scholarly journals Elevated expression of minichromosome maintenance 3 indicates poor outcomes and promotes G1/S cell cycle progression, proliferation, migration and invasion in colorectal cancer

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
He Zhou ◽  
Yongfu Xiong ◽  
Guangjun Zhang ◽  
Zuoliang Liu ◽  
Lifa Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: The minichromosome maintenance (MCM) family, a core component of DNA replication, is involved in cell cycle process. Abnormal proliferation has been identified as a crucial process in the evolution of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the roles of the MCM family in CRC remain largely unknown. Methods: Here, the expression, prognostic significance and functions of the MCM family in CRC were systematically analyzed through a series of online databases including CCLE, Oncomine, HPA, cBioPortal and cancerSEA. Results: We found all MCM family members were highly expressed in CRC, but only elevation of MCM3 expression was associated with poor prognosis of patients with CRC. Further in vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to examine the role of MCM3 in CRC. Analysis of CCLE database and qRT-PCR assay confirmed that MCM3 was overexpressed in CRC cell lines. Moreover, knockdown of MCM3 significantly suppressed transition of G1 to S phase in CRC cells. Furthermore, down-regulation of MCM3 inhibited CRC cell proliferation, migration, invasion and promoted apoptosis. Conclusion: These findings reveal that MCM3 may function as an oncogene and a potential prognosis biomarker. Thus, the association between abnormal expression of MCM3 and the initiation of CRC deserves further exploration.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiuyang Chen ◽  
Yue Fu ◽  
Xinchun Liu ◽  
Peng Wang ◽  
Shangnan Dai ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Cyclin-dependent kinase subunit 2 (CKS2) has been reported to promote various malignancies. This study aims to investigate the prognostic significance and functional role of CKS2 in pancreatic cancer.Methods: The analysis of abnormal expression genes and prognosis value on pancreatic cancer by Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database and immunohistochemical staining of 64 samples of tumors. CCK-8 assay, EdU staining, colony formation, flow cytometry, wound healing assay, transwell assay, and a xenograft tumor model were used to analyze the biological function of CKS2 in pancreatic cancer. Western blotting was performed to explore the mechanisms underlying the effect of CKS2 on cell cycle progression and apoptosis.Results: A significantly higher expression of CKS2 was found in pancreatic cancer compared with adjacent normal tissues and high CKS2 expression indicated poor prognosis in patients with pancreatic cancer. Moreover, functional assays revealed that CKS2 knockdown suppressed cell proliferation, migration and invasion ability, induced cell cycle G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis in vitro and reduced tumor growth in vivo. In addition, CKS2 knockdown increased the expression of Bax, caspase-3, P53, P21 and GADD45α, but decreased the expression of Bcl-2, Cyclin B1, CDK1, Cyclin A, and Cdc25C. CKS2 overexpression obtained the opposite results to CKS2 knockdown.Conclusions: Our findings suggested that CKS2 may act as a promising prognostic indicator and therapeutic target for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhewen Zheng ◽  
Xue Zhang ◽  
Jian Bai ◽  
Long Long ◽  
Di Liu ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundPhosphoglucomutase 1(PGM1) is known for its involvement in cancer pathogenesis. However, its biological role in colorectal cancer (CRC) is unknown. Here, we studied the functions and mechanisms of PGM1 in CRC.Methods We verified PGM-1 as a DEG by a comprehensive strategy of the TCGA-COAD dataset mining and computational biology. Relative levels of PGM-1 in CRC tumors and adjoining peritumoral tissue were identified by qRT-PCR, WB, and IHC staining in a tissue microarray. PGM1 functions were analyzed using CCK8, EdU, colony formation, cell cycle, apoptosis, and Transwell migration and invasion assays. The influence of PGM1 was further investigated using tumor formation in vivo.ResultsPGM1 mRNA and protein were both reduced in CRC and the reduction was related to CRC pathology and overall survival. PGM1 knockdown stimulated both proliferation and colony formation, promoting cell cycle arrest and apoptosis while overexpression has opposite effects in CRC cells both in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, we lined the actions of PGM1 to the PI3K/ AKT pathway. ConclusionWe verified that PGM1 suppresses CRC through the PI3K/ AKT pathway. These results suggest the potential for targeting PGM1 in CRC therapies.


