Effects of plant-based medicinal food on postoperative recurrence and lung metastasis of gastric cancer regulated by Wnt/β-catenin-EMT signaling pathway and VEGF-C/D-VEGFR-3 cascade in a mouse model

Characterization of hepatocarcinoma cells: lymphatic metastasis potential through enhanced production, expression, and secretion along the VEGF-C/D-VEGFR-3/NRP-2 axis

OBJECTIVES

In vitro and in vivo analyses were conducted to examine the correlations between the production, expression, and secretion of the VEGF-C/D-VEGFR-3/NRP-2 axis and various levels of lymphatic metastatic potential in murine hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

METHODS

Quantitative real-time PCR, western blotting, cytoimmunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were employed to assess the expression and secretion of the VEGF-C/D-VEGFR-3/NRP-2 axis at the gene, protein, cytological, and histological levels.

RESULTS

In both in vitro and in vivo experiments, the ligands VEGF-C/D and receptors VEGFR-3/NRP-2 were primarily localized in the cytoplasm or cell membrane of hepatocarcinoma F/P cells with high/low lymphatic metastatic potentials, and in normal hepatocytes, respectively. The production and expression levels of the VEGF-C/D-VEGFR-3/NRP-2 axis in F/P cells were significantly higher than those in normal liver cells. Additionally, the production and expression of this axis were higher in F cells compared to P cells (P < 0.01). Notably, within both F/P cells, the production and expression levels of VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 were lower than those of VEGF-D and NRP-2 (P < 0.05). However, the secretion of VEGF-C exceeded that of VEGF-D in the supernatant of cultured cells and in the serum of tumor-bearing mice (P < 0.01). Interestingly, the ratio of VEGF-C/D in F cells was significantly higher than that in P cells and normal hepatocytes. Moreover, the ratio of VEGF-C/D was notably elevated in the supernatant of tumor cells and serum from tumor-bearing mice, as determined by ELISA, compared to that in tumor cells and tissues assessed using other technologies (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

The significant co-production, co-expression, and co-secretion of the VEGF-C/D-VEGFR-3/NRP-2 axis are distinctive features of hepatocarcinoma cells, particularly those with a heightened potential for lymphatic metastasis.

Phytochemical analysis and biological activities of solvent extracts and silver nanoparticles obtained from Woodwardia unigemmata (Makino) Nakai

Multidrug resistant bacteria are causing health problems and economic burden worldwide; alternative treatment options such as natural products and nanoparticles have attained great attention recently. Therefore, we aimed to determine the phytochemicals, antibacterial potential, and anticancer activity of W. unigemmata. Extracts in different organic and inorganic solvents were prepared, silver nanoparticles were prepared using the green synthesis method. Phytochemicals and antioxidant activity was determined spectrophotometry, anticancer potential was determined against gastric cancer and normal gastric epithelial cells using CCK8 and colony formation assays W. unigemmata was found to have a significant enrichment of various phytochemicals including flavonoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, carotenoids, tannins, saponins, quinines, carbohydrates, phenols, coumarins and phlobatanins. Among them phenolics (5289.89 ± 112.67) had high enrichment followed by reducing sugar (851.53 ± 120.15), flavonoids (408.28 ± 20.26) and ascorbic acid (347.64 ± 16.32), respectively. The extracts prepared in organic solvents showed strong antibacterial activity against P. aeruginosa (chloroform, 13.66±0.88, ethyl acetate, 8.66±4.33, methyl alcohol, 13.33±1.66, N-hexane, 12.33±0.88) and S. aureus (chloroform, 15±0.57, ethyl acetate, 16.33±0.33, methyl alcohol, 17.66±0.33 and N-hexane, 16.33±0.33). Aqueously prepared AgNPs showed remarkable activity against P. aeruginosa follwed by E. coli, 17.66 ± 1.85, S. aureus, 16.00 ± 1.73, K. pneumoniae, 14.33 ± 1.20, respectively. The ethanolic extracts (500 μg, 1000 μg, 2000 μg) of the W. unigemmata were found to have cytotoxicity against both gastric cancer (AGS and SGC7901) and normal cell lines (GES-1); a significant cellular proliferation arrest was observed. These results suggest that W. Unigemmata contains numerous bioactive phytochemicals and can be useful as a drug against MDR bacterial strains. These biomolecules covering AgNPs may enhance their biological activities, which can be employed in the treatment of various microbial infections.

