1
|
Li J, Wang C, Xiao W, Chen Y, Tu J, Wan F, Deng K, Li H. TRAF Family Member 4 Promotes Cardiac Hypertrophy Through the Activation of the AKT Pathway. J Am Heart Assoc 2023; 12:e028185. [PMID: 37642020 PMCID: PMC10547335 DOI: 10.1161/jaha.122.028185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Background Pathological cardiac hypertrophy is a major cause of heart failure morbidity. The complex mechanism of intermolecular interactions underlying the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy has led to a lack of development and application of therapeutic methods. Methods and Results Our study provides the first evidence that TRAF4, a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor (TRAF) family, acts as a promoter of cardiac hypertrophy. Here, Western blotting assays demonstrated that TRAF4 is upregulated in cardiac hypertrophy. Additionally, TRAF4 deletion inhibits the development of cardiac hypertrophy in a mouse model after transverse aortic constriction surgery, whereas its overexpression promotes phenylephrine stimulation-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. Mechanistically, RNA-seq analysis revealed that TRAF4 promoted the activation of the protein kinase B pathway during cardiac hypertrophy. Moreover, we found that inhibition of protein kinase B phosphorylation rescued the aggravated cardiomyocyte hypertrophic phenotypes caused by TRAF4 overexpression in phenylephrine-treated neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, suggesting that TRAF4 may regulate cardiac hypertrophy in a protein kinase B-dependent manner. Conclusions Our results revealed the regulatory function of TRAF4 in cardiac hypertrophy, which may provide new insights into developing therapeutic and preventive targets for this disease.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jian Li
- Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular SurgeryHuanggang Central Hospital of Yangtze UniversityHuanggangChina
| | - Chang‐Quan Wang
- Department of NeurologyHuanggang Central Hospital of Yangtze UniversityHuanggangChina
| | - Wen‐Chang Xiao
- Department of Cardiovascular SurgeryHuanggang Central Hospital of Yangtze UniversityHuanggangChina
- Huanggang Institute of Translational MedicineHuanggangChina
| | - Yun Chen
- Clinical Trial CentersHuanggang Central Hospital of Yangtze UniversityHuanggangChina
| | - Jun Tu
- Huanggang Institute of Translational MedicineHuanggangChina
| | - Feng Wan
- Department of NeurologyHuanggang Central Hospital of Yangtze UniversityHuanggangChina
- Huanggang Institute of Translational MedicineHuanggangChina
| | - Ke‐Qiong Deng
- Huanggang Institute of Translational MedicineHuanggangChina
- Department of CardiologyZhongnan Hospital of Wuhan UniversityWuhanChina
| | - Huo‐Ping Li
- Department of CardiologyHuanggang Central Hospital of Yangtze UniversityHuanggangChina
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Hao M, Zhang J, Sun M, Diao K, Wang J, Li S, Cao Q, Dai S, Mi X. TRAF4 Inhibits the Apoptosis and Promotes the Proliferation of Breast Cancer Cells by Inhibiting the Ubiquitination of Spindle Assembly-Associated Protein Eg5. Front Oncol 2022; 12:855139. [PMID: 35692762 PMCID: PMC9174544 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.855139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Tumor necrosis factor receptor associated factor 4 (TRAF4) is a RING domain E3 ubiquitin ligase that mediates the ubiquitination of various proteins and plays an important role in driving tumor progression. By studying the relationship between TRAF4 and Eg5, a member of the kinesin family that plays a critical role in spindle assembly, we demonstrated that TRAF4 regulated Eg5 ubiquitination and contributed to Eg5-mediated breast cancer proliferation and inhibited breast cancer apoptosis. TRAF4 and Eg5 were both highly expressed in breast cancer and their protein level was positively correlated. Relying on its Zinc fingers domain, TRAF4 interacted with Eg5 in the cytoplasm of breast cancer cells. TRAF4 was a mitosis-related protein, and by up-regulating the protein level of Eg5 TRAF4 participated in spindle assembly. Loss of TRAF4 resulted in monopolar spindles formation, but loss of function could be rescued by Eg5. Relying on its RING domain, TRAF4 up-regulated Eg5 protein levels by inhibition of Eg5 ubiquitination, thus stabilizing Eg5 protein level during mitosis. Furthermore, we found that Smurf2, a TRAF4-targeted ubiquitination substrate, mediated the regulation of Eg5 ubiquitination by TRAF4. TRAF4 inhibited the interaction between Smurf2 and Eg5, and down-regulated the protein level of Smurf2 by promoting its ubiquitination, thereby inhibited the Smurf2-catalyzed ubiquitination of Eg5 and up-regulated Eg5 protein levels. We also demonstrate that TRAF4 plays an important role in promoting cell proliferation and in inhibiting cell apoptosis induced by Eg5. In summary, our study suggests a new direction for investigating the role of TRAF4 in driving breast cancer progression.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Miaomiao Hao
