Cyclin B is an immunohistochemical proliferation marker which can predict for breast cancer death in low-risk node negative breast cancer

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) promotes porcine granulosa cell estradiol production and proliferation via PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling

The proliferation and steroidogenesis of mammalian ovarian granulosa cells (GCs) are related to follicular development. Previous studies found that fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) regulated female fertility through the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad axis. However, FGF21 receptors are expressed on GCs, so we speculate that it might affect female reproduction by regulating their physiological activities. Here, we showed that FGF21, fibroblast growth factor receptor-1(FGFR1), and beta-klotho (KLB) were expressed in porcine GCs. ELISA assays showed that estradiol (E₂) production was increased significantly when treating GCs with recombinant FGF21 (rFGF21). In addition, rFGF21 upregulated the mRNA and protein levels of E₂ synthesis-related genes including StAR, CYP11A1, and CYP19A1 in porcine GCs. Correspondingly, FGF21 siRNA inhibited E₂ levels and its synthesis-related gene expression. After rFGF21 treatment, CCK8 showed increased cell viability, and flow cytometry showed that the number of S phase increased, and cycle-related genes also increased. However, treatment with FGF21 siRNA to porcine GCs suppressed the cell cycle, viability, and EdU positive cell number. Consequently, FGF21/FGFR1/KLB forms a complex to activate the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and further promote the proliferation and E₂ synthesis in porcine GCs. Collectively, these findings suggests that FGF21 regulates porcine ovarian folliculogenesis.

The landscape of gene co-expression modules correlating with prognostic genetic abnormalities in AML

Background

The heterogenous cytogenetic and molecular variations were harbored by AML patients, some of which are related with AML pathogenesis and clinical outcomes. We aimed to uncover the intrinsic expression profiles correlating with prognostic genetic abnormalities by WGCNA.

Methods

We downloaded the clinical and expression dataset from BeatAML, TCGA and GEO database. Using R (version 4.0.2) and ‘WGCNA’ package, the co-expression modules correlating with the ELN2017 prognostic markers were identified (R² ≥ 0.4, p < 0.01). ORA detected the enriched pathways for the key co-expression modules. The patients in TCGA cohort were randomly assigned into the training set (50%) and testing set (50%). The LASSO penalized regression analysis was employed to build the prediction model, fitting OS to the expression level of hub genes by ‘glmnet’ package. Then the testing and 2 independent validation sets (GSE12417 and GSE37642) were used to validate the diagnostic utility and accuracy of the model.

Results

A total of 37 gene co-expression modules and 973 hub genes were identified for the BeatAML cohort. We found that 3 modules were significantly correlated with genetic markers (the ‘lightyellow’ module for NPM1 mutation, the ‘saddlebrown’ module for RUNX1 mutation, the ‘lightgreen’ module for TP53 mutation). ORA revealed that the ‘lightyellow’ module was mainly enriched in DNA-binding transcription factor activity and activation of HOX genes. The ‘saddlebrown’ module was enriched in immune response process. And the ‘lightgreen’ module was predominantly enriched in mitosis cell cycle process. The LASSO- regression analysis identified 6 genes (NFKB2, NEK9, HOXA7, APRC5L, FAM30A and LOC105371592) with non-zero coefficients. The risk score generated from the 6-gene model, was associated with ELN2017 risk stratification, relapsed disease, and prior MDS history. The 5-year AUC for the model was 0.822 and 0.824 in the training and testing sets, respectively. Moreover, the diagnostic utility of the model was robust when it was employed in 2 validation sets (5-year AUC 0.743–0.79).

Conclusions

We established the co-expression network signature correlated with the ELN2017 recommended prognostic genetic abnormalities in AML. The 6-gene prediction model for AML survival was developed and validated by multiple datasets.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12967-021-02914-2.

MiR-214-3p promotes proliferation and inhibits estradiol synthesis in porcine granulosa cells

Background

Granulosa cells (GCs) proliferation and estradiol synthesis significantly affect follicular development. The miR-214-3p expression in the ovarian tissues of high-yielding sows is higher than that in low-yielding sows, indicating that miR-214-3p may be involved in sow fertility. However, the functions and mechanisms of miR-214-3p on GCs are unclear. This study focuses on miR-214-3p in terms of the effects on GCs proliferation and estradiol synthesis.

