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Qin LN, Zhang H, Li QQ, Wu T, Cheng SB, Wang KW, Shi Y, Ren HR, Xing XW, Yang C, Sun T. Vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) hijacks twist1 to inhibit vasculogenic mimicry in hepatocellular carcinoma. Theranostics 2024; 14:436-450. [PMID: 38164156 PMCID: PMC10750215 DOI: 10.7150/thno.90322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Rationale: Vitamin D (VD) has been suggested to have antitumor effects, however, research on the role of its transporter vitamin D-binding protein (VDBP, gene name as GC) in tumors is limited. In this study, we demonstrated the mechanism underlying the inhibition of vasculogenic mimicry (VM) by VDBP in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and proposed an anti-tumor strategy of combining anti-PD-1 therapy with VD. Methods: Three-dimensional cell culture models and mice with hepatocyte-specific GC deletion were utilized to study the correlation between VDBP expression and VM. A patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) model was further applied to validate the therapeutic efficacy of VD in combination with an anti-PD-1 drug. Results: The study revealed that VDBP expression is negatively correlated with VM in HCC patients and elevated VDBP expression is associated with a favorable prognosis. The mechanism studies suggested VDBP hindered the binding of Twist1 on the promoter of VE-cadherin by interacting with its helix-loop-helix DNA binding domain, ultimately leading to the inhibition of VM. Furthermore, VD facilitated the translocation of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) into the nucleus where VDR interacts with Yin Yang 1 (YY1), leading to the transcriptional activation of VDBP. We further demonstrated that the combination of VD and anti-PD-1 led to an improvement in the anti-tumor efficacy of an anti-PD-1 drug. Conclusion: Collectively, we identified VDBP as an important prognostic biomarker in HCC patients and uncovered it as a therapeutic target for enhancing the efficacy of immune therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu-ning Qin
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology and College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Heng Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology and College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Qing-qing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology and College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Ting Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology and College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Shan-bin Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology and College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Kai-wen Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology and College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
- Tianjin International Joint Academy of Biomedicine, Tianjin, China
| | - Yue Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology and College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Hao-ran Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology and College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Xue-wu Xing
- Department of Orthopedics, Tianjin First Central Hospital, Tianjin, China
| | - Cheng Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology and College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
| | - Tao Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Medicinal Chemical Biology and College of Pharmacy, Nankai University, Tianjin, China
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