Impact of S100A4 Expression on Clinicopathological Characteristics and Prognosis in Pancreatic Cancer: A Meta-Analysis. Dis Markers. 2016;2016:1-9. [PMID: 26903691 PMCID: PMC4745335 DOI: 10.1155/2016/8137378]

Genetic Signature of Human Pancreatic Cancer and Personalized Targeting

Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal disease with a 5-year survival rate of around 11-12%. Surgery, being the treatment of choice, is only possible in 20% of symptomatic patients. The main reason is that when it becomes symptomatic, IT IS the tumor is usually locally advanced and/or has metastasized to distant organs; thus, early diagnosis is infrequent. The lack of specific early symptoms is an important cause of late diagnosis. Unfortunately, diagnostic tumor markers become positive at a late stage, and there is a lack of early-stage markers. Surgical and non-surgical cases are treated with neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant chemotherapy, and the results are usually poor. However, personalized targeted therapy directed against tumor drivers may improve this situation. Until recently, many pancreatic tumor driver genes/proteins were considered untargetable. Chemical and physical characteristics of mutated KRAS are a formidable challenge to overcome. This situation is slowly changing. For the first time, there are candidate drugs that can target the main driver gene of pancreatic cancer: KRAS. Indeed, KRAS inhibition has been clinically achieved in lung cancer and, at the pre-clinical level, in pancreatic cancer as well. This will probably change the very poor outlook for this disease. This paper reviews the genetic characteristics of sporadic and hereditary predisposition to pancreatic cancer and the possibilities of a personalized treatment according to the genetic signature.

S100A family is a group of immune markers associated with poor prognosis and immune cell infiltration in hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common human cancers with poor prognosis in the world. HCC has become the second leading cause of cancer-related death in China. It is urgent to identify novel biomarker and valid target to effectively diagnose, treat or predict the prognosis of HCC. It has been reported that S100A family is closely related to cell proliferation and migration of different cancers. However, the values of S100As in HCC remain to be further analyzed.

METHODS

We investigated the transcriptional and translational expression of S100As, as well as the value of this family in HCC patients from the various databases.

RESULTS

S100A10 was most relevant to HCC.

CONCLUSIONS

The results from HCC patients' tissues and different cells also confirmed the role of S100A10 in HCC. Furthermore, we proved that S100A10 could influenced the cell proliferation of HCC cells via ANXA2/Akt/mTOR pathway. However, it would appear that the relationship between S100A10 and HCC is complex and requires more research.

Comprehensive analysis of the prognosis of S100 family members and their relationship with tumor-infiltrating immune cells in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma

S100 family members (S100s) are small molecular EF hand calcium binding proteins and widely expressed in many tissues and organs. S100s are shown to be biomarkers of disease progression and prognosis in various types of cancers. Nevertheless, the expression patterns, function, and prognostic values of S100s and its association with tumor-infiltrating immune cells in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) patients have not been systematically clarified. We explored the expression and roles of the entire 20 S100s in PAAD patients by using the following public databases: Oncomine, gene expression profiling interactive analysis, cBioPortal, Metascape, search tool for recurring instances of neighboring genes, Tumor IMmune Estimation Resource, and GeneMANIA. The S100A2/A3/A4/A6/A8/A9/A10/A11/A13/A14/A16/B/P mRNA expressions were significantly upregulated in PAAD patients. The mRNA expression of S100A3/A4/A5/A6/A10/A11/A14/A16/Z were significantly negatively related with the tumor stage in PAAD patients. We found that the S100A2/A3/A5/A10/A11/A14/A16 were significantly correlated with poor overall survival, whereas the increased levels of S100A1/B/G/Z were strongly associated with good overall survival. We found significant correlations among S100s and tumor-infiltrating immune cells. Cox proportional risk models revealed that B cells, Dendritic cells and S100A1/A5/A6/A8/A9/A13/A14 were significantly related with outcomes in PAAD patients. These results suggest that S100A2/A3/A10/A11/A14/A16 may serve as new diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for PAAD patients and provide new clues for immunotherapy in PAAD patients.

