Aiphanol, a multi-targeting stilbenolignan, potently suppresses mouse lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic metastasis.

The high incidence of lymphatic metastasis is closely related to poor prognosis and mortality in cancers. Potent inhibitors to prevent pathological lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic spread are urgently needed. The VEGF-C-VEGFR3 pathway plays a vital role in driving lymphangiogenesis and lymph node metastasis. In addition, COX2 in tumor cells and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) facilitates lymphangiogenesis. We recently reported that aiphanol, a natural stilbenolignan, attenuates tumor angiogenesis by repressing VEGFR2 and COX2. In this study, we evaluated the antilymphangiogenic and antimetastatic potency of aiphanol using in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo systems. We first demonstrated that aiphanol directly bound to VEGFR3 and blocked its kinase activity with an half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) value of 0.29 µM in an in vitro ADP-GloTM kinase assay. Furthermore, we showed that aiphanol (7.5-30 µM) dose-dependently counteracted VEGF-C-induced proliferation, migration and tubular formation of lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs), which was further verified in vivo. VEGFR3 knockdown markedly mitigated the inhibitory potency of aiphanol on lymphangiogenesis. In 4T1-luc breast tumor-bearing mice, oral administration of aiphanol (5 and 30 mg· kg-1 ·d-1) dose-dependently decreased lymphatic metastasis and prolonged survival time, which was associated with impaired lymphangiogenesis, angiogenesis and, interestingly, macrophage infiltration. In addition, we found that aiphanol decreased the COX2-dependent secretion of PGE2 and VEGF-C from tumor cells and macrophages. These results demonstrate that aiphanol is an appealing agent for preventing lymphangiogenesis and lymphatic dissemination by synergistically targeting VEGFR3 and inhibiting the COX2-PGE2-VEGF-C signaling axis.

A multi-targeting natural product, aiphanol, inhibits tumor growth and metastasis.

Cancer is one of the main causes of death in humans worldwide, the development of more effective anticancer drugs that can inhibit the malignant progression of cancer cells is of great significance. Aiphanol is a natural product identified from the seeds of Arecaceae and the rhizome of Smilax glabra Roxb. Our preliminary studies revealed that it had potential antiangiogenic and antilymphangiogenic activity by directly targeting VEGFR2/3 and COX2 in endothelial cells. However, the influence of aiphanol on cancer cells per se remains largely undefined. In this study, the effects and related mechanisms of aiphanol on cancer growth and metastasis were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Acute toxicity assay and pharmacokinetic analysis were utilized to investigate the safety profile and metabolism characteristics of aiphanol. We revealed that aiphanol inhibited the proliferation of various types of cancer cells and the growth of xenograft tumors in mice and zebrafish models. The possible mechanism was associated with the inactivation of multiple kinases, including FAK, AKT and ERK, and the upregulation of BAX and cleaved caspase-3 to promote cancer cell apoptosis. Aiphanol significantly inhibited cancer cell migration and invasion, which was related to the inhibition of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and F-actin aggregation. Aiphanol effectively attenuated the metastasis of several types of cancer cells in vivo. In addition, aiphanol exerted no significant toxicity and had fast metabolism. Collectively, we demonstrated the anticancer effects of aiphanol and suggested that aiphanol has potential as a safe and effective therapeutic agent to treat cancer.

Combined expression of metastasis related markers Naa10p, SNCG and PRL-3 and its prognostic value in breast cancer patients.

Combinations of multiple biomarkers representing distinct aspects of metastasis may have better prognostic value for breast cancer patients, especially those in late stages. In this study, we evaluated the protein levels of N-α-acetyltransferase 10 protein (Naa10p), synuclein-γ (SNCG), and phosphatase of regenerating liver-3 (PRL-3) in 365 patients with breast cancer by immunohistochemistry. Distinct prognostic subgroups of breast cancer were identified by combination of the three biomarkers. The Naa10p+SNCG-PRL-3- subgroup showed best prognosis with a median distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) of 140 months, while the Naa10p-SNCG+PRL-3+ subgroup had the worst prognosis with a median DMFS of 60.5 months. Multivariate analysis indicated Naa10p, SNCG, PRL-3, and the TNM classification were all independent prognostic factors for both DMFS and overall survival (OS). The three biomarker combination of Naa10p, SNCG and PRL-3 performed better in patients with lymph node metastasis, especially those with more advanced tumors than other subgroups. In conclusion, the combined expression profile of Naa10p, SNCG and PRL-3, alone or in combination with the TNM classification system, may provide a precise estimate of prognosis of breast cancer patients.

