RESUMO
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are covalently closed, single-stranded RNAs that play critical roles in various biological processes and diseases, including cancers. However, the functions and mechanisms of circRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) need further clarification. Here, we identified and confirmed that circATF6 is downregulated in HCC tissues and negatively associated with the overall survival of HCC patients. Ectopic overexpression of circATF6 inhibits malignant phenotypes of HCC cells in vitro and in vivo, while knockdown of circATF6 had opposite effects. Mechanistically, we found that circATF6 bound to calreticulin (CALR) protein and acted as a scaffold to enhance the interaction of CALR with calpain2 (CAPN2), which promoted the degradation of CALR by its enzymatic activity. Moreover, we found that circATF6 inhibited HCC cells by suppressing CALR-mediated wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. Taken together, our findings suggest that circATF6 is a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for HCC.
Assuntos
Calreticulina , Carcinoma Hepatocelular , Neoplasias Hepáticas , RNA Circular , Via de Sinalização Wnt , Animais , Humanos , Masculino , Camundongos , Fator 6 Ativador da Transcrição/metabolismo , Fator 6 Ativador da Transcrição/genética , beta Catenina/metabolismo , Calpaína/metabolismo , Calpaína/genética , Calreticulina/metabolismo , Calreticulina/genética , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/patologia , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/genética , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/metabolismo , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Proliferação de Células , Progressão da Doença , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Neoplasias Hepáticas/patologia , Neoplasias Hepáticas/genética , Neoplasias Hepáticas/metabolismo , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Camundongos Nus , RNA Circular/genética , RNA Circular/metabolismoRESUMO
Tripartite motif-containing 29 (TRIM29), also known as the ataxia telangiectasia group D-complementing (ATDC) gene, has been reported to play an oncogenic or tumor suppressive role in developing different tumors. So far, its expression and biological functions in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. We investigated TRIM29 expression pattern in human HCC samples using quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Relationships between TRIM29 expression level, clinical prognostic indicators, overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards model. A series of in vitro experiments and a xenograft tumor model were conducted to detect the functions of TRIM29 in HCC cells. RNA sequencing, western blotting, and immunochemical staining were performed to assess the molecular regulation of TRIM29 in HCC. We found that the mRNA and protein levels of TRIM29 were significantly reduced in HCC samples, compared with adjacent noncancerous tissues, and were negatively correlated with poor differentiation of HCC tissues. Survival analysis confirmed that lower TRIM29 expression significantly correlated with shorter OS and DFS of HCC patients. TRIM29 overexpression remarkably inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and EMT in HCC cells, whereas knockdown of TRIM29 reversed these effects. Moreover, deactivation of the PTEN/AKT/mTOR and JAK2/STAT3 pathways might be involved in the tumor suppressive role of TRIM29 in HCC. Our findings indicate that TRIM29 in HCC exerts its tumor suppressive effects through inhibition of the PTEN/AKT/mTOR and JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathways and may be used as a potential biomarker for survival in patients with HCC.
Assuntos
Carcinoma Hepatocelular , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA , Janus Quinase 2 , Neoplasias Hepáticas , Fator de Transcrição STAT3 , Fatores de Transcrição , Humanos , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/patologia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Movimento Celular/genética , Proliferação de Células/genética , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/metabolismo , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Neoplasias Hepáticas/patologia , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-akt/metabolismo , PTEN Fosfo-Hidrolase/genética , PTEN Fosfo-Hidrolase/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais , Serina-Treonina Quinases TOR/metabolismo , Fatores de Transcrição/genética , AnimaisRESUMO
The androgen receptor (AR) plays an important role in male-dominant hepatocellular carcinoma, and specific acquired somatic mutations of AR have been observed in HCC patients. Our previous research have established the role of AR wild type as one of the key oncogenes in hepatocarcinogenesis. However, the role of hepatic acquired somatic mutations of AR remains unknown. In this study, we identify two crucial acquired somatic mutations, Q62L and E81Q, situated close to the N-terminal activation function domain-1 of AR. These mutations lead to constitutive activation of AR, both independently and synergistically with androgens, making them potent driver oncogene mutations. Mechanistically, these N-terminal AR somatic mutations enhance de novo lipogenesis by activating sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 and promote glycogen accumulation through glycogen phosphorylase, brain form, thereby disrupting the AMPK pathway and contributing to tumorigenesis. Moreover, the AR mutations show sensitivity to the AMPK activator A769662. Overall, this study establishes the role of these N- terminal hepatic mutations of AR as highly malignant oncogenic drivers in hepatocarcinogenesis and highlights their potential as therapeutic targets for patients harboring these somatic mutations.