SEdb 2.0: a comprehensive super-enhancer database of human and mouse

Super-enhancers (SEs) are cell-specific DNA cis-regulatory elements that can supervise the transcriptional regulation processes of downstream genes. SEdb 2.0 (http://www.licpathway.net/sedb) aims to provide a comprehensive SE resource and annotate their potential roles in gene transcriptions. Compared with SEdb 1.0, we have made the following improvements: (i) Newly added the mouse SEs and expanded the scale of human SEs. SEdb 2.0 contained 1 167 518 SEs from 1739 human H3K27ac chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) samples and 550 226 SEs from 931 mouse H3K27ac ChIP-seq samples, which was five times that of SEdb 1.0. (ii) Newly added transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) in SEs identified by TF motifs and TF ChIP-seq data. (iii) Added comprehensive (epi)genetic annotations of SEs, including chromatin accessibility regions, methylation sites, chromatin interaction regions and topologically associating domains (TADs). (iv) Newly embedded and updated search and analysis tools, including 'Search SE by TF-based', 'Differential-Overlapping-SE analysis' and 'SE-based TF-Gene analysis'. (v) Newly provided quality control (QC) metrics for ChIP-seq processing. In summary, SEdb 2.0 is a comprehensive update of SEdb 1.0, which curates more SEs and annotation information than SEdb 1.0. SEdb 2.0 provides a friendly platform for researchers to more comprehensively clarify the important role of SEs in the biological process.

S100 Proteins in Fatty Liver Disease and Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a highly prevalent and slow progressing hepatic pathology characterized by different stages of increasing severity which can ultimately give rise to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Besides drastic lifestyle changes, few drugs are effective to some extent alleviate NAFLD and HCC remains a poorly curable cancer. Among the deregulated molecular mechanisms promoting NAFLD and HCC, several members of the S100 proteins family appear to play an important role in the development of hepatic steatosis, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and HCC. Specific members of this Ca²⁺-binding protein family are indeed significantly overexpressed in either parenchymal or non-parenchymal liver cells, where they exert pleiotropic pathological functions driving NAFLD/NASH to severe stages and/or cancer development. The aberrant activity of S100 specific isoforms has also been reported to drive malignancy in liver cancers. Herein, we discuss the implication of several key members of this family, e.g., S100A4, S100A6, S100A8, S100A9 and S100A11, in NAFLD and HCC, with a particular focus on their intracellular versus extracellular functions in different hepatic cell types. Their clinical relevance as non-invasive diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers for the different stages of NAFLD and HCC, or their pharmacological targeting for therapeutic purpose, is further debated.

Fluid Flow Stimulation Modulates Expression of S100 Genes in Normal Breast Epithelium and Breast Cancer

INTRODUCTION

S100 proteins are intracellular calcium ion sensors that participate in cellular processes, some of which are involved in normal breast functioning and breast cancer development. Despite several S100 genes being overexpressed in breast cancer, their roles during disease development remain elusive. Human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs) can be exposed to fluid shear stresses and implications of such interactions have not been previously studied. The goal of this study was to analyze expression profiles of S100 genes upon exposing HMECs to fluid flow.

METHODS

HMECs and breast cancer cell lines were exposed to fluid flow in a parallel-plate bioreactor system. Changes in gene expression were quantified using microarrays and qPCR, gene-gene interactions were elucidated using network analysis, and key modified genes were examined in three independent clinical datasets.

RESULTS

S100 genes were among the most upregulated genes upon flow stimulation. Network analysis revealed interactions between upregulated transcripts, including interactions between S100P, S100PBP, S100A4, S100A7, S100A8 and S100A9. Overexpression of S100s was also observed in patients with early stage breast cancer compared to normal breast tissue, and in most breast cancer patients. Finally, survival analysis revealed reduced survival times for patients with elevated expression of S100A7 and S100P.

CONCLUSION

This study shows that exposing HMECs to fluid flow upregulates genes identified clinically to be overexpressed during breast cancer development, including S100A7 and S100P. These findings are the first to show that S100 genes are flow-responsive and might be participating in a fundamental adaptation pathway in normal tissue that is also active in breast cancer.

S100 Proteins in Pancreatic Cancer: Current Knowledge and Future Perspectives

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly malignant tumor occurring in the digestive system. Currently, there is a lack of specific and effective interventions for PC; thus, further exploration regarding the pathogenesis of this malignancy is warranted. The S100 protein family, a collection of calcium-binding proteins expressed only in vertebrates, comprises 25 members with high sequence and structural similarity. Dysregulated expression of S100 proteins is a biomarker of cancer progression and prognosis. Functionally, these proteins are associated with the regulation of multiple cellular processes, including proliferation, apoptosis, growth, differentiation, enzyme activation, migration/invasion, Ca2+ homeostasis, and energy metabolism. This review highlights the significance of the S100 family in the diagnosis and prognosis of PC and its vital functions in tumor cell metastasis, invasion and proliferation. A further understanding of S100 proteins will provide potential therapeutic targets for preventing or treating PC.

