Expression and prognostic value of SULT1A2 in bladder cancer

Ustilaginoidin D Induces Acute Toxicity and Hepatotoxicity in Mice

Ustilaginoidin D is a type of bis-naphtho-γ-pyrone mycotoxin produced by Ustilaginoidea virens, the causal agent of rice false smut. Although previous studies have demonstrated the inhibitory effect of ustilaginoidin D on ATP synthesis and cancer cell growth in mice, its specific health risks remain unclear. Here, we reveal that ustilaginoidin D is highly toxic to mice with an LD50 value of 213 mg /kg·bw. Dose-dependent weight loss and liver damage were observed, accompanied by altered markers of liver cell damage, including the enzyme activities of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase and the content of glutathione in mouse liver. RNA-seq analysis of liver tissues from mice treated with 150 mg of ustilaginoidin D/kg·bw identified significant changes in gene expression profiles, with differentially expressed genes enriched in cancer-related pathways, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and metabolic pathways. RT-qPCR data are highly consistent with transcriptome analysis in expression profiles of 22 chemical-carcinogenesis-associated genes. These findings indicate that ustilaginoidin D induces acute toxicity and liver dysfunction in mice, raising serious concerns about its threat to human health.

Knockdown of sulfotransferase 2B1 suppresses cell migration, invasion and promotes apoptosis in ovarian carcinoma cells via targeting annexin A9

BACKGROUND

Sulfotransferase family 2B member 1 (SULT2B1) has been reported to play oncogenic role in many types of cancers. Nevertheless, the role that SULT2B1 played in ovarian cancer (OC) and the hidden molecular mechanism is obscure.

METHODS

Expression of SULT2B1 in OC was analyzed by GEPIA database. qRT-PCR and western blot (WB) was applied for the appraisement of SULT2B1 and Annexin A9 (ANXA9) in OC cell lines. The capabilities of cells to proliferate, migrate and invade were assessed with CCK-8 assay, wound healing assay, along with transwell assay. Cell apoptotic level was estimated utilizing flow cytometry. WB was employed for the evaluation of migration- and apoptosis-related proteins. Bioinformatic analysis and co-immunoprecipitation were used to predict and verify the combination of SULT2B1 and ANXA9.

RESULTS

The data showed that SULT2B1 and ANXA9 were upregulated in OC cells. SULT2B1 depletion suppressed the proliferative, migrative, and invasive capabilities of SKOV3 cells but facilitated the cell apoptosis. SULT2B1-regulated ANXA9 expression and were proved to bind to ANXA9. Additionally, ANXA9 deficiency exhibited the same impacts on cell migrative, invasive capability and apoptotic level as SULT2B1 silencing. Moreover, ANXA9 overexpression reversed the inhibitory impacts of SULT2B1 silencing on the proliferative, migrative, invasive, and apoptotic capabilities of SKOV3 cells.

CONCLUSION

In summary, SULT2B1 silencing repressed OC progression by targeting ANXA9.

A Novel Fluorescence-Based Microplate Assay for High-Throughput Screening of hSULT1As Inhibitors

Human sulfotransferase 1As (hSULT1As) play a crucial role in the metabolic clearance and detoxification of a diverse range of endogenous and exogenous substances, as well as in the bioactivation of some procarcinogens and promutagens. Pharmacological inhibiting hSULT1As activities may enhance the in vivo effects of most hSULT1As drug substrates and offer protective strategies against the hSULT1As-mediated bioactivation of procarcinogens. To date, a fluorescence-based high-throughput assay for the efficient screening of hSULT1As inhibitors has not yet been reported. In this work, a fluorogenic substrate (HN-241) for hSULT1As was developed through scaffold-seeking and structure-guided molecular optimization. Under physiological conditions, HN-241 could be readily sulfated by hSULT1As to form HN-241 sulfate, which emitted brightly fluorescent signals around 450 nm. HN-241 was then used for establishing a novel fluorescence-based microplate assay, which strongly facilitated the high-throughput screening of hSULT1As inhibitors. Following the screening of an in-house natural product library, several polyphenolic compounds were identified with anti-hSULT1As activity, while pectolinarigenin and hinokiflavone were identified as potent inhibitors against three hSULT1A isozymes. Collectively, a novel fluorescence-based microplate assay was developed for the high-throughput screening and characterization of hSULT1As inhibitors, which offered an efficient and facile approach for identifying potent hSULT1As inhibitors from compound libraries.

Delving into the Heterogeneity of Different Breast Cancer Subtypes and the Prognostic Models Utilizing scRNA-Seq and Bulk RNA-Seq

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy in women with high heterogeneity. The heterogeneity of cancer cells from different BC subtypes has not been thoroughly characterized and there is still no valid biomarker for predicting the prognosis of BC patients in clinical practice. Methods: Cancer cells were identified by calculating single cell copy number variation using the inferCNV algorithm. SCENIC was utilized to infer gene regulatory networks. CellPhoneDB software was used to analyze the intercellular communications in different cell types. Survival analysis, univariate Cox, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and multivariate Cox analysis were used to construct subtype specific prognostic models. Results: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has a higher proportion of cancer cells than subtypes of HER2+ BC and luminal BC, and the specifically upregulated genes of the TNBC subtype are associated with antioxidant and chemical stress resistance. Key transcription factors (TFs) of tumor cells for three subtypes varied, and most of the TF-target genes are specifically upregulated in corresponding BC subtypes. The intercellular communications mediated by different receptor–ligand pairs lead to an inflammatory response with different degrees in the three BC subtypes. We establish a prognostic model containing 10 genes (risk genes: ATP6AP1, RNF139, BASP1, ESR1 and TSKU; protective genes: RPL31, PAK1, STARD10, TFPI2 and SIAH2) for luminal BC, seven genes (risk genes: ACTR6 and C2orf76; protective genes: DIO2, DCXR, NDUFA8, SULT1A2 and AQP3) for HER2+ BC, and seven genes (risk genes: HPGD, CDC42 and PGK1; protective genes: SMYD3, LMO4, FABP7 and PRKRA) for TNBC. Three prognostic models can distinguish high-risk patients from low-risk patients and accurately predict patient prognosis. Conclusions: Comparative analysis of the three BC subtypes based on cancer cell heterogeneity in this study will be of great clinical significance for the diagnosis, prognosis and targeted therapy for BC patients.