maywood) 2020; 245:777-784. [PMID: 32276544 PMCID: PMC7273890 DOI: 10.1177/1535370220916709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 03/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPACT STATEMENT This study investigated the effect and mechanism of Smad4 in ovarian carcinoma (OC) cell viability and demonstrated that Smad4 acted as a tumor suppressor in OC, which may contribute to the understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying OC occurrence and progression. Smad4 expression was decreased in the OC specimens, but Smad4 recovery in the OC cell lines impaired the survival and viability of OC cells by increasing autophagy and apoptosis. Further investigation showed that Smad4 interacted with the P85 subunit of PI3K and caused deactivation of the PI3K/mTOR pathway. Therefore, Smad4 could be considered as a target in cancer therapy due to its regulatory effect in OC carcinogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yushuang Yao
- Department of Gynecology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao 266000, People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhe Zhang
- Cell Biology & Genetics Department, Medical College, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266021, People’s Republic of China
| | - Fanmao Kong
- Henan Road Community Health Service Center, Qingdao 266021, People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhuqing Mao
- Department of Gynecology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao 266000, People’s Republic of China
| | - Zhaoyuan Niu
- Department of Gynecology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao 266000, People’s Republic of China
| | - Chuan Li
- Department of Gynecology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao 266000, People’s Republic of China
| | - Aiping Chen
- Department of Gynecology, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao 266000, People’s Republic of China
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20
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Utilizing Experimental Mouse Model to Identify Effectors of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Induced by HBx Antigen. Cancers (Basel) 2020; 12:cancers12020409. [PMID: 32050622 PMCID: PMC7072678 DOI: 10.3390/cancers12020409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2019] [Revised: 01/31/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among the ten most commonly diagnosed cancers and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death. Patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection are prone to developing chronic liver diseases (i.e., fibrosis and cirrhosis), and the HBV X antigen plays an important role in the development of HCC. The difficulty in detecting HCC at the early stages is one of the main reasons that the death rate approximates the incidence rate. The regulators controlling the downstream liver protein expression from HBV infection are unclear. Mass spectrometric techniques and customized programs were used to identify differentially expressed proteins which may be involved in the development of liver fibrosis and HCC progression in hepatitis B virus X protein transgenic mice (HBx mice). FSTL1, CTSB, and TGF-β enhanced the signaling pathway proteins during the pathogenesis of HBx. Missing proteins can be essential in cell growth, differentiation, apoptosis, migration, metastasis or angiogenesis. We found that LHX2, BMP-5 and GDF11 had complex interactions with other missing proteins and BMP-5 had both tumor suppressing and tumorigenic roles. BMP-5 may be involved in fibrosis and tumorigenic processes in the liver. These results provide us an understanding of the mechanism of HBx-induced disorders, and may serve as molecular targets for liver treatment.
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21
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Zhang L, Niu H, Ma J, Yuan BY, Chen YH, Zhuang Y, Chen GW, Zeng ZC, Xiang ZL. The molecular mechanism of LncRNA34a-mediated regulation of bone metastasis in hepatocellular carcinoma. Mol Cancer 2019; 18:120. [PMID: 31349837 PMCID: PMC6659280 DOI: 10.1186/s12943-019-1044-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2018] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Bone metastasis (BM) has long been recognized as a major threat to the quality of life of hepatocellular cancer (HCC) patients. While LncRNA34a (Lnc34a) has been shown to regulate colon cancer stem cell asymmetric division, its effect on HCC BM remains unknown. Methods In situ hybridization and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to detect the expression of Lnc34a in HCC tissues and cell lines. Ventricle injection model was constructed to explore the effect of Lnc34a on BM in vivo. The methylation of miR-34a promoter and histones deacetylation were examined by using bisulfate-sequencing PCR and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. RNA pull down and RNA immunoprecipitation were performed to investigated the interaction between Lnc34a and epigenetic regulators. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was conducted to find miR-34a target. The involvement of TGF-β pathway in the BM from HCC was determined by qRT-PCR, western, and elisa assays. Results We found that Lnc34a was significantly overexpressed in HCC tissues and associated with BM. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments indicate that the restoration or knockdown of Lnc34a expression in HCC cells had a marked effect on cellular migration, invasion, and metastasis. Mechanistic analyses suggested that Lnc34a epigenetically suppresses miR-34a expression through recruiting DNMT3a via PHB2 to methylate miR-34a promoter and HDAC1 to promote histones deacetylation. On the other hand, miR-34a targets Smad4 via the TGF-β pathway, followed by altering the transcription of the downstream genes (i.e., CTGF and IL-11) that are associated with BM. Conclusions Our study is the first to document the pro-bone metastatic role of Lnc34a in BM of HCC and reveal a novel mechanism for the activation of the TGF-β signaling pathway in HCC BM, providing evidence of a potential therapeutic strategy in HCC BM. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12943-019-1044-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Zhang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Feng Lin Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Hao Niu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Feng Lin Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Jie Ma
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Feng Lin Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Bao-Ying Yuan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Feng Lin Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Yu-Han Chen
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Feng Lin Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Yuan Zhuang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Feng Lin Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Gen-Wen Chen
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Feng Lin Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Zhao-Chong Zeng
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Feng Lin Road, Shanghai, 200032, China.
| | - Zuo-Lin Xiang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 150 Jimo Road, Shanghai, 200120, China.
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22
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Yang L, Liu Z, Wen T. Multiplex fluorescent immunohistochemistry quantitatively analyses microvascular density (MVD) and the roles of TGF-β signalling in orchestrating angiogenesis in colorectal cancer. Transl Cancer Res 2019; 8:429-438. [PMID: 35116775 PMCID: PMC8797362 DOI: 10.21037/tcr.2019.02.09] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2018] [Accepted: 12/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Background Advances in multiplex fluorescent immunohistochemistry (mfIHC) techniques and digital pathology platforms allow the quantification of multiple proteins in the same tissue section and produce continuous data. Previously, we used mfIHC to establish the expressed profiles of proteins involved in TGF-β signalling in colorectal cancer (CRC). Methods We used mfIHC to show microvascular density (MVD) by staining CD31 in the tissues from CRC patients. We further investigated the relationship between MVD and TGF-β signalling. Results We found that the levels of MVD were significantly higher in cancer tissues than in paired normal tissues. Prognostic analysis revealed that the survival time for CRC patients with high levels of MVD was significantly shorter than that for those with low levels of MVD. Systematic analysis of the levels of MVD and TGF-β signalling proteins revealed that TGF-β signalling showed contradictory roles in sustained tumour angiogenesis. In CRC cells, the expression of VEGFA was increased by low concentrations of TGFB1 but decreased by high concentrations of TGFB1. Vessel-forming assays demonstrated that low-dose TGFB1 stimulated but high-dose TGFB1 inhibited HUVECs to form vessel tubes. Conclusions Our analysis based on mfIHC staining in CRC tissues supports the concept that TGF-β signalling either promotes or inhibits tumour angiogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Yang
- Medical Research Center, Beijing Chao-yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, China
| | - Zheng Liu
- Medical Research Center, Beijing Chao-yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, China
| | - Tao Wen
- Medical Research Center, Beijing Chao-yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, China
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23
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MiR-144 inhibits growth and metastasis in colon cancer by down-regulating SMAD4. Biosci Rep 2019; 39:BSR20181895. [PMID: 30745456 PMCID: PMC6395301 DOI: 10.1042/bsr20181895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2018] [Revised: 01/10/2019] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs (MiRs) are thought to display regulator action in tumor suppression and oncogenesis. miR-144 plays an important role in the development of various cancers, such as colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and lung cancer, by targetting different molecules potentially involved in many signaling pathways. SMAD4 is a common signaling during tumor progression, and it can inhibit cell proliferation and promote cell motility in most epithelial cells. The present study focused on the effect of miR-144 and SMAD4 on colon cancer in order to find the novel gene therapy target for the treatment of colon cancer. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to assess the expression level of miR-144 in colon cancer tissues and SW620 cells. MTT assay, scratch test, and transwell assay were used to evaluate cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, respectively. Moreover, luciferase assays were utilized to identify the predictive effect of miR-144 on SMAD4. Western blotting was performed to determine the relative expression of protein related to SMAD4. We found miR-144 level was significantly lower in colon cancer tissues and SW620 cells. Moreover, SMAD4 level, both in mRNA and protein, was obviously elevated in colon cancer tissues. Further, miR-144 mimics treatment inhibited cells proliferation, invasion, and migration. Fluorescence intensity of miR-144 mimics group in wild type cells was decreased. MiR-144 mimics repressed the SMAD4 expression both in mRNA and protein. These findings about miR-144/SMAD4 pair provide a novel therapeutic method for colon cancer patients.
