TGF-β1 induces PGP9.5 expression in CAFs to promote the growth of colorectal cancer cells

Inhibition of Ubiquitin C-Terminal Hydrolase L1 Facilitates Cutaneous Wound Healing via Activating TGF-β/Smad Signalling Pathway in Fibroblasts

Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) plays vital roles in cell proliferation, angiogenesis, inflammation and oxidative stress. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether UCHL1 could regulate the biologic behaviour of cells and ultimately influences wound healing. We aim to illustrate the roles and the underlying mechanism of UCHL1 in cutaneous wound healing. Murine full-thickness excisional wound model was utilised to study the effects of UCHL1 on wound healing through topical administration of the UCHL1 inhibitor LDN57444, followed by assessment of wound areas and histological alterations. Subsequently, ethynyldeoxyuridine, scratch and transwell assays were performed to examine fibroblast migration and proliferation. The extracellular matrix (ECM)-related genes expression and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/Smad signalling pathways activation were investigated by immuno-fluorescent staining, Western blots and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. We identified elevated UCHL1 expression in non-healing wound tissues. The UCHL1 expression displayed a dynamic change and reached a peak on Day-7 post-wounding during the healing process in mice. Cutaneous administration of LDN57444 promoted wound healing by facilitating collagen deposition, myofibroblast activation and angiogenesis. In vitro experiments demonstrated that UCHL1 concentration dependently inhibited migration, ECM synthesis and activation of human dermal fibroblasts, which was mechanistically related to downregulation of TGF-β/Smad signalling. Furthermore, these effects could be reversed by TGF-β inhibitor SB431542. Our findings reveal that UCHL1 is a negative regulator of cutaneous wound healing and considered as a novel prospective therapeutic target for effective wound healing.

Global cluster analysis and network visualization in cancer-associated fibroblast: insights from Web of Science database from 1999 to 2021

BACKGROUND

A scientific and comprehensive analysis of the current status and trends in the field of cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) research is worth investigating. This study aims to investigate and visualize the development, research frontiers, and future trends in CAFs both quantitatively and qualitatively based on a bibliometric approach.

METHODS

A total of 5518 publications were downloaded from the Science Citation Index Expanded of Web of Science Core Collection from 1999 to 2021 and identified for bibliometric analysis. Visualized approaches, OriginPro (version 9.8.0.200) and R (version 4.2.0) software tools were used to perform bibliometric and knowledge-map analysis.

RESULTS

The number of publications on CAFs increased each year, and the same tendency was observed in the RRI. Apart from China, the countries with the largest number of publications and the most cited frequency were mainly Western developed countries, especially the USA. Cancers was the journal with the largest number of articles published in CAFs, and Oncology was the most popular research orientation. The most productive author was Lisanti MP, and the University of Texas System was ranked first in the institutions. In addition, the topics of CAFs could be divided into five categories, including tumor classification, prognostic study, oncologic therapies, tumor metabolism and tumor microenvironment.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first thoroughly scientific bibliometric analysis and visualized study of the global research field on CAFs over the past 20 years. The study may provide benefits for researchers to master CAFs' dynamic evolution and research trends.

Application of elastography to diagnose adenomyosis and evaluate the degree of dysmenorrhea: a prospective observational study

BACKGROUND

To determine whether there is a correlation between stiffness measured by strain elastography and the severity of dysmenorrhea and to determine the value of elastography in evaluating severe dysmenorrhea in patients with adenomyosis.

METHODS

The correlation between tissue stiffness and dysmenorrhea was analyzed by performing elastography on premenopausal women diagnosed with adenomyosis. Expression levels of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and protein gene product 9.5 (PGP9.5) were detected by immunohistochemistry; the correlation of TGF-β and α-SMA levels with the tissue stiffness and the degree of fibrosis was further analyzed. Also, the relationship of the PGP9.5 expression level with the tissue stiffness and degree of dysmenorrhea was determined.

