Metabolic reprogramming driven by EZH2 inhibition depends on cell-matrix interactions.

EZH2 (Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2), a subunit of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2), catalyzes the trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27me3), which represses expression of genes. It also has PRC2-independent functions, including transcriptional coactivation of oncogenes, and is frequently overexpressed in lung cancers. Clinically, EZH2 inhibition can be achieved with the FDA-approved drug EPZ-6438 (tazemetostat). To realize the full potential of EZH2 blockade, it is critical to understand how cell-cell/cell-matrix interactions present in 3D tissue and cell culture systems influences this blockade in terms of growth-related metabolic functions. Here, we show that EZH2 suppression reduced growth of human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells in 2D cultures but stimulated growth in 3D cultures. To understand the metabolic underpinnings, we employed [13C6]-glucose stable isotope-resolved metabolomics to determine the effect of EZH2 suppression on metabolic networks in 2D versus 3D A549 cultures. The Krebs cycle, neoribogenesis, γ-aminobutyrate metabolism, and salvage synthesis of purine nucleotides were activated by EZH2 suppression in 3D spheroids but not in 2D cells, consistent with the growth effect. Using simultaneous 2H7-glucose + 13C5,15N2-Gln tracers and EPZ-6438 inhibition of H3 trimethylation, we delineated the effects on the Krebs cycle, γ-aminobutyrate metabolism, gluconeogenesis, and purine salvage to be PRC2-dependent. Furthermore, the growth/metabolic effects differed for mouse Matrigel versus self-produced A549 extracellular matrix. Thus, our findings highlight the importance of the presence and nature of extracellular matrix in studying the function of EZH2 and its inhibitors in cancer cells for modeling the in vivo outcomes.

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals the multi-cellular ecosystem in different radiological components of pulmonary part-solid nodules.

BACKGROUND: Early-stage lung adenocarcinoma that radiologically manifests as part-solid nodules, consisting of both ground-glass and solid components, has distinctive growth patterns and prognosis. The characteristics of the tumour microenvironment and transcriptional features of the malignant cells of different radiological phenotypes remain poorly understood. METHODS: Twelve treatment-naive patients with radiological part-solid nodules were enrolled. After frozen pathology was confirmed as lung adenocarcinoma, two regions (ground-glass and solid) from each of the 12 part-solid nodules and 5 normal lung tissues from 5 of the12 patients were subjected to single-cell sequencing by 10x Genomics. We used Seurat v3.1.5 for data integration and analysis. RESULTS: We comprehensively dissected the multicellular ecosystem of the ground-glass and solid components of part-solid nodules at the single-cell resolution. In tumours, these components had comparable proportions of malignant cells. However, the angiogenesis, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, KRAS, p53, and cell-cycle signalling pathways were significantly up-regulated in malignant cells within solid components compared to those within ground-glass components. For the tumour microenvironment, the relative abundance of myeloid and NK cells tended to be higher in solid components than in ground-glass components. Slight subtype composition differences existed between the ground-glass and solid components. The T/NK cell subsets' cytotoxic function and the macrophages' pro-inflammation function were suppressed in solid components. Moreover, pericytes in solid components had a stronger communication related to angiogenesis promotion with endothelial cells and tumour cells. CONCLUSION: The cellular landscape of ground-glass components is significantly different from that of normal tissue and similar to that of solid components. However, transcriptional differences exist in the vital signalling pathways of malignant and immune cells within these components.

Human embryonic mesenchymal lung-conditioned medium promotes differentiation to myofibroblast and loss of stemness phenotype in lung adenocarcinoma cell lines.

