Expression of SOX9 Is Related to Prognosis in Patients with Oesophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

A hitchhiker's guide to cancer models

Cancer is a complex and uniquely personal disease. More than 1.7 million people in the United States are diagnosed with cancer every year. As the burden of cancer grows, so does the need for new, more effective therapeutics and for predictive tools to identify optimal, personalized treatment options for every patient. Cancer models that recapitulate various aspects of the disease are fundamental to making advances along the continuum of cancer treatment from benchside discoveries to bedside delivery. In this review, we use a thought experiment as a vehicle to arrive at four broad categories of cancer models and explore the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for each category in advancing our understanding of the disease and improving treatment strategies.

Subcellular localization of HMGB1 in human cholangiocarcinoma: correlation with tumor stage

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a malignant disease with a poor prognosis, and several studies have been conducted using different molecular markers as a tool for CCA diagnosis, including Clonorchis sinensis (CS)-CCA. We initially identified the expression profiles of the three markers of interest, HMGB1, SOX9, and YAP1, using GSE (GSE76297 and GSE32958) datasets. Upregulated levels of these three proteins were detected in CCA samples compared to those in normal samples. To clarify this issue, 24 human CCA tissues with paired adjacent normal tissues were evaluated using immunohistochemical staining. Of the three markers, the total cellular staining intensities were scanned, and subcellular localization was scored in the nuclear and cytoplasmic regions. The intensities of HMGB1, SOX9, and YAP1 were elevated in CCA tissues than the adjacent normal tissues. Individual scoring of subcellular localization revealed that the expression levels of HMGB1 (nucleus) and YAP1 (nucleus and cytoplasm) were significantly different from the pathologic M stage. Moreover, the translocation pattern was categorized using "site-index", and the results demonstrated that the overexpression of HMGB1 and SOX9 was mostly observed in both the nucleus and cytoplasm, whereas YAP1 was predominantly expressed in the cytoplasm of tumor cells. Interestingly, the site index of HMGB1 was moderately correlated with the tumor stage (r = 0.441, p = 0.031). These findings imply that the overexpression of subcellular HMGB1 could be associated with the metastatic status of patients with CS-CCA, which was shown to be effective for CS-CCA prognosis.

Crosstalk between oral squamous cell carcinoma cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts via the TGF-β/SOX9 axis in cancer progression

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TGF-β1 secreted from CAFs promote the migration and invasion of OSCC cells.

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CAFs upregulate SOX9 expression of OSCC cells, possibly through inducing EMT.

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The presence of CAFs is correlated with SOX9 expression in the invasive cancer nests.

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The TGF-β/SOX9 axis between CAFs and OSCC cells facilitates cancer progression.

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Targeting the TGF-β/SOX9 axis could be a potential novel target for OSCC.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) have important roles in promoting cancer development and progression. We previously reported that high expression of sex-determining region Y (SRY)-box9 (SOX9) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells was positively correlated with poor prognosis. This study developed three-dimensional (3D) in vitro models co-cultured with OSCC cells and CAFs to examine CAF-mediated cancer migration and invasion in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, we performed an immunohistochemical analysis of alpha-smooth muscle actin and SOX9 expression in surgical specimens from 65 OSCC patients. The results indicated that CAFs promote cancer migration and invasion in migration assays and 3D in vitro models. The invading OSCC cells exhibited significant SOX9 expression and changes in the expression of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, suggesting that SOX9 promotes EMT. TGF-β1 signalling inhibition reduced SOX9 expression and cancer invasion in vitro and in vivo, indicating that TGF-β1-mediated invasion is dependent on SOX9. In surgical specimens, the presence of CAFs was correlated with SOX9 expression in the invasive cancer nests and had a significant impact on regional recurrence. These findings demonstrate that CAFs promote cancer migration and invasion via the TGF-β/SOX9 axis.

Chromobox 2 Expression Predicts Prognosis After Curative Resection of Oesophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

BACKGROUND/AIM

To investigate the function of chromobox 2 (CBX2) in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We used real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry to determine CBX2 expression levels in 13 human OSCC cell lines and clinical specimens of two independent cohorts of patients with OSCC.

RESULTS

PCR array analysis revealed that CBX2 was co-ordinately expressed with WNT5B in OSCC cell lines. RT-qPCR analysis of clinical samples revealed a high tumour-specific CBX2 expression compared with normal oesophageal tissues. High CBX2 expression was significantly associated with shorter disease-specific survival, hematogenous recurrence, and overall recurrence. Analysis of tissue microarrays of one cohort revealed that patients with higher CBX2 levels tended to have a shorter disease-specific survival.

CONCLUSION

CBX2 overexpression in OSCC tissues may serve as a novel biomarker for predicting survival and hematogenous recurrence.

microRNA-605 directly targets SOX9 to alleviate the aggressive phenotypes of glioblastoma multiforme cell lines by deactivating the PI3K/Akt pathway

Background

Aberrant microRNA (miRNA) expression has been widely reported to play a crucial role in the progression and development of glioblastoma (GBM). miR-605 has been identified as a tumor-suppressing miRNA in several types of human cancers. Nevertheless, the expression profile and detailed roles of miR-605 in GBM remain unclear and need to be further elucidated.

Materials and methods

RT-qPCR analysis was utilized for the determination of miR-605 expression in GBM tissues and cell lines. In addition, CCK-8 assay, transwell migration and invasion assays, as well as sub-cutaneous xenograft mouse models were utilized to evaluate the effects of miR-605 upregulation in GBM cells. Notably, the potential mechanisms underlying the activity of miR-605 in the malignant phenotypes of GBM were explored.

Results

We observed that expression of miR-605 was reduced in GBM tissues and cell lines. Decreased miR-605 expression exhibited significant correlation with KPS score. The overall survival rate in GBM patients with low miR-605 expression was lower than that of patients with high miR-605 expression. Increased miR-605 expression suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion of U251 and T98 cells. In addition, miR-605 upregulation impaired tumor growth in vivo. Furthermore, SRY-Box 9 (SOX9) was identified as a direct target gene of miR-605 in U251 and T98 cells. SOX9 expression was shown to exhibit an inverse correlation with miR-605 expression in GBM tissues. Moreover, silencing of SOX9 expression mimicked the tumor-suppressing roles of miR-605 in U251 and T98 cells, while SOX9 restoration rescued the suppressive effects of miR-605 overexpression in the same. Notably, miR-605 suppressed the PI3K/Akt pathway in GBM in vitro and in vivo.

Conclusion

These results demonstrated that miR-605 acts as a tumor suppressor in the development of GBM by directly targeting SOX9 and inhibiting the activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway, suggesting its potential role as a therapeutic target for GBM.