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Zhengdong A, Xiaoying X, Shuhui F, Rui L, Zehui T, Guanbin S, Li Y, Xi T, Wanqian L. Identification of fatty acids synthesis and metabolism-related gene signature and prediction of prognostic model in hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancer Cell Int 2024; 24:130. [PMID: 38584256 PMCID: PMC11000322 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-024-03306-4] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fatty acids synthesis and metabolism (FASM)-driven lipid mobilization is essential for energy production during nutrient shortages. However, the molecular characteristics, physiological function and clinical prognosis value of FASM-associated gene signatures in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain elusive. METHODS The Gene Expression Omnibus database (GEO), the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) database were utilized to acquire transcriptome data and clinical information of HCC patients. The ConsensusClusterPlus was employed for unsupervised clustering. Subsequently, immune cell infiltration, stemness index and therapeutic response among distinct clusters were decoded. The tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) algorithm was utilized to anticipate the response of patients towards immunotherapy, and the genomics of drug sensitivity in cancer (GDSC) tool was employed to predict their response to antineoplastic medications. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network were employed to construct prognostic model and identity hub gene. Single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and CellChat were used to analyze cellular interactions. The hub gene of FASM effect on promoting tumor progression was confirmed through a series of functional experiments. RESULTS Twenty-six FASM-related genes showed differential expression in HCC. Based on these FASM-related differential genes, two molecular subtypes were established, including Cluster1 and Cluster2 subtype. Compared with cluster2, Cluster1 subtype exhibited a worse prognosis, higher risk, higher immunosuppressive cells infiltrations, higher immune escape, higher cancer stemness and enhanced treatment-resistant. PPI network identified Acetyl-CoA carboxylase1 (ACACA) as central gene of FASM and predicted a poor prognosis. A strong interaction between cancer stem cells (CSCs) with high expression of ACACA and macrophages through CD74 molecule (CD74) and integrin subunit beta 1 (ITGB1) signaling was identified. Finally, increased ACACA expression was observed in HCC cells and patients, whereas depleted ACACA inhibited the stemness straits and drug resistance of HCC cells. CONCLUSIONS This study provides a resource for understanding FASM heterogeneity in HCC. Evaluating the FASM patterns can help predict the prognosis and provide new insights into treatment response in HCC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ai Zhengdong
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, 174 Shazheng Street, Chongqing, 400000, People's Republic of China
| | - Xing Xiaoying
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, 174 Shazheng Street, Chongqing, 400000, People's Republic of China
| | - Fu Shuhui
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, 174 Shazheng Street, Chongqing, 400000, People's Republic of China
| | - Liang Rui
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, 174 Shazheng Street, Chongqing, 400000, People's Republic of China
| | - Tang Zehui
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, 174 Shazheng Street, Chongqing, 400000, People's Republic of China
| | - Song Guanbin
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, 174 Shazheng Street, Chongqing, 400000, People's Republic of China
| | - Yang Li
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, 174 Shazheng Street, Chongqing, 400000, People's Republic of China
| | - Tang Xi
- Gastrointestinal Cancer Center, Chongqing University Cancer Hospital, Chongqing, 400000, People's Republic of China.
| | - Liu Wanqian
- Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology (Chongqing University), Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, 174 Shazheng Street, Chongqing, 400000, People's Republic of China.
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Li Z, Ma Z, Wang S, Yan Q, Zhuang H, Zhou Z, Liu C, Chen Y, Han M, Wu Z, Huang S, Zhou Q, Hou B, Zhang C. LINC00909 up-regulates pluripotency factors and promotes cancer stemness and metastasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma by targeting SMAD4. Biol Direct 2024; 19:24. [PMID: 38504385 PMCID: PMC10949730 DOI: 10.1186/s13062-024-00463-4] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pancreatic cancer stem cells are crucial for tumorigenesis and cancer metastasis. Presently, long non-coding RNAs were found to be associated with Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma stemness characteristics but the underlying mechanism is largely known. Here, we aim to explore the function of LINC00909 in regulating pancreatic cancer stemness and cancer metastasis. METHODS The expression level and clinical characteristics of LINC00909 were verified in 80-paired normal pancreas and Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma tissues from Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital cohort by in situ hybridization. RNA sequencing of PANC-1 cells with empty vector or vector encoding LINC00909 was experimented for subsequent bioinformatics analysis. The effect of LINC00909 in cancer stemness and metastasis was examined by in vitro and in vivo experiments. The interaction between LINC00909 with SMAD4 and the pluripotency factors were studied. RESULTS LINC00909 was generally upregulated in pancreatic cancer tissues and was associated with inferior clinicopathologic features and outcome. Over-expression of LINC00909 enhanced the expression of pluripotency factors and cancer stem cells phenotype, while knock-down of LINC00909 decreased the expression of pluripotency factors and cancer stem cells phenotype. Moreover, LINC00909 inversely regulated SMAD4 expression, knock-down of SMAD4 rescued the effect of LINC00909-deletion inhibition on pluripotency factors and cancer stem cells phenotype. These indicated the effect of LINC00909 on pluripotency factors and CSC phenotype was dependent on SMAD4 and MAPK/JNK signaling pathway, another downstream pathway of SMAD4 was also activated by LINC00909. Specifically, LINC00909 was localized in the cytoplasm in pancreatic cancer cells and decreased the stability the SMAD4 mRNA. Finally, we found over-expression of LINC00909 not only accelerated tumor growth in subcutaneous mice models, but also facilitated tumorigenicity and spleen metastasis in orthotopic mice models. CONCLUSION We demonstrate LINC00909 inhibits SMAD4 expression at the post-transcriptional level, which up-regulates the expression of pluripotency factors and activates the MAPK/JNK signaling pathway, leading to enrichment of cancer stem cells and cancer metastasis in pancreatic cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenchong Li
- Department of General Surgery, Heyuan people's Hospital, Heyuan, 517000, China
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China
- Junior Clinical Cooperation Unit Translational Gastrointestinal Oncology and Preclinical Models, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Zuyi Ma
- Department of General Surgery, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Shujie Wang
- The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510515, China
| | - Qian Yan
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China
- South China University of Technology School of Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510006, China
| | - Hongkai Zhuang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Malignant Tumor Epigenetics and Gene Regulation, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China
| | - Zixuan Zhou
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China
- South China University of Technology School of Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510006, China
| | - Chunsheng Liu
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China
- The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510515, China
| | - Yubin Chen
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China
- South China University of Technology School of Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510006, China
| | - Mingqian Han
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China
- The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510515, China
| | - Zelong Wu
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China
- The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510515, China
| | - Shanzhou Huang
- Department of General Surgery, Heyuan people's Hospital, Heyuan, 517000, China
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China
- The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510515, China
- South China University of Technology School of Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510006, China
| | - Qi Zhou
- Department of General Surgery, Hui Ya Hospital of The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Huizhou, Guangdong, 516081, China.
- Department of Liver Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
| | - Baohua Hou
- Department of General Surgery, Heyuan people's Hospital, Heyuan, 517000, China.
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
- The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510515, China.
- South China University of Technology School of Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510006, China.
| | - Chuanzhao Zhang
- Department of General Surgery, Heyuan people's Hospital, Heyuan, 517000, China.
- Department of General Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
- The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510515, China.
- South China University of Technology School of Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510006, China.
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Liu L, Chen X, Wu L, Huang K, Wang Z, Zheng Y, Zheng C, Zhang Z, Chen J, Wei J, Chen S, Jin W, Chen J, Wei D, Xu Y. Ubiquitin ligase subunit FBXO9 inhibits V-ATPase assembly and impedes lung cancer metastasis. Exp Hematol Oncol 2024; 13:32. [PMID: 38486234 PMCID: PMC10938814 DOI: 10.1186/s40164-024-00497-4] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The evolutionarily conserved protein FBXO9 acts as a substrate receptor for the SKP1-cullin-1-RBX1 ubiquitin ligase and is implicated in cancer, exhibiting either tumor-suppressive or oncogenic effects depending on the specific tumor type. However, their role in lung cancer metastasis remains unclear. METHODS Lentiviral vectors carrying miRNA-based shRNA sequences for gene-specific knockdown were generated, and Lenti-CRISPR-Cas9 vectors containing gene-specific sgRNA sequences were designed. Gene overexpression was achieved using doxycycline-inducible lentiviral constructs, while gene knockdown or knockout cells were generated using shRNA and CRISPR-Cas9, respectively. Functional assays included migration, clonogenic survival assays, tumor sphere assays, and protein interaction studies using mass spectrometry, immunoprecipitation, and immunoblot analysis. RESULTS This study identified FBXO9 as a crucial regulator that suppresses lung cancer cell migration, tumor sphere growth and restricts metastasis. We showed that FBXO9 facilitates the ubiquitination of the catalytic subunit A (ATP6V1A) of the Vacuolar-type H+-ATPase (V-ATPase), resulting in its interaction with the cytoplasmic chaperone HSPA8 and subsequent sequestration within the cytoplasm. This process hinders the assembly of functional V-ATPase, resulting in reduced vesicular acidification. In contrast, depletion of FBXO9 reduced ATP6V1A ubiquitination, resulting in increased V-ATPase assembly and vesicular acidification, thus promoting pro-metastatic Wnt signaling and metastasis of lung cancer cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated the effectiveness of inhibitors targeting V-ATPase in inhibiting lung cancer metastasis in a mouse model. Finally, we established a correlation between lower FBXO9 levels and poorer survival outcomes in patients with lung cancer. CONCLUSION These findings collectively elucidate the critical role of FBXO9 in regulating V-ATPase assembly and provide a molecular basis for FBXO9's function in inhibiting lung cancer metastasis. This highlights the potential therapeutic opportunities of FBXO9 supplementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Liu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200433, China
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Xiaodong Chen
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325015, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Leilei Wu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Kaizong Huang
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology Lab, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, China
| | - Zhenyi Wang
- Medical Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325015, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Yaolin Zheng
- Department of Oncology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, China
| | - Cheng Zheng
- Medical Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325015, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Zhenshan Zhang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shanghai Proton and Heavy Ion Center, Fudan University Cancer Center, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Jiayan Chen
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Jiaming Wei
- Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Jiangsu College of Nursing, Huai'an, 223300, Jiangsu, China
| | - Song Chen
- Institute of Medicinal Biotechnology, Jiangsu College of Nursing, Huai'an, 223300, Jiangsu, China
- Translational Research Institute, Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450053, Henan, China
| | - Weilin Jin
- Institute of Cancer Neuroscience, Medical Frontier Innovation Research Center, The First Hospital of Lanzhou University, The First Clinical Medical College of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Jinfei Chen
- Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 730000, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Dongping Wei
- Medical Research Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325015, Zhejiang Province, China.
- Department of Oncology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210006, China.
| | - Yaping Xu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200433, China.
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Maheswari R, Urs AB, Kumar P, Koner BC, Guru SA, Rawat G. Exploring miR-155-5p and miR-1246 as Diagnostic and Prognostic Markers in Oral Squamous cell carcinoma. Mol Biol Rep 2024; 51:341. [PMID: 38400867 DOI: 10.1007/s11033-024-09234-w] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the leading cancers worldwide, significantly impacting developing nations. This study aimed to explore the diagnostic and prognostic potential of miR-155-5p and miR-1246 in OSCC in the Indian population, as their comparative roles in this context remain unexplored. MATERIAL AND METHODS The present cross-sectional study comprised 50 histopathologically confirmed OSCC cases, with adjacent normal mucosa as controls. MiRNA expression was assessed via qRT-PCR and correlated with clinicopathological factors. MiRwalk and miRTargetlink were used for miRNA:mRNA interaction prediction, and gprofiler was employed to analyze validated targets for functional insights. RESULTS The expression analysis showed a significant upregulation of miR-155-5p and miR-1246 in OSCC tissues compared to adjacent controls. Receiver operating curve analysis revealed that miR-1246 exhibited excellent diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.94) compared to miR-155-5p (AUC = 0.69). Higher miRNA levels were associated with age and extracapsular extension while overexpression of miR-1246 was correlated significantly with increased tumor size, tumor grade, TNM staging, and depth of invasion. The analysis for target prediction unveiled a set of validated targets, among which were WNT5A, TP53INP1, STAT3, CTNNB1, PRKAR1A, and NFIB. CONCLUSION miR-155-5p and miR-1246 may be used as potential prognostic biomarkers in OSCC, with miR-1246 demonstrating superior diagnostic accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Maheswari
- Department of Oral Pathology, Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, New Delhi, 110002, India
| | - Aadithya B Urs
- Department of Oral Pathology, Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, New Delhi, 110002, India
| | - Priya Kumar
- Department of Oral Pathology, Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, MAMC Complex, Mirdard Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, LNJP Colony, New Delhi, 110002, India.