BACKGROUND: When genes responsible for normal embryonic development are abnormally expressed in adults, it can lead to tumor development. This can suggest that the same mechanism that controls embryonic differentiation can also control tumor differentiation. We hypothesize that the malignant phenotype of lung cancer cells could acquire benign characteristics when in contact with an embryonic lung microenvironment. We cultured two lung cancer cell lines in embryonic lung mesenchyme-conditioned medium and evaluated morphological, functional and molecular changes. METHODS: The human embryonic mesenchymal lung-conditioned medium (hEML-CM) was obtained by culturing lung cells from embryos in the pseudoglandular stage of development. The NSCLC cell lines A549 and H1299 we cultured in the hEML-CM and in a tumor-conditioned medium. Morphological changes were analyzed with optical and transmission electron microscopy. To evaluate the functional effect of conditioned medium in tumor cells, we analyzed cell proliferation, migration, colony formation capacity in 2D and 3D and in vivo tumor growth capacity. The expression of the pluripotency genes OSKM, the adenocarcinoma marker NKX2-1, the lung surfactant proteins SFTP, the myofibroblast marker MYH and DNMT3A/3B was analyzed with qRT-PCR and the presence of the myofibroblast markers vimentin and α-SMA with immunofluorescence. Transcriptomic analysis was performed using Affymetrix arrays. RESULTS: The A549 and H1299 cells cultured in hEML-CM lost their epithelial morphology, acquired mesodermal characteristics, and decreased proliferation, migration, and colony formation capacity in 2D and 3D, as well as reduced its capacity to growth in vivo. The expression of OSKM, NKX2-1 and SFTP decreased, while that of DNMT3A/3B, vimentin, α-SMA and MYH increased. Distant matrix analysis based on transcriptomic profile showed that conditioned cells were closer to myoblast and human lung fibroblast than to normal epithelial immortalized lung cells. A total of 1631 for A549 and 866 for H1299 differentially expressed genes between control and conditioned cells were identified. CONCLUSIONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report that stimuli from the embryonic lung can modulate the malignant phenotype of lung cancer cells, control their growth capacity and activate their differentiation into myofibroblasts. These findings could lead to new strategies for lung cancer management.

LATS1 K751 acetylation blocks activation of Hippo signalling and switches LATS1 from a tumor suppressor to an oncoprotein.

Large tumor suppressor 1 (LATS1) is the key kinase controlling activation of Hippo signalling pathway. Post-translational modifications of LATS1 modulate its kinase activity. However, detailed mechanism underlying LATS1 stability and activation remains elusive. Here we report that LATS1 is acetylated by acetyltransferase CBP at K751 and is deacetylated by deacetylases SIRT3 and SIRT4. Acetylation at K751 stabilized LATS1 by decreasing LATS1 ubiquitination and inhibited LATS1 activation by reducing its phosphorylation. Mechanistically, LATS1 acetylation resulted in inhibition of YAP phosphorylation and degradation, leading to increased YAP nucleus translocation and promoted target gene expression. Functionally, LATS1-K751Q, the acetylation mimic mutant potentiated lung cancer cell migration, invasion and tumor growth, whereas LATS1-K751R, the acetylation deficient mutant inhibited these functions. Taken together, we demonstrated a previously unidentified post-translational modification of LATS1 that converts LATS1 from a tumor suppressor to a tumor promoter by suppression of Hippo signalling through acetylation of LATS1.

Multiomics Analysis Reveals Distinct Immunogenomic Features of Lung Cancer with Ground-Glass Opacity.

Rationale: Ground-glass opacity (GGO)-associated lung cancers are common and radiologically distinct clinical entities known to have an indolent clinical course and superior survival, implying a unique underlying biology. However, the molecular and immune characteristics of GGO-associated lung nodules have not been systemically studied. Objectives: To provide mechanistic insights for the treatment of these radiologically distinct clinical entities. Methods: We initiated a prospective cohort study to collect and characterize pulmonary nodules with GGO components (nonsolid and part-solid nodules) or without GGO components, as precisely quantified by using three-dimensional image reconstruction to delineate the molecular and immune features associated with GGO. Multiomics assessment conducted by using targeted gene panel sequencing, RNA sequencing, TCR (T-cell receptor) sequencing, and circulating tumor DNA detection was performed. Measurements and Main Results: GGO-associated lung cancers exhibited a lower tumor mutation burden than solid nodules. Transcriptomic analysis revealed a less active immune environment in GGO components and immune pathways, decreased expression of immune activation markers, and less infiltration of most immune-cell subsets, which was confirmed by using multiplex immunofluorescence. Furthermore, T-cell repertoire sequencing revealed lower T-cell expansion in GGO-associated lung cancers. HLA loss of heterozygosity was significantly less common in lung adenocarcinomas with GGO components than in those without. Circulating tumor DNA analysis suggested that the release of tumor DNA to the peripheral blood was correlated with the tumor size of non-GGO components. Conclusions: Compared with lung cancers presenting with solid lung nodules, GGO-associated lung cancers are characterized by a less active metabolism and a less active immune microenvironment, which may be the mechanisms underlying their indolent clinical course. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT03320044).

