Meta-analysis of downregulated E-cadherin as a poor prognostic biomarker for cervical cancer

Soluble guanylyl cyclase beta1 subunit targets epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and downregulates Akt pathway in human endometrial and cervical cancer cells

Endometrial and cervical cancer are among the most frequently diagnosed malignancies globally. Nitric oxide receptor-soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) is a heterodimeric enzyme composed of two subunits, α1 and β1. Previously we showed that sGCα1 subunit promotes cell survival, proliferation, and migration, but the role of sGCβ1 subunit has not been addressed. The aim of the present work was to study the impact of sGCβ1 restoration in proliferation, survival, migration, and cell signaling in endometrial and cervical cancer cells. We found that sGCβ1 transcript levels are reduced in endometrial and cervical tumors vs normal tissues. We confirmed nuclear enrichment of sGCβ1, unlike sGCα1. Overexpression of sGCβ1 reduced cell viability and augmented apoptotic index. Cell migration and invasion were also negatively affected. All these sGCβ1-driven effects were independent of sGC enzymatic activity. sGCβ1 reduced the expression of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition factors such as N-cadherin and β-catenin and increased the expression of E-cadherin. sGCβ1 impacted signaling in endometrial and cervical cancer cells through significant downregulation of Akt pathway affecting some of its main targets such as GSK-3β and c-Raf. Our results show for the first time that sGCβ1 exerts several antiproliferative actions in ECC-1 and HeLa cell lines by targeting key regulatory pathways.

A Comprehensive View of the Cancer-Immunity Cycle (CIC) in HPV-Mediated Cervical Cancer and Prospects for Emerging Therapeutic Opportunities

Cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, with more than 500,000 new cases each year and a mortality rate of around 55%. Over 80% of these deaths occur in developing countries. The most important risk factor for CC is persistent infection by a sexually transmitted virus, the human papillomavirus (HPV). Conventional treatments to eradicate this type of cancer are accompanied by high rates of resistance and a large number of side effects. Hence, it is crucial to devise novel effective therapeutic strategies. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have aimed to develop immunotherapeutic methods for treating cancer. However, these strategies have not proven to be effective enough to combat CC. This means there is a need to investigate immune molecular targets. An adaptive immune response against cancer has been described in seven key stages or steps defined as the cancer-immunity cycle (CIC). The CIC begins with the release of antigens by tumor cells and ends with their destruction by cytotoxic T-cells. In this paper, we discuss several molecular alterations found in each stage of the CIC of CC. In addition, we analyze the evidence discovered, the molecular mechanisms and their relationship with variables such as histological subtype and HPV infection, as well as their potential impact for adopting novel immunotherapeutic approaches.

Meta-analysis of downregulated E-cadherin as a diagnostic biomarker for cervical cancer

OBJECTIVE

Downregulation of E-cadherin function or expression has been implicated in the progression of cervical cancer. This meta-analysis of updated publications was performed to assess the association of expression alteration of E-cadherin with disease severity and then to determine the diagnostic accuracy of E-cadherin in discriminating cervical lesions including cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade 1 (CIN1), CIN grade 2 (CIN2), CIN grade 3 (CIN3), and cervical cancer.

METHODS

The articles published from inception to January 2021 were searched in PubMed, EBSCO, CNKI, and WanFang Database and then evaluated according to the criteria of meta-analysis. The eligible studies were retrieved and further analyzed. A bivariate mixed effects binary regression model was applied to determine pooled effect estimates.

RESULTS

16 studies with 2436 subjects from 7 countries were eligible for this meta-analysis. When compared with CIN1 control, the pooled odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association of E-cadherin positivity with CIN2, CIN3, and cervical cancer were 0.34 (95% CI 0.23-0.51), 0.23 (95% CI 0.10-0.54), and 0.10 (95% CI 0.07-0.14), respectively. The pooled sensitivity and specificity for CIN3 or worse were 0.60 (95% CI 0.48-0.70) and 0.82 (95% CI 0.73-0.88) respectively, with the AUC of 0.78 (95% CI 0.74-0.82). Similar performance was found in CIN2 or worse.

