Expression analysis and clinical significance of eIF4E, VEGF-C, E-cadherin and MMP-2 in colorectal adenocarcinoma

Patterns of Gene Expression Profiles Associated with Colorectal Cancer in Colorectal Mucosa by Using Machine Learning Methods

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has a very high incidence and lethality rate and is one of the most dangerous cancer types. Timely diagnosis can effectively reduce the incidence of colorectal cancer. Changes in para-cancerous tissues may serve as an early signal for tumorigenesis. Comparison of the differences in gene expression between para-cancerous and normal mucosa can help in the diagnosis of CRC and understanding the mechanisms of development.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to identify specific genes at the level of gene expression, which are expressed in normal mucosa and may be predictive of CRC risk.

METHODS

A machine learning approach was used to analyze transcriptomic data in 459 samples of normal colonic mucosal tissue from 322 CRC cases and 137 non-CRC, in which each sample contained 28,706 gene expression levels. The genes were ranked using four ranking methods based on importance estimation (LASSO, LightGBM, MCFS, and mRMR) and four classification algorithms (decision tree [DT], K-nearest neighbor [KNN], random forest [RF], and support vector machine [SVM]) were combined with incremental feature selection [IFS] methods to construct a prediction model with excellent performance.

RESULT

The top-ranked genes, namely, HOXD12, CDH1, and S100A12, were associated with tumorigenesis based on previous studies.

CONCLUSION

This study summarized four sets of quantitative classification rules based on the DT algorithm, providing clues for understanding the microenvironmental changes caused by CRC. According to the rules, the effect of CRC on normal mucosa can be determined.

Biological functions and research progress of eIF4E

The eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF4E can specifically bind to the cap structure of an mRNA 5' end, mainly regulating translation initiation and preferentially enhancing the translation of carcinogenesis related mRNAs. The expression of eIF4E is closely related to a variety of malignant tumors. In tumor cells, eIF4E activity is abnormally increased, which stimulates cell growth, metastasis and translation of related proteins. The main factors affecting eIF4E activity include intranuclear regulation, phosphorylation of 4EBPs, and phosphorylation and sumoylation of eIF4E. In this review, we summarize the biological functions and the research progress of eIF4E, the main influencing factors of eIF4E activity, and the recent progress of drugs targeting eIF4E, in the hope of providing new insights for the treatment of multiple malignancies and development of targeted drugs.

LncRNA ERVH48-1 Contributes to the Drug Resistance of Prostate Cancer and Proliferation through Sponging of miR-4784 to the Activation of the Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway

Long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) are very important in the way that docetaxel resistance (DR) happens in prostate cancer (PCa) patients. ImmuneScore and StromalScore were calculated using PCa-related expression data from TCGA and the ESTIMATE algorithm. We finally found the DEGs that were related to the immune system and the stroma of the patients by making profiles of the DEGs in ImmuneScore and StromalScore. The CancerSubtypes algorithm identified prognosis-related PCa subtypes, and the GSVA assessed their pathway activity. A UniCox regression analysis was used to identify a prognosis-related differential gene set. We then used intersection analysis to identify immunological and prognostic (IP)-related genes (IPGs). The coexpression of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and IPGs was used to identify IP-related lncRNAs (IPLs). Three methods (SVM-RFE, random forest, and LASSO) were used to find genes that overlap in the GEO database. A gene signature was then validated by building an ROC curve. CIBERSORT technology was used to look at the possibility of a link between the gene signature and immune cells. LncRNA-miRNA pairs and miRNA-mRNA pairs from the miRDB and TargetScan databases were used to construct the ERVH48-1-miR-4784-WNT2B ceRNA regulation network. The concentration of docetaxel elevated the expression of ERVH48-1. Overexpression of ERVH48-1 increased PCa-DR cell proliferation, invasion, and migration while inhibiting apoptosis. ERVH48-1 increased the tumorigenicity of PCa-DR cells in nude mice. ERVH48-1, acting as a ceRNA, targeted miR-4784 to increase WNT2B expression. ICG001 therapy increased Wnt/-catenin signaling activity in PCa-DR cells by inhibiting ERVH48-1. Finally, ERVH48-1 increased docetaxel resistance in a WNT2B-dependent manner via the miR-4784/Wnt/-catenin pathway.