Organizing pneumonia in ALK+ lung adenocarcinoma treated with ceritinib: A case report and literature review.

RATIONALE: Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitors have been approved for patients with ALK-rearrangement lung cancer. The effect is superior to the standard first-line therapy of pemetrexed plus platinum-based chemotherapy. However, ALK inhibitors are associated with rare and sometimes fatal adverse events. Organizing pneumonitis (OP) is a rare and serious adverse event usually caused by ceritinib, and it is easily misdiagnosed as infectious pneumonia, metastasis, or cancer progression. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 56-year-old female presented with chest tightness and dyspnea for more than 10 days. She was previously healthy with no significant medical history. Workup including chest computed tomography (CT), pathological examination of a biopsy specimen, and next-generation sequencing was consistent with a diagnosis of IVA ALK-rearrangement lung adenocarcinoma. She was treated with pemetrexed plus platinum-based chemotherapy and crizotinib concurrently, followed by maintenance therapy with crizotinib alone and she had an almost complete response. However, about 26 months after beginning treatment she developed multiple brain metastases. Crizotinib was discontinued and she was begun on ceritinib. After about 3 months the brain metastases had almost complete response. After 5 months of ceritinib, however, multiple patchy lesions appeared in the bilateral upper lungs. DIAGNOSES: Treatment with antibiotics had no effect and blood and sputum cultures are negative. A CT-guided biopsy of the upper lung was performed, and pathological hematoxylin-eosin staining and immunohistochemical studies were consistent with OP. INTERVENTIONS: Ceritinib was discontinued, she was begun on prednisone 0.5 mg/kg orally every day, and regular follow-up is necessary. OUTCOMES: CT of the chest 2 and 4 weeks after beginning prednisone showed the lung lesions to be gradually resolving, and she was continued on prednisone for 2 months and gradually reduced the dose of prednisone every 2 weeks. No related adverse events were occurred in patient. LESSONS: OP must be differentiated from infectious pneumonia, metastasis, or cancer progression. The mechanism of OP is still unknown and needs further research. Biopsy plays a role in making a diagnosis of OP. In our patient, discontinuing ceritinib and treating her with prednisone resulted in a good outcome.

Clinical Value and Pathologic Basis of Cystic Airspace Within Subsolid Nodules Confirmed as Lung Adenocarcinomas by Surgery.

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical value and pathologic basis of cystic airspace within lung adenocarcinomas manifesting as subsolid nodules. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on a total of 541 surgically confirmed lung adenocarcinomas manifesting as subsolid nodules in computed tomography images, including 87 cases with cystic airspace and 454 cases without cystic airspace. The pathologic characteristics of the cases with and without cystic airspace were compared. The investigation of the pathologic structure of cystic airspace was attempted on the postoperative paraffin sections. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the containing of cystic airspace between preinvasive and invasive adenocarcinomas (10.5 vs 26.6%; P < .001). Multivariate analysis indicated that cystic airspace is an independent predictor of invasive adenocarcinomas (odds ratio, 3.220; 95% confidence interval, 1.822-5.687). Nodules containing multiple cystic airspaces are more likely to be invasive adenocarcinomas than nodules with a single cystic airspace (47.1 vs 72.2%; P < .05). On paraffin sections, the walls of the cystic airspace seemed to be mainly composed of atypical hyperplasia and/or tumor cells on the surface and the remaining smooth muscle cells and stroma below, which is similar to the structure of bronchi. CONCLUSIONS: Cystic airspace may be a reliable predictor of invasive adenocarcinomas, the classification method based on the number of cystic airspaces might be suitable for the computed tomography-based typing of cystic airspace within subsolid nodules. Cystic airspace may derive from the destroyed and enlarged bronchi owing to the growth or infiltration of atypical hyperplasia and/or tumor cells.

