Downregulated FOXO3a Associates With Poor Prognosis and Promotes Cell Invasion and Migration via WNT/β-catenin Signaling in Cervical Carcinoma

HPV16E1 downregulation altered the cell characteristics involved in cervical cancer development

The primary causes of cervical cancer are human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) and/or other high-risk (Hr -) HPV infections. Hr-HPVE5, E6, and E7 have been identified as oncoproteins that play roles in the development of cancer. However, other HPV proteins, especially E1, may also be involved in cancer development. In this study, the role of HPV16E1 in cervical carcinogenesis was examined by siRNA knockdown experiments using SiHa cells as a model. The results showed that HPV16E1 regulated P-FOXO3a and HPV16E7 expression. Various cell functions associated with the hallmarks of cancer, including cell viability, colony formation, invasion, and anchorage-independent cell growth, were altered when HPV16E1 was downregulated. However, no effect on cell migration and apoptosis properties was found. Moreover, HPV16E1 downregulation resulted in an increase in cisplatin susceptibility. In conclusion, this is the first demonstration that HPV16E1 might be regarded as a possible novel oncoprotein involved in several processes related to oncogenesis.

Exploration of Extracellular Vesicle Long Non-Coding RNAs in Serum of Patients with Cervical Cancer

INTRODUCTION

Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cancer type and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women worldwide. Its underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. Cancer cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) are involved in cancer development and progression by delivering regulatory factors, including microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs).

METHODS

Here, we identified the EV lncRNA expression profiles associated with different developmental stages of CC using next-generation sequencing. EVs from the serum of patients with stages I-III CC and healthy donors were characterized using EV marker immunoblotting and transmission electron microscopy.

RESULTS

The EV concentration increases with progression of the disease. Most particles had a 100-250-nm diameter, and their sizes were similar in all groups. We identified many lncRNAs that were uniquely and differentially expressed (DE) in patients with different stages of CC. The pathway analysis results indicated that the upregulated DE EV lncRNAs abundant in stages I and II were associated with cell proliferation and inflammation and cancer progression pathways, respectively. LINC00941, LINC01910, LINC02454, and DSG2-AS1 were highly expressed, suggesting poor overall survival of CC patients. Interestingly, DSG2-AS1 was associated with the human papillomavirus infection pathway through AKT3, DLG1, and COL6A2 genes.

CONCLUSION

This is the first study that reports the levels of EVs and their lncRNA contents change during cancer development, demonstrating the existence of a unique vesicle-mediated cell-to-cell communication network underlying cancer progression.

Extracellular Vesicle-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review

It is estimated that there are over 890,000 new cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) worldwide each year, accounting for approximately 5% of all cancer cases. Current treatment options for HNSCC often cause significant side effects and functional impairments, thus there is a challenge to discover more acceptable treatment technologies. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) can be utilized for HNSCC treatment in several ways, for example, for drug delivery, immune modulation, as biomarkers for diagnostics, gene therapy, or tumor microenvironment modulation. This systematic review summarizes new knowledge regarding these options. Articles published up to 11 December 2022, were identified by searching the electronic databases PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane. Only full-text original research papers written in English were considered eligible for analysis. The quality of studies was assessed using the Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT) Risk of Bias Rating Tool for Human and Animal Studies, modified for the needs of this review. Of 436 identified records, 18 were eligible and included. It is important to note that the use of EVs as a treatment for HNSCC is still in the early stages of research, so we summarized information on challenges such as EV isolation, purification, and standardization of EV-based therapies in HNSCC.

Screening and Identification of a Prognostic Model of Ovarian Cancer by Combination of Transcriptomic and Proteomic Data