Results

Our findings revealed that miR-214-3p promotes proliferation and inhibits estradiol synthesis in porcine GCs. MiR-214-3p can increase the percentage of S-phase cells, the number of EdU labeled positive cells, and cell viability. However, E₂ concentration was reduced after miR-214-3p agomir treatment. We also found that miR-214-3p up-regulates the expression of cell cycle genes including cell cycle protein B (Cyclin B), cell cycle protein D (Cyclin D), cell cycle protein E (Cyclin E), and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) at the transcription and translation levels, but down-regulates the mRNA and protein levels of cytochrome P450 family 11 subfamily A member 1 (CYP11A1), cytochrome P450 family 19 subfamily A member 1 (CYP19A1), and steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) (i.e., the key enzymes in estradiol synthesis). On-line prediction, bioinformatics analysis, a luciferase reporter assay, RT-qPCR, and Western blot results showed that the target genes of miR-214-3p in proliferation and estradiol synthesis are Mfn2 and NR5A1, respectively.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that miR-214-3p plays an important role in the functional regulation of porcine GCs and therefore may be a target gene for regulating follicular development.

Prognostic value of cyclin A2 and B1 expression in lung carcinoids

Carcinoid classification in the lung is still based on morphological criteria. Although there are many studies investigating the role of Ki-67 proliferation index in the classification of lung neuroendocrine tumours, it is still not used in routine diagnostics. Interestingly, cyclins, which have a crucial role in controlling the cell cycle, have not been thoroughly studied in lung neuroendocrine tumours. The aim of our study was to investigate the correlation of cyclin A2 and B1 expression with prognosis, Ki-67 proliferation index, and carcinoid morphology. A cohort of 134 resected typical and atypical carcinoids was stained with antibodies against Ki-67, cyclin A2 and B1. The positive nuclear reaction was assessed in hot spot areas and expressed as the percentage of tumour cells. Univariate analyses found the highest relative hazard between low and high cyclin A2 expression both with respect to overall survival [hazard ratio (HR)=16; 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.8-51; p=0.0000054], and relapse (HR=8; 95% CI 3.1-21; p=0.00002). In multivariate analysis for overall survival cyclin A2 (HR=10; 95% CI 2.5->100; p=0.0082) and B1 (HR=6.5; 95% CI 1.5-35; p=0.02) remained significant when adjusted for other risk factors, whereas Ki-67 was no longer significant (HR=0.64; 95% CI 0.003-5.5; p=0.65). This suggests that Ki-67 is closer to conventional risk factors for survival than cyclin A2 and B1. Furthermore, the analysis revealed 4 mitoses per 2 mm² as a more powerful prognostic cut-off than currently accepted 2 mitoses. We have clearly demonstrated that application of cyclin A2 and cyclin B1 might bring additional value regarding the overall and progression-free survival of patients with carcinoids of the lung.

Targeting mitosis exit: A brake for cancer cell proliferation

The transition from mitosis to interphase, referred to as mitotic exit, is a critical mitotic process which involves activation and inactivation of multiple mitotic kinases and counteracting protein phosphatases. Loss of mitotic exit checkpoints is a common feature of cancer cells, leading to mitotic dysregulation and confers cancer cells with oncogenic characteristics, such as aberrant proliferation and microtubule-targeting agent (MTA) resistance. Since MTA resistance results from cancer cells prematurely exiting mitosis (mitotic slippage), blocking mitotic exit is believed to be a promising anticancer strategy. Moreover, based on this theory, simultaneous inhibition of mitotic exit and additional cell cycle phases would likely achieve synergistic antitumor effects. In this review, we divide the molecular regulators of mitotic exit into four categories based on their different regulatory functions: 1) the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C, a ubiquitin ligase), 2) cyclin B, 3) mitotic kinases and phosphatases, 4) kinesins and microtubule-binding proteins. We also review the regulators of mitotic exit and propose prospective anticancer strategies targeting mitotic exit, including their strengths and possible challenges to their use.

