Erratum: Activation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR/p70S6K Pathway is Involved in S100A4-Induced Viability and Migration in Colorectal Cancer Cells: Erratum.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.7150/ijms.8128.].

S100A9 promotes the proliferation and migration of cervical cancer cells by inducing epithelial­mesenchymal transition and activating the Wnt/ß­catenin pathway.

S100 calcium­binding protein A9 (S100A9), a member of the S100 protein family, is often upregulated in various cancers, including cervical cancer. Elevated S100A9 expression is thought to serve an important role in tumorigenesis; however, the exact role of S100A9 in the modulation of cervical cancer and the underlying molecular mechanism remain unknown. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effects of S100A9 on the proliferation and migration of cervical cancer cells, as well as the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects. Our results demonstrated that endogenous expression of S100A9 in SiHa and CaSki cell lines was significantly higher than in the HeLa cell line. As expected, overexpression of S100A9 enhanced the proliferation and migration of cervical cancer cells. In addition, S100A9 overexpression induced epithelial­mesenchymal transition (EMT) as determined by reduced expression levels of the epithelial marker E­cadherin, whereas the expression levels of the mesenchymal marker vimentin were upregulated. Furthermore, it was reported that the effects of S100A9 in the modulation of cervical cancer cells were mediated through the Wnt/ß­catenin signaling pathway as ß­catenin knockdown significantly suppressed the ability of S100A9 to enhance the proliferation and migration of cervical cancer cells. Collectively, these findings suggest that S100A9 promoted the proliferation and migration of cervical cancer cell lines. Furthermore, the underlying molecular mechanisms may be partially attributed to the induction of EMT and activation of the Wnt/ß­catenin signaling pathway.

High intensity focused ultrasound inhibits melanoma cell migration and metastasis through attenuating microRNA-21-mediated PTEN suppression.

High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) technology is becoming a potential noninvasive treatment for solid tumor. To explore whether HIFU can be applied to treat melanoma and its metastasis, we investigated the effect of HIFU on murine melanoma model. While there was little influence on cell survival, viability or apoptosis, HIFU exposure suppressed melanoma cell migration in vitro and metastasis in vivo. The expression of microRNA-21(miR-21) was down-regulated and PTEN expression was up-regulated in response to HIFU exposure, which was in concomitant with the reduction of AKT activity. Furthermore, ectopic miR-21 expression suppressed this effect of HIFU. These results demonstrate that HIFU exposure can inhibit AKT-mediated melanoma metastasis via miR-21 inhibition to restore PTEN expression. Therefore, targeting the miR-21/PTEN/AKT pathway might be a novel strategy of HIFU in treatment of melanoma.

S100A8 facilitates the migration of colorectal cancer cells through regulating macrophages in the inflammatory microenvironment.

Previous studies have shown that S100 calcium-binding protein A8 (S100A8) contributes to the survival and migration of colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. However, whether S100A8 participates in the progression and metastasis of CRC via the regulation of macrophages in the tumor inflammatory microenvironment remains unknown. In this study, phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) was used to induce the differentiation of THP-1 monocytes to macrophages. MTT assay, western blot analysis, immunofluorescence staining, semi-quantitative RT-PCR (semi-PCR), quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), Gaussia luciferase activity assay and ELISA were performed to analyze the roles and molecular mechanisms of S100A8 in the modulation of macrophages. MTT assay, flow cytometric analysis, Hoechst staining, wound healing and Transwell migration assay were used to test the effect of S100A8 on the viability and migration of CRC cells co-cultured with macrophages in the inflammatory microenvironment. We found that THP-1 monocytes were induced by PMA and differentiated to macrophages. S100A8 activated the NF-κB pathway in the macrophages and promoted the expression of miR-155 and inflammatory cytokines IL-1ß and TNF-α in the inflammatory microenvironment mimicked by lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Furthermore, S100A8 contributed to augment the migration but not the viability of the CRC cells co-cultured with the macrophages in the inflammatory microenvironment. Altogether, our study demonstrated that S100A8 facilitated the migration of CRC cells in the inflammatory microenvironment, and the underlying molecular mechanisms may be partially attributed to the overexpression of miR-155, IL-1ß and TNF-α through activation of the NF-κB pathway in macrophages.

High intensity focused ultrasound enhances anti-tumor immunity by inhibiting the negative regulatory effect of miR-134 on CD86 in a murine melanoma model.

HIFU has been demonstrated to enhance anti-tumor immunity, however, the mechanism of which has not been well elucidated. Emerging evidence indicates that miRNAs play important roles in immune response. In this study, we used the B16F10 melanoma allograft mouse model to investigate the role of miRNAs in HIFU-enhanced anti-tumor immunity. We found that HIFU treatment decreased circulating B16F10 cells and pulmonary metastasis nodules while increased IFN-γ and TNF-α in the peripheral blood and cumulative mouse survival, which was associated with inhibition of miR-134 expression and activation of CD86 expression in tumor tissues. Further, we determined that miR-134 directly binds to the 3'UTR of CD86 mRNA to suppress its expression in B16F10 cells. When B16F10 cells transfected with miR-134 were co-cultured with normal splenic lymphocytes, the secretion of IFN-γ and TNF-α from lymphocytes was reduced and B16F10 cell survival was increased. HIFU exposure efficiently decreased miR-134 while increased CD86 expression in B16F10 cells in vitro. CD86 knockdown with siRNA markedly rescued the viability of HIFU-treated B16F10 cells that co-cultured with lymphocytes. Altogether, our results suggest that HIFU down-regulates miR-134 to release the inhibition of miR-134 on CD86 in melanoma cells, thereby enhancing anti-tumor immune response.

