Four jointed box 1 promotes angiogenesis and is associated with poor patient survival in colorectal carcinoma

Unlocking the potential of Escherichia coli K-12: A novel approach for malignancy reduction in colorectal cancer through gene expression modulation

Studies have noted the association between Escherichia coli K-12 (E. coli K-12) and the reduction of malignancy in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this relationship have not been thoroughly explored. The aim of this study was to identify the genes influenced by E. coli K-12 and their connection to CRC. We identified the genes affected by E. coli K-12 using the GSE50040 dataset. Additionally, we investigated the relationship between the expression of genes affected by E. coli K-12 and CRC using the cancer genome atlas data. The association between the expression of E. coli K-12-affected genes and patient prognosis was investigated using clinical data. Pathways related to CRC and E. coli K-12-related genes were analyzed using the Enrichr tool. Furthermore, we employed a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network to identify hub genes associated with both E. coli K-12 and CRC. To validate our findings, we conducted RT-qPCR analysis on CRC samples and adjacent normal tissue. The results of GSE50040 showed that E. coli K-12 could change the expression of many genes related to CRC in colorectal cell lines. The results showed that E. coli K-12 reduces the expression of several genes linked to the main pathways used by cancer cells, such as the metastasis, WNT, cell proliferation pathway, and mTORC1. It was demonstrated that elevated BGN, FJX1, and LZTS1 expression is linked to a bad prognosis in patients and that E. coli K-12 may be able to lower this expression. Also, based on the PPI network, genes such as KLF4 and CXCL3 were identified as hub genes related to genes affected by E. coli K-12. When KLF4 and CXCL3 expression levels in cancer samples were compared to nearby normal tissue, a significant change in these genes' expression levels was found in CRC. Our findings demonstrated the potential relationship between oncogene genes and genes impacted by E. coli K-12. Also, our findings demonstrated that E. coli K-12 may regulate the expression of genes linked to a high death rate. In summary, the results of this study suggest that E. coli K-12 can be regarded as a significant probiotic with the potential to mitigate the risk of CRC development.

MiR-20b-5p involves in vascular aging induced by hyperhomocysteinemia

Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is an independent risk factor of atherosclerosis (AS). Some reports have shown that homocysteine (Hcy) could accelerate the development of AS by promoting endothelial cell senescence. miRNAs were widely involved in the pathophysiology of HHcy. However, few studies have focused on the changes of miRNA-mRNA networks in the artery of HHcy patients. For this reason, RNA-sequencing was adopted to investigate the expression of miRNA and mRNA in HHcy model mouse arteries. We found that the expression of 216 mRNAs and 48 miRNAs were significantly changed. Using TargetScan and miRDB web tools, 29 miRNA-mRNA pairs were predicted. Notably, miR-20b-5p and FJX1 shared the highest predicted score in TargetScan, and further study indicated that the miR-20b-5p inhibitor significantly upregulated the FJX1 expression in HHcy human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) model. PPI analysis revealed an important sub-network which was centered on CDK1. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed that HHcy had a significant effect on cell cycle. Further experiments found that Hcy management increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, the activity of senescence associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) and the protein expression of p16 and p21 in HUVECs, which were rescued by miR-20b-5p inhibitor. In general, our research indicated the important role of miR-20b-5p in HHcy-related endothelial cell senescence.

Comprehensive analysis of the prognosis and immune effect of the oncogenic protein Four Jointed Box 1

Background

The Four Jointed Box 1 (FJX1) gene has been implicated in the upregulation of various cancers, highlighting its crucial role in oncology and immunity. In order to better understand the biological function of FJX1 and identify new immunotherapy targets for cancer, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of this gene.

Methods

We analyzed the expression profiles and prognostic value of FJX1 using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx). Copy number alterations (CNAs), mutations, and DNA methylation were analyzed through cBioPortal. The Immune Cell Abundance Identifier (ImmuCellAI) was used to examine the correlation between FJX1 expression and immune cell infiltration. The relationship between FJX1 expression and immune-related genes and immunosuppressive pathway-related genes was analyzed using The Tumor Immune Estimation Resource version 2 (TIMER2). Tumor mutational burden (TMB) and microsatellite instability (MSI) were obtained from TCGA pan-cancer data. The effect of immunotherapy and the IC50 were assessed using IMvigor210CoreBiologies and Genomics For Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC). Finally, we evaluated the impact of FJX1 on colon cancer cell proliferation and migration through in vitro functional experiments.