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24
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Mazzu YZ, Hu Y, Shen Y, Tuschl T, Singer S. miR-193b regulates tumorigenesis in liposarcoma cells via PDGFR, TGFβ, and Wnt signaling. Sci Rep 2019; 9:3197. [PMID: 30824765 PMCID: PMC6397171 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39560-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2018] [Accepted: 01/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Liposarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma. Molecularly targeted therapeutics have had limited efficacy in liposarcomas, in part because of inadequate knowledge of the complex molecular alterations in these tumors. Our recent study revealed the tumor suppressive function of miR-193b in liposarcoma. Considering the biological and clinical heterogeneity of liposarcoma, here, we confirmed the under-expression of miR-193b in additional patient liposarcoma samples and cell lines. Based on STRING analysis of protein-protein interactions among the reported putative miR-193b targets, we validated three: PDGFRβ, SMAD4, and YAP1, belonging to strongly interacting pathways (focal adhesion, TGFβ, and Hippo, respectively). We show that all three are directly targeted by miR-193b in liposarcoma. Inhibition of PDGFRβ reduces liposarcoma cell viability and increases adipogenesis. Knockdown of SMAD4 promotes adipogenic differentiation. miR-193b targeting of the Hippo signaling effector YAP1 indirectly inhibits Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Both a PDGFR inhibitor (CP-673451) and a Wnt/ β-catenin inhibitor (ICG-001) had potent inhibitory effects on liposarcoma cells, suggesting their potential application in liposarcoma treatment. In summary, we demonstrate that miR-193b controls cell growth and differentiation in liposarcoma by targeting multiple key components (PDGFRβ, SMAD4, and YAP1) in several oncogenic signaling pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Z Mazzu
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yulan Hu
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yawei Shen
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Thomas Tuschl
- Laboratory of RNA Molecular Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Samuel Singer
- Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
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25
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Tong H, Liu X, Li T, Qiu W, Peng C, Shen B, Zhu Z. INTS8 accelerates the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in hepatocellular carcinoma by upregulating the TGF-β signaling pathway. Cancer Manag Res 2019; 11:1869-1879. [PMID: 30881114 PMCID: PMC6396674 DOI: 10.2147/cmar.s184392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of death by malignancy worldwide. HCC has a poor prognosis due to tumor invasiveness and metastasis. There is substantial evidence that the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a central role in cancer metastasis. In a previous study, a possible association between integrator complex 8 (INTS8) and the progression and development of HCC was discovered. However, its role and the molecular mechanisms in HCC are poorly understood. Methods The PROGgeneV2 platform database and Kaplan–Meier plotter analysis were used to analyze the potential effects of INTS8 in HCC. Moreover, we performed migration, transwell, and metastasis assays to investigate the effects of INTS8 on HCC cells. In addition, relevant signaling pathways were examined by western blot and RT-qPCR assays. Results We used the PROGgeneV2 platform database and Kaplan–Meier plotter analysis, which indicated that increased expression of INTS8 is associated with poor overall survival of HCC. Moreover, INTS8 expression was higher in HCC tissues than in adjacent noncancerous tissues. INTS8 depletion reduced the invasion and migration of HCC cell lines. Downregulation of INTS8 in vivo resulted in fewer observed metastatic nodules in lungs. Moreover, INTS8 knockdown also increased the expression of epithelial markers (E-cadherin) and decreased the expression of mesenchymal markers (N-cadherin and vimentin) following the downregulation of SMAD4. In addition, pretreatment with TGF-β1 could partly prevent the decrease in the expression of SMAD4 and EMT markers induced by INTS8 knockdown. Conclusion Overall, these findings suggest that INTS8 accelerates the EMT in HCC by upregulating the TGF-β signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Tong
- Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China, ;
| | - Xiaohui Liu
- France National Research Center International Joint Laboratory (CNRS-LIAI), Sino-French Research Center for Life Sciences and Genomics, State Key Laboratory of Medical Genomics, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Tao Li
- Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China, ;
| | - Weihua Qiu
- Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China, ;
| | - Chenghong Peng
- Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China, ;
| | - Baiyong Shen
- Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China, ;
| | - Zhecheng Zhu
- Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China, ;
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26
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Tian X, Fei Q, Du M, Zhu H, Ye J, Qian L, Lu Z, Zhang W, Wang Y, Peng F, Chen J, Liu B, Li Q, He X, Yin L. miR-130a-3p regulated TGF-β1-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition depends on SMAD4 in EC-1 cells. Cancer Med 2019; 8:1197-1208. [PMID: 30741461 PMCID: PMC6434193 DOI: 10.1002/cam4.1981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2018] [Revised: 11/21/2018] [Accepted: 12/23/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Metastasis and invasion are the primary causes of malignant progression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) is crucial step of acquisition of "stemness" properties in tumor cells. However, the mechanism of esophageal cancer metastasis remains unclear. This research was designed to explore the role and mechanism of SMAD4 and miR‐130a‐3p in the progression of transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β)‐induced EMT in vivo and in vitro. The expression of miR‐130a‐3p in ESCC cell line and normal esophageal epithelial cell was determined by RT‐qPCR. The protein expression levels of TGF‐β‐induced changes in EMT were analyzed by western blotting and immunofluorescence. Dual‐luciferase report assays were used to validate the regulation of miR‐130a‐3p‐SMAD4 axis. The effect of miR‐130a‐3p and SMAD4 in TGF‐β‐induced migration, invasion in the ESCC cell line EC‐1 was investigated by wound healing assays and Transwell assays. Here we found that knocked down SMAD4 could partially reverse TGF‐β‐induced migration, invasion, and EMT progression in the ESCC cell line EC‐1. miR‐130a‐3p, which directly targets SMAD4, is down‐regulated in ESCC. miR‐130a‐3p inhibits the migration and invasion of EC‐1 cells both in vitro and in vivo. Finally, miR‐130a‐3p inhibits TGF‐β‐induced EC‐1 cell migration, invasion, and EMT progression in a SMAD4‐dependent way. In conclusion, this study provides new insights into the mechanism underlying ESCC metastasis. The TGF‐β/miR‐130a‐3p/SMAD4 pathway could be potential targets for clinical treatment of ESCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaokang Tian
- Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China.,Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Institue of Cancer Research, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Qian Fei
- Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Institue of Cancer Research, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.,The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Mingyu Du
- Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Institue of Cancer Research, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Hongming Zhu
- Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Institue of Cancer Research, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jinjun Ye
- Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Institue of Cancer Research, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Luxi Qian
- Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Institue of Cancer Research, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.,The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Zhiwei Lu
- Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Institue of Cancer Research, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.,The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Wenjun Zhang
- Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Institue of Cancer Research, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.,The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yan Wang
- Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Institue of Cancer Research, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.,The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Fanyu Peng
- Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Institue of Cancer Research, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.,The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jie Chen
- Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China.,Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Institue of Cancer Research, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Baoling Liu
- Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Institue of Cancer Research, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.,The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Qian Li
- Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Institue of Cancer Research, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.,The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Xia He
- Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China.,Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Institue of Cancer Research, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.,The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
| | - Li Yin
- Jiangsu Cancer Hospital, Jiangsu Institue of Cancer Research, Nanjing Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.,The Fourth Clinical Medical College of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
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27
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TGF-β downregulation-induced cancer cell death is finely regulated by the SAPK signaling cascade. Exp Mol Med 2018; 50:1-19. [PMID: 30523245 PMCID: PMC6283885 DOI: 10.1038/s12276-018-0189-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2018] [Revised: 09/06/2018] [Accepted: 09/11/2018] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling is increasingly recognized as a key driver in cancer. In progressive cancer tissues, TGF-β promotes tumor formation, and its increased expression often correlates with cancer malignancy. In this study, we utilized adenoviruses expressing short hairpin RNAs against TGF-β1 and TGF-β2 to investigate the role of TGF-β downregulation in cancer cell death. We found that the downregulation of TGF-β increased the phosphorylation of several SAPKs, such as p38 and JNK. Moreover, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was also increased by TGF-β downregulation, which triggered Akt inactivation and NOX4 increase-derived ROS in a cancer cell-type-specific manner. We also revealed the possibility of substantial gene fluctuation in response to TGF-β downregulation related to SAPKs. The expression levels of Trx and GSTM1, which encode inhibitory proteins that bind to ASK1, were reduced, likely a result of the altered translocation of Smad complex proteins rather than from ROS production. Instead, both ROS and ROS-mediated ER stress were responsible for the decrease in interactions between ASK1 and Trx or GSTM1. Through these pathways, ASK1 was activated and induced cytotoxic tumor cell death via p38/JNK activation and (or) induction of ER stress. Reducing the levels of the multifunctional protein transforming growth factor (TGF)-β in cancer cells prevents tumor growth in mice. Previous studies have shown that high levels of TGF-β in cancerous tissue are associated with accelerated disease progression. Hye Jin Choi and Jae J Song at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, and colleagues infected cancer cells with genetically modified viruses that reduced the expression of the gene encoding TGF-β. The resulting decrease in TGF-β protein led to cell death by stimulating the production of reactive oxygen species and signaling through the apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) pathway. When tumor-bearing mice were infected with these modified viruses, their overall survival was improved. Further understanding the mechanisms through which TGF-β regulates cancer cell survival will contribute to the development of new approaches in cancer treatment.
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28
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Virzì A, Roca Suarez AA, Baumert TF, Lupberger J. Oncogenic Signaling Induced by HCV Infection. Viruses 2018; 10:v10100538. [PMID: 30279347 PMCID: PMC6212953 DOI: 10.3390/v10100538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2018] [Revised: 09/29/2018] [Accepted: 09/30/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The liver is frequently exposed to toxins, metabolites, and oxidative stress, which can challenge organ function and genomic stability. Liver regeneration is therefore a highly regulated process involving several sequential signaling events. It is thus not surprising that individual oncogenic mutations in hepatocytes do not necessarily lead to cancer and that the genetic profiles of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) are highly heterogeneous. Long-term infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) creates an oncogenic environment by a combination of viral protein expression, persistent liver inflammation, oxidative stress, and chronically deregulated signaling events that cumulate as a tipping point for genetic stability. Although novel direct-acting antivirals (DAA)-based treatments efficiently eradicate HCV, the associated HCC risk cannot be fully eliminated by viral cure in patients with advanced liver disease. This suggests that HCV may persistently deregulate signaling pathways beyond viral cure and thereby continue to perturb cancer-relevant gene function. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about oncogenic signaling pathways derailed by chronic HCV infection. This will not only help to understand the mechanisms of hepatocarcinogenesis but will also highlight potential chemopreventive strategies to help patients with a high-risk profile of developing HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessia Virzì
- Inserm, U1110, Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies Virales et Hépatiques, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
- Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
| | - Armando Andres Roca Suarez
- Inserm, U1110, Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies Virales et Hépatiques, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
- Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
| | - Thomas F Baumert
- Inserm, U1110, Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies Virales et Hépatiques, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
- Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
- Pôle Hépato-digestif, Institut Hospitalo-universitaire, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
| | - Joachim Lupberger
- Inserm, U1110, Institut de Recherche sur les Maladies Virales et Hépatiques, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
- Université de Strasbourg, 67000 Strasbourg, France.