RESULTS

The degree of dysmenorrhea was significantly positively correlated with lesion stiffness in patients with adenomyosis but not with the uterine or lesion volume. The cutoff for the strain ratio was > 1.36 between the adenomyosis and control groups, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.987. For severe dysmenorrhea, the cutoff for the strain ratio was > 1.65 in patients with adenomyosis, with an AUC of 0.849. TGF-β, α-SMA, and PGP9.5 expression levels were higher in adenomyotic lesions than in the endometrium of the adenomyosis and control groups. Both TGF-β and α-SMA levels were positively correlated with the tissue stiffness and degree of fibrosis. Additionally, the expression level of PGP9.5 showed a positive correlation with the tissue stiffness and degree of dysmenorrhea.

CONCLUSIONS

Elastography can be used to evaluate the degree of dysmenorrhea; the greater the tissue stiffness, the greater the degree of dysmenorrhea. In addition, elastography performed well in the diagnosis of adenomyosis and the evaluation of severe dysmenorrhea in patients with adenomyosis.

UCHL1 aggravates skin fibrosis through an IGF-1-induced Akt/mTOR/HIF-1α pathway in keloid

Keloid is a heterogeneous disease featured by the excessive production of extracellular matrix. It is a great challenge for both clinicians and patients regarding the exaggerated and uncontrolled outgrowth and the therapeutic resistance of the disease. In this study, we verified that UCHL1 was drastically upregulated in keloid fibroblasts. UCHL1 had no effects on cell proliferation and migration, but instead promoted collagen I and α-SMA expression that was inhibited by silencing UCHL1 gene and by adding in LDN-57444, a pharmacological inhibitor for UCHL1 activity as well. The pathological process was mediated by IGF-1 promoted Akt/mTOR/HIF-1α signaling pathway because inhibition of any of them could reduce the expression of collagen I and α-SMA driven by UCHL1 in fibroblasts. Also, we found that UCHL1 expression in keloid fibroblasts was promoted by M2 macrophages via TGF-β1. These findings extend our understanding of the pathogenesis of keloid and provide potential therapeutic targets for the disease.

Application Value Analysis of Seven-Autoantibody Panel in the Lung Cancer Screening in Yunnan

Objective

To study the application value of seven-autoantibody (anti-CAGE, anti-GAGE7, anti-GBU4-5, anti-MAGE A1, anti-P53, and anti-PGP9.5, anti-SOX2) in lung cancer (LC) screening in Yunnan.

Methods

The clinical data of 329 lung cancer patients and 202 nonlung cancer controls in the First People's Hospital of Yunnan Province from November 2018 to April 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The detection results of anti-CAGE, anti-GAGE7, anti-GBU4-5, anti-MAGE A1, anti-P53, anti-PGP9.5, and anti-SOX2 were collected. The receiver operating curve (ROC) was used to analyze the value of these seven-autoantibody in the detection of LC alone and in combination, and the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, and cut-off values were calculated.

Results

The levels of anti-CAGE, anti-GAGE7, anti-GBU4-5, anti-MAGE A1, anti-P53, anti-PGP9.5 and anti-SOX2 in LC patients were significantly higher than those in the controls, and the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001). The AUC of anti-CAGE, anti-GAGE7, anti-GBU4-5, anti-MAGE A1, anti-P53, anti-PGP9.5, and anti-SOX2 for the diagnosis of LC were 0.586 (95% CI: 0.537-0.634, P < 0.001), 0.620 (95% CI: 0.572-0.667, P < 0.001), 0.570 (95% CI: 0.521-0.619, P=0.007), 0.612 (95% CI: 0.563-0.660, P < 0.007) 0.001), 0.561 (95% CI: 0.510-0.611, P=0.019), 0.667 (95% CI: 0.619-0.715, P < 0.001), 0.587 (95% CI: 0.538-0.636, P < 0.001), respectively. The AUC of combined detection of LC was 0.719 (95% CI: 0.676-0.761, P < 0.001). The positive rate of the combined detection of seven-autoantibody in the LC group was 48.02% (158/329), which was significantly higher than that of the control group (13.86% (28/202)), the difference was statistically significant (χ 2 = 64.183, P < 0.001).