Results

Our study indicated that FJX1 expression was high in most cancers and was significantly associated with poor prognosis. High FJX1 expression was also linked to significant alterations in CNA, DNA methylation, TMB, and MSI. Positive correlations were found between FJX1 expression and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and with immune-related genes such as TGFB1 and IL-10 and immunosuppressive pathway-related genes such as TGFB1 and WNT1. On the other hand, FJX1 expression showed a negative relationship with CD8+ T cells. Furthermore, high FJX1 expression led to reduced effectiveness of immunotherapy and drug resistance. In colon cancer cells, FJX1 knockdown was found to decrease cell proliferation and migration.

Conclusion

Our research findings demonstrate that FJX1 is a new prognostic factor with a significant role in tumor immunity. Our results highlight the importance of further exploring the potential of targeting FJX1 as a therapeutic strategy in cancer.

In Silico Pan-Cancer Analysis Reveals Prognostic Role of the Erythroferrone (ERFE) Gene in Human Malignancies

The erythroferrone gene (ERFE), also termed CTRP15, belongs to the C1q tumor necrosis factor-related protein (CTRP) family. Despite multiple reports about the involvement of CTRPs in cancer, the role of ERFE in cancer progression is largely unknown. We previously found that ERFE was upregulated in erythroid progenitors in myelodysplastic syndromes and strongly predicted overall survival. To understand the potential molecular interactions and identify cues for further functional investigation and the prognostic impact of ERFE in other malignancies, we performed a pan-cancer in silico analysis utilizing the Cancer Genome Atlas datasets. Our analysis shows that the ERFE mRNA is significantly overexpressed in 22 tumors and affects the prognosis in 11 cancer types. In certain tumors such as breast cancer and adrenocortical carcinoma, ERFE overexpression has been associated with the presence of oncogenic mutations and a higher tumor mutational burden. The expression of ERFE is co-regulated with the factors and pathways involved in cancer progression and metastasis, including activated pathways of the cell cycle, extracellular matrix/tumor microenvironment, G protein-coupled receptor, NOTCH, WNT, and PI3 kinase-AKT. Moreover, ERFE expression influences intratumoral immune cell infiltration. Conclusively, ERFE is aberrantly expressed in pan-cancer and can potentially function as a prognostic biomarker based on its putative functions during tumorigenesis and tumor development.

Regulation of secretory pathway kinase or kinase-like proteins in human cancers

Secretory pathway kinase or kinase-like proteins (SPKKPs) are effective in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), Golgi apparatus (GA), and extracellular space. These proteins are involved in secretory signaling pathways and are distinctive from typical protein kinases. Various reports have shown that SPKKPs regulate the tumorigenesis and progression of human cancer via the phosphorylation of various substrates, which is essential in physiological and pathological processes. Emerging evidence has revealed that the expression of SPKKPs in human cancers is regulated by multiple factors. This review summarizes the current understanding of the contribution of SPKKPs in tumorigenesis and the progression of immunity. With the epidemic trend of immunotherapy, targeting SPKKPs may be a novel approach to anticancer therapy. This study briefly discusses the recent advances regarding SPKKPs.

Comprehensive analysis of transient receptor potential channels-related signature for prognosis, tumor immune microenvironment, and treatment response of colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

Transient receptor potential channels (TRPC) play critical regulatory functions in cancer occurrence and progression. However, knowledge on its role in colorectal cancer (CRC) is limited. In addition, neoadjuvant treatment and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have increasing roles in CRC management, but not all patients benefit from them. In this study, a TRPC related signature (TRPCRS) was constructed for prognosis, tumor immune microenvironment (TIME), and treatment response of CRC.

METHODS

Data on CRC gene expression and clinical features were retrospectively collected from TCGA and GEO databases. Twenty-eight TRPC regulators (TRPCR) were retrieved using gene set enrichment analysis. Different TRPCR expression patterns were identified using non-negative matrix factorization for consensus clustering, and a TRPCRS was established using LASSO. The potential value of TRPCRS was assessed using functional enrichment analysis, tumor immune analysis, tumor somatic mutation analysis, and response to preoperative chemoradiotherapy or ICIs. Moreover, an external validation was conducted using rectal cancer samples that received preoperative chemoradiotherapy at Fujian Cancer Hospital (FJCH) via qRT-PCR.

