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Petrović A, Štancl P, Gršković P, Hančić S, Karlić R, Gašparov S, Korać P. Gene Expression Aberrations in Alcohol-Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:10558. [PMID: 39408891 PMCID: PMC11476681 DOI: 10.3390/ijms251910558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2024] [Revised: 09/25/2024] [Accepted: 09/26/2024] [Indexed: 10/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most prevalent primary liver cancer, ranking as the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Most HCC cases originate from cirrhotic livers, typically due to chronic liver diseases, such as hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) infections, and alcoholism. HCC cells often harbor numerous somatic mutations that are implicated in HCC development, but epigenetic factors, such as miRNA interference, can also affect HCC initiation and progress. miRNA-221 has been explored as a factor affecting HCC development in HCC of viral etiology, but little is known about its effects on gene expression in alcohol-associated HCC. This study aimed to explore potentially similar gene expression aberrations underlying viral and alcohol-induced HCC. We analyzed available transcriptome data from non-tumor hepatocytes and viral-induced HCC tissues. The most notable differences in gene expression associated with miRNA-221 between non-tumor hepatocytes and viral-induced HCC involved NTF-3 and MYBL1 genes. To assess these data in alcohol-induced HCC, we examined 111 tissue samples: tumor tissue and cirrhotic tissue samples from 37 HCC patients and 37 samples from non-tumor liver tissue using RT-Q PCR. We found no significant difference in NTF-3 expression, but MYBL1 expression was significantly lower in HCC tissue compared to non-tumor hepatocytes and cirrhotic tissue. Our findings highlight the importance of the MYBL1 gene in HCC development and emphasize the need for diverse approaches in evaluating tumor mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreja Petrović
- Division of Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (A.P.); (P.Š.); (R.K.)
- Institute of Clinical Pathology and Cytology, Merkur University Hospital, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (S.H.); (S.G.)
| | - Paula Štancl
- Division of Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (A.P.); (P.Š.); (R.K.)
| | - Paula Gršković
- Division of Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (A.P.); (P.Š.); (R.K.)
| | - Suzana Hančić
- Institute of Clinical Pathology and Cytology, Merkur University Hospital, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (S.H.); (S.G.)
| | - Rosa Karlić
- Division of Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (A.P.); (P.Š.); (R.K.)
| | - Slavko Gašparov
- Institute of Clinical Pathology and Cytology, Merkur University Hospital, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (S.H.); (S.G.)
- Department of Pathology, Medical School Zagreb, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Petra Korać
- Division of Molecular Biology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (A.P.); (P.Š.); (R.K.)
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Toledano S, Neufeld G. Plexins as Regulators of Cancer Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Invasivity. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:4046. [PMID: 37627074 PMCID: PMC10452846 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15164046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Plexins are a family of nine single-pass transmembrane receptors with a conserved GTPase activating protein (GAP) domain. The plexin family is divided into four subfamilies: Type-A, type-B, type-C, and type-D plexins. Plexins function as receptors for axon guidance factors of the semaphorin family. The semaphorin gene family contains 22 genes that are divided into eight subclasses of which subclasses three to seven represent vertebrate semaphorins. The plexins and their semaphorin ligands have important roles as regulators of angiogenesis, cancer proliferation, and metastasis. Class 3 semaphorins, with the exception of sema3E, are the only semaphorins that do not bind directly to plexins. In order to transduce their signals, they bind instead to complexes consisting of receptors of the neuropilin family and various plexins. Some plexins also form complexes with tyrosine-kinase receptors such as the epidermal growth factor receptor ErbB2, the mesenchymal epithelial transition factor receptor (MET), and the Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) and, as a result, can modulate cell proliferation and tumor progression. This review focuses on the roles of the different plexins in the control of cancer cell proliferation and invasiveness. Plexins also affect tumor progression and tumor metastasis by indirect mechanisms, such as modulation of angiogenesis and immune responses. However, these topics are not covered in the present review.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gera Neufeld
