scholarly journals A Novel Function for KLF4 in Modulating the De-Differentiation of EpCAM−/CD133− nonStem Cells into EpCAM+/CD133+ Liver Cancer Stem Cells in HCC Cell Line HuH7

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeynep Firtina Karagonlar ◽  
Soheil Akbari ◽  
Mustafa Karabicici ◽  
Eren Sahin ◽  
Sanem Tercan Avci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Cell Phenotype ◽  
High Plasticity ◽  
Liver Cancer Stem Cells

The complex and heterogeneous nature of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) hampers the identification of effective therapeutic strategies. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a fraction of cells within tumors with the ability to self-renew and differentiate, and thus significantly contribute to the formation and maintenance of heterogeneous tumor mass. Increasing evidence indicates high plasticity in tumor cells, suggesting that non-CSCs could acquire stem cell properties through de-differentiation or reprogramming processes. In this paper, we reveal KLF4 as a transcription factor that can induce a CSC-like phenotype in non-CSCs through upregulating the EpCAM and E-CAD expression. Our studies indicated that KLF4 could directly bind to the promoter of EpCAM and increase the number of EpCAM+/CD133+ liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) in the HuH7 HCC cell line. When KLF4 was overexpressed in EpCAM−/CD133− non-stem cells, the expressions of hepatic stem/progenitor cell genes such as CK19, EpCAM and LGR5 were significantly increased. KLF4 overexpressing non-stem cells exhibited greater cell viability upon sorafenib treatment, while the cell migration and invasion capabilities of these cells were suppressed. Importantly, we detected an increased membranous expression and colocalization of β-CAT, E-CAD and EpCAM in the KLF4-overexpressing EpCAM−/CD133− non-stem cells, suggesting that this complex might be required for the cancer stem cell phenotype. Moreover, our in vivo xenograft studies demonstrated that with a KLF4 overexpression, EpCAM−/CD133− non-stem cells attained an in vivo tumor forming ability comparable to EpCAM+/CD133+ LCSCs, and the tumor specimens from KLF4-overexpressing xenografts had increased levels of both the KLF4 and EpCAM proteins. Additionally, we identified a correlation between the KLF4 and EpCAM protein expressions in human HCC tissues independent of the tumor stage and differentiation status. Collectively, our data suggest a novel function for KLF4 in modulating the de-differentiation of tumor cells and the induction of EpCAM+/CD133+ LCSCs in HuH7 HCC cells.

Salinomycin suppresses tumorigenicity of liver cancer stem cells and Wnt/beta-catenin signaling

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiuping Liu ◽  
Jinghui Sun ◽  
Qing Luo ◽  
Yang Ju ◽  
Guanbin Song
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Chemotherapy Resistance ◽  
Antitumor Agent ◽  
Beta Catenin ◽  
Liver Cancer Stem Cells

Background: Accumulating evidence has revealed the important role of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in driving tumor initiation and tumor relapse or metastasis. Therapeutic strategies that selectively target CSCs may be effective approaches to eliminate cancer. Salinomycin, an antitumor agent, was identified as a selective inhibitor of several types of CSCs. We previously reported that salinomycin inhibits the migration and invasiveness of liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs). Objective: This study was conducted to explore the role of salinomycin in supressing stemness properties of LCSCs and the mechanism. Methods: LCSCs were identified and enriched from MHCC97H cells. Salinomycin was used to treat LCSCs at the indicated concentrations. Sphere formation ability, chemotherapy resistance, expression of CSC surface markers, Young's modulus and tumorigenicity of LCSCs were assessed to evaluate the effect of salionmycin on LCSCs. The expression of β-catenin was evaluated by western blotting. LiCl was used to activate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Results: Salinomycin suppresses the stemness properties of LCSCs. Moreover, salinomycin could also inhibit the activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in LCSCs. Nevertheless, the stemness properties of LCSCs could be recovered when Wnt/β-catenin signaling was activated by LiCl. Further studies demonstrated that salinomycin also significantly reduces the tumorigenicity of LCSCs in vivo by suppressing the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Conclusion: Salinomycin could suppress stemness properties and induce differentiation of LCSCs through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, which provides evidence that salinomycin may serve as a potential drug for liver cancer therapy targeting LCSCs in the clinic.

