WAVE2 is associated with poor prognosis in pancreatic cancers and promotes cell motility and invasiveness via binding to ACTN4

Disulfidptosis: a novel gene-based signature predicts prognosis and immunotherapy efficacy of pancreatic adenocarcinoma

Disulfidptosis, a novel form of disulfide stress-induced cell death involved in tumor progression, hasn't be well defined the function in tumor progression. And the clinical impacts of disulfidptosis-related genes (DRGs) in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) remain largely unclear. In this study, we identified two distinct disulfidptosis subtypes and found that multilayer DRG alterations were associated with prognosis and TME infiltration characteristics. A three-gene prognostic signature was constructed to predict prognosis, and its clinical significance was characterized in the TCGA-PAAD cohort. The disulfidptosis signature was significantly correlated with prognosis, molecular subtype, CD8 T-cell infiltration, response to immune checkpoint inhibitors and chemotherapeutic drug sensitivity, and its predictive capability in PAAD patients was validated in multiple cohorts. Meanwhile, two anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy cohorts confirmed that low-risk patients exhibited substantially enhanced clinical response and treatment advantages. Furthermore, the expression patterns of DRGs were validated by quantitative real-time PCR. The expression and prognostic predictive capability of GLUT1 were verified by 87 PAAD patients from our cohort. These findings may help us understand the roles of DRGs in PAAD and the molecular characterization of disulfidptosis subtypes. The disulfidptosis signature could be a promising biomarker for prognosis, molecular subtypes, TME infiltration characteristics and immunotherapy efficacy.

Cancer-associated fibroblast-derived COL17A1 promotes gemcitabine resistance and tumorigenesis in pancreatic cancer cells by interacting with ACTN4

BACKGROUND

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are key components of tumor microenvironment and have been identified to be involved in modulating drug resistance in cancers by secreting molecules. Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a leading cause of cancer mortality with high aggressiveness. Gemcitabine (GEM) is one of primary antineoplastic drugs for PC. Collagen XVII (COL17A1) expression was found to be upregulated in GEM-resistant CAFs. Here, this study focused on investigating whether CAFs affected GEM resistance in PC by secreting COL17A1 and its associated mechanisms.

METHODS

In total, 60 newly diagnosed PC patients only with GEM-based chemotherapy were recruited. Normal fibroblasts (NFs) and CAFs were isolated using fresh normal and resistant PC tissues. Human pancreatic duct epithelial (HPDE) cells were used for functional analyses. Levels of COL17A1 and Actinin Alpha 4 (ACTN4) were measured by using qRT-PCR and western blotting. Functional analyses were conducted using MTT, 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine, transwell, and sphere formation assays, respectively. The interaction between COL17A1 and ACTN4 was analyzed by Co-immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence assays. Animal models were established for in vivo analysis.

RESULTS

CAF incubation promoted GEM resistance and enhanced the proliferation, invasion and stemness in GEM-resistant PC cells. COL17A1 was highly expressed in resistant CAFs and GEM-resistant PC cells, and CAF incubation could increase COL17A1 expression in resistant PC cells. Moreover, COL17A1 silencing in GEM-resistant PC cells or the incubation of COL17A1-decreased CAF with GEM-resistant PC cells could suppress GEM resistance and cell oncogenic phenotype progression. Mechanistically, COL17A1 interacted with ACTN4 protein, and the anticancer effects mediated by COL17A1-decreased CAFs in resistant PC cells were reversed by ACTN4 overexpression. In vivo assay also showed that COL17A1-decreased CAFs suppressed the growth and GEM resistance in PC by ACTN4.

CONCLUSION

CAFs-derived COL17A1 promoted GEM resistance and tumorigenesis in PC by interacting with ACTN4, suggesting a new method for overcoming GEM resistance in PC.

