GRAM domain-containing protein 1A (GRAMD1A) promotes the expansion of hepatocellular carcinoma stem cell and hepatocellular carcinoma growth through STAT5

STEAP4 inhibits cisplatin-induced chemotherapy resistance through suppressing PI3K/AKT in hepatocellular carcinoma

Chemotherapy resistance is the leading cause for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)-induced death. Exploring resistance generation mechanism is an urgent need for HCC therapy. Here, we found STEAP4 was significantly downregulated in HCC patients with recurrence. Patients with low STEAP4 had poor outcome, suggesting STEAP4 might inhibit chemotherapy resistance. Cell viability assay, colony formation assay, apoptosis assay, soft agar growth assay, and tumor animal model showed STEAP4 inhibited cisplatin resistance. Mechanism analysis showed STEAP4 inhibited PI3K/AKT pathway through directly interacting with AKT. Double knockdown of STEP4 and AKT significantly inhibited cisplatin resistance. We also found STEAP4 expression was negatively correlated with PI3K/AKT pathway activity in clinic specimens. In summary, our findings suggested STEAP4 inhibited cisplatin resistance through suppressing PI3K/AKT pathway activity, providing a target for HCC therapy.

Dysregulated cholesterol regulatory genes in hepatocellular carcinoma

Cholesterol is an indispensable component in mammalian cells, and cholesterol metabolism performs important roles in various biological activities. In addition to the Warburg effect, dysregulated cholesterol metabolism is one of the metabolic hallmarks of several cancers. It has reported that reprogrammed cholesterol metabolism facilitates carcinogenesis, metastasis, and drug-resistant in various tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Some literatures have reported that increased cholesterol level leads to lipotoxicity, inflammation, and fibrosis, ultimately promoting the development and progression of HCC. Contrarily, other clinical investigations have demonstrated a link between higher cholesterol level and lower risk of HCC. These incongruent findings suggest that the connection between cholesterol and HCC is much complicated. In this report, we summarize the roles of key cholesterol regulatory genes including cholesterol biosynthesis, uptake, efflux, trafficking and esterification in HCC. In addition, we discuss promising related therapeutic targets for HCC.

Down-regulation of hepatic expression of GHR/STAT5/IGF-1 signaling pathway fosters development and aggressiveness of HCV-related hepatocellular carcinoma: Crosstalk with Snail-1 and type 2 transforming growth factor-beta receptor

Background and aims

So far, few clinical trials are available concerning the role of growth hormone receptor (GHR)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5)/insulin like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) axis in hepatocarcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hepatic expression of GHR/STAT5/IGF-1 signaling pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and to correlate the results with the clinico-pathological features and disease outcome. The interaction between this signaling pathway and some inducers of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), namely Snail-1 and type 2 transforming growth factor-beta receptor (TGFBR2) was studied too.

Material and methods

A total of 40 patients with HCV-associated HCC were included in this study. They were compared to 40 patients with HCV-related cirrhosis without HCC, and 20 healthy controls. The hepatic expression of GHR, STAT5, IGF-1, Snail-1 and TGFBR2 proteins were assessed by immunohistochemistry.

Results

Compared with cirrhotic patients without HCC and healthy controls, cirrhotic patients with HCC had significantly lower hepatic expression of GHR, STAT5, and IGF-1proteins. They also displayed significantly lower hepatic expression of TGFBR2, but higher expression of Snail-1 versus the non-HCC cirrhotic patients and controls. Serum levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) showed significant negative correlations with hepatic expression of GHR (r = -0.31; p = 0.029) and STAT5 (r = -0.29; p = 0.04). Hepatic expression of Snail-1 also showed negative correlations with GHR, STAT5, and IGF-1 expression (r = -0.55, p = 0.02; r = -0.472, p = 0.035, and r = -0.51, p = 0.009, respectively), whereas, hepatic expression of TGFBR2 was correlated positively with the expression of all these proteins (r = 0.47, p = 0.034; 0.49, p = 0.023, and r = 0.57, p<0.001, respectively). Moreover, we reported that decreased expression of GHR was significantly associated with serum AFP level>100 ng/ml (p = 0.048), increased tumor size (p = 0.02), vascular invasion (p = 0.002), and advanced pathological stage (p = 0.01). Similar significant associations were found between down-regulation of STAT5 expression and AFP level > 100 ng/ml (p = 0.006), vascular invasion (p = 0.009), and advanced tumor stage (p = 0.007). Also, attenuated expression of IGF-1 showed a significant association with vascular invasion (p < 0.001). Intriguingly, we detected that lower expression of GHR, STAT5 and IGF-1 were considered independent predictors for worse outcome in HCC.

