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Zhan T, Song W, Jing G, Yuan Y, Kang N, Zhang Q. Zebrafish live imaging: a strong weapon in anticancer drug discovery and development. Clin Transl Oncol 2024; 26:1807-1835. [PMID: 38514602 DOI: 10.1007/s12094-024-03406-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
Developing anticancer drugs is a complex and time-consuming process. The inability of current laboratory models to reflect important aspects of the tumor in vivo limits anticancer medication research. Zebrafish is a rapid, semi-automated in vivo screening platform that enables the use of non-invasive imaging methods to monitor morphology, survival, developmental status, response to drugs, locomotion, or other behaviors. Zebrafish models are widely used in drug discovery and development for anticancer drugs, especially in conjunction with live imaging techniques. Herein, we concentrated on the use of zebrafish live imaging in anticancer therapeutic research, including drug screening, efficacy assessment, toxicity assessment, and mechanism studies. Zebrafish live imaging techniques have been used in numerous studies, but this is the first time that these techniques have been comprehensively summarized and compared side by side. Finally, we discuss the hypothesis of Zebrafish Composite Model, which may provide future directions for zebrafish imaging in the field of cancer research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiancheng Zhan
- School of Medical Technology, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 10 Poyanghu Rd, Jinghai District, Tianjin, 301617, People's Republic of China
- School of Integrative Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, People's Republic of China
| | - Wanqian Song
- School of Medical Technology, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 10 Poyanghu Rd, Jinghai District, Tianjin, 301617, People's Republic of China
- School of Integrative Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, People's Republic of China
| | - Guo Jing
- School of Medical Technology, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 10 Poyanghu Rd, Jinghai District, Tianjin, 301617, People's Republic of China
- School of Integrative Medicine, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, People's Republic of China
| | - Yongkang Yuan
- School of Medical Technology, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 10 Poyanghu Rd, Jinghai District, Tianjin, 301617, People's Republic of China
| | - Ning Kang
- School of Medical Technology, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 10 Poyanghu Rd, Jinghai District, Tianjin, 301617, People's Republic of China.
| | - Qiang Zhang
- School of Medical Technology, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 10 Poyanghu Rd, Jinghai District, Tianjin, 301617, People's Republic of China.
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2
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Li J, Wang X, Ren M, He S, Zhao Y. Advances in experimental animal models of hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancer Med 2023; 12:15261-15276. [PMID: 37248746 PMCID: PMC10417182 DOI: 10.1002/cam4.6163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 05/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant tumor with insidious early symptoms, easy metastasis, postoperative recurrence, poor drug efficacy, and a high drug resistance rate when surgery is missed, leading to a low 5-year survival rate. Research on the pathogenesis and drugs is particularly important for clinical treatment. Animal models are crucial for basic research, which is conducive to studying pathogenesis and drug screening more conveniently and effectively. An appropriate animal model can better reflect disease occurrence and development, and the process of anti-tumor immune response in the human body. This review summarizes the classification, characteristics, and advances in experimental animal models of HCC to provide a reference for researchers on model selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Li
- Department of GastroenterologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anPeople's Republic of China
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of GastroenterologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anPeople's Republic of China
| | - Mudan Ren
- Department of GastroenterologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anPeople's Republic of China
| | - Shuixiang He
- Department of GastroenterologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anPeople's Republic of China
| | - Yan Zhao
- Department of GastroenterologyThe First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anPeople's Republic of China
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3
