Macrophage membrane-based biomimetic nanocarrier system for enhanced immune activation and combination therapy in liver cancer.

Previous studies have demonstrated that the combination of photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy and chemotherapy is highly effective in treating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the clinical application of this approach has been hindered by the lack of efficient and low-toxicity drug delivery platforms. To address this issue, we developed a novel biomimetic nanocarrier platform named ZID@RM, which utilizes ZIF8 functional nanoparticles encapsulated with macrophage membrane and loaded with indocyanine green and doxorubicin. The bionic nanocarrier platform has good biocompatibility, reducing the risk of rapid clearance by macrophages and improving the targeting ability for HCC cells. Under the dual regulation of acidity and infrared light, ZID@RM stimulated the generation of abundant reactive oxygen species within HCC cells, induced tumor cell pyroptosis and promoted the release of damage-associated molecular patterns to induce immune responses. In the future, this technology platform has the potential to provide personalized and improved healthcare by using patients' own macrophage membranes to create an efficient drug delivery system for tumor therapy.Graphical abstract Scheme 1 Schematic representation of the synthesis of a biomimetic nanomedicine delivery platform (ZID@RM) and its application in tumor imaging-guided combination therapy.

Fear learning induces synaptic potentiation between engram neurons in the rat lateral amygdala.

The lateral amygdala (LA) encodes fear memories by potentiating sensory inputs associated with threats and, in the process, recruits 10-30% of its neurons per fear memory engram. However, how the local network within the LA processes this information and whether it also plays a role in storing it are still largely unknown. Here, using ex vivo 12-patch-clamp and in vivo 32-electrode electrophysiological recordings in the LA of fear-conditioned rats, in combination with activity-dependent fluorescent and optogenetic tagging and recall, we identified a sparsely connected network between principal LA neurons that is organized in clusters. Fear conditioning specifically causes potentiation of synaptic connections between learning-recruited neurons. These findings of synaptic plasticity in an autoassociative excitatory network of the LA may suggest a basic principle through which a small number of pyramidal neurons could encode a large number of memories.

Social buffering in rats reduces fear by oxytocin triggering sustained changes in central amygdala neuronal activity.

The presence of a companion can reduce fear, but the neural mechanisms underlying this social buffering of fear are incompletely known. We studied social buffering of fear in male and female, and its encoding in the amygdala of male, auditory fear-conditioned rats. Pharmacological, opto,- and/or chemogenetic interventions showed that oxytocin signaling from hypothalamus-to-central amygdala projections underlied fear reduction acutely with a companion and social buffering retention 24 h later without a companion. Single-unit recordings with optetrodes in the central amygdala revealed fear-encoding neurons (showing increased conditioned stimulus-responses after fear conditioning) inhibited by social buffering and blue light-stimulated oxytocinergic hypothalamic projections. Other central amygdala neurons showed baseline activity enhanced by blue light and companion exposure, with increased conditioned stimulus responses that persisted without the companion. Social buffering of fear thus switches the conditioned stimulus from encoding "fear" to "safety" by oxytocin-mediated recruitment of a distinct group of central amygdala "buffer neurons".

RACK1 facilitates breast cancer progression by competitively inhibiting the binding of ß-catenin to PSMD2 and enhancing the stability of ß-catenin.

The receptor for activated C kinase 1 (RACK1) is a key scaffolding protein with multifunctional and multifaceted properties. By mediating protein-protein interactions, RACK1 integrates multiple intracellular signals involved in the regulation of various physiological and pathological processes. Dysregulation of RACK1 has been implicated in the initiation and progression of many tumors. However, the exact function of RACK1 in cancer cellular processes, especially in proliferation, remains controversial. Here, we show that RACK1 is required for breast cancer cell proliferation in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. This effect of RACK1 is associated with its ability to enhance ß-catenin stability and activate the canonical WNT signaling pathway in breast cancer cells. We identified PSMD2, a key component of the proteasome, as a novel binding partner for RACK1 and ß-catenin. Interestingly, although there is no interaction between RACK1 and ß-catenin, RACK1 binds PSMD2 competitively with ß-catenin. Moreover, RACK1 prevents ubiquitinated ß-catenin from binding to PSMD2, thereby protecting ß-catenin from proteasomal degradation. Collectively, our findings uncover a novel mechanism by which RACK1 increases ß-catenin stability and promotes breast cancer proliferation.

