Prognostic role of cyclin B1 in solid tumors: a meta-analysis

Stratification of glioma based on stemness scores in bulk and single-cell transcriptomes

BACKGROUND

Brain tumours are known to have a high mortality and morbidity rate due to their localised and frequent invasive growth. The concept that glioma resistance could originate from the dissimilarity in the vulnerability of clonogenic glial stem cells to chemotherapeutic drugs and radiation has driven the scientific community to reexamine the comprehension of glioma growth and strategies that target these cells or modify their stemness.

METHODS

Based on the enrichment scores of 12 stemness signatures, we identified glioma subtypes in both tumour bulks and single cells by clustering analysis. Furthermore, we comprehensively compared molecular and clinical features among the glioma subtypes.

RESULTS

Consistently, in seven different datasets, hierarchical clustering uncovered three subtypes of glioma, termed Stem-H, Stem-M, and Stem-L, with high, medium, and low stemness signatures, respectively. Stem-H and Stem-L exhibited the most unfavorable and favourable overall and disease-free survival, respectively. Stem-H showed the highest enrichment scores of the EMT, invasion, proliferation, differentiation, and metastasis processes signatures, while Stem-L displayed the lowest. Stem-H harboured a greater proportion of late-stage tumours compared to Stem-L. Moreover, Stem-H manifested higher tumour mutation burden, DNA damage repair and cell cycle activity, intratumour heterogeneity, and a more frequent incidence of TP53 and EGFR mutations than Stem-L. In contrast, Stem-L had higher O6-Methylguanine-DNA Methyltransferase (MGMT) methylation levels.

CONCLUSION

The classification of glioma based on stemness may offer new insights into the biology of the tumour, as well as more accurate clinical management of the disease.

The Pacific oyster reproduction is affected by early-life exposure to environmental pesticide mixture: A multigenerational study

Pesticides threat marine organisms worldwide. Among them, the Pacific oyster is a bivalve mollusc model in marine ecotoxicology. A large body of literature already stated on the multiple-scale effects pesticides can trigger in the Pacific oyster, throughout its life cycle and in a delayed manner. In particular, reproductive toxicity is of major concern because of its influence on population dynamics. However, past studies mostly investigated pesticide reprotoxicity as a direct effect of exposure during gametogenesis or directly on gametes and little is known about the influence of an early embryo exposure on the breed capacity. Therefore, we studied delayed and multigenerational consequences through gametogenesis features (i.e. sex ratio, glycogen content, gene expression) and reproductive success in two consecutive oyster generations (F0 and F1) exposed to an environmentally-relevant pesticide mixture (sum nominal concentration: 2.85 μg.L-1) during embryo-larval development (0-48 h post fertilization, hpf). In the first generation, glycogen content increased in exposed individuals and the expression of some gametogenesis target genes was modified. The reproductive success measured 48 hpf was higher in exposed individuals. A multigenerational influence was observed in the second generation, with feminisation, acceleration of gametogenesis processes and the sex-specific modification of glycogen metabolism in individuals from exposed parents. This study is the first to highlight the delayed effects on reproduction induced by an early exposure to pesticides, and its multigenerational implications in the Pacific oyster. It suggests that environmental pesticide contamination can have impacts on the recruitment and the dynamics of natural oyster populations exposed during their embryo-larval phase.

Bis-arylidene oxindoles for colorectal cancer nanotherapy

Oxindoles are potent anti-cancer agents and are also used against microbial and fungal infections and for treating neurodegenerative diseases. These oxindoles are earlier established as estrogen receptor (ER)-targeted agents for killing ER (+) cancer cells. Our previously developed bis-arylidene oxindole, Oxifen (OXF) exhibits effective targeting towards ER (+) cancer cells which has a structural resemblance with tamoxifen. Herein, we have designed and synthesized few structural analogues of OXF such as BPYOX, ACPOX and ACPOXF to examine its cytotoxicity in different cancer as well as non-cancer cell lines and its potential to form self- aggregates in aqueous solution. Among these series of molecules, ACPOXF showed maximum toxicity in colorectal cancer cell line which are ER (-) but it also kills non-cancer cell line HEK-293, thereby reducing its cancer cell selectivity. Incidentally, ACPOXF exhibits self-aggregation, without the help of a co-lipid with nanometric size in aqueous solution. ACPOXF self-aggregate was co-formulated with glucocorticoid receptor (GR) synthetic ligand, dexamethasone (Dex) (called, ACPOXF-Dex aggregate) which could selectively kill ER (-) colorectal cancer cells and also could increase survivability of colon-tumour bearing mice. ACPOXF-Dex induced ROS up-regulation followed by apoptosis through expression of caspase-3. Further, we observed upregulation of antiproliferative factor, p53 and epithelial-to-mesenchymal (EMT) reversal marker E-cadherin in tumour mass. In conclusion, a typical structural modification in ER-targeting Oxifen moiety resulted in its self-aggregation that enabled it to carry a GR-ligand, thus broadening its selective antitumor property especially as colon cancer therapeutics.

Potentials and future perspectives of multi-target drugs in cancer treatment: the next generation anti-cancer agents

Cancer is a major public health problem worldwide with more than an estimated 19.3 million new cases in 2020. The occurrence rises dramatically with age, and the overall risk accumulation is combined with the tendency for cellular repair mechanisms to be less effective in older individuals. Conventional cancer treatments, such as radiotherapy, surgery, and chemotherapy, have been used for decades to combat cancer. However, the emergence of novel fields of cancer research has led to the exploration of innovative treatment approaches focused on immunotherapy, epigenetic therapy, targeted therapy, multi-omics, and also multi-target therapy. The hypothesis was based on that drugs designed to act against individual targets cannot usually battle multigenic diseases like cancer. Multi-target therapies, either in combination or sequential order, have been recommended to combat acquired and intrinsic resistance to anti-cancer treatments. Several studies focused on multi-targeting treatments due to their advantages include; overcoming clonal heterogeneity, lower risk of multi-drug resistance (MDR), decreased drug toxicity, and thereby lower side effects. In this study, we'll discuss about multi-target drugs, their benefits in improving cancer treatments, and recent advances in the field of multi-targeted drugs. Also, we will study the research that performed clinical trials using multi-target therapeutic agents for cancer treatment.