Molecules promoting circulating clusters of cancer cells suggest novel therapeutic targets for treatment of metastatic cancers

Treatment of metastatic disease remains among the most challenging tasks in oncology. One of the early events that predicts a poor prognosis and precedes the development of metastasis is the occurrence of clusters of cancer cells in the blood flow. Moreover, the presence of heterogeneous clusters of cancerous and noncancerous cells in the circulation is even more dangerous. Review of pathological mechanisms and biological molecules directly involved in the formation and pathogenesis of the heterotypic circulating tumor cell (CTC) clusters revealed their common properties, which include increased adhesiveness, combined epithelial-mesenchymal phenotype, CTC-white blood cell interaction, and polyploidy. Several molecules involved in the heterotypic CTC interactions and their metastatic properties, including IL6R, CXCR4 and EPCAM, are targets of approved or experimental anticancer drugs. Accordingly, analysis of patient survival data from the published literature and public datasets revealed that the expression of several molecules affecting the formation of CTC clusters predicts patient survival in multiple cancer types. Thus, targeting of molecules involved in CTC heterotypic interactions might be a valuable strategy for the treatment of metastatic cancers.

Frequent Intraluminal Growth of Large Muscular Veins in Surgically Resected Colorectal Cancer Tissues: A 3-Dimensional Pathologic Reconstruction Study

Although venous invasion (VI) is common in colorectal cancers (CRCs) and is associated with distant metastasis, the 3-dimensional (3D) microscopic features and associated mechanisms of VI are not well elucidated. To characterize the patterns of VI, 103 tissue slabs were harvested from surgically resected CRCs with ≥pT2. They were cleared using the modified immunolabeling-enabled 3D imaging of solvent-cleared organs method, labeled with multicolor fluorescent antibodies, including antibodies against cytokeratin 19, desmin, CD31, and E-cadherin, and visualized by confocal laser scanning microscopy. VI was classified as intravasation, intraluminal growth, and/or extravasation, and 2-dimensional and 3D microscopic features were compared. VI was detected more frequently in 3D (56/103 [54.4%]) than in conventional 2-dimensional hematoxylin and eosin-stained slides (33/103 [32%]; P < .001). When VI was present, it was most commonly in the form of intraluminal growth (51/56), followed by extravasation (13/56) and intravasation (5/56). The mean length of intraluminal growth was 334.0 ± 212.4 μm. Neoplastic cell projections extended from cancer cell clusters in the connective tissue surrounding veins, penetrated the smooth muscle layer, and then grew into and filled the venous lumen. E-cadherin expression changed at each invasion phase; intact E-cadherin expression was observed in the cancer cells in the venous walls, but its expression was lost in small clusters of intraluminal neoplastic cells. In addition, reexpression of E-cadherin was observed when cancer cells formed well-oriented tubular structures and accumulated and grew along the luminal side of the venous wall. In contrast, singly scattered cancer cells and cancer cells with poorly defined tubular structures showed loss of E-cadherin expression. E-cadherin expression was intact in the large cohesive clusters of extravasated cancer cells. However, singly scattered cells and smaller projections of neoplastic cells in the stroma outward of venous wall showed a loss of E-cadherin expression. In conclusion, VI was observed in more than half of the CRCs analyzed by 3D histopathologic image reconstruction. Once inside a vein, neoplastic cells can grow intraluminally. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition is not maintained during VI of CRCs.

Examining SNP-SNP interactions and risk of clinical outcomes in colorectal cancer using multifactor dimensionality reduction based methods

Background: SNP interactions may explain the variable outcome risk among colorectal cancer patients. Examining SNP interactions is challenging, especially with large datasets. Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction (MDR)-based programs may address this problem.

Objectives: 1) To compare two MDR-based programs for their utility; and 2) to apply these programs to sets of MMP and VEGF-family gene SNPs in order to examine their interactions in relation to colorectal cancer survival outcomes.

Methods: This study applied two data reduction methods, Cox-MDR and GMDR 0.9, to study one to three way SNP interactions. Both programs were run using a 5-fold cross validation step and the top models were verified by permutation testing. Prognostic associations of the SNP interactions were verified using multivariable regression methods. Eight datasets, including SNPs from MMP family genes (n = 201) and seven sets of VEGF-family interaction networks (n = 1,517 SNPs) were examined.