CREPT/RPRD1B associates with Aurora B to regulate Cyclin B1 expression for accelerating the G2/M transition in gastric cancer

Gastric cancer, like most of other cancers, has an uncontrolled cell cycle regulated by cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs). In this study, we reported that gastric cancer cells showed an accelerated G2/M transition promoted by CREPT/RPRD1B and Aurora kinase B (Aurora B). We found that CREPT/RPRD1B and Aurora B were coordinately expressed during the cell cycle in gastric cancer cells. Deletion of CREPT/RPRD1B disturbed the cell progression and extended the length of cell cycle, leading to a significant accumulation of mitotic cells. Mechanistically, we revealed that CREPT/RPRD1B interacted with Aurora B to regulate the expression of Cyclin B1 in gastric cancer cells. Interestingly, Aurora B phosphorylates S145 in a well-conserved motif of CREPT/RPRD1B. We proposed that phosphorylation of CREPT/RPRD1B by Aurora B is required for promoting the transcription of Cyclin B1, which is critical for the regulation of gastric tumorigenesis. Our study provides a mechanism by which gastric tumor cells maintain their high proliferation rate via coordination of Aurora B and CREPT/RPRD1B on the expression of Cyclin B1. Targeting the interaction of Aurora B and CREPT/RPRD1B might be a strategy for anti-gastric cancer therapy in the future.

Clinical significance and biological roles of cyclins in gastric cancer

Background and aim

Cyclins have been reported to be overexpressed with poor prognosis in several human cancers. However, limited numbers of studies evaluated the expressions and prognostic roles of cyclins in gastric cancer (GC). We aim to evaluate the expressions and prognostic roles of cyclins. Also, further efforts were made to explore biological function of the differentially expressed cyclins.

Methods

Cyclins expressions were analyzed by Oncomine and The Cancer Genome Atlas datasets, and the prognostic roles of cyclins in GC patients were investigated by the Kaplan–Meier Plotter database. Then, a comprehensive PubMed literature search was performed to identify expression and prognosis of cyclins in GC. Biological functions of the differentially expressed cyclins were explored through Enrich R platform, and KEGG and transcription factor were analyzed.

Results

The expression levels of CCNA2 (cyclin A2), CCNB1 (cyclin B1), CCNB2 (cyclin B2), and CCNE1 (cyclin E1) mRNAs were identified to be significantly higher in GC tissues than in normal tissues in both Oncomine and The Cancer Genome Atlas datasets. High expressions of CCNA2, CCNB1, and CCNB2 mRNAs were identified to be related with poor overall survival in Kaplan–Meier Plotter dataset. Evidence from clinical studies showed that CCNB1 was related with overall survival in GC patients. Cyclins were associated with several biological pathways, including cell cycle, p53 signaling pathway, FoxO signaling pathway, viral carcinogenesis, and AMPK signaling pathway. Enrichment analysis also showed that cyclins interacted with some certain transcription factors, such as FOXM1, SIN3A, NFYA, and E2F4.

Conclusion

Based on our results, high expressions of cyclins were related with poor prognosis in GC patients. The above information might be useful for better understanding the clinical and biological roles of cyclins mRNA and guiding individualized treatments for GC patients.

Prognostic and clinicopathological significance of cyclin B expression in patients with breast cancer: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Cyclin B plays a crucial role in cancer cell cycle progression and is overexpressed in many human cancers, including breast cancer. However, the prognostic value of cyclin B expression in breast cancer is controversial. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the clinicopathological and prognostic significance of cyclin B expression in breast cancer.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, web of science, and Embase databases to retrieve the publications investigating the association between cyclin B expression and clinicopathological/prognostic significance in breast cancer patients. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) or odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate the effects.

RESULTS

Ten studies with 2366 breast cancer patients were included to evaluate the association between cyclin B expression and overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and clinicopathological parameters. The results showed that cyclin B overexpression in breast cancer patients was significantly associated with both poor OS (univariate analysis: HR = 2.38, 95% CI = 1.72-3.30, P < .001), DFS (univariate analysis: HR = 1.86, 95% CI = 1.50-2.32, P < .001; multivariate analysis: HR = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.22-2.52, P = .003), and DSS (multivariate analysis: HR = 5.42, 95% CI = 2.15-13.66, P < .001). Additionally, cyclin B overexpression was significantly associated with lymphatic invasion (OR = 2.58, 95% CI = 1.03-6.46, P = .017).

