Mechanisms of inactivation of the tumour suppressor gene RHOA in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Reduced RHOA signalling has been shown to increase the growth/metastatic potential of colorectal tumours. However, the mechanisms of inactivation of RHOA signalling in colon cancer have not been characterised. METHODS: A panel of colorectal cancer cell lines and large cohorts of primary tumours were used to investigate the expression and activity of RHOA, as well as the presence of RHOA mutations/deletions and promoter methylation affecting RHOA. Changes in RHOA expression were assessed by western blotting and qPCR after modulation of microRNAs, SMAD4 and c-MYC. RESULTS: We show here that RHOA point mutations and promoter hypermethylation do not significantly contribute to the large variability of RHOA expression observed among colorectal tumours. However, RHOA copy number loss was observed in 16% of colorectal tumours and this was associated with reduced RHOA expression. Moreover, we show that miR-200a/b/429 downregulates RHOA in colorectal cancer cells. In addition, we found that TGF-ß/SMAD4 upregulates the RHOA promoter. Conversely, RHOA expression is transcriptionally downregulated by canonical Wnt signalling through the Wnt target gene c-MYC that interferes with the binding of SP1 to the RHOA promoter in colon cancer cells. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate a complex pattern of inactivation of the tumour suppressor gene RHOA in colon cancer cells through genetic, transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms.

Aerobic Training Increases Expression Levels of SIRT3 and PGC-1α in Skeletal Muscle of Overweight Adolescents Without Change in Caloric Intake.

Sirtuin 3 enzyme (SIRT3) is involved in the regulation of mitochondrial energy homeostasis by activating Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator (PGC-1α). Murine models have shown that the protein SIRT3 was modified by exercise and diet, however, the effect of exercise without diet in humans has not been examined. Propose of this paper was to analyze the effect of aerobic training on SIRT3 and PGC-1α in skeletal muscle of overweight adolescents without change in caloric intake. Fourteen overweight or obese male adolescents (15.5 ± 0.8 years) trained 3 days-week/50 min × session, at 70-80% of maximal heart rate for 12 weeks. Anthropometrics and skeletal muscle biopsies from the vastus lateralis were taken before and after the exercise program to measure adiposity, SIRT3, and PGC-1α proteins. Peak aerobic capacity (VO2peak) was estimated before and after training. The participants did not change their eating habits during the intervention. SIRT3 (1.05 ± 0.11 vs. 1.25 ± 0.14 AU, p = .014) and PGC-1a (1.06 ± 0.15 Vs 1.39 ± 0.20 AU, p = .009) increased. Fat percentage and waist circumference decreased (p < .05). VO2peak increased after training (p < .001). There was a significant association between SIRT3 and PGC-1α after training program. These data suggest that aerobic training increased SIRT3 and PGC-1a expression levels in sedentary, overweight, or obese adolescents.

A PPARγ, NF-κB and AMPK-dependent mechanism may be involved in the beneficial effects of curcumin in the diabetic db/db mice liver.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family which has been used to treat biliary disorders, anorexia, cough, rheumatism, cancer, sinusitis, hepatic disorders, hyperglycemia, obesity, and diabetes in both Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Suggested mechanisms of action include the modulation of signal transduction cascades and effects on gene expression, however they remain to be elucidated. In this study, the expression of some proteins responsible for transcription factors, inflammation, and metabolic control were evaluated by western blot in 15-week-old db/db mice livers treated with curcumin 0.75% mixed in their diet for 8 weeks. In addition, nitrosative stress was evaluated. Curcumin increased the expression of AMPK and PPARγ, and diminished NF-κB protein in db/db mice. However, it did not modify the expression of PGC-1α or SIRT1. Nitrosative stress present in db/db mice livers was determined by a unique nitrotyrosylated protein band (75 kDa) and was not reverted with curcumin. In conclusion, curcumin regulates the expression of AMPK, PPARγ, and NF-κB; suggesting a beneficial effect for treatment of T2DM complications. In order to observe best beneficial effects it is desirable to administer curcumin in the earlier states of T2DM.

[Contributions of proteomics in the study of diabetes]. / Aportaciones de la proteómica en el estudio de la diabetes.

The incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) is growing rapidly due to aging, urbanization, changes in lifestyle, and increasing prevalence of obesity. In T2D, chronic hyperglycemia leads to macro and micro vascular complications, which currently are serious problem for health systems worldwide. The complexity of T2D and its complications requires study skills of high performance that provide important information in the understanding of the pathophysiology of the disease and biological pathways involved in development of T2D and its complications. In this work we describe the recent contributions of proteomics in the study of T2D and discuss its importance in the identification of therapeutic targets and biomarkers that help to improve the diagnosis of T2D, monitor the disease progression, and the development of new drugs to improve treatment and reduce its complications.

Investigation of the role of tyrosine kinase receptor EPHA3 in colorectal cancer.

EPH signaling deregulation has been shown to be important for colorectal carcinogenesis and genome-wide sequencing efforts have identified EPHA3 as one of the most frequently mutated genes in these tumors. However, the role of EPHA3 in colorectal cancer has not been thoroughly investigated. We show here that ectopic expression of wild type EPHA3 in colon cancer cells did not affect their growth, motility/invasion or metastatic potential in vivo. Moreover, overexpression of mutant EPHA3 or deletion of the endogenous mutant EPHA3 in colon cancer cells did not affect their growth or motility. EPHA3 inactivation in mice did not initiate the tumorigenic process in their intestine, and had no effects on tumor size/multiplicity after tumor initiation either genetically or pharmacologically. In addition, immunohistochemical analysis of EPHA3 tumor levels did not reveal associations with survival or clinicopathological features of colorectal cancer patients. In conclusion, we show that EPHA3 does not play a major role in colorectal tumorigenesis. These results significantly contribute to our understanding of the role of EPH signaling during colorectal carcinogenesis, and highlighting the need for detailed functional studies to confirm the relevance of putative cancer driver genes identified in sequencing efforts of the cancer genome.

Loss of the EPH receptor B6 contributes to colorectal cancer metastasis.

Although deregulation of EPHB signaling has been shown to be an important step in colorectal tumorigenesis, the role of EPHB6 in this process has not been investigated. We found here that manipulation of EPHB6 levels in colon cancer cell lines has no effect on their motility and growth on a solid substrate, soft agar or in a xenograft mouse model. We then used an EphB6 knockout mouse model to show that EphB6 inactivation does not efficiently initiate tumorigenesis in the intestinal tract. In addition, when intestinal tumors are initiated genetically or pharmacologically in EphB6+/+ and EphB6-/- mice, no differences were observed in animal survival, tumor multiplicity, size or histology, and proliferation of intestinal epithelial cells or tumor cells. However, reintroduction of EPHB6 into colon cancer cells significantly reduced the number of lung metastasis after tail-vein injection in immunodeficient mice, while EPHB6 knockdown in EPHB6-expressing cells increased their metastatic spread. Consistently, although EPHB6 protein expression in a series of 130 primary colorectal tumors was not associated with patient survival, EPHB6 expression was significantly lower in lymph node metastases compared to primary tumors. Our results indicate that the loss of EPHB6 contributes to the metastatic process of colorectal cancer.