Prognostic significance of nuclear survivin expression in resected adenoid cystic carcinoma of the head and neck

Airway epithelial dysfunction and mesenchymal transition in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Role of Oct-4

The airway epithelium is a dynamic tissue that undergoes slow but constant renewal. Dysregulation of airway epithelial function related to cigarette smoke exposure plays an important role in the pathophysiology of COPD. Oct4 is a transcription factor responsible for maintaining cellular self-renewal and regeneration, and CD146 and CD105/Endoglin are adhesion molecules involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, epithelial-mesenchymal-transition and tissue remodeling. Bronchial biopsy specimens (BBs) were obtained from 7 healthy controls (HC) and 10 COPD and subjected to paraffin embedding; BBs from HC were also used for epithelial cell expansion and pHBEC/ALI (air-liquid interface) culture. pHBEC/ALI were exposed to cigarette smoke extract (CSE) for 7, 14 and 21 days. In BBs, Oct4, CD146 and CD105 were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. In pHBEC/ALI, the expression of Oct4, CD146, CD105 and acetyl-αtubulin was evaluated by Western Blot, MUC5AC and IL-8 measurements by ELISA. The Oct4 epithelial immunoreactivity was lower in COPD than in HC, whilst CD146 and CD105 expression was higher in COPD than in HC. In pHBEC/ALI, Transepithelial Electrical Resistance values, measured over 7 to 21 days of differentiation, decreased by 18% (2.5% CSE) and 29% (5% CSE) compared to untreated samples. Oct4 and acetyl-αtubulin were induced after one-week differentiation and downregulated by CSE in reconstituted epithelium; CD146, CD105, MUC5AC and IL-8 were increased by CSE. Oct4 de-regulation and CD146 and CD105 overexpression, induced by cigarette smoke exposure, might play a role in airway epithelial dysfunction by causing changes in self-renewal and mesenchymal transition mechanisms, leading to alteration of epithelium homeostasis and abnormal tissue remodeling involved in progression of COPD.

Expression of survivin in oral leukoplakia and oral lichen planus

BACKGROUND

Up to one third (3-33%) oral squamous cell carcinomas develop from potentially malignant lesions. Most common potentially malignant lesions (PML) are Leukoplakia and Lichen planus. It is very important to diagnose PML at early stage to prevent malignant transformation of lesion. Survivin is a smallest member of the Inhibitor of Apoptosis (IAP) family of proteins. Survivin plays an important role in apoptosis regulation. High expression of survivin is an early event during oral carcinogenesis and it acts as a tool for the identification of precancerous lesions at higher risk of progression into invasive carcinoma. The aim of the study was to evaluate the expression of Survivin in oral leukoplakia, oral lichen planus.

METHODS AND MATERIAL

15 patients with oral lichen planus, 15 patients of oral leukoplakia were selected as subjects for the present study and 15 patients with normal oral mucosa were selected as controls and all were evaluated for expression of survivin. All sections were H & E stained and were studied immunohistochemically for the expression of surviving.

RESULTS

Expression of survivin was evaluated based on percent of cells expressing survivin and grading was given according to that. Significant survivin expression was detected in oral leukoplakia, oral lichen planus, (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Expression of survivin in potentially malignant lesions indicate potential risk of malignant transformation.

MicroRNA-140-5p inhibits salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma progression and metastasis via targeting survivin

Background

Salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC) is one of the most frequent carcinomas derived from the salivary gland. Growing evidence implied the involvement of microRNAs (miRNAs) in SACC progression and metastasis. This study aimed to determine the regulatory role of miR-140-5p in SACC progression and metastasis and to explore the underlying mechanisms.

Materials and methods

MiR-140-5p and survivin mRNA expression levels were determined by quantitative real-time PCR; protein levels were evaluated by western blot assay; cell proliferation, growth, invasion, apoptosis and caspase-3 activity were evaluated by respective in vitro functional assays; xenograft nude mice model was used to assess the in vivo tumor growth; a luciferase reporter assay determined the interaction between miR-140-5p and survivin.

Results

MiR-140-5p overexpression suppressed SACC cell proliferation and invasion, induced cell apoptosis and inhibited in vivo tumor growth of SACC cells. The loss-of-function studies showed that miR-140-5p knockdown enhanced SACC cell proliferation and invasion, inhibited cell apoptosis and led to an accelerated in vivo tumor growth. The bioinformatics prediction and luciferase reporter assay revealed that miR-140-5p directly targeted survivin 3′ untranslated region, and survivin was inversely regulated by miR-140-5p. Knockdown of survivin exerted tumor-suppressive effects on SACC cells, while enforced expression of survivin counteracted the tumor-suppressive actions of miR-140-5p overexpression in SACC cells. Mechanistically, miR-140-5p modulated the protein expression levels of apoptosis- and epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related mediators as well as matrix metallopeptidase-2/-9 via targeting survivin. More importantly, the down-regulation of miR-140-5p and the up-regulation of survivin were detected in the SACC clinical tissues, and miR-140-5 expression was inversely correlated with survivin mRNA expression level in SACC tissues.