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29
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High expression levels of SMAD3 and SMAD7 at diagnosis predict poor prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia patients undergoing chemotherapy. Cancer Gene Ther 2018; 26:119-127. [DOI: 10.1038/s41417-018-0044-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Revised: 07/03/2018] [Accepted: 07/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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30
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Moussa MM, Helal NS, Youssef MM. Significance of pSmad2/3 and Smad4 in hepatitis C virus-related liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. APMIS 2018; 126:477-485. [PMID: 29924446 DOI: 10.1111/apm.12844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2017] [Accepted: 04/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a major public health problem, especially in Egypt. Risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development increases as hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related liver diseases progress. Smads act as substrates for the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) family of receptors. This study aims to assess hepatic expression of pSmad2/3 and Smad4 in CHC with different stages of fibrosis and grades of necro-inflammation as well as in HCC on top of CHC. This study was done on 33 core liver biopsies from patients with CHC (15 with early fibrosis and 18 with late fibrosis), 15 liver specimens from HCC cases on top of CHC, as well as five normal controls. pSmad2/3 and Smad4 show more immunopositivity, higher percentage of positive hepatocytes and stronger staining intensity in CHC with late fibrosis compared to early fibrosis. pSmad2/3 shows increase of the previous parameters in CHC with high grade activity than those with low activity. Smad4 shows increase of the previous parameters in HCC compared to CHC cases. pSmad2/3 and Smad4 can be used as diagnostic and/or prognostic markers for progression of HCV-related fibrosis to cirrhosis and further progression to HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Noha Said Helal
- Pathology Department, Theodor Bilharz Research Institute, Imbaba, Giza, Egypt
| | - Mohieldin Magdy Youssef
- Pharmacology and Toxicology Department, Egyptian-Russian University, Cairo, Egypt.,Graduate School, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, Japan
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31
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Shan X, Liu Q, Li Z, Li C, Gao H, Zhang Y. Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition Induced by SMAD4 Activation in Invasive Growth Hormone-Secreting Adenomas. OPEN CHEM 2018. [DOI: 10.1515/chem-2018-0061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractBackgroundThe detection and treatment of invasive growth hormone-secreting pituitary adenoma (GHPA) remains challenging. Several transcription factors promoting the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) can act as cofactors for the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-ß)/SMAD4. The goal of this study was to investigate the association of SMAD4 expression and clinicopathologic features using a tissue microarray analysis (TMA). The levels of SMAD4 and the related genes of EMT in GHPAs were analyzed by q-PCR and western blot. SMAD4 was strongly expressed in 15/19 cases (78.9%) of invasive GHPA and 10/42 cases (23.8%) of noninvasive GHPA (χ2=10.887,p=0.000). In the high SMAD4 group, a headache was reported in 16/25 cases (64%) compared with 13/36 cases (36.1%) in the low SMAD4 group (χ2=4.565,p=0.032). The progression-free survival (PFS) in the high group was lower than that in the low group (p=0.026). qRT-PCR and western blot analysis further revealed a significant downregulation of E-cadherin and upregulation of N-cadherin and vimentin in the invasive GHPA group. SMAD4 was associated with increased levels of invasion of GH3 cells, as determined by a transwell test. SMAD4 downregulated E-cadherin levels and increased the levels of N-cadherin and vimentin. Our data provide evidence that SMAD4 is a potential prognosis biomarker and a therapeutic target for patients with invasive GHPA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaosong Shan
- Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Qian Liu
- Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhenye Li
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Chuzhong Li
- Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Hua Gao
- Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Brain Tumor Center, Beijing, China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Yazhuo Zhang
- Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Brain Tumor Center, Beijing, China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing, China
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32
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Zhang Y, Tao R, Wu SS, Xu CC, Wang JL, Chen J, Yu YS, Tang ZH, Chen XH, Zang GQ. TRIM52 up-regulation in hepatocellular carcinoma cells promotes proliferation, migration and invasion through the ubiquitination of PPM1A. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL & CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH : CR 2018; 37:116. [PMID: 29898761 PMCID: PMC6001170 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-018-0780-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Accepted: 05/21/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Background Many tripartite motif (TRIM) family proteins have been reported to be of great importance in the initiation and progression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the biological role and regulatory mechanism of tripartite motif containing 52 (TRIM52) in HCC development and progression are poorly defined. Methods Immunohistochemistry (IHC), quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) or Western blot analysis was used to detect TRIM52, p21, matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2), protein phosphatase, Mg2+/Mn2+ dependent 1A (PPM1A), p-Smad2/3 and Smad2/3 levels in HCC tissues and cell lines. HCC cell proliferation and cell cycle were measured by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and flow cytometry analysis, respectively. HCC cell migration and invasion were measured by Transwell assay. Tumor growth of HCC cells in vivo was measured using the nude mouse xenograft model. The correlation between TRIM52 and PPM1A was measured by co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) and ubiquitination analysis in vitro. Results TRIM52 was significantly up-regulated in the HCC tissues in comparison with the adjacent non-tumor hepatic tissues. TRIM52 was also up-regulated in HCC cell lines (MHCC-97H and MHCC-97L cells) compared with normal human liver cell line LO2. TRIM52 down-regulation by RNA interfering in MHCC-97H cells enhanced inhibition of cell proliferation, migration and invasion. TRIM52 down-regulation also induced MHCC-97H cells arrest in G0-G1 phase cell cycle and inhibited MHCC-97H cell growth in the nude mice. However, TRIM52 up-regulation in MHCC-97L cells promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion. Furthermore, TRIM52 down-regulation significantly increased p21 and PPM1A expression, but inhibited MMP2 expression and induced Smad2/3 dephosphorylation in MHCC-97H cells, which were reversed by TRIM52 up-regulation in MHCC-97L cells. TRIM52 was found interacted with PPM1A and TRIM52 down-regulation inhibited the ubiquitination of PPM1A. Importantly, PPM1A up-regulation in MHCC-97L cells significantly suppressed TRIM52-mediated enhancement on cell proliferation, invasion and migration. Conclusions Our findings suggest that TRIM52 up-regulation promotes proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells through the ubiquitination of PPM1A.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Zhang
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, 600 Yishan Road, Shanghai, 200233, China
| | - Ran Tao
- Department of Cardiology, Central Hospital of Minhang District, Shanghai, 201199, China
| | - Shan-Shan Wu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, 600 Yishan Road, Shanghai, 200233, China
| | - Cui-Cui Xu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, 600 Yishan Road, Shanghai, 200233, China
| | - Jie-Ling Wang
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, Anhui Province, China
| | - Jie Chen
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, 600 Yishan Road, Shanghai, 200233, China
| | - Yong-Sheng Yu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, 600 Yishan Road, Shanghai, 200233, China
| | - Zheng-Hao Tang
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, 600 Yishan Road, Shanghai, 200233, China
| | - Xiao-Hua Chen
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, 600 Yishan Road, Shanghai, 200233, China.
| | - Guo-Qing Zang
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, 600 Yishan Road, Shanghai, 200233, China.
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Nesbitt H, Sheng Y, Kamila S, Logan K, Thomas K, Callan B, Taylor MA, Love M, O'Rourke D, Kelly P, Beguin E, Stride E, McHale AP, Callan JF. Gemcitabine loaded microbubbles for targeted chemo-sonodynamic therapy of pancreatic cancer. J Control Release 2018; 279:8-16. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2018.04.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2017] [Revised: 04/06/2018] [Accepted: 04/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Microglial SMAD4 regulated by microRNA-146a promotes migration of microglia which support tumor progression in a glioma environment. Oncotarget 2018; 9:24950-24969. [PMID: 29861845 PMCID: PMC5982777 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.25116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2017] [Accepted: 03/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Glioma tumors constitute a significant portion of microglial cells, which are known to support tumor progression. The present study demonstrates that transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) signaling pathway in microglia in a glioma environment is involved in tumor progression and pathogenesis. It has been shown that the TGFβ level is elevated in higher grades of gliomas and its signaling pathway regulates tumor progression through phosphorylation of SMAD2 and SMAD3, which form a complex with SMAD4 to regulate target gene transcription. In an in vitro cell line-based model increased protein levels of pSMAD2/3, total SMAD2/3 and SMAD4 were observed in murine BV2 microglia cultured in glioma conditioned medium (GCM), indicative of the activated TGFβ signaling pathway in microglia associated with glioma environment. Immunofluorescence labeling further revealed the expression of SMAD4 in microglial and non-microglial cells of human glioblastomas tissue in vivo. Functional analysis through shRNA-mediated stable knockdown of SMAD4 in microglia revealed the downregulation of the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), which has been shown to be involved in tumor progression and cell migration. Further, knockdown of SMAD4 in microglia decreased the migration of microglial cells towards GCM, indicating that SMAD4 promotes microglial migration in glioma environment. In addition, SMAD4 has been shown to be post-transcriptionally regulated by microRNA-146a, which was downregulated in microglia treated with GCM. Overexpression of miR-146a resulted in decreased expression of SMAD4 together with tumor supportive gene MMP9 in microglia, and subsequently suppressed microglial migration towards GCM, possibly through regulation of SMAD4. On the other hand, the cell viability assay revealed decreased viability of glioma cells when they were treated with conditioned medium derived from SMAD4 knockdown microglia or miR-146a overexpressed microglia as compared to glioma cells treated with the medium from control microglial cells. Taken together, the present study suggests that microglial SMAD4 which is epigenetically regulated by miR-146a promotes microglial migration in gliomas and glioma cell viability.
