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Ai B, Liang Y, Yan T, Lei Y. Exploration of immune cell heterogeneity by single-cell RNA sequencing and identification of secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor as an oncogene in pancreatic cancer. ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38476085 DOI: 10.1002/tox.24200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 02/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
Clinical outcomes remain unsatisfactory in patients with pancreatic cancer (PAC). In this study, through single-cell sequencing, we identified eight cell subpopulations in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Redimensional clustering of epithelial cells, myeloid cells, and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) revealed heterogeneity in the TME of PAC. Intercellular communication analysis showed strong direct interactions between matrix CAFs, inflammatory CAFs, and epithelial cells. Additionally, we found that the SPP1-associated pathway was activated in monocytes, whereas the vascular endothelial growth factor-associated pathway was activated in epithelial cells. These results improve the understanding of the TME of pancreatic cancer and provide a foundation for further studies on intratumoral heterogeneity. In addition, differentially expressed gene secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) was identified in pancreatic cancer, and functional experiments showed that SLPI had a strong impact on cell viability and apoptosis, which offers a potential therapy target for pancreatic cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bolun Ai
- The Faculty of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The First Medical Center, Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Yicheng Liang
- Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Tao Yan
- Department of Anesthesiology, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Yangyang Lei
- Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
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2
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Hu Y, Dong Z, Liu K. Unraveling the complexity of STAT3 in cancer: molecular understanding and drug discovery. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2024; 43:23. [PMID: 38245798 PMCID: PMC10799433 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-024-02949-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcriptional factor involved in almost all cancer hallmark features including tumor proliferation, metastasis, angiogenesis, immunosuppression, tumor inflammation, metabolism reprogramming, drug resistance, cancer stemness. Therefore, STAT3 has become a promising therapeutic target in a wide range of cancers. This review focuses on the up-to-date knowledge of STAT3 signaling in cancer. We summarize both the positive and negative modulators of STAT3 together with the cancer hallmarks involving activities regulated by STAT3 and highlight its extremely sophisticated regulation on immunosuppression in tumor microenvironment and metabolic reprogramming. Direct and indirect inhibitors of STAT3 in preclinical and clinical studies also have been summarized and discussed. Additionally, we highlight and propose new strategies of targeting STAT3 and STAT3-based combinations with established chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy and combination therapy. These efforts may provide new perspectives for STAT3-based target therapy in cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yamei Hu
- Tianjian Laboratory for Advanced Biomedical Sciences, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan, China
- Medical Research Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, Henan, China
| | - Zigang Dong
- Tianjian Laboratory for Advanced Biomedical Sciences, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan, China.
- China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450008, Henan, China.
- Cancer Chemoprevention International Collaboration Laboratory, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
| | - Kangdong Liu
- Tianjian Laboratory for Advanced Biomedical Sciences, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan, China.
- China-US (Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, 450008, Henan, China.
- State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
- Provincial Cooperative Innovation Center for Cancer Chemoprevention, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
- Cancer Chemoprevention International Collaboration Laboratory, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
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3
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Kiełb P, Kowalczyk K, Gurwin A, Nowak Ł, Krajewski W, Sosnowski R, Szydełko T, Małkiewicz B. Novel Histopathological Biomarkers in Prostate Cancer: Implications and Perspectives. Biomedicines 2023; 11:1552. [PMID: 37371647 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11061552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer in men. Despite the significant progress in cancer diagnosis and treatment over the last few years, the approach to disease detection and therapy still does not include histopathological biomarkers. The dissemination of PCa is strictly related to the creation of a premetastatic niche, which can be detected by altered levels of specific biomarkers. To date, the risk factors for biochemical recurrence include lymph node status, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), PSA density (PSAD), body mass index (BMI), pathological Gleason score, seminal vesicle invasion, extraprostatic extension, and intraductal carcinoma. In the future, biomarkers might represent another prognostic factor, as discussed in many studies. In this review, we focus on histopathological biomarkers (particularly CD169 macrophages, neuropilin-1, cofilin-1, interleukin-17, signal transducer and activator of transcription protein 3 (STAT3), LIM domain kinase 1 (LIMK1), CD15, AMACR, prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), Appl1, Sortilin, Syndecan-1, and p63) and their potential application in decision making regarding the prognosis and treatment of PCa patients. We refer to studies that found a correlation between the levels of biomarkers and tumor characteristics as well as clinical outcomes. We also hypothesize about the potential use of histopathological markers as a target for novel immunotherapeutic drugs or targeted radionuclide therapy, which may be used as adjuvant therapy in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paweł Kiełb
- University Center of Excellence in Urology, Department of Minimally Invasive and Robotic Urology, Wrocław Medical University, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Kamil Kowalczyk
- University Center of Excellence in Urology, Department of Minimally Invasive and Robotic Urology, Wrocław Medical University, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Adam Gurwin
- University Center of Excellence in Urology, Department of Minimally Invasive and Robotic Urology, Wrocław Medical University, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Łukasz Nowak
- University Center of Excellence in Urology, Department of Minimally Invasive and Robotic Urology, Wrocław Medical University, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Wojciech Krajewski
- University Center of Excellence in Urology, Department of Minimally Invasive and Robotic Urology, Wrocław Medical University, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Roman Sosnowski
- Department of Urogenital Cancer, Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology, 02-781 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Tomasz Szydełko
- University Center of Excellence in Urology, Department of Minimally Invasive and Robotic Urology, Wrocław Medical University, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Bartosz Małkiewicz
- University Center of Excellence in Urology, Department of Minimally Invasive and Robotic Urology, Wrocław Medical University, 50-556 Wroclaw, Poland
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Bekaii-Saab T, Okusaka T, Goldstein D, Oh DY, Ueno M, Ioka T, Fang W, Anderson EC, Noel MS, Reni M, Choi HJ, Goldberg JS, Oh SC, Li CP, Tabernero J, Li J, Foos E, Oh C, Van Cutsem E. Napabucasin plus nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine versus nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine in previously untreated metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma: an adaptive multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 3, superiority trial. EClinicalMedicine 2023; 58:101897. [PMID: 36969338 PMCID: PMC10036520 DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2023.101897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Compared with normal cells, tumour cells contain elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Increased levels of the antioxidant protein NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) and phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (pSTAT3) correlate negatively with the survival of patients with pancreatic cancer. Napabucasin is an investigational, orally administered ROS generator bioactivated by NQO1. METHODS In the open-label, phase 3 CanStem111P study (NCT02993731), adults with previously untreated metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma (mPDAC) were randomised (1:1) to napabucasin plus nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine or nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine alone. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS). In exploratory analyses, OS was evaluated in the subgroup of patients with tumours positive for pSTAT3 (biomarker-positive). FINDINGS Between 30 January 2017 and 20 February 2019, a total of 1779 patients were screened across 165 study sites in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Ukraine, and the US. Of the 565 and 569 patients randomised to the napabucasin and control treatment arms, respectively, 206 and 176 were biomarker-positive. Median (95% confidence interval [CI]) OS in the napabucasin and control treatment arms was 11.4 (10.5-12.2) and 11.7 (10.7-12.7) months, respectively (hazard ratio, 1.07; 95% CI, 0.93-1.23). Due to the lack of OS improvement in the napabucasin arm, CanStem111P was terminated due to futility. In the biomarker-positive subgroup, no difference between treatment arms was found for OS. Grade ≥3 adverse events were reported in 85.4% and 83.9% of napabucasin-treated and control-treated patients, respectively. The incidence of gastrointestinal-related grade ≥3 events was higher with napabucasin (diarrhoea: 11.6% vs 4.9%; abdominal pain: 10.0% vs 4.8%). INTERPRETATION Our findings suggested that although the addition of napabucasin to nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine did not improve efficacy in patients with previously untreated mPDAC, the safety profile of napabucasin was consistent with previous reports. CanStem111P represents the largest cohort of patients with mPDAC administered nab-paclitaxel with gemcitabine in the clinical trial setting. Our data reinforce the value of nab-paclitaxel plus gemcitabine as a platform for novel therapeutics approaches in mPDAC. FUNDING The Sumitomo Pharma Oncology, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanios Bekaii-Saab
- Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
- Corresponding author. Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, 5777 East Mayo Boulevard, Phoenix, AZ, 85054, USA.