CONCLUSION

Cyclin B overexpression appears to be an independent potential prognostic marker to DSS and DFS for breast cancer. Further studies with large sample size are needed to dissect the relationship between cyclin B and clinicopathological features or prognosis of breast cancer.

RING1 and YY1 binding protein suppresses breast cancer growth and metastasis

Evidence suggests that RING1 and YY1 binding protein (RYBP) functions as a tumor suppressor. However, its role in breast cancer remains unclear. In the present study, the expression of RYBP was assessed in breast cancer patients and cell lines. Disease-free survival durations of breast cancer patients with high RYBP expression were determined based on the ATCG dataset. The effects of RYBP overexpression on cell growth, migration and invasive potency were also assessed. Nude mouse xenograft and lung metastasis models were also used to confirm the role of RYBP. The involvement of SRRM3 in RYBP-mediated breast cancer suppression was explored using SRRM3 siRNA. The potential relationship between RYBP, SRRM3, and REST-003 was examined by qPCR. The results showed that RYBP was downregulated in breast cancer patients and in several breast cancer cell lines. Breast cancer patients with high expression levels of RYBP displayed better disease-free survival. Overexpression of RYBP in MDA-MB-231 and SK-BR-3 cells significantly decreased cell proliferation, migration, and invasion ability, and increased the proportion of cells arrested in S-phase compared with the negative control cells. Additionally, upregulation of proliferation-related cell cycle proteins (cyclin A and cyclin B1) and E-cadherin, and downregulation of snail were observed in RYBP-overexpressing cells. Overexpression of RYBP reduced tumor volume and weight as well as metastatic foci in the lungs of nude mice. SRRM3 knockdown by siRNA, which is downregulated after RYBP overexpression, suppressed cell growth and metastasis in MDA-MB-231 and SK-BR-3 cells. Furthermore, qPCR analysis revealed that REST-003 ncRNA was downregulated in cells overexpressing RYBP and in SRRM3-inhibited cells. Moreover, cell invasion ability and growth were increased after SRRM3 upregulation in RYBP-overexpressing cells, but they were decreased following si-REST-003 transfection. In conclusion, overexpression of RYBP suppresses breast cancer growth and metastasis both in vitro and in vivo. SRRM3 and REST-003, which are downregulated in cells overexpressing RYBP, may be involved in RYBP-mediated breast cancer progression.

Cathepsin B promotes colorectal tumorigenesis, cell invasion, and metastasis

Cathepsin B is a cysteine proteinase that primarily functions as an endopeptidase within endolysosomal compartments in normal cells. However, during tumoral expansion, the regulation of cathepsin B can be altered at multiple levels, thereby resulting in its overexpression and export outside of the cell. This may suggest a possible role of cathepsin B in alterations leading to cancer progression. The aim of this study was to determine the contribution of intracellular and extracellular cathepsin B in growth, tumorigenesis, and invasion of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. Results show that mRNA and activated levels of cathepsin B were both increased in human adenomas and in CRCs of all stages. Treatment of CRC cells with the highly selective and non‐permeant cathepsin B inhibitor Ca074 revealed that extracellular cathepsin B actively contributed to the invasiveness of human CRC cells while not essential for their growth in soft agar. Cathepsin B silencing by RNAi in human CRC cells inhibited their growth in soft agar, as well as their invasion capacity, tumoral expansion, and metastatic spread in immunodeficient mice. Higher levels of the cell cycle inhibitor p27^Kip1 were observed in cathepsin B‐deficient tumors as well as an increase in cyclin B1. Finally, cathepsin B colocalized with p27^Kip1 within the lysosomes and efficiently degraded the inhibitor. In conclusion, the present data demonstrate that cathepsin B is a significant factor in colorectal tumor development, invasion, and metastatic spreading and may, therefore, represent a potential pharmacological target for colorectal tumor therapy. © 2015 The Authors. Molecular Carcinogenesis, published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The prognostic value of mitotic activity index (MAI), phosphohistone H3 (PPH3), cyclin B1, cyclin A, and Ki67, alone and in combinations, in node-negative premenopausal breast cancer

