1
|
Zhou T, Fu H, Dong B, Dai L, Yang Y, Yan W, Shen L. HOXB7 mediates cisplatin resistance in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma through involvement of DNA damage repair. Thorac Cancer 2019; 11:3071-3085. [PMID: 31568655 PMCID: PMC7606015 DOI: 10.1111/1759-7714.13142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2019] [Revised: 06/19/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Background DNA damage repair is an important mechanism of platinum resistance. HOXB7 is one member of HOX family genes, which are essential developmental regulators and frequently dysregulated in cancer. Recently, its relevance in chemotherapy resistance and DNA damage repair has also been addressed. However, little is known regarding the association between HOXB7 and chemotherapy resistance in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods The association between HOXB7 expression detected by immunohistochemisty and tumor regression grade (TRG) and long‐term survival was analyzed in 143 ESCC patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy. CCK8 assay was used to examine the effect of cisplatin in a panel of four ESCC cell lines. A stable cell strain with HOXB7 knockdown of KYSE150 and KYSE450 was established to explore the effect on cisplatin sensitivity. The interaction of HOXB7 with Ku70, Ku80 and DNA‐PKcs was determined by GST‐pull down, coimmunoprecipitation and immunofluorescent colocalization. Finally, we investigated whether disrupting HOXB7 function by a synthetic peptide HXR9 blocking the formation of HOXB7/PBX could enhance cisplatin sensitivity in vitro and in vivo. Results High expression of HOXB7 was associated with cisplatin resistance and worse chemotherapy efficacy. HOXB7 knockdown reinforced cisplatin sensitivity. It was identified that HOXB7 interacts with Ku70, Ku80 and DNA‐PKcs. HOXB7 knockdown was related to the downregulation of Ku70, Ku80 and DNA‐PKcs as well as arrested cell cycle in S phase. HOXB7 inhibition by HXR9 had a synergistic effect to improve cisplatin sensitivity. Conclusion HOXB7 may be a biomarker for the prediction of chemoresistance of ESCC and serves as a promising therapeutic target.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ting Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery I, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Fu
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery I, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Bin Dong
- Department of Pathology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Liang Dai
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery I, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Yongbo Yang
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery I, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Wanpu Yan
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery I, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Luyan Shen
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery I, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Shen LY, Zhou T, Du YB, Shi Q, Chen KN. Targeting HOX/PBX dimer formation as a potential therapeutic option in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Cancer Sci 2019; 110:1735-1745. [PMID: 30844117 PMCID: PMC6501045 DOI: 10.1111/cas.13993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2019] [Revised: 03/01/2019] [Accepted: 03/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Homeobox genes are known to be classic examples of the intimate relationship between embryogenesis and tumorigenesis, which are a family of transcriptional factors involved in determining cell identity during early development, and also dysregulated in many malignancies. Previously, HOXB7, HOXC6 and HOXC8 were found abnormally upregulated in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) tissues compared with normal mucosa and seen as poor prognostic predictors for ESCC patients, and were shown to promote cell proliferation and anti‐apoptosis in ESCC cells. These three HOX members have a high level of functional redundancy, making it difficult to target a single HOX gene. The aim of the present study was to explore whether ESCC cells are sensitive to HXR9 disrupting the interaction between multiple HOX proteins and their cofactor PBX, which is required for HOX functions. ESCC cell lines (KYSE70, KYSE150, KYSE450) were treated with HXR9 or CXR9, and coimmunoprecipitation and immunofluorescent colocalization were carried out to observe HOX/PBX dimer formation. To further investigate whether HXR9 disrupts the HOX pro‐oncogenic function, CCK‐8 assay and colony formation assay were carried out. Apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry, and tumor growth in vivo was investigated in a xenograft model. RNA‐seq was used to study the transcriptome of HXR9‐treated cells. Results showed that HXR9 blocked HOX/PBX interaction, leading to subsequent transcription alteration of their potential target genes, which are involved in JAK‐signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) activation and apoptosis inducement. Meanwhile, HXR9 showed an antitumor phenotype, such as inhibiting cell proliferation, inducing cell apoptosis and significantly retarding tumor growth. Therefore, it is suggested that targeting HOX/PBX may be a novel effective treatment for ESCC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lu-Yan Shen
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery I, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Ting Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery I, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Ya-Bing Du
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery I, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Qi Shi
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery I, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, China
