Overexpressions of Cyclin B1, cdc2, p16 and p53 in human breast cancer: the clinicopathologic correlations and prognostic implications

Prognostic value of cyclin B1 and cyclin B2 expression in breast cancer: A systematic review and updated meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Cyclin B1 and cyclin B2 are key regulators of cell cycle progression and have been implicated in the prognostic significance of various cancers. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of cyclin B1 and B2 expression in breast cancer.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search was conducted on Pubmed, Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane library. Studies with survival data and clinicopathological parameters associated with cyclin B1 and B2 or CCNB1 and CCNB2 genes were included. Survival data and clinicopathological parameters associated with cyclin B1 and B2 expression were extracted. Pooled hazard ratios and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Subgroup analysis was conducted to assess heterogeneity. Publication bias was evaluated.

RESULTS

A total of 23 studies were included in the analysis. High expression of cyclin B1 was significantly associated with worse overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.69, P < .01), disease-specific survival (HR = 1.71, P < .01), and disease-free survival (HR = 2.01, P = .01). High expression of cyclin B2 was associated with worse disease-specific survival (HR = 2.46, P = .02). Clinicopathological parameters did not show significant associations with cyclin B1 and B2 expressions. When data on cyclin B1 and B2 were combined, a significant age-related difference was found (odds ratio = 0.62, P = .04).

CONCLUSIONS

This meta-analysis provides evidence supporting the prognostic significance of cyclin B1 and B2 expression in breast cancer. High expression of cyclin B1 and B2 is associated with worse survival, indicating their potential as prognostic markers in breast cancer.

The role of IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway in cancers

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine involved in immune regulation. It can activate janus kinase 2 (JAK2)-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway. As one of the important signal transduction pathways in cells, JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway plays a critical role in cell proliferation and differentiation by affecting the activation state of downstream effector molecules. The activation of JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway is involved in tumorigenesis and development. It contributes to the formation of tumor inflammatory microenvironment and is closely related to the occurrence and development of many human tumors. This article focuses on the relationship between IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway and liver cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and ovarian cancer, hoping to provide references for the research of cancer treatment targeting key molecules in IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway.

Emerging innovations in cold plasma therapy against cancer: A paradigm shift

Cancer is one of the major causes of mortality, accounting for ∼ 9.5 million deaths globally in 2018. The spectrum of conventional treatment for cancer includes surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Recently, cold plasma therapy surfaced as a novel technique in the treatment of cancer. The FDA approval of the first trial for the use of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) in cancer therapy in 2019 is evidence of this. This review highlights the mechanisms of action of CAP. Additionally, its applications in anticancer therapy have been reviewed. In summary, this article will introduce the readers to the exciting field of plasma oncology and help them understand the current status and prospects of plasma oncology.

Factors associated with symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage after intravenous thrombolysis in severe white matter lesions: a retrospective analysis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

White matter lesions (WMLs) are thought to cause damage to the blood-brain barrier, thereby aggravating bleeding after intravenous thrombolysis. However, the risk factors for symptomatic cerebral haemorrhage after thrombolysis are still unclear. This study explored the risk factors for bleeding in patients with severe WMLs after intravenous thrombolysis to prevent bleeding as soon as possible.

METHODS

A large single-centre observational study conducted a retrospective analysis of intravenous thrombolysis in patients with severe WMLs from January 2018 to March 2021. According to whether symptomatic cerebral haemorrhage occurred, the patients were divided into two groups, and then statistical analysis was performed.

RESULTS

After a retrospective analysis of the data of nearly 1000 patients with intravenous thrombolysis and excluding invalid information, 146 patients were included, of which 23 (15.8%) patients had symptomatic cerebral haemorrhage. Univariate analysis showed that a history of hypertension (20% vs 4.9%, p=0.024), hyperlipidaemia (38.7% vs 9.6%, p<0.001), the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score before thrombolysis (median 17 vs 6, p<0.001), low-density lipoprotein levels (median 2.98 vs 2.44, p=0.011), cholesterol levels (mean 4.74 vs 4.22, p=0.033), platelet count (median 161 vs 191, p=0.031), platelet distribution width (median 15.2 vs 12.1, p=0.001) and sodium ion levels (median 139.81 vs 138.67, p=0.043) were significantly associated with symptomatic cerebral haemorrhage. Further multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that hyperlipidaemia (OR=9.069; 95% CI 2.57 to 32.07; p=0.001) and the NIHSS score before thrombolysis (OR=1.33; 95% CI 1.16 to 1.52; p<0.001) were comprehensive risk factors for symptomatic cerebral haemorrhage.

CONCLUSION

Hyperlipidaemia and the NIHSS score before thrombolysis are independent risk factors for bleeding after intravenous thrombolysis in patients with severe WMLs. Delaying the onset of white matter and preventing risk factors for bleeding will help improve the prognosis of cerebral infarction and reduce mortality. These risk factors need to be further evaluated in future studies.

Pathogenesis and Potential Therapeutic Targets for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous tumor characterized by early recurrence, high invasion, and poor prognosis. Currently, its treatment includes chemotherapy, which shows a suboptimal efficacy. However, with the increasing studies on TNBC subtypes and tumor molecular biology, great progress has been made in targeted therapy for TNBC. The new developments in the treatment of breast cancer include targeted therapy, which has the advantages of accurate positioning, high efficiency, and low toxicity, as compared to surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Given its importance as cancer treatment, we review the latest research on the subtypes of TNBC and relevant targeted therapies.

Patterns of Gene Expression in Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma: Systematic Review of Transcriptomic Studies in Mycosis Fungoides

Mycosis fungoides (MF) is the most prevalent type of skin lymphoma. In its early stages, it has a favorable prognosis. However, in its late stages, it is associated with an increased risk of mortality. This systematic review aimed to identify the transcriptomic changes involved in MF pathogenesis and progression. A literature search was conducted using the database PubMed, followed by the extraction of 2245 genes which were further filtered to 150 recurrent genes that appeared in two or more publications. Categorization of these genes identified activated pathways involved in pathways such as cell cycle and proliferation, chromosomal instability, and DNA repair. We identified 15 genes implicated in MF progression, which were involved in cell proliferation, immune checkpoints, resistance to apoptosis, and immune response. In highlighting the discrepancies in the way MF transcriptomic data is obtained, further research can focus on not only unifying their approach but also focus on the 150 pertinent genes identified in this review.

Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma cell lines show high tolerance for siRNA-mediated CDK1 knockdown

Alterations of the cell cycle checkpoints lead to uncontrolled cell growth and result in tumorigenesis. One of the genes essential for cell proliferation and cell cycle regulation is CDK1. This makes it a potential target in cancer therapy. In our previous study we have shown upregulation of this gene in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC). Here we analyze the impact of siRNA-mediated CDK1 knockdown on cell proliferation and viability, measured with cell growth monitoring and colorimetric test (CCK8 assay), respectively. We proved that a reduction of CDK1 expression by more than 50% has no effect on these cellular processes in LSCC cell lines (n=2). Moreover, using microarrays, we analyzed global gene expression deregulation in these cell lines after CDK1 knockdown. We searched for enriched ontologies in the group of identified 137 differentially expressed genes (>2-fold change). Within this group we found 3 enriched pathways: protein binding (GO:0005515), mitotic nuclear division (GO:0007067) and transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase signaling pathway (GO:0007169) and a group of 11 genes encoding proteins for which interaction with CDK1 was indicated with the use of bioinformatic tools. Among these genes we propose three: CDK6, CALD1 and FYN as potentially dependent on CDK1.

Weighted minimum feedback vertex sets and implementation in human cancer genes detection

Background

Recently, many computational methods have been proposed to predict cancer genes. One typical kind of method is to find the differentially expressed genes between tumour and normal samples. However, there are also some genes, for example, ‘dark’ genes, that play important roles at the network level but are difficult to find by traditional differential gene expression analysis. In addition, network controllability methods, such as the minimum feedback vertex set (MFVS) method, have been used frequently in cancer gene prediction. However, the weights of vertices (or genes) are ignored in the traditional MFVS methods, leading to difficulty in finding the optimal solution because of the existence of many possible MFVSs.

Results

Here, we introduce a novel method, called weighted MFVS (WMFVS), which integrates the gene differential expression value with MFVS to select the maximum-weighted MFVS from all possible MFVSs in a protein interaction network. Our experimental results show that WMFVS achieves better performance than using traditional bio-data or network-data analyses alone.

Conclusion

This method balances the advantage of differential gene expression analyses and network analyses, improves the low accuracy of differential gene expression analyses and decreases the instability of pure network analyses. Furthermore, WMFVS can be easily applied to various kinds of networks, providing a useful framework for data analysis and prediction.

Supplementary Information

The online version supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12859-021-04062-2.

The Roles of Post-Translational Modifications on mTOR Signaling

The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a master regulator of cell growth, proliferation, and metabolism by integrating various environmental inputs including growth factors, nutrients, and energy, among others. mTOR signaling has been demonstrated to control almost all fundamental cellular processes, such as nucleotide, protein and lipid synthesis, autophagy, and apoptosis. Over the past fifteen years, mapping the network of the mTOR pathway has dramatically advanced our understanding of its upstream and downstream signaling. Dysregulation of the mTOR pathway is frequently associated with a variety of human diseases, such as cancers, metabolic diseases, and cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders. Besides genetic alterations, aberrancies in post-translational modifications (PTMs) of the mTOR components are the major causes of the aberrant mTOR signaling in a number of pathologies. In this review, we summarize current understanding of PTMs-mediated regulation of mTOR signaling, and also update the progress on targeting the mTOR pathway and PTM-related enzymes for treatment of human diseases.

Identification of CDK1 as a candidate marker in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma by integrated bioinformatics analysis

BACKGROUND

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is a relatively common cancer that accounts for nearly 50% of non-melanoma skin cancer cases. However, the genotypes that are linked with poor prognosis and/or high relapse rates and pathogenic mechanisms of cSCC are not fully understood. To address these points, three gene expression datasets were analyzed to identify candidate biomarker genes in cSCC.

METHODS

The GSE117247, GSE32979, and GSE98767 datasets comprising a total of 32 cSCC samples and 31 normal skin tissue samples were obtained from the National Center for Biotechnology Information Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified and underwent pathway enrichment analyses with the Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). A putative DEG protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was also established that included hub genes. The expression of CDK1, MAD2L1, BUB1 ans CDC20 were examined in the study.

RESULTS

A total of 335 genes were identified, encompassing 219 found to be upregulated and 116 genes that were downregulated in cSCC, compared to normal tissue. Enriched functions of these DEGs were associated with Ephrin receptor signaling and cell division; cytosol, membrane, and extracellular exosomes; ATP-, poly(A) RNA-, and identical protein binding. We also established a PPI network comprising 332 nodes and identified KIF2C, CDC42, AURKA, MAD2L1, MYC, CDK1, FEN1, H2AFZ, BUB1, BUB1B, CKS2, CDC20, CCT2, ACTR2, ACTB, MAPK14, and HDAC1 as candidate hub genes. The expression of CDK1 are significantly higher in the cSCC tissues than that in normal skin.

CONCLUSIONS

The DEGs identified in this study are potential therapeutic targets and biomarkers for cSCC. CDK1 is a gene closely related to the occurrence and development of cSCC, which may play an important role. Bioinformatics analysis shows that it is involved in the important pathway of the pathogenesis of cSCC, and may be recognized and applied as a new biomarker in the future diagnosis and treatment of cSCC.

Global transcriptional downregulation of TREX and nuclear trafficking machinery as pan-senescence phenomena: evidence from human cells and tissues

Nucleocytoplasmic trafficking (NCT) of macromolecules is a fundamental process in eukaryotes that requires tight controls to maintain proper cell functions. Downregulation of the classical NCT pathway in senescent cells has been reported. However, whether this is a hallmark that exists across all types of cellular senescence remains unknown, and whether the mRNA export machinery is altered during senescence has not been demonstrated. Here, we show that the global transcriptomic downregulation of both the TREX (transcription-export) machinery and classical NLS-dependent protein transport machinery is a hallmark of varying types of senescence. A gene set-based approach using 25 different studies showed that the TREX-NCT gene set displays distinct common downregulated patterns in senescent cells versus its expression in their nonsenescent counterparts regardless of the senescence type, such as replicative senescence (RS), tumor cell senescence (TCS), oncogene-induced senescence (OIS), stem cell senescence (SCS), progeria and endothelial cell senescence (ECS). Similar patterns of TREX-NCT gene downregulation were also shown in two large human tissue genomic databases, the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. We also found that early-stage cancer tissues show consistent age-related patterns of TREX-NCT enrichment, suggesting the potential significance of TREX-NCT genes in determining cell fate in the early stage of tumorigenesis. Moreover, human cancer tissues exhibit an opposite TREX-NCT enrichment pattern with aging, indicating that deviation from age-related changes in TREX-NCT genes may provide a novel but critical clue for the age-dependent pathogenesis of cancer and increase in cancer incidence with aging.