Conclusion

Our data indicated that miR-140-5p suppressed SACC cell proliferation and invasion, induced cell apoptosis via regulating survivin expression. The present study provide evidence that that miR-140-5p could be a promising target for treating SACC, which requires further investigations.

Cigarette smoke affects the onco-suppressor DAB2IP expression in bronchial epithelial cells of COPD patients

Cigarette smoke is a risk factor for COPD and lung cancer. In cancer, epigenetic modifications affect the expression of Enhancer of Zester Homolog 2 (EZH2), and silenced disabled homolog 2 interacting protein gene (DAB2IP) (onco-suppressor gene) by Histone H3 tri-methylation in lysine 27 (H3K27me3). In"ex vivo"studies, we assessed EZH2, H3K27me3 and DAB2IP immunoreactivity in bronchial epithelial cells from COPD patients (smokers, ex-smokers), Smoker and control subjects. In"in vitro" experiments we studied the effect of cigarette smoke extract (CSE) on EZH2/H3K27me3/DAB2IP expression, apoptosis, invasiveness, and vimentin expression in 16HBE, primary cells, and lung cancer cell lines (A549) long-term exposed to CSE. Finally, in "in vitro"studies, we tested the effect of GSK343 (selective inhibitor of EZH2). EZH2 and H3K27me3 expression was higher, while DAB2IP was lower levels, in bronchial epithelium from COPD and Smokers than in Controls. CSE increased EZH2, H3K27me3 expression and decreased DAB2IP, cell apoptosis and invasiveness in epithelial cells. GSK343 restored the effects of CSE. Cigarette smoke affects EZH2 expression, and reduced DAB2IP via H3K27me3 in COPD patients. The molecular mechanisms associated with EZH2 expression, generate a dysregulation of cell apoptosis, mesenchymal transition, and cell invasiveness in bronchial epithelial cells, encouraging the progression of airway inflammation toward lung cancer in COPD patients.

Cigarette smoke and non-neuronal cholinergic system in the airway epithelium of COPD patients

Acetylcholine (ACh), synthesized by Choline Acetyl-Transferase (ChAT), exerts its physiological effects via mAChRM3 in epithelial cells. We hypothesized that cigarette smoke affects ChAT, ACh, and mAChRM3 expression in the airways from COPD patients promoting airway disease. ChAT, ACh, and mAChRM3 were assessed: "ex vivo" in the epithelium from central and distal airways of COPD patients, Healthy Smoker (S) and Healthy Subjects (C), and "in vitro" in bronchial epithelial cells stimulated with cigarette smoke extract (CSE). In central airways, mAChRM3, ChAT, and ACh immunoreactivity was significantly higher in the epithelium from S and COPD than in C subjects. mAChRM3, ChAT, and ACh score of immunoreactivity was high in the metaplastia area of COPD patients. mAChRM3/ChAT and ACh/ChAT co-localization of immunoreactivity was observed in the bronchial epithelium from COPD. In vitro, CSE stimulation significantly increased mAChRM3, ChAT, and ACh expression and mAChRM3/ChAT and ACh/ChAT co-localization in 16HBE and NHBE, and increased 16HBE proliferation. Cigarette smoke modifies the levels of mAChMR3, ChAT expression, and ACh production in bronchial epithelial cells from COPD patients. Non-neuronal components of cholinergic system may have a role in the mechanism of bronchial epithelial cell proliferation, promoting alteration of normal tissue, and of related pulmonary functions.

Effect of survivin downregulation by simvastatin on the growth and invasion of salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma

Simvastatin, an inhibitor of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase, is been used in the clinic due to its pleiotropic effects, such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer. Simvastatin has recently been demonstrated to serve a potential role in the prophylaxis and therapeutics of a number of human cancers. The majority of reports concerning simvastatin treatment in the majority of human cancers have demonstrated that survivin is significantly decreased as a result and has been implicated in tumorigenesis. However, only a limited number of studies have investigated the use of simvastatin for the treatment of salivary gland adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC). Therefore, this agent is a candidate for further investigation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of simvastatin on the proliferation, invasion and apoptosis of the human salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma cell line, SACC-83, as well as survivin expression in the cells. The Cell Counting kit-8 assay results revealed that simvastatin inhibited the proliferation of SACC-83 cells in a dose-dependent (10 to 50 µM) and time-dependent (24 to 48 h) manner when compared with the untreated cells. Flow cytometry analysis indicated that simvastatin increased the percentage of cells in early and late apoptosis. Invasion assays revealed that simvastatin treatment inhibited the invasiveness of SACC-83 cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, simvastatin downregulated survivin expression in SACC-83 cells. In conclusion, simvastatin significantly inhibited the proliferation and invasion of SACC-83 cells, induced apoptosis, and reduced the expression of survivin, which suggests that simvastatin may be a novel target for SACC therapy.

