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Qing F, Xue J, Sui L, Xiao Q, Xie T, Chen Y, Huang J, Liu Z. Intestinal epithelial SNAI1 promotes the occurrence of colorectal cancer by enhancing EMT and Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Med Oncol 2023; 41:34. [PMID: 38150048 DOI: 10.1007/s12032-023-02253-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/28/2023]
Abstract
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prevalent cause of cancer and mortality on a global scale. SNAI1, a member of the zinc finger transcription superfamily, is a significant contributor to embryonic development and carcinogenesis through the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). While prior research utilizing CRC cells and clinical data has demonstrated that SNAI1 facilitates CRC progression through diverse mechanisms, the precise manner in which epithelial SNAI1 regulates CRC development in vivo remains unclear. In this study, colitis and colitis-associated CRC were induced through the use of intestinal epithelium-specific Snai1 knockout (Snai1 cKO) mice. Our findings indicate that Snai1 cKO mice exhibit a reduced susceptibility to acute colitis and colitis-associated CRC compared to control mice. Western-blot analysis of colon tissues revealed that Snai1 cKO mice exhibited a higher overall apoptosis level during tumor formation than control mice. No significant differences were observed in the activation of the classical p53 signaling pathway. However, Snai1 cKO mice exhibited weakened EMT and Wnt/β-catenin pathway activation. In summary, our study has provided evidence in vivo that the intestinal epithelial SNAI1 protein suppresses apoptosis, amplifies the EMT, and activates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways in both early and late phases of CRC formation, thus promoting the development and progression of colitis-associated CRC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Furong Qing
- School of Basic Medicine, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, 341000, China
| | - Junxia Xue
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, People's Hospital of Xiangshui, Yancheng, Jiangsu, 224600, China
| | - Lina Sui
- School of Basic Medicine, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, 341000, China
| | - Qiuxiang Xiao
- Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, 341000, China
| | - Tao Xie
- Center for Scientific Research, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, 341000, China
| | - Yayun Chen
- School of Basic Medicine, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, 341000, China
| | - Junyun Huang
- Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Affiliated Hospital, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, 341000, China.
| | - Zhiping Liu
- School of Basic Medicine, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, 341000, China.
- Center for Scientific Research, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, 341000, China.
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Zhou S, Cao C, Hu J. Long Non-Coding RNA Small Nucleolar RNA Host Gene 4 Induced by Transcription Factor SP1 Promoted the Progression of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Through Modulating microRNA-510-5p/Centromere Protein F Axis. Biochem Genet 2023; 61:1967-1986. [PMID: 36899270 DOI: 10.1007/s10528-023-10351-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023]
Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) are implicated with tumorigenesis and the development of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Previous studies suggested that long non-coding RNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 4 (SNHG4) exerted oncogenic roles in various cancers. However, the function and molecular mechanism of SNHG4 in NPC have not been investigated. In our study, it was confirmed that the SNHG4 level was enriched in NPC tissues and cells. Functional assays indicated that SNHG4 depletion inhibited the proliferation and metastasis but promoted apoptosis of NPC cells. Furthermore, we identified miR-510-5p as a downstream gene of SNHG4 in NPC cells and SNHG4 upregulated CENPF expression by binding to miR-510-5p. Moreover, there was a positive (or negative) association between CENPF and SNHG4 (or miR-510-5p) expression in NPC. In addition, rescue experiments verified that CENPF overexpression or miR-510-5p silencing abrogated inhibitory effects on NPC tumorigenesis caused by SNHG4 deficiency. The study demonstrated that SNHG4 promoted NPC progression via miR-510-5p/CENPF axis, providing a novel potential therapeutic target for NPC treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shao Zhou
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Ningbo University, No. 251 East Baizhang Road, Ningbo, 315000, Zhejiang, China.
| | - Cheng Cao
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Ningbo University, No. 251 East Baizhang Road, Ningbo, 315000, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jiandao Hu
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The Affiliated People's Hospital of Ningbo University, No. 251 East Baizhang Road, Ningbo, 315000, Zhejiang, China
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3
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Mao M, Wang X, Seeruttun SR, Chi P, Huang K, Liu W, Tan W. Recurrence risk stratification based on Epstein–Barr virus DNA to identify enlarged retropharyngeal lymph nodes of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A model-histopathologic correlation study. Front Med (Lausanne) 2022; 9:996127. [DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.996127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
BackgroundAccurate assessment of the nature of enlarged retropharyngeal lymph nodes (RLN) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients after radiotherapy is related to selecting appropriate treatments and avoiding unnecessary therapy. This study aimed to develop a non-invasive and effective model for predicting the recurrence of RLN (RRLN) in NPC.Materials and methodsThe data of post-radiotherapy NPC patients (N = 76) with abnormal enlargement of RLN who underwent endonasopharyngeal ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspirations (EPUS-FNA) were examined. They were randomly divided into a discovery (n = 53) and validation (n = 23) cohort. Univariate logistic regression was used to assess the association between variables (magnetic resonance imaging characteristics, EBV DNA) and RRLN. Multiple logistic regression was used to construct a prediction model. The accuracy of the model was assessed by discrimination and calibration, and decision curves were used to assess the clinical reliability of the model for the identification of high risk RLNs for possible recurrence.ResultsAbnormal enhancement, minimum axis diameter (MAD) and EBV-DNA were identified as independent risk factors for RRLN and could stratify NPC patients into three risk groups. The probability of RRLN in the low-, medium-, and high-risk groups were 37.5, 82.4, and 100%, respectively. The AUC of the final predictive model was 0.882 (95% CI: 0.782–0.982) in the discovery cohort and 0.926 (95% CI, 0.827–1.000) in the validation cohort, demonstrating good clinical accuracy for predicting the RRLN of NPC patients. The favorable performance of the model was confirmed by the calibration plot and decision curve analysis.ConclusionThe nomogram model constructed in the study could be reliable in predicting the risk of RRLN after radiotherapy for NPC patients.
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Huang ML, Luo WL. Engrailed homeobox 1 transcriptional regulation of COL22A1 inhibits nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell senescence through the G1/S phase arrest. J Cell Mol Med 2022; 26:5473-5485. [PMID: 36196630 PMCID: PMC9639036 DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.17575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
EN1 is well known as a transcription factor in other tumours, but its role in NPC is unclear. In this study, we first used bioinformatics to analyse GEO data to obtain the differentially expressed gene EN1, and subsequently verified that EN1 was highly expressed in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells by tissue microarrays as well as cell lines. Further, we down‐regulated the expression of EN1 in cells for RNA sequencing. The analysis of sequencing results using KEGG and GO revealed significant changes in cell proliferation and cycle function after downregulation of EN1. Meanwhile, we found that cells underwent senescence after inhibition of EN1 under electron microscopy and the SA‐β‐gal assays. Based on the sequencing results, we verified that EN1 can promote the proliferation and cycle of NPC cells in cell function experiments and animal experiments. To investigate how EN1 affects cell senescence, we found that EN1 transcriptional regulation of COL22A1 regulated cell proliferation and cycle via CDK4/6‐cyclin D1‐Rb signalling pathway by dual luciferase reporter, Immunoblotting and rescue experiment. Accordingly, we uncovered that EN1 could serve as a target for the regulation of senescence in NPC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mao-Ling Huang
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Wen-Long Luo
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China
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Guo SS, Chen YZ, Liu LT, Liu RP, Liang YJ, Wen DX, Jin J, Tang LQ, Mai HQ, Chen QY. Prognostic significance of AKR1C4 and the advantage of combining EBV DNA to stratify patients at high risk of locoregional recurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. BMC Cancer 2022; 22:880. [PMID: 35953777 PMCID: PMC9373296 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-022-09924-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Distinguishing patients at a greater risk of recurrence is essential for treating locoregional advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This study aimed to explore the potential of aldo–keto reductase 1C4 (AKR1C4) in stratifying patients at high risk of locoregional relapse. Methods A total of 179 patients with locoregionally advanced NPC were grouped by different strategies; they were: (a) divided into two groups according to AKR1C4 expression level, and (b) classified into three clusters by integrating AKR1C4 and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA. The Kaplan–Meier method was used to calculate locoregional relapse-free survival (LRFS), overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). The Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine potential prognostic factors, and a nomogram was generated to predict 3-year and 5-year LRFS. Results A significant difference in the 5-year LRFS was observed between the high and low AKR1C4 expression groups (83.3% vs. 92.7%, respectively; p = 0.009). After integrating AKR1C4 expression and EBV DNA, the LRFS (84.7%, 84.5%, 96.9%, p = 0.014) of high-, intermediate-, and low- AKR1C4 and EBV DNA was also significant. Multivariate analysis indicated that AKR1C4 expression (p = 0.006) was an independent prognostic factor for LRFS. The prognostic factors incorporated into the nomogram were AKR1C4 expression, T stage, and EBV DNA, and the concordance index of the nomogram for locoregional relapse was 0.718. Conclusions In conclusion, high AKR1C4 expression was associated with a high possibility of relapse in NPC patients, and integrating EBV DNA and AKR1C4 can stratify high-risk patients with locoregional recurrence. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-09924-3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shan-Shan Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yan-Zhou Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Li-Ting Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Rong-Ping Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yu-Jing Liang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Dong-Xiang Wen
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jing Jin
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lin-Quan Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hai-Qiang Mai
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qiu-Yan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Diagnosis and Therapy, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China. .,Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China.