ERα-dependent estrogen-TNFα signaling crosstalk increases cisplatin tolerance and migration of lung adenocarcinoma cells.

Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common type of lung cancer in women. Our previous studies demonstrated that 17ß-estradiol (E2) promoted lung adenocarcinoma cell proliferation and tumor growth through estrogen receptor ERα. Transcriptomic analysis suggested that E2 potentiated TNFα-NFκB signaling in ERα-expressing lung adenocarcinoma cells. This study further demonstrated that E2 increased TNFα receptor expression and TNFα-triggered NFκB activity in ERα-expressing cells. E2-activated ERα had no physical association with NFκB p65/p50 heterodimer but facilitated TNFα-initiated IκBα degradation, NFκB nuclear translocation, and S468/S536 phosphorylation of p65 essential for NFκB activity. While knockdown of ERα prevented E2 from boosting NFκB activity, antiestrogen ICI 182,780 stimulated NFκB activity like E2. Inhibition of GSK3ß hampered E2:ERα-promoted NFκB activity and abolished S468 phosphorylation of p65, suggesting that GSK3ß played a role in the E2-TNFα signaling crosstalk. In ERα-expressing cells, E2 and TNFα synergistically regulated many genes that were not typically responsive to either E2 or TNFα. Functional analysis of microarray data inferred that E2/TNFα-induced transcriptomic changes improved cell survival and movement. Viability and colony formation assays validated that E2 and TNFα together increased cisplatin tolerance of ERα-expressing cells. Wound healing assays also confirmed that E2/TNFα cotreatment increased cell migration in an ERα-dependent manner. E2/TNFα-induced dysregulation of genes such as cell survival and movement-associated genes, proto-oncogenes, metallothioneins and histone core genes was correlated with poor overall survival in patients. In summary, E2 and TNFα engaged in an ERα-dependent positive crosstalk in lung adenocarcinoma cells, consequently increasing NFκB activation, cisplatin tolerance and cell migration and worsening prognosis.

Deep proteogenomic investigations elucidate the NRF2 antioxidant mechanism as a major driving mechanism of lung adenocarcinoma in Asia.

BACKGROUND: Lung adenocarcinoma is a global leading cause of death. Despite modern therapeutic interventions, undesirable outcomes such as drug resistances and disease recurrence still occur. Therefore, continued investigations of disease driving mechanisms and counteracting strategies are urgently needed. METHODS: We re-visited two deep-proteogenomic resources of lung adenocarcinoma published recently. These resources were derived from patient cohorts with decent sizes in Taiwan and China. The gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed. A heatmap was produced by the generalized association plot (GAP). RESULTS: Among 189 common oncogenic pathways investigated, the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) downstream antioxidant mechanism was uncovered for the first time the leading oncogenic mechanism of lung adenocarcinoma in Taiwan. The gene levels of NRF2 (also known as NFE2L2) is negatively correlated with those of KEAP1 (Pearson's correlation = -0.275, p = 0.009) in patients' tumor tissues. Furthermore, the protein levels of EIF2S2 and PGD are higher in patients with more advanced stages in the Taiwan cohort (p = 0.001 and 0.05, respectively), and are indicative of poorer progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in the China cohort (all Cox-regression p < 0.05). On the other hand, EPHX1 is higher in patients with earlier stages in Taiwan (p = 0.003), and are indicative of better PFS and OS in China (both Cox-regression p < 0.05). When the patients were stratified using the median protein abundances for Kaplan-Meier visualizations, patient strata with higher EIF2S2, PGD, and EPHX1 have significantly poorer PFS (log-rank p = 0.041); poorer OS (p = 0.006), and better PFS and OS (p = 0.001 and 0.030), respectively. CONCLUSION: The NRF2 downstream antioxidant mechanism is one major driving mechanism of lung adenocarcinoma in Asia, and represents important directions for future therapeutic interventions. Major downstream proteins such as EIF2S2, PGD, and EPHX1 are indicative of cancer stages and prognosis.

