Lin28B-high breast cancer cells promote immune suppression in the lung pre-metastatic niche via exosomes and support cancer progression.

The formation of pre-metastatic niche is a key step in the metastatic burden. The pluripotent factor Lin28B is frequently expressed in breast tumors and is particularly upregulated in the triple negative breast cancer subtype. Here, we demonstrate that Lin28B promotes lung metastasis of breast cancer by building an immune-suppressive pre-metastatic niche. Lin28B enables neutrophil recruitment and N2 conversion. The N2 neutrophils are then essential for immune suppression in pre-metastatic lung by PD-L2 up-regulation and a dysregulated cytokine milieu. We also identify that breast cancer-released exosomes with low let-7s are a prerequisite for Lin28B-induced immune suppression. Moreover, Lin28B-induced breast cancer stem cells are the main sources of low-let-7s exosomes. Clinical data further verify that high Lin28B and low let-7s in tumors are both indicators for poor prognosis and lung metastasis in breast cancer patients. Together, these data reveal a mechanism by which Lin28B directs the formation of an immune-suppressive pre-metastatic niche.

Polarity Protein AF6 Controls Hepatic Glucose Homeostasis and Insulin Sensitivity by Modulating IRS1/AKT Insulin Pathway in an SHP2-Dependent Manner.

Insulin resistance is a major contributing factor in the development of metabolic disease. Although numerous functions of the polarity protein AF6 (afadin and MLLT4) have been identified, a direct effect on insulin sensitivity has not been previously described. We show that AF6 is elevated in the liver tissues of dietary and genetic mouse models of diabetes. We generated liver-specific AF6 knockout mice and show that these animals exhibit enhanced insulin sensitivity and liver glycogen storage, whereas overexpression of AF6 in wild-type mice by adenovirus-expressing AF6 led to the opposite phenotype. Similar observations were obtained from in vitro studies. In addition, we discovered that AF6 directly regulates IRS1/AKT kinase-mediated insulin signaling through its interaction with Src homology 2 domain-containing phosphatase 2 (SHP2) and its regulation of SHP2's tyrosine phosphatase activity. Finally, we show that knockdown of hepatic AF6 ameliorates hyperglycemia and insulin resistance in high-fat diet-fed or db/db diabetic mice. These results demonstrate a novel function for hepatic AF6 in the regulation of insulin sensitivity, providing important insights about the metabolic role of AF6.

Long non-coding RNA CUDR promotes malignant phenotypes in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma via activating AKT and ERK signaling pathways.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal malignancies, with a marked potential for invasion and metastasis. Emerging evidence has suggested that dysregulation of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) is associated with the development of multiple types of cancer. However, the function of lncRNAs in PDAC is poorly known. In the present study, a microarray assay was used to screen for differently expressed lncRNAs in PDAC and it was identified that cancer upregulated drug resistance (CUDR) was upregulated in PDAC. CUDR increased PDAC cell proliferation, migration and invasion, inhibited apoptosis, and promoted drug resistance; it also regulated the PDAC cell epithelial-mesenchymal transition. The CUDR-induced PDAC malignant phenotypes is via the protein kinase B and extracellular-signal-regulated kinase signaling pathways. Downregulation of CUDR may be a novel therapeutic strategy to prevent PDAC development and drug resistance in the future.

P38 activation induces the dissociation of tristetraprolin from Argonaute 2 to increase ARE-mRNA stabilization.

ARE-mRNAs are actively degraded with tristetraprolin (TTP) in resting cells while they turn into stable messengers in activated cells. P38 plays a crucial role in stabilizing ARE-mRNA. Here we reveal that P38 activation represses the interaction between TTP and Ago2, thus restraining TTP from being targeted into processing bodies and stabilizing ARE-mRNA.

SORBS1 suppresses tumor metastasis and improves the sensitivity of cancer to chemotherapy drug.

Tumor metastasis and invasion are both hallmarks of cancer malignancy and the leading cause of cancer death. Here we show that the adaptor protein SORBS1 (Sorbin and SH3 domain-containing protein 1, also known as CAP/ponsin) is expressed at low levels in clinical cancer samples. In addition, low-level expression of SORBS1 was significantly associated with poor clinical outcomes and the increased tumor cell invasive capacity in breast cancer patients. We demonstrate that depletion of SORBS1 increases protrusions and filopodium-like protrusions (FLPs) formation, as well as the migratory and invasive abilities of cancer cells, via activation of JNK/cJun. Furthermore, silencing of SORBS1 promotes the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process and attenuates chemical drug sensitivity especially that to cisplatin, by inhibition of p53 in breast cancer cells. Thus, we illustrate that SORBS1 is a potential inhibitor of metastasis in cancer and may be a promising target in chemotherapy.

