Expression of MMP-1/PAR-1 and patterns of invasion in oral squamous cell carcinoma as potential prognostic markers

Role of MMP1 and MMP10 in local invasion and distant metastasis in different levels of oral squamous cell carcinoma - A immunohistochemical comparative study

Background

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are basically a part of a large family of proteolytic enzymes. They play an important role in degrading extracellular matrix and basement membrane, which is a basic mechanism in local invasion and tumour metastasis. The aim of this study was to evaluate immunohistochemically the expression of MMP1 and MMP10 in tumour invasion locally and at distant levels, including lymph nodes at different levels in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Materials and Methods

A total of 50 tissue samples with clinically confirmed OSCC and 15 normal oral mucosal tissues will be included in the study. Immunohistochemical staining will be performed for the demonstration of MMP1 and MMP10 in lesional tissue, perilesional tissue, and lymph nodes of different levels that were evaluated with respect to microscopic features.

Results

All OSCC cases had MMP1 and MMP10 expression levels. The expression increased as the nodal level increased from level I to level V. This difference was statistically significant at P < 0.001 Both MMPs were not expressed in normal epithelial cells. There was no significant correlation between MMP1 and MMP10 expression.

Conclusion

This study showed that MMP1 and MMP10 are expressed in the tissues of OSCC and may serve as prognostic indicators for the disease.

Molecular Mechanisms of Inhibitory Effects of Bovine Lactoferrin on Invasion of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Lactoferrin (LF), an iron-binding glycoprotein, has been reported to have anticancer properties. However, the molecular mechanisms behind its anticancer effects on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) have not yet been elucidated. Therefore, we aimed to clarify the effects of LF on invasion of OSCC, and its underlying molecular mechanism. OSCC cell lines, HSC2 and HOC313, were treated with bovine LF (bLF). The effects of bLF on cell invasion were examined by a chamber migration assay, wound healing assay, and Boyden chamber method with a basement-membrane-analogue. Expression levels of MMP-1, MMP-3, and AP-1 were examined using RT-PCR, qRT-PCR, and western blotting. Roles of LRP1, a receptor of bLF, on cell invasion were analyzed using siLRP1 knockdown cells. Furthermore, to clarify the importance of LRP1 in invasion, the effects of bLF on tPA-induced invasion of OSCC cells were examined. The invasion assays showed that bLF suppressed invasion of the OSCC cells. Moreover, bLF down-regulated AP-1, and resulted in reductions of MMP-1 and MMP-3. With SiLRP1 knockdown, OSCC cells failed to induce their invasion, and bLF was not able to exert its effects on invasion. Furthermore, bLF remarkably inhibited tPA-induced cell invasion. These findings suggest the importance of LRP1 in bLF-suppressed invasion of OSCC cells via the reduction of AP-1 and MMP production.

Plasma Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 as a Prognostic Biomarker in Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Purpose

Plasma matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) is a collagenase encoded by the MMP-1 gene. However, the prognostic value of plasma MMP-1 levels in oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has yet to be elucidated. The study is the first to use a cohort of OSCC patients to assess the association of plasma MMP-1 levels with clinicopathological factors/survival outcomes in OSCC patients.

Patients and Methods

A total of 677 patients were retrospectively enrolled, including 276 oral potentially malignant disease (OPMD) and 401 OSCC patients from 2013 to 2021. Pretreatment plasma MMP-1 levels were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the values were compared between OPMD and OSCC patients. Furthermore, the association of plasma MMP-1 levels and clinicopathological characteristics/survival outcomes in OSCC patients was investigated.

Results

Plasma MMP-1 levels were significantly higher in OSCC patients than in OPMD patients (p = 0.04). In the OSCC group, plasma MMP-1 levels were significantly higher in females, tumor depth ≥10 mm, advanced pT classification and advanced overall stage (p = 0.04, <0.001, <0.001, 0.002, respectively). Higher plasma MMP-1 levels were significantly associated with poorer overall, disease-specific, disease-free, locoregional recurrence-free and distant metastasis-free survival (p = 0.003, 0.02, 0.005, 0.01, 0.001, respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed that plasma MMP-1 levels were a significant predictor for overall, disease-free, and distant metastasis-free survival (p = 0.03, 0.02, and 0.010, respectively).

Conclusion

Plasma MMP-1 levels are associated with more severe clinicopathological manifestations and can also be regarded as a significant prognostic factor for OSCC posttreatment outcomes.

Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Modulate Transcriptional Signatures Involved in Proliferation, Differentiation and Metastasis in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Simple Summary

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are the major cellular component of the tumor microenvironment and have been shown to stimulate tumor growth, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion, and radio-resistance. Radio-resistance leading to disease relapse is one of the major challenges in long-term survival and outcome in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Therefore, it is essential to search for predictive markers and new targets for treatment using clinically relevant in vitro tumor models. We show that CAFs alter the expression of HNSCC tumor cell genes, many of which are associated with proliferation, differentiation, and metastasis. Moreover, the expression pattern of selected CAF-regulated genes differed between HNSCC tumor tissue and the adjacent non-tumoral tissue. Two CAF-regulated genes, MMP9 and FMOD, were found to be associated with overall survival (OS) in patients treated with radiotherapy.