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Cui L, Liu X, Yan R, Chen Q, Wang L, Nawaz S, Qin D, Wang D. Amino acid modified OCMC-g-Suc- β-CD nanohydrogels carrying lapatinib and ginsenoside Rg1 exhibit high anticancer activity in a zebrafish model. Front Pharmacol 2023; 14:1149191. [PMID: 37251325 PMCID: PMC10210146 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1149191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Nanohydrogels show great potential as efficient drug carriers due to their biocompatibility, low toxicity, and high water absorbability. In this paper, we prepared two O-carboxymethylated chitosan (OCMC)-based polymers functionalized with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and amino acid. The structures of the polymers were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy. Morphological study was carried out on a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), and the results indicated that the two polymers had irregular spheroidal structure with some pores distributed on their surface. The average particle diameter was below 500 nm, and the zeta potential was above +30 mV. The two polymers were further used for preparing nanohydrogels loaded with anticancer drugs lapatinib and ginsenoside Rg1, and the resulting nanohydrogels showed high drug loading efficiency and pH-sensitive (pH = 4.5) drug release behavior. In vitro cytotoxicity investigation revealed that the nanohydrogels exhibited high cytotoxicity against lung cancer (A549) cells. In vivo anticancer investigation was performed in a transgenic Tg(fabp10:rtTA2s-M2; TRE2:EGFP-kras V12) zebrafish model. The results showed that the synthesized nanohydrogels significantly inhibited the expression of EGFP-kras v12 oncogene in zebrafish liver, and the L-arginine modified OCMC-g-Suc-β-CD nanohydrogels loading lapatinib and ginsenoside Rg1 showed the best results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Cui
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, China
- Shandong Analysis and Test Center, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, China
| | | | - Rongjun Yan
- Jinan International Travel Healthcare Center, Jinan, China
| | - Qixu Chen
- Biological Engineering Technology Innovation Center of Shandong Province, Heze Branch of Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Heze, China
| | - Lizhen Wang
- Biology Institute, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, China
| | - Shah Nawaz
- Department of Chemistry, Karakoram International University, Gilgit, Pakistan
| | - Dawei Qin
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, China
| | - Daijie Wang
- Shandong Analysis and Test Center, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan, China
- Biological Engineering Technology Innovation Center of Shandong Province, Heze Branch of Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Heze, China
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4
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Yu G, Sun P, Aierken R, Sun C, Zhang Z, Che Q, Zhang G, Zhu T, Gu Q, Li M, Li D. Linear polyketides produced by co-culture of Penicillium crustosum and Penicillium fellutanum. MARINE LIFE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 4:237-244. [PMID: 37073220 PMCID: PMC10077197 DOI: 10.1007/s42995-021-00125-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Two new polyketides, penifellutins A (1) and B (2), possessing a 22 carbon linear skeleton, were isolated from a co-culture of the deep-sea-derived fungi Penicillium crustosum PRB-2 and Penicillium fellutanum HDN14-323. Meanwhile, two esterification products of 1, penifellutins C (3) and D (4), were obtained because compound 1 could be esterified spontaneously when stored in methanol. Their configurations were difficult to determine because of chiral central crowdedness, structural flexibility and instability. As such, we solved this issue by comprehensively using Mo2(OAc)4-based CD experiments, density functional theory calculation of 13C NMR, DP4 + probability analysis and many chemical reactions, including making acetonide derivative, Mosher's method, PGME method, etc. Compounds 1 and 2 show obvious inhibitory activity on the liver hyperplasia of zebrafish larvae at a concentration of 10 μmol/L, while 3 and 4 show no activity, indicating that two carboxyls in the structure are important active sites. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42995-021-00125-8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guihong Yu
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003 China
- School of Life Sciences, Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Applied Mycology, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109 China
| | - Peng Sun
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003 China
| | - Reyilamu Aierken
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102 China
| | - Chunxiao Sun
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003 China
| | - Zhenzhen Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003 China
| | - Qian Che
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003 China
| | - Guojian Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003 China
- Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts of Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, 266237 China
| | - Tianjiao Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003 China
- Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts of Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, 266237 China
| | - Qianqun Gu
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003 China
| | - Mingyu Li
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Innovative Drug Target Research, School of Pharmaceutical Science, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102 China
| | - Dehai Li
- Key Laboratory of Marine Drugs, Chinese Ministry of Education, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003 China
- Laboratory for Marine Drugs and Bioproducts of Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao, 266237 China
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5