RESULTS

Among 834 CRC samples in the TCGA and meta-GEO cohorts, two TRPCR expression patterns were identified, which were associated with various immune infiltrations. In addition, 266 intersected genes from 5564 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between two TRPC subtypes, 4605 DEGs between tumor tissue and adjacent non-tumor tissue (all FDR< 0.05, adjusted P< 0.001), and 1329 prognostic related genes (P< 0.05) were identified to establish the TRPCRS, which was confirmed in the TCGA cohort, two cohorts from GEO, and one qRT-PCR cohort from FJCH. According to the current signature, the high-TRPC score group had higher expressions of PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA4, lower TIDE score, and improved response to anti-PD-1 treatment with better predictive ability. Compared to the high-TRPC score group, the low-TRPC score group comprised an immunosuppressive phenotype with increased infiltration of neutrophils and activated MAPK signaling pathway, but was more sensitive to preoperative chemoradiotherapy and associated with improved prognosis.

CONCLUSIONS

The current TRPCRS predicted the prognosis of CRC, evaluated the TIME in CRC, and anticipated the response to immune therapy and neoadjuvant treatment.

Multi-Omics Analysis of the Tumor Microenvironment in Liver Metastasis of Colorectal Cancer Identified FJX1 as a Novel Biomarker

Colorectal cancer incidence and mortality have increased in recent years, with more than half of patients who died of colorectal cancer developing liver metastases. Consequently, colorectal cancer liver metastasis is the focus of clinical treatment, as well as being the most difficult. The primary target genes related to colorectal cancer liver metastasis were via bioinformatics analysis. First, five prognosis-related genes, CTAG1A, CSTL1, FJX1, IER5L, and KLHL35, were identified through screening, and the prognosis of the CSTL1, FJX1, IER5L, and KLHL35 high expression group was considerably poorer than that of the low expression group. Furthermore, the clinical correlation analysis revealed that in distinct pathological stages T, N, and M, the mRNA expression levels of CSTL1, IER5L, and KLHL35 were higher than in normal tissues. Finally, a correlation study of the above genes and clinical manifestations revealed that FJX1 was strongly linked to colorectal cancer liver metastasis. FJX1 is thought to affect chromogenic modification enzymes, the Notch signaling system, cell senescence, and other signaling pathways, according to KEGG enrichment analysis. FJX1 may be a critical target in colorectal cancer metastasis, and thus has the potential as a new biomarker to predict and treat colorectal cancer liver metastases.

The Functional Role of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Melanoma

Melanoma is the most lethal skin cancer, with increasing incidence worldwide. The molecular events that drive melanoma development and progression have been extensively studied, resulting in significant improvements in diagnostics and therapeutic approaches. However, a high drug resistance to targeted therapies and adverse effects of immunotherapies are still a major challenge in melanoma treatment. Therefore, the elucidation of molecular mechanisms of melanomagenesis and cancer response to treatment is of great importance. Recently, many studies have revealed the close association of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) with the development of many cancers, including melanoma. These RNA molecules are able to regulate a plethora of crucial cellular processes including proliferation, differentiation, migration, invasion and apoptosis through diverse mechanisms, and even slight dysregulation of their expression may lead to tumorigenesis. lncRNAs are able to bind to protein complexes, DNA and RNAs, affecting their stability, activity, and localization. They can also regulate gene expression in the nucleus. Several functions of lncRNAs are context-dependent. This review summarizes current knowledge regarding the involvement of lncRNAs in melanoma. Their possible role as prognostic markers of melanoma response to treatment and in resistance to therapy is also discussed.

Mice with dysfunctional TGF-β signaling develop altered intestinal microbiome and colorectal cancer resistant to 5FU

Emerging data show a rise in colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence in young men and women that is often chemoresistant. One potential risk factor is an alteration in the microbiome. Here, we investigated the role of TGF-β signaling on the intestinal microbiome and the efficacy of chemotherapy for CRC induced by azoxymethane and dextran sodium sulfate in mice. We used two genotypes of TGF-β-signaling-deficient mice (Smad4^+/- and Smad4^+/-Sptbn1^+/-), which developed CRC with similar phenotypes and had similar alterations in the intestinal microbiome. Using these mice, we evaluated the intestinal microbiome and determined the effect of dysfunctional TGF-β signaling on the response to the chemotherapeutic agent 5-Fluoro-uracil (5FU) after induction of CRC. Using shotgun metagenomic sequencing, we determined gut microbiota composition in mice with CRC and found reduced amounts of beneficial species of Bacteroides and Parabacteroides in the mutants compared to the wild-type (WT) mice. Furthermore, the mutant mice with CRC were resistant to 5FU. Whereas the abundances of E. boltae, B.dorei, Lachnoclostridium sp., and Mordavella sp. were significantly reduced in mice with CRC, these species only recovered to basal amounts after 5FU treatment in WT mice, suggesting that the alterations in the intestinal microbiome resulting from compromised TGF-β signaling impaired the response to 5FU. These findings could have implications for inhibiting the TGF-β pathway in the treatment of CRC or other cancers.

