mTORC1 maintains the tumorigenicity of SSEA-4(+) high-grade osteosarcoma.

Inactivation of p53 and/or Rb pathways restrains osteoblasts from cell-cycle exit and terminal differentiation, which underpins osteosarcoma formation coupled with dedifferentiation. Recently, the level of p-S6K was shown to independently predict the prognosis for osteosarcomas, while the reason behind this is not understood. Here we show that in certain high-grade osteosarcomas, immature SSEA-4(+) tumor cells represent a subset of tumor-initiating cells (TICs) whose pool size is maintained by mTORC1 activity. mTORC1 supports not only SSEA-4(+) cell self-renewal through S6K but also the regeneration of SSEA-4(+) TICs by SSEA-4(-) osteosarcoma cell dedifferentiation. Mechanistically, active mTORC1 is required to prevent a likely upregulation of the cell-cycle inhibitor p27 independently of p53 or Rb activation, which otherwise effectively drives the terminal differentiation of SSEA-4(-) osteosarcoma cells at the expense of dedifferentiation. Thus, mTORC1 is shown to critically regulate the retention of tumorigenicity versus differentiation in discrete differentiation phases in SSEA-4(+) TICs and their progeny.

RhoGDI2 confers resistance to 5-fluorouracil in human gastric cancer cells.

Resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in patients with gastric cancer is a serious therapeutic problem and major efforts are underway to understand the underlying mechanisms. We have previously identified RhoGDI2 as a contributor to 5-FU resistance in colon cancer cells using 2D electrophoresis and mass spectrometry and the current study aimed to further investigate this role. The expression of RhoGDI2 in seven gastric cancer cell lines was positively correlated with resistance to 5-FU. Lower 5-FU sensitivity of isolated tumor cells from patients with gastric cancer was also associated with higher RhoGDI2 expression. Ectopic expression of RhoGDI2 in gastric cancer cells increased the resistance to 5-FU and reverted low dose 5-FU-induced G2/M phase arrest without affecting the population of sub-G1 cells. Overall, these findings suggest that RhoGDI2 is associated with 5-FU resistance and is a potential therapeutic target for enhancing chemotherapy efficacy in gastric cancer.

[Establishment of experimental angiogenic models with applications of quantitative digital image analysis].

OBJECTIVE: To establish experimental models for tumor neovascularization and to apply quantitative digital imaging analysis in the study. METHODS: An endothelial tube formation model was established by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). A vasculogenic mimicry model was established by SGC-7901 gastric cancer cell line. Fertilized eggs were used to establish a chorioallantoic membrane angiogenesis model. Using gene transfection experiment, IRX1 tumor suppressor gene was chosen as a therapeutic target. Image Pro Plus (IPP) analysis software was used for digital vascular images analysis with parameters including points, lines, angles and integral absorbance (IA) for the tubular formation or vasculogenic mimicry. RESULTS: Digital image analysis by IPP showed that HUVEC tubular formation was significantly inhibited in IRX1 transfectant, compared with controls. The tubular numbers in three groups were 12.80 +/- 3.83, 29.00 +/- 5.34 and 28.20 +/- 4.32 (P<0.01). The connection points of tubules in three groups were 13.20 +/- 2.59, 25.00 +/- 2.24 and 24.60 +/- 3.21 (P<0.01). The tubular lengths of three groups were (821.5 +/- 12.5), (930.9 +/- 13.5) and (948.4 +/- 18.1) microm (P=0.022). The IA values of PAS stain in three groups were 3606 +/- 363, 14 200 +/- 1251 and 15 043 +/- 1220 (P<0.01). In chick chorioallantoic membrane model, the angular numbers of tubules in three groups were 6.41 +/- 2.60, 10.27 +/- 2.65 and 9.18 +/- 1.99 (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The endothelial tube formation model, vasculogenic mimicry model and chorioallantoic membrane angiogenesis model are useful for gene therapy and drug screening with targeting neoplastic vascularization. Professional image analysis software may greatly facilitate the quantitative analysis of tumor neovascularization.

Salinomycin can effectively kill ALDH(high) stem-like cells on gastric cancer.

