Analysis of MAT3 gene expression in NSCLC

Sphingosine kinase 1 promotes tumor immune evasion by regulating the MTA3-PD-L1 axis

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) exhibits considerable benefits in malignancies, but its overall response rate is limited. Previous studies have shown that sphingosine kinases (SPHKs) are critical in the tumor microenvironment (TME), but their role in immunotherapy is unclear. We performed integrative analyses including bioinformatics analysis, functional study, and clinical validation to investigate the role of SPHK1 in tumor immunity. Functionally, we demonstrated that the inhibition of SPHK1 significantly suppressed tumor growth by promoting antitumor immunity in immunocompetent melanoma mouse models and tumor T-cell cocultures. A mechanistic analysis revealed that MTA3 functions as the downstream target of SPHK1 in transcriptionally regulating tumor PD-L1. Preclinically, we found that anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody (mAb) treatment significantly rescued tumor SPHK1 overexpression or tumor MTA3 overexpression-mediated immune evasion. Significantly, we identified SPHK1 and MTA3 as biological markers for predicting the efficacy of anti-PD-1 mAb therapy in melanoma patients. Our findings revealed a novel role for SPHK1 in tumor evasion mediated by regulating the MTA3-PD-L1 axis, identified SPHK1 and MTA3 as predictors for assessing the efficacy of PD-1 mAb treatment, and provided a therapeutic possibility for the treatment of melanoma patients.

MTA1: A Vital Modulator in Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most frequent cancer of the male genitourinary system and the second most common cancer in men worldwide. PCa has become one of the leading diseases endangering men's health in Asia in recent years, with a large increase in morbidity and mortality. MTA1 (metastasis-associated antigen-1), a transcriptional coregulator involved in histone deacetylation and nucleosome remodeling, is a member of the MTA family. MTA1 is involved in cell signaling, chromosomal remodeling, and transcriptional activities, all of which are important for epithelial cell progression, invasion, and growth. MTA1 has been demonstrated to play a significant role in the formation, progression, and metastasis of PCa, and MTA1 expression is specifically linked to PCa bone metastases. Therefore, MTA1 may be a potential target for PCa prevention and treatment. Here, we reviewed the structure, function, and expression of MTA1 in PCa as well as drugs that target MTA1 to highlight a potential new treatment for PCa.

Overexpression of the metastasis-associated gene MTA3 correlates with tumor progression and poor prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and aggressive cancers in the world. However, there remains a lack of effective diagnostic and treatment markers. We aimed to explore metastasis-associated protein 3 (MTA3) expression and function in HCC and its relationship with clinicopathological factors.

METHODS

We investigated the expression pattern and clinicopathological significance of MTA3 in 90 patients with HCC via immunohistochemistry and explored MTA3 function via gene knockdown of MTA3.

RESULTS

MTA3 was overexpressed in HCC cell nuclei and downregulated in HCC cell cytoplasm. The former finding correlated with metastasis (P = 0.010) and poor prognosis (P = 0.018). In addition, deleting MTA3 inhibited HCC cell growth, invasion, and metastasis in vitro, as shown in the colony formation, migration, and wound-healing assays.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that MTA3 is an oncogene of HCC, predicts poor prognosis of HCC, and may be a future marker of HCC treatment.

Corepressor metastasis-associated protein 3 modulates epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and metastasis

Worldwide, metastasis is the leading cause of more than 90% of cancer-related deaths. Currently, no specific therapies effectively impede metastasis. Metastatic processes are controlled by complex regulatory networks and transcriptional hierarchy. Corepressor metastasis-associated protein 3 (MTA3) has been confirmed as a novel component of nucleosome remodeling and histone deacetylation (NuRD). Increasing evidence supports the theory that, in the recruitment of transcription factors, coregulators function as master regulators rather than passive passengers. As a master regulator, MTA3 governs the target selection for NuRD and functions as a transcriptional repressor. MTA3 dysregulation is associated with tumor progression, invasion, and metastasis in various cancers. MTA3 is also a key regulator of E-cadherin expression and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Elucidating the functions of MTA3 might help to find additional therapeutic approaches for targeting components of NuRD.

MicroRNA 192 regulates chemo-resistance of lung adenocarcinoma for gemcitabine and cisplatin combined therapy by targeting Bcl-2

Lung cancer is the most leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounting for over 80% of all lung cancer cases. Patients with NSCLC are mostly treated with platinum-based chemotherapy. Chemoresistance is a leading cause of chemo-therapy failure in NSCLC treatment. Recent studies have shown that dysregulation of microRNAs might modulate the resistance of cancer cells to anti-cancer drugs, yet the modulation mechanism is not fully understood. In this paper, we try to test whether miR-192 regulates chemo-resistance in human carcinoma A549 mice model by targeting Bcl-2. Mice model of human lung adenocarcinoma was built up, and was used for gemcitabine and cisplatin combined chemotherapy. MTT assay, real-time RT-PCR, western blotting assay were used to investigate miR-192 expression levels, cell viability ratio and Bcl-2 protein expression levels. MiR-192 expression level in A549 cells is significantly higher than in normal human bronchial epithelial cells. MiR-192 inhibitor treated tumor exhibits sensitivity to cisplatin and gemcitabine therapy. Bcl-2 mRNA and protein expression levels up-regulated in miR-192 inhibitor treated tumor. Bcl-2 is a key regulator for miR-192 related chemotherapy resistance. In this study, we demonstrate that miR-192 regulates chemoresistance for gemcitabine and cisplatin combined chemotherapy in human adenocarcinoma lung cancer A549 cells, and Bcl-2 is the target of miR-192.

