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Yasser M, Ribback S, Evert K, Utpatel K, Annweiler K, Evert M, Dombrowski F, Calvisi DF. Early Subcellular Hepatocellular Alterations in Mice Post Hydrodynamic Transfection: An Explorative Study. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:cancers15020328. [PMID: 36672277 PMCID: PMC9857294 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15020328] [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: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Hydrodynamic transfection (HT) or hydrodynamic tail vein injection (HTVi) is among the leading technique that is used to deliver plasmid genes mainly into the liver of live mice or rats. The DNA constructs are composed of coupled plasmids, while one contains the gene of interest that stably integrate into the hepatocyte genome with help of the other consisting sleeping beauty transposase system. The rapid injection of a large volume of DNA-solution through the tail vein induces an acute cardiac congestion that refluxed into the liver, mainly in acinus zone 3, also found through our EM study. Although, HT mediated hydrodynamic force can permeabilizes the fenestrated sinusoidal endothelium of liver, but the mechanism of plasmid incorporation into the hepatocytes remains unclear. Therefore, in the present study, we have hydrodynamically injected 2 mL volume of empty plasmid (transposon vector) or saline solution (control) into the tail vein of anesthetized C57BL/6J/129Sv mice. Liver tissue was resected at different time points from two animal group conditions, i.e., one time point per animal (1, 5, 10-20, 60 min or 24 and 48 hrs after HT) or multiple time points per animal (0, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 min) and quickly fixed with buffered 4% osmium tetroxide. The tissues fed with only saline solution was also resected and fixed in the similar way. EM evaluation from the liver ultrathin sections reveals that swiftly after 1 min, the hepatocytes near to the central venule in the acinus zone 3 shows cytoplasmic membrane-bound vesicles. Such vesicles increased in both numbers and size to vacuoles and precisely often found in the proximity to the nucleus. Further, EM affirm these vacuoles are also optically empty and do not contain any electron dense material. Although, some of the other hepatocytes reveals sign of cell damage including swollen mitochondria, dilated endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus and disrupted plasma membrane, but most of the hepatocytes appeared normal. The ultrastructural findings in the mice injected with empty vector or saline injected control mice were similar. Therefore, we have interpreted the vacuole formation as nonspecific endocytosis without specific interactions at the plasma membrane.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohd Yasser
- Institut fuer Pathologie, Universitaetsmedizin Greifswald, Friedrich-Loeffler-Str. 23e, 17475 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Silvia Ribback
- Institut fuer Pathologie, Universitaetsmedizin Greifswald, Friedrich-Loeffler-Str. 23e, 17475 Greifswald, Germany
- Correspondence:
| | - Katja Evert
- Institut fuer Pathologie, Universitaetsklinikum Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Kirsten Utpatel
- Institut fuer Pathologie, Universitaetsklinikum Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Katharina Annweiler
- Institut fuer Pathologie, Universitaetsmedizin Greifswald, Friedrich-Loeffler-Str. 23e, 17475 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Matthias Evert
- Institut fuer Pathologie, Universitaetsklinikum Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Frank Dombrowski
- Institut fuer Pathologie, Universitaetsmedizin Greifswald, Friedrich-Loeffler-Str. 23e, 17475 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Diego F. Calvisi
- Institut fuer Pathologie, Universitaetsklinikum Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
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Cho K, Moon H, Seo SH, Ro SW, Kim BK. Pharmacological Inhibition of Sonic Hedgehog Signaling Suppresses Tumor Development in a Murine Model of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms222413214. [PMID: 34948011 PMCID: PMC8707521 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222413214] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Revised: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Cholangiocarcinoma (CCC) is the second most primary liver cancer with an aggressive biological behavior, and its incidence increases steadily. An aberrant up-regulation of the sonic hedgehog signaling pathway has been reported in a variety of hepatic diseases including hepatic inflammation, fibrosis, as well as cancer. In this study, we determined the effect of a sonic hedgehog inhibitor, vismodegib, on the development of CCC. Through database analyses, we found sonic hedgehog signaling was up-regulated in human CCC, based on overexpression of its target genes, GLI1 and GLI2. Further, human CCC cells were highly sensitive to the treatment with vismodegib in vitro. Based on the data, we investigated the in vivo anti-cancer efficacy of vismodegib in CCC employing a murine model of CCC developed by hydrodynamic tail vein injection method. In the murine model, CCC induced by constitutively active forms of TAZ and PI3K exhibited up-regulated sonic hedgehog signaling. Treatment of vismodegib significantly suppressed tumor development in the murine CCC model, based on comparison of gross morphologies and liver weight/body weight. It is expected that pharmacological inhibition of sonic hedgehog signaling would be an effective molecular target therapy for CCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyungjoo Cho
- Brain Korea 21 Plus Project for Medical Science College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea; (K.C.); (S.H.S.)
| | - Hyuk Moon
- Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17104, Korea;
| | - Sang Hyun Seo
- Brain Korea 21 Plus Project for Medical Science College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Korea; (K.C.); (S.H.S.)
| | - Simon Weonsang Ro
- Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17104, Korea;
- Correspondence: (S.W.R.); (B.K.K.); Tel.: +82-31-201-8640 (S.W.R.); +82-2-2227-4184 (B.K.K.)
| | - Beom Kyung Kim
- Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea
- Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 03722, Korea
- Correspondence: (S.W.R.); (B.K.K.); Tel.: +82-31-201-8640 (S.W.R.); +82-2-2227-4184 (B.K.K.)