- Department of Pathology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- Department of Pathology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding, China
| | - Mingfang Sun
- Department of Pathology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Kexin Diao
- Department of Pathology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Jian Wang
- Department of Pathology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Shiping Li
- Department of Pathology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Qixue Cao
- Department of Pathology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Shundong Dai
- Department of Pathology, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaoyi Mi
- Department of Pathology, College of Basic Medical Sciences, First Affiliated Hospital, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- *Correspondence: Xiaoyi Mi,
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Papatsirou M, Artemaki PI, Scorilas A, Kontos CK. The role of circular RNAs in therapy resistance of patients with solid tumors. Per Med 2020; 17:469-490. [PMID: 33052780 DOI: 10.2217/pme-2020-0103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a type of single-stranded RNA molecules forming a covalently closed, continuous structure, lacking 5'-3' polarity and polyadenylated tails. Recent advances in high-throughput sequencing technologies have revealed that these molecules are abundant, resistant to degradation and often expressed in a tissue- or developmental stage-specific manner. circRNAs are produced by back-splicing circularization of primary transcripts and exhibit a variety of functions, including regulation of transcription, translation and cellular localization. This review focuses on differentially expressed circRNAs conferring therapy resistance or sensitivity of solid tumors, such as carcinomas, sarcomas and lymphomas. Deregulated circRNAs can participate in the development of resistance to treatment by modulating regulatory pathways and cellular processes, including the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, apoptosis and autophagy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Papatsirou
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 15701, Greece
| | - Pinelopi I Artemaki
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 15701, Greece
| | - Andreas Scorilas
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 15701, Greece
| | - Christos K Kontos
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 15701, Greece
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
TRAF4 knockdown triggers synergistic lethality with simultaneous PARP1 inhibition in endometrial cancer. Hum Cell 2020; 33:801-809. [PMID: 32388810 DOI: 10.1007/s13577-020-00363-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Endometrial cancer (EC) is one of the most common cancers among females worldwide. Advanced stage patients of EC have poor prognosis. Inevitable side effects and treatment tolerance of chemotherapy for EC remain to be addressed. Our results in this study showed that EC cells with higher tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 4 (TRAF4) expression have lower sensitivity to poly ADP-ribose polymerase 1 (PARP1) inhibitors. Upon TRAF4 knockdown, the colony numbers of EC cells were markedly down-regulated, and the markers of DNA double-strand breakage were significantly up-regulated after the treatment of olaparib, a PARP1 inhibitor. TRAF4 knockdown reduced the phosphorylation of protein kinase B (Akt), promoted DNA double-strand breakage, and decreased levels of DNA repair related proteins, including phosphorylated-DNA-dependent protein kinase (p-DNA-PK) and RAD51 recombinase (RAD51). In addition, TRAF4's effect on the sensitivity of EC cells to olaparib was further found to be mainly mediated by Akt phosphorylation. Moreover, in vivo results showed that TRAF4 knockdown enhanced the sensitivity of EC to PARP1 inhibitors using a mouse xenograft model. Collectively, our data suggest that combined application of TRAF4 knockdown and PARP1 inhibition can be used as a promising strategy for synthetic lethality in EC treatment.