Shizukaol D, a Dimeric Sesquiterpene Isolated from Chloranthus serratus, Represses the Growth of Human Liver Cancer Cells by Modulating Wnt Signalling Pathway.

Natural products have become sources of developing new drugs for the treatment of cancer. To seek candidate compounds that inhibit the growth of liver cancer, components of Chloranthus serratus were tested. Here, we report that shizukaol D, a dimeric sesquiterpene from Chloranthus serratus, exerted a growth inhibition effect on liver cancer cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. We demonstrated that shizukaol D induced cells to undergo apoptosis. More importantly, shizukaol D attenuated Wnt signalling and reduced the expression of endogenous Wnt target genes, which resulted in decreased expression of ß-catenin. Collectively, this study demonstrated that shizukaol D inhibited the growth of liver cancer cells by modulating Wnt pathway.

Loss of Scribble Promotes Snail Translation through Translocation of HuR and Enhances Cancer Drug Resistance.

Drug resistance of cancer cells to various therapeutic agents and molecular targets is a major problem facing current cancer research. The tumor suppressor gene Scribble encodes a polarity protein that is conserved between Drosophila and mammals; loss of the locus disrupts cell polarity, inhibits apoptosis, and mediates cancer process. However, the role of Scribble in drug resistance remains unknown. We show here that knockdown of Scribble enhances drug resistance by permitting accumulation of Snail, which functions as a transcription factor during the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Then, loss of Scribble activates the mRNA-binding protein human antigen R (HuR) by facilitating translocation of HuR from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. Furthermore, we demonstrate HuR can recognize AU-rich elements of the Snail-encoding mRNA, thereby regulating Snail translation. Moreover, loss of Scribble-induced HuR translocation mediates the accumulation of Snail via activation of the p38 MAPK pathway. Thus, this work clarifies the role of polarity protein Scribble, which is directly implicated in the regulation of developmental transcription factor Snail, and suggesting a mechanism for Scribble mediating cancer drug resistance.

The phosphoproteome in regenerating protoplasts from Physcomitrella patens protonemata shows changes paralleling postembryonic development in higher plants.

The moss Physcomitrella patens is an ideal model plant to study plant developmental processes. To better understand the mechanism of protoplast regeneration, a phosphoproteome analysis was performed. Protoplasts were prepared from protonemata. By 4 d of protoplast regeneration, the first cell divisions had ensued. Through a highly selective titanium dioxide (TiO2)-based phosphopeptide enrichment method and mass spectrometric technology, more than 300 phosphoproteins were identified as protoplast regeneration responsive. Of these, 108 phosphoproteins were present on day 4 but not in fresh protoplasts or those cultured for 2 d. These proteins are catalogued here. They were involved in cell-wall metabolism, transcription, signal transduction, cell growth/division, and cell structure. These protein functions are related to cell morphogenesis, organogenesis, and development adjustment. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of phosphoproteome involved in protoplast regeneration and indicates that the mechanism of plant protoplast regeneration is similar to that of postembryonic development.

Let7a inhibits the growth of endometrial carcinoma cells by targeting Aurora-B.

MicroRNAs negatively regulate target gene expression at the post-transcriptional level during carcinogenesis. Recent advances revealed that the expression levels of several miRNAs are up- or down-regulated in endometrial carcinoma (EC). Here we identify dysregulated miRNAs in EC and we elucidate the essential role of let-7a. The expression of 86 miRNAs in EC was found to be different from adjacent normal endometrial tissues. Moreover, miR-let-7 members are down-regulated in EC and let-7 miRNAs are highly associated with endometrial cancer. A functional investigation revealed that let-7a suppressed proliferation of HeLa cells by targeting Aurora-B. Let-7a also antagonizes Aurora-B functions in promoting carcinoma cell proliferation by down-regulating Aurora-B protein level. Let-7a could be applied for gene therapy against endometrial carcinogenesis.

AU-rich-element-dependent translation repression requires the cooperation of tristetraprolin and RCK/P54.

