Crosstalk between B16 melanoma cells and B-1 lymphocytes induces global changes in tumor cell gene expression

Translatomics to explore dynamic differences in immunocytes in the tumor microenvironment

Protein is an essential component of all living organisms and is primarily responsible for life activities; furthermore, its synthesis depends on a highly complex and accurate translation system. For proteins, the regulation at the translation level exceeds the sum of that during transcription, mRNA degradation, and protein degradation. Therefore, it is necessary to study regulation at the translation level. Imbalance in the translation process may change the cellular landscape, which not only leads to the occurrence, maintenance, progression, invasion, and metastasis of cancer but also affects the function of immune cells and changes the tumor microenvironment. Detailed analysis of transcriptional and protein atlases is needed to better understand how gene translation occurs. However, a more rigorous direct correlation between mRNA and protein levels is needed, which somewhat limits further studies. Translatomics is a technique for capturing and sequencing ribosome-related mRNAs that can effectively identify translation changes caused by ribosome stagnation and local translation abnormalities during cancer occurrence to further understand the changes in the translation landscape of cancer cells themselves and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, which can provide new strategies and directions for tumor treatment.

Knockdown of CD44 inhibits proliferation, migration and invasion of osteosarcoma cells accompanied by downregulation of cathepsin S

BACKGROUND

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a malignant bone tumour of mesenchymal origin. These tumours are characterised by rich vascularisation, therefore promoting rapid proliferation and facilitating metastasis. CD44 has been reported to be involved in OS, but its role and molecular mechanisms in the pathogenesis of the disease are not fully determined.

METHODS

In this study, we investigated the antitumor effect of CD44 on the development of OS and further explored the molecular mechanisms. The expression of CD44, cathepsin S and MMP-9 was detected by Western blot (WB) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in different cell lines (MG63, U2OS OS and hFOB 1.19). To elucidate the role of CD44 in OS, MG63 and U2OS cells were treated with small interference RNA (siRNA) to knock down CD44, and the knockdown efficiency was validated with GFP and RT-qPCR. Furthermore, cell proliferation was assayed using Cell Counting Kit‑8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assays, and cell migration and invasion were assayed by transwell and wound-healing assays.

RESULTS

We found that CD44 expression in the MG63 and U2OS OS cell lines was markedly increased compared to that of the human osteoblast hFOB 1.19 cell line. Knockdown of CD44 inhibited proliferation, migration and invasion of MG63 and U2OS cells. Cathepsin S expression in the MG63 and U2OS OS cell lines was increased compared to that of the human osteoblast hFOB 1.19 cell line. When CD44 was knocked down, its expression level went down.

CONCLUSION

Taken together, our data reinforced the evidence that CD44 knockdown inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion of OS cells accompanied by altered expression of cathepsin S. These findings offer new clues for OS development and progression, suggesting CD44 as a potential therapeutic target for OS.

CircRNA_104889 promotes lung adenocarcinoma cell invasion via sponging miR4458

Background

Lung adenocarcinoma is metastatic cancer with a high mortality rate. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a type of noncoding RNA and play a vital role in cancer progression. However, the expression and function of circRNAs in lung adenocarcinoma are still mostly unknown.

Methods

In this study, we screened the differential expression of circRNAs in human bronchial epithelial cells (HBE) and A549 human lung adenocarcinoma cell line (A549) by human circRNA microarray and RT-qPCR. The role of overexpressed circRNA_104889 in A549 cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion was studied extensively. Intracellular localization of circRNA_104889 was visualized by FISH assay. MiRNA sponging, ERK1/2 signaling, and caspase-3 expression were analyzed in siRNA-mediated circRNA_104889 knockdowned A549 cells.

Results

CircRNA microarray showed overexpression of circRNA_104889 (> 13-fold) in A459 cells compared to HBE. This finding was further corroborated by the RT-qPCR result. CircRNA_104889 was mainly localized in the cytoplasm of A549 cells. The knockdown of circRNA_104889 in A549 cells by si-RNA mediated RNA interference did not affect cell proliferation and apoptosis but significantly inhibited cell migration and invasion in vitro. Furthermore, knockdown of circRNA_104889 led to an increase of miR4458 expression. Overexpression of miR4458 inhibited A549 cell migration. Both the knockdown of circRNA_104889 and overexpression of miR4458 inhibited the caspase-3 expression and ERK1/2 phosphorylation in A549 cells.

Conclusions

CircRNA_104889 promotes lung adenocarcinoma cell migration and invasion by sponging miR4458 and targeting ERK1/2 signaling and caspase-3 expression.

