scholarly journals Evolution of cellular morpho-phenotypes in cancer metastasis

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei-Hsun Wu ◽  
Jude M. Phillip ◽  
Shyam B. Khatau ◽  
Wei-Chiang Chen ◽  
Jeffrey Stirman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Patient Outcomes ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Cancer Metastasis ◽  
Breast Cancer Cell Lines ◽  
Cell Contact ◽  
Morphological Variations ◽  
Local Cell ◽  
2D And 3D ◽  
Content Information

AbstractIntratumoral heterogeneity greatly complicates the study of molecular mechanisms driving cancer progression and our ability to predict patient outcomes. Here we have developed an automated high-throughput cell-imaging platform (htCIP) that allows us to extract high-content information about individual cells, including cell morphology, molecular content and local cell density at single-cell resolution. We further develop a comprehensive visually-aided morpho-phenotyping recognition (VAMPIRE) tool to analyze irregular cellular and nuclear shapes in both 2D and 3D microenvironments. VAMPIRE analysis of ~39,000 cells from 13 previously sequenced patient-derived pancreatic cancer samples indicate that metastasized cells present significantly lower heterogeneity than primary tumor cells. We found the same morphological signature for metastasis for a cohort of 10 breast cancer cell lines. We further decipher the relative contributions to heterogeneity from cell cycle, cell-cell contact, cell stochasticity and heritable morphological variations.

Galectin-3: A factotum in carcinogenesis bestowing an archery for prevention

Tumor Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-96
Author(s):  
T. Jeethy Ram ◽  
Asha Lekshmi ◽  
Thara Somanathan ◽  
K. Sujathan
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Cancer Metastasis ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Therapy Resistance ◽  
Cellular Level ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Innovative Strategy ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Galectin 3

Cancer metastasis and therapy resistance are the foremost hurdles in oncology at the moment. This review aims to pinpoint the functional aspects of a unique multifaceted glycosylated molecule in both intracellular and extracellular compartments of a cell namely galectin-3 along with its metastatic potential in different types of cancer. All materials reviewed here were collected through the search engines PubMed, Scopus, and Google scholar. Among the 15 galectins identified, the chimeric gal-3 plays an indispensable role in the differentiation, transformation, and multi-step process of tumor metastasis. It has been implicated in the molecular mechanisms that allow the cancer cells to survive in the intravascular milieu and promote tumor cell extravasation, ultimately leading to metastasis. Gal-3 has also been found to have a pivotal role in immune surveillance and pro-angiogenesis and several studies have pointed out the importance of gal-3 in establishing a resistant phenotype, particularly through the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process. Additionally, some recent findings suggest the use of gal-3 inhibitors in overcoming therapeutic resistance. All these reports suggest that the deregulation of these specific lectins at the cellular level could inhibit cancer progression and metastasis. A more systematic study of glycosylation in clinical samples along with the development of selective gal-3 antagonists inhibiting the activity of these molecules at the cellular level offers an innovative strategy for primary cancer prevention.

scholarly journals A novel isoform of ATOH8 promotes the metastasis of breast cancer by regulating RhoC

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengyao Xu ◽  
Shan Huang ◽  
Xiaoli Dong ◽  
Yanan Chen ◽  
Miao Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Tumor Metastasis ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Cancer Metastasis ◽  
Prognostic Indicator ◽  
Breast Cancer Cell Lines ◽  
Significant Progress ◽  
Potential Therapeutic Target ◽  
Related Mortality ◽  
Made In

Abstract Metastases are the main cause of cancer-related mortality in breast cancer. Although significant progress has been made in the field of tumor metastasis, the exact molecular mechanisms involved in tumor metastasis are still unclear. Here, we report that ATOH8-V1, a novel isoform of ATOH8, is highly expressed in breast cancer and is a negative prognostic indicator of survival for patients. Forced expression of ATOH8-V1 dramatically enhances, while silencing of ATOH8-V1 decreases the metastasis of breast cancer cell lines. Moreover, ATOH8-V1 directly binds to the RhoC promoter and stimulates the expression of RhoC, which in turn enhances the metastasis of breast cancer. Altogether, our data demonstrate that ATOH8-V1 is a novel pro-metastatic factor that enhances cancer metastasis, suggesting that ATOH8-V1 is a potential therapeutic target for treatment of metastatic cancers.

scholarly journals Post-translational modifications of EZH2 in cancer

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhongwei Li ◽  
Minle Li ◽  
Diandian Wang ◽  
Pingfu Hou ◽  
Xintian Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Target Gene ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Cancer Metastasis ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Post Translational Modifications ◽  
Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 ◽  
Binding Partners ◽  
Regulate Protein ◽  
Main Component

AbstractEnhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), as a main component of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2, catalyzes histone H3K27me3 to silence its target gene expression. EZH2 upregulation results in cancer development and poor prognosis of cancer patients. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) are important biological events in cancer progression. PTMs regulate protein conformation and diversity functions. Recently, mounting studies have demonstrated that EZH2 stability, histone methyltransferase activity, localization, and binding partners can be regulated by PTMs, including phosphorylation, O-GlcNAcylation, acetylation, methylation and ubiquitination. However, the detailed molecular mechanisms of the EZH2-PTMs and whether other types of PTMs occur in EZH2 remain largely unclear. This review presents an overview of different roles of EZH2 modification and EZH2-PTMs crosstalk during tumorigenesis and cancer metastasis. We also discussed the therapeutic potential of targeting EZH2 modifications for cancer therapy.

scholarly journals Control of the Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition and Cancer Metastasis by Autophagy-Dependent SNAI1 Degradation

Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahib Zada ◽  
Jin Hwang ◽  
Mahmoud Ahmed ◽  
Trang Lai ◽  
Trang Pham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Cancer Cell ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Cancer Metastasis ◽  
Epithelial To Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Nuclear Translocation ◽  
Degradation Process ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Invasion And Migration

Autophagy, an intracellular degradation process, is essential for maintaining cell homeostasis by removing damaged organelles and proteins under various conditions of stress. In cancer, autophagy has conflicting functions. It plays a key role in protecting against cancerous transformation by maintaining genomic stability against genotoxic components, leading to cancerous transformation. It can also promote cancer cell survival by supplying minimal amounts of nutrients during cancer progression. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying how autophagy regulates the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cancer metastasis are unknown. Here, we show that starvation-induced autophagy promotes Snail (SNAI1) degradation and inhibits EMT and metastasis in cancer cells. Interestingly, SNAI1 proteins were physically associated and colocalized with LC3 and SQSTM1 in cancer cells. We also found a significant decrease in the levels of EMT and metastatic proteins under starvation conditions. Furthermore, ATG7 knockdown inhibited autophagy-induced SNAI1 degradation in the cytoplasm, which was associated with a decrease in SNAI1 nuclear translocation. Moreover, cancer cell invasion and migration were significantly inhibited by starvation-induced autophagy. These findings suggest that autophagy-dependent SNAI1 degradation could specifically regulate EMT and cancer metastasis during tumorigenesis.

scholarly journals Dynamics of Phenotypic Heterogeneity Associated with EMT and Stemness during Cancer Progression

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohit Kumar Jolly ◽  
Toni Celià-Terrassa
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Cancer Metastasis ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Phenotypic Heterogeneity ◽  
State Transitions ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Cancer Aggressiveness

Genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity contribute to the generation of diverse tumor cell populations, thus enhancing cancer aggressiveness and therapy resistance. Compared to genetic heterogeneity, a consequence of mutational events, phenotypic heterogeneity arises from dynamic, reversible cell state transitions in response to varying intracellular/extracellular signals. Such phenotypic plasticity enables rapid adaptive responses to various stressful conditions and can have a strong impact on cancer progression. Herein, we have reviewed relevant literature on mechanisms associated with dynamic phenotypic changes and cellular plasticity, such as epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cancer stemness, which have been reported to facilitate cancer metastasis. We also discuss how non-cell-autonomous mechanisms such as cell–cell communication can lead to an emergent population-level response in tumors. The molecular mechanisms underlying the complexity of tumor systems are crucial for comprehending cancer progression, and may provide new avenues for designing therapeutic strategies.

scholarly journals MicroRNA-374b inhibits breast cancer progression through regulating CCND1 and TGFA genes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Liu ◽  
Ai Zhang ◽  
Ping-Ping Bao ◽  
Li Lin ◽  
Yina Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Breast Cancer Cells ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Breast Cancer Progression ◽  
Breast Cancer Cell Lines ◽  
Malignant Behavior

Abstract Emerging evidence indicates that microRNAs (miRNAs) play a critical role in breast cancer development. We recently reported that a higher expression of miR-374b in tumor tissues was associated with a better disease-free survival of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, the functional significance and molecular mechanisms underlying the role of miR-374b in breast cancer are largely unknown. In this current study, we evaluated the biological functions and potential mechanisms of miR-374b in both TNBC and non-TNBC. We found that miR-374b was significantly downregulated in breast cancer tissues, compared to adjacent tissues. MiR-374b levels were also lower in breast cancer cell lines, as compared to breast epithelial cells. In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that miR-374b modulates the malignant behavior of breast cancer cells, such as cell proliferation in 2D and 3D, cell invasion ability, colony forming ability, and tumor growth in mice. By using bioinformatics tools, we predicted that miR-374b plays a role in breast cancer cells through negatively regulating cyclin D1 (CCND1) and transforming growth factor alpha (TGFA). We further confirmed that CCND1 and TGFA contribute to the malignant behavior of breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Our rescue experiments showed that overexpressing CCND1 or TGFA reverses the phenotypes caused by miR-374b overexpression. Taken together, our studies suggest that miR-374b modulates malignant behavior of breast cancer cells by negatively regulating CCND1 and TGFA genes. The newly identified miR-374b-mediated CCND1 and TGFA gene silencing may facilitate a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of breast cancer progression.

