MACC1 promotes pancreatic cancer metastasis by interacting with the EMT regulator SNAI1

Silencing FGL1 promotes prostate cancer cell apoptosis and inhibits EMT progression

Emerging evidence from recent studies demonstrates that the FGL1/LAG-3 interaction axis plays a crucial role in mediating tumor immune evasion mechanisms, particularly through the suppression of T lymphocyte effector functions. However, the role of FGL1 in prostate cancer (PCa) remains unclear. Data was downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and subjected to differential expression analysis. Single gene differential analysis to determine the correlation between FGL1 and DNAJC12 expression levels in prostate cancer. The expression of FGL1 was silenced by siRNA in PC3 prostate cancer cells. Lentiviruses infected DU145 to overexpress FGL1. Cell proliferation, apoptosis and EMT-related markers were detected in vitro. Animal experiments further confirmed the effect of FGL1 on prostate cancer. Up-regulated gene FGL1 was identified as the selected gene in this study among 3011 Differentially expressed genes. FGL1 had the highest positive relation with DNAJC12. The OS of PCa patients with high expression of FGL1 was significantly shorter. After silencing FGL1, PC3 cell proliferation was inhibited by 0.58-fold, while apoptosis increased by 16%, and the expression of cleaved-caspase-3 increased, while the expression of DNAJC12 and BCL-2 decreased. After overexpression of FGL1, the number of DU145 cells increased by 2.05-fold, the expression of cleaved-caspase-3 was inhibited, E-cadherin expression decreased, while N-cadherin and Vimentin expression increased. Tumor growth was inhibited, and the expression of FN1, n-cadherin, Vimentin and β-catenin decreased, while the expression of E-cadherin increased after silencing FGL1. Silencing FGL1 promotes prostate cancer cell apoptosis and inhibits EMT progression. FGL1 may be an independent prognostic marker and therapeutic target in PCa.

Evaluating the Impact of Oral Contraceptives on Pancreatic Cancer Risk: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Analysis

Background: The relationship between oral contraceptive (OC) use and pancreatic cancer (PC) risk remains controversial, with inconsistent findings reported in observational studies. To clarify this relationship and better identify potential risk factors for PC prevention, more unbiased and robust approaches are needed. Methods: We investigated the potential causal relationship between OC use and PC risk using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis, with blood protein quantitative trait loci (pQTLs) as instrumental variables. To ensure the robustness of our findings, we performed a series of sensitivity analyses, colocalization analyses, and reverse MR. The causal effects of protein-coding genes on PC risk, as well as their expression patterns across different single-cell types, were subsequently investigated. To elucidate the potential pathogenic pathways, we conducted pathway enrichment analysis, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis, and causal inference. Results: Our MR analysis identified five drug-targeted proteins significantly associated with PC risk. Higher levels of COMT, AGT, FN1, and UGT1A1, as well as lower levels of SERPINC1, were associated with an increased risk of PC. Among these, AGT, FN1, and COMT demonstrated consistent associations across sensitivity analyses and downstream analyses, providing robust evidence supporting their involvement in PC risk. Conclusions: This study provides genetic evidence suggesting, in European groups, a potential causal link between OC use and increased PC risk, possibly mediated through drug-targeted proteins such as AGT and FN1. These results highlight the importance for further research to elucidate the underlying mechanisms and assess the implications of OC use on PC risk.

Exploring the Role of Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transcriptional Factors Involved in Hematological Malignancy and Solid Tumors: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

The epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a biological process in which epithelial cells lose their polarity and adhesion characteristics, and adopt a mesenchymal phenotype. While the EMT naturally occurs during tissue fibrosis, wound healing, and embryonic development, it can be exploited by cancer cells and is strongly associated with cancer stem cell formation, tissue invasiveness, apoptosis, and therapy resistance. Transcription factors (TFs) such as SNAIL, ZEB, and TWIST play a pivotal role in driving the EMT. This systematic review aims to assess the impact of EMT-TFs on hematological malignancy and solid tumors.

METHODS

English-language literature published between 2010 and 2024 was systematically reviewed, utilizing databases such as PubMed and Google Scholar.