Abstract

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are known to increase tumor growth and to stimulate invasion and metastasis. Increasing evidence suggests that CAFs mediate response to various treatments. HNSCC cell lines were co-cultured with their patient-matched CAFs in 2D and 3D in vitro models, and the tumor cell gene expression profiles were investigated by cDNA microarray and qRT-PCR. The mRNA expression of eight candidate genes was examined in tumor biopsies from 32 HNSCC patients and in five biopsies from normal oral tissue. Differences in overall survival (OS) were tested with Kaplan–Meier long-rank analysis. Thirteen protein coding genes were found to be differentially expressed in tumor cells co-cultured with CAFs in 2D and 81 in 3D when compared to tumor cells cultured without CAFs. Six of these genes were upregulated both in 2D and 3D (POSTN, GREM1, BGN, COL1A2, COL6A3, and COL1A1). Moreover, two genes upregulated in 3D, MMP9 and FMOD, were significantly associated with the OS. In conclusion, we demonstrated in vitro that CAF-derived signals alter the tumor cell expression of multiple genes, several of which are associated with differentiation, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype, and metastasis. Moreover, six of the most highly upregulated genes were found to be overexpressed in tumor tissue compared to normal tissue.

Exosomes of adult human fibroblasts cultured on 3D silk fibroin nonwovens intensely stimulate neoangiogenesis

Background

Bombyx mori silk fibroin is a biomacromolecule that allows the assembly of scaffolds for tissue engineering and regeneration purposes due to its cellular adhesiveness, high biocompatibility and low immunogenicity. Earlier work showed that two types of 3D silk fibroin nonwovens (3D-SFnws) implanted into mouse subcutaneous tissue were promptly vascularized via undefined molecular mechanisms. The present study used nontumorigenic adult human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) adhering to a third type of 3D-SFnws to assess whether HDFs release exosomes whose contents promote neoangiogenesis.

Methods

Electron microscopy imaging and physical tests defined the features of the novel carded/hydroentangled 3D-SFnws. HDFs were cultured on 3D-SFnws and polystyrene plates in an exosome-depleted medium. DNA amounts and D-glucose consumption revealed the growth and metabolic activities of HDFs on 3D-SFnws. CD9-expressing total exosome fractions were from conditioned media of 3D-SFnws and 2D polystyrene plates HDF cultures. Angiogenic growth factors (AGFs) in equal amounts of the two groups of exosomal proteins were analysed via double-antibody arrays. A tube formation assay using human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMVECs) was used to evaluate the exosomes’ angiogenic power.

Results

The novel features of the 3D-SFnws met the biomechanical requirements typical of human soft tissues. By experimental day 15, 3D-SFnws-adhering HDFs had increased 4.5-fold in numbers and metabolized 5.4-fold more D-glucose than at day 3 in vitro. Compared to polystyrene-stuck HDFs, exosomes from 3D-SFnws-adhering HDFs carried significantly higher amounts of AGFs, such as interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-4 and IL-8; angiopoietin-1 and angiopoietin-2; angiopoietin-1 receptor (or Tie-2); growth-regulated oncogene (GRO)-α, GRO-β and GRO-γ; matrix metalloproteinase-1; tissue inhibitor metalloproteinase-1; and urokinase-type plasminogen activator surface receptor, but lesser amounts of anti-angiogenic tissue inhibitor metalloproteinase-2 and pro-inflammatory monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. At concentrations from 0.62 to 10 μg/ml, the exosomes from 3D-SFnws-cultured HDFs proved their angiogenic power by inducing HDMVECs to form significant amounts of tubes in vitro.

Conclusions

The structural and mechanical properties of carded/hydroentangled 3D-SFnws proved their suitability for tissue engineering and regeneration applications. Consistent with our hypothesis, 3D-SFnws-adhering HDFs released exosomes carrying several AGFs that induced HDMVECs to promptly assemble vascular tubes in vitro. Hence, we posit that once implanted in vivo, the 3D-SFnws/HDFs interactions could promote the vascularization and repair of extended skin wounds due to burns or other noxious agents in human and veterinary clinical settings.

Verification of Saliva Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 as a Strong Diagnostic Marker of Oral Cavity Cancer

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for >90% of cases of oral cancer, including cancer at the lip and oral cavity and cancer at the oropharynx. Most OSCCs develop from oral potentially malignant disorders (OPMDs), which consist of heterogeneous lesions with different malignant transformation potentials that make early detection of OSCC a challenge. Using a targeted mass spectrometry-based assay to compare multiple candidate proteins, we previously identified matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) as one of the most promising salivary OSCC biomarkers. To explore the clinical utility of MMP-1 in OSCC detection, we developed an in-house, sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for measuring MMP-1 content, and tested it on saliva samples from 1160 subjects (313 healthy controls, and 578 OPMD and 269 OSCC patients) collected at two medical centers. Salivary MMP-1 levels measured by our in-house ELISA significantly discriminated OSCC patients from non-cancerous groups. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that MMP-1 was effective in separating non-cancer groups from patients with OSCCs at the oral cavity. Additionally, salivary MMP-1 levels in oral cavity cancer patients were highly correlated with tumor progression (tumor size, lymph node metastasis, and overall stage). Collectively, our results indicate that salivary MMP-1 is an effective biomarker for OSCC that can be sensitively detected using our newly developed ELISA. The newly developed MMP-1 ELISA may be used as a new adjunctive tool to aid in detecting and monitoring OSCC.