Assuntos
Carcinoma Hepatocelular , Neoplasias Hepáticas , Receptores Androgênicos , Humanos , Masculino , Proteínas Quinases Ativadas por AMP , Carcinogênese/genética , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/genética , Neoplasias Hepáticas/genética , Mutação , Receptores Androgênicos/genéticaRESUMO
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant tumor with high incidence and cancer mortality worldwide. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) of proteins have a great impact on protein function. Almost all proteins can undergo PTMs, including phosphorylation, acetylation, methylation, glycosylation, ubiquitination, and so on. Many studies have shown that PTMs are related to the occurrence and development of cancers. The findings provide novel therapeutic targets for cancers, such as glypican-3 and mucin-1. Other clinical implications are also found in the studies of PTMs. Diagnostic or prognostic value, and response to therapy have been identified. In HCC, it has been shown that glycosylated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) has a higher detection rate for early liver cancer than conventional AFP. In this review, we mainly focused on the diagnostic and prognostic value of PTM, in order to provide new insights into the clinical implication of PTM in HCC.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Androgen receptor (AR) has been reported to play an important role in the development and progression of man's prostate cancer. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is also male-dominant, but the role of AR in HCC remains poorly understood. Mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) also has been reported to be highly activated in HCC. In this study, we aimed to explore the role of AR phosphorylation and its relationship with mTORC1 in hepatocarcinogenesis. APPROACH AND RESULTS: In vitro experiment, we observed that mTORC1 interacts with hepatic AR and phosphorylates it at S96 in response to nutrient and mitogenic stimuli in HCC cells. S96 phosphorylation promotes the stability, nuclear localization, and transcriptional activity of AR, which enhances de novo lipogenesis and proliferation in hepatocytes and induces liver steatosis and hepatocarcinogenesis in mice independently and cooperatively with androgen. Furthermore, high ARS96 phosphorylation is observed in human liver steatotic and HCC tissues and is associated with overall survival and disease-free survival, which has been proven as an independent survival predictor for patients with HCC. CONCLUSIONS: AR S96 phosphorylation by mTORC1 drives liver steatosis and HCC development and progression independently and cooperatively with androgen, which not only explains why HCC is man-biased but also provides a target molecule for prevention and treatment of HCC and a potential survival predictor in patients with HCC.
Assuntos
Carcinoma Hepatocelular , Fígado Gorduroso , Neoplasias Hepáticas , Androgênios , Animais , Carcinogênese , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/patologia , Transformação Celular Neoplásica , Humanos , Neoplasias Hepáticas/patologia , Masculino , Alvo Mecanístico do Complexo 1 de Rapamicina/metabolismo , Camundongos , Fosforilação , Receptores Androgênicos/metabolismoRESUMO
Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is one of the most commonly activated pathways in human cancers, including lung cancer. Targeting mTOR with molecule inhibitors is considered as a useful therapeutic strategy. However, the results obtained from the clinical trials with the inhibitors so far have not met the original expectations, largely because of the drug resistance. Thus, combined or multiple drug therapy can bring about more favorable clinical outcomes. Here, we found that activation of ERK pathway was responsible for rapamycin drug resistance in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. Accordingly, rapamycin-resistant NSCLC cells were more sensitive to ERK inhibitor (ERKi), trametinib, and in turn, trametinib-resistant NSCLC cells were also susceptible to rapamycin. Combining rapamycin with trametinib led to a potent synergistic antitumor efficacy, which induced G1-phase cycle arrest and apoptosis. In addition, rapamycin synergized with another ERKi, MEK162, and in turn, trametinib synergized with other mTORi, Torin1 and OSI-027. Mechanistically, rapamycin in combination with trametinib resulted in a greater decrease of phosphorylation of AKT, ERK, mTOR and 4EBP1. In xenograft mouse model, co-administration of rapamycin and trametinib caused a substantial suppression in tumor growth without obvious drug toxicity. Overall, our study identifies a reasonable combined strategy for treatment of NSCLC.
