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Ram A, Murphy D, DeCuzzi N, Patankar M, Hu J, Pargett M, Albeck JG. A guide to ERK dynamics, part 2: downstream decoding. Biochem J 2023; 480:1909-1928. [PMID: 38038975 PMCID: PMC10754290 DOI: 10.1042/bcj20230277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Signaling by the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway controls many cellular processes, including cell division, death, and differentiation. In this second installment of a two-part review, we address the question of how the ERK pathway exerts distinct and context-specific effects on multiple processes. We discuss how the dynamics of ERK activity induce selective changes in gene expression programs, with insights from both experiments and computational models. With a focus on single-cell biosensor-based studies, we summarize four major functional modes for ERK signaling in tissues: adjusting the size of cell populations, gradient-based patterning, wave propagation of morphological changes, and diversification of cellular gene expression states. These modes of operation are disrupted in cancer and other related diseases and represent potential targets for therapeutic intervention. By understanding the dynamic mechanisms involved in ERK signaling, there is potential for pharmacological strategies that not only simply inhibit ERK, but also restore functional activity patterns and improve disease outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abhineet Ram
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, U.S.A
| | - Devan Murphy
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, U.S.A
| | - Nicholaus DeCuzzi
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, U.S.A
| | - Madhura Patankar
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, U.S.A
| | - Jason Hu
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, U.S.A
| | - Michael Pargett
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, U.S.A
| | - John G. Albeck
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, CA, U.S.A
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Xu J, Wang Y, Jiang J, Yin C, Shi B. ADAM12 promotes clear cell renal cell carcinoma progression and triggers EMT via EGFR/ERK signaling pathway. J Transl Med 2023; 21:56. [PMID: 36717944 PMCID: PMC9885678 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-03913-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a major worldwide health problem due to its high prevalence and mortality rate. A disintegrin and metalloproteinase 12 (ADAM12) is aberrantly expressed in various cancers and plays an important role in tumor progression. However, its explicit effect and molecular mechanism in ccRCC remain unclear. METHODS We investigated the dysregulation of ADAM12 in ccRCC through public databases and bioinformatics analyses. The expression of ADAM12 was further verified in ccRCC tissues by RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The relationship between ADAM12 expression and clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed statistically. The effects of ADAM12 on the proliferation, migration and invasion of ccRCC cells were examined by in vitro and in vivo experiments. RESULTS ADAM12 was significantly upregulated in ccRCC tissues and associated with poor prognosis in ccRCC patients. ADAM12 promoted ccRCC cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro and the growth of subcutaneous tumors in vivo. Knockdown of ADAM12 successfully suppressed its oncogenic function. Mechanistically, its overexpression induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by downregulating E-cadherin and upregulating N-cadherin and Snail. Moreover, ADAM12 participated in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway and activated the downstream signal ERK1/2 by shedding the EGFR ligand, thereby upregulating target genes including c-Myc, enhancing cell survival and invasion ability, and promoting tumor progression, metastasis and the induction of EMT. CONCLUSIONS High expression of ADAM12 induced EMT and promoted cell proliferation, migration, and invasion by activating the EGFR/ERK signaling pathway in ccRCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinming Xu
- Department of Urology, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital/First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518035, Guangdong, China
- Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, 515041, Guangdong, China
| | - Yan Wang
- Department of Urology, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen, 518036, Guangdong, China
| | - Jiahao Jiang
- Department of Urology, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital/First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518035, Guangdong, China
| | - Cong Yin
- Department of Urology, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital/First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518035, Guangdong, China
| | - Bentao Shi
- Department of Urology, Shenzhen Second People's Hospital/First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518035, Guangdong, China.
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Qin J, Li H, Wang X, Zhang Y, Duan Y, Yao Y, Yang H, Sun M. Discovery of a novel piperlongumine analogue as a microtubule polymerization inhibitor with potent anti-angiogenic and anti-metastatic efficacy. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 243:114738. [PMID: 36162214 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2022] [Revised: 08/06/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
In an effort to discover anticancer agents with simultaneous effects on tubulin and angiogenesis, we designed and synthesized two series of piperlongumie (PL) derivatives by replacing of phenyl group with a variety of benzoheterocycle (series II) or cyclizing the C7-C8 olefin into an aromatic heterocycle (series I). Most of the new compounds showed better antiproliferative activities against six cancer cell lines than the parent drug PL. Compound II-14b had the best cytotoxic profile of these two series in cancer cells, whilst being relatively low cytotoxicity against normal human cells and high potency against drug-resistant cells. It disrupted cellular microtubule networks and inhibited tubulin assembly with an IC50 value of 5.8 μM. Further studies elucidated that II-14b showed antitumor activities through multiple mechanisms, including the pruduction of abundant ROS, the dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential, the accumulation of DNA double-strand breaks, and the induction of cell cycle in G2/M phase. More importantly, we have observed that it possesses potential anti-angiogenesis capabilities, including suppression of HUVECs cell migration, invasion, and endothelial tube formation in vitro and in vivo. In vivo assessment indicated that II-14b inhibits the growth and metastasis of MGC-803 xenograft tumour in zebrafish. These findings show that II-14b is a high-efficacy and non-toxic antitumor agent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinling Qin
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, And Institute of Drug Discovery & Development, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
| | - Hongliang Li
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, And Institute of Drug Discovery & Development, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
| | - Xuan Wang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, And Institute of Drug Discovery & Development, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
| | - Yixin Zhang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, And Institute of Drug Discovery & Development, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
| | - Yongtao Duan
- Henan Provincial Key Laboratory of Children's Genetics and Metabolic Diseases, Children's Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450018, China
| | - Yongfang Yao
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, And Institute of Drug Discovery & Development, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China.
| | - Hua Yang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, And Institute of Drug Discovery & Development, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China.
| | - Moran Sun
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, And Institute of Drug Discovery & Development, Zhengzhou University, 100 Kexue Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan, 450001, China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China.
