ANXA1 silencing increases the sensitivity of cancer cells to low-concentration arsenic trioxide treatment by inhibiting ERK MAPK activation

Cracking the code of Annexin A1-mediated chemoresistance

The annexin superfamily protein, Annexin A1, initially recognized for its glucocorticoid-induced phospholipase A2-inhibitory activities, has emerged as a crucial player in diverse cellular processes, including cancer. This review explores the multifaceted roles of Anx-A1 in cancer chemoresistance, an area largely unexplored. Anx-A1's involvement in anti-inflammatory processes, its complex phosphorylation patterns, and its context-dependent switch from anti-to pro-inflammatory in cancer highlights its intricate regulatory mechanisms. Recent studies highlight Anx-A1's paradoxical roles in different cancers, exhibiting both up- and down-regulation in a tissue-specific manner, impacting different hallmark features of cancer. Mechanistically, Anx-A1 modulates drug efflux transporters, influences cancer stem cell populations, DNA damages and participates in epithelial-mesenchymal transition. This review aims to explore Anx-A1's role in chemoresistance-associated pathways across various cancers, elucidating its impact on survival signaling cascades including PI3K/AKT, MAPK/ERK, PKC/JNK/P-gp pathways and NFκ-B signalling. This review also reveals the clinical implications of Anx-A1 dysregulation in treatment response, its potential as a prognostic biomarker, and therapeutic targeting strategies, including the promising Anx-A1 N-terminal mimetic peptide Ac2-26. Understanding Anx-A1's intricate involvement in chemoresistance offers exciting prospects for refining cancer therapies and improving treatment outcomes.

Proteomic analysis of the effects of Dictyophora polysaccharide on arsenic-induced hepatotoxicity in rats

Arsenic (As) is a highly toxic environmental toxicant and a known human carcinogen. Long-term exposure to As can cause liver injury. Dictyophora polysaccharide (DIP) is a biologically active natural compound found in the Dictyophora with excellent antioxidation, anti-inflammation, and immune protection properties. In this study, the Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat model of As toxicity was established using a feeding method, followed by DIP treatment in rats with As-induced liver injury. The molecular mechanisms of As toxicity to the rat liver and the protective effect of DIP were investigated by proteomic studies. The results showed that 172, 328 and 191 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified between the As-exposed rats versus control rats (As/Ctrl), DIP treated rats versus As-exposed rats (DIP+As/As), and DIP treated rats versus control rats (DIP+As /Ctrl), respectively. Among them, the expression of 90 DEPs in the As/Ctrl groups was reversed by DIP treatment. As exposure caused dysregulation of metabolic pathways, mitochondria, oxidative stress, and apoptosis-related proteins in the rat liver. However, DIP treatment changed or restored the levels of these proteins, which attenuated the damage to the livers of rats caused by As exposure. The results provide new insights into the mechanisms of liver injury induced by As exposure and the treatment of DIP in As poisoning.

The Multifaceted Role of Annexin A1 in Viral Infections

Dysregulated inflammatory responses are often correlated with disease severity during viral infections. Annexin A1 (AnxA1) is an endogenous pro-resolving protein that timely regulates inflammation by activating signaling pathways that culminate with the termination of response, clearance of pathogen and restoration of tissue homeostasis. Harnessing the pro-resolution actions of AnxA1 holds promise as a therapeutic strategy to control the severity of the clinical presentation of viral infections. In contrast, AnxA1 signaling might also be hijacked by viruses to promote pathogen survival and replication. Therefore, the role of AnxA1 during viral infections is complex and dynamic. In this review, we provide an in-depth view of the role of AnxA1 during viral infections, from pre-clinical to clinical studies. In addition, this review discusses the therapeutic potential for AnxA1 and AnxA1 mimetics in treating viral infections.