[Comparison of Short-term Results of Preoperative Planning Combined with 
Fluorescence Video-assisted Thoracoscopic Precision Segmentectomy and Traditional Thoracoscopic Segmentectomy in the Treatment of Early Lung Adenocarcinoma].

BACKGROUND: The mortality of lung cancer ranks first among all malignant tumors, but there are few studies on the effect of different segmentectomy on lung function in patients with early lung adenocarcinoma. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of lung function preservation and short-term results of preoperative planning combined with fluorescence thoracoscopic precision segmentectomy and traditional segmentectomy in patients with early lung adenocarcinoma. METHODS: From January 1, 2020 to October 31, 2020, 60 patients underwent thoracoscopic segmentectomy in the Department of Thoracic Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China: 30 patients in precision segmentectomy group and 30 patients in traditional segmentectomy group. The clinicopathological features, perioperative data and postoperative pulmonary function of the two groups were compared. RESULTS: The operation time of the precision group was shorter than that of the traditional group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). The preoperative pulmonary function accuracy group and the traditional group in forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLCO) were (3.65±0.63) L vs (3.54±0.64) L, (2.72±0.50) L vs (2.54±0.48) L and (20.36±3.02) mL/mmHg/min vs (19.16±3.18) mL/mmHg/min, respectively. One month after operation, the FVC, FEV1 and DLCO of pulmonary function accuracy group and traditional group were (3.35±0.63) L vs (2.89±0.57) L, (2.39±0.54) L vs (2.09±0.48) L and (17.43±3.10) mL/mmHg/min vs (15.78±2.865) mL/mmHg/min, respectively. Three months after operation, the FVC and DLCO of pulmonary function accuracy group and traditional group were (3.47±0.63) L vs (3.20±0.56) L and (19.38±3.02) mL/mmHg/min vs (17.79±3.21) mL/mmHg/min, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative planning combined with fluorescence thoracoscopic precise segmentectomy provides advantages in intersegmental plane recognition, vascular anatomy and postoperative recovery, which significantly shortens the operation time and makes the treatment more accurate.

Current status and perspectives of spread through air spaces in lung cancer.

According to the World Health Organization classification of 2015, spread through air spaces (STAS) is a newly recognized pattern of invasion in lung adenocarcinoma. Many researchers have reported that STAS is recognized in all histological subtypes, and there is a strong association between STAS and prognosis in lung cancer. However, there are several technical issues associated with STAS, such as distinction between the actual in vivo phenomenon and an artifact, difficulty in assessing STAS in frozen specimens, and establishing the relationship between morphological and molecular properties of STAS. This review focuses on the current state of knowledge and the outlook of the STAS phenomenon from the perspective of surgeons, pathologists, and radiologists.

[Progress in Single-cell RNA Sequencing of Lung Adenocarcinoma].

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common subtype of lung cancer and one of the main causes of cancer-related deaths. In the past decade, with the widespread use of computed tomography (CT) in routine screening for lung cancer, the incidence of LUAD presenting as small pulmonary nodules radiologically, has increased remarkably. The mechanisms of the occurrence and progression of LUADs are complex, and the prognoses of patients with LUAD vary significantly. Although significant progress has been made in targeted therapy and immunotherapy for LUADs in recent years, the drug resistance of tumor cells has not been effectively overcome, which limits the benefits of patients. With the accomplishment of the Human Genome Project, sequencing-based genomic and transcriptomics have come into the field of clinical and scientific researches. Single-cell sequencing, as a new type of sequencing method that has captured increasing attention recently, can perform specific analysis of cell populations at single-cell level, which can reveal the unique changes of each cell type. Single-cell sequencing can also provide accurate assessment on heterogeneous stromal cells and cancer cells, which is helpful to reveal the complexity of molecular compositions and differences between non- and malignant tissues. To sum up, it is an urgent need for clinicians and basic scientists to deeply understand the pathogenesis and development of LUAD, the heterogeneity of tumor microenvironment (TME) and the mechanism of drug resistance formation through single-cell sequencing, so as to discover new therapeutic targets. In this paper, we reviewed and summarized the application and progress in single-cell sequencing of LUADs.
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A collagen glucosyltransferase drives lung adenocarcinoma progression in mice.