[Establishment of drug resistant cell line of MGC-803 and analysis of differential secretome].

OBJECTIVE: To identify chemoresistance-associated secretory proteins by proteomic approaches, and to provide the basis for selecting suitable chemotherapy in gastric cancer treatment. METHODS: Drug resistant cell lines were established by gradient drug treatment with MGC-803 gastric cancer cells. The secreted proteins of MGC-803 parental and resistant cells were collected from the conditional medium without serum and separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE).The proteins were analyzed by PD Quest 7.1.0 software and identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Real-time RT-PCR was performed to confirm the difference of expression on the mRNA level. RESULTS: The 5-fluorouracil (5FU), paclitaxel (TA) and cisplatin (DDP)-resistant gastric cancer cell lines with the resistance indexes of 110.6, 70.0 and 13.3 respectively, were established successfully. DDP-resistant cells had strong cross-resistance to 5FU and TA, and the resistance indexes were 23.5 and 114.0. 5FU-resistant cells also had strong cross-resistance to TA with the resistance index 70.0. The 2-DE patterns of protein component spectra from the conditional medium were obtained with 18 proteins whose abundances were increased in all chemoresistance cells for more than 2-fold, 13 of which were identified by mass spectrometry, including protease and proteins involved in signal transduction. Compared with the parental cell MGC-803, SLMAP, TOP3A, DYNC1H1, RHPN1, PUF60 and SIAH1 were significantly up-regulated in three drug resistant cells, IFT172 and FILIP were up-regulated in 5FU-resistant and TA-resistant cells, PLVAP and LMNA were up-regulated in TA- and DDP-resistant cells. Further validation revealed that SIAH1 protein was enriched in cell lysates and the conditional medium from all the drug resistant cells. CONCLUSION: By establishing the 5FU-,TA- and DDP-resistant gastric cancer cell lines and assisted by 2-DE and mass spectrometry, we demonstrated the different secretory protein profiling and found that SIAH1 had significantly increased in both cell lysates and the conditional medium of the drug-resistant cells, which are potential candidates for developing chemoresistance markers in sera from gastric cancer patients.

HIWI expression profile in cancer cells and its prognostic value for patients with colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: HIWI is a member of PIWI gene family and its expression is found in various tumors, indicating that it may play a pivotal role in tumor development. This study was designated to examine HIWI protein expression profile in several cancer cell lines and its prognostic value for patients with colorectal cancer. METHODS: Totally 270 patients who underwent surgical resection of primary colorectal cancer between January 1999 and December 2002 with a median follow-up time of 33 months were registered in the study. Formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens from these patients and 236 matched adjacent non-cancerous normal colorectal tissues were collected. Anti-HIWI monoclonal antibodies were generated and used for evaluating HIWI protein expression. χ(2) tests were conducted to determine the association between HIWI expression and the other variables. Survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by the log-rank test. Multivariate analysis was performed by using the Cox regression model. RESULTS: By generating antibodies specific for HIWI, we examined HIWI protein expression in several cancer cell lines and demonstrated positive expression of HIWI in 69 out of 270 (25.6%) colorectal cancer tissues; 15 of 236 (6.4%) matched adjacent non-cancerous tissues were also positive for HIWI. Patients with positive HIWI expression in adjacent non-cancerous tissue had statistically lower overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) compared with negative patients (OS: 10.4% vs. 55.5%, P = 0.009; DFS: 10.4% vs. 55.1%, P = 0.015). For early stage group (stages I and II), patients with positive HIWI expression had significantly lower OS and DFS (OS: 57.4% vs. 79.5%, P = 0.014; DFS: 56.7% vs. 80.5%, P = 0.010). In lymph node negative group, patients with positive HIWI expression had statistically lower OS and DFS (OS: 53.0% vs. 73.5%, P = 0.037; DFS: 52.2% vs. 74.6%, P = 0.025). Multivariate analysis revealed that HIWI over-expression was a significant prognostic factor for OS (95%CI: 1.132 - 2.479, P = 0.010). CONCLUSION: HIWI could be a potential prognostic biomarker for the patients with colorectal cancer, especially for those at early stages or without lymph node metastasis.