The activation of SYNJ2/GRB2 axis accelerates the malignant metastasis and angiogenesis of gastric cancer cells

In gastric cancer (GC), tumor cell metastasis to lymph node may occur, and can be impacted by synaptojanin 2 (SYNJ2). Herein, we explored the mechanism of SYNJ2 in the progress of GC. SYNJ2 level in GC tissues was predicted by GEPIA database. After GC cells were transfected with short hairpin RNA against SYNJ2 (shSYNJ2), shGRB2, SYNJ2 overexpression plasmid and growth factor receptor-bound protein 2 (GRB2) overexpression plasmid, the mRNA levels of SYNJ2 and GRB2 in GC cells were quantified by qRT-PCR. CCK-8, flow cytometry, wound healing, transwell and tube formation assays were performed for detecting viability, apoptosis, migration, invasion and angiogenesis of GC cells. Protein levels of GRB2, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), E-Cadherin, N-Cadherin and Vimentin in GC cells were measured by Western blot. The relationship between SYNJ2 and GRB2 was assessed by Co-immunoprecipitation (CO-IP) assay. SYNJ2 was highly expressed in GC tissues and cells. SYNJ2 overexpression promoted viability, migration, invasion, angiogenesis and GRB2 level, and inhibited apoptosis of GC cells, while shSYNJ2 exhibited opposite effects. GRB2 overexpression boosted yet shGRB2 suppressed cell migration, invasion and angiogenesis. Notably, SYNJ2 could interact with GRB2. GRB2 overexpression and shGRB2 reversed the effects of shSYNJ2 and overexpressed SYNJ2 on cell migration, invasion and angiogenesis and levels of metastasis-related proteins, respectively. In conclusion, SYNJ2 promotes GC cell metastasis and angiogenesis by up-regulating GRB2.

The phytochemical and pharmacological profile of dandelion

Dandelion (Taraxacum genus), a perennial herb belonging to the Asteraceae family is widely distributed in hillside grasslands, roadsides, fields, and river beaches in middle and low-altitude areas. It has a long history of traditional Chinese medicine usage as a heat-clearing and detoxifying agent, often consumed as tea or vegetable. Multiple pharmacological studies have demonstrated the antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, immune-regulating, antioxidant, anti-tumor, and other effects of the Taraxacum genus. Bioactive compounds associated with these effects include triterpenes and their saponins, phenolic acids, sterols and their glycosides, flavonoids, organic acids, volatile oils, and saccharides.

Machine learning methods predict recurrence of pN3b gastric cancer after radical resection

Background

The incidence of stage pN3b gastric cancer (GC) is low, and the clinical prognosis is poor, with a high rate of postoperative recurrence. Machine learning (ML) methods can predict the recurrence of GC after surgery. However, the prognostic significance for pN3b remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to predict the recurrence of pN3b through ML models.

Methods

This retrospective study included 336 patients with pN3b GC who underwent radical surgery. A 3-fold cross-validation was used to partition the participants into training and test cohorts. Linear combinations of new variable features were constructed using principal component analysis (PCA). Various ML algorithms, including random forest, support vector machine (SVM), logistic regression, multilayer perceptron (MLP), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), and Gaussian naive Bayes (GNB), were utilized to establish a recurrence prediction model. Model performance was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the curve (AUC). Python was used for the analysis of ML algorithms.

