Demethylzeylasteral inhibits proliferation, migration, and invasion through FBXW7/c-Myc axis in gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most familiar malignancy in the digestive system. Demethylzeylasteral (Dem), a natural functional monomer extracted from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F, shows anti-tumor effects in a variety of cancers, including GC, however, with the underlying mechanism poorly understood. In our study, we show that Dem inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion of GC cells, which are mediated by down-regulating c-Myc protein levels. Mechanistically, Dem reduces the stability of c-Myc by up-regulating FBXW7, an E3 ubiquitin ligase. Moreover, in xenograft tumor model experiment, Dem also inhibits GC, which depends on suppressing c-Myc expression. Finally, Dem enhances GC cell chemosensitivity to the combination treatment of 5-Fluorouracil (5-Fu) and doxorubicin (DOX) in vitro. Together, Dem exerts anti-neoplastic activities through destabilizing and suppressing c-Myc, establishing a theory foundation for using it in future treatment of GC.

Pathological and Prognostic Indications of the mdig Gene in Human Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The mineral-dust-induced gene mdig is a lung-cancer-associated oncogene. The focus of this study is to evaluate the expression status of mdig in lung cancer and to assess its influence in predicting the patient's overall survival. METHODS: Using high-density tissue microarrays and clinical samples of synchronous multiple primary lung cancer (SMPLC), we investigated the expression of mdig through immunohistochemistry and utilized the open-access lung cancer patient databases containing genomic and transcriptomic data from the UCSC Xena and TCGA web platforms to determine the prognostic values of mdig expression status among different subtypes of lung cancer. RESULTS: mdig is upregulated in smokers and in lung squamous cell carcinoma. High mdig expression predicted poor overall survival in lung squamous cell carcinoma and female smokers. Among tumor tissues from SMPLC patients, we not only unraveled the highest positive rate of mdig expression, but also revealed a unique cytoplasmic, rather than nuclear localization of mdig protein. Furthermore, by inspecting some pathological but not cancerous lung tissues, we believe that mdig is required for the transformation of non-cancerous lung cells to the fully-fledged cancer cells. CONCLUSION: These data suggested that mdig is involved in various stages of lung carcinogenesis, possibly through the epigenetic regulation on some critical cancer-associated genes, and increased mdig expression is an important prognostic factor for some types of lung cancer.

Scavenger receptor B8 improves survivability by mediating innate immunity in silkworm, Bombyx mori.

Scavenger receptor class B (SR-B) is an extracellular transmembrane glycoprotein that plays a vital role in innate immunity. Although SR-Bs have been widely studied in vertebrates, their functions remained to elucidate in insects. Here, we identified and characterized a scavenger receptor class B member from the silkworm, Bombyx mori (designated as BmSCRB8). BmSCRB8 is broadly expressed in various immune tissues/organs, including fat body, gut, and hemocyte. Its expression is dramatically enhanced after challenge with different types of bacteria or pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). The recombinant BmSCRB8 protein can detect different types of bacteria by directly binding to PAMPs and significantly improve the bacterial clearance in vivo. After knockdown of BmSCRB8, the pathogenic bacterial clearance was strongly impaired, and several AMP genes were down-regulated following E. coli challenge. Moreover, pathogenic bacteria's treatment following the depletion of BmSCRB8 remarkably decreased silkworm larvae's survival rate. Taken together, these results demonstrate that BmSCRB8 acts as a pattern recognition protein and plays an essential role in silkworm innate immunity by enhancing bacterial clearance and contributing to the production of AMPs in vivo.

PHF14 Promotes Cell Proliferation and Migration through the AKT and ERK1/2 Pathways in Gastric Cancer Cells.

PHF14 is a new member belonging to PHD finger proteins. PHF14 is involved in multiple biologic processes including Dandy-Walker syndrome, mesenchyme growth, lung fibrosis, renal fibrosis, persistent pulmonary hypertension, and tumor development. This study aims to explore whether PHF14 plays an important role in gastric cancer. Here, PHF14 is indicated as a tumor promoter. The expression of PHF14 enhances no matter in clinical samples or in gastric cancer cells. High expression of PHF14 impairs survival of patients. Attenuation of PHF14 inhibits cell proliferation in gastric cancer cells. PHF14 downregulation inhibits the expression of cell cycle-related proteins, CDK6 and cyclin D1. Furthermore, silencing of PHF14 reduces the level of phosphorylated AKT as well as phosphorylated ERK1/2. Finally, downregulation of PHF14 in gastric cancer cells inhibits colony formation in vitro and tumorigenesis in vivo. These results indicate that PHF14 promotes tumor development in gastric cancer, so PHF14 thereby acts as a potential target for gastric cancer therapy.

NUSAP1 potentiates chemoresistance in glioblastoma through its SAP domain to stabilize ATR.