Inhibition of survivin reduces HIF-1α, TGF-β1 and TFE3 in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma

In the present study, we explored the expression and correlation of survivin with HIF-1α, TGF-β1 and TFE3 in adenoid cystic carcinoma (AdCC). The expression of survivin, HIF-1α, TGF-β1 and TFE3 was assessed by immunohistochemical staining of a tissue microarray containing tissue samples of normal salivary gland (NSG), pleomorphic adenoma (PA) and AdCC. Correlation analysis of these proteins revealed that increased survivin expression was associated with the overexpression of HIF-1α (P<0.001, r = 0.5599), TGF-β1 (P<0.001, r = 0.6616) and TFE3 (P<0.001, r = 0.7747). The expression of survivin, HIF-1α, TGF-β1 and TFE3 was not correlated with the pathological type of human AdCC (P>0.05). Selective inhibition of survivin by YM155 and siRNA significantly reduced human SACC-83 cell proliferation, with the corresponding decrease in expression of HIF-1α, TGF-β1 and TFE3. The data indicate that the overexpression of survivin in AdCC is related to HIF-1α, TGF-β1 and TFE3. We hypothesize from these findings that the inhibition of survivin may be a novel strategy for neoadjuvant chemotherapeutic and radiosensitive treatment of AdCC.

Expression of RECK and MMP-2 in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma: Correlation with tumor progression and patient prognosis

Reversion-inducing cysteine-rich protein with Kazal motifs (RECK), a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored glycoprotein, inhibits the enzymatic activities of certain matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). RECK has been studied in numerous human tumors, but the expression of RECK in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC), and its correlation with patient prognosis, has never been investigated thus far. In the present study, the expression of RECK and MMP-2 was evaluated in two ACC cell lines and in 83 patients with SACC. The results of quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis revealed that the ACC-2 and ACC-M cell lines expressed RECK and MMP-2 mRNA and protein. The immunohistochemical staining in the patients demonstrated that positive expression of RECK and MMP-2 was observed in 21/83 (25.3%) and 69/83 (83.1%) cases, respectively, and that RECK expression was significantly associated with the tumor-node-metastasis stage, histological grade and perineural invasion of patients with SACC (P<0.05). Furthermore, there was a significant association between the positive expression of RECK and that of MMP-2 (P<0.0001). Univariate and multivariate analyses confirmed that a lack of RECK expression was an independent and significant factor for the prediction of a poor prognosis. In conclusion, RECK is a promising prognostic marker and potential therapeutic agent in SACC.

Small interfering RNA survivin and GRIM-19 co-expression salmonella plasmid inhibited the growth of laryngeal cancer cells in vitro and in vivo

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the inhibitory effect of plasmid-based survivin-specific short hairpin RNA and GRIM-19 on the growth of Hep-2 laryngeal cancer cells.

METHODS

The plasmid expressing survivin-specific short hairpin RNA (shRNA) and GRIM-19 (p-siRNA survivin/GRIM-19) was prepared and transfected into Hep-2 cells with Lipofectamine 2000. The mRNA and protein expression of surviving and GRIM-19 were measured with RT-PCR and western blot assay, respectively. MTT assay was employed to detect the proliferation of Hep-2 cells, and flow cytometry and AO/EB assay were done to determine the apoptosis of Hep-2 cells.

RESULTS

In the p-siRNA survivin/GRIM-19, the mRNA and protein expression of survivin was markedly reduced by 54.4% and 42.2%, and the reduction in protein expression of surviving was more obvious than that in the p-siRNA survivin group (37%) (P<0.05). The protein expression of GRIM-19 was markedly enhanced when compared with the control group (P<0.01). MTT assay revealed the proliferation of Hep-2 cells undergoing transfection with p-siRNA survivin/GRIM-19 was markedly inhibited, and the inhibition rate was as high as 79%, which was higher than that in the psi-survivin group (45%) and p-GRIM-19 group (35%). AO/EB assay and flow cytometry indicated that the apoptotic cells in the p-siRNA survivin/GRIM-19 group were dramatically increased as compared to the psi-survivin group and p-GRIM-19 group.

CONCLUSION

The p-siRNA survivin/GRIM-19 has marked decrease in survivin expression and dramatic increase in GRIM-19 expression. Moreover, silencing of survivin and over-expression of GRIM-19 can significantly inhibit the growth and induce the apoptosis of Hep-2 in vitro and in vivo.