The Importance of Sex in the Discovery of Colorectal Cancer Prognostic Biomarkers

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer deaths. Advances within bioinformatics, such as machine learning, can improve biomarker discovery and ultimately improve CRC survival rates. There are clear sex differences in CRC characteristics, but the impact of sex has not been considered with regards to CRC biomarkers. Our aim here was to investigate sex differences in the transcriptome of a normal colon and CRC, and between paired normal and tumor tissue. Next, we attempted to identify CRC diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and investigate if they are sex-specific. We collected paired normal and tumor tissue, performed RNA-seq, and applied feature selection in combination with machine learning to identify the top CRC diagnostic biomarkers. We used The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data to identify sex-specific CRC diagnostic biomarkers and performed an overall survival analysis to identify sex-specific prognostic biomarkers. We found transcriptomic sex differences in both the normal colon tissue and in CRC. Forty-four of the top-ranked biomarkers were sex-specific and 20 biomarkers showed a sex-specific prognostic value. Our data show the importance of sex in the discovery of CRC biomarkers. We propose 20 sex-specific CRC prognostic biomarkers, including ESM1, GUCA2A, and VWA2 for males and CLDN1 and FUT1 for females.

Knockdown of PVT1 Suppresses Colorectal Cancer Progression by Regulating MiR-106b-5p/FJX1 Axis

Purpose

Long non-coding RNA plasmacytoma variant translocation 1 (PVT1) has been revealed to involve in the progression of CRC. However, the precise mechanisms of PVT1 in action remain unclear.

Methods

The expression of PVT1, microRNA-106b-5p (miR-106b-5p) and four jointed box 1 (FJX1) was measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) or Western blot, respectively. Cell proliferation was investigated by 3-(4,5)-dimethylthiahiazo (−z-y1)-3,5-di-phenytetrazoliumromide assay. Transwell assay was used to determine cell migration and invasion. The correlation between miR-106b-5p and PVT1 or FJX1 was confirmed using luciferase reporter assay. The effects of PVT1 in vivo were assessed using mice xenograft model.

Results

PVT1 was up-regulated in CRC tissues and cell lines, especially in CRC tissues with high-grade, and highly expressed PVT1 predicted worse prognosis. Functional experiments demonstrated that PVT1 deletion inhibited CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro and suppressed tumor growth in vivo. MiR-106b-5p was confirmed to be a target of PVT1, and inhibition of miR-106b-5p reversed the inhibitory effects of PVT1 knockdown on CRC cell malignant phenotypes. In addition, we found miR-106b-5p directly targeted FJX1, and miR-106b-5p-mediated inhibition on CRC cell proliferation, migration and invasion was attenuated by FJX1 up-regulation. Importantly, it was also proved that PVT1 could indirectly regulate FJX1 expression via targeting miR-106b-5p.

Conclusion

Knockdown of PVT1 impaired cell proliferation, migration and invasion in CRCs via regulating miR-106b-5p/FJX1 axis, which provided a novel insight into the development of therapeutic strategies for CRC patients.

FOXD3-AS1 Contributes to the Progression of Melanoma Via miR-127-3p/FJX1 Axis

Background: Melanoma, belonging to a kind of skin cancer, takes a big part in cancer-associated deaths globally. Abundant documents have recorded the crucial roles of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) in the initiation and development of tumors. lncRNA forkhead box D3 antisense RNA 1 (FOXD3-AS1) has been commonly identified as a key regulator in the progression of multiple cancers; however, the way it exerts function remains obscure in melanoma. Materials and Methods: FOXD3-AS1 expression was examined by RT-qPCR. The role of FOXD3-AS1 in melanoma was determined by 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU), transwell, and Western blot assays. The combination between microRNA-127-3p and FOXD3-AS1 (or four jointed box 1 [FJX1]) was confirmed by luciferase reporter and RNA immunoprecipitation assays. Results: FOXD3-AS1 was markedly upregulated in melanoma cells. It was validated by loss-of-function assays that cell proliferation and migration were inhibited by FOXD3-AS1 deficiency, while cell apoptosis was facilitated by FOXD3-AS1 knockdown in melanoma. Mechanistic exploration testified that miR-127-3p could bind to FOXD3-AS1 and its expression was negatively modulated by FOXD3-AS1 in melanoma. Besides, overexpression of miR-127-3p repressed melanoma progression. Moreover, miR-127-3p was certified to negatively regulate the expression of the FJX1, and miR-127-3p could combine with FJX1 in melanoma cells. Rescue assays depicted that FJX1 overexpression countervailed FOXD3-AS1 silencing-mediated inhibition on melanoma progression. Conclusions: Overall, FOXD3-AS1 contributes to the progression of melanoma via miR-127-3p/FJX1 axis.