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Lin C, Li M, Lin N, Zong J, Pan J, Ye Y. RNF38 suppress growth and metastasis via ubiquitination of ACTN4 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. BMC Cancer 2022; 22:549. [PMID: 35568845 PMCID: PMC9107765 DOI: 10.1186/s12885-022-09641-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Accumulated evidence suggests that RING finger proteins (RNFs) are involved in the carcinogenesis of cancers. However, RNF38, a member of the RNF protein family, has not been studied in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods RNF38 expression was analyzed by RT-PCR, Western blotting and Immunohistochemistry. Biological functions of RNF38 were evaluated by cell growth, colony formation, apoptosis, migration and invasion assays in vitro. Xenograft growth and lung metastasis models were conducted to investigate the effect of RNF38 in vivo. Liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry, co-immunoprecipitation, and CHX assay were implemented to detect the interaction among RNF38 and ACTN4. Results RNF38 was significantly downregulated in NPC cells and tissues. Immunohistochemistry implied that loss of RNF38 was an independent prognostic factor for poor outcomes of NPC patients. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments showed that RNF38 inhibited proliferation and metastasis in NPC in vitro and in vivo. Upregulation of RNF38 promoted apoptosis of NPC cells to etoposide but not cisplatin. ACTN4 was upregulated in NPC and negatively correlated with RNF38. Mechanistic investigations suggested that RNF38 inactivates the NF-𝛋B and ERK1/2 signaling pathways by inducing ubiquitination and degradation of ACTN4. RNF38 suppress the development of NPC by interacting with ACTN4. Conclusions RNF38 plays a potential cancer suppressor gene role in NPC tumorigenesis and is a prognostic biomarker in NPC. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-022-09641-x.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Lin
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Fujian Medical University Cancer Hospital & Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, 350014, China.
| | - Meifang Li
- Department of Medical Oncology, Fujian Medical University Cancer Hospital & Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, China
| | - Na Lin
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Fujian Medical University Cancer Hospital & Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, 350014, China
| | - Jingfeng Zong
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Fujian Medical University Cancer Hospital & Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, 350014, China
| | - Jianji Pan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Fujian Medical University Cancer Hospital & Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, 350014, China
| | - Yunbin Ye
- Laboratory of Immuno-Oncology, Fujian Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou, 350014, China. .,Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Translational Cancer Medicine, Fuzhou, China.
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Su ZY, Siak PY, Leong CO, Cheah SC. Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma and Its Microenvironment: Past, Current, and Future Perspectives. Front Oncol 2022; 12:840467. [PMID: 35311066 PMCID: PMC8924466 DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2022.840467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an epithelial malignancy that raises public health concerns in endemic countries. Despite breakthroughs in therapeutic strategies, late diagnosis and drug resistance often lead to unsatisfactory clinical outcomes in NPC patients. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a complex niche consisting of tumor-associated cells, such as fibroblasts, endothelial cells, leukocytes, that influences tumor initiation, progression, invasion, and metastasis. Cells in the TME communicate through various mechanisms, of note, exosomes, ligand-receptor interactions, cytokines and chemokines are active players in the construction of TME, characterized by an abundance of immune infiltrates with suppressed immune activities. The NPC microenvironment serves as a target-rich niche for the discovery of potential promising predictive or diagnostic biomarkers and the development of therapeutic strategies. Thus, huge efforts have been made to exploit the role of the NPC microenvironment. The whole picture of the NPC microenvironment remains to be portrayed to understand the mechanisms underlying tumor biology and implement research into clinical practice. The current review discusses the recent insights into the role of TME in the development and progression of NPC which results in different clinical outcomes of patients. Clinical interventions with the use of TME components as potential biomarkers or therapeutic targets, their challenges, and future perspectives will be introduced. This review anticipates to provide insights to the researchers for future preclinical, translational and clinical research on the NPC microenvironment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi Yi Su
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Pui Yan Siak
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Chee-Onn Leong
- Centre of Cancer and Stem Cells Research, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Institute for Research, Development and Innovation, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Shiau-Chuen Cheah
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
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Wang H, Zhang J. Identification of DTL as Related Biomarker and Immune Infiltration Characteristics of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma via Comprehensive Strategies. Int J Gen Med 2022; 15:2329-2345. [PMID: 35264872 PMCID: PMC8901051 DOI: 10.2147/ijgm.s352330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Although considerable progress has been made in basic and clinical research on nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), the biomarkers of the progression of NPC have not been fully studied and described. This study was designed to identify potential novel biomarkers for NPC using integrated analyses and explore the immune cell infiltration in this pathological process. Methods Five GEO data sets were downloaded from gene expression omnibus database (GEO) and analysed to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs), followed by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. The four algorithms were adopted for screening of novel and key biomarkers for NPC, including random forest (RF) machine learning algorithm, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) logistic regression, support vector machine-recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE), and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Lastly, CIBERSORT was used to assess the infiltration of immune cells in NPC, and the correlation between diagnostic markers and infiltrating immune cells was analyzed. Results Herein, we identified 46 DEGs, and enrichment analysis results showed that DEGs and several kinds of signaling pathways might be closely associated with the occurrence and progression of NPC. DTL was recognized as NPC-related biomarker. DTL, also known as retinoic acid-regulated nuclear matrix-associated protein (RAMP), or DNA replication factor 2 (CDT2), is reported to be correlated with the cell proliferation, cell cycle arrest and cell invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma, breast cancer and gastric cancer. Immune infiltration analysis demonstrated that macrophages M0, macrophages M1 and T cells CD4 memory activated were linked to pathogenesis of NPC. Conclusion In summary, we adopted a comprehensive strategy to screen DTL as biomarkers related to NPC and explore the critical role of immune cell infiltration in NPC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hehe Wang
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
- Correspondence: Hehe Wang, Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 315010, People’s Republic of China, Email
| | - Junge Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China
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Deng G, Wang F, Song Y. Circular RNA SET domain protein 3 promotes nasopharyngeal carcinoma proliferation, cisplatin resistance, and protein kinase B / mammalian target of rapamycin pathway activation by modulating microRNA-147a expression. Bioengineered 2022; 13:5843-5854. [PMID: 35196205 PMCID: PMC8973767 DOI: 10.1080/21655979.2022.2036907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Circular RNA (circRNA) plays a crucial role in the establishment and progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Understanding the role of circRNA in NPC is helpful to find new therapeutic targets for NPC. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of circRNA SET domain protein 3 (circSETD3) on protein kinase B (Akt)/ mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway and cisplatin (DDP) resistance to NPC and explore its downstream mechanism. The results showed that circSETD3 was upregulated in NPC tissues and was related to DDP resistance to NPC. Functional experiments revealed that circSETD3 knockdown inhibited NPC proliferation and increased DDP sensitivity and apoptosis rate. The promotion effect of circSETD3 overexpression on NPC proliferation and DDP resistance and inhibition effect on apoptosis was reversed by elevated miR-147a. CircSETD3 knockdown or miR-147a overexpression prevented Akt/mTOR pathway's activation. In terms of the mechanism, circSETD3 acted as a sponge for miR-147a. Xenotransplantation experiments showed that knockdown circSETD3 or DDP treatment could restrain tumor growth, and the effect of DDP was enhanced by knockdown of circSETD3. In conclusion, the results of this study confirm that circSETD3 promotes NPC proliferation and DDP resistance by regulating miR-147a, and circSETD3/miR-147a axis may serve as a potential therapeutic target for NPC in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gang Deng
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Wuhan No. 1 Hospital of Hubei Province, Wuhan City, HuBei Province, China
| | - Fei Wang
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, People's Hospital of Qinghai Province, Xining City, QingHai Province, China
| | - YiSa Song
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, People's Hospital of Qinghai Province, Xining City, QingHai Province, China
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Diao S, Hou J, Yu H, Zhao X, Sun Y, Lambo RL, Xie Y, Liu L, Qin W, Luo W. Computer-Aided Pathologic Diagnosis of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Based on Deep Learning. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY 2020; 190:1691-1700. [PMID: 32360568 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2020.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2020] [Revised: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The pathologic diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) by different pathologists is often inefficient and inconsistent. We have therefore introduced a deep learning algorithm into this process and compared the performance of the model with that of three pathologists with different levels of experience to demonstrate its clinical value. In this retrospective study, a total of 1970 whole slide images of 731 cases were collected and divided into training, validation, and testing sets. Inception-v3, which is a state-of-the-art convolutional neural network, was trained to classify images into three categories: chronic nasopharyngeal inflammation, lymphoid hyperplasia, and NPC. The mean area under the curve (AUC) of the deep learning model is 0.936 based on the testing set, and its AUCs for the three image categories are 0.905, 0.972, and 0.930, respectively. In the comparison with the three pathologists, the model outperforms the junior and intermediate pathologists, and has only a slightly lower performance than the senior pathologist when considered in terms of accuracy, specificity, sensitivity, AUC, and consistency. To our knowledge, this is the first study about the application of deep learning to NPC pathologic diagnosis. In clinical practice, the deep learning model can potentially assist pathologists by providing a second opinion on their NPC diagnoses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Songhui Diao
- Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenzhen, China; Shenzhen College of Advanced Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jiaxin Hou
- Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenzhen, China; College of Medicine and Biological Information Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang, China
| | - Hong Yu
- Department of Pathology, Cancer Research Institute, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xia Zhao
- Department of Pathology, Cancer Research Institute, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yikang Sun
- Department of Pathology, Cancer Research Institute, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen, China
| | - Ricardo Lewis Lambo
- Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yaoqin Xie
- Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenzhen, China
| | - Lei Liu
- Department of Pathology, Cancer Research Institute, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen, China
| | - Wenjian Qin
- Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenzhen, China.
| | - Weiren Luo
- Department of Pathology, Cancer Research Institute, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen, China.