| | - B C Koner
- Department of Biochemistry, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, 110002, India
| | - Sameer Ahmad Guru
- Developmental Systems Biology, Ann and Lurie Children's Hospital, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Garima Rawat
- Department of Pathology, Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, New Delhi, 110002, India
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Gao C, Jia K, Fang J, Zhu X, Hu J, Zhang Y, Jiang J, Yu X, Wang D, Gu H, Chen Z. CD95 promotes stemness of colorectal cancer cells by lncRNA MALAT1. Life Sci 2024; 338:122394. [PMID: 38159593 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2023.122394] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/25/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most fatal cancer. Many studies have shown that cancer stemness contributes to resistance to conventional chemotherapy and poor prognosis. However, the mechanisms involved in maintaining cancer stemness in CRC are still obscure and few clinical drugs were used to target cancer stemness. Previous studies had reported CD95 increases the stemness of cancer cells with long-term stimulation of exogenous agonist CD95 ligand (CD95L). However, the expression of CD95L is relative low in certain human tumor tissues. In this study, we found that CD95 was highly expressed in CRC cells, and in vitro it promoted the tumorsphere formation, chemotherapy resistance and in vivo tumor growth without stimulation of exogenous CD95L. Mechanistically, the bulk and single-cell RNA-sequencing results suggested that CD95 promotes stemness of CRC cells through upregulation of long non-coding RNAs metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (lncRNA MALAT1). MALAT1 knockdown inhibited CD95-induced tumorsphere formation and chemotherapy resistance. In summary, our findings reveal that CD95 has the capability to modulate cancer stemness via the action of the lncRNA MALAT1. Targeting CD95 may be a promising strategy to inhibit cancer stemness in CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenyi Gao
- Department of Breast Surgery (Surgical Oncology), Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China; Cancer Centre, Zhejiang University, China Cancer Institute, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, Ministry of Education, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Kunpeng Jia
- Department of Breast Surgery (Surgical Oncology), Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China; Cancer Centre, Zhejiang University, China Cancer Institute, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, Ministry of Education, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jun Fang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xuan Zhu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jianming Hu
- Department of Breast Surgery (Surgical Oncology), Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China; Cancer Centre, Zhejiang University, China Cancer Institute, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, Ministry of Education, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Yi Zhang
- Department of Breast Surgery (Surgical Oncology), Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jingxin Jiang
- Department of Breast Surgery (Surgical Oncology), Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China; Cancer Centre, Zhejiang University, China Cancer Institute, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, Ministry of Education, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xiuyan Yu
- Department of Breast Surgery (Surgical Oncology), Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China; Cancer Centre, Zhejiang University, China Cancer Institute, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, Ministry of Education, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Danting Wang
- Department of Breast Surgery (Surgical Oncology), Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China; Cancer Centre, Zhejiang University, China Cancer Institute, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, Ministry of Education, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Haochen Gu
- School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhigang Chen
- Department of Breast Surgery (Surgical Oncology), Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Key Laboratory of Tumor Microenvironment and Immune Therapy of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China; Cancer Centre, Zhejiang University, China Cancer Institute, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Intervention, Ministry of Education, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
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Zhang E, Chen Z, Liu W, Lin L, Wu L, Guan J, Wang J, Kong C, Bi J, Zhang M. NCAPG2 promotes prostate cancer malignancy and stemness via STAT3/c-MYC signaling. J Transl Med 2024; 22:12. [PMID: 38166947 PMCID: PMC10763290 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04834-9] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men worldwide, and its incidence has risen substantially in recent years. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify novel biomarkers and precise therapeutic targets for managing PCa progression and recurrence. METHODS We investigated the clinical significance of NCAPG2 in PCa by exploring public datasets and our tissue microarray. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and survival analyses were performed to evaluate the correlation between NCAPG2 and PCa progression. Cell proliferation, wound healing, transwell, flow cytometry, cell cycle, tumor sphere formation, immunofluorescence (IF), co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP), and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays were conducted to further elucidate the molecular mechanism of NCAPG2 in PCa. Subcutaneous and orthotopic xenograft models were applied to investigate the effects of NCAPG2 on PCa proliferation in vivo. Tandem mass tag (TMT) quantitative proteomics was utilized to detect proteomic changes under NCAPG2 overexpression. RESULTS NCAPG2 was significantly upregulated in PCa, and its overexpression was associated with PCa progression and unfavorable prognosis. Knockdown of NCAPG2 inhibited the malignant behavior of PCa cells, whereas its overexpression promoted PCa aggressiveness. NCAPG2 depletion attenuated the development and growth of PCa in vivo. TMT quantitative proteomics analyses indicated that c-MYC activity was strongly correlated with NCAPG2 expression. The malignancy-promoting effect of NCAPG2 in PCa was mediated via c-MYC. NCAPG2 could directly bind to STAT3 and induce STAT3 occupancy on the MYC promoter, thus to transcriptionally activate c-MYC expression. Finally, we identified that NCAPG2 was positively correlated with cancer stem cell (CSC) markers and enhanced self-renewal capacity of PCa cells. CONCLUSIONS NCAPG2 is highly expressed in PCa, and its level is significantly associated with PCa prognosis. NCAPG2 promotes PCa malignancy and drives cancer stemness via the STAT3/c-MYC signaling axis, highlighting its potential as a therapeutic target for PCa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enchong Zhang
- Department of Urology, Shenjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Zhengjie Chen
- Department of Urology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- Institute of Urology, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Wangmin Liu
- Department of Urology, Shenjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Lin Lin
- Department of Urology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Lina Wu
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Johnny Guan
- Department of Urology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jianfeng Wang
- Department of Urology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- Institute of Urology, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Chuize Kong
- Department of Urology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
- Institute of Urology, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Jianbin Bi
- Department of Urology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
- Institute of Urology, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
| | - Mo Zhang
- Department of Urology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
- Institute of Urology, China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
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Kunnummal M, Raveendran PS, Basu B, Rani SV, Paul RA, Kuppusamy K, Angelin M, Issac J, James J, Das AV. HPV16 E6/E7-mediated regulation of PiwiL1 expression induces tumorigenesis in cervical cancer cells. Cell Oncol (Dordr) 2023:10.1007/s13402-023-00904-8. [PMID: 38036929 DOI: 10.1007/s13402-023-00904-8] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE PiwiL1 has been reported to be over-expressed in many cancers. However, the molecular mechanism by which these proteins contribute to tumorigenesis and their regulation in cancer cells is still unclear. We intend to understand the role of PiwiL1 in tumorigenesis and also its regulation in cervical cells. METHODS We studied the effect of loss of PiwiL1 function on tumor properties of cervical cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Also we have looked into the effect of PiwiL1 overexpression in the malignant transformation of normal cells both in vitro and in vivo. Further RNA-seq and RIP-seq analyses were done to get insight of the direct and indirect targets of PiwiL1 in the cervical cancer cells. RESULTS Here, we report that PiwiL1 is not only over-expressed, but also play a major role in tumor induction and progression. Abolition of PiwiL1 in CaSki cells led to a decrease in the tumor-associated properties, whereas, its upregulation conferred malignant transformation of normal HaCaT cells. Our study delineates a new link between HPV oncogenes, E6 and E7 with PiwiL1. p53 and E2F1 directly bind and differentially regulate PiwiL1 promoter in a context-dependant manner. Further, RNA-seq together with RIP-RNA-seq suggested a strong and direct role for PiwiL1 in promoting metastasis in cervical cancer cells. CONCLUSION Our study demonstrates that PiwiL1 act as an oncogene in cervical cancer by inducing tumor-associated properties and EMT pathway. The finding that HPV oncogenes, E6/E7 can positively regulate PiwiL1 suggests a possible mechanism behind HPV-mediated tumorigenesis in cervical cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Midhunaraj Kunnummal
- Cancer Research Program-12, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (DBT-RGCB), Thycaud. P.O., Thiruvananthapuram-14, Kerala, India
- Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Tiger Circle Road, Madhav Nagar, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India
| | - Pooja Sherly Raveendran
- Cancer Research Program-12, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (DBT-RGCB), Thycaud. P.O., Thiruvananthapuram-14, Kerala, India
- Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Tiger Circle Road, Madhav Nagar, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India
| | - Budhaditya Basu
- Neuro Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, Neurobiology Division, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (DBT-RGCB), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695 014, India
- Regional Centre for Biotechnology (DBT-RCB), Faridabad, Haryana, 121001, India
| | - Sheri Vidya Rani
- Cancer Research Program-12, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (DBT-RGCB), Thycaud. P.O., Thiruvananthapuram-14, Kerala, India
| | - Riya Ann Paul
- Neuro Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, Neurobiology Division, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (DBT-RGCB), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695 014, India
- Department of Biotechnology, University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, 695011, Kerala, India
| | - Krithiga Kuppusamy
- Bioscience Research and Training Centre, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Science University, Thonnakkal, Thiruvananthapuram, 695317, Kerala, India
| | - Mary Angelin
- Cancer Research Program-12, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (DBT-RGCB), Thycaud. P.O., Thiruvananthapuram-14, Kerala, India
| | - Joby Issac
- Cancer Research Program-12, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (DBT-RGCB), Thycaud. P.O., Thiruvananthapuram-14, Kerala, India
| | - Jackson James
- Neuro Stem Cell Biology Laboratory, Neurobiology Division, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (DBT-RGCB), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 695 014, India
| | - Ani V Das
- Cancer Research Program-12, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (DBT-RGCB), Thycaud. P.O., Thiruvananthapuram-14, Kerala, India.
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8
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Primeaux M, Liu X, Gowrikumar S, Fatima I, Fisher KW, Bastola D, Vecchio AJ, Singh AB, Dhawan P. Claudin-1 interacts with EPHA2 to promote cancer stemness and chemoresistance in colorectal cancer. Cancer Lett 2023; 579:216479. [PMID: 37924938 PMCID: PMC10765961 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2023.216479] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/06/2023]
Abstract
Therapy resistance is the primary problem in treating late-stage colorectal cancer (CRC). Claudins are frequently dysregulated in cancer, and several are being investigated as novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers. We have previously demonstrated that Claudin-1 (CLDN1) expression in CRC promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition, metastasis, and resistance to anoikis. Here, we hypothesize that CLDN1 promotes cancer stemness and chemoresistance in CRC. We found that high CLDN1 expression in CRC is associated with cancer stemness and chemoresistance signaling pathways in patient datasets, and it promotes chemoresistance both in vitro and in vivo. Using functional stemness assays, proteomics, biophysical binding assays, and patient-derived organoids, we found that CLDN1 promotes properties of cancer stemness including CD44 expression, tumor-initiating potential, and chemoresistance through a direct interaction with ephrin type-A receptor 2 (EPHA2) tyrosine kinase. This interaction is dependent on the CLDN1 PDZ-binding motif, increases EPHA2 protein expression by inhibiting its degradation, and enhances downstream AKT signaling and CD44 expression to promote stemness and chemoresistance. These results suggest CLDN1 is a viable target for pharmacological intervention and/or biomarker development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Primeaux
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Xiangdong Liu
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Saiprasad Gowrikumar
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Iram Fatima
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Kurt W Fisher
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Dhundy Bastola
- Department of Bioinformatics, University of Nebraska Omaha, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Alex J Vecchio
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA
| | - Amar B Singh
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA; Buffet Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA; VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Punita Dhawan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA; Buffet Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA; VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System, Omaha, NE, USA.
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9
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Song F, Zhang Q, Lu X, Xu T, Hu Q, Hu X, Fan W, Zhang Y, Huang P. Rab11-FIP4 interacts with ARF5 to promote cancer stemness in hepatocellular carcinoma. J Physiol Biochem 2023; 79:757-770. [PMID: 37458957 DOI: 10.1007/s13105-023-00972-2] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
Recent studies suggest that Rab11-family interacting proteins (Rab11-FIPs) play an important role in tumorigenesis and progression. Among the Rab11-FIPs, Rab11-FIP4 has been reported to be significantly upregulated in various cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the possible effect on HCC stemness and the underlying mechanism has never been characterized. Here, we found that Rab11-FIP4 was dramatically increased in HCC cell lines and tissues, and had a positive correlation with cancer stemness. Functional studies revealed that elevated expression of Rab11-FIP4 in HCC cells significantly promoted sphere formation, and enhanced the mRNA and protein levels of stemness-associated markers, ALDH1A1, CD133, NANOG, and OCT4. Conversely, the knockdown of Rab11-FIP4 suppressed the cancer stem cell (CSC)-like characteristics of HCC cells. Moreover, silencing of Rab11-FIP4 obviously increased the sensitivity of HCC cells to sorafenib. Mechanistically, Rab11-FIP4 was shown to interact with ADP-ribosylation factor 5 (ARF5) to influence cell cycle-related proteins, CDK1/cyclin B, thereby promoting HCC stemness. Taken together, our results uncovered an essential role for Rab11-FIP4 in regulating CSC-like features of HCC cells and identified Rab11-FIP4 as a potential target for HCC therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feifeng Song
- Center for Clinical Pharmacy, Cancer Center, Department of Pharmacy, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Endocrine Gland Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qi Zhang
- Center for Clinical Pharmacy, Cancer Center, Department of Pharmacy, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xixuan Lu
- Center for Clinical Pharmacy, Cancer Center, Department of Pharmacy, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China
| | - Tong Xu
- Center for Clinical Pharmacy, Cancer Center, Department of Pharmacy, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qing Hu
- Center for Clinical Pharmacy, Cancer Center, Department of Pharmacy, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiaoping Hu
- Center for Clinical Pharmacy, Cancer Center, Department of Pharmacy, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China
| | - Weijiao Fan
- Cancer Center, Key Laboratory of Tumor Molecular Diagnosis and Individualized Medicine of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yiwen Zhang
- Center for Clinical Pharmacy, Cancer Center, Department of Pharmacy, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China.
- Key Laboratory of Endocrine Gland Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Ping Huang
- Center for Clinical Pharmacy, Cancer Center, Department of Pharmacy, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Affiliated People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou, China.
- Key Laboratory of Endocrine Gland Diseases of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China.
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10
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Yang T, Liang N, Zhang J, Bai Y, Li Y, Zhao Z, Chen L, Yang M, Huang Q, Hu P, Wang Q, Zhang H. OCTN2 enhances PGC-1α-mediated fatty acid oxidation and OXPHOS to support stemness in hepatocellular carcinoma. Metabolism 2023; 147:155628. [PMID: 37315888 DOI: 10.1016/j.metabol.2023.155628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Metabolic reprogramming of tumor cells plays a vital role in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma. Organic cation/carnitine transporter 2 (OCTN2), a sodium-ion dependent carnitine transporter and a sodium-ion independent tetraethylammonium (TEA) transporter, has been reported to contribute tumor malignancies and metabolic dysregulation in renal and esophageal carcinoma. However, the role of lipid metabolism deregulation mediated by OCTN2 in HCC cells has not been clarified. METHODS Bioinformatics analyses and immunohistochemistry assay were employed to identify OCTN2 expression in HCC tissues. The correlation between OCTN2 expression and prognosis was elucidated through K-M survival analysis. The expression and function of OCTN2 were examined via the assays of western blotting, sphere formation, cell proliferation, migration and invasion. The mechanism of OCTN2-mediated HCC malignancies was investigated through RNA-seq and metabolomic analyses. Furthermore, xenograft tumor models based on HCC cells with different OCTN2 expression levels were conducted to analyze the tumorigenic and targetable role of OCTN2 in vivo. RESULTS We found that gradually focused OCTN2 was significantly upregulated in HCC and tightly associated with poor prognosis. Additionally, OCTN2 upregulation promoted HCC cells proliferation and migration in vitro and augmented the growth and metastasis of HCC. Moreover, OCTN2 promoted the cancer stem-like properties of HCC by increasing fatty acid oxidation and oxidative phosphorylation. Mechanistically, PGC-1α signaling participated in the HCC cancer stem-like properties mediated by OCTN2 overexpression, which is confirmed by in vitro and in vivo analyses. Furthermore, OCTN2 upregulation may be transcriptionally activated by YY1 in HCC. Particularly, treatment with mildronate, an inhibitor of OCTN2, showed a therapeutic influence on HCC in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS Our findings demonstrate that OCTN2 plays a critical metabolic role in HCC cancer stemness maintenance and HCC progression, providing evidence for OCTN2 as a promising target for HCC therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Yang
- Department of Pain Treatment, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710038, China
| | - Ning Liang
- Department of General Surgery, The 75th Group Army Hospital, Dali 671000, China; Department of General Surgery, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710038, China
| | - Jiahao Zhang
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China
| | - Yaxing Bai
- Department of Dermatology, XiJing Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710032, China
| | - Yuedan Li
- Department of Pharmacy, General Hospital of Central Theater Command, Wuhan 430010, China
| | - Zifeng Zhao
- Department of Pain Treatment, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710038, China
| | - Liusheng Chen
- Clinical Research Center, The 75th Group Army Hospital, Dali, Yunnan 671000, China
| | - Min Yang
- Department of General Surgery, The 75th Group Army Hospital, Dali 671000, China
| | - Qian Huang
- Clinical Research Center, The 75th Group Army Hospital, Dali, Yunnan 671000, China
| | - Pan Hu
- Department of Anesthesiology, the 920 Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force of Chinese PLA, Kunming, Yunnan 650500, China.
| | - Qian Wang
- Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450052, China.
| | - Hongxin Zhang
- Department of Pain Treatment, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710038, China; Department of Intervention Therapy, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine, Xianyang 712046, China.