The integration of transcriptome and proteome analysis can lead to the discovery of a myriad of biological insights into ovarian cancer. Proteome, clinical, and transcriptome data about ovarian cancer were downloaded from TCGA's database. A LASSO-Cox regression was used to uncover prognostic-related proteins and develop a new protein prognostic signature for patients with ovarian cancer to predict their prognosis. Patients were brought together in subgroups using a consensus clustering analysis of prognostic-related proteins. To further investigate the role of proteins and protein-coding genes in ovarian cancer, additional analyses were performed using multiple online databases (HPA, Sangerbox, TIMER, cBioPortal, TISCH, and CancerSEA). The final resulting prognosis factors consisted of seven protective factors (P38MAPK, RAB11, FOXO3A, AR, BETACATENIN, Sox2, and IGFRb) and two risk factors (AKT_pS473 and ERCC5), which can be used to construct a prognosis-related protein model. A significant difference in overall survival (OS), disease-free interval (DFI), disease-specific survival (DSS), and progression-free interval (PFI) curves were found in the training, testing, and whole sets when analyzing the protein-based risk score (p < 0.05). We also illustrated a wide range of functions, immune checkpoints, and tumor-infiltrating immune cells in prognosis-related protein signatures. Additionally, the protein-coding genes were significantly correlated with each other. EMTAB8107 and GSE154600 single-cell data revealed that the genes were highly expressed. Furthermore, the genes were related to tumor functional states (angiogenesis, invasion, and quiescence). We reported and validated a survivability prediction model for ovarian cancer based on prognostic-related protein signatures. A strong correlation was found between the signatures, tumor-infiltrating immune cells, and immune checkpoints. The protein-coding genes were highly expressed in single-cell RNA and bulk RNA sequencing, correlating with both each other and tumor functional states.

API-2-Induced Cell Migration Is Overcome by Small Molecular Approaches Inhibiting β-Catenin

Frequent mutation of APC (90%) in advanced colorectal cancer (CRC) results in the simultaneous activation of Wnt/β-catenin and AKT signaling pathways, and the current therapeutic limitations of the AKT inhibitors for treating CRC patients are nuclear β-catenin-induced EMT and bypassing apoptosis. In this study, we discover that the combinatorial treatment of an AKT inhibitor and KY1022, a β-catenin destabilizer, effectively overcomes the current limitations of API-2, an AKT inhibitor, by reducing nuclear β-catenin. Taken together, we demonstrate that the simultaneous suppression of Wnt/β-catenin with the AKT signaling pathways is an ideal strategy for suppressing the AKT-inhibitor-mediated metastasis and for maximizing the therapeutic effects of AKT inhibitors.

Downregulation of TMEM220 promotes tumor progression in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

During the process of long-term carcinogenesis, cells accumulate many mutations. Deregulated genes expression causes profound changes in cell proliferation, which is one of the hallmarks of HCC. A comprehensive understanding of these changes will contribute to the molecular mechanism of HCC progression. Through clinical sample analysis, we found that TMEM220 is downregulated in tumor and lower levels of TMEM220 is associated with poor prognosis in HCC patients. Through overexpressing TMEM220 in HCC cell lines, we found that the proliferation of cancer cells was significantly slowed down and metastasis was significantly reduced. For further study of its molecular mechanism, we performed a reverse-phase protein array (RPPA). The results suggest that phenotypic changes caused by TMEM220 in HCC cells might be associated with FOXO and PI3K-Akt pathways. Mechanism studies showed that overexpression of TMEM220 could regulate β-catenin and FOXO3 transcriptional activity by altering their subcellular localization, affecting the expression of downstream gene p21 and SNAIL, and ultimately reducing the progression of HCC. Altogether, our study proposes a working model in which upregulation of TMEM220 expression alters the genes expression involved in cell proliferation, thereby inhibiting HCC progression, which suggests that TMEM220 might serve as a clinical biomarker.

Bruceine H Mediates EGFR-TKI Drug Persistence in NSCLC by Notch3-Dependent β-Catenin Activating FOXO3a Signaling

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) protein serve as a critical pillar in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but resistance is universal. Identifying the potential key factors of drug resistance to EGFR-TKIs is essential to treat patients with EGFR mutant lung cancer. Our research here shows that bruceine H suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung cancer cells; inhibited the growth of human NSCLC cell xenografts; and enhanced the therapeutic effects of gefitinib in the PC-9/GR xenograft models, possibly by inhibiting Notch3. In order to analyze the potential targets of the combination of Notch3 and EGFR-TKIs on resistance to EGFR, we analyzed the differences of gene expression between NSCLC tissues and EGFR-driven gefitinib-resistant tumoral groups and then identify through the WGCNA key genes that may provide therapeutic targets for TKI-resistant lung cancer xenograft models. We confirmed that EGFR-TKI in combination with Notch3 inhibitor can inhibit the expression of β-catenin and enhance the level of FOXO3a, leading to improved recurrence-free survival and overall survival of the xenotransplantation model. These results support that the combination of gefitinib and bruceine H may provide a promising alternative strategy for treating acquired EGFR-TKI resistance in patients with NSCLC.

