Inhibition of Annexin A2 gene transcription is a promising molecular target for hepatoma cell proliferation and metastasis

Annexin A2 in Tumors of the Gastrointestinal Tract, Liver, and Pancreas

Annexin A2 (ANXA2) is a protein that is involved in many physiological and pathological cellular processes. There is compelling evidence that its dysregulated expression, be it up- or downregulation, contributes to the oncogenesis of various neoplasms, including those of the digestive system. The present review summarizes the current knowledge on the role of ANXA2 in the main tumors of the digestive system. The clinical significance of ANXA2 is primordial, due to its potential use as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker, and as a part of therapeutic protocols. Certain preclinical studies have shown that inhibiting ANXA2 or disrupting its interactions with key molecules can suppress tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis, as well as increase the cancer cells' sensitivity to treatment in various cancers. Further research is needed to fully elucidate the complex role of ANXA2 in the carcinogenesis of tumors of the digestive system, and to translate these findings into clinical applications for improved diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment.

Annexin A protein family: Focusing on the occurrence, progression and treatment of cancer

The annexin A (ANXA) protein family is a well-known tissue-specific multigene family that encodes Ca²⁺ phospholipid-binding proteins. A considerable amount of literature is available on the abnormal expression of ANXA proteins in various malignant diseases, including cancer, atherosclerosis and diabetes. As critical regulatory molecules in cancer, ANXA proteins play an essential role in cancer progression, proliferation, invasion and metastasis. Recent studies about their structure, biological properties and functions in different types of cancers are briefly summarised in this review. We further discuss the use of ANXA as new class of targets in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

Clinical Limitations of Tissue Annexin A2 Level as a Predictor of Postoperative Overall Survival in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second common cause of cancer-related death in Taiwan. Tumor recurrence is frequently observed in HCC patients receiving surgical resection, resulting in unsatisfactory overall survival (OS). Therefore, it is pivotal to identify effective prognostic makers, so that intensive surveillance or adjuvant treatments can be applied to predictively unfavorable patients. Previous studies indicated that Annexin A2 (ANXA2) was an effective prognostic marker in several cancers, including HCC. However, the prognostic value of ANXA2 in Taiwanese HCC patients remains unclear, where a great proportion of patients had chronic hepatitis B with liver cirrhosis. Here, ANXA2 was highly expressed in HCC tissues compared with para-neoplastic noncancerous tissues. Furthermore, high ANXA2 expression in HCC tissues independently predicted shorter OS. In subgroup analysis, however, ANXA2 expression could not effectively predict OS in the following subgroups: female, age > 65 years old, Child–Pugh classification B, hepatitis B virus surface antigen negative or anti-hepatitis C antibody positive, alcoholism, tumor number >1, presence of micro- or macrovascular invasion, absence of capsule, non-cirrhosis and high alpha-fetoprotein. In conclusion, ANXA2 expression in HCC tissues could predict postoperative OS. However, the predictive value was limited in patients with specific clinical conditions.

ANXA2 Silencing Inhibits Proliferation, Invasion, and Migration in Gastric Cancer Cells

Annexin A2 (ANXA2) has been well known to associate with the progress of malignant tumor. However, the biological behavior of ANXA2 in gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. We made a hypothesis in transcriptome level from TCGA datasets. Then, we used immunohistochemical staining to quantify the expression level of ANXA2 protein in GC tissues compared with adjacent tissues. Quantitative real-time PCR and western blot were used for analyzing ANXA2 expression in human GC (SGC-7901, MKN-45, BGC-823, and AGS) cell lines. We investigated the effect of a lentivirus-mediated knock-down of ANXA2 on the proliferation, invasion and migration of gastric cancer AGS cells. Cell proliferation was examined by MTT and colony formation tests. Cell apoptosis and cycle were measured by flow cytometry. Migration and invasion were detected by transwell assay. We found that high expression of ANXA2 can increase the mobility of cancer cells from TCGA datasets. ANXA2 was upregulated in GC tissues compared with adjacent tissues. AGS cell line displayed significantly higher expression of ANXA2 among the four GC cell lines. In addition, ANXA2 silencing led to a weakened ability of proliferation, invasion, and migration in GC cells; targeting of ANXA2 may be a potential therapeutic strategy for GC patients.