Proteins that move genetic information out of the nucleus and into the rest of the cell may be important in aging, and serve as markers of early-stage cancer. DNA is stored in the cell’s nucleus, and the messages which it encodes must be exported from the nucleus for gene expression. Aging is thought to be linked to a decrease in this export, but the exact mechanism remains unclear. Sung Young Kim, Konkuk University School of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea, and co-workers investigated key nuclear export proteins in healthy, cancerous, and aging cells. They found that nuclear export is strongly decreased in aging cells and shows distinctive patterns in very-early-stage cancer cells. These results shed further light on the cellular basis of aging, and may provide novel biomarkers for early cancer detection.

Breast Cancer Classification Based on Proteotypes Obtained by SWATH Mass Spectrometry

Accurate classification of breast tumors is vital for patient management decisions and enables more precise cancer treatment. Here, we present a quantitative proteotyping approach based on sequential windowed acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion spectra (SWATH) mass spectrometry and establish key proteins for breast tumor classification. The study is based on 96 tissue samples representing five conventional breast cancer subtypes. SWATH proteotype patterns largely recapitulate these subtypes; however, they also reveal varying heterogeneity within the conventional subtypes, with triple negative tumors being the most heterogeneous. Proteins that contribute most strongly to the proteotype-based classification include INPP4B, CDK1, and ERBB2 and are associated with estrogen receptor (ER) status, tumor grade status, and HER2 status. Although these three key proteins exhibit high levels of correlation with transcript levels (R > 0.67), general correlation did not exceed R = 0.29, indicating the value of protein-level measurements of disease-regulated genes. Overall, this study highlights how cancer tissue proteotyping can lead to more accurate patient stratification.

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Proteotyping of 96 breast tumors by SWATH mass spectrometry

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Three key proteins for breast tumor classification

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Varying degrees of heterogeneity within conventional breast cancer subtypes

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Generally modest correlation between protein and transcript levels in tumor tissue

Study of Gene Expression Profiles of Breast Cancers in Indian Women

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women globally. In India, the incidence of breast cancer has increased significantly during the last two decades with a higher proportion of the disease at a young age compared to the west. To understand the molecular processes underlying breast cancer in Indian women, we analysed gene expression profiles of 29 tumours and 9 controls using microarray. In the present study, we obtained 2413 differentially expressed genes, consisting of overexpressed genes such as COL10A1, COL11A1, MMP1, MMP13, MMP11, GJB2, and CST1 and underexpressed genes such as PLIN1, FABP4, LIPE, AQP7, LEP, ADH1A, ADH1B, and CIDEC. The deregulated pathways include cell cycle, focal adhesion and metastasis, DNA replication, PPAR signaling, and lipid metabolism. Using PAM50 classifier, we demonstrated the existence of molecular subtypes in Indian women. In addition, qPCR validation of expression of metalloproteinase genes, MMP1, MMP3, MMP11, MMP13, MMP14, ADAMTS1, and ADAMTS5 showed concordance with that of the microarray data; wherein we found a significant association of ADAMTS5 down-regulation with older age (≥55 years) of patients. Together, this study reports gene expression profiles of breast tumours from the Indian subcontinent, throwing light on the pathways and genes associated with the breast tumourigenesis in Indian women.

Novel Thienopyrimidine Derivative, RP-010, Induces β-Catenin Fragmentation and Is Efficacious against Prostate Cancer Cells

Thienopyrimidines containing a thiophene ring fused to pyrimidine are reported to have a wide-spectrum of anticancer efficacy in vitro. Here, we report for the first time that thieno[3,2-d]pyrimidine-based compounds, also known as the RP series, have efficacy in prostate cancer cells. The compound RP-010 was efficacious against both PC-3 and DU145 prostate cancer (PC) cells (IC₅₀ < 1 µM). The cytotoxicity of RP-010 was significantly lower in non-PC, CHO, and CRL-1459 cell lines. RP-010 (0.5, 1, 2, and 4 µM) arrested prostate cancer cells in G2 phase of the cell cycle, and induced mitotic catastrophe and apoptosis in both PC cell lines. Mechanistic studies suggested that RP-010 (1 and 2 µM) affected the wingless-type MMTV (Wnt)/β-catenin signaling pathway, in association with β-catenin fragmentation, while also downregulating important proteins in the pathway, including LRP-6, DVL3, and c-Myc. Interestingly, RP-010 (1 and 2 µM) induced nuclear translocation of the negative feedback proteins, Naked 1 and Naked 2, in the Wnt pathway. In addition, RP-010 (0.5, 1, 2 and 4 µM) significantly decreased the migration of PC cells in vitro. Finally, RP-010 did not produce significant toxic effects in zebrafish at concentrations of up to 6 µM. In conclusion, RP-010 may be an efficacious and relatively nontoxic anticancer compound for prostate cancer. Future mechanistic and in vivo efficacy studies are needed to optimize the hit compound RP-010 for lead optimization and clinical use.

High Glucose Concentrations Negatively Regulate the IGF1R/Src/ERK Axis through the MicroRNA-9 in Colorectal Cancer

Studies have revealed that people with hyperglycemia have a high risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). Hyperglycemia may be responsible for supplying energy to CRC cells. However, the potential molecular mechanism for this association remains unclear. Furthermore, microRNA-9 (miR-9) has a tumor-suppressive function in CRC. Aberrant reduced expression of miR-9 is involved in the development and progression of malignancy caused by a high glucose (HG) concentration. In this study, we used an HG concentration to activate miR-9 downregulation in CRC cells. Our results indicated that miR-9 decreased the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF1R)/Src signaling pathway and downstream cyclin B1 and N-cadherin but upregulated E-cadherin. The HG concentration not only promoted cell proliferation, increased the G1 population, and modulated epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) protein expression and morphology but also promoted the cell migration and invasion ability of SW480 (low metastatic potential) and SW620 (high metastatic potential) cells. In addition, low glucose concentrations could reverse the effect of the HG concentration in SW480 and SW620 cells. In conclusion, our results provide new evidence for multiple signaling pathways being regulated through hyperglycemia in CRC. We propose that blood sugar control may serve as a potential strategy for the clinical management of CRC.

Identification of potential core genes in triple negative breast cancer using bioinformatics analysis

Background

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a subtype of breast cancer with poor clinical outcome and limited treatment options. Lacking molecular targets, chemotherapy is the main adjuvant treatment for TNBC patients.