S100A4 overexpression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: imaging biomarkers from whole-tumor evaluation with MRI and texture analysis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship between imaging findings and S100A4 overexpression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and to determine imaging biomarkers of S100A4 overexpression from whole-tumor evaluation with MRI and texture analysis.

METHODS

A total of 60 patients with pathologically confirmed PDAC were included in the study. All patients underwent preoperative abdominal contrast-enhanced MRI examination with Magnetom Aera (Siemens Healthcare, Germany, 1.5 T) at our institute. Whole-tumor evaluation including texture analysis was performed. Sections of specimens were reviewed, and the S100A4 expression status was quantitatively evaluated. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to find imaging biomarkers that could predict S100A4 overexpression.

RESULTS

Twenty-four tumors (40.0%) had negative results for S100A4 overexpression, and 36 tumors (60.0%) exhibited overexpression. After univariate and multivariate analysis, distal pancreatic duct dilatation, T₁WI_10th percentile and the enhancement rate difference between delayed phase (DP) and portal venous phase (PVP) were identified to predict S100A4 overexpression in PDAC independently (p = 0.009, 0.012 and 0.044), with odds ratios (ORs) of 0.102, 0.139 and 4.645, respectively. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) values were 0.715, 0.707 and 0.691. The AUC value of the proposed model was 0.877 with a sensitivity of 80.6% and specificity of 75.0%.

CONCLUSION

A model including distal pancreatic duct dilatation, T₁WI_10th percentile and the enhancement rate difference between the DP and PVP could predict S100A4 overexpression in PDAC as imaging biomarkers.

Comprehensive analysis of the expression and prognosis for S100 in human ovarian cancer: A STROBE study

S100 family members are frequently deregulated in human malignancies, including ovarian cancer. However, the prognostic roles of each individual S100 family member in ovarian cancer (OC) patients remain elusive. In the present study, we assessed the prognostic roles and molecular function of 20 individual members of the S100 family in OC patients using GEPIA, Kaplan-Meier plotter, SurvExpress, GeneMANIA and Funrich database. Our results indicated that the mRNA expression levels of S100A1, S100A2, S100A4, S100A5, S100A11, S100A14, and S100A16 were significantly upregulated in patients with OC, and high mRNA expression of S100A1, S100A3, S100A5, S100A6, and S100A13 were significantly correlated with better overall survival, while increased S100A2, S100A7A, S100A10, and S100A11 mRNA expressions were associated with worse prognosis in OC patients. In stratified analysis, the trends of high expression of individual S100 members were nearly the same in different pathological grade, clinical stage, TP53 mutation status, and treatment. More importantly, S100 family signatures may be useful potential prognostic markers for OC. These findings suggest that S100 family plays a vital role in prognostic value and could potentially be an S100-targeted inhibitors for OC patients.

The Long Noncoding RNA Linc01833 Enhances Lung Adenocarcinoma Progression via MiR-519e-3p/S100A4 Axis

Introduction

Lung cancer (LC) is among the most prevalent malignancies worldwide, with extremely high morbidity and mortality rates. Mounting evidence has suggested that the abnormally expressed long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) in lung cancer tissues may play vital roles in tumor progression. In the present research, we aimed to examine the functions and underlying mechanism of linc01833 in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD).

Methods

qRT-PCR was employed to determine transfection efficiency. CCK-8, transwell invasion assay, Western blotting analysis and qRT-PCR were used to detect proliferation as well as migration of different LUAD cell lines, and were also applied to determine the changes during epithelial–mesenchymal transformation (EMT). Afterwards, bioinformatics and dual-luciferase reporter assay were utilized to explore and to identify the potential corresponding targets of linc01833 and miR-519e-3p.

Results

Linc01833 OE can significantly improve proliferation as well as invasion ability of LC cells and promote the EMT process. Dual-luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that linc01833 could directly bind to miR-519e-3p, thereby inhibiting its expression. Further experiments showed that S100A4 was a direct target of miR-519e-3p. Rescue assay demonstrated that linc01833 acted on the miR-519e-3p/S100A4 axis.

Conclusion

We verified the mechanism of linc01833 in promoting infiltration and metastasis in LUAD. To be specific, linc01833 can function as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to adsorb miR-519e-3p through a sponge and regulate S100A4 in lung cancer, thereby being involved in LUAD progression. Collectively, our research provides new insights towards the in-depth understanding of LC progression mechanisms.