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Immunohistochemical expressions of EMT markers in pan-RAS-pERK1/2-positive tumors improve diagnosis and prognosis assessment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer and muscle invasive bladder cancer patients. Mol Cell Biochem 2022; 478:1169-1190. [PMID: 36239855 DOI: 10.1007/s11010-022-04579-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Mutation or overexpression renders pan-RAS (rat sarcoma) proteins insensitive to inactivation. Activated pan-RAS communicates signal from the cell surface receptor to activate RAS-MAPK/ERK (RAS-mitogen-activated protein kinases/extracellular signal regulated kinases) signaling and orchestrates epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition-activating transcription factors (EMT-ATFs) reprogramming to induce EMT. Owing to limited studies available in bladder cancer, the present study is taken up to examine the expressions of the EMT-associated markers in pan-RAS-pERK1/2 (pan-RAS-phosphoERK1/2)-positive well-characterized cohort of forty-two non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and forty-five muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) patients. Immunohistochemical staining was performed on paraffin embedded tissue sections to determine the immunolevels and cellular localization of marker proteins. Semi-quantitative expressions of pan-RAS, pERK1/2, and EMT markers (E-cadherin, Vimentin, N-cadherin, Snail, Slug Twist, and Zeb1) were statistically examined with clinicohistopathological profile of the patients using SPSS, version 20.0 software. The study documents the diagnostic relevance of immunohistochemical expressions of pan-RAS-pERK1/2/EMT-associated markers in order to stratify NMIBC and MIBC patients. Follow-up studies supported the role of altered EMT phenotype in pan-RAS-pERK1/2-activated positive tumors with disease aggressiveness. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first concluding the impact of altered EMT phenotype via pan-RAS-pERK1/2 axis on the short survival outcome [short overall survival (OS) (p = 0.04), short progression-free survival (PFS) (p = 0.02) and short cancer-specific survival (CSS) (p = 0.03)] of muscle invasive bladder cancer patients.
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Nalluri SM, Sankhe CS, O'Connor JW, Blanchard PL, Khouri JN, Phan SH, Virgi G, Gomez EW. Crosstalk between ERK and MRTF‐A signaling regulates TGFβ1‐induced epithelial‐mesenchymal transition. J Cell Physiol 2022; 237:2503-2515. [DOI: 10.1002/jcp.30705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2021] [Revised: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sandeep M. Nalluri
- Department of Chemical Engineering The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania USA
| | - Chinmay S. Sankhe
- Department of Chemical Engineering The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania USA
| | - Joseph W. O'Connor
- Department of Chemical Engineering The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania USA
| | - Paul L. Blanchard
- Department of Chemical Engineering The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania USA
| | - Joelle N. Khouri
- Department of Chemical Engineering The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania USA
| | - Steven H. Phan
- Department of Chemical Engineering The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania USA
| | - Gage Virgi
- Department of Chemical Engineering The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania USA
| | - Esther W. Gomez
- Department of Chemical Engineering The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania USA
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Mnt Represses Epithelial Identity To Promote Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition. Mol Cell Biol 2021; 41:e0018321. [PMID: 34460331 DOI: 10.1128/mcb.00183-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The multistep process of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), whereby static epithelial cells become migratory mesenchymal cells, plays a critical role during various developmental contexts, wound healing, and pathological conditions such as cancer metastasis. Despite the established function of basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors (TFs) in cell fate determination, only a few have been examined for their role in EMT. Here, using transcriptome analysis of distinct stages during stepwise progression of transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ)-induced EMT in mammary epithelial cells, we revealed distinct categories of bHLH TFs that show differential expression kinetics during EMT. Using a short interfering RNA-mediated functional screen for bHLH TFs during EMT, we found Max network transcription repressor (MNT) to be essential for EMT in mammary epithelial cells. We show that the depletion of MNT blocks TGFβ-induced morphological changes during EMT, and this is accompanied by derepression of a large number of epithelial genes. We show that MNT mediates the repression of epithelial identity genes during EMT by recruiting HDAC1 and mediating the loss of H3K27ac and chromatin accessibility. Lastly, we show that MNT is expressed at higher levels in EMT-High breast cancer cells and is required for their migration. Taken together, these findings establish MNT as a critical regulator of cell fate changes during mammary EMT. IMPORTANCE The bHLH TF Mnt promotes epithelial to mesenchymal transition through epigenetic repression of the epithelial gene expression program.
