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1.
J Virol ; : e0050724, 2024 May 22.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38775482

Viruses employ a series of diverse translational strategies to expand their coding capacity, which produces viral proteins with common domains and entangles virus-host interactions. P3N-PIPO, which is a transcriptional slippage product from the P3 cistron, is a potyviral protein dedicated to intercellular movement. Here, we show that P3N-PIPO from watermelon mosaic virus (WMV) triggers cell death when transiently expressed in Cucumis melo accession PI 414723 carrying the Wmr resistance gene. Surprisingly, expression of the P3N domain, shared by both P3N-PIPO and P3, can alone induce cell death, whereas expression of P3 fails to activate cell death in PI 414723. Confocal microscopy analysis revealed that P3N-PIPO targets plasmodesmata (PD) and P3N associates with PD, while P3 localizes in endoplasmic reticulum in melon cells. We also found that mutations in residues L35, L38, P41, and I43 of the P3N domain individually disrupt the cell death induced by P3N-PIPO, but do not affect the PD localization of P3N-PIPO. Furthermore, WMV mutants with L35A or I43A can systemically infect PI 414723 plants. These key residues guide us to discover some WMV isolates potentially breaking the Wmr resistance. Through searching the NCBI database, we discovered some WMV isolates with variations in these key sites, and one naturally occurring I43V variation enables WMV to systemically infect PI 414723 plants. Taken together, these results demonstrate that P3N-PIPO, but not P3, is the avirulence determinant recognized by Wmr, although the shared N terminal P3N domain can alone trigger cell death.IMPORTANCEThis work reveals a novel viral avirulence (Avr) gene recognized by a resistance (R) gene. This novel viral Avr gene is special because it is a transcriptional slippage product from another virus gene, which means that their encoding proteins share the common N-terminal domain but have distinct C-terminal domains. Amazingly, we found that it is the common N-terminal domain that determines the Avr-R recognition, but only one of the viral proteins can be recognized by the R protein to induce cell death. Next, we found that these two viral proteins target different subcellular compartments. In addition, we discovered some virus isolates with variations in the common N-terminal domain and one naturally occurring variation that enables the virus to overcome the resistance. These results show how viral proteins with common domains interact with a host resistance protein and provide new evidence for the arms race between plants and viruses.

2.
Food Chem ; 441: 138357, 2024 May 30.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38199109

Neonicotinoids, the fastest-growing class of insecticides, have posed a multi-media residue problem with adverse effects on environment, biodiversity and human health. Herein, covalent organic framework-sodium alginate-Ca2+-polyacrylic acid composite beads (CACPs), facilely prepared at room temperature, were used in convenient dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) and combined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the detection of five neonicotinoid insecticides (thiamethoxam, acetamiprid, dinotefuran, clothianidin, imidacloprid). CACPs can be completely separated within 1 min without centrifugation. After seven adsorption/desorption cycles, it maintained high extraction efficiencies (>90%). The developed method exhibited a wide linear range (0.01 âˆ¼ 10 µg mL-1), low limits of detection (LODs, 0.0028 âˆ¼ 0.0031 mg kg-1), and good repeatability (RSD ≤ 8.11%, n = 3). Moreover, it was applied to the determination of five neonicotinoids in fruit and vegetables (peach, pear, lettuce, cucumber, tomato), and recoveries ranged from 73.6% to 116.2%.


Acrylic Resins , Insecticides , Metal-Organic Frameworks , Humans , Insecticides/analysis , Vegetables/chemistry , Metal-Organic Frameworks/analysis , Fruit/chemistry , Neonicotinoids/analysis , Solid Phase Extraction/methods , Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid/methods
3.
Cancers (Basel) ; 15(4)2023 Feb 14.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36831545