Uncovering Cell Cycle Dysregulations and Associated Mechanisms in Cancer and Neurodegenerative Disorders: A Glimpse of Hope for Repurposed Drugs

The cell cycle is the sequence of events orchestrated by a complex network of cell cycle proteins. Unlike normal cells, mature neurons subsist in a quiescent state of the cell cycle, and aberrant cell cycle activation triggers neuronal death accompanied by neurodegeneration. The periodicity of cell cycle events is choreographed by various mechanisms, including DNA damage repair, oxidative stress, neurotrophin activity, and ubiquitin-mediated degradation. Given the relevance of cell cycle processes in cancer and neurodegeneration, this review delineates the overlapping cell cycle events, signaling pathways, and mechanisms associated with cell cycle aberrations in cancer and the major neurodegenerative disorders. We suggest that dysregulation of some common fundamental signaling processes triggers anomalous cell cycle activation in cancer cells and neurons. We discussed the possible use of cell cycle inhibitors for neurodegenerative disorders and described the associated challenges. We propose that a greater understanding of the common mechanisms driving cell cycle aberrations in cancer and neurodegenerative disorders will open a new avenue for the development of repurposed drugs.

Prognostic Biomarkers of Cell Proliferation in Colorectal Cancer (CRC): From Immunohistochemistry to Molecular Biology Techniques

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common and severe malignancies worldwide. Recent advances in diagnostic methods allow for more accurate identification and detection of several molecular biomarkers associated with this cancer. Nonetheless, non-invasive and effective prognostic and predictive testing in CRC patients remains challenging. Classical prognostic genetic markers comprise mutations in several genes (e.g., APC, KRAS/BRAF, TGF-β, and TP53). Furthermore, CIN and MSI serve as chromosomal markers, while epigenetic markers include CIMP and many other candidates such as SERP, p14, p16, LINE-1, and RASSF1A. The number of proliferation-related long non-coding RNAs (e.g., SNHG1, SNHG6, MALAT-1, CRNDE) and microRNAs (e.g., miR-20a, miR-21, miR-143, miR-145, miR-181a/b) that could serve as potential CRC markers has also steadily increased in recent years. Among the immunohistochemical (IHC) proliferative markers, the prognostic value regarding the patients' overall survival (OS) or disease-free survival (DFS) has been confirmed for thymidylate synthase (TS), cyclin B1, cyclin D1, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and Ki-67. In most cases, the overexpression of these markers in tissues was related to worse OS and DFS. However, slowly proliferating cells should also be considered in CRC therapy (especially radiotherapy) as they could represent a reservoir from which cells are recruited to replenish the rapidly proliferating population in response to cell-damaging factors. Considering the above, the aim of this article is to review the most common proliferative markers assessed using various methods including IHC and selected molecular biology techniques (e.g., qRT-PCR, in situ hybridization, RNA/DNA sequencing, next-generation sequencing) as prognostic and predictive markers in CRC.

The clinical significance of cyclin B1 (CCNB1) in invasive breast cancer with emphasis on its contribution to lymphovascular invasion development

BACKGROUND

Lymphovascular invasion (LVI) is regulated through complex molecular mechanisms. Cyclin B1 (CCNB1) was previously determined as being associated with LVI using large cohorts of breast cancer (BC) and artificial neural network (ANN) technique. In this study, we aimed to assess the association between CCNB1 and LVI, other clinicopathological and other LVI-related biomarkers at the molecular (RNA transcriptomic) and proteomic levels in BC.

METHODS

Two transcriptomic BC cohorts (n = 2834) were used to assess the association between the expression of CCNB1 at the mRNA level and clinicopathological characteristics and patient outcome. Tissue microarrays (TMAs) from a well-characterised BC cohort (n = 2480) with long-term outcome were also used to assess the clinical significance of CCNB1 protein expression using immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

High CCNB1 mRNA expression was associated with aggressive tumour behaviour, including LVI, larger size, higher tumour grade, high lymph nodal stage, hormonal receptor negativity, HER2 positivity and poor clinical outcome (all p < 0.0001). Similarly, high CCNB1 protein expression was associated with higher tumour grade, hormonal receptor negativity and HER2 positivity (all p < 0.0001). Additionally, there was a significant association between CCNB1- and LVI-related biomarkers including N-cadherin, P-cadherin and TWIST2 at the transcriptomic and proteomic level. Multivariate analysis revealed that CCNB1 was an independent predictor of shorter BC-specific survival (HR = 1.3; 95% CI 1.2-1.5; p = 0.010).

CONCLUSION

CCNB1 is a key gene associated with LVI in BC and has prognostic value. More functional studies are warranted to unravel the mechanistic role of CCNB1 in the development of LVI.

FASN inhibition sensitizes metastatic OSCC cells to cisplatin and paclitaxel by downregulating cyclin B1

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the potential effect of fatty acid synthase (FASN) inhibitor orlistat to enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs widely used to treat oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCC), such as 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin, and paclitaxel.

METHODS

The OSCC SCC-9 LN-1 metastatic cell line, which expresses high levels of FASN, was used for drug combination experiments. Cell viability was analyzed by crystal violet staining and automatic cell counting. Apoptosis and cell cycle were analyzed by flow cytometry with Annexin-V/7-AAD and propidium iodide staining, respectively. Cyclin B1, Cdc25C, Cdk1, FASN, and ERBB2 levels were assessed by Western blotting. Finally, cell scratch and transwell assays were performed to assess cell migration and invasion.

RESULTS

Inhibition of FASN with orlistat sensitized SCC-9 LN-1 cells to the cytotoxic effects of paclitaxel and cisplatin, but not 5-fluorouracil, which was accompanied by a significant reduction in cyclin B1. The suppression of proliferation, migration, and invasion of SCC-9 LN-1 cells induced by orlistat plus cisplatin or paclitaxel was not superior to the effects of chemotherapy drugs alone.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that orlistat enhances the chemosensitivity of SCC-9 LN-1 cells to cisplatin and paclitaxel by downregulating cyclin B1.