Conclusion

Decreased expression of GHR/STAT5/IGF-1 signaling pathway may have a role in development, aggressiveness, and worse outcome of HCV-associated HCC irrespective of the liver functional status. Snail-1 and TGFBR2 as inducers of EMT may be key players. However, large prospective multicenter studies are needed to validate these results.

GRAMD1A Is a Biomarker of Kidney Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma and Is Associated with Immune Infiltration in the Tumour Microenvironment

Background

GRAM structural domain-containing protein 1A (GRAMD1A) is upregulated in a variety of human cancer tissues and is closely associated with tumourigenesis and progression.

Methods

Patient RNA-sequencing data and clinicopathological information were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets. The expression of GRAMD1A in kidney cancer cell lines and KIRC patients was analysed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves, nomograms, Kaplan-Meier analysis, forest plots, and COX analysis were used to assess the diagnostic and prognostic value of GRAMD1A in KIRC, and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to explore its potential signalling pathways. In addition, the Sangerbox website, Kaplan-Meier plotter database, and TISIDB and TIMER databases were used to further analyse the correlation of GRAMD1A with microsatellite instability (MSI), tumour mutational burden (TMB), immune checkpoint genes, and tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs).

Results

GRAMD1A was significantly highly expressed in KIRC and associated with shorter overall survival and relapse-free survival (P < 0.05). The AUC value of the ROC curve to identify KIRC and normal renal tissues was 0.942. Forest plot and COX analysis visualized that GRAMD1A could be an independent prognostic factor in KIRC patients (P < 0.01), and nomograms to determine the overall survival (OS) of KIRC patients also showed good efficacy (C-index: 0.776). Moreover, Spearman correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between GRAMD1A and MSI, TMB (P < 0.01). On the other hand, GRAMD1A was also found to be closely associated with immune checkpoint genes. Meanwhile, patients with KIRC with high GRAMD1A expression had a relatively low hazard ratio (HR) of death when B lymphocytes, natural killer T cells, CD4+ T lymphocytes, CD8+ T lymphocytes, and macrophages were enriched in the tumour microenvironment (TME), and a greater HR of death when regulatory T lymphocytes with tumour-specific immunosuppressive effects were significantly enriched. Last, GSEA shows that GRAMD1A is closely associated with the regulation of energy metabolism in KIRC.

Conclusions

GRAMD1A is a promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for patients with KIRC, and its biological function correlates to some extent with immune infiltration in TME.

Intracellular Cholesterol Synthesis and Transport

Cholesterol homeostasis is related to multiple diseases in humans, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and neurodegenerative and hepatic diseases. The cholesterol levels in cells are balanced dynamically by uptake, biosynthesis, transport, distribution, esterification, and export. In this review, we focus on de novo cholesterol synthesis, cholesterol synthesis regulation, and intracellular cholesterol trafficking. In addition, the progression of lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) at multiple contact sites between organelles is considered.