Role of the long non‑coding RNA‑Annexin A2 pseudogene 3/Annexin A2 signaling pathway in biliary atresia‑associated hepatic injury

Biliary atresia (BA) is the most common cause of chronic cholestasis in children. The long non‑coding RNA (lncRNA) Annexin A2 pseudogene 3 (ANXA2P3) and Annexin A2 (ANXA2) have been suggested to serve pivotal roles in BA; however, the clinical significance and biological roles of ANXA2P3 and ANXA2 in BA remain to be elucidated. The present study aimed to elucidate the function of ANAX2P3 and ANXA2 in BA‑induced liver injury using a human liver cell line and liver tissues from patients with BA. Reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blotting and immunohistochemistry were conducted to determine the expression levels of ANXA2 and ANXA2P3 in liver tissues from patients with BA. Classification of fibrosis was analyzed by Masson staining. The functional roles of ANXA2 and ANXA2P3 in liver cells were determined by Cell Counting kit‑8 assay, and flow cytometric and cell cycle analyses. Activation of the ANXA2/ANXA2P3 signaling pathway in liver cells was evaluated by western blot analysis. According to the present results, the expression levels of ANXA2 and ANXA2P3 were significantly increased in liver tissues from patients with BA. In addition, knocking down the expression of ANXA2P3 and ANXA2 may result in reduced liver cell proliferation, cell cycle arrest in G1 phase and increased apoptosis of liver cells in vitro. Furthermore, in cells in which ANXA2 and ANXA2P3 were overexpressed, cell apoptosis was reduced and cell cycle arrest in G2 phase. Taken together, these results indicated that ANXA2P3 and ANXA2 may have protective effects against liver injury progression and may be considered biomarkers in patients with BA.

MicroRNA-206 regulates the epithelial-mesenchymal transition and inhibits the invasion and metastasis of prostate cancer cells by targeting Annexin A2

The present study investigated the molecular mechanism by which microRNA-206 (miR-206) targets Annexin A2 (ANXA2) expression and inhibits the invasion and metastasis of prostatic cancer cells through regulation of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Using bioinformatics analysis, miR-206 was identified as the most promising candidate miRNA that targeted ANXA2. Prostate tissue specimens from 60 patients with prostate cancer, 30 patients with metastatic prostate cancer and 20 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were examined for ANXA2 protein expression by immunohistochemistry and western blotting and for miR-206 expression by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Additionally, human prostate cancer PC-3 cells were transfected with miR-206 mimics, miR-206 inhibitors or a negative control sequence, and expression of ANXA2, E-cadherin and N-cadherin was detected by western blotting. Transwell assays were performed to determine the effect of altered miR-206 expression on the invasive behavior of PC-3 cells. Bioinformatics analysis predicted complementary binding between miR-206 and ANXA2 mRNA. ANXA2 protein expression was detected in a significantly higher proportion of BPH tissues (95%, 19/20) when compared with prostate cancer tissues (51.7%, 31/60; P<0.05). Similarly, ANXA2 was expressed in a significantly higher proportion of metastatic prostate cancer samples than that of prostate cancer samples (P<0.05). Expression of miR-206 was higher than that of ANXA2 in prostate cancer samples, but lower in BPH samples. Inhibition of miR-206 expression in PC-3 cells upregulated ANXA2 and E-cadherin protein expression levels, downregulated N-cadherin and vimentin, and promoted cell invasion in vitro. These data suggested that binding between miRNA-206 and ANXA2 mRNA may regulate EMT signaling, thereby suppressing the invasion and metastasis of prostatic cancer cells.

Alteration of N-glycan expression profile and glycan pattern of glycoproteins in human hepatoma cells after HCV infection

BACKGROUND

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection causes chronic liver diseases, liver fibrosis and even hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However little is known about any information of N-glycan pattern in human liver cell after HCV infection.