NUSAP1, which is a microtubule-associated protein involved in mitosis, plays essential roles in diverse biological processes, especially in cancer biology. In this study, NUSAP1 was found to be overexpressed in GBM tissues in a grade-dependent manner compared with normal brain tissues. NUSAP1 was also highly expressed in GBM patients, dead patients, and GBM cells. In addition, NUSAP1 was found to participate in cell proliferation, apoptosis, and DNA damage in GBM cells. Ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related protein (ATR) are a primary sensor of DNA damage, and ATR is also a promising target in cancer therapy. Here, we found that NUSAP1 positively regulated the expression of ATR. Mechanistically, NUSAP1 suppressed the ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis of ATR. The SAP (SAF-A/B, Acinus, and PIAS) domain is a common motif of many SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier) E3 ligases, and this domain is involved in substrate recognition and ligase activity. This study further demonstrated that the SAP domain of NUSAP1 promoted the sumoylation of ATR, and thereby antagonized the ubiquitination of ATR. These results suggest that NUSAP1 stabilizes ATR by sumoylation. Moreover, NUSAP1 potentiated chemotherapeutic resistance to temozolomide (TMZ) and doxorubicin (DOX) through its SAP domain. Overall, this study indicates that NUSAP1 is a promising therapeutic target in GBM.

Hedgehog promotes cell proliferation in the midgut of silkworm, Bombyx mori.

The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is one of the major regulators of embryonic development and tissue homeostasis in multicellular organisms. However, the role of this pathway in the silkworm, especially in the silkworm midgut, remains poorly understood. Here, we report that Bombyx mori Hedgehog (BmHh) is expressed in most tissues of silkworm larvae and that its functions are well-conserved throughout evolution. We further demonstrate that the messenger RNA of four Hh signaling components, BmHh ligand, BmPtch receptor, signal transducer BmSmo and transcription factor BmCi, are all upregulated following Escherichia coli or Bacillus thuringiensis infection, indicating the activation of the Hh pathway. Simultaneously, midgut cell proliferation is strongly promoted. Conversely, the repression of Hh signal transduction with double-stranded RNA or cyclopamine inhibits the expression of BmHh and BmCi and reduces cell proliferation. Overall, these findings provide new insights into the Hh signaling pathway in the silkworm, B. mori.

Cancer-testis specific gene OIP5: a downstream gene of E2F1 that promotes tumorigenesis and metastasis in glioblastoma by stabilizing E2F1 signaling.

Background: The cancer-testis specific gene Opa interacting protein 5 (OIP5) is reactivated in many human cancers, but its functions in glioblastoma remain unclear. Here, we assessed the significance of OIP5 in the tumorigenesis and metastasis of glioblastoma for the first time. Methods: An immunohistochemistry assay was performed to detect OIP5 expression changes in glioblastoma patients. Overall survival analysis was performed to evaluate the prognostic significance of OIP5. Growth curve, colony formation, and transwell assays were used to analyze cell proliferation and metastasis. Tumorigenicity potential was investigated in orthotopic tumor models, and immunoprecipitation, chromatin immunoprecipitation, and luciferase assays were employed to explore the mechanisms underlying the activation of OIP5 expression by E2F transcription factor 1 (E2F1) to stabilize and maintain E2F1 signaling. Results: OIP5 was found to be upregulated in glioblastoma patients and to impair patient survival, and the increased expression of OIP5 was positively correlated with tumor stage. Compared with short hairpin green fluorescent protein cells, cells in which OIP5 was knocked down exhibited significantly reduced proliferation, metastasis, colony formation, and tumorigenicity abilities, whereas OIP5 recovery enhanced these abilities. OIP5 was highly correlated with cell cycle progression but had no obvious effects on apoptosis. Notably, we demonstrated a feedback loop in which E2F1 activates the expression of OIP5 to stabilize and maintain E2F1 signaling and promote the E2F1-regulated gene expression that is required for aggressive tumor biology. Conclusions: Collectively, our findings demonstrate that OIP5 promotes glioblastoma progression and metastasis, suggesting that OIP5 is a potential target for anticancer therapy.

[Cloning and expression of Bmintegrin ß1 in silkworm Bombyx mori].

Integrins are transmembrane glycoproteins, closely related to many physiological and pathological processes. In order to explore its role in silkworm, by PCR and Rapid-amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) technology, the full-length cDNA of Bmintegrin ß1 in silkworm was acquired. The domain was predicted by domain prediction website. Phylogenetic tree was constructed to analyze its evolutionary relationship. By prokaryotic expression system, protein purification method and immunizing mouse, the antibody against Bmintegrin ß1 recombinant protein was obtained. The spatial-temporal expression profile of Bmintegrin ß1 was investigated by semi quantitative PCR and Western blotting. Then we identified all 3 different spliceosomes, and they shared a common open reading frame of 2 502 bp, encoding 833 amino acids. Bmintegrin ß1 contained all the classic domains of the integrin family, such as Integrin-B-tail, transmembrane domain etc. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that Bmintegrin ß1 was close to the homologous proteins from Heliothis assulta and Danaus plexippus. In order to understand the function of Bmintegrin ß1 further, we generated the antibody. In addition, Western blotting demonstrated that the antibody recognized the Bmintegrin ß1 recombinant protein. Then, semi quantitative PCR and Western blotting results showed that Bmintegrin ß1 was widely expressed in most of tissues, among of them, it's exhibited the highest expression level in hemacyte. Overall, this study provides a foundation for the study of silkworm integrin family.