Assuntos
Protocolos de Quimioterapia Combinada Antineoplásica/uso terapêutico , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/tratamento farmacológico , Neoplasias Pulmonares/tratamento farmacológico , Piridonas/administração & dosagem , Pirimidinonas/administração & dosagem , Sirolimo/administração & dosagem , Animais , Apoptose/efeitos dos fármacos , Western Blotting , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/metabolismo , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/patologia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Sinergismo Farmacológico , MAP Quinases Reguladas por Sinal Extracelular/metabolismo , Feminino , Humanos , Imuno-Histoquímica , Neoplasias Pulmonares/metabolismo , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Fosforilação , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-akt/metabolismo , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de XenoenxertoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play vital roles in the development and progression of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC); however, the role of most lncRNAs in NSCLC remains unknown. This study explored the clinical significance, biological function and underlying mechanism of lnc-GAN1 in NSCLC. METHODS: With a custom lncRNA microarray we found that lnc-GAN1 is markedly downregulated in NSCLC tissues. Then lnc-GAN1 expression level was measured using qRT-PCR in NSCLC tissues and cell lines. Survival was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method. The biological functions of lnc-GAN1 in lung cancer cells were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization and subcellular localization assays revealed the subcellular distribution of lnc-GAN1 in cells. Bioinformatic analysis was adopted to predict miRNAs and signaling pathways regulated by lnc-GAN1. RNA immunoprecipitation and Dual-luciferase reporter assays were used to assess the interaction between lnc-GAN1 and miR-26a-5p in lung cancer cells. RESULTS: lnc-GAN1 is downregulated in HCC tissues and associated with larger tumor size and poor overall survival and disease-free survival; its ectopic expression suppresses cell proliferation, colony formation, and cell cycle progression and induces apoptosis in NSCLC cells; it also inhibits tumor growth in the NSCLC xenograft model. We further proved that lnc-GAN1 is localized in cytoplasm and transcribed independently from its parental gene GAN. Mechanistically, lnc-GAN1 acts as a sponge for miR-26a-5p by two seed sequences, and the two non-coding RNAs have a negative relationship in NSCLC tissues; we further prove that PTEN is a direct target of miR-26a-5p and lnc-GAN1 inhibits cell cycle signaling pathway by activating PTEN, whose expression level correlated negatively with miR-26a-5p level but positively with lnc-GAN1 level in NSCLC samples. CONCLUSIONS: Lnc-GAN1 is downregulated and associated with poor survival of NSCLC patients, and mechanistically acts as a tumor suppressor via sponging and inhibiting miR-26a-5p to upregulate PTEN. This study provides a potential prognostic biomarker and treatment target for NSCLC.
Assuntos
Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/genética , Neoplasias Pulmonares/genética , MicroRNAs/metabolismo , PTEN Fosfo-Hidrolase/metabolismo , RNA Longo não Codificante/metabolismo , Animais , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/mortalidade , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/patologia , Proliferação de Células , Progressão da Doença , Feminino , Humanos , Neoplasias Pulmonares/mortalidade , Neoplasias Pulmonares/patologia , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Nus , Transdução de Sinais , Análise de Sobrevida , TransfecçãoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Previous findings have indicated that the tumor, nodes, and metastases (TNM) staging system is not sufficient to accurately predict survival outcomes in patients with non-small lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Thus, this study aims to identify a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) signature for predicting survival in patients with NSCLC and to provide additional prognostic information to TNM staging system. METHODS: Patients with NSCLC were recruited from a hospital and divided into a discovery cohort (n = 194) and validation cohort (n = 172), and detected using a custom lncRNA microarray. Another 73 NSCLC cases obtained from a different hospital (an independent validation cohort) were examined with qRT-PCR. Differentially expressed lncRNAs were determined with the Significance Analysis of Microarrays program, from which lncRNAs associated with survival were identified using Cox regression in the discovery cohort. These prognostic lncRNAs were employed to construct a prognostic signature with a risk-score method. Then, the utility of the prognostic signature was confirmed using the validation cohort and the independent cohort. RESULTS: In the discovery cohort, we identified 305 lncRNAs that were differentially expressed between the NSCLC tissues and matched, adjacent normal lung tissues, of which 15 are associated with survival; a 4-lncRNA prognostic signature was identified from the 15 survival lncRNAs, which was significantly correlated with survivals of NSCLC patients. This signature was further validated in the validation cohort and independent validation cohort. Moreover, multivariate Cox analysis demonstrates that the 4-lncRNA signature is an independent survival predictor. Then we established a new risk-score model by combining 4-lncRNA signature and TNM staging stage. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve indicates that the prognostic value of the combined model is significantly higher than that of the TNM stage alone, in all the cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we identified a 4-lncRNA signature that may be a powerful prognosis biomarker and can provide additional survival information to the TNM staging system.
Assuntos
Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas , Neoplasias Pulmonares , RNA Longo não Codificante , Biomarcadores Tumorais/genética , Carcinoma Pulmonar de Células não Pequenas/genética , China , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Estimativa de Kaplan-Meier , Neoplasias Pulmonares/genética , Prognóstico , Modelos de Riscos Proporcionais , RNA Longo não Codificante/genéticaRESUMO
Emerging evidence suggests that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) play critical roles in the development and progression of diverse cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the underlying molecular mechanisms of lncRNAs that are involved in hepatocarcinogenesis have not been fully explored. Methods: In this study, we profiled lncRNA expression in 127 pairs of HCC and nontumor liver tissues (a Discovery Cohort) using a custom microarray. The expression and clinical significance of lncCSMD1-1 were then validated with qRT-PCR and COX regression analysis in a Validation Cohort (n=260) and two External Validation Cohorts (n=92 and n=124, respectively). In vitro and in vivo assays were performed to explore the biological effects of lncCSMD1-1 on HCC cells. The interaction of lncCSMD1-1 with MYC was identified by RNA pull-down and RNA immunoprecipitation. The role of LncCSMD1-1 in the degradation of MYC protein was also investigated. Results: With microarray, we identified a highly upregulated lncRNA, lncCSMD1-1, which was associated with tumor progression and poor prognosis in the Discovery Cohort, and validated in another 3 HCC cohorts. Consistently, ectopic expression of lncCSMD1-1 notably promotes cell proliferation, migration, invasion, tumor growth and metastasis of HCC cells in in vitro and in vivo experiments. Gene expression profiling on HCC cells and gene sets enrichment analysis indicated that the MYC target gene set was significantly enriched in HCC cells overexpressing lncCSMD1-1, and lncCSMD1-1 was found to directly bind to MYC protein in the nucleus of HCC cells, which resulted in the elevation of MYC protein. Mechanistically, lncCSMD1-1 interacted with MYC protein to block its ubiquitin-proteasome degradation pathway, leading to activation of its downstream target genes. Conclusion: lncCSMD1-1 is upregulated in HCC and promotes progression of HCC by activating the MYC signaling pathway. These results provide the evidence that lncCSMD1-1 may serve as a novel prognostic marker and potential therapeutic target for HCC.