Genomic and transcriptomic analyses identify a prognostic gene signature and predict response to therapy in pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma

Malignant mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer with limited treatment options and poor prognosis. A better understanding of mesothelioma genomics and transcriptomics could advance therapies. Here, we present a mesothelioma cohort of 122 patients along with their germline and tumor whole-exome and tumor RNA sequencing data as well as phenotypic and drug response information. We identify a 48-gene prognostic signature that is highly predictive of mesothelioma patient survival, including CCNB1, the expression of which is highly predictive of patient survival on its own. In addition, we analyze the transcriptomics data to study the tumor immune microenvironment and identify synthetic-lethality-based signatures predictive of response to therapy. This germline and somatic whole-exome sequencing as well as transcriptomics data from the same patient are a valuable resource to address important biological questions, including prognostic biomarkers and determinants of treatment response in mesothelioma.

Therapeutic targets in cancer treatment: Cell cycle proteins

Cancer has been linked to the uncontrolled proliferation of cells and the overexpression of cell-cycle genes. The cell cycle machinery plays a crucial role in the regulation of the apoptosis to mitosis to growth phase progression. The mechanisms of the cell cycle also play an important role in preventing DNA damage. There are multiple members of the protein kinase family that are involved in the activities of the cell cycle. Essential cyclins effectively regulate cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), which are themselves adversely regulated by naturally occurring CDK inhibitors. Despite the fact that various compounds can effectively block the cell cycle kinases and being investigated for their potential to fight cancer. This chapter explains the detail of cell cycle and checkpoint regulators, that are crucial to the malignant cellular process. The known CDKs inhibitors and their mechanism of action in various cancers have also been addressed as a step toward the development of a possibly novel technique for the design of new drugs against cell cycle kinase proteins.

Identification of a transcription factor‑cyclin family genes network in lung adenocarcinoma through bioinformatics analysis and validation through RT‑qPCR

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the predominant pathological subtype of lung cancer, which is the most prevalent and lethal malignancy worldwide. Cyclins have been reported to regulate the physiology of various types of tumors by controlling cell cycle progression. However, the key roles and regulatory networks associated with the majority of the cyclin family members in LUAD remain unclear. In total, 556 differentially expressed genes were screened from the GSE33532, GSE40791 and GSE19188 mRNA microarray datasets by R software. Subsequently, protein-protein interaction network containing 499 nodes and 4,311 edges, in addition to a significant module containing 76 nodes and 2,631 edges, were extracted through the MCODE plug-in of Cytoscape. A total of four cyclin family genes [cyclin (CCNA2, CCNB1, CCNB2 and CCNE2] were then found in this module. Further co-expression analysis and associated gene prediction revealed forkhead box M1 (FOXM1), the common transcription factor of CCNB2, CCNB1 and CCNA2. In addition, using GEPIA database, it was found that the high expression of these four genes were simultaneously associated with poorer prognosis in patients with LUAD. Experimentally, it was proved that these four hub genes were highly expressed in LUAD cell lines (Beas-2B and H1299) and LUAD tissues through qPCR, western blot analysis and immunohistochemical studies. The diagnostic value of these 4 hub genes in LUAD was analyzed by logistic regression, CCNA2 was deleted, following which a nomogram diagnostic model was constructed accordingly. The area under the curve values of CCNB1, CCNB2 and FOXM1 diagnostic models were calculated to be 0.92, 0.91 and 0.96 in the training set (Combined dataset of GSE33532, GSE40791 and GSE19188) and two validation sets (GSE10072 and GSE75037), respectively. To conclude, data from the present study suggested that the FOXM1/cyclin (CCNA2, CCNB1 and/or CCNB2) axis may serve a regulatory role in the development and prognosis of LUAD. Specifically, CCNB1, CCNB2 and FOXM1 have potential as diagnostic markers and/or therapeutic targets for LUAD treatment.

A novel 4'-brominated derivative of fisetin induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis and inhibits EGFR/ERK1/2/STAT3 pathways in non-small-cell lung cancer without any adverse effects in mice

The therapeutic toxicity and resistance to currently available treatment options are major clinical challenges for the management of lung cancer. As a novel strategy, we synthesized analogues of a known flavonol, fisetin, which has shown anti-tumorigenic potential against cancer in cell culture with no adverse effects in animal models. We studied the synthetic analogues of fisetin for their anti-cancer potential against lung cancer cells, toxicity in mice and efficacy in a xenograft model. Brominated fisetin analogues were screened for their effects on the viability of A549 and H1299 lung cancer cells, and three analogues (3a, 3b, 3c), showed improved activity compared to fisetin. These analogues were more effective in restricting lung cancer cell proliferation, inducing G₂ M phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. The fisetin analogues also downregulated EGFR/ERK1/2/STAT3 pathways. Fisetin analogue-induced apoptosis was accompanied by a higher Bax to Bcl-2 expression ratio. Based on the in vitro studies, the most effective fisetin analogue 3b was evaluated for in vivo toxicity, wherein it did not show any hepatotoxicity or adverse health effects in mice. Furthermore, analogue 3b showed greater antitumor efficacy (p < .001) as compared to its parent compound fisetin in a human lung cancer cell xenograft study in athymic mice. Together, our data suggest that the novel fisetin analogue 3b is more effective in restricting lung cancer cell growth, both in vitro as well as in vivo, without any apparent toxicity, supporting its further development as a novel anti-lung cancer agent.

An RNAi screen of RNA helicases identifies eIF4A3 as a regulator of embryonic stem cell identity

RNA helicases are involved in multiple steps of RNA metabolism to direct their roles in gene expression, yet their functions in pluripotency control remain largely unexplored. Starting from an RNA interference (RNAi) screen of RNA helicases, we identified that eIF4A3, a DEAD-box (Ddx) helicase component of the exon junction complex (EJC), is essential for the maintenance of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Mechanistically, we show that eIF4A3 post-transcriptionally controls the pluripotency-related cell cycle regulators and that its depletion causes the loss of pluripotency via cell cycle dysregulation. Specifically, eIF4A3 is required for the efficient nuclear export of Ccnb1 mRNA, which encodes Cyclin B1, a key component of the pluripotency-promoting pathway during the cell cycle progression of ESCs. Our results reveal a previously unappreciated role for eIF4A3 and its associated EJC in maintaining stem cell pluripotency through post-transcriptional control of the cell cycle.