2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Longci Sun ◽  
Hanbing Xue ◽  
Chunhui Jiang ◽  
Hong Zhou ◽  
Lei Gu ◽  
...  

This article aims to find the key long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) and to study its biological functions in colorectal cancer progression. Our study has shown that upregulated LncRNA DQ786243 can regulate cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, cell apoptosis, migration, and invasion in CRC cells. Xenograft experiments confirmed that the growth of xenograft tumors formed by CRC cells was suppressed after silencing LncRNA DQ786243 expression. In conclusion, our study suggests that LncRNA DQ786243 is an oncogene that promotes tumor progression and leads us to propose that LncRNAs may serve as key regulatory hubs in CRC progression.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen-Hua Dong ◽  
Tao Jiang ◽  
Hang Yin ◽  
Hu Song ◽  
Yi Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Lamin B2 (LMNB2) is involved in chromatin remodelling and the rupture and reorganization of the nuclear membrane during mitosis, which is necessary for eukaryotic cell proliferation. However, there are few reports on the expression and function of LMNB2 in colorectal cancer.Methods: A tissue microarray (TAM) was used to detect the expression of LMNB2 in 226 colorectal cancer tissues and the corresponding adjacent tissues. The CCK-8 colorimetric assay, EdU incorporation analyses, colony formation assays and cell cycle experiments were used to evaluate the effect of LMNB2 on colorectal cancer cell proliferation in vitro, and a mouse tumorigenic model was used to study the effect of LMNB2 on colorectal cancer cells in vivo. The main pathways and genes regulated by LMNB2 were detected by RNA sequencing. Dual-luciferase reporter assays were conducted to test the direct binding between LMNB2 and p21, and ChIP analysis showed that LMNB2 promotes cell proliferation by regulating the p21 promoter.Results: The results showed that LMNB2 expression is increased in colorectal cancer tissues. Highly expressed LMNB2 is associated with tumour size and TNM stage. Multivariate Cox analysis showed that LMNB2 can be used as an independent prognostic factor in patients with colorectal cancer. Functional assays indicated that LMNB2 obviously enhanced cell proliferation by promoting cell cycle progression in vitro and in vivo. LMNB2 facilitates cell proliferation via regulating the p21 promoter, whereas LMNB2 had no effect on cell apoptosis in terms of mechanism.Conclusion: LMNB2 promotes the proliferation of colorectal cancer by regulating p21-mediated cell cycle progression, indicating the potential value of LMNB2 as a clinical prognostic marker and molecular therapeutic target.


Oncogenesis ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Sun ◽  
Chen Ye ◽  
Wen Tian ◽  
Wen Ye ◽  
Yuan-Yuan Gao ◽  
...  

