High expression of Janus kinase 2 in background normal liver tissue of resected hepatocellular carcinoma is associated with worse prognosis

JAK2 Loss Arising From Tumor-Spread-Through-Air-Spaces (STAS) Promotes Tumor Progression by Suppressing CD8+ T Cells in Lung Adenocarcinoma: A Machine Learning Approach

BACKGROUND

Tumor spread through air spaces (STAS) is a recently discovered risk factor for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). The aim of this study was to investigate specific genetic alterations and anticancer immune responses related to STAS. By using a machine learning algorithm and drug screening in lung cancer cell lines, we analyzed the effect of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) on the survival of patients with LUAD and possible drug candidates.

METHODS

This study included 566 patients with LUAD corresponding to clinicopathological and genetic data. For analyses of LUAD, we applied gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), in silico cytometry, pathway network analysis, in vitro drug screening, and gradient boosting machine (GBM) analysis.

RESULTS

The patients with STAS had a shorter survival time than those without STAS (P < 0.001). We detected gene set-related downregulation of JAK2 associated with STAS using GSEA. Low JAK2 expression was related to poor prognosis and a low CD8+ T-cell fraction. In GBM, JAK2 showed improved survival prediction performance when it was added to other parameters (T stage, N stage, lymphovascular invasion, pleural invasion, tumor size). In drug screening, mirin, CCT007093, dihydroretenone, and ABT737 suppressed the growth of lung cancer cell lines with low JAK2 expression.

CONCLUSION

In LUAD, low JAK2 expression linked to the presence of STAS might serve as an unfavorable prognostic factor. A relationship between JAK2 and CD8+ T cells suggests that STAS is indirectly related to the anticancer immune response. These results may contribute to the design of future experimental research and drug development programs for LUAD with STAS.

The Role of miRNAs, circRNAs and Their Interactions in Development and Progression of Hepatocellular Carcinoma: An Insilico Approach

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a type of malignant tumor. miRNAs are noncoding RNAs and their differential expression patterns are observed in HCC-induced by alcoholism, HBV and HCV infections. By acting as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA), circRNA regulates the miRNA function, indirectly controlling the gene expression and leading to HCC progression. In the present study, data mining was performed to screen out all miRNAs and circRNA involved in alcohol, HBV or HCV-induced HCC with statistically significant (≤0.05%) expression levels reported in various studies. Further, the interaction of miRNAs and circRNA was also investigated to explore their role in HCC due to various causative agents. Together, these study data provide a deeper understanding of the circRNA-miRNA regulatory mechanisms in HCC. These screened circRNA, miRNA and their interactions can be used as prognostic biomarkers or therapeutic targets for the treatment of HCC.

The Natural Compound Dehydrocrenatidine Attenuates Nicotine-Induced Stemness and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Regulating a7nAChR-Jak2 Signaling Pathways

Background

Exposure to nicotine has been observed associated with tumor progression, metastasis, and therapy resistance of many cancers. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one major cancer related to the liver and the most difficult to treat malignancies worldwide. The underlying mechanism of nicotine in the stimulation of HCC tumorigenesis is still not studied well.

Methods

Classically, nicotine binds to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and induces many downstream cancer-associated signaling pathways. Big data analysis is used to explore the importance of a7nAChR-Jak2 axis in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma. Bioinformatic analysis was performed to determine gene associated with a7nAChR-Jak2 axis of HCC patients. Biological importance of a7nAChR-Jak2 axis was investigated in vitro (Hun7 and HepG2 cell lines), and athymic nude mouse models bearing HepG2-HCC cells xenografts were established in vivo.

Result

We found that nicotine exposure stimulated the HCC tumorigenicity by inducing the expression of one of the key nAChRs subunit that is α7nAChR as well as the expression of Janus kinase (JAK)-2. In both the in vitro and in vivo studies, the reduced overexpression of α7nAChR and increased sensitization of HCC towards treatment is observed with dehydrocrenatidine (DHCT), a novel and potent JAK family kinase inhibitor. Interestingly, DHCT treatment results in the reduction of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process which leads to a significant reduction of clonogenicity, migratory, and invasive ability of HCC cells. Moreover, DHCT treatment also inhibits the cancer stem cell phenotype by inhibiting the tumor-sphere formation and reducing the number of ALDH1+ cells population in nicotine-stimulated HCC cells.

Conclusions

Taken together, the presented results indicate the positive effect of inhibition of nicotine induced overexpression of α7nAChR and JAK2, unique to HCC. Thus, these findings suggest the nicotine effect on HCC progression via α7nAChR-mediated JAK2 signaling pathways, and DHCT treatment enhances the therapeutic potential of HCC patients via overcoming/reversing the effect of nicotine in HCC patients.