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Chen X, Hu X, Hu J, Qiu Z, Yuan M, Zheng G. Celastrol-Loaded Galactosylated Liposomes Effectively Inhibit AKT/c-Met-Triggered Rapid Hepatocarcinogenesis in Mice. Mol Pharm 2020; 17:738-747. [PMID: 31904241 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.9b00428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Our previous study proved that celastrol was a potential candidate for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) therapy. However, poor water solubility and toxic side effects may restrict its clinical application. To overcome these shortcomings and optimize its antitumor efficacy, we developed galactosylated liposomes using galactose-modified 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-poly(ethylene glycol) to deliver celastrol (C-GPL). C-GPL improved the water solubility of celastrol and exhibited high encapsulation efficiency, good stability in serum, and slow drug release profile. In vitro studies showed that C-GPL increased the cellular uptake of celastrol through receptor-mediated endocytosis, thereby enhancing celastrol cytotoxicity and cancer cell apoptosis. Particularly, in vivo antitumor activity of C-GPL was assessed in rapid HCC mouse models established via hydrodynamic transfection of the activated forms of AKT and c-Met. Compared to free celastrol, C-GPL significantly prevented liver weight gain, decreased liver damage biomarkers (glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase and alanine aminotransferase) and HCC marker (alpha-fetoprotein), and led to tumor disappearance on the liver surface. The improved therapeutic effect of C-GPL may be attributed to suppression of AKT activation, induction of apoptosis, and retardation of cell proliferation. Importantly, C-GPL exerted low toxicity to normal tissues without causing severe weight loss in mice. Taken together, C-GPL may become a promising drug delivery system for HCC treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyan Chen
- Department of Pharmacy, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430065, China
| | - Xianxian Hu
- Department of Pharmacy, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430065, China
| | - Junjie Hu
- Department of Pharmacy, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430065, China
| | - Zhenpeng Qiu
- Department of Pharmacy, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430065, China
| | - Ming Yuan
- Department of Pharmacy, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430065, China
| | - Guohua Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Resource and Compound Prescription, Ministry of Education, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan 430065, China
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Guo J, Fu W, Xiang M, Zhang Y, Zhou K, Xu CR, Li L, Kuang D, Ye F. Notch1 Drives the Formation and Proliferation of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma. Curr Med Sci 2019; 39:929-937. [PMID: 31845224 DOI: 10.1007/s11596-019-2125-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [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: 02/19/2019] [Revised: 09/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The molecular mechanisms underlying the development of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) are not clear yet. In this study, we investigated the involvement of Notch1 in the development of ICC. The cDNA microarray analysis showed that Notch1 expression was higher in ICC tissues than in normal biliary epithelial cells. Stable transfection of Notch1 receptor intracellular domain (NICD1) by hydrodynamic tail vein injection induced ICC formation in mice. Western blotting confirmed that Notch1 signaling was activated in human ICC cell lines and mouse ICC tissues. Silencing Notch1 with specific short interfering RNA (siRNA) inhibited the proliferation of ICC cells. Flow cytometry and Western blotting indicated that apoptosis was induced in Notch1-silenced ICC cells compared with controls. Additionally, Notch1 silencing was associated with the inhibition of hairy and enhancer of split-1 (Hes1) and activation of the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN)/p53 pathway. Taken together, these data suggest that Notch1 drives ICC formation and proliferation; downregulation of Notch1 induces apoptosis in ICC cells; Notch1 signaling may serve as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of ICC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Guo
- School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Wen Fu
- School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Ming Xiang
- School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Ke Zhou
- School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Chuan-Rui Xu
- School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Lei Li
- School of Pharmacy, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Dong Kuang
- Department of Pathology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China
| | - Feng Ye
- Department of Pediatrics, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.
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Chung SI, Moon H, Ju HL, Kim DY, Cho KJ, Ribback S, Dombrowski F, Calvisi DF, Ro SW. Comparison of liver oncogenic potential among human RAS isoforms. Oncotarget 2016; 7:7354-66. [PMID: 26799184 PMCID: PMC4872791 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.6931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [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: 07/07/2015] [Accepted: 01/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Mutation in one of three RAS genes (i.e., HRAS, KRAS, and NRAS) leading to constitutive activation of RAS signaling pathways is considered a key oncogenic event in human carcinogenesis. Whether activated RAS isoforms possess different oncogenic potentials remains an unresolved question. Here, we compared oncogenic properties among RAS isoforms using liver-specific transgenesis in mice. Hydrodynamic transfection was performed using transposons expressing short hairpin RNA downregulating p53 and an activated RAS isoform, and livers were harvested at 23 days after gene delivery. No differences were found in the hepatocarcinogenic potential among RAS isoforms, as determined by both gross examination of livers and liver weight per body weight ratio (LW/BW) of mice expressing HRASQ61L, KRAS4BG12V and NRASQ61K. However, the tumorigenic potential differed significantly between KRAS splicing variants. The LW/BW ratio in KRAS4AG12V mice was significantly lower than in KRAS4BG12V mice (p < 0.001), and KRAS4AG12V mice lived significantly longer than KRRAS4BG12V mice (p < 0.0001). Notably, tumors from KRAS4AG12V mice displayed higher expression of the p16INK4A tumor suppressor when compared with KRAS4BG12V tumors. Forced overexpression of p16INK4A significantly reduced tumor growth in KRAS4BG12V mice, suggesting that upregulation of p16INK4A by KRAS4AG12V presumably delays tumor development driven by the latter oncogene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sook In Chung
- Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Hyuk Moon
- Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Hye-Lim Ju
- Liver Cirrhosis Clinical Research Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Dae Yeong Kim
- Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Kyung Joo Cho
- Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Silvia Ribback
- Institute of Pathology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Frank Dombrowski
- Institute of Pathology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Diego F Calvisi
- Institute of Pathology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Simon Weonsang Ro
- Institute of Gastroenterology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.,Liver Cirrhosis Clinical Research Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
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Fernández-Martínez A, Mollá B, Mayoral R, Boscá L, Casado M, Martín-Sanz P. Cyclo-oxygenase 2 expression impairs serum-withdrawal-induced apoptosis in liver cells. Biochem J 2006; 398:371-80. [PMID: 16800815 PMCID: PMC1559469 DOI: 10.1042/bj20060780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [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] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
We have investigated the mechanism of COX-2 (cyclo-oxygenase 2)-dependent inhibition of apoptosis in liver, a key pathway underlying proliferative actions of COX-2 in liver cancers, cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis C infection and regeneration after partial hepatectomy. Stable expression of COX-2 in CHL (Chang liver) cells induced proliferation, with an increase in the proportion of cells in S-phase, but no other significant changes in cell-cycle distribution. This was associated with a marked inhibition of the apoptotic response to serum deprivation, an effect mimicked by treating empty-vector-transfected control cells (CHL-V cells) with prostaglandin E2 and prevented in COX-2-expressing cells (CHL-C cells) treated with selective inhibitors of COX-2. Serum-deprived CHL-V cells displayed several indicators of activation of intrinsic apoptosis: caspases 9 and 3 activated within 6 h and caspase 8 within 18 h, Bax expression was induced, cytochrome c was released to the cytosol, and PARP-1 [poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1] cleavage was evident in nuclei. COX-2 expression blocked these events, concomitant with reduced expression of p53 and promotion of Akt phosphorylation, the latter indicating activation of survival pathways. CHL cells were resistant to stimulation of the extrinsic pathway with anti-Fas antibody. Moreover, in vivo expression of GFP (green fluorescent protein)-labelled COX-2 in mice by hydrodynamics-based transient transfection conferred resistance to caspase 3 activation and apoptosis induced by stimulation of Fas.
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Key Words
- apoptosis
- cyclo-oxygenase (cox)
- hepatocyte
- hydrodynamic transfection
- liver
- prostaglandin
- aa, arachidonic acid
- alt, alanine aminotransferase
- chl, chang liver
- chl-c cell, cyclo-oxygenase-2-expressing chl cell
- chl-v cell, empty-vector-transfected control chl cell
- cox, cyclo-oxygenase
- coxib, selective cox-2 inhibitor
- dfu, 5,5-dimethyl-3-(3-fluorophenyl)-4-(4-methylsulfonyl)phenyl-2(5h)-furanone
- dmem, dulbecco's modified eagle's medium
- fbs, foetal bovine serum
- gfp, green fluorescent protein
- hcc, hepatocellular carcinoma
- iap, inhibitor of apoptosis
- nf-κb, nuclear factor κb
- parp-1, poly(adp-ribose) polymerase 1
- pg, prostaglandin
- pi, propidium iodide
- pi3k, phosphoinositide 3-kinase
- rt, reverse transcription
- sp1, specificity protein 1
- tnf, tumour necrosis factor
- tunel, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dutp nick-end labelling
- xiap, x-linked iap
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Affiliation(s)
- Amalia Fernández-Martínez
- *Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CSIC), Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, Melchor Fernández Almagro 3, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Belén Mollá
- †Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (CSIC), Jaume Roig 11, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Rafael Mayoral
- *Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CSIC), Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, Melchor Fernández Almagro 3, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Lisardo Boscá
- *Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CSIC), Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, Melchor Fernández Almagro 3, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Marta Casado
- †Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (CSIC), Jaume Roig 11, 46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Paloma Martín-Sanz
- *Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CSIC), Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, Melchor Fernández Almagro 3, 28029 Madrid, Spain
- To whom correspondence should be addressed (email )
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