| | - Takuji Okusaka
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
| | - David Goldstein
- Department of Medical Oncology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW, Australia
| | - Do-Youn Oh
- Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Cancer Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Integrated Major in Innovative Medical Science, Seoul National University Graduate School, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Makoto Ueno
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Medical Oncology Division, Kanagawa Cancer Center, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Tatsuya Ioka
- Oncology Center, Yamaguchi University Hospital, Yamaguchi, Japan
| | - Weijia Fang
- Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Eric C. Anderson
- Division of Hematology/Medical Oncology, Oregon Health and Science University, Knight Cancer Institute, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Marcus S. Noel
- Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Michele Reni
- Department of Oncology, Pancreas Center, IRCCS Ospedale, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Hye Jin Choi
- Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | | | - Sang Cheul Oh
- Department of Medical Oncology, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Chung-Pin Li
- Division of Clinical Skills Training, Department of Medical Education, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- School of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Josep Tabernero
- Medical Oncology Department, Vall d'Hebron Hospital Campus and Institute of Oncology (VHIO), IOB-Quiron, UVic-UCC, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jian Li
- Clinical Development, Sumitomo Pharma Oncology, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Emma Foos
- Biostatistics, Sumitomo Pharma Oncology, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Cindy Oh
- Clinical Operations, Sumitomo Pharma Oncology, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Eric Van Cutsem
- Digestive Oncology, University Hospitals Gasthuisberg, Leuven & KULeuven, Leuven, Belgium
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STAT3 Inhibitors: A Novel Insight for Anticancer Therapy of Pancreatic Cancer. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12101450. [PMID: 36291659 PMCID: PMC9599947 DOI: 10.3390/biom12101450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Revised: 09/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) is a family of intracellular cytoplasmic transcription factors involved in many biological functions in mammalian signal transduction. Among them, STAT3 is involved in cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and inflammatory responses. Despite the advances in the treatment of pancreatic cancer in the past decade, the prognosis for patients with pancreatic cancer remains poor. STAT3 has been shown to play a pro-cancer role in a variety of cancers, and inhibitors of STAT3 are used in pre-clinical and clinical studies. We reviewed the relationship between STAT3 and pancreatic cancer and the latest results on the use of STAT3 inhibitors in pancreatic cancer, with the aim of providing insights and ideas around STAT3 inhibitors for a new generation of chemotherapeutic modalities for pancreatic cancer.
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Hashimoto S, Hashimoto A, Muromoto R, Kitai Y, Oritani K, Matsuda T. Central Roles of STAT3-Mediated Signals in Onset and Development of Cancers: Tumorigenesis and Immunosurveillance. Cells 2022; 11:cells11162618. [PMID: 36010693 PMCID: PMC9406645 DOI: 10.3390/cells11162618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Since the time of Rudolf Virchow in the 19th century, it has been well-known that cancer-associated inflammation contributes to tumor initiation and progression. However, it remains unclear whether a collapse of the balance between the antitumor immune response via the immunological surveillance system and protumor immunity due to cancer-related inflammation is responsible for cancer malignancy. The majority of inflammatory signals affect tumorigenesis by activating signal transducer and activation of transcription 3 (STAT3) and nuclear factor-κB. Persistent STAT3 activation in malignant cancer cells mediates extremely widespread functions, including cell growth, survival, angiogenesis, and invasion and contributes to an increase in inflammation-associated tumorigenesis. In addition, intracellular STAT3 activation in immune cells causes suppressive effects on antitumor immunity and leads to the differentiation and mobilization of immature myeloid-derived cells and tumor-associated macrophages. In many cancer types, STAT3 does not directly rely on its activation by oncogenic mutations but has important oncogenic and malignant transformation-associated functions in both cancer and stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME). We have reported a series of studies aiming towards understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the proliferation of various types of tumors involving signal-transducing adaptor protein-2 as an adaptor molecule that modulates STAT3 activity, and we recently found that AT-rich interactive domain-containing protein 5a functions as an mRNA stabilizer that orchestrates an immunosuppressive TME in malignant mesenchymal tumors. In this review, we summarize recent advances in our understanding of the functional role of STAT3 in tumor progression and introduce novel molecular mechanisms of cancer development and malignant transformation involving STAT3 activation that we have identified to date. Finally, we discuss potential therapeutic strategies for cancer that target the signaling pathway to augment STAT3 activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shigeru Hashimoto
- Division of Molecular Psychoimmunology, Institute for Genetic Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0815, Japan
- Correspondence: (S.H.); (T.M.)
| | - Ari Hashimoto
- Department of Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan
| | - Ryuta Muromoto
- Department of Immunology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0812, Japan
| | - Yuichi Kitai
- Department of Immunology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0812, Japan
| | - Kenji Oritani
- Department of Hematology, International University of Health and Welfare, Narita 286-8686, Japan
| | - Tadashi Matsuda
- Department of Immunology, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0812, Japan
- Correspondence: (S.H.); (T.M.)
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7
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ID1 marks the tumorigenesis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in mouse and human. Sci Rep 2022; 12:13555. [PMID: 35941362 PMCID: PMC9359991 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-17827-3] [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: 04/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a deadly disease that has an increasing death rate but no effective treatment to now. Although biological and immunological hallmarks of PDAC have been frequently reported recently, early detection and the particularly aggressive biological features are the major challenges remaining unclear. In the current study, we retrieved multiple scRNA-seq datasets and illustrated the genetic programs of PDAC development in genetically modified mouse models. Notably, the transcription levels of Id1 were elevated specifically along with the PDAC development. Pseudotime trajectory analysis revealed that Id1 was closely correlated with the malignancy of PDAC. The gene expression patterns of human PDAC cells were determined by the comparative analysis of the scRNA-seq data on human PDAC and normal pancreas tissues. ID1 levels in human PDAC cancer cells were dramatically increased compared to normal epithelial cells. ID1 deficiency in vitro significantly blunt the invasive tumor-formation related phenotypes. IPA analysis on the differentially expressed genes suggested that EIF2 signaling was the core pathway regulating the development of PDAC. Blocking EFI2 signaling remarkably decreased the expression of ID1 and attenuated the tumor-formation related phenotypes. These observations confirmed that ID1 was regulated by EIF2 signaling and was the critical determinator of PDAC development and progression. This study suggests that ID1 is a potential malignant biomarker of PDAC in both mouse models and human and detecting and targeting ID1 may be a promising strategy to treat or even rescue PDAC.
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Fallah M, Davoodvandi A, Nikmanzar S, Aghili S, Mirazimi SMA, Aschner M, Rashidian A, Hamblin MR, Chamanara M, Naghsh N, Mirzaei H. Silymarin (milk thistle extract) as a therapeutic agent in gastrointestinal cancer. Biomed Pharmacother 2021; 142:112024. [PMID: 34399200 PMCID: PMC8458260 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2021.112024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Revised: 08/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/07/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Silymarin contains a group of closely-related flavonolignan compounds including silibinin, and is extracted from Silybum marianum species, also called milk thistle. Silymarin has been shown to protect the liver in both experimental models and clinical studies. The chemopreventive activity of silymarin has shown some efficacy against cancer both in vitro and in vivo. Silymarin can modulate apoptosis in vitro and survival in vivo, by interfering with the expression of cell cycle regulators and apoptosis-associated proteins. In addition to its anti-metastatic activity, silymarin has also been reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory activity. The chemoprotective effects of silymarin and silibinin (its major constituent) suggest they could be applied to reduce the side effects and increase the anti-cancer effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in various cancer types, especially in gastrointestinal cancers. This review examines the recent studies and summarizes the mechanistic pathways and down-stream targets of silymarin in the therapy of gastrointestinal cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Fallah
- Research Center for Biochemistry and Nutrition in Metabolic Diseases, Institute for Basic Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran; Student Research Committee, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
| | - Amirhossein Davoodvandi
- Student Research Committee, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran; Cancer Immunology Project (CIP), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran
| | - Shahin Nikmanzar
- Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sarehnaz Aghili
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Seyed Mohammad Ali Mirazimi
- Student Research Committee, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran; School of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
| | - Michael Aschner
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10463, USA
| | - Amir Rashidian
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Aja University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Michael R Hamblin
- Laser Research Centre, Faculty of Health Science, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein 2028, South Africa
| | - Mohsen Chamanara
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Aja University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Toxicology Research Center, Aja University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Navid Naghsh
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
| | - Hamed Mirzaei
- Research Center for Biochemistry and Nutrition in Metabolic Diseases, Institute for Basic Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
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Computational STAT3 activity inference reveals its roles in the pancreatic tumor microenvironment. Sci Rep 2019; 9:18257. [PMID: 31796877 PMCID: PMC6890662 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54791-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2019] [Accepted: 11/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcription factor (TF) STAT3 contributes to pancreatic cancer progression through its regulatory roles in both tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME). In this study, we performed a systematic analysis of all TFs in patient-derived gene expression datasets and confirmed STAT3 as a critical regulator in the pancreatic TME. Importantly, we developed a novel framework that is based on TF target gene expression to distinguish between environmental- and tumor-specific STAT3 activities in gene expression studies. Using this framework, our results novelly showed that compartment-specific STAT3 activities, but not STAT3 mRNA, have prognostications towards clinical values within pancreatic cancer datasets. In addition, high TME-derived STAT3 activity correlates with an immunosuppressive TME in pancreatic cancer, characterized by CD4 T cell and monocyte infiltration and high copy number variation burden. Where environmental-STAT3 seemed to play a dominant role at primary pancreatic sites, tumor-specific STAT3 seemed dominant at metastatic sites where its high activity persisted. In conclusion, by combining compartment-specific inference with other tumor characteristics, including copy number variation and immune-related gene expression, we demonstrate our method’s utility as a tool to generate novel hypotheses about TFs in tumor biology.