Unravelling the Complexity and Functions of MTA Coregulators in Human Cancer

Since the initial recognition of the metastasis-associated protein 1 (MTA1) as a metastasis-relevant gene approximately 20 years ago, our appreciation for the complex role of the MTA family of coregulatory proteins in human cancer has profoundly grown. MTA proteins consist of six family members with similar structural units and act as central signaling nodes for integrating upstream signals into regulatory chromatin-remodeling networks, leading to regulation of gene expression in cancer cells. Substantial experimental and clinical evidence demonstrates that MTA proteins, particularly MTA1, are frequently deregulated in a wide range of human cancers. The MTA family governs cell survival, the invasive and metastatic phenotypes of cancer cells, and the aggressiveness of cancer and the prognosis of patients with MTA1 overexpressing cancers. Our discussion here highlights our current understanding of the regulatory mechanisms and functional roles of MTA proteins in cancer progression and expands upon the potential implications of MTA proteins in cancer biology and cancer therapeutics.

MicroRNA-182 modulates chemosensitivity of human non-small cell lung cancer to cisplatin by targeting PDCD4

Abstract

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Silencing BMP-2 expression inhibits A549 and H460 cell proliferation and migration

Abstract

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Histological comparison between preoperative and surgical specimens of non-small cell lung cancer for distinguishing between "squamous" and "non-squamous" cell carcinoma

Background

Non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) are frequently heterogeneous and in approximately 70% of cases, NSCLCs are diagnosed and staged by small biopsies or cytology rather than by examination of surgically resected specimens. Thus, in most patients, the diagnosis is established based on examination of preoperative specimens alone. Recently, classification of NSCLC into pathologic subtypes has been shown to be important for selecting the appropriate systemic therapy, from both the point of view of treatment efficacy and prevention of toxicity.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the data of 225 patients to compare the preoperative classification of the NSCLC subtype on biopsy specimens with the postoperative classification based on examination of the resected specimens, in order to compare the accuracy of the two for the diagnosis of various histological subtypes of NSCLC.

Results

In 169 of the 225 (75.1%) patients, the preoperative diagnosis was definite malignancy. Histologically, the final pathologic diagnosis made from the surgical specimens was adenocarcinoma (ADC) in 169 patients, and in 75.5% of these cases, the diagnosis was concordant with the preoperative diagnosis. Among the patients who had squamous cell carcinoma (SQC) in the preoperative specimens, the diagnosis was concordant with the preoperative diagnosis in 65.7% of cases. Misclassified preoperative biopsies included an even number of SQCs and ADCs, with all the misclassified biopsies being ADCs morphologically mimicking SQC due to solid growth. Significantly higher specificity, negative predictive value and accuracy were observed for the diagnosis of SQC.

Conclusions

Our study suggested that the concordance rates for diagnosis of the NSCLC subtypes, especially the "squamous" or "non-squamous" histologies, between preoperative and surgical specimens were satisfactory, as compared with previous reports. Therefore, pretreatment diagnosis of lung cancer using small samples is reasonable for selecting the optimal treatment. However, in order not to lose the opportunity for selecting an effective treatment, we should be aware that the diagnosis in preoperative small samples might be different from that based on examination of the surgical specimens.

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Whole DNA methylome profiling in lung cancer cells before and after epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition

BACKGROUND

Metastatic lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death. In recent years, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been found to contribute to metastasis, as it enables migratory and invasive properties in cancer cells. Previous genome-wide studies found that DNA methylation was unchanged during EMT induced by TGF-β in AML12 cells. In this study, we aimed to discover EMT-related changes in DNA methylation in cancer cells, which are poorly understood.

METHODS

We employed a next-generation sequencing-based method, MSCC (methyl-sensitive cut counting), to investigate DNA methylation during EMT in the A549 lung cancer cell line.

RESULTS

We found that methylation levels were highly correlated to gene expression, histone modifications and small RNA expression. However, no differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were found in A549 cells treated with TGF-β for 4 h, 12 h, 24 h and 96 h. Additionally, CpG islands (CGIs) showed no overall change in methylation levels, and at the single-base level, almost all of the CpGs showed conservation of DNA methylation levels. Furthermore, we found that the expression of DNA methyltransferase 1, 3a, 3b (DNMT1, DNMT3a, DNMT3b) and ten-eleven translocation 1 (TET1) was altered after EMT. The level of several histone methylations was also changed.