RESULTS

A total of 3250 studies were extracted. Of these, 92 publications meeting the inclusion criteria were analyzed to elucidate the role of EMT-TFs in cancer. The results demonstrated that the EMT-TFs play a critical role in both hematological and solid tumor development and progression. They promote invasive, migratory, and metastatic properties in these tumors, and contribute to therapeutic challenges by enhancing chemoresistance. A strong correlation between EMT-TFs and poor overall survival has been identified.

CONCLUSIONS

Our research concluded that EMT-TFs may serve as important predictive and prognostic factors, as well as potential therapeutic targets to mitigate cancer progression.

Establishment of Stable Knockdown of MACC1 Oncogene in Patient-Derived Ovarian Cancer Organoids

High-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) remains the most lethal gynecological malignancy, and there is still an unmet medical need to deepen basic research on its origins and mechanisms of progression. Patient-derived organoids of high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC-PDO) are a powerful model to study the complexity of ovarian cancer as they maintain, in vitro, the mutational profile and cellular architecture of the cancer tissue. Genetic modifications by lentiviral transduction allow novel insights into signaling pathways and the potential identification of biomarkers regarding the evolution of drug resistance. Here, we provide an in-depth and detailed protocol to successfully modify the gene expression of HGSOC-PDOs by lentiviral transduction. As an example, we validate our protocol and create a stable knockdown of the MACC1 oncogene with an efficacy of ≥72% in two HGSOC-PDO lines, which remained stable for >3 months in culture. Moreover, we explain step-by-step the sample preparation for the validation procedures on transcriptional (qPCR) and protein (Western Blot) levels. Sustained downregulation of specific genes by lentiviral transduction enables the analysis of the resulting phenotypic and morphological changes. It serves as a valuable in-vitro model to study the mechanisms of ovarian cancer pathogenesis and allows for the evaluation of therapeutic approaches.

MACC1 ablation suppresses the dedifferentiation process of non-CSCs in lung cancer through stabilizing KLF4

Metastasis-associated in colon cancer-1 (MACC1) was identified as a new player in lung cancer development, and some stemness-related genes can be novel transcriptional targets of MACC1. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are responsible for sustaining tumorigenesis and plasticity. Both CSCs and non-CSCs are plastic and capable of undergoing phenotypic transition, especially the dedifferentiation of non-CSCs switch to CSC-like cells. However, the precise role of MACC1 during this process is largely unknown. Here, we showed that MACC1 promoted the transition from non-CSC to CSC in lung cancer. We found MACC1 was overexpressed in stemness enriched cells, enhancing the transition from no-CSCs to CSCs, while short-hairpin RNA-mediated Knockdown of MACC1 impaired this process. High-throughput sequencing and tumor specimen analysis revealed that MACC1 was negative correlated with Krüppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) expression level, which acts as a negative stemness regulator in lung cancer. Mechanistically, MACC1 delays the degradation of KLF4 mRNA by repressing the expression of microRNA-25, thereby promoting the KLF4 mRNA stabilization at the post-transcriptional level. Collectively, our findings may facilitate efforts to promote the development of precision targeted therapy for cancer stem cells in lung cancer.

MACC1 revisited - an in-depth review of a master of metastasis

Cancer metastasis remains the most lethal characteristic of tumors mediating the majority of cancer-related deaths. Identifying key molecules responsible for metastasis, understanding their biological functions and therapeutically targeting these molecules is therefore of tremendous value. Metastasis Associated in Colon Cancer 1 (MACC1), a gene first described in 2009, is such a key driver of metastatic processes, initiating cellular proliferation, migration, invasion, and metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Since its discovery, the value of MACC1 as a prognostic biomarker has been confirmed in over 20 cancer entities. Additionally, several therapeutic strategies targeting MACC1 and its pro-metastatic functions have been developed. In this review, we will provide a comprehensive overview on MACC1, from its clinical relevance, towards its structure and role in signaling cascades as well as molecular networks. We will highlight specific biological consequences of MACC1 expression, such as an increase in stem cell properties, its immune-modulatory effects and induced therapy resistance. Lastly, we will explore various strategies interfering with MACC1 expression and/or its functions. Conclusively, this review underlines the importance of understanding the role of individual molecules in mediating metastasis.