Quantification of mRNA Expression Using Single-Molecule Nanopore Sensing

RNA quantification methods are broadly used in life science research and in clinical diagnostics. Currently, real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is the most common analytical tool for RNA quantification. However, in cases of rare transcripts or inhibiting contaminants in the sample, an extensive amplification could bias the copy number estimation, leading to quantification errors and false diagnosis. Single-molecule techniques may bypass amplification but commonly rely on fluorescence detection and probe hybridization, which introduces noise and limits multiplexing. Here, we introduce reverse transcription quantitative nanopore sensing (RT-qNP), an RNA quantification method that involves synthesis and single-molecule detection of gene-specific cDNAs without the need for purification or amplification. RT-qNP allows us to accurately quantify the relative expression of metastasis-associated genes MACC1 and S100A4 in nonmetastasizing and metastasizing human cell lines, even at levels for which RT-qPCR quantification produces uncertain results. We further demonstrate the versatility of the method by adapting it to quantify severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA against a human reference gene. This internal reference circumvents the need for producing a calibration curve for each measurement, an imminent requirement in RT-qPCR experiments. In summary, we describe a general method to process complicated biological samples with minimal losses, adequate for direct nanopore sensing. Thus, harnessing the sensitivity of label-free single-molecule counting, RT-qNP can potentially detect minute expression levels of RNA biomarkers or viral infection in the early stages of disease and provide accurate amplification-free quantification.

Precision Oncology in Surgery: Patient Selection for Operable Pancreatic Cancer

Objective:

We aimed to define preoperative clinical and molecular characteristics that would allow better patient selection for operative resection.

Background:

Although we use molecular selection methods for systemic targeted therapies, these principles are not applied to surgical oncology. Improving patient selection is of vital importance for the operative treatment of pancreatic cancer (pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma). Although surgery is the only chance of long-term survival, 80% still succumb to the disease and approximately 30% die within 1 year, often sooner than those that have unresected local disease.

Method:

In 3 independent pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cohorts (total participants = 1184) the relationship between aberrant expression of prometastatic proteins S100A2 and S100A4 and survival was assessed. A preoperative nomogram based on clinical variables available before surgery and expression of these proteins was constructed and compared to traditional measures, and a postoperative nomogram.

Results:

High expression of either S100A2 or S100A4 was independent poor prognostic factors in a training cohort of 518 participants. These results were validated in 2 independent patient cohorts (Glasgow, n = 198; Germany, n = 468). Aberrant biomarker expression stratified the cohorts into 3 distinct prognostic groups. A preoperative nomogram incorporating S100A2 and S100A4 expression predicted survival and nomograms derived using postoperative clinicopathological variables.

Conclusions:

Of those patients with a poor preoperative nomogram score, approximately 50% of patients died within a year of resection. Nomograms have the potential to improve selection for surgery and neoadjuvant therapy, avoiding surgery in aggressive disease, and justifying more extensive resections in biologically favorable disease.

Friend or Foe: S100 Proteins in Cancer

S100 proteins are widely expressed small molecular EF-hand calcium-binding proteins of vertebrates, which are involved in numerous cellular processes, such as Ca²⁺ homeostasis, proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, and inflammation. Although the complex network of S100 signalling is by far not fully deciphered, several S100 family members could be linked to a variety of diseases, such as inflammatory disorders, neurological diseases, and also cancer. The research of the past decades revealed that S100 proteins play a crucial role in the development and progression of many cancer types, such as breast cancer, lung cancer, and melanoma. Hence, S100 family members have also been shown to be promising diagnostic markers and possible novel targets for therapy. However, the current knowledge of S100 proteins is limited and more attention to this unique group of proteins is needed. Therefore, this review article summarises S100 proteins and their relation in different cancer types, while also providing an overview of novel therapeutic strategies for targeting S100 proteins for cancer treatment.

Relationship between S100A4 protein expression and pre-operative serum CA19.9 levels in pancreatic carcinoma and its prognostic significance

BACKGROUND

Pancreatic carcinoma (PC) is one of the most lethal malignancies, and its poor prognosis is strongly associated with invasion and metastasis. CA19.9 is considered to be the most sensitive serum marker for PC in clinical practice; however, the detection of CA19.9 in PC has a certain false positive and false negative rate. The expression of the calcium-binding protein S100A4 has been reported to be associated with poor prognosis in various cancers. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between S100A4 and CA19.9 and its prognostic significance in PC.