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Li S, Luo W. Matrix metalloproteinase 2 contributes to aggressive phenotype, epithelial-mesenchymal transition and poor outcome in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Onco Targets Ther 2019; 12:5701-5711. [PMID: 31410017 PMCID: PMC6646049 DOI: 10.2147/ott.s202280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2019] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Though matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP-2) involvement in tumor aggressiveness and invasion is well-known, its prognostic impacts still remain largely controversial. Furthermore, the correlations between MMP-2 and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) have not been directly established in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Materials and methods The purpose of this study was to investigate MMP-2 expression in NPC. Tissue microarrays from 144 patients with NPC and 45 non-cancerous pharynx tissues were analyzed for MMP-2 expression by immunohistochemistry. MMP-2 expression in relation to clinicopathological characteristics and EMT were assessed in NPC. Tumor-invasive potential affected by exogenous expression of MMP-2 in NPC cells was also detected in vitro. Results Compared to normal nasopharyngeal epithelium, high expression of tumoral MMP-2 was detected in 47.9% of NPC samples. Significant association was found between MMP-2 expression and various aggressive features including T classification, M classification and tumor stage (P<0.05). Of note, high expression of MMP-2 was prominently observed at tumor invasive front, neoplastic spindle cells migrating into the stroma and vessel invasion. Importantly, high MMP-2 expression predicted worse survival in patients with stage III-IV (P=0.039). Overexpression of MMP-2 could decrease cell-cell adhesion, promote tumor invasion and EMT including downregulation of E-cadherin and upregulation of N-cadherin, Fibronectin and Slug of NPC cells. Conclusion Our findings demonstrate that MMP-2 expression contributes to tumor aggressiveness and poor prognosis, and induces the occurrence of EMT in NPC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siyi Li
- Department of Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Weiren Luo
- Department of Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China.,Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Cell Microenvironment and Disease Research, School of Medicine of Southern University of Science and Technology , Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
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12
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Zong M, Liu Y, Zhang K, J Y, Chen L. The effects of miR-429 on cell migration and invasion by targeting Slug in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Pathol Res Pract 2019; 215:152526. [PMID: 31324391 DOI: 10.1016/j.prp.2019.152526] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2019] [Revised: 06/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/05/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Increasing evidence indicates that microRNAs may play important roles in tumor development and may take part in different processes in different cancers. miR-429 is known as a cancer suppressor or oncogene that is dysregulated in different malignancies, including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). However, the effect of miR-429 in ESCC has not been fully explored. The purpose of this study was to investigate the functions of miR-429 in ESCC. qRT-PCR assays were performed to detect miR-429 expression in ESCC tissues and cell lines. To assess the effects of miR-429 on ESCC cells, wound healing and transwell assays were used. Luciferase reporter and western blot assays were employed to determine whether Slug is a major target of miR-429.Our results showed that the expression levels of miR-429 in ESCC tissues and cells were lower than in normal esophageal epithelial tissues and cells. Furthermore, overexpression of endogenous miR-429 inhibited the migration and invasion of ESCC cell lines. In addition, Luciferase reporter and western blot assays provided evidence that miR-429 can bind to the 3' untranslated regions of Slug to regulate its expression and that of downstream epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers. We found that Slug serves as a major target of miR-429. miR-429 plays a vital role in ESCC progression and represents a new therapeutic target for ESCC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingzhu Zong
- Jinling Hosp Dept of Medical Oncology, Nanjing Med Univ, Nanjing, 210002, PR China; The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People, s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, PR China
| | - Yan Liu
- Jinling Hosp Dept of Medical Oncology, Nanjing Med Univ, Nanjing, 210002, PR China
| | - Kai Zhang
- Jinling Hosp Dept of Medical Oncology, Nanjing Univ, Sch Med, Nanjing, 210002, PR China
| | - Yi J
- Jinling Hosp Dept of Medical Oncology, Nanjing Univ, Sch Med, Nanjing, 210002, PR China
| | - Longbang Chen
- Jinling Hosp Dept of Medical Oncology, Nanjing Med Univ, Nanjing, 210002, PR China; Jinling Hosp Dept of Medical Oncology, Nanjing Univ, Sch Med, Nanjing, 210002, PR China.
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13
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Bigdelou Z, Johari B, Kadivar M, Rismani E, Asadi Z, Rahmati M, Saltanatpour Z. Investigation of specific binding of designed oligodeoxynucleotide decoys to transcription factors in HT29 cell line undergoing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). J Cell Physiol 2019; 234:22765-22774. [PMID: 31115051 DOI: 10.1002/jcp.28841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2019] [Revised: 04/30/2019] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Expression of master transcriptional regulators of stem cells (Oct4 and Sox2) is associated with mediating tumor proliferation and tumor differentiation. The main goal of this study is the investigation of specific binding of designed Oct4-Sox2 transcription factors decoy oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) sequence to their nucleus-extracted proteins in HT29-ShE cells containing enriched cancer stem-like cells (SCLCs). First, gene expression of Oct4, Sox2, and E-cadherin revealed the overexpression of Oct4 and Sox2 and downregulation of E-cadherin in HT29-ShE cells compared with HT29 wild-type and HT29-ShC cells. Next, Oct4-Sox2 complex decoy ODNs were designed according to their elements in the promoter region of Sox2 gene. Then, the interactions of Oct4 and Sox2 proteins to designed ODNs were evaluated in silico. Finally, DNA-protein interactions of decoy ODNs and their corresponding proteins were examined by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). Analysis of gel shift retardation assay admitted the specific binding of designed ODNs sequence to the nuclear extracted Oct4 and Sox2 proteins. The results will be a promising approach to target cancer stem cells for potential use in differentiation therapy before chemotherapy and radiotherapy of cancers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zahra Bigdelou
- Student Research Committee, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.,Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran
| | - Behrooz Johari
- Student Research Committee, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.,Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran
| | - Mehdi Kadivar
- Department of Biochemistry, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Elham Rismani
- Molecular Medicine Department, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Pasteur Avenue, Tehran, Iran
| | - Zoleykha Asadi
- Student Research Committee, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.,Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran
| | - Mohammad Rahmati
- Student Research Committee, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.,Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Medicine, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran
| | - Zohreh Saltanatpour
- Genetics Department, Breast Cancer Research Center, Motamed Cancer Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
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14
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Li B, Shen W, Peng H, Li Y, Chen F, Zheng L, Xu J, Jia L. Fibronectin 1 promotes melanoma proliferation and metastasis by inhibiting apoptosis and regulating EMT. Onco Targets Ther 2019; 12:3207-3221. [PMID: 31118673 PMCID: PMC6503329 DOI: 10.2147/ott.s195703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2018] [Accepted: 03/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background and aims: The complex process of cancer metastasis remains the least understood. Tumor cells alter their protein expression profile to survive from the tumor metastasis. Fibronectin 1 (FN1 gene coding protein) is a member of the glycoprotein family that has been shown to play an important role in cancer metastasis. However, its effects on melanoma metastasis are still unclear. Methods: We detected the FN1 expression between metastatic cells and primary cells by using Western blot and RT-qPCR assays. And, we analyzed the expressed feature of FN1 in different tissues and examined the clinical relevance of upregulated FN1 in melanoma progression by bioinformatic analysis. Furthermore, we downregulated the expression of FN1 by small interfering RNA technique to reveal the effect of FN1 on melanoma phenotype and expression of related genes. Finally, we used bioinformatics to reveal the possible mechanism of FN1 regulating melanoma progression. Results: We reported that the expression of FN1 was changed during melanoma metastasis. In this study, we established two metastatic cell lines of melanoma through mouse model, and found that metastatic cells exhibited stronger mesenchyme phenotype and possessed higher FN1 expression level compared to primary cells. Besides, we examined the clinical relevance of upregulated FN1 in tumor progression. Small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated downregulation of FN1 suppressed the migration, invasion, adhesion, proliferation capabilities and induced apoptosis of melanoma cells. We detected a diminished EMT-related gene signature including increased expression of E-cadherin and decreased expression of N-cadherin and Vimentin. Downregulation of FN1 also increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio which might result in apoptosis of melanoma cells. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that FN1 most likely involved in focal adhesion and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway to regulate EMT process and apoptosis. Conclusions: Taken together, these findings demonstrated a role of FN1 in promoting melanoma metastasis by inhibiting apoptosis and regulating EMT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bifei Li
- Cancer Metastasis Alert and Prevention Center, College of Chemistry; Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Cancer Metastasis Chemoprevention and Chemotherapy, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian350116, People’s Republic of China
| | - Weiyu Shen
- Cancer Metastasis Alert and Prevention Center, College of Chemistry; Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Cancer Metastasis Chemoprevention and Chemotherapy, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian350116, People’s Republic of China
| | - Huayi Peng
- College of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou350116, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yumei Li
- Cancer Metastasis Alert and Prevention Center, College of Chemistry; Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Cancer Metastasis Chemoprevention and Chemotherapy, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian350116, People’s Republic of China
| | - Fan Chen
- Cancer Metastasis Alert and Prevention Center, College of Chemistry; Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Cancer Metastasis Chemoprevention and Chemotherapy, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian350116, People’s Republic of China
| | - Liping Zheng
- Pharmacy Department, Fujian Province Children Hospital, Fuzhou, Fujian350108, People’s Republic of China
| | - Jianhua Xu
- College of Pharmacy, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou350116, People’s Republic of China
| | - Lee Jia