Cancer cells are a major source of enzymes that modify collagen to create a stiff, fibrotic tumor stroma. High collagen lysyl hydroxylase 2 (LH2) expression promotes metastasis and is correlated with shorter survival in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and other tumor types. LH2 hydroxylates lysine (Lys) residues on fibrillar collagen's amino- and carboxy-terminal telopeptides to create stable collagen cross-links. Here, we show that electrostatic interactions between the LH domain active site and collagen determine the unique telopeptidyl lysyl hydroxylase (tLH) activity of LH2. However, CRISPR/Cas-9-mediated inactivation of tLH activity does not fully recapitulate the inhibitory effect of LH2 knock out on LUAD growth and metastasis in mice, suggesting that LH2 drives LUAD progression, in part, through a tLH-independent mechanism. Protein homology modeling and biochemical studies identify an LH2 isoform (LH2b) that has previously undetected collagen galactosylhydroxylysyl glucosyltransferase (GGT) activity determined by a loop that enhances UDP-glucose-binding in the GLT active site and is encoded by alternatively spliced exon 13 A. CRISPR/Cas-9-mediated deletion of exon 13 A sharply reduces the growth and metastasis of LH2b-expressing LUADs in mice. These findings identify a previously unrecognized collagen GGT activity that drives LUAD progression.

Effect of extract from Yiyuan Yiliu Tang on human lung adenocarcinoma and human hepatoma cell lines.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of the extract from Yiyuan Yiliu Tang (, YYYLT) on human lung adenocarcinoma cells A549 and human hepatoma cells Bel7402. METHODS: The cancer cell lines were treated with various concentrations (0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 µg/mL) of the crude water extract of YYYLT and then cell viability, toxicity, cytokine secretion, and cell cycle/apoptosis were determined by MTT assay, LDH assay, and flow cytometry, respectively. RESULTS: The extract from YYYLT significantly suppressed the proliferation of the cancer cell lines and the release of interleukin-2 and tumor necrosis factor-α in a dose-dependent manner. The extract also promoted apoptosis, caused cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase, and increased the expression of caspase-3, B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), and Bcl-2-associated X proteins. CONCLUSION: The extract from YYYLT might be a potential treatment for human lung and liver cancers.

[Effects of Cullin1 on the Biological Characteristics of Lung Adenocarcinoma
A549 and H1395 Cells].

BACKGROUND: Cullin1 is a representative member of the Cullin family, and it plays an important role in the ubiquitination of cell cycle, transcription and signal transduction related proteins. Cullin1 is closely related to the occurrence and development of a variety of malignant tumors. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of Cullin1 on biological function of lung adenocarcinoma A549 and H1395 Cells. METHODS: The expression of Cullin1 mRNA was detected by quantitative Real-time polymerase chain reaction in lung adenocarcinoma cells (A549, H358, H1395, H1650) and human normal lung epithelial cells BEAS-2B, siRNA technology was used to interfere with lung adenocarcinoma cells with relatively high expression of Cullin1 mRNA; cell proliferation, cell cycle distribution, early cell apoptosis, invasion and migration ability were detected by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay (MTT), flow cytometry and Transwell experiment; Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1), Cyclin D1, Cyclin E2, p21 and p27. RESULTS: Compared with the BEAS-2B cell, Cullin1 mRNA was highly expressed in lung adenocarcinoma cells, especially in lung adenocarcinoma A549 and H1395 cells (P<0.05). The proliferation ability of lung adenocarcinoma cells was inhibited after interference with Cullin1, and the number of cells in G1 phase increased, the number of cells in S phase decreased, and the early apoptosis rate of lung adenocarcinoma cells is significantly increased (P<0.05); The invasion and migration ability of lung adenocarcinoma cells decreased (P<0.05). After interference with Cullin1, the protein expression of MMP-9, MMP-2, CyclinD1 and CyclinE2 decreased (P<0.05), while the expression of TIMP-1, p21 and p27 protein increased (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Interference with Cullin1 inhibits the proliferation, invasion and migration of lung adenocarcinoma A549 and H1395 cells, Cullin1 plays a role in promoting cancer in lung adenocarcinoma.