BACKGROUND: Arsenic is a well-known carcinogen inducing lung, skin, bladder, and liver cancer. Abnormal epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression is common in lung cancer; it is involved in cancer initiation, development, metastasis, and treatment resistance. However, the underlying mechanism for arsenic-inducing EGFR upregulation remains unclear. METHODS: RT-PCR and immunoblotting assays were used to detect the levels of miR-218-5p and EGFR expression. The Luciferase assay was used to test the transcriptional activity of EGFR mediated by miR-218-5p. Cell proliferation, colony formation, wound healing, migration assays, tube formation assays, and tumor growth assays were used to study the function of miR-218-5p/EGFR signaling. RESULTS: EGFR and miR-218-5p were dramatically upregulated and downregulated in arsenic-induced transformed (As-T) cells, respectively. MiR-218-5p acted as a tumor suppressor to inhibit cell proliferation, migration, colony formation, tube formation, tumor growth, and angiogenesis. Furthermore, miR-218-5p directly targeted EGFR by binding to its 3'-untranslated region (UTR). Finally, miR-218-5p exerted its antitumor effect by inhibiting its direct target, EGFR. CONCLUSION: Our study highlights the vital role of the miR-218-5p/EGFR signaling pathway in arsenic-induced carcinogenesis and angiogenesis, which may be helpful for the treatment of lung cancer induced by chronic arsenic exposure in the future.

4.
Cancer Lett ; 553: 215971, 2023 01 28.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36257380

Ovarian cancer (OC) is a malignant tumor that seriously threatens women's health. Due to the difficulty of early diagnosis, most patients exhibit advanced disease or peritoneal metastasis at diagnosis. We discovered that IFFO1 is a novel tumor suppressor, but its role in tumorigenesis, development and chemoresistance is unknown. In this study, IFFO1 levels were downregulated across cancers, leading to the acceleration of tumor development, metastasis and/or cisplatin resistance. Overexpression of IFFO1 inhibited the translocation of ß-catenin to the nucleus and decreased tumor metastasis and cisplatin resistance. Furthermore, we demonstrated that IFFO1 was regulated at both the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. At the transcriptional level, the recruitment of HDAC5 inhibited IFFO1 expression, which is mediated by the transcription factor YY1, and the METTL3/YTHDF2 axis regulated the mRNA stability of IFFO1 in an m6A-dependent manner. Mice injected with IFFO1-overexpressing cells had lower ascites volumes and tumor weights throughout the peritoneal cavity than those injected with parental cells expressing the vector control. In conclusion, we demonstrated that IFFO1 is a novel tumor suppressor that inhibits tumor metastasis and reverses drug resistance in ovarian cancer. IFFO1 was downregulated at both the transcriptional level and posttranscriptional level by histone deacetylase and RNA methylation, respectively, and the IFFO1 signaling pathway was identified as a potential therapeutic target for cancer.


Drug Resistance, Neoplasm , Intermediate Filament Proteins , Methyltransferases , Ovarian Neoplasms , Animals , Female , Humans , Mice , Adenosine/pharmacology , Carcinogenesis , Cisplatin/pharmacology , Down-Regulation , Histone Deacetylases/genetics , Histone Deacetylases/metabolism , Methyltransferases/genetics , Methyltransferases/metabolism , Ovarian Neoplasms/drug therapy , Ovarian Neoplasms/genetics , YY1 Transcription Factor/genetics , YY1 Transcription Factor/metabolism , Intermediate Filament Proteins/genetics , Intermediate Filament Proteins/metabolism
5.
Cancers (Basel) ; 14(23)2022 Nov 23.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36497250

Environmental and occupational exposure to heavy metals, such as hexavalent chromium, nickel, and cadmium, are major health concerns worldwide. Some heavy metals are well-documented human carcinogens. Multiple mechanisms, including DNA damage, dysregulated gene expression, and aberrant cancer-related signaling, have been shown to contribute to metal-induced carcinogenesis. However, the molecular mechanisms accounting for heavy metal-induced carcinogenesis and angiogenesis are still not fully understood. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have indicated that in addition to genotoxicity and genetic mutations, epigenetic mechanisms play critical roles in metal-induced cancers. Epigenetics refers to the reversible modification of genomes without changing DNA sequences; epigenetic modifications generally involve DNA methylation, histone modification, chromatin remodeling, and non-coding RNAs. Epigenetic regulation is essential for maintaining normal gene expression patterns; the disruption of epigenetic modifications may lead to altered cellular function and even malignant transformation. Therefore, aberrant epigenetic modifications are widely involved in metal-induced cancer formation, development, and angiogenesis. Notably, the role of epigenetic mechanisms in heavy metal-induced carcinogenesis and angiogenesis remains largely unknown, and further studies are urgently required. In this review, we highlight the current advances in understanding the roles of epigenetic mechanisms in heavy metal-induced carcinogenesis, cancer progression, and angiogenesis.