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Qin G, Wang GZ, Guo DD, Bai RX, Wang M, Du SY. Deletion of Smad4 reduces hepatic inflammation and fibrogenesis during nonalcoholic steatohepatitis progression. J Dig Dis 2018; 19:301-313. [PMID: 29696816 DOI: 10.1111/1751-2980.12599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2017] [Revised: 03/12/2018] [Accepted: 04/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To explore the effects of mothers against decapentaplegic homolog family member 4 (Smad4) deletion on inflammation and fibrogenesis in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). METHODS Biopsied liver samples from NASH patients and normal liver tissue samples from patients who had received liver resection for trauma were collected. Smad4Co/Co and wild-type (WT) mice were used to construct the NASH model using a high-fat diet (HFD) or methionine- and choline-deficient diet (MCD). HE staining and TUNEL assay were used to observe the pathological changes and cell apoptosis, respectively. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression of inflammatory, fibrogenesis and apoptosis-related genes, and immunohistochemistry to determine the protein expression of SMAD4, MCP-1 and α-SMA. RESULTS SMAD4 protein expression significantly increased in NASH patients than in the control group. Compared with WT mice, HFD- and MCD-fed Smad4Co/Co mice showed decreased hepatic steatosis, inflammation, liver cell apoptosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver activity score, reduced plasma glucose, triglyceride, free fatty acids, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels but increased adiponectin. Moreover, Smad4Co/Co decreased the expression of inflammatory markers (TNF-α, MCP-1, IFN-γ), fibrogenetic markers (COL1A1, α-SMA and TGF-β1), lipogenic (Srebp1c, Fas and Acc) and proapoptotic genes (Bax and caspase-3), but increased the expression of β-oxidation (Ppar-α, Cpt1 and Aco) and antiapoptotic genes (Bcl-2). CONCLUSION Smad4 deletion may inhibit lipogenesis, stimulate β-oxidation, improve lipid metabolism and liver function, alleviate inflammation and fibrosis, and reduce cell apoptosis in NASH.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geng Qin
- Department of Gastroenterology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Guo Zhen Wang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Dan Dan Guo
- Department of Ultrasonography, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Ru Xue Bai
- Department of Gastroenterology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Miao Wang
- Department of Gastroenterology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Shi Yu Du
- Department of Gastroenterology, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China
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Son BK, Kim DH, Min KW, Kim EK, Kwon MJ. Smad4/Fascin index is highly prognostic in patients with diffuse type EBV-associated gastric cancer. Pathol Res Pract 2018; 214:475-481. [PMID: 29572117 DOI: 10.1016/j.prp.2018.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2017] [Revised: 03/06/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Gastric cancer is a heterogeneous disorder for which predicting clinical outcomes is challenging, although various biomarkers have been suggested. The Smad4 and Fascin proteins are known prognostic indicators of different types of malignancy. Smad4 primarily functions as a key regulator of tumor suppression, whereas Fascin exhibits oncogenic function by enhancing tumor infiltration. A combined marker based on these opposing roles may improve prognostic accuracy in gastric cancer. Smad4 and Fascin expression was assessed in tissue microarrays obtained from 285 primary gastric adenocarcinoma, 201 normal tissue, and 51 metastatic adenocarcinoma samples. A Smad4/Fascin index based on the relative expression of each protein was divided into low- and high-expression groups using receiver operating characteristic curves. We compared normal tissue, primary adenocarcinoma, and metastatic adenocarcinoma in Smad4 and Fascin expression and the differences in clinicopathological findings between low Smad4/Fascin and high Smad4/Fascin expression in gastric adenocarcinoma. High Smad4/Fascin expression was significantly associated with worse outcomes, such as old age, advanced T and N category, large tumor size, high histological grade, lymphatic and vascular invasion, and presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) (all p < 0.05). Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed a significant relationship between disease-free or overall survival and Smad4/Fascin index in diffuse-type or EBV-associated gastric cancer (all p < 0.05). A dual marker system using Smad4 and Fascin may be a reliable indicator for predicting clinical outcomes in patients with diffuse-type or EBV-associated gastric cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byoung Kwan Son
- Department of Internal Medicine, Eulji Hospital, Eulji University School of medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong-Hoon Kim
- Department of Pathology, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyueng-Whan Min
- Department of Pathology, Hanyang University Guri Hospital, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Guri, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.