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Deregulation of Transcriptional Enhancers in Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2021; 13:cancers13143532. [PMID: 34298745 PMCID: PMC8303223 DOI: 10.3390/cancers13143532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Revised: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary One of the major challenges in cancer treatments is the dynamic adaptation of tumor cells to cancer therapies. In this regard, tumor cells can modify their response to environmental cues without altering their DNA sequence. This cell plasticity enables cells to undergo morphological and functional changes, for example, during the process of tumour metastasis or when acquiring resistance to cancer therapies. Central to cell plasticity, are the dynamic changes in gene expression that are controlled by a set of molecular switches called enhancers. Enhancers are DNA elements that determine when, where and to what extent genes should be switched on and off. Thus, defects in enhancer function can disrupt the gene expression program and can lead to tumour formation. Here, we review how enhancers control the activity of cancer-associated genes and how defects in these regulatory elements contribute to cell plasticity in cancer. Understanding enhancer (de)regulation can provide new strategies for modulating cell plasticity in tumour cells and can open new research avenues for cancer therapy. Abstract Epigenetic regulations can shape a cell’s identity by reversible modifications of the chromatin that ultimately control gene expression in response to internal and external cues. In this review, we first discuss the concept of cell plasticity in cancer, a process that is directly controlled by epigenetic mechanisms, with a particular focus on transcriptional enhancers as the cornerstone of epigenetic regulation. In the second part, we discuss mechanisms of enhancer deregulation in adult stem cells and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), as two paradigms of cell plasticity that are dependent on epigenetic regulation and serve as major sources of tumour heterogeneity. Finally, we review how genetic variations at enhancers and their epigenetic modifiers contribute to tumourigenesis, and we highlight examples of cancer drugs that target epigenetic modifications at enhancers.
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Zeng Z, Li K, Wang X, Ouyang S, Zhang Z, Liu Z, Sun J, Ye X, Kang W, Yu J. Low urinary iodine is a protective factor of central lymph node metastasis in papillary thyroid cancer: a cross-sectional study. World J Surg Oncol 2021; 19:208. [PMID: 34253203 PMCID: PMC8276512 DOI: 10.1186/s12957-021-02302-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background An abrupt increase of thyroid cancer has been witnessed paralleling the supplemented iodine intake in formerly iodine-deficient countries. And increased iodine intake has been linked to the rising incidence rate of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). However, the correlation between iodine and clinicopathological features of PTC has not been well-characterized. This study aimed to investigate the associations between iodine intake and the clinicopathological features of PTC patients. Methods Three hundred and fifty-nine PTC patients who received surgical treatment in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from May 2015 to November 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. The associations between urinary iodine (UI), urinary iodine/creatinine ratio (UI/U-Cr), and the clinicopathological features of PTC were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to investigate the relationship between UI level and central lymph node metastasis (CLNM). Results There were no significant differences in UI in different groups according to the variables studied, except that patients with CLNM had higher UI level than CLNM(−) patients. No associations were found between UI/U-Cr and clinicopathological features except variant subtypes (classic/follicular). After dividing patients into high-iodine group and low-iodine group, more patients were found to have CLNM in the high-iodine group (p = 0.02). In addition, younger age, larger tumor size, and classic variant were positively correlated with CLNM (p < 0.05). Univariate analysis showed that insufficient iodine intake (≤ 99 μg/L) was associated with decreased CLNM risk in PTC. And after defining insufficient iodine intake as ≤ 109 μg/L and above requirements as ≥ 190 μg/L, multivariate analysis showed that lower iodine was associated with CLNM in total population of PTC (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.31–0.91) and in PTC < 1 cm (papillary thyroid microcarcinoma, PTMC) (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.21–0.87). Conclusions Low iodine was a protective factor for CLNM in papillary thyroid cancer, particularly in those < 1 cm. These results indicated that iodine may not only be an initiator of tumorigenesis, but also a promoter of the development of PTC. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12957-021-02302-6.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziyang Zeng
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No. 1 Shuaifuyuan Wangfujing Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Kang Li
- Department of Vascular Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Xianze Wang
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No. 1 Shuaifuyuan Wangfujing Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Siwen Ouyang
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No. 1 Shuaifuyuan Wangfujing Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Zimu Zhang
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No. 1 Shuaifuyuan Wangfujing Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Zhen Liu
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No. 1 Shuaifuyuan Wangfujing Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Juan Sun
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No. 1 Shuaifuyuan Wangfujing Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Xin Ye
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No. 1 Shuaifuyuan Wangfujing Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Weiming Kang
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No. 1 Shuaifuyuan Wangfujing Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730, China.
| | - Jianchun Yu
- Department of General Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, No. 1 Shuaifuyuan Wangfujing Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100730, China.