Results: ∼90 million potential interactions were examined. Analyses in the MMP and VEGF gene family datasets found several novel 1- to 3-way SNP interactions. These interactions were able to distinguish between the patients with different outcome risks (regression p-values 0.03–2.2E-09). The strongest association was detected for a 3-way interaction including CHRM3.rs665159_EPN1.rs6509955_PTGER3.rs1327460 variants.

Conclusion: Our work demonstrates the utility of data reduction methods while identifying potential prognostic markers in colorectal cancer.

Inhibition of α(1,6)fucosyltransferase: Effects on Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Adhesion in an SW480/SW620 Syngeneic Colorectal Cancer Model

The present study explored the impact of inhibiting α(1,6)fucosylation (core fucosylation) on the functional phenotype of a cellular model of colorectal cancer (CRC) malignization formed by the syngeneic SW480 and SW620 CRC lines. Expression of the FUT8 gene encoding α(1,6)fucosyltransferase was inhibited in tumor line SW480 by a combination of shRNA-based antisense knockdown and Lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA) selection. LCA-resistant clones were subsequently assayed in vitro for proliferation, migration, and adhesion. The α(1,6)FT-inhibited SW480 cells showed enhanced proliferation in adherent conditions, unlike their α(1,6)FT-depleted SW620 counterparts, which displayed reduced proliferation. Under non-adherent conditions, α(1,6)FT-inhibited SW480 cells also showed greater growth capacity than their respective non-targeted control (NTC) cells. However, cell migration decreased in SW480 after FUT8 knockdown, while adhesion to EA.hy926 cells was significantly enhanced. The reported results indicate that the FUT8 knockdown strategy with subsequent selection for LCA-resistant clones was effective in greatly reducing α(1,6)FT expression in SW480 and SW620 CRC lines. In addition, α(1,6)FT impairment affected the proliferation, migration, and adhesion of α(1,6)FT-deficient clones SW480 and SW620 in a tumor stage-dependent manner, suggesting that core fucosylation has a dynamic role in the evolution of CRC.

Upregulation of CD36, a Fatty Acid Translocase, Promotes Colorectal Cancer Metastasis by Increasing MMP28 and Decreasing E-Cadherin Expression

Altered fatty acid metabolism continues to be an attractive target for therapeutic intervention in cancer. We previously found that colorectal cancer (CRC) cells with a higher metastatic potential express a higher level of fatty acid translocase (CD36). However, the role of CD36 in CRC metastasis has not been studied. Here, we demonstrate that high expression of CD36 promotes invasion of CRC cells. Consistently, CD36 promoted lung metastasis in the tail vein model and GI metastasis in the cecum injection model. RNA-Seq analysis of CRC cells with altered expression of CD36 revealed an association between high expression of CD36 and upregulation of MMP28, a novel member of the metallopeptidase family of proteins. Using shRNA-mediated knockdown and overexpression of CD36, we confirmed that CD36 regulates MMP28 expression in CRC cells. siRNA-mediated knockdown of MMP28 decreases invasion of CRC cells, suggesting that MMP28 regulates the metastatic properties of cells downstream of CD36. Importantly, high expression of MMP28 leads to a significant decrease in active E-cadherin and an increase in the products of E-cadherin cleavage, CTF1 and CTF2. In summary, upregulation of CD36 expression promotes the metastatic properties of CRC via upregulation of MMP28 and an increase in E-cadherin cleavage, suggesting that targeting the CD36-MMP28 axis may be an effective therapeutic strategy for CRC metastasis.

