RESUMO
Recurrence and metastasis remain the major obstacles to successful treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Chromatin remodeling factor ARID2 is commonly mutated in HCC, indicating its important role in cancer development. However, its role in HCC metastasis is largely elusive. In this study, we find that ARID2 expression is significantly decreased in metastatic HCC tissues, showing negative correlation with pathological grade, organ metastasis and positive association with survival of HCC patients. ARID2 inhibits migration and invasion of HCC cells in vitro and metastasis in vivo. Moreover, ARID2 knockout promotes pulmonary metastasis in different HCC mouse models. Mechanistic study reveals that ARID2 represses epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of HCC cells by recruiting DNMT1 to Snail promoter, which increases promoter methylation and inhibits Snail transcription. In addition, we discover that ARID2 mutants with disrupted C2H2 domain lose the metastasis suppressor function, exhibiting a positive association with HCC metastasis and poor prognosis. In conclusion, our study reveals the metastasis suppressor role as well as the underlying mechanism of ARID2 in HCC and provides a potential therapeutic target for ARID2-deficient HCC.
Assuntos
Carcinoma Hepatocelular/tratamento farmacológico , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/metabolismo , Montagem e Desmontagem da Cromatina/fisiologia , DNA (Citosina-5-)-Metiltransferase 1/metabolismo , Neoplasias Hepáticas/tratamento farmacológico , Metástase Neoplásica/tratamento farmacológico , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismo , Animais , Dedos de Zinco CYS2-HIS2 , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/genética , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/patologia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Movimento Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Transição Epitelial-Mesenquimal , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Neoplasias Hepáticas/genética , Neoplasias Hepáticas/patologia , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Camundongos , Camundongos Knockout , Mutação , Metástase Neoplásica/patologia , Fatores de Transcrição/antagonistas & inibidores , Fatores de Transcrição/genéticaRESUMO
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although it has been widely accepted that protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) is a cancer-promoting gene in various cancers, the mechanism of PRMT1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) requires more exploration. This study aimed to investigate the role of PRMT1 in HCC growth and metastasis. METHODS: We compared PRMT1 expression and clinicopathological characteristics using paired HCC and adjacent noncancerous liver tissues from 210 patients and immunohistochemistry analyses. Cell proliferation, colony formation and migration were determined in HCC cell lines with PRMT1 overexpression or downregulation through MTT, crystal violet and Boyden chamber assays. Tumour growth was monitored in a xenograft model, and intrahepatic metastasis models were established. RESULTS: PRMT1 expression was greatly increased in clinical HCC samples and strongly associated with poor prognosis and recurrence; PRMT1 expression was also positively correlated with microvascular invasion (P = 0.024), tumour differentiation (P = 0.014), tumour size (P = 0.002), and portal vein tumour thrombus (PVTT) (P = 0.028). Cell proliferation, colony formation and migration in vitro were enhanced by PRMT1 upregulation and decreased by PRMT1 downregulation in HCC cell lines. Moreover, low PRMT1 expression resulted in slow tumour growth and decreased tumour weight in vivo, as well as tumour metastasis. These phenotypes were associated with STAT3 signalling pathway activation. Cryptotanshinone, a STAT3 inhibitor, inhibited STAT3 phosphorylation and reversed the HCC phenotype of PRMT1 expression. CONCLUSIONS: We revealed a significant role for PRMT1 in HCC progression and metastasis in vitro and in vivo via STAT3 signalling pathway activation. PRMT1 may be a potential novel prognostic biomarker and new therapeutic target for HCC.