6-Shogaol Suppresses the Progression of Liver Cancer via the Inactivation of Wnt/[Formula: see text]-Catenin Signaling by Regulating TLR4

Liver cancer is a gastrointestinal malignant tumor with high lethality. The prognosis of liver cancer remains poor. Compounds derived from natural products have been confirmed to alleviate the progression of various diseases, including cancers. Additionally, 6-Shogaol has been reported to induce apoptosis in liver cancer cells. However, the mechanism by which 6-shogaol regulates apoptosis in liver cancer cells remains unclear. To investigate the function of 6-shogaol in liver cancer, RT-qPCR and western blotting were used to detect the expression of TLR4 and FOXO3a in liver cancer cells, respectively. The OD value of liver cancer cells was measured using the MTT assay. Flow cytometry was used to measure cell apoptosis. 6-Shogaol inhibited the growth of liver cancer cells. TLR4 and Wnt/[Formula: see text]-catenin were upregulated in liver cancer cells, and FOXO3a was inactivated, but 6-Shogaol reversed the expression of TLR4, Wnt/[Formula: see text]-catenin and FOXO3a in liver cancer cells. Additionally, TLR4 overexpression partially reversed the inhibitory effect of 6-shogaol on the progression of liver cancer cells via Wnt/[Formula: see text]-catenin signaling. Furthermore, the 6-shogaol-induced increase in FOXO3a expression in liver cancer was notably suppressed by TLR4 or Wnt/[Formula: see text]-catenin upregulation. Thus, 6-Shogaol suppresses the progression of liver cancer by mediating Wnt/[Formula: see text]-catenin signaling and is a potential agent for the treatment of liver cancer.

MiR-155 Inhibitor-Laden Exosomes Reverse Resistance to Cisplatin in a 3D Tumor Spheroid and Xenograft Model of Oral Cancer

Cisplatin resistance is one of the major concerns in the treatment of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Accumulating evidence suggests microRNA (miRNA) dysregulation as one of the mediators of chemoresistance. Toward this, our previous study revealed the role of exosomal microRNA-155 (miR-155) in cisplatin resistance via downregulation of FOXO3a, a direct target of miR-155, and induction of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in OSCC. In the present study, we demonstrate the therapeutic potential of miR-155 inhibitor-laden exosomes in the sensitization of a cisplatin-resistant (cis^Res) OSCC 3D tumor spheroid and xenograft mouse model. The cis^Res OSSC 3D tumor spheroid model recapitulated the hallmarks of solid tumors such as enhanced hypoxia, reactive oxygen species, and secretory vascular endothelial growth factor. Further treatment with miR-155 inhibitor-loaded exosomes showed the upregulation of FOXO3a and induction of the mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition with improved sensitization to cisplatin in cis^Res tumor spheroids and xenograft mouse model. Moreover, the exosomal miR-155 inhibitor suppressed the stem-cell-like property as well as drug efflux transporter protein expression in cisplatin-resistant tumors. Taken together, our findings, for the first time, established that the miR-155 inhibitor-loaded exosomes reverse chemoresistance in oral cancer, thereby providing an alternative therapeutic strategy for the management of refractory oral cancer patients.

FOXO3A Expression in Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma

Background

Epidemiological studies have reported various results regarding whether FOXO3A is related to various carcinomas. However, the prognostic significance of FOXO3A in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to validate the correlation between FOXO3A expression and oncological outcomes in UTUC.

Methods

The expression levels of FOXO3A in 107 UTUC patients were examined by immunohistochemistry (IHC). We examined the prognostic role of FOXO3A by using the Cox proportional hazard model.

Results

The results indicated that FOXO3A expression was notably decreased in UTUC tissue compared with control tissue. Decreased expression of FOXO3A was also related to advanced pathologic stage (P = 0.026), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.040), lymphovascular invasion (P < 0.001), and adjuvant therapy (P = 0.048). In addition, UTUC patients with low FOXO3A expression had a significantly shorter survival time, including both overall survival (OS) [hazard ratio (HR) 2.382, P = 0.004] and recurrence-free survival (RFS) (HR 2.385, P = 0.004), than those with high expression. Multivariate analyses showed that FOXO3A was a significant predictor for OS (HR 2.145, P = 0.014) and RFS (HR 2.227, P = 0.010) in UTUC patients.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that FOXO3A may be involved in the recurrence of UTUC and that it has certain clinical value in the therapeutic targeting and prognostic evaluation of UTUC.