scholarly journals The high expression of MTH1 and NUDT5 predict a poor survival and are associated with malignancy of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e9195
Author(s):  
Jing-Jing Wang ◽  
Teng-Hui Liu ◽  
Jin Li ◽  
Dan-Ni Li ◽  
Xin-Yuan Tian ◽  
...  

Background MTH1 and NUDT5 effectively degrade nucleotides containing 8-oxoguanine. MTH1 and NUDT5 have been linked to the malignancy of multiple cancers. However, their functions in tumor growth and metastasis in esophageal squamous carcinoma (ESCC) remain obscure. Our present study aims to explore their prognostic value in ESCC and investigate their function in MTH1 or NUDT5-knockout tumor cells. Methods MTH1 and NUDT5 protein expression in ESCC adjacent normal tissues and tumor tissues was examined by immunohistochemistry staining. Kaplan–Meier curves were used to assess the association between their expression and overall survival (OS) in ESCC patients. Univariate and Multivariate Cox regression analyses were generated to determine the correlation between these protein expression and OS of ESCC patients. Protein expression in ESCC cell lines were measured by Western blotting. To explore the potential effects of the MTH1 and NUDT5 protein in ESCC, cell models with MTH1 or NUDT5 depletion were established. CCK-8, cell cycle, Western blotting, migration and invasion assays were performed. Results Our present study demonstrated that the levels of MTH1 and NUDT5 were upregulated in ESCC cell lines and ESCC tissues, the expression of MTH1 and NUDT5 in ESCC tissues was significantly higher than in adjacent non-tumorous, and higher levels of MTH1 and NUDT5 predicted a worse prognosis in patients with ESCC. MTH1 and NUDT5 are novel biomarkers of the progression of ESCC and a poor prognosis. We also found for the first time that the high expression of NUDT5 independently predicted lower OS in patients with ESCC (hazard ratio (HR) 1.751; 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.056–2.903]; p = 0.030). In addition, the depletion of MTH1 and NUDT5 strongly suppressed the proliferation of ESCC cells and significantly delayed the G1 phase of the cell cycle. Furthermore, we found that MTH1 and NUDT5 silencing inhibited epithelial–mesenchymal transition mainly by the MAPK/MEK/ERK dependent pathway, which in turn significantly decreased the cell migration and invasion of ESCC cells. Our results suggested that the overexpression of MTH1 and NUDT5 is probably involved in the tumor development and poor prognosis of ESCC.

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisha Xie ◽  
Tao Jiang ◽  
Ailan Cheng ◽  
Ting Zhang ◽  
Pin Huang ◽  
...  

Background: Alterations in microRNAs (miRNAs) are related to the occurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and play an important role in the molecular mechanism of NPC. Our previous studies show low expression of 14-3-3σ (SFN) is related to the metastasis and differentiation of NPC, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Methods: Through bioinformatics analysis, we find miR-597 is the preferred target miRNA of 14-3-3σ. The expression level of 14-3-3σ in NPC cell lines was detected by Western blotting. The expression of miR-597 in NPC cell lines was detected by qRT-PCR. We transfected miR-597 mimic, miR-597 inhibitor and 14-3-3σ siRNA into 6-10B cells and then verified the expression of 14-3-3σ and EMT related proteins, including E-cadherin, N-cadherin and Vimentin by western blotting. The changes of migration and invasion ability of NPC cell lines before and after transfected were determined by wound healing assay and Transwell assay. Results: miR-597 expression was upregulated in NPC cell lines and repaired in related NPC cell lines, which exhibit a potent tumor-forming effect. After inhibiting the miR-597 expression, its effect on NPC cell line was obviously decreased. Moreover, 14-3-3σ acts as a tumor suppressor gene and its expression in NPC cell lines is negatively correlated with miR-597. Here 14-3-3σ was identified as a downstream target gene of miR-597, and its downregulation by miR-597 drives epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and promotes the migration and invasion of NPC. Conclusion: Based on these findings, our study will provide theoretical and experimental evidences for molecular targeted therapy of NPC.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 1319-1329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Hai Ma ◽  
Liu Yang ◽  
Hongchun Yang ◽  
Zhenxing He