6.
Clin Transl Med ; 12(12): e1136, 2022 Dec.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36504325

Cr(VI) is broadly applied in industry. Cr(VI) exposure places a big burden on public health, thereby increasing the risk of lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC). The mechanisms underlying Cr(VI)-induced LUSC remain largely elusive. Here, we report that the cancer stem cell (CSC)/tumour-initiating cell (TIC)-like subgroup within Cr(VI)-transformed bronchial epithelial cells (CrT) promotes lung cancer tumourigenesis. Mechanistically, Cr(VI) exposure specifically increases the expression levels of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1 (ALDH1A1), a CSC marker, through KLF4-mediated transcription. ALDH1A1 maintains self-renewal of CrT/TICs and facilitates the expression and secretion of EGF from CrT/TICs, which subsequently promotes the activation of EGFR signalling in differentiated cancer cells and tumour growth of LUSC. In addition, the ALDH1A1 inhibitor A37 and gemcitabine synergistically suppress LUSC progression. Importantly, high ALDH1A1 expression levels are positively correlated with advanced clinical stages and predict poor survival in LUSC patients. These findings elucidate how ALDH1A1 modulates EGF secretion from TICs to facilitate LUSC tumourigenesis, highlighting new therapeutic strategies for malignant lung cancers.


Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung , Carcinoma, Squamous Cell , Lung Neoplasms , Tics , Humans , Aldehyde Dehydrogenase/genetics , Epidermal Growth Factor , Neoplastic Processes , Lung Neoplasms/genetics , Carcinogenesis , Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/genetics , Lung , Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1 Family , Retinal Dehydrogenase/genetics
8.
Cancers (Basel) ; 14(18)2022 Sep 16.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36139662

Arsenic is a crucial environmental metalloid whose high toxicity levels negatively impact human health. It poses significant health concerns to millions of people in developed and developing countries such as the USA, Canada, Bangladesh, India, China, and Mexico by enhancing sensitivity to various types of diseases, including cancers. However, how arsenic causes changes in gene expression that results in heinous conditions remains elusive. One of the proposed essential mechanisms that still has seen limited research with regard to causing disease upon arsenic exposure is the dysregulation of epigenetic components. In this review, we have extensively summarized current discoveries in arsenic-induced epigenetic modifications in carcinogenesis and angiogenesis. Importantly, we highlight the possible mechanisms underlying epigenetic reprogramming through arsenic exposure that cause changes in cell signaling and dysfunctions of different epigenetic elements.

9.
Int J Mol Sci ; 23(12)2022 Jun 16.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35743145

The diverse repertoires of cellular mechanisms that progress certain cancer types are being uncovered by recent research and leading to more effective treatment options. Ovarian cancer (OC) is among the most difficult cancers to treat. OC has limited treatment options, especially for patients diagnosed with late-stage OC. The dysregulation of miRNAs in OC plays a significant role in tumorigenesis through the alteration of a multitude of molecular processes. The development of OC can also be due to the utilization of endogenously derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) by activating signaling pathways such as PI3K/AKT and MAPK. Both miRNAs and ROS are involved in regulating OC angiogenesis through mediating multiple angiogenic factors such as hypoxia-induced factor (HIF-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The NAPDH oxidase subunit NOX4 plays an important role in inducing endogenous ROS production in OC. This review will discuss several important miRNAs, NOX4, and ROS, which contribute to therapeutic resistance in OC, highlighting the effective therapeutic potential of OC through these mechanisms.