Assuntos
Carcinoma Hepatocelular/metabolismo , Neoplasias Hepáticas/metabolismo , Proteínas de Neoplasias/metabolismo , Proteína-Arginina N-Metiltransferases/metabolismo , Proteínas Repressoras/metabolismo , Fator de Transcrição STAT3/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/patologia , Feminino , Células Hep G2 , Humanos , Neoplasias Hepáticas/patologia , Masculino , Metástase NeoplásicaRESUMO
UNLABELLED: Sorafenib is a specific adenosine triphosphate-competitive RAF inhibitor used as a first-line treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the responses are variable, reflecting heterogeneity of the disease, while the resistance mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, we report that sorafenib treatment can exacerbate disease progression in both patient-derived xenografts and cell line-derived xenografts and that the therapeutic effect of the drug inversely covaries to the ratio of epithelial cell adhesion molecule-positive cells, which may be tumor initiating cells in HCC. The TSC2-AKT cascade mediates this sorafenib resistance. In response to sorafenib treatment, formation of the TSC1/2 complex is enhanced, causing increased phosphorylation of AKT, which contributes to up-regulation of "stemness"-related genes in epithelial cell adhesion molecule-positive cells and enhancement of tumorigenicity. The expression of TSC2 negatively correlated with prognosis in clinical sorafenib therapy. Furthermore, all-trans retinoic acid decreased AKT activity, reduced the epithelial cell adhesion molecule-positive cell population enriched by sorafenib, and potentiated the therapeutic effect of sorafenib in the patient-derived xenograft model. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that a subtype of HCC is not suitable for sorafenib therapy; this resistance to sorafenib can be predicted by the status of TSC2, and agents inducing differentiation of tumor initiating cells (e.g., all-trans retinoic acid) should improve the prognosis of this subtype of HCC.
Assuntos
Antígenos de Neoplasias/efeitos dos fármacos , Antineoplásicos/efeitos adversos , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/induzido quimicamente , Moléculas de Adesão Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Neoplasias Hepáticas/induzido quimicamente , Células-Tronco Neoplásicas/efeitos dos fármacos , Niacinamida/análogos & derivados , Proteína Oncogênica v-akt/fisiologia , Compostos de Fenilureia/efeitos adversos , Proteínas Supressoras de Tumor/fisiologia , Animais , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/classificação , Progressão da Doença , Molécula de Adesão da Célula Epitelial , Humanos , Neoplasias Hepáticas/classificação , Camundongos , Niacinamida/efeitos adversos , Sorafenibe , Proteína 2 do Complexo Esclerose TuberosaRESUMO
The guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) SOS1 catalyzes the exchange of GDP for GTP on RAS. However, regulation of the GEF activity remains elusive. Here, the authors report that PPDPF functions as an important regulator of SOS1. The expression of PPDPF is significantly increased in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), associated with poor prognosis and recurrence of PDAC patients. Overexpression of PPDPF promotes PDAC cell growth in vitro and in vivo, while PPDPF knockout exerts opposite effects. Pancreatic-specific deletion of PPDPF profoundly inhibits tumor development in KRASG12D -driven genetic mouse models of PDAC. PPDPF can bind GTP and transfer GTP to SOS1. Mutations of the GTP-binding sites severely impair the tumor-promoting effect of PPDPF. Consistently, mutations of the critical amino acids mediating SOS1-PPDPF interaction significantly impair the GEF activity of SOS1. Therefore, this study demonstrates a novel model of KRAS activation via PPDPF-SOS1 axis, and provides a promising therapeutic target for PDAC.
Assuntos
Carcinoma Ductal Pancreático , Neoplasias Pancreáticas , Animais , Camundongos , Carcinoma Ductal Pancreático/genética , Fatores de Troca do Nucleotídeo Guanina/genética , Fatores de Troca do Nucleotídeo Guanina/metabolismo , Guanosina Trifosfato , Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intracelular , Neoplasias Pancreáticas/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas p21(ras)/genética , Proteína SOS1 , Neoplasias PancreáticasRESUMO
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly heterogeneous solid tumor with high morbidity and mortality. AT-rich interaction domain 1A (ARID1A) accounts for up to 10% of mutations in liver cancer, however, its role in HCC remains controversial, and no targeted therapy has been established. METHODS: The expression of ARID1A in clinical samples was examined by Western blot and immunohistochemical staining. ARID1A was knocked out by Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) in HCC cell lines, and the effects of glucose deprivation on cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis were measured. Mass spectrometry analysis was used to find ARID1A-interacting proteins, and the result was verified by co-immunoprecipitation and Glutathione S Transferase (GST) pull-down. The regulation of ARID1A target gene USP9X was investigated by chromatin immunoprecipitation, Glutathione S Transferase (GST) pull-down, luciferase reporter assay, and so forth. Finally, drug treatments were performed to explore the therapeutic potential of the agents targeting ARID1A-deficient HCC in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: Our study has shown that ARID1A loss protected cells from glucose deprivation-induced cell death. A mechanism study disclosed that AIRD1A recruited histone deacetylase 1 via its C-terminal region DUF3518 to the promoter of USP9X, resulting in down-regulation of USP9X and its target protein kinase AMP-activated catalytic subunit α2 (PRKAA2). ARID1A knockout and a 1989∗ truncation mutant in HCC abolished this effect, increased the levels of H3K9 and H3K27 acetylation at the USP9X promoter, and up-regulated the expression of USP9X and protein kinase AMP-activated catalytic subunit α2 (PRKAA2), which mediated the adaptation of tumor cells to glucose starvation. Compound C dramatically inhibited the growth of ARID1A-deficient tumors and prolongs the survival of tumor-bearing mice. CONCLUSIONS: HCC patients with ARID1A mutation may benefit from synthetic lethal therapy targeting the ubiquitin-specific peptidase 9 X-linked (USP9X)-adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) axis.