Pancreatic head carcinoma derived from the dorsal pancreas is more likely to metastasize early than from the ventral pancreas through microvascular invasion

The development of the pancreatic head originates from the fusion of the ventral and dorsal pancreatic primordia during embryonic development. Theoretically, the origin of pancreatic head cancer also exists from the ventral pancreas and the dorsal pancreas. Among 49 patients with pancreatic head cancer, pancreatic head cancer was divided into pancreatic head cancer originating from the ventral (PHCv) or dorsal pancreas (PHCd) through imaging and pathological classification. The clinical data was collected and compared between the PHCv group and the PHCd group. The results showed that the patients from the PHCd group had worse long-term survival than those from the PHCv group (10 months vs 14.5 months). Similarly, the progression-free survival (PFS) results also indicate that patients from the PHCd group had a shorter time than those from the PHCv group (5 months vs 9.5 months). Further stratified analysis of potentially related factors showed that microvascular invasion is related to poor prognosis, and patients with pancreatic head cancer derived from the dorsal pancreas are more likely to develop microvascular invasion.

Circular RNAs in EMT-driven metastasis regulation: modulation of cancer cell plasticity, tumorigenesis and therapy resistance

The non-coding RNAs comprise a large part of human genome lack of capacity in encoding functional proteins. Among various members of non-coding RNAs, the circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been of importance in the pathogenesis of human diseases, especially cancer. The circRNAs have a unique closed loop structure and due to their stability, they are potential diagnostic and prognostic factors in cancer. The increasing evidences have highlighted the role of circRNAs in the modulation of proliferation and metastasis of cancer cells. On the other hand, metastasis has been responsible for up to 90% of cancer-related deaths in patients, requiring more investigation regarding the underlying mechanisms modulating this mechanism. EMT enhances metastasis and invasion of tumor cells, and can trigger resistance to therapy. The cells demonstrate dynamic changes during EMT including transformation from epithelial phenotype into mesenchymal phenotype and increase in N-cadherin and vimentin levels. The process of EMT is reversible and its reprogramming can disrupt the progression of tumor cells. The aim of current review is to understanding the interaction of circRNAs and EMT in human cancers and such interaction is beyond the regulation of cancer metastasis and can affect the response of tumor cells to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The onco-suppressor circRNAs inhibit EMT, while the tumor-promoting circRNAs mediate EMT for acceleration of carcinogenesis. Moreover, the EMT-inducing transcription factors can be controlled by circRNAs in different human tumors.

Fundamental insights and molecular interactions in pancreatic cancer: Pathways to therapeutic approaches

The gastrointestinal tract can be affected by a number of diseases that pancreatic cancer (PC) is a malignant manifestation of them. The prognosis of PC patients is unfavorable and because of their diagnosis at advanced stage, the treatment of this tumor is problematic. Owing to low survival rate, there is much interest towards understanding the molecular profile of PC in an attempt in developing more effective therapeutics. The conventional therapeutics for PC include surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy as well as emerging immunotherapy. However, PC is still incurable and more effort should be performed. The molecular landscape of PC is an underlying factor involved in increase in progression of tumor cells. In the presence review, the newest advances in understanding the molecular and biological events in PC are discussed. The dysregulation of molecular pathways including AMPK, MAPK, STAT3, Wnt/β-catenin and non-coding RNA transcripts has been suggested as a factor in development of tumorigenesis in PC. Moreover, cell death mechanisms such as apoptosis, autophagy, ferroptosis and necroptosis demonstrate abnormal levels. The EMT and glycolysis in PC cells enhance to ensure their metastasis and proliferation. Furthermore, such abnormal changes have been used to develop corresponding pharmacological and nanotechnological therapeutics for PC.