Arsenic trioxide promotes ERK1/2-mediated phosphorylation and degradation of BIMEL to attenuate apoptosis in BEAS-2B cells

Inorganic arsenic is highly toxic, widely distributed in the human environment and may result in multisystem diseases and several types of cancers. The BCL-2-interacting mediator of cell death protein (BIM) is a key modulator of the intrinsic apoptosis pathway. Interestingly, in the present study, we found that arsenic trioxide (As₂O₃) decreased BIM_EL levels in human bronchial epithelial cell line BEAS-2B and increased BIM_EL levels in human lung carcinoma cell line A549 and mouse Sertoli cell line TM4. Mechanismly, the 26S proteasome inhibitors MG132 and bortezomib could effectively inhibit BIM_EL degradation induced by As₂O₃ in BEAS-2B cells. As₂O₃ activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways, but only the ERK1/2 MAPK inhibitor PD98059 blocked BIM_EL degradation induced by As₂O₃. Furthermore, As₂O₃ induced-phosphorylation of BIM_EL at multiple sites was inhibited by ERK1/2 MAPK inhibitor PD98059. Inhibition of As₂O₃-induced ERK1/2 MAPK phosphorylation increased the levels of BIM_EL and cleaved-caspase-3 proteins and decreased BEAS-2B cell viability. As₂O₃ also markedly mitigated tunicamycin-induced apoptosis of BEAS-2B cells by increasing ERK1/2 phosphorylation and BIM_EL degradation. Our results suggest that As₂O₃-induced activation of the ERK1/2 MAPK pathway increases phosphorylation of BIM_EL and promotes BIM_EL degradation, thereby alleviating the role of apoptosis in As₂O₃-induced cell death. This study provides new insights into how to maintain the survival of BEAS-2B cells before malignant transformation induced by high doses of As₂O₃.

YTHDC1 is downregulated by the YY1/HDAC2 complex and controls the sensitivity of ccRCC to sunitinib by targeting the ANXA1-MAPK pathway

BACKGROUND

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) such as sunitinib are multitarget antiangiogenic agents in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). They are widely used in the treatment of advanced/metastatic renal cancer. However, resistance to TKIs is common in the clinic, particularly after long-term treatment. YTHDC1 is the main nuclear reader protein that binds with m6A to regulate the splicing, export and stability of mRNA. However, the specific role and corresponding mechanism of YTHDC1 in renal cancer cells are still unclear.

METHODS

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset was used to study the expression of YTHDC1 in ccRCC. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), wound healing, Transwell and xenograft assays were applied to explore the biological function of YTHDC1 in ccRCC. Western blot, quantitative real time PCR (RT‒qPCR), RNA immunoprecipitation PCR (RIP-qPCR), methylated RIP-qPCR (MeRIP-qPCR) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analyses were applied to study the YY1/HDAC2/YTHDC1/ANXA1 axis in renal cancer cells. The CCK-8 assay and xenograft assay were used to study the role of YTHDC1 in determining the sensitivity of ccRCC to sunitinib.

RESULTS

Our results demonstrated that YTHDC1 is downregulated in ccRCC tissues compared with normal tissues. Low expression of YTHDC1 is associated with a poor prognosis in patients with ccRCC. Subsequently, we showed that YTHDC1 inhibits the progression of renal cancer cells via downregulation of the ANXA1/MAPK pathways. Moreover, we also showed that the YTHDC1/ANXA1 axis modulates the sensitivity of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. We then revealed that HDAC2 inhibitors resensitize ccRCC to tyrosine kinase inhibitors through the YY1/HDAC2 complex. We have identified a novel YY1/HDAC2/YTHDC1/ANXA1 axis modulating the progression and chemosensitivity of ccRCC.

CONCLUSION

We identified a novel YY1/HDAC2/YTHDC1/ANXA1 axis modulating the progression and chemosensitivity of ccRCC.