MicroRNA-1249 targets four-jointed box kinase 1 and reduces cell proliferation, migration and invasion of colon adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

MiR-1249 was demonstrated to be dysregulated and related to prognosis in cancers. It has been reported to be significantly down-regulated in colon adenocarcinoma (COAD). The present study aimed to explore the clinical value and biological roles of miR-1249 in the progression of COAD.

METHODS

miRWalk was applied to predict potential targets of miR-1249. We investigated the expression patterns of miR-1249 and its potential target Four-Jointed Box Kinase 1 (FJX1) in COAD samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) or ONCOMINE database. Kaplan-Meier with a log-rank test was used to reveal the relationship between overall survival (OS) and miR-1249/FJX1. The predictive ability of miR-1249/FJX1 was investigated using univariate and multivariate Cox regression models. CCK-8 and Transwell assays were performed to determine whether miR-1249 was connected with cell viability, migration and invasion. A luciferase reporter assay was applied to verify the association of miR-1249 and FJX1 as its predicted target gene.

RESULTS

We predicted and confirmed FJX1 to be a target gene of miR-1249. MiR-1249 was down-regulated in COAD samples and cell lines. Univariate and multivariate analysis showed that the expression of FJX1 could be regarded as independent predictor for COAD. Moreover, miR-1249 and FJX1 were respectively the indicators of favorable and poor OS. MiR-1249 over-expression repressed cell growth, migration and invasion. Overexpression of FJX1 in cells treated with miR-1249 mimic abolished the inhibitory effect of miR-1249 on cell growth, migration and invasion.

CONCLUSIONS

miR-1249 exerts a suppressive effect on cell proliferation, migration and invasion in COAD, which is possibly achieved via modulating FJX1.

Explore prognostic marker of colorectal cancer based on ceRNA network

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. With the deepening of people's understanding of CRC at the molecular level, the survival and prognosis of CRC have been significantly improved with the help of surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, molecular targeted biological therapy and early detection of diseases. The research of different disciplines and the development of multihistological analysis in recent years have proved that the occurrence and development of CRC is a complex biological process with the common action of multiple factors, which involves the huge changes of various histological levels such as the genome, transcriptome, and epigenome. At present, the abnormal expression of protein products in the transcription process has attracted more and more attention. Based on the sensitivity and timeliness of its changes, it has become a hot topic to study the occurrence and development mechanism of CRC through transcriptome changes, so as to provide markers for early diagnosis and prognosis. In recent years, competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) has become one of the hot topics in cancer research. The ceRNA hypothesis holds that transcripts such as long noncoding RNA can competitively bind microRNA (miRNA), thus preventing miRNA from binding to messenger RNA (mRNA) and thereby regulating the expression of mRNA. At present, the interaction mechanism of ceRNA in CRC is still unclear, and exploring its interaction relationship is of great significance to elucidate the occurrence and development mechanism of CRC. In this study, we used The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) RNA - seq data of colorectal Cancer and microRnas - seq data to construct colorectal Cancer ceRNA topology network to mine key RNAs that influence the prognosis of colorectal cancer, providing potential RNA biomarkers.

An Oncogenic Role for Four-Jointed Box 1 (FJX1) in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a highly metastatic cancer prevalent in Southern China and Southeast Asia. The current knowledge on the molecular pathogenesis of NPC is still inadequate to improve disease management. Using gene expression microarrays, we have identified the four-jointed box 1 (FJX1) gene to be upregulated in primary NPC tissues relative to nonmalignant tissues. An orthologue of human FJX1, the four-jointed (fj) gene in Drosophila and Fjx1 in mouse, has reported to be associated with cancer progression pathways. However, the exact function of FJX1 in human is not well characterized. The overexpression of FJX1 mRNA was validated in primary NPC tissue samples, and the level of FJX1 protein was significantly higher in a subset of NPC tissues (42%) compared to the normal epithelium, where no expression of FJX1 was observed (p = 0.01). FJX1 is also found to be overexpressed in microarray datasets and TCGA datasets of other cancers including head and neck cancer, colorectal, and ovarian cancer. Both siRNA knockdown and overexpression experiments in NPC cell lines showed that FJX1 promotes cell proliferation, anchorage-dependent growth, and cellular invasion. Cyclin D1 and E1 mRNA levels were increased following FJX1 expression indicating that FJX1 enhances proliferation by regulating key proteins governing the cell cycle. Our data suggest that the overexpression of FJX1 contributes to a more aggressive phenotype of NPC cells and further investigations into FJX1 as a potential therapeutic target for NPC are warranted. The evaluation of FJX1 as an immunotherapy target for NPC and other cancers is currently ongoing.