| | - Eun-Kyung Kim
- Department of Pathology, Eulji Hospital, Eulji University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Mi Jung Kwon
- Department of Pathology, Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
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Yang XH, Guo F. miR‑3147 serves as an oncomiR in vulvar squamous cell cancer via Smad4 suppression. Mol Med Rep 2018; 17:6397-6404. [PMID: 29512734 PMCID: PMC5928616 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2018.8697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2017] [Accepted: 03/01/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The incidence of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (VSCC) has increased annually over the last decade. MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) serve an important role in tumor progression and development. Our previous microarray studies have revealed that miR-3147 was overexpressed in VSCC. However, its function and underlying mechanism in VSCC remain unknown. In the present study, it was confirmed by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction that the expression of miR-3147 was markedly upregulated in VSCC tissues. The increased expression of miR-3147 was positively associated with the depth of invasion. The overexpression of miR-3147 resulted in the promotion of vulvar cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, G1/S progression and invasion-associated gene expression. miR-3147 may participate in the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition and reduce the expressions of downstream target genes in the transforming growth factor-β/Smad signaling pathway in A431 cells. The knockdown of Smad4 by small interfering RNA promoted malignant behaviours in A431 cells. In addition, miR-3147 regulated Smad4 by directly binding to its 3′ untranslated region. In conclusion, the results indicated that miR-3147 may serve an oncogenic role in VSCC by targeting Smad4. miR-3147 may represent a novel potential therapeutic target marker for VSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiu-Hua Yang
- Department of Obstetrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110001, P.R. China
| | - Feng Guo
- Department of Emergency, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110004, P.R. China
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38
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Cheng D, Zhao S, Tang H, Zhang D, Sun H, Yu F, Jiang W, Yue B, Wang J, Zhang M, Yu Y, Liu X, Sun X, Zhou Z, Qin X, Zhang X, Yan D, Wen Y, Peng Z. MicroRNA-20a-5p promotes colorectal cancer invasion and metastasis by downregulating Smad4. Oncotarget 2018; 7:45199-45213. [PMID: 27286257 PMCID: PMC5216716 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.9900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2016] [Accepted: 05/28/2016] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Tumor metastasis is one of the leading causes of poor prognosis for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Loss of Smad4 contributes to aggression process in many human cancers. However, the underlying precise mechanism of aberrant Smad4 expression in CRC development is still little known. RESULTS miR-20a-5p negatively regulated Smad4 by directly targeting its 3'UTR in human colorectal cancer cells. miR-20a-5p not only promoted CRC cells aggression capacity in vitro and liver metastasis in vivo, but also promoted the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition process by downregulating Smad4 expression. In addition, tissue microarray analysis obtained from 544 CRC patients' clinical characters showed that miR-20a-5p was upregulated in human CRC tissues, especially in the tissues with metastasis. High level of miR-20a-5p predicted poor prognosis in CRC patients. METHODS Five miRNA target prediction programs were applied to identify potential miRNA(s) that target(s) Smad4 in CRC. Luciferase reporter assay and transfection technique were used to validate the correlation between miR-20a-5p and Smad4 in CRC. Wound healing, transwell and tumorigenesis assays were used to explore the function of miR-20a-5p and Smad4 in CRC progression in vitro and in vivo. The association between miR-20a-5p expression and the prognosis of CRC patients was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and multivariate cox proportional hazard analyses based on tissue microarray data. CONCLUSIONS miR-20a-5p, as an onco-miRNA, promoted the invasion and metastasis ability by suppressing Smad4 expression in CRC cells, and high miR-20a-5p predicted poor prognosis for CRC patients, providing a novel and promising therapeutic target in human colorectal cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dantong Cheng
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Senlin Zhao
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,Department of Oncology and Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Huamei Tang
- Department of Pathology, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Dongyuan Zhang
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hongcheng Sun
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Fudong Yu
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Weiliang Jiang
- Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ben Yue
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jingtao Wang
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Meng Zhang
- Department of Pathology, Fudan University Affiliated Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China
| | - Yang Yu
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xisheng Liu
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaofeng Sun
- Department of Oncology and Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Zongguang Zhou
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Xuebin Qin
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Xin Zhang
- Department of Pathology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Dongwang Yan
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yugang Wen
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,Department of Oncology and Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Zhihai Peng
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
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Yang L, Hu S, Tan J, Zhang X, Yuan W, Wang Q, Xu L, Liu J, Liu Z, Jia Y, Huang X. Pregnancy-specific glycoprotein 9 (PSG9), a driver for colorectal cancer, enhances angiogenesis via activation of SMAD4. Oncotarget 2018; 7:61562-61574. [PMID: 27528036 PMCID: PMC5308672 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.11146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2016] [Accepted: 07/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
PSG9 is a member of the pregnancy-specific glycoprotein (PSG) family and has been shown to contribute to the progression of colorectal cancer (CRC) and cancer-related angiogenesis. Here, we aim to investigate abnormal PSG9 levels in patients with CRC and to emphasize the role of PSG9 in driving tumorigenesis. Serum from 140 patients with CRC and 125 healthy controls as well as 74 paired tumors and adjacent normal tissue were used to determine PSG9 levels. We discovered that PSG9 was significantly increased in serum (P<0.001) and in tumor tissues (P<0.001) from patients with CRC. Interestingly, the increased PSG9 levels correlated with poor survival (P=0.009) and microvessel density (MVD) (P=0.034). The overexpression of PSG9 strongly promoted the proliferation and migration of HCT-116 and HT-29 cells. However, PSG9 depletion inhibited the proliferation of SW-480 cells. Using a human umbilical vein endothelial cell tube-forming assay, we found that PSG9 promoted angiogenesis. The overexpression of PSG9 also increased the growth of tumor xenografts in nude mice. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that PSG9 was bound to SMAD4. The PSG9/SMAD4 complex recruited cytoplasmic SMAD2/3 to form a complex, which enhanced SMAD4 nuclear retention. The PSG9 and SMAD4 complex activated the expression of multiple angiogenesis-related genes (included IGFBP-3, PDGF-AA, GM-CSF, and VEGFA). Together, our findings illustrate the innovative mechanism by which PSG9 drives the progression of CRC and tumor angiogenesis. This occurs via nuclear translocation of PSG9/SMAD4, which activates angiogenic cytokines. Therefore, our study may provide evidence for novel treatment strategies by targeting PSG9 in antiangiogenic cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Yang
- Medical Research Center, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Shusheng Hu
- Clinical Laboratory Department, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, Tianjin, P.R. China
| | - Jinjing Tan
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Beijing Chest Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Xiaojing Zhang
- Oncology Department, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Wen Yuan
- Medical Research Center, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Qian Wang
- Oncology Department, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Lingling Xu
- Oncology Department, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Jian Liu
- Medical Research Center, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Zheng Liu
- Medical Research Center, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Yanjun Jia
- Medical Research Center, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Xiaoxi Huang
- Medical Research Center, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, P.R. China
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Nolan BE, Levenson E, Chen BY. Influential Mutations in the SMAD4 Trimer Complex Can Be Detected from Disruptions of Electrostatic Complementarity. J Comput Biol 2018; 24:68-78. [PMID: 28051901 DOI: 10.1089/cmb.2016.0162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
This article examines three techniques for rapidly assessing the electrostatic contribution of individual amino acids to the stability of protein-protein complexes. Whereas the energetic minimization of modeled oligomers may yield more accurate complexes, we examined the possibility that simple modeling may be sufficient to identify amino acids that add to or detract from electrostatic complementarity. The three methods evaluated were (a) the elimination of entire side chains (e.g., glycine scanning), (b) the elimination of the electrostatic contribution from the atoms of a side chain, called nullification, and (c) side chain structure prediction using SCWRL4. These techniques generate models in seconds, enabling large-scale mutational scanning. We evaluated these techniques on the SMAD2/SMAD4 heterotrimer, whose formation plays a crucial role in antitumor pathways. Many studies have documented the clinical and structural effect of specific mutations on trimer formation. Our results describe how glycine scanning yields more specific predictions, although nullification may be more sensitive, and how side chain structure prediction enables the identification of uncharged-to-charge mutations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bridget E Nolan
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Lehigh University , Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
| | - Emily Levenson
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Lehigh University , Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
| | - Brian Y Chen
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Lehigh University , Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
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Zhao T, Wu J, Liu X, Zhang L, Chen G, Lu H. Diagnosis of thymic epithelial tumor subtypes by a quantitative proteomic approach. Analyst 2018; 143:2491-2500. [PMID: 29645059 DOI: 10.1039/c8an00218e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
This study shows the first depth proteomic profiling of all TET subtypes and six candidate biomarkers were identified and validated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Zhao
- Institutes of Biomedical Sciences and Department of Chemistry
- Fudan University
- Shanghai 200032
- P.R. China
| | - Jie Wu
- Department of Pathology
- Zhongshan Hospital
- Fudan University
- Shanghai 200032
- P.R. China
| | - Xiaohui Liu
- Institutes of Biomedical Sciences and Department of Chemistry
- Fudan University
- Shanghai 200032
- P.R. China
| | - Lei Zhang
- Institutes of Biomedical Sciences and Department of Chemistry
- Fudan University
- Shanghai 200032
- P.R. China
| | - Gang Chen
- Department of Pathology
- Zhongshan Hospital
- Fudan University
- Shanghai 200032
- P.R. China
| | - Haojie Lu
- Institutes of Biomedical Sciences and Department of Chemistry
- Fudan University
- Shanghai 200032
- P.R. China
- Key Laboratory of Glycoconjugates Research Ministry of Public Health
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42
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The transcription factor FOXN3 inhibits cell proliferation by downregulating E2F5 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Oncotarget 2017; 7:43534-43545. [PMID: 27259277 PMCID: PMC5190042 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.9780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2016] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and the mechanisms underlying the development of HCC remain to be elucidated. Forkhead box N3 (FOXN3) is an important member of the FOX family of transcription factors that plays an essential role in several cancers but has not been investigated in HCC. In this study, we demonstrate that FOXN3 is downregulated in human primary HCC tissues compared with their matched adjacent liver tissues. Functional tests of FOXN3 demonstrated that FOXN3 inhibits the proliferation of HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, FOXN3 repressed the mRNA and protein expression of E2F5, a reported potential oncogene, by inhibiting the promoter activity of E2F5. Collectively, our findings indicate that FOXN3 functions as a tumor suppressor in HCC by downregulating the expression of E2F5.