MicroRNAs , Ovarian Neoplasms , Carcinoma, Ovarian Epithelial , Drug Resistance, Neoplasm/genetics , Female , Humans , Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit , MicroRNAs/genetics , NADPH Oxidases/metabolism , Neovascularization, Pathologic/genetics , Ovarian Neoplasms/drug therapy , Ovarian Neoplasms/genetics , Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases , Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism , Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A/metabolism
10.
Sci Total Environ ; 838(Pt 1): 155713, 2022 Sep 10.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35660107

Chronic exposure to hexavalent chromium compounds [Cr(VI)] is associated with an increased risk of cancers, but the molecular mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In this study, we found that CXCL5 levels in peripheral blood monocytes (PBMCs) and plasma from workers with occupational exposure to Cr(VI) were dramatically upregulated compared to non-exposure healthy subjects, and plasma C-X-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 5 (CXCL5) CXCL5 levels were positively correlated with Cr concentrations in subjects' toenails. Zinc chromate exposed mice showed higher levels of CXCL5 and its receptor CXCR2 in lung tissues, and in PBMCs. Similar CXCL5 upregulation was evident in Cr(VI)-induced transformed (Cr-T) cells with long-term Cr(VI) treatment. Mechanistic studies showed that elevated CXCL5 expression levels were regulated by Cr(VI)-induced histone modifications and DNA hypomethylation, and that the c-Myc/p300 complex was a key upstream regulator of histone H3 acetylation. CXCL5 overexpression promoted Cr(VI)-induced the epithelial to mesenchyme transition (EMT) by upregulating zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) to promote tumor development. Our findings identify a novel mechanism by which CXCL5 is upregulated and promotes EMT and carcinogenesis upon chronic Cr(VI) exposure. Our work also implies that CXCL5 mRNA and protein levels will elevate in PBMCs and serum after occupational Cr(VI) exposure, which may be a potential target and biomarker for cancer prevention and health surveillance among populations exposed to Cr(VI).


Carcinogenesis , Chromium , Animals , Carcinogenesis/chemically induced , Chemokine CXCL5 , Chromium/toxicity , Epigenesis, Genetic , Humans , Mice , Up-Regulation
11.
Talanta ; 243: 123340, 2022 Jun 01.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35272158

Guanine is the most susceptible to oxidation among all the DNA bases, and 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (OG) is one of main oxidation products that can occur in any part of chromosomal DNA. OG in the telomere sequence is associated with telomere shortening, cell aging, and dysfunction, and it may induce cancers. The accurate detection of OG in telomeres is important to early clinical diagnosis and molecular research. Herein, we develop a simple and rapid method to sensitively measure 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (OG) in telomeres of cancer cells by using Bsu polymerase-mediated fluorescence coding. This method is very simple without the requirement for any nucleic acid amplification or specific restriction enzyme recognition reaction, and Bsu polymerase can selectively incorporate Cy5-dATP into the opposite site of OG, endowing this method with good specificity. Moreover, the introduction of single-molecule detection significantly improves the sensitivity. This method can detect OG within 70 min with a limit of detection (LOD) of 2.45 × 10-18 M, and it can detect OG in genomic DNA extracted from H2O2-treated HeLa cells with a LOD of 0.0094 ng, holding great potential in disease-specific gene damage research and early clinic diagnosis.


Hydrogen Peroxide , Neoplasms , DNA Damage , Fluorescence , Guanine/analogs & derivatives , HeLa Cells , Humans , Neoplasms/diagnosis , Neoplasms/genetics , Oxidation-Reduction , Telomere/genetics
12.
Aging (Albany NY) ; 14(5): 2113-2130, 2022 03 03.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35241635

Arsenic exposure is associated with lung cancer. Angiogenesis is essential for tumor development. However, the role and mechanism of human vascular endothelial cells in tumor growth and angiogenesis induced by arsenic-transformed bronchial epithelial (As-T) cells remain to be elucidated. In this study, we found that endothelial cells significantly increased As-T cell-induced tumor growth compared to those induced by As-T cells alone. To understand the molecular mechanism, we found that endothelial cells co-cultured with As-T cells or cultured in conditioned medium (CM) prepared from As-T cells showed much higher cell migration, proliferation, and tube formation compared to those co-cultured with BEAS-2B (B2B) cells or cultured in CM from B2B. We identified that higher levels of intracellular interleukin 8 (IL-8) were secreted by As-T cells, which activated IL-8/IL-8R signaling to promote endothelial cells migration and tube formation. IL-8 silencing and knockout (KO) in As-T cells, or IL-8 neutralizing antibody dramatically suppressed endothelial cell proliferation, migration, tube formation in vitro, and tumor growth and angiogenesis in vivo, suggesting a key role of IL-8 in As-T cells to induce angiogenesis via a paracrine effect. Finally, blocking of IL-8 receptors C-X-C chemokine receptor type 1 (CXCR1) and CXCR2 with neutralizing antibodies and chemical inhibitors inhibited tube formation, indicating that IL-8Rs on endothelial cells are necessary for As-T cell-induced angiogenesis. Overall, this study reveals an important molecular mechanism of arsenic-induced carcinogenesis, and suggests a new option to prevent and treat arsenic-induced angiogenesis.