AbstractTransient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) channels are the most prominent nonselective cation channels involved in various diseases. However, the function, clinical significance, and molecular mechanism of TRPCs in colorectal cancer (CRC) progression remain unclear. In this study, we identified that TRPC1 was the major variant gene of the TRPC family in CRC patients. TRPC1 was upregulated in CRC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues and high expression of TRPC1 was associated with more aggressive tumor progression and poor overall survival. TRPC1 knockdown inhibited cell proliferation, cell-cycle progression, invasion, and migration in vitro, as well as tumor growth in vivo; whereas TRPC1 overexpression promoted colorectal tumor growth and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. In addition, colorectal tumorigenesis was significantly attenuated in Trpc1-/- mice. Mechanistically, TRPC1 could enhance the interaction between calmodulin (CaM) and the PI3K p85 subunit by directly binding to CaM, which further activated the PI3K/AKT and its downstream signaling molecules implicated in cell cycle progression and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Silencing of CaM attenuated the oncogenic effects of TRPC1. Taken together, these results provide evidence that TRPC1 plays a pivotal oncogenic role in colorectal tumorigenesis and tumor progression by activating CaM-mediated PI3K/AKT signaling axis. Targeting TRPC1 represents a novel and specific approach for CRC treatment.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Sun ◽  
Di Wang ◽  
Yu Zhang ◽  
Qing Mu ◽  
Mei Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Compound Kushen Injection (CKI) has been clinically used in China for 15 years to treat various types of solid tumors, including colorectal cancer. Here we examine cell cycle arrest, induced autophagy, and mutant p53 pathways perturbed by CKI in colorectal cancer cells. We and other groups have shown that CKI alters p53 gene expression patterns and suppresses proliferation in colorectal cancer cells. Methods We measured the effect of CKI on cell proliferation, cell cycle progression and autophagy in sw480 and sw620 colorectal cancer cells in vitro, and carcinogenesis and the progression of azoxymethane/dextran sodium sulfate-induced colorectal cancer in ICR mice in vivo. We also used RNA sequencing to analyze mRNA expression altered by CKI, and further validated the expression of mutant p53 and several genes in the cell cycle pathway using reverse transcriptase-quantitative PCR and western blotting. Using network pharmacology (BATMAN-TCM database), we have also predicted the active ingredients in CKI involved in regulating the expression of mutant p53. Results We show evidence that CKI significantly suppressed proliferation and cell cycle progression, and induced autophagy of sw480 and sw620 cells in vitro; it also inhibited the development of inflammatory colorectal cancer in vivo. We also show that the down-regulated expression of mutant p53 and adjustments in several key genes related closely to cell-cycle progression. Furthermore, N-oxysophocarpine, lupenone, and geranylacetone were predicted to be the active ingredients of CKI involved in the down-regulated expression of mutant p53. Conclusion Our results indicate that CKI likely acts as a potential anti-cancer therapeutic agent that targets the cell cycle pathway, suggesting a key role in the development of a novel subsidiary therapeutic approach against mutant p53 in patients with colorectal cancer.


Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1319
Author(s):  
Matti Mauramo ◽  
Tuulia Onali ◽  
Wafa Wahbi ◽  
Jenni Vasara ◽  
Anniina Lampinen ◽  
...  

Previous studies indicate that bilberry with high amounts of phenolic compounds can inhibit carcinogenic processes of colorectal cancer in vitro and in vivo. However, no studies have focused on the effects of bilberry on oral cancer. In this study, we aimed to examine the effects of bilberry powder on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells using both in vitro and in vivo assays. The effects of 0, 1, 10, and 25 mg/mL of whole bilberry powder on the viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion of OSCC (HSC-3) cells were examined and compared with 0.01 mg/mL of cetuximab. Two oral keratinocyte cell lines served as controls. Tumor area was analyzed in zebrafish microinjected with HSC-3 cells and treated with 2.5, 10, or 25 µg/mL of bilberry powder. Metastases in the head or tail areas were counted. Bilberry powder inhibited the viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion of HSC-3 cells (p < 0.05), which was more pronounced with higher concentrations. Cetuximab had no effect on HSC-3 cell migration or invasion. Compared to controls, the tumor area in zebrafish treated with bilberry powder (10 and 25 µg/mL) was reduced significantly (p = 0.038 and p = 0.021, respectively), but the number of fish with metastases did not differ between groups. Based on our in vitro and in vivo experiments, we conclude that whole bilberry powder has anti-tumor effects on OSCC cells.


Author(s):  
Ran Zhao ◽  
Yukun Liu ◽  
Chunchun Wu ◽  
Mengna Li ◽  
Yanmei Wei ◽  
...  