- The Cancer Research Center, The Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3109602, Israel;
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Plexin C1: A novel screening test for lung cancer. JOURNAL OF SURGERY AND MEDICINE 2021. [DOI: 10.28982/josam.955975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Zhang L, Xiong D, Liu Q, Luo Y, Tian Y, Xiao X, Sang Y, Liu Y, Hong S, Yu S, Li J, Lv W, Li Y, Tang Z, Liu R, Zhong Q, Xiao H. Genome-Wide Histone H3K27 Acetylation Profiling Identified Genes Correlated With Prognosis in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:682561. [PMID: 34179011 PMCID: PMC8226268 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.682561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Thyroid carcinoma (TC) is the most common endocrine malignancy, and papillary TC (PTC) is the most frequent subtype of TC, accounting for 85–90% of all the cases. Aberrant histone acetylation contributes to carcinogenesis by inducing the dysregulation of certain cancer-related genes. However, the histone acetylation landscape in PTC remains elusive. Here, we interrogated the epigenomes of PTC and benign thyroid nodule (BTN) tissues by applying H3K27ac chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by deep sequencing (ChIP-seq) along with RNA-sequencing. By comparing the epigenomic features between PTC and BTN, we detected changes in H3K27ac levels at active regulatory regions, identified PTC-specific super-enhancer-associated genes involving immune-response and cancer-related pathways, and uncovered several genes that associated with disease-free survival of PTC. In summary, our data provided a genome-wide landscape of histone modification in PTC and demonstrated the role of enhancers in transcriptional regulations associated with prognosis of PTC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luyao Zhang
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Dan Xiong
- Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qian Liu
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yiling Luo
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuhan Tian
- Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xi Xiao
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Ye Sang
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yihao Liu
- Clinical Trials Unit, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shubin Hong
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shuang Yu
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jie Li
- Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Weiming Lv
- Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yanbing Li
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhonghui Tang
- Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Rengyun Liu
- Institute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qian Zhong
- Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China
| | - Haipeng Xiao
- Department of Endocrinology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
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The Relationship Between Plexin C1 Overexpression and Survival in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: a Turkish Oncology Group (TOG) Study. J Gastrointest Cancer 2021; 53:356-362. [PMID: 33656690 DOI: 10.1007/s12029-021-00602-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/03/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Plexin C1 is a transmembrane receptor and plexin C1 overexpression might have role in carcinogenesis. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has poor prognosis because of its aggressive behavior and limited treatment options, especially in advanced stage. We recently documented that Plexin C1 was overexpressed in HCC. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic significance of Plexin C1 overexpression in HCC in the present study. METHODS Plexin C1 overexpression was evaluated immunohistochemically on paraffin-embedded blocks of the HCC patients. Plexin C1 immunohistochemical staining was scored. Plexin C1 overexpression staining intensity and prevalence were used for plexin scale staining evaluation and plexin scores were estimated according this staining scale. Plexin C1 score and its association with survival and clinicopathological features was assessed. RESULTS Sixty-seven HCC patients with adequate tissue for pathological evaluation were included. Median age was 63 years with male predominance (male to female ratio was 4.75 (n 57/12). Well-differentiated HCC (53.7%) patients had higher plexin C1 overexpression (p < 0.05). Median OS was 22.1 months. Patients with lower plexin C1 score (< 12) had shorter OS (17.5 vs 30.1 months, p = 0.036). Neutrophil count, GGT, and PNR (platelet/neutrophil ratio) had prognostic significance (p = 0.047, p = 0.018, and p = 0.045). CONCLUSION Plexin C1 overexpression is inversely correlated with grade in HCC. The patients with lower rate of Plexin C1 overexpression have worse survival outcome. It might be a prognostic factor in HCC.