scholarly journals Casticin inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition of liver cancer stem cells of the SMMC-7721 cell line through downregulating Twist

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 1625-1631 ◽  
Author(s):  
MENG HE ◽  
XIAO-CHENG CAO ◽  
GUI-CHENG HE ◽  
XI-FENG SHENG ◽  
XIAO-HONG AI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Liver Cancer Stem Cells

scholarly journals Long noncoding RNA HULC accelerates the growth of human liver cancer stem cells by upregulating CyclinD1 through miR675-PKM2 pathway via autophagy

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Wang ◽  
Xiaoxue Jiang ◽  
Xiaonan Li ◽  
Shuting Song ◽  
Qiuyu Meng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Human Liver ◽  
Noncoding Rna ◽  
Liver Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Huh7 Cells ◽  
Human Liver Cancer

Abstract Background The functions of HULC have been demonstrated in several cancers. However, its mechanism has not been elucidated in human liver cancer stem cells. Methods Liver cancer stem cells were isolated from Huh7 cells; gene infection and tumorigenesis test in vitro and in vivo were performed. Results We demonstrate that HULC promotes growth of liver cancer stem cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, HULC enhances the expression of Sirt1 dependent on miR675 and then induces the cellular autophagy through Sirt1. HULC enhances CyclinD1 and thereby increases pRB and inhibited P21 WAF1/CIP 1 via autophagy-miR675-PKM2 pathway in human liver cancer stem cells. Ultimately, our results demonstrate that CyclinD1 is required for the oncogenic functions of HULC in liver cancer stem cells. Conclusions It reveals the key molecular signaling pathways for HULC and provides important basic information for finding effective tumor therapeutic targets based on HULC.

scholarly journals Casticin inhibits self-renewal of liver cancer stem cells from the MHCC97 cell line

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 2023-2028 ◽  
Author(s):  
GUICHENG HE ◽  
XIAOCHENG CAO ◽  
MENG HE ◽  
XIFENG SHENG ◽  
YOUHUA WU ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Self Renewal ◽  
Liver Cancer Stem Cells

scholarly journals iNOS promotes CD24+CD133+liver cancer stem cell phenotype through a TACE/ADAM17-dependent Notch signaling pathway

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (43) ◽  
pp. E10127-E10136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronghua Wang ◽  
Yawen Li ◽  
Allan Tsung ◽  
Hai Huang ◽  
Qiang Du ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Notch Signaling ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Tumor Formation ◽  
Cell Phenotype ◽  
Stem Cell Markers ◽  
Notch1 Signaling

The inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is associated with more aggressive solid tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Notch signaling in cancer stem cells promotes cancer progression and requires Notch cleavage by ADAM (a disintegrin and metalloprotease) proteases. We hypothesized that iNOS/NO promotes Notch1 activation through TACE/ADAM17 activation in liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs), leading to a more aggressive cancer phenotype. Expression of the stem cell markers CD24 and CD133 in the tumors of patients with HCC was associated with greater iNOS expression and worse outcomes. The expression of iNOS in CD24+CD133+LCSCs, but not CD24−CD133−LCSCs, promoted Notch1 signaling and stemness characteristics in vitro and in vivo, as well as accelerating HCC initiation and tumor formation in the mouse xenograft tumor model. iNOS/NO led to Notch1 signaling through a pathway involving the soluble guanylyl cyclase/cGMP/PKG-dependent activation of TACE/ADAM17 and up-regulation of iRhom2 in LCSCs. In patients with HCC, higher TACE/ADAM17 expression and Notch1 activation correlated with poor prognosis. These findings link iNOS to Notch1 signaling in CD24+CD133+LCSCs through the activation of TACE/ADAM17 and identify a mechanism for how iNOS contributes to progression of CD24+CD133+HCC.