Survival-Associated Cellular Response Maintained in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) Switched Between Soft and Stiff 3D Microgel Culture

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) accounts for about 90% of all pancreatic cancer cases. Five-year survival rates have remained below 12% since the 1970s, in part due to the difficulty in detection prior to metastasis (migration and invasion into neighboring organs and glands). Mechanical memory is a concept that has emerged over the past decade that may provide a path toward understanding how invading PDAC cells "remember" the mechanical properties of their diseased ("stiff", elastic modulus, E ≈ 10 kPa) microenvironment even while invading a healthy ("soft", E ≈ 1 kPa) microenvironment. Here, we investigated the role of mechanical priming by culturing a dilute suspension of PDAC (FG) cells within a 3D, rheologically tunable microgel platform from hydrogels with tunable mechanical properties. We conducted a suite of acute (short-term) priming studies where we cultured PDAC cells in either a soft (E ≈ 1 kPa) or stiff (E ≈ 10 kPa) environment for 6 h, then removed and placed them into a new soft or stiff 3D environment for another 18 h. Following these steps, we conducted RNA-seq analyses to quantify gene expression. Initial priming in the 3D culture showed persistent gene expression for the duration of the study, regardless of the subsequent environments (stiff or soft). Stiff 3D culture was associated with the downregulation of tumor suppressors (LATS1, BCAR3, CDKN2C), as well as the upregulation of cancer-associated genes (RAC3). Immunofluorescence staining (BCAR3, RAC3) further supported the persistence of this cellular response, with BCAR3 upregulated in soft culture and RAC3 upregulated in stiff-primed culture. Stiff-primed genes were stratified against patient data found in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Upregulated genes in stiff-primed 3D culture were associated with decreased survival in patient data, suggesting a link between patient survival and mechanical priming.

Identification of fibronectin type III domain containing 3B as a potential prognostic and therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer: a preliminary analysis

BACKGROUND

Fibronectin type III domain containing 3B (FNDC3B), a member of the fibronectin type III domain-containing protein family, has been indicated in various malignancies. However, the precise role of FNDC3B in the progression of pancreatic cancer (PC) still remains to be elucidated.

METHODS

In this study, we integrated data from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the Cancer Genome Atlas, Genotype-Tissue Expression database, and Gene Expression Omnibus datasets to analyze FNDC3B expression and its association with various clinicopathological parameters. Subsequently, Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, along with Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), single sample Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (ssGSEA) and estimate analysis were recruited to delve into the biological function and immune infiltration based on FNDC3B expression. Additionally, the prognostic estimation was conducted using Cox analysis and Kaplan-Meier analysis. Subsequently, a nomogram was constructed according to the result of Cox analysis to enhance the prognostic ability of FNDC3B. Finally, the preliminary biological function of FNDC3B in PC cells was explored.

RESULTS

The study demonstrated a significantly higher expression of FNDC3B in tumor tissues compared to normal pancreatic tissues, and this expression was significantly associated with various clinicopathological parameters. GSEA revealed the involvement of FNDC3B in biological processes and signaling pathways related to integrin signaling pathway and cell adhesion. Additionally, ssGSEA analysis indicated a positive correlation between FNDC3B expression and infiltration of Th2 cells and neutrophils, while showing a negative correlation with plasmacytoid dendritic cells and Th17 cells infiltration. Kaplan-Meier analysis further supported that high FNDC3B expression in PC patients was linked to shorter overall survival, disease-specific survival, and progression-free interval. However, although univariate analysis demonstrated a significant correlation between FNDC3B expression and prognosis in PC patients, this association did not hold true in multivariate analysis. Finally, our findings highlight the crucial role of FNDC3B expression in regulating proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of PC cells.

CONCLUSION

Despite limitations, the findings of this study underscored the potential of FNDC3B as a prognostic biomarker and its pivotal role in driving the progression of PC, particularly in orchestrating immune responses.

Molecular profile of metastasis, cell plasticity and EMT in pancreatic cancer: a pre-clinical connection to aggressiveness and drug resistance

The metastasis is a multistep process in which a small proportion of cancer cells are detached from the colony to enter into blood cells for obtaining a new place for metastasis and proliferation. The metastasis and cell plasticity are considered major causes of cancer-related deaths since they improve the malignancy of cancer cells and provide poor prognosis for patients. Furthermore, enhancement in the aggressiveness of cancer cells has been related to the development of drug resistance. Metastasis of pancreatic cancer (PC) cells has been considered one of the major causes of death in patients and their undesirable prognosis. PC is among the most malignant tumors of the gastrointestinal tract and in addition to lifestyle, smoking, and other factors, genomic changes play a key role in its progression. The stimulation of EMT in PC cells occurs as a result of changes in molecular interaction, and in addition to increasing metastasis, EMT participates in the development of chemoresistance. The epithelial, mesenchymal, and acinar cell plasticity can occur and determines the progression of PC. The major molecular pathways including STAT3, PTEN, PI3K/Akt, and Wnt participate in regulating the metastasis of PC cells. The communication in tumor microenvironment can provide by exosomes in determining PC metastasis. The components of tumor microenvironment including macrophages, neutrophils, and cancer-associated fibroblasts can modulate PC progression and the response of cancer cells to chemotherapy.