Fructose-Induced mTORC1 Activation Promotes Pancreatic Cancer Progression through Inhibition of Autophagy.

Excessive fructose intake is associated with the occurrence, progression, and poor prognosis of various tumors. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the functions of fructose in cancer could facilitate the development of better treatment and prevention strategies. In this study, we investigated the functional association between fructose utilization and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) progression. Fructose could be taken up and metabolized by PDAC cells and provided an adaptive survival mechanism for PDAC cells under glucose-deficient conditions. GLUT5-mediated fructose metabolism maintained the survival, proliferation, and invasion capacities of PDAC cells in vivo and in vitro. Fructose metabolism not only provided ATP and biomass to PDAC cells but also conferred metabolic plasticity to the cells, making them more adaptable to the tumor microenvironment. Mechanistically, fructose activated the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-mTORC1 signaling pathway to inhibit glucose deficiency-induced autophagic cell death. Moreover, the fructose-specific transporter GLUT5 was highly expressed in PDAC tissues and was an independent marker of disease progression in patients with PDAC. These findings provide mechanistic insights into the role of fructose in promoting PDAC progression and offer potential strategies for targeting metabolism to treat PDAC. SIGNIFICANCE: Fructose activates AMPK-mTORC1 signaling to inhibit autophagy-mediated cell death in pancreatic cancer cells caused by glucose deficiency, facilitating metabolic adaptation to the tumor microenvironment and supporting tumor growth.

Comprehensively analysis of splicing factors to construct prognosis prediction classifier in prostate cancer.

Splicing factors (SFs) are proteins that control the alternative splicing (AS) of RNAs, which have been recognized as new cancer hallmarks. Their dysregulation has been found to be involved in many biological processes of cancer, such as carcinogenesis, proliferation, metastasis and senescence. Dysregulation of SFs has been demonstrated to contribute to the progression of prostate cancer (PCa). However, a comprehensive analysis of the prognosis value of SFs in PCa is limited. In this work, we systematically analysed 393 SFs to deeply characterize the expression patterns, clinical relevance and biological functions of SFs in PCa. We identified 53 survival-related SFs that can stratify PCa into two de nove molecular subtypes with distinct mRNA expression and AS-event expression patterns and displayed significant differences in pathway activity and clinical outcomes. An SF-based classifier was established using LASSO-COX regression with six key SFs (BCAS1, LSM3, DHX16, NOVA2, RBM47 and SNRPN), which showed promising prognosis-prediction performance with a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) >0.700 in both the training and testing datasets, as well as in three external PCa cohorts (DKFZ, GSE70769 and GSE21035). CRISPR/CAS9 screening data and cell-level functional analysis suggested that LSM3 and DHX16 are essential factors for the proliferation and cell cycle progression in PCa cells. This study proposes that SFs and AS events are potential multidimensional biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of PCa.

Fructose promotes angiogenesis by improving vascular endothelial cell function and upregulating VEGF expression in cancer cells.

BACKGROUND: Fructose is a very common sugar found in natural foods, while current studies demonstrate that high fructose intake is significantly associated with increased risk of multiple cancers and more aggressive tumor behavior, but the relevant mechanisms are not fully understood. METHODS: Tumor-grafting experiments and in vitro angiogenesis assays were conducted to detect the effect of fructose and the conditioned medium of fructose-cultured tumor cells on biological function of vascular endothelial cells (VECs) and angiogenesis. 448 colorectal cancer specimens were utilized to analyze the relationship between Glut5 expression levels in VECs and tumor cells and microvascular density (MVD). RESULTS: We found that fructose can be metabolized by VECs and activate the Akt and Src signaling pathways, thereby enhancing the proliferation, migration, and tube-forming abilities of VECs and thereby promoting angiogenesis. Moreover, fructose can also improve the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by upregulating the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in colorectal cancer cells, thus indirectly enhancing the biological function of VECs. Furthermore, this pro-angiogenic effect of fructose metabolism has also been well validated in clinical colorectal cancer tissues and mouse models. Fructose contributes to angiogenesis in mouse subcutaneous tumor grafts, and MVD is positively correlated with Glut5 expression levels of both endothelial cells and tumor cells of human colorectal cancer specimens. CONCLUSIONS: These findings establish the direct role and mechanism by which fructose promotes tumor progression through increased angiogenesis, and provide reliable evidence for a better understanding of tumor metabolic reprogramming.