Results

Nine principal components with a cumulative variance interpretation rate of 90.71% were identified. The output results of the test set showed that random forests had the highest AUC (0.927) for predicting overall recurrence with an accuracy rate of 80.5%. Random forests had the highest AUC (0.940) for predicting regional recurrence with an accuracy of 89.7%. For predicting distant recurrence, random forests had the highest AUC (0.896) with an accuracy of 84.3%. For peritoneal recurrence, random forests had the highest AUC (0.923) with an accuracy of 83.3%.

Conclusions

ML can personalize the prediction of postoperative recurrence in patients with GC with stage pN3b.

Diagnostic value of long noncoding RNA SNHG15 in gastric cancer: in vitro and in silico studies

LncRNA SNHG15 has been recognized as the main factor in the progression of various cancer types. However, the underlying mechanisms are not well clarified. This research aimed to explore the diagnostic potential of SNHG15 in gastric cancer (GC) patients and also the effects of SNHG15-miRNA-mRNA network in GC pathobiology. The expression level of SNHG15 in GC tissues and adjacent normal tissues (ANTs) was evaluated by qRT-PCR and also considered in relation to clinicopathologic factors. The ROC curve was explored to consider the specificity and sensitivity of SNHG15. Gene ontology functional annotation and KEGG pathway analysis were performed in order to predict the effects of SNHG15-miRNA-mRNA network in GC pathobiology. SNHG15 was overexpressed in GC tissues compared to ANTs (fold change= 3.87 and P-value = 0.0022). The SNHG15 expression level was not significantly associated with clinicopathologic factors. ROC curve indicated the specificity of 63.51 and sensitivity of 79.73 and the AUC of 0.744 (P-value < 0.0001). Further gene network analysis revealed that SNHG15 interacts with has-miR-613, has-miR-542-3p, and has-miR-1236-3p, and may be involved in the GC pathobiology by affecting the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance, HIF-1 signaling pathway, and VEGF signaling pathway. It can be concluded that SNHG15 may be a diagnostic factor in GC and may contribute in a variety of cancer-related signaling pathways.

Knockdown of SETD5 inhibited glycolysis and tumor growth in gastric cancer cells by down-regulating Akt signaling pathway

Gastric cancer (GC) is the 5th most common cancer and the 3rd leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. It is of great significance to study the underlying molecular mechanism of GC, and targeting glycolysis is a good strategy to treat GC. SET domain containing 5 (SETD5) contains a catalytic methyltransferase SET domain, which is known as a lysine methyltransferase that affects the progression of multiple cancers. However, its possible role in GC was still unclear. Here, we revealed that SETD5 was highly expressed in GC and was associated with a poor prognosis. Further through the in vitro experiments, we revealed that the downregulation of SETD5 inhibited the proliferation and migration of GC cells. Knockdown of SETD5 inhibited glucose consumption and glycolysis. Further studies have shown that SETD5 knockdown restrained the Akt signaling pathway. Therefore, we thought that SETD5 could act as a GC target.

Lymphangiogenesis in gastric cancer: function and mechanism

Increased lymphangiogenesis and lymph node (LN) metastasis are thought to be important steps in cancer metastasis, and are associated with patient's poor prognosis. There is increasing evidence that the lymphatic system may play a crucial role in regulating tumor immune response and limiting tumor metastasis, since tumor lymphangiogenesis is more prominent in tumor metastasis and diffusion. Lymphangiogenesis takes place in embryonic development, wound healing, and a variety of pathological conditions, including tumors. Tumor cells and tumor microenvironment cells generate growth factors (such as lymphangiogenesis factor VEGF-C/D), which can promote lymphangiogenesis, thereby inducing the metastasis and diffusion of tumor cells. Nevertheless, the current research on lymphangiogenesis in gastric cancer is relatively scattered and lacks a comprehensive understanding. Therefore, in this review, we aim to provide a detailed perspective on molecules and signal transduction pathways that regulate gastric cancer lymphogenesis, which may provide new insights for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.