Histaminergic System and Inflammation-Related Genes in Normal Large Intestine and Adenocarcinoma Tissues: Transcriptional Profiles and Relations

Transcriptional analyses such as microarray data have contributed to the progress in the diagnostics and therapy of colorectal cancer (CRC). The need for such research is still present because of the disease being common in both men and women with a high second position in cancer rankings. Little is known about the relations between the histaminergic system and inflammation in the large intestine and CRC. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of genes related to the histaminergic system and inflammation in the CRC tissues at three cancer development designs: all tested CRC samples, low (LCS) and high (HCS) clinical stage, and four clinical stages (CSI-CSIV), to the control. The research was carried out at the transcriptomic level, analysing hundreds of mRNAs from microarrays, as well as carrying out RT-PCR analysis of histaminergic receptors. The following histaminergic mRNAs: GNA15, MAOA, WASF2A, and inflammation-related: AEBP1, CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL3, CXCL8, SPHK1, TNFAIP6, were distinguished. Among all analysed transcripts, AEBP1 can be considered the most promising diagnostic marker in the early stage of CRC. The results showed 59 correlations between differentiating genes of the histaminergic system and inflammation in the control, control and CRC, and CRC. The tests confirmed the presence of all histamine receptor transcripts in both the control and colorectal adenocarcinoma. Significant differences in expression were stated for HRH2 and HRH3 in the advanced stages of CRC adenocarcinoma. The relations between the histaminergic system and inflammation-linked genes in both the control and the CRC have been observed.

Hypermethylated WASF2: tumor suppressive role in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Background

WASF2 regulates actin reorganization during cell migration. WASF2 has been identified as a regulator of the development of gastric cancer, breast cancer, and pancreatic cancer. But its regulatory mechanisms remain unknown. Also, its function was absent in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Consequently, we examined the effect of DNA methylation on aberrant WASF2 expression in HNSCC.

Methods

TNMplot, TIMER, GSEA pathway analysis, and the Kaplan-Meier Plotter database were used to analyze the expression, function, and prognostic value of WASF2, as well as the correlation between WASF2 and infiltrating immune cells in HNSCC or pan-cancer analysis. WASF2 promoter methylation levels and the correlation between WASF2 expression and WASF2 promoter methylation in HNSCC were evaluated using the DNMIVD database. The effect of DNA methylation inhibitor on WASF2 expression was demonstrated in the GEO database. Finally, the TISIDB database determined the relationships between WASF2 methylation, immune cell infiltration, and immune inhibitors.

Results

WASF2 was significantly downregulated in HNSCC tissues where WASF2 promoter methylation was elevated. According to the GEO database, treatment with a DNA methylation inhibitor notably restored the mRNA expression of WASF2. WASF2 expression was also a favorable indicator of human papilloma virus (HPV)-positive HNSCC. Its level of promoter methylation had detrimental effects on patient survival. In addition, patients with elevated levels of WASF2 demonstrated active G2/M regulation, TGF-β signaling, Kras signaling, fatty acid metabolism, and p53 pathways. WASF2 was positively associated with tumor-killing immune cells, while WASF2 methylation was positively related to immunosuppressive cells and immune-inhibitors.

Conclusions

Hypermethylated WASF2 acted as a tumor suppressor of HNSCC by regulating tumor formation and immune imbalance.

Hypomethylation-mediated upregulation of the WASF2 promoter region correlates with poor clinical outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common and lethal cancers worldwide. Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein family member 2 (WASF2) is an integral member of the actin cytoskeleton pathway, which plays a crucial role in cell motility. In this study, we aimed to explore the role of WASF2 in HCC carcinogenesis and its regulatory mechanism.

Methods

WASF2 expression in HCC was analyzed using six public RNA-seq datasets and 66 paired tissues from patients with HCC. The role of WASF2 in normal hepatocyte cell phenotypes was evaluated using a WASF2 overexpression vector in vitro; it was evaluated in HCC cell phenotypes using small interfering RNA (siRNA) in vitro and in vivo. Epigenetic regulatory mechanism of WASF2 was assessed in the Cancer Genome Atlas liver hepatocellular carcinoma project (TCGA_LIHC) dataset and also validated in 38 paired HCC tissues. Site mutagenesis, bisulfite sequencing polymerase chain reaction (BSP), methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (MSP), and quantitative MSP (qMSP) were used for evaluating WASF2 methylation status.