CONCLUSION

These findings demonstrated that the loss of E-cadherin protein was associated with worsened cervical lesions. E-cadherin might serve as a promising diagnostic biomarker to facilitate the discrimination of precancerous and cancerous lesions.

Dual Role of YY1 in HPV Life Cycle and Cervical Cancer Development

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are considered to be key etiological agents responsible for the induction and development of cervical cancer. However, it has been suggested that HPV infection alone may not be sufficient to promote cervical carcinogenesis, and other unknown factors might be required to establish the disease. One of the suggested proteins whose deregulation has been linked with oncogenesis is transcription factor Yin Yang 1 (YY1). YY1 is a multifunctional protein that is involved not only in the regulation of gene transcription and protein modification, but can also control important cell signaling pathways, such as cell growth, development, differentiation, and apoptosis. Vital functions of YY1 also indicate that the protein could be involved in tumorigenesis. The overexpression of this protein has been observed in different tumors, and its level has been correlated with poor prognoses of many types of cancers. YY1 can also regulate the transcription of viral genes. It has been documented that YY1 can bind to the HPV long control region and regulate the expression of viral oncogenes E6 and E7; however, its role in the HPV life cycle and cervical cancer development is different. In this review, we explore the role of YY1 in regulating the expression of cellular and viral genes and subsequently investigate how these changes inadvertently contribute toward the development of cervical malignancy.

Inhibiting the redox function of APE1 suppresses cervical cancer metastasis via disengagement of ZEB1 from E-cadherin in EMT

BACKGROUND

Metastasis is a major challenge in cervical cancer treatment. Previous studies have shown that the dual functional protein apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1) promotes tumor metastasis and is overexpressed in cervical cancer. However, the biological role and mechanism of APE1 in cervical cancer metastasis have rarely been studied.

METHODS

We used gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) to determine the APE1-related signaling pathways in cervical cancer. To investigate the role and mechanism of APE1 in cervical cancer metastasis and invasion, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, western blotting, secondary structure prediction, coimmunoprecipitation, luciferase reporter, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays were performed. The inhibitory effects of the APE1 redox function inhibitor APX3330 on cervical cancer metastasis were evaluated using animal models.

RESULTS

Clinical data showed that high expression of APE1 was associated with lymph node metastasis in cervical cancer patients. GSEA results showed that APE1 was associated with epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cervical cancer. Ectopic expression of APE1 promoted EMT and invasion of cervical cancer cells, whereas inhibition of APE1 suppressed EMT and invasion of cervical cancer cells in a redox function-dependent manner. Notably, APE1 redox function inhibitor APX3330 treatment dramatically suppressed cervical cancer cell lymph node and distant metastasis in vivo. Furthermore, we found that APE1 enhanced the interaction between ZEB1 and the E-cadherin promoter by binding to ZEB1, thereby suppressing the expression of E-cadherin, a negative regulator of EMT.

CONCLUSION

Our findings help to elucidate the role played by APE1 in cervical cancer metastasis and targeting APE1 redox function may be a novel strategy for inhibiting cervical cancer metastasis.

Markers of Prognosis for Early Stage Cervical Cancer Patients (Stage IB1, IB2) Undergoing Surgical Treatment

Background

For individuals with cervical cancer, large tumor volume, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and parauterine infiltration are usually associated with a poor prognosis. Individuals with stage 1B1 and 1B2 cervical cancer usually do not have these unfavorable prognostic factors. Once the disease progresses, the prognosis becomes extremely poor. Therefore, investigating the prognostic markers of these cervical cancer patients is necessary for treatment.