CONCLUSIONS

DNA methylation-related enzymes and histone methylation might have a role in TGF-β-induced EMT without affecting the whole DNA methylome in cancer cells. Our data provide new insights into the global methylation signature of lung cancer cells and the role of DNA methylation in EMT.

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Serum level of DKK-1 and its prognostic potential in non-small cell lung cancer

Background

The aim of the present study was to measure the serum level of dickkopf-1(DKK-1) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to determine the prognostic potential of serum DKK-1 in NSCLC.

Material and methods

The present study included a total of 150 patients with NSCLC and 150 healthy controls. Serum level of DKK-1 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Numerical variables were recorded as means ± standard deviation (SD) and analyzed by independent t-tests. Categorical variables were presented as rates and analyzed by using the chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test. The overall survival was analyzed by log-rank test, and survival curves were plotted according to Kaplan–Meier.

Results

We found that serum DKK-1 level was significantly higher in patients with NSCLC than healthy controls. Mean serum DKK-1 level was 31.42 ± 6.32 ng/ml in the NSCLC group and 14.12 ± 3.29 ng/ml in the healthy control group (p <0.01). Serum DKK-1 level expression level was significantly positively correlated with TNM stage (p = 0.009), lymph node involvement(p = 0.001), and distant metastases(p < 0.001).

In the multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis, high DKK-1 expression was independently associated with poor survival (P < 0.001; HR = 3.98; 95% CI =2.19-4.83).

Conclusions

In conclusion, our results showed that DKK-1 was overexpressed in NSCLC, and DKK-1 in serum was a good predictor of poor prognosis in patients with NSCLC. More researches are needed in the future to clarify the detailed mechanism of DKK-1 in the carcinogenesis and metastasis of NSCLC.

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Tuberous-sclerosis complex-related cell signaling in the pathogenesis of lung cancer

Background

Hamartin (TSC1) and tuberin (TSC2), encoded by the tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) genes, form a tumor-suppressor heterodimer which is implicated in PI3K-Akt signaling and acts as a functional inhibitor of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Dysregulation of mTOR has been assigned to carcinogenesis and thus may be involved in cancer development. We have addressed the role of hamartin, phospho-tuberin (p-TSC2) and phospho-mTOR (p-mTOR) in a series of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) samples.

Methods

We collected 166 NSCLC and SCLC samples for immunohistochemical studies and performed western blot analyses in NSCLC and SCLC cell lines as well as comparative analyses with EGFR phosphorylation and downstream effectors.

Results

In cell lines we found an inverse correlation between hamartin and p-mTOR expression. In surgical specimens cytoplasmic hamartin expression was observed in more than 50% of adenocarcinoma (AC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) compared to 14% of SCLC. P-mTOR and p-TSC2 staining was found in a minority of cases.

There was a significant correlation between p-EGFR Tyr-1068, p-EGFR Tyr-992 and hamartin, and also between p-mTOR and p-EGFR Tyr-1173 in AC. In SCC an inverse correlation between hamartin and p-EGFR Tyr-992 was detected. Phosphorylation of TSC2 was associated with expression of MAP-Kinase. Hamartin, p-TSC2 and p-mTOR expression was not dependant of the EGFR mutation status. Hamartin expression is associated with poorer survival in SCC and SCLC.

Conclusions

Our findings confirm the inhibitory role of the tuberous sclerosis complex for mTOR activation in lung cancer cell lines. These results reveal hamartin expression in a substantial subset of NSCLC and SCLC specimens, which may be due to EGFR signaling but is not dependant on EGFR mutations. Our data provide evidence for a functional role of the tuberous sclerosis complex in lung cancer.

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MiR-495 regulates proliferation and migration in NSCLC by targeting MTA3

Our previous studies have showed that metastasis-associated protein 3 (MTA 3) is overexpressed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissue, and increased MTA3 mRNA levels is a risk factor of lymph node metastasis. Using bioinformatics analyses, we found that MTA3 was a potential target of miR-495. However, the pathophysiological role of miR-495 and its relevance to the growth and development of NSCLC have yet to be investigated. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which miR-495 acts as a tumor suppressor in NSCLC. qRT-PCR data showed significant downregulation of miR-495 in 56 NSCLC tissue samples and 5 lung cancer cell lines, compared with their adjacent normal tissue; furthermore, western blotting analysis revealed MTA3 protein was overexpressed in the tumor samples compared with the matched adjacent normal tissue. MiR-495 was shown to not only inhibit the proliferation of lung cancer cells (A549 and Calu-3) but also to inhibit cell migration in vitro. Using western blotting and luciferase assays, MTA3 was identified as a target of miR-495. These findings suggest the importance of miR-495 targeting of MTA3 in the regulation of lung cancer growth and migration.