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Calreticulin promotes EMT in pancreatic cancer via mediating Ca 2+ dependent acute and chronic endoplasmic reticulum stress. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL & CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH : CR 2020; 39:209. [PMID: 33028359 PMCID: PMC7542892 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-020-01702-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Background Our previous study showed that calreticulin (CRT) promoted EGF-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in pancreatic cancer (PC) via Integrin/EGFR-ERK/MAPK signaling. We next investigated the novel signal pathway and molecular mechanism involving the oncogenic role of CRT in PC. Methods We investigated the potential role and mechanism of CRT in regulating intracellular free Ca2+ dependent acute and chronic endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS)-induced EMT in PC in vitro and vivo. Results Thapsigargin (TG) induced acute ERS via increasing intracellular free Ca2+ in PC cells, which was reversed by CRT silencing. Additionally, CRT silencing inhibited TG-induced EMT in vitro by reversing TG-induced changes of the key proteins in EMT signaling (ZO-1, E-cadherin and Slug) and ERK/MAPK signaling (pERK). TG-promoted cell invasion and migration was also rescued by CRT silencing but enhanced by IRE1α silencing (one of the key stressors in unfolded protein response). Meanwhile, CRT was co-immunoprecipitated and co-localized with IRE1α in vitro and its silencing led to the chronic ERS via upregulating IRE1α independent of IRE1-XBP1 axis. Moreover, CRT silencing inhibited IRE1α silencing-promoted EMT, including inhibiting the activation of EMT and ERK/MAPK signaling and the promotion of cell mobility. In vivo, CRT silencing decreased subcutaneous tumor size and distant liver metastasis following with the increase of IRE1α expression. A negative relationship between CRT and IRE1α was also observed in clinical PC samples, which coordinately promoted the advanced clinical stages and poor prognosis of PC patients. Conclusions CRT promotes EMT in PC via mediating intracellular free Ca2+ dependent TG-induced acute ERS and IRE1α-mediated chronic ERS via Slug and ERK/MAPK signaling.
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Lavin DP, Tiwari VK. Unresolved Complexity in the Gene Regulatory Network Underlying EMT. Front Oncol 2020; 10:554. [PMID: 32477926 PMCID: PMC7235173 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2020.00554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2020] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the process whereby a polarized epithelial cell ceases to maintain cell-cell contacts, loses expression of characteristic epithelial cell markers, and acquires mesenchymal cell markers and properties such as motility, contractile ability, and invasiveness. A complex process that occurs during development and many disease states, EMT involves a plethora of transcription factors (TFs) and signaling pathways. Whilst great advances have been made in both our understanding of the progressive cell-fate changes during EMT and the gene regulatory networks that drive this process, there are still gaps in our knowledge. Epigenetic modifications are dynamic, chromatin modifying enzymes are vast and varied, transcription factors are pleiotropic, and signaling pathways are multifaceted and rarely act alone. Therefore, it is of great importance that we decipher and understand each intricate step of the process and how these players at different levels crosstalk with each other to successfully orchestrate EMT. A delicate balance and fine-tuned cooperation of gene regulatory mechanisms is required for EMT to occur successfully, and until we resolve the unknowns in this network, we cannot hope to develop effective therapies against diseases that involve aberrant EMT such as cancer. In this review, we focus on data that challenge these unknown entities underlying EMT, starting with EMT stimuli followed by intracellular signaling through to epigenetic mechanisms and chromatin remodeling.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Vijay K. Tiwari
- The Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Science, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
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Chen Y, Liu P, Shen D, Liu H, Xu L, Wang J, Shen D, Sun H, Wu H. FAM172A inhibits EMT in pancreatic cancer via ERK-MAPK signaling. Biol Open 2020; 9:bio048462. [PMID: 31988090 PMCID: PMC7044457 DOI: 10.1242/bio.048462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 01/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
FAM172A, as a newly discovered gene, is little known in cancer development, especially in pancreatic cancer (PC). We investigated the potential role and molecular mechanism of FAM172A in epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in both human clinical samples and PC cells. FAM172A was downregulated in human PC tissues compared with that in non-cancerous pancreas cells by immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR. FAM172A expression was negatively associated with tumor size (P=0.015), T stage (P=0.006), lymph node metastasis (P=0.028) and the worst prognosis of PC patients (P=0.004). Meanwhile, a positive relationship between FAM172A and E-cadherin (E-cad) (r=0.381, P=0.002) was observed in clinical samples, which contributed to the better prognosis of PC patients (P=0.014). FAM172A silencing induced EMT in both AsPC-1 and BxPC-3 cells, including inducing the increase of Vimentin, MMP9 and pERK and the decrease of E-cad and β-catenin expression, stimulating EMT-like cell morphology and enhancing cell invasion and migration in PC cells. However, MEK1 inhibitor PD98059 reversed FAM172A silencing-enhanced EMT in PC cells. We conclude that FAM172A inhibits EMT of PC cells via ERK-MAPK signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Chen
- Department of Intervention Therapy and Vascular Surgery, The Central Hospital of Huludao City, Huludao City, Liaoning Province, 125399 China
| | - Peihui Liu
- Department of Intervention Therapy and Vascular Surgery, The Central Hospital of Huludao City, Huludao City, Liaoning Province, 125399 China
| | - Di Shen
- Department of Intervention Therapy and Vascular Surgery, The Central Hospital of Huludao City, Huludao City, Liaoning Province, 125399 China
| | - Han Liu
- Department of Intervention Therapy and Vascular Surgery, The Central Hospital of Huludao City, Huludao City, Liaoning Province, 125399 China
| | - Lepeng Xu
- Department of Intervention Therapy and Vascular Surgery, The Central Hospital of Huludao City, Huludao City, Liaoning Province, 125399 China
| | - Jian Wang
- Department of Intervention Therapy and Vascular Surgery, The Central Hospital of Huludao City, Huludao City, Liaoning Province, 125399 China