Materials and methods

To explore potential therapeutic targets for TNBC, we analyzed three microarray datasets (GSE38959, GSE45827, and GSE65194) derived from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The GEO2R tool was used to screen out differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between TNBC and normal tissue. Gene Ontology function and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis were performed using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery to identify the pathways and functional annotation of DEGs. Protein–protein interaction of these DEGs was analyzed based on the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes database and visualized by Cytoscape software. In addition, we used the online Kaplan–Meier plotter survival analysis tool to evaluate the prognostic value of hub genes expression in breast cancer patients.

Results

A total of 278 upregulated DEGs and 173 downregulated DEGs were identified. Among them, ten hub genes with a high degree of connectivity were picked out. Overexpression of these hub genes was associated with unfavorable prognosis of breast cancer, especially, CCNB1 overexpression was observed and indicated poor outcome of TNBC.

Conclusion

Our study suggests that CCNB1 was overexpressed in TNBC compared with normal breast tissue, and overexpression of CCNB1 was an unfavorable prognostic factor of TNBC patients. Further study is needed to explore the value of CCNB1 in the treatment of TNBC.

Differential expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and cyclin D1 in salivary gland tumors

PURPOSE

Salivary gland tumors are complex and have a great histomorphological diversity; more than 30 histological subtypes are currently described and the study of proteins that help understand and differentiate these tumors is essential. We aimed to analyze the immunoexpression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and cyclin D1 proteins in pleomorphic adenomas (PA), mucoepidermoid carcinomas (MEC) and adenoid cystic carcinomas (AdCC) of salivary glands.

METHODS

A total of 38 PA, 12 AdCC and 12 MEC underwent immunohistochemical study by the polymeric biotin-free technique. Immunopositive cells were analyzed semi-quantitatively. For statistical analysis, a significance level was set at p ≤ 0.05.

RESULTS

Overall, these tumors were more prevalent in women (n = 37). The mean age of these patients was 58-year-old and the parotid gland was the most affected anatomic site (n = 33). All cases of AdCC and MEC showed immunopositivity to cyclin D1; however, 39.5% of the PAs were negative (p < 0.001). Regarding COX-2 immunoexpression, we observed that all cases of CME were positive, whereas 60.5% of the PA and 75% of the CAC analyzed were completely negative (p = 0.042).

CONCLUSIONS

The overexpression of COX-2, observed only in MEC, emphasizes that salivary gland tumors have different profiles. Cyclin D1 is more immunoexpressed in malignant tumors. Together, these immunohistochemical findings may be useful in differentiating the studied tumors.

Network Pharmacology-Based Approach to Investigate the Mechanisms of Hedyotis diffusa Willd. in the Treatment of Gastric Cancer

BACKGROUND

Hedyotis diffusa Willd. (HDW) is one of the renowned herbs often used in the treatment of gastric cancer (GC). However, its curative mechanism has not been fully elucidated.

OBJECTIVE

To systematically investigate the mechanisms of HDW in GC.

METHODS

A network pharmacology approach mainly comprising target prediction, network construction, and module analysis was adopted in this study.

RESULTS

A total of 353 targets of the 32 bioactive compounds in HDW were obtained. The network analysis showed that CA isoenzymes, p53, PIK3CA, CDK2, P27Kip1, cyclin D1, cyclin B1, cyclin A2, AKT1, BCL2, MAPK1, and VEGFA were identified as key targets of HDW in the treatment of GC. The functional enrichment analysis indicated that HDW probably produced the therapeutic effects against GC by synergistically regulating many biological pathways, such as nucleotide excision repair, apoptosis, cell cycle, PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, VEGF signaling pathway, and Ras signaling pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

This study holistically illuminates the fact that the pharmacological mechanisms of HDW in GC might be strongly associated with its synergic modulation of apoptosis, cell cycle, differentiation, proliferation, migration, invasion, and angiogenesis.

Resveratrol suppresses human cervical carcinoma cell proliferation and elevates apoptosis via the mitochondrial and p53 signaling pathways

Numerous studies have demonstrated the apoptotic and anti-proliferative effects of resveratrol, a natural polyphenolic phytoalexin, on various cancer cell lines. However, the effects of resveratrol on the regulation of human cervical carcinoma, and the mechanisms underlying these effects, remain to be elucidated. In the present study, the potential mechanisms underlying the effects of resveratrol in HeLa cervical carcinoma cells were investigated. The results revealed that resveratrol inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in HeLa human cervical cancer cells in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. Resveratrol induced cell shrinkage in HeLa cells and apoptosis accompanied by the activation of caspase-3 and -9. Furthermore, resveratrol upregulated the expression of the pro-apoptotic B-cell lymphoma (Bcl)-2-associated X protein and downregulated the expression of the anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-extra large in HeLa cells. In addition, p53, a protein that is essential for cell survival and cell cycle progression, exhibited elevated expression levels in resveratrol-treated HeLa cells. Therefore, resveratrol may be a promising novel inhibitor of human cervical cancer.

Expression level of CDC2 gene in osteosarcoma and its clinical significance

The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of cell division cycle gene 2 (CDC2) in osteosarcoma tissues and its clinical significance. Specimens of cancer tissues, paracancerous tissues and serum from 47 patients hospitalized at the Department of Orthopedics at The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (Guangzhou, China) from January, 2010 to January, 2015 and serum from 35 normal subjects were collected. The expression of CDC2 mRNA was evaluated using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and the relationship between CDC2 protein expression and clinical features of patients with osteosarcoma was analyzed. There was a significant difference in the expression levels of CDC2 between cancer (2.31±0.306) and paracancerous tissues (0.91±0.251) (P<0.05), and there was a difference in the expression of CDC2 in serum between patients (1.58±0.149) and the normal control group (0.67±0.136). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated that CDC2 was of great value in the diagnosis of osteosarcoma. The expression of CDC2 was closely related to the tumor diameter (P<0.05), World Health Organization classification (P<0.05) and KPS score (P<0.05). However, there was no significant association between the expression of CDC2 and factors including age and sex (both P>0.05). The high expression of CDC2 was closely related to the lower survival rate in patients with osteosarcoma (P<0.05). The increase of the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) staging of osteosarcoma and the high expression of CDC2 are the risk factors affecting the prognosis of osteosarcoma patients (P<0.05), and Cox regression analysis showed that the expression level of CDC2 was a risk factor affecting the prognosis of osteosarcoma patients (P<0.05). The results indicate that CDC2 is highly expressed in osteosarcoma and may be a biomarker to predict the occurrence, development and prognosis of osteosarcoma.