Proliferation, either as the main common denominator in genetic profiles, or in the form of single factors such as Ki67, is recommended for clinical use especially in estrogen receptor-positive (ER) patients. However, due to high costs of genetic profiles and lack of reproducibility for Ki67, studies on other proliferation factors are warranted. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic value of the proliferation factors mitotic activity index (MAI), phosphohistone H3 (PPH3), cyclin B1, cyclin A and Ki67, alone and in combinations. In 222 consecutive premenopausal node-negative breast cancer patients (87% without adjuvant medical treatment), MAI was assessed on whole tissue sections (predefined cut-off ≥10 mitoses), and PPH3, cyclin B1, cyclin A, and Ki67 on tissue microarray (predefined cut-offs 7th decile). In univariable analysis (high versus low) the strongest prognostic proliferation factor for 10-year distant disease-free survival was MAI (Hazard Ratio (HR)=3.3, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.8-6.1), followed by PPH3, cyclin A, Ki67, and cyclin B1. A combination variable, with patients with MAI and/or cyclin A high defined as high-risk, had even stronger prognostic value (HR=4.2, 95%CI: 2.2-7). When stratifying for ER-status, MAI was a significant prognostic factor in ER-positive patients only (HR=7.0, 95%CI: 3.1-16). Stratified for histological grade, MAI added prognostic value in grade 2 (HR=7.2, 95%CI: 3.1-38) and grade 1 patients. In multivariable analysis including HER2, age, adjuvant medical treatment, ER, and one proliferation factor at a time, only MAI (HR=2.7, 95%CI: 1.1-6.7), and cyclin A (HR=2.7, 95%CI: 1.2-6.0) remained independently prognostic. In conclusion this study confirms the strong prognostic value of all proliferation factors, especially MAI and cyclin A, in all patients, and more specifically in ER-positive patients, and patients with histological grade 2 and 1. Additionally, by combining two proliferation factors, an even stronger prognostic value may be found.

Prognostic value of proliferation markers expression in breast cancer

In this study, immunohistochemical expression of five proliferation markers: Ki-67, aurora-A kinase, survivin, B-Myb and cyclin B1, was analyzed. Consecutive 215 tumor samples from breast cancer patients operated from 2002 to 2003 were analyzed using the TMA ("tissue microarray") method. The median follow-up was 95 months (from 7.8 to 107 months). Statistically significant correlations between expression levels in five proliferation markers, and correlations between some of the proliferation markers and traditional prognostic factors were found. Statistically significant prognostic influence of aurora-A kinase, survivin and B-Myb expression levels on overall and disease-free survival was found, and cyclin B1 expression level on disease-free survival. A multivariate analysis confirmed survivin and B-Myb expression as independent prognostic factors of overall (p = 0.0195; p = 0.0004) and disease-free survival (p = 0.0107 and p = 0.0205) in breast cancer patients.

Characterization of polybrominated diphenyl ether toxicity in Wistar Han rats and use of liver microarray data for predicting disease susceptibilities

The toxicity of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), flame-retardant components, was characterized in offspring from Wistar Han dams exposed by gavage to a PBDE mixture (DE71) starting at gestation day 6 and continuing to weaning on postnatal day (PND) 21. Offspring from the dams underwent PBDE direct dosing by gavage at the same dose as their dams from PND 12 to PND 21, and then after weaning for another thirteen weeks. Liver samples were collected at PND 22 and week 13 for liver gene expression analysis (Affymetrix Rat Genome 230 2.0 Array). Treatment with PBDE induced 1,066 liver gene transcript changes in females and 1,200 transcriptional changes in males at PND 22 (false discovery rate < 0.01), but only 263 liver transcriptional changes at thirteen weeks in male rats (false discovery rate < 0.05). No significant differences in dose response were found between male and female pups. Transcript changes at PND 22 coded for proteins in xenobiotic, sterol, and lipid metabolism, and cell cycle regulation, and overlapped rodent liver transcript patterns after a high-fat diet or phenobarbital exposure. These findings, along with the observed PBDE-induced liver hypertrophy and vacuolization, suggest that long-term PBDE exposure has the potential to modify cell functions that contribute to metabolic disease and/or cancer susceptibilities.