Collapse
|
5
|
Chang YC, Yang YF, Chiou J, Tsai HF, Fang CY, Yang CJ, Chen CL, Hsiao M. Nonenzymatic function of Aldolase A downregulates miR-145 to promote the Oct4/DUSP4/TRAF4 axis and the acquisition of lung cancer stemness. Cell Death Dis 2020; 11:195. [PMID: 32188842 PMCID: PMC7080828 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-020-2387-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2019] [Revised: 03/02/2020] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Drug resistance remains a serious issue of clinical importance and is a consequence of cancer stemness. In this study, we showed that the level of Aldolase A (ALDOA) expression is significantly associated with the IC50 value of chemotherapy drugs in lung cancer. Our data revealed that ALDOA overexpression resulted in a significant increase of lung tumor spheres. The use of ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) resulted in the identification of POU5F1 (Oct4) as the leading transcription factor of ALDOA. We observed high expression of ALDOA, Oct4 and stemness markers in collected spheroid cells. DUSP4 and TRAF4 were confirmed as major downstream targets of the ALDOA-Oct4 axis. Knockdown of these molecules significantly decreased the stemness ability of cells. In addition, we investigated whether miR-145 targets the 3′-UTR of Oct4 and is regulated by ALDOA due to the involvement of ALDOA in glycolysis and metabolic reprogramming. Furthermore, we constructed several mutant forms of ALDOA that disrupted its enzymatic activity and showed that they still induced significant in vitro sphere formation and in vivo tumorigenicity. These results demonstrated that ALDOA-mediated spheroid formation is independent of its enzymatic activity. In the clinical component, we also showed that the combination of ALDOA and TRAF4 or DUSP4 is positively correlated with poor overall survival in a xenograft model and cancer patients through immunohistochemical analyses. The results of our study revealed novel functional roles of ALDOA in inducing cancer stemness via the inhibition of miR-145 expression and the activation of Oct4 transcription. These findings offer new therapeutic strategies for modulation of lung cancer stemness to enhance chemotherapeutic responses in lung cancer patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Chan Chang
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Fang Yang
- Department of Medical Education and Research, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Jean Chiou
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Hsing-Fang Tsai
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Yeu Fang
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan
| | - Chih-Jen Yang
- Department of Internal Medicine, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Chi-Long Chen
- Department of Pathology, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan. .,Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 110, Taiwan.
| | - Michael Hsiao
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 115, Taiwan. .,Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan.
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Xie P, Wang X, Kong M, Bai X, Jiang T. TRAF4 promotes endometrial cancer cell growth and migration by activation of PI3K/AKT/Oct4 signaling. Exp Mol Pathol 2019; 108:9-16. [DOI: 10.1016/j.yexmp.2019.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2018] [Revised: 01/08/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
|
7
|
Jaiswal B, Utkarsh K, Bhattacharyya DK. PNME - A gene-gene parallel network module extraction method. J Genet Eng Biotechnol 2018; 16:447-457. [PMID: 30733759 PMCID: PMC6353772 DOI: 10.1016/j.jgeb.2018.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2018] [Revised: 08/06/2018] [Accepted: 08/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
In the domain of gene-gene network analysis, construction of co-expression networks and extraction of network modules have opened up enormous possibilities for exploring the role of genes in biological processes. Through such analysis, one can extract interesting behaviour of genes and would help in the discovery of genes participating in a common biological process. However, such network analysis methods in sequential processing mode often have been found time-consuming even for a moderately sized dataset. It is observed that most existing network construction techniques are capable of handling only positive correlations in gene-expression data whereas biologically-significant genes exhibit both positive and negative correlations. To address these problems, we propose a faster method for construction and analysis of gene-gene network and extraction of modules using a similarity measure which can identify both negatively and positively correlated co-expressed patterns. Our method utilizes General-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) to provide fast, efficient and parallel extraction of biologically relevant network modules to support biomarker identification for breast cancer. The modules extracted are validated using p-value and q-value for both metastasis and non-metastasis stages of breast cancer. PNME has been found capable of identifying interesting biomarkers for this critical disease. We identified six genes with the interesting behaviours which have been found to cause breast cancer in homo-sapiens.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bikash Jaiswal
- Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering, Tezpur University, Napaam, Tezpur 784028, Assam, India
| | - Kumar Utkarsh
- Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering, Tezpur University, Napaam, Tezpur 784028, Assam, India
| | - D K Bhattacharyya
- Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering, Tezpur University, Napaam, Tezpur 784028, Assam, India
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
miR-29s function as tumor suppressors in gliomas by targeting TRAF4 and predict patient prognosis. Cell Death Dis 2018; 9:1078. [PMID: 30348972 PMCID: PMC6197255 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-018-1092-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2018] [Revised: 09/19/2018] [Accepted: 09/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Robust proliferation and apoptosis inhibition of tumor cells are responsible for the high mortality and poor outcome of patients with high-grade gliomas. miR-29a/b/c have been reported to be important suppressors in several human tumor types. However, their exact roles in gliomagenesis and their relevance to patient prognosis remain unclear. In this study, using 187 human glioma specimens and 20 nontumoral brain tissues, we demonstrated that the expression of miR-29a/b/c decreased progressively as the grade of glioma and the Ki-67 index increased. However, the expression of TRAF4, the functional target of miR-29a/b/c, exhibited the inverse trend, and its level was inversely correlated with the levels of miR-29a/b/c. A Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated that the miR-29a/b/c and TRAF4 levels were closely associated with patient survival even in patients with the same tumor grade and identical IDH gene status. A functional study verified that miR-29a/b/c induced apoptosis and suppressed the proliferation of glioma cells by directly targeting TRAF4. An investigation of the mechanism revealed that miR-29a/b/c promoted apoptosis through the TRAF4/AKT/MDM2 pathway in a p53-dependent manner, while miR-29a/b/c induced G1 arrest and inhibited tumor cell proliferation by blocking the phosphorylation of AKT and GSK-3β, and the expression of cyclin D1 and c-Myc. Furthermore, TRAF4-knockdown perfectly simulated the anti-glioma effects of miR-29a/b/c. These findings enrich our understanding of gliomagenesis, highlight the prognostic value of miR-29a/b/c and TRAF4, and imply their potential therapeutic roles in malignant gliomas.