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Lu JW, Lin LI, Sun Y, Liu D, Gong Z. Effect of Lipopolysaccharides on Liver Tumor Metastasis of twist1a/krasV12 Double Transgenic Zebrafish. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10010095. [PMID: 35052775 PMCID: PMC8773574 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10010095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The poor prognosis of patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is directly associated with the multi-step process of tumor metastasis. TWIST1, a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor, is the most important epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) gene involved in embryonic development, tumor progression, and metastasis. However, the role that TWIST1 gene plays in the process of liver tumor metastasis in vivo is still not well understood. Zebrafish can serve as a powerful model for cancer research. Thus, in this study, we crossed twist1a+ and kras+ transgenic zebrafish, which, respectively, express hepatocyte-specific mCherry and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP); they also drive overexpression of their respective transcription factors. This was found to exacerbate the development of metastatic HCC. Fluorescence of mCherry and EGFP-labeled hepatocytes revealed that approximately 37.5% to 45.5% of the twist1a+/kras+ double transgenic zebrafish exhibited spontaneous tumor metastasis from the liver to the abdomen and tail areas, respectively. We also investigated the inflammatory effects of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) on the hepatocyte-specific co-expression of twist1a+ and kras+ in double transgenic zebrafish. Following LPS exposure, co-expression of twist1a+ and kras+ was found to increase tumor metastasis by 57.8%, likely due to crosstalk with the EMT pathway. Our results confirm that twist1a and kras are important mediators in the development of metastatic HCC. Taken together, our in-vivo model demonstrated that co-expression of twist1a+/kras+ in conjunction with exposure to LPS enhanced metastatic HCC offers a useful platform for the study of tumor initiation and metastasis in liver cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeng-Wei Lu
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore;
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10048, Taiwan;
- Correspondence: (J.-W.L.); (Z.G.); Tel.: +65-6516-2860 (Z.G.)
| | - Liang-In Lin
- Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences and Medical Biotechnology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10048, Taiwan;
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei 10048, Taiwan
| | - Yuxi Sun
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore;
- Brain Research Center, School of Life Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China;
| | - Dong Liu
- Brain Research Center, School of Life Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China;
| | - Zhiyuan Gong
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore;
- Correspondence: (J.-W.L.); (Z.G.); Tel.: +65-6516-2860 (Z.G.)
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6
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Lee AQ, Li Y, Gong Z. Inducible Liver Cancer Models in Transgenic Zebrafish to Investigate Cancer Biology. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:5148. [PMID: 34680297 PMCID: PMC8533791 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13205148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Revised: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 10/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Primary liver cancer is one of the most prevalent and deadly cancers, which incidence continues to increase while treatment response remains poor; thus, in-depth understanding of tumour events is necessary to develop more effective therapies. Animal models for liver cancer are powerful tools to reach this goal. Over the past decade, our laboratory has established multiple oncogene transgenic zebrafish lines that can be robustly induced to develop liver cancer. Histological, transcriptomic and molecular analyses validate the use of these transgenic zebrafish as experimental models for liver cancer. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of our findings with these inducible zebrafish liver cancer models in tumour initiation, oncogene addiction, tumour microenvironment, gender disparity, cancer cachexia, drug screening and others. Induced oncogene expression causes a rapid change of the tumour microenvironment such as inflammatory responses, increased vascularisation and rapid hepatic growth. In several models, histologically-proven carcinoma can be induced within one week of chemical inducer administration. Interestingly, the induced liver tumours show the ability to regress when the transgenic oncogene is suppressed by the withdrawal of the chemical inducer. Like human liver cancer, there is a strong bias of liver cancer severity in male zebrafish. After long-term tumour progression, liver cancer-bearing zebrafish also show symptoms of cancer cachexia such as muscle-wasting. In addition, the zebrafish models have been used to screen for anti-metastasis drugs as well as to evaluate environmental toxicants in carcinogenesis. These findings demonstrated that these inducible zebrafish liver cancer models provide rapid and convenient experimental tools for further investigation of fundamental cancer biology, with the potential for the discovery of new therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Zhiyuan Gong
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119077, Singapore; (A.Q.L.); (Y.L.)