| | - Daguang Shen
- Department of Intervention Therapy and Vascular Surgery, The Central Hospital of Huludao City, Huludao City, Liaoning Province, 125399 China
| | - He Sun
- Department of Intervention Therapy and Vascular Surgery, The Central Hospital of Huludao City, Huludao City, Liaoning Province, 125399 China
| | - Hongkui Wu
- Department of Intervention Therapy and Vascular Surgery, The Central Hospital of Huludao City, Huludao City, Liaoning Province, 125399 China
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Sheng W, Shi X, Lin Y, Tang J, Jia C, Cao R, Sun J, Wang G, Zhou L, Dong M. Musashi2 promotes EGF-induced EMT in pancreatic cancer via ZEB1-ERK/MAPK signaling. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL & CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH : CR 2020; 39:16. [PMID: 31952541 PMCID: PMC6967093 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-020-1521-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2019] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Background Our previous study showed Musashi2 (MSI2) promoted chemotherapy resistance and pernicious biology of pancreatic cancer (PC) by down-regulating Numb and p53. We further explored the novel molecular mechanism involving its oncogenic role in PC development. Methods We investigated the potential role and mechanism of MSI2 in EGF-induced EMT in PC in vitro and vivo. Results EGF enhanced EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) phosphorylation, induced EMT and activated ZEB1-ERK/MAPK signaling in 2 PC cells. However, MSI2 silencing reversed EGF stimulated function, including inhibiting EGF-promoted EMT-like cell morphology and EGF-enhanced cell invasion and migration. Meanwhile, MSI2 silencing inhibited EGF-enhanced EGFR phosphorylation at tyrosine 1068 and reversed EGF-induced change of the key proteins in EMT and ZEB1-ERK/MAPK signaling (ZEB1, E-cad, ZO-1, β-catenin, pERK and c-Myc). Additionally, MSI2 was co-stained and co-immunoprecipitated with ZEB1, pERK and c-Myc in PC cells by IF and co-IP, implying a close interaction between them. In vivo, MSI2 silencing inhibited pancreatic tumor size in situ and distant liver metastases. A close relationship of MSI2 with EMT and ZEB1-ERK/MAPK signaling were also observed in vivo and human PC samples, which coordinately promoted the poor prognosis of PC patients. Conclusions MSI2 promotes EGF-induced EMT in PC via ZEB1-ERK/MAPK signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiwei Sheng
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the First Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001, China
| | - Xiaoyang Shi
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the First Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001, China
| | - Yiheng Lin
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the First Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001, China
| | - Jingtong Tang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the First Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001, China
| | - Chao Jia
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the First Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001, China
| | - Rongxian Cao
- Department of General Surgery, the People's Hospital of Liaoning province, Shenyang, 110034, China
| | - Jian Sun
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the First Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001, China
| | - Guosen Wang
- Department of General Surgery, the First Hospital of Nanchang University, NanChang, 330006, China
| | - Lei Zhou
- Department of General Surgery, the Central Hospital of JingZhou City, JingZhou, 434020, China
| | - Ming Dong
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the First Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001, China.
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13
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Amer S, Alsayegh F, Mashaal Z, Mohamed S, Shawa N, Rajan K, Ahmed SBM. Role of TGF‑β in the motility of ShcD‑overexpressing 293 cells. Mol Med Rep 2019; 20:2667-2674. [PMID: 31524262 PMCID: PMC6691231 DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2019.10517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 06/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The newly identified Src homology and collagen (Shc) family member ShcD was observed to be upregulated in 50% of vertical growth phase and metastatic melanomas. The aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanism by which ShcD mediates cell motility. 293 cell lines were altered to stably express GFP (GF) or GFP‑ShcD (G5). Treatment of the cells with transforming growth factor (TGF)β2 promoted extracellular signal‑regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation and, to a lesser extent, Smad2 phosphorylation in GFP‑ShcD‑expressing cells but not in GFP‑overexpressing cells. GFP‑ShcD‑expressing cells exhibited upregulated expression of certain epithelial‑mesenchymal transition‑related genes, such as snail family transcriptional repressor 1 and SLUG, than GFP‑expressing cells. Higher levels of ERK were found in the nuclear fraction of GFP‑ShcD‑expressing cells than that of GFP‑expressing cells. Overall, GFP‑ShcD‑expressing cells demonstrated enhanced migration compared with GFP‑expressing cells. A slight increase in cell migration was observed in both cell lines (GF and G5) when the cells were allowed to migrate towards conditioned medium derived from TGFβ2‑treated GFP‑ShcD expressing cells. Collectively, ShcD upregulation was proposed to induce cell migration by affecting the expression of certain epithelial‑mesenchymal transition‑related genes. Thus, our findings may improve understanding of the role of ShcD in cell migration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Amer
- Sharjah Institute for Medical Research, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Fadi Alsayegh
- Basic Medical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Zeina Mashaal
- Basic Medical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Salma Mohamed
- Basic Medical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Nour Shawa
- Sharjah Institute for Medical Research, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Keerthi Rajan
- Sharjah Institute for Medical Research, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Samrein B M Ahmed
- Sharjah Institute for Medical Research, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
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14
