CARMA3 Transcriptional Regulation of STMN1 by NF-κB Promotes Renal Cell Carcinoma Proliferation and Invasion

High Tumoral STMN1 Expression Is Associated with Malignant Potential and Poor Prognosis in Patients with Neuroblastoma

BACKGROUND

Stathmin 1 (STMN1), a marker for immature neurons and tumors, controls microtubule dynamics by destabilizing tubulin. It plays an essential role in cancer progression and indicates poor prognosis in several cancers. This potential protein has not been clarified in clinical patients with neuroblastoma. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the clinical significance and STMN1 function in neuroblastoma with and without MYCN amplification.

METHODS

Using immunohistochemical staining, STMN1 expression was examined in 81 neuroblastoma samples. Functional analysis revealed the association among STMN1 suppression, cellular viability, and endogenous or exogenous MYCN expression in neuroblastoma cell lines.

RESULT

High levels of STMN1 expression were associated with malignant potential, proliferation potency, and poor prognosis in neuroblastoma. STMN1 expression was an independent prognostic factor in patients with neuroblastoma. Furthermore, STMN1 knockdown inhibited neuroblastoma cell growth regardless of endogenous and exogenous MYCN overexpression.

CONCLUSION

Our data suggest that assessing STMN1 expression in neuroblastoma could be a powerful indicator of prognosis and that STMN1 might be a promising therapeutic candidate against refractory neuroblastoma with and without MYCN amplification.

Multifaceted role of NF-κB in hepatocellular carcinoma therapy: Molecular landscape, therapeutic compounds and nanomaterial approaches

The predominant kind of liver cancer is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) that its treatment have been troublesome difficulties for physicians due to aggressive behavior of tumor cells in proliferation and metastasis. Moreover, stemness of HCC cells can result in tumor recurrence and angiogenesis occurs. Another problem is development of resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy in HCC cells. Genomic mutations participate in malignant behavior of HCC and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) has been one of the oncogenic factors in different human cancers that after nuclear translocation, it binds to promoter of genes in regulating their expression. Overexpression of NF-κB has been well-documented in increasing proliferation and invasion of tumor cells and notably, when its expression enhances, it induces chemoresistance and radio-resistance. Highlighting function of NF-κB in HCC can shed some light on the pathways regulating progression of tumor cells. The first aspect is proliferation acceleration and apoptosis inhibition in HCC cells mediated by enhancement in expression level of NF-κB. Moreover, NF-κB is able to enhance invasion of HCC cells via upregulation of MMPs and EMT, and it triggers angiogenesis as another step for increasing spread of tumor cells in tissues and organs. When NF-κB expression enhances, it stimulates chemoresistance and radio-resistance in HCC cells and by increasing stemness and population of cancer-stem cells, it can provide the way for recurrence of tumor. Overexpression of NF-κB mediates therapy resistance in HCC cells and it can be regulated by non-coding RNAs in HCC. Moreover, inhibition of NF-κB by anti-cancer and epigenetic drugs suppresses HCC tumorigenesis. More importantly, nanoparticles are considered for suppressing NF-κB axis in cancer and their prospectives and results can also be utilized for treatment of HCC. Nanomaterials are promising factors in treatment of HCC and by delivery of genes and drugs, they suppress HCC progression. Furthermore, nanomaterials provide phototherapy in HCC ablation.

CARMA3: A potential therapeutic target in non-cancer diseases

Caspase recruitment domain and membrane-associated guanylate kinase-like protein 3 (CARMA3) is a scaffold protein widely expressed in non-hematopoietic cells. It is encoded by the caspase recruitment domain protein 10 (CARD10) gene. CARMA3 can form a CARMA3-BCL10-MALT1 complex by recruiting B cell lymphoma 10 (BCL10) and mucosa-​associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma translocation protein 1 (MALT1), thereby activating nuclear factor-​κB (NF-κB), a key transcription factor that involves in various biological responses. CARMA3 mediates different receptors-dependent signaling pathways, including G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). Inappropriate expression and activation of GPCRs and/or RTKs/CARMA3 signaling lead to the pathogenesis of human diseases. Emerging studies have reported that CARMA3 mediates the development of various types of cancers. Moreover, CARMA3 and its partners participate in human non-cancer diseases, including atherogenesis, abdominal aortic aneurysm, asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, liver fibrosis, insulin resistance, inflammatory bowel disease, and psoriasis. Here we provide a review on its structure, regulation, and molecular function, and further highlight recent findings in human non-cancerous diseases, which will provide a novel therapeutic target.

CARMA3 Promotes Colorectal Cancer Cell Motility and Cancer Stemness via YAP-Mediated NF-κB Activation

Simple Summary

CARMA3 is overexpressed in most cancers, and its expression is positively associated with poor prognosis. In this study, we evaluated the detailed mechanisms of CARMA3-mediated CRC metastasis. We found that overexpression of CARMA3 induced the expression of YAP and NF-κB activation, then elicited EMT induction to enhance cell migration and invasion. We demonstrate for the first time that YAP is a critical downstream regulator of CARMA3 in CRC. Our findings reveal a regulation axis between CARMA3 and Hippo oncoprotein YAP and further support the potential role of CARMA3 in the metastasis and cancer stemness of CRC.

Abstract

CARD-recruited membrane-associated protein 3 (CARMA3) is overexpressed in various cancers and is associated with cancer cell proliferation, metastasis, and tumor progression; however, the underlying mechanisms of CARMA3 in colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis remain unclear. Here, we found that higher CARMA3 expression was correlated with poor overall survival and metastasis in CRC patients from the TNMplot database and Human Tissue Microarray staining. Elevating CARMA3 expression promoted cell proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) induction, migration/invasion abilities, sphere formation, and cancer stem cell markers expression. Knockdown of CARMA3 decreased these processes via the EMT-related transcription factor Slug. Moreover, CARMA3 depletion significantly reduced tumor growth in mice that were consistent with the in vitro results. CRC migration/invasion could be regulated by CARMA3/YAP/Slug signaling axis using genetic inhibition of Yes-associated protein (YAP). Interestingly, CARMA3 induced activation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB through YAP expression, contributing to upregulation of Slug. YAP expression positively correlated with CARMA3, NF-κB, and Slug gene expression and poor clinical outcomes in CRC patients. Our findings demonstrate for the first time that CARMA3 plays an important role in CRC progression, which may serve as a potential diagnostic biomarker and candidate therapeutic target for CRC treatment.