Arsenic , Neoplasms , Arsenic/metabolism , Arsenic/toxicity , Bronchi/metabolism , Cell Movement , Cell Proliferation , Culture Media, Conditioned/metabolism , Culture Media, Conditioned/pharmacology , Endothelial Cells/metabolism , Epithelial Cells/metabolism , Humans , Interleukin-8/metabolism , Neoplasms/metabolism , Neovascularization, Pathologic/metabolism , Receptors, Interleukin-8A/metabolism
13.
Chem Commun (Camb) ; 58(10): 1565-1568, 2022 Feb 01.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35014995

We develop for the first time a label-free fluorescent method for sensitive detection of fat mass and obesity-associated protein (FTO) activity using MazF-mediated primer generation rolling circle amplification. This method is very simple with ultrahigh sensitivity and good specificity, and it can detect FTO activity at the single-cell level. Moreover, this method can be applied for the measurement of kinetic parameters and the screening of FTO inhibitors.


Alpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTO/analysis , DNA, Single-Stranded/metabolism , Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques/methods , Alpha-Ketoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenase FTO/metabolism , Cell Line, Tumor , DNA, Single-Stranded/chemistry , DNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism , Endoribonucleases/metabolism , Escherichia coli Proteins/metabolism , Humans , Limit of Detection , Native Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis , Single-Cell Analysis , Spectrometry, Fluorescence
14.
Sci Total Environ ; 809: 151118, 2022 Feb 25.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34718002

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is a well-known carcinogen that can cause several types of cancer including lung cancer. NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), the redox sensitive transcription factor, can protect normal cells from a variety of toxicants and carcinogens by inducing the expression of cellular protective genes and maintaining redox balance. However, Nrf2 also protects cancer cells from radio- and chemo-therapies and facilitates cancer progression. Although Cr(VI) treatment has been demonstrated to upregulate Nrf2 expression, the mechanisms for Nrf2 regulation upon chronic Cr(VI) exposure remain to be elucidated. We found that Nrf2 was upregulated in BEAS-2B cells exposed to Cr(VI) from 1 to 5 months, and also in Cr(VI)-induced transformed (Cr-T) cells with Cr(VI) treatment for 6 months. We showed that KEAP1, the classic negative regulator of Nrf2, was downregulated after Cr(VI) exposure for 4 months, suggesting that Nrf2 induction by Cr(VI) treatment is through KEAP1 decrease at late stage. To further decipher the mechanisms of Nrf2 upregulation at early stage of Cr(VI) exposure, we demonstrated that miR-27a and miR-27b were redox sensitive miRNAs, since reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers induced miR-27a/b expression. After Cr(VI) exposure for 1 month, the expression levels of miR-27a/b was dramatically decreased. The changes of miR-27a/b and their target Nrf2 were confirmed in vivo by mouse model intranasally exposed to Cr(VI) for 12 weeks. Nrf2 was a direct target of miR-27a/b, which acted as tumor suppressors in vitro and in vivo to inhibit tumorigenesis and cancer development of Cr-T cells. The results suggested that the inhibition of miR-27a/b was responsible for Nrf2 upregulation at both early stage and late stage of Cr(VI) exposure. This novel regulation of Nrf2 upon chronic Cr(VI) exposure through redox-regulated miR-27a/b will provide potential targets for preventing and treating Cr(VI)-induced carcinogenesis in the future.