TBC1D8B, a GTPase-activating protein, is a novel apoptosis inducer

Overexpressed TBC1D8B, a GTPase-activating protein, significantly reduced cultured HCT116 human colon cancer cell number. We tested N-terminal TBC1D8B, which is identical to wild type TBC1D8B from amino acid positions 1 to 427 and possesses a modified sequence from position 428 to 435 (ECGGLFLL) because of the introduction of a premature stop codon at position 436 to narrow down the minimum requirement element. The N-terminal TBC1D8B contains two GRAM domains but not the TBC domain essential for Rab-GTPase activity. The N-terminal TBC1D8B overexpression significantly reduced the cultured HCT116 cell number. When we tested C-terminal TBC1D8B, containing the portion of TBC1D8B absent in the N-terminal TBC1D8B, the cell number reduction was not observed. The N-terminal TBC1D8B overexpression significantly increased the coronin 1B expression and reduced the phosphorylation of serine 51 in eIF2α, respective markers of apoptosis and cell death/survival. Also, caspase 3 and poly ADP-ribose polymerase increased cleavage in suspended cells overexpressing the N-terminal TBC1D8B. Taken together, it is not the TBC domain for Rab-GTPase activity, but amino acids 1 to 435, including the two GRAM domains, that is enough for TBC1D8B to cause spontaneous apoptosis. TBC1D8B could be a potential anticancer therapeutic molecule.

Involvement of STAT5 in Oncogenesis

Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins, and in particular STAT3, have been established as heavily implicated in cancer. Recently, the involvement of STAT5 signalling in the pathology of cancer has been shown to be of increasing importance. STAT5 plays a crucial role in the development of the mammary gland and the homeostasis of the immune system. However, in various cancers, aberrant STAT5 signalling promotes the expression of target genes, such as cyclin D, Bcl-2 and MMP-2, that result in increased cell proliferation, survival and metastasis. To target constitutive STAT5 signalling in cancers, there are several STAT5 inhibitors that can prevent STAT5 phosphorylation, dimerisation, or its transcriptional activity. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) that target molecules upstream of STAT5 could also be utilised. Consequently, since STAT5 contributes to tumour aggressiveness and cancer progression, inhibiting STAT5 constitutive activation in cancers that rely on its signalling makes for a promising targeted treatment option.

Minichromosome maintenance 3 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma radioresistance by activating the NF-κB pathway

Background

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common tumors in the worldwide, it develops resistance to radiotherapy during treatment, understanding the regulatory mechanisms of radioresistance generation is the urgent need for HCC therapy.

Methods

qRT-PCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry were used to examine MCM3 expression. MTT assay, colony formation assay, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase nick end labeling assay and In vivo xenograft assay were used to determine the effect of MCM3 on radioresistance. Gene set enrichment analysis, luciferase reporter assay, western blot and qRT-PCR were used to examine the effect of MCM3 on NF-κB pathway.

Results

We found DNA replication initiation protein Minichromosome Maintenance 3 (MCM3) was upregulated in HCC tissues and cells, patients with high MCM3 expression had poor outcome, it was an independent prognostic factor for HCC. Cells with high MCM3 expression or MCM3 overexpression increased the radioresistance determined by MTT assay, colony formation assay, TUNEL assay and orthotopic transplantation mouse model, while cells with low MCM3 expression or MCM3 knockdown reduced the radioresistance. Mechanism analysis showed MCM3 activated NF-κB pathway, characterized by increasing the nuclear translocation of p65, the expression of the downstream genes NF-κB pathway and the phosphorylation of IKK-β and IκBα. Inhibition of NF-κB in MCM3 overexpressing cells using small molecular inhibitor reduced the radioresistance, suggesting MCM3 increased radioresistance through activating NF-κB pathway. Moreover, we found MCM3 expression positively correlated with NF-κB pathway in clinic.

Conclusions

Our findings revealed that MCM3 promoted radioresistance through activating NF-κB pathway, strengthening the role of MCM subunits in the tumor progression and providing a new target for HCC therapy.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s13046-019-1241-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Targeting liver cancer stem cells for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Liver cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors and prognosis remains poor. It has been increasingly recognized that liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) are responsible for the carcinogenesis, recurrence, metastasis and chemoresistance of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Targeting LCSCs is promising to be a new direction for the treatment of HCC. Herein, we summarize the potentially therapeutic targets in LCSCs at the level of genes, molecules and cells, such as knockout of oncogenes or oncoproteins, restoring the silent tumor suppressor genes, inhibition of the transcription factors and regulation of noncoding RNAs (including microRNAs and long noncoding RNAs) in LCSCs at the genetic level; inhibition of markers and blockade of the key signaling pathways of LCSCs at the molecular level; and inhibiting autophagy and application of oncolytic adenoviruses in LCSCs at the cellular level. Moreover, we analyze the potential targets in LCSCs to eliminate chemoresistance of HCC. Thereinto, the suppression of autophagy and Nanog by chloroquine and shRNA respectively may be the most promising targeting approaches. These targets may provide novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of HCC by targeting LCSCs.