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7
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Lioulia E, Mokos P, Panteris E, Dafou D. UBE2T promotes β-catenin nuclear translocation in hepatocellular carcinoma through MAPK/ERK-dependent activation. Mol Oncol 2021; 16:1694-1713. [PMID: 34614271 PMCID: PMC9019890 DOI: 10.1002/1878-0261.13111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Ubiquitin‐conjugating enzyme E2T (UBE2T) has been implicated in many types of cancer including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) process plays a fundamental role during tumor metastasis and progression. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying EMT in HCC in accordance with UBE2T still remain unknown. In this study, we showed that UBE2T overexpression augmented the oncogenic properties and specifically EMT in HCC cell lines, while its silencing attenuated them. UBE2T affected the activation of EMT‐associated signaling pathways: MAPK/ERK, AKT/mTOR, and Wnt/β‐catenin. In addition, we revealed that the epithelial protein complex of E‐cadherin/β‐catenin, a vital regulator of signal transduction in tumor initiation and progression, was totally disrupted at the cell membrane. In particular, we observed that UBE2T overexpression led to E‐cadherin loss accompanied by a simultaneous elevation of both cytoplasmic and nuclear β‐catenin, while its silencing resulted in a strong E‐cadherin turnover at the cell membrane. Interestingly, chemical inhibition of the MAPK/ERK, AKT/mTOR, and Wnt/β‐catenin signaling pathways demonstrated that the nuclear translocation of β‐catenin and subsequent EMT was enhanced mainly by MAPK/ERK. Collectively, our findings demonstrate the UBE2T/MAPK‐ERK/β‐catenin axis as a critical regulator of cell state transition and EMT in HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisavet Lioulia
- Department of Genetics, Development and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Panagiotis Mokos
- Department of Genetics, Development and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Emmanuel Panteris
- Department of Botany, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Dimitra Dafou
- Department of Genetics, Development and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece
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Exacerbation of Liver Tumor Metastasis in twist1a+/ xmrk+ Double Transgenic Zebrafish following Lipopolysaccharide or Dextran Sulphate Sodium Exposure. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2021; 14:ph14090867. [PMID: 34577566 PMCID: PMC8468836 DOI: 10.3390/ph14090867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The poor prognosis for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is related directly to metastasis. The Twist1 gene encodes for a transcription factor essential to embryogenesis. It has also been shown to promote epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion, and metastasis; however, there is currently no in vivo evidence that Twist1 plays a role in the metastasis of liver tumors. Zebrafish are increasingly being used as an alternative cancer model. In the current study, an adult-stage zebrafish HCC model was used to examine the synergistic effects of twist1a and xmrk, a well characterized oncogene, during HCC metastasis. We also examined the effects of two inflammatory agents, lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS), on the hepatocyte-specific expression of transgenic twist1a and xmrk. The conditional overexpression of twist1a and xmrk was shown to promote liver tumor metastasis in zebrafish, resulting in increased apoptosis and cell proliferation as well as tumor maintenance and propagation independent of the inherent EMT-inducing activity of xmrk. Exposing twist1a+/xmrk+ transgenic zebrafish to LPS or DSS was shown to promote metastasis, indicating that the overexpression of twist1a and xmrk led to crosstalk between the signaling pathways involved in EMT. This study provides important evidence pertaining to the largely overlooked effects of signaling crosstalk between twist1a and xmrk in regulating HCC metastasis. Our results also suggest that the co-expression of twist1a/xmrk in conjunction with exposure to LPS or DSS enhances HCC metastasis, and provides a valuable in vivo platform by which to investigate tumor initiation and metastasis in the study of liver cancer.