Global Proteomics Analysis of Lysophosphatidic Acid Signaling in PC-3 Human Prostate Cancer Cells: Role of CCN1

Cysteine-rich angiogenic factor 61 (CCN1/Cyr61) is a matricellular protein that is induced and secreted in response to growth factors. Our previous work showed that 18:1-lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), which activates the G protein-coupled receptor LPAR1, induces CCN1 between 2-4 h in PC-3 human prostate cancer cells in a manner than enhances cell-substrate adhesion. While the time course of induction suggests that CCN1 contributes to intermediate events in LPA action, the roles of CCN1 in LPA-mediated signal transduction have not been fully elucidated. This study utilized a comprehensive global proteomics approach to identify proteins up- or down-regulated in response to treatment of PC-3 cells with LPA for three hours, during the time of peak CCN1 levels. In addition, the effects of siRNA-mediated CCN1 knockdown on LPA responses were analyzed. The results show that, in addition to CCN1, LPA increased the levels of multiple proteins. Proteins up-regulated by LPA included metastasis-associated in colon cancer protein 1 (MACC1) and thrombospondin-1 (TSP1/THBS1); both MACC1 and TSP1 regulated cancer cell adhesion and motility. LPA down-regulated thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP). CCN1 knockdown suppressed the LPA-induced up-regulation of 30 proteins; these included MACC1 and TSP1, as confirmed by immunoblotting. Gene ontology and STRING analyses revealed multiple pathways impacted by LPA and CCN1. These results indicate that CCN1 contributes to LPA signaling cascades that occur during the intermediate phase after the initial stimulus. The study provides a rationale for the development of interventions to disrupt the LPA-CCN1 axis.

COX19 Is a New Target of MACC1 and Promotes Colorectal Cancer Progression by Regulating Copper Transport in Mitochondria

BACKGROUND

Recent studies have demonstrated that copper (Cu) plays an important role in the progression of tumor diseases. Metastasis associated with colon cancer protein 1 (MACC1) promotes the transcription and expression of various tumor-related genes. Cytochrome c oxidase (COX) 19, present in the cytoplasm and intermembrane space of mitochondria, may transport Cu within the mitochondria. However, the mechanism through which MACC1 regulates the Cu homeostasis mediated by COX19 remains unclear.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to elucidate the mechanism through which MACC1 initiates the transcription and expression of COX19, and promotes malignant behavior in tumor cells.

METHODS

Immunohistochemistry, western blotting, and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses were conducted to analyze the expression of MACC1 and COX19 proteins and genes in tumor and normal tissues. RNA-chromatin immunoprecipitation was used to detect the transcriptional initiation of COX19 by MACC1. The effects of MACC1 and COX19 on mitochondrial activity were determined using an ATP assay kit and Cytochrome c Oxidase Assay Kit. A Cell Counting Kit-8 kit was used to detect the effect of high-dose Cu or overexpression of MACC1 and COX19 on tumor cell proliferation. A xenograft mouse model was used to analyze the effect of the COX19 overexpression on the malignant behavior of the tumors.

RESULTS

Cu enhanced the proliferation, invasion, and migration and inhibited apoptosis of SW480 cells. MACC1 was highly expressed in colorectal cancer tissues and activated the expression of COX19 by binding to its promoter region of COX19. The overexpression of COX19 increased mitochondrial Cu content and enhanced the activity of mitochondrial COX and ATP content, and inhibited apoptosis, promoted tumor growth of mice.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicate that COX19 functions as a target gene of MACC1 and regulates mitochondrial activity and promotes the progression of colorectal cancer. MACC1/COX19 may provide a novel therapeutic target for colorectal cancer.

