Simulation study of pO2 distribution in induced tumour masses and normal tissues within a microcirculation environment

Organosilica-Based Hollow Mesoporous Bilirubin Nanoparticles for Antioxidation-Activated Self-Protection and Tumor-Specific Deoxygenation-Driven Synergistic Therapy

A major concern about glucose oxidase (GOx)-mediated cancer starvation therapy is its ability to induce serious oxidative damage to normal tissues through the massive production of H₂O₂ byproducts in the oxygen-involved glucose decomposition reaction, which may be addressed by using a H₂O₂ scavenger, known as an antioxidation agent. Surprisingly, H₂O₂ removal accelerates the aerobic glycometabolism of tumors by activating the H₂O₂-dependent "redox signaling" pathway of cancer cells. Simultaneous oxygen depletion further aggravates tumor hypoxia to increase the toxicity of a bioreductive prodrug, such as tirapazamine (TPZ), thereby improving the effectiveness of cancer starvation therapy and bioreductive chemotherapy. Herein, a "nitrogen-protected silica template" method is proposed to design a nanoantioxidant called an organosilica-based hollow mesoporous bilirubin nanoparticle (HMBRN), which can act as an excellent nanocarrier to codeliver GOx and TPZ. In addition to efficient removal of H₂O₂ for self-protection of normal tissues via antioxidation, GOx/TPZ-coloaded HMBRN can also rapidly deplete intratumoral glucose/oxygen to promote a synergistic starvation-enhanced bioreductive chemotherapeutic effect for the substantial suppression of solid tumor growth. Distinct from the simple combination of two treatments, this study introduces antioxidation-activated self-protection nanotechnology for the significant improvement of tumor-specific deoxygenation-driven synergistic treatment efficacy without additional external energy input, thus realizing the renaissance of precise endogenous cancer therapy with negligible side effects.

IL-17A Promotes the Migration and Invasiveness of Colorectal Cancer Cells Through NF-κB-Mediated MMP Expression

Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) plays a significant role in many inflammatory diseases and cancers. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of IL-17A on the invasiveness of colorectal cancer. In the study, we found that IL-17A could promote the migration and invasion of colorectal cancer cells. Furthermore, after being treated with IL-17A, the expression and activity of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 were upregulated. Moreover, the nuclear/overall fractions and DNA-binding activity of p65 and p50 were dramatically elevated by IL-17A. Pretreatment with a nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) inhibitor (PDTC) or PI3K/AKT inhibitor (LY294002) was proven to abolish the promoting effect of IL-17A on the invasion ability of colorectal cancer cells and upregulation of MMP-2/9. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that IL-17A could promote the invasion of colorectal cancer cells by activating the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB signaling pathway and subsequently upregulating the expression of MMP-2/9. Our results suggest that IL-17A could serve as a promising therapeutic target for colorectal cancer.

Evaluation of mRNA expression levels of IL-17A and IL-10 cytokines in cervical cancer

In this study, we evaluated mRNA expression levels of interleukin (IL)-10/IL-17A by quantitative real-time PCR and their clinical importance in cervical cancer. The IL-10 mRNA levels were higher in cervical cancer tissues as compared with corresponding normal tissues (p < 0.05). Moreover, IL-17A mRNA was significantly increased in cervical cancer tissues than in normal tissues (p < 0.05). Moreover, the high expression level of IL-10 mRNA was markedly related to International League of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage (p = 0.001), but no significant association was found with other clinical factors including age, tumor size, histological grades, and lymph node metastasis. Moreover, high expression levels of IL-17A were not associated with patients' age, tumor size, FIGO stage, and histological grades while IL-17A expression was strongly linked to lymphatic metastasis (p = 0.001). These findings showed that IL-17A might have a crucial role in cervical cancer metastasis. Taken together, IL-17A expression was strongly linked to lymphatic metastasis, indicating that IL-17A might have a crucial role in cervical cancer metastasis. Moreover, our study suggested the association of IL-10 mRNA expression with clinical stage.

IL-17A promotes the migration and invasiveness of cervical cancer cells by coordinately activating MMPs expression via the p38/NF-κB signal pathway

Objective

IL-17A plays an important role in many inflammatory diseases and cancers. We aimed to examine the effect of IL-17A on the invasion of cervical cancer cells and study its related mechanisms.

Methods

Wound healing and matrigel transwell assays were used to examine the effect of IL-17A on cervical cancer cell migration and invasion by a panel of cervical cancer cell lines. The levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) were investigated using western blotting. The activity of p38 and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signal pathway was detected too.

Results

Here, we showed that IL-17A could promote the migration and invasion of cervical cancer cells. Further molecular analysis showed that IL-17A could up-regulate the expressions and activities of MMP2 and MMP9, and down-regulate the expressions of TIMP-1 and TIMP-2. Furthermore, IL-17A also activates p38 signal pathway and increased p50 and p65 nuclear expression. In addition, treatment of cervical cancer cells with the pharmacological p38/NF-κB signal pathway inhibitors, SB203580 and PDTC, potently restored the roles of invasion and upregulation of MMPs induced by IL-17A.

Conclusion

IL-17A could promote the migration and invasion of cervical cancer cell via up-regulating MMP2 and MMP9 expression, and down-regulating TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 expression via p38/NF-κB signal pathway. IL-17A may be a potential target to improve the prognosis for patients with cervical cancer.

Effect of IL-17A on the migration and invasion of NPC cells and related mechanisms

In carcinogenesis, inflammasomes may play contradictory roles through facilitating anti-tumor immunity or inducing oncogenic factors. Their function in cancer remains poorly characterized. In this study, we explored the effect of interleukin-17A (IL-17A) on the migration and invasion activity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cell lines and account for related mechanisms. Our results revealed that exogenous IL-17A promoted cell migration and invasion significantly in both NPC-039 and CNE-2Z cell lines. In addition, the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2)/-9 and Vimentin could be elevated by IL-17A stimulation; meanwhile the expression of E-cadherin was decreased. The results also show that IL-17A could activate the p38 signaling pathway in IL-17A-stimulated NPC-039 and CNE-2Z cell lines. Combining treatment with a p38 inhibitor (SB203580) resulted in decreased invasion capabilities of NPC-039 and CNE-2Z cell lines. SB203580 also inhibited the expression of MMP-2/-9 and increased the expression of E-cadherin in IL-17A-stimulated NPC-039 and CNE-2Z cell lines. IL-17A also could activate NF-κB in NPC-039 and CNE-2Z cell lines. In summary, our data show that IL-17A promote the cell migration and invasion of NPC cells. The effect of IL-17A on cell migration and invasion may be mediated via regulation of the expression of MMP-2/-9 and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) via p38-NF-κB signaling pathway. Thus, IL-17A or its related signaling pathways may be a promising target for preventing and inhibiting NPC metastasis.