Methods

This retrospective study included 95 cervical cancer patients treated with surgery. The patients were divided into progressor and non-progressor groups according to postoperative follow-up results. T-test (or Mann−Whitney U test), chi-squared test (or Fisher’s exact test) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate imaging, hematology, and clinicopathological index differences between the two groups. Cox analysis was performed to select the independent markers of progression-free survival (PFS) when developing the nomogram. Validation of the nomogram was performed with 1000 bootstrapped samples. The performance of the nomogram was validated with ROC curves, generated calibration curves, and Kaplan-Meier and decision curve analysis (DCA).

Results

Cervical stromal invasion depth, lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI), human papilloma virus (HPV-16), Glut1, D-dimer, SUVmax and SUVpeak showed significant differences between the two groups. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard model showed SUVpeak (p = 0.012), and HPV-16 (p = 0.007) were independent risk factors and were used to develop the nomogram for predicting PFS. The ROC curves, Kaplan-Meier method, calibration curves and DCA indicated satisfactory accuracy, agreement, and clinical usefulness, respectively.

Conclusions

SUVpeak level (≥7.63 g/cm3) and HPV-16 negative status before surgery were associated with worse PFS for patients with cervical cancer. Based on this result, we constructed the nomogram and showed satisfactory performance. Clinically, individualized clinical decision-making can be performed on patients based on this result.

Small extracellular ring domain is necessary for CD82/KAI1'anti-metastasis function

The peptide mimicking small extracellular loop of CD82/KAI1 has been reported to inhibit tumor cell migration and metastasis. This provides an evidence that small extracellular loop domain should be important for the function of CD82/KAI1. In this paper, to investigate the structure basis for the function of EC1 mimic peptide, we systematically analyzed the effects of each amino acid residue in EC1 mimic peptide on its bioactivity. We found that the interfering with the folding of secondary structure with proline, a potent breaker of secondary structure, completely abolished the migration and metastasis-inhibitory activity of EC1 mimic peptide. This means that the bioactivity of EC1 mimic peptide was conformation-dependent. Next, we substitute with proline for amino acid residues in the small extracellular ring region of CD82/KAI1 by the site-specific mutations to disrupting secondary structure and detected its effect on the function of CD82/KAI1. The results showed that the disturbing the secondary structure of small extracellular ring completely abolished the migration and metastasis-inhibitory activity of CD82/KAI1. These results further provide direct evidence that the small extracellular ring is an important function region of CD82/KAI1.

PET-CT radiomics by integrating primary tumor and peritumoral areas predicts E-cadherin expression and correlates with pelvic lymph node metastasis in early-stage cervical cancer

OBJECTIVES

To explore the role of radiomics in integrating primary tumor and peritumoral areas based on PET-CT scans for predicting E-cadherin (E-cad) expression in early-stage cervical cancer (ESCC) and its correlation with pelvic lymph node metastasis (PLNM).

METHODS

Ninety-seven ESCC patients who had undergone PET-CT scans were retrospectively analyzed. The ROI of primary tumors, peritumoral areas, and plus tumors were semi-automatically segmented on PET-CT images. A total of 1188 radiomics features were extracted, selected, and eventually integrated into radiomics score (rad-score). The rad-score difference between patients with E-cad expression of high and low was analyzed using Mann-Whitney tests. Characteristic correlation was tested using a Spearman analysis. Four models were established using logistic regression algorithms and evaluated using ROC and calibration curves. A DeLong test was used to perform pairwise comparisons of AUCs.

RESULTS

The rad-score of patients with low E-cad expression was higher than that of patients with high E-cad expression in both training and testing cohorts (p < 0.001 and p = 0.027, respectively). A significant correlation was observed between the rad-score and E-cad (p < 0.001). PLNM correlated slightly with rad-score and E-cad values (p = 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively). The ROC curve and calibration curve of the rad-score model performed best in both training and testing cohorts (AUC = 0.915, 0.844, p < 0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The radiomics of integrating primary tumor and peritumoral areas based on PET-CT showed correlations with PLNM. It was also able to predict E-cad expression in ESCC patients, allowing for evaluation of those patients' prognosis and more individualized medical treatment.