In vitro evaluation of dual-antigenic PV1 peptide vaccine in head and neck cancer patients

Peptide vaccines derived from tumour-associated antigens have been used as an immunotherapeutic approach to induce specific cytotoxic immune response against tumour. We previously identified that MAGED4B and FJX1 proteins are overexpressed in HNSCC patients; and further demonstrated that two HLA-A2-restricted 9-11 amino acid peptides derived from these proteins were able to induce anti-tumour immune responses in vitro independently using PBMCs isolated from these patients. In this study, we evaluated the immunogenicity and efficacy of a dual-antigenic peptide vaccine (PV1), comprised of MAGED4B and FJX1 peptides in HNSCC patients. We first demonstrated that 94.8% of HNSCC patients expressed MAGED4B and/or FJX1 by immunohistochemistry, suggesting that PV1 could benefit the majority of HNSCC patients. The presence of pre-existing MAGED4B and FJX1-specific T-cells was detected using a HLA-A2 dimer assay and efficacy of PV1 to induce T-cell to secrete cytotoxic cytokine was evaluated using ELISPOT assay. Pre-existing PV1-specific T-cells were detected in all patients. Notably, we demonstrated that patients' T-cells were able to secrete cytotoxic cytokines upon exposure to target cells expressing the respective antigen post PV1 stimulation. Furthermore, patients with high expression of MAGED4B and FJX1 in their tumours were more responsive to PV1 stimulation, demonstrating the specificity of the PV1 peptide vaccine. Additionally, we also demonstrated the expression of MAGED4B and FJX1 in breast, lung, colon, prostate and rectal cancer suggesting the potential use of PV1 in these cancers. In summary, PV1 could be a good vaccine candidate for the treatment of HNSCC patients and other cancers expressing these antigens.

Epithelial Smad4 Deletion Up-Regulates Inflammation and Promotes Inflammation-Associated Cancer

Background & Aims

Chronic inflammation is a predisposing condition for colorectal cancer. Many studies to date have focused on proinflammatory signaling pathways in the colon. Understanding the mechanisms that suppress inflammation, particularly in epithelial cells, is critical for developing therapeutic interventions. Here, we explored the roles of transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) family signaling through SMAD4 in colonic epithelial cells.

Methods

The Smad4 gene was deleted specifically in adult murine intestinal epithelium. Colitis was induced by 3 rounds of dextran sodium sulfate in drinking water, after which mice were observed for up to 3 months. Nontransformed mouse colonocyte cell lines and colonoid cultures and human colorectal cancer cell lines were analyzed for responses to TGFβ1 and bone morphogenetic protein 2.

Results

Dextran sodium sulfate treatment was sufficient to drive carcinogenesis in mice lacking colonic Smad4 expression, with resulting tumors bearing striking resemblance to human colitis-associated carcinoma. Loss of SMAD4 protein was observed in 48% of human colitis-associated carcinoma samples as compared with 19% of sporadic colorectal carcinomas. Loss of Smad4 increased the expression of inflammatory mediators within nontransformed mouse colon epithelial cells in vivo. In vitro analysis of mouse and human colonic epithelial cell lines and organoids indicated that much of this regulation was cell autonomous. Furthermore, TGFβ signaling inhibited the epithelial inflammatory response to proinflammatory cytokines.

Conclusions

TGFβ suppresses the expression of proinflammatory genes in the colon epithelium, and loss of its downstream mediator, SMAD4, is sufficient to initiate inflammation-driven colon cancer. Transcript profiling: GSE100082.