Collapse
|
9
|
Zhu L, Zhang S, Huan X, Mei Y, Yang H. Down-regulation of TRAF4 targeting RSK4 inhibits proliferation, invasion and metastasis in breast cancer xenografts. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2018; 500:810-816. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2018.04.164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2018] [Accepted: 04/19/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
|
10
|
Liu K, Wu X, Zang X, Huang Z, Lin Z, Tan W, Wu X, Hu W, Li B, Zhang L. TRAF4 Regulates Migration, Invasion, and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition via PI3K/AKT Signaling in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Oncol Res 2017; 25:1329-1340. [PMID: 28256185 PMCID: PMC7841052 DOI: 10.3727/096504017x14876227286564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Overexpression of the tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 4 (TRAF4) has been detected in many cancer types and is considered to foster tumor progression. However, the role of TRAF4 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains elusive. In this study, we found that TRAF4 was highly expressed in HCC cell lines and HCC tissues compared with normal liver cell lines and adjacent noncancerous tissues. TRAF4 overexpression in HCC tissues was correlated with tumor quantity and vascular invasion. In vitro studies showed that TRAF4 was associated with HCC cell migration and invasion. An in vivo study verified that TRAF4 overexpression facilitated metastasis in nude mice. In addition, overexpressed TRAF4 promoted the phosphorylation of Akt and induced Slug overexpression, leading to downregulated E-cadherin and upregulated vimentin, while silencing TRAF4 moderated the phosphorylation of Akt and repressed the expression of Slug, which resulted in upregulated E-cadherin and downregulated vimentin. These effects were inversed after pretreatment of the PI3K/Akt inhibitor LY294002 or overexpression of constitutively active Akt1. Our study demonstrated that TRAF4 was involved in promoting HCC cell migration and invasion. The process was induced by the EMT through activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kairui Liu
- *Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, P.R. China
| | - Xiaolin Wu
- *Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, P.R. China
| | - Xian Zang
- †Physical Examination Center, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, P.R. China
| | - Zejian Huang
- *Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, P.R. China
| | - Zeyu Lin
- ‡Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Six Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, P.R. China
| | - Wenliang Tan
- *Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, P.R. China
| | - Xiang Wu
- *Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, P.R. China
| | - Wenrou Hu
- *Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, P.R. China
| | - Baoqi Li
- *Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, P.R. China
| | - Lei Zhang
- *Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, P.R. China
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Meerson A, Yehuda H. Leptin and insulin up-regulate miR-4443 to suppress NCOA1 and TRAF4, and decrease the invasiveness of human colon cancer cells. BMC Cancer 2016; 16:882. [PMID: 27842582 PMCID: PMC5109693 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-016-2938-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2016] [Accepted: 10/27/2016] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Obesity is a risk factor for colorectal cancer (CRC). Normal and tumor cells respond to metabolic hormones, such as leptin and insulin. Thus, obesity-associated resistance to these hormones likely leads to changes in gene expression and behavior of tumor cells. However, the mechanisms affected by leptin and insulin signaling in CRC cells remain mostly unknown. Methods We hypothesized that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the regulation of tumorigenesis-related gene expression in CRC cells by leptin and insulin. To test this hypothesis, miRNA levels in the CRC-derived cell lines HCT-116, HT-29 and DLD-1 were profiled, following leptin and insulin treatment. Candidate miRNAs were validated by RT-qPCR. Predicted miRNA targets with known roles in cancer, were validated by immunoblots and reporter assays in HCT-116 cells. Transfection of HCT-116 cells with candidate miRNA mimic was used to test in vitro effects on proliferation and invasion. Results Of ~800 miRNAs profiled, miR-4443 was consistently up-regulated by leptin and insulin in HCT-116 and HT-29, but not in DLD-1, which lacked normal leptin receptor expression. Dose response experiments showed that leptin at 100 ng/ml consistently