Results

WASF2 is overexpressed in HCC and is clinically correlated with its prognosis. WASF2 overexpression promoted normal hepatocyte proliferation. WASF2 inactivation decreased the viability, growth, proliferation, migration, and invasion of Huh-7 and SNU475 HCC cells by inducing G2/M phase arrest. This induced cell death and inhibited epithelial–mesenchymal transition, hindering actin polymerization. In addition, WASF2 knockdown using siWASF2 in a xenograft mouse model and a lung metastasis model exerted tumor suppressive effect. There was a negative correlation between WASF2 methylation status and mRNA expression. The methylation pattern of CpG site 2 (− 726 bp), located in the WASF2 promoter, plays an important role in the regulation of WASF2 expression. Furthermore, the cg242579 CpG island in the WASF2 5′ promoter region was hypomethylated in HCC compared to that in the matched non-tumor samples. Patients with high WASF2 methylation and low WASF2 expression displayed the highest overall survival.

Conclusions

WASF2 is overexpressed and hypomethylated in HCC and correlates with patient prognosis. WASF2 inactivation exerts anti-tumorigenic effects on HCC cells in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that WASF2 could be a potential therapeutic target for HCC.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13046-022-02365-7.

EMX1 functions as a tumor inhibitor in spinal cord glioma through transcriptional suppression of WASF2 and inactivation of the Wnt/β-catenin axis

BACKGROUND

Gliomas are the most frequent and aggressive cancers in the central nervous system, and spinal cord glioma (SCG) is a rare class of the gliomas. Empty spiracles homobox genes (EMXs) have shown potential tumor suppressing roles in glioma, but the biological function of EMX1 in SCG is unclear.

METHODS

The EMX1 expression in clinical tissues of patients with SCG was examined. SCG cells were extracted from the tissues, and altered expression of EMX1 was then introduced to examine the role of EMX1 in cell growth and invasiveness in vitro. Xenograft tumors were induced in nude mice for in vivo validation. The targets of EXM1 were predicted via bioinformatic analysis and validated by luciferase and ChIP-qPCR assays. Rescue experiments were conducted to validate the involvements of the downstream molecules.

RESULTS

EMX1 was poorly expressed in glioma, which was linked to decreased survival rate of patients according to the bioinformatics prediction. In clinical tissues, EMX1 was poorly expressed in SCG, especially in the high-grade tissues. EMX1 upregulation significantly suppressed growth and metastasis of SCG cells in vitro and in vivo. EMX1 bound to the promoter of WASP family member 2 (WASF2) to suppress its transcription. Restoration of WASF2 blocked the tumor-suppressing effect of EMX1. EMX1 suppressed Wnt/β-catenin signaling activity by inhibiting WASF2. Coronaridine, a Wnt/β-catenin-specific antagonist, blocked SCG cell growth and metastasis induced by WASF2.

CONCLUSION

This study elucidates that EMX1 functions as a tumor inhibitor in SCG by suppressing WASF2-dependent activation of the Wnt/β-catenin axis.

WASP family proteins: Molecular mechanisms and implications in human disease

Proteins of the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) family play a central role in regulating actin cytoskeletal dynamics in a wide range of cellular processes. Genetic mutations or misregulation of these proteins are tightly associated with many diseases. The WASP-family proteins act by transmitting various upstream signals to their conserved WH2-Central-Acidic (WCA) peptide sequence at the C-terminus, which in turn binds to the Arp2/3 complex to stimulate the formation of branched actin networks at membranes. Despite this common feature, the regulatory mechanisms and cellular functions of distinct WASP-family proteins are very different. Here, we summarize and clarify our current understanding of WASP-family proteins and how disruption of their functions is related to human disease.

WASF2 Serves as a Potential Biomarker and Therapeutic Target in Ovarian Cancer: A Pan-Cancer Analysis

Background

Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein family member 2 (WASF2) has been shown to play an important role in many types of cancer. Therefore, it is worthwhile to further study expression profile of WASF2 in human cancer, which provides new molecular clues about the pathogenesis of ovarian cancer.

Methods

We used a series of bioinformatics methods to comprehensively analyze the relationship between WASF2 and prognosis, tumor microenvironment (TME), immune infiltration, tumor mutational burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), and tried to find the potential biological processes of WASF2 in ovarian cancer. Biological behaviors of ovarian cancer cells were investigated through CCK8 assay, scratch test and transwell assay. We also compared WASF2 expression between epithelial ovarian cancer tissues and normal ovarian tissues by using immunohistochemical staining.