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Abstract
Zebrafish are rapidly becoming a leading model organism for cancer research. The genetic pathways driving cancer are highly conserved between zebrafish and humans, and the ability to easily manipulate the zebrafish genome to rapidly generate transgenic animals makes zebrafish an excellent model organism. Transgenic zebrafish containing complex, patient-relevant genotypes have been used to model many cancer types. Here we present a comprehensive review of transgenic zebrafish cancer models as a resource to the field and highlight important areas of cancer biology that have yet to be studied in the fish. The ability to image cancer cells and niche biology in an endogenous tumor makes zebrafish an indispensable model organism in which we can further understand the mechanisms that drive tumorigenesis and screen for potential new cancer therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia M. McConnell
- Stem Cell Program and Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02138, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Haley R. Noonan
- Stem Cell Program and Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02138, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
- Biological and Biomedical Sciences Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Leonard I. Zon
- Stem Cell Program and Division of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02138, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
- Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Department and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02138, USA
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10
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Yang Q, Salim L, Yan C, Gong Z. Rapid Analysis of Effects of Environmental Toxicants on Tumorigenesis and Inflammation Using a Transgenic Zebrafish Model for Liver Cancer. MARINE BIOTECHNOLOGY (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2019; 21:396-405. [PMID: 30852708 DOI: 10.1007/s10126-019-09889-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2019] [Accepted: 02/21/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Liver cancer remains to be a major health concern in the world today. Several major risk factors such as hepatitis viral infection and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis have been well established for causing liver cancer, but the contribution of environmental pollutants to liver inflammation and carcinogenesis remains poorly studied. Here, we aimed at the development of a rapid assay to test selected environmental toxicants for their potential roles in induction of inflammation and stimulation of liver tumorigenesis. By using an established kras oncogene transgenic zebrafish model for liver cancer, we tested a total of eight selected chemicals. First, using LPS (lipopolysaccharides) as a positive control, we confirmed its effects on induction of inflammation and stimulation of liver tumorigenesis as indicated by increases of neutrophils and the size of oncogenic livers respectively. Next, we tested two heavy metals (arsenic and chromium) and five organic toxicants (bisphenol A, lindane, N-nitrosodiethylamine, and 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl [PCB126], and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin [TCDD]). We observed a good correlation on induction of inflammation and their ability for stimulation of liver tumorigenesis. Most toxicants, namely chromium, bisphenol A, lindane, N-nitrosodiethylamine, and PCB126, resulted in increased inflammation and liver tumorigenesis, while arsenic and TCDD had opposite effects. Thus, our study established a screening system to rapidly assess the effects of candidate chemicals on liver tumorigenesis and inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiqi Yang
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Lyana Salim
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Chuan Yan
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Zhiyuan Gong
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, Singapore.
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11
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Wrighton PJ, Oderberg IM, Goessling W. There Is Something Fishy About Liver Cancer: Zebrafish Models of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol 2019; 8:347-363. [PMID: 31108233 PMCID: PMC6713889 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2019.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Revised: 05/03/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the mortality resulting from HCC are both increasing. Most patients with HCC are diagnosed at advanced stages when curative treatments are impossible. Current drug therapy extends mean overall survival by only a short period of time. Genetic mutations associated with HCC vary widely. Therefore, transgenic and mutant animal models are needed to investigate the molecular effects of specific mutations, classify them as drivers or passengers, and develop targeted treatments. Cirrhosis, however, is the premalignant state common to 90% of HCC patients. Currently, no specific therapies are available to halt or reverse the progression of cirrhosis to HCC. Understanding the genetic drivers of HCC as well as the biochemical, mechanical, hormonal, and metabolic changes associated with cirrhosis could lead to novel treatments and cancer prevention strategies. Although additional therapies recently received Food and Drug Administration approval, significant clinical breakthroughs have not emerged since the introduction of the multikinase inhibitor sorafenib, necessitating alternate research strategies. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are effective for disease modeling because of their high degree of gene and organ architecture conservation with human beings, ease of transgenesis and mutagenesis, high fecundity, and low housing cost. Here, we review zebrafish models of HCC and identify areas on which to focus future research efforts to maximize the advantages of the zebrafish model system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul J Wrighton
- Division of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Isaac M Oderberg
- Division of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Wolfram Goessling
- Division of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Broad Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts; Division of Gastroenterology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
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12
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Yan C, Yang Q, Gong Z. Activation of Hepatic Stellate Cells During Liver Carcinogenesis Requires Fibrinogen/Integrin αvβ5 in Zebrafish. Neoplasia 2018; 20:533-542. [PMID: 29649779 PMCID: PMC5915969 DOI: 10.1016/j.neo.2018.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2017] [Revised: 02/07/2018] [Accepted: 02/14/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers and it usually develops from a background of liver fibrosis or inflammation. The crosstalk between tumor cells and stromal cells plays an important and stimulating role during tumor progression. Previously we found in a krasV12-induced zebrafish HCC model that oncogenic hepatocytes activate hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) by up-regulation of serotonin and activate neutrophils and macrophages by up-regulation of cortisol. In the present study, we found a novel signaling transduction mechanism between oncogenic hepatocytes and HSCs. After krasV12 induction, fibrinogen was up-regulated in oncogenic hepatocytes. We reasoned that fibrinogen may bind to integrin αvβ5 on HSCs to activate HSCs. Consistent with this notion, pharmaceutical treatment using an antagonist of integrin αvβ5, cilengitide, significantly blocked HSC activation and function, accompanied by attenuated proliferation of oncogenic hepatocytes and progression of liver fibrosis. On the contrary, adenosine 5'-diphosphate, an agonist of αvβ5, activated HSCs significantly that further stimulated the tumor progression and liver fibrosis. Interestingly, in human liver disease samples, we detected an increased level of fibrinogen during tumor progression which indicated the potential role of fibrinogen signaling in HCC progression. Thus, we concluded a novel interaction between oncogenic hepatocytes and HSCs through the fibrinogen related pathway in both the zebrafish HCC model and human liver disease samples.