Annexin A1 Expression Is Associated with Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT), Cell Proliferation, Prognosis, and Drug Response in Pancreatic Cancer

Annexin A1 (ANXA1) is a calcium-dependent phospholipid-binding protein overexpressed in pancreatic cancer (PC). ANXA1 expression has been shown to take part in a wide variety of cancer biology, including carcinogenesis, cell proliferation, invasion, apoptosis, and metastasis, in addition to the initially identified anti-inflammatory effect in experimental settings. We hypothesized that ANXA1 expression is associated with cell proliferation and survival in PC patients. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed 239 PC patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and GSE57495 cohorts. ANXA1 expression correlated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) but weakly with angiogenesis in PC patients. ANXA1-high PC was significantly associated with a high fraction of fibroblasts and keratinocytes in the tumor microenvironment. ANXA1 high PC enriched multiple malignant gene sets, including hypoxia, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α signaling via nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB), and MTORC1, as well as apoptosis, protein secretion, glycolysis, and the androgen response gene sets consistently in both cohorts. ANXA1 expression was associated with TP53 mutation alone but associated with all KRAS, p53, E2F, and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling pathways and also associated with homologous recombination deficiency in the TCGA cohort. ANXA1 high PC was associated with a high infiltration of T-helper type 2 cells in the TME, with advanced histological grade and MKI67 expression, as well as with a worse prognosis regardless of the grade. ANXA1 expression correlated with a sensitivity to gemcitabine, doxorubicin, and 5-fluorouracil in PC cell lines. In conclusion, ANXA1 expression is associated with EMT, cell proliferation, survival, and the drug response in PC.

Proteogenomic examination of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC): new lines of inquiry

Introduction: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), a histopathologic subtype of esophageal cancer is a major cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. This is primarily because patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage by the time symptoms appear. The genomics and mass spectrometry-based proteomics continue to provide important leads toward biomarker discovery for ESCC. However, such leads are yet to be translated into clinical utilities. Areas covered: We gathered information pertaining to proteomics and proteogenomics efforts in ESCC from the literature search until 2020. An overview of omics approaches to discover the candidate biomarkers for ESCC were highlighted. We present a summary of recent investigations of alterations in the level of gene and protein expression observed in biological samples including body fluids, tissue/biopsy and in vitro-based models. Expert opinion: A large number of protein-based biomarkers and therapeutic targets are being used in cancer therapy. Several candidates are being developed as diagnostics and prognostics for the management of cancers. High-resolution proteomic and proteogenomic approaches offer an efficient way to identify additional candidate biomarkers for diagnosis, monitoring of disease progression, prediction of response to chemo and radiotherapy. Some of these biomarkers can also be developed as therapeutic targets.

Annexin A1 involved in the regulation of inflammation and cell signaling pathways

With the deepening of research, proteomics has developed into a science covering the study of all the structural and functional characteristics of proteins and the dynamic change rules. The essence of various biological activities is revealed from the perspectives of the biological structure, functional activity and corresponding regulatory mechanism of proteins by proteomics. Among them, phospholipid-binding protein is one of the hotspots of proteomics, especially annexin A1, which is widely present in various tissues and cells of the body. It has the capability of binding to phospholipid membranes reversibly in a calcium ion dependent manner. In order to provide possible research ideas for researchers, who are interested in this protein, the biological effects of annexin A1, such as inflammatory regulation, cell signal transduction, cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis are described in this paper.

Differentially expressed proteins in positive versus negative HNSCC lymph nodes

Background

Lymph node metastasis is one of the most important prognostic factors in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) and critical for delineating their treatment. However, clinical and histological criteria for the diagnosis of nodal status remain limited. In the present study, we aimed to characterize the proteomic profile of lymph node metastasis from HNSCC patients.

Methods

In the present study, we used one- and two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry analysis to characterize the proteomic profile of lymph node metastasis from HNSCC.

Results

Comparison of metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes showed 52 differentially expressed proteins associated with neoplastic development and progression. The results reinforced the idea that tumors from different anatomical subsites have dissimilar behaviors, which may be influenced by micro-environmental factor including the lymphatic network. The expression pattern of heat shock proteins and glycolytic enzymes also suggested an effect of the lymph node environment in controlling tumor growth or in metabolic reprogramming of the metastatic cell. Our study, for the first time, provided direct evidence of annexin A1 overexpression in lymph node metastasis of head and neck cancer, adding information that may be useful for diagnosing aggressive disease.