Dual role of Snail1 as transcriptional repressor and activator

Snail1 transcriptional factor plays a key role in the control of epithelial to mesenchymal transition, a process that remodels tumor cells increasing their invasion and chemo-resistance as well as reprograms their metabolism and provides stemness properties. During this transition, Snail1 acts as a transcriptional repressor and, as growing evidences have demonstrated, also as a direct activator of mesenchymal genes. In this review, I describe the different proteins that interact with Snail1 and are responsible for these two different functions on gene expression; I focus on the transcriptional factors that associate to Snail1 in their target promoters, both activated and repressed. I also present working models for Snail1 action both as repressor and activator and raise some issues that still need to be investigated.

Acquired and intrinsic gemcitabine resistance in pancreatic cancer therapy: Environmental factors, molecular profile and drug/nanotherapeutic approaches

A high number of cancer patients around the world rely on gemcitabine (GEM) for chemotherapy. During local metastasis of cancers, surgery is beneficial for therapy, but dissemination in distant organs leads to using chemotherapy alone or in combination with surgery to prevent cancer recurrence. Therapy failure can be observed as a result of GEM resistance, threatening life of pancreatic cancer (PC) patients. The mortality and morbidity of PC in contrast to other tumors are increasing. GEM chemotherapy is widely utilized for PC suppression, but resistance has encountered its therapeutic impacts. The purpose of current review is to bring a broad concept about role of biological mechanisms and pathways in the development of GEM resistance in PC and then, therapeutic strategies based on using drugs or nanostructures for overcoming chemoresistance. Dysregulation of the epigenetic factors especially non-coding RNA transcripts can cause development of GEM resistance in PC and miRNA transfection or using genetic tools such as siRNA for modulating expression level of these factors for changing GEM resistance are suggested. The overexpression of anti-apoptotic proteins and survival genes can contribute to GEM resistance in PC. Moreover, supportive autophagy inhibits apoptosis and stimulates GEM resistance in PC cells. Increase in metabolism, glycolysis induction and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) stimulation are considered as other factors participating in GEM resistance in PC. Drugs can suppress tumorigenesis in PC and inhibit survival factors and pathways in increasing GEM sensitivity in PC. More importantly, nanoparticles can increase pharmacokinetic profile of GEM and promote its blood circulation and accumulation in cancer site. Nanoparticles mediate delivery of GEM with genes and drugs to suppress tumorigenesis in PC and increase drug sensitivity. The basic research displays significant connection among dysregulated pathways and GEM resistance, but the lack of clinical application is a drawback that can be responded in future.

Stage analysis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma via network analysis

Aim

This study aimed to introduce a biomarker panel to detect pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in the early stage, and also differentiate of stages from each other.

Background

PDAC is a lethal cancer with poor prognosis and overall survival.

Methods

Gene expression profiles of PDAC patients were extracted from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The genes that were significantly differentially expressed (DEGs) for Stages I, II, and III in comparison to the healthy controls were identified. The determined DEGs were assessed via protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis, and the hub-bottleneck nodes of analyzed networks were introduced.

Results

A number of 140, 874, and 1519 significant DEGs were evaluated via PPI network analysis. A biomarker panel including ALB, CTNNB1, COL1A1, POSTN, LUM, and ANXA2 is presented as a biomarker panel to detect PDAC in the early stage. Two biomarker panels are suggested to recognize other stages of illness.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that ALB, CTNNB1, COL1A1, POSTN, LUM, and ANXA2 and also FN1, HSP90AA1, LOX, ANXA5, SERPINE1, and WWP2 beside GAPDH, AKT1, EGF, CASP3 are suitable sets of gene to separate stages of PDAC.

Correlation between the expressions of metastasis-associated factor-1 in colon cancer and vacuolar ATP synthase

BACKGROUND

Clinical prognosis often worsens due to high recurrence rates following radical surgery for colon cancer. The examination of high-risk recurrence factors post-surgery provides critical insights for disease evaluation and treatment planning.

AIM

To explore the relationship between metastasis-associated factor-1 in colon cancer (MACC1) and vacuolar ATP synthase (V-ATPase) expression in colon cancer tissues, and recurrence rate in patients undergoing radical colon cancer surgery.