[Retracted] Increased resistin suggests poor prognosis and promotes development of lung adenocarcinoma.

Following the publication of this paper, it was drawn to the Editor's attention by a concerned reader that the colony formation assay data shown in Fig. 3A on p. 3399 were strikingly similar to data that were already under consideration for publication in another article written by different authors at different research institutes. Owing to the fact that the contentious data in the above article were already under consideration for publication prior to its submission to Oncology Reports, the Editor has decided that this paper should be retracted from the Journal. The authors were asked for an explanation to account for these concerns, but the Editorial Office did not receive a satisfactory reply. The Editor apologizes to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [Oncology Reports 40: 3392­3404, 2018; DOI: 10.3892/or.2018.6736].

Chemotherapy induces ACE2 expression in breast cancer via the ROS-AKT-HIF-1α signaling pathway: a potential prognostic marker for breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is a key enzyme of the renin-angiotensin system and a well-known functional receptor for the entry of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) into host cells. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought ACE2 into the spotlight, and ACE2 expression in tumors and its relationship with SARS-COV-2 infection and prognosis of cancer patients have received extensive attention. However, the association between ACE2 expression and tumor therapy and prognosis, especially in breast cancer, remains ambiguous and requires further investigation. We have previously reported that ACE2 is elevated in drug-resistant breast cancer cells, but the exact function of ACE2 in drug resistance and progression of this malignant disease has not been explored. METHODS: The expression of ACE2 and HIF-1α in parental and drug-resistant breast cancer cells under normoxic and hypoxic conditions was analyzed by Western blot and qRT-PCR methods. The protein levels of ACE2 in plasma samples from breast cancer patients were examined by ELISA. The relationship between ACE2 expression and breast cancer treatment and prognosis was analyzed using clinical specimens and public databases. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in breast cancer cells were measured by using a fluorescent probe. Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) or lentivirus-mediated shRNA was used to silence ACE2 and HIF-1α expression in cellular models. The effect of ACE2 knockdown on drug resistance in breast cancer was determined by Cell Counting Kit 8 (CCK-8)-based assay, colony formation assay, apoptosis and EdU assay. RESULTS: ACE2 expression is relatively low in breast cancer cells, but increases rapidly and specifically after exposure to anticancer drugs, and remains high after resistance is acquired. Mechanistically, chemotherapeutic agents increase ACE2 expression in breast cancer cells by inducing intracellular ROS production, and increased ROS levels enhance AKT phosphorylation and subsequently increase HIF-1α expression, which in turn upregulates ACE2 expression. Although ACE2 levels in plasma and cancer tissues are lower in breast cancer patients compared with healthy controls, elevated ACE2 in patients after chemotherapy is a predictor of poor treatment response and an unfavorable prognostic factor for survival in breast cancer patients. CONCLUSION: ACE2 is a gene in breast cancer cells that responds rapidly to chemotherapeutic agents through the ROS-AKT-HIF-1α axis. Elevated ACE2 modulates the sensitivity of breast cancer cells to anticancer drugs by optimizing the balance of intracellular ROS. Moreover, increased ACE2 is not only a predictor of poor response to chemotherapy, but is also associated with a worse prognosis in breast cancer patients. Thus, our findings provide novel insights into the spatiotemporal differences in the function of ACE2 in the initiation and progression of breast cancer.

Exosomal EPHA2 derived from highly metastatic breast cancer cells promotes angiogenesis by activating the AMPK signaling pathway through Ephrin A1-EPHA2 forward signaling.