- Cancer Metastasis Alert and Prevention Center, College of Chemistry; Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Cancer Metastasis Chemoprevention and Chemotherapy, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian350116, People’s Republic of China
- Institute of Oceanography, Minjiang University, Fuzhou, Fujian350108, People’s Republic of China
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15
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Peng S, Wu C, Sun W, Liu D, Luo M, Su B, Zhang L, Mei Q, Hu G. Snail-mediated cancer stem cell-like phenotype in human CNE2 nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell. Head Neck 2017; 40:485-497. [PMID: 29024225 DOI: 10.1002/hed.24982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2016] [Revised: 05/18/2017] [Accepted: 09/15/2017] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cancer stem cell (CSC)-like phenotype, which has been proven to play a critical role in invasion and metastasis of many kinds of cancers, has also been reported to be associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Snail, a potent repressor of E-cadherin expression, was found to have a function to regulate the aforementioned processes. METHODS In the current study, expression of putative CSCs biomarkers and the ratio of CSC-like CNE2 (cancer cell line) in total CNE2 were measured, and CSC-like characteristics were analyzed with tumor-sphere self-renewal and colony-forming assays. Migration and invasion properties were determined by using transwell and wound healing assays. Xenograft tumor assays in vivo were done to evaluate the function of Snail and radiation in the tumor forming ability. RESULTS In human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells, overexpression of Snail mediates a CSC-like phenotype, which enhances the initiation, invasion, and migration ability of cancer cells. CONCLUSION Thus, Snail is a potential therapeutic target in NPC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shan Peng
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Cheng Wu
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Wei Sun
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Dongbo Liu
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Min Luo
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Beibei Su
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Linli Zhang
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Qi Mei
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Guoqing Hu
- Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China
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16
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Hippo pathway contributes to cisplatin resistant-induced EMT in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Cell Cycle 2017; 16:1601-1610. [PMID: 28749195 DOI: 10.1080/15384101.2017.1356508] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a kind of head-neck malignant tumor derived from the nasopharyngeal epithelium and is mainly prevalent in Southern China and Southeast Asia countries. Cisplatin (DDP) provides the first-line therapeutic administration in NPC patients. However, chemoresistance has been a main barrier and caused bad treatment outcome in NPC therapy. To understand the molecular mechanism of acquired resistance to DDP, multiple methods were performed to examine the morphocytology and molecular changes in DDP-resistant NPC cells. We found that drug resistance cells displayed epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) characteristics. DDP-resistant NPC cells exhibited enhanced migration and invasion potential. Moreover, overexpression of TAZ, one key gene in Hippo pathway, is closely associated with the DDP resistance of NPC cells and its EMT properties. Depletion of TAZ in DDP-resistant cells reversed EMT phenotypes to MET characteristics and restored chemosensitivity of DDP-resistant cells to DDP treatment. These results suggest that inactivation of TAZ could be a promising approach for the treatment of NPC patients.
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17
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Ding Y, Pan Y, Liu S, Jiang F, Jiao J. Elevation of MiR-9-3p suppresses the epithelial-mesenchymal transition of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells via down-regulating FN1, ITGB1 and ITGAV. Cancer Biol Ther 2017; 18:414-424. [PMID: 28613134 DOI: 10.1080/15384047.2017.1323585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
MicroRNAs had been proved to be pivotal regulators in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) by regulating a large amount of genes' expression. In our research, we aim to explore the functions of miR-9-3p on the metastases of NPC and figure out the potential mechanisms. First, we revealed downregulation of miR-9-3p and upregulation of fibronectin 1 (FN1), β1 integrin (ITGB1) and α5 integrin (ITGAV) expression in NPC tissues and cells compared with the normal using RNA-seq analysis, RT-qPCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry. By transfection of miR-9-3p mimics in CNE-1, CNE-2 and HONE-1 cells, we confirmed tumor-suppressing roles of miR-9-3p via suppressing EMT process by MTT, wound scratch, transwell assay and western blot. After constructing luciferase reporting plasmids and transient transfection in HEK 293T cells, we proved that FN1, ITGB1 and ITGAV were all targets of miR-9-3p. Then we manipulated the expression of miR-9-3p, FN1, ITGB1 and ITGAV in HONE-1 cells, verifying the tumor-promoting effect of FN1, ITGB1 and ITGAV on cell proliferation and metastases via facilitating EMT process of cells. Additionally, these functions of FN1, ITGB1 and ITGAV could be efficiently abrogated by overexpression of miR-9-3p. Taken together, we demonstrated that elevation of miR-9-3p suppresses the proliferation and metastases of NPC via downregulating FN1, ITGB1, ITGAV and inhibiting the EMT process, which provided a series of therapeutic targets for the treatment of NPC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Ding
- a Department of Reproductive Medicine , The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University , Qingdao , Shandong , China
| | - Yinghua Pan
- b Department of Radiology , Yuhuangding Hospital of Yantai , Yantai , Shandong , China
| | - Shan Liu
- c Department of Laboratory Medicine , Central Hospital of Qingdao , Qingdao , Shandong , China
| | - Feng Jiang
- d Department of Radiology , People's Hospital of Zhangqiu , Zhangqiu , Jinan , China
| | - Junbo Jiao
- e Department of Oncology , Jining No.1 People's Hospital , Jining , Shandong , China
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18
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Wu Y, Shen Z, Wang K, Ha Y, Lei H, Jia Y, Ding R, Wu D, Gan S, Li R, Luo B, Jiang H, Jie W. High FMNL3 expression promotes nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell metastasis: role in TGF-β1-induced epithelia-to-mesenchymal transition. Sci Rep 2017; 7:42507. [PMID: 28198387 PMCID: PMC5309845 DOI: 10.1038/srep42507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2016] [Accepted: 01/09/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Formin-like 3 (FMNL3) plays a crucial role in cytoskeletal mediation and is potentially a biomarker for cell migration; however, its role in cancer metastasis remains unknown. In this study, we found elevated FMNL3 protein expression in clinical nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) tissues. FMNL3 expression positively correlated to the clinical stage, T (tumour), N (lymph node metastasis) and M (distant metastasis) classification of NPC patients. Moreover, FMNL3 positively correlated to Vimentin expression and negatively correlated to E-cadherin expression in clinical NPC samples. In vitro experiments showed that FMNL3 expression was inversely related to NPC cell differentiation status. Overexpression of FMNL3 led to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in well differentiated CNE1 cells. TGF-β1-treated poorly differentiated CNE2 cells showed changes in EMT accompanied by enhanced FMNL3 expression and cell migration. On the contrary, knockdown of FMNL3 partially attenuated the TGF-β1-promoted CNE2 cell migration, together with associated changes in EMT markers. Finally, knockdown of FMNL3 also weakened EMT in tumours in xenographs. Our study indicates for the first time that TGF-β1/FMNL3 signalling may be a novel mechanism mediating EMT in NPC, which is closely associated with NPC metastasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanxia Wu
- Department of Pathology, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524023, China
| | - Zhihua Shen
- Department of Pathophysiology, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524023, China
| | - Keke Wang
- Department of Pathology, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524023, China
| | - Yanping Ha
- Department of Pathology, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524023, China
| | - Hong Lei
- Department of Pathology, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524023, China
| | - Yanan Jia
- Department of Pathophysiology, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524023, China
| | - Ranran Ding
- Department of Pathology, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524023, China.,Department of Pathology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Dongmei Wu
- Department of Pathology, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524023, China
| | - Siyuan Gan
- Department of Pathology, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524023, China
| | - Rujia Li
- Department of Pathology, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524023, China
| | - Botao Luo
- Department of Pathology, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524023, China
| | - Hanguo Jiang
- Department of Pathology, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524023, China
| | - Wei Jie
- Department of Pathology, Guangdong Medical University, Zhanjiang 524023, China
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19
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Liao ZW, Zhao L, Cai MY, Xi M, He LR, Yu F, Zhou TC, Liu MZ. P300 promotes migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in a nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line. Oncol Lett 2016; 13:763-769. [PMID: 28356956 PMCID: PMC5351396 DOI: 10.3892/ol.2016.5491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2015] [Accepted: 10/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
A previous study demonstrated that p300 is overexpressed in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and that its expression is an independent prognostic factor. The aim of the present study is to investigate the role of p300 in human NPC development. A small hairpin (sh) RNA lentiviral expression vector targeting the p300 gene was constructed to suppress the expression of p300 in NPC cells. Knockdown of p300 was verified by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Wound-healing, invasion, immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation assays were performed to assess the influence of p300 on nasopharyngeal tumorigenesis and metastasis in vitro. The expression of p300 was upregulated in NPC cell lines. After knockdown of p300, the migration and invasion ability of shp300 cells were significantly inhibited (P<0.05). Furthermore, the depletion of p300 expression in NPC cell lines resulted in the upregulation of epithelial phenotype marker E-cadherin and α-catenin, and downregulation of mesenchymal phenotype markers N-cadherin and vimentin. p300 promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) through the acetylation of Smad2 and Smad3 in the tumor growth factor-β signaling pathway. In conclusion, p300 may be involved in the invasion and metastasis of NPC through the induction of EMT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi-Wei Liao
- Department of Radiation Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P.R. China; Department of Radiation Oncology, The Tumour Hospital Affiliated of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510095, P.R. China
| | - Lei Zhao
- Department of Radiation Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P.R. China
| | - Mu-Yan Cai
- Department of Pathology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P.R. China
| | - Mian Xi
- Department of Radiation Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P.R. China
| | - Li-Ru He
- Department of Radiation Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P.R. China