LINC00467 Is Upregulated by DNA Copy Number Amplification and Hypomethylation and Shows ceRNA Potential in Lung Adenocarcinoma.

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the most common histological lung cancer, and it is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been implicated in tumorigenesis. LINC00467 is a novel lncRNA that is abnormally expressed in several cancer types including LUAD. However, its function and regulatory mechanism in LUAD progression remain unclear. In this study, based on The Cancer Genome Atlas data mining, we demonstrated that DNA copy number amplification and hypomethylation was positively correlated with LINC00467 expression in LUAD. In addition, DNA copy number amplification was significantly associated with distant metastasis, immune infiltration and poor survival. Microarray analysis demonstrated that LINC00467 knockdown in the LUAD A549 cell line led to a distinct microRNA expression profile that impacted various target genes involved in multiple biological processes. This finding suggests that LINC00467 may regulate LUAD progression by functioning as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA). Finally, we constructed a ceRNA network that included two microRNAs (hsa-miR-1225-5p, hsa-miR-575) and five mRNAs (BARX2, BCL9, KCNK1, KIAA1324, TMEM182) specific to LINC00467 in LUAD. Subsequent Kaplan-Meier survival analysis in both The Cancer Genome Atlas and Gene Expression Omnibus databases revealed that two genes, BARX2 and BCL9, were potential prognostic biomarkers for LUAD patients. In conclusion, our data provide possible mechanisms underlying the abnormal upregulation of LINC00467 as well as a comprehensive view of the LINC00467-mediated ceRNA network in LUAD, thereby highlighting its potential role in diagnosis and therapy.

Clinical implication of minimal presence of solid or micropapillary subtype in early-stage lung adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: We investigated the clinical features and surgical outcomes of lung adenocarcinoma with minimal solid or micropapillary (S/MP) components, with a focus on stage IA. METHODS: We enrolled 506 patients with lung adenocarcinoma who underwent curative resection in this study. Clinical features and surgical outcomes were compared between the groups with and without the S/MP subtype (S/MP+ and S/MP-, respectively), and between the group with an S/MP proportion of ≤5% (S/MP5) and the S/MP-. RESULTS: The S/MP subtype was present in 247 patients (48.8%); 129 (25.5%) were grouped as the S/MP5 group. The S/MP+ and S/MP5 groups had larger tumors, higher frequency of lymph node metastasis, and more advanced stages of disease than the S/MP- group (P < 0.001, all comparisons). Pleural, lymphatic, and vascular invasions occurred more frequently in the S/MP+ and S/MP5 groups (P < 0.001, all comparisons for S/MP+ vs. S/MP-; P ≤ 0.01, all comparisons for S/MP5 vs. S/MP-). The S/MP+ and S/MP5 groups showed a shorter time to recurrence and cancer-related death than the S/MP- group(P < 0.001, both comparisons). For stage I, the presence or absence of the S/MP subtype defined prognostic subgroups better than the stage IA/IB classification. Notably, in the multivariate analysis, the minimal S/MP component was a significant predictor of recurrence, even in stage IA. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of the minimal S/MP component was a significant predictor of poor prognosis after surgery, even in stage IA patients. Clinical trials to evaluate the advantages of adjuvant chemotherapy for this subset of patients and further investigations to understand underlying biological mechanisms of poor prognosis are needed. KEY POINTS: Significant findings of the study: We demonstrated that only minimal presence of solid or micropapillary component was profoundly associated with aggressive clinicopathological features and poor prognosis after complete resection even in stage IA lung adenocarcinoma. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: Our results suggest that minimal presence of these subtypes is a strong prognostic factor which should be taken into account in the risk assessment for adjuvant chemotherapy in lung adenocarcinoma.