Flubendazole inhibits glioma proliferation by G2/M cell cycle arrest and pro-apoptosis

Flubendazole, FDA-approved anthelmintic, has been widely used in treating testinal parasites. In the recent years, Flubendazole has been reported to exert anticancer activities. On the other hand, little was known about the effects of Flubendazole on gliomas. Here we demonstrated a novel effect of flubendazole on glioma cells. We found that Flubendazole inhibited cell proliferation and promoted cell apoptosis of glioma cell lines in vitro, and suppressed tumor growth in xenograft models by intraperitoneal injection. However, Flubendazole might have no influence on cell migration. Mechanism study reaveled that Flubendazole caused cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase, which partly account for the suppressed proliferation. Consistently, Flubendazole induced P53 expression and reduced Cyclin B1 and p-cdc2 expression in glioma cells. In addition, Flubendazole promoted cell apoptosis by regulating the classical apoptosis protein BCL-2 expression. These observations suggest that Flubendazole exerts anti-proliferation and pro-apoptosis effects in Glioma through affecting the cell cycle and intrinsic apoptotic signaling, and indicate a novel utilization of Flubendazole in the treatment of Glioma.

P16 promotes the growth and mobility potential of breast cancer both in vitro and in vivo: the key role of the activation of IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 signaling

P16 is the product of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDKN2A) gene and plays multi-pronged roles in the cancer progression. Breast cancer (BC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer type among females. In the current study, the potential function of P16 in the growth and metastasis of BC was investigated. Firstly, the expression statuses of P16 in different cancer types were investigated using Oncomine database and validated with corresponding cancer cell lines. Afterwards, the expression of P16 was knocked down in BC cell line BT-549 and the effect on the cell proliferation, sensitivity to paclitaxel (TAX), apoptosis, migration, and invasion abilities was assessed using CCK-8, Edu, flow cytometry, scratch, and transwell assays, respectively. The influence of P16 inhibition and P16 overexpression on the activity of IL-6/JAK/STAT3 signaling was explored. Additionally, the effect of P16 inhibition on the tumor growth was verified with a BC xenograft mice model. The abnormal expression of P16 was detected in BC cell line BT-549 as well as colorectal cancer and osteosarcoma cell lines. The inhibition of P16 suppressed the cell proliferation, invasion, and migration abilities while induced the apoptosis and sensitivity to TAX in BT-549 cells. At molecular level, P16 knockdown inhibited the expression of IL6ST and Survivin, and the phosphorylation of JAK2 and STAT3. However, the induced expression of P16 in P16-knockdown BT-549 cells restored the activity of IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 pathway. The results of in vitro assays were confirmed with BC xenograft models: the inhibition of P16 decreased the tumor growth rate. Findings outlined in the current study demonstrated that the inhibition of P16 decreased the growth and metastasis potential of BC cells by inhibiting IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 signaling.

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

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

Correlation analysis between expression of PCNA, Ki-67 and COX-2 and X-ray features in mammography in breast cancer

This study investigated expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), proliferation-associated nuclear antigen (Ki-67) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in tissues of breast invasive ductal carcinoma, and analyzed the correlations between these indexes and X-ray features in mammography. A total of 90 patients who were admitted to Huangshi Central Hospital and diagnosed as breast invasive ductal carcinoma from January 2014 to January 2016 were selected. The expression of PCNA, Ki-67 and COX-2 in cancer tissues and cancer-adjacent normal tissues of patients were detected by immunohistochemical staining, and X-ray features in mammography of patients were observed. By using Spearman correlation analysis, the correlations between expression of PCNA, Ki-67 and COX-2 and X-ray features in mammography in breast cancer were investigated. As a result, the positive expression rates of PCNA, Ki-67 and COX-2 in cancer tissues of the patient groups were respectively 42.2, 45.6 and 51.1%, which were significantly higher than those in cancer-adjacent normal tissues of the control group (p<0.05). PCNA, Ki-67 and COX-2 expression in cancer tissues of the patient group was associated with clinical staging and lymphatic metastasis (p<0.05), but had no correlation with age and tumor size (p>0.05). PCNA, Ki-67 and COX-2 expression in cancer tissues of the patient group had no correlation with the existence of lumps and localized density-increased shadows (p>0.05), but were associated with manifestations of architectural distortion, calcification as well as skin and nipple depression (p<0.05). Spearman correlation analysis revealed that there was a significantly positive correlation between the expression of PCNA and COX-2 in cancer tissues of the patient group (r=0.676, p<0.05); there was a significantly positive correlation between the expression of Ki-67 and COX-2 (r=0.724, p<0.05); PCNA expression had no obvious correlation with the expression of Ki-67 (p>0.05). In conclusion, PCNA, Ki-67 and COX-2 expression is of great significance in the occurrence, invasion and metastasis of breast invasive ductal carcinoma. There is a strong correlation between PCNA, Ki-67 and COX-2 expression levels and X-ray features in mammography in breast invasive ductal carcinoma. The application of X-ray features in mammography can evaluate the expression levels of PCNA, Ki-67 and COX-2 in tissues of breast invasive ductal carcinoma, thereby prospectively predicting biological behavior of these cancer cells and patient prognosis.

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.

Methylation Landscape of Human Breast Cancer Cells in Response to Dietary Compound Resveratrol

Aberrant DNA methylation is a frequent epigenetic alteration in cancer cells that has emerged as a pivotal mechanism for tumorigenesis. Accordingly, novel therapies targeting the epigenome are being explored with the aim to restore normal DNA methylation patterns on oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. A limited number of studies indicate that dietary compound resveratrol modulates DNA methylation of several cancer-related genes; however a complete view of changes in methylome by resveratrol has not been reported yet. In this study we performed a genome-wide survey of DNA methylation signatures in triple negative breast cancer cells exposed to resveratrol. Our data showed that resveratrol treatment for 24 h and 48 h decreased gene promoter hypermethylation and increased DNA hypomethylation. Of 2476 hypermethylated genes in control cells, 1,459 and 1,547 were differentially hypomethylated after 24 h and 48 h, respectively. Remarkably, resveratrol did not induce widespread non-specific DNA hyper- or hypomethylation as changes in methylation were found in only 12.5% of 27,728 CpG loci. Moreover, resveratrol restores the hypomethylated and hypermethylated status of key tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes, respectively. Importantly, the integrative analysis of methylome and transcriptome profiles in response to resveratrol showed that methylation alterations were concordant with changes in mRNA expression. Our findings reveal for the first time the impact of resveratrol on the methylome of breast cancer cells and identify novel potential targets for epigenetic therapy. We propose that resveratrol may be considered as a dietary epidrug as it may exert its anti-tumor activities by modifying the methylation status of cancer -related genes which deserves further in vivo characterization.