ERO1L promotes pancreatic cancer cell progression through activating the Wnt/catenin pathway

Pancreatic cancer is a lethal malignancy with an extremely poor prognosis. Although many genes and noncoding RNAs have been found to regulate its progression, more regulators are needed to be understood to resolve its high lethality. Endoplasmic reticulum oxidoreductase 1 alpha (ERO1L) plays crucial roles in the progression of various tumors, but its role in pancreatic cancer progression has not been studied. In this study, we found that ERO1L was significantly upregulated in pancreatic cancer cells and patients; its overexpression significantly promoted pancreatic cancer migration, invasion, and growth, while its knockdown significantly inhibited pancreatic cancer migration, invasion, and growth. Mechanism analysis suggested that ERO1L promoted many tumor-associated signaling pathways, especially the Wnt/catenin pathway; it could activate the Wnt/catenin pathway and upregulate the targets of the Wnt/catenin pathway. We further analyzed the correlation between ERO1L expression and the prognosis of patients, suggesting that patients with high ERO1L expression had short survival time; it is an independent prognosis factor for patients' prognosis. Together, we found that ERO1L was an oncogene for pancreatic cancer.

Expression of the serotonin receptor 2B in uveal melanoma and effects of an antagonist on cell lines

Uveal melanoma (UM) is the most common primary tumor in the adult, and disseminates to the liver in half of patients. A 15-gene expression profile prognostic assay allows to determine the likelihood of metastasis in patients using their ocular tumor DNA, but a cure still remains to be discovered. The serotonin receptor 2B represents the discriminant gene of this molecular signature with the greatest impact on the prognosis of UM. However, its contribution to the metastatic potential of UM remains unexplored. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a selective serotonin receptor 2B antagonist on cellular and molecular behaviours of UM cells. UM cell lines expressing high level of serotonin receptor 2B proteins were selected by Western blotting. The selective serotonin receptor 2B antagonist PRX-08066 was evaluated for its impact on UM cells using viability assays, phosphorylated histone H3 immunostainings, clonogenic assays, migration assays, invasion assays and membrane-based protein kinase phosphorylation antibody arrays. The pharmacological inhibition of the serotonin receptor 2B reduced the viability of UM cells and the population in mitosis, and impaired their clonogenicity and potential of migration. It also decreased the phosphorylation of kinases from signaling pathways classically activated by the serotonin receptor 2B, as well as kinases β-catenin, Proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2, and Signal transducer and activator of transcription 5. Our findings support a role for the serotonin receptor 2B in the proliferation and migration of UM cells, through activation of many signaling pathways such as WNT, Focal adhesion kinase and Janus kinase/STAT.

Synthesis of prenylated flavonols and their potents as estrogen receptor modulator

Prenylated flavonols are known as phytoestrogen and have good bioactivties. However, their abundances in nature are pretty low. It is required to find an efficient synthesis technique. Icariin is a prenylated flavonol glycoside with low cost. It can be used to synthesize different prenylated flavonols. A combination of cellulase and trifluoacetic acid hydrolysis could effectively remove rhamnose and glucose from icariin. Icaritin, anhydroicaritin and wushanicaritin were the leading prenylated flavonol products. Their affinities to estrogen receptors α and β were predicted by docking study. The weak affinity of wushanicaritin indicated that prenyl hydroxylation impaired its affinity to estrogen receptor β. The prenyl cyclization led to a loss of affinity to both receptors. The interactions between icaritin and ligand binding cavity of estrogen receptor β were simulated. π-π stacking and hydrophobic forces were predicted to be the dominant interactions positioning icaritin, which induced the helix (H12) forming an activated conformation.