Conclusion

The individual detection and combined detection of the seven-autoantibody have a certain value in the diagnosis of LC in Yunnan, and it can provide a certain reference for clinical LC screening.

Construction of differential expression plasmids of NGF to detect its influence on PC12 cell neuronal differentiation

Alongside angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, neurogenesis also occurs within the cancer microenvironment. Neurogenesis is a complex process involving multiple factors, among which nerve growth factor (NGF) possesses the dual biological roles of neuron nutrition and axon growth promotion. Thus, NGF might be a key molecule involved in regulating cancer-related neurogenesis, which could play a crucial role in the signal transmission system that controls nerve growth in tumors, and enhances the abilities of migration, invasion and metastasis of tumor cells. The present study aimed to construct differential expression plasmids of NGF, in order to detect whether NGF has a vital role in neurogenesis in breast cancer cells. In the present study, 92 clinical cases of breast cancer were collected and immunohistochemical analysis was performed to verify the existence of neurons in the breast cancer microenvironment. Furthermore, recombinant NGF lentiviral overexpression, knockout and silencing plasmids were constructed, and whether NGF has an effect on neuron growth was preliminarily confirmed, indicating that the successfully constructed plasmids could be used to verify the roles of NGF in cancer-associated neurogenesis.

Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) regulates post-myocardial infarction cardiac fibrosis through glucose-regulated protein of 78 kDa (GRP78)

Abnormal cardiac fibrosis indicates cardiac dysfunction and poor prognosis in myocardial infarction (MI) patients. Many studies have demonstrated that the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of fibrosis. Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1), a member of the UPS, is related to fibrosis in several heart diseases. However, whether UCHL1 regulates cardiac fibrosis following MI has yet to be determined. In the present study, we found that UCHL1 was dramatically increased in infarct hearts and TGF-β1-stimulated cardiac fibroblasts (CFs). Inhibition of UCHL1 with LDN57444 (LDN) reversed the myocardial fibrosis in post-MI heart and improved cardiac function. Treatment of LDN or UCHL1 siRNA abolished the TGF-β1-induced fibrotic response of CFs. We further identified GRP78 as an interactor of UCHL1 through screening using immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometer. We determined that UCHL1 interacted with glucose-regulated protein of 78 kDa (GRP78) and prompted GRP78 degradation via ubiquitination. Furthermore, we found that GRP78 was upregulated after UCHL1 knockdown and that the GRP78 inhibitor HA15 diminished the antifibrotic function exerted by UCHL1 knockdown in CFs stimulated with TGF-β1. This suggests that UCHL1 regulates cardiac fibrosis post MI through interactions with GRP78. This work identifies that the UCHL1-GRP78 axis is involved in cardiac fibrosis after MI.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts promote cell growth by activating ERK5/PD-L1 signaling axis in colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common diseases, accounting for about 10 % cancer-related deaths. Previous studies have found that caner-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are closely related to the occurrence and metastasis of CRC, but the detailed mechanism is not precise.

METHODS

Tumor cells and fibroblasts were co-cultured with a transwell system. Cell Counting Kit-8 and colony formation assays were performed to test the ability of cell proliferation. The flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis. Western Blot was performed to assess protein expression levels. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to detect mRNA expression levels. ERK5-IN-1 was used to inhibit the autophosphorylation of ERK5.

RESULTS

CAFs promoted cell proliferation and inhibited cell apoptosis in CRC cells. CAFs promoted the phosphorylation of ERK5 and the expression of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1). Activated ERK5 promotes cell proliferation and inhibited cell apoptosis in CRC cells. The expression levels of ERK5 correlated with the expression of PD-L1 in CRC cells. CAFs promote cell growth by activating the ERK5/PD-L1 signaling axis in colorectal cancer.