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Obesity-Induced Adipose Tissue Inflammation as a Strong Promotional Factor for Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Cells 2019; 8:cells8070673. [PMID: 31277269 PMCID: PMC6678863 DOI: 10.3390/cells8070673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2019] [Revised: 06/28/2019] [Accepted: 07/02/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is expected to soon become the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in the United States. This may be due to the rising obesity prevalence, which is a recognized risk factor for PDAC. There is great interest in deciphering the underlying driving mechanisms of the obesity–PDAC link. Visceral adiposity has a strong correlation to certain metabolic diseases and gastrointestinal cancers, including PDAC. In fact, our own data strongly suggest that visceral adipose tissue inflammation is a strong promoter for PDAC growth and progression in a genetically engineered mouse model of PDAC and diet-induced obesity. In this review, we will discuss the relationship between obesity-associated adipose tissue inflammation and PDAC development, with a focus on the key molecular and cellular components in the dysfunctional visceral adipose tissue, which provides a tumor permissive environment.
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Lakkakula BVKS, Farran B, Lakkakula S, Peela S, Yarla NS, Bramhachari PV, Kamal MA, Saddala MS, Nagaraju GP. Small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors and pancreatic cancer—Trials and troubles. Semin Cancer Biol 2019; 56:149-167. [DOI: 10.1016/j.semcancer.2018.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Revised: 09/18/2018] [Accepted: 09/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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12
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Zhang HX, Yang PL, Li EM, Xu LY. STAT3beta, a distinct isoform from STAT3. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2019; 110:130-139. [PMID: 30822557 DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2019.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2018] [Revised: 02/08/2019] [Accepted: 02/20/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
STAT3β is an isoform of STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) that differs from the STAT3α isoform by the replacement of the C-terminal 55 amino acid residues with 7 specific residues. The constitutive activation of STAT3α plays a pivotal role in the activation of oncogenic pathways, such as cell proliferation, maturation and survival, while STAT3β is often referred to as a dominant-negative regulator of cancer. STAT3β reveals a "spongy cushion" effect through its cooperation with STAT3α or forms a ternary complex with other co-activators. Especially in tumour cells, relatively high levels of STAT3β lead to some favourable changes. However, there are still many mechanisms that have not been clearly explained in contrast to STAT3α, such as STAT3β nuclear retention, more stable heterodimers and the prolonged Y705 phosphorylation. In addition to its transcriptional activities, STAT3β may also function in the cytosol with respect to the mitochondria, cytoskeleton rearrangements and metastasis of cancer cells. In this review, we summarize the mechanisms that underlie the unique roles of STAT3β combined with total STAT3 to enlighten and draw the attention of researchers studying STAT3 and discuss some interesting questions that warrant answers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui-Xiang Zhang
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for High Cancer Incidence Coastal Chaoshan Area, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515041, Guangdong, PR China; Institute of Oncological Pathology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, PR China
| | - Ping-Lian Yang
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for High Cancer Incidence Coastal Chaoshan Area, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515041, Guangdong, PR China; Institute of Oncological Pathology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, PR China
| | - En-Min Li
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for High Cancer Incidence Coastal Chaoshan Area, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515041, Guangdong, PR China; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515041, Guangdong, PR China.
| | - Li-Yan Xu
- The Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for High Cancer Incidence Coastal Chaoshan Area, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou 515041, Guangdong, PR China; Institute of Oncological Pathology, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, PR China.
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13
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Takahashi M, Hori M, Ishigamori R, Mutoh M, Imai T, Nakagama H. Fatty pancreas: A possible risk factor for pancreatic cancer in animals and humans. Cancer Sci 2018; 109:3013-3023. [PMID: 30099827 PMCID: PMC6172058 DOI: 10.1111/cas.13766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2018] [Revised: 08/01/2018] [Accepted: 08/04/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and aging are associated with pancreatic cancer risk, but the mechanisms of pancreatic cancer development caused by these factors are not clearly understood. Syrian golden hamsters are susceptible to N‐nitrosobis(2‐oxopropyl)amine (BOP)‐induced pancreatic carcinogenesis. Aging, BOP treatment and/or a high‐fat diet cause severe and scattered fatty infiltration (FI) of the pancreas with abnormal adipokine production and promote pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) development. The KK‐Ay mouse, a T2DM model, also develops severe and scattered FI of the pancreas. Treatment with BOP induced significantly higher cell proliferation in the pancreatic ducts of KK‐Ay mice, but not in those of ICR and C57BL/6J mice, both of which are characterized by an absence of scattered FI. Thus, we hypothesized that severely scattered FI may be involved in the susceptibility to PDAC development. Indeed, severe pancreatic FI, or fatty pancreas, is observed in humans and is associated with age, body mass index (BMI) and DM, which are risk factors for pancreatic cancer. We analyzed the degree of FI in the non‐cancerous parts of PDAC and non‐PDAC patients who had undergone pancreatoduodenectomy by histopathology and demonstrated that the degree of pancreatic FI in PDAC cases is significantly higher than that in non‐PDAC controls. Moreover, the association with PDAC is positive, even after adjusting for BMI and the prevalence of DM. Accumulating evidence suggests that pancreatic FI is involved in PDAC development in animals and humans, and further investigations to clarify the genetic and environmental factors that cause pancreatic FI are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mami Takahashi
- Central Animal Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Mika Hori
- Department of Molecular Innovation in Lipidology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, Osaka, Japan
| | - Rikako Ishigamori
- Central Animal Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Michihiro Mutoh
- Epidemiology and Prevention Division, Research Center for Cancer Prevention and Screening, National Cancer Center, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshio Imai
- Central Animal Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan
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14
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Li S, Xu HX, Wu CT, Wang WQ, Jin W, Gao HL, Li H, Zhang SR, Xu JZ, Qi ZH, Ni QX, Yu XJ, Liu L. Angiogenesis in pancreatic cancer: current research status and clinical implications. Angiogenesis 2018; 22:15-36. [PMID: 30168025 DOI: 10.1007/s10456-018-9645-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 175] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2018] [Accepted: 08/20/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies worldwide. Although the standard of care in pancreatic cancer has improved, prognoses for patients remain poor with a 5-year survival rate of < 5%. Angiogenesis, namely, the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing vessels, is an important event in tumor growth and hematogenous metastasis. It is a dynamic and complex process involving multiple mechanisms and is regulated by various molecules. Inhibition of angiogenesis has been an established therapeutic strategy for many solid tumors. However, clinical outcomes are far from satisfying for pancreatic cancer patients receiving anti-angiogenic therapies. In this review, we summarize the current status of angiogenesis in pancreatic cancer research and explore the reasons for the poor efficacy of anti-angiogenic therapies, aiming to identify some potential therapeutic targets that may enhance the effectiveness of anti-angiogenic treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuo Li
- Department of Pancreatic & Hepatobiliary Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, No. 270 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Hua-Xiang Xu
- Department of Pancreatic & Hepatobiliary Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, No. 270 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Chun-Tao Wu
- Department of Pancreatic & Hepatobiliary Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, No. 270 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Wen-Quan Wang
- Department of Pancreatic & Hepatobiliary Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, No. 270 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Wei Jin
- Department of Pancreatic & Hepatobiliary Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, No. 270 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - He-Li Gao
- Department of Pancreatic & Hepatobiliary Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, No. 270 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Hao Li
- Department of Pancreatic & Hepatobiliary Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, No. 270 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Shi-Rong Zhang
- Department of Pancreatic & Hepatobiliary Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, No. 270 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Jin-Zhi Xu
- Department of Pancreatic & Hepatobiliary Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, No. 270 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Zi-Hao Qi
- Department of Pancreatic & Hepatobiliary Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, No. 270 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Quan-Xing Ni
- Department of Pancreatic & Hepatobiliary Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, No. 270 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Xian-Jun Yu
- Department of Pancreatic & Hepatobiliary Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, No. 270 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China.
- Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
- Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai, 200032, China.
- Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
| | - Liang Liu
- Department of Pancreatic & Hepatobiliary Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, No. 270 Dong An Road, Shanghai, 200032, China.
- Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
- Shanghai Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Shanghai, 200032, China.
- Pancreatic Cancer Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China.