BRD7 functions as a crucial tumor suppressor in numerous malignancies. However, the effects of BRD7 on colorectal cancer (CRC) progression are still unknown. Here, based on the BRD7 knockout (BRD7–/–) and BRD7flox/flox (BRD7+/+) mouse models constructed in our previous work, we established an azoxymethane/dextran sodium sulfate (AOM/DSS)-induced mouse model. BRD7+/+ mice were found to be highly susceptible to AOM/DSS-induced colitis-associated CRC, and BRD7 significantly promoted cell proliferation and cell cycle G1/S transition but showed no significant effect on cell apoptosis. Furthermore, BRD7 interacted with c-Myc and stabilized c-Myc by inhibiting its ubiquitin–proteasome-dependent degradation. Moreover, restoring the expression of c-Myc in BRD7-silenced CRC cells restored cell proliferation, cell cycle progression, and tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. In addition, BRD7 and c-Myc were both significantly upregulated in CRC patients, and high expression of these proteins was associated with clinical stage and poor prognosis in CRC patients. Collectively, BRD7 functions as an oncogene and promotes CRC progression by regulating the ubiquitin–proteasome-dependent stabilization of c-Myc protein. Targeting the BRD7/c-Myc axis could be a potential therapeutic strategy for CRC.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 2176
Author(s):  
Haibo Zhang ◽  
Jun-Koo Yi ◽  
Hai Huang ◽  
Song Park ◽  
Sijun Park ◽  
...  

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the world. Rhein has demonstrated therapeutic effects in various cancer models. However, its effects and underlying mechanisms of action in CRC remain poorly understood. We investigated the potential anticancer activity and underlying mechanisms of rhein in CRC in vitro and in vivo. Cell viability and anchorage-independent colony formation assays were performed to examine the antigrowth effects of rhein on CRC cells. Wound-healing and Transwell assays were conducted to assess cell migration and invasion capacity. Cell cycle and apoptosis were investigated by flow cytometry and verified by immunoblotting. A tissue microarray was used to detect mTOR expression in CRC patient tissues. Gene overexpression and knockdown were done to analyze the function of mTOR in CRC. The anticancer effect of rhein in vivo was assessed in a CRC xenograft mouse model. The results show that rhein significantly inhibited CRC cell growth by inducing S-phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Rhein inhibited CRC cell migration and invasion through the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) process. mTOR was highly expressed in CRC cancer tissues and cells. Overexpression of mTOR promoted cell growth, migration, and invasion, whereas mTOR knockdown diminished these phenomena in CRC cells in vitro. In addition, rhein directly targeted mTOR and inhibited the mTOR signaling pathway in CRC cells. Rhein promoted mTOR degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. Intraperitoneal administration of rhein inhibited HCT116 xenograft tumor growth through the mTOR pathway. In conclusion, rhein exerts anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo by targeting mTOR and inhibiting the mTOR signaling pathway in CRC. Our results indicate that rhein is a potent anticancer agent that may be useful for the prevention and treatment of CRC.


Author(s):  
Aling Shen ◽  
Liya Liu ◽  
Yue Huang ◽  
Zhiqing Shen ◽  
Meizhu Wu ◽  
...  

Background: HAUS6 participates in microtubule-dependent microtubule amplification, but its role in malignancies including colorectal cancer (CRC) has not been explored. We therefore assessed the potential oncogenic activities of HAUS6 in CRC.Results: HAUS6 mRNA and protein expression is higher in CRC tissues, and high HAUS6 expression is correlated with shorter overall survival in CRC patients. HAUS6 knockdown in CRC cell lines suppressed cell growth in vitro and in vivo by inhibiting cell viability, survival and arresting cell cycle progression at G0/G1, while HAUS6 over-expression increased cell viability. We showed that these effects are dependent on activation of the p53/p21 signalling pathway by reducing p53 and p21 degradation. Moreover, combination of HAUS6 knockdown and 5-FU treatment further enhanced the suppression of cell proliferation of CRC cells by increasing activation of the p53/p21 pathway.Conclusion: Our study highlights a potential oncogenic role for HAUS6 in CRC. Targeting HAUS6 may be a promising novel prognostic marker and chemotherapeutic target for treating CRC patients.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document