Objectives Overexpression of human trophoblast cell surface antigen 2 (Trop2) has been observed in many cancers; however, its roles in proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. Thus, this study aimed to characterize the function of Trop2 in HCC. Methods Trop2 protein expression was detected by immunohistochemistry in HCC tissues. Cell proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion were respectively measured by CCK-8, flow cytometry, Transwell, and wound healing assays. Expression levels of epithelial–mesenchymal transition-related proteins and Trop2 protein in HCC cell lines were detected by western blotting after silencing of the TROP2 gene. Results Trop2 protein was highly expressed in HCC tissues and HCC cell lines. Trop2 mRNA and protein expression levels decreased in HepG2 and HCCLM3 cells after transfection with Trop2 siRNA. Silencing of the TROP2 gene in HepG2 and HCCLM3 cells strongly inhibited cell proliferation and migration, while enhancing cell apoptosis. Investigation of the molecular mechanism revealed that silencing of the TROP2 gene suppressed epithelial–mesenchymal transition of HepG2 and HCCLM3 cells. Conclusions The results of the present study may improve understanding of the role of Trop2 in regulation of cell proliferation and invasion, and may aid in development of novel therapy for HCC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Wang ◽  
Qianqian Chen

Abstract Background The metastasis of oral cancer is one of the main causes of death. However, the mechanisms underlying oral cancer metastasis have not been completely elucidated. Fermitin family member 1 (FERMT1) plays an -oncogene role in many cancers; however, the role of FERMT1 in oral squamous cell cancer (OSCC) remains unclear. Methods In this study, OSCC cells were treated with 5 ng/ml recombinant human Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) protein. FERMT1 expression was measured in OSCC cell lines by RT-qPCR and western blotting. The effect of FERMT1 knockdown on the migration and invasion of OSCC cells was evaluated by Transwell assay. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and PI3K/AKT signaling pathway-related mRNA expression and protein levels were assessed by RT-qPCR and western blotting. Results We found that FERMT1 expression was elevated in TGF-β1-induced OSCC cell lines, and knockdown of FERMT1 inhibited the migration and invasion in TGF-β1-induced OSCC cells. FERMT1 silencing inhibited vimentin, N-cadherin, matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) expression and promoted E-cadherin expression, suggesting that FERMT1 silencing inhibited EMT in TGF-β1-induced OSCC cells. Furthermore, FERMT1 silencing inactivated the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in TGF-β1-induced OSCC cells. Activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway reversed the effect of FERMT1 silencing on OSCC cell migration, invasion, and EMT. Conclusions FERMT1 silencing inhibits the migration, invasion, and EMT of OSCC cells via inactivation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, suggesting that FERMT1 is a novel and potential therapeutic target for anti-metastatic strategies for OSCC.


2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunzhou Cheng

AbstractBackground: Accumulating studies discloses that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) serve important roles in human tumorigenesis, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The purpose of the present study was to determine the role of lncRNA FEZF1-AS1 in NPC.Materials and methods: The expression levels of FEZF1-AS1 in NPC tissues and cell lines were detected by RT-qPCR analysis. MTT assay was performed to investigate the proliferation of NPC cells in vitro, whereas the migration and invasion of NPC cells were determined by wound healing assay and transwell assay. A nude mouse tumor model was established to study the role of FEZF1-AS1 in NPC tumorigenesis in vivo. The expression levels of proteins were detected by Western blot assay.Results: The results showed that FEZF1-AS1 expression was increased in the NPC tissues and cell lines, and the higher expression of FEZF1-AS1 was closely associated with poor prognosis of NPC patients. We further observed that knockdown of FEZF1-AS1 inhibited the proliferation of NPC cells in vitro and suppressed NPC xenograft growth in vivo through inducing G2/M cell cycle arrest. The migratory and invasive abilities of NPC cells were also reduced upon FEZF1-AS1 knockdown. Moreover, we demonstrated that inhibition of FEZF1-AS1 remarkably suppressed epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and reduced β-catenin accumulation in nucleus in NPC cells.Conclusions: Collectively, we showed that FEZF1-AS1 might be a key regulator of cell cycle, EMT and Wnt/β-catenin signaling in NPC cells, which may be helpful for understanding of pathogenesis of NPC.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiangtao Zhou ◽  
Jing Hou ◽  
Jun Wang ◽  
Jiajing Wang ◽  
Jianping Gao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Brusatol (BR) is a principal bioactive quassinoid derived from the Chinese medicinal plant Brucea javanica, which has recently been reported to exert notable cytotoxic effects against numerous cancer cell lines. However, the role that BR played in Laryngeal cancer (LC) is seldom known by the public. In the current study, we have investigated the effects of BR on human laryngeal squamous carcinoma cell (Hep-2) and explored its underlying mechanism both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Methods: In the present research, cell proliferation, apoptosis, cycle, migration and invasion assays were used to examine the anti-tumor effect of BR on Hep-2 cells. qRT-PCR, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western blotting were performed to study the molecular mechanisms of the action. A subcutaneous tumor-bearing model of Balb/c mice with Hep-2 cells of laryngeal carcinoma was established to observe the inhibitory effect of BR on laryngeal cancer cells in vivo. Results: The results indicated that BR markedly inhibited the viability, migration and invasion of Hep-2 cells in a dose and time-dependent manner, with no significant toxic effect on normal cells BEAS-2B. Also, BR induced cell apoptosis and the cells were blocked in the S phase to suppress cell proliferation. Moreover, the results of IHC showed that BR induction inhibited the protein expression levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related markers. Mechanistically, western blotting results exhibited that BR could suppress the protein expression of JAK2/STAT3 and their phosphorylation levels. In vivo experiments further confirmed the anti-cancer effect of BR on laryngeal carcinoma cells in vitro, BR suppressed the growth of xenograft laryngeal tumors without apparent toxicity.Conclusions: Consequently, the present study revealed that the anti-LC effect of BR might be closely relevant to abrogation of JAK2/STAT3 signaling mediated EMT process. BR may be a promising therapeutic candidate for the treatment of laryngeal cancer.