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15
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Wu P, Wu D, Zhao L, Huang L, Shen G, Huang J, Chai Y. Prognostic role of STAT3 in solid tumors: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Oncotarget 2017; 7:19863-83. [PMID: 26959884 PMCID: PMC4991424 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.7887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2015] [Accepted: 02/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Accumulated studies have provided controversial evidences of the association between signal transducer and activator of transcription proteins 3 (STAT3) expression and survival of human solid tumors. To address this inconsistency, we performed a meta-analysis with 63 studies identified from PubMed, Medline and EBSCO. We found STAT3 overexpression was significantly associated with worse 3-year overall survival (OS) (OR = 2.06, 95% CI = 1.57 to 2.71, P < 0.00001) and 5-year OS (OR = 2.00, 95% CI = 1.53 to 2.63, P < 0.00001) of human solid tumors. Similar results were observed when disease free survival (DFS) were analyzed. Subgroup analysis showed that elevated STAT3 expression was associated with poor prognosis of gastric cancer, lung cancer, gliomas, hepatic cancer, osteosarcoma, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer but better prognosis of breast cancer. The correlation between STAT3 and survival of solid tumors was related to its phosphorylated state. High expression level of STAT3 was also associated with advanced tumor stage. In conclusion, elevated STAT3 expression is associated with poor survival in most solid tumors. STAT3 is a valuable biomarker for prognosis prediction and a promising therapeutic target in human solid tumors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pin Wu
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China.,Cancer Institute, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Dang Wu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China.,Cancer Institute, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Lufeng Zhao
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Lijian Huang
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Gang Shen
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Jian Huang
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China.,Cancer Institute, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
| | - Ying Chai
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China
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16
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Li B, Huang C. Regulation of EMT by STAT3 in gastrointestinal cancer (Review). Int J Oncol 2017; 50:753-767. [PMID: 28098855 DOI: 10.3892/ijo.2017.3846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2016] [Accepted: 11/10/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Gastrointestinal (GI) cancer is characterized by its aggressiveness and tendency to metastasize at early stage. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), commonly known as the preparing step of metastasis, may account for the aggressive phenotype of GI cancer cells. The process of EMT is finely orchestrated by multiple layers of regulators. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is a transcription factor constitutively activated in diverse malignancies. Recent studies have suggested an involvement of STAT3 in GI cancer EMT. In this review, we first take an insight into the oncogenic functions of STAT3 in GI cancer, and then summarize the possible mechanisms by which STAT3 regulates the EMT process. Through the extensive interactions with EMT-inducing transcription factors and non-coding RNAs, and crosstalk with other signaling pathways, STAT3 has been demonstrated to promote the mesenchymal and invasive phenotype of GI cancer, which provides rationales for specifically targeting STAT3 to prevent and reverse the progression of GI cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Li
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200080, P.R. China
| | - Chen Huang
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200080, P.R. China
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17
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Kasiappan R, Jutooru I, Karki K, Hedrick E, Safe S. Benzyl Isothiocyanate (BITC) Induces Reactive Oxygen Species-dependent Repression of STAT3 Protein by Down-regulation of Specificity Proteins in Pancreatic Cancer. J Biol Chem 2016; 291:27122-27133. [PMID: 27875298 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m116.746339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2016] [Revised: 11/08/2016] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The antineoplastic agent benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) acts by targeting multiple pro-oncogenic pathways/genes, including signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3); however, the mechanism of action is not well known. As reported previously, BITC induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) in Panc1, MiaPaCa2, and L3.6pL pancreatic cancer cells. This was accompanied by induction of apoptosis and inhibition of cell growth and migration, and these responses were attenuated in cells cotreated with BITC plus glutathione (GSH). BITC also decreased expression of specificity proteins (Sp) Sp1, Sp3, and Sp4 transcription factors (TFs) and several pro-oncogenic Sp-regulated genes, including STAT3 and phospho-STAT3 (pSTAT3), and GSH attenuated these responses. Knockdown of Sp TFs by RNA interference also decreased STAT3/pSTAT3 expression. BITC-induced ROS activated a cascade of events that included down-regulation of c-Myc, and it was also demonstrated that c-Myc knockdown decreased expression of Sp TFs and STAT3 These results demonstrate that in pancreatic cancer cells, STAT3 is an Sp-regulated gene that can be targeted by BITC and other ROS inducers, thereby identifying a novel therapeutic approach for targeting STAT3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravi Kasiappan
- From the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-4466
| | - Indira Jutooru
- From the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-4466
| | - Keshav Karki
- From the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-4466
| | - Erik Hedrick
- From the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-4466
| | - Stephen Safe
- From the Department of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-4466
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18
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Bharadwaj U, Kasembeli MM, Tweardy DJ. STAT3 Inhibitors in Cancer: A Comprehensive Update. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-42949-6_5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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19
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Wang XY, Wang LL, Zheng X, Meng LN, Lyu B, Jin HF. Expression of p-STAT3 and vascular endothelial growth factor in MNNG-induced precancerous lesions and gastric tumors in rats. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2016; 8:305-313. [PMID: 26989466 PMCID: PMC4789616 DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v8.i3.305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2015] [Revised: 11/14/2015] [Accepted: 01/22/2016] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
AIM: To investigate the dynamic expression of p-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the formation of gastric tumors induced by drinking water containing N-methyl-N’-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) in Wistar rats.
METHODS: One hundred and twenty Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups (60 in each group): Control group and Model group. The rats in each group were then randomly divided into three groups (20 in each group): C/M15, C/M25 and C/M40 (15, 25 and 40 represent the number of feeding weeks from termination). Rats in the control group received normal drinking water and rats in the model group received drinking water containing 100 μg/mL MNNG. Stomach tissues were collected at the end of the 15th, 25th and 40th week, respectively, for microscopic measurement using hematoxylin and eosin staining. The expression of p-STAT3 and VEGF in different pathological types of gastric tissue, including normal, inflammation, atrophy, hyperplasia and gastric stromal tumor, was observed by immunohistochemistry and Western blot, and the corelation between p-STAT3 and VEGF was analyzed.
RESULTS: (1) The expression of p-STAT3 in tissue with gastritis, atrophy, dysplasia and gastric stromal tumor were significantly increased in the model group compared with the control group (2.5 ± 1.0, 2.75 ± 0.36, 6.2 ± 0.45, 5.67 ± 0.55 vs 0.75 ± 0.36, P = 0.026, 0.035, 0.001, 0.002, respectively); the expression of p-STAT3 in tissue with dysplasia was higher than that in samples with gastritis or atrophy (6.2 ± 0.45 vs 2.5 ± 1.0, P = 0.006; 6.2 ± 0.45 vs 2.75 ± 0.36, P = 0.005, respectively); however, the expression of p-STAT3 in gastritis and atrophy was not significantly different (P > 0.05); (2) the expression of VEGF in tissue with gastritis, atrophy, dysplasia and gastric stromal tumor was significantly increased in the model group compared with normal gastric mucosa; and the expression of VEGF in tissue with dysplasia was higher than that in tissue with inflammation and atrophy (10.8 ± 1.96 vs 7.62 ± 0.25, P = 0.029; 10.8 ± 1.96 vs 6.26 ± 0.76, P = 0.033, respectively); similarly, the expression of VEGF in tissue with gastritis and atrophy was not significantly different (P > 0.05); and (3) the expression of VEGF was positively correlated with p-STAT3.
CONCLUSION: p-STAT3 plays an important role in gastric cancer formation by regulating the expression of VEGF to promote the progression of gastric tumor from gastritis.
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20
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Zhou C, Kang J, Wang X, Wei W, Jiang W. Phage display screening identifies a novel peptide to suppress ovarian cancer cells in vitro and in vivo in mouse models. BMC Cancer 2015; 15:889. [PMID: 26555399 PMCID: PMC4641363 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-015-1891-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2015] [Accepted: 11/01/2015] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Ovarian cancer is a possibly lethal gynecological malignancy and this study utilized phage display technology to screen and identify peptides that specifically bind to ovarian cancer cells and explored the effects of these peptides on ovarian cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Methods The phage displayed peptide library was used to isolate the peptides binding to and internalizing into the ovarian carcinoma cells. Positive phage clones were characterized with DNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis and then validated with immunofluorescence. Subsequently, the selected peptides were investigated for their cancer-related functions, including cell adhesion, spreading, motility, and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Results Peptide1 read as SWQIGGNwas the positive peptide and showed preferential binding to the target cells. Peptide 1 also inhibited cell proliferation, migration, invasion and adhesion of ovarian cancer HO8910 cells in vitro. In vivo, Peptide 1 led to a lower tumorigenicity of HO8910 cells, which was characterized by the inhibitory effect on tumor growth and metastasis of ovarian cells. Conclusion These studies demonstrate that the phage display-identified tumor cell-binding peptide was able to control ovarian cancer cell viability, migration, invasion, and adhesion capacity in vitro as well as tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Future studies will be aimed at evaluating the clinical efficacy of the peptide SWQIGGN in ovarian cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cong Zhou
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Maternity and Children's Healthcare Hospital of Foshan, Foshan, 528000, Guangdong, China.
| | - Jiali Kang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510180, China.
| | - Xiaoxia Wang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510180, China.
| | - Wei Wei
- Foshan Hospital of TCM, Foushan, 52800, China.
| | - Wenyan Jiang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Guangzhou First People's Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 510180, China.