| | - Fang Yu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Tumour Hospital Affiliated of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510095, P.R. China
| | - Tong-Chong Zhou
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Tumour Hospital Affiliated of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510095, P.R. China
| | - Meng-Zhong Liu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510060, P.R. China
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20
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Liu X, Yun F, Shi L, Li ZH, Luo NR, Jia YF. Roles of Signaling Pathways in the Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Cancer. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 2016; 16:6201-6. [PMID: 26434817 DOI: 10.7314/apjcp.2015.16.15.6201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a cellular process though which an epithelial phenotype can be converted into a phenotype of mesenchymal cells. Under physiological conditions EMT is important for embryogenesis, organ development, wound repair and tissue remodeling. However, EMT may also be activated under pathologic conditions, especially in carcinogenesis and metastatic progression. Major signaling pathways involved in EMT include transforming growth factor β(TGF-β), Wnt, Notch, Hedgehog and other signaling pathways. These pathways are related to several transcription factors, including Twist, Smads and zinc finger proteins snail and slug. These interact with each other to provide crosstalk between the relevant signaling pathways. This review lays emphasis on studying the relationship between EMT and signaling pathways in carcinogenesis and metastatic progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xia Liu
- Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Huhhot, China E-mail :
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21
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Liu JK, Chen WC, Ji XZ, Zheng WH, Han W, An J. Correlation of overexpression of nestin with expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related proteins in gastric adenocarcinoma. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 2016; 16:2777-83. [PMID: 25854362 DOI: 10.7314/apjcp.2015.16.7.2777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Nestin is associated with neoplastic transformation. However, the mechanisms by which nestin contributes regarding invasion and malignancy of gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC) remain unknown. Recent studies have shown that the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is important in invasion and migration of cancer cells. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the expression of nestin and its correlation with EMT-related proteins in GAC. MATERIALS AND METHODS The expression of nestin and EMT-related proteins was examined in GAC specimens and cell lines by immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. Clinicopathological features and survival outcomes were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS Positive nestin immunostaining was most obviously detected in the cytoplasm, nucleus or both cytoplasm and nucleus of tumor cells in 19.2% (24/125) of GAC tissues, which was significantly higher than that in normal gastric mucosa tissues (1.7%, 1/60) (p=0.001). Nestin expression was closely related to several clinicopathological factors and EMT-related proteins (E-cadherin, vimentin and Snail) and displayed a poor prognosis. Interestingly, simultaneous cytoplasmic and nuclear nestin expression correlated with EMT-related proteins (E-cadherin, vimentin and Snail) (p<0.05) and lymph node metastasis (p=0.041) and a shorter survival time (p<0.05), but this was not the case with cytoplasmic or nuclear nestin expression. CONCLUSIONS Nestin, particularly expression in both cytoplasm and nucleus, might be involved in regulating EMT and malignant progression in GAC, with potential as an unfavorable indicator in tumor diagnosis and a target for clinical therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-Kai Liu
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China E-mail :
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22
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Wang SC, Lin XL, Wang HY, Qin YJ, Chen L, Li J, Jia JS, Shen HF, Yang S, Xie RY, Wei F, Gao F, Rong XX, Yang J, Zhao WT, Zhang TT, Shi JW, Yao KT, Luo WR, Sun Y, Xiao D. Hes1 triggers epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like cellular marker alterations and promotes invasion and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by activating the PTEN/AKT pathway. Oncotarget 2015; 6:36713-30. [PMID: 26452025 PMCID: PMC4742206 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.5457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2014] [Accepted: 09/21/2015] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Overexpression of the transcriptional factor Hes1 (hairy and enhancer of split-1) has been observed in numerous cancers, but the precise roles of Hes1 in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), cancer invasion and metastasis remain unknown. Our current study firstly revealed that Hes1 upregulation in a cohort of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) biopsies is significantly associated with the EMT, invasive and metastatic phenotypes of cancer. In the present study, we found that Hes1 overexpression triggered EMT-like cellular marker alterations of NPC cells, whereas knockdown of Hes1 through shRNA reversed the EMT-like phenotypes, as strongly supported by Hes1-mediated EMT in NPC clinical specimens described above. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments demonstrated that Hes1 promoted the migration and invasion of NPC cells in vitro. In addition, exogenous expression of Hes1 significantly enhanced the metastatic ability of NPC cells in vivo. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays showed that Hes1 inhibited PTEN expression in NPC cells through binding to PTEN promoter region. Increased Hes1 expression and decreased PTEN expression were also observed in a cohort of NPC biopsies. Additional studies demonstrated that Hes1-induced EMT-like molecular changes and increased motility and invasion of NPC cells were mediated by PTEN. Taken together, our results suggest, for what we believe is the first time, that Hes1 plays an important role in the invasion and metastasis of NPC through inhibiting PTEN expression to trigger EMT-like phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheng-Chun Wang
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
- 4 Department of Pathology, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808, China
| | - Xiao-Lin Lin
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Hui-Yan Wang
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Yu-Juan Qin
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Lin Chen
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Jing Li
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Jun-Shuang Jia
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Hong-Fen Shen
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Sheng Yang
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Rao-Ying Xie
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Fang Wei
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Fei Gao
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
- 6 Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China
| | - Xiao-Xiang Rong
- 5 Department of Oncology, Traditional Chinese Medicine-Integrated Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510315, China
| | - Jie Yang
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Wen-Tao Zhao
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Ting-Ting Zhang
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Jun-Wen Shi
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Kai-Tai Yao
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Wei-Ren Luo
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Yan Sun
- 3 Joint Program in Transfusion Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Dong Xiao
- 1 Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
- 2 Institute of Comparative Medicine & Laboratory Animal Center, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
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23
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Wang SC, Lin XL, Wang HY, Qin YJ, Chen L, Li J, Jia JS, Shen HF, Yang S, Xie RY, Wei F, Gao F, Rong XX, Yang J, Zhao WT, Zhang TT, Shi JW, Yao KT, Luo WR, Sun Y, Xiao D. Hes1 triggers epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like cellular marker alterations and promotes invasion and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by activating the PTEN/AKT pathway. Oncotarget 2015. [PMID: 26452025 DOI: hes1 triggers epithelial-mesenchymal transition (emt)-like cellular marker alterations and promotes invasion and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by activating the pten/akt pathway] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Overexpression of the transcriptional factor Hes1 (hairy and enhancer of split-1) has been observed in numerous cancers, but the precise roles of Hes1 in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), cancer invasion and metastasis remain unknown. Our current study firstly revealed that Hes1 upregulation in a cohort of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) biopsies is significantly associated with the EMT, invasive and metastatic phenotypes of cancer. In the present study, we found that Hes1 overexpression triggered EMT-like cellular marker alterations of NPC cells, whereas knockdown of Hes1 through shRNA reversed the EMT-like phenotypes, as strongly supported by Hes1-mediated EMT in NPC clinical specimens described above. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments demonstrated that Hes1 promoted the migration and invasion of NPC cells in vitro. In addition, exogenous expression of Hes1 significantly enhanced the metastatic ability of NPC cells in vivo. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays showed that Hes1 inhibited PTEN expression in NPC cells through binding to PTEN promoter region. Increased Hes1 expression and decreased PTEN expression were also observed in a cohort of NPC biopsies. Additional studies demonstrated that Hes1-induced EMT-like molecular changes and increased motility and invasion of NPC cells were mediated by PTEN. Taken together, our results suggest, for what we believe is the first time, that Hes1 plays an important role in the invasion and metastasis of NPC through inhibiting PTEN expression to trigger EMT-like phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheng-Chun Wang
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.,Department of Pathology, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808, China
| | - Xiao-Lin Lin
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Hui-Yan Wang
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Yu-Juan Qin
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Lin Chen
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Jing Li
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Jun-Shuang Jia
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Hong-Fen Shen
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Sheng Yang
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Rao-Ying Xie
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Fang Wei
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Fei Gao
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.,Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China
| | - Xiao-Xiang Rong
- Department of Oncology, Traditional Chinese Medicine-Integrated Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510315, China
| | - Jie Yang
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Wen-Tao Zhao
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Ting-Ting Zhang
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Jun-Wen Shi
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Kai-Tai Yao
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Wei-Ren Luo
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Yan Sun
- Joint Program in Transfusion Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Dong Xiao
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.,Institute of Comparative Medicine & Laboratory Animal Center, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
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24