Identification of Epigenetically Modified Hub Genes and Altered Pathways Associated With Retinoblastoma

Retinoblastoma (Rb) is the most common childhood malignancy initiated by biallelic mutation in RB1 gene and driven by various epigenetic events including DNA methylation and microRNA dysregulation. Hence, understanding the key genes that are critically modulated by epigenetic modifications in RB1 -/- cells is very important to identify prominent biomarkers and therapeutic targets of Rb. In this study, we for the first time have integrated various Rb microarray NCBI-GEO datasets including DNA Methylation (GSE57362), miRNA (GSE7072) and mRNA (GSE110811) to comprehensively investigate the epigenetic consequences of RB loss in retinoblastoma tumors and identify genes with the potential to serve as early diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets for Rb. Interestingly, the GEO2R and co-expression network analysis have identified three genes namely E2F3, ESR1, and UNC5D that are significantly deregulated by modified DNA methylation, mRNA and microRNA expression in Rb tumors. Due to their recognition in all epigenetic, transcriptomic, and miRNA datasets, we have termed these genes as "common genes". The results of our integrative bioinformatics analysis were validated in vitro by studying the gene and protein expression of these common genes in Y79, WERI-Rb-1, Rb cell lines and non-tumorigenic retinal pigment epithelial cell line (hTERT-RPE). The expression of E2F3 and UNC5D were up-regulated and that of ESR1 was down-regulated in Rb tumor cells when compared to that in non-tumorigenic hTERT-RPE cells. More importantly, UNC5D, a potent tumor suppressor gene in most cancers is significantly up-regulated in Y79 and Weri Rb1 cells, which, in turn, questions its anti-cancer properties. Together, our study shows that E2F3, ESR1, and UNC5D may be crucially involved in Rb tumorigenesis and possess the potential to act as early diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets of Rb.

In Vitro Inhibition of Piper nigrum and Piperine on Growth, Migration, and Invasion of PANC-1 Human Pancreatic Cancer Cells

Several dietary and medicinal herbs have been shown to be effective in the treatment and prevention of cancer. Although Piper nigrum has been shown to have anti-cancer activities against various cancer cells, its anti-pancreatic cancer properties have not been reported. In the present study, P. nigrum extract (PNE) inhibited proliferation of PANC-1 human pancreatic cancer cells. Flow cytometry showed G0/G1 arrest caused by PNE in PANC-1 cells. In addition, Western blot analysis showed that PNE suppressed the protein levels of cell cycle regulators such as cyclin B1, cyclin D1, survivin, and Forkhead box M1 (FoxM1). These findings suggested that the inhibitory activity of PNE against the growth of PANC-1 cells was correlated with cell cycle arrest and repression of cell cycle regulators. Wound healing and trans-well assays showed that PNE suppressed migration and invasion of PANC-1 cells. Piperine, a major alkaloid of Piper nigrum, was identified as the main component of PNE by HPLC analysis. Piperine also attenuated the cell growth, migration, and invasion of PANC-1 cells, suggesting its contribution to the anti-pancreatic cancer effects of PNE. These results demonstrate that PNE and its major constituent, piperine, have anti-pancreatic cancer properties such as growth-inhibition, anti-migration, and anti-invasion of cancer cells.

Replacement of Nitrite in Meat Products by Natural Bioactive Compounds Results in Reduced Exposure to N-Nitroso Compounds: The PHYTOME Project

SCOPE

It has been proposed that endogenously form N-nitroso compounds (NOCs) are partly responsible for the link between red meat consumption and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. As nitrite has been indicated as critical factor in the formation of NOCs, the impact of replacing the additive sodium nitrite (E250) by botanical extracts in the PHYTOME project is evaluated.

METHOD AND RESULTS

A human dietary intervention study is conducted in which healthy subjects consume 300 g of meat for 2 weeks, in subsequent order: conventional processed red meat, white meat, and processed red meat with standard or reduced levels of nitrite and added phytochemicals. Consumption of red meat products enriched with phytochemicals leads to a significant reduction in the faecal excretion of NOCs, as compared to traditionally processed red meat products. Gene expression changes identify cell proliferation as main affects molecular mechanism. High nitrate levels in drinking water in combination with processed red meat intake further stimulates NOC formation, an effect that could be mitigated by replacement of E250 by natural plant extracts.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that addition of natural extracts to conventionally processed red meat products may help to reduce CRC risk, which is mechanistically support by gene expression analyses.

Twenty Years After Glioblastoma Multiforme Diagnosis: A Case of Long-Term Survival

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive tumor that has a poor prognosis with a median survival of 15 months with treatment and 3-4 months without treatment. Subsets of patients are found to survive longer than two years, some survivors lived more than 10 years, and rare cases survived 20 years or more with treatment. Better prognosis has been found to be associated with many factors. Some of these factors are related to patients' characteristics, biological factors that impact tumor aggressiveness, and/or factors associated with treatment. However, the exact contribution for extended survival is still not known. Finding the factors that have a strong impact on the long survival is of high importance and can help give hope to better treat glioblastoma cases. In this report, we present a case of a glioblastoma patient who was diagnosed at the age of 47 years with more than 20-year survival. We further discuss the suggested factors that may have contributed to a better prognosis with a focus on the possible role of varicella-zoster infection in mediating long-term survival.