Demethylzeylasteral inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis through suppressing MCL1 in melanoma cells.

Demethylzeylasteral is one of the extracts of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F, which plays important roles in multiple biological processes such as inflammation inhibition, as well as immunosuppression. However, anti-cancer function and the underlying mechanisms of demethylzeylasteral in melanoma cells remain unclear. In this study, we demonstrate that demethylzeylasteral has an anti-tumor property in melanoma cells. Demethylzeylasteral not only inhibits cell proliferation through cell cycle arrest at S phase, but also induces cell apoptosis in melanoma cells. MCL1 is an anti-apoptotic protein in BCL2 family, and amplifies frequently in multiple human cancers. MCL1 is also known as a potential contributor for the resistance of BCL2 inhibitors, as well as various chemotherapeutic drugs. MCL1 is, therefore, regarded as a potential target for cancer therapy. Here, for the first time, we unveil that demethylzeylasteral suppresses the expression of MCL1. Interestingly, MCL1 interacts with S phase-related protein CDK2, and thereby inhibits it's ubiquitin-dependent degradation. Together, demethylzeylasteral is a promising anti-tumor compound in melanoma cells. Demethylzeylasteral is also a potential inhibitor of MCL1.

A novel immune-related gene HDD1 of silkworm Bombyx mori is involved in bacterial response.

Insects have evolved an effective immune system to respond to various challenges. In this study, a novel immune-related gene, called BmHDD1, was first charactered in silkworm, Bombyx mori. BmHDD1 contained an ORF of 837bp and encoding a deduced protein of 278 amino acids. BmHDD1 was specifically expressed in hemocytes, and highly expressed at the molting and metamorphosis stages under normal physiological conditions. Our results suggested that BmHDD1 was mainly generated by hemocytes and secreted into hemolymph. Our results also showed that the expression level of BmHDD1 was significantly increased after 20E injection, which indicated that BmHDD1 might be regulated by ecdysone. More importantly, BmHDD1 was dramatically induced after injected with different types of PAMPs or bacteria, either in hemocytes or fat body. Those results suggested that BmHDD1 plays a role in developing and immunity system in silkworm, Bombyx mori.

[Cloning and expression of scavenger receptor class B BmSCRB8 in silkworm Bombyx mori].

Scavenger receptor class B is involved in various indispensable physiological processes, like the formation and inhibition of atherosclerosis or other cardiovascular diseases, innate immune defense and the removal of apoptotic cells. Here, we cloned BmSCRB8, a member of scavenger receptor class B in silkworm. We obtained the full-length cDNA sequence of BmSCRB8 by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE), including 2 668 bp. The ORF of BmSCRB8 is 1 704 bp, encoding 567 amino acids. Online software prediction indicated that the molecular weight of BmSCRB8 is 63.87 kDa and the isoelectric point (pI) is 6.06. The space-time expression profile of BmSCRB8 was detected by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR), which implicated that BmSCRB8 is extensively expressed in each tissue and at each stage of blood. In addition, BmSCRB8 is highest expressed in fat body of silkworm, and is highly expressed in metamorphosis periods. Anti-BmSCRB8 polyclonal antibody was generated through prokaryotic expression, protein purification and mice immunization. Simultaneously, we constructed BmSCRB8 eukaryotic vector and then transfected embryonic cell line of silkworm. Immunofluorescence and overexpression showed that BmSCRB8 expressed specifically in membrane. Western blotting demonstrated that BmSCRB8 protein can be specifically recognized by anti-serum generated after mice immunization.

Molecular cloning, characterization and expression analysis of cathepsin O in silkworm Bombyx mori related to bacterial response.

Cathepsins are the main members of the cysteine family and play important roles in immune response in vertebrates. The Cathepsin O of Bombyx mori (BmCathepsin O) was cloned from the hemocytes by the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The genomic DNA was 6131bp long with a total of six exons and five introns. Its pre-mRNA was spliced to generate two spliceosomes. By comparisons with other reported cathepsins O, it was concluded that the identity between them ranged from 29 to 39%. Expression analysis indicated that BmCathepsin O was specific-expressed in hemocytes, and highly expressed at the 4th molting and metamorphosis stages. Immunofluorescence assay and qRT-PCR showed that BmCathepsin O was expressed in granulocytes and plasmatocytes. Interestingly, BmCathepsin O was significantly up-regulated after stimulated by 20-hydroxyecdysone (20-E) in vivo, which suggested that BmCathepsin O may be regulated by 20E. Moreover, activation of BmCathepsin O was also observed in hemocytes challenged by Escherichia coli, indicating its potential involvement in the innate immune system of silkworm, B. mori. In summary, our studies provide a new insight into the functional features of Cathepsin O.