Rationale: Angiogenesis is a fundamental process of tumorigenesis, growth, invasion and metastatic spread. Extracellular vesicles, especially exosomes, released by primary tumors promote angiogenesis and cancer progression. However, the mechanism underlying the pro-angiogenic potency of cancer cell-derived exosomes remains poorly understood. Methods: Exosomes were isolated from breast cancer cells with high metastatic potential (HM) and low metastatic potential (LM). The pro-angiogenic effects of these exosomes were evaluated by in vitro tube formation assays, wound healing assays, rat arterial ring budding assays and in vivo Matrigel plug assays. Subsequently, RNA sequencing, shRNA-mediated gene knockdown, overexpression of different EPHA2 mutants, and small-molecule inhibitors were used to analyze the angiogenesis-promoting effect of exosomal EPHA2 and its potential downstream mechanism. Finally, xenograft tumor models were established using tumor cells expressing different levels of EPHA2 to mimic the secretion of exosomes by tumor cells in vivo, and the metastasis of cancer cells were monitored using the IVIS Spectrum imaging system and Computed Tomography. Results: Herein, we demonstrated that exosomes produced by HM breast cancer cells can promote angiogenesis and metastasis. EPHA2 was rich in HM-derived exosomes and conferred the pro-angiogenic effect. Exosomal EPHA2 can be transferred from HM breast cancer cells to endothelial cells. Moreover, it can stimulate the migration and tube-forming abilities of endothelial cells in vitro and promote angiogenesis and tumor metastasis in vivo. Mechanistically, exosomal EPHA2 activates the AMPK signaling via the ligand Ephrin A1-dependent canonical forward signaling pathway. Moreover, inhibition of the AMPK signaling impairs exosomal EPHA2-mediated pro-angiogenic effects. Conclusion: Our findings identify a novel mechanism of exosomal EPHA2-mediated intercellular communication from breast cancer cells to endothelial cells in the tumor microenvironment to provoke angiogenesis and metastasis. Targeting the exosomal EPHA2-AMPK signaling may serve as a potential strategy for breast cancer therapy.

Comprehensive Analysis of Splicing Factor and Alternative Splicing Event to Construct Subtype-Specific Prognosis-Predicting Models for Breast Cancer.

Recent evidence suggests that splicing factors (SFs) and alternative splicing (AS) play important roles in cancer progression. We constructed four SF-risk-models using 12 survival-related SFs. In Luminal-A, Luminal-B, Her-2, and Basal-Like BRCA, SF-risk-models for three genes (PAXBP1, NKAP, and NCBP2), four genes (RBM15B, PNN, ACIN1, and SRSF8), three genes (LSM3, SNRNP200, and SNU13), and three genes (SRPK3, PUF60, and PNN) were constructed. These models have a promising prognosis-predicting power. The co-expression and protein-protein interaction analysis suggest that the 12 SFs are highly functional-connected. Pathway analysis and gene set enrichment analysis suggests that the functional role of the selected 12 SFs is highly context-dependent among different BRCA subtypes. We further constructed four AS-risk-models with good prognosis predicting ability in four BRCA subtypes by integrating the four SF-risk-models and 21 survival-related AS-events. This study proposed that SFs and ASs were potential multidimensional biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of BRCA.

Mitochondrial Breast Cancer Resistant Protein Sustains the Proliferation and Survival of Drug-Resistant Breast Cancer Cells by Regulating Intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species.

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter family are major contributors to the drug resistance establishment of breast cancer cells. Breast cancer resistant protein (BCRP), one of the ABC transporters, has long been recognized as a pump that effluxes the therapeutic drugs against the concentration gradient. However, recent studies suggest that the biological function of BCRP is not limited in its drug pump activity. Herein, the role of BCRP in the proliferation and survival of drug-resistant breast cancer cells was investigated. We found that BCRP is not the major drug pump to efflux epirubicin in the resistant cells that express multiple ABC transporters. Silencing of BCRP significantly impairs cell proliferation and induces apoptosis of the resistant cells in vitro and in vivo. RNA-sequencing and high-throughput proteomics suggest that BCRP is an inhibitory factor of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Further research suggests that BCRP is localized in the mitochondria of the resistant cells. Knockdown of BCRP elevated the intracellular reactive oxygen species level and eventually promotes the cell to undergo apoptosis. This study demonstrated that BCRP exerts important onco-promoting functions in the drug-resistant breast cancer cells independent of its well-recognized drug efflux activity, which shed new light on understanding the complex functional role of ABC transporters in drug-resistant cells.