KEY POINTS

• By integrating the primary tumor and peritumoral area based on PET-CT, radiomics was feasible. • The rad-score was associated with E-cad expression and PLNM in patients with ESCC. • Radiomics that integrated the primary tumor and peritumoral areas based on PET-CT could predict E-cad expression in patients with ESCC.

L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) in stage IB cervical cancer: distinct expression in squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas

AIMS

L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) has been shown to be correlated with tumour progression, attributed to its possible association with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), characterised by the expression of vimentin and loss of e-cadherin. Herein, we investigate the associations between L1CAM and clinicopathological parameters, as well as the expression of vimentin and e-cadherin, in carcinomas restricted to the cervix.

METHODS

The study was retrospective observational and included 45 squamous cell carcinomas (63.4%) and 26 adenocarcinomas (36.6%) submitted to primary surgical treatment. Patient age, FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) stage, tumour size and follow-up were obtained from the medical records. All the slides were revised to evaluate histological differentiation, lymphovascular space invasion, depth of infiltration, disease-free cervical wall thickness, pattern of invasion front, Silva pattern (for adenocarcinomas) and the percentage of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes. Tissue microarrays were constructed for immunohistochemical staining for L1CAM, e-cadherin and vimentin.

RESULTS

Adenocarcinomas were associated with lower disease-free and overall survival. L1CAM and vimentin expressions were more frequent among adenocarcinomas, although loss of e-cadherin expression was more common among squamous carcinomas. L1CAM expression was associated with larger tumours, vimentin expression and lower disease-free survival. No association was observed between the expression of either L1CAM or vimentin and loss of e-cadherin. High levels of tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes were more frequent in squamous cell carcinoma, high-grade tumours, destructive pattern at front of invasion and loss of e-cadherin expression.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results confirm the prognostic role of L1CAM in cervical carcinomas, but suggest a role for mechanisms other than EMT.

Preparative enrichment of human tissue cells capable to change a site of growth in vitro or in vivo - Recent developments

Human cells are heterogeneous in regard to their biochemical features and functions. Detailed knowledge about each single cell type is important to understand the whole organism. In order to get a deeper insight in the concert of life, it has to be considered that cell populations such as thyroid cells, epithelial breast cells, endothelial cells, or chondrocytes are heterogeneous in regard to function, RNA expression patterns and protein content. This is true for normal cells and even more relevant for cancer cells. A number of sophisticated methods were developed to enrich cohorts of cells generally belonging to a defined type but outstanding by distinct characteristics, which can be detected by microscopic, proteomic or genomic methods. There is a great interest to investigate human cells, which are able to change their site of growth within the human body leaving an original site, migrating through vessels and reentering another site. In this review experiments are summarized showing that the application of microgravity-exposure of human cells and cell electrophoresis enable a characterization of cells, which leave a site of growth to enter another one. Biochemical features of separated subpopulations are described and their usefulness for deeper investigation is highlighted.

lncRNA H19 predicts poor prognosis in patients with melanoma and regulates cell growth, invasion, migration and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in melanoma cells

Introduction

Melanoma is a deadly malignancy and the poor prognosis of patients with advanced disease is relatively poor. Recent studies indicate that long non-coding RNAs are involved in the pathogenesis of malignant melanoma. This study aims to investigate the role of the long non-coding RNA H19 in melanoma and to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Materials and methods

The expression levels of H19 in clinical samples and melanoma cells were determined by quantitative real-time PCR. The cell growth and cell metastasis were assessed by Cell Counting Kit 8, cell invasion and wound healing assays. Cell apoptosis and cell cycle were determined by flow cytometry. Protein levels were determined by Western blotting assay.