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Wang SC, Lin XL, Wang HY, Qin YJ, Chen L, Li J, Jia JS, Shen HF, Yang S, Xie RY, Wei F, Gao F, Rong XX, Yang J, Zhao WT, Zhang TT, Shi JW, Yao KT, Luo WR, Sun Y, Xiao D. Hes1 triggers epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like cellular marker alterations and promotes invasion and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by activating the PTEN/AKT pathway. Oncotarget 2015. [PMID: 26452025 DOI: hes1 triggers epithelial-mesenchymal transition (emt)-like cellular marker alterations and promotes invasion and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by activating the pten/akt pathway] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Overexpression of the transcriptional factor Hes1 (hairy and enhancer of split-1) has been observed in numerous cancers, but the precise roles of Hes1 in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), cancer invasion and metastasis remain unknown. Our current study firstly revealed that Hes1 upregulation in a cohort of human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) biopsies is significantly associated with the EMT, invasive and metastatic phenotypes of cancer. In the present study, we found that Hes1 overexpression triggered EMT-like cellular marker alterations of NPC cells, whereas knockdown of Hes1 through shRNA reversed the EMT-like phenotypes, as strongly supported by Hes1-mediated EMT in NPC clinical specimens described above. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function experiments demonstrated that Hes1 promoted the migration and invasion of NPC cells in vitro. In addition, exogenous expression of Hes1 significantly enhanced the metastatic ability of NPC cells in vivo. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays showed that Hes1 inhibited PTEN expression in NPC cells through binding to PTEN promoter region. Increased Hes1 expression and decreased PTEN expression were also observed in a cohort of NPC biopsies. Additional studies demonstrated that Hes1-induced EMT-like molecular changes and increased motility and invasion of NPC cells were mediated by PTEN. Taken together, our results suggest, for what we believe is the first time, that Hes1 plays an important role in the invasion and metastasis of NPC through inhibiting PTEN expression to trigger EMT-like phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheng-Chun Wang
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.,Department of Pathology, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808, China
| | - Xiao-Lin Lin
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Hui-Yan Wang
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Yu-Juan Qin
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Lin Chen
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Jing Li
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Jun-Shuang Jia
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Hong-Fen Shen
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Sheng Yang
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Rao-Ying Xie
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Fang Wei
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Fei Gao
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.,Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510630, China
| | - Xiao-Xiang Rong
- Department of Oncology, Traditional Chinese Medicine-Integrated Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510315, China
| | - Jie Yang
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Wen-Tao Zhao
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Ting-Ting Zhang
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Jun-Wen Shi
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Kai-Tai Yao
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Wei-Ren Luo
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
| | - Yan Sun
- Joint Program in Transfusion Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Dong Xiao
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.,Institute of Comparative Medicine & Laboratory Animal Center, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China
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25
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE Several reports showed that neoplastic spindle cells (NSCs) may be strongly involved in the invasion, metastasis, and poor prognosis, as well as in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). It has not yet been investigated that NSCs relate to the recurrence and prognosis in various cancers. Furthermore, NSCs participate in EMT in pancreatic cancer (PC) too. We clinicopathologically investigated the association between NSCs and the recurrence, prognosis, and EMT in PC. METHODS We studied 68 PC patients. Cancer cells with a spindle or oval shape that do not exhibit luminal structures were defined as NSCs. We graded NSCs regarding to an area of NSCs at hematoxylin and eosin stain (NSC grade) and examined the participation in NSCs and EMT by immunohistostaining of snail antibody and E-cadherin antibody. RESULTS In multivariate analysis, NSC grade was an independent risk factor for disease-free survival and overall survival. This was independent of TNM stage and histological grade. Neoplastic spindle cells were related to EMT pattern in immunohistostaining significantly. CONCLUSIONS Neoplastic spindle cell grade significantly related to the recurrence and prognosis of PC. The NSC grade assessment can be not only performed inexpensively and conveniently, but also used to guide future individualized therapeutic approaches. Furthermore, NSCs were found to relate to EMT profoundly.
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26
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Jiang H, Gao M, Shen Z, Luo B, Li R, Jiang X, Ding R, Ha Y, Wang Z, Jie W. Blocking PI3K/Akt signaling attenuates metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells through induction of mesenchymal-epithelial reverting transition. Oncol Rep 2014; 32:559-66. [PMID: 24889918 DOI: 10.3892/or.2014.3220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2014] [Accepted: 04/09/2014] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
In the present study, we evaluated the role of phosphatidylinositol-3 OH kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) signaling on changes to epithelial-to-mesenchymal reverting transition (EMrT) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Protein expression levels of p-Akt (Ser473), and the epithelial‑to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers E-cadherin, vimentin, α smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), were examined in clinical samples from 130 cases of undifferentiated non-keratinizing NPC, and 20 cases of benign nasopharyngitis. The relationship between protein expression levels and the statue of NPC lymph node metastasis was analyzed. The poorly‑differentiated NPC cell line CNE2Z was treated with various concentrations of the PI3K inhibitor, LY294002, and western blotting and quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays were used to analyze the activation of PI3K/Akt signaling and expression of E-cadherin, vimentin and α-SMA. The ability of cellular migration and invasion was assessed using Transwell assays. The in vivo effects of LY294002 on metastasis and expression of EMT markers in CNE2Z cells was evaluated using tumor xenograft experiments. The expression levels of p-Akt (Ser473) in NPC samples were higher than those in nasopharyngitis. There were reduced levels of membrane E-cadherin protein expression, and increased cytosol vimentin and α-SMA expression levels in NPC samples compared with those in nasopharyngitis samples. High expression levels of p-Akt (Ser473), vimentin, and α-SMA, and low expression levels of E-cadherin were positively associated with lymph node metastasis of NPC cells. Treating CNE2Z cells with LY294002 inhibited p-Akt (Ser473), vimentin and α-SMA expression but upregulated E-cadherin expression, leading to significantly attenuated cell invasion and migration. Administration of mice with LY294002 resulted in upregulation of membrane E-cadherin, and downregulation of vimentin and α-SMA in CNE2Z xenografts, with reduced pulmonary metastasis. Our findings suggest that inhibiting the PI3K/Akt pathway using LY294002 attenuated NPC metastasis via induction of EMrT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanguo Jiang
- Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medicine Science, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong 524023, P.R. China
| | - Mei Gao
- Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medicine Science, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong 524023, P.R. China
| | - Zhihua Shen
- Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medicine Science, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong 524023, P.R. China
| | - Botao Luo
- Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medicine Science, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong 524023, P.R. China
| | - Rujia Li
- Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medicine Science, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong 524023, P.R. China
| | - Xiaofan Jiang
- Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medicine Science, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong 524023, P.R. China
| | - Ranran Ding
- Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medicine Science, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong 524023, P.R. China
| | - Yanping Ha
- Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medicine Science, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong 524023, P.R. China
| | - Zhenliang Wang
- Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medicine Science, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong 524023, P.R. China
| | - Wei Jie
- Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medicine Science, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang, Guangdong 524023, P.R. China
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27
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Wang HY, Li YY, Fu S, Wang XP, Huang MY, Zhang X, Shao Q, Deng L, Zeng MS, Zeng YX, Shao JY. MicroRNA-30a promotes invasiveness and metastasis in vitro and in vivo through epithelial-mesenchymal transition and results in poor survival of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients. Exp Biol Med (Maywood) 2014; 239:891-898. [PMID: 24812123 DOI: 10.1177/1535370214532758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Although microRNA-30a (miR-30a) has been shown to regulate cancer metastasis, the molecular mechanism has not yet been clearly elucidated in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The present study was to investigate the miR-30a expression pattern and its potential functions and further to identify its target gene and corresponding clinical applications in NPC. MiR-30a was identified to be down-regulated in NPC primary tumors compared with metastatic tumors using quantitative real-time PCR. Furthermore, over-expression of miR-30a transfected with precursor increased the ability of metastasis and invasion of NPC tumor cells in vivo and in vitro. E-cadherin was screened as a putative target gene of miR-30a by computational algorithms. Luciferase reporter assays showed that over-expression of miR-30a directly reduced the activity of a luciferase transcript combined with the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of E-cadherin. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and log-rank test were analyzed for 1077 NPC patients for overall survival, indicating that a high expression of E-cadherin was beneficial for NPC prognosis (P = 0.001). Importantly, NPC patients with high expression of E-cadherin had much lower risk of poor prognosis (hazard ratio = 0.757, P = 0.017) using multivariate analysis. In conclusion, miR-30a could play an important role in regulating NPC metastasis and potentially provide useful guidelines for individualized therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hai-Yun Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Department of Molecular Diagnostics, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou 510060, China
| | - Yang-Yang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Department of Molecular Diagnostics, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou 510060, China
| | - Sha Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Department of Molecular Diagnostics, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou 510060, China