Results

In the present study, we found that WASF2 was abnormally expressed across the diverse cancer and significantly correlated with overall survival (OS) and progression-free interval (PFI). More importantly, the WASF2 expression level also significantly related to the TME. Our results also showed that the expression of WASF2 was closely related to immune infiltration and immune-related genes. In addition, WASF2 expression was associated with TMB, MSI, and antitumor drugs sensitivity across various cancer types. Functional bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that the WASF2 might be involved in several signaling pathways and biological processes of ovarian cancer. A risk factor model was found to be predictive for OS in ovarian cancer based on the expression of WASF2. Moreover, in vitro experiments, it was demonstrated that the proliferative, migratory and invasive capacity of ovarian cancer cells was significantly inhibited due to WASF2 knockdown. Finally, the immunohistochemistry data confirmed that WASF2 were highly expressed in ovarian cancer.

Conclusions

Our study demonstrated that WASF2 expression was associated with a poor prognosis and may be involved in the development of ovarian cancer, which might be explored as a potential prognostic marker and new targeted treatments.

The Role of WAVE2 Signaling in Cancer

The Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) and WASP family verprolin-homologous protein (WAVE)—WAVE1, WAVE2 and WAVE3 regulate rapid reorganization of cortical actin filaments and have been shown to form a key link between small GTPases and the actin cytoskeleton. Upon receiving upstream signals from Rho-family GTPases, the WASP and WAVE family proteins play a significant role in polymerization of actin cytoskeleton through activation of actin-related protein 2/3 complex (Arp2/3). The Arp2/3 complex, once activated, forms actin-based membrane protrusions essential for cell migration and cancer cell invasion. Thus, by activation of Arp2/3 complex, the WAVE and WASP family proteins, as part of the WAVE regulatory complex (WRC), have been shown to play a critical role in cancer cell invasion and metastasis, drawing significant research interest over recent years. Several studies have highlighted the potential for targeting the genes encoding either part of or a complete protein from the WASP/WAVE family as therapeutic strategies for preventing the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. WAVE2 is well documented to be associated with the pathogenesis of several human cancers, including lung, liver, pancreatic, prostate, colorectal and breast cancer, as well as other hematologic malignancies. This review focuses mainly on the role of WAVE2 in the development, invasion and metastasis of different types of cancer. This review also summarizes the molecular mechanisms that regulate the activity of WAVE2, as well as those oncogenic pathways that are regulated by WAVE2 to promote the cancer phenotype. Finally, we discuss potential therapeutic strategies that target WAVE2 or the WAVE regulatory complex, aimed at preventing or inhibiting cancer invasion and metastasis.

The deubiquitinase OTUD3 stabilizes ACTN4 to drive growth and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma

OTU domain-containing protein 3 (OTUD3), a deubiquitinating enzyme, has been shown to participate in progression of multiple malignancies. The accurate function of OTUD3 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression remains elusive. We found that OTUD3 was significantly overexpressed in HCC, and higher OTUD3 expression was correlated with larger tumor size, more distant metastasis, and worse TNM stage. A series of gain- and loss-of-function assays were also performed to examine the oncogenic function of OTUD3 in promoting HCC cell growth and metastasis in vitro. Using a xenograft mouse model, we showed that OTUD3 accelerated HCC progression in vivo. Furthermore, alpha-actinin 4 (ACTN4) was identified as a downstream target of OTUD3 through mass spectrometry analysis, and the ACTN4 protein level was significantly related to OTUD3 expression. Additionally, OTUD3 directly bound with ACTN4 and deubiquitinated ACTN4 to stabilize it. Finally, ACTN4 was found to be essential for OTUD3-mediated HCC proliferation and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, our findings identify the oncogenic role of OTUD3 in HCC and suggest that OTUD3 can be considered as a pivotal prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target.

Targeting WASF3 Signaling in Metastatic Cancer

Increasing evidence indicates that cancer metastasis is regulated by specific genetic pathways independent of those controlling tumorigenesis and cancer growth. WASF3, a Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein family member, appears to play a major role not only in the regulation of actin cytoskeleton dynamics but also in cancer cell invasion/metastasis. Recent studies have highlighted that WASF3 is a master regulator and acts as a pivotal scaffolding protein, bringing the various components of metastatic signaling complexes together both spatially and temporally. Herein, targeting WASF3 at the levels of transcription, protein stability, and phosphorylation holds great promise for metastasis suppression, regardless of the diverse genetic backgrounds associated with tumor development. This review focuses on the critical and distinct contributions of WASF3 in the regulation of signal pathways promoting cancer cell invasion and metastasis.