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Yang L, Liu Z, Tan J, Dong H, Zhang X. Multispectral imaging reveals hyper active TGF-β signaling in colorectal cancer. Cancer Biol Ther 2017; 19:105-112. [PMID: 29219668 DOI: 10.1080/15384047.2017.1395116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Advances in multiplex immunohistochemistry (IHC) techniques and digital pathology platforms allow quantification of multiple proteins at same tissue section and produce continuous data. TGF-β signaling plays crucial and complex roles in colorectal cancer (CRC). We here aimed to investigate clinical pathological relevant of proteins involved in TGF-β signaling at CRC tissues. Multiplex fluorescent IHC was used to quantitative analysis. The levels of eight proteins (TGF-β1, TGFBRI, TGFBRII, SMAD4, SMAD2/3, p-SMAD2/3, SMAD1/5/9, and p-SMAD1/5/9) were determined in TMA sections. Quantitative analysis was carried out by a scoring system by InForm software. It revealed that TGF-β signaling was hyper active. The levels of TGF-β1, TGFBRI, TGFBRII, SMAD4, SMAD1/5/9 and p-SMAD2/3 were significantly increased in cancer tissues when compared their levels in normal tissues. Furthermore, the levels of eight proteins in stroma were significantly lower than the levels that in cancer tissues. Clinical pathological relevant analysis exhibited that TGF-β signaling inclined to suppress the progression of tumor. SMAD1/5/9, TGFBRII, SMAD2/3 were confirmed as significant predictors for overall survival. In conclusion, we established a method based on multispectral imaging to extensively explore the clinical relevant of TGF-β signaling proteins. These results provided an opportunity to consider the novel application for proteins involving TGF-β signaling that used as diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers to conduct tumor therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Yang
- a Medical Research Center, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital , Capital Medical University , Beijing , P.R. China
| | - Zheng Liu
- a Medical Research Center, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital , Capital Medical University , Beijing , P.R. China
| | - Jinjing Tan
- b Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Beijing Chest Hospital , Capital Medical University , Beijing , P.R. China
| | - Hongwei Dong
- c Oncology Department, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital , Capital Medical University , Beijing , P.R. China
| | - Xiaojing Zhang
- c Oncology Department, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital , Capital Medical University , Beijing , P.R. China
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Li Y, Wang LH, Zhang HT, Wang YT, Liu S, Zhou WL, Yuan XZ, Li TY, Wu CF, Yang JY. Disulfiram combined with copper inhibits metastasis and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in hepatocellular carcinoma through the NF-κB and TGF-β pathways. J Cell Mol Med 2017; 22:439-451. [PMID: 29148232 PMCID: PMC5742719 DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.13334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2016] [Accepted: 06/25/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Late‐stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) usually has a low survival rate because of the high risk of metastases and the lack of an effective cure. Disulfiram (DSF) has copper (Cu)‐dependent anticancer properties in vitro and in vivo. The present work aims to explore the anti‐metastasis effects and molecular mechanisms of DSF/Cu on HCC cells both in vitro and in vivo. The results showed that DSF inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of HCC cells. Cu improved the anti‐metastatic activity of DSF, while Cu alone had no effect. Furthermore, DSF/Cu inhibited both NF‐κB and TGF‐β signalling, including the nuclear translocation of NF‐κB subunits and the expression of Smad4, leading to down‐regulation of Snail and Slug, which contributed to phenotype epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). Finally, DSF/Cu inhibited the lung metastasis of Hep3B cells not only in a subcutaneous tumour model but also in an orthotopic liver metastasis assay. These results indicated that DSF/Cu suppressed the metastasis and EMT of hepatic carcinoma through NF‐κB and TGF‐β signalling. Our study indicates the potential of DSF/Cu for therapeutic use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Li
- Department of Pharmacology, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.,Benxi Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Li-Hui Wang
- Department of Pharmacology, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.,Benxi Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Hao-Tian Zhang
- Department of Pharmacology, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.,Benxi Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Ya-Ting Wang
- Department of Pharmacology, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Shuai Liu
- Department of Pharmacology, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.,Benxi Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Wen-Long Zhou
- Department of Pharmacology, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.,Benxi Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Xiang-Zhong Yuan
- Department of Pharmacology, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Tian-Yang Li
- Department of Pharmacology, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Chun-Fu Wu
- Department of Pharmacology, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.,Benxi Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Jing-Yu Yang
- Department of Pharmacology, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.,Benxi Institute of Pharmaceutical Research, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China
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Mao S, Lu G, Lan X, Yuan C, Jiang W, Chen Y, Jin X, Xia Q. Valproic acid inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition in renal cell carcinoma by decreasing SMAD4 expression. Mol Med Rep 2017; 16:6190-6199. [DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2017.7394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2016] [Accepted: 06/27/2017] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
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46
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Phuah NH, Azmi MN, Awang K, Nagoor NH. Down-Regulation of MicroRNA-210 Confers Sensitivity towards 1'S-1'-Acetoxychavicol Acetate (ACA) in Cervical Cancer Cells by Targeting SMAD4. Mol Cells 2017; 40:291-298. [PMID: 28401751 PMCID: PMC5424275 DOI: 10.14348/molcells.2017.2285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2016] [Revised: 03/08/2017] [Accepted: 04/05/2017] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that regulate genes posttranscriptionally. Past studies have reported that miR-210 is up-regulated in many cancers including cervical cancer, and plays a pleiotropic role in carcinogenesis. However, its role in regulating response towards anti-cancer agents has not been fully elucidated. We have previously reported that the natural compound 1'S-1'-acetoxychavicol acetate (ACA) is able to induce cytotoxicity in various cancer cells including cervical cancer cells. Hence, this study aims to investigate the mechanistic role of miR-210 in regulating response towards ACA in cervical cancer cells. In the present study, we found that ACA down-regulated miR-210 expression in cervical cancer cells, and suppression of miR-210 expression enhanced sensitivity towards ACA by inhibiting cell proliferation and promoting apoptosis. Western blot analysis showed increased expression of mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 4 (SMAD4), which was predicted as a target of miR-210 by target prediction programs, following treatment with ACA. Luciferase reporter assay confirmed that miR-210 binds to sequences in 3'UTR of SMAD4. Furthermore, decreased in SMAD4 protein expression was observed when miR-210 was overexpressed. Conversely, SMAD4 protein expression increased when miR-210 expression was suppressed. Lastly, we demonstrated that overexpression of SMAD4 augmented the anti-proliferative and apoptosis-inducing effects of ACA. Taken together, our results demonstrated that down-regulation of miR-210 conferred sensitivity towards ACA in cervical cancer cells by targeting SMAD4. These findings suggest that combination of miRNAs and natural compounds could provide new strategies in treating cervical cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neoh Hun Phuah
- Institute of Biological Sciences (Genetics and Molecular Biology), Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