MMP-1 Over-expression Promotes Malignancy and Stem-Like Properties of Human Osteosarcoma MG-63 Cells In Vitro

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in childhood, and it maintains a high level of recurrence. Matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) was found to contribute to cancer progression. The present study was to investigate the in vitro effects of MMP-1 over-expression on the proliferation, invasion, metastasis and stem-like properties of osteosarcoma MG-63 cells. The MG-63 cells were cultured and had a full length MMP-1 cDNA inserted by the lentiviral vector (MG-63^MMP-1+). MG-63 negative control and MG-63 blank control groups were established as well. MMP-1 expression was detected in MG-63^MMP-1+, MG-63 negative control and MG-63 blank control cells using qPCR, Western blotting and immunofluorescence after 24 h of culture. The cell proliferation assay was performed with a camera attached to a bioreactor, which was programmed to photograph five regions of each well every 10 min over a period of 48 h. The cell invasion assay was conducted with Matrigel to assess the invasive potential of MG-63 cells over 24 h, the qPCR analysis to measure stem cell markers, including Oct4, Sox-2, Nanog, and Pax-7, and Western blot analysis to detect invasive and metastatic potential markers TIMP-1, VEGF and BMP2/4, after 24 h of culture. Immunofluorescence was used to investigate the presence of the stem cell marker Pax-7 after 24-h culture. The results showed that over-expression of MMP-1 after transfection could significantly increase tumor cell proliferation and invasion (P<0.05, MG-63^MMP-1+versus controls). Pax-7 was highly expressed in MG-63^MMP-1+ cells, with no significant changes of Oct-4, Sox-2, and Nanog observed (P<0.05). MG-63^MMP-1+ cells showed higher expression of VEGF and BMP 2/4 proteins and lower expression of TIMP-1 protein than controls (P<0.05). It was concluded that MMP-1 over-expression in MG-63 cells contributed to the proliferation, invasion, metastasis and stem-like properties of osteosarcoma cells. Future studies should focus on in vivo effects of MMP-1 over-expression and the application of MMP-1 and Pax-7 inhibition in vivo to osteosarcoma therapies.

Involvement of PI3K and MMP1 in PDGF-induced Migration of Human Adipose-derived Stem Cells

Human adult stem cells have widely been examined for their clinical application including their wound healing effect in vivo. To function as therapeutic cells, however, cells must represent the ability of directed migration in response to signals. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-induced migration of the human abdominal adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) in vitro. A general matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitor or a MMP2 inhibitor significantly inhibited the PDGF-induced migration. PDGF treatment exhibited greater mRNA level and denser protein level of MMP1. The conditioned medium of PDGF-treated cells showed a caseinolytic activity of MMP1. Transfection of cells with siRNA against MMP1 significantly inhibited MMP1 expression, its caseinolytic activity, and cell migration following PDGF treatment. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor reduced the migration by about 50% without affecting ERK and MLC proteins. Rho-associated protein kinase inhibitor mostly abolished the migration and MLC proteins. The results suggest that PDGF might signal hADSCs through PI3K, and MMP1 activity could play an important role in this PDGF-induced migration in vitro.

Clinicopathological significance of NGX6 expression in breast cancer and its relationship to angiogenesis

OBJECTIVE

The aim was to explore clinicopathological significance of Nasopharyngeal carcinoma-associated gene 6 (NGX6) expression in breast cancer and its relationship to angiogenesis.

METHODS

Clinicopathological feature of 168 patients with breast cancer were analyzed. NGX6 expression and microvessel density (MVD) in tumor tissue were measured using immunohistochemistry methods. The association of NGX6 expression with MVD and clinicopathological features was assessed.

RESULTS

Among 168 cases of breast cancer, NGX6 positive expression were found in 92 (54.8%) cases and NGX6 negative expression were found in 76 (45.2%) cases. Incidence rate of large size tumor, high tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage and lymph node metastasis in NGX6 negative expression group were higher than NGX6 positive expression group in breast cancer (P=0.003, 0.007, and 0.003, respectively). MVD in NGX6 negative expression group is 22.5±4.8, MVD in NGX6 positive expression group is 15.2±4.2. MVD in the NGX6 negative expression group was significantly higher than the NGX6 positive expression group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

The expression of NGX6 was closely associated with tumor size, TNM stage, lymph node metastasis and MVD. NGX6 is involved in metastasis and angiogenesis activity of breast cancer. The study may provide a theoretical basis for anti-angiogenic therapy of breast cancer.