STAT3 mediated upregulation of C-MET signaling acts as a compensatory survival mechanism upon EGFR family inhibition in chemoresistant breast cancer cells.

Chemotherapy remains the most common treatment for all types of breast cancer. Chemoresistance in tumors is still a major obstacle for treating late-stage breast cancer. In the process of acquiring resistance, tumor cells dynamically evolve to adapt to the challenge of anti-cancer drugs. Besides the upregulation of drug-pumps, signal pathways related to proliferation and survival undergo adaptive evolution. Thus, these drug-resistant cells are more conducive to proliferation, even in stressful conditions. Nevertheless, the detailed mechanism that drives cancer cells to sustain their proliferation ability is unclear. Herein, we reported that the upregulated C-MET signaling acts as a compensatory mechanism that sustains the proliferation of chemoresistant cells in which EGFR family signaling was attenuated. Both C-MET and EGFR family are essential for cell proliferation due to their activation of the STAT3 signaling. Different from other cell models in which C-MET interacts with and phosphorylates EGFR family members, our cell model showed no direct interaction between C-MET and EGFR family members. Therefore, C-MET and EGFR family signaling pathways function independently to sustain the proliferation of resistant cells. Moreover, chemoresistant cells have evolved a novel, STAT3-C-MET feed-forward loop that plays a vital role in sustaining cell proliferation. The activated STAT3 interacts with the MET gene promoter to upregulate its transcription. Most importantly, the combined inhibition of C-MET and EGFR family synergistically inhibits the proliferation of drug-resistant cells in vitro and in xenograft tumor models. This work provides a new strategy for treating drug-resistant breast cancer.

Identification of Metabolic-Associated Genes for the Prediction of Colon and Rectal Adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Uncontrolled proliferation is the most prominent biological feature of tumors. In order to rapidly proliferate, tumor cells regulate their metabolic behavior by controlling the expression of metabolism-related genes (MRGs) to maximize the utilization of available nutrients. In this study, we aimed to construct prognosis models for colorectal adenocarcinoma (COAD) and rectum adenocarcinoma (READ) using MRGs to predict the prognoses of patients. METHODS: We first acquired the gene expression profiles of COAD and READ from the TCGA database, and then utilized univariate Cox analysis, Lasso regression, and multivariable Cox analysis to identify the MRGs for risk models. RESULTS: Eight genes (CPT1C, PLCB2, PLA2G2D, GAMT, ENPP2, PIP4K2B, GPX3, and GSR) in the colon cancer risk model and six genes (TDO2, PKLR, GAMT, EARS2, ACO1, and WAS) in the rectal cancer risk model were identified successfully. Multivariate Cox analysis indicated that these two models could accurately and independently predict overall survival (OS) for patients with COAD or READ. Furthermore, functional enrichment analysis was used to identify the metabolism pathway of MRGs in the risk models and analyzed these genes comprehensively. Then, we verified the prognosis model in independent COAD cohorts (GSE17538) and detected the correlations of the protein expression levels of GSR and ENPP2 with prognosis for COAD or READ. CONCLUSION: In this study, 14 MRGs were identified as potential prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for colorectal cancer.

Drug-resistant cancer cell-derived exosomal EphA2 promotes breast cancer metastasis via the EphA2-Ephrin A1 reverse signaling.

Tumor metastasis induced by drug resistance is a major challenge in successful cancer treatment. Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying the pro-invasive and metastatic ability of drug resistance remain elusive. Exosome-mediated intercellular communications between cancer cells and stromal cells in tumor microenvironment are required for cancer initiation and progression. Recent reports have shown that communications between cancer cells also promote tumor aggression. However, little attention has been regarded on this aspect. Herein, we demonstrated that drug-resistant cell-derived exosomes promoted the invasion of sensitive breast cancer cells. Quantitative proteomic analysis showed that EphA2 was rich in exosomes from drug-resistant cells. Exosomal EphA2 conferred the invasive/metastatic phenotype transfer from drug-resistant cells to sensitive cells. Moreover, exosomal EphA2 activated ERK1/2 signaling through the ligand Ephrin A1-dependent reverse pathway rather than the forward pathway, thereby promoting breast cancer progression. Our findings indicate the key functional role of exosomal EphA2 in the transmission of aggressive phenotype between cancer cells that do not rely on direct cell-cell contact. Our study also suggests that the increase of EphA2 in drug-resistant cell-derived exosomes may be an important mechanism of chemotherapy/drug resistance-induced breast cancer progression.

