Cinnamic acid inhibits cell viability, invasion, and glycolysis in primary endometrial stromal cells by suppressing NF-κB-induced transcription of PKM2.

BACKGROUND:   Endometriosis is a painful disorder characterized by the growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity. Here, we investigated the effects of the cinnamic acid isolated from the Chinese medicinal plant Cinnamomum cassia Presl on primary endometrial stromal cells. METHODS:   Immunohistochemistry was used to examine protein expression and cell purity. Quantitative RT-PCR was conducted to assess mRNA expression, and Western blot was performed to determine protein level. Cell viability was assessed using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Glycolysis and mitochondrial function were evaluated by measuring the extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) and the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) of cells, respectively. Lastly, plasmid transfection and inhibitor treatment were used for overexpression and inhibition studies. RESULTS: Cinnamic acid inhibited cell viability and cell invasion, as well as decreased ECAR and OCR, in primary endometrial stromal cells. Cinnamic acid suppressed the effects of PKM2 overexpression, and inhibition of PKM2 using Compound 3k mimicked the effects of cinnamic acid. Treatment with Compound 3k and cinnamic acid did not lead to additive effects, but rather displayed effects similar to those of Compound 3k alone, suggesting that cinnamic acid elicits its effects on primary endometrial stromal cells by targeting PKM2. CONCLUSIONS:   Our study identified cinnamic acid as a novel compound from Cinnamomum cassia Presl that displays potent effects on primary endometrial stromal cell viability, invasion, and glycolysis, suggesting its potential use for endometriosis treatment.

lncRNA HAND2-AS1 overexpression inhibits cancer cell proliferation in hepatocellular carcinoma by downregulating RUNX2 expression.

BACKGROUND: The long non-coding RNA HAND2 antisense RNA 1 (HAND2-AS1) acts as a tumor suppressor in several malignancies, but its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown. In this study, we aimed to investigate the function of HAND2-AS1 in HCC. METHODS: The expression levels of HAND2-AS1 and runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) were determined in patients with HCC and HCC cell lines using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses. Cell proliferation was determined using Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, and the correlation between HAND2-AS1 and RUNX2 expression was also investigated. RESULTS: The plasma level of HAND2-AS1 was downregulated and that of RUNX2 was upregulated in patients with early-stage HCC compared with those in healthy controls. No significant differences in the plasma levels of HAND2-AS1 and RUNX2 were found among hepatitis B virus (HBV)-positive, hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive, and HBV- and HCV-negative patients with HCC. The plasma levels of HAND2-AS1 and RUNX2 were inversely correlated in the patient groups but not in the control group. HAND2-AS1 overexpression led to the downregulation of RUNX2 expression in human HCC cells, whereas RUNX2 failed to significantly affect HAND2-AS1 expression. HAND2-AS1 overexpression inhibited and RUNX2 overexpression promoted the proliferation of HCC cells. RUNX2 overexpression attenuated the inhibitory effects of HAND2-AS1 overexpression on cancer cell proliferation. CONCLUSION: HAND2-AS1 overexpression inhibits cancer cell proliferation in HCC by downregulating RUNX2 expression.

[T Cell Factor 4, beta-catenin and SFRP1 Expression of Wnt Signaling Pathway in Colorectal Carcinoma and the Prognosis].

Abnormal activation of Wnt signaling pathway is closely related to the occurrence of tumor, and T cell factor 4 (Tcf4 ) and beta-catenin are important signal transmission factors of this pathway. The aim of the present study is to explore the significance and correlation between expression of Tcf4, beta-catenin and secreted frizzled related protein 1(SFRP1), suppressor gene of Wnt signaling pathway, in colorectal carcinoma and their correlations to the clinicopathological factors. The expressions of Tcf4, beta-catenin and SFRP1 were performed with immunohistochemistry staining in 97 cases of primary colorectal carcinoma and 40 cases of normal colorectal mucosa tissues. The results showed that the abnormal expression rates of Tcf4 and beta-catenin in colorectal carcinoma were significantly higher than those in the control groups (P<0.01). The positive rate of SFRP1 was significantly lower than those in the control groups (P<0.01). The abnormal expression rates of Tcf4 and beta-catenin were also related to the lymph node metastasis and Dukes stage (P<0.05). A significant correlation was found between the expressions of SFRP1 and Tcf4, beta-catenin (P<0.05). Overexpression of Tcf4 and beta-catenin was related to poor prognosis (P<0.05). But the survival rates of the group with SFRP1 expressions were higher than those in group without SFRP1 expressions (P<0.05). Cox multifactor regression analysis indicated that Dukes stage, expression of beta-catenin and SFRP1 were independent risk factors of colorectal carcinoma (P<0.05). The results suggested that the abnormal expression of Tcf4 and beta-catenin in colorectal cancer may be related to the reduced or absent expression of SFRP1. beta-catenin accumulation in the nuclei formed complexes with Tcf4 is one of the important molecular switch maintaining colorectal malignant phenotype. The combined detection of these indexes may perform an important role in predicting the progression and prognosis of colorectal cancer, and could provide new molecular targets for gene treatment of colorectal cancer.