scholarly journals WNT11 is a novel ligand for ROR2 in human breast cancer

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin Menck ◽  
Saskia Heinrichs ◽  
Darius Wlochowitz ◽  
Maren Sitte ◽  
Helen Noeding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Human Breast Cancer ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Cancer Metastasis ◽  
Wnt Signaling Pathway ◽  
Breast Cancer Metastasis ◽  
Parp Inhibition ◽  
Breast Cancer Cell Lines ◽  
Human Breast ◽  
Tumor Invasiveness

ABSTRACTBreast cancer has been associated with activation of the WNT signaling pathway, although the underlying molecular mechanisms are still unclear. Here, we found the WNT receptor ROR2 to be highly expressed in aggressive breast tumors and associated with worse metastasis-free survival. In order to understand the molecular basis of these observations, we overexpressed ROR2 in human breast cancer cell lines, inducing a BRCAness-like phenotype and rendering them resistant to PARP inhibition. High levels of ROR2 were associated with defects in cell morphology and cell-cell-contacts leading to increased tumor invasiveness. Using gene expression analysis we demonstrated an upregulation of several non-canonical WNT ligands in ROR2-overexpressing breast cancer cells, in particular WNT11. Co-immunoprecipitation confirmed that WNT11 is indeed a novel ligand for ROR2 that interacts with its cysteine-rich domain and triggers the invasion-promoting signaling via RHO/ROCK. Knockdown of WNT11 reversed the pro-invasive phenotype and the cellular changes in ROR2-overexpressing cells. Taken together, our studies revealed a novel auto-stimulatory loop in which ROR2 triggers the expression of its own ligand, WNT11, resulting in enhanced tumor invasion associated with breast cancer metastasis.

Molecular mechanisms of osteotropic cancer metastasis (literature review)

2021 ◽  
pp. 41-45
Author(s):  
I. V. Kovalyova ◽  
L. V. Spirina ◽  
A. K. Gorbunov ◽  
E. A. Usynin
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Cancer Metastasis ◽  
Metastatic Cancer ◽  
Bone Microenvironment ◽  
Molecular Features ◽  
Cancer Breast ◽  
Management Procedures ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Frequent Site

Bone is a frequent site of metastasis for a wide range of cancer types. The most common cancers that often spread to bone are prostate cancer, breast cancer and renal cell carcinoma. In this regard, the preferential bone localization of tumor cells is determined by their molecular features and attraction by bone microenvironment. Metastatic niche growth destroys the bone, and as a result, patients are suffering from symptoms also known as skeletal-related events: severe pain, fractures, progressive hypercalcemia, resulting in high rates of cancer-dependent complications. Lack in effective guidelines and management procedures in metastatic cancer therapy highlights the issues of molecular mechanism investigation. Here, we discuss about bone microenvironment and how it impacts to tumor growth, cancer progression and dormancy.

scholarly journals Role of Estrogen Receptor Signaling in Breast Cancer Metastasis

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudipa Saha Roy ◽  
Ratna K. Vadlamudi
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Estrogen Receptor ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Breast Cancer Cells ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Cancer Metastasis ◽  
Metastatic Breast ◽  
Estrogen Signaling

Metastatic breast cancer is a life-threatening stage of cancer and is the leading cause of death in advanced breast cancer patients. Estrogen signaling and the estrogen receptor (ER) are implicated in breast cancer progression, and the majority of the human breast cancers start out as estrogen dependent. Accumulating evidence suggests that ER signaling is complex, involving coregulatory proteins and extranuclear actions. ER-coregualtory proteins are tightly regulated under normal conditions with miss expression primarily reported in cancer. Deregulation of ER coregualtors or ER extranuclear signaling has potential to promote metastasis in ER-positive breast cancer cells. This review summarizes the emerging role of ER signaling in promoting metastasis of breast cancer cells, discusses the molecular mechanisms by which ER signaling contributes to metastasis, and explores possible therapeutic targets to block ER-driven metastasis.

scholarly journals Noncoding RNAs in Tumor Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ching-Wen Lin ◽  
Pei-Ying Lin ◽  
Pan-Chyr Yang
Keyword(s):  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Cancer Metastasis ◽  
Epithelial To Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Regulation Of Gene Expression ◽  
Noncoding Rnas ◽  
Protein Translation ◽  
Gene Expressions ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition

Epithelial-derived tumor cells acquire the capacity for epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which enables them to invade adjacent tissues and/or metastasize to distant organs. Cancer metastasis is the main cause of cancer-related death. Molecular mechanisms involved in the switch from an epithelial phenotype to mesenchymal status are complicated and are controlled by a variety of signaling pathways. Recently, a set of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), including miRNAs and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), were found to modulate gene expressions at either transcriptional or posttranscriptional levels. These ncRNAs are involved in EMT through their interplay with EMT-related transcription factors (EMT-TFs) and EMT-associated signaling. Reciprocal regulatory interactions between lncRNAs and miRNAs further increase the complexity of the regulation of gene expression and protein translation. In this review, we discuss recent findings regarding EMT-regulating ncRNAs and their associated signaling pathways involved in cancer progression.

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