ESRRA promotes gastric cancer development by regulating the CDC25C/CDK1/CyclinB1 pathway via DSN1

Background: Estrogen-related receptor-α (ESRRA) is an orphan nuclear receptor, expressing at high level in exuberant metabolism organs and acting as transcription factor. High expression was found in many malignances but no research was done in gastric cancer (GC), where lipid metabolism disorder is common. Methods: Kaplan-Meier plot was utilized to find the relationship between ESRRA expression and patients' prognoses. The expression level of ESRRA was measured by real-time PCR. The protein expression levels were tested with western-blot and immunohistochemistry. Cell cycle and apoptosis was identified with flow cytometry. RNA-seq, bioinformatics analysis, dual-luciferase assay and ChIP assay were used to predict and validate ESRRA's target gene and binding motif. Animal models were also introduced in our study. Results: ESRRA expression is notably higher in GC cell lines and high ESRRA levels are correlated to poor prognoses. ESRRA silencing decreased GC cell viability, migration, and invasion capacities. Its downstream gene DSN1 was spotted by RNA-seq and confirmed by later bioinformatics analyses, dual-luciferase, and ChIP assays. Western-blot showed G2M arrest caused by ESRRA silencing was via CDC25C-CDK1-Cyclin B1 pathway. Conclusion: ESRRA/DSN1/CDC25C-CDK1-Cyclin B1 is of great importance in GC development. ESRRA could be a potential target as well as prognostic marker in GC.

Effect of Andrographis paniculata polysaccharide on human retinoblastoma Y79 cell proliferation and apoptosis

AIM

To explore the effect of the Andrographis paniculata (A. paniculata) polysaccharide on the proliferation and apoptosis of human retinoblastoma (RB) Y79 cells and its mechanism.

METHODS

The refined A. paniculata polysaccharide was obtained using techniques such as water extraction, ethanol precipitation, and decompression concentration. The inhibition effect of the A. paniculata polysaccharide on the proliferation of Y79 cells was detected by cell proliferation assay. Flow cytometry was used for the detection of cell apoptosis rate and cycle change. Real-time qunatitative polymerase chain reaction (RT qPCR)and Western blotting were used to detect the expression of cell apoptosis signal pathway-related factors (caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9) and cell cycle signal pathway-related factors (CDK1 and cyclinB1) at the transcriptional and translational levels.

RESULTS

Infrared and ultraviolet spectrum scanning showed that the extracted drug was a polysaccharide with high purity. After being treated with different concentrations of A. paniculata polysaccharide for different periods of time, the Y79 cells showed different degrees of proliferation inhibition. Flow cytometric observations showed that the cell apoptosis rate and the proportion of cells blocked in the G2/M phase were significantly increased after A. paniculata polysaccharide treatment. Further analysis revealed that the mRNA and protein expression of caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9 in the A. paniculata polysaccharide treatment groups increased significantly compared with that in the control groups, while the expression of CDK1 and cyclinB1 decreased significantly.

CONCLUSION

The A. paniculata polysaccharide could inhibit the proliferation and induce apoptosis of Y79 cells. Its possible mechanism is via the upregulation of caspase-3, caspase-8, and caspase-9 expression in the cell apoptotic signaling pathway and the downregulation of CDK1 and cyclinB1 expression in the cell cycle signaling pathway.

Evaluation of a panel of tumor-associated antigens in breast cancer

BACKGROUND

Recent studies indicate that serum from cancer patients contains auto-antibodies against oncoproteins so called tumor-associated antigens (TAAs), which represent promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers.

OBJECTIVES

In this study we searched for breast cancer-associated auto-antibodies against individual TAAs. Also we evaluated if a panel of multiple TTAs would improve the detection of auto-antibodies. We screened CEA, CCBN1, c-Myc, p53, Ki-67, Nm23, PRDX6, eIF5A, PARK7, GLIO-1, Hsp27 and Hsp70 proteins, previously detected as up-regulated in breast tumors of Mexican patients.

METHODS

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were performed to detect auto-antibodies in sera from a cohort of 104 breast cancer patients and 50 sera from healthy individuals.

RESULTS

Our data showed that antibodies frequency to any individual TAA was low and ranged from 0.96% to 4.8%. However, the successive addition of multiple TAAs represented by panels of three-to-five TAAs resulted in increased ELISA positive reactions. The first panel of three combined TAAs (p53/PRDX6/CEA) had a sensitivity of 19%, while a second set of four TAAs (p53/PRDX6/c-Myc/Hsp70) reached 28% sensitivity. Likewise, a third panel of five antigens (p53/PRDX6/c-Myc/Hsp70/Nm23) showed 34% sensitivity.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data showed that detection of individual autoantibodies against TAAs in the cohort of patients analyzed here was low, which was enhanced by adding multiple TAAs. Data support the notion that frequencies of autoantibodies could be impacted by geographical and heterogeneous genetic factors of breast cancer patients.

The genetic association between type 2 diabetic and hepatocellular carcinomas

Background

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are both major health problems throughout the world. It has been reported that T2DM is an independent risk factor for HCC, although the pathophysiology is still unclear.

Methods

In order to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in T2DM and HCC, gene expression datasets for T2DM (GSE15653), HCC (GSE60502) and metformin-treated cells (GSE69850) were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database repository. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks for the DEGs were constructed and gene clusters selected for functional enrichment analysis. Ten genes with the highest degree of connectivity were selected as hub genes and prognostic analysis together with analysis of gene expression and protein distribution were performed for these genes. Lastly, we investigated associations between the hub genes and genes associated with metformin treatment in hepatocarcinoma cells.

Results

In total, 256 common DEGs, including 155 up-regulated genes and 101 down-regulated genes, were identified. Enrichment analyses showed that the genes of the major module were largely associated with the cell cycle. All of the 10 hub genes (CCNA2, CCNB1, MAD2L1, BU1B, RACGAP1, CHEK1, BUB1, ASPM, NCAPG and TTK) have a strong association with lower overall survival in liver cancer patients and four genes (CCNA2, CCNB1, CHEK1 and BUB1) have reduced expression in metformin-treated samples.

Conclusions

This study identified a number of genes that may play important roles in the association of T2DM and HCC, including four genes which may be the target of metformin treatment for diabetes and HCC. The specific mechanisms involved remain to be identified.

Inhibition of cyclinB1 Suppressed the Proliferation, Invasion, and Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells and Enhanced the Sensitivity to TRAIL-Induced Apoptosis

Background

CyclinB1 is highly expressed in various tumor tissues and plays an important role in tumor progression. However, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the role of cyclinB1 in the development and progression of HCC.