METHODS

The altered profiles of N-glycans in HCV-infected Huh7.5.1 cell were analyzed by using mass spectrometry. Then, lectin microarray, lectin pull-down assay, reverse transcription-quantitative real time PCR (RT-qPCR) and western-blotting were used to identify the altered N-glycosylated proteins and glycosyltransferases.

RESULTS

Compared to uninfected cells, significantly elevated levels of fucosylated, sialylated and complex N-glycans were found in HCV infected cells. Furthermore, Lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA)-binding glycoconjugates were increased most. Then, the LCA-agarose was used to precipitate the specific glycosylated proteins and identify that fucosylated modified annexin A2 (ANXA2) and heat shock protein 90 beta family member 1 (HSP90B1) was greatly increased in HCV-infected cells. However, the total ANXA2 and HSP90B1 protein levels remained unchanged. Additionally, we screened the mRNA expressions of 47 types of different glycosyltransferases and found that α1,6-fucosyltransferase 8 (FUT8) was the most up-regulated and contributed to strengthen the LCA binding capability to fucosylated modified ANXA2 and HSP90B1 after HCV infection.

CONCLUSIONS

HCV infection caused the altered N-glycans profiles, increased expressions of FUT8, fucosylated ANXA2 and HSP90B1 as well as enhanced LCA binding to Huh7.5.1.

GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE

Our results may lay the foundation for clarifying the role of N-glycans and facilitate the development of novel diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets based on the increased FUT8, fucosylated ANXA2 and HSP90B1 after HCV infection.

NRBP2 Overexpression Increases the Chemosensitivity of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells via Akt Signaling

Hepatocellular carcinoma is highly resistant to chemotherapy. Research data supported that cancer stem cells (CSC) may be responsible for the chemoresistance and strategies that suppress CSCs stemness could also inhibit the drug resistance. In this study, we found that nuclear receptor binding protein 2 (NRBP2) expression was downregulated in the CD133⁺ hepatocellular carcinoma CSCs. Most adjacent noncancerous liver tissue analyzed expressed higher level of NRBP2 compared with cancerous tissue in hepatocellular carcinoma patients, and high NRBP2 expression indicated a better prognosis. Real-time PCR results showed that NRBP2 negatively correlated with stemness-related genes, including Oct3/4, Nanog, Notch1, Ep300, and CD133 mRNA expression. High NRBP2 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma cells downregulated CK19 protein expression, inhibited tumorsphere formation, and tumorigenesis ability, indicating that high NRBP2 expression restrains the hepatocellular carcinoma cell stemness. Overexpression of NRBP2 reduced the IC₅₀ of sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma cells, and NRBP2 expression was negatively correlated with hepatocellular carcinoma cell resistance to the chemotherapy agents, including cisplatin and the Akt signaling inhibitor perifosine. Coimmunoprecipitation results showed that NRBP2 could bind with Annexin A2 (ANXA2) and inhibit ANXA2 expression. Coexpression of ANXA2 restored the chemoresistant ability in NRBP2-overexpressing hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Further analysis showed that NRBP2 downregulated Akt and its downstream signaling target Bad phosphorylation level. ANXA2 coexpression partially restored the Akt phosphorylation. Analysis of the expression of Bcl2 family proteins showed that NRBP2 may increase hepatocellular carcinoma cell chemosensitivity by regulating expression of survival proteins involved in the Akt and Bcl2 pathway. These results suggest that NRBP2 plays an important role in the tumor progression and chemotherapeutic resistance of hepatocellular carcinoma. Cancer Res; 76(23); 7059-71. ©2016 AACR.