Characterization of Cancer Stem Cells in Multiple Myeloma

Blood ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 112 (11) ◽  
pp. 495-495
Author(s):  
Haiming Chen ◽  
Mingjie Li ◽  
Eric Sanchez ◽  
Cathy S Wang ◽  
Ariana M Berenson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Stem Cells ◽  
Multiple Myeloma ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Tumor Cell ◽  
Cell Suspension ◽  
Tumor Cells ◽  
Tumor Clone

Abstract Cancer stem cells persist in tumors as a distinct population and cause relapse and metastasis by giving rise to new tumors. Development of specific therapies targeted at cancer stem cells gives hope for improvement in the survival and quality life of cancer patients. Multiple myeloma (MM) is a cancer characterized by clonal expansion of terminally differentiated B cells. In order to characterize whether cancer stem cells can be identified in these patients, fresh bone marrow biopsies with 90% MM cells from MM patients were implanted into the superficial gluteal muscle of C.B-17 severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. The tumors were excised from donor mice two months following implantation, and digested with proteinase-E to produce a single cell suspension. These cells were analyzed using flow cytometry to identify specific cellular phenotypes within the tumor population. Approximately 13% of the tumor cells were CD138+ cells, 1–2% CD20+ cells and 2–3% CD133+ cells. To examine gene expression within these populations, we isolated the tumor cells using immunomagnetic bead selection. Cells (1X108) were incubated with 200ml of anti-CD138 microbeads and either anti-CD133 or CD20 microbeads. The cell suspension was applied to the magnetic column and unbound cells were passed through the column by washing followed by centrifugation, and finally resuspended. Total RNA was purified from the cells and gene expression of each population was examined using RT-PCR analysis of specific previously identified stem cell-related transcription factors. β-catenin plays a critical role in stem cell development; and, furthermore, the Wnt-β-catenin signaling pathway is important for maintaining the balance of proliferation versus differentiation in the stem cell population. The gene expression of KLT-4, Oct-4, SOX2, and C-myc has recently been shown to convert nonterminally differentiated B cells into a pluripotent stem cell state. In our studies, we found that the CD20+/CD138− and CD133+/CD138− subpopulations both expressed high levels of β-catenin, KLT-4, Oct-4, SOX2, and C-myc. These small populations of tumor cells are likely to represent MM cancer stem cells as they express genes consistently identified in cancer stem cells identified in other types of cancers. We unexpectedly found that CD138+ cells also expressed β-catenin, KLT-4, Oct-4, SOX2, and C-myc. This population of cells might be a “premature” tumor cell in MM at a middle stage of tumor cell differentiation which ultimately differentiates into a mature MM cell. Only CD20−/CD138− cells showed no expression of β-catenin, KLT-4 and SOX2 and markedly reduced Oct-4 gene expression whereas the amount of C-myc gene expression was similar to the levels in the other tumor cell subtypes. Only CD133−/CD138− cells lost β-catenin and showed a reduction in Oct-4 gene expression but still expressed the KLT-4, SOX2, and C-myc genes. To further examine these cancer stem cell and mature tumor cell populations in terms of growth in vivo, we have injected subcutaneously CD20+/CD138−, CD133+/CD138−, CD20−/CD138−, and CD133−/CD138− tumor cell subpopulations back into SCID mice. We will assess growth of cells from these subtypes in vivo as determined by changes in tumor volume and Ig protein levels. We also will determine the sensitivity of these subtypes in vivo to treatment with a variety of agents with anti-MM activity including bortezomib, lenalidomide, melphalan, and Doxil. These studies have uncovered specific subpopulations within the tumor clone of MM and identified differences in expression of genes known to be involved in stem cell function. Further work should lead to specific treatments that can effectively treat these different subpopulations within the tumor clone in MM.

scholarly journals Efficacy of Using Cancer Stem Cell Markers in Isolating and Characterizing Liver Cancer Stem Cells