Recurrent CDK1 overexpression in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

In this study, we analyzed the expression profile of four genes (CCNA2, CCNB1, CCNB2, and CDK1) in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) cell lines and tumor samples. With the application of microarray platform, we have shown the overexpression of these genes in all analyzed LSCC samples in comparison to non-cancer controls from head and neck region. We have selected CDK1 for further analysis, due to its leading role in cell cycle regulation. It is a member of the Ser/Thr protein kinase family of proven oncogenic properties. The results obtained for CDK1 were further confirmed with the application of reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) technique, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The observed upregulation of CDK1 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma has encouraged us to analyze for genetic mechanisms that can be responsible this phenomenon. Therefore, with the application of array-CGH, sequencing analysis and two methods for epigenetic regulation analysis (DNA methylation and miRNA expression), we tried to identify such potential mechanisms. Our attempts to identify the molecular mechanisms responsible for observed changes failed as we did not observe significant alterations neither in the DNA sequence nor in the gene copy number that could underline CDK1 upregulation. Similarly, the pyrosequencing and miRNA expression analyses did not reveal any differences in methylation level and miRNA expression, respectively; thus, these mechanisms probably do not contribute to elevation of CDK1 expression in LSCC. However, our results suggest that alteration of CDK1 expression on both mRNA and protein level probably appears on the very early step of carcinogenesis.

Genomic profiling in locally advanced and inflammatory breast cancer and its link to DCE-MRI and overall survival

PURPOSE

We have previously reported that dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) perfusion patterns obtained from locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) patients prior to neoadjuvant therapy predicted pathologic clinical response. Genomic analyses were also independently conducted on the same patient population. This retrospective study was performed to test two hypotheses: (1) gene expression profiles are associated with DCE-MRI perfusion patterns, and (2) association between long-term overall survival data and gene expression profiles can lead to the identification of novel predictive biomarkers.

METHODS

We utilised RNA microarray and DCE-MRI data from 47 LABC patients, including 13 inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) patients. Association between gene expression profile and DCE-MRI perfusion patterns (centrifugal and centripetal) was determined by Wilcoxon rank sum test. Association between gene expression level and survival was assessed using a Cox rank score test. Additional genomic analysis of the IBC subset was conducted, with a period of follow-up of up to 11 years. Associations between gene expression and overall survival were further assessed in The Cancer Genome Atlas Data Portal.

RESULTS

Differences in gene expression profiles were seen between centrifugal and centripetal perfusion patterns in the sulphotransferase family, cytosolic, 1 A, phenol-preferring, members 1 and 2 (SULT1A1, SULT1A2), poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, member 6 (PARP6), and metastasis tumour antigen1 (MTA1). In the IBC subset our analyses demonstrated that differential expression of 45 genes was associated with long-term survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Here we have demonstrated an association between DCE-MRI perfusion patterns and gene expression profiles. In addition we have reported on candidate prognostic biomarkers in IBC patients, with some of the genes being significantly associated with survival in IBC and LABC.

Cyclin b1 suppresses colorectal cancer invasion and metastasis by regulating e-cadherin

Cyclin B1, a mitotic cyclin, has been implicated in malignances. However, its contribution to colorectal cancer invasion and metastasis are still not well understood. Here, we demonstrated that the invasion and metastasis of colorectal cancer is regulated by Cyclin B1. Overexpression of Cyclin B1 was observed in colorectal cancer tissues, but this elevated expression was negatively associated with lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis stage, and TNM stage. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis proved that low Cyclin B1 expression was associated with poor overall survival of patients with colorectal cancer. Inhibition of Cyclin B1 in colorectal cancer cells enhanced the cell migration and invasion of three different colorectal cancer cell lines. In studying the possible mechanism by which Cyclin B1 suppresses colorectal cancer invasion and metastasis, we observed that suppression of Cyclin B1 decreased the expression of E-cadherin protein level. Our findings suggest that Cyclin B1 could suppress the invasion and metastasis of colorectal cancer cells through regulating E-cadherin expression, which enables the development of potential intervention strategies for colorectal cancer.

Pathway-based analysis of breast cancer

INTRODUCTION

Although HER2 and ER pathways are predominant pathways altered in breast cancer, it is now well accepted that many other signaling pathways are also involved in the pathogenesis of breast cancer. The understanding of these additional pathways may assist in identifying new therapeutic approaches for breast cancer.

METHODS

13 invasive ductal carcinoma tissues and 5 benign breast tissues were analyzed for the mRNA expression level of 1243 cancer pathway-related genes using SmartChip (WaferGen, CA), a real-time PCR-base method. In addition, the levels of 131 cancer pathway-related proteins and phosphoproteins in 33 paired breast cancers were measured using our innovative Protein Pathway Array.

RESULTS

Out of 1,243 mRNAs, 68.7% (854) were detected in breast cancer and 395 mRNAs were statistically significant (fold change >2) between benign and cancer tissues. Of these mRNAs, 105 only expressed in breast cancer tissues and 33 mRNAs only expressed in normal breast tissues. Out of 131 proteins and phosphoproteins, 68% (89) were detected in cancer tissues and 57 proteins were significantly differentiated between tumor and normal tissues. Interestingly, only 3 genes (CDK6, Vimentin and SLUG) showed decreases in both protein and mRNA. Six proteins (BCL6, CCNE1, PCNA, PDK1, SRC and XIAP) were differentially expressed between tumor and normal tissues but no differences were observed at mRNA levels. Analyses of mRNA and protein data using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis showed more than 15 pathways were altered in breast cancer and 6 of which were shared between mRNAs and proteins, including p53, IL17, HGF, NGF, PTEN and PI3K/AKT pathways.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a broad dysregulation of various pathways in breast cancer both at protein levels and mRNA levels. It is important to note that mRNA expression does not correlate with protein level, suggesting different regulation mechanisms between proteins and mRNAs.

An RNAi-based screen reveals PLK1, CDK1 and NDC80 as potential therapeutic targets in malignant pleural mesothelioma

BACKGROUND

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive tumour originating in the thoracic mesothelium. Prognosis remains poor with 9- to 12-month median survival, and new targets for treatments are desperately needed.

METHODS

Utilising an RNA interference (RNAi)-based screen of 40 genes overexpressed in tumours, including genes involved in the control of cell cycle, DNA replication and repair, we investigated potential therapeutic targets for MPM. Following in vitro characterisation of the effects of target silencing on MPM cells, candidates were assessed in tumour samples from 154 patients.