| | - Ke-Neng Chen
- Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education), Department of Thoracic Surgery I, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
He X, Liu Z, Xia Y, Xu J, Lv G, Wang L, Ma T, Jiang L, Mou Y, Jiang X, Ma J, Zhao Z, Ni H, Xu W, Ru G, Huang D, Tao H. HOXB7 overexpression promotes cell proliferation and correlates with poor prognosis in gastric cancer patients by inducing expression of both AKT and MARKs. Oncotarget 2018; 8:1247-1261. [PMID: 27901487 PMCID: PMC5352052 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.13604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2016] [Accepted: 11/11/2016] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Increased expression of HOXB7 has been reported to correlate with the progression in many cancers. However, the specific mechanism by which it promotes the evolution of gastric cancer (GC) is poorly understood.In this study, we sought to investigate the role of HOXB7 in GC by assessing HOXB7 expression in patient tissue and its correlation to clinical characteristics. We found that GC tissues showed increased expression of HOXB7 and that the HOXB7 expression was significantly associated with Lauren classification, invasion depth, lymphatic metastasis and poor prognosis, and could serve as an independent prognostic factor. To further investigate the role of HOXB7 in GC, we generated stable GC cell lines and both over-expressed and knocked down HOXB7 expression. Over-expression of HOXB7 in GC cell lines enhanced cell proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion ability, whereas the opposite trends were observed upon reduction of HOXB7 expression by knockdown. These findings were further supported by our in vivo studies which show that HOXB7 expression can affect the GC cells' subcutaneous growth and lung metastases. A Phospho-MAPK Array Kit was used to explore the possible mechanism of HOXB7-induced cell proliferation and invasion. We found that the AKT signaling pathway and the two members of the MAPK pathway, were involved in those promoting effects. In conclusion, our results showed that increased expression of HOXB7 might play an important role in promoting GC proliferation, migration and invasion by inducing both AKT and MAPK pathways, thus resulting in progression of, and poor prognosis in GC patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xujun He
- Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310014, China
| | - Zhengchuang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310014, China
| | - Yingjie Xia
- Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310014, China
| | - Ji Xu
- Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310014, China.,Department of Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Guocai Lv
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310003, China.,Key Laboratory of Clinical In vitro Diagnostic Techniques of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310003, China
| | - Lu Wang
- Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310014, China
| | - Tonghui Ma
- Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310014, China
| | - Liping Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310014, China
| | - Yiping Mou
- Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310014, China.,Department of Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xiaoting Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310014, China
| | - Jie Ma
- Department of Pathology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China.,Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhongkuo Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310014, China.,Department of Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Haibin Ni
- Department of Surgery, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou 310012, Zhejiang, China
| | - Wenjuan Xu
- Department of Pathology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China.,Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Guoqing Ru
- Department of Pathology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China.,Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Dongsheng Huang
- Department of Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| | - Houquan Tao
- Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310014, China.,Department of Surgery, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang, China
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Liu FT, Chen HM, Xiong Y, Zhu ZM. Deregulated HOXB7 expression predicts poor prognosis of patients with malignancies of digestive system. MINERVA CHIR 2017; 74:422-430. [PMID: 28749115 DOI: 10.23736/s0026-4733.17.07325-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Numerous studies have investigated the relationship between deregulated HOXB7 expression with the clinical outcome in patients with digestive stem cancers, HOXB7 has showed negative impacts but with varying levels. We aimed to comprehensively evaluate the prediction and prognostic value of HOXB7 in digestive stem cancers. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION Electronic databases updated to December 1st, 2016 were retrieved to collect relevant eligible studies to quantitatively explore the potential roles of HOXB7 as a prognostic indicator in digestive system cancers. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS A total of 9 studies (N.