Potential Role of DEC1 in Cervical Cancer Cells Involving Overexpression and Apoptosis

Circadian clock and lipid metabolism disorders: a potential therapeutic strategy for cancer

Recent research has emphasized the interaction between the circadian clock and lipid metabolism, particularly in relation to tumors. This review aims to explore how the circadian clock regulates lipid metabolism and its impact on carcinogenesis. Specifically, targeting key enzymes involved in fatty acid synthesis (SREBP, ACLY, ACC, FASN, and SCD) has been identified as a potential strategy for cancer therapy. By disrupting these enzymes, it may be possible to inhibit tumor growth by interfering with lipid metabolism. Transcription factors, like SREBP play a significant role in regulating fatty acid synthesis which is influenced by circadian clock genes such as BMAL1, REV-ERB and DEC. This suggests a strong connection between fatty acid synthesis and the circadian clock. Therefore, successful combination therapy should target fatty acid synthesis in addition to considering the timing and duration of drug use. Ultimately, personalized chronotherapy can enhance drug efficacy in cancer treatment and achieve treatment goals.

Cellular landscaping of cisplatin resistance in cervical cancer

Cervical cancer (CC) caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the largest causes of malignancies in women worldwide. Cisplatin is one of the widely used drugs for the treatment of CC is rendered ineffective owing to drug resistance. This review highlights the cause of resistance and the mechanism of cisplatin resistance cells in CC to develop therapeutic ventures and strategies that could be utilized to overcome the aforementioned issue. These strategies would include the application of nanocarries, miRNA, CRIPSR/Cas system, and chemotherapeutics in synergy with cisplatin to not only overcome the issues of drug resistance but also enhance its anti-cancer efficiency. Moreover, we have also discussed the signaling network of cisplatin resistance cells in CC that would provide insights to develop therapeutic target sites and inhibitors. Furthermore, we have discussed the role of CC metabolism on cisplatin resistance cells and the physical and biological factors affecting the tumor microenvironments.

Differentiated embryonic chondrocyte expressed gene-1 (DEC1) enhances the development of colorectal cancer with an involvement of the STAT3 signaling

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second deadly and the third most common malignancy worldwide. It has been projected that annual new cases of CRC will increase by 63% in 2040, constituting an even greater health challenge for decades to come. This study has linked DEC1 (differentiated embryonic chondrocyte expressed gene 1) to the pathogenesis of CRC. Based on the analysis of patient samples and database data, DEC1 is expressed much higher in CRC than the adjacent normal tissues. CRC patients with higher DEC1 expression have a shorter survival time. The carcinogenesis protocol with azoxymethane/dextran sulfate induces a higher number of tumors with larger sizes in DEC1^+/+ than DEC1^−/− mice. Overexpression of DEC1 increases the expression of proliferation- and antiapoptosis-related genes, but decreases the level of proapoptotic genes. Mechanistically, this study has shown that DEC1 is functionally looped to the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway (interleukin-6/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3). IL-6 induces DEC1, and DEC1 enhances the phosphorylation of STAT3, resulting in increased pSTAT3/STAT3 ratio. DEC1 and STAT3 are present in reciprocal immunocomplexes, pointing to physical interactions (presumably with pSTAT3). These findings establish that DEC1 is a CRC enhancer. The enhancement is achieved largely through the IL-6/STAT3 pathway. The potential of the physical interaction between DEC1 and STAT3 will likely serve as a foundation to develop intervention strategies for CRC prevention and therapy.

The Impacts of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells (BMSCs)-Derived Periostin on Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) of Cervical Cancer Cells

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is closely related to the migrating and invading behaviors of cells. Periostin is one of the essential components in the extracellular matrix and can induce EMT of cells and their sequential metastasis. But its underlying mechanism is unclear. The Hela and BMSC cell lines were assigned into Periostin-mimic group, Periostin-Inhibitor group and Periostin-NC group followed by analysis of cell migration and invasion, expression of E-Cadherin, Vimentin, β-Catenin, Snail, MMP-2, MMP-9, PTEN, and p-PTEN. Cells in Periostin-mimic group exhibited lowest migration, least number of invaded cells, as well as lowest levels of Vimentin, β-Catenin, Snail, MMP-2, MMP-9, p-PTEN, Akt, p-Akt, p-GSK-3β, p-PDK1 and p-cRcf, along with highest levels of E-cadherin and PTEN. Moreover, cells in Periostin-NC group had intermediate levels of these above indicators, while, the Periostin-Inhibitor group exhibited the highest migration rate, the most number of invaded cells, and the highest levels of these proteins (P < 0.05). In conclusion, BMSCs-derived Periostin can influence the EMT of cervical cancer cells possibly through restraining the activity of the PI3K/AKT signal transduction pathway, indicating that Periostin might be a target of chemotherapy in clinics for the treatment of cervical cancer.

Differential immunohistochemical expression of DEC1, CK‑1ε, and CD44 in oral atypical squamous epithelium and carcinoma in situ

Presence of nuclear atypia during histological investigation is often a cause of concern for pathologists while identifying tumor and non-tumor cells in a biopsy sample of oral mucosa. Nuclear atypia is observed in severe inflammation, ulcers and reactive changes. Therefore, additional methods, such as immunohistochemistry, may help precise diagnosis. When the atypia is suggestive of tumorous or reactive origin, the lesion is diagnosed as atypical squamous epithelium (ASE). When there is severe nuclear atypia in the mucosa, such as in disorders of nuclear polarity, large nuclei, and clear nucleolus, the lesion is diagnosed as carcinoma in situ (CIS). However, it is not easy to distinguish ASE and CIS using hematoxylin and eosin staining. The present study aimed to distinguish ASE from CIS using immunohistochemistry. A total of 32 biopsy samples of either ASE or CIS cases were selected and the level of casein kinase 1ε (CK-1ε), differentiated embryonic chondrocyte gene 1 (DEC1), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and CD44, which are four protein markers which have been previously linked to cancer progression, were analyzed. CK-1ε and CD44 expression was higher in CIS samples than in ASE samples. However, DEC1 expression was lower in CIS samples than in ASE samples. PCNA expression was not markedly different between the two groups. Additionally, it was found that DEC1-overexpressing cells had decreased levels of CK-1ε and CD44 compared with control cells, while CK-1ε-overexpressing cells had relatively unchanged levels of CD44, DEC1 and PCNA. These results suggested that DEC1 negatively regulates the expression of CK-1ε and CD44. Thus, DEC1, CK-1ε, and CD44 were identified as mechanistically linked and clinically relevant protein biomarkers, which could help distinguish ASE and CIS.