MicroRNAs , NF-E2-Related Factor 2 , Animals , Carcinogenesis , Chromium/toxicity , Kelch-Like ECH-Associated Protein 1/genetics , Mice , MicroRNAs/genetics , MicroRNAs/metabolism , NF-E2-Related Factor 2/genetics , NF-E2-Related Factor 2/metabolism , Oxidation-Reduction
15.
Aging (Albany NY) ; 13(21): 24037-24049, 2021 11 02.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34727092

Human esophagus carcinoma (EC) is one of the most common malignant tumors, especially in Africa and Asia including China. In EC initiation and progression, genetic and epigenetic aberrations have been reported to play a major role, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. In this study, the miR-30e levels were analyzed in human EC tissues and TCGA databases, and the results demonstrated that miR-30e expression in EC tissues was significantly decreased compared to adjacent normal tissues. To further investigate the role of miR-30e in cancer cells, we found that forced expression of miR-30e dramatically inhibited cell proliferation, invasion, tube formation, and colony formation of cancer cells. To determine the underlying mechanism of miR-30e, we found that RPS6KB1 was a direct target of miR-30e by binding to its 3'-UTR, which was verified by luciferase activity assay using reporters with wild-type miR-30e and its seed sequence mutant constructs and Western blotting assay. In vivo experiment showed that miR-30e overexpression significantly inhibited tumor growth and decreased RPS6KB1 expression in xenografts. In EC, high expression of RPS6KB1 in tumor tissues indicated poor prognosis of patients with less survival rate. High levels of RPS6KB1 and low levels of miR-30e closely correlated poor survival of patients with several other types of cancer. These findings show that miR-30e and its target RPS6KB1 are important in cancer development and clinical outcomes, and miR-30e/RPS6KB1 is a potential future therapeutic pathway for EC intervention.


Esophageal Neoplasms , MicroRNAs/genetics , Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases, 70-kDa/genetics , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Proliferation/genetics , Down-Regulation/genetics , Esophageal Neoplasms/genetics , Esophageal Neoplasms/metabolism , Esophageal Neoplasms/mortality , Esophageal Neoplasms/pathology , Esophagus/metabolism , Esophagus/pathology , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/genetics , Humans , MicroRNAs/metabolism , Neoplasm Invasiveness/genetics , Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinases, 70-kDa/metabolism
17.
Cancer Cell Int ; 21(1): 542, 2021 Oct 18.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34663310

BACKGROUND: Chemoresistance is a critical risk problem for breast cancer treatment. However, mechanisms by which chemoresistance arises remains to be elucidated. The expression of T-box transcription factor 15 (TBX-15) was found downregulated in some cancer tissues. However, role and mechanism of TBX15 in breast cancer chemoresistance is unknown. Here we aimed to identify the effects and mechanisms of TBX15 in doxorubicin resistance in breast cancer. METHODS: As measures of Drug sensitivity analysis, MTT and IC50 assays were used in DOX-resistant breast cancer cells. ECAR and OCR assays were used to analyze the glycolysis level, while Immunoblotting and Immunofluorescence assays were used to analyze the autophagy levels in vitro. By using online prediction software, luciferase reporter assays, co-Immunoprecipitation, Western blotting analysis and experimental animals models, we further elucidated the mechanisms. RESULTS: We found TBX15 expression levels were decreased in Doxorubicin (DOX)-resistant breast cancer cells. Overexpression of TBX15 reversed the DOX resistance by inducing microRNA-152 (miR-152) expression. We found that KIF2C levels were highly expressed in DOX-resistant breast cancer tissues and cells, and KIF2C was a potential target of miR-152. TBX15 and miR-152 overexpression suppressed autophagy and glycolysis in breast cancer cells, while KIF2C overexpression reversed the process. Overexpression of KIF2C increased DOX resistance in cancer cells. Furthermore, KIF2C directly binds with PKM2 for inducing the DOX resistance. KIF2C can prevent the ubiquitination of PKM2 and increase its protein stability. In addition, we further identified that Domain-2 of KIF2C played a major role in the binding with PKM2 and preventing PKM2 ubiquitination, which enhanced DOX resistance by promoting autophagy and glycolysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our data identify a new mechanism by which TBX15 abolishes DOX chemoresistance in breast cancer, and suggest that TBX15/miR-152/KIF2C axis is a novel signaling pathway for mediating DOX resistance in breast cancer through regulating PKM2 ubiquitination and decreasing PKM2 stability. This finding suggests new therapeutic target and/or novel strategy development for cancer treatment to overcome drug resistance in the future.