METHODS

We performed immunohistochemical staining for S100A4 in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded blocks of 128 PC tissues. The levels of S100A4 expression and pre-operative serum CA19.9 were correlated with clinicopathological parameters. The possible correlation between S100A4 protein expression and pre-operative serum CA19.9 levels were evaluated using the chi-square test and Spearman correlation. Survival was assessed by Kaplan-Meier analysis together with a single variable or multivariate Cox analysis.

RESULTS

A significant positive correlation between S100A4 expression and pre-operative serum CA19.9 level was observed in PC tissues (ρ = 0.202, P = 0.022). The co-expression of both proteins correlated significantly with tumor differentiation (ρ = - 0.280, P = 0.001), TNM stage (ρ = - 0.389, P = 0.000), and lymph node metastasis (ρ = 0.254, P = 0.008). Upregulation of S100A4 was identified as a significant, independent predictor of poor overall survival (P = 0.000). Moreover, higher serum CA19.9 levels (≥ 35 U/mL) were also recognized as an independent predictor of inferior overall survival (P = 0.001). Additionally, upregulation of S100A4 and higher pre-operative serum CA19.9 levels (≥ 35 U/mL) in patients with PC contributed to a significant decrease in overall survival (P = 0.000).

CONCLUSIONS

The expression levels of S100A4 in PC tissues were positively correlated with pre-operative serum CA19.9 levels. S100A4 expression and pre-operative serum CA19.9 levels were significant, independent prognostic factors for the overall survival of patients with PC. S100A4 expression/pre-operative serum CA19.9 levels may prove useful as dual prognostic biomarkers for PC. Analysis of CA19.9 in combination with S100A4 can better predict the prognosis of PC.

Clinical relevance of circulating MACC1 and S100A4 transcripts for ovarian cancer

Metastasis‐associated in colon cancer 1 (MACC1) and S100 calcium‐binding protein A4 (S100A4) are prominent inducers of tumor progression and metastasis. For the first time, we systematically tracked circulating serum levels of MACC1 and S100A4 transcripts in the course of surgery and chemotherapy and analyzed their clinical relevance for ovarian cancer. MACC1 and S100A4 transcripts were quantified in a total of 318 serum samples from 79 ovarian cancer patients by RT‐qPCR and digital droplet PCR, respectively. MACC1 and S100A4 transcripts were significantly elevated in serum of ovarian cancer patients, compared to healthy controls (P = 0.024; P < 0.001). At primary diagnosis, high levels of MACC1 or S100A4 correlated with advanced FIGO stage (P = 0.042; P = 0.008), predicted suboptimal debulking surgery and indicated shorter progression‐free survival (PFS; P = 0.003; P = 0.001) and overall survival (OS; P = 0.001; P = 0.002). This is the first study in ovarian cancer to propose circulating MACC1 and S100A4 transcripts as potential liquid biopsy markers.

Prognostic value of PD-L1 expression in patients with pancreatic cancer: A PRISMA-compliant meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression was reported to be associated with poor prognosis in various solid tumors. However, the prognosis value of PD-L1 in pancreatic cancer remained inconclusive. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the clinical value of PD-L1 as a novel prognostic biomarker of pancreatic cancer.

METHODS

PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science were searched up to October 2018. The HRs and 95% CIs for overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) according to the expressional status of PD-L1 were pooled. The combined odd ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs were utilized to assess the association between PD-L1 and clinicopathological characteristics.

RESULTS

A total of 9 studies with 993 patients were included. Elevated PD-L1 expression was related with poor OS (HR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.34-1.98, P < .001) and CSS (HR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.34-2.57, P < .001). Furthermore, high PD-L1 expression was also demonstrated to be associated with positive N stage (OR = 1.81, 95% CI = 1.21-2.71, P = .004), advanced T stage (OR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.08-3.19, P = .025), and low differentiation (OR = 2.24, 95% CI = 1.16-4.33, P = .017). However, PD-L1 has nonsignificant correlation with M stage, gender, or age.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that PD-L1 is a potential prognostic biomarker and may be helpful to clinicians aiming to select the appropriate immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer.