Author(s):  
Jun Tang ◽  
Fei Huang ◽  
Hui Wang ◽  
Feng Cheng ◽  
Yaping Pi ◽  
...  

Long non-coding RNAs are considered to be critical regulators of tumor progression. Tumor protein translationally controlled 1 antisense RNA 1 (TPT1-AS1) was shown to have an oncogenic role in cervical and ovarian cancer. The clinical significance and biological function of TPT1-AS1 in gastric cancer (GC) are not clear. In this study, we analyzed the expression of TPT1-AS1 in GC tissues and cell lines and performed functional and mechanistic analysis of TPT1-AS1 effects on GC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. TPT1-AS1 expression was determined in 76 pairs of GC tissues vs. matched adjacent normal tissues and in four GC cell lines (SGC-7901, AGS, BGC-823, and MGC-803) vs. GES-1 cell line by quantitative reverse transcription PCR. SGC-7901 and MGC-803 cells were transfected with small interfering RNA or scrambled negative control, and cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, invasion and cell cycle assays were performed. The expression of proteins involved in cell cycle progression and epithelial–mesenchymal transition was analyzed by Western blot. TPT1-AS1 expression was significantly higher in GC tissues and cell lines compared to controls. The overexpression of TPT1-AS1 was significantly correlated with TNM stage and lymph node metastasis, and it was associated with worse prognosis of GC patients according to the Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and Cox proportional hazard regression analysis. The knockdown of TPT1-AS1 significantly inhibited proliferation, cell cycle G1/S transition, migration, and invasion of SGC-7901 and MGC-803 cells. Moreover, TPT1-AS1 knockdown downregulated the expression of CDK4, cyclin D1, and vimentin and upregulated the expression of p21 and E-cadherin. Our findings suggest that TPT1-AS1 may be a promising therapeutic target in GC.


2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 158-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bei Lv ◽  
Lijie Ma ◽  
Wenqing Tang ◽  
Peixin Huang ◽  
Biwei Yang ◽  
...  

Background/Aims: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a complicated condition, with difficult diagnosis and poor prognosis. The expression and clinical significance of the farnesoid X receptor (FXR), an endogenous receptor of bile acids, in ICC is not well understood. Methods: Western blotting and immunochemical analyses were used to determine the levels of FXR in 4 cholangiocarcinoma cell lines, a human intrahepatic biliary epithelial cell line (HIBEpic) and 322 ICC specimens, respectively, while quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the mRNA levels of FXR in cholangiocarcinoma cell lines. We evaluated the prognostic value of FXR expression and its association with clinical parameters. We determined the biological significance of FXR in ICC cell lines by agonist-mediated activation and lentivirus-mediated silence. IL-6 expression was tested by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and flow cytometry. In vitro, cell proliferation was examined by Cell Counting Kit-8, migration and invasion were examined by wound healing and transwell assays; in vivo, tumor migration and invasion were explored in NOD-SCID mice. Results: FXR was downregulated in ICC cell lines and clinical ICC specimens. Loss of FXR was markedly correlated with aggressive tumor phenotypes and poor prognosis in patients with ICC. Moreover, FXR expression also had significant prognostic value in carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) negative patients. The expression of FXR was negatively correlated with IL-6 levels in clinical ICC tissues. FXR inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) of ICC cells via suppression of IL-6 in vitro. Obeticholic acid, an agonist of FXR, inhibited IL-6 production, tumor growth and lung metastasis of ICC in vivo. Conclusions: FXR could be a promising ICC prognostic biomarker, especially in CA19-9 negative patients with ICC. FXR inhibits the tumor growth and metastasis of ICC via IL-6 suppression.