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11
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Guo BJ, Ruan Y, Wang YJ, Xiao CL, Zhong ZP, Cheng BB, Du J, Li B, Gu W, Yin ZF. Jiedu Recipe, a compound Chinese herbal medicine, inhibits cancer stemness in hepatocellular carcinoma via Wnt/β-catenin pathway under hypoxia. J Integr Med 2023; 21:474-486. [PMID: 37453868 DOI: 10.1016/j.joim.2023.06.008] [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] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Jiedu Recipe (JR), a Chinese herbal remedy, has been shown to prolong overall survival time and decrease recurrence and metastasis rates in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This work investigated the mechanism of JR in HCC treatment. METHODS The chemical constituents of JR were detected using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The potential anti-HCC mechanism of JR was screened using network pharmacology and messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) microarray chip assay, followed by experimental validation in human HCC cells (SMMC-7721 and Huh7) in vitro and a nude mouse subcutaneous transplantation model of HCC in vivo. HCC cell characteristics of proliferation, migration and invasion under hypoxic setting were investigated using thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide, wound healing and Transwell assays, respectively. Image-iT™ Hypoxia Reagent was added to reveal hypoxic conditions. Stem cell sphere formation assay was used to detect the stemness. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers like E-cadherin, vimentin and α-smooth muscle actin, and pluripotent transcription factors including nanog homeobox, octamer-binding transcription factor 4, and sex-determining region Y box protein 2 were analyzed using Western blotting and real-time polymerase chain reaction. Western blot was performed to ascertain the anti-HCC effect of JR under hypoxia involving the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. RESULTS According to network pharmacology and mRNA microarray chip analysis, JR may potentially act on hypoxia and inhibit the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. In vitro and in vivo experiments showed that JR significantly decreased hypoxia, and suppressed HCC cell features of proliferation, migration and invasion; furthermore, the hypoxia-induced increases in EMT and stemness marker expression in HCC cells were inhibited by JR. Results based on the co-administration of JR and an agonist (LiCl) or inhibitor (IWR-1-endo) verified that JR suppressed HCC cancer stem-like properties under hypoxia by blocking the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. CONCLUSION JR exerts potent anti-HCC effects by inhibiting cancer stemness via abating the Wnt/β-catenin pathway under hypoxic conditions. Please cite this article as: Guo BJ, Ruan Y, Wang YJ, Xiao CL, Zhong ZP, Cheng BB, Du J, Li B, Gu W, Yin ZF. Jiedu Recipe, a compound Chinese herbal medicine, inhibits cancer stemness in hepatocellular carcinoma via Wnt/β-catenin pathway under hypoxia. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(5): 474-486.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bing-Jie Guo
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China; Department of Gastroenterology, Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Yi Ruan
- PLA Naval Medical Center, Shanghai 200052, China
| | - Ya-Jing Wang
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Chu-Lan Xiao
- Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the 920th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force, Kunming 650000, Yunan Province, China
| | - Zhi-Peng Zhong
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China; Department of Rehabilitation, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Bin-Bin Cheng
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Juan Du
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Bai Li
- Department of Rehabilitation, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Wei Gu
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
| | - Zi-Fei Yin
- School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
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Park CR, Lee M, Lee SY, Kang D, Park SJ, Lee DC, Koo H, Park YG, Yu SL, Jeong IB, Kwon SJ, Kang J, Lee EB, Son JW. Regulating POLR3G by MicroRNA-26a-5p as a promising therapeutic target of lung cancer stemness and chemosensitivity. Noncoding RNA Res 2023; 8:273-281. [PMID: 36949748 PMCID: PMC10025963 DOI: 10.1016/j.ncrna.2023.03.001] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) identified in lung cancer exhibit resistance to chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and targeted therapy. Therefore, a technology for controlling CSCs is needed to overcome such resistance to cancer therapy. Various evidences about the association between epithelial-mesenchymal transition related transcriptomic alteration and acquisition of CSC phenotype have been proposed recently. Down-regulated miR-26a-5p is closely related to mesenchymal-like lung cancer cell lines. These findings suggest that miR-26a-5p might be involved in lung cancer stemness. RNA polymerase III subunit G (POLR3G) was selected as a candidate target of miR-26a-5p related to cancer stemness. It was found that miR-26a-5p directly regulates the expression of POLR3G.Overexpression of miR-26a-5p induced a marked reduction of colony formation and sphere formation. Co-treatment of miR-26a-5p and paclitaxel decreased cell growth, suggesting that miR-26a-5p might play a role as a chemotherapy sensitizer. In the cancer genome atlas data, high miR-26a-5p and low POLR3G expression were also related to higher survival rate of patients with lung adenocarcinoma. These results suggest that miR-26a-5p can suppress lung cancer stemness and make cancer cell become sensitive to chemotherapy. This finding provides a novel insight into a potential lung cancer treatment by regulating stemness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang Ryul Park
- Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Ulsan University Hospital, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Ulsan, 44033, Republic of Korea
| | - Minhyeok Lee
- Department of Internal Medicine, Konyang University Hospital, Daejeon, 35365, Republic of Korea
| | - Su Yel Lee
- Myunggok Research Institute for Medical Science, Konyang University, Daejeon, 35365, Republic of Korea
| | - Daeun Kang
- Department of Internal Medicine, Konyang University Hospital, Daejeon, 35365, Republic of Korea
| | - Se Jin Park
- Department of Internal Medicine, Konyang University Hospital, Daejeon, 35365, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong Chul Lee
- Biotherapeutics Translational Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Han Koo
- Biotherapeutics Translational Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Young Gyu Park
- Department of Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Seong Lan Yu
- Myunggok Research Institute for Medical Science, Konyang University, Daejeon, 35365, Republic of Korea
| | - In Beom Jeong
- Department of Internal Medicine, Konyang University Hospital, Daejeon, 35365, Republic of Korea
| | - Sun Jung Kwon
- Department of Internal Medicine, Konyang University Hospital, Daejeon, 35365, Republic of Korea
| | - Jaeku Kang
- Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Konyang University, Daejeon, 35365, Republic of Korea
| | - Eung Bae Lee
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41944, Republic of Korea
- Corresponding author. Department of Thoracic Surgery, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, 130, Dongdeok-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu, 41944, Republic of Korea.
| | - Ji Woong Son
- Department of Internal Medicine, Konyang University Hospital, Daejeon, 35365, Republic of Korea
- Corresponding author. Department of Internal Medicine, Konyang University Hospital, 158, Gwanjeodong-ro, Seo-gu, Daejeon, 35365, Republic of Korea.
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13
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Wang W, Guo H, Wu S, Xian S, Zhang W, Zhang R, Chen Z, Su K, Zhang Y, Zhu Y, Chu D, Zhao M, Tang Z, Zheng C, Huang Z, Ma Q, Guo R. Construction of Metastasis-Specific Regulation Network in Ovarian Cancer Based on Prognostic Stemness-Related Signatures. Reprod Sci 2023; 30:2634-2654. [PMID: 36940084 DOI: 10.1007/s43032-022-01134-3] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 03/21/2023]
Abstract
WE aimed to reveal the correlation between ovarian cancer (OV) metastasis and cancer stemness in OV. RNA-seq data and clinical information of 591 OV samples (551 without metastasis and 40 with metastasis) were obtained from TCGA. The edgeR method was used to determine differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and transcription factors (DETFs). Then, mRNA expression-based stemness index was calculated using one-class logistic regression (OCLR). Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to define stemness-related genes (SRGs). Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression were conducted to identify the prognostic SRGs (PSRGs). PSRGs, DETFs, and 50 hallmark pathways quantified by gene set variation analysis (GSVA) were integrated into Pearson co-expression analysis. Significant co-expression interactions were utilized to construct an OV metastasis-specific regulation network. Cell communication analysis was carried out based on single cell RNA sequencing data to explore the molecular regulation mechanism of OV. Eventually, assay for targeting accessible-chromatin with high throughout sequencing (ATAC), chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) validation, and multiple data sets were used to validate the expression levels and prognostic values of key stemness-related signatures. Moreover, connectivity map (CMap) was used to identify potential inhibitors of stemness-related signatures. Based on edgeR, WGCNA, and Cox proportional hazard regression, 22 PSRGs were defined to construct a prognostic prediction model for metastatic OV. In the metastasis-specific regulation network, key TF-PSRS interaction pair was NR4A1-EGR3 (correlation coefficient = 0.81, p < 0.05, positive), and key PSRG-hallmark pathway interaction pair was EGR3-TNFα signaling via NFκB (correlation coefficient = 0.44, p < 0.05, positive), which were validated in multi-omics databases. Thioridazine was postulated to be the most significant compound in treatment of OV metastasis. PSRGs played critical roles in OV metastasis. Specifically, EGR3 was the most significant PSRG, which was positively regulated by DETF NR4A1, inducing metastasis via TNFα signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenwen Wang
- Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
- Medical Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Gynecological Tumor, Henan Province, Henan, 450052, China
| | - Hongjun Guo
- Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
- Medical Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Gynecological Tumor, Henan Province, Henan, 450052, China
| | - Shengyu Wu
- Tongji University School of Medicine, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Shuyuan Xian
- Tongji University School of Medicine, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Weiwei Zhang
- Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
- Medical Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Gynecological Tumor, Henan Province, Henan, 450052, China
| | - Ruitao Zhang
- Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
- Medical Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Gynecological Tumor, Henan Province, Henan, 450052, China
| | - Zhihua Chen
- Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
- Medical Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Gynecological Tumor, Henan Province, Henan, 450052, China
| | - Ke Su
- Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
- Medical Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Gynecological Tumor, Henan Province, Henan, 450052, China
| | - Ying Zhang
- Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
- Medical Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Gynecological Tumor, Henan Province, Henan, 450052, China
| | - Ying Zhu
- Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
- Medical Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Gynecological Tumor, Henan Province, Henan, 450052, China
| | - Danxia Chu
- Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
- Medical Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Gynecological Tumor, Henan Province, Henan, 450052, China
| | - Mengling Zhao
- Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
- Medical Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Gynecological Tumor, Henan Province, Henan, 450052, China
| | - Zhihua Tang
- Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
- Medical Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Gynecological Tumor, Henan Province, Henan, 450052, China
| | - Chunlan Zheng
- Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, China
- Medical Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Gynecological Tumor, Henan Province, Henan, 450052, China
| | - Zongqiang Huang
- Department of Orthopedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.
| | - Qian Ma
- Department of Obstetrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.
| | - Ruixia Guo
- Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, 1 East Jianshe Road, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.
- Medical Key Laboratory for Prevention and Treatment of Malignant Gynecological Tumor, Henan Province, Henan, 450052, China.
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14
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Tomizawa S, Takano S, Eto R, Takayashiki T, Kuboki S, Ohtsuka M. Semaphorin 3 C enhances putative cancer stemness and accelerates peritoneal dissemination in pancreatic cancer. Cancer Cell Int 2023; 23:155. [PMID: 37537633 PMCID: PMC10401755 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-023-03008-3] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Semaphorins, axon guidance cues in neuronal network formation, have been implicated in cancer progression. We previously identified semaphorin 3 C (SEMA3C) as a secreted protein overexpressed in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). We, therefore, hypothesized that SEMA3C supports PDAC progression. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical features of SEMA3C, especially its association with chemo-resistance and peritoneal dissemination. METHODS In resected PDAC tissues, we assessed the relationship between SEMA3C expression and clinicopathological features by immunohistochemistry. In vitro studies, we have shown invasion assay, pancreatosphere formation assay, colony formation assay, cytotoxicity assay, and activation of SEMA3C downstream targets (c-Met, Akt, mTOR). In vivo, we performed a preclinical trial to confirm the efficacy of SEMA3C shRNA knockdown and Gemcitabine and nab-Paclitaxel (GnP) in an orthotopic transplantation mouse model and in peritoneal dissemination mouse model. RESULTS In resected PDAC tissues, SEMA3C expression correlated with invasion and peritoneal dissemination after surgery. SEMA3C promoted cell invasion, self-renewal, and colony formation in vitro. We further demonstrated that SEMA3C knockdown increased Gem-induced cytotoxicity by suppressing the activation of the Akt/mTOR pathway via the c-Met receptor. Combination therapy with SEMA3C knockdown and GnP reduced tumor growth and peritoneal dissemination. CONCLUSIONS SEMA3C enhances peritoneal dissemination by regulating putative cancer stemness and Gem resistance and activates phosphorylation of the Akt/mTOR pathway via c-Met. Our findings provide a new avenue for therapeutic strategies in regulating peritoneal dissemination during PDAC progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoshi Tomizawa
- Department of General Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, 260-8677, Japan
| | - Shigetsugu Takano
- Department of General Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, 260-8677, Japan.
| | - Ryotaro Eto
- Department of General Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, 260-8677, Japan
| | - Tsukasa Takayashiki
- Department of General Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, 260-8677, Japan
| | - Satoshi Kuboki
- Department of General Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, 260-8677, Japan
| | - Masayuki Ohtsuka
- Department of General Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, 260-8677, Japan
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15
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Yang Y, Zuo S, Li W, Di M, Liu J, Chai J, Wang J, Yuan Y, Li M, Jia Q. TRIM21 promotes tumor progression and cancer stemness in cervical squamous cell carcinoma. Pathol Res Pract 2023; 248:154710. [PMID: 37494805 DOI: 10.1016/j.prp.2023.154710] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Revised: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The ubiquitin ligase family member triplex motif protein 21 (TRIM21), which is involved in the proliferation, metastasis, and selective death of tumor cells, is crucial in the ubiquitination of a number of tumor marker proteins. As research progresses, more studies demonstrate that TRIM21 expression levels can be used to predict cancer prognosis. However, it is unclear how exactly TRIM21 contributes to cervical squamous carcinoma. METHODS Immunohistochemistry, Western Blot, and q-PCR were utilized to determine the expression level of TRIM21 in 113 patients with CESC removed by stage I surgery at Xijing Hospital from 2018 to 2023 using paraffin-embedded tumor tissues and 12 pairs of fresh tumor tissues and their paracancerous tissues. Log-rank analysis using SPSS 23.0 was performed for prognosis and survival analysis using univariate/multifactorial analysis. CCK-8, wound-healing and Scratch assay verified that TRIM21 promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion. The effect of overexpression and knockdown of TRIM21 on tumor stemness was examined using sphere-forming assay and Western Blot. Finally, we constructed a xenograft model to observe the effect of TRIM21 on tumorigenesis in Si Ha cell lines in vivo. RESULTS TRIM21 expression is greater in CESC tissues than in paracancerous tissues, according to immunohistochemical data. Similarly, at the protein and mRNA levels, we verified this conclusion using Western-Blotting and q-PCR. Prognostic and OS analysis showed that TRIM21 expression levels are associated with individual prognostic factors. CCK-8, Wound healing, Transwell, and Sphere-forming tests all demonstrated that TRIM21 overexpression enhances Ca Ski cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and stemness. TRIM21 knockdown in Si Ha inhibited tumor cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and stemness. The experimental results of xenograft models demonstrated that TRIM21 knockdown in Si Ha cells inhibited tumor development. CONCLUSION TRIM21 is a poor predictor of prognosis for cervical squamous cell carcinoma and might open up new avenues for investigation into therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanru Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Saijie Zuo
- School of Pharmacy, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Wenqing Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Man Di
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jia Chai
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jingjing Wang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
| | - Yuan Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
| | - Mingyang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China.
| | - Qingge Jia
- Department of Reproductive Medicine, Xi'an International Medical Center Hospital, Northwest University, Xi'an, China.