Methods

The expression of cyclinB1 was analyzed using the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database, and detected in HCC tissues and HCC cell lines through quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. CyclinB1-short hairpin RNA (Sh-cyclinB1) was transfected into HCC cells to knockdown cyclinB1, and the effect of cyclinB1 knockdown on HCC was examined via the MTT assay, colony formation assay, wound healing assay, scratch assay, cell cycle analysis in vitro, and xenograft model in nude mice. In addition, the role of cyclinB1 on tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL)-induced apoptosis was measured using flow cytometry and Western blotting.

Results

The GEPIA database analysis showed that cyclinB1 was highly expressed in HCC tissues. The results of qRT-PCR and Western blotting proved that the expression of cyclinB1 was significantly increased in HCC tissues and cell lines. The data of the MTT assay, colony formation assay, and cell cycle analysis indicated that cyclinB1 knockdown inhibited the proliferation of HCC cells. In addition, cell migration, invasion, and epithelial mesenchymal transition were also impaired by cyclinB1 knockdown. Furthermore, the xenograft model in nude mice demonstrated that inhibition of cyclinB1 suppressed tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Finally, the results of flow cytometry and Western blotting indicated that inhibition of cyclinB1 enhanced the sensitivity of HCC cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis.

Conclusion

Overall, these data provide reasonable evidence that cyclinB1 may serve as a proto-oncogene during the progression of HCC.

Cancer classification from time series microarray data through regulatory Dynamic Bayesian Networks

Genomic profiling of cancer studies has generated comprehensive gene expression patterns for diverse phenotypes. Computational methods which employ transcriptomics datasets have been proposed to model gene expression data. Dynamic Bayesian Networks (DBNs) have been used for modeling time series datasets and for the inference of regulatory networks. Furthermore, cancer classification through DBN-based approaches could reveal the importance of exploiting knowledge from statistically significant genes and key regulatory molecules. Although microarray datasets have been employed extensively by several classification methods for decision making, the use of new knowledge from the pathway level has not been addressed adequately in the literature in terms of DBNs for cancer classification. In the present study, we identify the genes that act as regulators and mediate the activity of transcription factors that have been found in all promoters of our differentially expressed gene sets. These features serve as potential priors for distinguishing tumor from normal samples using a DBN-based classification approach. We employed three microarray datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) public functional repository and performed differential expression analysis. Promoter and pathway analysis of the identified genes revealed the key regulators which influence the transcription mechanisms of these genes. We applied the DBN algorithm on selected genes and identified the features that can accurately classify the samples into tumors and controls. Both accuracy and Area Under the Curve (AUC) were high for the gene sets comprising of the differentially expressed genes along with their master regulators (accuracy: 70.8%-98.5%; AUC: 0.562-0.985).

A squalamine derivative, NV669, as a novel PTP1B inhibitor: in vitro and in vivo effects on pancreatic and hepatic tumor growth

NV669 is an aminosterol derived from squalamine found to possess strong anticancer effects. The aim of this study was to investigate NV669’s beneficial effects on human pancreatic and hepatic cancer models and to decipher the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in tumor growth decrease upon treatment with NV669.

Pancreatic (BxPC3, MiaPaCa-2) and hepatic (HepG2, Huh7) cancer cells were treated with NV669, and the effects recorded on proliferation, cell cycle and death. Results showed that NV669 inhibited the viability of cancer cells, induced cell cycle arrest and subsequently promoted apoptosis. This was accompanied by a decrease in the expression of cyclin B1 and phosphorylated Cdk1 and by a cleavage of pro-apoptotic caspase-8 and PARP-1. Taken together, our studies showed that NV669 inhibits the proliferation of pancreatic and hepatic cancer cells through the regulation of G2/M phase transition via the cyclin B1-Cdk1 complex.

In vitro NV669 inhibits PTP1B activity and FAK expression. NV669 impacts on the expression of adhesion molecules CDH-1, -2 and -3 in BxPC3 and Huh7 lines that form cell monolayers. Consecutively NV669 induces cell detachment. This suggests that NV669 by inhibiting PTP1B induces cell detachment and apoptosis.

Subsequently, our in vivo results showed that NV669 inhibited the growth of pancreatic and hepatic tumor xenografts with a significant cell cycle arrest in pre-mitotic phase and an increase of tumor cell apoptosis. Therefore, NV669 may serve as an alternative anticancer agent, used alone or in association with other medications, for the treatment of pancreatic adenocarcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Screening and identification of key biomarkers in adrenocortical carcinoma based on bioinformatics analysis

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignancy with a poor prognosis. The presently available understanding of the pathogenesis of ACC is incomplete and the treatment options for patients with ACC are limited. Gene marker identification is required for accurate and timely diagnosis of the disease. In order to identify novel candidate genes associated with the occurrence and progression of ACC, the microarray datasets, GSE12368 and GSE19750, were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, and functional enrichment analysis was performed. A protein-protein interaction network (PPI) was constructed to identify significantly altered modules, and module analysis was performed using Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes and Cytoscape. A total of 228 DEGs were screened, consisting of 29 up and 199 downregulated genes. The enriched functions and pathways of the DEGs primarily included 'cell division', 'regulation of transcription involved in G1/S transition of mitotic cell cycle', 'G1/S transition of mitotic cell cycle', 'p53 signaling pathway' and 'oocyte meiosis'. A total of 14 hub genes were identified, and biological process analysis revealed that these genes were significantly enriched in cell division and mitotic cell cycle. Furthermore, survival analysis revealed that AURKA, TYMS, GINS1, RACGAP1, RRM2, EZH2, ZWINT, CDK1, CCNB1, NCAPG and TPX2 may be involved in the tumorigenesis, progression or prognosis of ACC. In conclusion, the 14 hub genes identified in the present study may aid researchers in elucidating the molecular mechanisms associated with the tumorigenesis and progression of ACC, and may be powerful and promising candidate biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of ACC.