Loss of Hyaluronan and Proteoglycan Link Protein-1 Induces Tumorigenesis in Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common diagnosed cancer worldwide, but there are no effective cures for it. Hyaluronan and proteoglycan link protein-1 (HAPLN1) is a component of the extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and involved in the tumor environment in the colon. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β is a key cytokine that regulates the deposition of ECM proteins in CRC. However, the role of HAPLN1 in TGF-β contributions to CRC remains unknown. We found that the mRNA expression of HAPLN1 was decreased in tumors from CRC patients compared with healthy controls and normal tissue adjacent to the tumor using two existing microarray datasets. This was validated at the protein level by tissue array from CRC patients (n = 59). HAPLN1 protein levels were also reduced in human CRC epithelial cells after 24 h of TGF-β stimulation, and its protein expression correlated with type I collagen alpha-1 (COL1A1) in CRC. Transfection of HAPLN1 overexpression plasmids into these cells increased protein levels but reduced COL1A1 protein, tumor growth, and cancer cell migration. TGF-β stimulation increased Smad2/3, p-Smad2/3, Smad4, and E-adhesion proteins; however, HAPLN1 overexpression restored these proteins to baseline levels in CRC epithelial cells after TGF-β stimulation. These findings suggest that HAPLN1 regulates the TGF-β signaling pathway to control collagen deposition via the TGF-β signaling pathway and mediates E-adhesion to control tumor growth. Thus, treatments that increase HAPLN1 levels may be a novel therapeutic option for CRC.

Copy number and transcriptome alterations associated with metastatic lesion response to treatment in colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

Therapeutic resistance is the main cause of death in metastatic colorectal cancer. To investigate genomic plasticity, most specifically of metastatic lesions, associated with response to first-line systemic therapy, we collected longitudinal liver metastatic samples and characterized the copy number aberration (CNA) landscape and its effect on the transcriptome.

METHODS

Liver metastatic biopsies were collected prior to treatment (pre, n = 97) and when clinical imaging demonstrated therapeutic resistance (post, n = 43). CNAs were inferred from whole exome sequencing and were correlated with both the status of the lesion and overall patient progression-free survival (PFS). We used RNA sequencing data from the same sample set to validate aberrations as well as independent datasets to prioritize candidate genes.

RESULTS

We identified a significantly increased frequency gain of a unique CN, in liver metastatic lesions after first-line treatment, on chr18p11.32 harboring 10 genes, including TYMS, which has not been reported in primary tumors (GISTIC method and test of equal proportions, FDR-adjusted p = 0.0023). CNA lesion profiles exhibiting different treatment responses were compared and we detected focal genomic divergences in post-treatment resistant lesions but not in responder lesions (two-tailed Fisher's Exact test, unadjusted p ≤ 0.005). The importance of examining metastatic lesions is highlighted by the fact that 15 out of 18 independently validated CNA regions found to be associated with PFS in this study were only identified in the metastatic lesions and not in the primary tumors.

CONCLUSION

This investigation of genomic-phenotype associations in a large colorectal cancer liver metastases cohort identified novel molecular features associated with treatment response, supporting the clinical importance of collecting metastatic samples in a defined clinical setting.

Targeting Protein Synthesis in Colorectal Cancer

Under physiological conditions, protein synthesis controls cell growth and survival and is strictly regulated. Deregulation of protein synthesis is a frequent event in cancer. The majority of mutations found in colorectal cancer (CRC), including alterations in the WNT pathway as well as activation of RAS/MAPK and PI3K/AKT and, subsequently, mTOR signaling, lead to deregulation of the translational machinery. Besides mutations in upstream signaling pathways, deregulation of global protein synthesis occurs through additional mechanisms including altered expression or activity of initiation and elongation factors (e.g., eIF4F, eIF2α/eIF2B, eEF2) as well as upregulation of components involved in ribosome biogenesis and factors that control the adaptation of translation in response to stress (e.g., GCN2). Therefore, influencing mechanisms that control mRNA translation may open a therapeutic window for CRC. Over the last decade, several potential therapeutic strategies targeting these alterations have been investigated and have shown promising results in cell lines, intestinal organoids, and mouse models. Despite these encouraging in vitro results, patients have not clinically benefited from those advances so far. In this review, we outline the mechanisms that lead to deregulated mRNA translation in CRC and highlight recent progress that has been made in developing therapeutic strategies that target these mechanisms for tumor therapy.

Microscopic distance from tumor invasion front to serosa might be a useful predictive factor for peritoneal recurrence after curative resection of T3-gastric cancer

Background

Peritoneal recurrence is one of the most frequent recurrent diseases in gastric cancer. Although the exposure of cancer cells to the serosal surface is considered a common risk factor for peritoneal recurrence, there are some cases of peritoneal recurrence without infiltration to the serosal surface even after curative surgery. This study sought to clarify the risk factors of peritoneal recurrence in the absence of invasion to the serosal surface.