Dendritic cells respond to nasopharygeal carcinoma cells through annexin A2-recognizing DC-SIGN

Dendritic cells (DCs) play an essential role in immunity and are used in cancer immunotherapy. However, these cells can be tuned by tumors with immunosuppressive responses. DC-specific intercellular adhesion molecule 3-Grabbing Nonintegrin (DC-SIGN), a C-type lectin expressed on DCs, recognizes certain carbohydrate structures which can be found on cancer cells. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an epithelial cell-derived malignant tumor, in which immune response remains unclear. This research is to reveal the molecular link on NPC cells that induces the immunosuppressive responses in DCs. In this article, we report identification of annexin A2 (ANXA2) on NPC cells as a ligand for DC-SIGN on DCs. N-linked mannose-rich glycan on ANXA2 may mediate the interaction. ANXA2 was abundantly expressed in NPC, and knockdown of ANXA2 suppressed NPC xenograft in mice, suggesting a crucial role of ANXA2 in NPC growth. Interaction with NPC cells caused DC-SIGN activation in DCs. Consequently DC maturation and the proinflammatory interleukin (IL)-12 production were inhibited, and the immunosuppressive IL-10 production was promoted. Blockage of either DC-SIGN or ANXA2 eliminated the production of IL-10 from DCs. This report suggests that suppression of ANXA2 at its expression or glycosylation on NPC may improve DC-mediated immunotherapy for the tumor.

Biomarker-based MicroRNA Therapeutic Strategies for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as key factors involved in a series of biological processes, ranging from embryogenesis to programmed cell death. Its link to aberrant expression profiles has rendered it a potentially attractive tool for the diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment of various diseases. Accumulating evidence has indicated that miRNAs act as tumor suppressors in hepatocyte malignant transformation by regulating development, differentiation, proliferation, and tumorigenesis. Here, we summarize recent progress in the development of novel biomarker-based miRNA therapeutic strategies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Biomarker-based MicroRNA Therapeutic Strategies for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as key factors involved in a series of biological processes, ranging from embryogenesis to programmed cell death. Its link to aberrant expression profiles has rendered it a potentially attractive tool for the diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment of various diseases. Accumulating evidence has indicated that miRNAs act as tumor suppressors in hepatocyte malignant transformation by regulating development, differentiation, proliferation, and tumorigenesis. Here, we summarize recent progress in the development of novel biomarker-based miRNA therapeutic strategies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Annexin A2 in renal cell carcinoma: expression, function, and prognostic significance

OBJECTIVE

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most lethal genitourinary cancer and intrinsically resistant to chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and hormone therapy. Annexin A2 (Anxa2) is a calcium-dependent phospholipid-binding protein found on various cell types that plays multiple roles in regulating cellular functions. In RCC, Anxa2 expression was correlated with tumor differentiation, clinical outcomes, and the metastatic potential; however, the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. This study investigated the role of Anxa2 in regulating tumorigenesis of RCC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Commercial RCC tissue microarray arrays and a kidney cancer quantitative polymerase chain reaction array were used to examine Anxa2 by immunohistochemistry and real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. Short hairpin (sh)RNA-based lentiviral system technology was used to evaluate the effects of manipulating Anxa2 expression on multiple malignant features of 2 RCC cell lines, A498 and 786-O, and its mechanisms.

RESULTS

(1) The Anxa2 expression level was generally elevated to varying degrees in RCC tissues. In adjacent noncancerous tissues, Anxa2 was mainly expressed in glomeruli and slightly expressed in the cytoplasm of proximal tubules. (2) An increased Anxa2 expression level was found in tissues of clear cell RCC, papillary RCC, and chromophobe RCC, and it was prominently expressed in cancer cell membranes. In addition, the Anxa2 expression level was correlated with poor prognosis. (3) Silencing Anxa2 expression suppressed the abilities of cell migration and invasion, but cell proliferation was less affected. (4) Diminished Anxa2 expression caused alterations in the cell polarity, disrupted the formation of actin filaments, and reduced CXCR4 expression. (5) Inhibition of the Rho/Rock axis restored silencing of Anxa2-mediated suppression of cell motility.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, our study points out the regulatory function of Anxa2 in RCC cell motility and provides a molecular-based mechanism of Anxa2 positivity in the progression of RCC.