Competitive endogenous RNA network identifies four long non-coding RNA signature as a candidate prognostic biomarker for lung adenocarcinoma

BACKGROUND

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most commonly histological subtype of lung cancer (LC) and the prognoses of the majority of LUAD patients are still very poor. The present study aimed at integrating long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), microRNA (miRNA) and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression data to construct lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network and identify importantly potential lncRNA signature in ceRNA network as a candidate prognostic biomarker for LUAD patients.

METHODS

lncRNA, miRNA and mRNA expression data as well as clinical characteristics of LUAD patients were retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs), differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs) and differentially expressed miRNA (DEmiRNA) between LUAD and normal lung tissues samples were analyzed. A lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network was constructed and the biological functions of DEmRNAs in ceRNA network were analyzed using gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses of DElncRNAs in ceRNA network were implemented to predict the overall survival (OS) in LUAD patients. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the performance of multivariate Cox regression model.

RESULTS

A total of 1,664 DElncRNAs, 120 DEmiRNAs and 2,503 DEmRNAs was identified between LUAD and normal lung tissues samples. A lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA ceRNA network including 140 DElncRNAs, 33 DEmiRNAs and 57 DEmRNAs was established. Kaplan-Meier (KM) [Log-rank (LR) test] and univariate regression analysis of those 140 DElncRNAs revealed that 7 DElncRNAs (LINC00518, UCA1, NAV2-AS2, MED4-AS1, SYNPR-AS1, AC011483.1, AP002478.1) were simultaneously identified to be associated with OS of LUAD patients. A multivariate Cox regression analysis of those 7 DElncRNAs showed that a group of 4 DElncRNAs including AP002478.1 (Cox P=4.66E-03), LINC00518 (Cox P=2.34E-04), MED4-AS1 (Cox P=6.42E-03) and NAV2-AS2 (Cox P=6.66E-02) had significantly prognostic value in OS of LUAD patients. The cumulative risk score indicated that the 4-lncRNA signature was significantly associated with OS of LUAD patients (P=0). The area under the curve (AUC) of the 4-lncRNA signature related with 3-year survival was 0.669.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study provides novel insights into the lncRNA-related regulatory mechanisms in LUAD, and identifying 4-lncRNA signature may serve as a candidate prognostic biomarker in predicting the OS of LUAD patients.

Polo-like kinase 1 inhibition in NSCLC: mechanism of action and emerging predictive biomarkers

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Due to often unspecific disease symptoms, locally advanced or metastatic disease is diagnosed in the majority of all cases. Palliative treatment options comprise of conventional cytotoxic agents, immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors and the use of specific small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). However, these TKIs are mainly restricted to a small proportion of patients with lung cancer that harbor activating driver mutations. Still, the effectiveness and favorable safety profile of these compounds have prompted a systematic search for specific driver mechanisms of tumorigenesis and moreover the development of corresponding kinase inhibitors. In recent years, the Polo-like kinase (PLK) family has emerged as a key regulator in mitotic regulation. Its role in cell proliferation and the frequently observed overexpression in various tumor entities have raised much interest in basic and clinical oncology aiming to attenuate tumor growth by targeting the PLK. In this review, we give a comprehensive summary on the (pre-) clinical development of the different types of PLK inhibitors in lung cancer and summarize their mechanisms of action, safety and efficacy data and give an overview on translational research aiming to identify predictive biomarkers for a rational use of PLK inhibitors.

Silencing of heat shock protein 27 increases the radiosensitivity of non‑small cell lung carcinoma cells

Radiotherapy is a useful treatment for malignant tumors, including lung carcinoma; however, non‑small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is frequently insensitive to radiation. It has been reported that heat shock protein 27 (HSPB1) is a radioresistance‑associated protein in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. In the present study, the role of HSPB1 in NSCLC cells induced by irradiation was investigated. The viability of cells was determined by a Cell Counting Kit‑8 assay. The apoptotic activity, cell cycle distribution and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) of cells were evaluated via flow cytometry. Reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses were employed to measure the expression of various genes and proteins. It was observed that knockdown of HSPB1 with small interfering RNA (si‑HSPB1) markedly decreased the viability of A549 NSCLC cells and induced cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase following exposure to 6 Gy irradiation. Furthermore, it was revealed that si‑HSPB1 significantly downregulated cyclin B1 and cyclin G1 expression. Additionally, si‑HSPB1 promoted apoptosis and depolarized the MMP of cells exposed to 6 Gy irradiation. The expression levels of B‑cell lymphoma‑2 (Bcl‑2), mitochondrial cytochrome c (cyto c) and pro‑caspase‑8 were downregulated, whereas those of Bcl‑2 associated X protein (Bax), cytosolic cyto c and cleaved‑caspase‑8 were upregulated. Collectively, silencing of HSPB1 increased the radiosensitivity of NSCLC cells by reducing cell viability, depolarizing the MMP, arresting the cell cycle in the G2/M phase and promoting cell apoptosis. Therefore, HSPB1 may be a novel target for increasing radiosensitivity in the treatment of NSCLC.

The subcellular location of cyclin B1 and CDC25 associated with the formation of polyploid giant cancer cells and their clinicopathological significance

Polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCCs) are key contributors to cancer heterogeneity, and the formation of PGCCs is associated with changes in the expression of cell-cycle-related proteins. This study investigated the intracellular localization and expression level of multiple cell-cycle-related proteins in PGCCs derived from BT-549 and HEY cells. In addition, the formation of PGCCs and the clinicopathological significance of cell-cycle-related proteins in human breast and ovarian cancer were examined. The expression levels of cell-cycle-related proteins, including cyclin B1, CDC25B, CDC25C, and other cell cycle phosphoproteins, including Chk2, and Aurora-A kinase, were determined using immunostaining and western blotting both in vitro and in vivo. Migration, invasion, and proliferation in control cells, cyclin B1 knockdown cells and their PGCCs following CoCl₂ treatment were compared. In addition, human breast and ovarian cancer samples were collected to determine the correlation of number of PGCCs, expression of cell-cycle-related proteins, and tumor pathologic grade and metastasis. Our results confirm that cyclin B1 was localized in the cytoplasm of PGCCs and in the nuclei of their budding daughter cells. The phosphorylated proteins Chk2 and Aurora-A kinase regulated the expression and subcellular localization of cyclin B1, CDC25B, and CDC25C. The rate of positive cytoplasmic staining of cyclin B1 and positive nuclear staining of both CDC25B and CDC25C increased with increase in tumor grade and lymph node metastasis. Cell-cycle-related proteins, including cyclin B1, CDC25B, and CDC25C play an important role in regulating the formation of PGCCs. The inhibition of cyclinB1 and CoCl₂ treatment significantly promoted cell proliferation, invasion, and migration abilities. The subcellular localization of these cell-cycle-related proteins was regulated by other cell cycle phosphoproteins, and was associated with pathologic grade and metastasis of tumors in cases of human breast and ovarian cancer.