METHODS

We selected 104 patients treated with radical colon cancer surgery at our hospital from January 2018 to June 2021. Immunohistochemical staining was utilized to assess the expression levels of MACC1 and V-ATPase in these patients.

RESULTS

The rates of MACC1 and V-ATPase positivity were 64.42% and 67.31%, respectively, in colon cancer tissues, which were significantly higher than in paracancerous tissues (P < 0.05). Among patients with TNM stage III, medium to low differentiation, and lymph node metastasis, the positive rates of MACC1 and V-ATPase were significantly elevated in comparison to patients with TNM stage I-II, high differentiation, and no lymph node metastasis (P < 0.05). The rate of MACC1 positivity was 76.67% in patients with tumor diameters > 5 cm, notably higher than in patients with tumor diameters ≤ 5 cm (P < 0.05). We observed a positive correlation between MACC1 and V-ATPase expression (rs = 0.797, P < 0.05). The positive rates of MACC1 and V-ATPase were significantly higher in patients with recurrence compared to those without (P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis revealed TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, MACC1 expression, and V-ATPase expression as risk factors for postoperative colon cancer recurrence (OR = 6.322, 3.435, 2.683, and 2.421; P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The upregulated expression of MACC1 and V-ATPase in colon cancer patients appears to correlate with clinicopathological features and post-radical surgery recurrence.

A novel prognostic signature and immune microenvironment characteristics associated with disulfidptosis in papillary thyroid carcinoma based on single-cell RNA sequencing

Background: Disulfidptosis is a newly discovered form of regulated cell death. The research on disulfidptosis and tumor progression remains unclear. Our research aims to explore the relationship between disulfidptosis-related genes (DRGs) and the clinical outcomes of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), and its interaction on the tumor microenvironment. Methods: The single-cell RNA seq data of PTC was collected from GEO dataset GSE191288. We illustrated the expression patterns of disulfidptosis-related genes in different cellular components in thyroid cancer. LASSO analyses were performed to construct a disulfidptosis associated risk model in TCGA-THCA database. GO and KEGG analyses were used for functional analyses. CIBERSORT and ESTIMATE algorithm helped with the immune infiltration estimation. qRT‒PCR and flow cytometry was performed to validate the hub gene expression and immune infiltration in clinical samples. Results: We clustered PTC scRNA seq data into 8 annotated cell types. With further DRGs based scoring analyses, we found endothelial cells exhibited the most relationship with disulfidptosis. A 4-gene risk model was established based on the expression pattern of DRGs related endothelial cell subset. The risk model showed good independent prognostic value in both training and validation dataset. Functional enrichment and genomic feature analysis exhibited the significant correlation between tumor immune infiltration and the signature. The results of flow cytometry and immune infiltration estimation showed the higher risk scores was related to immuno-suppressive tumor microenvironment in PTC. Conclusion: Our study exhibited the role of disulfidptosis based signature in the regulation of tumor immune microenvironment and the survival of PTC patients. A 4-gene prognostic signature (including SNAI1, STC1, PKHD1L1 and ANKRD37) was built on the basis of disulfidptosis related endothelial cells. The significance of clinical outcome and immune infiltration pattern was validated robustly.

The role of lncRNAs and exosomal lncRNAs in cancer metastasis

Tumor metastasis is the main reason for cancer-related death, but there is still a lack of effective therapeutic to inhibit tumor metastasis. Therefore, the discovery and study of new tumor metastasis regulators is a prominent measure for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is a type of non-coding RNAs over 200 bp in length. It has been shown that the abnormally expressed lncRNAs promote tumor metastasis by participating in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process, altering the metastatic tumor microenvironment, or changing the extracellular matrix. It is,thus, critical to explore the regulation of lncRNAs expression in cells and the molecular mechanism of lncRNA-mediated cancer metastasis. Simultaneously, it has been shown that lncRNA is one kind of the main components of exosomes, which protects lncRNAs from being rapidly degraded. Meanwhile, the components of exosomes are parent-specific, making exosomal lncRNAs to be potential tumor metastasis markers and therapeutic targets. In view of this, we also summarized the aberrant enrichment of lncRNAs in exosomes and their role in metastatic cancer. The aberrant lncRNAs and exosomal lncRNAs gradually become biomarkers and therapeutic targets for tumor metastatic, and the potential of lncRNAs in therapeutics are studied here. Besides, the lncRNA-related databases, which could greatly facilitate in the study of lncRNAs and exosomal lncRNAs in metastatic of cancer are included in this review.