Assuntos
Carcinoma Hepatocelular/genética , Neoplasias Hepáticas/genética , Recidiva Local de Neoplasia/epidemiologia , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-myc/metabolismo , RNA Longo não Codificante/metabolismo , Carcinogênese/genética , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/mortalidade , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/secundário , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/cirurgia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Proliferação de Células/genética , Progressão da Doença , Intervalo Livre de Doença , Feminino , Seguimentos , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Hepatectomia , Humanos , Fígado/patologia , Fígado/cirurgia , Neoplasias Hepáticas/mortalidade , Neoplasias Hepáticas/patologia , Neoplasias Hepáticas/cirurgia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Recidiva Local de Neoplasia/genética , Prognóstico , Proteólise , Transdução de Sinais/genética , Regulação para Cima , Ensaios Antitumorais Modelo de XenoenxertoRESUMO
Recent studies demonstrate that immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy has achieved success in many types of advanced cancers including advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, ICI therapy is beneficial in only some HCC patients, suggesting that immune-responses are highly variable in HCCs. Therefore, understanding the immune status in HCC microenvironment will facilitate ICI immunotherapy and guide patient selection for the therapy. In this study, we first analyzed the expression profile of immune-modulating genes and their relationship with survival of HCC patients using the data downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas - Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma (TCGA-LIHC) database, and found that the higher expressions of CD276 (B7-H3) and CD47 were significantly associated with poor survival. Then we identified 4 immune subtypes of HCCs with different survivals by using the combination expression of B7-H3 (or CD47) and CD8. Patients with B7-H3low/CD8high or CD47low/CD8high have the best survival while ones with B7-H3high/CD8low or CD47high/CD8low have the worst survival. The 4 immune subtypes were validated in another 72 HCC patients obtained from South China. In conclusion, our findings suggest that HCC patient prognosis is associated with immunophenotypes by T cell infiltration (CD8 expression) and the expression of the adaptive immune resistance gene (B7-H3 or CD47), and this immune classification system will facilitate HCC patient selection for ICI immunotherapy.
Assuntos
Antígenos B7/metabolismo , Antígeno CD47/metabolismo , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/imunologia , Neoplasias Hepáticas/imunologia , Linfócitos T/metabolismo , Adulto , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/mortalidade , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/patologia , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/terapia , China/epidemiologia , Conjuntos de Dados como Assunto , Progressão da Doença , Feminino , Hepatectomia , Humanos , Imunoterapia , Estimativa de Kaplan-Meier , Fígado/imunologia , Fígado/patologia , Neoplasias Hepáticas/mortalidade , Neoplasias Hepáticas/patologia , Neoplasias Hepáticas/terapia , Linfócitos do Interstício Tumoral/imunologia , Linfócitos do Interstício Tumoral/metabolismo , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Seleção de Pacientes , Prognóstico , RNA-Seq , Estudos Retrospectivos , Linfócitos T/imunologia , Microambiente Tumoral/imunologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to be prognostic biomarkers in many types of cancer. We aimed to identify a lncRNA signature that can predict the prognosis in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). METHODS: Using a custom microarray, we retrospectively analyzed lncRNA expression profiles in 141 samples of ESCC and 81 paired non-cancer specimens from Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center (Guangzhou, China), which were used as a training cohort to identify a signature associated with clinical outcomes. Then we conducted quantitative RT-PCR in another 103 samples of ESCC from the same cancer center as an independent cohort to verify the signature. RESULTS: Microarray analysis showed that there were 338 lncRNAs significantly differentially expressed between ESCC and non-cancer esophagus tissues in the training cohort. From these differentially expressed lncRNAs, we found 16 lncRNAs associated with overall survival (OS) of ESCC patients using Cox regression analysis. Then a 7-lncRNA signature for predicting survival was identified from the 16 lncRNAs, which classified ESCC patients into high-risk and low-risk groups. Patients with high-risk have shorter OS (HR: 3.555, 95% CI 2.195-5.757, p < 0.001) and disease-free survival (DFS) (HR: 2.537, 95% CI 1.646-3.909, p < 0.001) when compared with patients with low-risk in the training cohort. In the independent cohort, the 7 lncRNAs were detected by qRT-PCR and used to compute risk score for the patients. The result indicates that patients with high risk also have significantly worse OS (HR = 2.662, 95% CI 1.588-4.464, p < 0.001) and DFS (HR 2.389, 95% CI 1.447-3.946, p < 0.001). The univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses indicate that the signature is an independent factor for predicting survival of patients with ESCC. Combination of the signature and TNM staging was more powerful in predicting OS than TNM staging alone in both the training (AUC: 0.772 vs 0.681, p = 0.002) and independent cohorts (AUC: 0.772 vs 0.660, p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The 7-lncRNA signature is a potential prognostic biomarker in patients with ESCC and may help in treatment decision when combined with the TNM staging system.