Overexpression of Four Joint Box-1 Protein (FJX1) in Eutopic Endometrium From Women With Endometriosis

The four jointed box 1 (FJX1) is a regulator of angiogenesis, and the levels of FJX1 are increased in several types of cancer. Angiogenesis plays a critical role in endometrial growth as well as in several gynecologic disorders including endometriosis. However, the function of FJX1 has not been studied in endometriosis. Therefore, we examined the levels of FJX1 in eutopic endometrium from women with or without endometriosis. The levels of FJX1 protein did not change in endometrial cells during the menstrual cycle in endometrium from women without endometriosis. However, its levels were significantly higher in the secretory phase of the eutopic endometrium from women with endometriosis when compared to women without endometriosis. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF1α) is known as a key mediator of endometriosis by regulating genes essential to estrogen production, angiogenesis, proliferation, inflammation, and extracellular invasion. It has been reported that FJX1 induces an increase in HIF1α through posttranslational stabilization. The results of our Western blot analysis reveal a significant positive correlation between FJX1 and HIF1α proteins in endometrium of women with and without endometriosis. This overexpression of FJX1 was confirmed by sequential analysis of the eutopic endometrium during endometriosis progression, using an induced model of endometriosis in the baboon. Therefore, our results suggest that high levels of FJX1 proteins may play an important role in the pathogenesis of endometriosis.

Dynamic regulation of VEGF-inducible genes by an ERK/ERG/p300 transcriptional network

The transcriptional pathways activated downstream of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling during angiogenesis remain incompletely characterized. By assessing the signals responsible for induction of the Notch ligand delta-like 4 (DLL4) in endothelial cells, we find that activation of the MAPK/ERK pathway mirrors the rapid and dynamic induction of DLL4 transcription and that this pathway is required for DLL4 expression. Furthermore, VEGF/ERK signaling induces phosphorylation and activation of the ETS transcription factor ERG, a prerequisite for DLL4 induction. Transcription of DLL4 coincides with dynamic ERG-dependent recruitment of the transcriptional co-activator p300. Genome-wide gene expression profiling identified a network of VEGF-responsive and ERG-dependent genes, and ERG chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-seq revealed the presence of conserved ERG-bound putative enhancer elements near these target genes. Functional experiments performed in vitro and in vivo confirm that this network of genes requires ERK, ERG and p300 activity. Finally, genome-editing and transgenic approaches demonstrate that a highly conserved ERG-bound enhancer located upstream of HLX (which encodes a transcription factor implicated in sprouting angiogenesis) is required for its VEGF-mediated induction. Collectively, these findings elucidate a novel transcriptional pathway contributing to VEGF-dependent angiogenesis.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma invasion is inhibited by Activin A in ACVRIB-positive cells

Background

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a global public health issue, as it is the eighth most common cancer worldwide. The mechanisms behind ESCC invasion and progression are still poorly understood, and warrant further investigation into these processes and their drivers. In recent years, the ligand Activin A has been implicated as a player in the progression of a number of cancers. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of Activin A signaling in ESCC.

Methods

To investigate the role Activin A plays in ESCC biology, tissue microarrays containing 200 cores from 120 ESCC patients were analyzed upon immunofluorescence staining. We utilized three-dimensional organotypic reconstruct cultures of dysplastic and esophageal squamous tumor cells lines, in the context of fibroblast-secreted Activin A, to identify the effects of Activin A on cell invasion and determine protein expression and localization in epithelial and stromal compartments by immunofluorescence. To identify the functional consequences of stromal-derived Activin A on angiogenesis, we performed endothelial tube formation assays.

Results

Analysis of ESCC patient samples indicated that patients with high stromal Activin A expression had low epithelial ACVRIB, the Activin type I receptor. We found that overexpression of stromal-derived Activin A inhibited invasion of esophageal dysplastic squamous cells, ECdnT, and TE-2 ESCC cells, both positive for ACVRIB. This inhibition was accompanied by a decrease in expression of the extracellular matrix (ECM) protein fibronectin and podoplanin, which is often expressed at the leading edge during invasion. Endothelial tube formation was disrupted in the presence of conditioned media from fibroblasts overexpressing Activin A. Interestingly, ACVRIB-negative TE-11 cells did not show the prior observed effects in the context of Activin A overexpression, indicating a dependence on the presence of ACVRIB.

Conclusions

We describe the first observation of an inhibitory role for Activin A in ESCC progression that is dependent on the expression of ACVRIB.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2920-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Targeting the Hippo pathway: Clinical implications and therapeutics

The Hippo pathway plays a critical role in tissue and organ size regulation by restraining cell proliferation and apoptosis under homeostatic conditions. Deregulation of this pathway can promote tumorigenesis in multiple malignant human tumor types, including sarcoma, breast, lung and liver cancers. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of Hippo pathway function, it's role in human cancer, and address the potential of Hippo pathway member proteins as therapeutic targets for a variety of tumors.