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21
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Li MX, Bi XY, Huang Z, Zhao JJ, Han Y, Li ZY, Zhang YF, Li Y, Chen X, Hu XH, Zhao H, Cai JQ. Prognostic Role of Phospho-STAT3 in Patients with Cancers of the Digestive System: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0127356. [PMID: 26024373 PMCID: PMC4449159 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0127356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2014] [Accepted: 04/14/2015] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The definite prognostic role of p-STAT3 has not been well defined. We performed a meta-analysis evaluating the prognostic role of p-STAT3 expression in patients with digestive system cancers. METHODS We searched the available articles reporting the prognostic value of p-STAT3 in patients with cancers of the digestive system, mainly including colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, esophagus cancer and pancreatic cancer. The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CIs) of overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were used to assess the prognostic role of p-STAT3 expression level in cancer tissues. And the association between p-STAT3 expression and clinicopathological characteristics was evaluated. RESULTS A total of 22 studies with 3585 patients were finally enrolled in the meta-analysis. The results showed that elevated p-STAT3 expression level predicted inferior OS (HR = 1.809, 95% CI: 1.442-2.270, P < 0.001) and DFS (HR = 1.481, 95% CI: 1.028-2.133, P = 0.035) in patients with malignant cancers of the digestive system. Increased expression of p-STAT3 is significantly related with tumor cell differentiation (Odds ratio (OR) = 1.895, 95% CI: 1.364-2.632, P < 0.001) and lymph node metastases (OR = 2.108, 95% CI: 1.104-4.024, P = 0.024). Sensitivity analysis suggested that the pooled HR was stable and omitting a single study did not change the significance of the pooled HR. Funnel plots and Egger's tests revealed there was no significant publication bias in the meta-analysis. CONCLUSION Phospho-STAT3 might be a prognostic factor of patients with digestive system cancers. More well designed studies with adequate follow-up are needed to gain a thorough understanding of the prognostic role of p-STAT3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mu-xing Li
- Department of Abdominal Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (CAMS & PUMC), NO.17, Panjiayuan Nanli, Beijing, 100021, P. R. China
| | - Xin-yu Bi
- Department of Abdominal Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (CAMS & PUMC), NO.17, Panjiayuan Nanli, Beijing, 100021, P. R. China
| | - Zhen Huang
- Department of Abdominal Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (CAMS & PUMC), NO.17, Panjiayuan Nanli, Beijing, 100021, P. R. China
| | - Jian-jun Zhao
- Department of Abdominal Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (CAMS & PUMC), NO.17, Panjiayuan Nanli, Beijing, 100021, P. R. China
| | - Yue Han
- Department of Radiofrequency Ablation, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (CAMS & PUMC), NO.17, Panjiayuan Nanli, Beijing, 100021, P. R. China
| | - Zhi-yu Li
- Department of Abdominal Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (CAMS & PUMC), NO.17, Panjiayuan Nanli, Beijing, 100021, P. R. China
| | - Ye-fan Zhang
- Department of Abdominal Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (CAMS & PUMC), NO.17, Panjiayuan Nanli, Beijing, 100021, P. R. China
| | - Yuan Li
- Department of Abdominal Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (CAMS & PUMC), NO.17, Panjiayuan Nanli, Beijing, 100021, P. R. China
| | - Xiao Chen
- Department of Abdominal Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (CAMS & PUMC), NO.17, Panjiayuan Nanli, Beijing, 100021, P. R. China
| | - Xu-hui Hu
- Department of Abdominal Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (CAMS & PUMC), NO.17, Panjiayuan Nanli, Beijing, 100021, P. R. China
| | - Hong Zhao
- Department of Abdominal Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (CAMS & PUMC), NO.17, Panjiayuan Nanli, Beijing, 100021, P. R. China
| | - Jian-qiang Cai
- Department of Abdominal Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College (CAMS & PUMC), NO.17, Panjiayuan Nanli, Beijing, 100021, P. R. China
- * E-mail:
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22
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Pandol SJ, Edderkaoui M. What are the macrophages and stellate cells doing in pancreatic adenocarcinoma? Front Physiol 2015; 6:125. [PMID: 26029109 PMCID: PMC4432577 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2015.00125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2015] [Accepted: 04/07/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is a devastating disease characterized by a dense desmoplastic stroma. Chemo- and radio-therapeutic strategies based on targeting cancer cells have failed in improving the outcome of this cancer suggesting important roles for stroma in therapy resistance. Cells in the tumor stroma have been shown to regulate proliferation, resistance to apoptosis and treatments, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stemness of cancer cells. Stellate cells in their activated state have been thought over the past decade to only have tumor promoting roles. However, recent findings suggest that stellate cells may have protective roles as well. The present review highlights the latest findings on the role of two major components of tumor stroma, pancreatic stellate cells and macrophages, in promoting or inhibiting pancreatic cancer, focused on their effects on EMT and cancer stemness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen J Pandol
- Departments of Medicine and Biological Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles, CA, USA ; Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System and University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Mouad Edderkaoui
- Departments of Medicine and Biological Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Los Angeles, CA, USA ; Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System and University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA, USA
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23
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Yan LI, Li LI, Li Q, DI W, Shen W, Zhang L, Guo H. Expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 and its phosphorylated form is significantly upregulated in patients with papillary thyroid cancer. Exp Ther Med 2015; 9:2195-2201. [PMID: 26136959 DOI: 10.3892/etm.2015.2409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2014] [Accepted: 04/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to investigate the expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3) in tissues of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) in comparison with the expression in adjacent normal tissues. The expression of STAT3, pSTAT3, fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) and vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) was examined in tissues of 42 cases of PTC and the adjacent normal tissues of 20 of the 42 PTC cases using immunohistochemistry and western blotting. The association between the expression levels and the clinicopathological features was analyzed. The expression of STAT3, pSTAT3, FGF2 and VEGF-C in the PTC tissues (76.2, 42.9, 81.0 and 73.8%, respectively) was significantly higher than that in the normal tissues (P<0.05). In the PTC tissues, the expression of STAT3 was linearly correlated with the levels of pSTAT3 and VEGF-C (P<0.05). In conclusion, STAT3 and pSTAT3 are significantly upregulated in PTC tissues, and may potentially be used as markers to screen for PTC with lymph node metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- L I Yan
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The Second Hospital Affiliated to Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050000, P.R. China
| | - L I Li
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050071, P.R. China
| | - Qinghuai Li
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The Second Hospital Affiliated to Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050000, P.R. China
| | - Wang DI
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The Second Hospital Affiliated to Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050000, P.R. China
| | - Wei Shen
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The Second Hospital Affiliated to Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050000, P.R. China
| | - Linlei Zhang
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The Second Hospital Affiliated to Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050000, P.R. China
| | - Hao Guo
- Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The Second Hospital Affiliated to Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050000, P.R. China
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Magnetic nanosphere-guided site-specific delivery of vascular endothelial growth factor gene attenuates restenosis in rabbit balloon-injured artery. J Vasc Surg 2015; 63:226-33.e1. [PMID: 25595406 DOI: 10.1016/j.jvs.2014.11.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2014] [Accepted: 11/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE New and efficient strategies to protect endothelium or to enhance endothelial regrowth are important for treatment of restenosis after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. Magnetic DNA microspheres are used to accelerate vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) re-endothelialization and to attenuate intimal hyperplasia in balloon-injured artery. This study aimed to assess DNA-gelatin magnetic nanospheres containing VEGF expression plasmids in vascular restenosis attenuation. METHODS Ninety-six rabbits underwent balloon injury and were randomly divided for gene transfer with naked VEGF plasmids (NAK group), magnetic VEGF microspheres (MIC group), and LacZ (CON group: naked LacZ plasmid and LacZ nanosphere subgroups). Serum and tissue VEGF levels were measured. Also, the ratios of intima area to media area were determined to assess neointima formation. RESULTS Microsphere gene delivery through the artery by a magnet resulted in VEGF overexpression in transfected arterial segments. Tissue VEGF integral optical densities were significantly increased in MIC rabbits compared with NAK animals. Serum VEGF was below detection in all animals. X-Gal staining showed higher transfection efficiency in the CON group. The impact of neointimal thickening was evaluated by light microscopy as the ratio of intima area to media area in cross sections. Significant differences in the ratio of intima area to media area were obtained between the NAK group (0.12 ± 0.02, 0.41 ± 0.03, 0.61 ± 0.05, and 0.72 ± 0.04 at 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks, respectively) and the MIC group (0.06 ± 0.03, 0.20 ± 0.05, 0.25 ± 0.04, and 0.26 ± 0.03 at 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks, respectively) at 2, 3, and 4 weeks (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS Intra-arterial VEGF gene delivery by magnetic microspheres significantly increased DNA stability, transfection efficiency, and targeting specificity, resulting in exogenous VEGF overexpression and attenuated intimal hyperplasia in balloon-injured artery.