| | - Xiao-Pai Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Department of Molecular Diagnostics, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou 510060, China Department of Pathology, Guangzhou First Municipal People's Hospital, Guangzhou 510180, PR China
| | - Ma-Yan Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Department of Experimental Research, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou 510060, China
| | - Xiao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Department of Molecular Diagnostics, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou 510060, China
| | - Qiong Shao
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Department of Molecular Diagnostics, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou 510060, China
| | - Ling Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Department of Molecular Diagnostics, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou 510060, China
| | - Mu-Sheng Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Department of Pathology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou 510060, China
| | - Yi-Xin Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Department of Pathology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou 510060, China
| | - Jian-Yong Shao
- State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Department of Molecular Diagnostics, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou 510060, China
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28
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Luo WR, Yao KT. Cancer stem cell characteristics, ALDH1 expression in the invasive front of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Virchows Arch 2014; 464:35-43. [PMID: 24248285 DOI: 10.1007/s00428-013-1508-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2013] [Revised: 10/31/2013] [Accepted: 11/06/2013] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The invasive tumor front underlies the biological aggressiveness and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in various human malignances. However, the molecular and biological characteristics of invasive tumor front in NPC have rarely been described. Additionally, the features of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in the invasive front of tumors and its correlation with EMT also remain elusive. Our study was to investigate the expression of CSCs marker aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) in the invasive front of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and its clinical significance. Immunohistochemistry was mainly used to detect ALDH1 expression in the invasive front of NPC. The relationship between ALDH1 expression and EMT-associated markers was also examined. ALDH1 expression in the invasive front correlated strongly with lymphatic invasion (p<0.001), T classification (p=0.001), M classification (p<0.001), clinical stage (p<0.001), and local recurrence (p=0.008). ALDH1 overexpression in the invasive front contributed to worse survival of NPC, particularly in patients with early stage (T1-T2 or N0-N1) (p<0.001 and p=0.002, respectively), though it was not an independent prognostic factor (p=0.196). Furthermore, in the invasive front of NPC, ALDH1 expression correlated significantly with EMT-related biomarkers E-cadherin (p=0.026), Vimentin (p<0.001), Periostin (p<0.001), and Snail (p<0.001), but not with β-catenin (p=0.143). Our findings demonstrate first that ALDH1 expression in the invasive front links closely with EMT characteristics and tumor aggressiveness, which might provide a useful prognostic marker for NPC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Ren Luo
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, 1838 Guangzhou Road North, Guangzhou, 510515, Guangdong, People's Republic of China,
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29
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Ma LJ, Lee SW, Lin LC, Chen TJ, Chang IW, Hsu HP, Chang KY, Huang HY, Li CF. Fibronectin overexpression is associated with latent membrane protein 1 expression and has independent prognostic value for nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Tumour Biol 2013; 35:1703-12. [PMID: 24081675 DOI: 10.1007/s13277-013-1235-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2013] [Accepted: 09/17/2013] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite recent improvements in the diagnosis and treatment, the final outcomes in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC) still remain suboptimal. Through data mining from published transcriptomic database with further bioinformatic validation, fibronectin (FN1) was identified as a differentially upregulated gene in NPC tissues, which implicates the transition from epithelial to mesenchymal phenotype (EMT) and promotes metastasis. Given the roles of fibronectin in risk stratification and in the frontline therapeutics of common carcinomas, such as renal cell cancer, we explored fibronectin immunoexpression status and its associations with clinicopathological variables and survival in a well-defined cohort of NPC patients. Fibronectin immunohistochemistry was retrospectively performed and analyzed using H-score for 124 biopsy specimens from NPC patients who received standard treatment without distant metastasis at initial diagnosis. Those cases with H-score higher than the median value were regarded as fibronectin overexpression. The findings were correlated with clinicopathological variables, EBV latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) expression, disease-specific survival (DSS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and local recurrence-free survival (LRFS). Fibronectin overexpression was significantly associated with American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stages III-IV (p = 0.019) and LMP1 expression (p = 0.004), and univariately predictive of adverse outcomes for DSS, DMFS, and LRFS (all p < 0.0001). In the multivariate comparison, fibronectin overexpression still remained prognostically independent to portend worse DSS (p < 0.01, hazard ratio = 5.958), DMFS (p < 0.01, hazard ratio = 5.728), and LRFS (p < 0.01, hazard ratio = 5.411) together with a vanced AJCC stages III-IV. Fibronectin is upregulated in a subset of NPCs, and its increased immunoexpression significantly correlated with advanced features, justifying the potentiality of fibronectin as a theragnostic biomaker of NPC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Jung Ma
- Department of Pathology, Chi-Mei Foundation Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan
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30
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Shen Z, Zeng Y, Guo J, Wu Y, Jiang X, Ding R, Wu C, Li R, Luo B, Zeng C, Jiang H, Jie W. Over-expression of the special AT rich sequence binding protein 1 (SATB1) promotes the progression of nasopharyngeal carcinoma: association with EBV LMP-1 expression. J Transl Med 2013; 11:217. [PMID: 24047082 PMCID: PMC3850651 DOI: 10.1186/1479-5876-11-217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2013] [Accepted: 09/17/2013] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Special AT rich sequence binding protein 1 (SATB1) plays a crucial role in the biology of various types of human cancer. However, the role of SATB1 in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remains unknown. In the present study, we sought to investigate the contribution of aberrant SATB1 expression in the progression of NPC and its association with the Epstein Barr virus (EBV)-encoded latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1). METHODS Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to detect SATB1 and LMP-1 protein in clinical samples, and the association of SATB1 protein expression with patient clinicopathological characteristics and LMP-1 expression were analyzed. SATB1 expression profiles were evaluated in well-differentiated NPC cell line CNE1, poorly-differentiated CNE2Z, undifferentiated C666-1 and immortalized nasopharyngeal epithelia NP-69 cells using quantitative RT-PCR, western blotting and fluorescent staining. After inhibition the SATB1 expression by using SATB1 specific small interfering RNA in these cell lines, the change of cell proliferation was investigated by western blotting analysis of PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen) expression and CCK-8 assay, and the cell migration was assessed by Transwell migration assay. Finally, the expressions of SATB1 and PCNA were examined in CNE1 cells that forced LMP-1 expression by fluorescent staining and RT-PCR. RESULTS Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that SATB1 protein expression was elevated in NPC tissues compared to benign nasopharyngeal tissues (P = 0.005). Moreover, high levels of SATB1 protein expression were positively correlated with clinical stage (P = 0.025), the status of lymph node metastasis (N classification) (P = 0.018), distant metastasis (M classification) (P = 0.041) and LMP-1 expression status (r = 2.35, P < 0.01) in NPC patients. In vitro experiments demonstrated that an inverse relationship between SATB1 expression and NPC differentiation status, with SATB1 weakly expressed in NP-69 cells and CNE1 cells, and significant increasingly expressed in CNE-2Z and C666-1 cells. Targeted knockdown of SATB1 expression obviously attenuated the proliferation and migration of highly SATB1-expressing CNE2Z and C666-1 cells, but not NP-69 and CNE1 cells. Interestingly, forced LMP-1 expression in CNE1 cells led to a surprisingly increasing SATB1 expression and nuclear location, companying with an up-regulated PCNA expression. CONCLUSIONS Our results reveal that EBV LMP-1-mediated over-expression of SATB1 is associated with NPC progression, suggesting SATB1 may represent a promising biomarker and therapeutic target for NPC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhihua Shen
- Department of Pathology & Pathophysiology, School of Basic Medicine Science, Guangdong Medical College, Zhanjiang 524023, PR China.
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Bongiovanni L, D'Andrea A, Romanucci M, Malatesta D, Candolini M, Salda LD, Mechelli L, Sforna M, Brachelente C. Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition: immunohistochemical investigation of related molecules in canine cutaneous epithelial tumours. Vet Dermatol 2013; 24:195-203.e42-3. [PMID: 23331698 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3164.2012.01116.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a multistep process, important in tumour invasion and metastasis, characterized by loss of epithelial markers, redistribution of β-catenin and gain of mesenchymal markers. HYPOSTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to investigate the immunohistochemical aberrant expression of cytokeratin, vimentin, survivin and heat shock protein 72 (Hsp72) in canine cutaneous epithelial tumours, to understand the association of expression of these molecules with features of malignancy and their role in the EMT phenotype. METHODS Ten canine squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs; one with lymph node metastasis), 30 canine hair follicle tumours (six pilomatricomas, eight infundibular keratinizing acanthomas, six trichoepitheliomas and 10 trichoblastomas) and five normal skin samples were investigated by immunohistochemistry using specific anti-vimentin, -cytokeratin, -survivin and -Hsp72 antibodies. A semi-quantitative method was used to analyse the results, as follows: 0 to <5%; ≥ 5 to <10%; ≥ 10 to <25%; and ≥ 25% of positive cells. Immunofluorescence was performed to investigate survivin-vimentin and survivin-Hsp72 colocalization in selected SCCs. Results - In malignant hair follicle tumours and SCCs, a reduced intensity of cytokeratin and increased survivin and Hsp72 expression were observed. In SCCs, loss of cytokeratin expression and vimentin immunolabelling, suggestive of the EMT phenotype, were evident in <5% of neoplastic cells in the front of tumour invasion. In the same areas, strong nuclear survivin and cytoplasmic Hsp72 staining was evident, often colocalizing. Only a few neoplastic cells in the front of tumour invasion showed vimentin-survivin colocalization. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE A possible simultaneous involvement of survivin and Hsp72 in tumour invasion and the multistep process of EMT of cutaneous epithelial tumours of dogs is suggested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Bongiovanni
- Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy.