Assuntos
Neoplasias Esofágicas , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas do Esôfago , Neoplasias de Cabeça e Pescoço , RNA Longo não Codificante , Biomarcadores Tumorais/genética , China , Neoplasias Esofágicas/genética , Carcinoma de Células Escamosas do Esôfago/genética , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Prognóstico , RNA Longo não Codificante/genética , Estudos RetrospectivosRESUMO
Cancer metastasis is the main cause of death in breast cancer (BC) patients. Therefore, prediction and treatment of metastasis is critical for enhancing the survival of BC patients. In this study, we aimed to identify biomarkers that can predict metastasis of BC and elucidate the underlying mechanism of the functional involvement of such markers in metastasis. miRNA expression profile was analyzed using a custom microarray system in 422 BC tissues. The relationship between the upregulated miR-665, metastasis and survival of BC was analyzed and verified in another set of 161 BC samples. The biological function of miR-665 in BC carcinogenesis was explored with in vitro and in vivo methods. The target gene of miR-665 and its signaling cascade were also analyzed. There are 399 differentially expressed miRNAs between BC and noncancerous tissues, of which miR-665 is the most upregulated miRNA in the BC tissues compared with non-tumor breast tissues (P < 0.001). The expression of miR-665 predicts metastasis and poor survival in 422 BC patients, which is verified in another 161 BC patients and 2323 BC cases from online databases. Ectopic miR-665 expression promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), proliferation, migration and invasion of BC cells, and increases tumor growth and metastasis of BC in mice. Bioinformatics, luciferase assay and other methods showed that nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group A member 3 (NR4A3) is a target of miR-665 in BC. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that miR-665 promotes EMT, invasion and metastasis of BC via inhibiting NR4A3 to activate MAPK/ERK kinase (MEK) signaling pathway. Our study demonstrates that miR-665 upregulation is associated with metastasis and poor survival in BC patients, and mechanistically, miR-665 enhances progression of BC via NR4A3/MEK signaling pathway. This study provides a new potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for BC patients.
Assuntos
Neoplasias da Mama/metabolismo , Neoplasias da Mama/patologia , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/metabolismo , MicroRNAs/metabolismo , Proteínas do Tecido Nervoso/metabolismo , Receptores de Esteroides/metabolismo , Receptores dos Hormônios Tireóideos/metabolismo , Animais , Apoptose/genética , Apoptose/fisiologia , Neoplasias da Mama/genética , Ciclo Celular/genética , Ciclo Celular/fisiologia , Linhagem Celular , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Movimento Celular/genética , Movimento Celular/fisiologia , Proliferação de Células/genética , Proliferação de Células/fisiologia , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/genética , Transição Epitelial-Mesenquimal/genética , Transição Epitelial-Mesenquimal/fisiologia , Feminino , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica/genética , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica/fisiologia , Humanos , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos BALB C , Camundongos Nus , MicroRNAs/genética , Invasividade Neoplásica/genética , Invasividade Neoplásica/fisiopatologia , Proteínas do Tecido Nervoso/genética , Receptores de Esteroides/genética , Receptores dos Hormônios Tireóideos/genética , Transdução de Sinais/genética , Transdução de Sinais/fisiologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis is critical to reduce the mortality caused by nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are dysregulated and play important roles in carcinogenesis. Therefore, this study aimed to identify diagnostically relevant circulating miRNA signatures in patients with NPC. METHODS: Total RNA was extracted from whole blood samples obtained from 120 patients with NPC, 30 patients with head-neck tumors (HNT), and 30 healthy subjects (HSs), and examined by using a custom microarray. The expression levels of four miRNAs identified by using the microarray were validated with quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The 120 patients with NPC and 30 HSs were randomly assigned to training group-1 and validation group-1, respectively. By using significance analysis of microarray (SAM), the specific miRNA expression profiles in whole blood from patients with NPC are obtained. By using lasso regression and adaptive boosting, a diagnostic signature was identified in training group-1, and its accuracy was verified in validation group-1. By using the same methods, another signature to distinguish patients with NPC from those with HNT and HSs was identified in training group-2 and confirmed in validation group-2. RESULTS: There were 117 differentially expressed miRNAs (upregulated and downregulated fold change ≥ 1.5) between the patients with NPC and HSs, among which an 8-miRNA signature was identified with 96.43% sensitivity and 100% specificity [area under the curve (AUC) = 0.995] to diagnose NPC in training group-1 and 86.11% sensitivity and 88.89% specificity (AUC = 0.941) in validation group-1. Compared with traditional Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) seromarkers, this signature was more specific for NPC. Furthermore, a 16-miRNA signature to differentiate NPC from HNT and HS (HNT-HS) was established from 164 differentially expressed miRNAs, which diagnosed NPC and HNT-HS with 100% accuracy (AUC = 1.000) in training group-2 and 87.04% (AUC = 0.924) in validation group-2. CONCLUSIONS: The present study identified two miRNA signatures for the highly accurate diagnosis and differential diagnosis of patients with NPC from HSs and patients with HNT. The identified miRNAs might represent novel serological biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for NPC.