SHP2 promotes proliferation of breast cancer cells through regulating Cyclin D1 stability via the PI3K/AKT/GSK3ß signaling pathway.

Objective: The tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 has a dual role in cancer initiation and progression in a tissue type-dependent manner. Several studies have linked SHP2 to the aggressive behavior of breast cancer cells and poorer outcomes in people with cancer. Nevertheless, the mechanistic details of how SHP2 promotes breast cancer progression remain largely undefined. Methods: The relationship between SHP2 expression and the prognosis of patients with breast cancer was investigated by using the TCGA and GEO databases. The expression of SHP2 in breast cancer tissues was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. CRISPR/Cas9 technology was used to generate SHP2-knockout breast cancer cells. Cell-counting kit-8, colony formation, cell cycle, and EdU incorporation assays, as well as a tumor xenograft model were used to examine the function of SHP2 in breast cancer proliferation. Quantitative RT-PCR, western blotting, immunofluorescence staining, and ubiquitination assays were used to explore the molecular mechanism through which SHP2 regulates breast cancer proliferation. Results: High SHP2 expression is correlated with poor prognosis in patients with breast cancer. SHP2 is required for the proliferation of breast cancer cells in vitro and tumor growth in vivo through regulation of Cyclin D1 abundance, thereby accelerating cell cycle progression. Notably, SHP2 modulates the ubiquitin-proteasome-dependent degradation of Cyclin D1 via the PI3K/AKT/GSK3ß signaling pathway. SHP2 knockout attenuates the activation of PI3K/AKT signaling and causes the dephosphorylation and resultant activation of GSK3ß. GSK3ß then mediates phosphorylation of Cyclin D1 at threonine 286, thereby promoting the translocation of Cyclin D1 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm and facilitating Cyclin D1 degradation through the ubiquitin-proteasome system. Conclusions: Our study uncovered the mechanism through which SHP2 regulates breast cancer proliferation. SHP2 may therefore potentially serve as a therapeutic target for breast cancer.

Tumor Exosome Mimicking Nanoparticles for Tumor Combinatorial Chemo-Photothermal Therapy.

The development of biomimetic nanoparticles with functionalities of natural biomaterial remains a major challenge in cancer combination therapy. Herein, we developed a tumor-cell-derived exosome-camouflaged porous silicon nanoparticles (E-MSNs) as a drug delivery system for co-loading ICG and DOX (ID@E-MSNs), achieving the synergistic effects of chemotherapy and photothermal therapy against breast cancer. Compared with ID@MSNs, the biomimetic nanoparticles ID@E-MSNs can be effectively taken up by the tumor cell and enhance tumor accumulation with the help of the exosome membrane. ID@E-MSNs also retain the photothermal effect of ICG and cytotoxicity of DOX. Under 808 nm near infrared irradiation, ICG can produce hyperthermia to collapse E-MSNs nanovehicles, accelerate drug release, and induce tumor ablation, achieving effective chemo-photothermal therapy. In vivo results of 4T1 tumor-bearing BALB/c mice showed that ID@E-MSNs could accumulate tumor tissue and inhibit the growth and metastasis of tumor. Thus, tumor exosome-biomimetic nanoparticles indicate a proof-of-concept as a promising drug delivery system for efficient cancer combination therapy.

Subtype-specific risk models for accurately predicting the prognosis of breast cancer using differentially expressed autophagy-related genes.