Identification of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Genes and a Novel High-Risk Breast Cancer Prediction Model Development Based on PPI Data and Support Vector Machines

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a special subtype of breast cancer that is difficult to treat. It is crucial to identify breast cancer-related genes that could provide new biomarkers for breast cancer diagnosis and potential treatment goals. In the development of our new high-risk breast cancer prediction model, seven raw gene expression datasets from the NCBI gene expression omnibus (GEO) database (GSE31519, GSE9574, GSE20194, GSE20271, GSE32646, GSE45255, and GSE15852) were used. Using the maximum relevance minimum redundancy (mRMR) method, we selected significant genes. Then, we mapped transcripts of the genes on the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network from the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) database, as well as traced the shortest path between each pair of proteins. Genes with higher betweenness values were selected from the shortest path proteins. In order to ensure validity and precision, a permutation test was performed. We randomly selected 248 proteins from the PPI network for shortest path tracing and repeated the procedure 100 times. We also removed genes that appeared more frequently in randomized results. As a result, 54 genes were selected as potential TNBC-related genes. Using 14 out the 54 genes, which are potential TNBC associated genes, as input features into a support vector machine (SVM), a novel model was trained to predict high-risk breast cancer. The prediction accuracy of normal tissues and TNBC tissues reached 95.394%, and the predictions of Stage II and Stage III TNBC reached 86.598%, indicating that such genes play important roles in distinguishing breast cancers, and that the method could be promising in practical use. According to reports, some of the 54 genes we identified from the PPI network are associated with breast cancer in the literature. Several other genes have not yet been reported but have functional resemblance with known cancer genes. These may be novel breast cancer-related genes and need further experimental validation. Gene ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed to appraise the 54 genes. It was indicated that cellular response to organic cyclic compounds has an influence in breast cancer, and most genes may be related with viral carcinogenesis.

The axis IL-10/claudin-10 is implicated in the modulation of aggressiveness of melanoma cells by B-1 lymphocytes

B-1 lymphocytes are known to increase the metastatic potential of B16F10 melanoma cells via the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway. Since IL-10 is associated with B-1 cells performance, we hypothesized that IL-10 could be implicated in the progression of melanoma. In the present work, we found that the C57BL/6 mice, inoculated with B16F10 cells that were co-cultivated with B-1 lymphocytes from IL-10 knockout mice, developed fewer metastatic nodules than the ones which were injected with the melanoma cells that were cultivated in the presence of wild-type B-1 cells. The impairment of metastatic potential of the B16F10 cells was correlated with low activation of the ERK signaling pathway, supporting the idea that the production of IL-10 by B-1 cells influences the behavior of the tumor. A microarray analysis of the B-1 lymphocytes revealed that IL-10 deficiency is associated with down-regulation of the genes that code for claudin-10, a protein that is involved in cell-to-cell contact and that has been linked to lung adenocarcinoma. In order to determine the impact of claudin-10 in the cross-talk between B-1 lymphocytes and the B16F10 tumor cells, we took advantage of small interfering RNA. The silencing of claudin-10 gene in B-1 lymphocytes inhibited activation of the ERK pathway and abrogated the B-1-induced aggressive behavior of the B16F10 cells. Thus, our findings suggest that the axis IL-10/claudin-10 is a promising target for the development of therapeutic agents against aggressive melanoma.

Curcumin inhibited growth of human melanoma A375 cells via inciting oxidative stress

Curcumin, a polyphenol compound, possesses potent pharmacological properties in preventing cancers, which make it as a potential anti-cancer mediator. However, it is still unknown that whether Curcumin induced melanoma A375 cell was associated with oxidative stress. Here, we firstly found a fascinating result that Curcumin could reduce the proliferation and induced apoptosis of human melanoma A375 cells. Meanwhile, IC₅₀ of Curcumin on A375 cells is 80μM at 48h. In addition, Curcumin caused oxidative stress through inducing further ROS burst, decreasing GSH, and wrecking mitochondria membrane potential (MMP), which were reversed by ROS inhibitor N-acetylcysteine (NAC). Moreover, MMP disruption led to the release of Cytochrome c from mitochondria and subsequently led to intracellular apoptosis. Furthermore, we found that ROS-dependent HIF-1α and its downstream proteins also play an important role on Curcumin induced apoptosis. In conclusion, our results shed new lights on the therapy of melanoma that Curcumin may be a promising candidate.