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Markowitz J, Brooks TR, Duggan MC, Paul BK, Pan X, Wei L, Abrams Z, Luedke E, Lesinski GB, Mundy-Bosse B, Bekaii-Saab T, Carson WE. Patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma exhibit elevated levels of myeloid-derived suppressor cells upon progression of disease. Cancer Immunol Immunother 2014; 64:149-59. [PMID: 25305035 DOI: 10.1007/s00262-014-1618-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 93] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2014] [Accepted: 09/26/2014] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Elevated levels of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) induced by tumor-derived factors are associated with inhibition of immune responses in patients with gastrointestinal malignancies. We hypothesized that pro-MDSC cytokines and levels of MDSC in the peripheral blood would be elevated in pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients with progressive disease. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from 16 pancreatic cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and phenotyped for MDSC using a five antigen panel (CD33, HLA-DR, CD11b, CD14, CD15). Patients with stable disease had significantly lower MDSC levels in the peripheral blood than those with progressive disease (1.41 ± 1.12 vs. 5.14 ± 4.58 %, p = 0.013, Wilcoxon test). A cutoff of 2.5 % MDSC identified patients with progressive disease. Patients with ECOG performance status ≥2 had a weaker association with increased levels of MDSC. Plasma was obtained from 15 chemonaive patients, 13 patients undergoing chemotherapy and 9 normal donors. Increases in the levels of pro-MDSC cytokines were observed for pancreatic cancer patients versus controls, and the pro-MDSC cytokine IL-6 was increased in those patients undergoing chemotherapy. This study suggests that MDSC in peripheral blood may be a predictive biomarker of chemotherapy failure in pancreatic cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Markowitz
- Division of Medical Oncology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
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Georgiadou D, Sergentanis T, Sakellariou S, Filippakis G, Zagouri F, Vlachodimitropoulos D, Psaltopoulou T, Lazaris A, Patsouris E, Zografos G. VEGF and Id-1 in pancreatic adenocarcinoma: Prognostic significance and impact on angiogenesis. Eur J Surg Oncol 2014; 40:1331-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejso.2014.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2013] [Revised: 11/29/2013] [Accepted: 01/04/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
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Wang YX, Cai H, Jiang G, Zhou TB, Wu H. Silibinin Inhibits Proliferation, Induces Apoptosis and Causes Cell Cycle Arrest in Human Gastric Cancer MGC803 Cells Via STAT3 Pathway Inhibition. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 2014; 15:6791-8. [DOI: 10.7314/apjcp.2014.15.16.6791] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
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Shin D, Arthur G, Popescu M, Korkin D, Shyu CR. Uncovering influence links in molecular knowledge networks to streamline personalized medicine. J Biomed Inform 2014; 52:394-405. [PMID: 25150201 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbi.2014.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2014] [Revised: 08/04/2014] [Accepted: 08/08/2014] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We developed Resource Description Framework (RDF)-induced InfluGrams (RIIG) - an informatics formalism to uncover complex relationships among biomarker proteins and biological pathways using the biomedical knowledge bases. We demonstrate an application of RIIG in morphoproteomics, a theranostic technique aimed at comprehensive analysis of protein circuitries to design effective therapeutic strategies in personalized medicine setting. METHODS RIIG uses an RDF "mashup" knowledge base that integrates publicly available pathway and protein data with ontologies. To mine for RDF-induced Influence Links, RIIG introduces notions of RDF relevancy and RDF collider, which mimic conditional independence and "explaining away" mechanism in probabilistic systems. Using these notions and constraint-based structure learning algorithms, the formalism generates the morphoproteomic diagrams, which we call InfluGrams, for further analysis by experts. RESULTS RIIG was able to recover up to 90% of predefined influence links in a simulated environment using synthetic data and outperformed a naïve Monte Carlo sampling of random links. In clinical cases of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and Mesenchymal Chondrosarcoma, a significant level of concordance between the RIIG-generated and expert-built morphoproteomic diagrams was observed. In a clinical case of Squamous Cell Carcinoma, RIIG allowed selection of alternative therapeutic targets, the validity of which was supported by a systematic literature review. We have also illustrated an ability of RIIG to discover novel influence links in the general case of the ALL. CONCLUSIONS Applications of the RIIG formalism demonstrated its potential to uncover patient-specific complex relationships among biological entities to find effective drug targets in a personalized medicine setting. We conclude that RIIG provides an effective means not only to streamline morphoproteomic studies, but also to bridge curated biomedical knowledge and causal reasoning with the clinical data in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitriy Shin
- University of Missouri, School of Medicine, Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, Columbia, MO 65212, United States; University of Missouri, Graduate School, MU Informatics Institute, Columbia, MO 65211, United States.
| | - Gerald Arthur
- University of Missouri, School of Medicine, Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, Columbia, MO 65212, United States; University of Missouri, Graduate School, MU Informatics Institute, Columbia, MO 65211, United States
| | - Mihail Popescu
- University of Missouri, School of Medicine, Department of Health Management and Informatics, Columbia, MO 65212, United States; University of Missouri, Graduate School, MU Informatics Institute, Columbia, MO 65211, United States; University of Missouri, College of Engineering, Department of Computer Science, Columbia, MO 65211, United States
| | - Dmitry Korkin
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Department of Computer Science, Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Department of Applied Math, Worcester, MA 01609, United States
| | - Chi-Ren Shyu
- University of Missouri, Graduate School, MU Informatics Institute, Columbia, MO 65211, United States; University of Missouri, College of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Columbia, MO 65211, United States
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Taniguchi K, Karin M. IL-6 and related cytokines as the critical lynchpins between inflammation and cancer. Semin Immunol 2014; 26:54-74. [PMID: 24552665 DOI: 10.1016/j.smim.2014.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 490] [Impact Index Per Article: 49.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2013] [Accepted: 01/06/2014] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Inflammatory responses play pivotal roles in cancer development, including tumor initiation, promotion, progression, and metastasis. Cytokines are now recognized as important mediators linking inflammation and cancer, and are therefore potential therapeutic and preventive targets as well as prognostic factors. The interleukin (IL)-6 family of cytokines, especially IL-6 and IL-11, is highly up-regulated in many cancers and considered as one of the most important cytokine families during tumorigenesis and metastasis. This review discusses molecular mechanisms linking the IL-6 cytokine family to solid malignancies and their treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Koji Taniguchi
- Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction, Departments of Pharmacology and Pathology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Department of Surgery and Science, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinano-machi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Michael Karin
- Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction, Departments of Pharmacology and Pathology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
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Gurbuz V, Konac E, Varol N, Yilmaz A, Gurocak S, Menevse S, Sozen S. Effects of AG490 and S3I-201 on regulation of the JAK/STAT3 signaling pathway in relation to angiogenesis in TRAIL-resistant prostate cancer cells in vitro.. Oncol Lett 2014; 7:755-763. [PMID: 24520293 PMCID: PMC3919920 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2014.1795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2013] [Accepted: 12/20/2013] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to analyze the molecular mechanisms involved in blocking the signaling pathway and the effects of this on the progression of prostate cancer (CaP) cells in vitro. LNCaP human CaP cell line was stimulated with interleukin-6 (IL-6) in the presence/absence of Janus kinase (JAK) 2 (AG490), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 [(STAT3) S3I-201] inhibitors and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL). Cytotoxic activity, the activation of phosphorylated (p)-STAT3 protein, caspase (CASP) 3 activity at protein level, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) A, VEGFC, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2, STAT3, matrix metalloproteinase-2, myeloid cell leukemia sequence 1 (MCL-1), CASP8 and CASP9 messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were determined. Morphology and apoptosis were confirmed by DAPI staining and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay. IL-6 rapidly induced the phosphorylation of STAT3 in a dose- and time-dependent manner with a peak expression at 3 h at a concentration of 25 ng/ml. In addition, AG490 (50 μM) and S3I-201 (300 μM) inhibited STAT3 activation. Western blotting results revealed that p-STAT3 protein expression decreased significantly with AG490 and S3I-201 treatment in LNCaP cells. AG490 and S3I-201 induced the downregulation of VEGFA, MCL-1 and STAT3 and the upregulation of CASP8 and CASP9 mRNA transcription levels. In addition, the inhibitors increased the level of CASP3 protein. Combinations of AG490- and S3I-201-TRAIL did not result in an increase in this effect. Parallel results were found by DAPI staining and TUNEL assay. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the possible clinical use of AG490 or S3I-201, together with the reduced use of chemotherapeutic agents with high cytotoxicity, for their ability to exert an apoptotic effect, targeting the JAK/STAT3 pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Venhar Gurbuz
- Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara 06500, Turkey ; Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Hacettepe University Ankara, Ankara 06100, Turkey
| | - Ece Konac
- Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara 06500, Turkey
| | - Nuray Varol
- Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara 06500, Turkey
| | - Akin Yilmaz
- Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara 06500, Turkey
| | - Serhat Gurocak
- Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara 06500, Turkey ; Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara 06500, Turkey
| | - Sevda Menevse
- Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara 06500, Turkey
| | - Sinan Sozen
- Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara 06500, Turkey
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Huang C, Du J, Xie K. FOXM1 and its oncogenic signaling in pancreatic cancer pathogenesis. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 2014; 1845:104-16. [PMID: 24418574 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2014.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2013] [Revised: 12/30/2013] [Accepted: 01/03/2014] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer is a devastating disease with an overall 5-year survival rate less than 5%. Multiple signaling pathways are implicated in the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer, such as Wnt/β-catenin, Notch, Hedgehog, hypoxia-inducible factor, signal transducer and activator of transcription, specificity proteins/Krüppel-like factors, and Forkhead box (FOX). Recently, increasing evidence has demonstrated that the transcription factor FOXM1 plays important roles in the initiation, progression, and metastasis of a variety of human tumors, including pancreatic cancer. In this review, we focus on the current understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer with a special focus on the function and regulation of FOXM1 and rationale for FOXM1 as a novel molecular target for pancreatic cancer prevention and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Huang
- Department of General Surgery, Shanghai Jiaotong University Affiliated First People's Hospital, Shanghai, People's Republic of China; Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
| | - Jiawei Du
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Zhenjiang Second People's Hospital, Jiangsu University College of Medicine, Zhenjiang, People's Republic of China
| | - Keping Xie
- Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
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Zhi X, Tao J, Xie K, Zhu Y, Li Z, Tang J, Wang W, Xu H, Zhang J, Xu Z. MUC4-induced nuclear translocation of β-catenin: a novel mechanism for growth, metastasis and angiogenesis in pancreatic cancer. Cancer Lett 2013; 346:104-13. [PMID: 24374017 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2013.12.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2013] [Revised: 11/22/2013] [Accepted: 12/13/2013] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The membrane mucin MUC4 is aberrantly expressed in multiple cancers and is of clinical significance to diagnosis and prognosis in pancreatic cancer. However, the role of MUC4 in angiogenesis and the potential association among these malignant capabilities have not been explored. In this study, we investigated the collective signaling mechanisms associated with MUC4-induced growth, metastasis and angiogenesis in pancreatic cancer. Knockdown of MUC4 in two pancreatic cancer cell lines led to downregulation of lysosomal degradation of E-cadherin by Src kinase through downregulation of pFAK and pSrc pathway. The downregulation of lysosomal degradation of E-cadherin in turn induced the formation of E-cadherin/β-catenin complex and membrane translocation of β-catenin, resulting in the downregulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Thus, the Wnt/β-catenin target genes c-Myc, Cyclin D1, CD44 and VEGF were down-regulated and their malignant functions proliferation, metastasis and angiogenesis were reduced. Taken together, MUC4-induced nuclear translocation of β-catenin is a novel mechanism for growth, metastasis and angiogenesis of pancreatic cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaofei Zhi
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Jinqiu Tao
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Kunling Xie
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Yi Zhu
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Zheng Li
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Jie Tang
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Weizhi Wang
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Hao Xu
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Jingjing Zhang
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China
| | - Zekuan Xu
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, China.
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Koperek O, Aumayr K, Schindl M, Werba G, Soleiman A, Schoppmann S, Sahora K, Birner P. Phosphorylation of STAT3 correlates with HER2 status, but not with survival in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. APMIS 2013; 122:476-81. [PMID: 24164699 DOI: 10.1111/apm.12194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2013] [Accepted: 07/30/2013] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Activation of signal-transcriptional factor signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is associated with more aggressive behaviour in a variety of human malignancies. As selective STAT3 inhibitors exist, this protein might represent a novel therapeutic target. Although STAT3 seems to play an important role in progression of pancreatic ductal carcinoma (PDAC), only few data on this subject exist. The aim of our study was the investigation of STAT3 activation and its correlation with its possible regulator HER2. Expression of tyrosine-705 phosphorylated STAT3 (pSTAT3) was determined immunohistochemically in 79 PDACs. HER2 status assessed by immunohistochemistry and double colour silver in situ hybridization was available from a previous study. PSTAT3 expression was seen in 33 (41.8%) patients. Six patients were scored as HER2 positive having strong correlation with pSTAT3 expression (p = 0.004, Fisher's exact test). No association of pSTAT3 expression with patients' age, tumour staging and grading, perineural invasion of tumour cells or survival time was seen. pSTAT3 is frequently expressed in PDAC. Nevertheless, its immediate clinical relevance seems to be low. However, further research needs to determine whether STAT3 status in PDAC is predictive for the response to novel targeting therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oskar Koperek
- Department of Pathology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna
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Zhou XD, Chen HX, Guan RN, Lei YP, Shu X, Zhu Y, Lv NH. Protein kinase B phosphorylation correlates with vascular endothelial growth factor A and microvessel density in gastric adenocarcinoma. J Int Med Res 2013; 40:2124-34. [PMID: 23321169 DOI: 10.1177/030006051204000610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The signalling molecule protein kinase B (Akt) modulates many cellular processes. Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signalling pathways play important roles in tumour angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to determine the role of phosphorylated Akt (pAkt) in angiogenesis and its correlation with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A in gastric adenocarcinoma. METHODS Tumour tissue and matched healthy gastric mucosa were obtained from patients undergoing surgical resection of gastric adenocarcinoma. Akt and pAkt were detected via Western blotting. VEGF-A, pAkt and CD34 were examined by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS Akt and pAkt protein levels were significantly higher in gastric cancer tissue than in normal tissue (n = 48 patients). Positive VEGF-A immunostaining was significantly associated with pAkt immunostaining. Microvessel density was correlated with both VEGF-A and pAkt positivity. CONCLUSIONS Phosphorylated Akt and VEGF-A are involved in angiogenesis of gastric adenocarcinoma, and Akt activation may contribute to angiogenesis via VEGF-A upregulation. The PI3K/Akt/VEGF signalling pathway may be involved in gastric adeno carcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- X D Zhou
- Department of Gastroenterology, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
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Lu SM, Chen MR, Xuan JY, Liu LN, Lv S, Li Y. Relationship between STAT3 activation and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in gastric carcinoma. Shijie Huaren Xiaohua Zazhi 2013; 21:2748-2753. [DOI: 10.11569/wcjd.v21.i26.2748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
AIM: To detect the expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and phosphorylated STAT3 (p-STAT3) in gastric carcinoma (GC) and to analyze their relationship with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), tumor invasion and metastasis.
METHODS: The expression of STAT3, p-STAT3, E-cadherin and Vimentin proteins in 53 GC specimens and matched normal gastric mucosal specimens was detected by immunohistochemistry. The correlation of expression of STAT3, p-STAT3, E-cadherin and Vimentin proteins with clinicopathological parameters of GC was analyzed.
RESULTS: The positive rates of STAT3, p-STAT3 and Vimentin expression were significantly higher and that of E-cadherin was significantly lower in GC than that in normal gastric mucosal tissues (all P < 0.01). The expression of STAT3, p-STAT3, E-cadherin and Vimentin proteins was significantly correlated with tumor differentiation, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis and clinical stage (all P < 0.05), but not with gender, age, tumor size (all P > 0.05). STAT3 and p-STAT3 expression was negatively correlated with E-cadherin expression (r = -0.360, -0.335; P = 0.008, 0.014), but positively with Vimentin expression (r = 0.443, 0.346; P = 0.001, 0.011) in GC.
CONCLUSION: STAT3 and p-STAT3 protein expression is up-regulated in GC, and up-regulation of STAT3 and p-STAT3 protein expression in GC is significantly correlated with E-cadherin and Vimentin expression. These findings suggest that EMT may be mediated by the activation of the STAT3 signaling pathway.