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Wu A, Luo W, Zhang Q, Yang Z, Zhang G, Li S, Yao K. Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1, a functional marker for identifying cancer stem cells in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Cancer Lett 2013; 330:181-9. [PMID: 23220285 DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2012.11.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2012] [Revised: 11/26/2012] [Accepted: 11/27/2012] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) activity has now been employed successfully as a cancer stem cells (CSCs) marker in various tumors. We wanted to investigate whether ALDH1 can be used as a putative CSCs marker and a powerful prognostic factor in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Here, we isolated ALDH1-positive cells from human NPC cell lines (5-8F and CNE2) and found that ALDH1-positive cancer cells grew faster and had higher clone formation efficiency (0.435±0.15; 0.431±0.025 vs. 0.131±0.007; 0.121±0.126), differentiation capability and had higher migration (233.00±5.29; 228.60±9.34 vs. 123.20±7.70 vs. 97.20±6.61) than those of ALDH1-negative cancer cells in vitro. In addition, ALDH1- positive cancer cells formed significantly more tumor spheres. Our in vivo experiments showed that only 5×10(3) ALDH1-positive NPC cells were required to induce tumors. Notably, ALDH1-positive cells are enriched in the side-population (SP) cells, and stem cells-like genes OCT4, BMI1, KLF4 and SOX2 are preferentially expressed in ALDH1-positive cells. Immunohistochemical results showed that the expression of ALDH1 correlated significantly with T classification (P=0.011), N classification (P=0.005), M classification (P=0.002) and clinical stage (P=0.001). Interestingly, ALDH1 expression in the tumor correlated significantly with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers including vimentin expression and loss of E-cadherin (P=0.003 and 0.008, respectively). Furthermore, multivariate analyses showed that ALDH1 expression was an independent prognostic indicator (P=0.032). Taken together, for the first time, we demonstrate that ALDH1 could be a novel stem cells marker and a valuable predictor of poor survival NPC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aibing Wu
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, PR China
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Luo W, Li S, Peng B, Ye Y, Deng X, Yao K. Embryonic stem cells markers SOX2, OCT4 and Nanog expression and their correlations with epithelial-mesenchymal transition in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. PLoS One 2013; 8:e56324. [PMID: 23424657 PMCID: PMC3570418 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 140] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2012] [Accepted: 01/08/2013] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Expression of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) markers (SOX2, OCT4, Nanog and Nestin) is crucial for progression of various human malignancies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression and prognostic impact of these molecules in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. In the present study, we found that the expression levels of SOX2, OCT4 and Nanog were highly expressed in NPC compared with the non-tumorous tissues. Furthermore, these proteins correlated significantly with several clinicalpathological factors and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-associated indicators (E-cadherin/N-cadherin and Snail). In multivariate analyses, high expression of OCT4 (P = 0.013) and Nanog (P = 0.040), but not that of SOX2, was associated with worse survival and had strongly independent prognostic effects. Of note, OCT4 and Nanog were more frequently located at the invasive front of tumors, and correlated significantly with various aggressive behaviors including T classification, N classification, M classification and clinical stage. Furthermore, patients with co-expression of OCT4 and Nanog in the invasive front had significantly worse survival (P = 0.005). Interestingly, at the invasive front, these molecules correlated significantly with Nestin expression in endothelial cells (P<0.001). These findings provide evidence that ESCs biomarkers OCT4 and Nanog serves as independent prognostic factors for NPC. Additionally, cancer cells in the invasive front of NPC acquiring ESCs-like features should be maintained by vascular niches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiren Luo
- Department of Pathology, Secondary Clinical College, Guangdong Medical College, Dongguan, People's Republic of China
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Siyi Li
- Department of Pathology, Secondary Clinical College, Guangdong Medical College, Dongguan, People's Republic of China
| | - Bailu Peng
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Yanfen Ye
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Xubin Deng
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Kaitai Yao
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
- * E-mail:
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Luo W, Yao K. Molecular characterization and clinical implications of spindle cells in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a novel molecule-morphology model of tumor progression proposed. PLoS One 2013; 8:e83135. [PMID: 24349446 PMCID: PMC3861507 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0083135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2013] [Accepted: 10/31/2013] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Up to now, the precise molecular and morphological changes underlying the invasive and metastatic properties of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remain largely unresolved. We speculate that neoplastic spindle cells, which are prominently found in the invasive tumor front and the surrounding stroma, might be responsible for the aggressive patterns. Expression profiling of various biomarkers relevant to cancer stem cells (CSCs) and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) was performed by tissue microarray-based immunohistochemistry in NPC samples. The expression of EBER and LMP1 was detected by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, respectively. We found that overexpression of CSCs-related markers (ALDH1, Nanog and ABCG2) and up-regulation of EMT markers (Fibronectin, MMP-2, Periostin, SPARC, Snail and Slug), together with E- to N-cadherin switching, occurred preferentially in tumors containing a large proportion of spindle-shaped malignant cells. Furthermore, CSCs-like properties were highly present in spindle cells compared with non-spindle cells of tumors, and correlated strongly with EMT features. In addition, EBV-related factors EBER and LMP1 were highly expressed and correlated strongly with CSCs and EMT characteristics in neoplastic spindle cells. Importantly, high proportion of spindle cells (≥20%) correlated significantly with various aggressive aspects including lymph node metastasis (P = 0.031) and local recurrence (P = 0.014). Patients with high proportion of spindle cells had poor survival (P = 0.004), though it was not an independent value. In conclusion, we demonstrate that spindle cells could be valuable morphological indicators of tumor progression and unfavorable prognosis of NPC. An integrated molecule-morphology model of NPC firstly constructed may shed significant light on the metastatic cascade and clinical relevance of patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiren Luo
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, PR China
- * E-mail: (WL); (KY)
| | - Kaitai Yao
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, PR China
- * E-mail: (WL); (KY)
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Luo WR, Gao F, Li SY, Yao KT. Tumour budding and the expression of cancer stem cell marker aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Histopathology 2012; 61:1072-81. [PMID: 23020521 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2559.2012.04350.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
AIMS To detect the prognostic significance of tumour budding and its expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS AND RESULTS Tumour budding was investigated in 105 patients with NPC by immunohistochemistry for pan-cytokeratin (AE1/AE3). The intensity of budding correlated strongly with T classification (P=0.008), lymphatic invasion (P<0.001), vascular invasion (P=0.029), lymph node metastasis (P < 0.001), and clinical stage (P=0.010). Univariate analysis revealed that patients with high budding grade had poorer survival than those with low grade (P=0.002). Multivariate analysis showed that tumour budding was an independent predictor of survival (P=0.001). Furthermore, budding cells showed high-level expression of the cancer stem cell (CSC) marker ALDH1. Budding cells with high-level ALDH1 expression contributed to several aggressive behaviours and poor survival (P=0.000). CONCLUSIONS We describe, for the first time, the presence of tumour budding and its correlation with aggressive tumour behaviour and poor patient survival in NPC. The degree of tumour budding could be a valuable predictive factor in NPC. In addition, we show, also for the first time, that budding cells in NPC might possess the invasive and metastatic properties of CSCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Ren Luo
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, PR China.
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Luo W, Fang W, Li S, Yao K. Aberrant expression of nuclear vimentin and related epithelial-mesenchymal transition markers in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Int J Cancer 2012; 131:1863-73. [PMID: 22307379 DOI: 10.1002/ijc.27467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2011] [Accepted: 01/17/2012] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Expression of vimentin and the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers E-cadherin, β-catenin is essential for the progression of various human cancers. Our study aimed to investigate the aberrant localization E-cadherin, β-catenin and vimentin, and their prognostic significance in 122 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. Our results showed that both membranous and cytoplasmic localization of E-cadherin staining were associated with lymph node metastasis (p = 0.000 and 0.005, respectively) and clinical stage (p = 0.000 and 0.007, respectively). High cytoplasmic β-catenin correlated significantly with larger tumor size (p = 0.020), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.000) and advanced clinical stage (p = 0.036). However, no significant difference was observed between membranous β-catenin and clinicopathologic features (p ≥ 0.05). High nuclear vimentin expression correlated significantly with positive lymph node metastasis (p = 0.000) and advanced clinical stage (p = 0.000). Multivariate analysis showed that nuclear vimentin and cytoplasmic E-cadherin were independent prognostic factors (p = 0.016 and 0.001, respectively), as well as M classification (p = 0.001). More importantly, patients with high coexpression of nuclear vimentin and cytoplasmic E-cadherin had shorter survival time (p = 0.000). Furthermore, high coexpression of these two proteins was closely associated with lymph node metastasis (p = 0.000) and advanced clinical stage (p = 0.000). Our studies provide convincing evidence that EMT may play an important role in the biological progression of NPC, and nuclear vimentin and cytoplasmic E-cadherin might have independent prognostic value in NPC patients and serve as novel targets for prognostic therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiren Luo
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China
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Luo WR, Li SY, Cai LM, Yao KT. High expression of nuclear Snail, but not cytoplasmic staining, predicts poor survival in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Ann Surg Oncol 2012; 19:2971-9. [PMID: 22476819 DOI: 10.1245/s10434-012-2347-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2011] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Transcription factor Snail has been shown to promote tumor progression and metastasis in various cancers. However, its clinical significance in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is still scanty. We have explored the clinical significance of Snail expression and its association with patient outcome in NPC. METHODS Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the expression levels of Snail in 122 patients with NPC. RESULTS Cytoplasmic Snail was detected in 37.7 %, and nuclear staining was detected in 49.2 % of primary tumors, respectively. No significant associations were found between cytoplasmic Snail and the clinicopathologic variables except lymph node metastasis (P = 0.042). However, nuclear Snail was significantly associated with tumor stage (P = 0.003), T classification (P = 0.045), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.019), distant metastasis (P = 0.003), and reduced E-cadherin expression (P = 0.021). Patients with high nuclear Snail expression, but not cytoplasmic staining, had significantly shorter survival than those with low expression (P < 0.001). Significantly, nuclear Snail was an independent prognostic predictor for NPC (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the prognostic impact was largely limited to stage III-IV patients. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrated first that nuclear Snail, but not cytoplasmic staining, predicts worse outcome. In addition, the prognostic value in stage III-IV suggests that nuclear Snail could be a potential therapeutic target for late stage of NPC patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Ren Luo
- Cancer Research Institute, Southern Medical University, 1838 Guangzhou Road North, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
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