[Construction and expression of PRL-3 plasmid with C104S point mutation and CAAX deletion].

OBJECTIVE: To construct PRL-3 gene C104S point mutation and CAAX deletion mutants: pcDNA3-myc-PRL-3 (C104S), pEGFP-PRL-3 (C104S), pcDNA3-myc-PRL-3 (DeltaCAAX) and pEGFP-PRL-3 (DeltaCAAX), and express these plasmids in eukaryotic cells. METHODS: Recombinant plasmids were mutated with pcDNA3-myc-PRL-3 plasmid as template and specific primers. Mutants were identified by restriction enzyme digestion and DNA sequencing. Then these recombinant plasmids were transfected into LoVo cells. The expression of fusion proteins were detected by western blotting and the localization of fusion proteins were examined by GPF fluorescence labelling. RESULTS: The mutants were successfully constructed and expressed in eukaryotic cells. PRL-3 (DeltaCAAX) relocates from plasma membrane/early endosome to the cytoplasm and/or nucleus, which provides a structural insight of PRL-3 protein. CONCLUSION: Construction of eukaryotic expression recombinant plasmids of PRL-3 gene C104S point mutation and CAAX deletion mutants provide a useful tool for the study of PRL-3's role in cancer.

The eIF2alpha kinases PERK and PKR activate glycogen synthase kinase 3 to promote the proteasomal degradation of p53.

Phosphorylation of eukaryotic initiation factor 2alpha (eIF2alpha) is mediated by a family of kinases that respond to various forms of environmental stress. The eIF2alpha kinases are critical for mRNA translation, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. Activation of the tumor suppressor p53 results in cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in response to various types of stress. We previously showed that, unlike the majority of stress responses that stabilize and activate p53, induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress leads to p53 degradation through an Mdm2-dependent mechanism. Here, we demonstrate that the endoplasmic reticulum-resident eIF2alpha kinase PERK mediates the proteasomal degradation of p53 independently of translational control. This role is not specific for PERK, because the eIF2alpha kinase PKR also promotes p53 degradation in response to double-stranded RNA. We further establish that the eIF2alpha kinases induce glycogen synthase kinase 3 to promote the nuclear export and proteasomal degradation of p53. Our findings reveal a novel cross-talk between the eIF2alpha kinases and p53 with implications in cell proliferation and tumorigenesis.

Interferons induce tyrosine phosphorylation of the eIF2alpha kinase PKR through activation of Jak1 and Tyk2.

The interferon (IFN)-inducible, double-stranded RNA activated protein kinase (PKR) is a dual-specificity kinase, which has an essential role in the regulation of protein synthesis by phosphorylating the translation eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2). Here, we show the tyrosine (Tyr) phosphorylation of PKR in response to type I or type II IFNs. We show that PKR physically interacts with either Jak1 or Tyk2 in unstimulated cells and that these interactions are increased in IFN-treated cells. We also show that PKR acts as a substrate of activated Jaks, and is phosphorylated at Tyr 101 and Tyr 293 both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, we provide strong evidence that both the induction of eIF2alpha phosphorylation and inhibition of protein synthesis by IFN are impaired in cells lacking Jak1 or Tyk2, which corresponds to a lack of induction of PKR tyrosine phosphorylation. We conclude that PKR tyrosine phosphorylation provides an important link between IFN signalling and translational control through the regulation of eIF2alpha phosphorylation.

