Coexistence of MACC1 and NM23-H1 dysregulation and tumor budding promise early prognostic evidence for recurrence risk of early-stage colon cancer

Recent progress in molecular mechanisms of postoperative recurrence and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatectomy is currently considered the most effective option for treating patients with early and intermediate hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Unfortunately, the postoperative prognosis of patients with HCC remains unsatisfactory, predominantly because of high postoperative metastasis and recurrence rates. Therefore, research on the molecular mechanisms of postoperative HCC metastasis and recurrence will help develop effective intervention measures to prevent or delay HCC metastasis and recurrence and to improve the long-term survival of HCC patients. Herein, we review the latest research progress on the molecular mechanisms underlying postoperative HCC metastasis and recurrence to lay a foundation for improving the understanding of HCC metastasis and recurrence and for developing more precise prevention and intervention strategies.

Overexpression of Metastasis-Associated in Colon Cancer 1-Antisense RNA 1 (MACC1-AS1) in Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BMSCs) Inhibits miR-145-5P and Promotes Chemotherapy Resistance of Colorectal Cancer

BMSCs have the potential of multipotent differentiation. This study aimed to investigate the interaction between MACC1-AS1 and miR-145-5P in BMSCs and their effect on chemotherapy resistance in colorectal cancer (CRC). BMSCs extracted from mouse marrow were transfected with MACC1-AS1 mimic, or MACC1-AS1 NC (control group). CRC cells were treated wtih gemcitabine and then co-cultured with BMSCs to measure cell viability and invasiveness by MTT and Transwell assay, along with analysis of the expression of MACC1, miR-145-5P, HGF, C-met, P-gp, and MRP. Successful isolation of BMSCs was confirmed by flow cytometry with positive expression of CD44, CD105, and CD90 (purity > 95%). Functionally, overexpression of MACC1-AS1 in BMSCs increased CRC cell viability and invasion, attenuated the inhibitory effect of gemcitabine (p < 0.05). Up-regulation of MACC1-AS1 (9.23±1.21) as demonstrated by RT-qPCR, resulted in a decline of miR-145-5P expression (4.23±1.22) in CRC cells (p < 0.05). In addition, overexpression of MACC1-AS1 increased the expression of HGF, C-met, and multidrug resistance-associated proteins (P-gp, and MRP). In conclusion, overexpression of MACC1-AS1 in BMSCs inhibits miR-145-5P expression to promote colorectal cancer cell progression possibly via activating HGF/C-met pathway and inducing resistance to chemotherapy.

Should a fourth category be added to the international tumor budding consensus conference tumor budding scoring system in colorectal adenocarcinomas?

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between tumor budding (TB) and clinicopathologic prognostic criteria in colorectal adenocarcinomas and to discuss the inclusion of the fourth group in the scoring system. A total of 131 cases were included in the study. TB was scored according to the classical 3-tiered scoring system and our proposed 4-tiered scoring system: BD0 (no buds), BD1* (1-4 buds), BD2 (5-9 buds), and BD3 (≥10 buds). Cytokeratin staining was applied to 80 randomly selected cases and TB scoring was re-evaluated. TB was not observed in 31 (23.7%) of 131 cases and was categorized as BD0. Patients with BD0 budding had lower pT category, AJCC stage, tumor grade, less lymph node metastasis, lymphovascular invasion, tumor deposits (p < 0.05), and longer overall survival than BD1* patients (log-Rank p: 0.018). There was significant compatibility between the evaluation of TB with H&E and cytokeratin (kappa: 0.727, p < 0.001). In conclusion, we think it is valuable to add the "BD0" category to the International Tumor Budding Consensus Conference (ITBCC) scores. However, more research with larger cohorts is needed for clinical applicability. H&E staining is sufficient for the assessment of budding, except in conditions such as increased inflammation where the tumor-stroma interface may be obscured.

Increased Expression of YAP Inhibited the Autophagy Level by Upregulating mTOR Signal in the Eutopic ESCs of Endometriosis

We first reported that the Hippo-YAP signaling pathway plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis (EMS). Autophagy is also related to the invasion ability of endometrial cells and is involved in the pathogenesis of EMS through multi-levels. However, the precise regulatory mechanism of YAP on autophagy in the eutopic endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) is still unclear. Primary eutopic ESCs of EMS patients (n = 12) and control patients without EMS (n = 9) were isolated and cultured to investigate the expressions of YAP and mTOR, the role of YAP in autophagy, and the effect of the YAP-autophagy signal on the decidualization of the eutopic ESCs. Endometriosis-related sequencing data (GSE51981) in the GEO database were used to find the genes significantly correlated with YAP. We found 155 genes with significant differences in the interaction with YAP in EMS from the dataset, and the autophagy pathway was significantly enriched. Following on from our previous studies of YAP knockdown, overexpression of YAP resulted in an increased expression of mTOR and decreased ratio of LC3-II/LC3-I and autophagy markers, in the eutopic ESCs; transmission electron microscope observation also showed fewer autophagosomes compared with the control cells. Furthermore, ESCs of the Rapamycin-treated group showed significant decidual-like changes with significantly increased decidual prolactin level at 72 h after in vitro decidualization. These results demonstrate that the increased YAP inhibited the level of autophagy by upregulating the mTOR signal in the eutopic ESCs of endometriosis. The YAP-autophagy signal plays an important role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis-associated infertility.

Decoding and targeting the molecular basis of MACC1-driven metastatic spread: Lessons from big data mining and clinical-experimental approaches

Metastasis remains the key issue impacting cancer patient survival and failure or success of cancer therapies. Metastatic spread is a complex process including dissemination of single cells or collective cell migration, penetration of the blood or lymphatic vessels and seeding at a distant organ site. Hundreds of genes involved in metastasis have been identified in studies across numerous cancer types. Here, we analyzed how the metastasis-associated gene MACC1 cooperates with other genes in metastatic spread and how these coactions could be exploited by combination therapies: We performed (i) a MACC1 correlation analysis across 33 cancer types in the mRNA expression data of TCGA and (ii) a comprehensive literature search on reported MACC1 combinations and regulation mechanisms. The key genes MET, HGF and MMP7 reported together with MACC1 showed significant positive correlations with MACC1 in more than half of the cancer types included in the big data analysis. However, ten other genes also reported together with MACC1 in the literature showed significant positive correlations with MACC1 in only a minority of 5 to 15 cancer types. To uncover transcriptional regulation mechanisms that are activated simultaneously with MACC1, we isolated pan-cancer consensus lists of 1306 positively and 590 negatively MACC1-correlating genes from the TCGA data and analyzed each of these lists for sharing transcription factor binding motifs in the promotor region. In these lists, binding sites for the transcription factors TELF1, ETS2, ETV4, TEAD1, FOXO4, NFE2L1, ELK1, SP1 and NFE2L2 were significantly enriched, but none of them except SP1 was reported in combination with MACC1 in the literature. Thus, while some of the results of the big data analysis were in line with the reported experimental results, hypotheses on new genes involved in MACC1-driven metastasis formation could be generated and warrant experimental validation. Furthermore, the results of the big data analysis can help to prioritize cancer types for experimental studies and testing of combination therapies.