Results

H19 was highly expressed in melanoma tissues compared to normal adjacent skin tissues, and the tissue expression level of H19 from melanoma patients with metastasis was significantly higher than that from patients without distant metastasis. In addition, the high expression of H19 in melanoma tissues was associated with advanced tumor invasion and TNM stage, distal metastasis, lymph node metastasis and shorter overall survival in patients with melanoma. The in vitro functional assays showed that knockdown of H19 inhibited cell growth, invasion and migration and also induced cell apoptosis as well as G₀/G₁ arrest in melanoma cells. Further quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot experiments showed that knockdown of H19 differentially regulated the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related gene expressions and reversed EMT in melanoma cell lines. Knockdown of H19 suppressed in vivo tumor growth and modulated the expressions of EMT-related genes in nude mice.

Conclusion

The results from this study suggest that upregulation of H19 contributes to melanoma development and progression.

Decreased E-Cadherin in MCF7 Human Breast Cancer Cells Forming Multicellular Spheroids Exposed to Simulated Microgravity

MCF7 human breast cancer cells were cultured under normal gravity (1 g) and on a random positioning machine (RPM) preventing sedimentation. After 2 weeks, adherent 1 g-control and adherent RPM cells (AD) as well as multicellular spheroids (MCS) were harvested. AD and MCS had been exposed to the RPM in the same culture flask. In a subsequent proteome analysis, the majority of the proteins detected showed similar label-free quantification (LFQ) scores in each of the respective subpopulations, but in both AD or MCS cultures, proteins were also found whose LFQs deviated at least twofold from their counterparts in the 1 g-control cells. They included the cell junction protein E-cadherin, which was diminished in MCS cells, where proteins of the E-cadherin autodegradation pathway were enhanced and c-Src (proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase c-Src) was detected. Spheroid formation was prevented by inhibition of c-Src but promoted by antibodies blocking E-cadherin activity. An interaction analysis of the detected proteins that are involved in forming and regulating junctions or adhesion complexes and in E-cadherin autodegradation indicated connections between the two protein groups. This suggests that the balance of proteins that up- or downregulate E-cadherin mediates the tendency of MCF7 cells to form MCS during RPM exposure.

Peniciketal A, A Novel Spiroketal Compound, Exerts Anticancer Effects by Inhibiting Cell Proliferation, Migration and Invasion of A549 Lung Cancer Cells

BACKGROUND

Peniciketal A (Pe-A) is a spiroketal compound isolated from saline soil-derived fungus Penicillium raistrickii. However, its role for biological processes has not been clarified. In this study, we for the first time investigated the anticancer effects and the underlying mechanisms of Pe-A in A549 lung cancer cells. Metheds: Cell proliferation was tested by MTT assay and colony formation assay. Flow cytometry was performed to examine the cell cycle, apoptosis and mitochondrial membrane potential. Invasion and migration were analyzed using transwell assay and wound healing analysis. Immunofluorescence staining and western blotting were used to evaluate the protein expression.

RESULTS

Pe-A effectively inhibited proliferation, with IC50 values was 22.33 μM for 72 h. Mechanistic studies revealed that Pe-A caused cell cycle arrest at the G0-G1 phase by decreasing cyclinD1 expression and induced apoptosis through accelerating the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Moreover, Pe-A significantly inhibited A549 cell migration and invasion by reducing the protein levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9, while the Epithelial- Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) property was also changed. Importantly, Pe-A exhibited much lower toxicity towards L02, normal liver cells, and MRC5, normal fibroblast cells, compared to A549 cells.

CONCLUSION

Collectively, the current results indicate that Pe-A may offer effective potentials and insights for lung cancer treatment and drug design.

Upregulated N-cadherin expression is associated with poor prognosis in epithelial-derived solid tumours: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

N-cadherin is an important molecular in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and has been reported to be associated with aggressive behaviours of tumours. However, prognostic value of N-cadherin in solid malignancies remains controversially.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Pubmed/MELINE and EMBASE databases were used for a comprehensive literature searching. Pooled risk ratio (RR) and hazard ratio (HR) with their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were employed to quantify the prognostic role.