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Chen J, Liu H, Chen J, Sun B, Wu J, Du C. PLXNC1 Enhances Carcinogenesis Through Transcriptional Activation of IL6ST in Gastric Cancer. Front Oncol 2020; 10:33. [PMID: 32117710 PMCID: PMC7010712 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2020.00033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Transcriptional factors (TFs) are responsible for orchestrating gene transcription during cancer progression. However, their roles in gastric cancer (GC) remain unclear. Methods: We analyzed the differential expressions of TFs and, using GC cells and tissues, investigated plexin C1 (PLXNC1) RNA levels, as well as PLXNC1's clinical relevance and functional mechanisms. The molecular function of PLXNC1 was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Kaplan-Meier curves and the log-rank test were used to analyze overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Results: PLXNC1 was frequently up-regulated in GC and associated with poor prognosis. The expression level of PLXNC1 could serve as an independent biomarker to predict a patient's overall survival. Notably, knockdown of PLXNC1 significantly abolished GC cell proliferation, and migration, and overexpression of PLXNC1 accelerated carcinogenesis in GC. The gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) indicated that high-expression of PLXNC1 was positively correlated with the activation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), TNF-α, and IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathways. PLXNC1 promoted proliferation and migration of GC cells through transcriptional activation of the interleukin 6 signal transducer (IL6ST), which could rescue the malignant behavior of PLXNC1-deficient GC cells. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that the PLXNC1 plays an oncogenic role in GC patients. The PLXNC1-IL6ST axis represents a novel potential therapeutic target for GC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Chen
- Department of Gastric Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Haining Liu
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jinggui Chen
- Department of Gastric Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Bo Sun
- Department of Gastric Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jianghong Wu
- Department of Gastric Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Chunyan Du
- Department of Gastric Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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Cetin M, Odabas G, Douglas LR, Duriez PJ, Balcik-Ercin P, Yalim-Camci I, Sayan AE, Yagci T. ROR1 Expression and Its Functional Significance in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells. Cells 2019; 8:cells8030210. [PMID: 30832318 PMCID: PMC6468649 DOI: 10.3390/cells8030210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 02/26/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common and deadly cancer; however, very little improvement has been made towards its diagnosis and prognosis. The expression and functional contribution of the receptor tyrosine kinase ROR1 have not been investigated in HCC before. Hence, we investigated the expression of ROR1 in HCC cells and assessed its involvement in hepatocarcinogenesis. Methods: Recombinant bacterial ROR1 protein was used as an immunogen to generate ROR1 monoclonal antibodies. ROR1 transcript levels were detected by RT-qPCR and the protein expression of ROR1 in HCC was assessed by Western blotting by using homemade anti-ROR1 monoclonal antibodies. Apoptosis, cell cycle, trans-well migration, and drug efflux assays were performed in shRNA-ROR1 HCC cell clones to uncover the functional contribution of ROR1 to hepatocarcinogenesis. Results: New ROR1 antibodies specifically detected endogenous ROR1 protein in human and mouse HCC cell lines. ROR1-knockdown resulted in decreased proliferation and migration but enhanced resistance to apoptosis and anoikis. The observed chemotherapy-resistant phenotype of ROR1-knockdown cells was due to enhanced drug efflux and increased expression of multi-drug resistance genes. Conclusions: ROR1 is expressed in HCC and contributes to disease development by interfering with multiple pathways. Acquired ROR1 expression may have diagnostic and prognostic value in HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Metin Cetin
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Gebze Technical University, Kocaeli 41400, Turkey.
| | - Gorkem Odabas
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Gebze Technical University, Kocaeli 41400, Turkey.
| | - Leon R Douglas
- Protein Core Facility, Cancer Research UK and Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK.
| | - Patrick J Duriez
- Protein Core Facility, Cancer Research UK and Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK.
| | - Pelin Balcik-Ercin
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Gebze Technical University, Kocaeli 41400, Turkey.
| | - Irem Yalim-Camci
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Gebze Technical University, Kocaeli 41400, Turkey.
| | - Abdulkadir Emre Sayan
- Cancer Sciences Unit and Cancer Research UK Centre, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Somers Cancer Research Building, Mailpoint 824, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK.
| | - Tamer Yagci
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Gebze Technical University, Kocaeli 41400, Turkey.
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