Knockdown of annexin VII enhances nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell radiosensitivity in vivo and in vitro

Pathobiological functions and clinical implications of annexin dysregulation in human cancers

Annexins are an extensive superfamily of structurally related calcium- and phospholipid-binding proteins, largely conserved and widely distributed among species. Twelve human annexins have been identified, referred to as Annexin A1-13 (A12 remains as of yet unassigned), whose genes are spread throughout the genome on eight different chromosomes. According to their distinct tissue distribution and subcellular localization, annexins have been functionally implicated in a variety of biological processes relevant to both physiological and pathological conditions. Dysregulation of annexin expression patterns and functions has been revealed as a common feature in multiple cancers, thereby emerging as potential biomarkers and molecular targets for clinical application. Nevertheless, translation of this knowledge to the clinic requires in-depth functional and mechanistic characterization of dysregulated annexins for each individual cancer type, since each protein exhibits varying expression levels and phenotypic specificity depending on the tumor types. This review specifically and thoroughly examines the current knowledge on annexin dysfunctions in carcinogenesis. Hence, available data on expression levels, mechanism of action and pathophysiological effects of Annexin A1-13 among different cancers will be dissected, also further discussing future perspectives for potential applications as biomarkers for early diagnosis, prognosis and molecular-targeted therapies. Special attention is devoted to head and neck cancers (HNC), a complex and heterogeneous group of aggressive malignancies, often lately diagnosed, with high mortality, and scarce therapeutic options.

MicroRNA-613 Enhances Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cell Radiosensitivity via the DNA Methyltransferase 3B/Tissue Inhibitor of Matrix Metalloproteinase-3/Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription-1/Forkhead Box O-1 Axis

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common malignancy of the nasopharynx, and radioresistant represents the main obstacle in NPC treatment. Malignant transformation of normal cells is driven by genetic and epigenetic changes, which are primarily manifested as changes in miRNA levels and DNA methylation status. microRNA (miR)-613 plays an inhibitory role in several types of cancer. Herein, the current study sought to explore the roles of miR-613 in NPC cell radiosensitivity. miR-613 expression patterns in NPC tissues were detected, and its correlation with clinical indexes was analyzed. NP-69 and C666-1 cell lines were selected for cellular experimentation. Radioresistant cell line C666-1R was obtained by fractionated radiation. Cell viability, survival fraction, and apoptosis were detected by CCK-8, colony formation assay, and flow cytometry. The binding relation between miR-613 and DNMT3B was verified by dual-luciferase and RIP assays. miR-613 was lowly expressed in NPC tissues and cells, with lower expression levels in C666-1R than C666-1, and further correlated with lymph node metastasis, tumor size, and tumor metastasis. miR-613 overexpression reduced C666-1R cell viability and survival fraction and increased apoptosis, while C666-1 cells with silencing miR-613 presented the opposite trends. miR-613 targeted DNMT3B. miR-613 and DNMT3B overexpression led to enhanced C666-1R cell viability and survival fraction and decreased apoptosis. miR-613 reduced TIMP3 methylation and elevated TIMP3 protein level by inhibiting DNMT3B. miR-613 enhanced NPC radiosensitivity by inhibiting the DNMT3B/TIMP3/STAT1/FOXO1 pathway. Collectively, miR-613 inhibited DNMT3B, reduced TIMP3 methylation, and increased TIMP3 protein level, thus inhibiting the STAT1/FOXO1 pathway and enhancing the radiosensitivity of NPC cells.

Effects of Self-Care plus Forecasting Nursing on the Treatment Outcomes and Emotions in Patients with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma after Radiotherapy

Objective

To explore the effects of self-care plus forecasting nursing on the treatment outcomes and emotions in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients undergoing radiotherapy.

Methods

Eighty nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients after radiotherapy admitted to our hospital from February 2020 to August 2021 were selected. The patients were allocated into an observation group (n = 40) and an experimental group (n = 40) according to different nursing protocols. The observation group received traditional nursing intervention, whereas the experimental group received self-care plus forecasting nursing intervention. The levels of the indexes (quality of life, score on the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), score on the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), and adverse reaction) were compared between the two groups.