Salinomycin is a novel identified cancer stem cells (CSCs) killer. Higher ALDH activity represents CSCs characterization. Here, we screened ALDH activities on several gastric cancer cell lines and divided them into ALDH(high) and ALDH(low) gastric cancer groups. ALDH(high) cancer cells (NCI-N87 and SNU-1) disclosed more CSCs characteristics, such as higher levels of Sox2, Nanog and Nestin, more floating spheroid bodies, more colony formation and more resistance to conventional chemotherapeutic drugs 5-Fu and CDDP, compared to these parameters observed in ALDH(low) cancer cells (P<0.01). Importantly, ALDH(high) cancer cells are relatively sensitive to salinomycin when compared to ALDH(low) cancer cells (P<0.01). Our results confirmed ALDH as functional marker of CSCs population on gastric cancer. Salinomycin might be selective therapy for CSCs fraction, which is resistant to conventional anticancer drugs 5-Fu and CDDP.

Helicobacter pylori induces promoter hypermethylation and downregulates gene expression of IRX1 transcription factor on human gastric mucosa.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Gene silence of IRX1 tumor suppressor by promoter CpG methylation combined with loss of heterozygosity (LOH) has been identified in human gastric cancer. This study investigated the association between methylation of IRX1 and Helicobacter pylori infection in gastric mucosa tissues and cell line. METHODS: IRX1 methylation was studied by methylation specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP) and bisulfate sequencing polymerase chain reaction (BSP) methods in gastric mucosa tissues from H. pylori-positive chronic gastritis patients or H. pylori-negative chronic gastritis patients. Promoter activity, methylation status and gene expressing level of IRX1 were evaluated by persistent infecting H. pylori on human gastric cells GES-1 in vitro. Electron microscopy was used to observe the effect of H. pylori infection on GES-1 gastric mucosa cells. RESULTS: The methylation level of IRX1 promoter in H. pylori positive chronic gastritis and H. pylori negative chronic gastritis was 55.30%±13.17 versus 5.20%±6.31, respectively (P<0.01). H. pylori infection stimulated increased microvillus, and mucous secretion on GES-1 cells. Infection of H. pylori induced IRX1 promoter methylation and downregulation of the promoter activity as well as gene expression significantly. CONCLUSIONS: This study firstly demonstrated that H. pylori infection contributes to IRX1 promoter methylation on gastric mucosa.

[Discovery and verification of matrix gla protein, a TNM staging and prognosis-related biomarker for gastric cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze microarray datasets deposited in the public database and to identify TNM associated genes in gastric cancers. METHODS: Microarray datasets of gastric cancer were selected from GEO database. Differentially expressed genes related to TNM staging were evaluated by significant analysis of the microarray using MultiExperiment Viewer (MEV) platform. Candidate gene expressions in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines were verified by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), quantitative RT-PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: GES4007 dataset was re-analyzed leading to the identification of 14 genes associated with TNM staging. Over-expression of matrix gla protein (MGP) was confirmed in gastric cancer cell lines and tumor tissues by quantitative RT-PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry. Increased MGP expression was found in 22 of 54 cases of (40.7%) gastric cancer specimens compared to the normal gastric tissues. The up-regulation of MGP mRNA expression closely correlated with TNM stage (P = 0.001) and prognosis (P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: Public databases of microarray studies are the valuable resources for data mining. MGP has been identified and confirmed as a novel biomarker for the TNM stage and prognosis of gastric cancer.

[Promoter cloning and activity analysis for iroquois homeobox gene 1 in gastric mucosa cell line].

OBJECTIVE: To clone core promoter regions of iroquois homeobox gene 1 (IRX1) gene and evaluate the regulatory mechanism of IRX1 transcription. METHODS: Upstream sequence from transcriptional start site was predicted using bioinformatics methods. Serial deleted fragments from IRX1 promoter sequences were amplified by PCR and luciferase reporter plasmids were constructed. The luciferase intensity was analyzed after transferring reporters into GES-1 gastric mucosa cell line. RESULTS: The promoter of IRX1 was predicted to be within 700 bp from the 5'-flanking region of IRX1 gene. Eight serial deleted luciferase reporter plasmids were constructed. The transcriptional activity of different fragments was expressed as following: p-416>p-584>p-715>p-350>p-687>p-320>p-188>p-92. Except p-320 and p-188, the transcriptional activity of other 6 fragments was higher than that of PGL3-basic plasmid. The transcriptional activity was the highest in p-416 and decreased sharply from p-320 to p-188. CONCLUSIONS: The fragment p-416 shows the strongest promoter activity. The sequence from -320 bp to -188 bp is identified as core promoter region, which is focused as key sequence for further regulatory analysis, since some binding sites for important transcriptional factors such as Sp1 and TFII D are predicted.