18.
Phys Rev Lett ; 127(9): 095501, 2021 Aug 27.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34506204

We report a transition from homogeneous deformation to localized densification for nanoporous gold (NPG) under compression, with its solid fraction (φ) increasing to above ∼1/3. Results obtained herein suggest that this transition is inverted compared to that of conventional porous materials. Consequently, under compression, the low-density NPGs with φ<1/3 showed evident strain hardening, whereas a stress plateau was observed for high-density NPGs with φ>1/3, which is contrary to the established notions for conventional porous materials. The ligament pinch-offs and bending-dominated structures are responsible for the homogeneous deformation of low-density NPGs. For high-density NPGs, the compression- or tension-dominated structure enables the collective strain bursts in nanoligaments, resulting in localized densification and stress plateau in their compression curves. In addition to the nanosize effect, the surface-diffusion-mediated topology evolution and the large-scale crystal-lattice coherency arising from the large grain size are also decisive to the mechanical response of dealloyed NPGs, which might be universal for self-organized nanonetwork materials.

19.
Semin Cancer Biol ; 76: 279-286, 2021 11.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34428550

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogenous non-coding RNAs that regulate cancer initiation, development, angiogenesis, and therapeutic resistance. Metal exposure widely occurs through air, water, soil, food, and industrial contaminants. Hundreds of millions of people may have metal exposure associated with toxicity, serious health problems, and cancer occurrence. Metal exposure is found to induce oxidative stress, DNA damage and repair, and activation of multiple signaling pathways. However, molecular mechanisms of metal-induced carcinogenesis remain to be elucidated. Recent studies demonstrated that the exposure of metals such as arsenic, hexavalent chromium, cadmium, and nickel caused dysregulation of microRNAs that are implicated to play an important role in cell transformation, tumor growth and angiogenesis. This review focuses on the recent studies that show metal-induced miRNA dysregulation and underlined mechanisms in cell malignant transformation, angiogenesis and tumor growth.


Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/chemically induced , Metals/adverse effects , MicroRNAs , Neovascularization, Pathologic/chemically induced , Animals , Humans
20.
Cells ; 10(7)2021 06 30.
Article En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34209278

Development of resistance to therapy in ovarian cancer is a major hinderance for therapeutic efficacy; however, new mechanisms of the resistance remain to be elucidated. NADPH oxidase 4 (NOX4) is responsible for higher NADPH activity to increase reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. In this study, we showed that higher levels of NOX4 were detected in a large portion of human ovarian cancer samples. To understand the molecular mechanism of the NOX4 upregulation, we showed that NOX4 expression was induced by HIF-1α and growth factor such as IGF-1. Furthermore, our results indicated that NOX4 played a pivotal role in chemotherapy and radiotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer cells. We also demonstrated that NOX4 knockdown increased sensitivity of targeted therapy and radiotherapy through decreased expression of HER3 (ERBB3) and NF-κB p65. Taken together, we identified a new HIF-1α/NOX4 signal pathway which induced drug and radiation resistance in ovarian cancer. The finding may provide a new option to overcome the therapeutic resistance of ovarian cancer in the future.


Drug Resistance, Neoplasm , NADPH Oxidase 4/metabolism , Ovarian Neoplasms/metabolism , Receptor, ErbB-3/metabolism , Signal Transduction , Afatinib/pharmacology , Alternative Splicing/genetics , Carcinogenesis/metabolism , Carcinogenesis/pathology , Cell Line, Tumor , Down-Regulation/drug effects , Female , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic/drug effects , Gene Knockdown Techniques , Humans , Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit/metabolism , Insulin-Like Growth Factor I/pharmacology , Models, Biological , NADPH Oxidase 4/genetics , Ovarian Neoplasms/genetics , Ovarian Neoplasms/pathology , Progression-Free Survival , Transcription Factor RelA/metabolism , Transcription, Genetic/drug effects , Trastuzumab/pharmacology
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