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16
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Chang TY, Lan KC, Wu CH, Sheu ML, Yang RS, Liu SH. Nε-(1-Carboxymethyl)-L-lysine, an advanced glycation end product, exerts malignancy on chondrosarcoma via the activation of cancer stemness. Arch Toxicol 2023; 97:2231-2244. [PMID: 37314482 DOI: 10.1007/s00204-023-03539-8] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Despite epidemiological evidence that suggests diabetes mellitus is a risk factor for cancer, the link between diabetes mellitus and primary bone cancer is rarely discussed. Chondrosarcomas are primary malignant cartilage tumors with poor prognosis and high metastatic potential. It remains unclear whether hyperglycemia affects the stemness and malignancy of chondrosarcoma cells. Nε-(1-Carboxymethyl)-L-lysine (CML), an advanced glycation end product (AGE), is a major immunological epitope detected in the tissue proteins of diabetic patients. We hypothesized that CML could enhance cancer stemness in chondrosarcoma cells. CML enhanced tumor-sphere formation and the expression of cancer stem cell markers in human chondrosarcoma cell lines. Migration and invasion ability and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process were also induced by CML treatment. Moreover, CML increased the protein expression levels of the receptor for AGE (RAGE), phosphorylated NFκB-p65, and decreased the phosphorylation of AKT and GSK-3. We also found that hyperglycemia with high CML levels facilitated tumor metastasis, whereas tumor growth was not affected in the streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic NOD/SCID tumor xenograft mouse models. Our results indicate that CML enhances chondrosarcoma stemness and metastasis, which may reveal the relationship between AGE and bone cancer metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting-Yu Chang
- Graduate Institute of Toxicology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Kuo-Cheng Lan
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chia-Hung Wu
- Graduate Institute of Toxicology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Meei-Ling Sheu
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Research, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Rong-Sen Yang
- Department of Orthopedics, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Shing-Hwa Liu
- Graduate Institute of Toxicology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
- Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
- Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University & Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
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17
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Yuan SSF, Wang YM, Chan LP, Hung AC, Nguyen HDH, Chen YK, Hu SCS, Lo S, Wang YY. IL-1RA promotes oral squamous cell carcinoma malignancy through mitochondrial metabolism-mediated EGFR/JNK/SOX2 pathway. J Transl Med 2023; 21:473. [PMID: 37461111 PMCID: PMC10351194 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04343-9] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), a member of the IL-1 family, has diverse roles in cancer development. However, the role of IL-1RA in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), in particular the underlying mechanisms, remains to be elucidated. METHODS Tumor tissues from OSCC patients were assessed for protein expression by immunohistochemistry. Patient survival was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier curve analysis. Impact of differential IL-1RA expression on cultured OSCC cell lines was assessed in vitro by clonogenic survival, tumorsphere formation, soft agar colony formation, and transwell cell migration and invasion assays. Oxygen consumption rate was measured by Seahorse analyzer or multi-mode plate reader. PCR array was applied to screen human cancer stem cell-related genes, proteome array for phosphorylation status of kinases, and Western blot for protein expression in cultured cells. In vivo tumor growth was investigated by orthotopic xenograft in mice, and protein expression in xenograft tumors assessed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS Clinical analysis revealed that elevated IL-1RA expression in OSCC tumor tissues was associated with increased tumor size and cancer stage, and reduced survival in the patient group receiving adjuvant radiotherapy compared to the patient group without adjuvant radiotherapy. In vitro data supported these observations, showing that overexpression of IL-1RA increased OSCC cell growth, migration/invasion abilities, and resistance to ionizing radiation, whereas knockdown of IL-1RA had largely the opposite effects. Additionally, we identified that EGFR/JNK activation and SOX2 expression were modulated by differential IL-1RA expression downstream of mitochondrial metabolism, with application of mitochondrial complex inhibitors suppressing these pathways. Furthermore, in vivo data revealed that treatment with cisplatin or metformin-a mitochondrial complex inhibitor and conventional therapy for type 2 diabetes-reduced IL-1RA-associated xenograft tumor growth as well as EGFR/JNK activation and SOX2 expression. This inhibitory effect was further augmented by combination treatment with cisplatin and metformin. CONCLUSIONS The current study suggests that IL-1RA promoted OSCC malignancy through mitochondrial metabolism-mediated EGFR/JNK activation and SOX2 expression. Inhibition of this mitochondrial metabolic pathway may present a potential therapeutic strategy in OSCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shyng-Shiou F Yuan
- Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan
- Translational Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan
- Drug Development and Value Creation Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, Institute of Molecular Medicine and Bioengineering, Center for Intelligent Drug Systems and Smart Bio-devices (IDS2B), National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 75 Bo-Ai Street, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan
| | - Yun-Ming Wang
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, Institute of Molecular Medicine and Bioengineering, Center for Intelligent Drug Systems and Smart Bio-devices (IDS2B), National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, 75 Bo-Ai Street, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan
- School of Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, No.100, Shih-Chuan 1St Road, Sanmin Dist., Kaohsiung, 80708, Taiwan
| | - Leong-Perng Chan
- Cohort Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan
- Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital and Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan
| | - Amos C Hung
- Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan
| | - Hieu D H Nguyen
- School of Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, No.100, Shih-Chuan 1St Road, Sanmin Dist., Kaohsiung, 80708, Taiwan
| | - Yuk-Kwan Chen
- School of Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, No.100, Shih-Chuan 1St Road, Sanmin Dist., Kaohsiung, 80708, Taiwan
- Division of Oral Pathology & Maxillofacial Radiology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan
| | - Stephen Chu-Sung Hu
- Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan
- Department of Dermatology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan
| | - Steven Lo
- Canniesburn Regional Plastic Surgery and Burns Unit, Glasgow, G4 0SF, UK
- College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Yen-Yun Wang
- Department of Medical Research, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan.
- Drug Development and Value Creation Research Center, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 807, Taiwan.
- School of Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, No.100, Shih-Chuan 1St Road, Sanmin Dist., Kaohsiung, 80708, Taiwan.
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Zheng JY, Zhu T, Zhuo W, Mao XY, Yin JY, Li X, He YJ, Zhang W, Liu C, Liu ZQ. eIF3a sustains non-small cell lung cancer stem cell-like properties by promoting YY1-mediated transcriptional activation of β-catenin. Biochem Pharmacol 2023; 213:115616. [PMID: 37211173 DOI: 10.1016/j.bcp.2023.115616] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2023] [Revised: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are the leading cause of recurrence and poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3a (eIF3a) participates in many tumor development processes, such as metastasis, therapy resistance, and glycolysis, all of which are closely associated with the presence of CSCs. However, whether eIF3a maintains NSCLC-CSC-like properties remains to be elucidated. In this study, eIF3a was highly expressed in lung cancer tissues and was linked to poor prognosis. eIF3a was also highly expressed in CSC-enriched spheres compared with adherent monolayer cells. Moreover, eIF3a is required for NSCLC stem cell-like traits maintenance in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, eIF3a activates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, promoting the transcription of cancer stem cell markers. Specifically, eIF3a promotes the transcriptional activation of β-catenin and mediates its nuclear accumulation to form a complex with T cell factor 4 (TCF4). However, eIF3a has no significant effect on protein stability and translation. Proteomics analysis revealed that the candidate transcription factor, Yin Yang 1 (YY1), mediates the activated effect of eIF3a on β-catenin. Overall, the findings of this study implied that eIF3a contributes to the maintenance of NSCLC stem cell-like characteristics through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. eIF3a is a potential target for the treatment and prognosis of NSCLC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ju-Yan Zheng
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, PR China; Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Changsha 410078, PR China
| | - Tao Zhu
- Department of Pharmacy, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310009, PR China
| | - Wei Zhuo
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, PR China; Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Changsha 410078, PR China
| | - Xiao-Yuan Mao
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, PR China; Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Changsha 410078, PR China
| | - Ji-Ye Yin
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, PR China; Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Changsha 410078, PR China
| | - Xi Li
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, PR China; Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Changsha 410078, PR China
| | - Yi-Jing He
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, PR China; Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Changsha 410078, PR China
| | - Wei Zhang
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, PR China; Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Changsha 410078, PR China
| | - Chong Liu
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, PR China; Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Changsha 410078, PR China.
| | - Zhao-Qian Liu
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Hunan Key Laboratory of Pharmacogenetics, and National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, PR China; Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Central South University, Changsha 410078, PR China.
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19
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Lai J, Lin X, Zheng H, Xie B, Fu D. Characterization of stemness features and construction of a stemness subtype classifier to predict survival and treatment responses in lung squamous cell carcinoma. BMC Cancer 2023; 23:525. [PMID: 37291533 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-023-10918-y] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cancer stemness has been proven to affect tumorigenesis, metastasis, and drug resistance in various cancers, including lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). We intended to develop a clinically applicable stemness subtype classifier that could assist physicians in predicting patient prognosis and treatment response. METHODS This study collected RNA-seq data from TCGA and GEO databases to calculate transcriptional stemness indices (mRNAsi) using the one-class logistic regression machine learning algorithm. Unsupervised consensus clustering was conducted to identify a stemness-based classification. Immune infiltration analysis (ESTIMATE and ssGSEA algorithms) methods were used to investigate the immune infiltration status of different subtypes. Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE) and Immunophenotype Score (IPS) were used to evaluate the immunotherapy response. The pRRophetic algorithm was used to estimate the efficiency of chemotherapeutic and targeted agents. Two machine learning algorithms (LASSO and RF) and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to construct a novel stemness-related classifier. RESULTS We observed that patients in the high-mRNAsi group had a better prognosis than those in the low-mRNAsi group. Next, we identified 190 stemness-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that could categorize LUSC patients into two stemness subtypes. Patients in the stemness subtype B group with higher mRNAsi scores exhibited better overall survival (OS) than those in the stemness subtype A group. Immunotherapy prediction demonstrated that stemness subtype A has a better response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Furthermore, the drug response prediction indicated that stemness subtype A had a better response to chemotherapy but was more resistant to epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs). Finally, we constructed a nine-gene-based classifier to predict patients' stemness subtype and validated it in independent GEO validation sets. The expression levels of these genes were also validated in clinical tumor specimens. CONCLUSION The stemness-related classifier could serve as a potential prognostic and treatment predictor and assist physicians in selecting effective treatment strategies for patients with LUSC in clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinzhi Lai
- Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, 362000, Fujian, China
| | - Xinyi Lin
- Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, 362000, Fujian, China
| | - Huangna Zheng
- Department of Hematology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, 362000, Fujian, China
| | - Bilan Xie
- Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, 362000, Fujian, China.
| | - Deqiang Fu
- Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, 362000, Fujian, China.
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20
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Jin C, Luo Y, Liang Z, Li X, Kołat D, Zhao L, Xiong W. Crucial role of the transcription factors family activator protein 2 in cancer: current clue and views. J Transl Med 2023; 21:371. [PMID: 37291585 PMCID: PMC10249218 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04189-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The transcription factor family activator protein 2 (TFAP2) is vital for regulating both embryonic and oncogenic development. The TFAP2 family consists of five DNA-binding proteins, including TFAP2A, TFAP2B, TFAP2C, TFAP2D and TFAP2E. The importance of TFAP2 in tumor biology is becoming more widely recognized. While TFAP2D is not well studied, here, we mainly focus on the other four TFAP2 members. As a transcription factor, TFAP2 regulates the downstream targets directly by binding to their regulatory region. In addition, the regulation of downstream targets by epigenetic modification, posttranslational regulation, and interaction with noncoding RNA have also been identified. According to the pathways in which the downstream targets are involved in, the regulatory effects of TFAP2 on tumorigenesis are generally summarized as follows: stemness and EMT, interaction between TFAP2 and tumor microenvironment, cell cycle and DNA damage repair, ER- and ERBB2-related signaling pathway, ferroptosis and therapeutic response. Moreover, the factors that affect TFAP2 expression in oncogenesis are also summarized. Here, we review and discuss the most recent studies on TFAP2 and its effects on carcinogenesis and regulatory mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Jin
- Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
- Department of Liver Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Yuxiao Luo
- University Medical Center Göttingen, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Zhu Liang
- Target Discovery Institute, Centre for Medicines Discovery, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Chinese Academy for Medical Sciences Oxford Institute, Oxford, UK
| | - Xi Li
- Department of Urology, Churchill Hospital, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation, Oxford, UK
| | - Damian Kołat
- Department of Experimental Surgery, Medical University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland
| | - Linyong Zhao
- Department of General Surgery & Laboratory of Gastric Cancer, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy/Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
- Gastric Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
| | - Weixi Xiong
- Department of Neurology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
- Institute of Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Technology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
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21
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Chang H, Sun W, Zhao Y, Sun T, Zhao Z. Targeting Pokemon is a novel strategy to suppress cancer aggressiveness of non-small cell lung cancer: Identification of Pokemon as ideal target for developing anti-NSCLC drugs. Arch Biochem Biophys 2023; 742:109637. [PMID: 37182800 DOI: 10.1016/j.abb.2023.109637] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Although it is widely reported that Pokemon acts as an oncogene in the pathogenesis of multiple cancers, but its role and detailed molecular mechanisms in regulating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progression have not been fully delineated. Here, by performing Real-Time qPCR analysis, we verified that Pokemon was high-expressed in NSCLC tissues and cells, compared to the corresponding normal lung tissues and epithelial cells. Then, the small interfering RNA (siRNA) for Pokemon was transfected into the NSCLC cells to verify its biological functions, and our results suggested that silencing of Pokemon suppressed the malignant phenotypes, including cell viability, mitosis, colony formation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), mobility and cancer stem cell (CSC) properties in NSCLC cells. Mechanistically, we confirmed that knockdown of Pokemon decreased the expression levels of phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), phosphorylated GSK-3β (p-GSK-3β) and Snail to inactivate the oncogenic Akt/GSK-3β/Snail signal pathway, and deletion of Snail also had similar effects to hamper the development of NSCLC. Next, our rescuing experiments validated that Pokemon ablation-induced suppressing effects on NSCLC cell malignancy were all abrogated by overexpressing Snail. Finally, the in vivo experiments confirmed that silencing of Pokemon downregulated Snail to hamper tumorigenesis of NSCLC cells in xenograft tumor-bearing mice models. Taken together, we firstly uncovered the underlying mechanisms by which the Pokemon/Akt/GSK-3β/Snail signal pathway contributed to the development of NSCLC, and this signal pathway could be potentially used as therapeutic targets for the development of personalized anti-NSCLC drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Chang
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Youzheng Street No. 23, Nangang District, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China.
| | - Wenxue Sun
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen City, Shenzhen, 518000, Guangdong, China.
| | - Yiming Zhao
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Youzheng Street No. 23, Nangang District, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China.
| | - Tianhao Sun
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Youzheng Street No. 23, Nangang District, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China.
| | - Zhihong Zhao
- Department of Thoracic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Youzheng Street No. 23, Nangang District, Harbin, 150001, Heilongjiang, China.
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Mohamed EH, Abo El-Magd NF, El Gayar AM. Carvacrol enhances anti-tumor activity and mitigates cardiotoxicity of sorafenib in thioacetamide-induced hepatocellular carcinoma model through inhibiting TRPM7. Life Sci 2023; 324:121735. [PMID: 37142088 DOI: 10.1016/j.lfs.2023.121735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Revised: 04/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
AIMS Sorafenib (Sora) represents one of the few effective drugs for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), while resistance and cardiotoxicity limit its therapeutic efficacy. This study investigated the effect of transient receptor potential melastatin 7 (TRPM7) inhibitor, carvacrol (CARV), on overcoming Sora resistance and cardiotoxicity in thioacetamide (TAA) induced HCC in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS TAA (200 mg/kg/twice weekly, intraperitoneal) was administered for 16 weeks to induce HCC. Rats were treated with Sora (10 mg/Kg/day; orally) and CARV (15 mg/kg/day; orally) alone or in combination, for six weeks after HCC induction. Liver and heart functions, antioxidant capacity, and histopathology were performed. Apoptosis, proliferation, angiogenesis, metastasis, and drug resistance were assessed by quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and immunohistochemistry. KEY FINDINGS CARV/Sora combination significantly improved survival rate, and liver functions, reduced Alpha-Fetoprotein level, and attenuated HCC progression compared with Sora group. CARV coadministration almost obviated Sora-induced changes in cardiac and hepatic tissues. The CARV/Sora combination suppressed drug resistance and stemness by downregulating ATP-binding cassette subfamily G member 2, NOTCH1, Spalt like transcription factor 4, and CD133. CARV boosted Sora antiproliferative and apoptotic activities by decreasing cyclin D1 and B-cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 and increasing BCL2-Associated X and caspase-3. SIGNIFICANCE CARV/Sora is a promising combination for tumor suppression and overcoming Sora resistance and cardiotoxicity in HCC by modulating TRPM7. To our best knowledge, this study represents the first study to investigate the efficiency of CARV/ Sora on the HCC rat model. Moreover, no previous studies have reported the effect of inhibiting TRPM7 on HCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eman H Mohamed
- Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt; Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Horus University-Egypt, Damietta 34511, Egypt.
| | - Nada F Abo El-Magd
- Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
| | - Amal M El Gayar
- Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
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23
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Bai S, Zhao Y, Chen W, Peng W, Wang Y, Xiong S, Li Y, Yang Y, Chen S, Cheng B, Wang R. The stromal-tumor amplifying STC1-Notch1 feedforward signal promotes the stemness of hepatocellular carcinoma. J Transl Med 2023; 21:236. [PMID: 37004088 PMCID: PMC10067215 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-04085-8] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), an important component of the tumor microenvironment (TME), play crucial roles in tumor stemness. It has been shown in various cancer studies that stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) is secreted by CAFs, however, its function in HCC is still not clear. METHODS The serum concentration and intracellular expression level of STC1 were quantified by ELISA and western blotting, respectively. The role of CAF-derived STC1 in HCC stemness was investigated by sphere formation, sorafenib resistance, colony formation, and transwell migration and invasion assays in vitro and in an orthotopic liver xenograft model in vivo. An HCC tissue microarray containing 72 samples was used to evaluate the expression of STC1 and Notch1 in HCC tissues. Coimmunoprecipitation (CoIP) and dual-luciferase reporter assays were performed to further explore the underlying mechanisms. ELISAs were used to measure the serum concentration of STC1 in HCC patients. RESULTS We demonstrated that CAFs were the main source of STC1 in HCC and that CAF-derived STC1 promoted HCC stemness through activation of the Notch signaling pathway. In HCC patients, the expression of STC1 was positively correlated with Notch1 expression and poor prognosis. The co-IP assay showed that STC1 directly bound to Notch1 receptors to activate the Notch signaling pathway, thereby promoting the stemness of HCC cells. Our data further demonstrated that STC1 was a direct transcriptional target of CSL in HCC cells. Furthermore, ELISA revealed that the serum STC1 concentration was higher in patients with advanced liver cancer than in patients with early liver cancer. CONCLUSIONS CAF-derived STC1 promoted HCC stemness via the Notch1 signaling pathway. STC1 might serve as a potential biomarker for the prognostic assessment of HCC, and the stromal-tumor amplifying STC1-Notch1 feedforward signal could constitute an effective therapeutic target for HCC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuya Bai
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Yuchong Zhao
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Wei Chen
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Wang Peng
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Yun Wang
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, 430030, China
- Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450000, China
| | - Si Xiong
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Yanling Li
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Yilei Yang
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Shiru Chen
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Bin Cheng
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, 430030, China.
| | - Ronghua Wang
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, 430030, China.
- Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
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Liu Y, Xu Q, Deng F, Zheng Z, Luo J, Wang P, Zhou J, Lu X, Zhang L, Chen Z, Zhang Q, Chen Q, Zuo D. HERC2 promotes inflammation-driven cancer stemness and immune evasion in hepatocellular carcinoma by activating STAT3 pathway. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2023; 42:38. [PMID: 36721234 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-023-02609-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hepatic inflammation is a common initiator of liver diseases and considered as the primary driver of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the precise mechanism of inflammation-induced HCC development and immune evasion remains elusive and requires extensive investigation. This study sought to identify the new target that is involved in inflammation-related liver tumorigenesis. METHODS RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis was performed to identify the differential gene expression signature in primary human hepatocytes treated with or without inflammatory stimulus. A giant E3 ubiquitin protein ligase, HECT domain and RCC1-like domain 2 (HERC2), was identified in the analysis. Prognostic performance in the TCGA validation dataset was illustrated by Kaplan-Meier plot. The functional role of HERC2 in HCC progression was determined by knocking out and over-expressing HERC2 in various HCC cells. The precise molecular mechanism and signaling pathway networks associated with HERC2 in HCC stemness and immune evasion were determined by quantitative real-time PCR, immunofluorescence, western blot, and transcriptomic profiling analyses. To investigate the role of HERC2 in the etiology of HCC in vivo, we applied the chemical carcinogen diethylnitrosamine (DEN) to hepatocyte-specific HERC2-knockout mice. Additionally, the orthotopic transplantation mouse model of HCC was established to determine the effect of HERC2 during HCC development. RESULTS We found that increased HERC2 expression was correlated with poor prognosis in HCC patients. HERC2 enhanced the stemness and PD-L1-mediated immune evasion of HCC cells, which is associated with the activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) pathway during the inflammation-cancer transition. Mechanically, HERC2 coupled with the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-resident protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) and limited PTP1B translocation from ER to ER-plasma membrane junction, which ameliorated the inhibitory role of PTP1B in Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) phosphorylation. Furthermore, HERC2 knockout in hepatocytes limited hepatic PD-L1 expression and ameliorated HCC progression in DEN-induced mouse liver carcinogenesis. In contrast, HERC2 overexpression promoted tumor development and progression in the orthotopic transplantation HCC model. CONCLUSION Our data identified HERC2 functions as a previously unknown modulator of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway, thereby promoting inflammation-induced stemness and immune evasion in HCC.
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Hsu CH, Weng PW, Chen MY, Yeh CT, Setiawan SA, Yadav VK, Wu ATH, Tzeng DTW, Gong JX, Yang Z, Tzeng YM. Therapeutic targeting of hepatocellular carcinoma cells with antrocinol, a novel, dual-specificity, small-molecule inhibitor of the KRAS and ERK oncogenic signaling pathways. Chem Biol Interact 2023; 370:110329. [PMID: 36565974 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2022.110329] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Until recently, sorafenib has been the only treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Some patients, however, exhibit resistance to this treatment and subsequently experience cancer progression, recurrence, or death. Therefore, identifying a new alternative treatment for patients with little or no response to sorafenib treatment is vital. In this study, we explored the therapeutic potential and underlying molecular mechanism of antrocinol ((3aS,4R,6aS,10aR)-4-(hydroxymethyl)-7,7-dimethyldecahydro-1H-naphtho[1,8a-c]furan-1-one) in patients with HCC. The results indicated that antrocinol was more therapeutically effective than antrocin, Stivarga, and sorafenib against HCC cell lines. Antrocinol also substantially suppressed the expression of KRAS-GTP, p-MEK1/2, p-ERK1/2, and p-AKT in the Huh7 cell line. Additionally, antrocinol-induced apoptosis in the Huh7 cell line, inhibited the formation of tumorspheres, and suppressed the expression of cancer stem cell markers CD133, KLF4, CD44, OCT4, SOX2, and c-Myc. Animal studies revealed that antrocinol alone considerably suppressed tumor growth in nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient mice inoculated with Huh7 tumorspheres. It also synergistically enhanced the anticancer effect of sorafenib, resulting in enhanced suppression of tumor growth (p < 0.001) and tumorsphere formation (p < 0.001). In tumor samples resected from mice treated with antrocinol alone or in combination with sorafenib, immunohistochemical analysis revealed an increase in BAX expression and a decrease in ERK and AKT protein expression. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the anti-HCC activity of antrocinol. With its higher therapeutic efficacy than that of sorafenib, antrocinol is a candidate drug for patients with HCC who demonstrate little or no response to sorafenib treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Hung Hsu
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, 23561, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Injury Prevention and Control, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei City, 11031, Taiwan; Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Wei Weng
- Department of Orthopaedics, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan; Department of Orthopaedics, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City, 23561, Taiwan; Graduate Institute of Biomedical Materials and Tissue Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Yao Chen
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, 23561, Taiwan; Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan
| | - Chi-Tai Yeh
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, 23561, Taiwan; Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan; Continuing Education Program of Food Biotechnology Applications, College of Science and Engineering, National Taitung University, Taitung, 95092, Taiwan
| | - Syahru Agung Setiawan
- International Ph.D. Program in Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan
| | - Vijesh Kumar Yadav
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, 23561, Taiwan; Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan
| | - Alexander T H Wu
- Ph.D. Program of Translational Medicine, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 11031, Taiwan
| | - David T W Tzeng
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 999077, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China; Lifebit, London, EC2A 2AP, UK
| | - Jian-Xian Gong
- Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China; Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Zhen Yang
- Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China; State Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Engineering of the Ministry of Education and Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Science, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China; Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
| | - Yew-Min Tzeng
- Department of Applied Science, National Taitung University, Taitung, 95092, Taiwan; Department of Applied Chemistry, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung, 41349, Taiwan.
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Xiao CL, Zhong ZP, Lü C, Guo BJ, Chen JJ, Zhao T, Yin ZF, Li B. Physical exercise suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma progression by alleviating hypoxia and attenuating cancer stemness through the Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin pathway. J Integr Med 2023; 21:184-193. [PMID: 36781361 DOI: 10.1016/j.joim.2023.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Physical exercise, a common non-drug intervention, is an important strategy in cancer treatment, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the mechanism remains largely unknown. Due to the importance of hypoxia and cancer stemness in the development of HCC, the present study investigated whether the anti-HCC effect of physical exercise is related to its suppression on hypoxia and cancer stemness. METHODS A physical exercise intervention of swimming (30 min/d, 5 d/week, for 4 weeks) was administered to BALB/c nude mice bearing subcutaneous human HCC tumor. The anti-HCC effect of swimming was assessed in vivo by tumor weight monitoring, hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) detection of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki67. The expression of stemness transcription factors, including Nanog homeobox (NANOG), octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT-4), v-Myc avian myelocytomatosis viral oncogene homolog (C-MYC) and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), was detected using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. A hypoxia probe was used to explore the intratumoral hypoxia status. Western blot was used to detect the expression of HIF-1α and proteins related to protein kinase B (Akt)/glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β)/β-catenin signaling pathway. The IHC analysis of platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (CD31), and the immunofluorescence co-location of CD31 and desmin were used to analyze tumor blood perfusion. SMMC-7721 cells were treated with nude mice serum. The inhibition effect on cancer stemness in vitro was detected using suspension sphere experiments and the expression of stemness transcription factors. The hypoxia status was inferred by measuring the protein and mRNA levels of HIF-1α. Further, the expression of proteins related to Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling pathway was detected. RESULTS Swimming significantly reduced the body weight and tumor weight in nude mice bearing HCC tumor. HE staining and IHC results showed a lower necrotic area ratio as well as fewer PCNA or Ki67 positive cells in mice receiving the swimming intervention. Swimming potently alleviated the intratumoral hypoxia, attenuated the cancer stemness, and inhibited the Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling pathway. Additionally, the desmin+/CD31+ ratio, rather than the number of CD31+ vessels, was significantly increased in swimming-treated mice. In vitro experiments showed that treating cells with the serum from the swimming intervention mice significantly reduced the formation of SMMC-7721 cell suspension sphere, as well as the mRNA expression level of stemness transcription factors. Consistent with the in vivo results, HIF-1α and Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling pathway were also inhibited in cells treated with serum from swimming group. CONCLUSION Swimming alleviated hypoxia and attenuated cancer stemness in HCC, through suppression of the Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling pathway. The alleviation of intratumoral hypoxia was related to the increase in blood perfusion in the tumor. Please cite this article as: Xiao CL, Zhong ZP, Lü C, Guo BJ, Chen JJ, Zhao T, Yin ZF, Li B. Physical exercise suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma progression by alleviating hypoxia and attenuating cancer stemness through the Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin pathway. J Integr Med. 2022; Epub ahead of print.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chu-Lan Xiao
- Department of Rehabilitation, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China; Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The 920th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force, Kunming 650000, Yunnan Province, China
| | - Zhi-Peng Zhong
- Department of Rehabilitation, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Can Lü
- Department of Rehabilitation, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Bing-Jie Guo
- Department of Rehabilitation, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China; Second Team, Graduate School, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Jiao-Jiao Chen
- Department of Rehabilitation, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Tong Zhao
- College of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Zi-Fei Yin
- Department of Military Traditional Chinese Medicine, Faculty of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
| | - Bai Li
- Department of Rehabilitation, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
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Lai HC, Lin HJ, Jeng LB, Huang ST. Roles of conventional and complementary therapies in recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2023; 15:19-35. [PMID: 36684056 PMCID: PMC9850766 DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v15.i1.19] [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] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common type of cancer and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. HCC has a reported recurrence rate of 70%-80% after 5 years of follow-up. Controlling tumor recurrence is the most critical factor associated with HCC mortality. Conventional salvage therapies for recurrent HCC include re-hepatectomy or liver transplantation, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, Y-90, target therapy, and immunotherapy; however, these conventional treatment modalities have yet to achieve consistently favorable outcomes. Meanwhile, previous studies have demonstrated that conventional therapies in combination with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), acupuncture, moxibustion or dietary supplements could notably benefit patients with HCC recurrence by strengthening and augmenting the overall management strategy. However, systemic reviews related to the interactions between complementary therapies and conventional therapy in recurrent HCC are limited. In this review, we discuss the molecular mechanisms underlying the functions of complementary therapies for recurrent HCC, which include augmenting the local control to improve the congestion status of primary tumors and reducing multicentric tumor occurrence via inducing autophagy, apoptosis or cell cycle arrest. TCM and its derivatives may play important roles in helping to control HCC recurrence by inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal transition, migration, invasion, and metastasis, inhibiting cancer stem cells, and ameliorating drug resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsiang-Chun Lai
- Graduate Institute of Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40447, Taiwan
- Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan
| | - Hung-Jen Lin
- Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan
| | - Long-Bin Jeng
- Organ Transplantation Center, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan
| | - Sheng-Teng Huang
- Department of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan
- School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40447, Taiwan
- Cancer Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40447, Taiwan
- An-Nan Hospital, China Medical University, Tainan 709204, Taiwan
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Jia Q, Song J, Xu T, Liu J, Chai J, Yang Y, Li L, Li M, Yang X. ZIC5 promotes aggressiveness and cancer stemness in cervical squamous cell carcinoma. Pathol Res Pract 2023; 241:154268. [PMID: 36495760 DOI: 10.1016/j.prp.2022.154268] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 11/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cervical cancer is one of the major malignancies causing morbidity and mortality in women in developing countries. ZIC5 has been found to be associated with a variety of cancers, yet the expression and molecular function of ZIC5 in cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CESC) is unknown. METHODS We examined the expression of ZIC5 in tumors and normal tissues of CESC patients using immunohistochemistry, immunoblotting and fluorescent quantitative PCR, and used statistical methods to explore its relationship with clinical manifestations. Next, we constructed ZIC5 knockdown and overexpression CESC cell lines to observe the effect of ZIC5 on the proliferation and metastasis of CESC cells. Finally, we applied a nude mouse xenograft tumor model to observe the effect of ZIC5 on tumorigenesis in vivo. RESULTS Our results showed that the expression of ZIC5 was higher in cancer tissues than in normal tissues. Prognostic analysis showed that ZIC5 expression level was an independent prognostic factor in CESC patients, and the results of Transwell, CCK-8 and wound healing assays confirmed that overexpression of ZIC5 could promote the proliferation and migration of CESC cells. A nude mouse xenograft tumor model showed that knockdown of ZIC5 inhibited tumor growth in vivo. Database, immunoblotting assay and in vitro sphere-forming assay confirmed that ZIC5 could promote the stemness of CESC cells. CONCLUSION ZIC5 is a factor that indicates a poor prognosis of CESC patients and promotes stemness in CESC cells. ZIC5 may be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for CESC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingge Jia
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Junyang Song
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Tianqi Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Jia Chai
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yanru Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Lingfei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Mingyang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cancer Biology, Department of Pathology, Xijing Hospital and School of Basic Medicine, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xinyuan Yang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
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Shi H, Tsang Y, Yang Y. Identification of CEACAM5 as a stemness-related inhibitory immune checkpoint in pancreatic cancer. BMC Cancer 2022; 22:1291. [PMID: 36494785 PMCID: PMC9733357 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-022-10397-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Immunotherapy has emerged as a new cancer treatment modality. However, tumour heterogeneity can diminish checkpoint blockade response and shorten patient survival. As a source of tumour heterogeneity, cancer stem cells act as an indispensable reservoir for local recurrence and distant metastasis. Thus, precision immunotherapy targeting tumour heterogeneity requires a comprehensive understanding of cancer stem cell immunology. Our study aimed to identify stemness-related inhibitory immune checkpoints and relevant regulatory pathways in pancreatic cancer. METHODS Pancreatic cancer-specific datasets in The Cancer Genome Atlas and the Cancer Therapeutics Response Portal were collected for in-depth bioinformatic analysis. Differentially expressed genes between pancreatic cancers with high and low stemness index (mRNAsi) scores were compared to screen out inhibitory immune checkpoints. Survival analysis was used to predict the prognostic value of immune checkpoint plus immune infiltrate in patients with pancreatic cancer. The expression of stemness-related immune checkpoint across immune subtypes of pancreatic cancer was detected and gene set enrichment analysis was performed to figure out the relevant regulatory signallings. RESULTS The abundance of cancer stemness predicted a low immunotherapy response to pancreatic cancer. The inhibitory immune checkpoint CEACAM5 that was enriched in pancreatic cancers with high mRNAsi scores also exhibited a strong correlation with invasive cell-enriched signature and Msi+ tumour-initiating cell-enriched signature. Levels of CEACAM5 expression were higher in the interferon-γ dominant immune subtype of pancreatic cancers that are characterized by high M1 macrophage infiltration. The patient group with high levels of CEACAM5 expression had a high risk of poor overall survival, even if accompanied by high infiltration of M1 macrophages. Furthermore, prostanoid and long-chain unsaturated fatty acid metabolic processes showed a significant association with cancer stemness and CEACAM5 expression. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that CEACAM5 is a candidate stemness-related innate immune checkpoint in pancreatic cancer, and is potentially regulated by prostanoid and long-chain unsaturated fatty acid metabolic processes. Immune checkpoint blockade of CEACAM5, which synergizes with inhibition of those regulatory pathways, may improve the efficacy of precision immunotherapy targeting tumour heterogeneity caused by cancer stem cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haojun Shi
- grid.412277.50000 0004 1760 6738Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China ,grid.412277.50000 0004 1760 6738Shanghai Institute for Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Yiusing Tsang
- grid.412277.50000 0004 1760 6738Department of General Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China
| | - Yisi Yang
- grid.5290.e0000 0004 1936 9975Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
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Han R, Yang H, Ling C, Lu L. Tiliroside suppresses triple-negative breast cancer as a multifunctional CAXII inhibitor. Cancer Cell Int 2022; 22:368. [PMID: 36424626 PMCID: PMC9685933 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-022-02786-6] [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] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype of breast cancer characterized by poor prognosis, early recurrence, and the lack of durable chemotherapy responses and specific targeted treatments. In this preclinical study, we examines Tiliroside (TS, C30H26O13), as one of the major compounds of Tribulus terrestris L. which has been used as an alternative therapy in clinic practice of breast cancer treatment, for its therapeutic use in TNBC. The association between CAXII expression level and survival probability of TNBC patients, and the difference of CAXII expression level between TNBC and normal samples were evaluated by using publicly accessible databases. To determine the anticancer efficacy of TS on TNBC cells, cell proliferation, wound healing, cell invasion, and 3D spheroid formation assays were performed and excellent anticancer activities of TS were displayed. Mouse models further demonstrated that TS significantly reduced the tumor burden and improved survival rate. The properties of TS as a novel CAXII inhibitor have also been evaluated by CAXII activity assay, pHi, pHe and lactate level assay. Further RT-PCR and Caspase-3 activity analyses also revealed the positive regulating effects of TS on E2F1,3/Caspase-3 axis in TNBC cells cultured in 2D or 3D systems. The findings indicate that TS suppresses TNBC progression as a potential novel CAXII inhibitor in preclinical experiments, which warrants further investigation on its therapeutic implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Han
- grid.73113.370000 0004 0369 1660Department of Chinese Medicine Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200433 People’s Republic of China ,grid.73113.370000 0004 0369 1660Department of Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200433 People’s Republic of China ,grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, 60 College Street, New Haven, CT 06510 USA
| | - Hongxing Yang
- grid.412595.eDepartment of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, 510405 Guangdong People’s Republic of China
| | - Changquan Ling
- grid.73113.370000 0004 0369 1660Department of Chinese Medicine Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200433 People’s Republic of China ,grid.73113.370000 0004 0369 1660Department of Chinese Medicine, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200433 People’s Republic of China
| | - Lingeng Lu
- grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, 60 College Street, New Haven, CT 06510 USA ,School of Medicine, Center for Biomedical Data Science, 200 George Street, New Haven, CT 06511 USA ,grid.47100.320000000419368710Yale Cancer Center, Yale University, 60 College Street, New Haven, CT 06520-8034 USA ,grid.47100.320000000419368710Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, 60 College Street, 06520-8034 New Haven, CT USA
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Han R, Yang H, Li Y, Ling C, Lu L. Valeric acid acts as a novel HDAC3 inhibitor against prostate cancer. Med Oncol 2022; 39:213. [PMID: 36175803 DOI: 10.1007/s12032-022-01814-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Prostate cancer is the second cause of cancer-related deaths in men worldwide, and new agents for curing the disease are still needed. In this study, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrated that valeric acid (VA) was a HDAC inhibitor, and anti-cancer efficacy of VA in prostate cancer cells was also observed using either 2D or 3D culture systems. VA was cytotoxic for prostate cancer cells but low toxic to normal cells. VA significantly inhibited E2F1/E2F3 expression but increased CASP3 activity. In vivo mouse models further showed its anti-cancer activity and potential property of chemosensitizer with promoting apoptosis. The findings suggest that VA acts as a HDAC3 inhibitor with anti-cancer effect on prostate cancer by regulating E2F1/E2F3/CASP3 axis.