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Ahluwalia A, Jones MK, Szabo S, Tarnawski AS. Aberrant, ectopic expression of VEGF and VEGF receptors 1 and 2 in malignant colonic epithelial cells. Implications for these cells growth via an autocrine mechanism. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2013; 437:515-20. [PMID: 23831629 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2013.06.096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2013] [Accepted: 06/25/2013] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Vascular endothelial growth factor A (referred to as VEGF) is implicated in colon cancer growth. Currently, the main accepted mechanism by which VEGF promotes colon cancer growth is via the stimulation of angiogenesis, which was originally postulated by late Judah Folkman. However, the cellular source of VEGF in colon cancer tissue; and, the expression of VEGF and its receptors VEGF-R1 and VEGF-R2 in colon cancer cells are not fully known and are subjects of controversy. MATERIAL AND METHODS We examined and quantified expression of VEGF, VEGF-R1 and VEGF-R2 in three different human colonic tissue arrays containing sections of adenocarcinoma (n=43) and normal mucosa (n = 41). In human colon cancer cell lines HCT116 and HT29 and normal colon cell lines NCM356 and NCM460, we examined expression of VEGF, VEGF-R1 and VEGF-R2 mRNA and protein, VEGF production and secretion into the culture medium; and, the effect of a potent, selective inhibitor of VEGF receptors, AL-993, on cell proliferation. RESULTS Human colorectal cancer specimens had strong expression of VEGF in cancer cells and also expressed VEGF-R1 and VEGF-R2.In vitro studies showed that human colon cancer cell lines, HCT116 and HT29, but not normal colonic cell lines, express VEGF, VEGF-R1 and VEGF-R2 and secrete VEGF into the medium up to a concentration 2000 pg/ml within 48 h. Furthermore, we showed that inhibition of VEGF receptors using a specific VEGF-R inhibitor significantly reduced proliferation (by >50%) of cultured colon cancer cell lines. CONCLUSIONS Our findings support the contention that VEGF generated by colon cancer cells stimulates their growth directly through an autocrine mechanism that is independent of its primary function in the induction of angiogenesis.
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Mace TA, Ameen Z, Collins A, Wojcik S, Mair M, Young GS, Fuchs JR, Eubank TD, Frankel WL, Bekaii-Saab T, Bloomston M, Lesinski GB. Pancreatic cancer-associated stellate cells promote differentiation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in a STAT3-dependent manner. Cancer Res 2013; 73:3007-18. [PMID: 23514705 DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-12-4601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 348] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Pancreatic stellate cells (PSC) are a subset of pancreatic cancer-associated fibroblasts. These cells provide prosurvival signals to tumors; however, little is known regarding their interactions with immune cells within the tumor microenvironment. We hypothesized that factors produced by human PSC could enhance myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) differentiation and function, which promotes an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Primary PSC cell lines (n = 7) were generated from human specimens and phenotypically confirmed via expression of vimentin, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Luminex analysis indicated that PSC but not human fetal primary pancreatic fibroblast cells (HPF; negative controls) produced MDSC-promoting cytokines [interleukin (IL-6), VEGF, macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) ] and chemokines (SDF-1, MCP-1). Culture of peripheral blood mononuclear cells [peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC), n = 3 donors] with PSC supernatants or IL-6/granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF; positive control) for 7 days promoted PBMC differentiation into an MDSC (CD11b+CD33+) phenotype and a subpopulation of polymorphonuclear CD11b+CD33+CD15+ cells. The resulting CD11b+CD33+ cells functionally suppressed autologous T-lymphocyte proliferation. In contrast, supernatants from HPF did not induce an MDSC phenotype in PBMCs. Culture of normal PBMCs with PSC supernatants led to STAT3 but not STAT1 or STAT5 phosphorylation. IL-6 was an important mediator as its neutralization inhibited PSC supernatant-mediated STAT3 phosphorylation and MDSC differentiation. Finally, the FLLL32 STAT3 inhibitor abrogated PSC supernatant-mediated MDSC differentiation, PSC viability, and reduced autocrine IL-6 production indicating these processes are STAT3 dependent. These results identify a novel role for PSC in driving immune escape in pancreatic cancer and extend the evidence that STAT3 acts as a driver of stromal immunosuppression to enhance its interest as a therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas A Mace
- Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
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Guerra C, Barbacid M. Genetically engineered mouse models of pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Mol Oncol 2013; 7:232-47. [PMID: 23506980 DOI: 10.1016/j.molonc.2013.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2013] [Accepted: 02/14/2013] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal types of human cancer for which there are no effective therapies. Deep sequencing of PDAC tumors has revealed the presence of a high number of mutations (>50) that affect at least a dozen key signaling pathways. This scenario highlights the urgent need to develop experimental models that faithfully reproduce the natural history of these human tumors in order to understand their biology and to design therapeutic approaches that might effectively interfere with their multiple mutated pathways. Over the last decade, several models, primarily based on the genetic activation of resident KRas oncogenes knocked-in within the endogenous KRas locus have been generated. These models faithfully reproduce the histological lesions that characterize human pancreatic tumors. Decoration of these models with additional mutations, primarily involving tumor suppressor loci known to be also mutated in human PDAC tumors, results in accelerated tumor progression and in the induction of invasive and metastatic malignancies. Mouse PDACs also display a desmoplastic stroma and inflammatory responses that closely resemble those observed in human patients. Interestingly, adult mice appear to be resistant to PDAC development unless the animals undergo pancreatic damage, mainly in the form of acute, chronic or even temporary pancreatitis. In this review, we describe the most representative models available to date and how their detailed characterization is allowing us to understand their cellular origin as well as the events involved in tumor progression. Moreover, their molecular dissection is starting to unveil novel therapeutic strategies that could be translated to the clinic in the very near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Guerra
- Molecular Oncology Programme, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas (CNIO), Melchor Fernandez Almagro 3, E-28029 Madrid, Spain.
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Pedersen IH, Willerslev-Olsen A, Vetter-Kauczok C, Krejsgaard T, Lauenborg B, Kopp KL, Geisler C, Bonefeld CM, Zhang Q, Wasik MA, Dabelsteen S, Woetmann A, Becker JC, Odum N. Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 expression in mycosis fungoides. Leuk Lymphoma 2012; 54:819-26. [PMID: 22946664 DOI: 10.3109/10428194.2012.726720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Here, we have studied vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-3 (VEGFR-3) expression in mycosis fungoides (MF), the most common type of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Immunohistochemistry revealed that in two-thirds of 34 patients, VEGFR-3 was expressed in situ by both tumor and stromal cells irrespective of the disease stage. The natural VEGFR-3 ligand, VEGF-C, partially protected malignant T-cell lines from growth inhibition by the histone deacetylase inhibitor, suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA). Whereas the malignant T cells did not produce VEGF-C in vitro, its expression was induced during tumor formation in vivo in a xenograft mouse model of MF. In conclusion, malignant and stromal cells express high levels of VEGFR-3 in all stages of MF. Moreover, malignant T cells trigger enhanced VEGF-C expression in fibroblasts, suggesting that cross-talk between tumor and stromal cells plays a role in lymphangiogenesis and possibly disease progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ida Holst Pedersen
- Department of International Health, Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
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Zhang Y, Liu X, Zhang J, Li L, Liu C. The expression and clinical significance of PI3K, pAkt and VEGF in colon cancer. Oncol Lett 2012. [PMID: 23205098 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2012.822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Background PI3K/Akt signaling has been shown to be activated in a variety of cancers. However, the correlation between Akt activation and VEGF expression is unclear in colon cancer tissues. This study aimed to investigate the expression and predictive value of phosphorylated Akt (pAkt) and VEGF in colon cancer tissues. The expression of PI3K, pAkt and VEGF was detected by immunohistochemical staining in 60 samples of colon cancer tissues and their corresponding adjacent normal colon tissues. In addition, the correlations between the expression levels of the 3 proteins and the clinicopathological parameters of the colon cancer cases were analyzed. The positive rates of PI3K, pAkt and VEGF expression were 71.7% (43/60), 68.3% (41/60) and 61.7% (37/60) in colon cancer, respectively, which were significantly higher than in adjacent normal colon tissues (P<0.001). Correlation analyses showed that PI3K expression was not significantly associated with the gender or age of the patients, tumor size or differentiation (P>0.05), but was closely associated with serous coat infiltration and lymphatic metastasis of colon cancer (P<0.05). Neither pAkt nor VEGF expression were significantly associated with the gender or age of the patients, or tumor differentiation (P>0.05), but were closely associated with tumor size, serous coat infiltration and lymphatic metastasis of colon cancer (P<0.05). In addition, the expression levels of Pl3K and pAkt were positively correlated with that of VEGF in colon cancer tissues (P<0.05). Our data show a positive correlation between PI3K/Akt activation and VEGF expression in colon cancer tissues and indicate that pAkt is an independent prognostic marker for colon cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinxu Zhang
- Department of Pathology, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang 110032; ; Department of Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning Medical University, Jinzhou, Liaoning 121001, P.R. China
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