Conclusions

In brief, this study contributed to our understanding of the metastatic phenotype of HNSCC and provided potential targets for diagnostic in this group of carcinomas.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12920-018-0382-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic analysis of differentially expressed proteins in chemoresistant nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a highly prevalent disease in Southeast Asia. The disease is typically diagnosed in the later stages, and chemotherapy resistance often causes treatment failure. To investigate the underlying mechanisms of drug resistance, we searched for chemoresistant-associated proteins in NPC and drug-resistant NPC cell lines using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation combined with nano liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The chemoresistant NPC cell lines CNE1DDP and CNE2DDP were resistant to 1 mg/L cisplatin, had resistant indexes of 4.58 and 2.63, respectively, and clearly grew more slowly than the NPC cell lines CNE1 and CNE2. Using three technical replicates, we identified 690 nonredundant proteins, 56 of which were differentially expressed in both groups of cell lines (CNE1 vs. CNE1DDP and CNE2 vs. CNE2DDP). Gene Ontology, KEGG pathway, and miRNA analyses and protein-protein interactions of differentially expressed proteins showed that proteins TRIM29, HSPB1, CLIC1, ANXA1, and STMN1, among others, may play a role in the mechanisms of chemoresistance in clinical therapy. The chemotherapy-resistant proteomic profiles obtained may allow the identification of novel biomarkers for early detection of chemoresistance in NPC and other cancers.

Environmental arsenic exposure: From genetic susceptibility to pathogenesis

More than 200 million people in 70 countries are exposed to arsenic through drinking water. Chronic exposure to this metalloid has been associated with the onset of many diseases, including cancer. Epidemiological evidence supports its carcinogenic potential, however, detailed molecular mechanisms remain to be elucidated. Despite the global magnitude of this problem, not all individuals face the same risk. Susceptibility to the toxic effects of arsenic is influenced by alterations in genes involved in arsenic metabolism, as well as biological factors, such as age, gender and nutrition. Moreover, chronic arsenic exposure results in several genotoxic and epigenetic alterations tightly associated with the arsenic biotransformation process, resulting in an increased cancer risk. In this review, we: 1) review the roles of inter-individual DNA-level variations influencing the susceptibility to arsenic-induced carcinogenesis; 2) discuss the contribution of arsenic biotransformation to cancer initiation; 3) provide insights into emerging research areas and the challenges in the field; and 4) compile a resource of publicly available arsenic-related DNA-level variations, transcriptome and methylation data. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of arsenic exposure and its subsequent health effects will support efforts to reduce the worldwide health burden and encourage the development of strategies for managing arsenic-related diseases in the era of personalized medicine.

Current status of proteomics of esophageal carcinoma

INTRODUCTION

Esophageal cancer (EC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Identifying suitable biomarkers for early diagnosis as well as predicting lymph node metastasis, prognosis and the therapeutic response of EC is essential for the effective and efficient management for EC. There is an urgent need to develop effective, novel approaches for patients who do not respond to conventional treatment. Areas covered: EC is characterized by the presence of two main histological types such as squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma, which differ in their response to treatments and prognosis. Thus, this review describes the latest research into biomarkers and novel treatment targets generated by cancer proteomics for the two main histological types. Finally, the main difficulties facing the translation of biomarkers and novel treatment targets into the clinical settings are discussed. Expert commentary: EC proteomics have provided useful results and, after their validation, novel clinical tools should be developed to improve the clinical outcomes for EC patients.

Multiple Mechanisms of Anti-Cancer Effects Exerted by Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin (ATX) is a xanthophyll carotenoid which has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) as food colorant in animal and fish feed. It is widely found in algae and aquatic animals and has powerful anti-oxidative activity. Previous studies have revealed that ATX, with its anti-oxidative property, is beneficial as a therapeutic agent for various diseases without any side effects or toxicity. In addition, ATX also shows preclinical anti-tumor efficacy both in vivo and in vitro in various cancer models. Several researches have deciphered that ATX exerts its anti-proliferative, anti-apoptosis and anti-invasion influence via different molecules and pathways including signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ). Hence, ATX shows great promise as chemotherapeutic agents in cancer. Here, we review the rapidly advancing field of ATX in cancer therapy as well as some molecular targets of ATX.