Emerging evidence suggests that the dysregulation of autophagy-related genes (ARGs) is coupled with the carcinogenesis and progression of breast cancer (BRCA). We constructed three subtype-specific risk models using differentially expressed ARGs. In Luminal, Her-2, and Basal-like BRCA, four- (BIRC5, PARP1, ATG9B, and TP63), three- (ITPR1, CCL2, and GAPDH), and five-gene (PRKN, FOS, BAX, IFNG, and EIF4EBP1) risk models were identified, which all have a receiver operating characteristic > 0.65 in the training and testing dataset. Multivariable Cox analysis showed that those risk models can accurately and independently predict the overall survival of BRCA patients. Comprehensive analysis showed that the 12 identified ARGs were correlated with the overall survival of BRCA patients; six of the ARGs (PARP1, TP63, CCL2, GAPDH, FOS, and EIF4EBP1) were differentially expressed between BRCA and normal breast tissue at the protein level. In addition, the 12 identified ARGs were highly interconnected and displayed high frequency of copy number variation in BRCA samples. Gene set enrichment analysis suggested that the deactivation of the immune system was the important driving force for the progression of Basal-like BRCA. This study demonstrated that the 12 ARG signatures were potential multi-dimensional biomarkers for the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of BRCA.

TGFß regulates NK1R-Tr to affect the proliferation and apoptosis of breast cancer cells.

OBJECTIVES: TGFß promotes cancer aggressiveness in advanced stages. NK1R-Tr expression in advanced breast cancer has a pro-carcinogenic effect. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of the association of TGFß with NK1R-Tr expression on the proliferation and apoptosis of breast cancer cells. METHODS: Immunohistochemical staining and Western blot analysis were used to detect TGFß and NK1R-Tr in breast cancer and paracancerous tissue samples. MDA-MB-231 and BT549 cells were stimulated with TGFß after NK1R knockdown or treated with the NK1R antagonist aprepitant, and the effects of TGFß and NK1R-Tr on proliferation and apoptosis were detected by CCK-8, colony formation and flow cytometry assays. In vivo xenograft models were used to further verify the effects of NK1R-Tr and TGFß. The regulatory effects of Smad4 on NK1R promoter activity were confirmed by ChIP and dual-luciferase reporter assays. RESULTS: The expression levels of TGFß and NK1R-Tr were higher in breast cancer tissues than in adjacent tissues and were positively correlated in human breast cancer tissues. NK1R knockdown or aprepitant treatment in MDA-MB-231 and BT549 cells attenuated the effects of TGFß on cell proliferation. The proportion of cells in G2/M phase significantly increased, the expression of cyclin B1 decreased, and the expression of P21 increased; these effects were weakened by TGFß treatment. Apoptosis in breast cancer cells was significantly increased. In vivo xenograft models were used to further verify that NK1R-Tr and TGFß promoted tumour growth. After TGFß treatment, the binding capacity of Smad4 to the NK1R promoter, as well as luciferase activity, was enhanced. CONCLUSIONS: The expression levels of TGFß and NK1R-Tr were higher in breast cancer tissues than in normal tissues, and both were correlated with a poor patient prognosis. TGFß and NK1R-Tr promoted cell proliferation and inhibited apoptosis, and TGFß regulated the expression of NK1R-Tr via Smad4.

Rack1 mediates Src binding to drug transporter P-glycoprotein and modulates its activity through regulating Caveolin-1 phosphorylation in breast cancer cells.

The failure of chemotherapy and the emergence of multidrug resistance (MDR) are the major obstacles for effective therapy in locally advanced and metastatic breast cancer. Overexpression of the drug transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in cancer cells is one of the main causes of MDR due to its ability to efflux anticancer drugs out of cells. Although the signaling node that regulates the expression of P-gp has been intensively investigated; the regulatory mechanism underlying P-gp transport activity remains obscure. Herein, we reported that Rack1 and tyrosine kinase Src confer drug resistance through modulating the transport function of P-gp without altering its protein level. We provide evidences that Rack1 and Src regulate P-gp activity by modulating caveolin-1 (Cav1) phosphorylation. Importantly, Rack1 acts as a signaling hub and mediates Src binding to P-gp, thereby facilitating the phosphorylation of Cav1 by Src and abolishing the inhibitory effect of Cav1 on P-gp. Taken together, our results demonstrate the pivotal roles of Rack1 and Src in modulating P-gp activity in drug-resistant cells. Our findings also provide novel insights into the mechanism regulating P-gp transport activity. Rack1 may represent a new target for the development of effective therapies for reversing drug resistance.