Assuntos
Carcinoma Hepatocelular , Neoplasias Hepáticas , Proteínas Quinases Ativadas por AMP , Monofosfato de Adenosina , Animais , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/patologia , Proliferação de Células/fisiologia , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/genética , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/metabolismo , Glucose , Glutationa Transferase , Humanos , Neoplasias Hepáticas/patologia , Camundongos , Fatores de Transcrição/genética , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismo , Ubiquitina Tiolesterase/genéticaRESUMO
Lung cancer is the most common malignancy and the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most prevalent subtype. Considering the emergence of resistance to therapies, it is urgent to develop more effective therapies to improve the prognosis. Here we reported that pancreatic progenitor cell differentiation and proliferation factor (PPDPF) deficiency inhibited LUAD development both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, PPDPF induces hyperactive STAT3 by interfering STAT3-PTPN1 interaction. Activated STAT3 promoted BMPR2 transcription, which further inhibited apoptosis. Moreover, PPDPF reduced NK cell infiltration and activation to develop an immunosuppressive microenvironment, which was also mediated by STAT3. Furthermore, we identified that the expression of PPDPF was positively correlated with the malignant features of LUAD, as well as BMPR2 and p-STAT3 level in clinical samples. Therefore, our study suggests that PPDPF positively regulates BMPR2 expression and facilitates immune escape via regulating STAT3 activity, providing a potential therapy target for LUAD.
Assuntos
Adenocarcinoma de Pulmão , Adenocarcinoma , Neoplasias Pulmonares , Adenocarcinoma/patologia , Adenocarcinoma de Pulmão/patologia , Apoptose/genética , Proliferação de Células/genética , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intracelular , Células Matadoras Naturais/metabolismo , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Fator de Transcrição STAT3/genética , Fator de Transcrição STAT3/metabolismo , Microambiente TumoralRESUMO
The prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unsatisfactory due to limited effective treatment options. In this work, we investigated the therapeutic efficacy of Terbinafine for HCC and the underlying mechanism. The influence of Terbinafine on cell growth, 3D spheroid formation, clonogenic survival, and protein synthesis was investigated in human HCC cell lines. Co-immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence, and other techniques were employed to explore how Terbinafine exerts its anticancer effect. Subcutaneous tumorigenicity assay, orthotopic and patient-derived xenograft (PDX) HCC models were used to evaluate the anticancer effect of Terbinafine monotherapy and the combinatorial treatment with Terbinafine and sorafenib against HCC. The anticancer activity of Terbinafine was Squalene epoxidase (SQLE)-independent. Instead, Terbinafine robustly suppressed the proliferation of HCC cells by inhibiting mTORC1 signaling via activation of AMPK. Terbinafine alone or in combination with sorafenib delayed tumor progression and markedly prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing mice. The synergy between Terbinafine and sorafenib was due to concomitant inhibition of mTORC1 and induction of severe persistent DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), which led to the delayed proliferation and accelerated cell death. Terbinafine showed promising anticancer efficacy in preclinical models of HCC and may serve as a potential therapeutic strategy for HCC.
