Garcimultiflorone K from Garcinia multiflora attenuates hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis by suppressing transforming growth factor-β signaling

ETV4 facilitates proliferation, migration, and invasion of liver cancer by mediating TGF-β signal transduction through activation of B3GNT3

BACKGROUND

Metastasis of liver cancer (LC) is the main cause of its high mortality. ETV4 is a critical regulatory factor in promoting LC progression, but the mechanism that ETV4 impacts LC proliferation, migration, and invasion is poorly understood.

OBJECTIVE

Investigation of the molecular mechanism of LC metastasis is conducive to developing effective drugs that prevent LC metastasis.

METHODS

Expression of ETV4 and its target gene B3GNT3 in LC tissue was analyzed by bioinformatics, and the result was further verified in LC cells by qRT-PCR. In vitro cellular assays evaluated the impact of ETV4 on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of LC cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and dual-luciferase reporter gene assay were conducted to analyze the interaction between B3GNT3 and ETV4. SB525334 suppressor was used to treat and access the activation of ETV4 on the TGF-β pathway.

RESULTS

We discovered that ETV4 and B3GNT3 were evidently up-regulated in LC, and high expression of ETV4 was coupled to the increase of proliferation, migration, and invasion of LC cells and epithelial-mesenchymal transition ability. Besides, ETV4 could bind to the B3GNT3 promoter and activate its transcription. Knockdown of B3GNT3 could prominently suppress the effect of up-regulated ETV4 on LC cells. Meanwhile, ETV4 could activate the TGF-β signaling pathway via B3GNT3, while SB525334 treatment notably repressed the functions of ETV4.

CONCLUSION

ETV4 emerges as a driven oncogene in LC, and the ETV4/B3GNT3-TGF-β pathway promotes proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition progress of LC. Inhibition of the pathway may provide an underlying method for the prevention and treatment of LC metastasis.

Targeting extracellular matrix through phytochemicals: a promising approach of multi-step actions on the treatment and prevention of cancer

Extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a pivotal and dynamic role in the construction of tumor microenvironment (TME), becoming the focus in cancer research and treatment. Multiple cell signaling in ECM remodeling contribute to uncontrolled proliferation, metastasis, immune evasion and drug resistance of cancer. Targeting trilogy of ECM remodeling could be a new strategy during the early-, middle-, advanced-stages of cancer and overcoming drug resistance. Currently nearly 60% of the alternative anticancer drugs are derived from natural products or active ingredients or structural analogs isolated from plants. According to the characteristics of ECM, this manuscript proposes three phases of whole-process management of cancer, including prevention of cancer development in the early stage of cancer (Phase I); prevent the metastasis of tumor in the middle stage of cancer (Phase II); provide a novel method in the use of immunotherapy for advanced cancer (Phase III), and present novel insights on the contribution of natural products use as innovative strategies to exert anticancer effects by targeting components in ECM. Herein, we focus on trilogy of ECM remodeling and the interaction among ECM, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), and sort out the intervention effects of natural products on the ECM and related targets in the tumor progression, provide a reference for the development of new drugs against tumor metastasis and recurrence.

Kaempferol 3-O-gentiobioside, an ALK5 inhibitor, affects the proliferation, migration, and invasion of tumor cells via blockade of the TGF-β/ALK5/Smad signaling pathway

Overactivation of TGF-β/ALK5/Smad signaling pathway has been observed in the advanced stage of various human malignancies. As a key component of TGF-β/ALK5/Smad signaling pathway transduction, TGF-β type I receptor (also known as ALK5) has emerged as a promising therapeutic target for cancer treatment. In this study, to discover a novel ALK5 inhibitor, a commercial natural products library was screened using docking-based virtual screening, followed by luciferase reporter assay. A flavonoid glycoside kaempferol 3-O-gentiobioside (KPF 3-O-G) was identified as a potent ALK5 inhibitor through directly bound to the ATP-site of ALK5, resulting in the inhibitory effects on phosphorylation and translocation of Smad2 and expression of Smad4. Additionally, we found that KPF 3-O-G reduced cell proliferation and inhibited TGF-β-induced cell migration and invasion. Moreover, western blotting and immunofluorescent analysis showed that KPF 3-O-G significantly reversed the TGF-β-induced EMT biomarkers, including upregulation of E-cadherin and downregulation of N-cadherin, vimentin, and snail. In vivo study showed that KPF 3-O-G administration reduced tumor growth in human ovarian cancer xenograft mouse model, without obvious toxic effect. This study provided novel insight into the anticancer effects of KPF-3-O-G and indicated that KPF-3-O-G might be developed as potential therapeutics for cancer treatment after further validation.