Materials and methods

Ninety-six patients with gastric cancer who underwent curative surgery were enrolled. In all 96 cases, the depth of tumor invasion was subserosal (T3). The microscopic distance from the tumor invasion front to the serosa (DIFS) was measured using tissue slides by H&E staining and pan-cytokeratin staining. E-cadherin expression was evaluated by immunohistochemical staining.

Results

Among the 96 patients, 16 developed peritoneal recurrence after curative surgery. The DIFS of the tumors with peritoneal recurrence (156±220 μm) was significantly shorter (p = 0.011) than that without peritoneal recurrence (360±478 μm). Peritoneal recurrence was significantly correlated with DIFS ≤234 μm (p = 0.023), but not with E-cadherin expression. The prognosis of DIFS ≤234 μm was significantly poorer than that of DIFS >234 μm (log rank, p = 0.007). A multivariate analysis of the patients' five-year overall survival revealed that DIFS ≤234 μm and lymph node metastasis were significantly correlated with survival (p = 0.005, p = 0.032, respectively).

Conclusion

The measurement of the DIFS might be useful for the prediction of peritoneal recurrence in T3-gastric cancer patients after curative surgery.

The Prognostic Value of m6A RNA Methylation Regulators in Colon Adenocarcinoma

Background

The RNA-seq FPKM data of 331 colorectal adenocarcinoma samples in The Cancer Genome Atlas database with matching clinical data were analyzed in order to reveal the prognostic value of m6A RNA methylation regulators in colon adenocarcinoma.

Material/Methods

The expression of 13 m6A RNA methylated regulators in samples were analyzed. The samples were classified into Cluster I and II by consistent clustering. The gene distribution was analyzed by principal component analysis. Further functional analysis of selected m6A RNA genes was performed and potential risk characteristics was developed using Lasso Cox regression algorithm. Using minimum criteria, the risk coefficients of YTHDF1 and HNRNPC were detected for Cluster II. Patients were divided into high-risk and low-risk subgroups based on the risk characteristics. The clinical data were analyzed by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis.

Results

Expression of the detected m6A RNA methylated regulators except YTHDC2 in tumors were significantly different from their adjacent mucosa. Among them, only ALKBH5 and METTL4 were downregulated in tumors. The gene distribution between the 2 subgroups were different. The expression of m6A RNA methylation regulators including YTHDF1, HNRNPC, YTHDC2, YTHDC1, ZC3H13, and RBM15 were different between the 2 groups (P<0.05). The prognostic characteristics between the high-risk and low-risk groups were significant different (P<0.05), which had a good predictive significance of prognosis area under the curve (AUC)=0.62). Risk scores were less than 0.05, suggesting risk score was an independent prognostic factor for colon adenocarcinoma.

Conclusions

m6A RNA methylation regulators YTHDF1 and HNRNPC can be used as prognostic factors of colon cancer, which has potential value for colon cancer treatment.

Cell Fate Control by Translation: mRNA Translation Initiation as a Therapeutic Target for Cancer Development and Stem Cell Fate Control

Translation of mRNA is an important process that controls cell behavior and gene regulation because proteins are the functional molecules that determine cell types and function. Cancer develops as a result of genetic mutations, which lead to the production of abnormal proteins and the dysregulation of translation, which in turn, leads to aberrant protein synthesis. In addition, the machinery that is involved in protein synthesis plays critical roles in stem cell fate determination. In the current review, recent advances in the understanding of translational control, especially translational initiation in cancer development and stem cell fate control, are described. Therapeutic targets of mRNA translation such as eIF4E, 4EBP, and eIF2, for cancer treatment or stem cell fate regulation are reviewed. Upstream signaling pathways that regulate and affect translation initiation were introduced. It is important to regulate the expression of protein for normal cell behavior and development. mRNA translation initiation is a key step to regulate protein synthesis, therefore, identifying and targeting molecules that are critical for protein synthesis is necessary and beneficial to develop cancer therapeutics and stem cells fate regulation.

Eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E): A recap of the cap-binding protein

Eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E), a fundamental effector and rate limiting element of protein synthesis, binds the 7-methylguanosine cap at the 5' end of eukaryotic messenger RNA (mRNA) specifically as a constituent of eIF4F translation initiation complex thus facilitating the recruitment of mRNA to the ribosomes. This review focusses on the engagement of signals contributing to growth factor originated maxim and their role in the activation of eIF4E to achieve a collective influence on cellular growth, with a key focus on conjuring vital processes like protein synthesis. The review invites considerable interest in elevating the appeal of eIF4E beyond its role in regulating translation viz a viz cancer genesis, attributed to its phosphorylation state that improves the prospect for the growth of the cancerous cell. This review highlights the latest studies that have envisioned to target these pathways and ultimately the translational machinery for therapeutic intervention. The review also brings forward the prospect of eIF4E to act as a converging juncture for signaling pathways like mTOR/PI3K and Mnk/MAPK to promote tumorigenesis.

NDV-D90 suppresses growth of gastric cancer and cancer-related vascularization

Recent reports suggest promises on using oncolytic Newcastle disease viruses (NDV) to treat different cancers, while the effects of a NDV-D90 strain on gastric cancer remain unknown. Here we showed that NDV-D90 induced gastric cancer cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in 3 gastric cancer cell lines BGC-823, SGC-7901 and MKN-28. Pronounced reduction in cell invasion was detected in NDV-D90-treated BGC-823 and SGC-7901 cells, but not in MKN-28 cells. The increases in cell apoptosis and reduction in cell growth in NDV-D90-treated gastric cancer cells seemingly resulted from augmentation of p38 signaling and suppression of ERK1/2 and Akt signaling. In vivo, orthotopic injection of NDV-D90 impaired tumor growth and induced intratumoral necrosis. Tumor cells that had been pre-treated with NDV-D90 showed defect in development of implanted tumor. Moreover, NDV-D90 appeared to reduce gastric tumor vascularization, possibly through suppression of vascular endothelial growth factor A and Matrix Metallopeptidase 2. Together, our data suggest that NDV-D90 may have potential anti-cancer effects on gastric cancer.

RelB, a good prognosis predictor, links cell-cycle and migration to glioma tumorigenesis

Nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) exhibits an important role in inflammation and tumorigenesis. The key regulatory protein of the pathway, RELB Proto-Oncogene, NF-KB Subunit (relB), is overexpressed and associated with the pathogenesis of a variety of malignant tumors. However, the molecular features and clinical signature of relB expression in gliomas remains to be elucidated. The present study obtained the raw sequencing data of 325 glioma samples of all grades from the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) database and human glioma cell line (LN229) from the Chinese Academy of Sciences cell bank. Cell proliferation, invasion and wound healing assays were used for functional annotation of relB. Western blot analysis was used for validating the protein expression of relB, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 in a further 77 glioma samples. In Diffuse Glioma data, relB expression was associated with glioma grade, demonstrated a mesenchymal subtype preference and cell development association. The downregulation of relB expression inhibited glioma cell migration and invasion by regulating the MMPs in vitro. relB expression was independently associated with grade and prognosis of grade III and grade IV gliomas, suggesting that relB is a novel biomarker with therapeutic potential for predicting prognosis in glioma.

E-cadherin: Its dysregulation in carcinogenesis and clinical implications

E-cadherin is a transmembrane glycoprotein which connects epithelial cells together at adherens junctions. In normal cells, E-cadherin exerts its tumour suppressing role mainly by sequestering β-catenin from its binding to LEF (Lymphoid enhancer factor)/TCF (T cell factor) which serves the function of transcribing genes of the proliferative Wnt signaling pathway. Despite the ongoing debate on whether the loss of E-cadherin is the cause or effect of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), E-cadherin functional loss has frequently been associated with poor prognosis and survival in patients of various cancers. The dysregulation of E-cadherin expression that leads to carcinogenesis happens mostly at the epigenetic level but there are cases of genetic alterations as well. E-cadherin expression has been linked to the cellular functions of invasiveness reduction, growth inhibition, apoptosis, cell cycle arrest and differentiation. Studies on various cancers have shown that these different cellular functions are also interdependent. Recent studies have reported a rapid expansion of E-cadherin clinical relevance in various cancers. This review article summarises the multifaceted effect E-cadherin expression has on cellular functions in the context of carcinogenesis as well as its clinical implications in diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutics.

The eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF4E harnesses hyaluronan production to drive its malignant activity

The microenvironment provides a functional substratum supporting tumour growth. Hyaluronan (HA) is a major component of this structure. While the role of HA in malignancy is well-defined, the mechanisms driving its biosynthesis in cancer are poorly understood. We show that the eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF4E, an oncoprotein, drives HA biosynthesis. eIF4E stimulates production of enzymes that synthesize the building blocks of HA, UDP-Glucuronic acid and UDP-N-Acetyl-Glucosamine, as well as hyaluronic acid synthase which forms the disaccharide chain. Strikingly, eIF4E inhibition alone repressed HA levels as effectively as directly targeting HA with hyaluronidase. Unusually, HA was retained on the surface of high-eIF4E cells, rather than being extruded into the extracellular space. Surface-associated HA was required for eIF4E’s oncogenic activities suggesting that eIF4E potentiates an oncogenic HA program. These studies provide unique insights into the mechanisms driving HA production and demonstrate that an oncoprotein can co-opt HA biosynthesis to drive malignancy.

Transducin (β)-like 1 X-linked receptor 1 correlates with clinical prognosis and clinicopathological characteristics in human solid carcinomas

Transducin (β)-like 1 X-linked receptor 1(TBL1XR1) has been reported to be overexpressed in various human cancers, as well as contributing to carcinogenesis and progression. This synthetic analysis was performed to assess whether TBL1XR1 protein could act as a potential prognostic molecular marker for human cancers. Several online databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Embase together with Wanfang and China National Knowledge Internet database) were retrieved to identify TBL1XR1-related publications. A total of ten studies with 1837 cancer patients were included in this meta-analysis. Hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were applied to assess the association between TBL1XR1 expression and cancer prognosis. Odds ratios (OR) were calculated to determine the relationship between TBL1XR1 expression and clinicopathological characteristics. The overall results revealed that the overexpression of TBL1XR1 was correlated with poorer overall survival (OS) (HR: 1.77, 95% CI: 1.49–2.06, p < 0.001) and worse disease-free survival (DFS) (HR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.19–1.84, p < 0.001) in human solid cancers. Statistical significance for OS was also found in subgroup analysis stratified by the cancer type, analysis method and follow-up time. Furthermore, elevated TBL1XR1 was associated with unfavorable clinicopathological characteristics including tumor size, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis and TNM stage. Our meta-analysis suggested that TBL1XR1 might be served as a novel and promising biomarker to predict prognosis and clinicopathologic characteristic for cancer patients.

Dual abrogation of MNK and mTOR: a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of aggressive cancers

Targeting the translational machinery has emerged as a promising therapeutic option for cancer treatment. Cancer cells require elevated protein synthesis and exhibit augmented activity to meet the increased metabolic demand. Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E is necessary for mRNA translation, its availability and phosphorylation are regulated by the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and MNK1/2 pathways. The phosphorylated form of eIF4E drives the expression of oncogenic proteins including those involved in metastasis. In this article, we will review the role of eIF4E in cancer, its regulation and discuss the benefit of dual inhibition of upstream pathways. The discernible interplay between the MNK and mTOR signaling pathways provides a novel therapeutic opportunity to target aggressive migratory cancers through the development of hybrid molecules.

E-cadherin: A potential biomarker of colorectal cancer prognosis

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common and lethal disease. It is the third most common type of cancer in the world, behind lung and breast cancer, with almost 1.4 million new cases diagnosed in 2012. The risk of developing CRC is influenced by environmental and genetic factors. Adenocarcinomas comprise the vast majority (98%) of CRCs. A patient's likelihood of survival is associated with the tumor stage at the time of diagnosis. With regular screening, CRC can be identified early, when treatment is the most effective. However, CRC is typically asymptomatic until the advanced stages. The combination of the absence of symptoms and current screening methodology results in a significant number of patients being diagnosed in advanced stages. The purpose of the present review is to discuss and summarize the biomarkers linked to CRC progression, particularly the controversial E-cadherin, which is a calcium-dependent cell-cell adhesion molecule involved in the mesenchymal-epithelial transition.