up-regulated miR-4443 in HCT-116 cells, concomitantly with a significant decrease in cell invasion ability. Transfection with miR-4443 mimic decreased invasion and proliferation of HCT-116 cells. Moreover, leptin and miR-4443 transfection significantly down-regulated endogenous NCOA1 and TRAF4, both predicted targets of miR-4443 with known roles in cancer metastasis. miR-4443 was found to directly regulate TRAF4 and NCOA1, as validated by a reporter assay. The up-regulation of miR-4443 by leptin or insulin was attenuated by the inhibition of MEK1/2. Conclusions Our findings suggest that miR-4443 acts in a tumor-suppressive manner by down-regulating TRAF4 and NCOA1 downstream of MEK-C/EBP-mediated leptin and insulin signaling, and that insulin and/or leptin resistance (e.g. in obesity) may suppress this pathway and increase the risk of metastatic CRC. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2938-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ari Meerson
- Molecular Biology of Chronic Diseases, MIGAL Galilee Research Institute, PO Box 831, Kiryat Shmona, 11016, Israel. .,Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3, Copenhagen, DK-2200, Denmark.
| | - Hila Yehuda
- Molecular Biology of Chronic Diseases, MIGAL Galilee Research Institute, PO Box 831, Kiryat Shmona, 11016, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Zhao ZJ, Ren HY, Yang F, Wang J, Wu GP, Mi XY. Expression, correlation, and prognostic value of TRAF2 and TRAF4 expression in malignant plural effusion cells in human breast cancer. Diagn Cytopathol 2015; 43:897-903. [PMID: 26331901 DOI: 10.1002/dc.23330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2015] [Revised: 07/11/2015] [Accepted: 08/05/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND TRAF2 and TRAF4, members of the tumor necrosis factor receptor- associated factor family of intracellular signal transduction proteins, are associated with breast cancer progression and metastasis. METHODS We collected malignant serous effusion cells from the patients with breast cancer (n = 46). Cell blocks prepared from plural effusions (n = 46) and primary breast cancer (n = 50), lymph node metastases (n = 50), and normal breast tissue specimens (n = 30). The immunohistochemistry was performed for the detection of TRAF2 and TRAF4 expression with the correlation of their expression with clinicopathological parameters and survival rate analyzed. RESULTS Compared with normal breast tissues, TRAF2 expression was upregulated, and nuclear TRAF4 expression was downregulated in malignant pleural effusion cells, primary tumors, and lymph node metastases (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed TRAF2 expression in pleural effusions was associated with the molecular/pathological type, venous invasion, and lymph node metastasis, while nuclear TRAF4 expression was associated with age, tumor size, venous invasion, and lymph node metastasis, clinical staging, molecular/pathological subtype and p53 status (P < 0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between TRAF2 and TRAF4 expression levels in malignant pleural effusion cells (r = 0.937; P < 0.01). Kaplan-Meire analysis demonstrated a close correlation of TRAF2 and TRAF4 expression in malignant pleural effusion cells with cumulative overall survival (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION TRAF2 and nuclear TRAF4 expression in malignant pleural effusion cells may represent potential prognostic factors and biomarkers of invasion and metastasis in breast cancer.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhi-Juan Zhao
- Department of Pathology, the First Affiliated Hospital and College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
| | - Hua-Yan Ren
- Department of Pathology, the First Affiliated Hospital and College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
| | - Fan Yang
- Department of Pathology, the First Affiliated Hospital and College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
| | - Jian Wang
- Department of Pathology, the First Affiliated Hospital and College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
| | - Guang-Ping Wu
- Department of Pathology, the First Affiliated Hospital and College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
| | - Xiao-Yi Mi
- Department of Pathology, the First Affiliated Hospital and College of Basic Medical Sciences, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
CHEN TIANJUN, GAO FEI, FENG SIFANG, YANG TIAN, CHEN MINGWEI. MicroRNA-370 inhibits the progression of non-small cell lung cancer by downregulating oncogene TRAF4. Oncol Rep 2015; 34:461-8. [DOI: 10.3892/or.2015.3978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2015] [Accepted: 05/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
|