RESUMO
In the original publication of this article [1], labelling within Fig. 7a was incorrect. The updated figure is shown below, with 'DMT1' now corrected to read 'DNMT1'.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) is critical for the expression of octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4), which is highly associated with early tumor recurrence and poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) family is closely linked with OCT4 expression and drug resistance. However, the underlying mechanism regarding the interplay between DNMTs and IL-6-induced OCT4 expression and the sorafenib resistance of HCC remains largely unclear. METHODS: HCC tissue samples were used to examine the association between DNMTs/OCT4 expression levels and clinical prognosis. Serum levels of IL-6 were detected using ELISA assays (n = 144). Gain- and loss-of-function experiments were performed in cell lines and mouse xenograft models to determine the underlying mechanism in vitro and in vivo. RESULTS: We demonstrate that levels of DNA methyltransferase 3 beta (DNMT3b) are significantly correlated with the OCT4 levels in HCC tissues (n = 144), and the OCT4 expression levels are positively associated with the serum IL-6 levels. Higher levels of IL-6, DNMT3b, or OCT4 predicted early HCC recurrence and poor prognosis. We show that IL-6/STAT3 activation increases DNMT3b/1 and OCT4 in HCC. Activated phospho-STAT3 (STAT-Y640F) significantly increased DNMT3b/OCT4, while dominant negative phospho-STAT3 (STAT-Y705F) was suppressive. Inhibiting DNMT3b with RNA interference or nanaomycin A (a selective DNMT3b inhibitor) effectively suppressed the IL-6 or STAT-Y640F-induced increase of DNMT3b-OCT4 and ALDH activity in vitro and in vivo. The fact that OCT4 regulates the DNMT1 expressions were further demonstrated either by OCT4 forced expression or DNMT1 silence. Additionally, the DNMT3b silencing reduced the OCT4 expression in sorafenib-resistant Hep3B cells with or without IL-6 treatment. Notably, targeting DNMT3b with nanaomycin A significantly increased the cell sensitivity to sorafenib, with a synergistic combination index (CI) in sorafenib-resistant Hep3B cells. CONCLUSIONS: The DNMT3b plays a critical role in the IL-6-mediated OCT4 expression and the drug sensitivity of sorafenib-resistant HCC. The p-STAT3 activation increases the DNMT3b/OCT4 which confers the tumor early recurrence and poor prognosis of HCC patients. Findings from this study highlight the significance of IL-6-DNMT3b-mediated OCT4 expressions in future therapeutic target for patients expressing cancer stemness-related properties or sorafenib resistance in HCC.
Assuntos
Antineoplásicos/uso terapêutico , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/tratamento farmacológico , DNA (Citosina-5-)-Metiltransferases/biossíntese , Interleucina-6/metabolismo , Neoplasias Hepáticas/tratamento farmacológico , Fator 3 de Transcrição de Octâmero/biossíntese , Fator de Transcrição STAT3/metabolismo , Sorafenibe/farmacologia , Animais , Antineoplásicos/farmacologia , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/genética , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/metabolismo , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , DNA (Citosina-5-)-Metiltransferases/antagonistas & inibidores , DNA (Citosina-5-)-Metiltransferases/genética , DNA (Citosina-5-)-Metiltransferases/metabolismo , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Resistencia a Medicamentos Antineoplásicos , Feminino , Células Hep G2 , Xenoenxertos , Humanos , Interleucina-6/sangue , Interleucina-6/genética , Neoplasias Hepáticas/genética , Neoplasias Hepáticas/metabolismo , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Camundongos Endogâmicos NOD , Camundongos Nus , Camundongos SCID , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Fator 3 de Transcrição de Octâmero/genética , Prognóstico , DNA Metiltransferase 3BRESUMO
Hypoxia cooperates with endocrine signaling to maintain the symmetric self-renewal proliferation and migration of embryonic germline stem cells (GSCs). However, the lack of an appropriate in vitro cell model has dramatically hindered the understanding of the mechanism underlying this cooperation. Here, using a serum-free system, we demonstrated that hypoxia significantly induced the GSC mesenchymal transition, increased the expression levels of the pluripotent transcription factor OCT4 and migration-associated proteins (SDF-1, CXCR4, IGF-1, and IGF-1R), and activated the cellular expression and translocalization of the CXCR4-downstream proteins ARP3/pFAK. The underlying mechanism involved significant IGF-1/IGF-1R activation of OCT4/CXCR4 expression through HIF-2α regulation. Picropodophyllin-induced inhibition of IGF-1R phosphorylation significantly suppressed hypoxia-induced SDF-1/CXCR4 expression and cell migration. Furthermore, transactivation between IGF-1R and CXCR4 was involved. In summary, we demonstrated that niche hypoxia synergistically cooperates with its associated IGF-1R signaling to regulate the symmetric division (self-renewal proliferation) and cell migration of alkaline phosphatase-positive GSCs through HIF-2α-OCT4/CXCR4 during embryogenesis.