Critical role for Daxx in regulating Mdm2.

The tumour suppressor p53 induces apoptosis or cell-cycle arrest in response to genotoxic and other stresses. In unstressed cells, the anti-proliferative effects of p53 are restrained by mouse double minute 2 (Mdm2), a ubiquitin ligase (E3) that promotes p53 ubiquitination and degradation. Mdm2 also mediates its own degradation through auto-ubiquitination. It is unclear how the cis- and trans-E3 activities of Mdm2, which have opposing effects on cell fate, are differentially regulated. Here, we show that death domain-associated protein (Daxx) is required for Mdm2 stability. Downregulation of Daxx decreases Mdm2 levels, whereas overexpression of Daxx strongly stabilizes Mdm2. Daxx simultaneously binds to Mdm2 and the deubiquitinase Hausp, and it mediates the stabilizing effect of Hausp on Mdm2. In addition, Daxx enhances the intrinsic E3 activity of Mdm2 towards p53. On DNA damage, Daxx dissociates from Mdm2, which correlates with Mdm2 self-degradation. These findings reveal that Daxx modulates the function of Mdm2 at multiple levels and suggest that the disruption of the Mdm2-Daxx interaction may be important for p53 activation in response to DNA damage.

Tyrosine phosphorylation acts as a molecular switch to full-scale activation of the eIF2alpha RNA-dependent protein kinase.

Phosphorylation of the alpha-subunit of translation eukaryotic initiation factor-2 (eIF2) leads to the inhibition of protein synthesis in response to diverse conditions of stress. Serine/threonine RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) is an eIF2alpha kinase family member induced by type I IFN and activated in response to dsRNA or virus infection. Herein, we demonstrate that human PKR is a dual specificity kinase phosphorylated at Y101, Y162 and Y293 in vitro and in vivo. Site-specific tyrosine phosphorylation is essential for efficient dsRNA-binding, dimerization, kinase activation and eIF2alpha phosphorylation of PKR. Biologically, tyrosine phosphorylation of PKR mediates the antiviral and antiproliferative properties of the kinase through its ability to control translation. Our data demonstrate an important role of tyrosine phosphorylation in biochemical and biological processes caused or mediated by the activation of the eIF2alpha kinase PKR.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress accelerates p53 degradation by the cooperative actions of Hdm2 and glycogen synthase kinase 3beta.

Inactivation of the tumor suppressor p53 by degradation is a mechanism utilized by cells to adapt to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. However, the mechanisms of p53 destabilization by ER stress are not known. We demonstrate here that the E3 ubiquitin-ligase Hdm2 is essential for the nucleocytoplasmic transport and proteasome-dependent degradation of p53 in ER-stressed cells. We also demonstrate that p53 phosphorylation at S315 and S376 is required for its nuclear export and degradation by Hdm2 without interfering with the ubiquitylation process. Furthermore, we show that p53 destabilization in unstressed cells utilizes the cooperative action of Hdm2 and glycogen synthase kinase 3beta, a process that is enhanced in cells exposed to ER stress. In contrast to other stress pathways that stabilize p53, our findings further substantiate a negative role of ER stress in p53 activation with important implications for the function of the tumor suppressor in cells with a dysfunctional ER.

Resistance to vesicular stomatitis virus infection requires a functional cross talk between the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2alpha kinases PERK and PKR.

Phosphorylation of the alpha (alpha) subunit of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 (eIF2) leads to the inhibition of protein synthesis in response to diverse stress conditions, including viral infection. The eIF2alpha kinase PKR has been shown to play an essential role against vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) infection. We demonstrate here that another eIF2alpha kinase, the endoplasmic reticulum-resident protein kinase PERK, contributes to cellular resistance to VSV infection. We demonstrate that mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) from PERK(-/-) mice are more susceptible to VSV-mediated apoptosis than PERK(+/+) MEFs. The higher replication capacity of VSV in PERK(-/-) MEFs results from their inability to attenuate viral protein synthesis due to an impaired eIF2alpha phosphorylation. We also show that VSV-infected PERK(-/-) MEFs are unable to fully activate PKR, suggesting a cross talk between the two eIF2alpha kinases in virus-infected cells. These findings further implicate PERK in virus infection, and provide evidence that the antiviral and antiapoptotic roles of PERK are mediated, at least in part, via the activation of PKR.