| | - Mohamad Nurul Azmi
- Centre for Natural Product Research and Drug Discovery (CENAR), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
| | - Khalijah Awang
- Centre for Natural Product Research and Drug Discovery (CENAR), Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
| | - Noor Hasima Nagoor
- Institute of Biological Sciences (Genetics and Molecular Biology), Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
- Centre for Research in Biotechnology for Agriculture (CEBAR), University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
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47
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Tumor Microenvironment, a Paradigm in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression and Therapy. Int J Mol Sci 2017. [PMID: 28216578 DOI: 10.3390/ijms18020405.] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among the most lethal and prevalent cancers in the human population. Different etiological factors such as hepatitis B and C virus, alcohol and diabetes cause liver injury followed by inflammation, necrosis and hepatocytes proliferation. Continuous cycles of this destructive-regenerative process culminates in liver cirrhosis which is characterized by regenerating nodules that progress to dysplastic nodules and ultimately HCC. Despite its significance, there is only an elemental understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms, and there are only limited therapeutic options. Therefore, the study of the involved molecular mechanisms can open a new insight to define more effective treatment strategies. A variety of alterations have been reported in HCC patients, particularly the cancer-associated microenvironment components including immune cells, fibroblast cells, endothelial cells and extracellular matrix can support the neoplastic cells to proliferate, growth and invade. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge and highlights the principal challenges that are relevant to controlling this milieu.
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Tahmasebi Birgani M, Carloni V. Tumor Microenvironment, a Paradigm in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Progression and Therapy. Int J Mol Sci 2017; 18:ijms18020405. [PMID: 28216578 PMCID: PMC5343939 DOI: 10.3390/ijms18020405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 129] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2016] [Revised: 02/02/2017] [Accepted: 02/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among the most lethal and prevalent cancers in the human population. Different etiological factors such as hepatitis B and C virus, alcohol and diabetes cause liver injury followed by inflammation, necrosis and hepatocytes proliferation. Continuous cycles of this destructive–regenerative process culminates in liver cirrhosis which is characterized by regenerating nodules that progress to dysplastic nodules and ultimately HCC. Despite its significance, there is only an elemental understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms, and there are only limited therapeutic options. Therefore, the study of the involved molecular mechanisms can open a new insight to define more effective treatment strategies. A variety of alterations have been reported in HCC patients, particularly the cancer-associated microenvironment components including immune cells, fibroblast cells, endothelial cells and extracellular matrix can support the neoplastic cells to proliferate, growth and invade. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge and highlights the principal challenges that are relevant to controlling this milieu.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Tahmasebi Birgani
- Department of Medical Genetics, School of Medicine, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz 63461, Iran.
| | - Vinicio Carloni
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Largo Brambilla 3, Florence 50134, Italy.
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49
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Deregulated MicroRNAs in Biliary Tract Cancer: Functional Targets and Potential Biomarkers. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2016; 2016:4805270. [PMID: 27957497 PMCID: PMC5120202 DOI: 10.1155/2016/4805270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2016] [Accepted: 10/10/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Biliary tract cancer (BTC) is still a fatal disease with very poor prognosis. The lack of reliable biomarkers for early diagnosis and of effective therapeutic targets is a major demanding problem in diagnosis and management of BTC. Due to the clinically silent and asymptomatic characteristics of the tumor, most patients are diagnosed at an already advanced stage allowing only for a palliative therapeutic approach. MicroRNAs are small noncoding RNAs well known to regulate various cellular functions and pathologic events including the formation and progression of cancer. Over the last years, several studies have shed light on the role of microRNAs in BTC, making them potentially attractive therapeutic targets and candidates as biomarkers. In this review, we will focus on the role of oncogenic and tumor suppressor microRNAs and their direct targets in BTC. Furthermore, we summarize and discuss data that evaluate the diagnostic power of deregulated microRNAs as possible future biomarkers for BTC.
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50
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Das AM, Bolkestein M, van der Klok T, Oude Ophuis CMC, Vermeulen CE, Rens JAP, Dinjens WNM, Atmodimedjo PN, Verhoef C, Koljenović S, Smits R, Ten Hagen TLM, Eggermont AMM. Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP3) expression decreases during melanoma progression and inhibits melanoma cell migration. Eur J Cancer 2016; 66:34-46. [PMID: 27522248 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejca.2016.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2016] [Revised: 06/11/2016] [Accepted: 06/21/2016] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
AIMS Malignant melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer, and metastatic dissemination to regional and visceral sites is responsible for the majority of melanoma-related mortalities. In a recent study by our group, we observed reduced expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP3) in the majority of stage III melanoma samples studied. TIMP3 has been reported as a tumour suppressor in several human malignancies, with reduced expression correlating with poor clinical outcome. In this study, we investigated the changes in TIMP3 expression during melanoma progression. PATIENTS AND METHODS TIMP3 expression was analysed by immunohistochemistry in sequential archived tumour material from stage I/II, stage III and stage IV samples from melanoma patients (n = 33). Protein expression was investigated for associations with disease-free survival and overall survival. Methylation status of the gene promoter was determined using methylation-specific PCR. In vitro assays were used to investigate the functional consequences of TIMP3 expression on behavioural aspects of melanoma cells. RESULTS We show that TIMP3 expression decreases with melanoma progression although no significant clinical associations were obtained. Analysis of the status of promoter methylation using methylation-specific PCR revealed it to be a low-frequency event in melanoma. Additionally, through gene modulation experiments in melanoma cell lines, we show that TIMP3 negatively regulates cell migration, invasion and anoikis resistance. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, our data suggests that TIMP3 functions as a tumour suppressor in melanoma and negatively regulates several aspects of the metastatic cascade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asha M Das
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Michiel Bolkestein
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Thom van der Klok
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Cindy E Vermeulen
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Joost A P Rens
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Winand N M Dinjens
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Cornelis Verhoef
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Senada Koljenović
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ron Smits
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Timo L M Ten Hagen
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Alexander M M Eggermont
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus Grand Paris, Villejuif, France.
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