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Grzywa TM, Klicka K, Rak B, Mehlich D, Garbicz F, Zieliński G, Maksymowicz M, Sajjad E, Włodarski PK. Lineage-dependent role of miR-410-3p as oncomiR in gonadotroph and corticotroph pituitary adenomas or tumor suppressor miR in somatotroph adenomas via MAPK, PTEN/AKT, and STAT3 signaling pathways. Endocrine 2019; 65:646-655. [PMID: 31165412 PMCID: PMC6717603 DOI: 10.1007/s12020-019-01960-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2018] [Accepted: 04/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE miR-410-3p plays opposite roles in different cancers and may act as an oncomiR or tumor suppressor miR. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of miR-410-3p in somatotroph, gonadotroph, and corticotroph pituitary adenomas. METHODS Tissue samples were obtained from 75 patients with pituitary adenoma. miR-410-3p expression was assessed using qRT-PCR performed on RNA isolated from fresh frozen samples. In vitro experiments were performed on cell lines derived from somatotroph (GH3), gonadotroph (RC-4B/C), and corticotroph (AtT-20) pituitary tumors. Cells were transfected with synthetic mimic of miR-410-3p or non-targeting scrambled-miR control. Subsequently, proliferation assays and transwell invasion assays were performed. The expression of cyclin D1, E1, and B1 in cells after transfection was determined using qRT-PCR. The activation of MAPK, PTEN/AKT and STAT3 signaling pathways were assessed using western blot. RESULTS We have found that the level of expression of miR-410-3p differs in particular types of pituitary adenomas. miR-410-3p significantly upregulates proliferation and invasiveness of RC-4B/C and AtT-20 cells, while inhibiting GH3 cells. We observed that the levels of cyclin B1 upon transfection with miR-410-3p mimic were increased in RC-4B/C and AtT-20, yet decreased in GH3 cells. We have shown that miR-410-3p promoted the activation of MAPK, PTEN/AKT, and STAT3 signaling pathways in RC-4B/C and AtT-20 cells, but suppressed their activity in GH3 cells. CONCLUSIONS miR-410-3p acts as an oncomiR in gonadotroph and corticotroph adenoma cells, while as a tumor suppressor miR in somatotroph adenoma cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomasz M Grzywa
- Center for Preclinical Research, The Department of Methodology, Medical University of Warsaw, 1B Banacha Str., 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
- Center for Preclinical Research, The Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical University of Warsaw, 1B Banacha Str., 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Klaudia Klicka
- Center for Preclinical Research, The Department of Methodology, Medical University of Warsaw, 1B Banacha Str., 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
- Center for Preclinical Research, The Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical University of Warsaw, 1B Banacha Str., 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Beata Rak
- Center for Preclinical Research, The Department of Methodology, Medical University of Warsaw, 1B Banacha Str., 02-097, Warsaw, Poland.
- Center for Preclinical Research, The Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical University of Warsaw, 1B Banacha Str., 02-097, Warsaw, Poland.
- Postgraduate School of Molecular Medicine, Warsaw, Poland.
- The Department of Internal Diseases and Endocrinology, Public Central Teaching Hospital, Medical University of Warsaw, 1A Banacha Str., 02-097, Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Dawid Mehlich
- Center for Preclinical Research, The Department of Methodology, Medical University of Warsaw, 1B Banacha Str., 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
- Center for Preclinical Research, The Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical University of Warsaw, 1B Banacha Str., 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
- Laboratory of Experimental Medicine, Centre of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, 2C Banacha Str., 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Filip Garbicz
- Center for Preclinical Research, The Department of Methodology, Medical University of Warsaw, 1B Banacha Str., 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
- Center for Preclinical Research, The Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical University of Warsaw, 1B Banacha Str., 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
- Postgraduate School of Molecular Medicine, Warsaw, Poland
- Department of Experimental Hematology, Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine, 14 Indiry Gandhi Str., 02-776, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Grzegorz Zieliński
- The Department of Neurosurgery, Military Institute of Medicine, 128 Szaserów Str., 04-141, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Maria Maksymowicz
- The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Diagnostics, M. Skłodowska-Curie Memorial Cancer Centre and Institute of Oncology, 5 Roentgena Str., 02-781, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Emir Sajjad
- Center for Preclinical Research, The Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical University of Warsaw, 1B Banacha Str., 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
- The Department of Neurosurgery, Military Institute of Medicine, 128 Szaserów Str., 04-141, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Paweł K Włodarski
- Center for Preclinical Research, The Department of Methodology, Medical University of Warsaw, 1B Banacha Str., 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
- Center for Preclinical Research, The Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical University of Warsaw, 1B Banacha Str., 02-097, Warsaw, Poland
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15
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Ji T, Su SL, Zhu Y, Guo JM, Qian DW, Tang YP, Duan JA. The mechanism of mulberry leaves against renal tubular interstitial fibrosis through ERK1/2 signaling pathway was predicted by network pharmacology and validated in human tubular epithelial cells. Phytother Res 2019; 33:2044-2055. [PMID: 31209937 DOI: 10.1002/ptr.6390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2018] [Revised: 02/18/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Mulberry leaf was reported that it has antidiabetic activity, although the mechanisms underlying the function have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, the results of network pharmacology suggested that mulberry leaves could regulate key biological process in development of diabetes, and the process implicates multiple signaling pathways, such as JAK-STAT, MAPK, VEGF, PPAR, and Wnt. Then, the research in vitro indicated that mulberry leaves remarkably ameliorated high glucose-induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition, which was characterized with significant reduction of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels as well as downregulation of NADPH oxidase subunits NOX1, NOX2, and NOX4, and it was found to be connected with the ERK1/2 signaling pathway in human tubular epithelial cells (HK-2). Moreover, the results of bioinformatics and the dual luciferase report showed that ZEB1 might be a target gene of miR-302a; decreased miR-302a and increased ZEB1 expressions could significantly promote epithelial to mesenchymal transition. However, mulberry leaves could reverse these modulations. Our results demonstrated that network pharmacology could provide a guidance role for traditional Chinese medicine research, and mulberry leaves could be of benefit in preventing high glucose-induced EMT in HK-2 cells, which proved that it was related to the upregulation of miR-302a by targeting ZEB1 and the inhibition of NADPH oxidase/ROS/ERK1/2 pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Ji
- Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, National and Local Collaborative Engineering Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization and Formulae Innovative Medicine, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for High Technology Research of TCM Formulae, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.,Institute of traditional Chinese medicine, Zhejiang pharmaceutical college, Ningbo, 310053, China
| | - Shu-Lan Su
- Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, National and Local Collaborative Engineering Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization and Formulae Innovative Medicine, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for High Technology Research of TCM Formulae, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Yue Zhu
- Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, National and Local Collaborative Engineering Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization and Formulae Innovative Medicine, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for High Technology Research of TCM Formulae, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Jian-Ming Guo
- Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, National and Local Collaborative Engineering Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization and Formulae Innovative Medicine, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for High Technology Research of TCM Formulae, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Da-Wei Qian
- Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, National and Local Collaborative Engineering Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization and Formulae Innovative Medicine, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for High Technology Research of TCM Formulae, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Yu-Ping Tang
- Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, National and Local Collaborative Engineering Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization and Formulae Innovative Medicine, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for High Technology Research of TCM Formulae, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Jin-Ao Duan
- Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, National and Local Collaborative Engineering Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization and Formulae Innovative Medicine, and Jiangsu Key Laboratory for High Technology Research of TCM Formulae, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
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16
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Olea-Flores M, Zuñiga-Eulogio MD, Mendoza-Catalán MA, Rodríguez-Ruiz HA, Castañeda-Saucedo E, Ortuño-Pineda C, Padilla-Benavides T, Navarro-Tito N. Extracellular-Signal Regulated Kinase: A Central Molecule Driving Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Cancer. Int J Mol Sci 2019; 20:E2885. [PMID: 31200510 PMCID: PMC6627365 DOI: 10.3390/ijms20122885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2019] [Revised: 06/09/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a reversible cellular process, characterized by changes in gene expression and activation of proteins, favoring the trans-differentiation of the epithelial phenotype to a mesenchymal phenotype. This process increases cell migration and invasion of tumor cells, progression of the cell cycle, and resistance to apoptosis and chemotherapy, all of which support tumor progression. One of the signaling pathways involved in tumor progression is the MAPK pathway. Within this family, the ERK subfamily of proteins is known for its contributions to EMT. The ERK subfamily is divided into typical (ERK 1/2/5), and atypical (ERK 3/4/7/8) members. These kinases are overexpressed and hyperactive in various types of cancer. They regulate diverse cellular processes such as proliferation, migration, metastasis, resistance to chemotherapy, and EMT. In this context, in vitro and in vivo assays, as well as studies in human patients, have shown that ERK favors the expression, function, and subcellular relocalization of various proteins that regulate EMT, thus promoting tumor progression. In this review, we discuss the mechanistic roles of the ERK subfamily members in EMT and tumor progression in diverse biological systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monserrat Olea-Flores
- Laboratorio de Biología Celular del Cáncer, Facultad de Ciencias Químico Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero, Av. Lázaro Cárdenas s/n Chilpancingo, Gro. 39090, Mexico.
| | - Miriam Daniela Zuñiga-Eulogio
- Laboratorio de Biología Celular del Cáncer, Facultad de Ciencias Químico Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero, Av. Lázaro Cárdenas s/n Chilpancingo, Gro. 39090, Mexico.
| | - Miguel Angel Mendoza-Catalán
- Laboratorio de Biomedicina Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Químico Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero, Av. Lázaro Cárdenas s/n Chilpancingo, Gro. 39090, Mexico.
| | - Hugo Alberto Rodríguez-Ruiz
- Laboratorio de Biomedicina Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Químico Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero, Av. Lázaro Cárdenas s/n Chilpancingo, Gro. 39090, Mexico.
| | - Eduardo Castañeda-Saucedo
- Laboratorio de Biología Celular del Cáncer, Facultad de Ciencias Químico Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero, Av. Lázaro Cárdenas s/n Chilpancingo, Gro. 39090, Mexico.
| | - Carlos Ortuño-Pineda
- Laboratorio de Biomedicina Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Químico Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero, Av. Lázaro Cárdenas s/n Chilpancingo, Gro. 39090, Mexico.
| | - Teresita Padilla-Benavides
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
| | - Napoleón Navarro-Tito
- Laboratorio de Biología Celular del Cáncer, Facultad de Ciencias Químico Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Guerrero, Av. Lázaro Cárdenas s/n Chilpancingo, Gro. 39090, Mexico.