CONCLUSIONS

CAFs significantly promoted cell proliferation and inhibited cell apoptosis in CRC cells, which features are dependent on regulating the ERK5/PD-L1 signaling axis.

LncRNA-AWPPH activates TGF-β1 in colorectal adenocarcinoma

Long non-coding RNA associated with poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (lncRNA-AWPPH) is a newly discovered lncRNA that has important functions in the pathogenesis of several malignancies. However, its role in the development of colorectal adenocarcinoma is unknown. The current study therefore investigated the function of AWPPH in colorectal adenocarcinoma. A total of 86 patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma and 56 healthy controls were included. Tumor tissues and adjacent healthy tissues were collected from patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma, and blood was collected from both patients and healthy controls. Expression of AWPPH in tissues and blood was detected by the reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum AWPPH for colorectal adenocarcinoma. All patients were followed up for 5 years, and survival curve analysis was performed to investigate the association between serum level of AWPPH and patients' survival. The effects of AWPPH overexpression and silencing in colorectal adenocarcinoma cell lines were investigated. Effects on cell proliferation and viability were detected by the cell counting kit-8 and MTT assays, respectively. Effects on transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) expression were determined by western blotting. AWPPH was significantly upregulated in tumor tissues compared with adjacent healthy tissues. AWPPH expression levels in blood increased in patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma compared with healthy controls, suggesting that AWPPH may be a sensitive and accurate diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for colorectal adenocarcinoma. AWPPH overexpression in colorectal adenocarcinoma cell lines promoted cell proliferation and increased cell viability, while AWPPH silencing resulted in opposite effects. AWPPH overexpression promoted and silencing inhibited TGF-β1 expression. Therefore, lncRNA-AWPPH promoted colorectal adenocarcinoma by promoting tumor growth, increasing tumor cell viability and activating the TGF-β1 signaling.

The PDK1/c‑Jun pathway activated by TGF‑β induces EMT and promotes proliferation and invasion in human glioblastoma

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary malignant tumor affecting the human brain. Despite improvements in therapeutic technologies, patients with GBM have a poor clinical result and the molecular mechanisms responsible for the development of GBM have not yet been fully elucidated. 3-phosphoinositide dependent protein kinase 1 (PDK1) is upregulated in various tumors and promotes tumor invasion. In glioma, transforming growth factor-β (TGF‑β) promotes cell invasion; however, whether TGF‑β directly regulates PDK1 protein and promotes proliferation and invasion is not yet clear. In this study, PDK1 levels were measured in glioma tissues using tissue microarray (TMA) by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and RT‑qPCR. Kaplan-Meier analyses were used to calculate the survival rate of patients with glioma. In vitro, U251 and U87 glioma cell lines were used for functional analyses. Cell proliferation and invasion were analyzed using siRNA transfection, MTT assay, RT‑qPCR, western blot analysis, flow cytometry and invasion assay. In vivo, U251 glioma cell xenografts were established. The results revealed that PDK1 protein was significantly upregulated in glioma tissues compared with non-tumorous tissues. Furthermore, the higher PDK1 levels were associated with a large tumor size (>5.0 cm), a higher WHO grade and a shorter survival of patients with GBM. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that PDK1 was an independent prognostic factor. In vivo, PDK1 promoted glioma tumor xenograft growth. In vitro, functional analyses confirmed that TGF‑β upregulated PDK1 protein expression and PDK1 promoted cell migration and invasion, and functioned as an oncogene in GBM, by upregulating c‑Jun protein and inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). c‑Jun protein were overexpressed in glioma tissues and positively correlated with PDK1 levels. Moreover, our findings were further validated by the online Oncomine database. On the whole, the findings of this study indicate that in GBM, PDK1 functions as an oncogene, promoting proliferation and invasion.