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Cao X, Cao Y, Zhao H, Wang P, Zhu Z. Prolyl 4-hydroxylase P4HA1 mediates the interplay between glucose metabolism and stemness in pancreatic cancer cells. Curr Stem Cell Res Ther 2022; 18:712-719. [PMID: 36043766 DOI: 10.2174/1574888x17666220827113434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Revised: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are profoundly implicated in tumor initiation and progression as well as drug resistance and tumor recurrence of many cancer types, especially pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Previously, we revealed that prolyl 4-hydroxylase subunit alpha 1 (P4HA1) enhances the Warburg effect and tumor growth in PDAC. However, the possible connection between P4HA1 and cancer stemness in PDAC remains obscure. In this study, P4HA1-dependent cancer stemness was studied by sphere-formation assay and detection of stemness markers. METHODS Glycolytic capacity in cancer stem cells and their parental tumor cells was investigated by glucose uptake, lactate secretion, and expression of glycolytic genes. Glycolysis inhibitors were used to determine the link between cancer stemness and glycolysis. A subcutaneous xenograft model was generated to investigate P4HA1-induced stemness and glycolysis in vivo. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION We revealed that ectopic expression of P4HA1 increased the stemness of PDAC cells as evidenced by the increased proportion of CD133+ cells, elevated sphere-formation ability, and the up-regulated levels of cancer stemness-related proteins (SOX2, OCT4, and NANOG). Blocking tumor glycolysis with 2-Deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) or a selective inhibitor of glucose transporter 1 (STF-31) significantly reduced the stem properties of PDAC cells, suggesting that P4HA1-induced glycolysis was essential for the stem-like phenotype of PDAC cells. In addition, in vivo study reaffirmed a promotive effect of P4HA1 on tumor glycolysis and cancer stemness. CONCLUSION Collectively, our findings suggest that P4HA1 not only affects tumor metabolic reprogramming but also facilitates cancer stemness, which might be exploited as a vulnerable target for PDAC treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaopeng Cao
- Department of Gastroenterology, the First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Yi Cao
- Department of Global Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
| | - Hui Zhao
- Department of Gastroenterology, the First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Pengfei Wang
- Department of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, the First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Ziman Zhu
- Department of Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery, the First Medical Center of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
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Jang TH, Huang WC, Tung SL, Lin SC, Chen PM, Cho CY, Yang YY, Yen TC, Lo GH, Chuang SE, Wang LH. MicroRNA-485-5p targets keratin 17 to regulate oral cancer stemness and chemoresistance via the integrin/FAK/Src/ERK/β-catenin pathway. J Biomed Sci 2022; 29:42. [PMID: 35706019 PMCID: PMC9202219 DOI: 10.1186/s12929-022-00824-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The development of drug resistance in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) that frequently leads to recurrence and metastasis after initial treatment remains an unresolved challenge. Presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) has been increasingly reported to be a critical contributing factor in drug resistance, tumor recurrence and metastasis. Thus, unveiling of mechanisms regulating CSCs and potential targets for developing their inhibitors will be instrumental for improving OSCC therapy. Methods siRNA, shRNA and miRNA that specifically target keratin 17 (KRT17) were used for modulation of gene expression and functional analyses. Sphere-formation and invasion/migration assays were utilized to assess cancer cell stemness and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) properties, respectively. Duolink proximity ligation assay (PLA) was used to examine molecular proximity between KRT17 and plectin, which is a large protein that binds cytoskeleton components. Cell proliferation assay was employed to evaluate growth rates and viability of oral cancer cells treated with cisplatin, carboplatin or dasatinib. Xenograft mouse tumor model was used to evaluate the effect of KRT17- knockdown in OSCC cells on tumor growth and drug sensitization. Results Significantly elevated expression of KRT17 in highly invasive OSCC cell lines and advanced tumor specimens were observed and high KRT17 expression was correlated with poor overall survival. KRT17 gene silencing in OSCC cells attenuated their stemness properties including markedly reduced sphere forming ability and expression of stemness and EMT markers. We identified a novel signaling cascade orchestrated by KRT17 where its association with plectin resulted in activation of integrin β4/α6, increased phosphorylation of FAK, Src and ERK, as well as stabilization and nuclear translocation of β-catenin. The activation of this signaling cascade was correlated with enhanced OSCC cancer stemness and elevated expression of CD44 and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). We identified and demonstrated KRT17 to be a direct target of miRNA-485-5p. Ectopic expression of miRNA-485-5p inhibited OSCC sphere formation and caused sensitization of cancer cells towards cisplatin and carboplatin, which could be significantly rescued by KRT17 overexpression. Dasatinib treatment that inhibited KRT17-mediated Src activation also resulted in OSCC drug sensitization. In OSCC xenograft mouse model, KRT17 knockdown significantly inhibited tumor growth, and combinatorial treatment with cisplatin elicited a greater tumor inhibitory effect. Consistently, markedly reduced levels of integrin β4, active β-catenin, CD44 and EGFR were observed in the tumors induced by KRT17 knockdown OSCC cells. Conclusions A novel miRNA-485-5p/KRT17/integrin/FAK/Src/ERK/β-catenin signaling pathway is unveiled to modulate OSCC cancer stemness and drug resistance to the common first-line chemotherapeutics. This provides a potential new therapeutic strategy to inhibit OSCC stem cells and counter chemoresistance. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12929-022-00824-z.
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Affiliation(s)
- Te-Hsuan Jang
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.,National Institute of Cancer Research, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan.,Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Chieh Huang
- Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.,Chinese Medicine Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Shiao-Lin Tung
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Ton-Yen General Hospital, Zhubei City, Hsinchu County, Taiwan.,Department of Nursing, Hsin Sheng Junior College of Medical Care and Management, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
| | - Sheng-Chieh Lin
- Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Po-Ming Chen
- Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Chun-Yu Cho
- National Institute of Cancer Research, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Ya-Yu Yang
- National Institute of Cancer Research, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan
| | - Tzu-Chen Yen
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Guo-Hsuen Lo
- Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Shuang-En Chuang
- National Institute of Cancer Research, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, Taiwan.
| | - Lu-Hai Wang
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. .,Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan. .,Chinese Medicine Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
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Wei J, Zheng X, Li W, Li X, Fu Z. Sestrin2 reduces cancer stemness via Wnt/β-catenin signaling in colorectal cancer. Cancer Cell Int 2022; 22:75. [PMID: 35148781 PMCID: PMC8840770 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-022-02498-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in both men and women in China. In previous studies, Sestrin2 was demonstrated to have functions in CRC. However, the relationship between Sestrin2 and cancer stemness has not been reported. Methods and results To investigate the contribution of Sestrin2 in CRC, we performed bioinformatics analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas datasets and found that Sestrin2 was downregulated in CRC. Using a lentivirus vector, we verified that Sestrin2 suppressed CRC cell proliferation, migration, and colony formation. Furthermore, sphere formation, flow cytometry, quantitative PCR, and western blot analysis verified the influence of Sestrin2 on cancer stemness, including the expression of cluster of differentiation 44, octamer-binding transcription factor 4, sex-determining region Y-Box 2, CXC chemokine receptor 4, and the Wnt pathway downstream factors β-catenin and c-Myc. Consistently, the Wnt pathway activator BML-284 partially rescued the effects of Sestrin2 on the expression of proteins related to cancer stemness. Furthermore, in a mouse xenoplant model, tumors expressing Sestrin2 were significantly reduced in size with corresponding changes in cancer stemness. Conclusions Collectively, our results suggest that Sestrin2 inhibits CRC cell progression by downregulating the Wnt signaling pathway. Thus, Sestrin2 may be a promising therapeutic target for CRC. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12935-022-02498-x.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinlai Wei
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China
| | - Xiangru Zheng
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Wenjun Li
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xiaoli Li
- College of Pharmacy, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Zhongxue Fu
- Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China.
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Zhao J, Li L, Wang Z, Li L, He M, Han S, Dong Y, Liu X, Zhao W, Ke Y, Wang C. Luteolin attenuates cancer cell stemness in PTX-resistant oesophageal cancer cells through mediating SOX2 protein stability. Pharmacol Res 2021; 174:105939. [PMID: 34655772 DOI: 10.1016/j.phrs.2021.105939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Revised: 10/02/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Cancer drug resistance is a formidable obstacle that enhances cancer stem-like cell properties, tumour metastasis and relapse. Luteolin (Lut) is a natural flavonoid with strong antitumor effects. However, the underlying mechanism(s) by which Lut protects against paclitaxel-resistant (PTX-resistant) cancer cell remains unknown. Herein, we found that Lut significantly attenuated the stem-like properties of PTX-resistant cancer cells by downregulating the expression of SOX2 protein. Additionally, further study showed that Lut could inhibit the PI3K/AKT pathway to decrease the phosphorylation level of AKT(S473) and UBR5 expression, which is an ubiquitin E3 ligase that promotes SOX2 degradation. In addition, Lut also inhibited PTX-resistant cancer cell migration and invasion by blocking epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Importantly, Lut inhibited the tumorigenic ability of oesophageal PTX-resistant cancer cells and showed no obvious toxicity in vivo. Thus, Lut has potential as a promising agent for drug-resistant oesophageal cancer therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinzhu Zhao
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China
| | - Leilei Li
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China
| | - Zhijia Wang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China
| | - Linlin Li
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China
| | - Mingjing He
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China
| | - Shuhua Han
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China
| | - Yalong Dong
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China
| | - Xiaojie Liu
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China
| | - Wen Zhao
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China
| | - Yu Ke
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China
| | - Cong Wang
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China; Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, PR China.
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Chatterjee S, Sinha S, Kundu CN. Nectin cell adhesion molecule-4 (NECTIN-4): A potential target for cancer therapy. Eur J Pharmacol 2021; 911:174516. [PMID: 34547246 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2021.174516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2021] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
NECTIN-4 [a poliovirus receptor-related-4 (pvrl-4) encoded protein] is a Ca2+ independent immunoglobulin-like protein. Along with other Nectins (Nectin-1, -2 and -3), it is primarily involved in cell-cell adhesion. In contrast to other Nectins, Nectin-4 is specifically enriched in the embryonic and placental tissues but its expression significantly declines in adult life. In recent years, it has been found that Nectin-4 is especially overexpressed and served as a tumor associated inducer in various malignant tumors including breast, lung, colorectal, pancreatic, ovarian cancers etc. Over-expression of Nectin-4 is associated with various aspects of tumor progression like proliferation, angiogenesis, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, metastasis, DNA repair, tumor relapse, poor prognosis in several types of cancer. This review systematically highlights the implications of Nectin-4 in every possible aspect of cancer and the molecular mechanism of Nectin-4 mediated cancer progression. We have further emphasized on the therapeutic strategies that are being proposed to specifically target Nectin-4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Subhajit Chatterjee
- Cancer Biology Division, School of Biotechnology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Deemed to be University, Campus-11, Patia, Bhubaneswar, 751024, Odisha, India
| | - Saptarshi Sinha
- Cancer Biology Division, School of Biotechnology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Deemed to be University, Campus-11, Patia, Bhubaneswar, 751024, Odisha, India
| | - Chanakya Nath Kundu
- Cancer Biology Division, School of Biotechnology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Deemed to be University, Campus-11, Patia, Bhubaneswar, 751024, Odisha, India.
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Liu X, Shan W, Li T, Gao X, Kong F, You H, Kong D, Qiao S, Tang R. Cellular retinol binding protein-1 inhibits cancer stemness via upregulating WIF1 to suppress Wnt/β-catenin pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma. BMC Cancer 2021; 21:1224. [PMID: 34775955 PMCID: PMC8590789 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-021-08967-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background CRBP-1, a cytosolic chaperone of vitamin A, is identified in a serious number of cancers; however, its biological role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) needs to be further explored. The aim of our present study is to explore the roles and mechanisms of CRBP-1 in regulating liver cancer by using in vitro and in vivo biology approaches. Methods The expression level of CRBP-1 was detected using immunohistochemistry in HCC and matching adjacent non-tumorous liver tissues. Following established stable CRBP-1 overexpressed HCC cell lines, the cell growth and tumorigenicity were investigated both in vitro and in vivo. Intracellular retinoic acid was quantified by ELISA. The relationship between CRBP-1 and WIF1 was validated by using dual luciferase and ChIP analyses. Results The low expression of CRBP-1 was observed in HCC tissues compared to the normal liver tissues, while high CRBP-1 expression correlated with clinicopathological characteristics and increased overall survival in HCC patients. Overexpression of CRBP-1 significantly inhibited cell growth and tumorigenicity both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, overexpression of CRBP-1 suppressed tumorsphere formation and cancer stemness related genes expression in HCC. Mechanically, CRBP-1 inhibited Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway to suppress cancer cell stemness of HCC. Furthermore, our results revealed that CRBP-1 could increase the intracellular levels of retinoic acid, which induced the activation of RARs/RXRs leading to the transcriptional expression of WIF1, a secreted antagonist of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, by physically interacting with the region on WIF1 promoter. Conclusion Our findings reveal that CRBP-1 is a crucial player in the initiation and progression of HCC, which provide a novel independent prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for the diagnosis and treatment of HCC. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-021-08967-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangye Liu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Immunity and Metabolism, Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, 221004, People's Republic of China.
| | - Wenhua Shan
- Cancer Institute, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, 221002, People's Republic of China
| | - Tingting Li
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Immunity and Metabolism, Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, 221004, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoge Gao
- Cancer Institute, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, 221002, People's Republic of China
| | - Fanyun Kong
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Immunity and Metabolism, Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, 221004, People's Republic of China
| | - Hongjuan You
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Immunity and Metabolism, Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, 221004, People's Republic of China
| | - Delong Kong
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Immunity and Metabolism, Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, 221004, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuxi Qiao
- Cancer Institute, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, 221002, People's Republic of China
| | - Renxian Tang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Immunity and Metabolism, Department of Pathogenic Biology and Immunology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, 221004, People's Republic of China.