[High-intensity focused ultrasound inhibits tumor metastasis in a melanoma-bearing mouse model].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) on tumor metastasis in mouse model bearing melanoma xenograft. METHODS: Mice bearing murine melanoma B16-F10 cell xenograft were randomized for sham-HIFU or HIFU exposure when the tumors grew to a maximum diameter of 7-10 mm, and the tumor size was measured every 3 days. The cumulative survival rate of the mice and tumor metastasis rate were calculated, and the circulating melanoma cells were detected using qRT-PCR. At 14 days after HIFU treatment, B16-F10 cells were retransplanted via the tail vein and the pulmonary metastatic nodules were counted. RESULTS: The median survival time of the mice was 19.00 days (95% CI 17.14-20.86 days) in the sham group and 26.00 days (95%CI 24.76-27.25 days) in HIFU group. The cumulative survival rate in the HIFU group was significantly higher than that in sham-HIFU group (P<0.01), and the tumor size was significantly smaller in HIFU group at 20, 23, and 26 days after HIFU treatment (P<0.05). Compared with the sham-HIFU group, HIFU group had significantly lower levels of MAGE-A3, MART1 and PAX3 at 7 days after HIFU (P<0.05) with still lower MAGE-A3 level at 14 days (P<0.05). HIFU group showed a significantly smaller number of pulmonary metastatic nodules following tumor cell retransplantation than in sham-HIFU group (P<0.01) with a metastasis inhibition rate of 42.4%. CONCLUSION: HIFU treatment can inhibit tumor metastasis in melanoma-bearing mice possibly by reducing tumor cell detachment from the primary tumor site and suppressing colonization of the circulating melanoma cells.

Inactivation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway is involved in BMP9-mediated tumor-suppressive effects in gastric cancer cells.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are members of the TGF-ß superfamily signaling factors. Expression of several BMPs (BMP2, BMP4, and BMP7) is correlated to poor prognosis in gastric cancer patients. The function of BMP9, the latest discovered and most powerful osteogenetic factor, in gastric cancer is relatively unclear. In this report, we investigated the expression, function and underlying molecular mechanisms of BMP9 in gastric cancer. The results show that BMP9 expression was markedly decreased in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines. Enforced BMP9 expression in the gastric cancer cell lines SGC-7901 and MNK-45 increased apoptosis and reduced viability and migration. The in vivo function of BMP9 was evaluated in a xenograft mouse model. Tumors derived from SGC-7901 cells with enforced BMP9 expression (SGC-7901/BMP9) showed significantly reduced size and weight compared to that from control cells. Enforced BMP9 expression resulted in decreased Akt activity shown as lower levels of phosphorylation at Ser473 and Thr308 in Akt. The PI3K/Akt inhibitor LY294002 potentiated BMP9's viability and migration suppression, and apoptosis induction, which was associated with reduced expression of snail and VEGF and increased expression of E-cadherin. In addition, tumors derived from SGC-7901/BMP9 showed reduced Akt activity and VEGF expression, and increased E-cadherin expression. Therefore, our studies reveal for the first time that inhibition of the PI3K-Akt pathway is involved in the tumor suppressor effects of BMP9 in gastric cancer.

Activation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR/p70S6K pathway is involved in S100A4-induced viability and migration in colorectal cancer cells.

The S100 protein family member S100A4 regulates various cellular functions. Previous studies have shown that elevated expression of S100A4 is associated with progression and metastasis of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, little is known about whether and how S100A4 contributes to CRC development. In our present study, the elevated expression of S100A4 in CRC tissues compared to matched adjacent normal tissues was confirmed by immunohistochemistry, semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot. Adenovirus-mediated S100A4 overexpression obviously enhanced viability and migration of CRC cells, which was detected by MTT assay and transwell assay, respectively. Additionally, S100A4 overexpression increased the phosphorylation levels of Akt, mTOR and p70S6K. These effects of S100A4 were abolished by treatment with either the specific PI3K/Akt inhibitor LY294002, or the specific mTOR/p70S6K inhibitor rapamycin. Furthermore, overexpression of S100A4 resulted in upregulation of VEGF and downregulation of E-cadherin, which were strongly reversed by either LY294002 or rapamycin. Altogether, our results demonstrate that activation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR/p70S6K signaling pathway is involved in S100A4-induced viability, migration, upregulation of VEGF and downregulation of E-cadherin in CRC cells.

S100A6 stimulates proliferation and migration of colorectal carcinoma cells through activation of the MAPK pathways.

The S100A6 protein, a member of the S100 protein family, is overexpressed in many tumors including colorectal carcinoma (CRC). Although recent studies showed that the elevated expression of S100A6 was associated with the stage and lymphatic permeation of CRC, little is known about whether and how S100A6 contributes to CRC development. Here we investigated the S100A6 expression in CRC tissues and cell lines, and explored the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of S100A6 in CRC development by examining cell proliferation and migration in vitro, and tumorigenicity in nude mice. The results show that S100A6 expression was markedly increased in CRC tissues and cell lines compared to normal colon tissues and a normal colon mucosal epithelial cell line, respectively. Recombinant adenovirus-mediated overexpression of S100A6 or treatment with recombinant S100A6 protein in HCT116, a CRC cell line with relative low S100A6 expression, resulted in enhanced cell proliferation and migration, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation in vitro, and tumor growth in vivo. Conversely, RNAi-mediated knockdown of S100A6 in LoVo, a CRC cell line with relative high S100A6 expression, resulted in reduced cell proliferation, migration and MAPK activity. S100A6-induced proliferation was partially attenuated by an ERK inhibitor while migration was suppressed by a p38 inhibitor. Taken together, our results suggest that the cellular effects of S100A6 are mediated by the ERK and p38 MAPK pathways, and modulation of these pathways may be employed for CRC prevention and therapy.