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Biomarcadores Tumorais , MicroRNAs/sangue , MicroRNAs/genética , Carcinoma Nasofaríngeo/diagnóstico , Neoplasias Nasofaríngeas/diagnóstico , Transcriptoma , Adulto , Idoso , Biomarcadores Tumorais/sangue , Biomarcadores Tumorais/genética , Estudos de Casos e Controles , MicroRNA Circulante/análise , MicroRNA Circulante/sangue , MicroRNA Circulante/genética , Detecção Precoce de Câncer , Feminino , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica/métodos , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Masculino , Análise em Microsséries , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Carcinoma Nasofaríngeo/sangue , Carcinoma Nasofaríngeo/genética , Neoplasias Nasofaríngeas/sangue , Neoplasias Nasofaríngeas/genéticaRESUMO
New prognostic factors are needed to establish indications for haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in first complete remission (CR1) for T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL) patients. We used microarray to compare T-LBL tissue samples (n = 75) and fetal thymus tissues (n = 20), and identified 35 differentially expressed miRNAs. Using 107 subjects as the training group, we developed a five-miRNA-based classifier to predict patient survival with LASSO Cox regression: lower risk was associated with better prognosis (disease-free survival (DFS): hazard ratio (HR) 4.548, 95% CI 2.433-8.499, p < 0.001; overall survival (OS): HR 5.030, 95% CI 2.407-10.513, p < 0.001). This classifier displayed good performance in the internal testing set (n = 106) and the independent external set (n = 304). High risk was associated with more favorable response to HSCT (DFS: HR 1.675, 95% CI 1.127-2.488, p = 0.011; OS: HR 1.602, 95% CI 1.055-2.433, p = 0.027). When combined with ECOG-PS and/or NOTCH1/FBXW7 status, this classifier had even better prognostic performance in patients receiving HSCT (DFS: HR 2.088, 95% CI 1.290-3.379, p = 0.003; OS: HR 1.996, 95% CI 1.203-3.311, p = 0.007). The five-miRNA classifier may be a useful prognostic biomarker for T-LBL adults, and could identify subjects who could benefit from HSCT.
Assuntos
MicroRNAs/genética , Leucemia-Linfoma Linfoblástico de Células Precursoras/genética , Leucemia-Linfoma Linfoblástico de Células Precursoras/patologia , Linfócitos T/metabolismo , Linfócitos T/patologia , Intervalo Livre de Doença , Feminino , Transplante de Células-Tronco Hematopoéticas/métodos , Humanos , Estimativa de Kaplan-Meier , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Prognóstico , Modelos de Riscos Proporcionais , Indução de Remissão/métodosRESUMO
Epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is known to be highly expressed in a variety of epithelial carcinomas, and it is involved in cell adhesion and proliferation. However, its expression profile and biological function in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains unclear. In this study, higher expression of EpCAM was found in NPC samples compared with non-cancer nasopharyngeal mucosa by qRT-PCR. Additionally, immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis of NPC specimens from 64 cases showed that high EpCAM expression was associated with metastasis and shorter survival. Multivariate survival analysis identified high EpCAM expression as an independent prognostic factor. Ectopic EpCAM expression in NPC cells promoted epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), induced a cancer stem cell (CSC)-like phenotype, and enhanced metastasis in vitro and in vivo without an effect on cell proliferation. Notably, EpCAM overexpression reduced PTEN expression and increased the level of AKT, mTOR, p70S6K and 4EBP1 phosphorylation. Correspondingly, an AKT inhibitor and rapamycin blocked the effect of EpCAM on NPC cell invasion and stem-like phenotypes, and siRNA targeting PTEN rescued the oncogenic activities in EpCAM knockdown NPC cells. Our data demonstrate that EpCAM regulates EMT, stemness and metastasis of NPC cells via the PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway.