Identification of Four-Jointed Box 1 (FJX1)-Specific Peptides for Immunotherapy of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is highly prevalent in South East Asia and China. The poor outcome is due to late presentation, recurrence, distant metastasis and limited therapeutic options. For improved treatment outcome, immunotherapeutic approaches focusing on dendritic and autologous cytotoxic T-cell based therapies have been developed, but cost and infrastructure remain barriers for implementing these in low-resource settings. As our prior observations had found that four-jointed box 1 (FJX1), a tumor antigen, is overexpressed in NPCs, we investigated if short 9-20 amino acid sequence specific peptides matching to FJX1 requiring only intramuscular immunization to train host immune systems would be a better treatment option for this disease. Thus, we designed 8 FJX1-specific peptides and implemented an assay system to first, assess the binding of these peptides to HLA-A2 molecules on T2 cells. After, ELISPOT assays were used to determine the peptides immunogenicity and ability to induce potential cytotoxicity activity towards cancer cells. Also, T-cell proliferation assay was used to evaluate the potential of MHC class II peptides to stimulate the expansion of isolated T-cells. Our results demonstrate that these peptides are immunogenic and peptide stimulated T-cells were able to induce peptide-specific cytolytic activity specifically against FJX1-expressing cancer cells. In addition, we demonstrated that the MHC class II peptides were capable of inducing T-cell proliferation. Our results suggest that these peptides are capable of inducing specific cytotoxic cytokines secretion against FJX1-expressing cancer cells and serve as a potential vaccine-based therapy for NPC patients.

FAT1 cadherin is multiply phosphorylated on its ectodomain but phosphorylation is not catalysed by the four-jointed homologue

The interaction between the Drosophila cadherins fat and dachsous is regulated by phosphorylation of their respective ectodomains, a process catalysed by the atypical kinase four-jointed. Given that many signalling functions are conserved between Drosophila and vertebrate Fat cadherins, we sought to determine whether ectodomain phosphorylation is conserved in FAT1 cadherin, and also whether FJX1, the vertebrate orthologue of four-jointed, was involved in such phosphorylation events. Potential Fj consensus phosphorylation motifs were identified in FAT1 and biochemical experiments revealed the presence of phosphoserine and phosphothreonine residues in its extracellular domain. However, silencing FJX1 did not influence the levels of FAT1 ectodomain phosphorylation, indicating that other mechanisms are likely responsible.

Deficiency of the microRNA-31-microRNA-720 pathway in the plasma and endothelial progenitor cells from patients with coronary artery disease

OBJECTIVE

Defects in angiogenesis/vasculogenesis or vessel repair are major complications of coronary artery disease (CAD). Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) play a fundamental role in postnatal vascular repair and CAD. The role of microRNAs in CAD pathogenesis and their potential as biomarkers remain to be elucidated.

APPROACH AND RESULTS

MicroRNA-31 (miR-31) level in both the plasma and EPCs of patients with CAD is found lower. miR-31 regulates EPC activities by targeting FAT atypical cadherin 4 and thromboxane A2 receptor, which show increased expression in CAD EPCs. Overexpressing miR-31 in CAD EPCs rescued their angiogenic and vasculogenic abilities both in vitro and in vivo. When exploring approaches to restore endogenous miR-31, we found that far-infrared treatment enhanced the expression of not only miR-31, but also miR-720 in CAD EPCs. miR-720, which was also decreased in EPCs and the plasma of patients with CAD, stimulated EPC activity by targeting vasohibin 1. The miR720-vasohibin 1 pair was shown to be downstream of FAT atypical cadherin 4, but not of thromboxane A2 receptor. FAT atypical cadherin 4 inhibited miR-720 expression via repression of the planar cell polarity signaling gene four-jointed box 1 (FJX1), which was required for miR-720 expression through a hypoxia-inducible factor 1, α subunit-dependent mechanism. Restoring miR-720 level strengthened activity of CAD EPCs. The miR-31-miR-720 pathway is shown critical to EPC activation and that downregulation of this pathway contributes to CAD pathogenesis. Circulating levels of miR-31, miR-720, and vasohibin 1 have the potential to allow early diagnosis of CAD and to act as prognosis biomarkers for CAD and other EPC-related diseases.

CONCLUSIONS

Manipulating the expression of the miR-31-miR-720 pathway in malfunction EPCs should help develop novel therapeutic modalities.