Induced Mitochondrial Alteration and DNA Damage via IFNGR-JAK2-STAT1-PARP1 Pathway Facilitates Viral Hepatitis Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma Aggressiveness and Stemness

Simple Summary

Hepatitis virus is a major risk factor for liver cancer. We analyzed possible synergism between momelotinib and sorafenib in hepatitis virus-associated liver cancer. The combined effect of momelotinib and sorafenib both at in vitro and in vivo synergistically sup-presses the proliferation of vHCC cells and effectively reduces the tumor burden. Our results showed that momelotinib effectively suppressed the expression of the IFNGR-JAK-STAT-PARP1 pathway, which results in the downregulation of cancer stem cell genes and enhances the antitumor efficacy of sorafenib by initiating the expression of apoptosis-related genes and inhibiting the DNA repair gene in vHCC cells, thus maximizing its therapeutic potential for patients with HCC.

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis virus is a major risk factor for liver cancer. The mitochondrial dysfunction IFN gamma-related pathways are activated after virus infection. Jak family-related protein is involved in the downstream of IFN gamma-related pathways. However, the effect of the IFNGR-JAK-STAT pathway acting as functional regulators of their related protein expression on virus infection and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unclear. Interestingly, the role of the DNA repair gene (PARP1) in therapy resistant cancers also has not been studied and explored well. In this study, we hypothesized that momelotinib could suppress the progression of HCC by targeting Jak family related and PARP1 DNA repair protein. Based on this observation, we link the relevant targets of the JAK family and the potential applications of targeted therapy inhibitors. Methods: We analyzed possible synergism between momelotinib and sorafenib in hepatitis virus-associated liver cancer. Immunostaining, colony formation assay, cell invasion, migration, and tumorsphere-formation assay were used for drug cytotoxicity, cell viability, and possible molecular mechanism. Result: We first demonstrated that the expression of Jak1 and 2 is significantly upregulated in vHCC than in nvHCC/normal liver tissues. In addition, the gene expression of IFN gamma-related pathways is activated after virus infection. Additionally, we found that momelotinib significantly inhibited the growth of HCC cells and reduces the expression of Jak2, which showed the importance of momelotinib in targeting Jak2 and reducing tumorigenesis in HCC. Meanwhile, momelotinib effectively inhibited the IFNGR-JAK-STAT pathway and reduced the migratory/invasive ability of vHCC cells through down-regulating EMT biomarkers (E-cadherin and vimentin), transcription factor (Slug), and significantly inhibits the DNA damage repair enzyme PARP1. It also induced cell apoptosis of vHCC cells. Furthermore, the combined effect of momelotinib and sorafenib both at in vitro and in vivo synergistically suppresses the proliferation of vHCC cells and effectively reduces the tumor burden. Conclusions: Our results showed that momelotinib effectively suppressed the expression of the IFNGR-JAK-STAT-PARP1 pathway, which results in the downregulation of cancer stem cell genes and enhances the antitumor efficacy of sorafenib by initiating the expression of apoptosis-related genes and inhibiting the DNA repair gene in vHCC cells, thus maximizing its therapeutic potential for patients with HCC.

Molecular alterations in the carcinogenesis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma: Tumor factors and background liver factors

Although hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is associated with poor prognosis worldwide, the molecular mechanisms underlying the carcinogenesis and progression of this disease remain unclear. Several tumor characteristics have previously been demonstrated to be prognostic factors of survival following hepatic resection, or the recurrence of HCC or other types of cancer. Comparisons of normal tissues and HCC tumor tissues have revealed the presence of numerous molecular alterations in HCC, including genetic and epigenetic mechanisms, particularly mutations in certain genes and DNA methylation in the promoter regions of tumor-suppressor genes. A number of studies have previously used array analysis to detect variations in the expression levels of cancer-associated genes and microRNAs, and in DNA methylation. However, an investigation of HCC tumor tissues may not determine the effect of noncancerous liver tissues (background liver) in patients with HCC. As HCC may recur multicentrically following resection, a damaged or chronically diseased HCC background liver may be considered as a pre-cancerous organ. Therefore, the influence of the background liver on HCC requires further study. Detailed studies regarding the background liver may be essential for the improved understanding of the carcinogenesis and progression of this malignancy; however only a few studies have investigated the microenvironment of the HCC background liver. The present review discusses prior molecular studies of hepatocarcinogenesis that focus on HCC and background liver tissues.