TGF-ß1 Causes EMT by Regulating N-Acetyl Glucosaminyl Transferases via Downregulation of Non Muscle Myosin II-A through JNK/P38/PI3K Pathway in Lung Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a major determinant of cancer metastasis and is closely linked with TGF-ß1. Intracellular proteins, including E. Cadherin, N. Cadherin and Vimentin are directly related to EMT that affect cell migration and adhesion; on the other hand, non muscle myosin (NM) has a central role in cytokinesis, migration and adhesion. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to explore the association of EMT and metastasis with TGF-ß1 through regulation of non-muscle myosin II-A (NMII-A) and its interaction with Hexosamine Biosynthesis Pathway (HBP). METHOD: Protein expression changes were assessed by western blotting and immunofluorescent staining while transcription level changes were assessed by qRT-PCR. EMT was assessed by phenotypic analysis, wound healing, proliferation and transwell migration assay in vitro while in vivo studies were conducted in BALB/c nude mice for lung orthotopic and tail vein metastasis models. RESULTS: We demonstrated that regulation of JNK/ P38/PI3K by TGF-ß1 led to down expression of NMII-A which promoted EMT and lung cancer metastasis. This down expression of NMII-A conversely upregulated the expression of Core 2 N-acetyl Glucosaminyl Transferase mucin type (C2GnT-M) and further facilitated up-regulation and down-regulation of N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (GnT) -V and -III respectively; moreover, NMII-A K.D cells showed 3 times more tendency to migrate towards brain in vivo. CONCLUSION: The study reports a novel pathway through which NMII-A negatively regulates EMT and metastasis via up regulation of C2GnT-M, GnT-V and down expression of GnT-III. These findings of lung cancer may further be required to study other cancer types.

DT-13 synergistically enhanced vinorelbine-mediated mitotic arrest through inhibition of FOXM1-BICD2 axis in non-small-cell lung cancer cells.

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most commonly diagnosed malignant disease with the leading cause of cancer-related death. Combination treatment remains the major strategy in the clinical therapy of NSCLC. Vinorelbine (NVB), a semi-synthetic vinca alkaloid, is used for advanced and metastatic NSCLC by destabilizing microtubule formation to induce mitotic arrest and cell death. However, the side effect of NVB heavily affected its effectiveness in clinical therapy. Hence, it is of great significance to develop new agents to synergize with NVB and decrease the adverse effect. In our study, we found that the saponin monomer 13 of the dwarf lilyturf tuber, DT-13, exhibiting anti-angiogenesis and anti-metastasis effect, synergized with NVB to inhibit cell proliferation in NSCLC cells. The synergistic interaction of DT-13 and NVB was confirmed by combination Index values. Also, DT-13 and NVB act in concert to inhibit the long-term colony formation. Furthermore, DT-13/NVB co-treatment cooperated to induce mitotic arrest and subsequent apoptosis. Mechanistically, we found that nuclear expression of transcription factors forkhead box M1 (FOXM1) and levels of motor adaptor bicaudal D2 (BICD2) were dramatically reduced by combination treatment. Importantly, oncogene FOXM1 was identified as the crucial regulator of BICD2, which played critical roles in NVB-induced mitotic spindle defects. Moreover, overexpression of FOXM1 and BICD2 significantly reversed mitotic arrest induced by DT-13/NVB co-treatment, and siRNAs against both genes greatly increased the combinational effects. In addition, in vivo study revealed that DT-13 combined with NVB significantly suppressed tumor growth in nude mice xenograft model, and downregulated the expression of FOXM1 and BICD2 in tumor tissues, which was consistent with in vitro study. In conclusion, DT-13 might provide a novel strategy for the chemosensitization of NVB in NSCLC therapy.

IDH mutations associated impact on related cancer epidemiology and subsequent effect toward HIF-1α.

Particular mutations in the isocitrate dehydrogenase gene (IDH) were discovered in several gliomas citing astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, and glioblastoma multiform, but also in leukemia; these mutations were discovered in nearly all cases of secondary glioblastomas, they evolve from lower-grade gliomas, but are limited in primary high-grade glioblastoma multiform. These mutations distinctively produce (D)-2-hydroxyglutarate (D-2-HG) from alpha-ketoglutarate (α-KG). (D)-2-hydroxyglutarate is accumulated to very high concentrations which inhibit the function of enzymes that are dependent on alpha-ketoglutarate. This modification leads to a hyper-methylated state of DNA and histones, resulting in different gene expression that can activate oncogenes and inactivate tumor-suppressor genes. In our work we review the impact of the mutations that occur in IDH genes, we focus on their impact on distribution in cancer. As IDH mutations appear in many different conditions we expose the extent of IDH mutations and derivate their impact on cancer prognosis, diagnosis, and even their oncogenicity, we will also link their impact to HIF-1α and derivate some target and finally, we present some of the therapeutics under research and out on market.

DT-13, a saponin monomer 13 of the Dwarf lilyturf tuber, synergized with vinorelbine to induce mitotic arrest via activation of ERK signaling pathway in NCI-H1299 cells.

Vinorelbine (NVB) is a semi-synthetic vinca alkaloid that is approved for the clinical therapy of lung cancer. However, the clinical application of NVB was limited because of the acquisition of resistance and inacceptable toxicity. Therefore, it is of great interest to develop low-cytotoxic drugs that can synergize with NVB. DT-13, a saponin monomer 13 of the Dwarf lilyturf tuber, showed inhibitory effects on tumor metastasis and angiogenesis in the previous studies. Here, we found that DT-13 combined with NVB exhibited synergistic effect to inhibit the cell proliferation in human lung cancer NCI-H1299 cells rather than human embryonic lung fibroblasts WI-38. The combination of DT-13 and NVB significantly inhibited the colony formation, induced cellular and nuclear morphological changes, and triggered cell cycle arrest at mitotic phase. Furthermore, MAPK signaling pathway was activated by the combination treatment, and the activation of ERK was required for the induction of mitotic arrest. Taken together, DT-13 combined with NVB exhibited synergistic anticancer effect in NCI-H1299 cells, and DT-13 may be a candidate agent for adjuvant chemotherapy of NVB in lung cancer.

DT-13, a saponin monomer of dwarf lilyturf tuber, induces autophagy and potentiates anti-cancer effect of nutrient deprivation.

Metabolic stress induces autophagy as a protective mechanism in tumorigenesis and development. Conversely, excessive autophagy in nutrient-deprived cancer cells would be beneficial for cancer therapy. DT-13, the saponin monomer 13 of the Dwarf lilyturf tuber, inhibited tumor metastasis and angiogenesis in previous studies. However, there is scarcity of data regarding the effect of DT-13 on autophagy process. Here, we demonstrated that DT-13 induced autophagy in human cancer cell lines and caused significant cell apoptosis under nutrient starvation. We firstly showed that DT-13 increased the accumulation of GFP-LC3 puncta and induced the expression of LC3-II in a dose- and time-dependent manner. DT-13 also upregulated the expression of Beclin-1, Atg-3 and Atg-7, and induced autophagic flux in human gastric cancer BGC-823 cells. We next found that low-toxic concentrations of DT-13 significantly induced apoptosis under nutrient deprivation. We finally demonstrated that the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signal pathway was involved in the cytotoxic effect of DT-13. Our data indicated that DT-13 was a novel autophagy inducer and might be considered in future treatment of cancer.