Author(s):  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Xin Wen ◽  
Xian-Yue Ren ◽  
Ying-Qin Li ◽  
Xin-Ran Tang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Metastasis remains the major cause of death in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Yippee-like 3 (YPEL3) plays an important role in tumorigenesis. However, its function and mechanism in NPC has not been systematically explored. Methods We evaluated YPEL3 expression in NPC cell lines and tissues using real-time PCR and western blotting. Then, we established NPC cell lines that stably overexpressed YPEL3 and knocked down YPEL3 expression to explore its function in NPC in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, we investigated the potential mechanism of YPEL3 action by identifying the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway downstream genes using western blotting. Results YPEL3 was downregulated in NPC cell lines and tissue samples. Ectopic expression of YPEL3 inhibited NPC cell migration and invasion in vitro; while silencing of YPEL3 promoted NPC cell migration and invasion. Further study indicated that overexpression of YPEL3 inhibited NPC cell epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and that silencing it enhanced EMT. Overexpression of YPEL3 suppressed NPC cell lung metastasis in vivo. The mechanism study determined that YPEL3 suppressed the expression levels of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway downstream genes and the nuclear translocation of β-catenin. Conclusions YPEL3 suppresses NPC EMT and metastasis by suppressing the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, which would help better understanding the molecular mechanisms of NPC metastasis and provide novel therapeutic targets for NPC treatment.


Breast Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingzi Zhang ◽  
Jiao Tian ◽  
Chi Qu ◽  
Yang Peng ◽  
Jinwei Lei ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Recent studies have indicated that serpin peptidase inhibitor, clade A, member 3 (SERPINA3) is a potential marker associated with tumor progression, which connoted that SERPINA3 is related to malignant phenotypes in cancer. However, the biological function of SERPINA3 in breast cancer (BC) remains unclear. Methods Bioinformatics data were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) databases. Immunohistochemical staining (IHC) was conducted to determine SERPINA3 expression. With strong aggressive abilities, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cell lines (MDA-MB-231, BT549 and MDA-MB-436) were obtained to examine SERPINA3 expression and functions. Wound healing and Transwell assays were performed to measure cell migration and invasion. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was conducted to detect cell proliferation abilities and cell viabilities. Results SERPINA3 was upregulated in BC tissues. Functional assays suggested that overexpression of SERPINA3 significantly promoted cell proliferation, where migration and invasion of TNBC cells were accelerated. Knockdown of SERPINA3 had the opposite effects. These results causing by overexpression of SERPINA3 were also confirmed in non-TNBC cell lines. Overexpression of SERPINA3 remarkably enhanced the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) by upregulating the EMT markers and EZH2. In addition, the overexpression of SERPINA3 reduced the sensitivity of TNBC cells to cisplatin. Conclusion SERPINA3 can regulate the migration, invasion and EMT of TNBC cells and increased expression of SERPINA3 confers resistance to cisplatin in TNBC cells. We discern it is required for the regulation of BC progression and is a critical target for the clinical treatment of BC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 481-491
Author(s):  
Lizhi Lin ◽  
Jialiang Wen ◽  
Bangyi Lin ◽  
Hao Chen ◽  
Adheesh Bhandari ◽  
...  

Abstract In recent decades, the incidence of thyroid cancer (TC) has rapidly increased, leading us to explore the complex underlying mechanisms. We identified the gene Phospholipase C Delta 3 (PLCD3) as a potential oncogene in TC by conducting the whole transcriptome sequencing. Our study is to understand the oncogenic role of PLCD3 in TC. We verified the overexpression of PLCD3 in TC from The Cancer Genome Atlas, Gene Expression Omnibus databases, and a locally validated cohort. Clinical correlation analysis showed that PLCD3 expression was related to histological type, T stage, lymph node metastasis (LNM), and disease stage. The high expression of PLCD3 could be a distinguishing factor for TC and its LNM. The biological function was examined using small interfering RNA-transfected TC cell lines. Silenced PLCD3 could inhibit colony formation, migration, and invasion ability and promote apoptosis of TC cell lines. PLCD3 silencing reversed the epithelial-mesenchymal transition but induced the apoptotic progress. Further exploration revealed that PLCD3 might be associated with critical genes of the Hippo pathway. The expressions of RHOA, YAP1/TAZ, and their downstream targets were decreased significantly when PLCD3 was down-regulated. YAP1 overexpression rescued the tumor-suppressive effect caused by PLCD3 silencing. This study demonstrates that PLCD3 is an oncogene that supports tumorigenesis and progression in TC, and PLCD3 may be a potential target gene for TC treatment.


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