Results

The score of the experimental group for the quality of life was significantly higher than that of the observation group (P < 0.05); the SAS and SDS scores of the experimental group after nursing intervention were significantly lower than those of the observation group (P < 0.05); the incidence of adverse reactions in the experimental group during radiotherapy was significantly lower than that of the observation group (P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The self-care plus forecasting nursing intervention is effective in postradiotherapy patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The technique is proved effective to improve the quality of life, reduce anxiety and depression, and decrease the incidence of adverse reactions in patients during treatment. These features make the technique worthy of a wider clinical application.

AnnexinA7 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition by interacting with Sorcin and contributes to aggressiveness in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide, and metastasis is the major cause of the high mortality of HCC. In this study, we identified that AnnexinA7 (ANXA7) and Sorcin (SRI) are overexpressed and interacting proteins in HCC tissues and cells. In vitro functional investigations revealed that the interaction between ANXA7 and SRI regulated epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), and then affected migration, invasion, and proliferation in HCC cells. Furthermore overexpression/knockdown of ANXA7 was remarkably effective in promoting/inhibiting tumorigenicity and EMT in vivo. Altogether, our study unveiled a mechanism that ANXA7 promotes EMT by interacting with SRI and further contributes to the aggressiveness in HCC, which provides a novel potential therapeutic target for preventing recurrence and metastasis in HCC.

RNAi-mediated knockdown of PFK1 decreases the invasive capability and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line, CNE-2

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is the most prevailing malignancy of the head and neck with unique geographic distribution. Southern China has one of the highest incidence rates of NPC in the world. Although radiotherapy and chemotherapy are the most important treatment modalities for NPC, recurrence, and metastasis severely interfere with the survival quality of patients. It is much-needed to find an effective method of NPC treatment with a good prognosis such as gene therapy. PFK1, a key regulatory enzyme of glycolysis, is frequently shown to be amplified and overexpressed in a variety of human cancers. However, the function of PFK1 and molecular mechanism in NPC is elusive. Here, we knockdown PFK1 expression by utilizing DNA vector-based RNA Interference. Western blotting and real-time PCR show that the expression of PFK1 is efficiently down-regulated in both protein and mRNA levels by stable transfection with PFK1 siRNA expression vector. In addition, stable knockdown of PFK1 expression inhibits cell growth, induces apoptosis, decreases the invasive capability and metastasis in the CNE2 human NPC cell line. This present study finds the importance of PFK1 which can be worked as a novel target in NPC treatment and holds great potential to be extended to other malignant cancers.

miR-4270 Modulates the Irradiation-Sensitivity of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells through Modulation of p53 in Vivo

The lowered sensitivity to irradiation considerably impacted on the prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma treatments. This study aimed to explore the functions of miR-4270 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Bioinformatic analysis was performed online accessing GSE139164 dataset to screen the top 30 differential microRNAs in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients with radio-sensitivity. Cancer cell lines, 6-10B and 5-8F, were cultured and measured for expression of miR-4270 and TP53 (the gene of the tumor suppressor protein p53) with the normal nasopharyngeal epithelial cells as a control. The miR-4270 expression was regulated in cells via the introduction of miR-4270 inhibitor or mimic in different concentrations (25, 50, 100 nmol/L). Targetscan predicted the target of miR-4270 and the bindings while luciferase was used to confirm this. CCK8 methods were used to evaluate the irradiation sensitivity of the cells after exposure to increasing X-Ray irradiation. RT-PCR detected the RNA expression and Western blot examined the protein expression of p53. Flow cytometry detected the cell apoptosis rates respectively. miR-4270 is among the top differential microRNAs between the radio-sensitive and -resistant patients. In vivo, miR-4270 expression was lower in cancer cell lines. The inhibition of miR-4270 raised the cell sensitivity to irradiation. miR-4270 negatively mediated TP53 and targeted TP53. Additionally, p53 increased cell sensitivity to irradiation and modulated by miR-4270 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. In conclusion, this study first reports that miR-4270 is lower in the radio-sensitive patients and modulated the irradiation-sensitivity of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells through modulation of p53 in vivo.