AU-rich elements (AREs), residing in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of many labile mRNAs, are important cis-acting elements that modulate the stability of these mRNAs by collaborating with trans-acting factors such as tristetraprolin (TTP). AREs also regulate translation, but the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. Here we examined the function and mechanism of TTP in ARE-mRNA translation. Through a luciferase-based reporter system, we used knockdown, overexpression, and tethering assays in 293T cells to demonstrate that TTP represses ARE reporter mRNA translation. Polyribosome fractionation experiments showed that TTP shifts target mRNAs to lighter fractions. In murine RAW264.7 macrophages, knocking down TTP produces significantly more tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) than the control, while the corresponding mRNA level has a marginal change. Furthermore, knockdown of TTP increases the rate of biosynthesis of TNF-α, suggesting that TTP can exert effects at translational levels. Finally, we demonstrate that the general translational repressor RCK may cooperate with TTP to regulate ARE-mRNA translation. Collectively, our studies reveal a novel function of TTP in repressing ARE-mRNA translation and that RCK is a functional partner of TTP in promoting TTP-mediated translational repression.

Nuclear receptor Nur77 suppresses inflammatory response dependent on COX-2 in macrophages induced by oxLDL.

Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) cross-talks with macrophages, and both play a crucial role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. Orphan nuclear receptor Nur77 is potently induced in macrophages by diverse stimuli, suggesting that it may be a key regulator of inflammation in vascular cells. The detailed mechanism of Nur77 activation and subsequent function in macrophages induced by oxLDL remains unclearly. In this study, we demonstrated that Nur77 is upregulated in a dose and time-dependent fashion by oxLDL stimulation in murine macrophages, as detected by real-time PCR and Western blotting. OxLDL activated the phosphorylation ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK, inhibition of p38 MAPK but not ERK1/2 attenuated Nur77 expression. Importantly, overexpression of Nur77 suppressed oxLDL-induced proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines secretion including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)alpha and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1(MCP-1). While knockdown Nur77 expression by specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) resulted in the enhancement of the secretion. Furthermore, exposure of macrophages to oxLDL significantly upregulated cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) expression. However, this could be markedly inhibited by Nur77 overexpression. Also, Nur77 siRNA increased oxLDL-induced COX-2 expression and 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) attenuated the increase. The results indicated that Nur77 is induced by oxLDL via p38 MAPK signal pathway and subsequently protects against inflammation by the inhibition of proinflammatory COX-2 pathway in activated macrophages. Specifically modifying transcription activity of Nur77 may represent a potential molecular target for the prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis.

Molecular cloning and expression analysis of a new gene for short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase 9.

We report here the cloning and characterization of a novel human short-chain dehydrogenases/reductase gene SCDR9, isolated from a human liver cDNA library, and mapped to 4q22.1 by browsing the UCSC genomic database. SCDR9 containing an ORF with a length of 900 bp, encoding a protein with a signal peptide sequence and an adh_short domain. GFP localization shows SCDR9 protein concentrated in some site of the cytoplasm, but not in the ER. Expression pattern in eighteen tissues revealed that SCDR9 is expressed highly in liver. Soluble recombinant protein was successfully purified from Escherichia coli using pET28A(+) expression vector. Our data provides important information for further study of the function of the SCDR9 gene and its products.

Septin1, a new interaction partner for human serine/threonine kinase aurora-B.

Several families of kinases work together to ensure the rate and precision of mitosis. Aurora-B is an important serine/threonine kinase required for chromosome segregation and cytokinesis. Identification of Aurora-B substrates will help to enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanism of mitosis. Through a yeast two-hybrid screen, we found a novel partner of Aurora-B, Septin1, belonging to a conserved family of GTPase proteins that localize to the cleavage furrow and are involved in cytokinesis. We confirmed this interaction using Co-immunoprecipitation experiments in mammalian cells and GST-pull-down analysis in vitro. Moreover, Aurora-B can phosphorylate Septin1 in vitro. We identified that Ser248, Ser307, and Ser315 are the main phosphorylation sites in Septin1. These two proteins partially co-localize to the midbody during cytokinesis. So, it is possible that Septin1's role in the regulation of cytokinesis is related to its phosphorylation by Aurora-B. Unlike previous reports that Septins function in cytokinesis and localize to the cleavage furrow, we found that Septin1 localizes to the spindle pole throughout mitosis, indicating that Septin1 may function in chromosome segregation as well.

Human aurora-B binds to a proteasome alpha-subunit HC8 and undergoes degradation in a proteasome-dependent manner.

Human Aurora/Ipl1-related kinase 2 (Aurora-B) is a key regulator of mitosis. Here human proteasome alpha-subunit C8 (HC8) was identified to interact with the Aurora-B by yeast two-hybrid screen. This finding was confirmed by GST pull-down assays and immunoprecipitation experiments. The Aurora-B protein level increased in HeLa cells cultured with proteasome inhibitor ALLN. Our data suggest that Aurora-B might undergo degradation by binding to HC8 in a proteasome-dependent manner during mitosis.