14-3-3sigma negatively regulates the cell cycle, and its down-regulation is associated with poor outcome in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Association of body mass index with ER, PR and 14-3-3σ expression in tumor and stroma of type I and type II endometrial carcinoma

Obesity is a prominent risk factor for endometrial cancer (EC) and can impede on surgical and hormonal treatments. Markers of EC, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), phospho(Ser473)-AKT (pAKT) and 14-3-3 sigma (14-3-3σ) were measured in EC tissues in both the tumor and stroma and grouped by body mass index (BMI). Immunohistochemical scoring of 82 cases of Type 1 and Type II EC tissues revealed a significantly increased tumor expression of ER, PR and 14-3-3σ in women with Type I (BMI < 40) as compared to Type II (BMI < 30) EC. With higher BMI, only PR and 14-3-3σ in the tumor epithelium was significantly higher in Type I than Type II. In particular, Type I EC exhibited significantly increased levels of only PR from patients with BMI > 40 compared to BMI < 40. Type II EC showed increased expression of ER in the stroma only between high and low BMI. Analysis of the TCGA RNA-Seq mRNA expression of ER, PR, PIK3CA, PTEN and SFN (gene for 14-3-3σ) confirmed increased PR expression in EC of obese women. In conclusion, ER, PR and 14-3-3σ are differentially regulated in Type I compared to Type II EC while PR is dysregulated in obese women with Type I EC. These findings have potential implications for efficacy of progestin treatment in obese women.

Role of 14-3-3 proteins in human diseases

14-3-3 proteins are a family of highly conserved small proteins. By interacting with target proteins, 14-3-3 proteins are involved in regulating multiple cellular processes, such as signal transduction, cell cycle regulation, apoptosis, cellular metabolism, cytoskeleton organization and malignant transformation. Mounting evidence suggests that 14-3-3 proteins play an important role in a wide variety of human diseases, such as human cancers and nervous system diseases. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge on the expression, regulation and biological function of 14-3-3 to highlight the role of 14-3-3 proteins in human diseases.

Identification of novel biomarker candidates for the immunohistochemical diagnosis of cholangiocellular carcinoma

The aim of this study was the identification of novel biomarker candidates for the diagnosis of cholangiocellular carcinoma (CCC) and its immunohistochemical differentiation from benign liver and bile duct cells. CCC is a primary cancer that arises from the epithelial cells of bile ducts and is characterized by high mortality rates due to its late clinical presentation and limited treatment options. Tumorous tissue and adjacent non-tumorous liver tissue from eight CCC patients were analyzed by means of two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis and mass-spectrometry-based label-free proteomics. After data analysis and statistical evaluation of the proteins found to be differentially regulated between the two experimental groups (fold change ≥ 1.5; p value ≤ 0.05), 14 candidate proteins were chosen for determination of the cell-type-specific expression profile via immunohistochemistry in a cohort of 14 patients. This confirmed the significant up-regulation of serpin H1, 14-3-3 protein sigma, and stress-induced phosphoprotein 1 in tumorous cholangiocytes relative to normal hepatocytes and non-tumorous cholangiocytes, whereas some proteins were detectable specifically in hepatocytes. Because stress-induced phosphoprotein 1 exhibited both sensitivity and specificity of 100%, an immunohistochemical verification examining tissue sections of 60 CCC patients was performed. This resulted in a specificity of 98% and a sensitivity of 64%. We therefore conclude that this protein should be considered as a potential diagnostic biomarker for CCC in an immunohistochemical application, possibly in combination with other candidates from this study in the form of a biomarker panel. This could improve the differential diagnosis of CCC and benign bile duct diseases, as well as metastatic malignancies in the liver.

The impact of cellular senescence in cancer therapy: is it true or not?

Cellular senescence is defined as the physiological program of terminal growth arrest, which can be triggered by various endogenous or exogenous stress signals. Cellular senescence can be induced in response to oncogenic activation and acts as a barrier to tumorigenesis. Moreover, tumor cells can undergo senescence when exposed to chemotherapeutic agents. In addition to suppressing tumorigenesis, senescent cells remain metabolically active and may contribute to tumor formation and to therapy resistance. In the current review, we discuss the molecular regulation of cellular senescence, the potential implications of senescence in human cancers, and the possibility of exploiting cellular senescence for the treatment of cancers.

Reduced stratifin expression can serve as an independent prognostic factor for poor survival in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Stratifin plays an important role in cancer biology by interfering with intracellular signalling pathways and cell-cycle checkpoints. Decreased expression of stratifin gene has been reported to be a poor prognostic indicator in a variety of human malignant tumors.