Involvement of MicroRNA-1-FAM83A Axis Dysfunction in the Growth and Motility of Lung Cancer Cells.

Lung cancer is the most prevalent types of cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Among all cancers, lung cancer has the highest incidence, accompanied by a high mortality rate at the advanced stage. Favorable prognostic biomarkers can effectively increase the survival rate in lung cancer. Our results revealed FAM83A (Family with sequence similarity 83, member A) overexpression in lung cancer tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues. Furthermore, high FAM83A expression was closely associated with poor lung cancer survival. Here, through siRNA transfection, we effectively inhibited FAM83A expression in the lung cancer cell lines H1355 and A549. FAM83A knockdown significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion ability of these cells. Furthermore, FAM83A knockdown could suppress Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/Choline kinase alpha (CHKA) signaling activation in A549 and H1355. By using a bioinformatics approach, we found that FAM83A overexpression in lung cancer may result from miR-1-3p downregulation. In summary, we identified a novel miR-1-FAM83A axis could partially modulate the EGFR/choline phospholipid metabolism signaling pathway, which suppressed lung cancer growth and motility. Our findings provide new insights for the development of lung cancer therapeutics.

AKT-induced lncRNA VAL promotes EMT-independent metastasis through diminishing Trim16-dependent Vimentin degradation.

Despite the importance of AKT overactivation in tumor progression, results from clinical trials of various AKT inhibitors remain suboptimal, suggesting that AKT-driven tumor metastasis needs to be further understood. Herein, based on long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) profiling induced by active AKT, we identify that VAL (Vimentin associated lncRNA, LINC01546), which is directly induced by AKT/STAT3 signaling, functions as a potent pro-metastatic molecule and is essential for active AKT-induced tumor invasion, metastasis and anoikis resistance in lung adenocarcinoma (LAD). Impressively, chemosynthetic siRNAs against VAL shows great therapeutic potential in AKT overactivation-driven metastasis. Interestingly, similar to activated AKT in LAD cells, although unable to induce epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), VAL exerts potent pro-invasive and pro-metastatic effects through directly binding to Vimentin and competitively abrogating Trim16-depedent Vimentin polyubiquitination and degradation. Taken together, our study provides an interesting demonstration of a lncRNA-mediated mechanism for active AKT-driven EMT-independent LAD metastasis and indicates the great potential of targeting VAL or Vimentin stability as a therapeutic approach.

Prognostic impact of micropapillary component in patients with node-negative subcentimeter lung adenocarcinoma: A Chinese cohort study.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we investigated the prognostic significance of a micropapillary (MP) component in patients with subcentimeter lung adenocarcinoma. METHODS: A total of 311 patients with subcentimeter lung adenocarcinoma who underwent surgical resection between January 2009 to December 2012 from seven medical centers were included. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. RESULTS: The five-year RFS was 79.8% in 97 (97/311, 31%) cases of adenocarcinoma with a MP component and 93.5% in the 214 (214/311, 69%) cases without. In multivariate analysis, MP was an independent risk factor for worse RFS (hazard ratio [HR], 3.73; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.87-7.42; P < 0.001) and OS (HR, 5.84; 95% CI: 2.20-15.49; P < 0.001). There was no significant difference among wedge resection, segmentectomy and lobectomy on RFS (P = 0.256) and OS (P = 0.103) in patients without MP. Regarding patients with a MP component, lobectomy achieved equivalent prognosis than segmentectomy, and both were better than wedge resection (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A MP component still suggest a poor prognosis in subcentimeter lung adenocarcinoma. Patients with subcentimeter lung adenocarcinoma with a MP component of 5% or greater treated with wedge resection were at higher risk of recurrence than patients treated with anatomical resection.