Downregulation of NCL attenuates tumor formation and growth in HeLa cells by targeting the PI3K/AKT pathway.

BACKGROUND: Nucleolin (NCL, C23) is a multifunctional phosphoprotein that plays a vital role in modulating the survival, proliferationand apoptosis of cancer cells. However, the effects of NCL on cervical cancer and the underlying mechanisms behind this are poorly understood. METHODS: Lentiviral transfection technology was used to construct NCL knockdown cell lines. MTT, colony formation assays, and tumorigenic assays in vivo were performed to observe cell proliferation. HOECHST 33342 staining, flow cytometry, and caspase activity assay were used to test cell apoptosis. RNA-Seq, Western blotting, and RT-PCR were conducted to investigate the specific molecular mechanism. RESULTS: NCL knockdown inhibited cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis both in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistic studies revealed that NCL knockdown inhibited the PI3K/AKT pathway by upregulating FGF, ITGA, TNXB, VEGF, Caspase 3, and Bax, as well as by downregulating AKT, GNB4, CDK6, IL6R, LAMA, PDGFD, PPP2RSA and BCL-2. In addition, the expression levels of apoptosis-related genes after using a PI3K inhibitor LY294002 were consistent with shRNA studies, while treatment with a 740Y-P agonist showed the opposite effect. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that downregulation of NCL may be a novel treatment strategy forcervical cancer.

Effects of phycoerythrin from Gracilaria lemaneiformis in proliferation and apoptosis of SW480 cells.

We studied phycoerythrin (PE) in human SW480 tumor cells and the underlying molecular mechanisms of action. PE inhibited cell proliferation as evidenced by CCK-8 assay. The IC50 values of phycoerythrin were 48.2 and 27.4 µg/ml for 24 and 48 h of exposure, respectively. PE induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in SW480 cells as observed under electron microscopy and with flow cytometry. Apoptosis increased from 5.1 (controls) to 39.0% in 80.0 µg/ml PE-treated cells. Differences in protein expression were identified using proteomic techniques. Protein spots (1018±60 and 1010±60) were resolved in PE-treated and untreated group. Forty differential protein spots were analyzed with MALDI-TOF-MS, including GRP78 and NPM1. The expression as measured by qPCR and western blotting agreed with data from two-dimensional electrophoresis. GRP78, NPM1, MTHSP75, Ezrin and Annexin A2 were decreased and HSP60 was increased after PE treatment, indicating that PE may target multiple proteins to induce apoptosis.

Transcriptome analysis of phycocyanin inhibitory effects on SKOV-3 cell proliferation.

Phycocyanin (PC) from Spirulina platensis has inhibitory effects on tumor cell growth. In this research, the transcriptome study was designed to investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms of PC inhibition on human ovarian cancer cell SKOV-3 proliferation. The PC IC50 was 216.6µM and 163.8µM for 24h and 48h exposure, respectively, as determined by CCK-8 assay. The morphological changes of SKOV-3 cells after PC exposure were recorded using HE staining. Cells arrested in G2/M stages as determined by flow cytometry. The transcriptome analysis showed that 2031 genes (with > three-fold differences) were differentially expressed between the untreated and the PC-treated cells, including 1065 up-regulated and 966 down-regulated genes. Gene ontology and KEGG pathway analysis identified 18 classical pathways that were remarkably enriched, such as neurotrophin signaling pathway, VEGF signaling pathway and P53 signaling pathway. qPCR results further showed that PTPN12, S100A2, RPL26, and LAMA3 increased while HNRNPA1P10 decreased in PC-treated cells. Molecules and genes in those pathways may be potential targets to develop treatments for ovarian cancer.

Spirulina phycocyanin induces differential protein expression and apoptosis in SKOV-3 cells.

The present study was designed to determine the effects of phycocyanin (PC) on Human ovarian cancer SKOV-3 cells and the underlying molecular mechanisms of action. The inhibitory effects of PC on the cell proliferation were detected by MTT assay. The IC50 values of PC were 182.0µM and 133.6µM for 24h and 48h exposure, respectively. PC induced apoptosis in SKOV-3 cells was observed by electron microscopy and flow cytometry. The apoptosis rate was increased from 1.6% to 19.8% after PC exposure. The fluorescence intensity of ROS and the activities of Caspase-3, Caspase-8, and Caspase-9 were increased. Differentiated expression protein spots were selected and identified using proteomic techniques. There were 698±73 and 683±79 protein spots resolved in untreated and PC-treated cells, respectively. Forty five differential protein spots were analyzed by MALDI-TOF-MS, including mtSSB, PSME3, and nucleolin. The mRNA expression profiles determined by RT-PCR were consistent with that of the two-dimensional electrophoresis. The decreased proteins such as HSP60, nucleolin, PPase, peroxiredoxin-4 and the increased protein (mtSSB) were identified in SKOV-3 cells after PC treatment, indicating that the effects of PC on tumor cell apoptosis may be relate to multiple target proteins. And the mitochondrial pathway may be the main pathway for PC-induced apoptosis.