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17
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Lu C, Sidoli S, Kulej K, Ross K, Wu CH, Garcia BA. Coordination between TGF-β cellular signaling and epigenetic regulation during epithelial to mesenchymal transition. Epigenetics Chromatin 2019; 12:11. [PMID: 30736855 PMCID: PMC6368739 DOI: 10.1186/s13072-019-0256-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2018] [Accepted: 01/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a crucial role in cancer propagation. It can be orchestrated by the activation of multiple signaling pathways, which have been found to be highly coordinated with many epigenetic regulators. Although the mechanism of EMT has been studied over decades, cross talk between signaling and epigenetic regulation is not fully understood. RESULTS Here, we present a time-resolved multi-omics strategy, which featured the identification of the correlation between protein changes (proteome), signaling pathways (phosphoproteome) and chromatin modulation (histone modifications) dynamics during TGF-β-induced EMT. Our data revealed that Erk signaling was activated in 5-min stimulation and structural proteins involved in cytoskeleton rearrangement were regulated after 1-day treatment, constituting a detailed map of systematic changes. The comprehensive profiling of histone post-translational modifications identified H3K27me3 as the most significantly up-regulated mark. We thus speculated and confirmed that a combined inhibition of Erk signaling and Ezh2 (H3K27me3 methyltransferase) was more effective in blocking EMT progress than individual inhibitions. CONCLUSIONS In summary, our data provided a more detailed map of cross talk between signaling pathway and chromatin regulation comparing to previous EMT studies. Our findings point to a promising therapeutic strategy for EMT-related diseases by combining Erk inhibitor (singling pathway) and Ezh2 inhibitor (epigenetic regulation).
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Affiliation(s)
- Congcong Lu
- Epigenetics Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Simone Sidoli
- Epigenetics Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Katarzyna Kulej
- Epigenetics Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.,Division of Cancer Pathobiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Karen Ross
- Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Department of Computer and Information Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19711, USA
| | - Cathy H Wu
- Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Department of Computer and Information Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19711, USA
| | - Benjamin A Garcia
- Epigenetics Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
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18
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MiR-22 suppresses epithelial-mesenchymal transition in bladder cancer by inhibiting Snail and MAPK1/Slug/vimentin feedback loop. Cell Death Dis 2018; 9:209. [PMID: 29434190 PMCID: PMC5833802 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-017-0206-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2017] [Revised: 11/22/2017] [Accepted: 12/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been validated to play prominent roles in the occurrence and development of bladder cancer (BCa). MiR-22 was previously reported to act as a tumor suppressor or oncomiRNA in various types of cancer. However, its accurate expression, function, and mechanism in BCa remain unclear. Here, we find that miR-22 is frequently downregulated in BCa tissues compared with adjacent non-cancerous tissues. Overexpression of miR-22 significantly inhibits proliferation, migration, and invasion of BCa cells both in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, miR-22 is found to suppress cell proliferation/apoptosis by directly targeting MAPK1 (mitogen-activated protein kinase 1, ERK2) and inhibit cell motility by targeting both MAPK1 and Snail. Further statistical analysis shows that low-expression of MAPK1 or Snail is an independent prognostic factor for a better overall survival in patients with BCa (n = 401). Importantly, we describe an important regenerative feedback loop among vimentin, Slug and MAPK1 in BCa cells. MAPK1-induced Slug expression upregulates vimentin. Vimentin in turn activates MAPK1. By inhibiting Snail and MAPK1/Slug/vimentin feedback loop, miR-22 suppresses epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) of BCa cells in vitro as well as in vivo. Taken together, this study reveals that miR-22 is critical to the proliferation, apoptosis and EMT progression in BCa cells. Targeting the pathway described here may be a novel approach for inhibiting proliferation and metastasis of BCa.
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19
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Zhu Y. PRMT1 mediates podocyte injury and glomerular fibrosis through phosphorylation of ERK pathway. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2017; 495:828-838. [PMID: 29129692 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2017.11.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2017] [Accepted: 11/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is characterized by a change of glomerular structure and dysfunction of filtration barrier, which significantly accompanied by podocytes apoptosis and glomerular fibrosis. Angiotensin Ⅱ(Ang Ⅱ) induced activation of ERK1/2 signaling plays important roles in causing apoptosis of podocytes in DN kidneys. Previous studies have shown that PRMT1 have a pro-inflammatory function through activating ERK1/2 signaling pathway during development of chronic pulmonary disease, however, its role in DN development has not been investigated. Here, we detected a higher expression of PRMT1 in podocytes of kidneys from DN patients compared with normal kidneys. High glucose administration induced elevation of PRMT1 expression in podocytes, accompanied with higher phosphorylation of ERK and cleaved caspase-3. AMI-1, a selective inhibitor for PRMT1, could block these effects caused by glucose treatment. Administration of AMI-1 also attenuated apoptosis of podocytes during DN development of high-fatty diet-induced diabetic mice. Epithelial to mesenchymal transition during DN development, which characterized by extracellular matrix deposition in podocytes, was also restrained by AMI-1 treatment. Collectively, this study firstly demonstrated that PRMT1 exert podocyte-injury effects in mouse glomerulus through Ang Ⅱ/ERK pathway, which reveals a potential therapeutic target for DN.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Zhu
- Tongji University School of Medicine (First Unit), Department of Nephrology, Shanghai East Hospital (Second Unit), Shanghai, China
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