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Liu Y, Yang Y, Zhang L, Lin J, Li B, Yang M, Li H, Chen K, Zhao W. LncRNA ASAP1-IT1 enhances cancer cell stemness via regulating miR-509-3p/YAP1 axis in NSCLC. Cancer Cell Int 2021; 21:572. [PMID: 34715859 PMCID: PMC8555224 DOI: 10.1186/s12935-021-02270-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a major cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and cancer stem cell is responsible for the poor clinical outcome of NSCLC. Previous reports indicated that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in maintaining cancer stemness, however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigates the role of ASAP1 Intronic Transcript 1 (ASAP1-IT1) in cancer cell stemness of NSCLC. Methods The expression of ASAP1-IT1, microRNA-509-3p (miR-509-3p) and apoptosis-/stemness-related genes was analyzed by qRT-PCR in NSCLC tissues, cancer cells and spheres of cancer stem cells. Knockdown of ASAP1-IT1 or overexpression of miR-509-3p in NSCLC cells by infection or transfection of respective plasmids. Sphere formation and colony formation were used to detect NSCLC stem cell-like properties and tumor growth in vitro. Luciferase reporter assays, RNA immunoprecitation (RIP) and qRT-PCR assays were used to analyze the interaction between lncRNA and miRNA. The expression of expression of regulated genes of ASAP1-IT1/miR-509-3p axis was evaluated by qRT-PCR and Western blot. The NSCLC xenograft mouse model was used to validate the role of ASAP1-IT1 in NSCLC stemness and tumor growth in vivo. Results ASAP1-IT1 was up-regulated in NSCLC tissues, cancer cells, and in spheres of A549-derived cancer stem cells. Downregulation of ASAP1-IT1 or overexpression of miR-509-3p significantly decreased cell colony formation and stem cell-like properties of A549-dereived stem cells with decreased expression of stem cell biomarkers SOX2, CD34, and CD133, and suppressing the expression of cell growth-related genes, Cyclin A1, Cyclin B1, and PCNA. Furthermore, knockdown of ASAP1-IT1 or overexpression of miR-509-3p repressed tumor growth in nude mice via reducing expression of tumorigenic genes. ASAP1-IT1 was found to interact with miR-509-3p. Moreover, overexpression of ASAP1-IT1 blocked the inhibition by miR-509-3p on stem cell-like properties and cell growth of A549-dereived stem cells both in vitro and in vivo. Finally, the level of YAP1 was regulated by ASAP1-IT1 and miR-509-3p. Conclusions YAP1-involved ASAP1-IT1/miR-509-3p axis promoted NSCLC progression by regulating cancer cell stemness, and targeting this signaling pathway could be is a promising therapeutic strategy to overcome NSCLC stemness. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12935-021-02270-7.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yantao Liu
- Department of Pharmacy, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Evidence-Based Pharmacy Center, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Sichuan University, Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China
| | - Yuping Yang
- Department of Respiratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Lingli Zhang
- Department of Pharmacy, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Evidence-Based Pharmacy Center, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.,Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children, Sichuan University, Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China
| | - Jiaqiang Lin
- School of Laboratory Medicine Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Bin Li
- School of Laboratory Medicine Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Min Yang
- School of Laboratory Medicine Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Honghui Li
- Department of Refractive Surgery, Chengdu Aier Eye Hospital, Chengdu, China
| | - Kangwu Chen
- Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China.
| | - Wei Zhao
- School of Laboratory Medicine Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China. .,Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
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Prajapati KS, Shuaib M, Kushwaha PP, Singh AK, Kumar S. Identification of cancer stemness related miRNA(s) using integrated bioinformatics analysis and in vitro validation. 3 Biotech 2021; 11:446. [PMID: 34631347 PMCID: PMC8460704 DOI: 10.1007/s13205-021-02994-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The stemness property of cells allows them to sustain their lineage, differentiation, proliferation, and regeneration. MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs known to regulate the stemness property of cells by regulating the expression of stem cell signaling pathway proteins at mRNA level. Dysregulated miRNA expression and associated stem cell signaling pathways in normal stem cells give rise to cancer stem cells. Thus, the present study was aimed to identify the miRNAs involved in the regulation of major stem cell signaling pathways. The proteins (n = 36) involved in the signaling pathways viz., Notch, Wnt, JAK-STAT, and Hedgehog which is associated with the stemness property was taken into the consideration. The miRNAs, having binding sites for the targeted protein-encoding gene were predicted using an online tool (TargetScan) and the common miRNA among the test pathways were identified using Venn diagram analysis. A total of 22 common miRNAs (including 8 non-studied miRNAs) were identified which were subjected to target predictions, KEGG pathway, and gene ontology (GO) analysis to study their potential involvement in the stemness process. Further, we studied the clinical relevance of the non-studied miRNAs by performing the survival analysis and their expression levels in clinical breast cancer patients using the TCGA database. The identified miRNAs showed overall poor survival in breast cancer patients. The miR-6844 showed significantly high expression in various clinical subgroups of invasive breast cancer patients compared with the normal samples. The expression levels of identified miRNA(s) were validated in breast normal, luminal A, triple-negative, and stem cells in vitro models using qRT-PCR analysis. Further treatment with the phytochemical showed excellent down regulation of the lead miRNA. Overall the study first time reports the association of four miRNAs (miR-6791, miR-4419a, miR-4251 and miR-6844) with breast cancer stemness. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-021-02994-3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kumari Sunita Prajapati
- Molecular Signaling & Drug Development Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, 151401 India
| | - Mohd Shuaib
- Molecular Signaling & Drug Development Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, 151401 India
| | - Prem Prakash Kushwaha
- Molecular Signaling & Drug Development Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, 151401 India
| | - Atul Kumar Singh
- Molecular Signaling & Drug Development Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, 151401 India
| | - Shsahank Kumar
- Molecular Signaling & Drug Development Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry, School of Basic and Applied Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, 151401 India
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Khan AQ, Rashid K, AlAmodi AA, Agha MV, Akhtar S, Hakeem I, Raza SS, Uddin S. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cancer pathogenesis and therapy: An update on the role of ROS in anticancer action of benzophenanthridine alkaloids. Biomed Pharmacother 2021; 143:112142. [PMID: 34536761 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2021.112142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2021] [Revised: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Reactive oxygen species play crucial role in biological homeostasis and pathogenesis of human diseases including cancer. In this line, now it has become evident that ROS level/concentration is a major factor in the growth, progression and stemness of cancer cells. Moreover, cancer cells maintain a delicate balance between ROS and antioxidants to promote pathogenesis and clinical challenges via targeting a battery of signaling pathways converging to cancer hallmarks. Recent findings also entail the therapeutic importance of ROS for the better clinical outcomes in cancer patients as they induce apoptosis and autophagy. Moreover, poor clinical outcomes associated with cancer therapies are the major challenge and use of natural products have been vital in attenuation of these challenges due to their multitargeting potential with less adverse effects. In fact, most available drugs are derived from natural resources, either directly or indirectly and available evidence show the clinical importance of natural products in the management of various diseases, including cancer. ROS play a critical role in the anticancer actions of natural products, particularly phytochemicals. Benzophenanthridine alkaloids of the benzyl isoquinoline family of alkaloids, such as sanguinarine, possess several pharmacological properties and are thus being studied for the treatment of different human diseases, including cancer. In this article, we review recent findings, on how benzophenanthridine alkaloid-induced ROS play a critical role in the attenuation of pathological changes and stemness features associated with human cancers. In addition, we highlight the role of ROS in benzophenanthridine alkaloid-mediated activation of the signaling pathway associated with cancer cell apoptosis and autophagy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdul Q Khan
- Translational Research Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Khalid Rashid
- Department of Medical Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | | | - Maha Victor Agha
- Translational Research Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Sabah Akhtar
- Translational Research Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Ishrat Hakeem
- Translational Research Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
| | - Syed Shadab Raza
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Era University, Lucknow, India
| | - Shahab Uddin
- Translational Research Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; Dermatology Institute, Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha 3050, Qatar; Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Rumailah Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha 3050, Qatar; Laboratory Animal Research Center, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.
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Mehraj U, Ganai RA, Macha MA, Hamid A, Zargar MA, Bhat AA, Nasser MW, Haris M, Batra SK, Alshehri B, Al-Baradie RS, Mir MA, Wani NA. The tumor microenvironment as driver of stemness and therapeutic resistance in breast cancer: New challenges and therapeutic opportunities. Cell Oncol (Dordr) 2021; 44:1209-1229. [PMID: 34528143 DOI: 10.1007/s13402-021-00634-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Breast cancer (BC), the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths, remains a significant threat to the health and wellness of women worldwide. The tumor microenvironment (TME), comprising cellular components, such as cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), immune cells, endothelial cells and adipocytes, and noncellular components such as extracellular matrix (ECM), has been recognized as a critical contributor to the development and progression of BC. The interplay between TME components and cancer cells promotes phenotypic heterogeneity, cell plasticity and cancer cell stemness that impart tumor dormancy, enhanced invasion and metastasis, and the development of therapeutic resistance. While most previous studies have focused on targeting cancer cells with a dismal prognosis, novel therapies targeting stromal components are currently being evaluated in preclinical and clinical studies, and are already showing improved efficacies. As such, they may offer better means to eliminate the disease effectively. CONCLUSIONS In this review, we focus on the evolving concept of the TME as a key player regulating tumor growth, metastasis, stemness, and the development of therapeutic resistance. Despite significant advances over the last decade, several clinical trials focusing on the TME have failed to demonstrate promising effectiveness in cancer patients. To expedite clinical efficacy of TME-directed therapies, a deeper understanding of the TME is of utmost importance. Secondly, the efficacy of TME-directed therapies when used alone or in combination with chemo- or radiotherapy, and the tumor stage needs to be studied. Likewise, identifying molecular signatures and biomarkers indicating the type of TME will help in determining precise TME-directed therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Umar Mehraj
- Department of Bioresources, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India
| | - Rais A Ganai
- Watson-Crick Centre for Molecular Medicine, Islamic University of Science & Technology , Awantipora, Jammu & Kashmir, India
| | - Muzafar A Macha
- Watson-Crick Centre for Molecular Medicine, Islamic University of Science & Technology , Awantipora, Jammu & Kashmir, India
| | - Abid Hamid
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Kashmir, Ganderbal, J&K, India
| | - Mohammed A Zargar
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Kashmir, Ganderbal, J&K, India
| | - Ajaz A Bhat
- Translational Medicine, Research Branch, Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar
| | - Mohd Wasim Nasser
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Mohammad Haris
- Translational Medicine, Research Branch, Sidra Medicine, Doha, Qatar.,Laboratory of Animal Research, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
| | - Surinder K Batra
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.,Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer and Allied Diseases, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA.,Buffett Cancer Center, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Bader Alshehri
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Almajmaah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Raid Saleem Al-Baradie
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Almajmaah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Manzoor A Mir
- Department of Bioresources, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India.
| | - Nissar Ahmad Wani
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Central University of Kashmir, Ganderbal, J&K, India.
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Chen B, Cha JH, Yan M, Cao N, Ye P, Yan X, Yang WH. ATXN7L3B promotes hepatocellular carcinoma stemness and is downregulated by metformin. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2021; 573:1-8. [PMID: 34375763 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2021.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the major cause of liver cancer-associated morality. Metformin, used for treating type 2 diabetes, has antitumor activity and reduces the risk of some diabetes-related tumors, such as liver and breast cancer. However, the mechanisms underlying metformin's effects in HCC remain unclear. To identify genes associated with metformin treatment in HCC, we conducted transcriptomic and proteomic analyses in HCC cells treated with or without metformin. We identified 41 differentially expressed genes upon metformin treatment. Among them, Ataxin 7 Like 3B (ATXN7L3B), which is a negative regulator of the Spt-Ada-Gcn5 acetyltransferase (SAGA) deubiquitinase (DUB) module and has relatively unknown functions in cancer, attracted our attention. We observed that metformin reduced ATXN7L3B level in HCC cells. ATXN7L3B expression was significantly negatively correlated with survival in liver cancer patients. We also demonstrated that ATXN7L3B promoted HCC stemness. Metformin treatment decreased ATXN7L3B-induced tumor-initiating ability in a HCC mouse model, implying that metformin may inhibit cancer stemness by downregulating ATXN7L3B. Our study supports the antitumor activity of metformin and its potential as an anticancer drug for HCC treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bi Chen
- Affiliated Cancer Hospital & Institute and Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis and Cancer Research of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 910095, China
| | - Jong-Ho Cha
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Inha University, Incheon, 22212, South Korea; Department of Biomedical Science and Engineering, Graduate School, Inha University, Incheon, 22212, South Korea
| | - Meisi Yan
- Department of Pathology, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150081, China
| | - Nengqi Cao
- Department of General Surgery, Nanjing Lishui People's Hospital, Nanjing, 211200, China
| | - Peng Ye
- Affiliated Cancer Hospital & Institute and Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis and Cancer Research of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 910095, China
| | - Xiuwen Yan
- Affiliated Cancer Hospital & Institute and Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis and Cancer Research of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 910095, China.
| | - Wen-Hao Yang
- Affiliated Cancer Hospital & Institute and Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis and Cancer Research of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 910095, China; Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, China Medical University, Taichung, 406040, Taiwan.
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Yao X, Mao Y, Wu D, Zhu Y, Lu J, Huang Y, Guo Y, Wang Z, Zhu S, Li X, Lu Y. Exosomal circ_0030167 derived from BM-MSCs inhibits the invasion, migration, proliferation and stemness of pancreatic cancer cells by sponging miR-338-5p and targeting the Wif1/Wnt8/β-catenin axis. Cancer Lett 2021; 512:38-50. [PMID: 33971282 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2021.04.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Revised: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most lethal malignant tumors and has the lowest survival rate due to early metastasis and drug resistance. Exosomes derived from bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) have emerged as crucial regulators of the progression of various tumors. These vesicles contain abundant circRNAs that have important biological functions. This study aimed to elucidate the role of exosomal circRNAs in PC progression. In this study, we successfully isolated BM-MSCs from human bone marrow based on their surface marker expression and osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation potential. We found that BM-MSC-derived exosomes significantly reduced the invasion, migration, and proliferation of PC cells, as well as tumor stemness. According to whole-transcriptome resequencing and clustering heat map analysis, we identified the key molecule circ_0030167 and miR-338-5p, its downstream target. We revealed that circ_0030167 mainly regulates miR-338-5p, enhances Wif1 expression, and inhibits the Wnt8/β-catenin pathway, thereby inhibiting the stemness of PC cells and tumor progression. Overall, BM-MSC exosomal circ_0030167 contributes to the progression and stemness of PC cells via the miR-338-5p/wif1/Wnt 8/β-catenin axis. Our study provides a new perspective for the treatment of PC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xihao Yao
- Research Center of Clinical Medical and Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu province, 226001, PR China
| | - Yingqing Mao
- Research Center of Clinical Medical and Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu province, 226001, PR China; Department of General Surgery, The Sixth People's Hospital of Nantong City, Nantong, Jiangsu province, 226001, PR China
| | - Di Wu
- Research Center of Clinical Medical and Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu province, 226001, PR China
| | - Yi Zhu
- Research Center of Clinical Medical and Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu province, 226001, PR China
| | - Jingjing Lu
- Research Center of Clinical Medical and Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu province, 226001, PR China
| | - Yan Huang
- Research Center of Clinical Medical and Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu province, 226001, PR China
| | - Yibing Guo
- Research Center of Clinical Medical and Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu province, 226001, PR China
| | - Zhiwei Wang
- Research Center of Clinical Medical and Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu province, 226001, PR China
| | - Shajun Zhu
- Research Center of Clinical Medical and Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu province, 226001, PR China
| | - Xiaohong Li
- Research Center of Clinical Medical and Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu province, 226001, PR China.
| | - Yuhua Lu
- Research Center of Clinical Medical and Department of General Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu province, 226001, PR China.
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Yang Q, Zhao S, Shi Z, Cao L, Liu J, Pan T, Zhou D, Zhang J. Chemotherapy-elicited exosomal miR-378a-3p and miR-378d promote breast cancer stemness and chemoresistance via the activation of EZH2/STAT3 signaling. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2021; 40:120. [PMID: 33823894 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-021-01901-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Background Not all breast cancer (BC) patients who receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy achieve a pathologic complete response (pCR), but the reasons for this are unknown. Previous studies have shown that exosomes produced in the tumor microenvironment in response to chemotherapy promote a chemotherapy-resistant phenotype in tumors. However, the role of BC chemotherapy-elicited exosomes in regulating chemoresistance is poorly understood. Methods Using commercial kits, serum exosomes were extracted from patients before neoadjuvant chemotherapy, after one cycle of chemotherapy and after four cycles of chemotherapy consisting of doxorubicin (DOX) and paclitaxel (PTX). Their miRNAs were sequenced, and the correlation between the sequencing results and chemotherapy effects was further verified by RT-qPCR using patient serum exosomes. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) was used to detect chemosensitivity. Stemness was assessed by CD44+/CD24- population analysis and mammosphere formation assays. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) experiments were performed to verify the binding of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) to the promoter of miRNAs. Results Here, we provide clinical evidence that chemotherapy-elicited exosomal miR-378a-3p and miR-378d are closely related to the chemotherapy response and that exosomes produced by BC cells after stimulation with DOX or PTX deliver miR-378a-3p and miR-378d to neighboring cells to activate WNT and NOTCH stemness pathways and induce drug resistance by targeting Dickkopf 3 (DKK3) and NUMB. In addition, STAT3, which is enhanced by zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), bound to the promoter regions of miR-378a-3p and miR-378d, thereby increasing their expression in exosomes. More importantly, chemotherapeutic agents combined with the EZH2 inhibitor tazemetostat reversed chemotherapy-elicited exosome-induced drug resistance in a nude mouse tumor xenograft model. Conclusion This study revealed a novel mechanism of acquired chemoresistance whereby chemotherapy activates the EZH2/STAT3 axis in BC cells, which then secrete chemotherapy-elicited exosomes enriched in miR-378a-3p and miR-378d. These exosomes are absorbed by chemotherapy-surviving BC cells, leading to activation of the WNT and NOTCH stem cell pathways via the targeting of DKK3 and NUMB and subsequently resulting in drug resistance. Therefore, blocking this adaptive mechanism during chemotherapy may reduce the development of chemotherapy resistance and maximize the therapeutic effect. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13046-021-01901-1.
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Liang C, Fukuda T, Isaji T, Duan C, Song W, Wang Y, Gu J. α1,6-Fucosyltransferase contributes to cell migration and proliferation as well as to cancer stemness features in pancreatic carcinoma. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj 2021; 1865:129870. [PMID: 33571582 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2021.129870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Revised: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Pancreatic carcinoma is one of the deadliest malignant diseases, in which the increased expression of α1,6-fucosyltransferase (FUT8), a sole enzyme responsible for catalyzing core fucosylation, has been reported. However, its pathological roles and regulatory mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we use two pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines, MIA PaCa-2 and PANC-1 cells, as cell models, to explore the relationship of FUT8 with the malignant transformation of PDAC. METHODS FUT8 knockout (FUT8-KO) cells were established by the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Cell migration was analyzed by transwell and wound-healing assays. Cell proliferation was examined by MTT and colony-formation assays. Cancer stemness markers and spheroid formations were used to analyzed cancer stemness features. RESULTS Deficiency of FUT8 inhibited cell migration and proliferation in both MIA PaCa-2 and PANC-1 cells compared with wild-type cells. Moreover, the expression levels of cancer stemness markers such as EpCAM, CXCR4, c-Met, and CD133 were decreased in the FUT8-KO cells compared with wild-type cells. Also, the spheroid formations in the KO cells were loose and unstable, which could be reversed by restoration with FUT8 gene in the KO cells. Additionally, FUT8-KO increased the chemosensitivity to gemcitabine, which is the first-line therapy for advanced pancreatic cancer. CONCLUSIONS FUT8-KO reduced the cell proliferation and migration. Our results are the first to suggest that the expression of FUT8 is involved in regulating the stemness features of pancreatic cancer cells. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE FUT8 could provide novel insights for the treatment of pancreatic carcinoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caixia Liang
- Division of Regulatory Glycobiology, Institute of Molecular Biomembrane and Glycobiology, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 4-4-1 Komatsushima, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 981-8558, Japan
| | - Tomohiko Fukuda
- Division of Regulatory Glycobiology, Institute of Molecular Biomembrane and Glycobiology, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 4-4-1 Komatsushima, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 981-8558, Japan
| | - Tomoya Isaji
- Division of Regulatory Glycobiology, Institute of Molecular Biomembrane and Glycobiology, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 4-4-1 Komatsushima, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 981-8558, Japan
| | - Chengwei Duan
- Division of Regulatory Glycobiology, Institute of Molecular Biomembrane and Glycobiology, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 4-4-1 Komatsushima, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 981-8558, Japan
| | - Wanli Song
- Division of Regulatory Glycobiology, Institute of Molecular Biomembrane and Glycobiology, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 4-4-1 Komatsushima, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 981-8558, Japan
| | - Yuqin Wang
- Department of Pharmacology, Pharmacy College, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu Province 226001, China
| | - Jianguo Gu
- Division of Regulatory Glycobiology, Institute of Molecular Biomembrane and Glycobiology, Tohoku Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 4-4-1 Komatsushima, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 981-8558, Japan.
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Feng Y, Yang Z, Zhang C, Che N, Liu X, Xuan Y. B7-H4 induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition and promotes colorectal cancer stemness. Pathol Res Pract 2021; 218:153323. [PMID: 33429327 DOI: 10.1016/j.prp.2020.153323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 12/13/2020] [Accepted: 12/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
B7-H4 is a unique negative regulator of T cells that is typically significantly overexpressed in various carcinomas and is associated with poor prognosis. However, the effects of B7-H4 expression on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cancer stemness of colorectal cancer (CRC) are not entirely clear. In the present study, we used tissue samples from 98 patients with CRC and CRC cell lines to determine the clinicopathological significance of B7-H4 in CRC and its effects on CRC stemness. We performed immunohistochemical staining; immunofluorescence imaging; western blotting; and tumor sphere formation, wound healing, transwell migration, and in vivo tumorigenesis assays. B7-H4 expression was upregulated in CRC tissues and was associated with lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, clinical stage, a shorter overall survival rate, and disease-free survival rate. Cox regression analyses indicated that B7-H4 is an independent poor prognostic factor for CRC. In addition, B7-H4 expression was correlated with the expression of EMT-related proteins and cancer stemness-related proteins. Moreover, immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence analyses revealed that B7-H4 was correlated with CD133 and CD44 expression levels in both CRC tissues and HT29 and HCT116 cell lines. Conversely, B7-H4 knockdown downregulated the expression of EMT- and cancer stemness-related proteins, while inhibiting tumor spheroid formation, cell migration, and invasion of CRC cell lines. These results indicate that B7-H4 can promote EMT and may be a novel stem cell marker, suggesting its potential as a prognostic biomarker for CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Feng
- Department of Pathology, Yanbian University College of Medicine, Yanji, China; Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Yanbian University College of Medicine, Yanji, China
| | - Zhaoting Yang
- Department of Pathology, Yanbian University College of Medicine, Yanji, China; Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Yanbian University College of Medicine, Yanji, China
| | - Chengye Zhang
- Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Yanbian University College of Medicine, Yanji, China
| | - Nan Che
- Department of Pathology, Yanbian University College of Medicine, Yanji, China; Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Yanbian University College of Medicine, Yanji, China
| | - Xingzhe Liu
- Department of Pathology, Yanbian University College of Medicine, Yanji, China; Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Yanbian University College of Medicine, Yanji, China
| | - Yanhua Xuan
- Department of Pathology, Yanbian University College of Medicine, Yanji, China; Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Yanbian University College of Medicine, Yanji, China.
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Sethy C, Kundu CN. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) resistance and the new strategy to enhance the sensitivity against cancer: Implication of DNA repair inhibition. Biomed Pharmacother 2021; 137:111285. [PMID: 33485118 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2021.111285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 154] [Impact Index Per Article: 51.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Revised: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) has been an important anti-cancer drug to date. With an increase in the knowledge of its mechanism of action, various treatment modalities have been developed over the past few decades to increase its anti-cancer activity. But drug resistance has greatly affected the clinical use of 5-FU. Overcoming this chemoresistance is a challenge due to the presence of cancer stem cells like cells, cancer recurrence, metastasis, and angiogenesis. In this review, we have systematically discussed the mechanism of 5-FU resistance and advent strategies to increase the sensitivity of 5-FU therapy including resistance reversal. Special emphasis has been given to the cancer stem cells (CSCs) mediated 5-FU chemoresistance and its reversal process by different approaches including the DNA repair inhibition process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chinmayee Sethy
- Cancer Biology Division, School of Biotechnology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Campus-11, Patia, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 751024, India
| | - Chanakya Nath Kundu
- Cancer Biology Division, School of Biotechnology, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Campus-11, Patia, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 751024, India.
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Shi Y, Sun L, Zhang R, Hu Y, Wu Y, Dong X, Dong D, Chen C, Geng Z, Li E, Fan Y. Thrombospondin 4/integrin α2/HSF1 axis promotes proliferation and cancer stem-like traits of gallbladder cancer by enhancing reciprocal crosstalk between cancer-associated fibroblasts and tumor cells. J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2021; 40:14. [PMID: 33407730 PMCID: PMC7789630 DOI: 10.1186/s13046-020-01812-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Background Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), the primary component of tumor stroma in tumor microenvironments, are well-known contributors to the malignant progression of gallbladder cancer (GBC). Thrombospondins (THBSs or TSPs) comprise a family of five adhesive glycoproteins that are overexpressed in many types of cancers. However, the expression and potential roles of TSPs in the crosstalk between CAFs and GBC cells has remained unclear. Methods Peritumoral fibroblasts (PTFs) and CAFs were extracted from GBC tissues. Thrombospondin expression in GBC was screened by RT-qPCR. MTT viability assay, colony formation, EdU incorporation assay, flow cytometry analysis, Transwell assay, tumorsphere formation and western blot assays were performed to investigate the effects of CAF-derived TSP-4 on GBC cell proliferation, EMT and cancer stem-like features. Subcutaneous tumor formation models were established by co-implanting CAFs and GBC cells or GBC cells overexpressing heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) to evaluate the roles of TSP-4 and HSF1 in vivo. To characterize the mechanism by which TSP-4 is involved in the crosstalk between CAFs and GBC cells, the levels of a variety of signaling molecules were detected by coimmunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence staining, and ELISA assays. Results In the present study, we showed that TSP-4, as the stromal glycoprotein, is highly expressed in CAFs from GBC and that CAF-derived TSP-4 induces the proliferation, EMT and cancer stem-like features of GBC cells. Mechanistically, CAF-secreted TSP-4 binds to the transmembrane receptor integrin α2 on GBC cells to induce the phosphorylation of HSF1 at S326 and maintain the malignant phenotypes of GBC cells. Moreover, the TSP-4/integrin α2 axis-induced phosphorylation of HSF1 at S326 is mediated by Akt activation (p-Akt at S473) in GBC cells. In addition, activated HSF1 signaling increased the expression and paracrine signaling of TGF-β1 to induce the transdifferentiation of PTFs into CAFs, leading to their recruitment into GBC and increased TSP-4 expression in CAFs, thereby forming a positive feedback loop to drive the malignant progression of GBC. Conclusions Our data indicate that a complex TSP-4/integrin α2/HSF1/TGF-β cascade mediates reciprocal interactions between GBC cells and CAFs, providing a promising therapeutic target for gallbladder cancer patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Shi
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Liankang Sun
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Rui Zhang
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Yuan Hu
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Yinying Wu
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Xuyuan Dong
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Danfeng Dong
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Chen Chen
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Zhimin Geng
- Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi Province, China
| | - Enxiao Li
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi Province, China.
| | - Yangwei Fan
- Department of Medical Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, 277 Yanta West Road, Xi'an, 710061, Shaanxi Province, China.
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Abstract
Sphere assays are widely used in vitro techniques to enrich and evaluate the stem-like cell behavior of both normal and cancer cells. Utilizing three-dimensional in vitro sphere culture conditions provide a better representation of tumor growth in vivo than the more common monolayer cultures. We describe how to perform primary and secondary sphere assays, used for the enrichment and self-renewability studies of melanoma/melanocyte stem-like cells. Spheres are generated by growing melanoma cells at low density in nonadherent conditions with stem cell media. We provide protocols for preparing inexpensive and versatile polyHEMA-coated plates, setting up primary and secondary sphere assays in almost any tissue culture format and quantification methods using standard inverted microscopy. Our protocol is easily adaptable to laboratories with basic cell culture capabilities, without the need for expensive fluidic instruments.
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Yokota T, Nojima H, Kuboki S, Yoshitomi H, Furukawa K, Takayashiki T, Takano S, Ohtsuka M. Sphingosine-1-phosphate Receptor-1 Promotes Vascular Invasion and EMT in Hepatocellular Carcinoma. J Surg Res 2020; 259:200-210. [PMID: 33307511 DOI: 10.1016/j.jss.2020.11.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2020] [Revised: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 11/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND It remains unknown whether epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-mediated vascular invasion and cancer stemness are associated with sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor-1 (S1PR1) expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between S1PR1 expression and prognosis of patients with primary HCC and to define the potential of S1PR as a therapeutic target. MATERIALS AND METHODS We investigated 108 patients who underwent primary surgical resection for HCC treatment. Expression of S1PR1 and EMT markers was analyzed to predict prognosis of patients with HCC. Furthermore, three-dimensional organotypic culture, anoikis assay, and cell invasion were performed to validate the association of S1PR1 with EMT and cancer stemness. RESULTS Among patients with HCC, the high S1PR1 expression group had significantly shorter overall survival than the low expression group. Moreover, high S1PR1 expression was significantly associated with shorter recurrence-free survival, increased risk of portal and hepatic vein invasion, and intrahepatic metastasis. Multivariate analyses revealed that S1PR1 overexpression was an independent prognostic factor in patients with HCC. S1PR1 overexpression positively correlated with vimentin and MMP-9 expression and negatively correlated with E-cadherin. In addition, S1PR1 overexpression induced EMT and enhanced tumor invasion and cancer stemness. CONCLUSIONS S1PR1 overexpression, via EMT-induced vascular invasion and increased cancer stem cell properties, establishes a metastatic niche, enhances the capacity of hematogenous metastasis, and associates with poor outcomes in patients with HCC. Hence, S1PR1 may serve as a therapeutic target for patients with HCC with vascular invasion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tetsuo Yokota
- Department of General Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Nojima
- Department of General Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan; Department of Surgery, Teikyo Chiba Medical Center, Chiba, Japan.
| | - Satoshi Kuboki
- Department of General Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
| | - Hideyuki Yoshitomi
- Department of General Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
| | - Katsunori Furukawa
- Department of General Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
| | - Tsukasa Takayashiki
- Department of General Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
| | - Shigetsugu Takano
- Department of General Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
| | - Masayuki Ohtsuka
- Department of General Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
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