Long Noncoding RNA MALAT-1 Can Predict Metastasis and a Poor Prognosis: a Meta-Analysis

Elevated expression of MALAT-1 was found in various cancers, and correlated with metastasis and prognostic. This meta-analysis collected all relevant articles and explored correlation of MALAT-1 with lymph node metastasis (LNM), distant metastasis (DM), and overall survival (OS). A quantitative meta-analysis was performed through a systematic search in PubMed, Web of Science, Medline, CNKI, CBM, and the Cochrane Library. The odds ratios (OR) of LNM and DM and hazard ratio (HR) of OS were calculated to assess the association strength. Eight studies with a total of 845 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Six different types of cancer were evaluated, with 2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), 1 colorectal cancer (CRC), 1 gastric cancer (GC), 2 pancreatic cancer (PC), 1 clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), and 1 osteosarcoma (OSA). Compared with low MALAT-1 expression, high MALAT-1 expression correlated with more LNM (OR = 2.08, 95 %CI: 1.00-4.32, p = 0.05) by a random-effects model (I (2) = 71 %, p = 0.004). A similar result was seen between MALAT-1 expression and DM, the OR was 3.52 (95 %CI: 1.06-11.71, p = 0.04) adopting a random-effects model (I (2) = 59 %, p = 0.04). Additionally, our analysis showed a poorer OS in patients with high MALAT-1 expression than those with low MALAT-1 expression (HR = 2.12, 95 %CI: 1.60-2.82, p < 0.001) adopting a random-effects model (I (2) = 56 %, p = 0.04). MALAT-1 may serve as a molecular marker for cancer metastasis and prognosis.

B-1 cells promote immunosurveillance against murine melanoma in host absence of CCR5: new perspective in autologous vaccination therapy

Autologous vaccination with tumor-primed dendritic cells increases immune response against tumor, which seems to be improved in host absence of CCR5. Because B-1 lymphocytes modulate the activity of different immune cells, we decided to study their influence in the resistance against murine B16F10 melanoma in a CCR5 deprived environment. Adoptive transfer of peritoneal B-1 CCR5(+/+) lymphocytes to CCR5(-/-) animals inhibited the establishment of lung metastasis and melanoma cell growth, in comparison to saline-treated CCR5(-/-) mice. In loco cell analysis demonstrated that the adoptive transfer of B-1 CCR5(+/+) lymphocytes to CCR5 deficient host was associated with a more intense influx of T CD8(+) to tumor site, indicating that the presence of CCR5(+/+) B-1 cells in the tumor environment induces the migration of T CD8 CCR5(-/-) cells to the implantation site. To corroborate this idea, CCR5(-/-) mice were injected with non B-1 peritoneal cells from wild type (WT) mice before B16F10 inoculation. In this regimen, CCR5(-/-) mice were not protected from tumor growth reinforcing the idea that, in host absence of CCR5, B-1 cells are essential to confer tumor resistance. This work indicates that, in the host absence of CCR5, naive B-1 cells may activate CD8T lymphocytes thereby promoting tumor resistance. Our results strongly suggest that autologous vaccination with B-1 lymphocytes in combination with CCR5 antagonists can be an alternative approach to tumor therapy.

MALAT1 promotes the proliferation and metastasis of gallbladder cancer cells by activating the ERK/MAPK pathway

Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), is associated with metastasis and is an independent prognostic factor for lung cancer. Recent studies have demonstrated that MALAT1 plays an important role in other malignancies. However, little is known about the role of MALAT1 in gallbladder carcinoma (GBC), which is the most common cancer of the biliary tract and has an extremely poor prognosis. In this study, we focused on the expression, biological functions and mechanism of MALAT1 in GBC and found that MALAT1 was significantly upregulated in GBC tissues compared with corresponding non-cancerous tissues. Knockdown of MALAT1 in GBC cell lines using lentivirus-mediated RNA interference significantly inhibited the proliferation and metastasis of the GBC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, ERK/MAPK pathway was found to be inactivated in the GBC cell lines after MALAT1 knockdown. These results indicated that MALAT1 might serve as an oncogenic lncRNA that promotes proliferation and metastasis of GBC and activates the ERK/MAPK pathway.

MALAT1 promotes the proliferation and metastasis of gallbladder cancer cells by activating the ERK/MAPK pathway

Metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1), a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), is associated with metastasis and is an independent prognostic factor for lung cancer. Recent studies have demonstrated that MALAT1 plays an important role in other malignancies. However, little is known about the role of MALAT1 in gallbladder carcinoma (GBC), which is the most common cancer of the biliary tract and has an extremely poor prognosis. In this study, we focused on the expression, biological functions and mechanism of MALAT1 in GBC and found that MALAT1 was significantly upregulated in GBC tissues compared with corresponding non-cancerous tissues. Knockdown of MALAT1 in GBC cell lines using lentivirus-mediated RNA interference significantly inhibited the proliferation and metastasis of the GBC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, ERK/MAPK pathway was found to be inactivated in the GBC cell lines after MALAT1 knockdown. These results indicated that MALAT1 might serve as an oncogenic lncRNA that promotes proliferation and metastasis of GBC and activates the ERK/MAPK pathway.