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Chien MH, Yang YC, Ho KH, Ding YF, Chen LH, Chiu WK, Chen JQ, Tung MC, Hsiao M, Lee WJ. Cyclic increase in the ADAMTS1-L1CAM-EGFR axis promotes the EMT and cervical lymph node metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Cell Death Dis 2024; 15:82. [PMID: 38263290 PMCID: PMC10805752 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-024-06452-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
The matrix metalloprotease A disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin motifs 1 (ADAMTS1) was reported to be involved in tumor progression in several cancer types, but its contributions appear discrepant. At present, the role of ADAMTS1 in oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC; OSCC) remains unclear. Herein, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database showed that ADAMTS1 transcripts were downregulated in head and neck SCC (HNSCC) tissues compared to normal tissues, but ADAMTS1 levels were correlated with poorer prognoses of HNSCC patients. In vitro, we observed that ADAMTS1 expression levels were correlated with the invasive abilities of four OSCC cell lines, HSC-3, SCC9, HSC-3M, and SAS. Knockdown of ADAMTS1 in OSCC cells led to a decrease and its overexpression led to an increase in cell-invasive abilities in vitro as well as tumor growth and lymph node (LN) metastasis in OSCC xenografts. Mechanistic investigations showed that the cyclic increase in ADAMTS1-L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) axis-mediated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activation led to exacerbation of the invasive abilities of OSCC cells via inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) progression. Clinical analyses revealed that ADAMTS1, L1CAM, and EGFR levels were all correlated with worse prognoses of HNSCC patients, and patients with ADAMTS1high/L1CAMhigh or EGFRhigh tumors had the shortest overall and disease-specific survival times. As to therapeutic aspects, we discovered that an edible plant-derived flavonoid, apigenin (API), drastically inhibited expression of the ADAMTS1-L1CAM-EGFR axis and reduced the ADAMTS1-triggered invasion and LN metastasis of OSCC cells in vitro and in vivo. Most importantly, API treatment significantly prolonged survival rates of xenograft mice with OSCC. In summary, ADAMTS1 may be a useful biomarker for predicting OSCC progression, and API potentially retarded OSCC progression by targeting the ADAMTS1-L1CAM-EGFR signaling pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Hsien Chien
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- TMU Research Center of Cancer Translational Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Pulmonary Research Center, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Traditional Herbal Medicine Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Chieh Yang
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Medical Research, Tungs' Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Kuo-Hao Ho
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yi-Fang Ding
- Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Otolaryngology, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Li-Hsin Chen
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wen-Kuan Chiu
- Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, College of Surgery, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ji-Qing Chen
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Cancer Biology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH, USA
| | - Min-Che Tung
- Department of Surgery, Tungs' Taichung Metro Harbor Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Michael Hsiao
- Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Jiunn Lee
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
- Department of Urology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
- Department of Medical Education and Research, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
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