MicroRNA-144 inhibits cell proliferation, migration and invasion in human hepatocellular carcinoma by targeting CCNB1

Background

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies with a high morbidity and mortality worldwide. MicroRNAs are key regulators of HCC genesis. However, the regulatory role and underlying mechanisms of microRNA in HCC is still limited.

Methods

Cyclin B1 (CCNB1) mRNA levels were examined in non-tumor and liver cancer of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort. CCNB1 was knockdown to evaluate the HCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion. MicroRNA-144 targeting CCNB1 was identified with TargetScan analysis and confirmed with reporter assay. Overexpression of MicroRNA-144 was achieved using microRNA mimics and function of microRNA-144 was tested in vitro HCC cell line proliferation and in vivo tumor formation experiments.

Results

Here, we found that the high level expression of CCNB1 was closely associated with poor prognosis in HCC patients. Knockdown of CCNB1 by RNA interference significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion in HCC. Furthermore, we found that miR-144 directly targeted CCNB1 and inhibited CCNB1 expression. Moreover, in vivo experiments of subcutaneous tumor formation further demonstrated that miR-144 delayed tumor formation by negative regulation of CCNB1.

Conclusion

Therefore, we conclude that microRNA-144/CCNB1 axis plays an important role in human HCC. Therapies targeting microRNA-144 could potentially improve HCC treatment.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12935-019-0729-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Upregulated expression of HOXB7 in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is associated with tumor cell metastasis and poor prognosis

Homeobox B7 (HOXB7) protein is reported to be aberrantly expressed in a variety of cancers and to play an important role in multiple cellular processes. However, the specific mechanism by which HOXB7 promotes the malignant progression of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) remains unclear. Therefore, we used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect the expression level of HOXB7 in 38 paired ICC tissue samples. Additionally, to assess correlation between HOXB7 and ICC prognosis, we performed immunohistochemistry (IHC) using 122 ICC tissues to detect HOXB7 expression. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assays were employed to assess ICC cell proliferation, and Transwell assays were performed to estimate the invasion and migration abilities of ICC cells. The capillary tube formation assay was applied to explore the angiogenic effects of HOXB7. A xenograft tumor model was established in nude mice to assess the role of HOXB7 in tumor growth and lung metastasis. The results showed higher expression of HOXB7 in ICC tissues than in noncancerous tissues, and this increased expression was significantly associated with a poor prognosis. In addition, HOXB7 overexpression enhanced capillary tube formation, invasion and migration of ICC cells in vitro, whereas HOXB7 knockdown produced the opposite results in vitro. Moreover, the role of HOXB7 in promoting tumor growth and metastasis was verified in vivo. Further investigation revealed that the expression levels of MMP2, MMP9, VEGFa, and IL8 were elevated by HOXB7 and that the ERK pathway was activated. Our results demonstrate the prognostic value of HOXB7 and its role in metastasis and angiogenesis in ICC. HOXB7 upregulated MMP2, MMP9, VEGFa, and IL8 expression via the ERK pathway to accelerate the malignant progression of ICC.

Active K-RAS induces the coherent rotation of epithelial cells: A model for collective cell invasion in vitro

At the invasive front of adenocarcinomas, single cells and multicellular structures exist; the latter include glands and cell clusters, such as tumor buddings and poorly differentiated clusters. Recent reports suggest the importance of collective cell migration in metastasis; however, it is technically difficult to observe the movement of multicellular structures in vivo. We utilized MDCK cells as a model for epithelial cells and established a method to quantify their motility in 3D structures in vitro. A single MDCK cell grows as a cell cluster in the gel and later proliferates and forms a cyst. Active K-RAS expression induced rotation of both the cell clusters and the cysts. The rotation speed of cell clusters was 4 times higher than that of cysts. The screening of inhibitors for their effects on cell clusters and cysts revealed that cyclin B1 and β-catenin were the key molecules for their rotation, respectively. Regulators for cyst rotation, such as vorinostat and β-catenin, were not effective for inducing cell cluster rotation. These results indicate that the signaling pathways of cell dynamics are different between cell clusters and cysts. As cell clusters are related to lymph node involvement and the prognosis of various carcinomas, our in vitro quantitative system may be useful for the screening of drugs to prevent lymphatic invasion.

The prognostic significance of high/positive expression of cyclin B1 in patients with three common digestive cancers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Recently, several studies have reported that the expression of cyclin B1 may be associated with the prognosis of cancer. Nevertheless, their conclusions were still controversial. The present was designed to analyze and evaluate the prognostic role of cyclin B1 expression in patients with digestive cancer. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were searched to January, 2017. Pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated. For the pooled OR estimates of OS, we performed subgroup analysis. Besides, sensitivity analysis was performed to examine the stability of the combined results. All statistical analyses were performed using standard statistical procedures provided in RevMan 5.2. A total of 12 studies (N = 2080 participants) were included for this meta-analysis. The positive/high expression of cyclin B1 had an obvious association with both 3-year overall survival (OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.12-0.37; P < 0.00001) and 5-year overall survival (OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.12-0.34; P < 0.00001) in esophageal cancer, and 5-year overall survival of colorectal cancer (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.32-3.08; P = 0.001). This meta-analysis indicated that positive/high expression of cyclin B1 may have a close association with worse survival in patients with esophageal cancer, but better prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer.