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Hillion J, Smail SS, Di Cello F, Belton A, Shah S, Huso T, Schuldenfrei A, Nelson DM, Cope L, Campbell N, Karikari C, Aderinto A, Maitra A, Huso DL, Resar LMS. The HMGA1-COX-2 axis: a key molecular pathway and potential target in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Pancreatology 2012; 12:372-9. [PMID: 22898640 PMCID: PMC3466102 DOI: 10.1016/j.pan.2012.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
CONTEXT Although pancreatic cancer is a common, highly lethal malignancy, the molecular events that enable precursor lesions to become invasive carcinoma remain unclear. We previously reported that the high-mobility group A1 (HMGA1) protein is overexpressed in >90% of primary pancreatic cancers, with absent or low levels in early precursor lesions. METHODS Here, we investigate the role of HMGA1 in reprogramming pancreatic epithelium into invasive cancer cells. We assessed oncogenic properties induced by HMGA1 in non-transformed pancreatic epithelial cells expressing activated K-RAS. We also explored the HMGA1-cyclooxygenase (COX-2) pathway in human pancreatic cancer cells and the therapeutic effects of COX-2 inhibitors in xenograft tumorigenesis. RESULTS HMGA1 cooperates with activated K-RAS to induce migration, invasion, and anchorage-independent cell growth in a cell line derived from normal human pancreatic epithelium. Moreover, HMGA1 and COX-2 expression are positively correlated in pancreatic cancer cell lines (r(2) = 0.93; p < 0.001). HMGA1 binds directly to the COX-2 promoter at an AT-rich region in vivo in three pancreatic cancer cell lines. In addition, HMGA1 induces COX-2 expression in pancreatic epithelial cells, while knock-down of HMGA1 results in repression of COX-2 in pancreatic cancer cells. Strikingly, we also discovered that Sulindac (a COX-1/COX-2 inhibitor) or Celecoxib (a more specific COX-2 inhibitor) block xenograft tumorigenesis from pancreatic cancer cells expressing high levels of HMGA1. CONCLUSIONS Our studies identify for the first time an important role for the HMGA1-COX-2 pathway in pancreatic cancer and suggest that targeting this pathway could be effective to treat, or even prevent, pancreatic cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joelle Hillion
- Hematology Division, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Shamayra S. Smail
- Hematology Division, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Pathobiology Graduate Program, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Francescopaolo Di Cello
- Hematology Division, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Amy Belton
- Hematology Division, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Sandeep Shah
- Hematology Division, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Tait Huso
- Hematology Division, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Andrew Schuldenfrei
- Hematology Division, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Dwella Moton Nelson
- Hematology Division, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Leslie Cope
- Oncology Center-Biostatistics/Bioinformatics, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Oncology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Nathaniel Campbell
- Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Collins Karikari
- Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Abimbola Aderinto
- Hematology Division, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Anirban Maitra
- Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Oncology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - David L. Huso
- Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Oncology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
| | - Linda M. S. Resar
- Hematology Division, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Pathobiology Graduate Program, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Oncology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
- Pediatrics, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
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Smail SS, Ayesh K, Sierra-Montes JM, Herrera RJ. U6 snRNA variants isolated from the posterior silk gland of the silk moth Bombyx mori. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 2006; 36:454-65. [PMID: 16731342 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2006.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2005] [Revised: 03/09/2006] [Accepted: 03/14/2006] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Five U6 small nuclear RNA (snRNA) isoforms were detected and characterized from the posterior silk gland (PSG) of the silk moth Bombyx mori (Nistari strain). Using the currently accepted U6 secondary structure model as a basis for comparison, the variants were analyzed for nucleotide differences across the sequence with a focus on known functional domains. Differences were observed primarily in single-stranded areas of which sixty percent were found in the highly conserved U4-U6 binding sites. In the Nistari strain, the U6A variant was found to be approximately four times more abundant as part of high molecular weight spliceosomal complexes when compared with U6A in the total unfractionated PSG cell lysate. Additionally, the European 703 B. mori strain total cell lysate U6 snRNA was analyzed and only the dominant U6A isoform initially identified in Nistari was found. Due to U6's essential role in pre-mRNA processing, variants may modulate assemblage of the catalytic core and in doing so potentially affect the rate of splicing. Phylogenetic analysis of the U6 snRNA sequences indicate an ancient divergence of U6 from the self-splicing group II intron module and a high degree of evolutionary conservation across species possibly due to functional constraints on the gene. Using in silico analysis, 35 full-length U6 variants were observed in the recently released Whole Genome Shotgun (WGS) database of the p50T strain. The consensus sequence of these U6 genes from p50T is identical to U6A identified in the Nistari strain. Furthermore p50T variant 1, which is represented in 14 genes, is equivalent to Nistari U6A.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shamayra S Smail
- Department of Biological Sciences, OE 304, University Park Campus, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
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Sierra-Montes JM, Pereira-Simon S, Smail SS, Herrera RJ. The silk moth Bombyx mori U1 and U2 snRNA variants are differentially expressed. Gene 2005; 352:127-36. [PMID: 15894437 DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2005.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2004] [Revised: 12/16/2004] [Accepted: 02/22/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Five U1 and eight U2 isoforms of the silk moth Bombyx mori exhibiting internal nucleotide differences have been previously identified and characterized in various tissues and developmental stages. In this investigation, it is demonstrated that the levels of some snRNA variants differ in egg and silk gland tissue and change during development. Qualitative and quantitative differences in the U1 and U2 variant populations were observed at three developmental points (early, middle and late) of the silk gland (SG) during the fifth instar larval stage of the silk moth. Statistical analyses of the various isoform populations across the fifth instar larval and egg stages show significant differences for some of the U1 and U2 variants. The representation of variant sequences in expressed U1 and U2 sequences (RT-PCR libraries) and in a whole-genome shotgun (WGS) assembly database was confirmed. In addition, conserved elements in the promoter 5'-flanking region of the U1 and U2 variants were identified in the WGS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie M Sierra-Montes
- Department of Biological Sciences, OE304, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, United States
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