[Expression of Tcf-4, MMP7 and Survivin in Colorectal Cancer and Its Clinical Significance].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical and pathological significance and correlations among the xpressions of Tcf-4, MMP7 and survivin in colorectal cancer. METHODS: The expressions of Tcf-4, MMP7 and survivin mRNA in tumor tissues and adjacent normal mucosa from 50 colorectal cancer patients were detected by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR). The expressed proteins of Tcf-4, MMP7 and survivin were measured using mmunohistochemistry staining technique (Elivision) in 100 colorectal cancer samples and 60 normal mucosa tissue samples. We analyzed the correlations between those measurements and their associations with clinical and pathological characteristics. RESULTS: Positive expressions of Tcf-4, MMP7 and survivin mRNA were found in both cancer and adjacent mucosa tissues, despite a higher level of expression in the cancer tissues (P < 0.01). Expressed proteins were detected in cancer tissues of 69.00% (69/100) of those with a positive Tcf-4 expression, 77.00% (77/100) of those with a positive MMP7 expression, and 65.00% (65/100) of those with a positive survivin expression. Compared with cancer tissues, lower levels of protein expression were found in normal mucosa tissues [16.67% (10/60) for Tcf-4, 13.33% (8/60) for MMP7 and 15.00% (9/60) for survivin, P < 0.01]. The expressions of Tcf-4, MMP7 and survivin were all associated with lymphatic metastasis and Dukes staging (P < 0.05). MMP7 expression was associated with depth of tumor invasion (P < 0.05). Survivin expression was associated with tumor differentiation. The Spearman rank correlation analyses showed that protein expressions in colorectal cancer tissues in those with a positive Tcf-4 were correlated with those with a positive MMP7 (r = 0.302) and those with a positive survivin (r = 0.279) (P < 0.01), but not in those with a positive MMP7 and those with a positive survivin (r = 0.097, P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The expression levels of Tcf-4, MMP7 and survivin are high in colorectal cancer, all being linked to lymph node metastasis and Dukes stages of patients. This suggests that they may be involved in the occurrence, development, malignant growth and clinical progression of colorectal cancer.

[Expression of secreted frizzled related protein 1, ß-catenin and E-cadherin in colorectal carcinoma and its clinicopathological significances].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of secreted frizzled-related protein 1 (SFRP1), ß-catenin and E-cadherin in colorectal carcinoma and its clinicopathological significance. METHODS: The expression of SFRP1, ß-catenin and E-cadherin mRNA and protein in tumor and pericancerous tissue samples from 60 cases of colorectal cancer was assayed by reverse-transcription PCR and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The correlation of their expression with clinicopathological factors of colorectal cancer was analyzed. RESULTS: In 52/60 cases the relative mRNA expression of SFRP1 in cancer tissue and pericancerous tissue was 0.4837±0.1532 and 0.7170 ±0.1830; for ß-catenin was 0.9293± 0.3705 and 0.6469±0.3166; and for E-cadherin was 0.5556±0.2535 and 0.9422±0.2372 (P<0.01), respectively. SFRP1 mRNA expression was associated with lymphatic metastasis (P<0.05). The positive rate of SFRP1 in colorectal cancer was 31.67% (19/60), and was significantly lower than that in pericancerous colorectal mucosa (75.00%, 45/60). No relationship between SFRP1 protein expression and clinical pathology was found. Abnormal expression rates of ß-catenin and E-cadherin in colorectal cancer were 75.00% (45/60) and 58.33% (35/60), respectively, which were significantly higher than that in pericancerous colorectal mucosa (1.67% and 6.67%), respectively. Abnormal ß-catenin and E-cadherin expression was associated with tumor differentiation, lymphatic metastasis and Duke's staging. SFRP1 protein expression was negatively correlated with ß-catenin and E-cadherin expression (r=-0.517, -0.442, Ps<0.01). CONCLUSION: Down-regulation of SFRP1 in colorectal cancer may cause abnormal Wnt signaling and induce abnormal ß-catenin and E-cadherin expression, indicating that SFRP1 might be involved in the development and progression of colorectal cancer, and could be a novel therapeutic target for colorectal cancer.