Actin regulators in cancer progression and metastases: From structure and function to cytoskeletal dynamics

The cytoskeleton is a central factor contributing to various hallmarks of cancer. In recent years, there has been increasing evidence demonstrating the involvement of actin regulatory proteins in malignancy, and their dysregulation was shown to predict poor clinical prognosis. Although enhanced cytoskeletal activity is often associated with cancer progression, the expression of several inducers of actin polymerization is remarkably reduced in certain malignancies, and it is not completely clear how these changes promote tumorigenesis and metastases. The complexities involved in cytoskeletal induction of cancer progression therefore pose considerable difficulties for therapeutic intervention; it is not always clear which cytoskeletal regulator should be targeted in order to impede cancer progression, and whether this targeting may inadvertently enhance alternative invasive pathways which can aggravate tumor growth. The entire constellation of cytoskeletal machineries in eukaryotic cells are numerous and complex; the system is comprised of and regulated by hundreds of proteins, which could not be covered in a single review. Therefore, we will focus here on the actin cytoskeleton, which encompasses the biological machinery behind most of the key cellular functions altered in cancer, with specific emphasis on actin nucleating factors and nucleation-promoting factors. Finally, we discuss current therapeutic strategies for cancer which aim to target the cytoskeleton.

Efficient delivery of small interfering RNAs targeting particular mRNAs into pancreatic cancer cells inhibits invasiveness and metastasis of pancreatic tumors

We report the use of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) against ARHGEF4, CCDC88A, LAMTOR2, mTOR, NUP85, and WASF2 and folic acid (FA)-modified polyethylene glycol (PEG)-chitosan oligosaccharide lactate (COL) nanoparticles for targeting, imaging, delivery, gene silencing, and inhibition of invasiveness and metastasis in an orthotopic xenograft model. In vitro assays revealed that these siRNA-FA-PEG-COL nanoparticles were specifically inserted into pancreatic cancer cells compared to immortalized normal pancreatic epithelial cells and knocked down expression of the corresponding targets in pancreatic cancer cells. Cell motility and invasion were significantly inhibited by adding target siRNA-FA-PEG-COL nanoparticles into the culture medium. In vivo mouse experiments confirmed that when intravenously delivered, these siRNA-FA-PEG-COL nanoparticles became incorporated into human pancreatic cancer cells in mouse pancreatic tumors. Little accumulation was seen in the normal pancreas and vital organs. All target siRNA-FA-PEG-COL nanoparticles significantly inhibited retroperitoneal invasion. The siRNA-FA-PEG-COL nanoparticles against LAMTOR2, mTOR, and NUP85, which strongly inhibited retroperitoneal invasion and significantly inhibited peritoneal dissemination compared to the other nanoparticles, improved prognosis of the mice. Our results imply that siRNA-FA-PEG-COL nanoparticles against these six targets could have great potential as biodegradable drug carriers. In particular, siRNA nanoparticles against LAMTOR2, mTOR, and NUP85 may hold significant clinical promise.

WAVE2 is associated with poor prognosis in pancreatic cancers and promotes cell motility and invasiveness via binding to ACTN4

WAVE2 is a member of the WASP/WAVE family of actin cytoskeletal regulatory proteins; unfortunately, little is known about its function in pancreatic cancers. In this study, we report the role of WAVE2 in the motility and invasiveness of pancreatic cancer cells. High WAVE2 expression in human pancreatic cancer tissues was correlated with overall survival. WAVE2 accumulated in the cell protrusions of pancreatic cancer cell lines. Downregulation of WAVE2 by small interfering RNA decreased the cell protrusions and inhibited the motility and invasiveness of pancreatic cancer cells. WAVE2 promoted pancreatic cancer cell motility and invasion by forming a complex with the actin cytoskeletal protein alpha‐actinin 4 (ACTN4). Downregulation of ACTN4 by small interfering RNA also inhibited the motility and invasiveness of the cells through a decrease in cell protrusions. Further investigation showed that WAVE2/ACTN4 signaling selectively stimulated p27 phosphorylation and thereby increased the motility and invasiveness of the cells. These results suggest that WAVE2 and ACTN4 stimulate p27 phosphorylation and provide evidence that WAVE2 promotes the motility and invasiveness of pancreatic cancer cells.