Induction of p53-dependent apoptosis in HCT116 tumor cells by RNA viruses and possible implications in virus-mediated oncolysis.

Recent findings showed that type I interferons (IFN-alpha/beta) induce the transcription of tumor suppressor p53 and sensitize primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) to p53-mediated apoptosis by oncolytic viruses. However, the ability of RNA viruses to induce a p53-mediated apoptotic response may differ between primary and tumor cells and may be dependent upon the virus type. We have investigated this hypothesis by analyzing the apoptotic effects of various oncolytic viruses on the human colon carcinoma HCT116 cells and their derivatives lacking either p53 or bax gene. We show that HCT116 cells are resistant to the apoptotic effects of vesicular stomatitis virus, reovirus or poliovirus but activate the p53/Bax apoptotic pathway after infection with Sendai virus. These data substantiate the role of p53 in virus-mediated apoptosis and show that, unlike primary cells, tumor cells may be more selective in the activation of p53 pathway in response to the infection with specific types of viruses.

Studies on specific interaction of beta-2-glycoprotein I with HBsAg.

AIM: To observe the binding activity of beta-2-glycoprotein I(beta(2)GPI) to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and the possible roles of beta(2)GPI in hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. METHODS: The rationale of ELISA methods and ELISA-based research method and ligand-blotting technique were used to detect the specific interaction of beta(2)GPI with HBsAg. RESULTS: With the increase of rHBsAg, the binding of beta(2)GPI to rHBsAg elevated, and these changes had statistic significance. When we added non- biotinlyated beta(2)GPI, the OD value significantly decreased though they still were positively relevant to rHBsAg, suggesting non- biotinlyated beta(2)GPI competed with biotinlyated beta(2)GPI to saturate the binding sites on rHBsAg. Meanwhile BSA was used as negative control to substitute for rHBsAg coating the plates. The results indicated no interaction between beta(2)GPI and BSA, suggesting the affinity of beta(2)GPI to rHBsAg was specific. The ligand blotling indicated that beta(2)GPI might bind to rHBsAg no matter whether it was under reduced condition or not. CONCLUSION: The binding of beta(2)GPI to HBsAg suggests that beta(2)GPI may be a carrier of HBV and that beta(2)GPI may play important roles in HBV infection.

Protein kinase inhibitor 2-aminopurine overrides multiple genotoxic stress-induced cellular pathways to promote cell survival.

2-Aminopurine (2-AP) is an adenine analog shown to cause cells to bypass chemical- and radiation-induced cell cycle arrest through as-yet unidentified mechanisms. 2-AP has also been shown to act as a kinase inhibitor. Tumor suppressor p53 plays an important role in the control of cell cycle and apoptosis in response to genotoxic stress. We were interested in examining the effect of 2-AP on p53 phosphorylation and its possible consequences on checkpoint control in cells subjected to various forms of DNA damage. Here, we show that 2-AP suppresses p53 phosphorylation in response to gamma radiation, adriamycin, or ultraviolet treatment. This is partly explained by the ability of the kinase inhibitor to inhibit ATM or ATR activities in vitro and impair ATM- or ATR-dependent p53 phosphorylation in vivo. However, 2-AP is also capable of inhibiting p53 phosphorylation in cells deficient in ATM, DNA-PK, or ATR suggesting the existence of multiple pathways by which this kinase inhibitor modulates p53 activation. Biologically, the 2-AP-mediated inhibition of p53 stabilization enables wild-type p53-containing cells to bypass adriamycin-induced G(2)/M arrest. In the long term, however, 2-AP facilitates cells to resist DNA damage-induced cell death independently of p53.