Recurrent prognostic factors and expression of GLUT-1, PI3K and p-Akt in adenoid cystic carcinomas of the head and neck: Clinicopathological features and biomarkers of adenoid cystic carcinoma

The purpose of this study was to explore the factors associated with the recurrence of adenoid cystic carcinomas (ACCs). We examined the recurrence values of clinicopathological variables and GLUT-1, p-Akt and PI3K expression in 42 patients with ACC. Of the 42 patients, 17 developed recurrence following initial surgery. The positive rates of GLUT-1, PI3K and p-Akt protein expression in ACC were 38.1, 38.1 and 50.0%, respectively. The expression of GLUT-1, p-Akt or PI3K protein in ACC was higher than that in inflammatory lesions or benign tumors. Our study demonstrated that T stage, a positive resection margin, perineural invasion, surgery without postoperative radiotherapy and the expression of GLUT-1, PI3K and p-Akt were factors predictive of recurrence by univariate analyses. In multivariate analyses, perineural invasion, a positive resection margin and p-Akt were significant predictors of recurrence. Initial surgery is very significant in the recurrence of ACC. Overexpression of GLUT-1, PI3K and p-Akt may also play a role in its development and recurrence.

Increased expression of IL-19 in the epithelium of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis and nasal polyps

BACKGROUND

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an inflammation of the nose and of the paranasal sinuses. The involvement of the respiratory epithelium in the mechanisms of CRS is poorly understood.

AIMS

Among proteins expressed by nasal epithelial cells in CRS, IL-19 may have key functions. We here aimed to determine the expression and regulation of IL-19.

METHODS

Nasal biopsies from normal subjects (n = 12), subjects with CRS but without nasal polyps (NP) (CRSsNP, n = 12) and with CRS with NP (CRSwNP, n = 15) were collected. Human Asthma Gene Array and real-time PCR were used to evaluate gene expression, western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry for protein expression. Results for IL-19 were confirmed by real-time PCR. The constitutive and stimulated (LPS, TGF β) expression of IL-19 and cell proliferation were evaluated in a nasal epithelial cell line (RPMI 2650).

RESULTS

Human Asthma Gene Array showed an increased IL-19 gene expression in NP from patients with CRS in comparison with normal subjects. Real-time PCR confirmed the IL-19 mRNA up-regulation in patients with CRSwNP and showed an up-regulation of IL-19, at lower extent, in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps (CRSsNP) in comparison with normal subjects. Western blot analysis confirmed that IL-19 is increased also at protein level in patients with CRSwNP in comparison with normal subjects. In NP, IL-19 is highly expressed in the metaplastic nasal epithelium when compared to normal or hyperplastic epithelium. LPS stimulation increased IL-19 expression, and recombinant IL-19 increased cell proliferation in nasal epithelial cells.

CONCLUSIONS

IL-19 is overexpressed in the epithelium in CRSwNP and increases epithelial cell proliferation.

EGFR, HER2, survivin, and loss of pSTAT3 characterize high-grade malignancy in salivary gland cancer with impact on prognosis

Increased gene copy number (high polysomy or amplification) of EGFR and HER2 has evolved as a predictor for response to targeted therapy. STAT3 and the apoptosis inhibitor survivin represent distinct oncogenes in various human neoplasms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate protein and gene status of these biomarkers by immunohistochemistry and dual color fluorescence in situ hybridization on tissue microarrays of 286 salivary gland carcinomas in the context of clinical and histopathologic characteristics. Diverse tumor types showed overexpression and increased gene copy number of EGFR and HER2. Amplification of HER2 was found in 35.5% of salivary duct carcinomas. Protein overexpression was strongly associated with high gene copy number for both EGFR and HER2 (P < .001). Overexpression and increased gene copy number of EGFR and HER2 were correlated to high-grade malignancy (P < .001) and unfavorable prognosis (P < .001). Strong nuclear staining of survivin was found in 18.9% of tumors and was associated with high-grade malignancy (P < .001), overexpression, and high gene copy number of EGFR and HER2 (P ≤ .05) as well as unfavorable prognosis (P < .001). Overexpression of nuclear pSTAT3 was found in 28.3% of tumors and correlated with well tumor differentiation (P < .001) and favorable prognosis (P = .001). Loss or weak expression of pSTAT3 was inversely associated with overexpression of survivin (P < .001) as well as overexpression and high gene copy number of EGFR and HER2 (P < .05). Overall, overexpression and increased gene copy number of EGFR and HER2 characterize high-grade malignancy with unfavorable prognosis in salivary gland cancer. Nuclear survivin typifies aggressive tumors with worse prognosis, whereas nuclear pSTAT3 might play a role as a tumor suppressor in absence of EGFR, HER2, and survivin.