Assuntos
Molécula de Adesão da Célula Epitelial/metabolismo , Carcinoma Nasofaríngeo/patologia , Neoplasias Nasofaríngeas/patologia , PTEN Fosfo-Hidrolase/metabolismo , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-akt/metabolismo , Serina-Treonina Quinases TOR/metabolismo , Proteínas Adaptadoras de Transdução de Sinal/metabolismo , Adulto , Animais , Caderinas/metabolismo , Proteínas de Ciclo Celular , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Movimento Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Molécula de Adesão da Célula Epitelial/antagonistas & inibidores , Molécula de Adesão da Célula Epitelial/genética , Transição Epitelial-Mesenquimal , Feminino , Humanos , Estimativa de Kaplan-Meier , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Nus , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Carcinoma Nasofaríngeo/metabolismo , Carcinoma Nasofaríngeo/mortalidade , Neoplasias Nasofaríngeas/metabolismo , Neoplasias Nasofaríngeas/mortalidade , PTEN Fosfo-Hidrolase/antagonistas & inibidores , PTEN Fosfo-Hidrolase/genética , Fosfoproteínas/metabolismo , Modelos de Riscos Proporcionais , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-akt/antagonistas & inibidores , Interferência de RNA , RNA Interferente Pequeno/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais/efeitos dos fármacos , Sirolimo/farmacologia , Serina-Treonina Quinases TOR/antagonistas & inibidoresRESUMO
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNAs that play critical roles in human malignancies and can be used as biomarkers for cancer. Until now, a number of biomarkers for prognosis of glioblastoma (GBM) have been reported in tumor tissues but only a few biomarkers in circulating fluid. Using a custom microarray, we previously identified 19 differentially expressed miRNAs in serum of patients with GBM. In this study, we investigated whether 3 of the 19 miRNAs in serum could be used as prognostic biomarkers for patients with GBM. We first validated the serum levels of 3 candidate miRNAs in an independent cohort of 24 GBM patients and 12 healthy volunteers by real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR), and then evaluated the prognostic value of these miRNAs in a total of 36 GBM patients. The results show that the serum levels of the 3 miRNAs (miR-451a, miR-485-3p and miR-4298) determined by qRT-PCR are significantly different between 24 GBM patients and 12 healthy volunteers (all P <0.05) and are in concordance with the results of microarray analysis. High serum level of miR-451a is correlated with positive tumor O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) expression (P = 0.040). Survival analysis showed that low serum miR-485-3p level is associated with poor progression-free survival (PFS) (P < 0.004) and overall survival (OS) (P < 0.023). Furthermore, univariate and multivariate Cox analyses demonstrated that that serum miR-485-3p expression is a significant independent prognostic factor for PFS and OS in GBM patients. In conclusion, serum miR-485-3p level is reduced and might be a potential prognostic biomarker in GBM patients.
Assuntos
Biomarcadores Tumorais/genética , Neoplasias Encefálicas/mortalidade , Glioblastoma/mortalidade , MicroRNAs/genética , Adolescente , Adulto , Idoso , Biomarcadores Tumorais/sangue , Neoplasias Encefálicas/sangue , Neoplasias Encefálicas/genética , Neoplasias Encefálicas/patologia , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Terapia Combinada , Metilases de Modificação do DNA/sangue , Enzimas Reparadoras do DNA/sangue , Feminino , Seguimentos , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Glioblastoma/sangue , Glioblastoma/genética , Glioblastoma/patologia , Humanos , Masculino , MicroRNAs/sangue , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estadiamento de Neoplasias , Prognóstico , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase em Tempo Real , Taxa de Sobrevida , Proteínas Supressoras de Tumor/sangue , Adulto JovemRESUMO
p53R2 is a p53-inducible ribonucleotide reductase subunit involved in deoxyribonucleotide biosynthesis and DNA repair. Although p53R2 has been linked to human cancer, its role in cervical cancer remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the expression and clinical significance of p53R2 in early-stage cervical cancer. p53R2 expression is significantly upregulated at both mRNA and protein levels in cervical cancer cells and tissues, compared with that in matched normal cervical cells and tissues, respectively. p53R2 overexpression is associated with increased risk of pelvic lymph node metastasis (PLNM, p = 0.001) and cancer relapse (p = 0.009). Patients with high p53R2 expression have a shorter overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). p53R2 is an independent factor for predicting OS and DFS of cervical cancer patients. We further show that p53R2 is important for oncogenic growth, migration and invasion in cervical cancer cells. Mechanistically, p53R2 promotes Akt signaling and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In conclusion, our study demonstrates for the first time that p53R2 protein is overexpressed in early-stage cervical cancer and unravels some unconventional oncogenic functions of p53R2. p53R2 may be a useful prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for cervical cancer.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Ciclo Celular/metabolismo , Progressão da Doença , Transição Epitelial-Mesenquimal , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-akt/metabolismo , Ribonucleotídeo Redutases/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/metabolismo , Neoplasias do Colo do Útero/patologia , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Movimento Celular/genética , Proliferação de Células/genética , Regulação para Baixo/genética , Transição Epitelial-Mesenquimal/genética , Feminino , Regulação Neoplásica da Expressão Gênica , Humanos , Imuno-Histoquímica , Estimativa de Kaplan-Meier , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Análise Multivariada , Invasividade Neoplásica , Metástase Neoplásica , Prognóstico , Análise de SobrevidaRESUMO