RESULTS

Gene knockdown in MPM cell lines identified growth inhibition following knockdown of NDC80, CDK1 and PLK1. Target knockdown induced cell-cycle arrest and increased apoptosis. Using small-molecule inhibitors specific for these three proteins also led to growth inhibition of MPM cell lines, and Roscovitine (inhibitor of CDK1) sensitised cells to cisplatin. Protein expression was also measured in tumour samples, with markedly variable levels of CDK1 and PLK1 noted. PLK1 expression in over 10% of cells correlated significantly with a poor prognosis.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that RNAi-based screening has utility in identifying new targets for MPM, and that inhibition of NDC80, CDK1 and PLK1 may hold promise for treatment of this disease.

HPIP is upregulated in liver cancer and promotes hepatoma cell proliferation via activation of G2/M transition

Hematopoietic pre-B-cell leukemia transcription factor (PBX)-interacting protein (HPIP) has been shown to play a role in cancer development and progression. However, the detailed role of HPIP in cancer cell growth and the exact mechanism by which HPIP regulates cancer cell proliferation remains unclear. Here, we report that HPIP is overexpressed in most of 328 liver cancer patients and regulates hepatoma cell proliferation through G2/M checkpoint activation. HPIP increased anchorage-dependent and -independent growth of human liver cancer cell lines. The amino acid region 531-631 of HPIP was important for its modulation of liver cancer cell growth. The increased effects of HPIP on liver cancer cell proliferation were associated with activation of the G2/M cell-cycle concomitant with a marked increase of cyclin B1 and the inhibition of the negative G2/M phase regulator GADD45α. HPIP knockdown dramatically suppressed the growth of HepG2 liver cancer cells in nude mice. These data highlight the important role of HPIP in liver cancer cell growth and suggest that HPIP may be a good target for liver cancer therapy.

Determination of whole transcription profiles and specific pathways in invasive ductal breast carcinoma

Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women worldwide including Thailand. Whole transcription profiles of invasive ductal breast carcinoma (IDC) obtained by oligonucleotide microarray should lead to a better understanding of the molecular basis of IDCs, allow for examination of specific markers for diagnosis, and provide novel targets for therapy. This study aimed to detect the whole transcript expression of approximately 35,000 target genes in Thai breast cancer patients, using Affymetrix GeneChip(®) Exon 1.0 Sense Target Arrays. Analysis revealed that the differential expression profiles of 928 genes (423 up-regulated and 505 down-regulated genes) were 2-fold or greater (unpaired t-test, p < 0.05) in invasive ductal breast cancer, compared with normal tissues. The Gene Ontology (GO) databases support important associations in 17 gene sets with p-value < 1E-10 and ≥ 4-fold changes, involving the tumorigenic pathways of cell cycles, extracellular regions, as well as cellular component organization. Likewise, the TGFBR and IL-6 pathways contain gene expression with statistically significant changes in IDC.

p16 expression correlates with basal-like triple-negative breast carcinoma

Background:

Basal-like breast carcinoma (BLBC) has attracted considerable attention over the past few years. It has been suggested that tumours expressing basal markers have a more aggressive clinical behaviour. However, a molecular basis for this disease remains unclear, and it lacks currently used therapeutic targets. Therefore developing a novel treatment strategy is crucial for improving the prognosis. The aim of this study was to characterise the immunohistochemical (IHC) expression of p16 in patients with BLBC compared with non-BLBC.

Materials and methods:

Eighty-five cases of grade-3 invasive ductal carcinomas not otherwise specified (IDC-NOS) were analyzed. Immunohistochemical stains for oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 (HER2), cytokeratin (CK) 5/6, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and p16 were performed. BLBC was defined as ER-, PR-, Her2- and CK5/6+, and/or EGFR+.

Results:

Twenty cases were categorised as BLBC versus 65 as non-basal. High mitotic count and presence of necrosis were associated with basal-like phenotype. Distant metastasis developed in 40% of cases of BLBC with frequent spread to brain and lung. p16 had significantly higher expression in the basal subgroup (80% versus 50.8%, P = 0.04). Patients with BLBCs were found to have a lower disease-free survival (DFS) rate (60% versus 70.8%, P = 0.03).

Conclusion:

BLBC typically demonstrates a unique profile. p16 is frequently expressed in breast cancers with basal-like phenotype; this suggests that p16 may play a role in the poor prognosis of this tumour, and it may be used in the development of a targeted therapy that will result in improved patient prognostication and outcome.

Activation of nuclear factor-κB contributes to growth and aggressiveness of papillary thyroid carcinoma

Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) is involved in proliferation, angiogenesis, and metastasis in various malignancies; however, the role of NF-κB in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has not been fully elucidated. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the role and clinicopathological significance of the NF-κB signaling pathway in PTC. We investigated NF-κB RelA expression in 122 patients with conventional PTC by immunohistochemistry, and evaluated the correlation between RelA expression and clinicopathological parameters, including BRAF(V600E) mutation. Nuclear expression of NF-κB RelA, regardless of cytoplasmic expression, was identified in 91 of 122 PTCs (74.6%), and was more frequent in PTCs larger than 1cm (overt PTC) (P=0.001). There were significant differences in clinicopathological parameters, such as extrathyroidal extension (P=0.031), nodal metastasis (P=0.021) and BRAF(V600E) mutation (P=0.039), between NF-κB-positive and negative PTCs. Proliferation index was strongly associated with NF-κB activation (P=0.045) but not with BRAF(V600E) mutation (P=0.141). Taken together, our results suggest that NF-κB RelA activation contributes, at least in part, to tumor growth and aggressiveness of PTC after tumor transformation. The expression pattern of NF-κB may serve as a prognostic marker and a potential therapeutic target.

The prognostic significance and value of cyclin D1, CDK4 and p16 in human breast cancer

Introduction

Loss of the retinoblastoma protein tumor suppressor gene (RB) coding for a nuclear phosphoprotein that regulates the cell cycle is found in many human cancers and probably leads to disruption of the p16-cyclin D1-CDK4/6-RB pathway. Cyclin D1 is known to activate CDK4, which then phosphorylates the RB protein, leading to cell cycle progression. p16 inhibits CDK4, keeping RB hypophosphorylated and preventing cell cycle progression. The significance of these three markers, cyclin D1, CDK4 and p16, for breast cancer and carcinogenesis is nevertheless still controversial.

Methods

The material consisted of 102 formalin-fixed human breast cancer samples, in which cyclin D1, CDK4 and p16 expression was evaluated immunohistochemically. The amounts of cyclin D1 mRNA present were analyzed by quantitative real time PCR.