AIM

To clarify the role and prognostic significance of stratifin in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

METHODS

The alteration of stratifin messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein was analyzed by reverse-transcription and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (QRT-PCR) and Western blotting in 20 paired ESCC and nonneoplastic esophageal mucosa tissues, respectively. Then, immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to evaluate expression of stratifin in tissues of 148 ESCC patients (including the former 20 pairs of tissues) and correlate it with clinicopathological parameters and prognosis of ESCC patients.

RESULTS

The stratifin level of mRNA and protein was markedly downregulated in ESCC tissue compared with in corresponding nonneoplastic esophageal epithelium (P<0.05). Similarly, the positive rate of stratifin protein expression was lower in the esophageal cancer than in paired nonneoplastic esophageal epithelium as detected by IHC (P=0.007). Statistically, the downregulation of stratifin expression was correlated with tumor infiltration depth (P=0.003), lymph node metastasis (P=0.008), distant metastasis (P=0.013), and lymphovascular invasion (P=0.007) of ESCC. Furthermore, the reduced stratifin expression was associated with shorter 5-year survival rate of ESCC patients after curative surgery (P<0.0001). On the basis of univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis, we found that reduced stratifin expression, T4 stage, lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis were independent risk factors for worse prognosis in ESCC patients.

CONCLUSION

The present report indicates that stratifin could be a useful indicator for prognosis of this disease, as well as a potential target for more effective therapy.

Immunohistochemical Examination of a Resected Advanced Hilar Cholangiocarcinoma Arising in a 29-Year-Old Male without Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis

A 29-year-old man with advanced hilar cholangiocarcinoma was successfully treated with an extended right lobectomy. The carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) level was elevated to 939 IU/l, and the pathological findings revealed moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma which involved almost the entire thickness of the hepatic duct and the adjacent liver tissue (T3) and which was associated with lymph node metastasis (N1). It was a stage IIB (T3N1M0) tubular adenocarcinoma according to UICC pathological staging. Immunohistochemical examination revealed that Ki-67, cyclin D1, and MMP-7 were positive, and 14-3-3σ and p27 were negative. The pathological and immunohistochemical findings indicated high malignant potential indicating poor prognosis. We administrated the postoperative adjunct gemcitabine combined with S-1 chemotherapy. The patient is alive without recurrence and doing well two years after surgery. We also review other reports of cholangiocarcinoma patients aged less than 30 years.

Comparative proteomic analysis of beta-catenin-mediated malignant progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

beta-catenin has emerged as a key regulator of Wnt signaling pathway, which plays an important role in the development and progression of various cancers. Its accumulation in nucleus of the esophagus squamous epithelium might be the crucial step for the carcinogenesis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). To detect the proteins correlated with beta-catenin function, we used the established cell lines of pGen-3-con (Eca109 cells transfected by control vector) and pGen-3-CTNNB1 (Eca109 cells transfected by beta-catenin siRNA) as cell models for further analysis. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis technology was performed to separate the proteins of pGen-3-con and pGen-3-CTNNB1 cell lines, respectively. The differential protein spots were analyzed by software analysis, subjected to in-gel digestion, and identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Consequently, 13 differentially expressed proteins between the two cell lines were identified, of which 14-3-3sigma, prohibitin, and nm23-H1 were further verified by western blotting and quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Then, the tissue microarray and immunohistochemical analysis were employed to research their relationship in ESCC and their corresponding normal mucosa tissues. The upregulation of prohibitin or the downregulation of 14-3-3sigma and nm23-H1 proteins was significantly associated with the proliferation, invasion depth, and lymph node metastasis of ESCC. There were statistically significant correlations between the expression of beta-catenin and the three proteins. The results presented here might provide potential protein markers to elucidate the mechanism of beta-catenin-mediated biologic characteristics for ESCC.

Prognostic molecular markers in cholangiocarcinoma: a systematic review

The worldwide incidence of cholangiocarcinoma (CC) is steadily rising, with the incidence in United Kingdom (UK) now exceeding 1000 cases per year. It is an aggressive malignancy typified by unresponsiveness to the existing chemotherapy and radiotherapy regimes in the vast majority of cases. Surgery offers the only hope of a cure, though post-operative disease recurrence is common, with 5-year survival rates of less than 25% following resection. Developments in molecular techniques and improved understanding of the basis of carcinogenesis in CC has led to examination of the role of biomarkers in predicting poor outcome. This systematic review examines published evidence relating to the prognostic significance of these molecular markers in CC. Of the molecular markers which have been investigated to date, p53 mutation, cyclins, proliferation indices, mucins, CA19-9, CRP and aneuploidy appear to hold significant potential as predictors of outcome in CC. These and other biomarkers may themselves represent novel therapeutic targets for CC.