RESULTS

Involving 36 studies with 5705 patients were performed to investigate relationships between N-cadherin upregulation and clinicopathological features, survival. Results suggested upregulated N-cadherin was associated with lymph node metastasis (RR = 1.16, 95% CI [1.00, 1.35]), higher histological grade (RR = 1.36, 95%CI [1.14, 1.62]), angiolymphatic invasion (RR = 1.19, 95% CI [1.06, 1.34]) and advanced clinical stage (RR = 1.32, 95% CI [1.06, 1.64]), while upregulated N-cadherin was apt to be associated with distant metastasis (RR = 1.43, 95% CI [0.99, 2.05]). Moreover, N-cadherin was correlated with poor prognosis of 3-year survival (HR = 1.78, 95% CI [1.51, 2.10]), 5-year survival (HR = 1.57, 95% CI [1.17, 2.10]) and overall survival (OS) (HR = 1.32, 95% CI [1.20, 1.44]). Subgroup analyses according to cancer types were also conducted for applying these conclusions to some tumours more properly. No publication bias was found except subgroup analysis of distant metastasis (P = .652 for Begg's test and 0.023 for Egger's test).

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, upregulation of N-cadherin is associated with more aggressive behaviours of epithelial-derived solid malignancies and can be regarded as a predictor of poor survival.

Differential effects of α-catenin on the invasion and radiochemosensitivity of human colorectal cancer cells

Driven by genetic and epigenetic alterations, progression, therapy resistance and metastasis are frequent events in colorectal cancer (CRC). Although often speculated, the function of cell-cell contact for radiochemosensitivity, particularly associated with E-cadherin/catenin complex, warrants further clarification. In this study, we investigated the role of the E-cadherin/catenin complex proteins under more physiological three-dimensional (3D) cell culture conditions in a panel of CRC cell lines. In contrast to floating spheroids and growth in the laminin-rich matrix, collagen type 1 induced the formation of two distinct growth phenotypes, i.e., cell groups and single cells, in 5 out of the 8 CRC cell lines. Further characterization of these subpopulations revealed that, intriguingly, cell-cell contact proteins are important for invasion, but negligible for radiochemosensitivity, proliferation and adhesion. Despite the generation of genomic and transcriptomic data, we were unable to elucidate the mechanisms through which α-catenin affects collagen type 1 invasion. In a retrospective analysis of patients with rectal carcinoma, a low α-catenin expression trended with overall survival, as well as locoregional and distant control. Our results suggest that the E-cadherin/catenin complex proteins forming cell-cell contacts are mainly involved in the invasion, rather than the radiochemosensitivity of 3D grown CRC cells. Further studies are warranted in order to provide a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms controlling cell-cell adhesion in the context of radiochemoresistance.

Expression of Yin Yang 1 in cervical cancer and its correlation with E-cadherin expression and HPV16 E6

The molecular mechanisms of normal cervical squamous epithelium advancing to cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and eventually to cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) are largely unknown. This study explored abnormal expression of Yin Yang 1 (YY1) in cervical cancer and its correlation with the expression of E-cadherin and human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 E6. YY1, E-cadherin and HPV16 E6 expression were detected by immunohistochemistry in 90 cervical tissue specimens collected from 30 patients with hysteromyoma, 15 patients with CIN I, 15 patients with CIN II-III, and 30 patients with CSCC. The H-score method was employed to measure the expression of YY1, E-cadherin and HPV16 E6. Increased expression of YY1 and HPV16 E6, and the decreased expression levels of E-cadherin were strongly associated with malignant transformation of the cervical epithelium and the histological progression of CSCC. The expression of YY1 in cervical tissues was inversely correlated with E-cadherin expression, and positively correlated with HPV16 E6 expression. Expression of YY1 in CSCC tissues was not significantly correlated with tumor differentiation, but was significantly correlated with an advanced clinical stage of CSCC. These results suggest that up-regulation of YY1 is closely associated with the progression of CSCC, and YY1 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of cervical cancer by modulating the expression of E-cadherin and HPV16 E6.