Assuntos
Carcinoma Hepatocelular , Neoplasias Hepáticas , Proteínas Quinases Ativadas por AMP , Animais , Camundongos , TerbinafinaRESUMO
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the most prevalent chronic liver disease in the world, however, no drug treatment has been approved for this disease. Thus, it is urgent to find effective therapeutic targets for clinical intervention. In this study, we find that liver-specific knockout of PPDPF (PPDPF-LKO) leads to spontaneous fatty liver formation in a mouse model at 32 weeks of age on chow diets, which is enhanced by HFD. Mechanistic study reveals that PPDPF negatively regulates mTORC1-S6K-SREBP1 signaling. PPDPF interferes with the interaction between Raptor and CUL4B-DDB1, an E3 ligase complex, which prevents ubiquitination and activation of Raptor. Accordingly, liver-specific PPDPF overexpression effectively inhibits HFD-induced mTOR signaling activation and hepatic steatosis in mice. These results suggest that PPDPF is a regulator of mTORC1 signaling in lipid metabolism, and may be a potential therapeutic candidate for NAFLD.
Assuntos
Fígado Gorduroso/metabolismo , Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intracelular/genética , Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intracelular/metabolismo , Fígado/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais/fisiologia , Serina-Treonina Quinases TOR/metabolismo , Animais , Proteínas Culina/metabolismo , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/metabolismo , Células HEK293 , Células Hep G2 , Humanos , Metabolismo dos Lipídeos , Fígado/patologia , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Knockout , Hepatopatia Gordurosa não Alcoólica/metabolismoRESUMO
Bone morphogenetic protein 10 (BMP10), one member of the BMP family, is involved in various development events. Dysregulation of BMP10 has been observed in several diseases, including hypertensive cardiac hypertrophy, Hirschsprung disease and blood vessel formation. However, its role in liver cancer remains largely unknown. In this study, we reported that BMP10 was significantly downregulated in HCC at both mRNA and protein level. Decreased BMP10 was associated with bigger tumor size, worse TNM stage, earlier recurrence and poorer survival. BMP10 negatively regulated HCC cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo. Mechanism study revealed that BMP10 suppressed tumor cell growth by inhibiting STAT3 signaling. Interestingly, we found that cytoplasmic BMP10 interacted with both receptor protein tyrosine phosphatase sigma (PTPRS) and STAT3, which facilitated dephosphorylation of STAT3 by PTPRS. Altogether, our study has revealed the clinical significance of BMP10 in HCC, and suppression of HCC cell growth by BMP10 via PTPRS-STAT3 axis, providing a potential therapeutic strategy for targeting STAT3 signaling in HCC.
Assuntos
Biomarcadores Tumorais/metabolismo , Proteínas Morfogenéticas Ósseas/metabolismo , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/patologia , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Neoplasias Hepáticas/patologia , Proteínas Tirosina Fosfatases Classe 2 Semelhantes a Receptores/metabolismo , Fator de Transcrição STAT3/metabolismo , Adulto , Animais , Apoptose , Biomarcadores Tumorais/genética , Proteínas Morfogenéticas Ósseas/genética , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/genética , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/metabolismo , Proliferação de Células , Progressão da Doença , Feminino , Seguimentos , Humanos , Neoplasias Hepáticas/genética , Neoplasias Hepáticas/metabolismo , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Nus , Metástase Neoplásica , Fosforilação , Prognóstico , Proteínas Tirosina Fosfatases Classe 2 Semelhantes a Receptores/genética , Fator de Transcrição STAT3/genética , Transdução de Sinais , Taxa de Sobrevida , Células Tumorais Cultivadas , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de XenoenxertoRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Wnt1-inducible signalling pathway protein 3 (WISP3/CCN6) belongs to the CCN (CYR61/CTGF/NOV) family of proteins, dysregulation of this family contributed to the tumorigenicity of various tumours. In this study, we need to explore its role in hepatocellular carcinoma that remains largely elusive. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The expression of WISP3/CCN6 was analysed by qRT-PCR and Western blotting. Effects of WISP3 on proliferation and metastasis of HCC cells were examined, respectively, by MTT assay and Boyden Chamber. Roles of WISP3 on HCC tumour growth and metastatic ability in vivo were detected in nude mice. Related mechanism study was confirmed by immunofluorescence and Western blotting. RESULTS: The expression of WISP3 was significantly downregulated in HCC clinical samples and cell lines, and reversely correlated with the tumour size. Forced expression of WISP3 in HCC cells significantly suppressed cell growth and migration in vitro as well as tumour growth and metastatic seeding in vivo. In contrast, downregulation of WISP3 accelerated cell proliferation and migration, and promoted in vivo metastasis. Further study revealed that WISP3 inhibited the translocation of ß-catenin to the nucleus by activating glycogen synthase kinase-3ß (GSK3ß). Moreover, constitutively active ß-catenin blocked the suppressive effects of WISP3 on HCC. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that WISP3 suppressed the progression of HCC by negative regulation of ß-catenin/TCF/LEF signalling, providing WISP3 as a potential therapeutic candidate for HCC.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Sinalização Intercelular CCN/genética , Proteínas de Sinalização Intercelular CCN/metabolismo , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/genética , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/metabolismo , Neoplasias Hepáticas/genética , Neoplasias Hepáticas/metabolismo , Transporte Ativo do Núcleo Celular , Animais , Proteínas de Sinalização Intercelular CCN/antagonistas & inibidores , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Movimento Celular , Proliferação de Células , Progressão da Doença , Regulação para Baixo , Técnicas de Silenciamento de Genes , Glicogênio Sintase Quinase 3 beta/metabolismo , Xenoenxertos , Humanos , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Nus , RNA Mensageiro/genética , RNA Mensageiro/metabolismo , RNA Interferente Pequeno/genética , Transdução de Sinais , Fatores de Transcrição TCF/metabolismo , beta Catenina/metabolismoRESUMO
Adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein (FABP4) is abundant in macrophage and adipocyte. It is known to be involved in lipid metabolism. The role of FABP4 has been reported in various cancers, such as non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and prostatic cancer. However, its role remains unclear in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In our study, we investigated the expression of FABP4 at both mRNA and protein levels, and by examining 175 cases of patients with cancer of the liver tissue microarray, the significance between the expression of FABP4 and clinical characteristics had been discussed. We found that FABP4 was lowly expressed in HCC tissues compared to the corresponding tissue adjacent, and the expression of FABP4 was significantly associated with the tumor size, PVTT, recurrence-free survival and overall survival. Moreover, multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that the expression of FABP4, Alb, AFP, HBsAg, and PVTT were independent risk factors for overall survival, and the expression of FABP4, AFP, GGT, tumor size, and encapsulation were independent risk factors for HCC recurrence. In addition, we revealed that FABP4 suppressed HCC cell proliferation and invasion in vitro. Moreover, overexpression of FABP4 led to inhibit tumor growth and decreased tumor volume in vivo. These phenotypes were associated with altered expression of Snail and p-STAT3. Our studies thus suggest that FABP4 could be a potential target for HCC chemotherapy.
Assuntos
Biomarcadores Tumorais , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/genética , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/mortalidade , Proteínas de Ligação a Ácido Graxo/genética , Neoplasias Hepáticas/genética , Neoplasias Hepáticas/mortalidade , Adulto , Idoso , Animais , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/diagnóstico , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/terapia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Movimento Celular , Proliferação de Células , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Proteínas de Ligação a Ácido Graxo/metabolismo , Feminino , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Xenoenxertos , Humanos , Imuno-Histoquímica , Estimativa de Kaplan-Meier , Neoplasias Hepáticas/diagnóstico , Neoplasias Hepáticas/terapia , Masculino , Camundongos , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Prognóstico , RNA Mensageiro/genética , RNA Mensageiro/metabolismoRESUMO
Although cilia loss and cell transformation are frequently observed in the early stage of tumorigenesis, the roles of cilia in cell transformation are unknown. In this study, disrupted ciliogenesis was observed in cancer cells and pancreatic cancer tissues, which facilitated oncogene-induced transformation of normal pancreatic cells (HPDE6C7) and NIH3T3 cells through activating the mevalonate (MVA) pathway. Disruption of ciliogenesis up-regulated MVA enzymes through ß catenin-T cell factor (TCF) signaling, which synchronized with sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 2 (SREBP2), and the regulation of MVA by ß-catenin-TCF signaling was recapitulated in a mouse model of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and human PDAC samples. Moreover, disruption of ciliogenesis by depleting Tg737 dramatically promoted tumorigenesis in the PDAC mouse model, driven by KrasG12D , which was inhibited by statin, an inhibitor of the MVA pathway. Collectively, this study emphasizes the crucial roles of cilia in governing the early steps of the transformation by activating the MVA pathway, suggesting that statin has therapeutic potential for pancreatic cancer treatment.