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (19) ◽  
pp. 2655-2664 ◽  
Author(s):  
George S. Wilson ◽  
Zenan Hu ◽  
Wei Duan ◽  
Aiping Tian ◽  
Xin M. Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Cancer Stem Cell ◽  
Stem Cell Markers ◽  
Cell Markers ◽  
Cancer Stem Cell Markers ◽  
Liver Cancer Stem Cells

A novel regulatory loop miR-101/ANXA2/EGR1 mediates malignant characteristics of liver cancer stem cells

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sai Ma ◽  
Junping Cheng ◽  
Haiyan Wang ◽  
Ningling Ding ◽  
Feng Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Cycle ◽  
Stem Cells ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Liver Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
In Vivo Experiments ◽  
Regulatory Loop

Abstract Increasing evidence suggests that liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) are the cellular determinants that promote tumor recurrence and metastases. Aberrantly expressed miRNAs were identified in LCSCs and found to play a significant role in modulating biological characteristics of LCSCs. In this study, we implemented miRNA microarrays in CD133+ LCSCs and found miR-101 expression was downregulated. Increasing miR-101 expression repressed the metastasis and tumorigenic potential in LCSCs. Further investigations showed that ANXA2 was a novel target of miR-101. And we revealed that ANXA2 plays a critical role in acceleration of cell cycle and enhancing the migration and invasion abilities of LCSCs. Elevated ANXA2 increased activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) which regulated SOX2 and cell cycle-related kinases. Moreover, ERK phosphorylation inhibited the expression of early growth response 1 (EGR1) which in turn restrained the transcription of miR-101. In vivo experiments, overexpression of miR-101 produced potent inhibitory effects on the growth of LCSCs xenograft tumors as well as ANXA2 knockdown. Taken together, our findings suggest a novel regulatory loop miR-101/ANXA2/EGR1 in LCSCs and may serve as potential therapeutic targets in liver cancer.

scholarly journals PCGF2 and PCGF4 Opposite Drive Stem-like Properties in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinjing Hu ◽  
Yongqiang Zhou ◽  
Huan Feng ◽  
Yi Xie ◽  
Kuo Qi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cells ◽  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
P38 Mapk ◽  
Cell Lines ◽  
Cell Counting ◽  
Stem Cell Population ◽  
Liver Cancer Stem Cells ◽  
Sphere Formation

Abstract Background: PCGF4 is highly expressed in liver cancer and can be used as a marker for liver cancer stem cells. However, PCGF2, a homologue of PCGF4, is not clear whether it is expressed in HCC, and whether it regulates the stemness of liver cancer stem cells.Methods: IHC and Western blot were used to detect the expression of PCGF2 and PCGF4 protein in human HCC tissues and cell lines. Flow cytometry and sphere formation were performed to detect the effect of PCGF2 or PCGF4 on the stem-like properties of liver cancer stem cells. Kaplan-Meier curves were conducted for OS and DFS. Cell viability was measured at the indicated time points using Cell Counting Kit-8. We performed KEGG analysis on these target genes through the cluster profiler package of the R language.Results: IHC results showed that PCGF2 was lower expressed in HCC, while PCGF4 was higher expressed in HCC compared with matched paracancerous, and this higher expression exhibited poor prognosis in HCC. Up regulation of PCGF2 was also accompanied with decreased stem-like properties and sphere formation in HCC cell lines. Interestingly, down regulating PCGF4 got the similar results as up regulating PCGF2. Furthermore, up regulating PCGF2 or down regulating PCGF4 cells performed more sensitivity to sorafenib. We also found that PCGF2 and PCGF4 oppositely regulated the drives stem-like properties by p38 MAPK signal pathway.Conclusion: PCGF2 was a novel negative regulator of LCSCs that inhibiting the stem cell population, reducing the sphere formation ability of liver cancer stem cells, and increasing the sensitivity of sorafenib by targeting p38 MAPK signaling. PCGF2 was supposed to be a novel therapeutic target for Liver cancer stem cell.

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