Results

High cyclin D1 expression statistically significantly correlated with lower tumor grade, estrogen and progesterone receptor positivity and lower proliferation activity in breast tumors and increased breast cancer-specific survival and overall survival. Tumors with high cyclin D1 protein had 1.8 times higher expression of cyclin D1 mRNA. CDK4 expression did not correlate with cyclin D1 expression or the survival data. p16 expression was associated with Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2) negativity and increased breast cancer-specific survival and disease-free survival. No statistical correlations between cyclin D1, CDK4 and p16 were found.

Conclusions

Cyclin D1 was associated with a good breast cancer prognosis but functioned independently of CDK4. High cyclin D1 expression may be partially due to increased CCND1 transcription. p16 correlated with a better prognosis and may function without CDK4. In conclusion, it appears that cyclin D1, CDK4 and p16 function independently in human breast cancer.

S-adenosyl methionine regulates ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme 9 protein expression and sumoylation in murine liver and human cancers

Ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme 9 (Ubc9) is required for sumoylation and is overexpressed in several malignancies, but its expression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is unknown. Hepatic S-adenosyl methionine (SAMe) levels decrease in methionine adenosyltransferase 1A (Mat1a) knockout (KO) mice, which develop HCC, and in ethanol-fed mice. We examined the regulation of Ubc9 by SAMe in murine liver and human HCC, breast, and colon carcinoma cell lines and specimens. Real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting measured gene and protein expression, respectively. Immunoprecipitation followed by western blotting examined protein-protein interactions. Ubc9 expression increased in HCC and when hepatic SAMe levels decreased. SAMe treatment in Mat1a KO mice reduced Ubc9 protein, but not messenger RNA (mRNA) levels, and lowered sumoylation. Similarly, treatment of liver cancer cell lines HepG2 and Huh7, colon cancer cell line RKO, and breast cancer cell line MCF-7 with SAMe or its metabolite 5'-methylthioadenosine (MTA) reduced only Ubc9 protein level. Ubc9 posttranslational regulation is unknown. Ubc9 sequence predicted a possible phosphorylation site by cell division cycle 2 (Cdc2), which directly phosphorylated recombinant Ubc9. Mat1a KO mice had higher phosphorylated (phospho)-Ubc9 levels, which normalized after SAMe treatment. SAMe and MTA treatment lowered Cdc2 mRNA and protein levels, as well as phospho-Ubc9 and protein sumoylation in liver, colon, and breast cancer cells. Serine 71 of Ubc9 was required for phosphorylation, interaction with Cdc2, and protein stability. Cdc2, Ubc9, and phospho-Ubc9 levels increased in human liver, breast, and colon cancers.

CONCLUSION

Cdc2 expression is increased and Ubc9 is hyperphosphorylated in several cancers, and this represents a novel mechanism to maintain high Ubc9 protein expression that can be inhibited by SAMe and MTA.

The MTAP-CDKN2A locus confers susceptibility to a naturally occurring canine cancer

BACKGROUND

Advantages offered by canine population substructure, combined with clinical presentations similar to human disorders, makes the dog an attractive system for studies of cancer genetics. Cancers that have been difficult to study in human families or populations are of particular interest. Histiocytic sarcoma is a rare and poorly understood neoplasm in humans that occurs in 15% to 25% of Bernese Mountain Dogs (BMD).

METHODS

Genomic DNA was collected from affected and unaffected BMD in North America and Europe. Both independent and combined genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were used to identify cancer-associated loci. Fine mapping and sequencing narrowed the primary locus to a single gene region.

RESULTS

Both populations shared the same primary locus, which features a single haplotype spanning MTAP and part of CDKN2A and is present in 96% of affected BMD. The haplotype is within the region homologous to human chromosome 9p21, which has been implicated in several types of cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

We present the first GWAS for histiocytic sarcoma in any species. The data identify an associated haplotype in the highly cited tumor suppressor locus near CDKN2A. These data show the power of studying distinctive malignancies in highly predisposed dog breeds.

IMPACT

Here, we establish a naturally occurring model of cancer susceptibility due to CDKN2 dysregulation, thus providing insight about this cancer-associated, complex, and poorly understood genomic region.

Identification of cyclin B1 and Sec62 as biomarkers for recurrence in patients with HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma after surgical resection

Background

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer worldwide. Frequent tumor recurrence after surgery is related to its poor prognosis. Although gene expression signatures have been associated with outcome, the molecular basis of HCC recurrence is not fully understood, and there is no method to predict recurrence using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), which can be easily obtained for recurrence prediction in the clinical setting.

Methods

According to the microarray analysis results, we constructed a co-expression network using the k-core algorithm to determine which genes play pivotal roles in the recurrence of HCC associated with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Furthermore, we evaluated the mRNA and protein expressions in the PBMCs from 80 patients with or without recurrence and 30 healthy subjects. The stability of the signatures was determined in HCC tissues from the same 80 patients. Data analysis included ROC analysis, correlation analysis, log-lank tests, and Cox modeling to identify independent predictors of tumor recurrence.

Results

The tumor-associated proteins cyclin B1, Sec62, and Birc3 were highly expressed in a subset of samples of recurrent HCC; cyclin B1, Sec62, and Birc3 positivity was observed in 80%, 65.7%, and 54.2% of the samples, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that high expression levels of these proteins was associated with significantly reduced recurrence-free survival. Cox proportional hazards model analysis revealed that cyclin B1 (hazard ratio [HR], 4.762; p = 0.002) and Sec62 (HR, 2.674; p = 0.018) were independent predictors of HCC recurrence.

Conclusion

These results revealed that cyclin B1 and Sec62 may be candidate biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for HBV-related HCC recurrence after surgery.

Digitoxin and its analogs as novel cancer therapeutics

A growing body of evidence indicates that digitoxin cardiac glycoside is a promising anticancer agent when used at therapeutic concentrations. Digitoxin has a prolonged half-life and a well-established clinical profile. New scientific avenues have shown that manipulating the chemical structure of the saccharide moiety of digitoxin leads to synthetic analogs with increased cytotoxic activity. However, the anticancer mechanism of digitoxin or synthetic analogs is still subject to study while concerns about digitoxin's cardiotoxicity preclude its clinical application in cancer therapeutics. This review focuses on digitoxin and its analogs, and their cytotoxicity against cancer cells. Moreover, a new perspective on the pharmacological aspects of digitoxin and its analogs is provided to emphasize new research directions for developing potent chemotherapeutic drugs.