Combined Knockdown of D-dopachrome Tautomerase and Migration Inhibitory Factor Inhibits the Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion in Human Cervical Cancer

Objective

D-dopachrome tautomerase (D-DT) is a homologue of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) with similar functions. However, the possible biological roles of D-DT in cervical cancer remain unknown so far.

Methods

D-dopachrome tautomerase was assessed by immunohistochemistry in 83 cervical cancer and 31 normal cervix tissues. The stable knockdown of D-DT and MIF by lentivirus-delivered short hairpin RNA was established, and tumor growth was examined in vitro and in vivo. The effects of D-DT and MIF on the migration and invasion were further detected by wound healing assay and transwell assay. Western blot was used to explore the mechanism of D-DT and MIF in cervical cancer pathogenesis.

Results

We found that D-DT was significantly high in cervical cancer, which correlated with lymph node metastasis. The knockdown of D-DT and MIF, individually and additively, inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion in HeLa and SiHa cells and restrained the growth of xenograft tumor. The ablation of D-DT and MIF rescued the expression of E-cadherin and inhibited the expression of PCNA, cyclin D1, gankyrin, Sam68, and vimentin, as well as phospho-Akt and phospho-glycogen synthase kinase 3-β.

Conclusions

The inhibition of D-DT and MIF in combination may represent a potential therapeutic strategy for cervical cancer.

CDH1 (E-cadherin) expression independently affects clinical outcome in acute myeloid leukemia with normal cytogenetics

BACKGROUND

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical process which involves in tumor metastasis. As an important EMT marker gene, CDH1 (E-cadherin) expression and its clinical implication in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remain largely elusive.

METHODS

Real-time quantitative PCR (RQ-PCR) was carried out to examine CDH1 transcript level in 123 de novo AML patients and 34 controls.

RESULTS

Compared with controls, CDH1 was significantly downregulated in AML (p<0.001). The median level of CDH1 expression divided total AML patients into CDH1 low-expressed (CDH11ow) and CDH1 high-expressed (CDH1high) groups. There were no significant differences between the two groups in age, peripheral blood cell counts, complete remission (CR) rate, and the distribution of FAB/WHO subtypes as well as karyotypes/karyotypic classifications (p>0.05). However, CDH11ow group tended to have a higher bone marrow (BM) blasts (p=0.093). The spearman correlation analysis further illustrated a trend towards a negative correlation between CDH1 expression level and BM blasts (r=-0.214, p=0.052). CDH1low group had a tendency towards a lower frequency of N/K-RAS mutations (p=0.094). Furthermore, CDH1low patients had markedly shorter overall survival (OS) time in cytogenetic normal AML (CN-AML) (p=0.019). Both univariate and multivariate analyses confirmed the prognostic value of CDH1 expression in CN-AML patients (p=0.027 and 0.033, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

CDH1 downregulation acted as an independent prognostic biomarker in CN-AML patients.

Metastatic pathways in patients with cutaneous melanoma

Metastasis represents the end product of an elaborate biological process, which is determined by a complex interplay between metastatic tumour cells, host factors and homoeostatic mechanisms. Cutaneous melanoma can metastasize haematogenously or lymphogenously. The three predominant models that endeavour to explain the patterns of melanoma progression are the stepwise spread model, the simultaneous spread model and the model of differential spread. The time course to the development of metastases differs between the different metastatic routes. There are several clinical and histopathological risk factors for the different metastatic pathways. In particular, patient sex and the anatomical location of the primary tumour influence patterns of disease progression. There is limited existing evidence regarding the relationship between tumour mutation status, other diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and the metastatic pathways of primary cutaneous melanoma. This knowledge gap needs to be addressed to better identify patients at high risk of disease recurrence and personalize surveillance strategies.