=1298) was included in this synthetical meta-analysis. The pooled hazard ratios suggested that high expression of HOXB7 protein was associated with poor prognosis of OS in patients with digestive system cancers (HR=1.97, 95% CI: 1.65-2.28, P=0.000), and HOXB7 protein could act as an independent prognostic factor for predicting OS of patients with digestive system cancers (HR=2.02, 95% CI: 1.69-2.36, P=0.000). Statistical significance was also observed in subgroup meta-analysis based on the cancer type, histology type, country, sample size and publication date. Furthermore, we examined the correlations between HOXB7 protein and clinicopathological features. It showed that altered expression of HOXB7 protein was correlated with tumor invasion (P=0.000), lymph node status (P=0.000), distant metastasis (P=0.001) and TNM stage (P=0.000). However, the expression of HOXB7 protein was not associated with age (P=0.64), gender (P=0.40) or levels of differentiation (P=0.19). CONCLUSIONS High expression of HOXB7 protein was associated with poor prognosis of patients with digestive system cancers, as well as clinicopathologic characteristics, including the tumor invasion, lymph node status, distant metastasis and TNM stage. The expression of HOXB7 protein was not associated with age, gender or levels of differentiation. HOXB7 protein expression level in tumor tissue might serve as a novel prognostic marker for digestive system cancers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fang-Teng Liu
- Department of General Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Han-Min Chen
- The Second Clinical Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Ying Xiong
- The Second Clinical Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Zheng-Ming Zhu
- Department of General Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China -
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Liu FT, Ou YX, Zhang GP, Qiu C, Luo HL, Zhu PQ. HOXB7 as a promising molecular marker for metastasis in cancers: a meta-analysis. Onco Targets Ther 2016; 9:2693-9. [PMID: 27274269 PMCID: PMC4869646 DOI: 10.2147/ott.s104000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Numerous studies on carcinoma have revealed that the expression level of HOXB7 in cancerous tissues was significantly higher than that in noncancerous tissues. Elevated expression of HOXB7 is associated with the susceptibility to lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis in various tumors. In this study, a meta-analysis was performed to involve majority of relevant articles and explore the association of HOXB7 expression level with metastasis in cancer patients. Literature retrieval was conducted by searching in a number of electronic databases (up to December 1, 2015). The meta-analysis was conducted with RevMan 5.3 software and Stata SE12.0. A total of 1,532 patients with carcinoma from 14 studies were included in analysis. The results of meta-analysis demonstrated that lymph node metastasis was observed more frequently in the patients group with high expression level of HOXB7 than in the patients group with low expression level of HOXB7 (odds ratio =2.17, 95% CI: 1.74–2.71, P<0.00001, fixed-effects model). In addition, a similar result was observed in the association between HOXB7 expression and distant metastasis; the odds ratio was 1.77 (95% CI: 1.09–2.88, P=0.02, fixed-effects model). This meta-analysis demonstrated that the overexpression of HOXB7 was significantly associated with metastasis in cancer patients, which may be served as a common molecular marker for indicating cancer metastasis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fang-Teng Liu
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Yang-Xi Ou
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Guan-Ping Zhang
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Cheng Qiu
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Hong-Liang Luo
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Pei-Qian Zhu
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Deregulated HOXB7 Expression Predicts Poor Prognosis of Patients with Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Regulates Cancer Cell Proliferation In Vitro and In Vivo. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0130551. [PMID: 26076456 PMCID: PMC4468077 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2015] [Accepted: 05/21/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background We observed abnormal HOXB7 expression in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) previously. This study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of HOXB7 and reveal the potential mechanism. Methods Immunohistochemistry was used to confirm the abnormal expression of HOXB7 in ESCC. The prognostic significance of HOXB7 expression was analyzed in two independent cohorts. RNAi was used to establish two stable HOXB7-knockdown cell strains. CCK8 assay, cell growth curve assay, colony formation assay, flow cycle analysis and tumorigenicity assay in nude mice were employed to investigate the effect of HOXB7 on proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Results Immunohistochemistry confirmed the abnormal expression of HOXB7 in ESCC compared with paracancerous mucosa (18/23 vs. 9/23, p=0.039). HOXB7 expression was positively correlated with the T stage, lymph node metastasis and TNM stage. The median survival of patients with high HOXB7 expression was significantly shorter than that with low expression (45 months vs. 137 months, p = 0.007 for cohort 1; 19 months vs. 34 months, p = 0.001 for cohort 2). Multivariate survival analysis showed that HOXB7 expression was another independent prognostic factor (HR [95% CI] = 0.573 [0.341–0.963], p = 0.036 for cohort 1; HR [95%CI] = 0.543 [0.350–0.844], p = 0.024 for cohort 2). Experiments in vitro and in vivo showed that after knockdown of HOXB7, the proliferation rate dropped, growth rate descended, colony-formation ability reduced, G1-phase arrest occurred and the tumorigenicity reduced remarkably. Conclusions HOXB7 could promote cancer cell proliferation and might be an independent prognostic factor for patients with ESCC.
Collapse
|