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Key Words
- a-sma, alpha-smooth muscle actin
- dox, doxycycline
- dpf, day post fertilization
- dpi, day post induction
- facs, fluorescence-activated cell sorting
- gfap, glial fibrillary acidic protein
- h&e, hematoxylin and eosin
- hcc, hepatocellular carcinoma
- hsc, hepatic stellate cell
- if, immunofluorescence
- ihc, immunohistochemistry
- oh, oncogenic hepatocyte
- tme, tumor microenvironment
- wt, wild type
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuan Yan
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore; National University of Singapore Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Qiqi Yang
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Zhiyuan Gong
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore; National University of Singapore Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
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Feng Z, Nam S, Hamouri F, Aujard I, Ducos B, Vriz S, Volovitch M, Jullien L, Lin S, Weiss S, Bensimon D. Optical Control of Tumor Induction in the Zebrafish. Sci Rep 2017; 7:9195. [PMID: 28835665 PMCID: PMC5569104 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-09697-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2017] [Accepted: 07/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The zebrafish has become an increasingly popular and valuable cancer model over the past few decades. While most zebrafish cancer models are generated by expressing mammalian oncogenes under tissue-specific promoters, here we describe a method that allows for the precise optical control of oncogene expression in live zebrafish. We utilize this technique to transiently or constitutively activate a typical human oncogene, kRASG12V, in zebrafish embryos and investigate the developmental and tumorigenic phenotypes. We demonstrate the spatiotemporal control of oncogene expression in live zebrafish, and characterize the different tumorigenic probabilities when kRASG12V is expressed transiently or constitutively at different developmental stages. Moreover, we show that light can be used to activate oncogene expression in selected tissues and single cells without tissue-specific promoters. Our work presents a novel approach to initiate and study cancer in zebrafish, and the high spatiotemporal resolution of this method makes it a valuable tool for studying cancer initiation from single cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiping Feng
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
| | - Suzy Nam
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Fatima Hamouri
- Laboratoire de Physique Statistique, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France
- IBENS, CNRS-UMR8197, INSERM-U1024, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Isabelle Aujard
- École Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Département de Chimie, PASTEUR, Paris, France
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, ENS, CNRS, PASTEUR, Paris, France
| | - Bertrand Ducos
- Laboratoire de Physique Statistique, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France
- IBENS, CNRS-UMR8197, INSERM-U1024, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Sophie Vriz
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology (CIRB), College de France, and CNRS UMR 7241, and INSERM U1050, Paris, France
- Department of Life Sciences, Paris-Diderot University, Sorbonne-Paris-Cité, Paris, France
| | - Michel Volovitch
- Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology (CIRB), College de France, and CNRS UMR 7241, and INSERM U1050, Paris, France
- Department of Biology, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France
| | - Ludovic Jullien
- École Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Département de Chimie, PASTEUR, Paris, France
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, ENS, CNRS, PASTEUR, Paris, France
| | - Shuo Lin
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Shimon Weiss
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.
| | - David Bensimon
- Laboratoire de Physique Statistique, Ecole Normale Supérieure, PSL Research University, Paris, France.
- IBENS, CNRS-UMR8197, INSERM-U1024, PSL Research University, Paris, France.
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa A Schimmenti
- Departments of Otorhinolaryngology, Clinical Genomics, Pediatrics and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic , Rochester, Minnesota
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