ROR1 is highly expressed in circulating tumor cells and promotes invasion of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer (PaC) is an aggressive malignancy, which is associated with high levels of metastasis. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), which may be considered a functional biomarker and promising treatment strategy for metastasis, are associated with the prognosis and progression of various metastatic cancers, including PaC. Receptor tyrosine kinase‑like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1) expression contributes to cell metastasis and poor clinical outcomes in malignant tumors. The present study aimed to explore the function of ROR1 in PaC CTCs. Reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis were used to examine the expression of ROR1, E‑cadherin and N‑cadherin. Cell proliferative and invasive ability was assessed by MTT and Transwell assays, respectively. The results revealed that the mRNA and protein expression levels of ROR1 were augmented in PaC tissues. Furthermore, the mRNA expression levels of ROR1 were higher in CTCs compared with in peripheral blood cells, and ROR1 was more highly expressed in CTCs than in cells. Notably, CTCs exhibited a markedly greater proliferative and invasive capacity than PANC‑1 and SW‑1990 cells, whereas knockdown of endogenous ROR1 by small interfering RNA led to suppression of the invasion of CTCs. In addition, it was revealed that the mechanism underlying the effects of ROR1 on PaC CTC metastasis may involve the epithelial‑mesenchymal transition process. In conclusion, ROR1 may be considered a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for the treatment of PaC.

Expression of miR-149-3p inhibits proliferation, migration, and invasion of bladder cancer by targeting S100A4

MicroRNAs play key roles during various crucial cell processes, such as proliferation, migration, and invasion. In addition, microRNAs have been shown to possess oncogenic and tumor suppressive functions in human cancers. Increasing evidence has clarified that miR-149-3p, a novel cancer-related microRNA, plays an important role in suppression of proliferation, migration, and invasion; however, the effect and mechanisms underlying the miR-149-3p effect in bladder cancer (BCa) remain unclear. In the current study we found that the increased expression of miR-149-3p significantly suppressed cell proliferation, migration, and invasion ability in BCa. The suppressive effect was related to S100A4. A further investigation showed that miR-149-3p negatively regulated S100A4, as verified by the luciferase reporter assay. Furthermore, our study showed that S100A4 mediated the anti-metastatic effects of miR-149-3p on proliferation, migration, and invasion of BCa cells. Analysis of a xenograft mouse model showed that miR-149-3p expression significantly decreased tumor growth by targeting S100A4. Taken together, these data indicate that S100A4 promotes cell growth, migration, and invasion and can by reversed by miR-149-3p in BCa.

S100A4 in cancer progression and metastasis: A systematic review

Metastasis is the leading cause of cancer-related death and directly associates with cancer progression, resistance to anticancer therapy, and poor patient survival. Current efforts focusing on the underlying molecular mechanisms of cancer metastasis attract a special attention to cancer researchers. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition is a complex of molecular program during embryogenesis, inflammation, tissue fibrosis, and cancer progression and metastasis. S100A4, an important member of S100 family proteins, functions to increase the tumor progression and metastasis. The molecular mechanisms of S100A4 involving in the progression and metastasis are diverse in various malignant tumors. Detection of S100A4 expression becomes a promising candidate biomarker in cancer early diagnosis and prediction of cancer metastasis and therefore, S100A4 may be a therapeutic target. This review summarized up to date advancement on the role of S100A4 in human cancer development, progression, and metastasis and the underlying molecular events and then strategies to target S100A4 expression experimentally.

Expression of metastasis related genes S100A4 and MMP-9 in pancreatic cancer cells treated with metformin

AIM

To investigate the expression of metastasis related genes S100A4 and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 in pancreatic cancer cell lines BxPC-3 and AsPC-1 treated with metformin.

METHODS

Cells were incubated with metformin at different concentrations for 24, 48, or 72 h. Then, cell viability was measured by MTT assay, and IC₅₀ values were calculated. The two cell lines were then treated with metformin at IC₅₀ concentrations for 48 h, and RT-PCR was used to detect the expression of S100A4 and MMP-9 mRNAs.

RESULTS

Cell viability was apparently inhibited by metformin in both cell lines, and the inhibitory effect showed a time- and dose-dependent manner. The IC₅₀ values for BxPC-3 cells at 24, 48, and 72 h were 12.13 mmol/L, 10.43 mmol/L, and 9.55 mmol/L, respectively, and the corresponding values for AsPC-1 cells were 23.45 mmol/L, 15.44 mmol/L, and 11.30 mmol/L. After treatment with metformin for 48 h, the expression of S100A4 and MMP-9 mRNAs in the two cell lines was significantly decreased compared with control cells (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Metformin inhibits pancreatic cancer cell growth in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Metformin may exert anti-metastasis effects by decreasing the expression of S100A4 and MMP-9 in pancreatic cancer cell lines.