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common cancer with very poor survival due to lack of reliable biomarker for early diagnosis. In this study, we investigated microRNA (miRNA) profile of whole blood with a custom microarray containing probes for 1849 miRNA species in a total 213 successive subjects who were divided into a discovery set and a validation set. An 88-miRNA signature was established to diagnose health controls (HC), chronic hepatitis B (CHB), liver cirrhosis (LC) and HCC with 100% accuracy in the discovery set using Fisher discriminant analysis. This diagnostic signature was confirmed in the validation set with accuracy rates of 100%, 95.2%, 93.7% and 98.4% for HC, CHB, LC and HCC patients, respectively. Compared with AFP, the only available non-invasive and routinely used biomarker for diagnosis of HCC, the 88-miRNA signature has much higher accuracy (99.5% vs 76.5%), sensitivity (100% vs 63.8%), and specificity (99.2% vs 84.2%). More importantly, the signature detects small HCCs (<3cm) with 100% (17/17) accuracy while AFP has only 64.7% (11/17). In conclusion, we have identified a powerful and sensitive blood 88-miRNA signature for diagnosing early HCC and other chronic liver diseases (CHB and LC) with a high accuracy.
Assuntos
Carcinoma Hepatocelular/diagnóstico , Detecção Precoce de Câncer/métodos , Hepatite B Crônica/diagnóstico , Neoplasias Hepáticas/diagnóstico , MicroRNAs/sangue , Biomarcadores Tumorais/sangue , Carcinoma Hepatocelular/metabolismo , Feminino , Humanos , Cirrose Hepática/diagnóstico , Neoplasias Hepáticas/metabolismo , Masculino , MicroRNAs/metabolismo , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Sensibilidade e EspecificidadeRESUMO
Lung cancer is the most frequent cause of mortality in cancer patients; non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for ~80% of lung cancer cases. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been revealed to perform an important role in cancer development and progression. Based on a custom miRNA microarray analysis of patients with NSCLC, miRNA-615-3p (miR-615-3p) downregulation was identified in NSCLC tissues compared with normal lung tissues, which suggested that miR-615-3p acted as a tumor suppressor in lung cancer. The overexpression of miR-615-3p was then validated using 40 pairs of NSCLC and adjacent normal tissue samples using a TaqMan reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay. In order to investigate the tumor suppressor function of miR-615-3p, the ectopic expression of miR-615-3p in the NSCLC A549, H1299 and H1650 cell lines was established. The results revealed that overexpressed miR-615-3p markedly inhibited cell proliferation and colony formation in the 3 NSCLC cell lines compared with the cells overexpressing the negative control sequence (NC). Additional investigation revealed that miR-615-3p overexpression significantly induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at the G1 phase in the A549, H1299 and H1650 cell lines compared with the cells overexpressing NC. Finally, ectopic expression of miR-615-3p was found to repress the cell migration and invasion of the 3 lung cancer cell lines. The results of the present study demonstrate, for the first time, that miR-615-3p functions as a tumor suppressor in NSCLC, and may be a novel potential molecular therapeutic target for patients with NSCLC.
RESUMO
Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) is a secreted protein that highly expressed in a variety of cancers and contributes to cell proliferation, migration, invasiveness, mobility, metastasis and EMT. However, its clinical significance and biological function in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remain unknown up to now. Up-regulation of BMP2 was first observed in NPC cell lines by a genome-wide transcriptome analysis in our previous study. In this study, BMP2 mRNA was detected by qRT-PCR and data showed that it was upregulated in NPC compared with non-cancerous nasopharynx samples. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis in NPC specimens revealed that high BMP2 expression was significantly associated with clinical stage, distant metastasis and shorter survival of NPC patients. Moreover, overexpression of BMP2 in NPC cells promoted cell proliferation, migration, invasiveness and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Mechanistically, BMP2 overexpression increase phosphorylated protein level of mTOR, S6K and 4EBP1. Correspondingly, mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin blocked the effect of BMP2 on NPC cell proliferation and invasion. In conclusion, our results suggest that BMP2 overexpression in NPC enhances proliferation, invasion and EMT of tumor cells through the mTORC1 signaling pathway.