Machine learning was used to predict risk factors for distant metastasis of pancreatic cancer and prognosis analysis

BACKGROUND

The mechanisms of distant metastasis in pancreatic cancer (PC) have not been elucidated, and this study aimed to explore the risk factors affecting the metastasis and prognosis of metastatic patients and to develop a predictive model.

METHOD

Clinical data from patients meeting criteria from 1990 to 2019 were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, and two machine learning methods, random forest and support vector machine, combined with logistic regression, were used to explore risk factors influencing distant metastasis and to create nomograms. The performance of the model was validated using calibration curves and ROC curves based on the Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital cohort. LASSO regression and Cox regression models were used to explore the independent risk factors affecting the prognosis of patients with distant PC metastases.

RESULTS

We found that independent risk factors affecting PC distant metastasis were: age, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, T and N; the independent risk factors for patient prognosis were: age, grade, bone metastasis, brain metastasis, lung metastasis, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

CONCLUSION

Together, our study provides a method for risk factors and prognostic assessment for patients with distant PC metastases. The nomogram we developed can be used as a convenient individualized tool to facilitate aid in clinical decision making.

A bioinformatics analysis, pre-clinical and clinical conception of autophagy in pancreatic cancer: Complexity and simplicity in crosstalk

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a serious gastrointestinal tract disease for which the 5-year survival rate is less than 10%, even in developed countries such as the USA. The genomic profile alterations and dysregulated biological mechanisms commonly occur in PC. Macroautophagy/autophagy is a cell death process that is maintained at a basal level in physiological conditions, whereas its level often changes during tumorigenesis. The function of autophagy in human cancers is dual and can be oncogenic and onco-suppressor. Autophagy is a potent controller of tumorigenesis in PC. The supportive autophagy in PC escalates the growth rate of PC cells and its suppression can mediate cell death. Autophagy also determines the metastasis of PC cells, and it can control the EMT in affecting migration. Moreover, starvation and hypoxia can stimulate glycolysis, and glycolysis induction can be mediated by autophagy in enhancing tumorigenesis in PC. Furthermore, protective autophagy stimulates drug resistance and gemcitabine resistance in PC cells, and its inhibition can enhance radiosensitivity. Autophagy can degrade MHC-I to mediate immune evasion and also regulates polarization of macrophages in the tumor microenvironment. Modulation of autophagy activity is provided by silibinin, ursolic acid, chrysin and huaier in the treatment of PC. Non-coding RNAs are also controllers of autophagy in PC and its inhibition can improve therapy response in patients. Moreover, mitophagy shows dysregulation in PC, which can enhance the proliferation of PC cells. Therefore, a bioinformatics analysis demonstrates the dysregulation of autophagy-related proteins and genes in PC as biomarkers.

MACC1 and MET as markers associated with progression and metastasis in cutaneous melanoma

Cutaneous melanoma is the most common lethal malignancy among skin cancers and has a high propensity for metastasis. Understanding the mechanisms governing tumorigenesis, progression and metastasis as well as identifying biomarkers guiding risk stratification and management of the disease is essential. MACC1 has been found to play key roles in cancer cell migration, invasion, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and metastasis in various types of cancer, through activation of MET signaling. In this study, we examined the extent of MACC1 and MET protein expression by immunohistochemical staining in a tissue microarray constructed from twenty-three melanomas and ten melanocytic nevi. We observed significantly higher levels of MACC1 expression on average in metastatic melanomas, comparing to primary melanomas and nevi. MET expression in metastatic melanomas was also significantly higher than in nevi. MACC1 expression does not appear to correlate with MET expression in nevi and primary melanomas. However, this correlation appears stronger in metastatic melanomas, where seven (78%) of nine cases show intermediate to high expression of both MACC1 and MET. The expressions of MACC1 and MET do not show significant differences based on other clinicopathologic factors including patient age, gender, histologic subtypes, depth of invasion, and staging. Our study suggests that high expression of MACC1 or both MACC1 and MET is associated with metastasis of cutaneous melanoma.